Sittin' atop a Supa Phonky Mutha of a debut album with "This Is The Tomb Of The Juice"s elasticated, day-glo funk, Dublin reprobates REPUBLIC OF LOOSE are a buncha street-smart hombres with a colourful past involving drugs, poverty, the occasional stint with Royal Trux, more drugs and lots and lots of music. W&H tracked down outlaw frontman MIK PYRO on the road to Glastonbury to find out what poisons in the water make the Republic's citizens tick.
Mik, my man, you guys sure give good press release. I'm not gonna try to demolish too many of the colourful myths surrounding the band, but is it true you and guitarist bro' Dave were REALLY in a band called JOHNNY PYRO & THE ROCK COMA before the Republic Of Loose was founded?
"Yeah, we only changed the name about 18 months back," says Mik gruffly, down his mobile.
"We had the more gospel-ly stuff back then. The tougher, r'n'b slant and the hip-hop vibe came since that time, when the current line-up got together. But yeah, that much of the myth about the earlier band is true enough."
Right. Well I gotta say that you guys sound absolutely diddly squat like ANYTHING I've previously heard exuding from Dublin. What's your relationship with the city these days? Are you still based there?
"Yeah, we're still in Dublin, but we don't have a Dublin attitude," slurs Mik, darkly.
"See, so many of the Dublin bands pretend they're from elsewhere, but y'know, I'd rather be copying Rick James than Coldplay and U2."
Mik says this like the words themselves were laced with battery acid.
"The thing is, alternative Irish music is Trad," he continues, not unreasonably.
"All modern pop is culled from African-American sources and we're celebrating that. Let's not forget that The Rolling Stones and The Clash were lauded for doing just the same. No-one had a problem with them taking the same kind of infleunces on board, did they?"
Well, no, their reputations and record sales would suggest not. But on the album, you say thanks to the likes of Alabama 3 and Fun Lovin' Criminals, who are both bands I can see you bracketed with, not least because of the groove-based, party styles and the outlaw image. Do you feel a kinship with these bands?
"It's partly a bit more prosaic, as both those bands let us support them," Mik admits.
"But yeah, I see what you mean. Alabama 3 have been very helpful and supportive, and I guess we have elements, but then both of those bands are very different too. I mean, with FLC, they're good, but they're more lounge-y and laid back and Alabama 3 are more country-techno based."
But there's the Gospel thing in there with you both...
"Yeah, that's true," he nods. "The A3 love their Southern fried Gospel alright, and r'n'b. I've had great chats with Jake Black (Rev.D.Wayne Love) from A3 about all forms of music...soul, blues, punk...he's a massive Elvis man. Sound fella."
Remembering a similar conversation I had with him, I can only concur, but let's pinpoint who your main soul-based influences are. Tracks like "Girl I'm Gonna Fuck You Up" suggest Sly Stone might well have a large place in your heart. Am I right?
"Definitely, he's a huge influence," Mik confirms.
"The way he melded the rock dynamic with soul and gospel's never really been equalled for me. Rick James as well, he's just incredible. We strive for that kind of fusion, though I'm not saying for one second we're as good as those guys."
"We compensate in other ways, though," he continues, barely missing a beat.
"We've got a great, hip-hop style production and our twin guitarists are very good, very sensitive, they've got that twin rhythm/ lead thing going on the way the Stones have."
The song "Goofy Love" is clever and cheeky - the way it amalgamates the back beat from Nick Cave's sublime "Lime Tree Arbour." Presumably, the great man likes it himself as he gave you permission?
"Yeah, we've heard he likes it," reveals Mik.
"That surprised us, actually, because we thought he'd find it too hip-hoppy and too boisterous. He was sound, though, really receptive to it and not precious at all. It kind've evolved from us having a sampler for the first time a few years back and we loved the rhythm loop off "Lime Tree Arbour" and it has that wonderful rippling piano thing going on. We worked a new vocal thing on top and it worked great. Simple as that really."
OK. Meanwhile, we touched on Gospel and its' influence weaves strongly into tracks like "Something In The Water" and "Slow Down" too. Is it you who has the great falsetto?
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"That's me, m'boy!" laughs Mik.
"Gospel stuff is hard to come by in Dublin, though, you've gotta use the net or whatever. But it's mostly the great female gospel singers...The Staple Singers, Mahalia Jackson who do it for me. I only learnt it from just absorbing meself in it and listening, playing along on the guitar. You think of scales in your head, y'know, and it melds itself into your head from years of listening. I'm not fuckin' trained or any of that shite," he finishes, emphatically.
Are Republic Of Loose a great party band, then Mik? Your songs are peppered with references to the likes of Vicodin, so are you chemically-altered party animals?
"Ha!" laughs Mik in delight.
"Yeah, well when we play live it's a real fuckin' party vibe, rock'n'roll in excelsis is on the menu in every sense," he says tantalisingly, but doesn't really elaborate.
"Let's put it this way - I defy you not to join in the fuckin' fun if you're out and about with us, y'know?"
Mmm, reckon I do, yeah. But let's talk about the business side for a moment. You're signed to Big Cat, but are involved with Ignition Management, the company based around Oasis manager Marcus Russell. How did you become involved there?
"He approached us," replies Mick forcefully, as if it was obvious he would.
"He heard our album and was very supportive even from early on when Ignition weren't sure they'd take us on. But Marcus loves music at the end of the day and he understood whate we were doing, he's very sincere. The fact he's a sly old dog who's been around the track a few times doesn't hurt either. It made a refreshing change to meet him, because this business really is populated with opportunistic scumbags as a rule."
Mik really spits this out, and this anti-star attitude simply oozes from a number of the tunes on "This Is The Tomb Of The Juice," such as "Ride With Us." Do you think that people may assume you're taking the piss just because you're from Terenure (Dublin) rather than authentic Tennessee?
"Yeah, people do have a problem with us but that's because they're braindead, really," Mik fires back, warming to this fighting talk.
"Because people, critics, whoever have these archaic notions of culture and the boundary lines that's their problem, y'know? The idea of Irish Culture being one thing and American culture being another and they should never amalgamate in any way is dangerous to say the least in the 21st Century."
"I mean, we've been through that kinda shit with the fuckin' Penal Laws," he continues, ripe for a broadside.
"It seems ridiculous that we have American food, American culture, American television and so so thrown at us every day and we can't take a piece of that pie and use it for our ends. "
Fair enough, but listen you're in Glastonbury the same weekend that the dreaded George Dubya is visiting Irish soil. Have you got a warm Irish welcome for him then before you head off to do your set?
"Yeah, I have," snorts Mik.
"Fuckin' Bush, he's one dangerous fucker. There again, Clinton was just as much a liar, wasn't he? But he was at least a decent politician, and understood the need for diplomacy and peace, above all. Bush, though, he's a Gobdaw (Irish term for, roughly, stupid bastard - Gaelic Ed). He's maybe the most dangerous man in the world and he's got that bastard Dick Cheney in tow as well. D'you know what they should do with 'em all?"
Go on Mik, you've got 30 seconds, say something outrageous....
""They should take them all out and shoot the fuckin' lot of 'em! Please God John Kerry will get in in November. Tthe world really needs a break..."
And a new Republic of Loose?
"Fuckin' right, my friend! You said it!"
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