Daily Archives : June 6th, 2013

Interview: Ed Zealous

Following on from our interview with three of the most exciting new acts playing this year’s festival – Vanilla Gloom, The Clameens and PigsAsPeople – we catch up with Stephen McAvoy, frontman with one of the more established acts returning to Eagle’s Rock Valley this summer, Belfast-based indie rock band Ed Zealous. Having played the festival on a couple of occasions, the guys are very much geared up for heading back up the mountain this to deliver yet another unmistakably zealous-like set…
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Hi Steve. Ed Zealous have played Glasgowbury before. What are your memories of performing the festival and how are the band feeling about returning this year?

Yeah, we can’t wait to play this year! I pretty much remember my car being absolutely knackered the last time we played and the drive down being done at a fairly casual top speed of 30mph. It finally died before we reached the carpark so we ran with our gear the rest of the way so we could make our slot. I guess it was a warm up of sorts but the crowd more than made up for it when we got on stage.  Glasgowbury always has great people and great vibes and my birthday always seems to land on one of the days so the added bonus of cake makes it particularly awesome.

As a festival-goer yourself, what do you think makes Glasgowbury such a unique experience? Any particular highlights spring to mind?

The location makes Glasgowbury special but it’s Paddy Glasgow’s spirit that really sets it apart. It’s the same spirit that ASIWYFA embodied when they did ‘A Little Solidarity’. It’s inspirational to see that vision and to know that you’re not just going to some generic festival.

In your view, how important do you reckon the likes of homegrown festivals like Glasgowbury to Northern Irish music in general?

Undeniably vital. The growth of Glasgowbury itself is proof that Northern Irish music is more alive and in demand than ever but ultimately its the sense of community it brings to both bands and audience alike that’s really special. You are witnessing local people digging local music in a big way and that’s a particularly special thing for anyone to see, especially someone wanting to start their own band.  That we have a local music culture thats strong enough to warrant a festival like Glasgowbury is testament to quality of artists Northern Ireland is producing at the moment.

What other acts at this year’s festival are you looking forward see?

ASIWYFA, The Wonder Villains, Axis Of, Japanese Popstars, Ryan Vail, More Than Conquerors, Jetplane Landing … as many as is humanly possible to fit in to be honest.

Any new bands playing that you’ve got an eye (ear) on/think might go far in the years to come?

Go Wolf are writing some really great material at the momentI heard a preview of their forthcoming EP a couple of weeks ago and it really sounds fresh, different and effortless. They’re still a fairly young band but with a songcraft well beyond their years. For anyone who may not know, Niall from ASIWYFA has had an on-going solo project quietly bubbling away for a long time now called A Bad Cavalier and he was playing me some new stuff he’s written. If you remember Panama Kings, well it’s still his unmistakeable voice and style and the songs are yet again magnificent. It was shit when Panama Kings broke up but people should get excited at this because its bloody exciting. When any of this is released, I do not know, but keep your ears to the ground for some great new N.I music.

Aside from playing this year’s festival, what are the plans for the band over the summer?

Gigs and quite a few other festival dates. We’re playing the Belfast Pride after party in QUBSU on July 6th with Not Squares, Wonder Villains and Go Wolf along with Taboo DJs, Marty Morrison, Stuart Millar and the Radar DJs should be a lot of fun!  After that it’s a couple of other festival and the Open House Finale Aug 31st with Kowalski and Go Wolf.

Tickets for Glasgowbury 2013 are available to buy here.

Small but MASSIVE.