Press
Publication: Circle Magazine Northern Ireland
Website: Circle Magazine Website
Interview By: Adam Gough
Date of Publication: 12th January 2010
Jump on The Bandwagon!
IT IS like the A-Team, the Beverly Hillbillies and DefJam Records all rolled into one. In fact, there is a rumour that BA Baracas fills in on the mixing desk as well as working their security. Its name is The Bandwagon and in this interview we get the tow-down from Sean Mulligan and Kevin Booth, the crack unit of caravanning commandoes behind the idea…
1. Where did the quite unusual and unique idea come for The BandwagonTV.com?
The Band Wagon TV was mentioned one night (3am exactly! – no alcohol was involved) over a phone conversion with my business partner Kevin Booth, both of us run a music company called Profile Music Group www.profilemusicgroup.com. Originally we talked about an internet radio station for original musicians, that then went to internet recording jamming session (in an old derelict house here in Meath). We then settled on recording in a Caravan!
For a while the idea of bringing the caravan around the country wasn’t mentioned until a few local musicians in Navan mentioned it… Sure enough we went out and purchased our second hand caravan…
Within one week and 16hrs a day, we gutted it completely back to it’s bare shell and started to redesign, which involved a new ceiling, new wooden floors, seating for camera men and seating for musicians (little did we think it would take 5 whole days!)
2. How many people were involved in ‘pimping your ride’ and how much did it set you back?
Mainly two, myself and Kevin, we also got in an electrician to put in all new wiring and lighting. Kevin’s father got the task of painting inside and his mum got the task of making seating covers and cushions! They didn’t realise that they’d have those tasks when they said ‘Sure you can leave the caravan in our back yard.’
3. What’s a usual (or rather unusual) week in the life of being a BandwagonTV crew member involve?
Given that The Band Wagon only records for one day per month, the remainder of the time isn’t all ’sit back and relax’.
Promoting the band wagon in counties we are going to, promoting the current video’s online, keeping our website up to date. About five days goes into editing the previous months videos and getting them ready for upload. The rest of the time is organising the next recording days schedule, times, biogs, areas to park and also maintaining and keeping The Band Wagon spic and span.
4. Would you say the idea behind BandwagonTV is a combination of old-fashioned free spirited travelling and new musical innovation?
It is probably a bit of both. It is all about giving the artists who come on The Band Wagon a chance to show off their talents. It is very hard for new original artists or artists who don’t comply to the norm to get heard or seen these days. We decided to make it easier by travelling the country to make The Band Wagon more accessible to everyone. We do not turn away anyone and very much encourage the free spirited and innovative to apply.
5. What styles of artists and bands have you had along in the van so far, any big names?
To date we’ve had a large number of big names on the band wagon. To name a few we’ve had Lisa Hannigan, Declan O’Rourke, Damien Dempsey, Mundy, Gavin Glass, Little Palace and Colin Devlin of The Devlins. They all loved the concept, some even sat in behind the cameras for other interviews. We don’t however just go for well known names, any band/artist who performs their own material can perform on The Band Wagon, and from any genre. The trend to date has been signer/songwriters and indie bands as well as some traditional Irish videos but we are always open to new genres playing in the band wagon.
6. Is there a limit on the travelling BandwagonTV are prepared to do, where is the furthest you’ve been so far and where do you hope to go to?
Absolutely no limit to where we go. If there are musicians willing to perform, we’ll be there. In the six months of running it we’ve covered all the Leinster counties. Now that word is getting out, we have scheduled recordings in Cork, Galway, Sligo, Waterford with additional counties in the planning. Ideally we need at least 10 – 15 bands/artists to go to an area to make the day worth while, so when we think we have near that amount we pick a month and head for that county.
7. What is the grand plan of BandwagonTV down the line?
Have no idea! It’s the type of project that’s either going to take off or flop depending on the amount of musicians wanting videos and the amount of people viewing those videos. To date it’s been up hill all the way, the more we get known the more positive feedback so wouldn’t like to say where we’ll be in six months but given the response to date we’ll still be going strong for a good while.
8. Any bizarre or unusual road stories to tell of so far?
One thing for sure, every artist has a story tell. In an artists 30 minutes recording time we do get to know them, chat and laugh. There are some amazing stories alright, as for our own bizarre stories we have a few. Both Sean and myself (Kevin) tend to bitch at each other a lot when we are stuck together too long on the road so it’s lucky we only travel once a month.
9. There’s a certain mystique to the look of the black Bandwagon van, does it have any crazy features like the A-team van or Kitt in Knightrider?
We have a kettle and a heater! That may not sound like a lot but when your sitting in a caravan on a cold winters day for 10 hours, they are unbelievable gadgets to have.
10. Where is the Bandwagon team off to next, any festivals this year?
Have full schedules for Cork (January), Sligo Town (February), Dublin (March), Galway (April). We are looking into festivals to attend at present but nothing confirmed. We do however hope to be allowed into two or three of them at least.
Interview: Adam Gough