As part of Otwo's Dublin Bands on Your Doorstep feature Síofra Ní Shluaghadháin talks to Squarehead
Dublin’s BURGEONING and varied music scene is under the constantly shifting influence of external changes, yet it is one which maintains its own identity. Local, three-piece band, Squarehead is no exception to this. While maintaining their own sound, lead singer Roy Duffy, is keen to stress the influence music had growing up. “When I was very young I was obsessed with Michael Jackson. I had an outfit and I’d dance around like a maniac.” While the King of Pop may not play a significant role in the group’s sound today, Duffy explains, “It was all about Nirvana and Blink 182. They were the bands who taught me to play guitar and opened me up to stuff like the Descendents, which had much more of an impact on me creatively.”
The band is part of a scene that has seen great changes in recent years and an even greater opening up to the international music scene. Duffy is pleased to get the opportunity to play to such a diverse audience. “We still play small venues, but sometimes we get to play bigger places or with bigger bands at festivals and the like. It can be very exciting sometimes but mostly we just enjoy playing wherever. It still surprises me that people actively like our band and come to shows. I always feel pretty thankful.”
The band come during a time that has seen a greater embrace of varying and different media forms, with many acts turning to novel ideas in order to capture the attention of a competitive market. For Squarehead, their recently released music video for their single, ‘2025’, featured performances from actors Brian and Domhnall Gleeson. Speaking about the video, Duffy reveals, “We went to the premiere of his movie, ‘Frank’, where we were introduced and ended up having a lot of craic together. He said at some point in the night that he’d love to do a video for us. We thought he was just being nice, but low and behold a few days later he emailed us and it went from there!”
The single’s proceeds aided Immaturity for Charity, yet, despite big-name friends and charity contributions, Duffy maintains that he as no ambition to be the next Bob Geldof. “We have zero aspirations for much at all really! We’ve done a number of charity gigs over the years and it’s just something I’m glad we have the opportunity to do. None of us have any money that we could donate to anything otherwise, so it’s a nice way to use what we do to help out and bring attention to different things.”
As the Dublin music scene continues to explode, with a plethora of talent fighting to be heard, Duffy is also keen to stress Dublin’s community vibe. “There’s definitely pressure involved with being a band and a healthy level of competition is what makes for so many great Irish acts, but Dublin’s always felt like a very supportive city to me. Especially for new bands.”
Squarehead definitely seem to have their heads screwed on the right way. Duffy speaks of his plans for the future, “We’re writing stuff for what will hopefully be our next record right now. We’ve got a few shows lined up so far. More of the same, but better hopefully!” A well-rounded plan for success.