House Proud

Picture House have been around for quite a while now. Signed to a major label at a very early stage, they were heralded as potential world-beaters. It didn’t happen.

Signed to London Records for three years, they never even got to release any product: gradually the quintet spiralled ever deeper into the quagmire of record company neglect. Eventually the band were dropped: it was the best thing that ever happened to them. They’ve achieved more in the last six months than the previous four years.

“Our sound, when we were signed to London Records was heavier than we are now,” vocalist Dave Browne says. “With the five of us playing together, we found it hard to achieve any clarity in our sound.”

Recognising the limitations in their own music, Picture House realised that it was time for a re-think. They promptly unplugged their instruments, reinventing themselves as a more acoustic band, and hit the road.

“We played 100 gigs in eight months, in every pub that would have us,” smiles Dave. “We changed the name to The Flash Gits for the craic, and learned how to work with audiences, and in the process we brought out a lot of the space in the songs.”

“There was a large hangover from the original record deal, in terms of which directions we wanted to go,” lead guitarist Duncan Maitland explains.

“It took us a few months to get over losing the deal, but we eventually figured that we had nothing left, so we had nothing to lose.”

Their new approach came about completely by accident. “We were sitting around in the kitchen, jamming and having a bit of a laugh, and, literally, we just said, ‘Jesus, this is how the songs should have sounded all along’,” Dave laughs.

“We had always written on acoustic guitars anyway,” muses Duncan, “and then added crap that needn’t have been there.”

So, they welcomed aboard a new manager, and gigged wherever and whenever they could. The gigs paid for the recording and release of their first EP, which included the wonderful ‘Somebody Somewhere’, a massive radio hit all over the country.

“The Sawdoctors heard the song on the radio and asked us to tour with them, which we did,” enthuses Dave, “and that went great. We just had a lot of good luck with that EP.”

“The nice thing was that we had no financial clout, we weren’t really well connected and so were entitled to feel that we’ve gotten where we are now purely on the merit of the music, and the fact that people like it,” says Duncan.

The success of the EP, followed by the release of the insatiably catchy ‘Heavenly Day’ – both on the band’s own Wacca Wacca Musical Imprints label – paved the way for Picture House to sign a licensing deal with Koch International, one of the world’s major players in the classical market, who are now moving into the world of pop and rock. The deal means that Koch are distributing the band’s debut album, the magnificent Shine Box, which for my money is one of the finest albums of 1996.

“We’re much more prepared now to hang in there for the five, six or even 10 years that it takes to build a good solid band that’s going to go the distance and last a lifetime, as opposed to basing everything on getting the big budget deal now,” Dave insists.

“I know if I was reading this in a magazine I’d think, ‘Oh, you’re only saying that because you haven’t got loads of money’,” he continues, “but that’s not the case. We initially signed to Polygram Records for a quarter of a million, which got used up over the three years. Koch are putting in the amount of work that any major label can put in. They’re sleeping giants, owning 75% of the rights to all the classical music in the world, and they’re going to become huge over the next few years.”

Picture House are convinced that the independent road has been the right one for them, but they are now stepping up a gear with the Koch deal, which sees Shine Box being released in no less than nine countries across Europe.

The band are hugely enthusiastic about the deal, and have a lot of confidence in their new partners. “They have a lot of money to put behind the band, but they also have a lot of sense,” says Dave. An early by-product of the new alliance finds Picture House embarking on a 15-date Scottish tour, with Runrig – a perfectly-made match which will see the Dublin band playing to over 25,000 people.

The album’s release has been greeted by positive reviews, and a favourable response from the media and the public alike. ‘The World & His Dog’, already garnering substantial airplay at home, is the next single in England, and the band hope this will elevate them to new heights.

“We’ve had four radio hits in Ireland now,” says Dave. “We’d ring venues around the country and they’d say, ‘Picture House? Never heard of you’, and then I’d sing them the chorus of ‘Somebody Somewhere’: (sings) “Here I am, with my back against the wall”, and they’d sing back, “No further left to fall”.

“So not only had they heard of us, but they knew the song. It was just a problem of relating the band name to the songs.”

“Sales-wise, Ireland hasn’t been great to us,” he admits, “but in every other respect, it has been great. RTE deserve a slap on the back for all the support and airplay they’ve given us.

“Listening to Larry Gogan as much as you do when you are anticipating the playing of your own single,” he laughs, “it’s amazing the amount of Irish bands he plays. He will play anybody once, and at least will give it a go. And if it’s good, he will play it again.”

Dave sums up where Picture House are at now: “I’m convinced that we are the most realistic band you will ever meet, because of all the shit we’ve been through, and because we went through it so young. We’re not old enough to be bitter, and we made the choice not to, so we’ll just keep fighting.

“We just want to entertain people, give them a good time, write good music and good songs.” n

Picture House’s debut album Shine Box, is out now on Koch International.