This is the AMA of a band called Adebisi Shank. We are a rock band from Ireland, AMA!!

Do you have any tits?

Hey buddy, want your name back?

Fierce hot this week, isn't it?

Boilin! (-_-)

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Larry's changes a lot but his main deal is a Line-6 M-13. I'm looking at mine right now and it goes > tuner > bit crusher > super octave > digitech whammy > eventide pitch factor

I know a lot of Lar's sounds are made with one of these bad boys

Correct we love those (-_-)

Vin,

Love you guys so much. I have a few questions:

1. Are you guys touring the US in support of the third album? If so, can you say it will be a Sargent House party?
2. When will we get to see your devilishly handsome face? Imagination can only go so far.
3. If you could get word out, a Tera Melos or Russian Circles AMA would be fantastic.

Thanks for your time!

1 - Figuring out tours at the moment, watch this space

2 - Imagine harder! (-_-)

3 - Will do!!

Are you Adam Clayton from U2?

Can the mods delete this? Before Bono sees it? (-_-)

DUDES. My daughter and I are going to dance to International Dreambeat at my wedding next week. She's seven, and her and I love you guys. I listened to your second album non-stop for weeks. Any plans for a US tours? Possibly coming to the Midwest?

Ah dude. That's sweet. I hope you's both like the new one as much. Touring is getting looked at at the mo, keep an eye on our fb for updates.

Congratulations and many happy returns to you and your family! Dance awesome next week. x

Hi Vincent,

• Top 3 games of all time?

• Favourite game soundtrack?

• Hypothetical question here but you're in a life or death situation and millions of people lives rest on this decision, I imagine some sort of launch codes are involved or something. The only way to get Gene Hackman to back down is to make out with another Irish bass player, hackman is weird like that. Who would it be and why? The fate of the world rests on your lips.

Ooh great questions.

• First three that came to mind: Ico, X-Com, Deus Ex (first one)

• Too hard to pick a favourite but...listening to the Skyrim soundtrack a lot recently.

• Definitely Jonny Adger from ASIWYFA.

You guys gonna be having a big album launch in Dublin again? If so, where and when? The last two launches were just epic.

We're working on it! That first launch was a sweatbox (-_-)

1. I can't help but notice a lot of the Sargent House bands are in Dublin right before EP, will any of you lads be playing it this year?

2. Are the lyrics to your songs available online anywhere? I can never understand what's being said a lot of the time

3. Will there be anymore solo stuff from you or Lar in the future?

4. Any chance of some form of Richer reunion gigs in the future? Seeing you lads with ASIWYFA, Enemies, Bats & The Cast of Cheers would be unreal.

5. How far in advance do you lads plan the annual Shank Xmas tune? The Coke ad one was absolutely brilliant.

1 - Sargent House bands at EP? It would be magic but doesn't look likely this year. But have no fear! - There's a Sargent House show in the Button Factory on the 27th of August...Russian Circles, Tera Melos, And So I Watch You From Afar, Emma Ruth Rundle, Mylets & No Spill Blood on one bill.

2 - Nope, the lyrics are top secret and so profound you would weep uncontrollably if you were to obtain them through any sorcery.

3 - Chances are slim as he's in about 90 bands at the moment. Drumming for No Spill and axe murderer in an amazing band called Tvvins.

4 - Reunions are about the past, we're more about the future. They were good times though.

5 - I confess it's usually an OH SHIT last minute kinda deal. Glad you liked the Coke one. That's my personal fave too (-_-)

YOU ARE THE NEW KIND YOU'LL STAY BY MY SIDE WE SAY OUR GOODBYES TO OUR FRIENDS ON THE OTHER SIDE

Close but no cigar. Loved you in Home Alone 2 Lost in McNew York

Hey Vinny. Cheers for the AMA, big Adebisi fan, and loving the new stuff!

I like to know how bands write their stuff. Do you, or lar, or mick bring something to the table and the other two add their parts to it, or do ye just jam for a while and see what comes and later work on that?

Another, that i'm sure will be asked alot - What's the deal with the mask?? i.e. How did it come about? Do you regret it? (Not that it's stupid or anything, i love the mask, just that you must feel you HAVE to wear it) and also, is it still the original mask that you wear, or have you had a few?

We live to jam, for sure. But the process is always evolving, I think when you're a band for as long as we have been (we formed around the time Dirty Dancing came out) you gotta change it up. So sometimes we'll write just by jamming, other times we'll take jams to the computer and move stuff around to make it new, and recently we've been kinda taking computer stuff into the jam room and humanising it. So to answer your question, we have no idea what the hell we're doing.

As far as the mask - I love my mask and my mask loves me. Yes it's the absolute original, I've lost it twice and both times it's come back to me ala Thors hammer, if Thor wore his hammer on his face and it was red.

Doesn't it get too hot inside that mask. With all the stage lights you must get a good sweat. Any vision problems?

Haha all of the above. It's the mask though (-_-) sssssmokin

Alright man, couple of q's for ye. What distortions or fuzz pedals do you use to get that gritty sound on Colin Skehan? and whilst were talking about that song, how the fuck do you play it? i am utter shite at picking things up by ear. is there some tapping in there or am i just complicating the shit out of it?! and last but not least when will you be heading over to glasgow?. Peace.

For bass ye mean? I think on the record it was a marshall guitar head into an Orange guitar cab, no real pedals just the dirt of the amp. If I remember right it's kinda based around open strings so keep that in mind when you're trying to pick it out (-_-) Maybe check youtube for fingerings (no not that kind of fingerings, dirty mind)

Hey I saw y'all for SXSW 2 years a go. And then once again last year in Houston and in Austin. We met before both shows and spoke a bit. I just wanted to say we love you down here in Texas. Keep on the good fight! Where does the name adebisi shank come from ?

Haha hey dude nice to see you again q(-_-)p Be seeing you again soon for sure.

It comes from the show! OZ! The god damn greatest TV show of all time.

Favourite Commodore 64 box art?

Gotta be Shard of Inovar http://imgur.com/Tp4ICYR

If you could pick one Sargent House artist to collab with, who would it be? Also- funniest story about either Cathy or Mick re: running a label.

I'd love to get all the guitarists and on the label to play E major at the same time. And Lisa Papineau to sing on top.

That's as good a reply as I could ever hope for. LP has pipes like a goddamn heavenly choir.

Damn straight (-_-)

You guys are a big influence on my band's sound http://undergroundpartycartel.bandcamp.com/

What's the hardest part of becoming a respected instrumental alt-rock band in Ireland? Is it absolutely necessary to move to Dublin?

http://undergroundpartycartel.bandcamp.com/

Just listening here - sounds great! I don't look at us as respected, or alt rock (or instrumental actually) and I don't think anything we've done was particularily hard, just enjoying playing music and meeting new people. If you can do that, with a group of friends that you can hang out with 24/7 and still enjoy each others company, well you're all set.

How Smelly Is The Red Hood ?

On tour it can get pretty funky. But on tour, everything gets funky.

Hey vinny, I absolutely love adebisi shank and a load of other Sargent House bands but all of your Dublin shows are over 18s and im 17 :( any chance of an all ages show?

Hey maybe! We did play in Tower for the second album. In the meantime, can you grow a beard? Or purchase a comedy fake one (-_-)

What is the least expected influence in your music?

I don't know if this would be expected or unexpected, but we all very much enjoy the music of our sister from another mister, Enya.

I'm constantly blown away by how creative your album names are. Can you explain the thought process behind naming your albums and eps?

It begins, as much does, with a whisper. A whisper on the winter wind, far above the cliffs, far above the icy waters with their unknowable depths, far above the standing stones that pock mark the land, and far above the trees, silent guardians at the edge of the village, always standing, always...watching. The whisper descends, and dances in the mist, becoming morning dew, that hangs from the tulips that sit proud in rough earthen pots around the perimeter of the busy market. On the lips of the townsfolk busying about their day, and in the hearts of the children playing merrily in the square, the whisper grows louder, into a murmur. Only the mad old cleric Azamael, long since expelled from the Mages Guild for allegations of necromancy, can discern this murmur for what it is. It is the name of a band called Adebisi Shank.

Hey Vinny, big fan here. What equipment did you use to get the synthy sounds on International Dreambeat? Especially the intro!

I hope you play London soon!

It's a vocal vst, a free one. I can't remember the name of it. But it's hooked up to Mick's bass drum via midi. Foggy London town! Lets do it.

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Thanks! We basically took our time a bit more and made sure things sounded the way we wanted BEFORE we put them to tape. Meaty is a good word for it haha. We wanted a meaty album covered in meat sauce sandwiched in between two big pieces of meat, served on a meat plate and eaten with bones instead of a knife and fork. With blood to drink.

Have you guys played with any of the midi-linking possibilities inherent to the Pitchfactor? It seems like it might be a pretty awesome way to do some of the more electronic-sounding stuff you've been doing.

Not yet but that's a pretty interesting idea, I might investigate that! Thanks! (-_-)

Is Log-Drum secretly performed by a gang of frogs and hedgehogs?

Nice try... it's secretly performed by Crash Bandicoot (-_-)

What's it like having the best bass tone (and like how)? And when will you fucking tour plz? ^{_^}

Ask Brian Cook! Tour announcements soon (-_-) x

So glad I finally found out a AMA I care about before it actually happened.
Please come to South Africa? I would love to see you guys live.

Wow, South Africa! We've never been asked so hey, who knows. We would love to make that happen though. Maybe we can play in your house (-_-)

Hello,

glad to see artists from Sargent House doing AMAs, this label always find talented bands. A quick look to their impressive current roster and alumni is enough to be convinced. If I had to pick another one ? I'd definitely ask for Chelsea Wolfe. With her worldwide tour going on -featuring dates with QotSA - a film, and much more, that's a lot of things to discuss.

Back on topic with you guys, I discovered your work thanks to Sargent House. Seeing your live studio session and your reddit proof picture, I can't resist to ask you this question: is this heapiece a reference / acknowledgement towards The Mars Volta or Storm Thorgerson ? If so, what would be your favorite work, picked from their entire catalogue ?

I think you're dead right! Chelsea would be a great AMA, I'll make sure Cathy sees this.

As for the second part - fraid not. Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is a total coincidence. Not even David Cronenberg in Nightbreed, or the Cillian Murphy Scarecrow.

Where's the best place to find new Irish Music? Are you that plugged into the scene?

Nialler9.com had a great modern playlist for St PADDYS day this year (PADDYS day) that's a great primer for what's going on over here at the moment.

I like to think we're quite hip, plugged into the cyberscene and whatnot. But it's people like Niall's job to know what's going on and he's brilliant at it. PADDYS day

Do you remember the show in San Francisco when some guys gave Vinny spirits and he slapped Michael in the face?

Sorry if that was problematic, it was us - do you guys not typically behave badly/drink while on tour, or at all while playing?

Also - have you played with any pedals recently that are unusually interesting?

Actually none of us remember that! I think you just witnessed some harmless goofs (we are goofy). None of us are big drinkers. And there is no way we could play those songs drunk, fuck knows they're hard enough sober!

The last interesting pedals I messed around with were vintage fuzzes, a bunch of them, when we were recording the new album. We were looking for some new ways to distort the bass and I think we nailed a few beauties on there!

Who'd win in a fight - you lads or And So I Watch You From Afar?

They would kill us, except they wouldn't cos they're lovely. I think if we had a fight it would end up with us all having a laugh beside a fire drinking tea.

Hummus or pesto?

Whack them both on sure.

Are the guitar tracks usually one take or is it recorded in parts due to the amount of effect preciseness?

Really depends on the song and the effects - there's a couple of songs on the new album that are one track of guitar but it sounds like...a lot...and there are some songs that are actually a lot of tracks but all tracked super precisely to sound like one behemoth super guitar. It's fun until the speakers blow up (true story)

Do ye ever think ye'll bash out old tracks like 'Horse' again when playing live?? That's an all-time crazy-deranged mega-favourite!!!

That song is hard.

What's your favorite thin lizzy song and why is it not massacre?

I'll tell you why. Cos it's this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ8pMMod2W0

Hey, really big fan here! How did you get into playing music? Do you have any musical relatives or siblings?

No musicians in my family but my folks filled the house with music from before I can remember. Then I set fire to the house and melted my Dads original Beatles LPs. Somehow he forgave me.

Favorite Pierce Brosnan Bond-film?

Goldeneye forever. Probably my favourite Bond movie period.

Huge fan of you guys!

I have a request for another Sargent House band AMA: Tera Melos. So, yeah, if you could pass that along that would be great :)

I saw them in Montreal last year and got to talk with them after the show, they all seemed really cool. Have you guys met them at all?

Also: PLEASE COME TO CANADA PLEASE PLEASE

That's another one I'd like to see. Real cool guys. Will pass it on (-_-)

Hey guys, big fan. Larry, I saw you with No Spill Blood in Cork last year (I'm wearing the shirt I bought from that gig right now funnily enough!) and ye fucking rocked. Just wondering if any of ye have any other upcoming side projects ye're working on?

Larry is a multi-talented man to be sure, the guy plays the shit out of just about any instrument you can put in front of him. You can catch him in Tvvins and No Spill Blood (just heard their album by the way and it is just ridiculously good) I'm also in a project called Speed of Snakes.

Massive fan here and I'm looking forward to the new album and seeing you at ArcTanGent! I was going to ask about any new stuff from Lar as his solo EP is amazing but I noticed it's already been answered... So I'll ask instead - when can we expect Speed of Snakes stuff? Bats are also one of my favourite bands ever :)

Look for some big Speed of Snakes news later in the year (-_-) SoS

How do you guys keep track of all the effects you use, and how they affect your sound? I've been playing guitar for roughly 15 years, but I write almost all my stuff on acoustic or electric guitar with only a tuner and maybe a basic distortion pedal. Something like the M-13 is enough to make my head explode. I record all my own stuff and understand the concept of looping, but using it creatively (and skillfully) is difficult for me. Any tips?

Larry is the looping king. There used to be a video somebody shot of just his feet but I think it got lost when Myspace fell down the stairs. But yeah if you watch that video you see what his feet are doing as he's playing guitar and it's basically some Michael Flatley Lord of the Dance shit. He's a great lad he really is.

As far as tips --- again, find your own style. Our style originated from our shortfalls, discovering what things we couldn't do forced us to be more creative. So don't focus on what you can't do, focus on what you CAN do and do that to the absolute maximum.

Greetings! I love your tunes so very much! =3

I do have some concerns, however. In regards to your North American distribution and how Sargent House/Hello Merch overcharge for international shipping. I'm current in a dispute with Hello Merch about being charged double shipping rate for a recent order from them. I don't want to get into all the dirty details here, but I feel the people representing you in NA might be limiting your exposure by making your albums inaccessible.

My question really is would it be possible for you to pressure hello merch and Sargent House to provide better shipping services for Canada, Mexico, etc? Looking at their rates, I'm honestly shocked.

Just as an example, to order 10 copies of your second album in Canada, costs $107.50 for shipping alone. 9 Double LP's, $170.50. (-_-)

That being said, I honestly can't wait for your new album! Though it seems I'll have to get it in digital download format from your bandcamp page.

Hey man I have no idea if that's just what shipping costs on a record or not but I'll be sure to bring it up. Intuition tells me there must be a cheaper way or maybe a closer place to buy from? And as you say, there's always digital. But this is something that bugs me too from time to time so I'll look into it for you. (-_-)

Blade Runner or Tron?

My heart says Blade Runner but my brain says Tron. Blade Runner.

How do you make those sounds?!

Which ones? The bleepity bloops or the bloopity bleeps?

What's the best and worst part about being in a band?

Best - getting to make music and see the world alongside my best friends.

Worst - the worst things make the best stories.

What happened with the gig that was going to be in Mexico?

I think that was when Mick broke his finger :-/

Hi Vin. Fave venues/festivals in Ireland/abroad? Who's your fave "Big Unit", i.e old-fashioned Centre Forward?

Niall Quinn!

I love O-Nest in Tokyo.

In a career spanning biopic who would ideally play each member of the band? If you couldn't portray yourselves.

Mick - Sean Bean Lar - Michael Fassbender Vin - Morgan Freeman

Who do you think would win in a fight, Steven Seagal or Rocky?

Seagal definitely as it would be 85% his stand-in in the fight so even if he lost he'd probably be just at home in bed eating cheese.

You guys were incredible at last year's 2000 Trees, any plans to return there next year?

No plans yet but we had a great time last year for sure. That's a great festival and we got to catch up with a lot of our friends from the UK.

What five music artists would we not expect you to listen to?

Well I dunno what you would expect or not expect, but last played on iTunes Hudson Mohawke, Lindsey Buckingham, Prince, Alan Menken

HELLO SHANK! I have questions.

1. I always think it's it funny when, shall we say, the more traditional music press in Ireland tries to write about you guys. They sometimes seem confused by what is happening to their ears and body as a result of your music. What are the strangest comments / descriptions you've had thrown at you?

2. Since 'This is the second album of a band...' there have been some changes to the band. How much of the new album will feature Lar's facial hair? Or is that kept mainly for other projects like No Spill Blood?

3. Sounds like there's some hot synth action going on in the back of that new song. Does this mean 'This is the Third album...' will involve more sampley bits, vocoders and such or is this marking a change to the standard guitar/bass/drumm setup you've played as before?

4. You've played some great shows both at home and abroad. Most little venues, bars and basements in Ireland have been enhanced by your sweat at some point. Do you have a favourite show memory?

5. Is it true that the band is actually a NASA project to harness the power of the stars to reach E.T. and tell him to come back home because he never finished his collaborative album with Sting?

HEY FLYNN! I have answers.

1 - Hmm I try to avoid reading reviews but I do remember at our very first gig, at the end of our very first song, a girl shouted OH COOL. I've clung to that, over the years.

2 - We had to kick Lar's facial hair out of the band. His face is now as smooth as our grooves.

3 - Not as much as you'd think. We never make things easy for ourselves, but a lot of the time with us what you think is a synth is probably a guitar. We're silly.

4 - Favourite show memory. Hmm. There really is so many. And it's little things really. http://imgur.com/C3cwR9K First time we went to Japan. Music can go over the border.

5 - Yes but how did you know? That project is on a need to know basis, Codename: The Source (-_-)

Hi Vinny, great hearing the new material!

1. For gigs, do you guys use anything in the way of extra instrumentation, drum triggers etc?
2. I see you have a song on LP3 called 'Chaos Emeralds' - what's you favourite zone music from Sonic?
3. Who are your favourite bassists?

Woop!

1 - Yeah we use a midi trigger on Mick's bass drum to trigger extra stuff off a laptop (think the robot man in Dreambeat) 2 - I've always been partial to the Marble Zone theme 3 - Prince, Bernard Edwards, Sting

Do you think you'll come to Toronto any time soon?

Hope to. We got a lotta friends and family there.

Any plans to visit Australia?

G'day! It's definitely on the list. We played with an Australian band before called My Disco, do you know them? They're amazing!

1. How is Speed Of Snakes going? Arroway is totally amazing
2. Can you name about 5 bands which were nice discoveries for you recently?
3. Do you have any favourite animes? Which ones?

1 - thanks! SoS is coming along nicely and we should have some announcements later in the year.

2 - Nice discoveries...hmm...well for starters everything on Sargent House! After that, FKA Twigs, an Irish band called The Gloaming, Ludovico Enaudi, Perfume, Lil Shmu

3 - Akira was the big one for me growing up. Then Cyber City Oedo 808, 3x3 Eyes, Venus Wars

What part of Ireland are you from?

I studied abroad in Athlone for a month and really liked it

Wexford, it rules. Athlone is nice too!

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It's just like that time you could've met Mr T at the mall :(

We're looking into all the tour stuff at the mo. Watch this space (-_-)

Has anything happened during a gig that really might have thrown a wrench into the works? Any horror stories regarding touring or a live show?

Also, did you ever reflect on your early years of playing and use some of the basslines you wrote when you were younger?

I remember everything I owned breaking at the SXSW showcase, but all you can do in those situations is power through. As a wise man once said, the only difference between a professional and an amateur is a professional finishes what they started (-_-)

Yeah I think DODR off the first album was an old bassline from when I was younger actually. Most of that stuff was crap though so it's all new stuff nowadays :)

If you could get a signature pedal made, what kind/what would it do?

Great question! I think it would be a smart harmonist/delay with a really bad ass distortion built in the front.

Or some kind of pedal that eliminates bum notes.

I didn't like the second album the first time I heard it . Now I can't stop listening to it. How the fuck does that happen?

We puts the whammy on ya! (-_-)

How did you find those brilliant tracks for your Japanese music mixtape? Are you some kind of inter-web addict, or maybe did you live in Japan at some stage outside of touring?

Most of them we just encountered from touring and hanging with our buddies Lite. For example, that band Rega, we played with them in Japan and they just blew my tiny mind. To this day I think they're probably one of the best live bands I've ever seen.

Was it your band that was featured on Nationwide on RTÉ television years ago? Bunch of hardcore Wexford lads batin' out tunes in a shed...

Wish we were that cool! That was the one the only Kidd Blunt.

How did you guys get paired up with Sargent House? Lovely label. :)

They are an AMAZING label. I think the connection came through Maps and Atlases, who we opened for in Dublin when they came through. And it just progressed from there. Amazing crew!

Vinny, it's G-Money. I'm moving back to dublin soon,

fancy catching up over a few games of last ninja 2?

Haha sure thing dude, gimme some bass lessons (-_-)

Love your stuff guys, I remember being so pissed at a house show with the lads from Dirty otter and also making a huge fire round the back.... Was fucking awesome! Anyway question is, are you guys going to be playing the Brudenell again any time soon?

I remember that! Down in the basement. Ah yeah we'd love to. Love the Brud and miss those Otters something rotten.

How do I join the vinny club?

Haha buy a time machine :p

Question for my man vinny ;) are you in 'tvvins' or 'No spill blood' ? And how did yous get your name out there, I'm 17 and from ireland myself :)

I'm not in either of those bands, I'm not cool enough.

I dunno how we got our name out there, we just played literally every gig we could beg our way onto for about 3 years. And being our own label at the start helped (-_-)

sup? also wheres your favourite place to play?

ty ty

Hey! Gotta be Japan.

When are ye gonna have a sargent house festival? seriously, i'd jizz my chinos so hard if it was announced

Dude, I really hope you have a fresh pair of chinos handy

http://sargenthouseeurope.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/sargent-house-digital-compilation-w-early-bird-guest-list-to-dublin-label-show

Congratulations best, Elaine p.s. How's the duke?

Wahey! Congratulations :)

Is Westworld a terribly under-rated movie?

Will Billy Zane star in a better movie than The Phantom?

Who'd win in a fight: Taffin or Jimmy Bennett from Fatal Deviation?

I am excited for some Shanku action around Ireland. When do ye start gigging again?

Waterworld is one of the best and wettest movie ever made. I dunno about Zanes career arc but he'll never be in a better movie than Back To The Future. Taffin beats Jimmy but it's very close (Taffin would probably use his superior intellect to outwit the unbeatable martial arts force of JB) Gigs announced soon (-_-) x

Which one of your friends from high school (or whatever the Irish equivalent would be) had the hottest mom?

Me, hands down