Imagine, the scene in Supersonic where Liam and Noel
Gallagher are in a small hotel room where Liam is doing a spot on impression of
Boyzone before they went on stage. The hype, the uncontrollable electricity and
untamed personality of everyone in the band, is living on, through Live
Forever. Before I had went to interview this tribute band I was not prepared
for how intense the interview would be. This band are the true embodiment of
the act they are portraying. From the moment I got a call to say they were
ready for the interview right up to when they performed their last song, the
attitude was pungent.
At around ten past eight on a wet winter night, I was stood
outside the Cresent Concert Hall when I got a call from Live Forever telling me
that they were ready for the interview, it went something like this.
“Hello?” I answered eagerly
“Is this the journalist?”
came via a strong North County Dublin Accent.
“Yes, I’m outside, do you want me t-“ I was cut off before I
could fully respond.
“Send the bass player to meet him he’s useless anyway!” there
was a lot of laughter and someone desperately trying to defend themselves.
Before I could ask anymore the call got cut off and I awaited for a bass player
to come and meet me, who I might add was the furthest thing from useless, all
I’ll say is Oasis would have been lucky to have him with them. I went upstairs
accompanied with the bass player and was brought into the backstage, a small room
where the band were sitting and as I introduced myself I could immediately tell
who was going to be playing each part. As with every interview I decided I
would start at the start.
Q: “Where
did it all begin for you guys?”
A: “In 2010 was
when we all started, I was originally in a Rolling Stones tribute band but it
just wasn’t working, we knew we wanted to recreate something that would last an
entire two hour set and that’s when the idea hit me, Oasis. We already had our
band but didn’t have a front man, my roommate at the time knew Gavin who was
doing Liam Gallagher impressions in Clondalkin at the time. Then after three
months of practice we were ready to perform. Our first gig sold out to 400
people.” Paul was the first to respond, he plays the part of Noel Gallagher
meaning he looked after lead and rhythm guitar, this is a big task to fill
however I was more than impressed by his ability to recreate the sound that
Noel is famous for.
Q: “Due to
the large banks of songs to choose from, how do you choose the setlist for a
gig?”
A: “It can be
very difficult to choose because of the amount there is but we always try to
mix and match the setlist. What happens is, if we play in a venue a few times
we try to change what songs we perform. We also try to include obscure B-sides
to let the die hard fans know. I can guarantee that every die hard fan out
there does not want to hear Wonderwall, yet it’s probably going to be the best
reaction of the night. It can be very hard to please everybody. Oasis only ever
performed max, 25 songs a night.” I was impressed to see how much passion and
knowledge Gavin had for this band. This was absolutely evident when they
performed live. It was clear he is part of the “Parka Monkey” fan base as he
wore an Adidas parka and was constantly on edge raring to do the gig. When Gavin walked out onto the stage there was a
loud explosive response from the crowd giving him the response he needed to
embody Liam, and it was first class. I have seen Liam live twice and it brought
the memories flooding back. They are the closest you will ever get to see
Oasis.
This brings me nicely to the next question.
Q: “Have
you ever seen Oasis live?”
A: “Oh God yeah,
I’ve seen them a good few times”. Paul then continued to tell me about experiencing
Oasis first hand. “Myself and the bass player went to see them in Lansdowne
Road in 2000. It’s funny at the time he didn’t tell me he had claustrophobia.” Gavin
then let out a laugh at the thought of this. I could already tell where this
was going. “Yeah it was f*cking bad claustrophobia as well. So we were front row
and the crowd started to pushing us against the rail, needless to say he didn’t
last very long and I was on my own watching the gig.” Gavin was then quick to
retort, “ looking back now it’s a pity he didn’t croak to be honest”. Everyone
exploded into a fit of laughter, well, apart from the bass player.
The chemistry in this band is terrifyingly close to the real
thing. This also helps with there stage performance. Channelling these personas
is second nature to Live Forever, this, in turn leads to a real life
performance of real relationships that present a surreal experience. It’s incredible
to watch. I couldn’t help but then ask what it’s like to be these iconic
figures.
Q: What is
it like to be these people?
A: Gavin
answered first, “I cant put into words to describe this feeling.” Paul then supplied
the context, “Gav gets it bad, when I walk off people are chanting Noel at me
but people actually mob Gav screaming Liam at him. We’re selling out venues
left right and centre, people want to see this band, we are the closest you
will get.”
It was at this point when the bass player came back into the
room and greeted me with “Who wants some
coke lads?” and then proceeded to place a can of coke-zero onto the table in front
of me. Needless to say I’ve never been so stunned and then immediately defused
in such a short time. The band then told him where to go.
Q: What was
your overall reaction when Oasis split up?
A: “ I seen
them when they performed in Slane the year before they split up, it was one of
the worst gigs I have ever seen, they just lost it, the thing that made Oasis
special was no longer there. I could even tell that there was no effort being
put into the production of the show. We take the small things very seriously,
from the banners to the clothes we wear. We believe that these are the things
that make us stand out from other tribute bands. Especially when it comes to
sharing things on social media, you can see other tribute acts and all they’ve
done is screenshot things on their phone and not bothered to edit any of it and
they’ve got four texts from their ma looking to see where the f*ck they’ve gone.”
Gavin was clearly adamant to prove that by focusing on the smaller things it
develops the credibility of the band.
Q: What is
your opinion on the solo albums that followed the Oasis phenomenon?
A: “I loved
Noels first solo album, and it’s mad to think that at the time Noel was up at
the top of his career while Liam was flopping in Beady Eye. In my opinion it
has all completely changed now, Liam now has an amazing solo album and is
incredibly popular. That As You Were slogo is genius. He’s looking after
himself and not drinking, looking after his voice and is now doing class gigs
like.” When Noel released his third solo album last year there a large divide in
Oasis fans as to whether or not it was terrific or terrible. So I then asked
for their opinion on “Who Built The Moon?”. Paul answered quickly “Shite”. I was
surprised about the undeniable hatred he had for it. “When he came out in an
interview and said he doesn’t mind losing a few Parka Fans for this album it
turned me against him immediately. He turned away from his own working class
fans against him. I find that connection strange because I am Noel in the band
as well.”
Now readers strap yourselves
in because its about to get freaky. Paul then went on to describe his weird
connection with Noel. “It’s funny though, Noel was born on the 29th
of May and I share the same birthday with him!” I then interjected and told
Paul that I was the exact same, Paul couldn’t believe it, but it only got
weirder. “ That’s insane and I’m also left handed but play guitar right handed
just like Noel.” I couldn’t believe what he had just said because I, am the
exact same. It was at this point where the band began to lose their minds
completely, I was hysterically laughing, Paul was questioning life and close to
checking his family tree and Gavin was insisting to “Whip our mickeys out to
measure them”.
This was the most intense interview I have been apart of. Needless
to say that these are the real deal who clearly care about what they are doing.
They are currently doing a Farewell tour but I highly recommend that if you are
either a slight fan of Oasis or the biggest fan in the country, see this band. There
aren’t many bands that take the gig seriously by being outrageously wild. They are
living like Oasis.
Make sure you follow them on Instagram Live Forever Tribute Band and follow The Art of Rockin on Instagram for more irregular content!
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