Manchester
is a city which, given it’s geographical
location, unsurprisingly has deep-seated connections with
Ireland and Irish heritage, and whilst some of these connections date
back hundreds of years and don’t always bear
remembrance given the occasionally violent or criminal nature of the
narrative, a more contemporary facet of the Manc-Irish discourse, not
overshadowed by politics or criminality, would be music after all
four members of The Smiths had Irish heritage, likewise with the
Gallagher brothers and even Mani from The Stone Roses had an Irish
mother. It goes without saying, then, that with bands as pivotal as
the aforementioned, Irish influence will always find a way to
permeate Manchester’s music scene, via one band or another, and
Naymedici are no exception.
From
the opening five seconds of flagship single 'Paddy
McGee'
you can tell that the band are whole-heartedly embracing their Irish
roots; a finger-picked guitar is quickly joined by a fiddle before
singer Mike King smashes any illusions that this is a traditional
folk affair and instead asserts both song and band well and truly in
the realms of Celtic Punk.
In
a genre as niche as Celtic Punk, every act runs the risk of being
compared to those
bands that everyone knows. Rather than ape the aggression of the
Dropkicks or the self-deprecation of Flogging Molly however,
Naymedici prefer to uphold a slightly more experimental nature to
their song-writing, an aspect of the band that underpins the entirety
of their most recent single 'Koo
Koo the Bird Girl',
indeed this track has far more in common with the gypsy-tinged
ancestry of Gogol Bordello than the Jameson's-soaked
sounds of Against Me! An unusual and atypical affair, 'Koo
Koo...' might not be the best introduction to the band for those who
aren't familiar with the quirks and nuances of Naymedici's
repertoire, but it certainly suggests that, as a band, they're more
diverse than the genre usually allows.
There's
an unprecedented amount of energy upheld by the band, and it bleeds
through in to their music effortlessly; described as “The Pogues
and Gogol Bordello having a bar fight”, the band are fusing Irish
and Baltic traditions with punk ideals and an unrelenting work ethic
which has seen them tour Ireland no less than three times and play
headline slots at festivals such as Y-Not and Kendal Calling. It's
this work ethic, coupled with their penchant for not taking things
too seriously that has allowed them to garner a burgeoning fan-base
and affirm their place at the forefront of both Manchester and
Ireland's music scenes. Never being fortunate enough to catch the
band live, I can't make any judgement on their sets, but if the
tenacity that's present on record transfers to a live environment
then you can safely say that they're a band who deserves the hype
they're enveloped in.
Hi guys, thanks a lot for doing this.
Just to get the ball rolling, how did you come up with the name
Naymedici, and what does it mean?
We backed a horse called Cosimo De
Medici, and when it didn't come in, all yelled 'Naymedici'.
Manchester obviously has more than its
fair share of great new band on the up and up, a lot of which seem to
be indie bands indebted to Morrissey and Marr, or the Gallagher
brothers, why did you choose to go down the punk road when so many
others eschew it?
We wanted to do something different.
We're not really interested in rehashing the old 90's Manc scene
ourselves, but fair play to anyone else going down that path.
Given that this particular column is
about the Manchester scene, what do you think it is about the city
that makes it the hotbed for young talent that it is?
Not too sure. There's always something
to do, somewhere to go, something to see. There are so many live
music venues in the city that it's hard to avoid the music scene.
Everyone seems to love a good gig in Manchester.
Your music obviously stems from a
number of diverse and eclectic influences, both musical and
otherwise, care to name some?
We're massive fans of The Pogues,
Dubliners, and Gogol Bordello. I listen to a lot of Bob Dylan and Tom
Waits. Really like folk songs, the older the better. And anything
with an accordion or a fiddle is normally a winner!
Your track ’Koo Koo the Bird Girl’
isn’t exactly your usual run of the mill, three minute
radio-friendly affair, in fact it seems more like an LSD soaked
exercise in alternate history. What’s the story behind that?
It's based on a woman called Minnie
Woolsley, who worked in various carnivals under the name 'Koo Koo The
Bird Girl'. It's a true story – the only things I've changed are
the facts.
Obviously you have major ties with
Ireland, relocating there quite recently. How intrinsic do you think
the Anglo-Irish narrative is to the music your making and indeed to
other bands that share similar backgrounds?
We're living in Ireland now, and are
spending a lot of time gigging all over the country. At first we
thought it might look a bit odd, us English lads all going over there
to play Irish music, but everyone has been very appreciative so far.
We play the Irish songs loud and brashly, so I think they can't help
but be won over.
A lot of punks bands have quite
stringent and dogmatic ideologies, political or otherwise, do you
find that your own politics bleed through in to your music or even
live shows?
We all have our own ideas on politics,
but we're not too bothered about forcing them down peoples throats.
Here’s a question I ask every band I
interview now; what would be in your ideal rider, and why?
We'd just be happy with plenty of ale
to be honest. The more the better. Probably worth having a Spar next
door for our bass player, Hilly, so he can go on the crisp butty run.
I’ve featured you on my own blog
before now, a post which has garnered almost my highest amount of
hits. Do you find that bridging the gap, both physical and
metaphorical, between Manchester and Ireland has allowed you to
develop a following that includes people who might have not batted an
eyelid without those connections there?
Yeah possibly, we're gigging all the
time now, both all over the UK and all over Ireland. It gets us into
places that wouldn't necessarily have heard of us. We've not got any
money to spend shitloads on PR, so it suits us to do things at a
grassroots level. The harder we seem to work, the more things seem to
come our way. We've still got a long way to go, but fingers crossed
things will start to come good!
Finally, what’s on the horizon for
Naymedici as a whole, and where can we catch you live?
We should be releasing our debut EP in
the next few months, which will have our new single 'Whack Fol The
Diddle' on it. After that we're hoping to tour around Europe, in
between fitting gigs in around Ireland and the UK. Check out our
website www.naymedici.co.uk
for upcoming gig dates.
Cheers guys, it’s been a pleasure as
always.
