WHILE THE winter closes in around us, there will be a piece of Galway forever bathed in sunshine - the Róisín Dubh on a night when The Kanyu Tree play.
The Kanyu Tree - brothers Daniel (guitar/vocals ), Shane (vocals ), Oisín Cluskey (bass/vocals ), and James Casserly (drums ) - will play the Róisín Dubh on St Stephen’s Day at 9pm.
It will be a night of sunshine filled vocal harmonies, pure pop, a touch of soul, and highly danceable white boy funk. This will be the second time The Kanyu Tree has played the Róisín on St Stephen’s Day. The first time they did so was last year, and they’re looking forward to doing it all over again. On the night they will play favourites like ‘Shima’, ‘Tanglewood’, ‘Congratulations’, ‘In My Drums’, and ‘Crocodile’ as well as the brace of impressive new material they have developed over the last 12 months.
“Our song-writing has definitely matured over the last year,” Daniel tells me. “It still, however, has that upbeat element to it that makes you want to dance.”
Another song likely to be given an airing on the night is the very catchy ‘Finian McCann’ with its refrain: “I wish I had a brain like Finian McCann.” Who is this man and what led the band to write it?
“For the record, Finian is a real person,” says Daniel. “He was in college with Oisín and is, what modern society would refer to as, a genius. He got Oisín most of the year through college. A song about him is the least Oisín could do to thank the master.”
This year has certainly been a good one for the brothers Clusky and a year of change as well. Shane stepped out from behind the drumkits to take over lead vocal duties while James Casserly stepped in to look after percussion duties.
“At first it felt a bit unnatural for Shane stepping out front but he quickly found his feet,” says Daniel. “He’s a good mover and seems to enjoy the front man role! It’s a lot less stress without the drums. Now he can concentrate solely on his vocals. James has fitted in really well! He’s a great drummer and very easy to get along with. The girls love him as well!”
The Salthill based band have declared 2008 “our best year” so far, having secured support slots with Ocean Colour Scene, The Hold Steady, and The Feeling, and playing Cois Fharraige with The Zutons, Futureheads, and The Coronas.
So, any wild experiences or tales of rock‘n’roll debauchery from those events? “Cois Fharraige has probably been our biggest gig yet,” says Daniel. “We were pretty nervous hitting the stage. Then into our second song Oisín - in true Oisín fashion - broke a string on his bass. Thankfully The Coronas were at hand and lent us theirs. It was a close one! Funny looking back on it now, but very unfunny at the time.”
When asked to single out one highlight from 2008, the band opt for the gig in the Róisín Dubh to launch their second single ‘Congratulations’.
“By far it was the best gig we’ve ever played,” says Daniel. “Although we reached a higher spot on the charts with ‘Tanglewood’, ‘Congratulations’ seemed to make more waves for us. It’s helped us climb the ladder but it’s a very tall one!”
Now that 2008 is drawing to a close and 2009 is almost upon us, what are The Kanyu Tree’s plans for the next 12 months?
“At the moment, we’ve been doing a bit of songwriting and recording at home and plan to keep that going into the New Year,” says Daniel. “As far as touring goes, we’ve nothing definite yet. Hopefully we’ll have an album out by the summer with a string of gigs to promote it.”
Many great bands over the decades have been made up of brothers - The Kinks, Oasis, and The Beegees for example. However The Kinks and Oasis see a lot of combustion and rivalry between siblings while The Beegees were as harmonious as their vocals. Which category do The Kanyu Tree fall into?
“Every Friday we do an hour of bare knuckle fighting to relieve all that tension,” says Daniel. “It’s the best way to keep things harmonious in The Kanyu Tree!”
Admission is free. Go to www.myspace.com/thekanyutree
