Ripcord_64
Hailing from the South East of Ireland, Ripcord_64 are a Rock/Pop trio consisting of Ollie Dempsey, guitar/vox, Bryan Barnes, drums/vox and Stevie Tierney, bass. Formed in 2010 the band has been continuously writing, recording and performing from the get go.
The three members have 1000’s of gigs and many more miles under their collective belts.
Ollie Dempsey is a dedicated guitarist/songwriter and has been since a young age, his craft has been honed with a long and illustrious career as both a frontman and a lead guitarist in numerous outfits. His penchant for writing catchy songs and melodic guitar parts has been a prolific one. Ollie’s shortlived band Sonic Vista had some success in the Irish charts with the singles ‘Heard It All Before’ and ‘Let It Be Tonight’, played onstage at Witnness and made it to the finals of O2 New Band Competition in 2003. All said, Ollie is a vocal gymnast, a fret shredding axe man, a seasoned tour veteran, and a bloody good songwriter.
Bryan Barnes has been gigging and touring both home and abroad since the early 90’s. Another roadtested veteran, Bryan had a single, titled ‘Vanity’, charting in the Irish Top 30 in 1997 whilst a member of Bacardi/Hot Press Band Of The Year, Wexford’s own Cousin Bill. Bryan has toured both sides of the Atlantic and all over Europe as the sticksman for several bands. His distinctive style of drumming, winning smile and permanent tan have made Bryan an in demand musician and an essential element in Ripcord_64’s sound.
Stevie Tierney is a bass player with a colourful palate of musical styles and a growing list of collaborative efforts under his belt. He has been performing onstage since the 90’s and working with a wide variety of both original and cover acts over the years. Stevie’s sense of groove, sharp ears and strong hands has landed him onstage with several musicians of note including Donovan and even members of Dire Straits. Although Stevie admits he isn’t as well travelled as his band-mates he has done some touring in Europe and gigged as far afield as South Africa.
In 2011 Ripcord_64 entered the studio and began laying down the seeds of what was to eventually become their debut LP ‘Interloper’. The album captures the trio’s melodic, rhythmic drive, their intensity and their distinctive approach. Although ‘Interloper’ was recorded over a period of 3 years, and there were long intervals between the recording sessions, the band’s cohesiveness is evident throughout, they were(and are) continuously gigging, and this has lead them to become a very tight outfit. Ripcord_64 are a dynamic and compelling live act, the energy and immediacy of their delivery, the memorable quality of their material and their collective maturity and experience as performing musicians make them a force to be reckoned with. The band is continuously writing new material, and although ‘Interloper’ is a milestone for the trio, it will be the first of many more outstanding recordings to come.
