June 15: Following release of new single, Regals ready to rock The Shaskeen

MANCHESTER, NH – When a bill for a show has a range of diversity where each act sounds different from the others, it can be quite an experience for whoever is attending. It defeats any sort of artistic monotony that might occur over the course of the evening with people having the opportunity to check out something new.

It’s also special when this happens with an all-local bill, and that’s exactly what’s going to be happening at The Shaskeen in the heart of downtown Manchester on June 15. Country-rockers Regals are going to be headlining while garage punks Black Hatch and alt-rock act Trash Sun are going to be rounding out the bill. It starts at 8 p.m. and it promises to be a great showcase of musical talents.

I had a chance to catch up with Ryan Egan from Regals ahead of the gig about a new song the band recently put out, a live video that was released along with it and the band’s plans going into next year.

IF YOU GO

Shaskeen Pub (shaskeenirishpub.com)

909 Elm Street, Manchester, 8 p.m.

Tickets: $5 at the door

Rob Duguay: Last month, Regals released a new single with “Fresh Pack,” which is kind of like a ballad but it also kind of isn’t. What was the initial vision you guys had when it came to writing the song?

Ryan Egan: When I came to writing that song, I was kind of at a darker point in my life where there was a lot of overindulgence going on with myself and my friend group. I felt like we were all on a purgatory bender in hell, so it’s kind of like an ode to the temptation of drinking excessively, escapism and whatnot. It came out naturally as a desperate plea to whoever is listening to the pain, I guess.

RD: I get that from listening to it. Where was it recorded and did you work with a producer on it or did you handle all of that yourselves?

RE: It was recorded over at Blackheart Sound in Manchester by Eric Sauter and additionally, I recorded the vocals, acoustic guitars and pedal steel by myself with the band. I was then mixed by Ian Anderson and mastered by Jason Duguay.

RD: Oh, wow. He has the same last name as me, I don’t think we’re related though. Along with the track, you guys also released a music video for it featuring a live performance of the song at the Mosaic Art Collective in Manchester, so how did that all come about? Did you have a legit film crew with you guys or was it done in more of a DIY fashion?

RE: I just have a friend and they filmed a couple songs. I really liked how the place sounded for a live room and we just wanted to get the song out there into the ether a little ahead of its release. We also did recently record an actual music video that’s being edited now by another friend of ours, so that should be coming out pretty soon. Whoever is interested in trying to capture our performances, we’re always welcome to that. It’s a content creator world out there so you just have to keep on releasing things all the time to keep people’s attention on you.

RD: Speaking of getting attention on you guys, what are your thoughts on playing The Shaskeen this weekend?

RE: I’m really stoked because we took a little break from shows for about a month and it’ll just feel really good to kind of get a bunch of friends in there, pack it out and have a really fun night with some really cool bands. It’s an eclectic lineup with different sounding acts, so it’s gonna have a little variety and it’s gonna be a fun time. A bunch of friends both old and new are planning to come out and it’s gonna be a ball, I’m really stoked.

RD: It sounds like it’s gonna be great. Can we expect a record of some sort, either a full-length or an EP, to follow up the new single and the upcoming music video?

RE: We plan on releasing a few more singles over the course of the summer and we’re going to be heading back to the studio hopefully in July to track another six or seven songs. From that point, the goal is to release something that’s like an LP and a half. It’s going to be a big time Regals release down the line. A lot of our stuff reflects the wintertime and the depression that comes with it, it always seems to be a catalyst for my writing, so we’re definitely aiming towards a wintertime release if we get our act together and get the work done.