40 FERMANAGH HERALD NEWS Wednesday, July 15, 2009

BY MAEVE MCKENNA

Fermanagh band ‘I’m Not Maggie’ areset to take Strabane by storm as theyprepare for the first heat of ‘Soundslike Summer’.

The four-piece band comprisesJames (Jimmy) on lead vocals, Stew-art on guitar and vocals, Dwayne ondrums and vocals and Alec on bassand vocals,

Having been playing together forfive years in this line-up after seeingmany other talented musicians leave,the band has definitely grown fromstrength to strength, never letting any-thing get in the way of their ultimategoal of, ‘Putting Fermanagh on themap and to be able to make a livingfrom doing what we love’.

Alec explains how the opportunityof Sounds Like Summer came about.

“Francis McCauley told me aboutthe advert in the ‘Fermanagh Herald’.We went online and uploaded oursongs and watched as the ratings wentup. In the end, we came fourth.”

Stewart and Jimmy – the only twooriginal members – expressed theirexcitement about the competition, “It’ssuch a great opportunity, competitionkeeps you on the edge, there is alwayssomeone better than you, but we’reconfident. There’s no reason why weshouldn’t be on that stage; five years ofsolid gigging and band practice twicea week has made us tight.”

It’s obvious that music plays a hugepart in all the guys’ lives, with Alec be-ing in several bands all with differentgenres, from jazz to country. With 37songs in their set list, from Kings ofLeon to The Who and original materi-

al, they said, ‘Everyone can enjoy ourmusic, it’s a refined list and you’re notgoing to hear it anywhere else, we playmusic that we love, good ol’ honestrock and roll, no airs and graces andjust hope everyone else loves it too.”

Everyone who enjoys going to gigsin Fermanagh knows that the musicscene is not what it once was, and theboys know this too.

“The lack of venues for gigs in Fer-managh is a huge problem; the musicscene is not what it used to be whenwe were starting out. But it’s definite-ly not down to the lack of bandsthough. Any local band would love to

play in their own town but unfortu-nately they have to go away and play.”

‘I’m Not Maggie’ are in the same po-sition of only playing locally at leasttwice a year. Having to travel to Derryconstantly to perform, the boys defi-nitely hate the fact that this has tohappen.

“It’s sad that we have to leave ourtown to get the crowds,” they say.

With the competition offering timein a recording studio as the first prize,the boys have big plans to make themost of the opportunity if they win.Having made EPs before in Alec’s sit-ting room, ‘the hub of INM’, they plan

on reworking songs and recording afew more originals.

They laugh and joke between them-selves about fame, but insist thatthey’re very grounded and don’t ex-pect everything to just land at theirfeet.

“It’s all about being in the rightplace at the right time. We just needan opportunity, so give us the batonand we’ll run.”

To find out more about the band andwhere they are playing next, visit theirwebsite at:http://www.myspace.com/imnotmag-gie

Give ‘I’m notMaggie’ thebaton andthey’ll run!

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‘The lack ofvenues for gigsin Fermanagh isa huge problem’

Fermanagh band ‘I’m Not Maggie’ are preparing for the first heat of ‘Sounds like Summer’, which will be held in Strabane.

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