Jogging are Dublin based 3 piece. They recently launched their debut album, ‘Minutes’, and are gigging throughout the country this month.
What advice would you have for an act that is just starting out?
Set up your own gigs and don’t be taken advantage of! When we started off too many young bands were falling prey to pay-to-play gigs or ticket-selling or competition scams that are just making money for a dodgy promoter. It really is easy enough to rent a room and put on your own gig. This also gives you control over the bill so you don’t have to sit through depressing bands while you wait to play your set! Playing with bands that you love and respect is one of the most satisfying aspects of the whole thing.
Does an Irish act need to leave Ireland to achieve success?
It really depends on your definition of success, but the Irish acts that we have the most respect for are the ones who just went out there and booked their own tours abroad. Bands like Kidd Blunt or Adebisi Shank or So Cow, they didn’t wait for the blessing of the Irish media or crowds, they just took control themselves. Too many bands are happy to be a big fish in a small pond by trying to ‘conquer’ Ireland and sell out 2 or 3 venues a few times a year before ‘launching themselves on to the next market’ or whatever. This is big talk coming from me though, as Jogging have yet to leave Ireland! Early days though!
What’s the best thing about being a musician in Ireland?
The camaraderie between bands on the music scene, just watching your peers play music and getting inspired by them. I’ve made some of my best friends through being in bands in Ireland during the last decade. There has never been any sort of dog-eat-dog mentality. Being around these people has improved my life incredibly, both socially and musically.
What’s the worst thing about being a musician in Ireland?
I don’t really begrudge for much, it’s not healthy! One thing that can get slightly frustrating is when speaking to friends in bands in Australia and Canada who receive massive government aid towards touring and recording because it promotes their respective cultures whereas every Irish band has to scrape together to try to do the same thing. Ireland likes to trade off its reputation as a musical nation, but doesn’t really put its money where its mouth is. That said, the country isn’t in the best financial state at the moment so I shouldn’t grumble. Music is my passion so I’ll follow it through no matter what.
What can be done to help Irish musicians make a breakthrough?
If more venues recognized that bands are bringing punters in spending money at the bar and thus paid good guarantees it would make the whole thing a lot more financially viable. The venues still hold the upper hand and are making double the money by charging bands ‘rent’. Things are getting better with venues like The Quad in Cork and the Roisin Dubh in Galway but Dublin still has a long way to go.
