New: Pictures from The Mini Festival!

All new pictures from the Clockwork Apple mini festival which showcased the talents of bands like Miracle Bell, Autumn Owls & Henrietta Game are now available on Facebook!

To view the album click here

News: Culch.ie Event of the Week!

Event of the Week: 9th – 15th May

Monday, May 9th, 2011 – by Sinead Keogh

This time around we’ve chosen the Clockwork Apple Mini Festival. Happening in Whelans from Thursday 12th – Saturday 14th, the 3-day event is being billed by organisers as ‘easing everyone into the festival spirit’ and will feature 11 acts across the three nights covering electro-pop, rock and folk.

We’re particularly looking forward to Thursday’s headliners Miracle Bell but Saturday’s looking promising too with a set from Belfast’s Morning Claws and a late-night slot featuring Sleep Thieves.

Tickets are €10 per night or €15 for the three nights and being the nice guys that we are, we have a pair of weekend tickets to give away. Leave a comment below telling us what band name you’d choose if you were in a band and we’ll pick a winner on Thursday morning.

Irish Times Feature: Clockwork Apple Mini Festival

Independent music showcases its heft - by Lauren Murphy

Two forthcoming events in Dublin are proof that the independent music community in Ireland is in rude health. Simon Dowling, who has run gigs around the city under the Hefty Horse promotional banner for several years, is hosting the first day-long festival at Whelan’s Saturday 7th May.

Bands playing at HeftFest – from 3pm until late – include Goodtime (formerly Goodtime John), Norabelle, Sacred Animals, The Holy Roman Army, The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock and others.

A similar event takes place the following weekend Upstairs in Whelan’s, although the Clockwork Apple Mini-Festival will stretch across Thursday, Friday and Saturday, rather than a single day. A more rock-based gig series than HeftFest, acts such as Miracle Bell, Autumn Owls, Henrietta Game, Sleep Thieves and Tiny Magnetic Pets will play from May 12th-14th. Tickets are €10 per night or €15 for all three, and an appetite-whetting compilation featuring participating acts is available from clockworkapple presents.wordpress.com

**Competition Closed ** Win Tickets to the Mini Festival

 COMPETITION TIME…

Clockwork Apple is very excited about the mini festival, so we’re giving away 2 sets of free passes for the entire 3 nights as well as lots of goodies from the bands! If you want to be a winner then get your answers in to this question:

“What venue is the mini festival being held in?”

Email: Clockworkapple.gigs@gmail[dot]com

Winners will be announced 9th May – Congratulations to our winners… Tracy Ryan & Lorcan Mac Dermott!

MINI FESTIVAL 12-14TH MAY

Easing everyone into the festival spirits this coming May 12th-14th is Clockwork Apple’s 3 night mini festival which will be located in its usual haunt of upstairs Whelans. 11 bands will take to the stage to showcase different genres and musical styles including electro/pop, rock and harmony laden folk throughout the weekend.

Kicking off the mini festival with Thursday’s gig are headliners Miracle Bell who are supported by Fred & Bob and Fighting for Jane; two Dublin bands who are fast becoming known as ones to watch out for due to their energetic live shows & powerful vocalists Emma Greenhalgh and Grainne Hunt respectively. Miracle Bell released their album Light, Shape, Sound last year to universal critical acclaim & have been a rising talent ever since with extensive national and international radio play, a 52 date tour and support slots with The Coronas under their belt.

Autumn Owls take the top spot for Friday’s gig night with Henrietta Game & Cork band Toy Solider starting things off, making for a perfect mix of pop and shoegaze. Toy Soldier will have just returned from playing shows in Los Angeles whilst both Henrietta Game and Autumn Owls take a break from working on their forthcoming albums which are due for release later on this year. Friday’s gig is topped off with a late show by I Phoenix who released their EP Cause and Effect in 2010.

Saturday 14th May is all about dancing, and with a solid line up of some of Ireland’s finest electro/pop acts there’ll definitely plenty of that! Instrumentalists Datadrip are first up on the night followed by Belfast band Morning Claws, who are in part made up from former members of The Cutaways. Their new music has seen some rave reviews so far including The Irish Times saying it is “Inspired” and “magical”.  The ambient duo of Paula Gilmer & Sean Quinn; better known as one of Dublin’s hottest electronic acts Tiny Magnetic Pets complete the line up before the excellent Sleep Thieves take on the late slot for a spot of midnight dancing!

Tickets are €10 for each individual night of €15 for the 3 nights. Available on the door or via the WAV box office.

Listen to tracks from all the bands:

April 8th… Brad Pitt Light Orchestra, little xs for eyes & Seeping into Cinemas

Clockwork Apple returns this April 8th with a line up consisting of 3 unique and incredibly talented acts. Headlining the night are Brad Pitt Light Orchestra who are supported by little xs for eyes and Seeping into Cinemas.

Being described by Hotpress as “difficult to define – but hard to ignore” pretty much sums up Brad Pitt Light Orchestra - who hail from the west of Ireland. They released their debut album “Lowering the Tone” last year to critical acclaim and have been consistently building a solid reputation as impressive songwriters and performers since.  With lashings of theatrics, drama and showmanship the songs are brought to life with intricate instrumentation and interlaced vocal harmonies reminiscent of Arcade Fire and Divine Comedy. Brad Pitt Light Orchestra have also just released “New Miracle” the official charity single for Daffodil Day. It costs €2 with all of the proceeds going to The Irish Cancer Society.

little xs for eyes have been a favourite of Clockwork Apple’s for quite some time now and return after their brilliant headline show for us last January. With new songs to showcase, the group’s bittersweet sentiment is imparted via beautifully crafted pop songs that catch your imagination instantly. First up on the night is Seeping into Cinemas, the brainchild of Dublin musician Barry O’Brien who has just completed his album 100,000 Times scheduled for release shortly.  Seeping into Cinemas are definitely an act to watch out for this year as there is a unique quality to his voice, backed up with minimal percussion and delicate but poignant musicianship.

Admission €10 – April 8th –  Upstairs Whelans – 8pm

Brad Pitt Light Orchestra “All I Want”

little xs for eyes “Chet”

Seeping into Cinemas “Dour Hour”

Clockwork Apple Interview for 2 U I Bestow

Peter from the brilliant and award winning music website 2 U I Bestow recently asked Clockwork Apple a few questions… check out the interview below:

When and where is Clockwork Apple?

Upstairs in Whelans once a month, the dates change but it’s usually on a Friday or Saturday night.

What has been your favourite moment at Colockwork Apple?

Probably the very first time I saw the poster up in the window of Whelans and knew it was really happening, then the fear set in, and I started wondering if the whole thing would be a complete flop! Thankfully everything has been great so far.

Any Spinal Tap or bizarre moments you want to share?

Not sure if this counts as a spinal tap moment, but there was an occasion when a headline band arrived and were milling around for ages, basically avoiding doing their sound check. Eventually they told me their drummer had actually been missing for a few days and they had no idea where he was. That was fun. He did turn up though, apparently he’d been asleep on a bus that had been to Clare and back! I think that was their last gig together.

Name the one artist, band or poet who impressed you the most!

Sometimes I hear a band on record and think – that’s someone I want to have play, and then they blow you away with a live show too. Out of the ones I’ve had in I especially liked Sleep Thieves, little xs for eyes, The Gandhis, Silhouette, Heathers, Captain Kennedy, The Ambience Affair, The Blue Choir and more recently Henrietta Game & Kid Karate. In fairness, all of the bands have given it socks so it’s hard to choose!

Using youtube, soundcloud or any other media pick one track or poem which best sums up what your night is about!

That’s difficult! Hmmmmm… Ok, I’ll say “I Can’t Be Held Responsible” by The Dead Flags, because they headlined the first ever show and played an incredible gig, making it possible for Clockwork Apple to keep going, otherwise Whelans would’ve pulled the plug and called me a hack

Sell yourself with links!

Ok – here goes!
Official site: http://clockworkapplepresents.wordpress.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Clockwork-Apple-Presents/152590221431860
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/clockwork-apple
Twitter: @clockworkapple_
Email: clockworkapple.gigs::at::gmail::com

The April line-up is also amazing: Brad Pitt Light Orchestra, Norabelle and Seeping into Cinemas

And …..

MINI FESTIVAL… MAY 12th, 13th & 14th : Sleep Thieves, Miracle Bell, Autumn Owls, Tiny Magnetic Pets, Henrietta Game, Morning Claws, Datadrip, Toy Soldiers & more…