The Stranded Local Q & A: Midatlantic

Veteran fans of the Boston music scene may remember this week’s Local Q & A band as the Bleedin Bleedins, the Boston/Dublin-based quartet.

Like the times, the group’s name changed too, in an effort to reflect the band’s multi-national heritage. The Atlantic Ocean is between the US and Ireland…you get the picture.

Midatlantic doesn’t just throw in the Irish component for some Boston love, they actually are successful in the old country. Touring extensively there for years built them a strong following.

The band’s latest effort, The Longest Silence, is their sophomore LP and follow-up to their popular 2005 debut, Life Without Computers. The tour in support of their first album saw them sharing the stage with The Strokes, The Frames, BellX1 and Fountains of Wayne among others.

So if you like hearing rhythmic rock with an edge, but crafted finely head over to Midatlantic’s website and check out the Weekly 5 with guitarist Barry Kelly


Hailing from Boston makes us better than all those non-Boston bands because:

It’s just a tough town to be a band in. It makes you much tougher and resilient. Our second home is Dublin though, so we have to say being a Dublin band makes us fairly hardy too. Boston is teaming with brilliant musicians and art and there are just not enough places to play, you need to be resourceful to showcase your art here and that’s what make us better than all those non-Boston bands.

Name at least three bands that are still around and touring that you’d love to be on a bill with, and think it fits well:

Supergrass
The Who
The Cure
Riverdance (only kidding)

Your favorite Boston venue to perform in is:
Great Scott and The Paradise

Are there any genres that influence your music conceptually, rather than sonically? (In that you can’t hear from simply listening to the music, but from getting into the structure or mathematics of the song-writing, etc.)

My first musical addiction was The Who, where every boundary was pushed, but songwriting, melody and harmony remained the core. They are the reason I pick up a musical instrument each day. I don’t really think in terms of genres, it’s a weird concept, I believe in good songwriting [in] any genre,.


Your favorite local bar to hit up when not doing the whole band deal is:
Deep Ellum/The Druid