David Hennessy spoke to We Are the Darts, the London-based Tipperary indie band who recently released their debut album.
London-based Irish indie rock band We Are The Darts late last year released their debut album, Who Are You Again?
The band is made up of brothers Brian (35) and Stephen O’Sullivan (32) on lead singing/ guitar and lead guitar and their friend Shane Fehilly (32) on drums. All three are from Clonmel.
The band is completed by Izaak on bass.
It was when they both made the move to London that Brian and Stephen decided to get a band together.
We Are The Darts quickly gained traction in the underground music scene with their distinct brand of guitar-driven indie rock.
CLASH magazine called them, ‘An enigmatic force rising from London’s live music scene’.
We recently sat down with Brian, Stephen and Shane to talk about the album.
Must be good to have the album out. It’s been a long time coming..
Brian: “Yeah, it has to be honest with you.
“Once we kind of got the band going we always said it would be nice to get an album out, so it is great.
“We formed the actual band in 2016 as a four piece so everything kind of built towards the album, I think.
“We always said as a group that’s what we wanted to achieve, if nothing else.”
Stephen: “That’s it.
“We’ve been sitting on it now for a good while so it’s just a big relief to get it out there finally.
“We’ve already dropped a couple of singles and they kind of got good reception, everything.
“It’s good for everyone to get to hear the overall, finished product.”
Let’s go back to the beginning. The band was started in London..
Brian: “Yeah, so I moved to London 2014 and then about a year later, Stephen came over sorting a job on a construction site.
“We had both written songs individually at this point, and I still remember going in to meet him at Stansted Airport.
“We were getting the Stansted bus back into the city centre and we just started talking about it.
“He was kind of saying, ‘Now is just the time. If we’re both here, we can try and get something going, maybe get a band going’. And that was it. We started off.”
Stephen: “Well, the two of us only wrote songs at the time.
“Neither of us played lead or anything like that so I always kind of thought Brian would be our front man and everything.
“I was like, ‘Look, I’ll try my best to learn a bit of lead if you’d front the whole thing’.
“It kind of worked from there.
“But I was only living around the corner from Brian so I’d call around with the electric guitar and this tiny little amp, and he’d just start strumming away.”
Brian: “Yeah, it was actually a two bed flat but the sitting room was converted into a bedroom so it was a three bed flat with a corridor and a tiny kitchen so it wasn’t really conducive to playing music, to be honest, but we made it work for a couple of months.”
So how did you come into the picture, Shane? You obviously joined later..
Shane: “I did, yeah.
“I was late to the party, but I went to school with Steve since I was about four years old so we’ve known each other basically our whole lives.
“I moved over January 2016 and I think it was my first night out in London.
“He waited until we were drunk and then he asked me would I play drums for the band, because he knew I’d say yes when I was drunk.
“But I hadn’t played drums in about four or five years at that stage, I’d say. Probably more.
“But I still said, ‘Yeah, go on. I’ll give it a go, see if I can remember’.
“And then the rest is history.
“It worked.”
Brian: “We were an entry level band anyway, there was plenty of time to let everyone catch up.”
Shane: “Yeah, rudimental to start off, I think.
“We improved.. I think.”
Stephen: “Yeah, I think it was a good social outlet as well to come together for a few pints during the week and then for a while, the music was secondary until we kind of started thinking, ‘Right, there could be something here’.
“So we ran with it.”
When and where did you play your first gig?
Shane: “Summer 2016?”
Brian: “August 2016, The Engine Rooms in Bowe.
“So things kind of went full circle with the band because Izaak, the bass player, runs that venue.
“It’s a rehearsal space and it’s a music venue so we got to know him through rehearsing there and playing there.
“So it was actually Izaak, our bass player, that gave us our first gig long before he was in the band.
“It was one of the showcases there.
“We played that first gig and then, within a few weeks then, people had been in touch about more gigs.
“It just kind of really just got going then.
“We were doing a gig a month around the place, all over London and, yeah, just kind of caught the bug then as well and just picked up a good bit of momentum for a couple of years.”
You’re all Tipperary lads but the lad who isn’t here, Izaak, isn’t. Is that right?
Shane: “He’s an honorary Tipperary man.
“He’s from Birmingham.
“We’ve been teaching them the ways though.”
Brian: “Izaak joined the band around 2018.
“He’s actually the third bass player we’ve had.
“But he added a lot to the band.
“He probably added another dimension, I’d say, just another level to the band.
“I think we just feel like we went up a notch when he joined.”
Shane: “Definitely.”
Did you always see yourself giving it a go at some point?
Shane: “I don’t know.
“Even when I started playing drums me and Steve, very briefly, formed- I don’t know if you could even call it a band but we started playing music together when we were about 15, 16.
“So for me it was kind of on and off.
“I think for the guys, it was more steady.
“They kept playing all the way through but obviously it is every lad’s dream to be in a rock band really, isn’t it?
“So when we started playing our first big gigs over here and getting up on stage I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s the best bit, playing in front of a live audience’.
“There’s no feeling like it.
“It’s definitely the best part of being in a band.”
Stephen: “Yeah, that thing me and Shane did back in the day it was kind of an after school band really.
“We were doing kind of covers and stuff like that but I think when you get up there and play your own stuff and you get a bit of feedback off it, it’s just a great feeling.
“To think that’s something that you sat on the end of the bed working out for a couple of weeks or months came together and then people respond to it.”
How would you describe your sound? Who are your big influences?
Shane: “I don’t know if this is what we actually sound like or what we are aspiring to sound like but a combination of Oasis and Thin Lizzy, I’d love that.
“I think the album kind of shows a bit of both of them with other things sprinkled on top of it.”
Brian: “Yeah, there is probably some kind of very slightly heavier rock songs on there- Calling All, We Are- so probably a bit of a punk influence there as well.
“But a lot of songs are just pop songs that we kind of layered up a bit.
“We just always just wanted something that’s catchy, that will hook people in, you know?
“It was always nice when people would come and see you and you see them the next day and they’d be like, ‘Oh, that line is in my head now, been singing it all day’.”
Stephen: “Yeah, I’ve never, personally, discriminated who I rob ideas from so it’s kind of any music.
“If it sounds good, I’ll try and reinterpret it in my own way.
“It’s kind of, ‘Don’t bore us, get to the chorus’, you know?
“And if you haven’t got a chorus, I think you’re kind of in trouble.”
Open Letter, the focus single off the album, captures the essence of young love and naivety.
Tell us the story behind that one..
Brian: “I suppose it’s an old song now.
“You would be talking 2012, 2013 when I wrote that so it was a completely different time in my life from where I am now.
“It’s a love song.
“It’s thinking about maybe being undecided, or whatever.
“You have something good but you also realise that you’re young and you just don’t really know what you want to do.
“It’s easier to look back on it now and realise kind of the emotions that I was going through with a bit more maturity.”
Did it start in South Africa, that song?
Brian: “Yeah, I was working in South Africa at the time.
“I’d just graduated from college and just was working out there.
“I think that was probably when I really maybe started getting into the songwriting a bit more.
“I had written songs every now and again but I had a lot of time on my hands there.
“I had the guitar with me.
“I was lonely for home and I was in a completely different part of the world, so it was a lot of emotions at the time,
“That’s probably where the songwriting kick started.”
Stephen: “I think of the earlier stuff, it was probably the most well liked so it was kind of nice to throw that back out there as a little nod to all them who were with us from the start.”
Sunshinin’ was your first ever single back in 2017 and also features on the album. What is the story behind Sunshinin’?
Stephen: “I was still new to London and I just loved everything about it.
“It was around the summer when I wrote it.
“I think we just loved going out, going out to Camden or wherever it was not knowing where the night would go and making the most of the summer while you’re young enough to do it.
“That’s kind of the message in it if there is one.”
You were all working in construction as well so it must have been hard work having your full time job and then the job of getting a band off the ground too..
Shane: “It was hectic to start out, to be honest because when the band first formed, we were doing practice three nights a week and then we were doing a gig most weekends.
“You’re looking at a minimum 45 minute commute so you’re going to work early morning, long day on site and travelling 45 minutes to a practice for three hours, probably sneak in a few beers afterwards and travelling at least 45 minutes home. Rinse, repeat.
“They were long days but it was well worth it.
“I never didn’t look forward to going to practice.”
Brian: “It was a bit of an endurance task at times.
“We were younger and very enthusiastic at the time so we managed to just about balance it right and just about make it into work the next day.”
Stephen: “Yeah, there’s nothing I don’t like about being in a band with your friends but like carrying equipment all over London on public transport all hours of the day and night is definitely one of the worst things.
“Especially after you play a gig when everyone’s come to see you and then you’re like, ‘Right, we need to get the gear home’ while they’re all out partying.
“That’s a bit of a pain.”
Shane: “Yeah, that is a huge disadvantage of London.
“We didn’t have a van to bring our stuff everywhere so it was carrying half a drum kit and guitars and amps on to tubes to get where we needed to go for our gig.
“That’s painful.”
Brian: “I played a solo gig in Dublin last night and I got the train in and the train back and it was just like a throwback, to be honest.
“three hours’ sleep.
“I don’t miss those days now.
“I’m just not able to do it anymore.”
It’s probably similar to lads playing GAA in London in addition to the jobs they do, it’s a lot of work and commitment on top of your work..
Stephen: “Brian can speak to that. He was doing double duty at one point there, weren’t you?”
Brian: “Yeah, it’s funny that you say that.
“I was thinking when we were going to be speaking today- I actually played for Dulwich Harps for five years.
“I know Dulwich is a big friend of the newspaper.
“I played with them from 2018 to 2022.
“The band was up and running at that stage so it was a juggling act.
“I’d say I annoyed the boys at times when I was going off training, playing football and not in the rehearsal rooms.”
How did you enjoy your time with Dulwich Harps?
Brian: “Really good.
“It was kind of a good community there.
“A lot of lads similar age.
“We were probably all in our late 20s around the same time and a couple of younger lads so kind of just went through it together, got to a few finals, won a final, lost a final.
“Just trained really hard and then we were able to enjoy the social side of it as well.
“Great things to say about the club.
“I see they got promoted to senior there so it’s great to see it’s continuing on.
“I can’t speak highly enough about it and I’ll always be Involved with the GAA club in some capacity.”
You mentioned Oasis as a big inspiration, weren’t they one of your very first shows to go and see?
Shane: “The three of us were at the Slane gig here and then Izaak was at one of their different gigs on that tour.
“That Slane ‘09 gig was my first ever proper gig and it’s never been topped since then. That was such a massive day in my music life.”
What is it like being in a band with brothers?
Shane: “It is like playing with the Gallaghers every now and again.
“They have their highs, they have their lows.”
Brian: “When we first started out, I’ll be the first to admit I was probably more highly strung than I am now, I’m very zen now.
“We both admit that we had a couple of run ins in the rehearsal rooms on the verge of physical but look, we always had the best intentions of the band at heart.”
Stephen: “Yeah, creative differences is the best way to put it.
“It just goes to show that we care about the songs.
“We both have an idea what we want.
“We want what’s best for the songs and that’s kind of all that matters really in the end.
“We’ll get over a few sour words here and there.”
Brian: “Yeah, there was a bit of silent treatment that went on for a few days.
“There might even have been a week or two weeks there at one stage one of us wasn’t talking to the other but we never dwelled on it for too long either.”
Brian has moved back to Ireland but the band are keen to tour the album.
Brian: “It’s a while since we’ve done a gig.
“But with the album being out, we’d love to do something again.
“We’d love to tour this album.
“We always said we’d love to do a small tour between Ireland and the UK.
“It’s aligning the diaries, I suppose.
“We could definitely go back to the Engine Rooms where it all started.
“I think we could get a good turnout there in Bow and then we’d love to do a hometown show in Clonmel.
“There’s a couple of venues there I think would be happy to have us.”
Will there be a second album? Have you thought about that yet?
Stephen: “There’s definitely songs there we could still work on.
“As long as Brian can still stand to be around us in a room for long enough now.”
Brian: “Yeah, well, at the rate the first album came out, the next one’s due in 2034.
“I think there’s definitely songs there.
“There’s a lot there, probably recordings on our phones, rough old recordings of us playing live in the rehearsal room.
“So there’s always potential there to do more and I think we’re just gonna enjoy this album for a little while though.”
Who Are You Again? is out now.
For more information, click here.
