Preachers Son

Preachers Son is an Irish rock group based in Dublin. It forms in 2009 and is active from then to the present. The band plays blues-influenced rock and draws on country, punk and classic rock as well as blues.

Line-up

The core line-up includes Brian Hogan on guitar and vocals, Emmaline Duffy Fallon on drums and Jose Carlos Anselmo Flores on bass. Hogan is a Dublin musician who has played in bands since childhood and is also a key member of KíLA, where he co-composes and tours. With KíLA, he wins a Meteor Award, earns platinum and several gold discs, and has a number one hit with U2, The Dubliners and the Band of Bowsies on “The Ballad Of Ronnie Drew”. He also plays with artists including George Hamilton IV, Bono, Sinéad O’Connor, Paul Brady, Donal Lunny, Liam O Maonlaoí and Glen Hansard. The band name refers to Hogan’s father, Larry Hogan, who spends his life preaching and singing.

Fallon begins playing with Engine Alley at the age of fifteen. Engine Alley is signed to Mother Records, U2’s label, and has hits including “Infamy”, “Mrs Winder” and “Song For Someone”. After leaving the band in 1994, she releases the solo single “Now or Never” in 1995 under the guidance of Paul McGuinness. She later moves to New York, trains as a dog trainer and behaviourist, returns to Dublin in 2006 and plays with Cathy Davey, Pete Pamf, Nick Kelly and Eoghan Quigg before becoming a founder member of Preachers Son. Flores begins playing stringed instruments at school in Spain, later works in blues and flamenco bands, develops jazz technique in the gypsy Manouche style on guitar and violin, and moves to Ireland at twenty-nine. In Ireland he plays with Wally Page and Johnny Mulhern, works with Sean Tyrrell and Oleg Ponomarev, tours and records with Johnny McEvoy, Sami Moukaddem, the Cuban Orishas and Cuarteto Floridita, and later records with Cuban-born trumpet player Alberto Martinez and performs with Craig Walker of Archive and Power of Dreams.

Collaborators and guests

Guest musicians who play with the band include Dara Munnis of The Coronas and Doctor Leaves, Kieran Kennedy of Black Velvet Band, and Seanin Brennan of KíLA and Boxty. Guest artists on the first album include Gavin Friday, Liam O’Maonlai, Mary Barnecutt, Kathrine Barnecutt, Ciaran Crilly, Simon Wall, Laoighse Styles and Rori Coleman.

Recording

The band completes its first album, provisionally titled Life, Love and Limb, with mixing by Dave Bascombe, who works with Placebo, Korn, Goldfrapp and Depeche Mode.

Style and influences

Preachers Son’s sound is described as similar to AC/DC, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin, Nick Cave, Queen, Roy Orbison, Scott Walker, Talking Heads, The Doors and Tom Waits. Its influences also include ABBA, Beck, Elvis Presley, Fleetwood Mac, Gordon Lightfoot, Howling Wolf, JJ Cale, Little Feat, Miles Davis, Motörhead, Moving Hearts, Muddy Waters, NWA, Neil Young, Nirvana, PiL, The Beat, The Beatles, The Bothy Band, The Clash, The Police, The Smiths, The Specials, U2 and Weather Report.