Hot Gear: Break it up
From busking to breaking sticks, snares and cymbals: Bipolar Empire don't spare the horses when it comes to gear.
Colm O Hare, 30 Jun 2009
Tallaght-based three-piece Bipolar Empire have deservedly been on top of the ones-to-watch list for some time now and look well primed to take it to the next level. Together since the summer of 2007 they’ve gigged incessantly to huge acclaim – their brand of guitar-based indie pop/rock striking a chord with audiences everywhere. The lads have just returned from the US where they played a handful of dates as well as recording their soon-to-be-released debut album in Los Angeles with legendary producer Pat McCarthy of REM and Madonna fame.
Bipolar Empire are Shane O’Reilly (vocals/guitar), Joe Lavine (bass/backing vocals) and Calz (drums). With their straightforward, no-nonsense approach to writing and playing their attitude to their chosen instruments and gear is, not surprisingly, all about keeping it simple. Guitarist Shane plays a Gretsch, which as he explains he found after much trial and error.
“I was looking for a guitar that felt good to play so I tried out about twenty altogether including Gibsons and Fenders,” he says. “This is the nicest one I’ve found to date - I’m not even sure what model it is. But it’s a bit like one Johnny Marr plays and he’s a big influence on me. I like that fresh, bright sound and there’s a hint of harp about them in the sound. I especially like it with a little distortion mixed in.”
He runs it through a Fender Deluxe Amp which he prefers to a Marshall which he’s also tried in the past.
“It’s more direct and more percussive. They’re small but they’re really heavy, being a valve amp. They need time to warm up too which gives them a nice warm tone.”
O’Reilly started playing guitar when he was twelve but maintains that a later stint busking on the streets of Dublin was where he learned most of his chops.
“I did it for years and I think it was a big help,” he reflects. “It was good for stretching your vocals, as well as improving your guitar playing. I was always trying to learn Beatles, Radiohead, Nirvana and Green Day songs. I used to play a lot of older stuff which probably influenced the way I write now.”
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