This Irish band from Dublin has taken both sides of the Atlantic by storm. Having toured the US, they are back in the UK, finishing their tour on home soil. With songs such as ‘Harper Lee’, ‘Kitchen Floor’ and ‘John Wayne’ this band will not take long to become a household name, especially considering being shortlisted for BBC’s ‘Sound of 2013’.
They have created a harmonized, atmospheric sound with lyrics that are genuine and speak from the heart, specifically the heart of Stevie Appleby. Having been old school friends, it’s clear to see they have had a lot of time together to perfect their sound. The vocals of Stevie and Faye O’Rourke are mesmerizing, even more so when heard live. They are a band that respect the support of their audience and even perform in the middle of the crowd for their encore, giving their fans an experience they will never forget.
Speaking to Stevie Appleby and Adam O’Regan, we find out more about Little Green Cars, their tour and their music.
You’ve just finished touring around the US, what was it like?
Stevie: It was really good, it was our fourth time there so the venues were bigger, the crowds were bigger. It’s still early days so the audience size would differ from time to time but they were all still amazing gigs in their own kinda way. We are kinda more familiar with the places now.
Do you think it’s been a success over there because of your ‘American’ sound?
Adam: I think its just that kind of traditional sound with the harmonies and organic sounds.
It’s those kinds of sounds that make people compare you with the likes of Fleetwood Mac, how does it feel to be compared to them?
Adam: That is one of my most preferred comparisons. I always think of Fleetwood Mac as a band that have diverse sounds and you can’t quite pinpoint them into a genre or anything like that. Obviously people are making that comparison as well because we have male and female vocals.
How is it with Faye as the only girl in the band?
Adam: You mean our secret weapon? She keeps us in check. That’s the thing about having a girl in the dynamic she kicks ego out the door because you can’t have an ego when there is a girl around as they will just take you down.
You’ve just started your UK tour, how has it been?
Adam: When we got back from America we were all exhausted but then again after a week at home/two weeks at home you start getting that itch, but its been therapeutic, we’re really enjoying people commenting on it, it’s just really nice.
With your UK and Europe tour ending in Ireland, do you see it as a Homecoming tour?
Adam: It’s crazy that this is our first official Little Green Cars tour of the UK, it’s crazy that we haven’t done it yet and even crazier that we haven’t really done a tour of Ireland yet, which we are really excited for.
How long has the album been in the making?
Stevie: Technically, it was around three years if you’re counting all the songs we used. It was getting to that place where we were proud of what we were doing and that this was our identity, that this was something we could keep working with as a template. So then when the time came to start making the album, we were still writing songs, because we didn’t want to settle on the songs we had in case more songs came out, which did, it was Kitchen Floor, that came together in the studio.
Stevie Laughs: Then you could say it took 21 years to make, because the lyrics are all about us growing up.
One of the songs, Red and Blue, was written when you were still in school which made it on the album, is that right?
Stevie: Yeah yeah, Red and Blue I had written when I was 16 or 17 and that’s actually the same recording that I did.
Adam: So that’s the 16-year-old Stevie you’re hearing there!
People do point out that song and talk about it as being the experimental song of the album, whereas its the song it all started from then?
Stevie: Well, to me anyway, it’s simple and it’s what we have always been about. [About] creativity and, not to sound mental, to stay occupied in your mind and to create things that are good. So that song to me, is like the pinnacle of my own creativity at that time.
You worked on this album with Producer Markus Dravs, who produced for such bands as Coldplay, Arcade Fire and Bjork, what was it like working with him?
Stevie: That was absolutely incredible. He was really nice but we were really afraid because he’s such a big name, we’re a small band. We were afraid he was really going to change up what we did but he really understood us. Before we would even record a song he would want us to print out the lyrics and go through all the lines, he really wanted to grasp the same things as we did and he was just really nice to work with. He was the first person to refer to us as ‘The Artists’, so we would go out for dinner and he’d say “can I get The Artists…” I’ve always wanted to hear someone call us that and you know, it’s Markus Dravs!
There are a lot of literature and film references for example Harper Lee and John Wayne, what was the inspiration there?
Stevie: When I left school, I was 16-17 and I wanted to continue my own education, I just began designating times through the day to read and literature became a huge part of my life and keeping my mind occupied and making my aspirations higher and higher as the books I was reading were getting greater and greater, so a lot of those books were life changing things, things that I could relate to, things that I would like. You know the feelings I got from those books, I would like to give to other people through our songs.
To ask the question I’m sure all bands love, where did the name Little Green Cars come from?
Stevie: You know when people are trying to sleep and they count sheep? When I was a kid, if I couldn’t sleep, I’d count a car going around a racetrack and it was a little green car.
For more information on the band visit:
http://littlegreencars.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/littlegreencars
@Littlegreencars
