News

Well we managed to win our heat up in Lisburn, With good comments from Judges Terri Hooley ( Good Vibrations Records & responsible for bands such as the Undertones), Tommy McMeekin (Soundlines) and Deano (The Chevvys).

We got some positive feedback on our set with comments from Tommy McMeekin

“Firstly the bad points……..That’s it! I thought it was all excellent…”

and from Terri Hooley

” … You’s reminded me of the Undertones with the Enegry you had on stage… “

On finding out we won Terri also commented

“…their songs have the longevity needed… these boys have a big future in the business”

Was amazing to hear this stuff from guys so highly regarded in the business!! Thanks to all!!!

Thanks to the Donegal heads that came up to support us!

See ya’s at the Final!!

tE

…Donegal four-piece, Turbulent Eddy. They performed a selection of covers by the likes of Kings of Leon and Stereophonics, both big undertakings vocally but their frontman was well up to the task, as he was the task of entertaining the audience with his witty repartee in between songs. Original tracks like ‘Make Believe’ and the anthemic Green Day-like ‘Enemy’ showed that this is a band with promise as well as charm.

For the Full review: http://www.connect2yourtunes.com/soundslikesummer/heats.php

Glenties band Turbulent EDDY who are performing in the third heat of the Sounds Like Summer Music Festival in Strabane this Friday. Photo: Johnny Gallagher.

BY SEÁN P. FEENY
A group of musicians from Glenties are hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow Donegal band Pavesi this week and win the BT Sounds Like Summer band competition.
Turbulent EDDY will take to the stage of Strabane Alley Theatre in Friday’s third heat of the annual competition which features 16 bands from across the North West.
The only band to represent Donegal in this year’s competition, they will battle it out with three other groups to make it to the final which takes place on Friday, 21 August.
The band is made up of Micheal Brennan (drums), Conal Herron (lead vocals and bass), Ross Campbell (rhythm guitar) and Daniel Gildea (lead guitar and vocals).
Speaking to the band’s drummer, Micheal Brennan said the guys were delighted to be representing their home county at this year’s BT Sounds Like Summer.
The four cousins from Glenties have now been playing together for two years and Micheal said that being selected from over 60 bands to perform at the festival is a big boost.
“It’s been tough at times getting gigs, we’ve bought a lot of equipment so we’re all geared to play big venues but it can be hard to get a foot in the door,” he said.
“Things have changed lately though and with a lot of help from other musicians in the area such as Sean Dorrian [Flipside] and Paul Ward [Humble Earthworms] we are getting regular gigs and try as much as we can to squeeze in our own songs.
“The problem is that if you play on the pub circuit they want you to play covers and getting gigs in big venues further afield is tough as they want to hear you first.
“However, being the only band from Donegal to be selected for this year’s BT Sounds Like Summer is a great boost and we can’t wait to get feedback on our own material.”
The band has recently been recording with Terry McGinty at his Valley Music Recording Studio in Ballybofey. “Recording our music has really focused us and we are now more determined than ever to concentrate on our music and use opportunities like this festival.
“Terry [McGinty] was a great help and offered us a lot of advice and we will be performing the three songs we have recorded with him so far and then a couple of new original songs.”
Micheal said the band, who are hoping to release their very first EP album later this year, are very much influenced by bands from the Irish music scene.
“When we were just starting out we got to support Aslan at a festival in Killybegs and Billy [McGuiness] said to us you don’t need to be the greatest musicians in the world to make it, as long it clicks and you get on well together it will work.
“If you can’t make it in Ireland, you can’t m ake it anywhere and we would just love to follow in the footsteps of Irish bands like The Blizzards and The Coronas whom we really admire.
“That’s the level we would love to get to and it’s very important to enter these competitions to get as much exposure as possible,” said Micheal.
Micheal said they are hoping to have a lot of support traveling up with them from Glenties on Friday night. “Quite a few people said they’ll go so we’re organising a bus and fingers crossed we can celebrate getting through to the final back home in Glenties on Saturday night.”
For more information, photos and regular updates on this young and talented band from Glenties log onto www.turbulentEDDY.com
All heats of the BT Sounds Like Summer Music Festival at the Alley Theatre in Strabane are free to attend with the final taking place on Friday, 21 August.

turbulent EDDY

Straight ahead, route one rock here. The songs are short, the melodies strong, the guitars loud and the drums a-pumpin’. – Math Priest – Dodgy

Music event to get “turbulent” with Glenties rockers

Glenties rock band “turbulent EDDY” are headlining Donegal’s entry into the BT ‘sounds like summer’ music festival in Strabane.
They will perform in the Alley Theatre, and are considered by some to be favourites to walk away with the title.
Formerly known as ‘The Chancers’ Michael Brennan (Drums), Conal Herron (Bass and Lead Vox), Ross Campbell (rhythm guitar) and Daniel Gildea (lead guitar and vox) have known and played with each other for over 2 years, during which time they’ve built up a large fan base.
After a number of years in the cover band scene in venues across Ireland they recently took the step to turn full time as musicians, writing and recording their own material. The band will be taking part in the third heat on August 14th of this massive North West music festival. Sixteen bands are now shortlisted to perform at the Alley Theatre in the hope they can winthis coveted music industry title.
turbulent EDDY have lots of influences mixed intheir music from The Blizzards, Aslan, The Saw Doctors and Duke Special. With this broad range of influences they offer an eclectic mix throughout their set list. The band spent last year honing their musical talents at the highly commended London Institute of contemporary Music Performance, which has brought them to a new level in their personal playing abilities and pushed the band to take it up professionally.

BT Sounds Like Summer is set to get Turbulent!

The BT Sounds Like Summer Music Festival is about to hit the Alley Theatre in what should be a far superior competition than last years event. Starting on August 7th, this years final has an abundance of quality entrants, with bands from all over Northern and Southern Ireland applying to be in the final 16 bands. This magical music event is free to attend for people wanting to hear the very best in unsigned talent, thanks to the collaboration with our sponsors BT and NWIPP (thank you!!).

This year we have bands form Derry, Strabane, Fermanagh, Belfast, Donegal, Limavady to name but a few, with all music tastes covered. As I have been marketing the event we have used various tools, from the traditional avenues like our events guide, flyer’s and posters, to radio, ticket comps and social network sites like Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, Twitter etc.

One piece of advice I would give any band looking to do well in any festival or within the music industry, make sure you have a good website, nothing too fancy, but something that covers all the bases. From band bio, video clips, free track downloads, press pictures, contact details, gig guide and links, these are the essential items for a band to have available at a moments notice, ready for when the press or music label come calling.

One band which is taking part in the BT Sounds Like Summer Music Festival and ticks all the boxes in being prepared are Turbulent Eddy, whose new website I believe covers all the areas I would be looking for.

Who will win the BT Sounds Like Summer festival and walk off with the top prize of a music video and a CD produced by the Nerve Centre, free broadband for a year and extensive media coverage? Well at the moment I would say all 16 bands are in for a real shout, its that close! For more information on the BT Sounds Like Summer

Check out the full Blog on the Alley theatre site:  http://thealleytheatre.blogspot.com/

OMAGH, Derry, Strabane, Fermanagh, Donegal and even Belfast will be represented in the final of this year’s Sounds Like Summer music competition.

Since last month’s closing date, the judges have been busy listening to the 50 bands/singers that entered this year’s contest. Now, finally, the votes have been counted and the last sixteen can be revealed.

As Ant and Dec would say, in no particular order, we can reveal that the first band through to the BT Sounds Like Summer heats, to be played out on the stage of the Alley Theatre next month is Kelly and Shakespeare.

This Strabane-based acoustic duo of Gavin Kelly and Natasha Shakespeare offered the judges their mellow summer love song Sunny@7 and it was more than enough to see them through to the finals, commencing on August 7.

To Derry next and the four piece rock outfit Princess Alaska. Their song ‘I Do It Right’ did it for the judges and we will be seeing Niamh, Jaséon, Conor and Decky on stage at the Alley in August.

Veterans of the Strabane music scene King Coma were always going to figure heavily in this year’s competition and they didn’t let themselves down with their entry song Crystal Blue. No doubt Chris Sharkey and his band will command the audience in the finals.

The Wonder Villians consist of Eimear Coyle and Cheylene Murphy and again hail from Derry. The pair list their influences as The Ting Tings, Katy Perry and Lady GaGa and the Villians will certainly be an interesting addition to this year’s finals.

One of the best band names to make it through this year is Ross and the Wronguns. Little is known about the band at this early stage but with an intriguing name like that, we look forward to seeing them at the Alley.

To Limavady next and a little band called Bettylee and the Blonde. Their song Victory was enough to carry them through to the final stages of Sounds Like Summer, sponsored by BT, where they will appear just days after supporting the highly rated Mirenda Rosenberg Band. Should be good.

Velma have a journey ahead of them as they travel from Belfast to play the Alley Theatre stage. An ‘alternative rock’ band, Velma entered their song Sleep for this competition. Little doubt they will be a worthy opponent for this year’s other finalists.

Strabane’s Rory Devine has also made the last 16 with his entry Embrace the Day. The 28-year-old singer songwriter takes influence from jazz, soul, classical and even disco. With a taste as eclectic as that, Rory should do well in this year’s competition.

Claudy songster Colleen Gormley also had the judges excited with her acoustic version of ‘A Place Called Love’ and we look forward to seeing her in Strabane next month.

Omagh is well represented in BT Sounds Like Summer 2009 thanks to The Randals who should play a big part in this year’s contest.

There are two entries from Fermanagh through to the final sixteen. Both Fiona McCaughey and I’m Not Maggie have secured their places in what is shaping to be the biggest and best Sounds Like Summer yet.

Sunday Wreckage made the finals last year but split shortly after. Now, two of the former members, Emer Maguire and Rachel McElhinney have regrouped as Mysterium and again battled their way to the latter stages of Sounds Like Summer. Good luck girls.

Flying the flag for Donegal is Turbulent Eddy, a four-piece rock outfit from Glenties. Their song Enemy brought a well-deserved opportunity to battle it out for the Sounds Like Summer 2009 title.

And finally, it’s back to Derry and a band called unprescribed. It’s rock and roll all the way with these guys and they will be ripping it up at the Alley next month.

So that’s it. The sixteen have been handed their golden tickets and on August 7, the gates to the Alley Theatre music factory will creak open once again. So keep an eye on your local press for further details.
It’s going to be a great event this year so let the BT Sounds Like Summer finals commence!

Full Article Available at : http://www.connect2yourtunes.com/soundslikesummer/slsshortlists.php