For those struggling with the pronunciation, it’s kind of like “Vorn-strocity”. For all other information, we pass you over to the “band” himself…
Simple things first – where are you from?
Belfast!
How long have you been playing as a solo act?
Just this year!, I’m still doing my bass duties in ‘So long until the séance’ and I’m now just booking gigs to play the new tracks live.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Never get sick of this question, my parents still love that they get a shout out when asked! Parents were both musicians and picked my name outta Ruaidhri Gallagher and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The ‘strosity’ add-on came from playing in my horror punk band and needed a name to fit in, was initially gonna be Von hoots but this is clearly the better choice!
What are your influences?
It’s super varied, at the minute I’m really into Malevolence, Don Broco, The Midnight and Bring me the Horizon. I love tons of other artists though: Kascada, Shania Twain, Electric Callboy, and so many more so my influences are all over the place.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
My music is an amalgam of all the above influences lovingly crafted into a modern punk, emo, synth soundscape. I’m trying to forge a new ‘riffy’ path into metal and EDM that everyone can vibe along too.
If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Honestly I tend to write about what I’m feeling at the time but give it a little party flavour so that it’s not too serious. Some might see this as weird but for me humour has always been how I cope with things, everyone has their own tone right? So being able to put songs together and add a funny twist either in videos or lyrics or samples will always be there.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
As a solo act I’m gearing up for my first string of shows relatively soon! I’ve just came back from playing with So Long Until The Seance on bass as the IRE/UK tour opener
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Running around and being an idiot with my wireless pack has become a staple for me, I’m trying to find a slot in the set where I can run to the bar down a pint and get back while playing guitar. The wildest thing I’ve ever seen is Amon Amourth’s rowing which will never get old.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
It’s a bit all over the place but the main rig is Legator Guitars or ESP Guitars all tuned to Drop A with 12-58 Skull Strings. My guitar goes into my HX stomp which my laptop controls the patch changes via MIDI in a Reaper project file which also provides all the backing tracks I need. I keep a Boss TU-2 on the board and a MXR studio compressor with a mission engineering line 6 pedal for anything that needs an expression. The helix patch I tend to use is either the Bulb rhythm or any of the Revv amp sims with just a ts9 boost in front. I’m a simple guy for tone.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
I’ll never pass up an opportunity to promote a few bands! E.B and the Deadlights, Nomadus and Archives are all worth your time and are simply incredible acts. Also a shameless self-plug but check out my other horror punk band So Long Until The Séance, if you’re after a spooky fix!
What are your plans for the next 6 months or so?
Gig as much as humanly possible across Ireland and UK. I’ll be taking the ferry straight to Scotland for any show I can get on or to Dublin or to Cork. I’ll be playing them all. If I’m not gigging I’ll be streaming, essentially consistently on the go and growing as much as i humanly can.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
Don Broco or BMTH headliner opener would always be a friends band giving the opportunity. If it was Broco I’d take Deadlights and Archives if BMTH. I really hope either of those happen some point in my life as that’d be insane
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