A lush land of green hills surrounded with rainbows and luck. That is the image painted in my head when anyone mentions Ireland. But now I can say I think of a music scene bursting at the seams with a new favorite of mine, Starters. They’re a pop punk band hailing from Dublin who is spending 2011 supporting their latest, Reasons to Stay, opening for the likes of Man Overboard and Transit. Miles away from one another, me and Starters’ bassist, Ian Kelly got down on our keyboards to talk Ireland, touring and crime fighting.

Kendra: How is the rock scene in Dublin?

Ian: The scene in Dublin is decent. Not as good as it once was but still great. There are lots of great bands in Dublin at the moment. I usually only go to pop punk or hardcore shows but I’m sure there is a thriving indie scene here also.

Kendra: Sticking with the homeland, what are three things many don’t know about Ireland?

Ian: Haha well contrary to popular belief it doesn’t always rain here. It’s incredibly sunny today actually. We used to have snakes in Ireland but St. Patrick drove them all from Ireland (This is most likely not true, haha). We have a Volcano in Ireland but it’s extinct. We are not all alcoholics with red hair; just most of us.

Kendra: Are there a lot of places for bands to play out there? What are some of the top spots?

Ian: Yeah there are a bunch of decent venues for sure. My favourite spots would be The Mercantile, Whelans and The Twisted Pepper.  But I think my favourite venue is Fibbers. It’s a club that plays mostly metal but it’s a good time. Sound is incredible and it’s always a good time there.

Kendra: Let’s move onward to the music…How do you think Reasons to Stay released last December differs from the Demo you put out months earlier in May?

Ian: I would say they are kind of similar actually. Reasons To Stay for us was a natural progression for the band to take. A step in the right direction. We didn’t want to write the same record but we didn’t want to be one of those bands that completely changes how they sound. I hate when bands do that.

Kendra: Is there one subject or theme you guys find yourselves constantly writing about?

Ian: Water seems to come up lots actually, but apart from that we write about lots of stuff like relationships, friends, family and life experiences in general.

Kendra: In the coming years with Starters, how do you hope to evolve musically with each release? 

Ian: Like I said earlier we don’t want to be one of those bands that completely changes how they sound out of nowhere, but at the same time we don’t want to keep writing the same record over and over. We just want to keep writing better songs if we can while staying true to who we are.

Kendra: “Fight or Flight”…when it comes down to it, if a bear were ready to attack, what would you do? 

Ian: I’m fairly confident that if it came down to it I could take a bear in a fight. Not that I have ever seen one before haha. You are not supposed to run away are you??

Kendra: Haha, I don’t think so. I think you’re supposed to stay still. Shit, we’d both be dead. But another thing that interested me about you guys is you note early Brand New as an influence. Why not their more recent tunes?

Ian: We love everything Brand New has put out for sure. But that first record is incredible and we all really love how the songs sound on it. It might not even be the best Brand New record but it had the biggest impact on me. I remember the first time I listened to it and I just remember thinking HOLY SHIT!

Kendra: Man Overboard and Transit, how’d you hook up with that tour?

Ian: We actually only played 4 shows on that tour. It just worked out well that we were doing a small tour around then and we ended up getting to play those shows. It was cool. I love both of those band and they are great guys.

Kendra: When opening for bands that have made a name for their selves over here in the states, how do you make show comers remember a Starters performance?

Ian: We don’t try to outdo them or anything, that isn’t us. We just play our songs and hope people dig them. That’s all you can do really. 

Kendra: Lastly, what’s up for you guys for the rest of 2011? Crime Fighting, music making, more touring?

Ian: Who told you about the crime fighting? Actually have you heard about the Rain City Superhero Movement?? It’s awesome. Google it. But yeah we are writing a full length at the moment, then we have a split coming out with Citizen and we will be touring lots.

Kendra: I’ll have to look that up…Okay, you thought you were done, oh no, one more…Right when I read Ireland my mind went to pubs because of my love for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, so if I asked you to make me a mixtape of the Top 5 songs to get me pumped for a night at the pub, what would you send me?

Ian: It would have to be a bunch of ridiculous songs for sure.
Chumbawamba “I Get Knocked Down”
Limp Bizkit Any song really
Proclaimers “500 Miles”
Saw Doctors “Joyce Country Ceili Band”
Some other Nu Metal classic

Interview by Kendra Rae