The Deans
Paris, Île-de-France, France | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | SELF
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Hailing from the west of Ireland, The Deans have been mesmerizing audiences throughout Europe and North America. With an unmistakable sound, they are emerging as one of the most dynamic independent bands to look out for. GroundSounds recently caught up with guitarist Gavin Dean, checkout the exclusive interview below.
For those not familiar with The Deans how did you guys come together and form the band?
Basically Gari (drummer) and I became friends from playing in different bands around our area when we were 15/16. So naturally I decided I’d like to be in a band with him. Then for a few years we toured around Ireland and the UK using different bass players until we met Ronan. We played a show in Galway one night in this huge bar/venue. Ronan was playing in the downstairs bar with a group of guys he played with every Friday night and Gari and I were playing in the upstairs venue. After our show he said how much he liked the band. He told me he played bass. Five minutes after meeting him I asked him would he like to come to Europe with us in a couple of weeks and he said “yeah!”. “The pay’s not great. But the work’s hard” I said. That was just two years ago now and since then it’s been none stop.
How did you guys come up with the name ‘The Deans’?
My surname is Dean. At the beginning, my brother was in the band, so we decided to call it The Deans. By the time we thought about changing the name, it had stuck. Most people don’t realize it’s my surname, which is cool.
What can you guys tell us about your upcoming trip stateside? You will be hitting up Boston and NY?
Yes and Yes! Recently we’ve been working with a company in Nashville. It’s all very exciting. This time around we will be mostly hitting Boston, NY, Chicago, Nashville, Washington and some others. Check out the dates on our Facebook page or website, thedeans.ie. It should be wild.
What was it like growing up in Ireland? What is one thing a visitor should see or do in Galway?
See us live! Although, we are never there much these days. I don’t know if we did a lot of growing up in Ireland. We did most of it on the road, quite young. We’re still quite young and on the road and growing up. So we’ll have to get back to you on that. Galway is famous for Traditional Irish music. So that’s something worth checking out.
What was the creative process and inspiration behind the song ‘Lonely Like Me’?
That song was floating around in the atmosphere for a while before we eventually tackled it. It came together quite quickly when we started working on it together. The three of us just fell into our harmonies for the most part. I had written the song as a kind of letter to a friend who I was concerned about. I wanted to help in some way and writing a song was all I was capable of doing at the time. It explores the idea that we are all alone together. Paradoxical!
What are you guys currently listening to?
We have been listening to a lot of JJ Cale and Ry Cooder recently. We are big into Dylan and The Band. Some others we’ve been digging recently: The Clash, The Kinks, The Shins, Cannonball Adderley, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, John Frusciante, The Decemberists, Leonard Cohen. And a load of other stuff most people might have never heard of.
What was it like working on your EP Roomworks Vol. 1?
Working on Roomworks was a real learning curve. We did everything ourselves from scratch with the minimum of equipment. We were living on the top floor of our friend’s hotel in France at the time. They recently shut the hotel section of the complex down so we converted the floor below us into a studio and rehearsal space. It was wonderful because we could start when we wanted and record and work on songs until the early hours of the morning. We were very fortunate to be given that space and encouragement in which to create. You can even hear the spill of traffic on a couple of the tracks. It was so organic.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?
To look up the synonyms of the word “Aspire”.
If you guys could go tour with any current bands, what bands would you choose to hit the road with?
I think we would appeal to most audiences. Mumford and Sons “Gentlemen of the road” tour would be a good one to get on. It would be great to open for The Boss or the likes of Pearl Jam, Neil Young or the Foo Fighters. But really we’d tour with anybody if the audience was there.
What’s next for The Deans? What is the band currently working on?
The next step is the tour of US and a possible release before the end of the year. We might release a single or even put out a Roomworks Vol. 2. We don’t plan on releasing a LP until next year. And yes, I said “LP”. Because vinyl is coming back, baby! - Jon Berrion
The Deans incarne un peu le groupe à l'ancienne. Depuis déjà 6 ans, le groupe s'est efforcé de rôder ses chansons dans les pubs irlandais et à user leurs étuis de guitare lors de leurs tournées de l'Irlande jusqu'en Malaisie. Nous avons rencontré Gavin Dean (guitare/chant) et Ronan Lally (basse/chœurs) qui nous racontent leur histoire et attisent notre curiosité sur le prochain album déjà en préparation.
Gavin, chanteur et guitariste du groupe, est un jeune qui a de l'envie et qui compte mettre tout en œuvre pour faire parler de The Deans. "Dès nos 13 ans, on savait que l'on voulait vivre de la musique. Gari (Keon, batterie/chœurs, ndj) et moi avons quitté l'école à 15 ans pour nous consacrer totalement au groupe. On tournait 4 jours sur 7 en Irlande jouant dans chaque pub au travers le pays".
On a le goût de la Guiness en bouche lorsque l'on écoute The Deans. Leurs pérégrinations dans les pubs locaux a laissé quelques traces. Leur musique a certes des accents pub-rock sur certaines mélodies et quelques fills de batterie, mais on retrouve également quelques touches 60's dans l'instrumentation acoustique et des images 70's dans le son de l'électrique.
The Deans ne s'est pas contenté de rester vagabonder dans le pays verdoyant dans lequel ils ont tous vécu. Aujourd'hui, Gavin et ses potes peuvent se targuer d'avoir exporté leur musique "J'ai commencé The Deans il y a environ 6 ans avec Gari, le batteur. Ronan nous a rejoints il y a de cela trois ans. Depuis, on tourne un peu partout, en France, en Espagne et en Irlande évidemment. On a également joué aux États-Unis et en Malaisie avec un public complètement fan de ce qu'on fait."
Les jeunes musiciens ont rapidement compris que pour percer, il fallait jouer, encore et encore jusqu'à ce qu'une nouvelle porte puisse s'ouvrir. "Faire de la musique en Irlande est très difficile. À moins de jouer dans des stades, il n'y a que 6 ou 7 salles dans lesquelles il est possible d'être programmé. Et lorsqu'on joue des compositions originales, c'est encore plus compliqué. La plupart des groupes font des reprises", nous dit Gavin.
Les trois Irlandais se penchent déjà sur leur prochain album. "Pour la suite, on a beaucoup d'idées. On travaille beaucoup sur les harmonies, sur les nouvelles ambiances que l'on peut ajouter. On va enregistrer notre prochain album dans un hôtel qui appartient à des amis dans le sud de la France. Ils nous ont laissé le deuxième étage pour y entreposer notre matos", raconte Gavin.
Ce nouvel album risque d'être une étape importante pour l'avenir du groupe. The Deans ne minimise rien et en plus d'équiper leur studio d'enregistrement, il feront "cette fois-ci appel à un ami qui travaille dans un studio à Londres. On a envie de presser un vinyle et de fournir un coupon avec un lien de téléchargement pour obtenir nos titres en MP3", renchérit Gavin.
Pour les Français expatriés à Londres, notez dans votre agenda la date du 14 février 2014, date à laquelle les Deans joueront au Dublin Caslte (Camden). Pour suivre l'actualité des Deans, vous pouvez vous rendre sur leur page Facebook, écouter leurs titres sur Reverbnation, et bien évidemment vous rendre sur leur site officiel. - Music Radar
After the release of 2012’s spirit-lifting debut EP Roomworks Vol 1 — available on iTunes — the Galway-based trio are set to embark on an extensive world tour across Europe, the States and Asia.
The self-managed/self-promoted roots rock band have been making a huge impact on a global scale since 2009.
Their sound is fresh and raw and laced with much-needed jolts of summertime emotion to ease away the January blues.
They tread the same path as US ska punkers Sublime, shrouded in the influences of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison.
Vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Gavin Dean possesses a voice and a stage presence beyond recognition, backed by the slick drumming talents of Gary Keon and the heavy-hitting bass rhythms of Ronan Lally.
These guys are a tight and well-oiled music machine that will have you cranking the volume from the first note.
Their colourful touring history includes the Montereau Confluences festival in France and various New York venues.
The Deans will also be coming to a venue near you in 2013 — for a full list of tour dates log onto Facebook.com/thedeans. - The Irish Daily Star
The Deans are a small-town band with big-time ambitions.
After the release of 2012’s spirit-lifting debut EP Roomworks Vol 1 — available on iTunes — the Galway-based trio are set to embark on an extensive world tour across Europe, the States and Asia.
The self-managed/self-promoted roots rock band have been making a huge impact on a global scale since 2009.
Their sound is fresh and raw and laced with much-needed jolts of summertime emotion to ease away the January blues.
They tread the same path as US ska punkers Sublime, shrouded in the influences of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison.
Vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Gavin Dean possesses a voice and a stage presence beyond recognition, backed by the slick drumming talents of Gary Keon and the heavy-hitting bass rhythms of Ronan Lally.
These guys are a tight and well-oiled music machine that will have you cranking the volume from the first note.
Their colourful touring history includes the Montereau Confluences festival in France and various New York venues.
The Deans will also be coming to an Irish venue near you in 2013 — for a full list of tour dates log onto Facebook.com/thedeans. - The Irish Daily Star
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
The Deans consist of Gavin Dean, Gari Keon and Ronan Lally. All from the west of Ireland and in their early twenties, the group left school in their mid-teens to pursue a life on the road performing to audiences across Europe and the rest of the world.
Since 2009 The Deans have toured extensively throughout Europe, playing venues and festivals throughout France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Holland. After being sighted at the Guitare-En-Scene festival in France by the organisers of the Montreaux Jazz Festival, the group were invited to perform at the 43rd anniversary of the world renowned music festival. Their music was used for the advertising campaign for both festivals that same year. 2012 saw the groups first venture stateside to NYCs lower east side, where they performed shows in The Studio at Webster Hall, Arlenes Grocery and the prestigious Kennys castaways, to name but a few.
Now in 2014 The Deans are a force to be reckoned with. Gavin Dean, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter is the creative force behind the band. Delivering songs depicting a life of constant movement and discovery, romance and a lust for life that the group shares. Gari Keon, is pivotal in the story of the band. With his heavy handed and exciting drumming and soaring vocal ability from behind the kit, his contribution to the group has been immense from the very beginning. Ronan Lally, bassist and vocalist, joined the group in September of 2011, just one week before the band was scheduled to embark on a European tour. The addition of Ronans distinctive vocal harmonies and rock steady bass style has contributed greatly to the bands dynamic.
Roots Rock is the answer the band always gives when asked to define the musical style of The Deans. With wonderfully crafted songs and psychedelic musical mastery, leading to memorably explosive live shows that always leave the crowd wanting more. In the words of one critic who said of The Deans live show, That was liquid sex, from which we the audience all drank and were brought towards the orgasmic climax that freed us all from our minds for just a short while, all too short.
Recently The Deans returned from their debut in Asia. Their latest E.P. Roomworks Vol. 1, (which was recorded on the second floor of a French hotel that the group had converted into a studio) was released on iTunes. http://bit.ly/U2gNAp
2014 will see the band expanding on the successes of 2013. Currently they are preparing to record an album in France and there are scheduled tours for all over Europe, North America and their debut in South America.
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