THE LATEST - March 5, 2008

The Dykeenies UK Tour that began in late January continues to take no prisoners as it rolls on. The shows and enthusiastic crowds just get bigger and better. On Feb. 29th at the ABC in Glasgow they played a sensational concert to a sold out crowd.

The tour will take an unusual turn next week when the group heads to America!

The band is heading for U.S.A. on March 13 and is Playing South by South West Festival in Austin, Texas.

They'll be gigging at Maggie Mae's on 6th Street at Trinity in Austin, plus a Scottish party at 512 San Jicinto, and playing a bunch of acoustic sets all over town. Four days later the tour in the U.K. continues with a gig the night they return home.

www.maggiemaesaustin.com

So, tell us about how you formed The Dykeenies.

We're from a little town near Glasgow and we formed in June 2005. Me and my elder brother Alan kinda hooked up in a band and did some writing and got our other brother Andrew in to play bass and our two best mates to play guitar and drums, and it all kinda started from there. A year on we did the NME tour with The Fratellis, Maccabees and The Horrors and got a record deal from then on

I know you recorded the album with a lot of different people, how did that turn out for you in the end?

Yeah, it worked out brilliantly. We wanted to work with different people because there are a lot of songs that are a bit different, a bit of keyboard and kind of electro, so we wanted to find someone who'd be up for the pre-production we'd need to do those things. It gave the songs a little bit extra, bringing out the keyboards a little more. Then other tracks we just went out to a little mansion for heavier songs, just guitar and no keyboards so it's kind of got an edginess to a lot of the songs.

There's been quite a big wave of Scottish bands in recent years, are you proud to be a part of that?

Well, not that we're making the same music as The View or The Fratellis or stuff like that, but it's exciting to be out there and part of the Scottish music scene and to actually break through. There might seem a lot of us, but it's really tough to break out because a lot of us are kind of folky and don't get much success. It's good to see a few of the pop acts coming through. We've met The View quite a few times, we get on well with a lot of the bands, and we all kind of hump together.

I Like Music, UK
Sept. 17, 2007

The Dykeenies chat to I Like Music

'Nothing Means Everything', the debut album from Scotland's finest, encapsulates all that you will soon come to love about The Dykeenies. Recorded at Rockfield Studios, it grabs you from the off and offers no respite until it's had its filthy way with you.

From forthcoming single and album standout 'Stitches'' anthemic background of glittery new wave guitars, to the uplifting 'Clean Up Your Eyes' - a joyful and moving love song for the 21st Century - each of its eleven songs demonstrate the undeniable talent of this young band.

It's 'Waiting For Go', however, that perhaps captures The Dykeenies at their urgent, epic best. Clocking in at a mere two and a half minutes, it bubbles over with the frustration and burning desire that comes from a youth misspent in satellite towns before climaxing in Brian's towering, megaphone-assisted announcement that "I'm terrified of you, but not running away/ My heart it was the stage, you never played the game.".

"It was one of the first songs we ever wrote," says Andy, "Sitting in a backroom in Cumbernauld, dreaming up ways of how we could get out of it…"

Needless to say, The Dykeenies have found their route out. I Like Music caught up with lead singer, Brian, to talk about the album, recording in the famously haunted Rockfield studios and marriage proposals at T in the Park.

"I Like Music because… it's the reason I get up in the morning." BRIAN, The Dykeenies

ILM: Your new single, Stitches, is out now (released Sept 10, 2007). Can you tell us how the track came about and describe its whole vibe?

BRIAN: It started of with the actual guitar riff. Then, the actual lyrical content of it came about after I had an operation on my jaw and I was given a bit of time off from the band and I thought about the things you can take for granted when you're young. I was thinking about the things I used to enjoy when I was young. Like, when you were young you used to love playing in the rain but now you're more concerned about the way your hair is sitting. And, when you were younger when you fell, you'd run home and ask your mum for a plaster and think it was a cool thing to run back outside and show your friends how your knee was all bandaged up, but you don't get that when you're grown up. So that's what the song's about.

ILM: Your debut album, 'Nothing Means Everything': released September 17th. Which track did you most enjoy laying down in the studio?

BRIAN: Probably my favourite track would be Waiting For Go. It's my fondest memory because it was the first track we properly recorded at Olympic studios in London with Jim Abbas. It took four days and we'd never worked like that before. We wrote it and then did it live which made it sound stronger and it was such a good experience, so I'm really fond of the memory of those four days working on that one song those four days

ILM: And you'll always remember it.

BRIAN: Definitely it's still my favourite song on the album and one I never tire of listening to.

ILM: Your album was Produced by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers, Idlewild), what did you learn from him about making music?

BRIAN: Definitely. Dave it's an outstanding producer, so everything about what he did captured the vibe of the record. A lot of people get lost in making things too perfect, whereas Dave wanted things flawed. So there are little secrets on the record that made it new and added something to it. When we recorded it he set up the vocal room and he had 100 metres of tube lighting and he set it all up to capture the vibe, so little things like that made it relaxed, so there was a warmth to recording.

The days of recording we used this mansion just off Cardigan Bay and every room in the house was used to record a different instrument. The bass was set up in one room and the bass in another room. The living room became the drumming room. That's such a unique way of doing things.

ILM: You also worked at Rockfield Studios in Wales with Dimitri Tikovoi (Placebo). How was that? Isn't it haunted?

BRIAN: We heard the stories that it was haunted but we thought it was a joke. Even on the Oasis DVD for Definitely Maybe they talk about it how the Stone Roses were winding them up telling them that Rockfield was haunted.

But Adam stayed in room number nine and told us one morning that during the night the covers had been pulled off his bed. And on the day we found that out, we heard the story that some girl had claimed she'd been raped by a ghost in Rockfield and she'd said she had the physical marks to prove it.

We were talking about recording the second album and how we'd love to record it at Rockfield and Adam said he definitely wouldn't be staying in room number nine.

It was an amazing place for us even just to visit because of all the bands that have been there. It's the place where Freddie Mercury wrote 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. We'd find footsteps in the snow that couldn't be explained and that didn't lead anywhere. The TV in my room kept switching itself on and off. And the soap kept falling onto the floor every time one of us was in the shower. It must've been the ghost of Freddie!

ILM: Wow, it must be an amazing vibe working there, soaking up the creative energies?

BRIAN: Yeah, even Robert Plant when he split up with his wife, he wasn't recording but he moved into Rockfield for six months and just stayed there because he felt so at home. It's so true; it's such a good place and has such a good energy about it. Some venues have the same vibe; you feel that good things have happened creatively there before.

ILM: How was your homecoming gig at T in the park?

BRIAN: It was amazing yeah. We didn't know what to expect because we hadn't played any of the Scottish dates yet on the tour. So we turned up and The Hold Steady were on before us, but they'd been late as they'd performed at Oxygen the day before, so they were late for their performance. So a lot of people turned up to see them but then left, and 20 minutes before our set the tent looked empty, but by the time we went on stage the tent was packed. It was a case of one in one out, and it was a massive capacity tent, with a good thousand people or so. And it was great hearing the crowd shouting the lyrics back to us.

That's what it's all about isn't it. You can get told how many records you've sold, but it's not until you play live that you get to really connect with fans and see the reaction for yourselves?

It was great to see with songs like Waiting For Go, to see the crowd really get into it; it's like a lager anthem so the crowd get really behind it.

ILM: I read that your set included a marriage proposal?

BRIAN: A guy had been in touch with us via MySpace and said he's a big fan of T in the Park and his girlfriend and him were big fans of the Dykeenies, so he asked us and we said yeah, so half way through the set, we stopped and said this guy Craig wanted to propose to his future wife. She said yes.

ILM: That's brilliant. Can you describe the Dykeenies process of making such good music?

BRIAN: Most of the time it'll start from one member of the band who'll have their own individual idea; either a riff, a chord structure or a theme. Then we'll all get together and chip in and build on it. We always build the songs together, although there'll be one emotion as it can sound a bit disjointed with five different writers. We all muck in and the songs write themselves to be honest.

ILM: You're on tour from next week. What's your favourite track to play live?

BRIAN: Probably Pick You Up. There's an acoustic version that's been available for a while and everyone's learned the words from that version and it's become one of the crowd favourites and even though people haven't heard the full band version they sing a long to every word. It's quality to do that. Live it's got such a massive sound. Plus it's easy to sing as well.

ILM: Your band is made up of brothers and best friends, you obviously know each other well. Can you tell me the best characteristic and worst habit about each other?

BRIAN: Alan Henderson (guitar): He's got anger issues, a really bad temper, but at the same time he always mucks in.
Andrew Henderson (bass): He doesn't speak very good English, but at the same time he's always there to lend a helping hand.
Steven Ramsay (guitar): He's terrible. No, I'm joking, he's an all round good guy and makes a brilliant cup of tea but he can't make toast, that's his downfall.
John Kerr (drums): He's probably one of the laziest folk I've met in my life. He doesn't tidy up and he doesn't like to set up his own gear. But, at the same time he's easy to communicate with when you're working with the band, so he's easy to work with.
Me (Brian - vocals and keys): I don't have any negative characteristics. I'm just a likeable guy.

ILM: You guys are from Cumbernauld, a Glaswegian new town that was voted the worst city in Britain in 2005. Sounds harsh. What's the best and worst thing about it?

BRIAN: The worst thing is definitely the shopping centre; it's the most terrible looking thing I've ever seen. But it's listed, so the folk, the conglomerate that own it refuse to knock it down and it just sits there. Everyone in Cumbernauld knows it's horrible. It's been voted the ugliest building in Britain. Kevin Mcleod of Grand Designs and Janet Street Porter have done programmes on it. But they won't take the hint. They invest more money into it and they add on little extensions to this horrible shopping centre. They just won't admit that it's disgusting.

The best thing about Cumbernauld is the Abronhill centre for young kids. It helps them out and gets them off the street.

ILM: What is your advice for young people just starting out in their careers on achieving their dreams? Doing what they want career wise?

BRIAN: First and foremost, start a band with people you feel comfortable with. Friends are always the easiest to start a band with because you've known them for a long time and are a lot more familiar with them, so if you don't like something you'll say and its easier to communicate with each other. Once you're writing songs you need the best team for the job, so you need to make sure you can communicate well with each other.

The Dykeenies are Brian Henderson (vocals & keys), Alan Henderson (guitar), Andrew Henderson (bass), Steven Ramsay (guitar) and John Kerr (drums)

icScotland.co.uk
Sept. 11, 2007

EXCLUSIVE: The Dykeenies,
Q&A By Richard Mooney

We sat down with Steven Ramsay from the Dykeenies recently. He told us about the band's new album, what's been going on in the past year, what Myspace has done for the band and their favourite Glaswegian nightclub.

So for those who don’t know already, who are the Dykeenies?
We’re made up of three brothers and two best friends. We’ve all been friends for quite a while now. The brothers decided to put a band together a few years ago and we all knew each other from school. Once we got the band together, we started writing a few songs and then there was a lot of interest in getting these songs developed. So we realised we could do something here and we basically just took it from there.

Whereabouts are you all from?
We’re from Cumbernauld, just a few miles outside Glasgow.

Where did the name Dykeenies come from?
The name comes from the 1980’s movie Willow, written by George Lucas and starring Val Kilmer. There are midgets in the film and they call the taller people, the humans, Dykeenies. We thought it was a strange name and that no one else would have it.

The last year has been pretty massive for you all. What’s that been like?
Yeah, we only got signed last October. We’ve not been signed that long and since then we’ve had the NME tour, we’ve played with big bands like the Fratelli’s and Maximo Park and the no.1 hit in Scotland. So yeah it has been quite a successful year.

Tell us about the new album, Nothing means Everything.
From all the songs we had to date we went in and recorded them, then whittled it down to the songs that are actually on the album. We worked with three producers on it. We did one tack with Jim Abiss, who’s done the Arctic Monkeys. We did a track with Dmitri Tikovoi, who's done Placebo.

He brought out the electro side of our music and then we worked with Dave Eringer, who’s worked with the likes of the Manic Street Preachers and he brought out more of a guitar based sound within the album.

It’s a journey through the album with these different producers who have worked on it. Each song is different and each song is interesting in its own way. rather than it all coming from the same producer and all sounding similar. So we were pretty pleased with the outcome of it.

What is your favourite tracks on the album?
My favourite songs from the album are Clean Up Your Eyes and Stitches.

What are the bands major musical influences?
There’s so much variation through the band music wise. We all listen to different styles of music, ranging from Michael Jackson to David Bowie, to Paul Weller and classical rock. So when we write songs each person’s influences come out and when it’s all put together, we have our sound.

Has MySpace helped you?
Yeah, it gives people information about where and when the gigs are. When we were just starting out it gave everyone a lot of useful information, but even now it’s just growing and growing. We’re getting two to three thousand plays a day, when we used to only get a few hundred. We can also contact people and be more intimate with our fans. You can be more one-on-one with them. So yeah it has helped us and is still helping us.

Do you think websites like MySpace and Bebo websites help bands a lot?
It helped us out in the start, but now with the more and more people who are joining it a lot of things are opening up with Myspace. But Bebo is trying to take over from Myspace and there are a lot of people trying to get on the both of them.

Bebo isn’t my thing at all.There’s two Dykeenies Bebo pages, none of which are actually run by the band. As I said Myspace really helped us in the start, but now it does seem as if there is a bit much of it.

Where’s your favourite night club?
We like the Garage, ABC is good as well and sometimes we go to Firewater. When we’re in town it can be pretty annoying when people recognise you and start annoying you. Not everyone, but some guys laugh at you or try and wind you up. So that can be quite annoying. It doesn’t happen often, but we do like our privacy just like anyone else.

Steven Ramsay is a lead guitarist and vocalist for the Dykeenies. They’re from Cumbernauld and their new album ‘Nothing means Everything’ hits the street on Monday 17th September 2007.

Contactmusic.com, UK
Sept. 7, 2007

The Dykeenies – Stitches Video

Scottish 5-piece The Dykeenies release their new single, Stitches on 10th September 2007 through Lavolta Records, Stitches follows the album, Nothing Means Everything released September 17th.

Scotland have well and truly taken the band to heart - the last single brought widespread coverage including a host of features in The Daily Record and a Scotland on Sunday front cover - and now with 'Stitches' The Dykeenies are ready to infiltrate the mainstream. Produced by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers, Idlewild), 'Stitches' is an anthemic and uplifting look back to the band's childhoods and its epic declaration of, 'Still I adore the taste of rain, and the bounce of bone on ground', is already prone to sparking mass sing-a-longs during the live shows. It will steal your heart and refuse to leave your head.

'Stitches' will be accompanied by a UK tour and London residency shortly to be announced, and will be available on CD, 7" picture disc, 7" coloured vinyl and download.

The Dykeenies are Brian Henderson (vocals & keys), Alan Henderson (guitar), Andrew Henderson (bass), Steven Ramsay (guitar) and John Kerr (drums)

Q4 Music , UK
Sept. 7, 2007

New to Q: The Dykeenies

Cumbernauld’s The Dykeenies got their big break two years ago in a talent competition, albeit a credible one set up by venerable Glasgow venue King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut. Their stratospheric take on indie rock should see the quintet, featuring three brothers – Alan, Andrew and Brian Henderson - go much, much further. Current single Stitches establishes the template: twisting rhythms and enormous, synth-powered choruses.

Their debut album Nothing Means Everything is released on 17 September.