The Goo 1
Interview NIALL MCGUIRK DAVID LONG & SHANE O’NEIL
L Mention the names David Long and Shane O’Neill to anyone with a passing interest in music in late 1980’s Dublin and you are bound to get an aural history lesson. They were both the main focus of their respective bands, (Backwards) Into Paradise and Blue In Heaven. Both bands blazed a trail through the Underground and beyond with Into Paradise dipping into some indie recognition while Blue In Heaven trundled along in U2’s coattails for a little while, both very much part of Dublin’s strong rock scene. They’ve joined forces bringing experience and mastery into the equation and their new record sounds like a love story to a Dublin of a different era with a poppy soundtrack, far less broody than their 80’s selves. What is the inspiration behind the current record? The inspiration can come from noticing something, or just a thought that comes into your mind. At that time we might not know what the song is about, sometimes the initial idea might change, or we might both have different ideas that slowly coalesce. So we build inspiration from the ground up. With this album, at some point we realised we were writing about Dublin city, lost love, lost opportunities, and decided to go with it. “The Last Night” lyrics were written by Dave, all in one go, using an idealised Dublin city and its changes as an allegory for a lost relationship. Initially PAGE 16 “Memory” was the antithesis of that romantic Dublin, more like the Dublin in question 2, the memory referring to false limb memory. This changed over time to centre around the idea of waiting for a critic’s answer, then finally to saying goodbye to something you love, maybe closing the door on your dreams of success, linking it to the last proper song on the album, “Broadway”. The song “And You Can’t Dream” brought the album back into focus. I know the answer may be why stop but is it hard to continue to find inspiration to continue? The idea behind why stop is to question what we’re doing and why. Why do some musicians stop once the opportunity for fame and fortune has passed by? We did for a while. We know we will never reach a bigger audience, and we understand that a lot of people will think that we’re missing the point. A part of us likes that, even though we would love people to listen to it, and sometimes we even imagine a lot of people listening to it. When we finish an album and after it’s gone into the void, we start again. What are your thoughts on 21st century Dublin? Dublin has most definitely progressed in some ways and in others it’s much worse. I was much too arrogant to worry about getting beaten up and