News, articles, interviews, etc...

With the number of Snow Patrol related articles, news, interviews, etc. popping up so often, seems logical to have a thread dedicated to it.

I'll start off...

Snow Patrol’s Fall Blizzard Of Shows - http://www.pollstar.com/blogs/news/archive/2009/06/23/674690.aspx

Snow Patrol plan 'Hundred Million Suns' tour - http://www.livedaily.com/news/19484.html

Snow Patrol looks to build on hard-fought success - http://www.livedaily.com/news/15093.html

Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

Posted on snowpatrol.net/phpBB by swan (thanks!)

Pics from the Donauinsel Festival, Vienna (27th June, '09)

http://oe3.orf.at/aktuell/stories/371384/

Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

ok cool Sprint you got a Sticky topic!
Is there a way you can make the live photos one a sticky?

Re: Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

evermoregal wrote:
ok cool Sprint you got a Sticky topic!
Is there a way you can make the live photos one a sticky?

Re: Re: Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

sprint wrote:

evermoregal wrote:
ok cool Sprint you got a Sticky topic!
Is there a way you can make the live photos one a sticky?

finally thanks to the mystery mod! If you're reading this, please (if you can) make the Gig pics thread in the live section sticky too :)

Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

This was probably posted here somewhere but I thought I would put it on this thread as there are some fab interviews with Gary here (and quite recent);


http://www.take40.com/artists/911/snow-patrol

Re: Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

This was probably posted here somewhere but I thought I would put it on this thread as there are some fab interviews with Gary here (and quite recent);

Bummer - says this content is only available in Oz.

Re: Re: Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

10YearsGone wrote:
Bummer - says this content is only available in Oz.

SNOW PATROL'S FESTIVAL SURVIVAL GUIDE - IrishTimes.com

Oxegen2009: Embrace the bacon sarnie, leave the tiara at home and get the crowd involved. Festival veteran – and headliner at Oxegen next Friday – GARY LIGHTBODY on lessons learned

FOOD

Hmmm, we’ve been very lucky the last few years as we’ve been able to use the festival band catering and get something decent to eat before the show.

The food on site at most festivals used to stretch no further than hot dogs and burgers or a greasy bacon sarnie in the morning (which I have to admit I’m partial to and will normally go for an early wander on site to find one, before going to see who’s on first and greedily devouring them both).

During the past few years, variation is creeping in.

Glasto was always good for that sort of thing and you can find almost anything there, but the other festivals took a while to cater to our ever-broadening palettes. Now most festivals have some options. None of them cheap though, which brings me onto ...

BOOZE

Not cheap either. Although, if I’m honest, I find that the more booze the better the festival crowd. This is perhaps an irresponsible thing to say, but it’s true. It’s no surprise that the Irish, Scottish and Australian festival crowds are the most vocal and energetic. It’s because more than any other three countries I can think of, in these three, fun and booze go hand in hand. Sure in Russia they may drink more, much more, but they do it to keep warm not for fun. Again, I’m not advocating anything, I’m just telling you what it looks like from the stage.

One thing you don’t want to be is the guy we saw one year at T in the Park in Scotland only about an hour after the gates opened. A guy twirling round outside the dance tent, peeing joyfully then falling over before what looked like falling soundly asleep. If the festival is over before it’s begun then that’s way too much booze.

FANS

There’s simply no gig without them. Pretty obvious statement really, but one worth making. Yes the line-up is important, but for a festival to be of true worth it has to build up a reputation for the way the fans are treated there. Safety is important, but it needs to be balanced with a general happy atmosphere. You can’t do this by abusing people if they stage dive or making a debacle of the ticketing or entry to the event. The bands may never play your event again, but the festival organisers want the fans to want to come back every year, and to tell their friends.

TENTS

These days I have to say we rock up in the tour bus and it’s easy as pie, but we spent quite a few years having a hell of time getting to and from the site – just like everyone else.

Then there are tents. Putting said contraption up in the dark is always a hoot. Finding it again at five in the morning is some further hooting. Get there in daylight and try to get you and your friends set up in a circle so you’ve some kind of, albeit flimsy, security and a little privacy.

Other than that, being in a field full of tents is fun, for a weekend (not forever) and everyone’s in the same boat (literally if you’re at Glasto), so it should be one big happy family. Sometimes it isn’t, though, as, unfortunately, no one checks if someone’s a dick when they buy their ticket. Watch out for them.

LITTLE LUXURIES

These are very idiosyncratic aren’t they? For me cold beer is luxury at a festival. If you’re camping, then a cooler is a nice wee bonus. We used to go to festivals when we were younger, and if by the time the second day dawned, you had any beer at all it was warm. The beer on site is usually a fucking rip-off, so on a shoestring (and many times we did it shoe-string style), it’s best to b.y.o.

Aside from that, going to a festival isn’t really about living the life of Reilly. It’s more about the camaraderie and the tunes. Leave the tiara at home. It’ll only get lost, stolen, covered in filth or all of the above.

HOW TO BE A HEDLINE ACT

Persistence. After this year’s festival we’ll have played T in the Park a record-equalling number of times. We started out in the PRS (new bands) tent in 1997 and have played on every single stage – sometimes more than once. We’ve also played Oxegen/Witnness many times, starting out small in the late 1990s. There are, of course, other essentials such as having a few hits and building up a live reputation around the country the festival is in.

There are bizarre exceptions, though: recently we headlined the last night on the 40th anniversary of the Pinkpop festival in Holland. You would think we’d have to be as big there as we are in Ireland to land the headline slot. We are not. Chasing Cars was a hit of sorts, but we haven’t sold that many records there. Even the people who worked at the Dutch label were a bit mystified by it when I cornered them on our selection.

This did not help confidence pre-gig. Bruce Springsteen had headlined the previous night for God’s sake. Right from the off, though, the crowd were up for it. In fact, it was one of the best crowds we ever played to, comparable (I’ll whisper it) to the Irish fans if I’m honest. The new album, which wasn’t a hit before Pinkpop, is a hit in Holland now, so sometimes – not very often and the only time it’s happened to us – things work in reverse. Generally though: gigging hard, hits, gigging hard, more hits, harder gigging and then headlining a fest is the normal order of things.

STAGE TIPS

I don’t really go out there with much of a plan (nor does any of the other lads in the band). Anyone who’s heard my rambling between songs will attest to that. What is important is getting the crowd involved as soon as you can. Letting them know you know they’re there for a start. I’ve been to gigs before when the band never even said hello to the audience and it pissed me right off, so I don’t make the same mistake myself.

TUNING UP

I’m sorry, what? Yes, yes it’s well known that bands who have a good run of it have wonderful people in the wings, tuning and restringing guitars and more besides, and without our awesome crew we’d not be able to find our arses with both hands in broad daylight.

Read more here - http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2009/0703/1224249920841.html

Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

Gary Lightbody, guest editor for an edition of The Ticket.
Ticket Editor CONOR GOODMAN on handing over the reins to Gary Lightbody.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2009/0703/1224249944350.html

Gary e-chats with Glenn Moule of the Howling Bells
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2009/0703/1224249919570.html

"You've written some pretty cutting things about Snow Patrol in the past. Why?"
When Ticket columnist Brian Boyd wrote some less than complimentary articles about Snow Patrol, he wasn’t to know that a year or two later the band’s lead singer would become his editor for a week. So we threw some questions at the journalist for a change.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2009/0703/1224249943801.html

Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

About to post this Sprint thanks for already doing it :-)

Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

Thanks Sam for finding this one!

More singles!! Read the rest of it here - http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/day-and-night/features/oxegen-09-snow-stormers-1803938.html

“It never happens in the first few months after a release with us,” he says. “If it did, we’d think we’re doing something wrong. We’re touring until the end of the year and there’ll be some surprises with re-issues and unusual gigs. We feel like that we’re only about half way through this campaign. There’s plenty more to come and more singles. We feel like there’s a lot life in this record yet. It’s our best record and we genuinely believe that.”

Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

Oh thanks, good interviews! Might see if I can get a copy of that paper here somewhere.

Yes, Aussies do like a beer ;)

Herald.ie - Meet Snow Patrol? I'm far too nervous, says Bono

At this stage, U2 frontman Bono should be a dab hand at the first night nerves.

But even he still gets the heebie-jeebies in front of 90,000-strong crowds in the world's biggest auditoriums, apparently.

And when it comes to encountering a much smaller crowd in a more intimate setting, it seems the singer really does move in 'mysterious ways'.

The Herald can reveal how Bono changed his mind about meeting support act Snow Patrol ahead of their massive Nou Camp gig in Barcelona -- as he found it too daunting.

U2 last night played the second of their 360-tour date in the Nou Camp last night.

Showman

Keyboardist Tom Simpson from Snow Patrol told the Herald they were all expecting to meet Bono and some of the other band members before the massive concert.

"They were due to come in and say hello to us before the gig but I think they were running late and there are always some pre-concert nerves," he explained. However, Bono more than made up for his jitters by dispatching a thoughtful gift into their dressing room backstage instead.

"He sent us this wonderful handwritten letter to us wishing us all the best, along with a crate of Guinness and some champagne. He wanted us to have some Black velvets, I believe it is his favourite drink," he continued.

Tom added how it was "just such a big thrill for us to be supporting them", especially given the amount of anticipation leading up to the start of their global concert. The Irish superstars put paid to all their detractors after kicking off their €80m world tour with a blistering performance in Barcelona on Tuesday night.

Link - http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/music/meet-snow-patrol-im-far-too-nervous-says-bono-1804296.html

Re: SNOW PATROL'S FESTIVAL SURVIVAL GUIDE - IrishTimes.com

{q}There are bizarre exceptions, though: recently we headlined the last night on the 40th anniversary of the Pinkpop festival in Holland. You would think we’d have to be as big there as we are in Ireland to land the headline slot. We are not. Chasing Cars was a hit of sorts, but we haven’t sold that many records there. Even the people who worked at the Dutch label were a bit mystified by it when I cornered them on our selection.

This did not help confidence pre-gig. Bruce Springsteen had headlined the previous night for God’s sake. Right from the off, though, the crowd were up for it. In fact, it was one of the best crowds we ever played to, comparable (I’ll whisper it) to the Irish fans if I’m honest. The new album, which wasn’t a hit before Pinkpop, is a hit in Holland now, so sometimes – not very often and the only time it’s happened to us – things work in reverse. {/q}

I'm really amazed about Gary's reaction to Pinkpop and the audience's enthousiasm. They played there 2 years ago also and already then they had a great reception. People were already very impressed by the SP. Being asked to be the main act on the last night of Pinkpop's 40th birthday should already have been a sign that the rest of the Dutch (me, my boyfriend and a couple of other Dutch SP fans were already fans of course) have started appreciating SP!!! It is a shame SP is never of Dutch TV, apart from their appearance on Pinkpop. If they were to show up in a programme like "Mooi weer De Leeuw" e.g. ( a very popular programme on Dutch TV) I can guarantee that all the SP albums will be sold out in no time. Maybe the Dutch reception at Pinkpop will help SP to plan some concerts in the Netherlands soon? I certainly hope so. They will only be here twice this month as support act for U2 in the Arena, Amsterdam.

Showing Gary's charm on Dutch TV as well as the splendid musical performance will convince every Dutch person that Snow Patrol does certainly deserve far more credit than they are getting in the NL now..

Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

Tess, in reference to the sales of AHMS in your country, Gary says that before their Pinkpop show, the sales of the album were....lackluster at best, but after Pinkpop, the album has picked up a lot of sales.

So, I have a feeling this one album will be a success guaranteeing their return.


Great interviews/articles here, so thanks to everybody who's been posting the links.

Crack the Shutters - Snow Patrol Photo exhibition

Unique Snow Patrol photos on display in Belfast.
http://musicnews.virgin.com/Unique-Snow-Patrol-Photos-on-Display-in-Belfast-77742942563.html

Belfast Telegraph Article & video interview with Bradley Quinn.
Shutters open for Snow Patrol photos.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/theatre-arts/shutters-open-for-snow-patrol-photos-14387127.html

Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

Pics here from qthemusic.com, taken by Bradley.

http://gallery.qthemusic.com/gallery/snowpatrolbehindthescenes/Default.aspx

Snow Patrol Camden Roundhouse review

With uncharacteristic tardiness, Snow Patrol took the stage ten minutes late and launched into If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It, from their latest record A Hundred Million Suns. The formula of slow-building songs which gloriously burst into life halfway through has long been established by the band, and it never seems to get old. From here on in the set had a beefed up feel to it, with a heavily distorted Chocolate and Hands Open both making a real impact. Gary Lightbody is becoming quite the front man, delving into the audience and maintaining a respectable level of banter with the front row. The screaming girls who greeted his forays into the audience underlined how much of a pop success this band have become, which Lightbody casually summed up, saying: "You're a wee bit grabby."

The big hits were there in force, with Run keeping its grace and beauty despite several boneheads breaking the mood during the verses, shouting inanities such as "C'mon Gazza!" Chasing Cars did not disappoint, but the main problem was the timing: a good half an hour before the close. As the non-paying audience drifted home, the band was left to play their 16-minute epic The Lightning Strike to a half-empty crowd. This seemed incredibly harsh, but if Snow Patrol want to recapture their alternative credentials, they would do well to keep prioritising the more experimental tracks over heart-wrenching chart-friendly singalongs.

Open Your Eyes brought the set to a triumphant close, and you could tell the band were enjoying themselves immensely, caring little for the fickle 'fans' who only knew them from that song Leona Lewis covered and that one off of Gavin & Stacey. There is much, much more to this band – don't write off Snow Patrol just yet.

Link - http://www.inthenews.co.uk/infocus/entertainment/snow-patrol-camden-roundhouse-july-5th-$1309621.htm

Re: News, articles, interviews, etc...

Brilliant review that totally summed up the whole fantastic night. :D

Thanks 'sprint' :D

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Except they didn't close with Open Your Eyes.
Jeez, can nobody get the setlist right!