INTERVIEW: Headline act at Healyfest
Noel Kenny Jnr of Gorilla Radio is looking forward to the band’s appearance next Sunday at Healyfest, which takes place in Ballycastle, writes Gary Kevany.
Thanks for chatting with me, Noel. What can fans expect from your band and the other bands at Healyfest?
No bother! If it's anything to go by from last year, which was our first time playing Healyfest, it will be brilliant! Such a wide range of music and talent on show over a weekend in Ballycastle. It's a very professional set up and so laid back. We really enjoyed our debut gig. Even though it was raining, people got into it and we had a blast together! Rumour has it there will be a marquee this year, so even the weather can't stop us. As usual, we will be playing our usual wide range of music to suit every ear in the crowd! From the rockers to the jivers, there will be loads of diverse music over the weekend, so something for everyone!
Great, have you done anything different to prepare for this year's festival than last year?
We have added more songs, we like to keep as up to date as we can. And we know what to expect now, so everything will run much smoothly on our side. Last year, our guitarist, Joey, was very sick the day of the festival, and it was hit and miss whether we could make it at all, but thankfully, he made it! Maybe this year we will wrap him in cotton wool and feed him chicken soup and tonic the week leading up to the festival.
Haha! Do you ever think of pushing your original music with Valerra any further?
We tried very hard with Valerra. We spent a lot of money recording, promoting, and gigging that album. Some say we were a couple of years too late... missed the boat. But we can always say we tried. We gave it our best shot, and we have an album we can all be proud of for the rest of our lives. We have talked about new music and maybe releasing stuff in the future. But we are all married now with families so we need to concentrate all our efforts on work and making sure we can provide. Gorilla Radio is our full-time job. And when you’re not playing gigs or learning new songs during the week, it's hard to get the motivation to pick up the guitar for writing purposes. Sometimes you need to shut down.
Gorilla Radio comes in several different make-ups; there's the Two Gorillas, an acoustic set with you on guitar and Noel Kenny on bass. Then the White Gorillas and the Three Gorillas, which you don't feature in. Can you explain this to someone who has never heard any of them, please?
It all depends on the venue, really, and what they can afford to pay. If it's a 1, 2 3 or 4 piece even. We prefer to play as Gorilla Radio as much as we can, but it's not always possible for certain venues. So, myself and Paul play as the two gorillas, and sometimes Joey will join us for gigs and then we magically turn into the amazingly original name The 3 gorillas The White Gorillas started as myself and Joey playing gigs about 10 years ago in (the now closed) Fiddlers Creek in Sligo to our then girlfriends (now wives) and the barman. We gradually built up a fairly big following. So, we added Ray McAndrew from Ballina on bass and then Sean O’Reilly (now Nathan Carter's drummer) on drums and created a band that mostly played off the cuff. Random different songs we liked but never got the chance to play in other bands. That's also another great reason we do the different variations of bands. We can explore different genres and styles of music that are not the norm for a typical gigging cover band. You never know what we might try! Paul took over for me in the White Gorillas, and they play in lots of different venues. I used to do a lot of acoustic gigs by myself, but I'm not a big talker on the mic; I prefer to just sing and play. So that's where the Two Gorillas started. Have guitar - will gig - that's the motto.
What else can you tell me about Healyfest?
Make a day (or weekend) of it! Get in early, find a seat and enjoy all the music, food and beverages on offer! It will be another brilliant event with amazing musicians and bands, and we look forward to hopefully playing it for another few years!
Are you headlining, and what day and time are you performing?
We are headlining the Sunday night. Times are to be confirmed, as with any festival, you can't control what happens on the day. But if you are there on Sunday evening, you won't miss us. We will be the last band to rock the Healy fest stage till the early hours!
Cool. Looking forward to it. To go back to your original music, Tarrantino arrived at the right time to the wrong exposure. I even applied to manage Tarrantino. That music isn’t available online, but luckily, I have it on mp3 on CD.
Tarrintino was special to anyone who experienced a gig. The music lives on in the ether and copied CDs and memories no one could have managed us.. We were unmanageable at that time. Wild and free young fellas who ate, dran,k and slept music
Finally, anything you’d like to add before we finish up?
Gorilla Radio is a band of friends who got together in a miriad of sliding doors moments. Right place and right timing. We have been together over 16 years now, I think. We have played the length and breadth of the country and even some other countries, and love every minute of it! So make sure to get to a gig and support your local musicians! Here's to another 16 years and more!
