When Irish Guys Are Smiling
Dublin's Stand Work Their Bollocks Off
by Barbara Bales

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Dublin's latest musical export, STAND, had gained about as much success in their homeland and throughout Europe as any unsigned band would have hoped to -- without radio promotion or distribution chains behind them. Neil Eurelie -- bass/vocals, Alan Doyle -- guitar/vocals, David Walsh -- guitar/keyboards and Carl Dowling -- drums, decided just over two years ago that it was time to trade in the Emerald Isle for Manhattan Island. Prior to landing on our shores, their consistent touring and do-it-yourself approach ("Work your bollocks off!" they say) had paid off with impressive radio airplay, a legion of fans and sales of over 18,000 copies of their second recording.

Not long after settling in the Big Apple, they began performing around New York and along the East Coast, grabbing the attention of industry people and listeners alike. In recent months, the group has showcased for A & R executives from Atlantic, J Records, Interscope, Island/Def Jam, Universal, Octone, Koch, Lava and Iguana.

Neil shares a bit of STAND's history and acknowledges that he and his mates get along very well. "STAND has been together for quite awhile. Actually, we were called January for a short time," he says. Obviously, coming up with catchy names for our band has always been our strong point. David, Carl and myself met in school. It was out of pure boredom that we decided to start a band. There was this other guy in our class who was in a band and it was all he talked about, so we said, 'Hey, we can do that!'

David introduced us to his cousin Alan, who was fronting another band at the time. We thought he was great, so we stole him from them. They still haven't forgiven us! That was eight years ago. As for tastes, I think the fact that we occupy the four separate corners of the square, if you will, adds to the band's dynamic. We would obviously listen to some of the classic bands but still have our own little quirks and idiosyncrasies. Being different individually would probably imply that we fight like cats and dogs, but we get on famously, considering the disgraceful amount of time we are in each other's pockets."

Carl describes the music scene in Ireland around the time that STAND was formed. "There were still traces of, 'Who is going to be the next U2?' There was a great buzz around Dublin, with bands getting wined and dined by British labels. U2's success really put Irish music on the world map, and in a time of high recession in Ireland, it gave young bands like ourselves the belief that anyone could get there with sweat and talent. Other than that, there was a lot of crap around, as there tends to be in every town, but we knew a few cool bands and took inspiration from them and tried to play as many gigs together as possible. Eventually the rest of the good bands either split up or moved away. The era of the boy band evolved and f**ked music up for everyone. So as we had achieved a fair amount of success at home, we thought it was time to move on to greener pastures. We came to New York -- a little less green, more tall."

We had accomplished all we could in Ireland," adds David. "We had some hit songs, sold out big venues, but still we were just unemployed musicians. We realized we had to leave Ireland and put everything into chasing our dream. America and New York were our first choices. The thought of being in a different place surrounded by all sorts of different people was intriguing, and actually it has helped us become a better band. We're observing situations and experiencing things that we never would have if we had stayed in Ireland."

Now that STAND is more established here and beyond, they have gotten some very rewarding gigs and endorsements. Neil says, "Things have really been kicked into high gear recently. We are working with one of the biggest entertainment law firms in the world -- Grubman, Indursky and Schindler, and people in the business who should have opened their eyes to us before are now saying, 'Where did those guys come from?'"

Having two lead singers "can be a blessing and a curse," Carl says. "It may be on of our most unique qualities as a band. It also allows us to share company with bands like Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac. Some people say that having two lead singers doesn't make much marketing sense. To them we say, 'Go buy a Beatles album.' The record sales don't tell lies, people!"
Visit their website at www.standonline.com

Click Here for more songs from STAND!