HOTLY-TIPPED to make a huge impact over the next six months, Dublin band Kodaline conclude their British tour this week in support of their recently-released EP, High Hopes.
Their debut single, All I Want sold more than 100,000 copies last year and hopes are high for their 11-song debut album, In A Perfect World, which will be unveiled this summer.
During a recent tour of the US, we caught up with frontman and chief songwriter Steve Garrigan…
Who are your heroes?
Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Sam Cooke, to name a few.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Jeff Buckley - Satisfied Mind. The lyrics say it all for me to be honest.
What record sends a shiver down your spine?
Ted Hawkins cover of Credence Clearwater Revival’s Long As I Can See The Light. It makes me think about how short life is. When John Lennon screams in his song Mother, that's also a spine-tingling moment.
What is your favourite place in Ireland?
Swords is a great town, we also spend a lot of time at the Old Bailey in Howth. It’s beautiful. Anywhere in Galway or Kerry, my nana will be happy I mentioned Kerry.
What is your most treasured possession?
My phone, I've lost it a few times and lost a lot of notes and lyrics I write, which is a killer.
What makes you angry?
Animal cruelty, racism...small-mindedness in general! But on a lighter note 'stepping on a plug barefooted first thing in the morning'.
What book influenced you most?
Bob Dylan’s Chronicles really opened up my eyes to the power of music. It also made me fall in love with New York without ever being there.
If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?
There are too many things to mention, I wish I wasn't so insecure.
What gives your life meaning?
Music, family and friends.
Can you tell me a joke?
What's big red and will kill you if it falls out of a tree?
A firetruck.
It's not a very good joke, sorry about that.
Can you recommend an interesting website?
www.Huffingtonpost.com, for all your non-real world news, when everything else gets a bit too heavy. I’d recommend a look at that.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Listen to and take in advice but follow your own instincts.
When did you last cry?
I got a bit emotional at a gig a few weeks ago. I was singing one of our songs and it just hit me hard, really didn’t see it coming.
What do you see when you look in the mirror?
A shy, blonde haired boy in desperate need of a haircut.
What is your favourite film and why?
It's A Wonderful Life. It really is the simple things in life that matter the most, it's very easy to get caught up in things that don't matter. Just watch it!
What is your passion?
Music.
What do you have hanging on your walls at home that you like looking at most?
A few landscape paintings and a big photograph of New York City skyline in the nighttime. There are also a few famous quotes of general encouragement stuck in random places.
What was your most formative experience?
Probably being heartbroken or dropping out of college. Until then I really hated what I was doing but was too scared to drop out, it was soul destroying.
What do you believe in?
Ghosts, God and aliens - anything that can't be proved or disproved. I’m a true believer in following your own instincts.
What trait do others criticise you about?
I can obsess over things if they’re not right, sometimes it's frustrating for others.
What is the funniest thing you’ve ever seen or heard?
It changes from time to time. YouTube is a gold mine for random videos.
What is your favourite word one-liner or retort?
‘Yeah that's cool man’ or ‘Nah man’.
What would your motto be?
'Positive thinking is the most powerful thing in the world'.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I think a fireman or a lawyer but I think those choices were put into my head by other people. Music was and is what I love.
What are the best and worst things about where you live?
We live in Moseley in Birmingham at the moment, although we haven't got to see the place properly as we're never there, but it's got a very cool vibe about it.
Which Irish work of art would you recommend most highly?
Astral Weeks by Van Morrison.
The best thing about the past 12 months was….
Meeting new people, travelling to new places, playing sold out shows and writing music.
My biggest goal over the next 12 months is….
That we play to as many people as possible or that or music reaches the ears of many people as possible.
Kodaline’s British tour ends in London on April 4.
