ARTiST: David Geraghty
TiTLE: Kill Your Darlings
LABEL: Decal Records
GENRE: Indie
TiME: 42:43 min
SiZE: 53,1 MB
BiTRATE: VBRkbps
RiP DATE: Sep-07-2007
RELEASE DATE: Sep-10-2007
WEBSiTE: n/a
Track List:
01. Ragdoll 04:04
02. Back Seat 04:23
03. Kaleidoscope 03:21
04. Long Time Running 04:33
05. Cracked Skull 04:48
06. Fear The Hitcher 04:47
07. It Won't Be Long 04:09
08. El Nino 03:41
09. Deldadino 03:14
10. All The King's Horses 05:43
Release Notes:
Following a brief flirtation with the art of the
stuntman - Lee Majors has a lot to answer for -
David Geraghty set his heart on music early on in
life. The moment young GeraghtyÆs hands were big
enough, his Dad drew guitar chords out on little
charts and his love affair with a cranky old
acoustic began. His first musical obsession was with
uber-acapella troupe, The Flying Pickets. After a
National Stadium show in Æ85, young David got to
meet his idols and fixed his sights on the wild
world of Picketesque rock and roll. Further,
somewhat dubious, musical liaisons followed, in
particular a furious enchantment with Doris from
Five Star. His parents, almost certainly despairing
of DavidÆs musical leanings, brought the 12 year old
to see Bowie at Slane in Æ87. He was sold, the
Pickets and Doris consigned to faded family Super 8
performances.
From there on out, Springsteen, Bowie and Philo
kicked from GeraghtyÆs tape player. In his early
teens he formed a multitude of bands, teaching
himself a host of instruments from drums to guitars
to piano. His early live memories are on the sticks
with a band in Barnstormers on Capel Street, the
Grattan and The Whitehorse Inn, where the floor used
to bounce.
Aged 18, having always been interested in art and
graphics, Geraghty decided to take a computer
animation course in Ballyfermot. Though enjoying the
creative ambience of art college, song writing and
performing were his true passion. Geraghty had
recorded a four track demo in his UncleÆs home
studio. His then girlfriend brought these recordings
to the attention of her classmate, a young Damien
Rice. Along with Paul Noonan, Brian Crosby, and
Dominic Phillips, Rice had a band called Juniper.
The group had made a demo and were happy to utilise
the skills of a multi-instrumentalist, allowing
themselves more freedom to swap instruments on
stage. Upon meeting the band, Geraghty was impressed
that unlike most would be rock stars of his
acquaintance, Juniper actually had a novel idea: a
game plan.
Joining the group, they holed up in a house in the
middle of nowhere and began writing and rehearsing,
slowly but surely building a Juniper fanbase gigging
across the country. Having seen the band perform in
Dublin, Polygram Ireland were suitably impressed and
soon the band were offered a deal. Releasing two
pretty successful singles and an EP, the future was
all shiny and bright for the boys. An album
recording session was set up with producer Mike
Hedges (Manic Street Preachers) and as the band were
packing their sports bags to head to London, Rice
made the decision to leave the band. Obviously the
rest of the band were somewhat thrown by the news,
concerned that the label might not be as
enthusiastic about Juniper minus Damien.
Fortunately, Polygram Ireland assured them of their
continuing commitment and encouraged them to regroup
and begin writing as a four piece.
In the meantime, Polygram became Universal Music.
While many bands were lost in the mix, the Juniper
boys kept their heads down and weathered the storm,
emerging relatively unscathed to produce their first
demo for Universal. Deciding it was time to erase
the past, the hunt for a new moniker began. In a
Fleetwood Mac type scenario, minus the class AÆs and
the partner swapping, the band locked themselves
away and spent days flicking through a rainforest of
magazines and books in search of the holy sobriquet.
It was in the illustrious Guinness Book of Records
that they found the BellX1, the first plane to break
the sound barrier. The maiden voyage of the Irish
BellX1 was at WhelanÆs in Dublin and the audience
embraced the new line up without a flinch. Nick
Seymour produced their debut album Neither Am I,
which consolidated their position as one of
IrelandÆs most promising emerging acts in many
years.
Following an approach from Roger Bechirian (who had
worked with The Undertones and Elvis Costello),
BellX1 found themselves under the guidance of a
well-established manager. Bechirian took the band to
Universal in the UK, they demoed some tracks, which
would become their second album and signed with
Island. Recording the album with producer/engineer
Jamie Cullum, Music In Mouth was released in Ireland
and the UK, hand in hand with a slew of touring and
promotion, finding success on both sides of the
water. The third album Flock, produced by Bechirian,
debuted in Ireland at No. 1 and tours of Europe
ensued. Irish gigs sold out in days and BellX1 had
proved themselves one of the most popular Irish
bands of the noughties.
After an exhilarating adventure with BellX1 and with
time on his hands following Flock, Geraghty decided
it was his time to explore his own personal musical
leanings. All along he had been collecting songs and
decided it was time to take the leap and release a
solo record. The result is Kill Your Darlings, a ten
track personal reflection that tips its dark, broody
hat to the work of Buckley, Martyn and Drake. The
album features many well-known talented performers:
Clare Finglass brings her Julie London style dusty
tones to the recordings; drummer Kevin Brady and
double bass man Dave Redmond inject a smoky,
backroom feel; and Cora Venus Lunny adds majestic
violas and violins. Geraghty confidently grips his
new sound in a tight embrace, welcoming influences
from outside the rock arena, the jazz and country
flavours bringing a new dimension to the old time
songwriter aesthetic. Kill Your Darlings marks a
strong arrival for the solo work of Geraghty, which
will continue to co-exist alongside his
collaborative work with BellX1. Kill Your Darlings
is just the first movement in an as yet unfinished
symphony.