KILDARE

DATES

OVERVIEW Following a brief flirtation with the art of the stuntman - Lee Majors has a lot to answer for - David Geraghty set his heart on music early on in life. The moment young Geraghty’s hands were big enough, his Dad drew guitar chords out on little charts and his love affair with a cranky old acoustic began. His first musical obsession was with uber-acapella troupe, The Flying Pickets. After a National Stadium show in ’85, young David got to meet his idols and fixed his sights on the wild world of Picketesque rock and roll. Further, somewhat dubious, musical liaisons followed, in particular a furious enchantment with Doris from Five Star. His parents, almost certainly despairing of David’s musical leanings, brought the 12 year old to see Bowie at Slane in ’87. He was sold, the Pickets and Doris consigned to faded family Super 8 performances. From there on out, Springsteen, Bowie and Philo kicked from Geraghty’s tape player. In his early teens he formed a multitude of bands, teaching himself a host of instruments from drums to guitars to piano. His early live memories are on the sticks with a band in Barnstormers on Capel Street, the Grattan and The Whitehorse Inn, where the floor used to bounce. Aged 18, having always been interested in art and graphics, Geraghty decided to take a computer animation course in Ballyfermot. Though enjoying the creative ambience of art college, song writing and performing were his true passion. Geraghty had recorded a four track demo in his Uncle’s home studio. His then girlfriend brought these recordings to the attention of her classmate, a young Damien Rice. Along with Paul Noonan, Brian Crosby, and Dominic Phillips, Rice had a band called Juniper. The group had made a demo and were happy to utilise the skills of a multi-instrumentalist, allowing themselves more freedom to swap instruments on stage. Upon meeting the band, Geraghty was impressed that unlike most would be rock stars of his acquaintance, Juniper actually had a novel idea: a game plan. Joining the group, they holed up in a house in the middle of nowhere and began writing and rehearsing, slowly but surely building a Juniper fanbase gigging across the country. Having seen the band perform in Dublin, Polygram Ireland were suitably impressed and soon the band were offered a deal. Releasing two pretty successful singles and an EP, the future was all shiny and bright for the boys. An album recording session was set up with producer Mike Hedges (Manic Street Preachers) and as the band were packing their sports bags to head to London, Rice made the decision to leave the band. Obviously the rest of the band were somewhat thrown by the news, concerned that the label might not be as enthusiastic about Juniper minus Damien. Fortunately, Polygram Ireland assured them of their continuing commitment and encouraged them to regroup and begin writing as a four piece. In the meantime, Polygram became Universal Music. While many bands were lost in the mix, the Juniper boys kept their heads down and weathered the storm, emerging relatively unscathed to produce their first demo for Universal. Deciding it was time to erase the past, the hunt for a new moniker began. In a Fleetwood Mac type scenario, minus the class A’s and the partner swapping, the band locked themselves away and spent days flicking through a rainforest of magazines and books in search of the holy sobriquet. It was in the illustrious Guinness Book of Records that they found the BellX1, the first plane to break the sound barrier. The maiden voyage of the Irish BellX1 was at Whelan’s in Dublin and the audience embraced the new line up without a flinch. Nick Seymour produced their debut album Neither Am I, which consolidated their position as one of Ireland’s most promising emerging acts in many years. Following an approach from Roger Bechirian (who had worked with The Undertones and Elvis Costello), BellX1 found themselves under the guidance of a well-established manager. Bechirian took the band to Universal in the UK, they demoed some tracks, which would become their second album and signed with Island. Recording the album with producer/engineer Jamie Cullum, Music In Mouth was released in Ireland and the UK, hand in hand with a slew of touring and promotion, finding success on both sides of the water. The third album Flock, produced by Bechirian, debuted in Ireland at No. 1 and tours of Europe ensued. Irish gigs sold out in days and BellX1 had proved themselves one of the most popular Irish bands of the noughties. After an exhilarating adventure with BellX1 and with time on his hands following Flock, Geraghty decided it was his time to explore his own personal musical leanings. All along he had been collecting songs and decided it was time to take the leap and release a solo record. The result is Kill Your Darlings, a ten track personal reflection that tips its dark, broody hat to the work of Buckley, Martyn and Drake. The album features many well-known talented performers: Clare Finglass brings her Julie London style dusty tones to the recordings; drummer Kevin Brady and double bass man Dave Redmond inject a smoky, backroom feel; and Cora Venus Lunny adds majestic violas and violins. Geraghty confidently grips his new sound in a tight embrace, welcoming influences from outside the rock arena, the jazz and country flavours bringing a new dimension to the old time songwriter aesthetic. Kill Your Darlings marks a strong arrival for the solo work of Geraghty, which will continue to co-exist alongside his collaborative work with BellX1. Kill Your Darlings is just the first movement in an as yet unfinished symphony. With the debut single Fear The Hitcher (which was performed entirely by Geraghty) releasing on June 15th, 2007 and his graduating performance scheduled for CrawDaddy, Dublin on June 14th, Geraghty strides into a new realm. The step is all the more considerable for the fact that it would have been a safe play to rest on the leafy laurels of BellX1’s success. 2007 - Release of 'Fear The Hitcher' single [15 June] - Release of 'Kaleidoscope' single [30 August] - Release of 'Kill Your Darlings' album [07 September] 2008 - 'Kill Your Darlings' is nominated for the Choice Music Prize [January] - Release of 'Ragdoll' single [15 February] - David Geraghty is nominated in the Best Irish Male category in the Meteor Ireland Music Awards. He also received a nomination in the Best Irish Album category for 'Kill Your Darlings' 2009 - Release of 'The Victory Dance' album [28 August] - Release of 'The Emperor's Hand Me Downs' single [30 October] 2010 - Release of 'Watch Her Win / Wear Out Your Name' single [28 May]