Gary Lightbody an interview to have grown up as an "Indie rock kid" inspired to become a musician through influences of artists and acts such as Kurt Cobain, Super Furry Animals, and Sebadoh. Lightbody has worked with the aid organisation Save the Children in Uganda, an experience on which he has written in "New Statesman". He has also been involved in raising awareness of depression, a condition that he himself has struggled with. In July 2012, Lightbody received an Honorary Doctorate in Letters from the University of Ulster at a ceremony in the Millennium Forum, Derry. See also Snow Patrol Awards. Lightbody
Tired Pony Tired Pony Tired Pony is a music supergroup consisting of Gary Lightbody, Richard Colburn, Iain Archer, Jacknife Lee, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Troy Stewart. Lightbody formed the group out of his appreciation for country music, and has during the early planning phase described the group's music once as "country-tinged" but explained later that in the end the album's development turned out much more to Americana than country during the whole creative process in the studio. The group visited Portland, Oregon in January 2010 to record this debut album, which was produced by member Lee; "The Place We Ran From"