I recently had the pleasure of speaking to a cool acoustic rock music group called shamrock shakespeare.

Check out the interview

Hi Guys, How are you doing? Great to have you on YHP

We're doing great, thanks for having us.

Can you briefly give us some quick background information about yourselves?

Well, Ryan and Sean went to high school and reside in suburbs just outside of Chicago. Danny, on the other hand, is from Washington DC. We are all entering our third year in college.

Danny and Sean attend the University of Notre Dame while Ryan goes to Northwestern University. Ryan and Sean both taught themselves guitar and Danny has been singing and playing piano since he was 6. In our
YouTube videos, Ryan sits on the left and Sean is on the right.

What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?

Our music would probably be classified as acoustic rock since we have only recorded our music acoustically. Eventually we hope to develop more of a rock/alternative sound. We draw our influences from many artists including: Dashboard Confessional, John Mayer, The Fray, and Something Corporate.

How long have you known each other? How did you meet?

Sean and Ryan have known each other for about 5 years now. They went to high school and played football together. Sean and Danny are roommates in college and have known each other for 2 years. Ryan met Danny through Sean.

When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?

We formed our band about 3 years ago after a community service trip in high school. Ryan brought his guitar and I sang some covers for the other people that were on the trip with us. They all loved the show and we had fun playing, so we figured why not keep it going?

Have you guys started performing at shows? Do you have any upcoming shows?

We have played a few shows so far. Mainly just in basements at parties. We want to start playing at some open mics in the city sometime soon. Hopefully from there we can gain some popularity and start playing shows at real venues.

Who writes your songs?

We all do. Ryan tends to write most of the music and Danny writes most of the lyrics. Sean usually adds or changes lyrics as we start putting the song together.

What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs?

Each song is usually about some sort of strong emotion we are feeling when we start writing a song, or something that we feel pretty adamant about. We all also love to joke around so we could see some humorous songs to come about.

Do you think these topics will change over time?

We all love to joke around so we could see some humorous songs to come about, also I feel the topics will change as we change. As we go through different things, the songs will reflect that

What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

Our practices are very sporadic and not very organized. We just like to have fun and mess around. But when we have a show coming up, we meet very often and focus at practice. We can be very productive when we need to be.

How has the journey been so far?

It has been fun. We love adding new songs to YouTube and then reading the comments. Every show we have played at we have had a great time. It has also been a little slow. We haven't had the time to work on our music as much as we would like to.

How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?

When we first started playing together, Sean didn't even play guitar. 3 years later he has started to write some music. Ryan has evolved by writing songs in different tunings and by picking up the piano.

With Danny joining the group he brought his skill of the piano and vocal background to add a lot. Over the past 3 years, our music has gotten more complicated and allowed us to play more interesting music together.

What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

Our greatest challenge has definitely been time. We write music a lot with Danny, and he lives 660 miles away in Washington DC during the summer. And during the school year, Sean and Danny go to school 100 miles away from Ryan. So writing a song usually goes something like this: Ryan writes some music and shows it to Sean. If Sean likes it, we email it to Danny. When Danny gets a chance, he writes lyrics and records his voice. Danny will then send the music back to us to listen to and edit. We will send suggestions back and forth and record many different versions and email them back and forth. The whole process takes roughly 3-4 months.

What's your ultimate direction for your band?

Our ultimate goal is to take some time off and live in the same city for awhile. That way we can spend a year or so focusing on our music and getting professional recordings done. We really believe that we can make it with our music. We have gotten very positive feedback from everyone that has heard our original songs.

What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

Form a band with people you know well and trust. It is easy for us to bounce lyrics and music off of each other without feeling embarrassed. Sharing your lyrics can be awkward at first, so working with people you trust helps. We also know each other well enough to tell someone when we don't like their music. This is also helpful because we only want to record our best work and you need someone to be honest with you.

Thanks for your time guys.

Thank you for having us. It was our pleasure.

Check out their music
Youtube
Myspace

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