Howdy. Before we kick off, this week, Deep Down South will be delivered in two instalments. The usual news, views and general Cork nerdery will be along this Wednesday/Thursday, including overviews of everything coming up over the next few weeks as usual. But this, we’ve a column of two halves.
If this half runs a bit short, it’s because your writer is a little tired from the last few weeks, but more so (and with apologies to the Print Shop lads for missing the fundraisers over the weekend), it’s because the finishing touches on the featured content of issue 5 of our physical magazine were being placed, including a feature on cover stars the Altered Hours and an Inbound piece on Shookrah among the raft of good stuff on the way.
As our eagle-eyed social media followers will have seen, last week, we announced the formal Cork launch of the mag, in association with FIFA Records, on Saturday, March 7, at the Crane Lane Theatre. Death-pop merchants The Vincent(s), alongside post-hardcore veterans Hope is Noise, and indie-pop lads Jonny Rep, as well as yours truly on the decks/repping the mag on the night. Kickoff is at 8.30 and it’s free in, plus you’ll be the first to get your hands on issue 5!
As of next month, our physical mag hits town on the regular, after the first two issues got a soft launch late last year from a small few distribution points. We’re starting off small, and as such, the mag will first be available at the show (natch), and then on a limited edition around town. It’ll likely stay limited for the next few months, as we begin recruiting contributors, putting the wheels in motion for gigs etc. under the TTA banner. We’ll be looking for new writers and photographers to cover Cork’s burgeoning live scene for the mag and the site, liaising with myself and the editors eventually filling up a roster of upcoming events with a writer and photographer at each. There’s enough stuff going on around town that really deserves a light shone on it, and at the rate Cork is booming at the moment, any one solitary writer or photographer would have to be twins or triplets to do it justice. If you’re up for it, contact us through the form/emails here, or just email me direct at mike (at) thethinair (dot) net.
As confirmed and part/parcel of a Cork-centric month for TTA, the cover stars are psych-rock talismans The Altered Hours. The choice was not coincidental, although the timing was glorious. It’s no secret the Altered Hours have their admirers in our ranks, and they were chosen for the March issue by our editor a while back as the site will be approaching its second birthday. That mags and sites run across country from us are so into our scene and so supportive of our bands that they share their milestones with us is enough of a commentary on the vitality and importance of our city to the national picture.
We can only hope that as we get started in Cork, the local accent with which our wee organ delivers global culture natively takes on a little bit of a broad, sarky yet cheerful Leeside intonation along the way. Mike McGrath Bryan
