A quick Q&A session with Dublin based band New Amusement Who or what has been the biggest influence on New Amusement's sound? Well when we started Brian and I were obsessed with At the Drive-in so there was a lot of shouting & noisy amelodic guitars but it was a bit ridiculous to be honest. I think that taught us not to let any one band have such a big influence on us & just let 'the sound' come naturally. Even though we still love those heavier bands (like ATDI, Les Savy Fav, Drive Like Jehu, Fugazi) we also love more melodic poppy stuff like The Killers, The Cardigans, and New Order - so it all comes together in a big messy melting pot I suppose. What has been your favourite venue to play in? The Spirit Store in Dundalk is a nice place - nice location, good atmosphere, a shack out the back to drink cans in. We played there with Fight Like Apes earlier in the year & when we arrived there was a cat sitting at the bar drinking a saucer of mi... [Read on]

The Futureheads bass player on life post-major label... Sig Doherty recently caught up with Jaff, the bass wielding heartbeat of English post punkster’s the Futureheads midway through their British tour. He had popped back home between sell out shows in Glasgow and Birmingham to catch up with his fiancé and dog, and lucky I catch him, as he has just finished washing up, and is about to hit the town for some Christmas shopping. Rock and roll ladies and gentlemen. A reality check being home? For sure, touring around Britain as opposed to the States, Asia or Australia, when you get the chance to pop home you grab, keeps you grounded, and domesticated! Hearty congrats on your 3rd long play ‘This is not the world’, a rip roaring album it must be said. Well thanks very much, we’re all very proud of it. It was released independently... Yeah, the major dropped us last year when the 2nd album, ‘News and Tributes’ didn&rsqu... [Read on]