This week’s Band of the Week is the Northern Ireland trio Kelwan. This emo/grunge band from Lurgan have an alt.rock sound reminiscent of the late 90s but with a little Metallica thrown in. Kelwan – Robby (vocals, lead guitar), Seany (bass, vocals), and Fergie (drums, vocals) – formed in 2000 from the seeds of destruction sown when Sean and Robby’s first band, Walls of Jericho, dissolved after coming second in a competition.

Indeed, one of this band's strongest attributes is their musicianship, followed closely by their work ethic. I first came across Kelwan when they toured Scotland this summer. I caught up with them in Edinburgh, where, after their blistering live performance, I approached Robby for one of their CDs. His Irish charm and self-deprecating wit caught my attention and we have become music buddies. It was my pleasure to chat with Robby this week about Kelwan, amongst other things.

Tell me about Kelwan

The current lineup got together in about November last year. So we've been together for about a year. Me and Seany have been playing together for about seven years in different lineups. We met in a band called Walls Of Jericho, he was on Bass and I was the drummer. The band was only put together to win a battle of the bands contest. We cleaned up in our rounds and then came second overall, not bad for a month's work.

So how did Kelwan come to be?

From there, me and him (Seany) have been playing in a number of bands, but we started one about three or four years ago called Phoenix Dawn and that's where Kelwan has come from. It has always had Seany and me, but we've been through a number of drummers and extra guitarists throughout the years.

The last guitarist we had was an overly critical lesbian, but last year, we were having a hard time with our last drummer not turning up to gigs and practices, etc., so we got rid of him. Another band had asked me and Seany to join them, with Seany on bass and me just doing vocals, but we managed to steal their drummer and this completed our current lineup.

That wasn't very nice!

Well, see it as liberation!

Fergie had also been playing in a lot of bands around here, the most recent a metal band, so his style brought something great to our music.

How would you define your sound? I know artists hate this question, but it's one that has to be asked.

I like to think of it as like grunge’s cousin or something. I think it has a very grungy sound, but a bit nicer. Like the grunge Junior edition or something.

How did you get the name Kelwan? I know you told me once, but I don’t remember.

It's derived from a book — The Magician by Raymond Feist. It's the name of one of the worlds in it (nerd alert!). We've spelled it slightly different, though, as his is called Kelewan.

So what are your influences?

In no set order: AC/DC, Placebo, Biffy Clyro, Applseed Cast, Metallica, The Cure, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Sonic Youth… There are a lot of other subtle ones, too, but the band won't let me say the Beach Boys are an influence.

A.L. Harper is an American lost in the history and passion of living in Scotland. She enjoys motorbikes, music, art and wanking. She is Blogcritics Assistant Music Editor and runs the Band of the Week feature, profiling a different indie (unsigned/inde label) band every week (contact her for more information). She is also the Managing Editor for AllThingsGirl.com and a freelance writer.

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