Weekend Special

Weekend Special are Darien Chase (vocals), Rohan Healy (guitars, additional instrumentation), Al Quiff (Upright and Electric Bass), David Virgin (vocals, guitar) and Seán Silke (pianos, strings). They have performed thousands of live shows the world over, sharing the stage with the likes of Cat Power, Mary Black, Jim Lauderdale, Glen Hansard, Billy Bragg, Leslie Dowdall (In Tua Nua), Lloyd Cole and Mark Olson (The Jayhawks), to name but a few.

The Weekend Special album, “In the heart of the castle”, can be viewed as a collection of original country love songs with a pop flavour; or perhaps you could say it is an album of pop love songs with a country flavour. Either way, the atmosphere and lyrics of these fourteen compositions are typical of the writing style of Dublin composer Seán Silke. His speciality is warmly emotional and adult themes dealing in a powerful way with affairs of the heart.

Is there a theme running through all the tracks? The lyrics of “Someone who no longer exists” speak of a young optimistic girl whose emotions have turned bitter. She finds herself deluded; she loves an illusion. The man to whom she gave her heart is now a different person. She blames her situation on allowing drift in her life – she is paying the price for never defining and never really taking hold of what she wanted. If you imagine her emotional world as a “house of dreams”, this house is something we hold together with difficulty. At times we reconstruct it. And there also comes the time when it no longer exists.

Rohan Healy has written, recorded and produced ten solo albums, and has appeared on The Voice UK Series 5 and Busker Abú with The Dublin City Rounders. He has booked and performed over 1,000 shows in Australia, the UK, Ireland and Europe, and has dozens of production, songwriting and performance credits on other artists’ works. Rohan is also radio host of “Rhythm & Roots” on 103.2 Dublin City FM and Music Scout for Gnarles Publishing & Sync Library.

Al Quiff is one of Ireland’s top upright bass and electric bass players. He is also an excellent drummer. Beginning with psychobilly outfit Quiffs N Coffins, Al has racked up thousands of playing hours on stage and in studio, including performances for President Michael D Higgins, the US Ambassador, the Sean O’Rourke Show, The Voice UK and dozens of outdoor festivals.

Seán Silke is a prolific composer and musician with over 500 original songs in his back catalogue. He is launching three albums in 2018 - “Unexamined Emotions” (14 pop songs dealing with affairs of the heart); “In the heart of the castle”; and “Unlucky in love” (15 dance songs featuring a variety of female artists and produced by Chris Kabs, a well-known solo artist/producer on the Dublin dance scene).

David Virgin – as a producer and songwriter – has had five number 1’s on the Australian charts. He produced pioneering industrial noise group SPK, who became a cited influence on Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers and more.

Darien Chase is the pseudonym for a talented artist and in-demand session singer on the indie, folk/pop and singer/songwriter circuit.

https://open.spotify.com/album/5HBQxXk0hQ6bhzUPQZyGuN