Uncle Bard and the Dirty Bastards

Interview with Paolo (manager) and Lorenzo (banjo)

So Uncle bard and the Bastards explain the name

Paolo Well the very evening when the band started out they just played one short gig, it was with our friend Roberto the bard, Robert the bard

Real Irish name!

Paolo And at first they didn’t know how to call themselves and they just made this name up, I mean, the dirty bastards but it was meant to be just one short gig
Actually the gig went very well, and they decided to go on and they kept the name actually

And where was the first gig, somewhere in Ireland?

Paolo No, in Italy
Lorenzo Close to where we live, close to Milan

But you all met in Dublin and brought it back, did you?

Lorenzo The bass player in Dublin spent a lot of time in Ireland (Rob ‘Uncle Bard’ Orlando)
Paolo But they met in Italy
Lorenzo But we were friends before

The first gig, so you said it went well?

Paolo They enjoyed themselves and they decided to go on because it was worth it,

Did you play Irish traditional songs or was it more you own kind of stuff or was it just let’s see what we can do. See how it works so

Lorenzo It was traditional songs. Some Flogging molly, some Dropkick Murphy’s, some Dubliners stuff

I mean there are a few bands that do Celtic music in Italy, isn’t there?

Lorenzo Nowadays…yes
Paolo We like drawing a line between the bands that play Irish music because they love Irish music and they also love Ireland, and the bands that play Irish music just because its fashion
Lorenzo yeah, it’s a sort of fashion nowadays in Italy
Paolo Celtic stuff
Lorenzo but there are really good bands, good bands but it was different when we started no one playing Irish music expect for traditional Irish music
It was hard to find venues to play in…

So how did you build up your fan base, was just word of mouth, or it was something new?

Lorenzo It was something new and we are playing every weekend so people learn the songs….

Got used to you! I know this song, I know this song!

Lorenzo Yeah!

What’s your favourite song, of the guys? (to the manager)

Paolo The guys, I think its….

He is trying to remember a song now, look!

He is playing for time now….

Lorenzo do you want to check the check list
Paolo “I did not belong to this world”, I have to admit that’s my favourite song
Lorenzo Only because I am the song writer!

A request tonight, yeah!

So Paolo what about 2016 for the band, what are you hoping for?

2016?

Paolo 2016, ok it is going to be a great year for the Bastards, as we have a lot of requests at the moment and
People are really happy with them, I don’t why because you can see Silvano here, you can look at him

Baby face

Paolo He doesn’t deserve it the bastard (tag) especially, ha ha
We are doing well
They are doing well and
So we are full of requests from all over the world
From all over Europe
And we are hoping to go to Ireland, to play in Ireland
National stadium in Dublin
We have very good reports from places where they have played
In August they have played in the Netherlands in front of 10,000 people
We got a large number of messages on Facebook, Facebook messages just to congratulate us
And actually so things are getting better and better

So what’s your part in the band anyway? (to Lorenzo)

Lorenzo I play the banjo, the banjo and the mandolin
But tonight I will only play the banjo

So what can we expect from the band tonight, what kind of music are you going to play,

How would you describe your sounds?

Paolo Crap!
Lorenzo Bullshit, ha

Very good manager, here, very good manager!

Lorenzo We are going to play sounds of our album, a few traditional ones, Irish traditional, but even a couple of songs written by English song writers

I have a question like, what is the Italian part of your band, I mean there must have some kind of Italian kick to the band, there must be something that you can bring from Italy to a Celtic punk band?

Lorenzo H’mmm. I really don’t know! Except the looks maybe

Yeah ok you are good looking guys

Don’t look like Shane MacGowan or anything that’s for sure

Lorenzo I really don’t know

When you are up playing the banjo, do you instantly click into an Irish or is it just….

Lorenzo Yeah because banjo is not a musical instrument that we play in Italy, so the only way to play it is in an Irish way or a bluegrass way
And I learnt to play the banjo in Ireland

Is this when you were Busking around Dublin, and….how did that go for you busking around England and Ireland and Wales…?

Lorenzo It was a great experience

Was it a bit daunting at the start, was it a bit nervous?

Lorenzo Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was really a great experience

Do you have any crazy stories from your time busking on the streets

Grafton street, must have been difficult, because there are so many people that be playing on Grafton street

Lorenzo Yeah but there are rules between the buskers, and you just have to keep distance and then at the end of the day you are playing with other musicians. It’s really great because there is friendship between musicians. And we started playing with three guys and then we ended up in 20 maybe, with a Russian guy playing guitar and a few Irish musicians
It was really, really beautiful

Ok, and did you play in Galway as well? Galway is always pretty good for busking, isn’t it?

Lorenzo It is. It is. And the level of the musicians are really high

So what about 2016 then, what are your plans, what are your hopes?

Lorenzo We are writing the songs for the new album
We will do a summer tour

Will that include any gigs in London or Ireland?

Lorenzo Maybe London we are talking about it, don’t know yet when and where?

What does the manager say?

Paolo with a couple of venues, but for the moment it is really hard to get there but we are in talks with them, we are trying to get there
Lorenzo I don’t know if we are going to play in Ireland because
Italians play Irish music in Ireland
Paolo It sounds strange!

But I think Irish people like to see their culture appreciated and they like to see, you know, it’s cool for us to see that we are not just crazy Irish people playing this music, someone else appreciates it, you know

Lorenzo I hope so!

So what got you into the scene anyway, I mean how did you start? How did you get into this music?

Lorenzo Well every one of us has a different story about it
I stared playing the banjo
I started visiting, living for a few months in Ireland
And then I started learning Irish music.

What made you pick up the Banjo, why particularly the banjo?

Lorenzo Because I used to play the guitar, so I try
It was fun, so

What’s your kind of favourite song on the banjo, what’s your favourite tune?

Lorenzo My favourite tune
I prefer to play jigs more than reels
Whereas ballads probably Raglan Road or the Town I love So Well, we will play tonight.
The Town I love so Well is one of my favourite songs ever

We will be looking at you tonight then!

You played with the Dropkick Murphy’s, what was that like?

Lorenzo Twice, a really great experience

Did you get to meet them, hang out with them?

Lorenzo Yeah, yeah, Kenny is one of the best and better musicians I have ever met, really, we were sound checking, and he went on stage, stopped just to shake hands to every one of us, thanking us for been there, was incredible

So where abouts was it again, England or Ireland, no it was Italy where you played with the Dropkick Murphy’s?