Only two days left until the curtains fall, until the beat drops down – and only two more days until you can see Oisín Morris aka proofReadingYour Mind in action.
We asked Oisín to answer some questions so that our readers and potential guests get an idea of his music and he gladly accepted the challenge to come up with insightful answers.
So here we go:
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Who are you?
My name is Oisín Morris. Born in 1979 I have been playing and performing music since I was a kid. For the last couple of years I have been homerecording my songs and putting them online under the project name proofReadingYour Mind.
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What/who has influenced you to become a musician?
I grew up in a familiy where music was all around. My parents still perform Irish Folk music and I played a lot of gigs with them from an early age. I started off playing piano as a kid. I presume I was mainly inspired by Sting when I soon moved on to playing bass and singing in my first band as a teenager. Most of the music I listened to was pop/rock. But I also had a phase where I played and listened to a lot of jazz, later also electronic music. My other biggest influences were and are Radiohead and The Smashing Pumpkins. If I were to name some of my more recent influences – or, no, bands I really like listening to – I would name Death Cab for Cutie, Bon Iver, Jon Hopkins, Ben Howard, Bombay Bicycle Club, Tina Dico…
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How would you describe your music?
A lot of my songs start off on the acoustic guitar. Even if the final version sounds completely different you will probably hear where the song originated. But I also have a strong affection for overdriven guitars, and every now and then you may hear a few of my electronic influences.
I see my lyrics as short stories. Often, they are pretty morbid – death, murder, accidents that happen. But of course quite a few songsare about “the L-word“, too.
After years of homerecording my own songs I am extremely happy to have found a bass player (Ben) and a drummer/percussionist(Tammo) who both had their share in turning proofReading Your Mind into a band.
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What does music/singing mean to you?
Everything. Even if the metaphore is a little worn-out: music is like a drug or a religion to me. I need to play music every day. I would go nuts if I couldn´t get my hands on my guitar for a day. If I don´t loose myself at night in extensive homerecording sessions I will at least play a few songs on my electronic drumset, my piano or – mostly – on my guitar. And I just love the buzz of playing live, letting my voice and guitar ring out.
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Do you have any upcoming gigs/tour(s)/or CD’s?
Currently we play about one gig a month. All gigs are announced on our facebook page.
We have not recorded together as a band yet. But most of the songs we play I have recorded on my own and they can be streamed on soundcloud. Every now and again I add a new one.
Follow proofReadingYour Mind on facebook and soundcloud:
Check out Oisín and his fellow musicians:
Where? at *tba presents at Ferdinandstrasse 12
When? 21 May at 7.30 pm (doors open 7pm)
How much? 5€
– Maria
Maria was listening to ‘You Could Do Better Than That’ by proofReadingYour Mind while writing this article.
