THE ORIGIN of the name is always a good topic of conversation when interviewing a new band and in the case of newcomers Thanks Brother, their story will take some beating.
The new project from artists Roisin O and John Broe received its name from none other than Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage.
At a gig in Dublin's Vicar Street, Roisin and John found themselves sat next to Irish radio DJ Ed Smith while waiting for The National to take to the stage.
Having mentioned their new project, Smith naturally asked them for the name of this new venture. At this point, Roisin and John realised that they really needed to just pick a name and stop stalling.
As they're standing there throwing out suggestions for a name, Peter Dinklage, who plays the much-loved Tyrion Lannister in popular tv series Game of Thrones, walked past.
John, a huge Game of Thrones fan, took the opportunity to tell one of the show's stars how much he adores the show, to which Dinklage replied "thanks brother".
That was the end of the quest for a name.
(Picture: Republic Media)Both Roisin and John spoke with us a day after returning to the scene of the meeting with Dinklage, having played Vicar Street as part of Today FM's #LiveForMusic gig.
There, they treated the crowd with a special tribute to the late Dolores O'Riordan, with a performance of The Cranberries' 'Dreams'.
Speaking about the event which featured a host of other Irish musicians including David Gray, The Coronas and Hudson Taylor, Roisin O spoke about the influence of Dolores O'Riordan on her own music, and why it felt fitting to cover the song.
"I absolutely love The Cranberries. I got into them through Danny (her brother is Danny O'Reilly, lead singer of The Coronas). I hadn't listened to them in years but when Dolores died, I started listening to the albums again and her music has certainly influenced my own style and John's too. It came out of Ireland at a time when nothing like that was really out there and they took the world by storm. They lived every Irish band's dream."
With Danny O'Reilly as a brother and the legendary Mary Black as a mother, Roisin was spoilt for choice with musical material growing up. However, she sought influences elsewhere and cites Fleetwood Mac, HAIM, Florence and The Machine and French group Phoenix as informing the sound both John and herself now produce.
The big common ground between Roisin and John lies in their shared love of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, despite the fact that their sound couldn't be more different to that of the American rockers. While Roisin established herself as a solo artist, John tailored his craft with Kildare-based indie pop band Miracle Bell, and that's where the two first met.
"I was just starting out with my own stuff when John was with Miracle Bell. About four years ago I was writing an album and Danny said: 'you should write with John Broe'. John had written with The Coronas on one of their earlier albums. We met up and wrote a few songs together but it wasn't until about a year later that he became part of the band I had set up. While I was writing as Roisin O, it was really Roisin O and John Broe as he was writing all of the songs with me at that stage. After a while, I just felt that the Roisin O thing wasn't reflecting what we were doing anymore and we just wanted to do something fresh and it was natural for us to move in a different direction together. We bring out the best in each other."
(Picture: Republic Media)Coming from a family of well-known musicians, Roisin was keen to cement her own musical path.
"In the beginning, I was a solo female act so people would see me as 'Mary Black's daughter' and tended to assume that I was just going to sing my mother's songs in a more contemporary fashion. I felt I had to separate myself from that in order to make sure people know that's not the kind of music I'm doing. At the same time, I'm so proud of my Mam and I loved touring with her in the early days. It was an invaluable experience. I'm not trying to be different from them to avoid being compared. I'm making the music I love and it happens to be different to both of theirs. Danny had it easier I think because he's in a band and he's a guy so he hasn't been compared as much as I am. But it's fine. I wouldn't have it any other way. She's a great woman to have both as a Mam and someone to learn from within the industry."
Thanks Brother are setting their sights on reaching the UK audience with the release of new single 'We Are Different', and hope to return to their favourite venue Shepherds Bush Empire to perform. They also have a big festival slot lined up for Indiependence Festival in Cork on the August Bank Holiday weekend.
"Indiependence completely holds its own as a festival and we're excited to play it. We're also playing a festival in Buncrana, Co. Donegal over the summer but we're mindful of booking too many gigs at the moment because we want to keep recording and building up a body of work with this new project. Once we do that we hope the gigs will come flying in."
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