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By Chuck Myers
Knight Ridder Newspapers

It's not easy to follow in the footsteps of a music legend - especially if that giant happens to be the Irish supergroup U2.

But that hasn't fazed the indie upstart JJ72.

The group - singer and guitarist Mark Greaney, bass player Hilary Woods and drummer Fergal Matthews - knew it would have to take matters into its own hands if it was going to make the same climb to success.

Rather than wait for a record label to pick up the band, JJ72 sent out demos of its blazing, elegant song "Oxygen" in 1999 to gain notice among reporters and radio stations. The self-promotion campaign paid off, and the group signed with an independent label, Lakota Records. Their self-titled debut album hit Britain in 2000, and soon the band developed a serious following. It climbed into the British Top 20, with two singles, "Oxygen" and the spirited "October Swimmer," breaking the Top 30.

After Columbia Records released the 12-song album in the U.S. last September, the group made two tours of North America, the latter with Welsh rockers Stereophonics.

During the tours, JJ72 saw its fan base grow even though its songs received little or no airwave exposure.

Matthews sees JJ72's ascent as gradual but steady. "It's happening slowly, you know, but it's definitely happening. We haven't gotten to radio, which has been a bit of a set back. But still, were still playing gigs everywhere and working hard."

Greaney agrees, saying "any tour where you see people who know who you are and multiply in front of your eyes - that must be good."

One thing the singer-songwriter remains coy about is the band's name. Nobody except Greaney knows what JJ72 stands for - not even his bandmates.

For the moment, he'd prefer the focus be on the band's music - not its name.

The threesome - in their early 20s - grew up in Dublin. After Matthews and Greaney joined forces, they tried out different bass players before settling on Woods. "I studied classical music for years and took piano," says the easygoing Woods. "They needed a bass player and said 'do you want to play bass,' and I said 'yeah, I'll be your bass player,' and that was it."

Although some observers point to groups like Radiohead and Placebo as possible inspirations behind JJ72's sound, the groups melodic kinship may actually be closer to the Smashing Pumpkins.

JJ72's music surges like molten lava. Its songs fluctuate between explosive crescendos and placid acoustic pieces, all punctuated by emotionally charged lyrics. A song like "Snow" delivers a stinging sense of betrayal and frustration, while the melodious "Willow" has all the sensitivity of a soothing lullaby. They possess an inviting quality that allows the listener to relate to the music on many different levels.

"I think a lot of songwriters are precious about their music in the wrong way," says the soft-spoken Greaney. "I'm extremely precious about what we do, but not in a way that I think is correct for everybody. I want people to be able to take something really special from it (JJ72's songs), whatever it might be."

Onstage, JJ72 packs a blistering punch. Matthews' potent drumming and Wood's booming bass propel the numbers along, while Greaney's raging guitar is matched only by his soaring vocals, which range from angelic to searing.

But unlike singers in other groups, Greaney's not one for idle chitchat with the audience during the set.

"A lot of people love the whole front man taking to the people, giving them f--king lectures on life," says Greaney with disarming candor. "I don't do it. It's difficult to snap out of the mood you get into after the first or second song."

While the band has made fans in the U.S., not everyone loves them at home. The trio played several venues in Ireland, but knew their future lie in a larger market, namely England. Rather than continue working the Dublin circuit, the band headed for London to record and perform. This didn't sit well with Irish critics, who felt JJ72 simply had not spent enough time paying their dues.

"I think we played all the gigs in Dublin, we just didn't play them twice," explains Woods. "I think that kind of back lashed in Dublin with the music crowd because they said, 'oh they have to go abroad in order to be picked up here.' Dublin has a great music scene, but if you go to a gig I think a lot of them can be filled with your granddads. So we kind of wanted to seek a bigger challenge. We just wanted to go to England, because we got offered a tour to go to England."

Any negativity toward the band in Ireland didn't prevent its invitation to the country's biggest music stage last August at the annual Slane Castle concert. The trio found itself in a lineup that included Coldplay, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2.

After nearly two years on the road, JJ72 has gone back into the studio to record fresh material for a new album.

"Our second album will probably not be a lot different from our first, but a lot more of what we're like live," says Woods. "We're much more of a rock band than we ever were. Our second album will be a lot rockier and heavier."

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  © 2002 Chuck Myers