So, first off, just for a bit of background information on the band – how did you guys first come together and how did you decide upon the name ‘The Spikes’?

Actually funnily enough, I met Gaz, the guitar player down in New Zealand. I was down there just for ‘overseas experience’ and stuff like that, and basically I ran out of money. So myself and my girlfriend-at-the-time entered this Irish Song Contest and he happened to enter it too. He actually won it and I went up and congratulated him. Turned out he was Welsh so the story goes that instead of me complainin’, he needed to bring me drinkin’ kinda thing – cos there was like a grand prize money, ya know?

So he did that anyway and then we just started jammin’ together over there, sorta playing around the Irish bars for money and drink. After the year was finished, he went back to Wales, I went back to Ireland, and basically we both ended up breakin’ up with our girlfriends. So instead of writing soppy singer-songwriter songs I called him up one day and said, “Look, fuck it, you wanna start a rock n’ roll band?” So it was cool, he moved over and that’s kinda where it all started…

As for ‘The Spikes’… Pete, our bass player, Trinity-educated boy. We were thinkin’ about names and just talking about music and the stuff that was around at the time – it was all kinda, very similar styles and everything. The whole idea came from what would be sort of a surge in modulation of sound, you know? A change in the frequency, like when something interrupts a monotone sound it’s like a spike or a surge, you know? That was pretty much where it came from – a change in the everyday, mundane music.

I think you were in the recording studio earlier this month, recording 3 songs… Are you happy with how that went?

Yeah it was fantastic, yeah. We went in with Mark Reddy, who has worked with James Morrison, The Cure, The Blizzards, everyone like that. He’s done some pre-production work for Christina Aguilera… He’s just a fuckin’ genius man to be honest with you, so we were really lucky to get him.

So yeah, we went in, did three tracks, just laid ‘em down, and he just basically developed this sound – the next evolution of the band, you know? We’re just delighted… So it’s been mastered now so hopefully by next week it’ll be out on the radio.

You’ve got a relatively new manager at this point, Patrick O’Leary. How are things going with him at the helm?

Fantastic. Another element of fate, definitely… You know, funnily enough, we had a drummer from New Zealand for a while, Gordon Lovett is his name, and he lost his job – well, got deported actually – when the recession was first kicking in, and we did our last gig with him in Musicmaker on Exchequer St. on one Saturday. We’d been out on the piss the night before, we just went in and did it for the laugh really, and we were still pretty pissed in there ya know, and Pat – who’s into drumming – happened to walk in with his kit. So he stood and watched us, and came up to us at the end and said, you know, “Who the fuck are you, how are you not on a fuckin’ Glastonbury stage” – all this sorta shit, ya know?

So that was about 9 weeks ago, and since then it’s been an absolute revolution; the band has completely been reinvigorated, Pat’s brought the belief back in. He’s full-time, nearly now, for us anyway. Whereas we’ve had a few managers who were… well, full of shit, basically, and this guy’s not – he IS the shit. It’s incredible, it’s only getting better and better and better, and every day something new happens and it’s just, fuckin’, wow… Truth be told, up until now we didn’t have someone with Pat’s experience, background and energy, focused on us, taking control of the band and just, ya know, shaking off all the cobwebs and getting shit done.

You’re playing at Castlepalooza in Offaly at the beginning of August, alongside some artists I really respect such as R.S.A.G., Angel Pier, Super Extra Bonus Party, Dark Room Notes… You must be psyched about that.

We actually moved into a new rehearsal space and Dark Room Notes are right beside us. Yeah, the lads are cool… They’re class, they’re a class band. It’s funny, ya know, one of the guys, I was in college with him in Galway way back in the day, and I sorta bumped into him around the rehearsal studios and it was like, “Jesus, man, don’t I know you from somewhere?!” It’s a small world, ya know? The Laundry Shop are down there as well, so it’s a good clientel to be around with.

But yeah, Castlepalooza; we did it once before a couple of years ago and it was really, absolutely great, a great festival. Real good buzz, good vibe around, they look after ya, and the castle itself is just an epic place to play, it’s just such a cool setting. So I’m really looking forward to that, definitely. I think it gets better and better every year, that festival.

I’ll let ya go with a fantastically vague final question; where do you see yourself and the band in a year’s time?

In a year’s time? I would hope to see us… I’d like to see us touring our second album, between inter-continental tours! [laughs] Without a doubt though, we’re gonna record the album with Mark Reddy over the next few months and hopefully one of these labels will work out so we’ll be all around the world just pushing it…

The Spikes play the Academy on Friday the 17th of July

The 3-track EP 'We Are...' will be released this autumn 

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO FOR THE SPIKES' NINJA GIRLFRIEND, RELEASED IN 2006: