After another busy school year, the Beo! music project came to an end for Transition Year students in Letterkenny and Donegal with another excellent night.
There were quiet whisperings of excitement going around the RCC in Letterkenny on Friday the 6th after the students got a chance to meet with two of the bands playing that night in workshops organized as part of the initiative.
The two bands in question were Galway based Go Panda Go and Belfast group More Than Conquerors. After these workshops, the students were left with little doubt that there was an interesting night to come.
By Síofra Ní Shluaghadháin
To our great satisfaction, we were right. After a slow start, the atmosphere picked up for the end of the set by the fabulous local support on the night, MojoGoGo.
Before the gig kicked off, we were once again backstage, getting the opinions of the two headline groups on many matters connected to the music industry.
One of the most insightful was their various favourite (and not so favourite) parts of being in a band, and being on the road. We were much surprised by the similarity in all the answers we received. As Danny Ball, of More Than Conquerors put it- “22½ hours of your day is spent hanging around, waiting,”
Upstairs amongst the Galwegians, opinions were much the same. Whether it be waiting for gigs to start, for gear, or even sometimes for money, there is a lot of hanging about in question, it seems, in order to make your way in music.
Funding seems to rank as a significant problem in their belief also, with neither of the governments North or South of the border doing enough to foster the talent coming up through the ranks.
The talent is there, according to Yoseph of Go Panda Go, and if the financial support was there, we would be seeing a lot more of it.
And after a storm of a show in Letterkenny that night, we were left in no doubt of his first point. As for the second, we’ll just have to watch this space.
Go Panda Go and More Than Conquerors’ self titled EPs are now available on iTunes, or through the bands respective pages on bandcamp.com.
To get further information on the Beo! project, visit beo-gigs.tumblr.com, or find us on Facebook.
Tar éis bliain scoile gnóthach, tá an tionscáil cheoil Beo! thart do dhaltaí Idirbhliana 2010/11 I Dhún na nGall.
Bhí scéitimíní ciúin ag dul thart an RCC I Leitir Ceanainn tráthnóna Dé hAoine faoin ceolchoirm deireanach Beo! den bhliain seo, tar éis do scolairí buaileadh leis an dhá bánna i rith an dhá ceardlann. Bhí bánna leatháitiúil (nó 40% the bhéith cruinn) tágtha i bhfoirm Go Panda Go, chomh maith le More Than Conquerors, ó Béal Feirste. Ón méid a bhí cloiste againn ag an uair sin, bhí oíche suimiúil agus taitneamhach le teacht.
Agus, d’ár n-áthas, bhí muid i gceart! I ndiaidh tús lag i dtaobh slua de don tacaíocht iontach MojoGoGo, bhí an scata díograiseach ag damhsa leo agus bhí atmaisféar bríomhar ann.
Mar is gnáth, bhíomar taobh stáitse roimh an séo chun tuaraimí na grúpaí a fháil ar topaicí éagsúla ag baint le cursaí reatha an tionscáil ceoil. Ba é ceann den na topicí is súimiúila nó cearbh iad na rudaí ab fhearr (agus ab fhuath) leo faoi maireachtáil a dheanámh ag seimn ceoil mar bhánna. Bhí iontas orainn ar an aontacht a bhí eatarthu uile ar an abhár seo.
I bhfocla Danny Ball, cáitear “22½ huaire den lá ag fanacht thart” smaoineamh a bhí áth-ráite thuas staighre I measc baill Go Panda Go. Bíodh é ag fanacht ar ceolchoirm tosnú, daoine ag teacht le gíar, nó fiú, uaireanta, fanacht ar airgead.
Bá fadhb ollmhór é an t-airgead do gach duine san tionscal anois, agus dár lena ceoltóirí, níl an rialtais ar aon taobh den teorainn ag deanamh an t-iarracht a bhfuil de dhith leis an tionscail a chóinneal ar an bother ag fás agus ag forbairt san bhealach a mbéas ar sna blianta le teacht.
Tá an tálúin agus an cumas ann, d’ár le Yoseph ó GPG, agus dá mbéadh an tacaíocht ann I dtaobh an airgeadais de, bheadh cuid mhaith eile do a fhéiceáil suas ar ardáin thart na tire.
Agus tar éis a séo a fhéicéail I Leitir Ceanainn, níl dabht ar bith inár intine faoi sin. Béidh orainn súil a choinneáil ar an spas seo san todhchaí.
Tá EPs de chúid Go Panda Go agus More Than Conquerors le fáil ar iTunes agus bandcamp.com anois. Le tuilleadh eolais a fhail ar an tionscnamh Beo! is féidir cuairt a ghlacadh chuig beo-gigs.tumblr.com, nó chuig an leathanach Facebook.
[Ends]
Tags: