The Minutes Interview: SXSW 2010

For the Minutes, a first SXSW experience as a band couldn't come at a better time. The Dublin, Ireland trio -- consisting of Mark Austin on guitars, Shane Kinsella on drums and Tom Cosgrave on bass -- finished recording their debut album, 'Marcata,' at the Marcata Studios in upstate New York in Oct. 2009, played the CMJ Music Marathon in New York last fall and are gearing up for an Ireland release after SXSW. Before the group hops the pond, Spinner caught up with Austin as he worked his day job at a camera store to talk about St. Patrick's Day in Texas, analog recording to tape and not sounding like the latest rock trend.

How did your band form?

Myself and Shane are cousins, so since we were kids we were playing together, really. I met Tom in college about nine years ago [studying] sound engineering. Tom finished the course and went on to do more, and I left after about six months. I was like, "F--- this, I don't want to be recording other people." It was fun, though. I learned what I had to learn, and ever since then we've been in one form of a band or another, until about three years ago when it just happened that it was just us three.

How did you choose the name?

We wanted a name that didn't really mean anything, so it was sort of hard. We went through twenty-odd names. We wanted something that didn't have -- I mean, obviously, it's time and stuff like that -- but it doesn't really mean anything. They're the best names because then you can make it your own.

Describe your sound in your own words.

I suppose it would be very direct rock 'n' roll. If I was to compare us to anybody, it would be sort of the late '60s, early '70s -- sort of Thin Lizzy, Fleetwood Mac, the blues Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green. That's a lot of stuff we're into and what we want to sound like, but people have said stuff like Kings of Leon. I don't really like that. I was going, "Oh s---, is that the way that people in America are going to hear us?" F---ing Kings of Leon. Not that there's anything wrong with Kings of Leon. They are a good band, but when you're a new band you don't want to be compared to the latest hot s---, because we tried to get away from that.

What are your other musical influences?

Honestly, I don't know. T. Rex, maybe. I think on the record you can pick a different influence for every song, but it still sounds like us. Some people have said Nirvana. I suppose that's a three-piece thing. It's hard when you start naming bands because then you go, "No, that's not who we sound like really."

You named your record after the studio. Did they give you a deal in exchange for the promotion?

Yeah, he said that if we called it the name of the studio we could have it for free. No, I wish. It was a Hell of a lot cheaper than recording it [in] Ireland though, I'll tell you that much. It was cheaper for us to fly to America, make the record and come home than it was to do the thing in Dublin. There's not even studios like that over here.

With all of your digital options, why did you record analog to tape?

I suppose because of those bands we were talking about and the influence of them. A lot of those older records were just a band live in a room, straight to tape, so it was the sound of the band that was recorded, as opposed to the drums being tracked and then the bass and then the guitars. We started recording our demos for the record on an old 4-track tape cassette machine, and they just sounded really full of life and like the live shows. That's probably where we got the confidence to do it.

Do you have any festival survival tips?

If you're playing lots of shows, don't get f---ed on the first night. That's the end. It's downhill from there. That's probably the only plan if you're in a band. If you're not in a band, go everywhere, drink everything, meet everybody.

Do you get away with things in the States because of your accents?

Yeah. We do curse a lot. We sort of got pulled up on it the last time we were in New York. Cursing is like second [nature], and you only realize it when you don't do it. In the States, a lot of people don't curse as much as Irish people do. We curse a Hell of a lot. I called a girl -- I didn't call her a c---, I said c---. I was calling Shane a c--- or something. We use that word all the time, but she was really offended, saying, "We don't use that word over here." Well, we use it all the time. Sorry for offending you, but ...Yeah, we get away with it, but you have to be careful, though.

You're going to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at SXSW. Are you going to be upright?

We've got our official showcase for Paddy's Day at 11:30PM, [so] I have to be, I've no choice. It's terrible. Actually, last year we were in Boston on Paddy's Day, which was a bit weird because everybody was more Irish than we were. We sort of felt like outsiders in Boston -- it was very, very odd. But yeah, there's a really great party happening at the Terrace at the Long Center. Guinness and Bushmills are sponsoring, and maybe Jameson. It's going to be our first show, so I hope there are lots of people there for free Guinness. Even if you don't feel like being Irish, just come on down.


Carl Atiya Swanson is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.