MY FIRST TIME: youbloom | HEADROOM #4: with Featured Artists from the Los Angeles 2015 Music Festival

06-Nov-2015 By Leave a Comment

It’s all about your first time.

No, not that time, jeez, what kind of freak show do you think we’re running here?

Over the past year our humble blog has been privy to what can only be truly described as the most fascinating backstories when it comes to what makes you independent artists we’re so proud to showcase do what you, well, do. We all know something had to kick start your little rock’n’roll hearts – usually at a very young age – and the stories we’ve been hearing run the gamut from a wonky household appliance providing a chore-time rhythm to the first time you ever saw a live show (because, obviously, some of you have exceptionally cool parents).

The best part about first times? You remember every detail.

Shira Yevin (one woman hurricane, Shiragirl): “My first ever concert when I was a little girl was Debbie Gibson. She came up from the ground on a grand piano singing and dancing to Electric Youth, and the whole arena stood up and went wild. Right then I thought, THAT! I want to do THAT! I wanted to have that power to affect people and bring them happiness and excitement.”

Not one to mess with, Shiragirl’s been doing her own electropunk thing and making no apologies whatsoever about it for over a decade. Striking out on her own from an all-girl band to make music at once gritty and groovy, she’s all of the party and none of the prissy. Bring your best dance partner and get ready to rock. For fans of: Candy Hearts, a less trite Ke$ha, Natalia Kills

Brian Kirk (drums, Round 12): “Everyone in my family plays an instrument and/or sings. I have been around music since I was born.”

A truly eclectic band if ever there was one. Vocals are raw and obstinate. Instrumental phrases seem cobbled together by a deranged Gepetto who was listening to Motorhead at the time. You can bang your head one minute, sway drunkenly the next. It’s capable, engaging, and likeable, as if it can’t be restrained by just one choice. For fans of: Frank Zappa, Stiff Little Fingers, Van Der Graaf Generator (we know)

Aristor Oberson aka. Ded Kra-Z (MC, Ded Kra-Z & Princess Eud): “17 years ago a friend of mine invited me to be part of a band in my neighborhood, Fontamara, in Carrefour (a small town south of Port-au-Prince). That is how I got into music.”

Edouarin Enide aka Princess Eud (MC, Ded Kra-Z & Princess Eud): “It was in my neighborhood, Jalouzi, in Petion-Ville that I started in a group. Since then my musical career has launched.”

While the music scene in Haiti is primarily dominated by mellow steel drum rhythms and the shameless use of autotune, Ded Kra-Z & Princess Eud are busy making funky beats and writing edgy, socio-political lyrics with the sting of some of hip hop’s finest. Musically nodding to their roots and cultural influences, while refusing to bow to stereotype, they represent a new wave of awareness from the small island. For fans of: William Onyeabor, M.I.A, Afrika Bambaataa

Kivi (vocals, cowbell, donut pusher, Kittenhead): “I am told by my grandparents and parents that I sang before I spoke, and that when others sang off-key I would cover my ears and sing the right notes, so, yeah, I am that person. Everyone in Kittenhead had music in their lives from an early age. I know that DD’s (strings, lightsaber, backing vox) mom loved Elvis and VJJ’s (strings, sourpatch kids, random TLC references, occasional rapping/backing vox) mom made them clean the house to Janet Jackson. Owen (percussion, long walks on the beach, beer drinker) was sneaking into punk shows underaged at, like, 13.”

Combining growling vocals and that unmistakeable horror/surf rock hybrid which distinguishes some of the most fun bands in punk, Kittenhead are in no way confused about who they are. Their shows have been described as high energy and exciting. You won’t see another band like them at youbloomLA, so don’t miss it! For fans of: The Runaways, The Misfits, The Independents

Julian Shah-Tayler aka “The Singularity”: “My grandmother and my mother were both huge music fans – my grandma a music teacher, and my mother an opera singer. They used to sing to me all the time. I remember the radio being on in the house and really hearing “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush when I was about four. It affected me massively. When I heard it again later in life for the second time, this wave of nostalgia pulled me back to our little apartment on the top of a high-rise block of flats in South Wales; I nearly broke down and cried.”

The perfectionist talents of The Singularity allow listeners a voluptuous electro experience that almost quite literally gets right under the skin. With influences as lusty and powerful as the above mentioned, it’s no wonder, and with the vision to see it through to the creation of a wholly new beast, there’s nothing else quite like it. It’s smart, relentless, and endlessly catchy. And you need to see it for yourself. For fans of: deep space, David Bowie, nights as a teenager, molly

BEFORE I DIE: youbloom | HEADROOM #3 with Featured Artists from the Los Angeles 2015 Music Festival

04-Nov-2015 By Leave a Comment

People make a big deal of bucket lists these days.

The Top 100 Desserts You Have To Eat In Your Lifetime…You Haven’t Lived Until You’ve Knitted These 8000 Items…Don’t Leave This Mortal Coil Before You Do These 72 Things With Snails.

Really. It can all get a bit…distracting.

Except when it comes to the things you’re truly passionate about. Then it feels like there aren’t possibly enough ways – in our mockingly short allowance of years from the cradle to the grave – to express your passion adequately and leave behind a record of a life lived well, a hell of a ride, and a worthy pursuit for those who will follow.

So we make little mental notes and lists of things we want to do with our arts, our sports, our quests…to remind ourselves there’s still A LOT to see and do. And then we compare notes, to see how our aspirations stack up.

We asked five artists who will be playing the youbloomLA 2015 Music Festival to tell us what they won’t be happy until they’ve accomplished from the only standpoint that matters: music.

Felice LaZae

1| Write a song with Fiona Apple.

2| Tour abroad.

3| Perform at The Grammys.

Joining the ranks of powerhouse music industry women – the kind who know exactly what weapons they wield in the form of vocal might, presence, and prowess – comes Felice LaZae, a blaze of a thing; confident, sharp as nails, and already racing her way to the top. Which is right where she belongs. For fans of: The Black Keys, Betty Davis, Imelda May, Tarantino movies

Menlo Black (vox/raps/guitar/piano, Crvscxnt Moon)

1| I want to travel the world and see the way people of different cultures and backgrounds respond to my music. I want to experience new cultures and I would be honored to have any of my songs included in another world culture, even if only for a short time.

2| Another music goal would be to earn the respect of producers and technicians who practice at the professional level. I want to create a sound (both in the studio and live) so sonically unique that I inspire a plugin that becomes a standard on every DAW and is taught to new technicians for years to come.

3| Finally, I want to share my faith and personal passions through my music in a way that is both relatable and true to myself. I want to say at the end of my career that I did it my way and didn’t compromise my values for money or fame. I want to keep and maintain my integrity as an artist and as a man.

Whip smart and acerbic, yet feel-good and uplifting, this is a group with cunning musical abilities and a tangible desire to venture beyond the well-tread environs of intellectual hip-hop. Crvscxnt Moon blend soul and gospel into a refreshing helping of music with something to discuss. Miss them to your detriment. For fans of: J. Cole, Blackalicious, Mr. Lif

Carlos (drums, Feli and the Lemonshakers)

1| To play in the main European and American summer festivals with my indie tropical band Feli and the Lemonshakers. Playing at youbloomLA 2015 shows that I’m on the right track!

2| Be a studio drummer in LA and in Madrid (Spain).

3| For Feli and the Lemonshakers (to become a) very well-known band worldwide!

They sound like sunshine and cocktails, and have no shortage of musical chops, with caressing vocals, dreamy pop guitar melodies, and infectious, hip shaking rhythms. Even the empty spaces have style. One to watch. For fans of: Goodbye Chanel, Bombay Bicycle Club, Blondie

Calah Mae (vox/tambourine, Quietly Kept)

1| One of my biggest goals would be to write a song that really gets to people; something that resonates with them. Last time we were in Santa Monica, we played “Failure Overture” at a little coffee shop, and this guy came up to us and told us that the song was exactly what he needed to hear in that moment, that it really touched him. That meant the world to me.

2| Another goal would be to play to a really huge crowd just to touch a lot of ears. A lot! Like… a thousand people. That would be so cool.

3| (My) last goal would probably be to collaborate/tour/play with a group or artist that I really love and respect. It would be so awesome to be on stage with the girls from First Aid Kit or Waxahatchee. They’re my current faves.

It must be that independent New Mexico streak running through the music like an unidentifiable fascination that keeps you hooked. Managing somehow to blend punk stylings with introspective acoustic americana and the clear, sweet vocals of pop, the duo behind Quietly Kept aren’t about to be put into a box and labeled; instead, they’re turning heads and winning fans everywhere they go. We can’t wait to have them in LA. For fans of: Blackbird Raum, Brook Pridemore, Lynched

Maddie & Peter (Polaris Rose) Our initial response was to talk about touring overseas, and although going triple platinum, selling out Wembly (Stadium), and rubbing elbows with the greats sounds AMAZING, the more we thought about it, we just have one real goal: to inspire and empower others like our favorite artists did for us. Because at the end of the day, sometimes all we have left is the music we love.

Instantly friendly and infectious, with precise vocal harmonies, and an uncanny understanding of what makes a hook do its best work. (Seriously, how did you write those??) At times epic, other times unexpected, the group have alt-pop sensibility coming out of their ears, and they gel so well it’s hard to imagine they’ve only been on the scene two years. For fans of: 90’s stuff, Elvis Costello, The Black Keys

youbloom | HEADROOM #2: Featured Artists from the Los Angeles 2015 Music Festival

28-Oct-2015 By Leave a Comment

There’s nothing quite as devilish as a little dish, is there?

You know it’s true, otherwise, you wouldn’t be here at HEADROOM, the official source of all dirt dug on the artists who’ll be tearing up the stages of this December’s youbloom LA 2015 Music Festival . We’ve got over 50 bands lined up already for this winter’s hottest fest, and with that much rock ‘n’ roll in one place, there’s bound to be something juicy to unearth.

In my other job, as youbloom‘s very own private eye, I’ve learned a thing or two about a thing or two, and before I burst at the seams, I invite you to sit down, take a load off, and bask in a little of the gossy stuff – all horse’s mouth, scout’s honor.

You know how first bands can make or break you, musically speaking? Somehow, these all led to make.

Kevin Proctor (songwriter/keys/guitar, Direct Divide): My first band was a group of fellow football players and bored teenagers who played Ted Nugent, Metallica and Slayer covers. We were called War Dance and definitely should have had one of those logos that just looks like a leafless tree. SO METAL! My second band sounded a lot like Hootie and the Blowfish.

Razz: (songwriter/vox/violin): My first band was an all-girl pop punk quartet called the BlowUpDollz. Think 90’s pop punk meets 80’s hair metal and you’ve got the gist. I LOVED that band; we were underage, unapologetic troublemakers sneaking into dive bars to play gigs. We are all still very good friends even though the band isn’t together anymore. We just had a reunion show this year that was hilarious. I definitely learned a lot about stage presence and antics from that group.

It’s a curious thing, the electric violin. At once impossible to ignore and signature (what would The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly” be without it?), it’s a rarity in rock and pop music; its full range of sounds as yet uncharted in the more well-known genres. Putting it front and center are what Direct Divide do, which is both brave and intriguing, their unique sound complemented by tight rhythms, searing vocals, and intelligently placed guitar melodies. For fans of: Lourds, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Andrew Bird’s darker stuff

BJ Smith: When I was 17, I met up with another male vocalist and two female vocalists through a friend of my parents who managed bands. We used to toy around singing songs a capella, and quickly formed a vocal group called Black Suede. Our manager said we needed a band and knew of one looking for a vocalist. We went to Santa Ana, California to meet up with this band (they called themselves Oasis, but not the Oasis you’re thinking of). We walked into the rehearsal – they sounded great! They were funky!! They had a conga player, a dude with timbales, synths, a sax player, and a drummer with electronic triggers. They were groovin’ all the funk and R&B jams you heard on black radio stations. I was in awe, like, damn this is the S#+t! Then out of nowhere, their manager and bass player started arguing. They knuckled up and started straight out brawling! We stood there in amazement; we’d rehearsed on our way there, but still had not sung a note! When the fight was over, the bass player grabbed his gear and left, and so did half the band. It was all over before it even started. A few weeks later we came back, they had a few new members and we did our first gig together in LA. We didn’t have a sound man, our mics were feeding back…we thought we sounded great until we were done, and the DJ started spinning the songs we’d just played as a way to mock us! That was last gig Oasis featuring Black Suede ever did; nevertheless, I got the bug, and the rest was history!

Cool, clever, and impassioned, the masterly BJ Smith has the kind of industry chops you hear whispered about across the bartop when he walks into the room. He produces. He sings and plays. He writes songs. He tours with top brass; picks his own band members; slides an R&B song your way like passing a love note. He’s impeccable. Don’t miss him. For fans of: Luther Vandross, Freddie Jackson, your own heartbeat

Brian Kirk (drums, Round 12): The first band I was in was with my two cousins who lived 35 and 120 miles away. We would practice once a month (if we were lucky). We were a “christian punk” band and we were booed off stage at our first performance.

Matthew Irwin (rhythm guitar/lead vox, Foreign Affairs NI): The first band I was in didn’t have a name. When I was 15 I was desperate to create my own music and play punk rock songs in any way I could! So I got into contact with a few friends on social media and we jammed and unsuccessfully played one show! We didn’t have a drummer so we borrowed another bands’ and he arrived late and too drunk to hold a beat! I was also a massive cringe – it was all very embarrassing. However, it did make me feel cool at the time so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

An ardent, sincere take on a well-loved genre. Sounds are clean and tight. There’s energy and storytelling in spades. Foreign Affairs NI show up with their hearts on their sleeves, ready to sleep on your kitchen floor if you’ll let them play a gig. This is how the best pop punk should be. For fans of: The Ataris, You Know The Drill, The Get Up Kids

youbloom | HEADROOM #1: Featured Artists from the Los Angeles 2015 Music Festival

22-Oct-2015 By 1 Comment

Welcome back to the HEADROOM! The only place on the web where music freaks such as yourselves can get acquainted with unsigned bands before they hit the stages of the youbloomLA 2015 Music Festival.

Here at HEADROOM, we take pride in our poking and prodding abilities. We’re bona. fide. gossip merchants, born at your great auntie Joan’s kitchen phone and raised by one too many Q&A pages in rock’n’roll magazines.

We like the dirt. The skinny. The real weird stuff.

And we make one heck of a great cup of tea.

It’s no secret that rock bands – and musicians of all genres, really – have no shortage of strange and positively indecent stories to tell. I mean, the people, the places, the…the… hairstyles!

It’s…scandalous altogether.

So pull up a chair, really, honey, it’s no trouble. And just wait til you hear this…

We asked artists to tell us about the first experiences they had with music (hey, we all have to start somewhere). Here’s what a few of them had to say:

“My first experience with playing music was in the after school band program at my elementary school in Tacoma, WA. I played the flute. I remember the magic feeling of learning my first song and playing it with the other band musicians. I’m sure we sounded terrible; all us seven year olds blowing away on our horns. But to me it sounded like the best noise in the world.” – Cooper, (bass & vox, The Ultra Violent Rays)

Mirror, mirror, on the wall: who’s the noirest of them all? The Ultra Violent Rays aren’t exactly violent, but they do craft a masterful, cold sultry sound that promises something hot-blooded despite being surrounded by a kind of endless chill. Lovingly produced, carefully communicated electro-class for the space rogue in all of us. For fans of: Joy Division, Gary Numan, Patti Smith

“My first experience was the result of a worn out bearing in our washing machine when I was a kid. Every time it went into the spin cycle it produced ethereal poly-rhythms I only recognized years later when I heard Fela Kuti and Ginger Baker. Eventually the damn thing just broke, but by that time I had discovered Slayer.” – Jim Priest, (singer/songwriter/storyteller)

Hypnotic acoustic guitar meets wrong side of the tracks storytelling, leading us down a dark alley of spoken-word intrigue; it’s tangible, like a newspaper headline – we wonder where it all went wrong. Jagged harmonicas tear in, reminding us that we’re only listeners, but we’re involved, affected all the same. Jim Priest is not to be missed. For fans of: Tom Waits, Loudoun Wainwright III, Sage Francis

“When I was younger, I had older cousins who listened to super heavy music, and it was crazy to me! Up to that point I’d only heard music that was on the radio. I probably didn’t exactly “get it” because I was too young, but I think even on a subconscious level I had a switch go off that there was a whole world of different music out there that wasn’t mainstream. That’s probably when music “discovery” started for me. I actually went in search of different music that excited me instead of just listening to whatever was available or on the radio and MTV.” – Eric Rickey (vox & songwriter, Rabid Young)

Dreamy and wistful yet energetic and soulful electro-indie made in Vegas, baby. Expect to be filled with a nostalgia for a time and place you were never part of. Impressive stuff when a band can do that. For fans of: Imagine Dragons (kind of), Grouplove, eighties guy/gal duos

“I was introduced to music when I was a freshman in high school. I moved into a lower income complex where I (made) friend from Little Rock, Arkansas, who was very passionate about poetry and music. I had a karaoke machine in my bedroom that we would put cassette tapes into and record ourselves singing. Eventually this grew into songwriting for us and we recorded a track called “The Anthem”. I continued to pursue music throughout high school until it became my main career goal.” – Anthony Greene (sick rhymes, Prada Gino)

Sincere prose is woven through thoughtfully chosen samples and surprisingly sultry and classy beats. Belongs on a list of the top intellectual rappers in the game. Hometown Chicago oughtta be proud. For fans of: Kid Cudi, Illogic, Eyedea & Abilities

“My first conscious experience with music was at three; my dad used to drive a lot to every place me and my little brother needed to be, and when we went to the playground or preschool he’d play some cassettes from Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Queen or The Beatles (I cared more for Transformers at the time). We were exposed to lots of music, and sometimes went “off the road”. At age 10, someone gave us a Spice Girls tape, and as soon as we pressed play, my dad turned off the radio and gave me my own first tape, Kiss, Alive 4. From then on it’s been nothing but rock and roll.” – Julián (lead vox & guitar, RendeR)

All the way from Chile, with commercial sensibility coming out of their eyeballs, RendeR are polished, tight, and they know their genre like nobody’s business. Headbangers welcome. *Heads up! It’s in Spanish. For fans of: Frequency 54, Underwhelmed, Staind

*Please note: at this time, individual showtimes and venues have not all been confirmed. We’ll update this blog as soon as they are!

youbloom HEADROOM VIP : Stephen Kennedy from the Dublin Beatles Festival

16-Sep-2015 By Leave a Comment

It may be nothing but a car park now, but the nondescript white building on Middle Abbey Street on Dublin’s north side was once Ireland’s premier art deco movie and live music palace.

It was a place abuzz with glamour and entertainment – and, on one particular night, the scene of riots, mania, and a singular music event the likes of which our Fair City will never see again.

It was called the Adelphi, and the night in question was November 7th, 1963 – the night the Beatles came to town.

Baby, you can park my car. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

It was the legendary band’s first Dublin show: the year of ‘Please, Please Me’, ‘Love Me Do’, and ‘All My Lovin”. Beatlemania was a fever rampaging through the record shops and bedrooms of teenagers everywhere, and Dublin’s fresh-faced were no exception.

As the band took to the stage, screams of overwhelming adoration were answered the length of Middle Abbey Street by hysterical fans giving the Gardai a run for their money as they vied for just a look at the foursome; later the band would be trapped on stage as the crowd of over 2000 inside the Adelphi grew insatiable, demanding more songs, more reasons to go bananas.

Eventually the four lads from Liverpool did escape, sheltering in the nearby Gresham Hotel, in for the night for fear of being overrun by the frantic fans in the street.

"I have the feeling we're not in the Cavern anymore." The Beatles in Wales. Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

“I have the feeling we’re not in the Cavern anymore.” Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

For whatever reason, the Beatles never did come back to play Dublin.

The anticipation of that night; the fascination and infatuation; the sound of a new era being cranked up to the max right here in our own city centre, is a feeling consigned to memory – to the tales shared over teary-eyed chuckles and conspiratorially-whispered confessions of those who were there – to those who can only wish they were.

52 years later, and the Adelphi is gone, its grandeur removed, the building now nothing more than a really, really, nice looking car park.

Well, we kinda dropped the ball on that one, didn’t we?

Take heart, music fans, it’s not all bad news.

Three years ago Stephen Kennedy – organiser, playwright, music authority, and general man of fun – decided that the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ only show in Dublin should be marked somehow. Not one to sit on his hands, he decided to throw a festival.

You can just up and throw a festival, you ask?? You betcha. The Dublin Beatles Festival is now entering its third year, having found such huge success and warm reception in 2013 that the organisers decided to do it again – and again! youbloom annoyed* festival director Kennedy until he gave in to our meddling and shared some of his DBF highlights for your pleasure.

(*annoyed might be a gentle way of putting it).

Hi Stephen! Thanks for leaving your back door unlocked. So, this year marks the 52nd anniversary of the Beatles’ trip to Dublin to perform back in 1963. Do you or anyone you know have any memories or stories from that night?

Unfortunately I wasn’t born when The Beatles played in Dublin – but I have met a lot of people who saw them when they played here. One of my favourite stories about that night was told to me by Catherine Hansard, the mother of Glen Hansard. Catherine was about 16 when The Beatles played the Adelphi in Dublin. She knew the layout of the venue very well, and on the day of the concert, she managed to climb a drainpipe with two of her friends. They hid in a room which turned out to be The Beatles’ dressing-room. Many years later Catherine found herself in LA when Glen was receiving an Oscar for the song ‘Falling Slowly’ (from the film Once). Catherine ended up meeting Ringo that night at one of the parties after the Oscars and she told him all about the dressing-room in the Adelphi in 1963. He (gave) her a Ringo badge when he was leaving the Oscars party!

Where did they perform?

The Beatles performed two shows in Dublin on the evening of Thursday, November 7th, 1963. Both shows were played at the Adelphi Cinema on Middle Abbey Street. It is now the car-park for Arnotts.

Were the Irish as screamy as other audiences, or was it more “Ah, sure, The Beatles, aren’t they just lovely?”

No – it was screamy. Very screamy. Beatlemania had hit its full stride in Britain by the autumn of 1963 – and Ireland wasn’t far behind. There were even riots on Middle Abbey Street when The Beatles played here. In fact, there is footage online of Frank Hall reporting for RTE in the middle of the crowd outside the Adelphi. It’s well worth looking up. And the Welsh writer Alun Owen travelled to Dublin with The Beatles in 1963. Owen used the Dublin trip as research into Beatlemania and he used it to write the script for the film A Hard Day’s Night.

Your favourite Beatles album.

It changes from week to week, but I’d probably pick Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, if I really had to. It had a massive impact when it was released in 1967 and it still sounds amazing today.

Favourite song?

Again, the answer to that question is open to change, but today I’ll go with ‘A Day in the Life’. I think it’s a brilliant piece of music – written and recorded by The Beatles on top form. Every time I hear Lennon’s vocal on that song – I get shivers. Pure class.

And yes, favourite Beatle.

For this question I really will have to plead the Fifth Amendment – as they say in the US – because one of my plays (LENNON v McCARTNEY) is about two guys in a pub arguing about who is the top Beatle. So I try not to give my own opinion on that subject. I try not to give it away.

Leaving us in suspense, eh? This is the third year of the festival. What was the inspiration when it all began?

We ran the Dublin Beatles Festival for the first time in November 2013 – because it was the 50th anniversary of The Beatles playing at the Adelphi. It was only supposed to be a one-off thing – but I had so much fun I ran it again in November 2014. We have no sponsorship, and no funding, so I’m not sure how long I can keep going. But the crowds are still coming in big numbers every year, and the venues are packed, and I am still enjoying it, so let’s see what happens.

What can a first-timer to a Beatles Festival expect?

You can expect to have a lot of fun. I know it sounds corny, but most of The Beatles’ songs are upbeat and positive, and if you spend three days surrounded by that music, you’re going to feel upbeat and positive too. And that’s no joke. It’s like taking a happy pill for your ears. You simply haven’t lived until you’ve stood in the middle of hundreds of people and screamed along to lines such as “And when I tell you that I love you / You’re gonna say you love me too / And when I ask you to be mine / You’re gonna say you love me too”. You can get full details of events over at the website for the Dublin Beatles Festival – but, in short, we have Beatles gigs, film, theatre, free events, table quiz, public interview, art, memorabilia, merchandise… and whatever you’re having yourself.

The festival lasts three days. If you had to choose a Top 3 Must See for 2015, what would be on it?

Again – that is a very tough question for me to answer – but, feck it, I’ll give it a go. I think The Rockits at the Workman’s on Saturday, November 7th, is going to be one hell of a big party gig – so I’d definitely recommend that for a start. The Rockits are a resident band at the Cavern in Liverpool and they really know how to put on a show. Their first set on November 7th is going to be the Hits of the 1960s; songs from acts like The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, The Kinks, The Who and The Small Faces. Their second set in the show will be songs exclusively from The Beatles. I can’t wait.

The Rockits at the legendary Cavern Club.

The next event I’d recommend is the award-winning documentary Good Ol’ Freda, followed by a public interview with Freda Kelly herself. Freda worked as secretary for The Beatles for over a decade – and it really is an honour to have her at the Dublin Beatles Festival in November. As George Harrison pointed out, “Freda was there at the very beginning and she stayed until the very end.” This lady is one of a kind. It’s no wonder she is worshipped by Beatles fans all over the world.

And finally, I’m going to be selfish, and plug my play PETE BEST OF THE BEATLES. The full two hour play won’t premiere until next February at the New Theatre in Dublin, but on the afternoon of Sunday, November 8th, at the Grand Social, we’re going to put on a sneak preview of part of the play, and it’s FREE in for the public. The play is going to be performed by Padraic McGinley. I saw him in rehearsals the other day – and he is amazing. It’s going to be a good show.

Can you tell us a little about how Freda became involved?

I got Freda involved in the festival sort of by luck. Basically, there is a couple from England called Steve and Gloria, (who) trade under the name Beatlesdays (selling memorabilia and merchandise at festivals all over the world). Anyway, Steve and Gloria come over to Dublin a few times a year, and one night in the pub they mentioned to me that they knew Freda. I couldn’t believe it. I asked them if it would be OK for me to give Freda a call, and they arranged it. The lucky thing for me is that Freda is Irish, and as soon as she heard my accent, we got on like a house on fire. That first phone call was only supposed to be for five minutes – but it lasted over an hour and a half. After that Freda was more than happy to come to the Dublin Beatles Festival. Actually, I met her for a coffee in Liverpool a couple of weeks ago – and I think I’m in love!

Ticket To Ride or Day Tripper?

Both are amazing songs. But I think I’ll go with ‘Day Tripper’. Simply because I was in the Garage in Dublin last Saturday night and they played that song and the place went mad. It was great to see 18 year olds singing their hearts out to The Beatles.

Hey, Jude or Let It Be?

I’m not a huge fan of either (sorry), but I’d probably side with ‘Hey Jude’.

Something or Yesterday?

I’d probably go with ‘Something’. It’s surely one of the greatest love songs ever written. And it’s nice that it’s a George song.

Help! or We Can Work It Out?

I think I’d go with ‘We Can Work It Out’ because it’s got a killer middle eight (“Life is very short and there’s no time for fussing and fighting, my friend”). By the way, Lennon once claimed that he’d only ever written two good songs: ‘Strawberry Fields’ and ‘Help’.

Haha. Good choice. I think so, too. Finally, were the Beatles bigger than Jesus?

It’s very hard to judge that now. I mean, McCartney was the tallest Beatle, coming in at just under 5 foot 11 inches. How tall was Jesus?

“No comment.”

*****
Stephen Kennedy is the Director of the Dublin Beatles Festival. It runs from November 6th – 8th. Full details at www.dublinbeatlesfestival.com. Stephen’s play JOHN LENNON’S LAST DAY will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 at 10pm on October 8th. And Stephen’s new stage play, PETE BEST OF THE BEATLES, will premiere at the New Theatre in Dublin in February.