"Semi" Call it a Day

29th Oct 2002

"SEMI" - Call it a Day

SEMI RETIRING That just about says it all. After Thursday February 28th the SEMI story will come to an end, when the band play their final gig in Nancy Spain's, Barrack St. Cork

Semi were formed in Cork over five years ago by five people who had played in other bands-LMNO Pelican, Cow In The Water- before coming to the conclusion that nothing was worth doing unless the right people were involved, for the right reasons.†
†As is often the case with music that emerges from the Cork scene, Semi's music slips between many of the format cracks and generally defies easy categorisation. Perhaps any band combining guitars, trumpet, samplers and keyboards could claim this...however Semi's open-minded approach to song writing and idiosyncratic lyrical slant combine to make for, as one music insider said, after a Dublin gig, 'a breath of fresh air in a stagnant scene'.†

Semi gigs have taken place everywhere from Leap to London, and every one an occasion in itself. Support slots with The Frank and Walters in Dublin and The Sultans in London gave the band an inkling of what might lie ahead.
Gigs then took a back seat as Semi began working on their debut album. Work continued and the album MERVYN IN TORONTO was released last year. The recordings were done in a live setting to capture the energy and feel of each of the songs, while the usual mixing and knob-twiddling took place in the engineer's attic between cistern fills. Without losing the powerful essence of Semi, the band had an opportunity to experiment a little with shades and layers of sound for the first time. What pleased the band most after releasing the album was the varied response from fans and press alike in terms of choosing their favourite songs - every song meant something to someone.

One of the band's funniest experiences during their career was recording a video for one of the album tracks DISCO DIVA. The video for this song was shown on RTE's No Disco. A session for Dave Fanning's radio show soon followed. The whole business side of promoting an independent album is gruelling at the best of times.
The various members of SEMI discovered it was getting more and more difficult to give the time required to move the band to the next level.†

It became apparent towards the end of last year things couldn't continue at the level required. After many sleepless nights and lots of deliberation the band have decided to finish. Attempts to allow SEMI to disband quietly were uncovered and requests poured in demanding that they depart with a celebratory last gig.
Without any doubt, from day one Semi set out to entertain, and their enthusiasm on stage can at times be barely kept in check. This has made every gig special and rarely has the band left the stage without getting heads nodding and feet moving. Of course the intention is to go out in the same manner as they came in, with the gig in Nancy Spain's on the 28th February promising to be an even more special occasion'