L4LM caught up with Oisin Leech of the Lost Brothers, fresh off the heels of their return home from three historic shows in Moscow.  Once back in Liverpool, Leech and Mark McCausland went right back to work on some finishing touches for their soon to be released fourth album.  Oisin filled us in regarding a tribute to Levon Helm, singing with Steve Earle and the Midnight Ramble Band, meeting folk legend Happy Traum, and a coming tour in June with Willy Vlautin.  As he was still thawing out from some very chilly Moscow nights, he was kind enough to share the following update with us.

#1. You have gone to play in Russia at a historic and ‘tense’ time.  What can you report back to us on your experience in that great country to this point? And how did the trip come about?

The trip came about through other fellow musicians in Dublin. They passed on our details to the Irish Music and Comedy Festival and next thing we knew we were on a plane to Moscow to play three gigs. All very last minute stuff.We loved playing our songs to the people in Moscow. We enjoyed meeting the locals after the gigs who seemed to really enjoy the songs. We didn’t have one free moment between gigs and interviews. We went from Moscow to Liverpool to start a new album. It was cold. Minus 9 celcius one night. We went walking in the snow and ended up in a very unusual late night workers cafe.We wore gloves in the gigs.

#2. Your first Russian concert was last night. What was it like playing at the Vermel Club?
 
Really enjoyed all three shows.

#3. Can you share your set list with us from Vermel? What songs were highlights for you?
 
We tried out a few new songs from the next album. Mark juggled 4 apples as the encore because our hands were too cold to play guitar!

#4. You will be playing live on Russian television.  Any ‘nerves’ acting up about playing live without a net, so to speak?

Performing on live TV is just like any gig except you have a few more people watching. Ten people or ten million people…it makes no difference to Mark and I. We are still hunting the same crimson magic.

#5. Can fans see or hear any of your Russian shows on your website, or YouTube?

Not sure about all that stuff.

#6. Any chance that your fans in New York and the States will have a chance to see you again in the near future?

We love playing in the states. We cannot wait to come back to play live in the USA. Chuck Berry is the king!!!

#7. Can you tell us anything about the studio album you have been working on?

The album is finished. We will announce details soon.

#8. You will be paying tribute to Levon Helm on April 19th in Dublin. What influence has Levon and The Band had on your own music?  (Can you give us a teaser on what you might play?).

The music of Levon Helm will forever be a huge inspiration for us. He is the master. What a great spirit. On the second anniversary of Levon’s passing wew were part of a memorial fundraiser gig for the Irish Cancer Trust, we sang a song called “Golden Bird”. Levon recorded this song on his solo album Electric Dirt. One of the highlights of our career was when we played a gig at The Levon Helm Midnight Ramble in his barn in Woodstock upstate New York a couple of years ago. We met Happy Traum who wrote “Golden Bird”. Top drawer stuff let me tell you!
We had the honour of singing with Amy Helm, The Midnight Ramble Band and Steve Earle a few years back at the SXSW memorial gig for Levon. That was a thrill. We have been lucky enough to meet some very cool people along the way.

#9. You seem to have done a lot of songs about the Moon (‘Blue Moon In September’, ‘Moonlight Song’, ‘Moon River’).  What has led you to pay
such homage so often to the place the astronauts have visited?

Ha Ha Ha. That’s a good point! Must be an Irish thing. We howl at the moon after our summer gigs.
 
 #10. ‘Moon River’ has the Mancini music, and the wonderful Johnny Mercer lyrics.  What other songs by them do you favor?  -As a Johnny
Mercer fan, I would love to hear you do more of his songs sometime.

Oh yes , great writers. My dad used to sing “Lazy Bones” to us when we were growing up. I have a great memory of being stuck in a traffic jam behind a moving circus and my dad singing “Lazy Bones”. A donkey was staring in the car window at me. I think Hoagy Carmichael helped with that song along with Mercer. And Ray Charles sang ” Come Rain Or Shine”. On the album”The Genius Of Ray Charles.”Great album. I think Mancini wrote the”Pink Panther Theme Tune” That should be our entrance music!what a classic.
 
#11. ‘Moonlight In September’ is one of the most clever videos I have ever seen, with a wonderful tune set to it.  How did that one come
about?
 
We wrote that song in Mark’s Native town Omagh in Northern Ireland.Its partly an homage to McCartneys solo albums and also a tribute to some friends who we lost back around that period.
The video was done by the brilliant Gavin Wood who has a company called Telewood in Liverpool.What a talent Gavin has.

#12. Can you speak a little about your love of the Everly Brothers, and what their music has meant to you?
 
When the Everly Brothers sing harmony a third mysterious harmony appears from some magical place. Not many people have a vocal blend like that. Lennon and McCartney were masters of it too. The Louvins, Simon and Garfunkel.The Everly’s started it all I suppose. Rock N Roll at its best. The songs they wrote themselves like “Cathy’s Clown” are my favourites. They had it all.
We love American music and sometimes we hear Irish influences in American music. The Everlys sang a song called “Rose Connolly” which originally came from Northern Ireland where Mark is from. It somehow ended up in Kentucky!! I love when I hear The Clancy Brothers influence the great Bob Dylan. In my book Dylan is the best songwriter. Van Morrison is a wizard too. But they all took from great Irish Poets like WB Yeats. Its all one big circle at the end of the day.
 
 
Video of the Lost Brothers in Moscow.
 
 
Link to Blue Moom in September video.
 
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