A Plastic Rose E.P. Launch @ Spring & Airbrake, 20.02.09
Bandwidth spent a good week, and very hectic, week following around Sligo-Belfast adoptees A Plastic Rose – culminating in the launch of their eponymous EP at the Spring & Airbrake in Belfast. To watch the video for the lead track from the EP, ‘Kids Don’t Behave Like This’ - look right here..
To read Steven Rainey’s review of the night, have a look here.
A Plastic Rose – Silence You
Download for iPod (44.5MB)
Silence You was the first track that made us fall so deeply in love with A Plastic Rose – away back in October of 2008 at the Oh Yeah Centre was the time and place – Gerry Norman and Ian McHugh with a bottle of whiskey and an amp, jamming backstage with members of Here Comes The Landed Gentry. You may remember this video from back then.
It’s lost none of its impact – the spirit and soul of the band comes from the fact that so many of their songs are written acoustically, and have the kind of sing-a-long quality that a backstage space and whiskey allows – but this is where ‘Silence You’ truly belongs, in front of eight hundred (and equally eight hundred thousand) screaming fans.
A Plastic Rose – Superspeed
Download for iPod (61 MB)
A new track – ‘Superspeed’ is by the band’s own confession the most commercial pop they’ve ever written. We disagree at Bandwidth. Somehow it seems impossible to imagine Lily Allen screaming “it’s staring you in the faaaaaaaace” at her adoring fans with such vitriol, such clarity and such confidence. Behind the heart of this band poets lie scientist’s brains. They’re concerned, they’re clued in – but thank fuck, they’re passionate too. And this song makes every hair in the room stand to attention.
A Plastic Rose – The Colour Blue
Download for iPod (61.5MB)
And what a finale. Someone should tell Gerry, Troy, Ian and Dave that stage dives are supposed to be performed.. well.. off the … actually, forget it, it’s punk rock. “Let’s get pissed…”
To read Steven Rainey’s suberb review of the night, pop over here right now and don’t stop.
Director: Will McConnell
Camera: Will McConnell, Stuart Sloan
Sound: David Donnelly
2009 Bandwidth Films
The Jane Bradfords
Valentines Day. A day of empty promise and fake smiles where Roses can buy you back a little bit of the magic that once brought the two of you together…. Valentines day is also for the hapless and hopeless romantic.
The Jane Bradfords suit Valentines Day I think. I like to think of myself as hapless and hopelessly romantic. I’d like to claim that this video was our idea – some sort of brooding moment of inspiration - but it wasn’t…. it was Will McConnells vision to see the Jane Bradfords stripped of all our synths and electric guitars and embrace our quieter acoustic side.
Choosing the songs for the videocast was easier than i expected… we had something old, something new, something borrowed but, er, nothing blue (apart from the outtakes when I fucked up the words for the 10th time and went into a tirade of expletives).
For the old track we chose ‘ninety-nine’ which is normally upbeat, short and loud. The theme to the song is the start of relationships when you feel that afforementioned ‘magic.’ Stripped back to acoustic its a completely different song. Dave’s soft piano work is a stark contrast to the synths in the original. Stu Bell’s pedal steel and Ruairi Dempsey’s violin give it a kind of an alt-country edge which was unexpected.
The Jane Bradfords – Ninety-Nine
Download for iPod (34.3MB)
The new track is an exclusive I guess. Its called ‘about our love’ and will hopefully feature on the new JBs album. Its about the monotony of relationships once they get stuck in routine; its about all those people who get married not because they’re in love, but because its the ‘thing to do at our age.’ Johnny and Daves guitar playing make the song seem so pleasant and sweet but the lyrics come and bitterly fuck it all up! The session version isn’t much different to the album version which is a bit of a departure for the JBs.
The Jane Bradfords – About Our Love
Download for iPod (42MB)
Finally, what song can you borrow for a Valentines Podcast. I had considered REM’s ‘the one i love’ but instead went for the Cyndi Lauper track ‘Time after Time.’ I was actually expecting people to think it was a cheesy choice but I haven’t met one person who doesn’t love the original track and the more we as a band played it together, the more we released how good a song it is. I sincerely hope we did it justice.
The Jane Bradfords – Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper)
Download for iPod (39.4MB)
It was great performing with the band like this. We couldn’t have done it without borrowing a Panama King, Stu Bell and the meanest fiddler in all of Cushendal, Ruairi Dempsey. We’re also very thankful to Richard, Will, Shauna and Brideen who helped this all come together and really hope it becomes the soundtrack to your valentines, be it all snuggly in front of the fire or in a cold bath as the blood seeps slowly out of your body…
Director: Will McConnell
Sound: Richard Lower, Declan Gallen
Bandwidth 2009
On The Radio With Silhouette
Silhouette – Put The Silence on Hold (Live on Radio U105)
Download for iPod (20.7MB)
We spent a nice afternoon down at the U105 studios in Belfast with George Jones and Shauna Tohill (aka Silhouette). Shauna performed ‘Put The Silence On Hold’ which has been nominated for a People’s Choice Award. Go here and get your voting fingers out!
Director: Will McConnell
Bandwidth 2009
Bandwidth Beatles Tribute
Making rock history is a tricky business. Hendrix had to set his guitar on fire to do it. Unluckily, Bob Dylan had to make his fans really angry, then fall off a motorbike. For the Beatles, their last attempt at underlining their position in the Great History of Rock and Roll involved hoisting a load of equipment up onto the roof of a building in the freezing cold winter, and awkwardly trying to re-ignite the magic. As far as farewell gigs go, it was nothing if not memorable, though the strained joviality, and bitterness in the eyes of our heroes made for a sad farewell, rather than a joyous send off.
But, like most things, the proof is, indeed, in the pudding. The Beatles last hurrah as a band ultimately proved to be an epic send off, an iconic farewell that has echoed down the ages. The 30th of January, 1969 has passed into legend as a moment to remember, and a touchstone of cool. Well, Harrison’s and Lennon’s woolly coats might not have been cool, and Ringo was sporting a rather unfortunate little ‘Red Riding Hood’ style number, but history tends to overlook these things.
The Snoodles – Don’t Let Me Down
Download for iPod (27.6MB)
In the years that have since passed, bands have attempted to tap into this piece of history by aping their heroes, succumbing to the now clichéd ‘rooftop performance’. U2 in their atrociously bad 1989 film, Rattle and Hum (U2 go to America and get the blues, whilst the audience puke their eyeballs out at the cheap crassness of the whole endeavour) clamour for their place in the pantheon of greats by playing on the roof an office building and stopping the traffic. Echo and the Bunnymen did it to ‘promote’ their 1987 self titled album. In the Simpsons, the B- Sharpes reunited on the roof of Moe’s Tavern, only for a disdainful George Harrison so drive past, exclaiming, “It’s been done…”
Interestingly, of all the bands mentioned so far, only U2 managed to stay together after their rooftop performance, perhaps because they have made an evil pact and cannot be killed by conventional weaponry.
It is with this in mind, that we trudge to the roof of the Oh Yeah building in Belfast, where members of A Plastic Rose, And So I Watch You From Afar, and MojoFURY have thrown caution to the wind – both metaphorical and literal – and decided to recreate the Beatles performance, 40 years later to the day.
The wind and rain are howling in the bones of our faces (as Bob Dylan didn’t quite sing), and the conditions can only really be described as “Truly Horrible”. Equipment is strapped down to the ground, as the wind threatens to hurl the PA off the roof of the building, right on top of a curious policeman, who is greedily eyeing up all the illegally parked vehicles outside. However, the spirit of Lennon and Harrison must have been looking down upon us, as the rain eased off slightly, allowing some level of calm to descend upon the scene.
The Snoodles – Come Together
Download for iPod (27.6MB)
The Bandwidth films team scurrying around between us, intently wanting to capture this glorious spectacle, your correspondent found himself surrounded by musicians united by their love of the Beatles, and a general predisposition towards mischief. Talk breaks out as to who will be the first to be arrested, as guitars are tuned, drums are hit, and Gerry Norman’s hat defies the laws of physics by remaining rooted to his head, despite what seem like gale-force winds.
After a short wait, in which water began seeping through my tired and old shoes, the band begin to play. Bizarrely, amid the wind, and the drizzle, and the fact that I feel like I’ve developed a bad case of trench foot, the band really begin to play, their enthusiasm becoming completely infectious. Office workers in the surrounding area throw open their windows to hear the music, and a bunch of construction workers on some nearby scaffolding begin shouting their appreciation.
The Snoodles – Get Back
Download for iPod (16.3MB)
Three songs later, and it’s all over. History has, indeed been made. And, in keeping with the curse of the rooftop gig, this conglomeration of bands, loosely called either And So I Watch Your Plastic Mojo, or The Snoodles, spilt up, having just preserved for all eternity their one and only performance.
If this is history, let it be known that I WAS THERE! If not, my feet will someday recover, and it beats sitting in the office any day.
And perhaps that’s the true legacy of The Beatles?
Director: Will McConnell
Camera: Will McConnell, David Neill, Genevieve Ewing
Sound: David Donnelly, Andrew Melville
Bandwidth 2009
Panda Kopanda – Spirals
We first met Panda Kopanda back in 2007, when we filmed their Crescent Arts Centre gig as part of a short film project we were making. As we unashamedly admitted back then, Panda Kopanda are one of Bandwidth’s personal favourite Belfast bands – so the opportunity to work with them again was always oh-so-secretly hoped for.
In the winter of 2008 that happy wish came true. The band approached us looking for a debut video single for their achingly-anticipated upcoming album ‘This Hope Will Kill Us’ – the concept was a total eyeopener to us. Like a lighting bolt it was apparent to us – ‘Spirals’ wasn’t to be a single in the traditional sense, but rather a visual ‘accompaniment’ to the album. Makes sense if you think about it – what else are music videos?
Furthermore, even though the Pandas’ Crescent Arts Center gig had been originally intended as part of a short film, it never occurred to us at the time to include the film’s protagonist, Heather (played so well by Ellen Turley, who you may recognise from The Pecadillos), as she watches the band play during the scene. ‘Spirals’ was intended to remedy this, and continue the story of Heather some time later. Ellen came back to reprise the role once more (albeit with shorter hair) and the band obliged, lead singer Gavin confusing matters by turning up in a delighful sparkly dress (don’t ask don’t tell). Watch the leary camera angles and ‘drunken’ wobbling frame – then the mystery feet skulking away down the staircase at the video’s end. There’s a story going on here that doesn’t involve the band – its a drunken love story between two spectators. But the dress doesn’t have anything to do with it.
And yes, despite some brief cutaway filming grabbed during soundcheck, this is all footage of the band playing the song live, captured in one solid take, at the Club Flick-knife night in the Pavillion, Belfast, the week before Hallowe’en 2008 (that explains the plastic cobwebs then).
Director/Camera: Will McConnell
Bandwidth Films 2008
Dutch Schultz – It Bends In The Middle
Bandwidth was approached by our friends over at DiDiMau Records to manage a whole new look for N. Ireland trio Dutch Schultz to coincide with the release of their latest single ‘It Bends In The Middle’ and the subsequent re-release of their 2008 album ‘Carve Our Names’.
No small feat.
The record company wanted a ‘sexy and cool, but also light hearted’ approach to ‘It Bends..’ The band had watched and loved Bandwidth’s other work, but we ourselves wanted a departure from our usual aesthetic, while still keeping some of our visual trademarks.
In other words, we sourced some pole dancers and high heels and got to work.
Willy Mundel from Dutch Schultz: “We got together with Bandwidth and the initial ideas for the bends video where fast cars, fast motorcycles and sexy ladies with tattoos rescuing the band from various scenes of peril shot and acted in a comical way. When we stepped back and took a look at the original ideas we quickly noticed our lack of comedy acting, fast motorcycles and American muscle cars could be a problem.
“So the idea was simplified to sexy girl with tattoos, we couldn’t go wrong. The band playing in drag was a last minute suggestion by Will, but one welcomed by all the band as we all have a fondness for glam rock and Gary glitter, who doesn’t?”
“Shooting the video was a lot of fun, my only major annoyance that I cant forgive them for is having to wear high heels that I looked so well in and they wouldn’t let me take them home. The whole process from start to finish was very easy going, professional and we didn’t seem to run into any problems, none the band where aware of anyway.”
Up front and giving it stacks is Joanna Robinson, All-Ireland pole dancing champion (and look out for her in Ghost Machine) who, in her own words, wanted to show Kate Moss a thing or two. And the band will swear that high heels and wigs were not their original idea, but we at Bandwidth remember it otherwise”
Stay tuned for further collaboration with the band on their next single in Spring of 2009. Expect something a little more sober next time. or as Willy puts it, “We’ve already had discussions for our next video where we’re attempting to create a musical dramatisation based on a scaled down version of the magnificent seven, filmed on a giant chessboard, I cant wait..”
Director: Will McConnell
Director of Photography: Martin Bolton
Costumes: Timmy White
Key Grip: Gavin Moriarty
Bandwidth 2008
General Fiasco
Owen Strathern from General Fiasco – ‘Please Take Your Time’ (Acoustic)
Download for iPod (19.5MB)
Fresh from a storming set on the final night of the Solidarity gigs, General Fiasco were buzzing and ready for a little more. Owen, main vocalist and bassist of the band, grabbed Johnny Black from La Faro’s guitar (shhh) and played ‘Please Take Your Time’ while we waited for our Guinness to settle (look out for Enda, General Fiasco’s lead guitarist, at the end of the clip)
You may remember Bandwidth’s work with General Fiasco waaaaaay back for the ATL TV spot on an early demo version of their breakthrough hit Rebel Get By. The guys have come along way since then – working crowds and winning them over night after night on a support slot with One Night Only – and gathering a small army of well deserved fans while they’re at it. But put an acoustic guitar and a pint in front of them and you realise their enthusiasm for live music only gets stonger with time.
That’s the spirit of Bandwidth – the essence of the performance and the performer shining through. That magic of a live gig bottled and youtubed. Who else coudl do it better? Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to bring you… one guitar and a guy from General Fiasco… Magic.
Director: Will McConnell
Sound: David Donnelly
Bandwidth 2008
Silences 
The Lost Brothers 
Ash 
Delorentos 
I’ve Been Taken 
This Ain’t A Hold Up 
The Dark Knight Rises, But Then So Does Hot Air. 
I Don’t Know 
