Some kind of bliss

THE urge to create music has been a driving force in Bobby Hewitt's life from an early age. He and close friend Eddie Carroll have been in bands together since their early teens and they now form two-thirds of the promising Athlone rock act The Disconnected Bliss. "When I was in school I was a doodler," said Bobby. "I would be there drawing pictures and not listening to what people were saying. All I wanted to do was make music, play concerts and play in front of thousands of people. To follow the rock and roll dream." That desire still burns brightly. It's evident from listening to The Hedonist, the debut single from The Disconnected Bliss which is now available for download from iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby and other music websites. The Hedonist is a hard-rocking song which immediately demands the listener's attention and never dips in intensity. Clocking in at just under four minutes, it's a fresh and confident piece of work with a strong chorus and memorable guitar riff. The group consists of Athlone natives Eddie (from Coosan), Bobby (from The Docks / Left Bank area) and Ian Munt, who's originally from Reading in England but has been living in Ireland for many years. Eddie and Bobby have been playing together for so long that one friend refers to them as "brothers from another mother." They started out in thrash metal group Necropolis before going on to form Murv, a five-piece band which was together for a decade and came tantalisingly close to signing a record deal before splitting in 2002. In a sign of the times, the original discussions about forming The Disconnected Bliss took place early last year on Skype - the internet programme that facilitates video chats between people in different countries. Drummer Eddie was travelling around the world and was in Canada when he was approached by Bobby and Ian, via Skype, and asked to join a new band. "We set up a Skype call to discuss songs and talk about what we wanted to do," recalled Eddie. "We talked about starting with covers and then working in our own original material. So that set the wheels in motion." The three members were able to meet in person in June 2010 and that was when things really started to take shape, with the band's first gig taking place in Athlone pub The Castle Inn in August 2010. The band's name originated from a phrase - "a bliss in disconnection" - which appeared in a song written by Ian. Bobby said he always had the ambition of being in a group which could take its music to a larger audience. As a result the setbacks which Murv experienced in trying to make a breakthrough "hit me hard," he said. "We had done so much work in Murv at the time but we were naïve and we hadn't learned the horrible side of the music industry. Some bands or artists can be very lucky and hit it big at a young age. But for 99.9% of people it's an awful lot of work and you need a lot of luck on top of that as well. "We're now older and wiser but we still have the passion and rawness. I don't think you ever lose that - it's just something that's within you," he said. "When we're recording in the studio we could be there for 14 hours and then ask 'where's the day after going?'" Eddie agreed. "You could be working on something for 8, 10 or 14 hours and after that you will still want to do more. It's addictive," he commented. The band is currently working on its debut album which is expected to be released in January. Its songs are written by Ian and Bobby, both of whom have different approaches to writing new material. "Ian is a technically brilliant songwriter," said Bobby. "He could write about a fly going up a wall and make it sound really cool and interesting. I have a more philosophical way of looking at things. I have to feel it before I can write it. Or else it just comes to me." The band recently boosted its profile by reaching the West and Mid-West regional final of the Arthur's Day 'Play on the Day' band competition, which was organised in association with 2fm and Hot Press magazine. There was disappointment at the fact that The Disconnected Bliss didn't win the regional final at Dolan's in Limerick, but the band said it was still a worthwhile experience. "'Competition' is a horrible word when it comes to bands or musicians. We are not in a competitive sport where we're all trying to win. Everyone is going down the one road," said Bobby. "The Arthur's Day event allowed us to make some new connections and rekindle a few old ones. So, all in all, it was a great experience and it served an important purpose for us." The band thanked everyone who made the trip to Limerick to support them in the regional final, and expressed gratitude to John McDermott of The Castle Inn, and Flagline buses, for arranging transport to the event from Athlone. "We were really humbled by the support we got from people down there," said Eddie. Thanks were also expressed to Athlone-based photographer Emilia Krysztofiak who has taken a number of portraits of the band. Bobby said the next priority is to complete the album and make it "as good as we know it can be." As is the case with many bands, tensions can sometimes arise between the members. "The conflicts and arguments we have show that everybody is passionate about the band," said Bobby. "Playing music is, genuinely, the easy part. All of the extra stuff around that is the hard part. As any local sports team will tell you, playing the match is easy - it's getting the money for the club, lining the pitch and all of the external things that are difficult. "But when we are playing music together all of the doubts and clouds and issues go away. That's when you realise there is a little spark there." * The Disconnected Bliss will perform at The Castle Inn on Saturday, October 29. The single The Hedonist is available now from iTunes and other music download websites. For more information see: www.thedisconnectedbliss.com