The Savage Hearts On the Making Of ‘Gang War/Speed Kills’
How did you come up with the idea?
EVAN WALSH (BASS PLAYER/SONGWRITER): The idea for the track I suppose came from various demos and rough song ideas I'd been working on for a couple months towards the end of lockdown. The previous band I was in The Strypes had made three albums and toured the world extensively for years beforehand so when things suddenly ground to a halt I had a lot time on my hands (as everyone did) so various ideas for tunes and riffs started rolling round in my head that formed the basis for the project that became The Savage Hearts. I co-wrote the song with a friend of mine Ste Kelly who's a brilliant Irish musician formerly of the Dublin indie band Raglans, we basically smashed his lyrics, my music and other collaborative ideas together and there you have it!
What are you most proud about ‘Gang War/Speed Kills?’
I suppose the thing about the single I'm the most proud about is that it's the most independent and personal release I've been involved in to date. The albums, EPs and singles I've been involved with in the last band were always a bit of a committee affair cos we were signed to big major labels where you have to 'play ball' and compromise on certain fronts, but with this release myself and the lads are working with a small Irish independent called Blowtorch Records based out of Galway. They've got the freedom that comes with the 'indie' spirit and get behind your personal vision more so that's probably the bit I'm the most happy about!
How did you work with the producer or engineers to bring your vision for ‘Gang War/Speed Kills’ to life?
I produced the single more or less, when I started doing the original demos I hadn't even rounded the other lads up to form the band but once we got into the studio properly everybody was able to throw their own little elements and suggestions that added so much to the overall effect. We worked with some great engineers Dan Doherty of Darklands Studio in Dublin and Martin Quinn who runs JAM Studios near a place called Kells in Ireland and both their contributions were very large and invaluable!
How did your band members initially come together?
As I said earlier the genesis of the band came from me recording some bedroom demos at home during lockdown in the last after the last band called it a day. It felt very liberating and exciting assembling a fully new band line-up from scratch and changing the instrumentation and line-up around so after a few trial and error attempts I ended up recruiting some old friends who I've known and played with for ages along with some new guys I only met when I was putting the word about the form a new band but we quickly became good mates! My sister also hopped on board to do some harmony and backing vocals and that was the whole package!
What do you believe sets your live performances apart from other bands?
I think our different influences all come together during the live performance which makes things unique and exciting - we've got a tight, hard rocking punky/garage basis but bringing different elements like blues harmonica, tenor sax, trombone and organ over the top as well as some pretty soulful vocals and melodies so there's plenty in there to hold different people's interest!