I recently had the opportunity to interview Steve Ryan from Irish band Windings.
Great guys, great music, well worth checking out!
Here’s the interview…
Katy: How did you all get involved in Windings?
Steve: When I was way younger I was in a band with Liam (Marley), who is in Windings now. He was the singer and played guitar, and I just played guitar, and there were a couple of other friends from secondary school and we would have been sixteen or seventeen. We were playing really heavy music and then we grew up, and split up, or whatever.
Then I was in another band called Giveamanakick and I was playing really loud music with them and really quiet music with something I just called Windings, cause I liked the sound of the word. Giveamanakick kind of got really busy then so I kept going with that, kept working with that, but I kept doing small Windings gigs.
Then about five years ago, Liam starting playing with me, which was kind of cool, just the two of us. Then about two years ago, Aaron Mulhall, the drummer, joined and then Patrick (O Brien) and Mike (Gavin) made their way in as well. So I think we’re settled on five people now for a while!
Katy: What was the first record you ever bought?
Steve: I think it was Billy Joel “An Innocent Man”. I was always hoping someone would ask me that actually, because I was always thinking and practicing, “What was it?” I thought it was Michael Jackson “Thriller” because that would have been way cooler but it wasn’t cause I definitely got that after Billy Joel “An Innocent Man”. My mom bought it for me. It was on a tape. I still have it.
Katy: So your parents were into music?
Steve: Yea. On my Mom’s side, all my uncles, they are all traditional players. Anytime there would be a family gathering, all the guitars, and banjos and everything would be pulled out. My Dad was into rock music, and still is I’m sure. I remember growing up, on Saturday mornings he’d have his records on…loudly.
Katy: The video for Windings song “Old Like J” is animated and very different. What made you do a video like that?
Steve: It was actually friends of ours, Shane Real and Greg Burrowes who offered to make the video for the song. We gave them carte blanche really and said do whatever you want and trusted them because this is what they do, make videos. They got in touch with a friend of theirs from Waterford and he did the animation. Basically we had to go to a white room for a day and stand and do all these kind of poses, while they took loads and loads of still photos of us. They put them into the video then, and made us move and did all this animation, crazy. The amount of work that went into it is insane. Really delighted with the way it turned out.
Katy: Another song from the album “It’s Never Night” is entitled “Brain Fluid”. What was the inspiration behind it?
Steve: Maybe three years ago when the song was written, I got a new twelve string guitar which I really liked the sound of, and I wanted to use that for a start, so that had to be in it. Then, lyrically, I had a day off from something and I decided I’d go into town really early and walk around and it was really lovely and sunny out. I met this guy I used to know a long time ago and I hadn’t seen him for ages. He had been very sick and I didn’t know basically, and it was shocking to hear. I don’t know, it was just such a lovely sunny day, and I hadn’t seen him for a while and he was really sick. He was getting better, but it was just weird the way these things kind of balance out and it just inspired it, I don’t know how, I have no idea how. But I know that it has something to do with the song.
Katy: Any advice for aspiring musicians?
Steve: Play loads of gigs. I think that is sometimes forgotten by bands especially because it is so easy now to record. We started off and it was quite expensive, and not easy at all to record your own music, but now you can do it on your laptop and have it up by the end of the day on the Internet for everybody in the world to hear. While that’s great, and it really is great, you have got to be playing gigs, you want people around to hear you, and see you, as well as just knowing your music from the Internet. So play gigs.
Katy: Next a few questions so people can get to know you a bit better! First, what is your favorite youtube video right now?
Steve: It’s an oldie but it’s a goodie. It’s called kick the burger. Have you ever seen that? It’s amazing. Check it out.
Katy: The next one, cat or dog?
Steve: Oh, dog, jeez.
Katy: Maltesers or Minstrels?
Steve: Minstrels. There’s a really weird taste off Maltesers when you bite them at first, it’s kind of like biting cotton wool. I don’t like that.
Katy: Okay. Give me a line of a song that means something to you.
Steve: …I’m trying to remember it, hold on… I can’t think. It’s a Smiths song. I can’t remember what it’s from. I’m trying to remember what it sounds like…(humming)… A line of a song that means something, there are so many! Is that the last question?
Katy: Second last.
Steve: Okay, move on to the last one, and I’ll come back to that then.
Katy: What’s up next for the Windings?
Steve: We are doing this current tour (The Certain Three Tour), which is great, with the other two bands that we really like (The Ambiance Affair & We Cut Corners). Then we’re going to Canada for Canadian Music Week in March and then when we get back, we intend to have another release ready to put out before the summer. Hopefully we’ll do festivals over the summer and have another release before Christmas. We are going to be busy this year! Have to go back to the line question now don’t I? Ask the question again, maybe that will jog my mind…
Katy: Give me a line of a song that means something to you.
Steve: I’ll go with The Smiths, can’t remember the name of the song but it’s… I’m going to misquote it so I can’t say it! No, I’ll leave the smiths one alone. I don’t know… it’s ridiculous.
He eventually thought of a line from a song: “Don’t look now, the future’s coming”.
Steve: It’s by a band called Tweak Bird from a song called “The Future”. It’s a pretty loaded lyric. It’s humorous, but depending on your mood it could also fill you with dread.
For more information on Windings, check out: http://www.windingswindings.com/
Their new album “It’s Never Night” is out now. Buy it!
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