SLIGO, BELFAST

DATES

OVERVIEW a plastic rose emerged as a collective from a microscopic yet intense scene centered around Bar Eile and McGarrigles bar in Sligo which produced acts like guitar virtuosos Toucan and songwriter Wayne O’Connor and which saw acts like Turn, Bell X1, Damien Rice, and Berkeley appearing on tiny stages to awestuck audiences of as little as fifty people. Recovering singer songwriters Gerry Norman and Ian McHugh started writing, recording and performing together as early as 2001 and gathered a huge list of musicians around them as they explored different sounds and line-ups, gigging as the Haiku Thiefs, Big Jim Evans, moving from Sligo to Edinburgh to Belfast, and independently releasing 10 CD’s of sparsely arranged home recorded songs to a cult fanbase before joining forces and as A Plastic Rose in Belfast in November 2006 with school lfriend Sean Mitchell on Bass and Belfast drummer Eamonn Murray (Beoga, General Fiasco). The observant, passionate song writing and endearing melodies of the two frontmen, now took on an edgier, frantic feel reminiscent of post-hardcore bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Biffy Clyro, but maintaing their focus on the songs as leading the music. Before their first practice session, they were invited to play the Sligo leg of the 2fm 2moro tour with the Immediate Fairuza and Echogram on the strength of some older recordings, and after a triumphant first appearance in McGarrigles, the band were invited to record a 2fm session with alternative DJ Dan Hegarty. Their debut E.P. was released over Christmas 2006 at a homecoming gig to a packed out McGarrigles in Sligo. Recorded at Homestead Studios in Antrim with Mudd Wallace who worked with acts like Therapy?, The Divine Comedy and The Four of Us, ‘Five Second Stare’ adopted a minimal, electo/acoustic instrumentation, exploring the texture and subtlety of the full band. “Understated, dynamic and passionate, worth seeking out for those who like their sonic thrills a little less obvious and immediate” – Alternative Ulster Magazine. The four track c.d. included band arrangements of favourites 'Indian Sheets', ‘Scream If You Need It', and 'Hold on Tight' along with the anthemic 'My Avalanche’, written as a band. after a hectic first year which included 15 line up changes (including 6 drummers and 4 bass players), a couple of degrees at Queen’s University and gigs including the Limelight in Belfast, the Big Day Off Festival in Co. Armagh, Cuba and the G.P.O. in Galway, appearing with acts like the Beat Poets, General Fiasco, Cowboy X, Red Organ Serpent Sound and Dolerentos A Plastic Rose release their second e.p. this autumn. 'silence, you' takes the band in a heavier, edgier direction, taking the swelling choruses and observant, sharp songwriting to new emotional highs and lows. The three track c.d. features three new songs written sice the band's inception; the bleak, angsty 'All you know and love will die', 'Silence you' and the driving rythm of 'Colour Blue'. It costs £3/5 yoyo and is available in Road Records in Dublin, and on their online store at www.roadrecs.com, and at the long list of gigs you’ll find at www.aplasticrose.com or www.myspace.com/aplasticrose. 2006 - Release of 'Five Second Stare' E.P. [December] 2007 - Release of 'Silence, You' single [01 October] 2008 - Release of 'Photographs In Black And White' E.P. 2009 - Release of 'A Plastic Rose' E.P. [20 February] - Release of 'All You Know And Love Will Die' single [14 September] - A Plastic Rose perform as part of the Hard Working Class Heroes Festival in Dublin [16 - 18 October] - Release of 'Colour Blue' single [14 December] - Release of 'Happy Birthday Jesus' single [25 December] 2010 - Release of 'Kids Don't Behave Like This' single [26 March] 2011 - Release of 'The Promise Notes' album [28 March] - Release of 'Oceans' single [27 May] - Release of 'Live At Midnight' album [01 October] 2012 - Release of 'Build From The Ground Up' EP [16 March] - Release of 'Boy Racer' EP [15 June] - Release of 'Camera.Shutter.Life' album [22 October]