A United Ireland
My interviews with Belfast's Protex and Dublin/Nashville band The Sleeveens
Here I sit, five minutes into regretting my decision to watch Joe Biden's State of the Union Address. You can only hear so many imperialist platitudes and empty promises from that podium before all the anecdotes start falling on deaf ears. When Biden had to include “Wall Street didn’t build this country — they ain’t bad guys — they didn’t build it though” in his pep talk about his love of unions, I knew that watching this was a mistake.
I haven’t been writing here, but I want that to change. I have been spending a lot of time looking for a new career in content design/UX writing as well as staying up on the freelance work. But over the last 2 weeks, I have had the good fortune of publishing 2 pieces on a pair of bands with roots on The Emerald Isle.
The Sleeveens have only been a band for a year, but the four-piece power pop unit has a 7-inch on Sweet Time and a self-titled album on Dirtnap Records. While three members live in Nashville, the frontman Stefan Murphy is a Dubliner. The Sleeveens, now finishing up their second tour, will be playing three gigs with first-wave Belfast punk band Protex. These were interesting projects to work on simultaneously. One band, four middle-aged men, is forging brand new music in a freshly formed band. The other, with only a solitary original member left, has found new energy 45 years after they formed.
I will be updating this more in the future. I have a few projects on the horizon. Keep watching.