The Dreamers Stadium Track by Track - ‘Oh Ah Yay’

‘Oh Ah Yay’ this song was written whilst I was driving, that happens to a

lot of stoned musician drivers too apparently. Even classically trained

musicians are known to write Oboe solos in their head on the way to

meet the gang for a latte and a 'creme de menthe'.

But this song came together very quick. The chorus for 'Oh Ah Yay' I

took from a Dublin girl on the radio, she had won a competition and just

kept repeating the line over and over with massive gasps in between at

what ever the DJ on that particular station was giving away for free –

perhaps a caravan? I played it at Denny's a few nights later and he

asked what the lyrics were in the chorus and I said 'Oh Ah Yay'. We

decided it was the worst possible title for a song and both agreed it had

to be on the album for that reason alone. Either way DJ's can’t

pronounce it, we've been asked to change the title by almost everyone

and we said 'Ah No Way'.

The Dreamers Stadium Track by Track - 'I Am The Miracle'

‘I Am The Miracle’ was kind of a joke, about people on Cocaine or

Speed, roaring about how great they are until the next day when

they go back to there jobs as quiet as wee mice. We used to live in

a pub in England and there were a lot of people like that coming in

and apologising for whatever they’d done the night before. Then

at the weekend they were back on the floor hugging the mirror. I

was pretty young at the time and found it fascinating. They’re just

decent and normal people who go crazy from time-to-time.

A Day in the Life

"We don’t get nervous it’s more of an adrenaline rush"

ON an average gig day... we all meet up get in the bus and head to wherever we’re playing, it’s usually quiet enough in the bus. The odd joke or the sound of Gerry eating his packed lunch. 

Dave usually says a few prayers, Paul sleeps and Derm and me argue. Then we check into the hotel, go do the soundcheck and then we’ve got a few hours before the gig.  The hour before the gig gets exciting, we don’t get nervous it’s more of an adrenaline rush. We love playing live so we’re all ready to go. We don’t hug or high-five we just go and do the gig the best we can. But it’s a great feeling when the crowd is into it.  The hardest part is after, cause your on a high, sleep is out of the question. We usually hang about and talk to some of the people who came. 

Then it’s back to the hotel to hear Dave pray some more and the next day its starts all over…it’s fucking great.

The Dreamers Stadium Track by Track - ‘Praise Be’

‘Praise Be’ there could be some finger pointing in this tune, a slap on

the wrist to the righteous. Either way I had just bought a new digital

pedal rack and the opening riff on the song is the first thing I played

using it. I wrote the song around the guitar lines, it was a good day to be

in a bad mood and I remember Tennis was on TV with the volume

turned off.

The Dreamers Stadium Track by Track - 'When The Boat Comes Home'

‘When The Boats Come Home’ is the most Irish song I’ve ever written

it’s perfect for a cold Irish night with a roaring fire at the beach, good

friends drinking. We used to do that a lot when we were growing up in

Donegal - drink and sing all night then run into the tide in the morning

and wash away our sins.

The Dreamers Stadium Track by Track ‘Too Young To Die’

‘Too Young To Die’ I’ve known a few good friends who died young, and my girlfriends great grandmother was still alive she was 102 years old and every year we’d have a party for her, she used to say she just wanted to die, that it was too long. So combining the two, I wrote the song, there’s no answer to it. I still think 102 is too young but she didn’t.