Potent mix of rock, punk has city on high

The Virginmarys came to Delhi for the first time ever. The hard rock trio formed in Macclesfield in 2006, following the demise of a previous Tomorrows. The band members Ally Dickaty (lead vocals, guitar), Danny Dolan (drums, backing vocals) and Matt Rose (bass, backing vocals) started on their debut album in 2011 while they continued touring the world as support act to some of the best bands like Slash, Terrorvision, Skunk Anansie, Eagles of Death Metal, The View, Ash, Feeder, Queens Of The Stone Age and We Are Scientists.

Expressing excitement at his first visit to the national capital, lead vocalist Ally Dickaty told Metrolife, “Coming to Delhi feels incredible. The crowd is exciting and it is a powerhouse.” He says he met his band member Danny Dolan over coffee when he decided to form this band and actually grow in the field of rock music.

Though the industry is very competitive Dickaty says, “We are very ambitious and want to expand across the world and I am pretty sure we will.”

The band members say they have grown listening to Jimi Hendrix, West Wind in 60s and Erisson etc and very obviously have been inspired. Their music seeks influence from electronic, grunge, punk and rock and which is what the Delhi youngsters rocked to over the weekend.

The trio enthralled the audience with the 15 songs from their debut album, ‘King Of Conflict.’ Their belief system begins with a devotion to the idea of playing. Live or in rehearsals, the three are at their most comfortable instruments in hand. “Whether this is cool or not in a world where we sometimes seem to want our bands to devote themselves to studiously not playing,” is of no consequence to them.

Dickaty added, “A typical song from the trio rocks as hard as anything you are likely to hear but can talk about making the wrong calls despite yourself (Dead Man’s Shoes), domestic violence from the less thought out position of male as victim (Portrait Of Red) and anti-capitalism (You’ve Got Your Money).”

Unlike so many contemporaries, the three are unlikely to fall into any of the obvious traps that bedevil young bands in their world. Having spent three years touring and playing alongside a series of self-released EPs the band have built a fan base that encompasses the likes of Slash (a regular VM’s T-shirt wearer), We Are Scientists, Eagles Of Death Metal and Ash, all of whom have invited the band to support them and thousands of devoted fans across the globe.

In the process they have featured on BBC Breakfast, scored an iTunes single of the week both in the UK and US, and had a track featured on Rockband 3 and sold out London’s Garage at a canter as part of HMV’s Next Big Thing series of shows at the close of 2011.

Those beginnings have fostered a band that are ambitious without being arrogant. Ally claims that honesty is at the heart of everything he does; Danny Dolan wants The Virginmarys to be a catalyst for new bands to form and create great new music and Matt Rose sees success as “blowing away the dross that currently populates daytime radio” and creating a world in which their music, and that like it, makes the music world an exciting place.