Determined, confident and energetic, the four lads behind Galway band, Telebox, talk practice spaces named after bomb shelters, the collective love they share for Leitrim, the launch of their debut EP, 'What is the Point?', and upcoming gig at Róisín Dubh on Saturday, July 1.
Many among us will have fond memories of setting up a 'band' in their teens. Take that experience, ignore half of it, cut out the lack of discipline and give it some kind of performance enhancing drug and you have Telebox.
The origins of Telebox can be traced back to cousins, Joe Kelly (vocals and guitar ) and Stevie Healy (drums ) who have been playing together since their early teens in groups that laid the foundation for the group's formation. The two were joined a couple of years later by Connall Ó Floinn (guitar ) with the fourth and final member, Eoin Killeen (bass ) bringing the trio into a quad in April 2022, just one month before their first concert as a Telebox.
"We only formed in April, and we were more focused on getting the show done for May, rather than what came after that," said Eoin, adding, "We had a really disorganised summer, not that we had the choice as we were all away at different times, but we really only had three weeks during the summer that we were all together."
Maintaining an air of mystery
The level of confidence needed to book a gig without a bassist, cannot be understated, and it sums up Telebox, both as a collective and its members, perfectly.
The first four weeks of the band's formation were spent deep in preparation in their practice space referred to as The Bunker. The location of The Bunker is so secret that when its location is queried, a kind of hush overtakes the table.
Eoin is the first to tackle a response with a purposefully vague, "It's in the general area of Galway city."
"We have been sworn to secrecy," said Joe, explaining that The Bunker's secrecy is a combination of an external decision and the band also wanting to maintain some element of mystery.
"We like the secrecy at the same time, I mean what if someone targets of our huge pile of cash we have hidden?" Conall's statement is followed up with a laugh from the lads that confirms whatever is in the The Bunker, it is definitely not a huge pile of cash.
Telebox may have a bomb shelter-esque creative hub, but securing appropriate stages to showcase the result of all that hard earned practising has been a learning process for the band. The issues faced by Telebox in securing venues that will allow not only the band, but their fans, friends and family who are not yet 18 to attend, highlight perhaps a greater issue faced by teenage music lovers who get little opportunity to enjoy the city's bustling music scene. The band's first two Telebox gigs in Róisín Dubh were all age, daytime events and the sell out success for the first gig proves that there may be a market for more.
Playing through the pain
As if they didn't have enough on their plate between the Leaving Cert, social lives and competing schedules, the additional drama of a guitarist with only one working arm due to a broken wrist from a rugby injury, and a lead singer hobbling around with an orthopaedic boot, ate into what little time they could scrounge together. As well as being the ideal band for a medical plaster company to sponsor, Telebox has persevered and proved their mettle, playing some 30 gigs both within Galway and across Ireland over the last 14 months and recording their debut EP.
An extraordinary feat for any group even without the dramatics Telebox experienced in 2022.
"Personality wise, I think we are all very stubborn," said Joe, instantly interrupted by three noises of agreement before adding, "We are all very eager to improve and to produce good music and get on."
"It is essential to the band that we can't leave practice being annoyed at each other, we try to keep the friendship at the main part of the band," said Stevie.
"We have had some arguments, but it always comes back to the fact that we are here because we want to be, and so far that has gone pretty well, There's a nice balance, like there is definitely conflict, but I think you will find that with even the most agreeable people in the world. If I am annoyed with one of the lads, or two of the lads, there will always be one person I am not annoyed with," said Conall.
"That is the other thing, with four of us, there is always a mediator regardless of what is going on, there is always someone to step in and say, 'Ok unbiased opinion, you're being a dick'."
The cohesion between the four is visible during the interview, with each of them bouncing off each other in a way that is conductive, a thought started by Joe will be finished by Eoin, or if they agree with one, the other three will amplify that voice. It helps that they unanimously agree that there is a fifth member of Telebox, photographer Leo Seoige who is described in revered tones as if he were the patron saint of Telebox.
The year that makes or breaks it
With Joe having already received and deferred a place to study at the University of Brighton in England in favour of "keeping the momentum going," Conall willing to make the trek from Cork for practice and gigs during his first year at college, Stevie going into Leaving Cert and Eoin keeping the fires lit back in Galway, it is apparent that the members of Telebox are genuinely willing to risk for reward.
"I just want to be able to keep playing music," added Conall during the long discussion about bands that inspire them, "The goal is to be able to do this. To be able to live and not just day to day, but live comfortably and be able to enjoy life as well."
This thought is followed by Joe, who adds, "It is such a privilege to be able to create for a living. It is such an honour and a privilege to be able to create in anyway, be it through music or making something, any form of expression is beloved. We are willing to work our asses off for the next five or 10 years to get to that point."
Thanks to supportive parents, friends and loved ones helping them to achieve the goal, coupled with the band's overall ambition to keep going, 10 years might be underselling themselves.
'What is the Point?'
Recorded in LakeLand Studios and overseen by Michael O'Dowd and his team, 'What is the Point?' is the band's first professionally recorded work, but I doubt it will be the last. Featuring a blend of older, previously released songs which have been reincarnated through Eoin's bass playing, 'What is the Point?' is a brilliant first release, hinting at the broad potential the group offers.
"There is a real willingness to change or adapt sound. No track has to fit within a certain criteria, Telebox is not just another concept band," explains Conall.
Thinking 'Outside the Box'
In a strange twist of Galway fate, as we are talking about networking the attention shifts as Julie Dawson, lead singer of fellow Galway band New Dad, fresh off supporting Paolo Nutini on his tour, walks past. There are waves and hellos shared between the two groups, before the lads continue their train of thought.
They confirm that the Galway, and even the wider Irish music scene is a saturated market, but is one that allows for collaboration - not competition, something that has helped them get to where they are now, with the upcoming tour and newly released EP.
"Instead of focusing on one gig in the Róisín, we are looking at the bigger picture and trying to grow rather than just play for one gig for specific people, but also to get outside of Galway. We have used connections with bands we know from outside of Galway, like Cork, Limerick, Dublin and Leitrim to do return gigs."
The presence of Leitrim in the list surprises me, but conversations about networking are temporarily forgotten in favour of a brief Leitrim appreciation detour.
"That was our first gig outside of Galway and it was best fun, the most fun of all time," Conell rather enthusiastically declared, wistfully shaking his head as if he wished he was still back there.
Using these networks and connections, Telebox has arranged to showcase the best of Irish up and coming talent in aptly named festival 'Outside the Box' in Aras na Gael on July 17, which will be featuring a stacked line-up.
Between the festival, the upcoming July 1 gig in Róisín Dubh as part of their tour and the release of EP, 'What is the Point?', the 'make or break year' for Telebox is off to a very promising start. Plans to take the group into a travelling band are in the works, with Joe impatiently awaiting his driving test appointment to make it a reality.
Tickets for the upcoming Róisín Dubh concert on Saturday, July 1 are €11 and are available from roisindubh.net, further concert dates for the 'What is the Point?' tour and the upcoming Outside the Box Festival, have been shared on the group's Instagram page @_telebox_
