Niall Breslin, aka Bressie, has described his new television show as a lesson for him and for adults in how to deal with teenagers.
Bressie's Teenage Kicks is a three part series beginning tonight which highlights his attempts to put together a band in Limerick city.
The format for the television series was devised by himself and producer Alan Gillespie from Screentime ShinAwiL Productions.
Bressie said the programme made him realise “how disconnected we are with teenagers” and music is the vehicle in which they express their feelings about the world. “Music is the only way I can relate to them,” he said.
In episode one he holds auditions for the band and is joined by May Kay the frontwoman with new age punk band Fight Like Apes and drummer Ronan Nolan.
Bressie said the programme is a complete departure from The Voice of Ireland on which he has been a judge for several years.
He had envisaged the band that would emerge from Teenage Kicks would be a rock/pop outfit similar to the type of acts he has been in, but it did not turn out like that.
“I had no gameplan going into it. I was going to let them dictate what the ultimate band would become. I have no background in it. It was not what I thought it was about to become. It was quite empowering to the teenagers involved. If you talkto them and empower them, they can do really great things.”
He said it would be up to the viewers to see what type of band emerged at the end of the series. “There are scenes down in Limerick and I couldn’t ignore with them. I had to roll with it,” he explained. “I didn’t know what kind of music it was going to be. I was going to let them dictate what kind of band it would become. It ends up being something that I completely have no background in musically.
“The good thing about this is that it is good for the teenagers involved. If you talk to them and empower them, they can do really great things.”
Bressie wanted to leave a tangible legacy behind. He has started a record label for them and got them all the gear they need. “There are no excuses. They have everything they need,” he said.
“The language around teenagers is always no, but if you watch what we do, it is the complete opposite. We give them everything they need. It’s a great journey. Music is a big part of it, it’s not the sole part of it.”
Bressie's Teenage Kicks is on RTÉ 2 at 10pm tonight.
