QR Interview: The Virginmarys

The 2000’s saw a rebirth for the guitar band. Rock music became fun again thing again behind phoniex like rise of new riffs, hair-do's and sounds. One of the bands to emerge from this mini-revolution was The Virginmarys, a trio who formed in 2009. Now a decade into their career as touring and performing musicians, they have since seen their numbers go from three to two, been nominated for numerous awards and self recorded/produced their own album. Queens Radio had a chance to chat with guitarist and vocalist Ally Dickaty to discuss their new album, their DIY approach and how they maintain their hunger to get better.

You have a new album out, can you tell me about it? Any particular influences?

It's our third album to be released, the first to be self produced and our favourite album to date.

It has influences from The Beatles to Motörhead and I’d say its more intense and raw than its ever been.

Your last release, Sitting Ducks, was very DIY, what did you learn from it?

It was really important for us to do, to see what was possible from the DIY approach and what we could achieve from it. We learned that we know a fine set of incredibly talented and amazing friends that we’re able to assist us along the way and also that we have a fan base that is behind all the way.

There seems to be a hint of political/social commentary in it, especially in Look Out For My Brother. Is this a fair assessment?

Yeah it’s a completely fair assessment. I find it almost impossible not to include political/social commentary in the words given the current climate and everything happening right now. We’re living in worrying times, it’s difficult not to speak out.

What was the writing process/day to day of recording like, and how has it changed (if at all) since your first time recording?

I’ll come with ideas I’ve been writing at home, we jam them out and we see what works and what doesn’t. 

With this latest album we’d get them down as demos and take it from there.

We fine tune everything best we can so when we go into the studio we’re not wasting any time, its the best way to do it if you’re running on a budget. With self producing this album it was a lot different to what we’ve been used to and I recorded the vox, bass and overdubs at my own set up. That had many benefits to it as I could take loads more time getting performances I was happy with.

Your bassist, Matt Rose, left the band in 2016. How did this affect the band and how have you adapted since? Is it still strange?

It was a massive thing to happen, we’d been together for nearly 10 years, it was really sad but it was the right move for him to make and of course, we want whats best for him. We’re still very close though, we’ve all been through so much together. I have turned to the studio a lot more and have been putting the bass lines down since . We’re lucky enough to have a really good mate, who is an incredible bass session player, playing with us on tour.

You have a headlining tour coming up in February, are you excited to get back out on the road? Do you have a favourite venue to gig?

We’re really excited to get back on the road in Feb, there’s loads of venues we’ve not played before also.

I’ve heard great things about the Parish in Huddersfield so I’m looking forward to that one.

As for a favourite venue, I’m not sure I have one, I like playing new places and getting a sense of towns and cities I’ve not been to before. It’s always been a dream for us would to play the Apollo in Manchester though.

You’re also one of the biggest acts announced for 2019’s Camden Rocks Festival, do you prefer the tour or festival atmosphere, and why?

I think overall I prefer the tour as its like a family of fans but festivals can really surprise you and turn out to be the best gigs, it all depends on the vibe in the crowd. Camden Rocks is a great rock festival, it’s really cool to see it growing each year.

You’ve developed a cult following in the UK of fervent fans, who responded very well to your pledge music store, your acoustic sets and your self produced EP etc., why do you think they’re so dedicated?

You know I have no idea, it’s the proudest achievement of the band, the fans themselves.

I can only think it’s from the honesty of the music and who we are as people. We’ve never been a band to follow trends or fads, we stay true to our own playing styles and keep it organic, I think that must speak to people who aren’t taken with the main stream. Who knows though? I love it anyway.

You guys have been performing for nearly a decade, is the same drive there? How do you maintain the hunger?

It’s there more than ever at the minute.

It feels like Dan and me have done a full circle with it and are playing for all the right reasons again, its really special right now. I think you can overthink it all and get lost in it. Once you give up on the bull shit you return to the essence and the music.

What will 2019 look like for the band?

2019 will see us playing more shows than we have done for a long time, we’re going to get out there as much as possible and if we can release something later in the year that would be incredible.

By Benjamin Magee