Formed in the summer of 2006 as a result of the lethal combination of boredom and spite, Green Lights started out without any great ambitions or goals. Legend has it that, having gone to college together, Colin (vocals, guitar, Sagittarius), Daniel (drums, brown eyes) and Nigel (keys, synth, 5†10â€) were drawn to move in together by some sort of magnetic uber-natural force. One night over a late night game of Jenga, a 4 in 1 and a Peep Show DVD, the three guys realised that together they had the musical abilities of about 1.74 actual musicians. Figuring this was adequate quantity to start a band and with the sufficiently insipid and inoffensive moniker of GREEN LIGHTS in hand they were set.
Start with some vocals that can range from heartfelt moan to falsetto and a left-handed guitar that’s nearly always too loud in the mix. Add some tactless synthery, beeping button bashing and home programmed drum loops. Mix in a frustration-fighting drummer doing his damndest to anchor it all together. Finally combine this sound with song inspiration as diverse as the dangers of living over Dublin’s Port Tunnel and the global problem of the ever increasing number of shoes boxes being thoughtlessly abandoned every year.
Through the course of 2007, Green Lights managed to weasel their way onto the stages of most of Dublin’s best small music venues from Whelans and The Village through to Temple Bar Music Centre and The Boom Boom Room. They also traded non-vital organs to secure support dates with Grand Pocket Orchestra, Dark Room Notes and The Flaws. The band found playing on the same bill as acts as diverse as Fight Like Apes, Twin Kranes, Ham Sandwich, and Subplots may well have proved more inspiring in creating their sound than the usual cited fare of collective record collections.
With sonic influences as diverse as Tom Vek and Pavement, and combining everything they’d picked up in approach from listening to bands like Radiohead, Grizzly Bear and Yo La Tengo, Green Lights set about getting their ramshackled sound onto record. The result of this endeavour is the Small Curious Things EP. Featuring five tracks it can be seen as chapter one of an attempt to showcase a band who don’t want to get pigeon-holed into any specific genre, so thought they’d just throw everything into the metaphorical melting pot and hope that what came out was the right shade of green and a fair reflection of what they’re all about.
Check out the Green Lights edition of 02 Making Waves here or grab the mp3 directly by clicking here . Subscribe to the Making Waves podcast through iTunes or regular RSS
-- Here is a performance of SHOES IN BOXES live on BalconyTV, recorded in late September 2007...
