CORK

DATES

OVERVIEW Rainy winters and even summers keep many a corkonian snug in bars discussing the ills of the world and hatching plans. One such gathering in '05 led to the formation of "Arm the Elderly". The four characters present at this clandestine meeting were... Guitarist - Gareth, Bassist - Hassett, vocalist - Strict and drummer Barra. A shared experience of the music industry was a common ground for conversation and grievance. Strict had cut his teeth with "Bass Odyssey" which saw him play all over Europe and America in support of acts such as "Run DMC", "Moby", "The Roots" and "Happy Mondays". Bass Odyssy also contributed music to the sound track for the motion picture "Deep Blue Sea". Despite all this he found himself back home playing the same old gigs, finding it a chore. Strict decided to leave the band. Just as his rollercoster ride was coming to an end, that of the other three was about to begin. Having built up a formidable reputation as "Anonymous Groove" on the live scene, the lads caught the attention of Map Records in London. A name change and the recruitment of Hassett on bass, saw them pack their bags and head off to England. Things got off to a good start there with live shows, receiving good reviews and trips to Mute's London studios for recording sessions with Paul Tipler, knob twiddler for "Placebo", "Idlewild" and "Moby". The lads quickly became allergic to the situation and returned home, a year after leaving, minus their singer, and like Strict, were back to square one. Strict was now playing in "The Method", Hassett in "Houlin Boi" and Gareth and Barra in "Poundbank". But fate was to bring our four heroes together. Having missed a bus Poundbanks vocalist found himself stranded at the other end of the country. A call to Strict saw him fall in on the night and plant the seeds for what is now "Arm the Elderly". Having recruited Hasset for bass duties, the lads began piecing the band together. The first thing "Arm the Elderly" established was that, although all involved had seen the pit-falls and fickleness of the music industry, they still very much wanted to play music. To this end they examined what it was that first inspired them to be in a band, and what originally put the fire in thier bellies. Diving into their record collections they spent afternoons listening to rock, funk, soul, hip-hop and punk. From this they came to the conclusion that their diverse tastes in music all had something in common. It was loud, energetic and had something to say. This became a statement of intent - so "Arm the Elderly" began writing songs with a serious content that infected the listener to move and groove. Rehearsed and ready the lads unleashed their hybrid brand of funk-punk on the unsuspecting public for the first time in late '05. In their short history to date, "Arm the Elderly" have earned the reputation of being one of the most energetic and engaging bands to see live. High volume and high energy demand audience participation. Next up on "Arm the Elderly's" agenda was to record some music. For this they enlisted the help of Simon Widdowson of Portland's "Are You Listening? Productions" (Hindi Guns, The Driven, Sweeper). Locked away in the studio for a week the intense session produced "Arm the Elderly's" first sonic statement - The EP "This is not for Entertainment". The ep was released to a capicity crowd in April '06. Plans for the future?. Fuck the Future, Fuck the Past - This is the now and "Arm the Elderly" are on a mission to destroy the banal and play music for the people , to the people. 2006 - Release of 'This Is Not Entertainment' E.P. []