Galway Based Rockers Meet The Fawkers Release Blues Rock Single (Irish Blues Rock)
Galway based blues-rock band, Meet The Fawkers release new single ‘Too Mean to Die’ ahead of their Irish tour. Led by Matt Faughnan on guitar and vocals, the band initially formed as a cover band that slowly morphed into writing their own material. Completed by Deanna McDonagh on drums and Calum Goodway on bass the band pulls from traditional country and blues influences to help shape their own sound. Swathes of Otis Redding, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Lynyrd Skinner (no Free Bird) and Creedance Clearwater Revical can be heard rubbing shoulders with more contemporary influences The Gaslight Anthem and Chris Stapleton. ‘Too Mean To Die’ leans into the great country/blues tradition of storytelling, as we are let into a conversation reflecting on poor choices and our protagonist’s frustration with their station in life and despite this their choice to keep showing up and working on. Matt’s descriptive lyrics make it easier for the listener to form a picture in their minds eye of the exchange unfolding.
Meet The Fawkers – Too Mean To Die (Spotify Link)
Since their formation the band have been carving a name for themselves in their hometown of Galway and across Ireland, earning themselves a reputation as a formidable live band. Enough grit for any seasoned blues rocker but enough swing to fill any dance floor. Having already released a handful of singles and an EP since 2023, the band now return with the newest offering, ‘Too Mean To Die’.
A short intro lets you know we’re not in Galway anymore, or at least Galway via Nashville. Deanna’s drums join in keeping the tempo low and slow but provides the song with its heartbeat. Calum’s bass locks in rhythmically but provides a melodic counterpart to Matt vocal’s letting him weave his tale. The guitars here are suitably twangy while tremolo and reverb chords echo out throughout the track from Matt’s Fender Princeton. The lead tone for the solo feels and sounds authentic, there’s no posturing here, as guitar gives way to an organ solo it brings us back to the narrative. Lyrically Matt says he prefers to write from a character’s perspective, giving him freedom to explore a more diverse range of subject matter and emotion. The song unravels like eavesdropping on a conversation, lines like ‘For everyone who gets to win, someone else they have to lose. And tonight, God chose me and you’ and ‘Got that dirt under my nails, got that bloodshot in my eye, Like the old says, I’m too mean to die‘, paints the picture of someone who’s been fighting too long but is still too stubborn to give up.
Choosing to keep things in house, recording duties for the track were handled by Matt. When it came time mix and master the song the band turned to their longtime collaborator and ex-band member Tadgh Kelly, who now Berlin based has worked on all the band’s material to date.
Community is incredibly important to the band, helping sustain their local scene and giving something back they host a monthly blues jam to help developing musicians and give them the opportunity to jam with a full live band. Deanna has also established a drum workshop for teenagers.
‘Too Mean To Die’ leans into its influences and in doing so produces an authentic sound that is so vital in this genre of music. The vivid story telling of Matt Faughnan’s lyrics is under pinned by the wistful mellon collie of the track. Sucking the listener in and making us feel like we’re only two tables over, as the band play, and we can’t help but hear the stubborn protagonists sad tale.
