Cashier No. 9

For several years now, Danny Todd has been an accessory to great music from Northern Ireland. A gifted guitarist, songwriter and producer, he has featured with Skint recording artists Alloy Mental, recently showcased on the Gran Turismo 5 soundtrack. He’s on the upcoming David Holmes album and he’s recorded with Corrigan, an act that combines the darkness of Johnny Cash with the angst of Samuel Beckett. Danny has lent his skill to a network of other artists from Belfast and beyond, an exciting community that’s on the rise. Happily though, Danny has now traded in his deputy badge to front his own music. To make ends meet as a teenager there was less inspiring work in a coffee shop, where he was appointed as Cashier No 5. That didn’t scan so well, but with a minor change, it provided an identity for the new band: Cashier No 9. Cashier No. 9 have made sporadic appearances in the past, but having expanded into a live act that includes life-long friends James Smith on guitar, Steven Quinn on drums and Stuart MacGowan on bass, and with a committed management team in place, it’s now emphatically their turn, the chance to reveal a clutch of songs that have been disgorging from Danny’s head into his laptop over the past year and a half. It’s also an opportunity for the listener to hear a bunch of influences that range from Captain Beefheart to T.Rex, by way of Syd Barrett, Paul Simon and Pavement. “I don’t want to pin myself down to one sound,” Danny modestly reckons. Cashier No 9 were chosen to represent Belfast at London’s Electric Proms, October 2006. They’ve performed at the Knitting Factory in New York and Brighton’s Great Escape in 2007. They’ve supported Gruff Rhys and the Ting Tings, and have recorded a Radio 1 session for the BBC. They provided the lead track on ‘The Oh Yeah Sessions’, a new compilation album recorded in Belfast’s emerging music centre and showcasing the very best of new Irish music, and the NIMIC-sponsored ‘New Music from Northern Ireland’ compilation, currently at radio and online press all over the USA. The sleevenotes for ‘Oh Yeah’, written by Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody, approve of the track ‘When Jackie Shone’, noting the “ominous shuffle and head-bending guitars”. With a clutch of highly-anticipated mainland dates lined up and a limited edition single release in the works, Cashier No.9 are ready to lead the counter revolution. Stuart Bailie, Spring 2008 “A band you want to hear more from.” – BBC.co.uk Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.