The Lions Mane <iamthelionsmane>

"Sweeping like the wind...."

Strands Online album releasehace 173 días
 
The following is the current press release from MyMusicPR for the online release of the Lions Mane debut album 'Strands'.

Formed early in 2008 by Alan Dawson, resident engineer for online music community KilkennyMusic.com, The Lions Mane began as an online experiment for the multi-instrumentalist; as he released tracks anonymously through online social network MySpace.com. “I wanted to release music without it being important who was making it, music for music’s sake” says Alan. “The internet is the perfect way to do that.”

Drawing influences from a wide range of genres; stemming from the progressive sounds of 70’s bands like Yes and King Crimson to the roots reggae style of Steel Pulse, whilst combining the raw grunge of 90’s Seattle bands, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden, with the modern day sounds of The Mars Volta and Tool. The Lions Mane quickly garnered the respect of music fans in the online world, with it’s own style of melodic riffs interwoven with chunky guitars, layered vocals and strong rhythmic patterns.

The online demand for gigs led to several successful live performances in Kilkenny and Dublin in 2008, with Dawson on vocals and guitar, accompanied by various line-ups of musicians; each from other popular Kilkenny bands.

Following the gigs, Dawson went in to the studio once again, to record additional tracks for the album, this time accompanied by drummer James O’Brien. A permanent fixture for live performances, the young percussionist quickly became an integral part of The Lions Mane, reinforcing the experimental concept with an innovative style.

‘Strands’ was due for release late last year but did not come into fruition, due to close scrutiny in the mixing stages. “At the time it could have sounded a lot better,” says Alan, “I wanted it to sound like I had initially envisaged and there was no need to rush unnecessarily.”

“Some of the old tracks were re-recorded from scratch, adding new elements, and during this process the material grew into the 12 tracks that are now on the album. I’m happy that the overall sound is consistent and I’m pleased that I took the time to do it properly.”

After months of development; ‘Strands’ is finally available to buy online, exclusively through The Lions Mane’ official website www.iamthelionsmane.com.

With a running time just over 60 minutes; ‘Strands’ costs €10 to download and contains the four currently heard tracks on MySpace, along with seven new tracks: ‘Dead and Over’, ‘Kingdom’, ‘Smegma’ plus four new ‘DNA’ tracks, all of which can be previewed on the website. High-res artwork for the album is also included in the download.

The online release of ‘Strands’ will be followed later in the summer by national tour dates in association with MyMusicPR.

For more information and to download a copy of ‘Strands’, go to www.iamthelionsmane.com.
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Cd Update...hace 258 días
 
Hey one and all,

So it has been a while since a blog post or any cd or gig related news but the mane is still holding strong and processing new material. The CD, titled "Strands" due to be released last year did not come into fruition, due to close scrutiny in the mixing stages. Basically it could sound a lot better, and with a little bit more time, and effort, it will encompass all the qualities one would expect to find from the demos on the page. Under this new light however (and some very fine plugins from Waves), I'm confident it will turn out a lot more like I had initially envisaged. I figure it's taken this long, so there is no need to rush unnecessarily given the circumstances. Some tracks have been completely re-recorded from scratch, while others have slight tweaks but the overall sound is consistent. So anyone who reads this please don't come up and ask me about it anymore!! You will be frowned upon most sincerely.

The album when finished(early summer hopefully by the gods!!) will be released online to download with the option of cd or mp3 quality(artwork also included). Should you be considering to purchase it the option will be all yours.
The actual physical cd will be released closer to the summer to coincide with some live performances. Two additional tracks will accompany this version. Also to be released is the "Smegma" music video directed, shot and soon to be cut by oss237(when he finds time away from his never ending hectic schedule).
In addition to this a new track titled 'Dna 4' has now been added to the player, which is also available for download!!
More updates to follow....



The track layout (Just in case anyone is interested)
1 Dna 1
2 Leaf
3 Dna 2
4 Pulltiout
5 Buddha
6 Dna 3
7 Dead and Over
8 The Dragons Breath
9 Dna 4
10 Kingdom
11 Dna 5
12 Smegma
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The Gig........hace 401 días
 
Anybody coming?? We need at least 10 people to show so that we know that there are 10 people that like the music. We are also considering changing the name to "Evan's Minge"?? Any other suggestions?.....the best one gets a T-shirt signed by Evan!

If that isn't incentive i dont know what is!
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Something...hace 428 días
 
Something is finished. I can't remember what it is right now but there is definitely something finished somewhere. Blogs truly are awesome!!

Does anyone read these random strands??
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Blogshace 433 días
 
Blogs are awesome fullstop. Anyone that disagrees is a natural born retard (see what i did there?)

For example today I consumed an unmerciful amount of coffee and thought about eating then decided it was counter productive and hunger keeps the edge sharp like a ninja's blade. There is no way to stop this now.
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Gig Review by threadheadhace 458 días
 
The following gig review was posted by threadhead, on the KilkennyMusic.com Forums, following the Lions Mane gig in Cleere's Theatre, Kilkenny on August 16th;

Over 15 years ago Kilkenny was labelled 'The Irish Seattle' because of the wealth of quality bands that were getting signed left, right and centre by eager A&R hounds. Bands like Kerbdog, Engine Alley and My Little Funhouse exploded onto the national scene with their own spin on the grunge phenomenon that was so popular at the time.

It's in the past year that the fruits of the Kilkenny music scene have once again grabbed attention on the national stage. Bands as diverse as Rarely Seen Above Ground, Saving J, Chemical Addiction, Good Tiger, Captain Moonlight, The River Valley Band and Supernova Scotia have all made local and national breakthroughs with radio airplay, high profile support gigs, festival appearances, magazine coverage and general hard ball breaking graft. It's a fine mix of musical styles, demonstrating all Kilkenny has to offer. But grunge? Not so much.

So, how nice to see The Lion's Mane redress the balance. And so they join the catalogue of diverse bands who've really been pushing the boundaries of music in Kilkenny.

The gig was a cracker, no doubt about it. And I have to admit, I went into it expecting to appreciate it more than enjoy it. The groups internet output was undoubtedly solid and well structured but my initial reaction had been that it sounded a little too, well, polished. But the gig was full of the most polished rough edges I've seen in a Kilkenny gig in a long time. It translated amazingly to live performance. And fuck, I enjoyed it.

Alan Dawson is the man behind the mane and before the gig had even started, his hard work and meticulous preparation had obviously paid dividends in the jam packed house in Cleere's and the strange sight of gig goers running around in Lions Mane t shirts. The approach to this gig was masterful. Indeed, the approach to the band was even better. Building a strong internet presence around a bit of mystery, slowly leaking material and developing a strong aesthetic over the past year, The Lions Mane was allowed to take their time and build an audience whilst working on a strong collection of material. No rush jobs here, just care and attention and the music put to the forefront.

It's only in recent weeks that the band gained a face as the build up to the first full band airing of material began. The refreshing approach to music first, image and posturing see ya later, paid dividends. It was all about the music. As the gig kicked off, a grinning Dawson traded some verbal barbs with a mouth in the audience before launching into a ferociously confident rendition of 'Pull It Out', the crowd was immediately won over. The set was very tight, extremely well executed and in Evan Prendergast, Danny Pearson and James O'Brien, Dawson has found an extremely proficient band to blast the songs to life.

I've already mentioned about how refreshing the 'music first' ethos is but this band really have to be also commended for the sense of fun they brought to the stage. Prog rock gets a hard time for being a little too poker faced and its entirely with validation but even to term The Lion's Mane as solely prog rock is to do them an injustice. The flair for musical styles and the segues between genres was seamless and added to the sense of playfulness on the stage. And fun it was. Alan Dawson has too long been in the background in a plethora of bands, most recently Itchy Trigger Finger, but as a front man he really shone at this gig. And why wouldn't he? He took his time to make sure that when he stepped forward, he did it right. Smiling all the way throughout and never taking himself seriously, he cut a distinctly bullshit free, non posing figure who didn't need to be front and centre of the proceedings. Bantering with the crowd and taking the entire thing happily in his stride, he at times resembled a party host who just wanted people to have a good time in his gaff. Kudos to the rest of the band for following his lead and really giving off a sense of fun up there. And then they rocked it like a motherfucker.

This gig was refreshing, well executed and beautifully played by some skilled musicians. It entirely justified the strong build up and the sense of anticipation. The music scene in Kilkenny is alive and well and this gig underlined how good we have it locally at the moment. Maybe we won't be the Irish Seattle again but fuck it, right now just being Kilkenny is good enough. Long may the lion roar.
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Buddhahace 604 días
 
Go to www.myspace.com/iamthelionsmane for more details...
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Work 1..hace 623 días
 
The first work of labored fruition is available on the home page now. The song titled "The Dragons Breath" is still in adjustment phases, however the sound has an eagerness to be heard and refuses to sit idle while the mice twiddle their thumbs. Please feel free to enjoy and interpret in any given fashion.

The song itself has not been enabled to download due to its compromisingly low quality but a much higher quality version will be made available from the website as soon as its up and running.
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