During the COVID-19 lockdowns, the Tullamore musician Rob Moore began a new solo project out of boredom. โWell, the first release just came out of being at home, with COVID, and having nothing else to do,โ Rob tells Post-Burnout. โAnd I guess, at the time, I was studying for a degree, like, finishing off college and all that, and I was very much locked in the house all the time, and not getting out to play with them [his other band members]. Not getting out to play with your friends or whatever! As a 40-year-old man! [Laughs] But I wasnโt getting out to go practice with them or anything like that, so I just had a couple of song ideas knocking around that I just said โSureโฆ,โ and just ended up kind of recording them on the laptop. I got three songs together and threw them up on Spotify. I never had done anything in terms of releasing music properly or trying to get it out in any sort of fashion where youโre actually looking for people to actively listen to it. So, all that was new.โ
Inspired by acts like Fugazi, Rancid, Converge, Jeff Rosenstock, and Deerhoof, Rob christened his new project โFierce Shookโ and made his debut release with the three-song Fierce Shook Altogether EPin March 2021. After its release, he expanded the band into a three-piece, with two of his childhood friends and longtime collaborators. โMyself and the two other lads โ Owen and Ozzy [Holmes], theyโre two brothers โ weโve actually been playing together for years,โ says Rob. โItโs just always been a hobby of ours. Like, weโve been probably doing that for, Iโd say, ten or fifteen years, like, just messing about or whatever.โ With the other membersโ additional interests in classic rock and hip-hop, Fierce Shook combined it all into a nice, neat, little post-punk/post-hardcore package.
When asked how such left-field music fairs in their native county, Rob responds, โSo, youโll have a venue like John Leeโs Pub down there, which is very open to basically hosting any type of music. Theyโll have, say, stuff like us or even, say, even, theyโve had [Gilla] Band playing down there. And, the next night, you might have Paddy Casey or, I donโt know, the Hothouse Flowers or whoever playing. But theyโre very good for fostering new music, and very encouraging that way. And there have been pretty good bands that have come out of there over the years, like, say, bands like Glimmermen, or Scary รire, actually, is a pretty big one thereโฆTheyโre one of the first Irish hip-hop bands, and they came out of Tullamore. So, itโs a funny one. I think itโs one of those places that people maybe donโt expect good music to come out of, and, when it does, it kind of surprises people. [Laughs]โ
![](https://postburnout.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/i-rBVnXXj-M.jpg)
Photo courtesy of Rob Moore
Despite all being Offaly natives, the bandโs members are now split between three counties, with Rob living in Dublin, Ozzy in Wicklow, and Owen in Offaly. This, on top of all the members having families and full-time jobs, makes practising and performing difficult. โThatโs the thing with us, weโre working full-time jobs, we have kids and all that, and time is very limited, there,โ says Rob. โWith recording the drums, there, like, Ozzy would have gone down and probably done one or two takes โ I think with โLuthiteโ he only did one take of the drums, and that was it, like โ and itโs just very much like, โOK, Iโve got a spare hour here. I can come down, I can do this, thenโฆyeah. Iโve got to get back and look after the kids, or Iโve got a soccer match to drive people to,โ you know that sort of way?
โAnd, even with practice, last year, we wouldโve been practising down in Tullamore and then, now, at the moment, weโve kind of moved our band practice space up here, to Wicklow. Weโre just practising in a warehouse, just out in Wicklow, there. Weโve kind of found a little bit of space there, but, like, it is very much even a case of, when we are trying to coordinate band practice, Iโm going, like, โOK, I think my wife is not working this night, and I think, yeah, you donโt have football practice to bring the kids to, this night,โ and itโs something that has to be coordinated in about two or three weeks in advance, in order to find that time. And itโs the same with, like, trying to get gigs sorted and all that. Itโs like, โOK, are you working this weekend, and do you think youโll be able to do this?โโ He adds, โI was actually talking to one of the guys from that band Soft on Crime, there, a little while ago, and we were joking about how you might get four or five gigs a year. Itโs like, that tour of Australia can wait! [Laughs]โ
Now the band is gearing up for their latest EP, which will mark their first time using an external producer, as Rob typically produced their releases thus far, which he feels had room for improvement. โI do remember hearing someone doing a review of that โLuthiteโ single before, and, like โ just when we were talking about vocals and all that โ they were like, โWell, the guyโs trying to sound really grungy,โ and all that,โ he says. โโHeโs trying to sound like some early โ90s thing,โ but I was like, โIโm not that skilled!โ I think the only thing that I was aiming for was, I was recording it late at night up here in the attic, and I was like, โIโm really trying to not wake up my kids!โ [Laughs]โ
Now with producer Richie Ford at the helm for this new EP, Fierce Shook are beginning to have the sound they wanted fully realised. โWhat weโve done sounds fantastic so far,โ says Rob. โIt really shits all over that first EP!โ On how it differs from their previous releases, he adds, โSo far, it sounds a lot heavier. It sounds a lot bigger. I guess thatโs the main difference, it sounds fuller than what weโve done before. Also, your man Richie is doing a lot more work on the vocals, there, for myself. For both of us, thatโs very appreciated. Yeah, actually, the first thing he said was, โYouโre not a singer!โ [Laughs] Which, yeah, itโs very true! [Laughs]โ
Teasing elements of stoner rock, funk and hip-hop as being featured on the new EP, it also puts Fierce Shook into an important Irish musical lineage. โThe big thing for us was we were lucky enough to get one night in Windmill Lane, to record the drums, which was amazing,โ says Rob. โYeah, thatโs kind of been the highlight of this whole thing, really, was just doing that.โ When the interviewer mentions that heโs now part of the studioโs history, Rob jokingly responds, โYeah, yeah! Bruce SpringsteenโฆFierce Shook! [Laughs]โ
Fierce Shook are still in the process of making their next EP. In the meantime, you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bandcamp, and Spotify to make sure you donโt miss the announcement when it comes!
For a more extensive interview with Rob โ where we go into more depth on the topics discussed, as well as discussions on self-producing, punk in rural Ireland, the Irish music scene outside of Dublin in comparison, and playing a wedding โ tune into todayโs episode of POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviewsโฆ, today at 17:00 Irish time on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music Podcasts.
![](https://postburnout.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/pbprof.png)
Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO,ย Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRDย and more.