Worldsend are a band that came together in 2008, but they bring with them a history of the local rock scene that dates back to the 1980s with members of the band having played in various groups over the years.
Worldsend consists of Eddie Currie on vocals, J McCloskey on guitar, Paul Boyd on bass and Alistair Campbell on drums. I’ve known Eddie for about 30 years so the idea of interviewing him seemed rather odd but with recent announcements it seemed like a good time to talk about Worldsend and future plans.
NI ROCKS – Eddie, thanks for taking a few minutes to answer some questions for Rock Radio NI. Give us a quick background on the band members and what brought you back into the music scene.
WORLDSEND – I guess it all started when Steve Campbell now of Rough Diamonds brought us round some remixed demos from an unfinished Annexe album. We’d kind of been messing about re-recording these songs in our studio in Comber with Steve on drums, Paul Boyd originally from No Hot Ashes on Bass, J McCloskey on guitar & me vocals. It had been quite a while since any of us had played in a rock band although we’d all independently been doing bits of cover band and acoustic stuff over the years, let’s just say we were having a bit of fun!
In August 2008, Andy Allen gave us a call to do a Marie Curie Fund Raiser in Rosetta for his late sister Lorraine and to be honest we didn’t have enough original material and ended up playing a set of covers ranging from Mr Big’s Green Tinted Sixties Mind through to All My Life by Foo Fighters, and a bit of White Lion thrown in for good measure – no surprise to anyone who remembers Annexe in the Rosetta!
I remember we all loved the buzz after that gig, we had a few beers and before we knew it we’d all been sucked back into the then re-emerging hard rock scene as we all know it today, within a few months we had begun writing new songs under the Worldsend banner.
NI ROCKS – It’s been a great couple of weeks for the band with the official announcements of the support slots on the Little Angels tour in Nottingham (6th Dec), Wolverhampton (7th Dec), Glasgow (8th Dec) and Belfast (9th Dec) and inclusion in the Hard Rock Hell AOR Festival in Rotherham next April along with Tesla, Danny Vaughn, Skid Row, FM, Kip Winger and many more. Has it all sunk in yet?
WORLDSEND - We’re really blessed to have been given the chance to take Worldsend to the mainland. Toby Jepson is a guy we have all got to know well over the years and we were completely gob smacked to be asked to join the first half of the tour. We’ve had a really awesome time over past few weeks getting the band in shape for the gigs and stepping out on the stages of some of the UK’s most amazing venues will be an absolutely amazing experience!
We had planned to release our second album in December but I think anyone will agree the chance to play these prestigious gigs at the expense of the new recording was a decision that would be easy to make? We’ve added two new songs from the album to the set list for the tour and we’re hoping to give the guys in the Midlands and Scotland a taste of both Letters To A Lost Soul and the new edge from Worldsend
Hard Rock Hell AOR festival came right off the back of the Little Angels news and what a lineup to be part of. This festival is one of the UK’s up and coming events and to be given a 19:30 to 20:30 second stage time is an unbelievable opportunity! Tesla is one of my all-time favourite bands and it will be so great to watch and learn from the likes of Kip Winger and Danny Vaughn! These guys are fantastic song writers.
We now plan to deliver the second album to coincide with HRH AOR so the early part of 2013 will be a very exciting time for Worldsend
NI ROCKS - Worldsend have been playing local venues around N Ireland and the Republic for a while, but would I be right in saying that these will be your first shows across the water?
WORLDSEND – Yeah Nigel, but I guess there is a first time for everything! We’re really excited about meeting new friends and hopefully making our mark! Already there are new likes/ follows on Facebook and Twitter and people have been very kind to comment on the songs from Letters and some of the existing promo but the rest is up to us!! It great to be added to the ever increasing list of local hard rock bands that have played on the mainland and while it will be a really big expectation to reach the level of Sweet Savage, Trucker and M$R, we really believe our songs are strong enough to prick up a few ears.
NI ROCKS – Worldsend’s debut album “Letters To Lost Souls” was officially launched in May 2011 although it had been around in demo form for about a year before that. How quickly did the song writing process come together after a few years of hiatus?
WORLDSEND – I would say it was challenging in the beginning, I think because we worked hard to try to develope a style and nurture something that we believed was different from what we’d heard locally. J is a very technically minded musician and those who have listened to our tracks will be aware of some of the syncopated breakdowns and odd time signatures we use.
I think as time has passed and we have become more aware of each other’s style, Worldsend songs have become a bit easier to get down but we still put a lot of work into trying to make a song distinctive.
There are still numerous demos of songs that didn’t see a live set and many a draft version of songs that featured on Letters To Lost Souls! Like a lot of other bands, we never really bin anything. The desk in our studio is loaded with ideas that we will tap into on regular occasions.
We always try to convey a story or real life situation we have experienced in our songs, not only through the lyrics but with pace and atmosphere of the music.
NI ROCKS – The band’s promotional focus this year has been on the concept of a Revolution. That was backed up by a great track called “Little Revolution” .What was the thinking behind “The Revolution”.
WORLDSEND – It’s funny but nobody has ever asked that before and it’s strange but the basis of the idea is nothing like people imagine!
Little Revolution is a song about the power of social media and how it has become part of all our lives? The Revolution doesn’t signify the “call to uprising” as it were but the revolution of the planet or in simple terms what makes the world go round – it’s a kind of play on words and associates itself with the band name! The artwork and concept of the new album will very much align itself with the promotional work we have been sharing.
It was originally planned that the release would coincide with the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21st but as explained earlier, the Little Angels tour was a massive chance and we decided to postpone until early 2013! If the prophecy does come true, at least we’ll have saved a few quid on recording!!
NI ROCKS – When can we expect a new album from Worldsend? Have you learnt anything from the release of “Letters To Lost Souls” that will influence how the new album is released and marketed?
WORLDSEND – Laughs! Looks like I kinda answered some of this in the last question!
We sold an acceptable number of hard copies through e bay and at our gigs but we probably need to take advantage of the digital medium this time around – looking at Spotify and itunes as a platform for release? This has been pretty successful for many other bands locally but I think there are still many of us who like to own the crystal case and booklet – you know me, I’m old school – I love to read the sleeve notes and lyrics.
Musically the new material has a harder edge and a heavier guitar and drum input than Letters and that’s something we are pretty excited about. The new material still carries a Worldsend stamp but Alistair brings a new hard hitting rhythm section to the party which gives the whole thing a bigger sound. Paul and J are really feeding off each on the guitar parts which keeps the songs interesting. The combination of these things keeps me on my toes and I hope we’ve come up with some songs people will associate with.
We didn’t really gig test the songs on Letters as much as we would have liked to so this time we have been introducing the new material into the live set over the past few months – feedback has been great so far and as previously indicated, we’ve added two of the new songs into the set for the Angels.
NI ROCKS – Any other plans in development for 2013? What would like to see Worldsend doing within the next 12 months?
WORLDSEND – We take nothing for granted at the moment, the local scene is packed with so many very talented bands and we count ourselves lucky to be part of it! In the last year alone, local acts have found new levels of success in the UK and Europe.
I think we’d really like to take advantage of the chance we’ve been given on LA and HRH. This has opened up a whole new avenue of exposure and opportunity for Worldsend in 2013 – something that we need to work hard to benefit from. We’ve also been in discussions about some other mainland opportunity for later in the year and maybe see some London gigs come to fruition.
Worldsend played some gigs in Ireland last year and I’d really like to see us get back down there this year, possibly organize s small tour – the guys last time were amazing craic and made us all feel very welcome.
Closer to home, I think the Diamond Rock Bar in Ahoghill has to be a venue which we will strive to try to play more often. Anytime we have been there in the past, it has been awesome. The newly emerging Comrades Club in Ballyclare is another venue which attracts great crowds – both venues are top class!
NI ROCKS – The music industry has changed a lot since the late 80s and early 90s. The internet of course is probably the biggest single symbol of that change. It’s a bit of a double edged sword for bands presumably? Yes it offers opportunities for promotion that would have been impossible before, but file sharing and downloading has forever changed the music sales business. Do you yearn for the old days or have you embraced the new media and the need to maintain band pages on Facebook, Twitter, Reverbnation etc?
WORLDSEND – The medium may have changed but I think the message is still very much the same – excellent local talent delivering great live music, great recordings and well promoted gigs. The only real impact of the digital revolution has been on the music industry's monopoly on access to quality recording tools. Everyone has near access to home studio equipment and PC based software so the opportunity to record and self-promote your music on social media is fully accessible!
In the past we all worked hard to punt our self-made cassette demos and bands in Belfast were regularly spotted on the streets late of an evening fly postering their gigs. It was funny, we’d spend all night running around town hiding from the cops, sticking up posters all night, then drive round to check out the impact; only to find Terry Hooley had pasted over all your work with big Good Vibrations posters – hard lessons!
Facebook & Reverbnation have given Worldsend the opportunity to spread the revolution into Europe and the States so I guess the paste bucket loses out to the laptop.
NI ROCKS – You’ve played the pubs and clubs in Belfast and beyond during the 80s/90s and again over the past couple of years. What are the biggest changes in terms of performing live? Other than the fact that the crowd watching you now is probably older and has less hair! Lol.
WORLDSEND – Not sure about the hair!
The venues are certainly better equipped – it’s a big bonus not to have to rent your own PA and lights. There are definitely more widespread places to play and the support from sites like NI Rocks is invaluable. The whole NI hard rock / metal scene seems to be united in keeping the arena alive and I would go as far as to say it’s a lot more exciting and possibly more challenging than before. Original material was not as popular then and even the biggest bands played a selection of covers through their set – probably a product of the show band era? Speaking to some of our peers, I think we all look back on those days with affection. It was all very Spandex & hairspray!!
NI ROCKS - At a personal level what bands are you listening to these days? Any recommendations for someone wanting to spend some money on a cd?
WORLDSEND – Early influences include Sabbath, Rush and Zeppelin and I think you never come away from the classics. More recently bands such as King's X and Coheed & Cambria (their new album The Ascension is astounding) are major influences but the full back catalogue is also amazing. The iPod is pretty much loaded with every type of hard rock / metal but I particularly rate bands like Perfect Circle & Tool and I’ve always admired Kip Winger as a song writer; I think his later (non hair metal) material is the standard! If that’s too softie, you’ll find some Black Tide, Alter Bridge, and Queensryche. If it’s a recommendation for 2013 check out Alpha Flood.
Of local bands, I’ve been listening to Co Antrim band Stillpoint, they are just amazing! Ajenda’s material gets stronger and stronger and new boys Bakken have seriously impressed me.
NI ROCKS – Thanks for responding to those questions for Rock Radio NI. We wish you all the best of luck with the upcoming Little Angels tour and we look forward to a new album in the not too distant future.
You can find out more about Worldsend at
www.reverbnation.com/worldsendmusic
or
www.facebook.com/worldsendmusic
or follow them on Twitter
www.twitter.com/worldsend_music