Nijinsky are a Belfast-based three piece that survive on a strict diet of bands like Shellac, Kyuss and The Pixies. Although they originally never planned to gig, they broke this vow very recently and have since changed their ideals – which is great news for live music enthusiasts! We gave the band our ‘introducing’ treatment for your visual below below.
▶ Tell us about your stage name?
It was away back when Barry was driving home and got stopped by a farmer with dread locks, asking if he’d seen a dyed blue sheep, answering to the name of Nijinsky- He thought to himself no, but that would be a cracking name for a band……
▶ When did you start playing music and how long did it take to find your own sound?
The band started in July 2011, when Michael answered Barry’s ad, “Drummer wanted for casual weekly Jam”. The songs at the time where just bare bone vocal and guitar ideas that Barry had written. They started to sound good after a few rehearsals, so another add went up for a bassist. Stephen learnt the tracks we had sent him and his first rehearsal with the band went great and it’s been the 3 of us since. Our influences like Foo Fighters, Kyuss and Kerbdog definitely has an effect on how we sound, we like our guitars loud.
▶ What releases have you put out thus far, and which would be the one to listen to for the uninitiated?
We released “Maker” along with “Mr. Flanders” on March 11th. It was the first track we came up with as a band. Definitely give “Maker” a listen, or check out the video we made to go along with it
on youtube. We love playing it and it has a bit of energy! We are finishing our E.P soon, so there is more to follow.
▶ Is there a particular live show that stands out amongst all the rest?
We had our first gig in the Limelight a few weeks back, It went really well. We never intended to gig and the experience gave us the urge to do another.We hope to get ourselves an E.P launch night when the time comes.
▶ Can you talk about a Highlight and a Lowlight of the journey so far?
Getting “Maker” played on Across The Line is definitely a highlight. Its good to hear positive feedback about what we play and it has definitely had an influence on our decision to gig. How we have progressed as a band, opening our own rehearsal space Audio Kitchen is up there too. Low points? The day the rehearsal room flooded when we had planned to record was a bit of a nightmare. That wasn’t AudioKitchen though- that places rocks!
▶ What does ‘success’ mean to you?
We say what we have achieved so far has been success; creating music on our own, writing, recording and the plan to gig, – if people like it then we are happy. Michael won’t quit until he gets his Aston Martin though.
▶ You are in control of forming a 4 piece ‘super group’ – who is in it and what do they do?
Drums: Gavin Harrison
Guitar: Tom Morello
Vocals: Michael Stipe
Bass: Geezer Butler
▶ If you and 3 bands of your choosing were to do a world tour, who would the other 3 bands be?
Foo Fighters
Biffy Clyro
Stiff Little Fingers
▶ If you could make one strange dressing room demand, what would it be and why?
A willy wonka style room where everything was edible, fitted with glass elevator and Umpa loompa’s serving JD’s and Coke!
▶ Finally, in a climate saturated with bands vying for listener attention; why should the good old folks at home listen to you guys?
We have tried to capture the vibe we get in our rehearsals on the recordings so far. We keep it simple and straight to the point. Our aim is that when people listen to our songs, they can feel the same energy as we do.
Check out the video for their single “Erase Waves” –
Connect ▶ https://www.facebook.com/Nijinskyhome
