Interviewing Eoin Loveless of Drenge
Drenge is a Sheffield band consisting of two brothers, Eoin and Rory Loveless.
With only two homemade videos released on the internet, tarring them to the nauseatingly clichéd term a ‘DIY’ band, Drenge couldn’t be further away. To be honest, when asked about matching Sheffield’s musical success, they didn’t give a shit. They’re not driven by fame, they’re not selling any tracks, and they’re not bothered about recording an album, and, truth be told, it’s refreshing, it’s alluring, and it’s fucking cool.
Alright, Eoin. Cheers for speaking to us; firstly, in Cilla style, where are you from, and how did the band start?
Eoin: “We’re from Castleton, in the Hope Valley. There’s nothing to do here, and after coming up with some tunes for a few house parties, we thought it’d give us an excuse to drink a few cans of warm lager and miss the last bus from Sheffield, and we’ve been doing that for nearly two years”.
Has there been any Gallagher moments between you and Rory, or is it all brotherly love?
“We get on like a… we get on really well. Every day is a Chuckle Brothers episode”.
Sheffield has produced some great bands, Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, Bromheads Jacket, and Milburn, just to name a few, do you feel any pressure to match their success?
“Calm down, we’ve only put up two videos! We’ve been playing music together for nearly ten years, we started doing shit covers of Keane to empty village halls and barn dances, and it’s always been for fun. We’d have given up years ago if we were looking for success. You’re right about Sheffield’s bands, though:.
Is there any particular story behind the name?
“I can’t really remember, but I think we watched a few Dogme 95 films, and we got obsessed with Denmark. About a year before, a load of Danish kids came to our school to learn the language, and we played a game of football against them. All the Danish people were shouting the word “drenge”, and I thought it was meant to be an insult and stuck it with me. Turns out it means “boys”. It sounded really ugly and vicious, and a good way to describe these riffs we’d been kicking about and the empty room’s reaction after hearing them”.
How would you describe your music?
“I guess it’s a mixture of blues/grunge/punk, but people have told us we sound like Slade/13th Floor Elevators/Drone Metal, so we don’t know what to say any more. It’s probably better to listen to it rather than hear my description”.
Ok, well, what’s inspired you?
“We used to listen to the White Stripes religiously, we’ve moved onto psych stuff like Hookworms/Uncle Acid. We have quite an open taste, so it’s difficult to see what comes through, like the drums on Dogmeat were pretty much a result of getting some dance hall tune stuck in my head that my friend sent me. Most of the stuff we listen to is either rubbish or unrelated to what we play though.
Two of your singles have surfaced on the internet; where can we get our hands on them?
“I don’t know where or when they’ll be available, but they will be eventually. Sorry, useless answer”.
Will you be releasing any more?
“Yeah, we’ve been a bit busy (lazy). We should have another couple up soon hopefully”
Is recording an album on the agenda?
“Nope. We’re not that interested in releasing something as gravitas as an album for the time being”.
Finally, do you have plans to tour?
“If by tour you mean ‘a couple of shows in September’, then you’ll find them on our Tumblr”.
