An Armagh-based Indie Rock trio has spoken about their band’s origin and personal development ahead of the release of their new ‘high-energy’ single.
Brother Vice is very much a Co. Armagh affair, having been formed by local lads in Crossmaglen back in 2021, having initially started out in a garden shed.
The early material and ideas were born from James Feely (29) who is responsible for vocals and plays the guitar.
He’s backed up by Neil Mone (33) on the guitar, and Aidan ‘Petey’ Watters (32) on the drums.
The trio draws inspiration from the likes of Sam Fender; Catfish and the Bottlemen; The Killers; and the Foo Fighters, hoping to be the next big thing in the Co. Armagh music scene.
The band’s new single, “Money,” was recorded, mixed and mastered in Manor Park Studios, Moneyglass, with Neal Calderwood, known for his work with fellow Northern Irish bands General Fiasco, Dea Matrona and Red Eye Pariah.
Speaking to Armagh I, the trio say their band was born from “something great”.
Petey explained: “James had the ideas and the early material and so Brother Vice was born with him. I had just returned home from living abroad and had met his mam in the local shop, and she mentioned that he needed a drummer, so that’s how we got together in 2021.
“We set about looking for a guitarist and found Neil shortly after and almost instantly we all knew we had something great.”
The guys have all been keen musicians from their teenage years, but worked their way up from jobs in bars, hotels, offices and call centres, all while building their musical careers.
While you could describe Brother Vice as an Indie Rock band, Neil admits that it’s “hard to pin a specific genre” for their style: “You can pick up our individual routes of Rock, Indie Rock, Punk, and more recently mixing in a contemporary pop feel to our tracks,” he said.
The inspiration for ‘Money’ came from a difficult life experience for frontman James, who was “broke and unemployed” for a few months in 2023.
He explained: “I walked straight out of a job I wasn’t happy in, with no back up plan and I found myself in a situation where I had a lot of time on my hands to write and very little money or stability to do anything else.
“I feel the theme and mood of the song came naturally considering the situation I was in. Whenever we write, I’ll usually bring a core idea for a song into the rehearsal room and Aidan and Neil will build around it and work their magic so it sounds like a real full song.
“But when it came to lyrics, it was a nightmare. We were actually still making up some of the lines in Manor Park Studios on the day of recording. But thankfully it all worked out.”
James added: “I feel it’s a personal one for me but I’m happy how we turned it into something really upbeat and bright so that people can listen to it and enjoy it. If people are going to enjoy a song that was wrote at my expense of being unemployed, I’m all for it!”
When asked to describe the track for a new audience, Neil said: “Aside from the really great mix and master that Manor Park studio did for us, the delay effects on the vocals stand out to me during the verses. It gives the track a modern dance feel which we loved experimenting with, and can potentially tap into a new audience.”
While the band says the track has had a “great response” so far, they admit that it’s been difficult to get their name out there in these early years.
James said: “Armagh definitely isn’t known for its hardcore indie-rock fan base, but we do hope people can accept our music for what it is and if it makes them feel happy or nostalgic, I’d feel like we’ve done a good job.
“This is an honest song about daydreaming of a life where money isn’t an issue, and I guarantee there’s not a single person from the working or middle class who can’t relate to it inside or outside of Armagh.”
Despite the huge amount of blood, sweat and tears that goes into making your way in the music scene, the band is optimistic that their style is evolving and their music is growing.
Neil says there’s plenty going on that fans of Brother Vice can expect in the future: “I’d say there’s definitely plans for an album at some point over the next year or two. We’re currently just focused on recording some more singles and doing live gigs for the time being, but album discussions will certainly be a part of 2025.”
Petey adds: “40,000 arena gigs? Residency in the sphere? Maybe we’ve got a bit more work to do before that, but we are always writing and working on new songs. There’s plenty more to come from Brother Vice.”
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