A golden rule of interviewing is to remember the interviewee’s name. So, my interview with Conor O’ Brien gets off to a rocky start as I confuse his former band, The Immediate, with his new band, Villagers, and refer to his latest project as ‘The Villagers’.Thankfully, he doesn’t unleash his inner J-Lo and just laughs it off, saying: “That definite article is going to haunt me, I think.” I wonder if he’d be so forgiving if I'd called them The Village People…
Back in 2007, The Immediate seemed to split just as you were making a name for yourselves. What happened?
There were a lot of reasons for the break-up. I didn’t really want to call it a day but there were two other guys that weren’t happy to be in the band anymore. I'd been writing with Dave since I was twelve but when we went to write the second album, the process felt kind of strained. It had never been like that before. It felt like the band had come to the end of its natural lifespan.
How long was it before you started making music again?
I wrote a song the next morning when I woke up. I left the song unfinished for a long time but Villagers are going to play it for the first time at a gig in Galway this week. I didn’t see any point in stopping making music after the band split. I was playing as Cathy Davey’s guitarist and writing my own music when I was free.
How did the Cathy Davey thing come about?
I've actually been playing with her since before The Immediate broke up. She came along to a gig or two of ours so I went to her Myspace and saw she had some of the demos up for 'Sing For Your Supper'. I sent her a message and she replied asking if I knew any guitarists so I ended up playing for the album. Then when The Immediate split, she asked me to come on tour with her.
Are you going to continue playing with her?
Yeah, I will. She’s recording her new album now so I’ll be heading into the studio with her in March. I’m going to try and balance playing with her and doing my own stuff for as long as I can.
How did the idea for Villagers come about?
One night I just decided to set up a Myspace and put some demos up. I left it then because I was touring with Cathy. I started getting messages from bloggers then, asking if they could post the demos so I thought: “I suppose I should get these properly recorded”. It was all very gradual and unplanned. That’s the way I want to keep it.
Did you ever consider giving up music and working a nine to five?No. I wouldn't like to do that again. I worked in a bank before and swore to myself I'd never do that again. When we were in The Immediate and stuck for money, we used to just paint a few houses.
Have you been surprised by the positive reaction to your music so far?
I'm surprised by the quickness but it's made me get my act together. I'd written the songs over a long period of time, so it's a little weird for other people to hear them. I wasn't even sure if I'd finished them. We've only done about eight gigs so far as Villagers and we only had one rehearsal for each gig or else used the previous gig as our rehearsal.
Does being ‘tipped’ for success in 2009 by various bloggers and publications put pressure on Villagers to meet expectations?
I think that sort of thing is always going to happen. It’s not good to think about too often, especially when you’re writing. If you do, then the stuff you produce is usually awful.
Your EP is released this month. Can we expect a Villagers album this year?
I reckon there probably is going to be an album so it’s just a matter of how I’m going to do it. I have more than enough songs but, in another few months, I’ll have more songs and a greater selection to choose from.
Thank you, Conor O' Brien.
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