Joe Cleere

Mixing rock and pop music and with his own inimitable guitar style, Joe Cleere is on his way to the Passionfruit Theatre on Thursday, November 13 next with a lunch-time date in Athlone IT set for the same day. Cleere is currently releasing 10,000 free singles across the country and is touring colleges throughout Ireland as part of a promotional push for his new album, East/West, due for release in February 2009. Cleere, 22, has won the Artlinks Bursary Award 2008, the 2fm Perry Song Contest 2006 (with the song 'Queue') and the National IT Song Contest 2005. His debut album was self-recorded at his own studio 'Fretless Records'. The album has been mixed by Phil Magee (Chili Studio Dublin, Westlife"s Brian McFadden, The Script) and mastered in Sterling Sound New York by Steve Fallone (The Strokes, Sonic Youth and James Brown). First memory Red slide, Maltesers, very sick! When did you first realise you could have a career as a musician? In 2001 when I got into the final of the 2fm song contest at fourteen years old. I knew I wanted to play venues like Vicar St for a living. Favourite TV show? Black Books! Last CD you bought? Neil Young - Prairie Wind, (a fantastic album) Favourite movie? Any movie with Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey or that doesn"t a have a hero running away from an exploding car! Right now though it has to be the 'Boy In The Stripped Pyjamas'. Where do you draw your inspiration from? I draw a lot of inspiration from various artists the best way to put it is: Guitar - Jimi Hendrix, vocals - Kelly Jones and lyrics - Neil Young. Favourite food/drink? Cheese, Cheese, cheeeeeeeeesse! Favourite holiday destination? Nice so far, but not Monaco - they have Baby Christian Dior, €400 for a baby grow to be thrown up on and the police uniforms are Armani. I couldn"t afford chips for God"s sake! If you were Taoiseach for a day, name one thing you would change: I would take back the budget and introduce national family day for families and national hemp day for students to make up for previous misdemeanours. Best advice you"ve ever been given? 'Look before you leap' and 'why not spike it straight up' Biggest thrill in life? Playing a concert to a billion people or a bit less! Any big plans in the next year? Too many! But Playing Passion Fruit Theatre Athlone on November 13, nudge nudge wink wink! Also, my album East/ West comes out in February. and I"m releasing 10,000 free singles across the country and a few other countries from November. As well as that, I"m trying to set up tours in Ireland, UK and France. Oh! And I"m thinking of getting a printer in Aldi, but I"m not sure yet...