This mogul coil
We chat to rootsy pioneers The Last Tycoons about name changes, living in the past, and going on the wagon.
Patrick Freyne, 26 Jun 2009
It’s interesting to ponder how a bunch of Dun Laoghaire-based youngsters ended up writing and performing a rootsy, mournful-but-rousing, Band-style lamentation about prohibition, and hooch-stills exploding (current single, ‘The Dry Law’).
“Well, I quit drinking there for a while,” explains singer-songwriter Steve.
“For a month,” corrects multi-instrumentalist Dan with a weary sigh. “You stopped drinking for a month.”
Was that tough?
“Well he was tough to be around,” Dan cuts in.
Steve just nods sombrely.
“Ah, you know the way,” he says. “I wanted to save money and I thought I’d drive to gigs. So I quit drinking and started to write a song about it. I was reading a biography of Dean Martin at the time and there was all this stuff about him working in speakeasies and casinos as a kid, surrounded by all these gangsters. So I just put the two things together and made up this story about it. The rest of the album [which is already recorded but not to be released until September] isn’t about prohibition. It’s not a concept album or anything.”
So a month without drink inspires you to write a song about prohibition?
“It was some month,” Dan says shaking his head sadly.
Steve and Dan have the kind of easy camaraderie that flows from years on the road. They’re like a young Frances Rossi and Rick Parfitt really, which is strange given that they’re only in their early 20s. But these young whippersnappers first hit the boards aged 11 or 12.
“Actually me and Steve began playing together when we were about ten,” corrects Dan. “Playing Chuck Berry songs.”
“Yeah,” adds Steve. “We were really into early Beatles and ‘50s rock n roll and all that stuff. We started with Oasis and heard they were really into The Beatles, then heard early Beatles and then Chuck Berry and started listening to that. We were always really curious about people’s influences, so soon we ended up back with Hank Williams and Jimmy Rogers and all that kind of stuff.”
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