Biography
Band on an Island were formed in 2003 by five friends Ciaran Dwyer, Robert Mockler, Gavin Elsted, Andrew O Donnell and Eimear Dempsey. Born kicking back against the frustrations of living in a small town, all the while embracing the great characters, heritage and places that their birthplace of Newbridge has to offer. The band quickly gained a reputation as one of the most passionate and entertaining bands to come from County Kildare. Their incendiary live shows from touring became the talk of wherever was lucky enough to witness them. The energy and passion on display earned comparisons to the Clash by the NME and their fiddle-led folk / punk sound was likened to the Waterboys by Hotpress.
Shortly after befriending Dublin troubadour The Mighty Stef, they signed to his label, The Firstborn Is Dead Recordings. Following this the band released their debut EP, The Burning Shoulder, which debuted at Number 33 in the Irish Charts. The band cites the hardworking songwriter as one of their biggest Influences and it’s clear for all to see the influence he has had on the bands' sound and attitude towards music.
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Numerous blistering live shows around Ireland followed, along with a jaunt around the rugged small towns of West Virginia and Pennsylvania in The USA along with countless support slots with likes of Damien Dempsey, The Republic of Loose, Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine from Planxty to name a few.
The Departure of Robert Mockler & Gavin Elsted in 2008 threatened to finish the band just as work for their debut LP was finished. The band refused to fall on its sword and true to their nature they pushed on and enlisted the talents of close friend Conal Dempsey and local sticksman Gary Wickham. The final piece of the jigsaw fell in place in unusual fashion when a last minute collaboration with cellist and presenter on the popular Balcony T.V Internet Music Show, Pauline Freeman lead to her joining the band on Cello and Trumpet. Band on an Islands’ eagerly awaited debut “The Sound Sweep” Will be out this November on the Mighty Stef's Firstborn is Dead recordings.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.