The band recorded the debut album is a blistering 21 hour session over three days in New York’s Marcata studios and have lost no time in establishing themselves as a potent live force that ply their trade with bloody minded urgency. Limerick Post met with drummer Shane Kinsella of Dublin power trio ‘The Minutes’ and tried to keep up.
The Minutes formed in the mid 00’s when cousins Mark Austin (guitar/vocals) and Shane Kinsella (drums) recruited bass player Tom Cosgrave and taking influences from the primal elements of electric blues and the rock ‘n’ roll rebellion of Chuck Berry and Keith Richards and the energy of New York Dolls and created the rampant garage rock monster that is ‘Marcata’ the debut album named after the studio where it was recorded.
Limerick Post: Why did the band record in New York?
Shane Kinsella: “We couldn’t record here because it was too expensive. We were looking at England or Germany but then we got accepted to play the CMJ Music Festival in New York. We found Marcata Studios there and they had all the old equipment that we wanted to use and the sound that we wanted so we took a chance and it all turned out really well.”
LP: The album was recorded in a week. How did you achieve that?
SK: “Actually we recorded it in three days, 21 hours altogether. We did the whole album live because we wanted to capture that live feel. When we were writing the album we did a residency once a month in Whelan’s trying new tunes out and it helped us craft our set. If songs didn’t get a good response from the audience then we just threw them in the bin. After the Whelan’s residency we were well rehearsed and we knew what we were doing.”
LP: The press have been declaring that The Minutes are a breath of fresh air and bringing back rock music, what do you think of that?
SK: “People are saying that we are bringing rock ‘n’ roll back and all this kind of shit, but that music has always been there. Over the last number of years people have lost sight of that, I wouldn’t be a massive fan of synth bands. It sounds like something that will come and go but I think that rock ‘n’ roll music will never die. When you are out there playing it live, it is just the best feeling in the world.”
The Minutes headline a strong line up on Friday October 21 in Dolan’s Warehouse. Joining the Dublin trio are Cork’s Dead School who play with an edgy intensity and have already released a couple of strong singles. Opening the night is Limerick three-piece Dead Red Light who recently released the excellent ‘Kids Don’t Like Indie’ EP. DLR complete a bill that will bring the rock and leave some eardrums ringing the morning after.
