Whip it up and start again
They blew Smashing Pumpkins off-stage and, with a little luck, could have been as big as U2. Now the great lost band of 90s indie rock Whipping Boy are on the reunion trail. From his new home in the depths of Leitrim, frontman Fearghal McKee talks about the group's colourful past and their future ambitions.
Olaf Tyaransen, 08 Sep 2011
“It’s like fuckin’ Woodstock here, man!” It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon in lovely Leitrim and, talking to Hot Press on his mobile, a somewhat croaky-sounding Fearghal McKee seems to be in flying form. So much so that the Whipping Boy frontman is a lot more interested in talking about the free music festival he’s just helped put on than he is about the recent resurrection of his band.
Having decamped from his native Dublin to Ballinamore a few years ago, McKee is one of the organisers of the town’s Free Fringe Festival that’s just winding to a close today.
“Over the last four days we had a total of 80 bands coming here to play for nothing,” he enthuses. “And I have to cook all the food and feed the whole lot of them. And we organised free accommodation with the town. It just really took off, you know.”
The cooking won’t be a problem. When Whipping Boy split at the end of the ‘90s, having almost but not quite made it internationally on the back of their acclaimed sophomore album, Heartworm, a disillusioned McKee spent periods on the dole and working as a chef.
By the sounds of things, though, the 44-year-old has definitely got his musical mojo back. “I was pissed off about the band, but that’s the way it goes,” he says. “I’m now really enjoying the approach of my middle-age. The world can fuck off! There’s the ninth wave coming. Everything’s gonna change. And we’re gonna fuckin’ play with that change. It’s energy, man! It’s probably the best energy humans have had to live on. And it’s coming from the earth, it’s coming from all around you.
“Like what’s just happened here with the Free Fringe is amazing. It’s after waking up this town. All the locals have come on board and everyone’s been helpful. It’s been mad craic. Bands jamming in the street until 4.30 in the morning!”
Whipping Boy have been on the comeback trail for the last two months, playing pubs and clubs around Ireland. Even 16 years on from Heartworm’s release, there’s still an audience willing to pay to hear such classic tracks as ‘Twinkle’, ‘We Don’t Need Nobody Else’ and ‘When We Were Young’ live.
Page 1/3 <Previous 1 2 3 Next>
©Hot Press 2011. Why be a member? | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy