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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