Forming in 2011, My Sunday Hat started their career likening themselves to Ryan Adam, Tom Petty and Bon Iver. However, after a year of solid song writing and persistent performing, one of the city’s hardest working bands have moved beyond living in the shadow of their idols. Welcome to the world of My Sunday Hat…
▶ Tell us about your stage name?
We spent about a month trying to think of a name for the band with no success. One Sunday, we were sitting about trying to come up with one when we asked our singer, Patrick, why he was wearing a hat that day, he said “It’s my Sunday hat” and we decided to go with that. Interesting might not be the best word to describe the story.
▶ When did you start playing music and how long did it take to find your own sound?
We first started playing together around the middle of 2011 when Conor, Patrick and I (Darren) would take our guitars around to each others houses and just try and come up with some songs. We asked one of our mates to play drums with us but it didn’t really work out so we found Aidan and played our first gig together at the start of 2012. I don’t think we found our own sound until about five months ago, we started off at a base and have let our various influences come into play gradually.
▶ What releases have you put out thus far, and which would be the one to listen to for the uninitiated?
We released our first E.P. last August and also have a collection of 3 new tracks currently online. You can listen to them all on our Soundcloud. I’d recommend listening to the new ones, “Breaks”, “Headlights” and “Last Draw” to get an idea of what we’re like.
▶ Is there a particular live show that stands out amongst all the rest?
We got through to the final of the Love & Death Jam last year during Belfast Music Week and I think that gig might be the best one. We all got really into it and I think we played really well. I think it was also the gig where we all finally just let the nerves and stuff go and really enjoyed ourselves. Also, an honourable mention to our gig in the Stiff Kitten. There was a barrier in front of the stage, smoke machines, a massive P.A. system and a big stage. All it needed was a huge light show and it’d be like we were Metallica or something!
▶ Can you talk about a Highlight and a Lowlight of the journey so far?
The lowlight would be taking time off last year. Patrick went away for a month in April and then Aidan went for 2 months in May and we didn’t get back playing until Tanglewood Festival at the start of August. Although it did give us plenty of time to sort out everything for the E.P. release.
▶ What does ‘success’ mean to you?
I think if we were able to play our music for a living, we would consider that successful. It’s what we all love doing.
▶ You are in control of forming a 4 piece ‘super group’ – who is in it and what do they do?
Guitar – The ghost of Randy Rhoads
▶ If you and 3 bands of your choosing were to do a world tour, who would the other 3 bands be?
Slade, The Pogues, Explosions in the Sky. Weird mix. Fearon wants The Pogues because they’d be handy in a fight.
▶ If you could make one strange dressing room demand, what would it be and why?
I think Paddy is going through a phase of eating a lot of cheese for some reason so he’d probably ask for a block of mild cheddar to gnaw on. The rest of us would be kept entertained just watching that.
▶ Finally, in a climate saturated with bands vying for listener attention; why should the good old folks at home listen to you guys?
We pay £2 per listen on any of our streams! But really, I think that we have a wide range of influences and the combination of different parts of these help us sound a little different from other stuff out there. I think there’s something for everyone in our music.
Website ▶ http://mysundayhat.com/
