London three-piece band Miraculous Mule release Two Tonne Testimony, their second album, on 24 March. Following on from their 2013 debut Deep Fried and the 2014 mini-album Blues Uzi, brothers Michael J Sheehy (guitar/vocals) and Patrick McCarthy (bass/vocals) along with childhood friend Ian Burns (drums) have taken knife-edged blues, gospel-driven rock ‘n’ roll, and elements of psychedelic soul and stoner/space rock to create a collection of songs for living in troubled times. Check out their latest single Where Monsters Lead below!
We managed to catch up with the band as they talked about the upcoming album, latest song, funniest moment and more!
So how pumped are you to be releasing Two Tonne Testimony to fans in March?
As pumped as a 1970s female shot-putter from former Communist East Germany. As pumped as a crack addict who has just been told it will be available on prescription from the NHS. As pumped as a fat kid who has just been handed a bucket of ice cream and a spoon. As pumped as a Yorkshire bull terrier on steroids. Y’know pretty fucking pumped!
Tell us a little bit about the release. What is your favourite song from the album?
That’s like asking which is your favourite child. Some songs are much more enjoyable to play than to listen to and vice versa.
How has Where Monsters Lead gone down so far?
We hope it’s been received in the same spirit in which it was delivered. It’s tough – we all come with our own particular brand of political self-righteousness so one person’s monster is another’s saviour which is why we used a broad range of so called leaders to illustrate the song in the video.
How is this different to your previous release Deep Fried?
Deep Fried was largely made up of our interpretations of old gospel, work songs and blues along with three original compositions whereas Two Tonne Testimony is all original material though we’ve maintained the influences that inspired the first album.
So you’ve got a few dates coming up in London, what show are you looking forward to most?
We love playing live and we’re wary of looking forward to a particular show too much as hopes and expectations are often shattered.
What has been your funniest moment as a band?
We laugh a lot, taking the piss out of ourselves and each other is a big part of our make up. Often the funniest moments are only funny in retrospect for example: At the end of 2015 we were invited to play Rockpalast (a legendary TV Rock show in Germany). Naturally we were nervous and excited. We stepped out on stage and got through the first song without incident and I remember looking at Patrick (bass player) and thinking “Hey this is gonna be alright!” so Ian (drummer) counted off the next song and just as we all crashed in I watched one of his drum sticks go flying through the air just missing Patrick’s head. Then I started thinking “Uh-oh, it’s gonna be one of those nights!” And it was, just about everything that could go wrong after that did go wrong. We were pretty down about it at the time but we’re able to laugh about it now, it was no big deal, no-one died.
What has been your proudest moment as a band?
We’re proud to be still doing it. We’ve been working together on and off in various different projects and under different names for over 20 years now and it doesn’t get easier. The music industry has changed very quickly in those years and many of us are struggling to hold on. We’ve seen many of our friends fall by the wayside so we’re happy to still be standing.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Working with another band could get messy, too many cocks and all that. It would be great to work on something with Jimmy Page mind you we’d have to vet anything he brought to the table and make sure he hasn’t stolen it from somewhere! Failing that we’d love to back someone like Charles Bradley, what a voice he has!
What gig did each of you first attend?
Michael : Carlos Santana at the Hammersmith Apollo.
Patrick: Chuck Berry at the Forum Kentish Town
Ian: Wolfie Witcher and His Brew at the Underworld Camden Town
