Ken Mooney (The Urges/The Hot Sprockets) Interview

Arguably Ireland's best drummer (and I will argue that down to the ground!) Ken Mooney from The Urges and now The Hot Sprockets recently answered a few questions that I fired his way ahead of The Hot Sprockets Dream Mover Tour (Dates below).


                              When did you first realise that you wanted to be a musician?

From a very young age I was obsessed with early Rock 'n' Roll, Buddy Holly & The Crickets especially and later then The Beatles. I always tried to imitate what they did when I was very young and never really thought about anything else I ever wanted to do other than something musical.

                                                          How did you get started?

I got a guitar for Christmas one year when I was about 9 or so and got some lessons and went from there really.

Who did you listen to when you were growing up?

Well Buddy Holly & The Crickets were constantly playing when I was a kid. I think I may have drove my brothers and my folks mad with Buddy Holly, haha. I discovered The Beatles from my folks collection pretty young and that was a serious awakening! From there, The Kinks, The Stones, The Small Faces and all those great bands from the 60s followed and the whole Mod thing.

How did you get into drumming?

I always loved The Crickets drummer J.I Allison and used cushions when I was a kid to try imitate him... badly. It wasn't until I was about 11 I got a video of The Who 'Live at the Isle of Wight' and seen Keith Moon play that made me really want to go for it. He was like a lunatic but the expression and passion he put out on the drums had me hooked. I wanted to be that lunatic on the drums, haha! I got into the the likes of Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich around then too and really wanted to get serious.

What was the first kit you got and when?

The first kit I got was a Century 5 piece kit with skins like paper with hi-hats and a crash (also like paper) bought from Tallaght Music Store (long gone) when I was 12 I think. I adored that kit!

When and where did you play your first gig?

Me and my childhood pal Peter had a little duo group and we played out his back garden for his sisters 18th birthday party, haha.

You have recently joined The Hot Sprockets, how did that come about?

Last year the lads called me up asking if I could do some gigs as their drummer Andy was moving to London and I said no problem. It kind of just went from there really, they asked would I like to join and I happily accepted. I've known the lads a long time and was always a fan of the the band anyway so it was an honour to be asked to play with such a talented bunch of lovely guys.

How do you find time to be in The Urges, Hot Sprockets, live drummer for Morrissey & Marshall, have your own band, The Melting Clocks and DJ weekly at The Garage Bar?

Calendar's and diaries! haha. I just tend to be prepared and have things well planned out months in advance really. I'm quite loyal to whatever Im doing at the time which I think works. If I say I'll do a gig or tour or whatever I'll commit 100% to it.

Is there a difference in your drumming with The Urges to The Hot Sprockets? and if so, is it easy to switch between the two styles?

I've always kind of done my own thing with The Urges. When I joined the Sprockets I had to learn all Andy's drum parts which wasn't an easy task as Andy is a seriously amazing drummer so it took me a while to get there. But when I got the main essential parts down with the lads they were very open to me putting my own flourishes on things and after we did a few gigs together we started to really lock in, gel and groove with each other.

How excited are you for the upcoming Sprockets tour?

Really excited! We've been rehearsing a lot and putting a lot of pre-production into the live show the past few months. Their new album is incredible and I'm very happy to be involved in touring it around the country!

What can fans expect to at the gigs?

They can expect a lot of the classics that the lads are known and loved for as well as a lot of the new album too, which in my opinion is their best to date.

What Irish acts are you enjoying at the minute?

There's so much talent in Ireland these days it's hard to keep up! Girl Band, Melts, Paddy Hanna, David Kitt, Fontaines D.C, Pugwash, David Keenan, The Strypes, The Revellions, Exploding Eyes,The Divine Comedy, Number Ones, Tandem Felix, Leila Jane and The Healers, Supertonic Sound Club, Shay Cotter, Vernon Jane, Daniel John Paxton, A Ritual Sea, Late City Edition, The Young Folk, Lovr, The Minutes, Columbia Mills, TooFools, The Statics, The Temps, New Secret Weapon. I've been working with Joey Gavin and Badhands recently too who are both fantastic...two amazing albums on the way!

You are in almost every Irish band at the minute, if you could have played drums for any Irish act ever, who would you choose and why?

Them! Van the man's first band. I'm just a huge fan of old R&B and they were brilliant at it... so ballsy. And Van fronting the band....hell yeah! Although I'd imagine it's hard work being in a band with Van Morrison,haha.

What’s next for you after this tour?

Well I'm always busy with playing gigs, whether thats covers or originals I'm out regular so I'll just pick up where I left off after the tour. There's a couple recording projects coming up too which I'm looking forward to and I'm always spinning tunes!

Is there any chance of a Ken Mooney & The Melting Clocks album?

There certainly is. Ive always wanted to do my own album and I will eventually! Get it out of the system!

You can catch Ken play with The Hot Sprockets on the following dates:

April 20th: The Reg, Waterford

April 27th: Dolan's, Limerick

April 28th, Spirit store, Dundalk

May 4th: De Barra's, Clonakilty

May 11th: Skylite Room, Warrenpoint

May 12th: Kavanagh's, Portlaoise

May 31st: Cyprus Avenue, Cork