Opening a new chapter with Storyfold
[lead]Robbie Byrne talks to 2FM Radio Presenter, Paddy McKenna, about his real day job[/lead][hr gap="2"]Chances are you’ll recognise the voice of Storyfold frontman Paddy McKenna. A 2FM regular on the aptly titled Weekenders with Ruth & Paddy, a former Den presenter and onetime crime reporter for the Sunday World, there are few aspects of the media sphere that have escaped the Leitrim man’s reach.Few know that the vast majority of McKenna’s time today is devoted not to radio broadcasting or column writing, but rather fronting Storyfold – an anthemic indie-rock outfit who have just released their sophomore album, It’s Later Than You Think.Storyfold is far from a product of indulgence sustained by the fame of the 2FM presenter; instead McKenna explains that Storyfold must be isolated from the day job: “It’s completely separate because it needs to be. Every band must be a mini democracy and in our case each member of the group has an equal say – fame can’t alter dynamics.”While Storyfold thread sonic similarities with straightforward Irish indie acts such as Ash with a hint of The Killers synth-rock, McKenna asserts that the band was born in a way befitting of the 21st century: “Basically we threw a few posts up on Irish music forums for a drummer and keyboardist from which we got a huge response. Coincidently Sean, the first guy who auditioned, won us over and is still our drummer today.”Storyfold’s infancy wasn’t all plain sailing however and, only months after those auditions, the group found themselves at the centre of a lawsuit courtesy of an American Christian rock group. “We were originally called Runkid, but some Christian rock band from Illinois made the very unchristian move to sue us unless we changed our name,” before joking, “It became pretty serious with solicitors letters from their record label so we backed down and called ourselves Storyfold, a name that carries its own pronunciation problems – we’ve been called everything from Storyshow to Gloryhole!”Other than a famed frontman, some innovative recruiting and a near brush with the law, Storyfold’s story is unnervingly similar to that of every other band trying to make it in Ireland today. Their first LP, Rocket Science, was funded by a tireless gigging schedule. Produced by Greg Haver of Manic Street Preachers and Bullet For My Valentine fame, the end product failed to live up to the promise brought by a run of successful singles.“While Greg was great to us in helping us cut costs, we went in with eleven songs on paper and came out with eleven songs on record. In retrospect, that should have been an indication that making the album came a bit too soon.”Today finds the Leitrim man promoting the band’s sophomore effort, It’s Later Than You Think.“For Later we took our time; two and a half years to be exact. Everything about us has improved since then and we wanted the record to reflect that progression.” And it is a claim that holds credulity. A preview of the forthcoming LP reveals absorbing sonic detail, tighter lyricism and better hooks than the group’s previous effort.Lead single ‘Dynamo’ fizzes with vitality thanks to an earworm chorus, while ‘The Underpass’ finds McKenna channelling Kasabian’s Tom Meighan at his most primal.It’s a polished and unashamedly commercial compilation, made more so by the hiring of U2 associate Ger McDonnell for production duties. “He is a genius producer and gave us a feel for our music. We learned from past mistakes and had 30 songs written, of which Ger whittled down to a dozen. The guy has an amazing ability in extracting a sound orbiting around our heads and it placing onto record.”Speaking on the eve of the album’s release, McKenna delights in the fact that sample tracks have been received with enthusiasm by several broadcasters: “One dark cut from the album, ‘End of Youth’, is getting a great reaction, especially with US producers and it looks like the track could be close to getting played on a TV show in The States – that would an unimaginable break for us.”Storyfold’s desire to do what few Irish acts have achieved in the past and break America is testament to the group’s ambition, one that compels me conclude on McKenna’s raring words: “Just watch this space.”