The influence of the internet is far-reaching indeed. With the modern day gold rush for domain-name registrations, bands have been forced to become more inventive with their choice of moniker just to ensure a .com is available. The band name “And I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness” is but one case in point.
The resulting wackiness means we shouldn’t be so surprised when presented with a band called House Of Cosy Cushions. However, far from randomly choosing nouns, adjectives and more nouns from a hat, this was a more thought-out name to represent “a house where people come in and go out,” according to founding member Richard Bolhuis.
And it’s exactly that kind of band: ten members are listed as being in the band on their MySpace page, with Bolhuis himself the only constant throughout the band’s life.
The story of House Of Cosy Cushions is a tale of two cities. It begins in Amsterdam a few years back, where Richard had moved from a small Dutch village which had “3,000 people and 5,000 churches”. Whilst studying fine arts, he formed the HOCC from the ashes of his first band Terrapin. Despite critical success – they were deemed “Amsterdam’s best kept secret” by Amsterdam Weekly – Bolhuis decamped to Ireland last year, and promptly gathered new members to form the Irish version of House Of Cosy Cushions.
“There’s no rivalry between the Irish and the Dutch members,” assures Liz Pomeroy, lead female voice in the current line-up. “Though it was strange in the beginning. When I first met Richard, he gave me some CDs to learn and there was a live track, ‘She’s Not Your Witch’, where you could hear him shout to his vocalist at the time: ‘Sophie! Come back!’. I had to keep playing it back over and over and eventually it did my head in!” she confesses. “But you can’t compare or compete with each other; that’s not what it’s about.”
With the Irish contingent completed by Stephen Kiernan (drums), Rob Campbell (bass) and Rossa O’Neill (trombone), the mix of instruments indicates what an eclectic band they are. They visit some dark, dark places, display astoundingly impressive male/female vocal interplay, and throw up comparisons with everyone from dEUS to Nick Cave to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. And that’s just in one song.
The lack of a set formula is integral to the band, as Richard, the main songwriter, believes. “There are no restrictions and anything can happen,” he insists. “Sometimes it’s just me with a violin, sometimes it’s the full band with trombone – the songs can go from being really loud and punky to mellow and sad. I don’t want this to be a coherent band, I want it to be… whatever it is,” he says, purposefully ignoring a definition, and thus proving his point.
“When I try to aim for something consciously, I fuck it up. There’s a real raw energy live and in the studio. I always improvise – that’s the only way to get in touch with what’s happening inside me.”
Coming from Amsterdam, did he ever indulge in the muse that is marijuana?
“I did smoke it too much at some stage, and it helped me with writing at point, but I would never, for example, smoke marijuana or drink before I go on stage, because it takes away from the energy: you’re not feeling it for real, you’re just getting a lazy kick in the right direction.”
The preference, according to him, is to do it au naturel. “The musicians I love don’t know what they’re doing most of the time,” he exclaims. “They just play with their heart, and I think that’s what music is about: being completely naked and open to anything – in a state where you allow yourself to make loads of mistakes, and say stupid things, and make horrible music.”
A formidable axiom, and one which may very well kick start this writer’s impending singing career!