DUBLIN

2000 - 2006

OVERVIEW The Coldspoon Conspiracy came about in early 2000, when the previous band that Pat Cannon (guitar, vocals), Ronan Jackson (bass) and Peter Lee (drums) were in sort of just faded away. With Greg Byrne playing guitar, they started writing and rehearsing new more diverse material. After forging a friendship with 46 Long, another Dublin rock band in its infancy, they began performing around Dublin. They came to the attention of Steve Fanagan, head of the Mango Music label, who brought the band to Clifden, Galway to play the Cliftomania festival, alongside such bands like The Redneck Manifesto, Joan of Arse, The Dudley Corporation and David Kitt. At this stage, Greg had left for Chicago and was temporarily replaced by J Ruadhan O' Meara. After making this first faint mark on the scene, The Coldspoon Conspiracy relocated to Edinburgh for the summer of 2000. After circulating a tape of songs recorded (for free, courtesy of coldspoon cohort Alan Finnerty AKA 'The Waffler') at Pulse Studios, the band landed a brace of gigs in the legendary 13th Note venue in Glasgow, Scotland. On their return to Dublin, one home-recorded song 'Light is like Water' was released on the Mango Music Compilation 'For Yr Machine', alongside songs by Joan of Arse, Josh Ritter and The Connect 4 Orchestra. The Coldspoon Conspiracy set about making an impression around Dublin, playing with other local acts such as The Dudley Corporation, Richard Egan and Paul O' Reilly. By early 2001, the band had decided to record.Borrowing a 16 track and setting up in Ronan's student house in Maynooth, The Coldspoons recorded 7 songs, 3 of which were later released as the 7" EP 'Hopelessly Naive' on the band's Birthday Pony Records, with a lot of help and guidance from Steve Fanagan's Mango Music. The songs showcased many different sides of the band, utilizing melodicas, keyboards and glockenspeils. Relocating to Chicago for the summer of 2001, the band became a 3 piece, following the departure of Ruadhan (who now plays drums in Hermie In Tweed). After meeting Dan Sullivan (AKA Nad Navillus, also of Songs:Ohia) through common friends, The Coldspoon Conspiracy found themselves practicing and writing new songs in Songs:Ohia's rehearsal room. The temporary new line-up saw Ronan switch to guitar whilst Pat played bass. Dan managed to land The Coldspoons a Chicago gig, at a fundraiser for The Butcher Shop, where the rehearsal room was located alongside artist studios and other band rooms. On their return to Dublin in late 2001, The Coldspoon Conspiracy continued to play for a short while as a 3-piece, supporting bands like NPB, 46 Long and Connect 4 Orchestra around Ireland. The Coldspoons submitted three more songs to compilations; 'Applefire' to 'The Rockets Are Heavy' on Catchy Go-Go Records, 'Eyes Shutting Themselves' to 'Dead Languages' on Subtly West and ‘You Were Wrong’ to the ‘Please Don’t Ask Us What We Think Of Your Band’ compilation for Homage Magazine.The amazing Del-9 animation company made a video for the song 'Tesseract' from the 'Hopelessly Naive' EP, which was screened at the Wonky exhibition and was shown three times on national TV, on Network 2's No Disco. Early in 2002, the band settled on a fourth member, new guitarist Darren Craig. Gigs with Explosions in the Sky, Joan of Arse, Estel, The Chalets and Yakuza were to follow. In 2003, The Coldspoon Conspiracy travelled and played gigs in Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Offaly, Wicklow, Kildare and several times in Dublin, alongside bands like Life After Modelling, Puget Sound, The Redneck Manifesto, Kid Blunt, Somadrone and Daemien Frost. In August, they played the inaugural Mor festival at the spectacular Charleville Castle in Tullamore. In July of 2003, The Coldspoon Conspiracy recorded their first full-length album with engineer Rob Bochnik. Rob has previously worked with such luminaries as Smog, Joan of Arc, Shellac and The Breeders. They recorded and mixed the album over 3 days in Sun Studio. The band augmented their guitar/bass/drums sound with splashes of vibraphone, keyboards and piano. The completed 12 track album ‘Plays Well With Others’ was released in early November 2003 through Greyslate/Vernacular Records. The album has received the band a lot of favourable attention and radio airplay. MP3s from the record can be downloaded from the discography page. The Coldspoon Conspiracy tored consistently throughout 2004, including a short Irish tour with Cork band Waiting Room. They also played with touring international bands, such as Cat On Form, Paper Cut Out, Off Minor, Squall and Now Its Overhead. 2000 - Band formed 2001 - Release of 'Hopelessly Naive' E.P. 2003 - Release of 'Plays Well With Others' album [07 November] 2006 - Release of 'Cherry To Pony' single