Interviews | The Audio Perv
Archive for the ‘Interviews’ Category
03 Apr
2012

TAP Exclusive Interview: Matthew Molarius of Transfer

By drainu182 , Tags :


By Jennifer Trainor

Transfer, the alt-rock band self-described as “a gorgeous muumuu of music draped over the Grandma of their genre”, recently trekked from their home base in San Diego to Boston to kick off their current US tour, supporting the Kaiser Chiefs. Future Selves, the bands sophomore LP, increased the band’s international visibility and won several awards at home, including Best Rock Album in 2010 from the San Diego Music Awards. This current tour, which included a pit stop in Austin for a couple of sets at SXSW, is about working out new material to maintain the momentum and produce a third album, hopefully to be released later in 2012. If you don’t know Transfer, explore the catalog now. Give Future Selves a few spins. Imagine a pint of English cider chugged down with an attractive intensity and chased with a shot of whiskey. A concoction that appears to resonate with audiences, I anticipate the new album will only propel Transfer further into the national indie spotlight.

Band members include founders Matthew Molarius (guitar, vocals) and Jason Cardenas (guitar, vocals), and Shaun Cornell (bass, keyboards, vocals) and Andy Ridley (drums), who joined the band between the years of 2008-2010. We recently spent some time catching up with Matthew Molarius (guitar and vocals):

AP: You’ve made your mark in the western half of the US and more specifically Southern CA where you’re from. Opened for Brandon Flowers international solo tour in 2010, which seems to have thrust you into the UK scene. Released LP Future Selvesinternationally. Done a residency at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. Toured the UK on your own a bit, and with others last year. Zane Lowe (BBC Radio 1) played Losing Composure on his show. These are some big accomplishments over the last couple of years. What’s the evolution of Transfer been like?

MM: It’s been somewhat of a whirlwind. Since the end of 2010 things have been very busy for us and it’s really made things cohesive in a lot of ways. We have been playing to so many different crowds I honestly think it’s made us a different band. Not only in the performance aspect of things but also in the way we approach songwriting. There are songs that are autonomous from this of course but I’ve noticed that we think about what is going to go over well in the live setting as well. Once we started getting the opportunity to play for such a variety of audiences supporting other bands, we started to realize the importance of crafting our set to create the biggest impact possible. Putting our best foot forward has come to mean much more and I am glad. I think it’s made us a better band.

AP: Despite being from the US, Transfer seems to be following in the pattern of early adoption in the UK, and catching on later in the US – like The Killers and more recently, Mona and Lana Del Rey. Is that how you view it?

MM: Not really. Well, we have put more time in the UK last year and the crowds there have been very receptive but it hasn’t necessarily been by design. It just worked out that our touring opportunities took us through there and we were able to keep things rolling when things started to catch on a bit. Right now we are happy to be putting in work and building momentum here in the States.

Doing this USA tour with the Kaiser Chiefs has been great in the sense that we get to get back to the parts of the country touch base with people that haven’t seen us in a while. We’ve been fortunate to play throughout Europe a couple times in the past year and build some great crowds in different areas. We’re looking forward to where our next travels will take us, wherever that may be.

AP: You seemed to be teetering right on that cusp of breaking. Do you feel it? What do you think it’s going to take to tip?

MM: It definitely feels like we have some positive momentum and that’s exciting. I think there’s really no other way to go about being successful than just using what you learn and working your ass off. Whatever happens will happen.

AP: You’re currently on the road supporting Kaiser Chiefs on their US tour, and you’re playing mostly new music. Are there plans to release a new album soon? What does the rest of the year look like for Transfer?

MM: Our focus after this tour will be in the studio working on the next album. Haven’t set the release date yet but we are all pretty fired up about this next phase. Playing the songs live has been a great way to get to know the tunes well and shape them in a way that feels good to play which is important for us. The next task will be to capture that on record and add the ear candy. Very exciting!

AP: What do fans of Future Selves have to look forward to on the new album? Can you share with us a few track names, maybe a first single?

MM: Well, this next batch of songs are a different animal for sure but it’s still us. There are a lot of different things taking shape and I can see that our song development has grown from new influences since Future Selves. Some things are melodic with lots of harmony, some psychedelic with big reverbs and jangly guitar tones. Some sounds are dark and on the verge of evil, some songs are more fragile but all are epic. There is just no other way for us.

AP: You mention sleep in a lot of the songs from Future Selves. Was that a theme that was intended or subconsciously snuck in there? Any obvious or hidden themes in the new material?

MM: Yeah, it’s not an intended theme really. Lyrically, I will be inspired by something and several things will manifest out of it and then I will move onto something else. I don’t really know why it happens that way but it does. I guess you could say it kinda snuck in there.

As far as the new material goes, there are some themes about human nature that have been fascinating to me and have inspired some thought and expression. Most all have come from life perception but some have come from a far more personal place dealing with loss. It’s definitely the most honest I have ever been with words.

AP: What’s a critical element or ritual in your creative process? Solitude? Jam sessions? Lyrics first? Porn? Kilts? Jelly beans?

MM: I don’t know how you guessed the inspiring combination but you’ve done it!

Seriously, I think I have OCD. I go over something so many fucking times in my head that I think it would drive a normal person crazy. I’m always trying to adopt a method where things just flow like a river but it’s not like that. Some songs come together in a day and some take a long ass time. It just depends. One thing I’ve found works well for me is reading things that inspire me to analyze. Also showering stoned.

AP: You drove 53 hours to get to Boston and start this tour with Kaiser Chiefs. What were you guys listening to on the ride? Any wacky experiences on the trip across?

MM: We installed satellite radio in our rig before we left so Howard Stern kept us laughing on the way out. We of course listened to tunes but being cooped up for such a long period of time, comedy tends to pass the time pretty well and keep everybody from being assholes to each other. We’re all silly bastards so we get into that sort of thing.

AP: You’re a tall guy. How often to people comment on your height? Just how tall are you?

MM: I’m 6’5″ and some change. People comment on it constantly but what do you expect? It’s not like I’m in the NBA so I get it.

AP: What’s something past or present that you’re really proud of?

MM: Super proud of the beard I was able to cultivate earlier this year. Abbey Road was pretty cool too.

Check out www.transferband.com for upcoming shows and a very entertaining blog of their adventures.

02 Apr
2012

TAP Exclusive Interview: Up Close and Personal with Luke Pritchard of The Kooks

By drainu182 , Tags :

Up Close and Personal with Luke Pritchard of The Kooks
By: Cassandra Paiva

When I found out that I would be interviewing Luke Pritchard of The Kooks, the band that I have been absolutely in love with since before I was even sweet 16, there were no words. Thankfully, by the time the interview came around, there were thousands of them.

I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t want to make an idiot out of myself, and I didn’t know if I’d even be able to understand him. (Thanks to a few years of watching the good ol’ BBC and obsessing over the British music scene [yay half of my teenaged life!] I understood him without any problems.)

I had met Luke earlier in the day at the secret show that WBRU hosted. We made some casual conversation and I asked him if it was Denny drumming that night (I had met Denny, their replacement drummer, when I saw The Kooks in Boston last fall), and then we all took a group picture but that was about it.

When I was lead to the back of the tour bus by their manager, Luke welcomed me with a, “Oh hey! I didn’t realize it was you who was interviewing me, what’s up?” I have to admit, the fact that I had talked to him earlier made it a lot easier for me.

Even after the interview, we sat and talked for another 25 minutes or so about everything from the differences between the UK and the US, including the areas of poverty that we in the US have, his uncle owning a farm in the Isle of Wight and how much he himself loves the city life so much more (and his uncle’s disapproval of music as a career, ha!), how the band would love to live in New York City because of the rush, how American festivals are so commercialized and Coachella is awful because of the heat, and how he appreciates older music like MC5, Tim Buckley (Jeff Buckley’s dad), and Bob Dylan.

He even told me about a few European festivals they had played, opening for Muse for 2 shows and hanging with Muse’s drummer Dominic Howard (I seriously would have died to go to one of those shows, let’s hope that happens again in the US), and that I should go ahead and move to London because it’s a cool place.

But, without further ado, I present to you, the picking of Luke Pritchard’s brain and the findings that came about it.

It’s been 6 months since Junk of the Heart was released, how do you feel it’s being compared to the other albums?

God, has it been that long since it’s been out, wow. It feels pretty good, I mean, I think the live set of things, you’re playing gigs where you kind of realize how the song’s actually connecting with people. There’s not really like a lull in the set, people know the new songs. So yea, it seems pretty good. Still into it playing songs.

You’ve already released three singles from the album, do you plan on releasing any more?

I think at this point, probably not, no. I think the way we’d kind of like to get into the studio quite soon. Either put out some new material, as like a kind of EP or something like that, or do another album. So, yea, at this point, we don’t really have any plans to release another single, off of Junk of the Heart.

What’s your favorite track off of the album?

My favorite track is “Fuck the World Off” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” I really like “Fuck the World Off” because it was very spontaneous, it was a good moment in the recording process.

A lot of your lyrics deal with love and loss, do you consider yourself a hopeless romantic, or do you find that inspiration somewhere else?

(laughs) I don’t know, like, I just find it probably quite natural to write about that kind of thing. Like the blues or whatever, like that kind of tradition of that. I find it the most natural kind of song writing.

Me, myself, I don’t know. I’m always in and out. I’ve often found that, when I pick up a guitar, the first thing that’s on my mind is probably something to do with that, something to do with girls. I kind of like, kind of complicated girls, so usually get yourself in situations.

It’s been brought up before, but you’ve amassed a lot of B sides and song you felt didn’t fit albums, aside from the Konk double disc, would you ever release an album of these?

Rak. Well yea, we’ve talked about doing a B sides compilation or something like that. But we haven’t really gotten further than just talking about it. I do think that we’ve got a good amount, we’ve got such a kind of wealth of material. We’ve got a lot of stuff that hasn’t even been put on Youtube or released. There’s a lot of change. So, at some point it would be good to do something with them. But like I say, at the moment we’ve just been really focusing on the album, the new album, and then other stuff. It’s just kind of and interest, it’s a different time in music as well, it’s more likely that you can just put your stuff out online then you are to kind of put together a whole compilation of B sides where tons of people just download it for free or Spotify it anyway. For us, it’s just like, we might as well, we can do it from our website. We’ll probably do something like that. It’s definitely been talked about a lot in the last, probably four or five months after our third album. I think I’d quite like to do, songs from the cutting room floor, from all the albums, like songs we just took little bits and pieces that we never used. There’s some good stuff.

Referring to “The Saboteur,” you started recording with a different producer before returning to Tony Hoffer. Would you ever consider going back to or revisiting those track, or is the past the past?

I think, we always keep it in mind you know for like, sections. We always have lots of songs that can be pulled on at any point. You might take the melody or like one of the lyrics and use it for something else, but the actual recordings with Jim we wouldn’t use it.

Have you considered going under an alias in small clubs to test out B sides?

That’s a good idea. I’m thinking about it now. (You’re welcome, fans). Maybe we should, “The Echoes.” Yea, it might be good. It would be good to do something like that. It’s just, at the moment, there’s just really not enough hours in the day. We’ve been so busy, travelling pretty much all over the world, playing the new album, so the idea of that is cool, but I think, we just don’t have time at the moment to do something like that. We could do like a one off, it would be quite fun. But I’d have to try to remember the songs.

Moving to live performance, what’s going through your mind before hitting the stage?

(Makes a face and snickers a bit) Depends on the night, really. It’s one of those really funny things, with gigging, like sometimes you’re absolutely shattered where all you want to do is just hang out, and sometimes those are the best gigs. And then you get on stage and it’s just a rush. And sometimes you’re in a great mood and you go on and it doesn’t work. It’s kind of strange. It’s just like, with anything, if you think about it, every day you feel kind of different, don’t you? Like every day, for us, it gets to about 8:30 and we’re doing gigging. So you kind of just go to pull yourself out of whatever you’re feeling and just kind of go on stage and see what happens. But that’s kind of what’s exciting about it, because every night’s completely different. Otherwise it would be fucking dull, wouldn’t it? Playing the same songs every night.

Do you have any preshow rituals?

Not really, I mean, the only thing we do pretty regularly is we have like a little shot of something, usually some rum. And, we get together, play some disco music and go and make people dance. We have like a little huddle sort of thing. But, nothing particularly weird, no.

You released a live, acoustic version of Inside In/Inside Out, would you ever do that again?

Of Inside In/Inside Out? Or like, our new album?

No, no, (laughs) of the new album, or like, anything.

Yea maybe, we wouldn’t rule it out. That was a cool thing to do, we did it at Abbey Road and it was quite special, you know. We got like some fans who sat on the floor. There were some good vibes going. It was a good night. The Kooks has definitely got like, two sides to it. The acoustic and then the rock band.

Do you write your songs acoustic first or..?

Yes, pretty much always it comes from an acoustic. It’s kind of good to strip them back. But not at the moment, I’ve actually been writing quite a lot with like creating a comp track and singing over the top. It’s sort of less organic, more instinctual. So you just, make a track, and just run it and sing something over the top and see what happens. It’s some kind of stream of consciousness thing, I don’t know. But yea, almost all of the songs on the first three albums were written pretty much on an acoustic or piano and then tracked to the back.

Would you ever release a live DVD?

Again, yea, I think we have to do the right gig for that. I don’t think, I mean we still haven’t, you know, we’ve had things like member changes. And the thing is, the band is, I think, still finding its feet so once we feel like we’re really solid, as a band and we have a great venue to do it in, as well, where we can get proper, like film it properly, then we’d do it. Something like that, I think, you have to, you can easily just put something out, but it has to be something special. It has to be like, when you’re at your best really.

Somewhere like Royal Albert Hall, or something?

Yea, that would be cool. I don’t know, maybe that would be wrong, because the Albert Hall is a quite chilled venue. That would be a great place to do an acoustic set, like a live acoustic set there. But, I don’t know. If we got like, a theatre, like a slightly scummy theatre, would be good for The Kooks.
(After the interview, he said that he and his girlfriend at the time got in trouble at the Hall for dancing around too much at a The Who show. Then, he came to the conclusion that The Troubadour in LA would be the perfect place for The Kooks to do a show for a live album).

You’re touring with Foster the People, and you recently covered “Pumped Up Kicks” for Radio 1, are you big fans?

Yes, definitely. They’re one of my favorite new bands really. Yea, they’re good. They’re wicked guys, and a great band, and I think that the tour is going to be more like, what a tour should be, because we’re friends, because we have sort of played music together a little bit, and I think that’s what the tour’s going to be about, is just about having a good time. I think like, every night is going to be us kind of jamming together and just like, hanging out, so we’re really excited about it. So we’ll make some music on the road to. I’d love to do that, you know, Mark’s (Mark Foster) one of the cool guys, they are really up on their production techniques so if we could do some stuff together, that would be fun, that would be good.

What can we expect from The Kooks in the next year?

The stuff we’ve been talking about. Getting new music out before the end of the year, definitely, well hopefully. Get in the studios quite a bit. Not another single, but new material. We took 3 years between the second and third albums, we want less time between this and next album.

27 Dec
2011

TAP Exclusive Interview: O’Brother

By drainu182 , Tags :

By Michel Dussack

O’Brother are all at once an ambient, indie and post-hardcore band that are wrapping up a tour with Moving Mountains, La Dispute and Thrice. The band has also opened for Biffy Clyro and Cage The Elephant. Their live shows are a combination of beautiful quiet moments scattered amount bursts of impossibly loud yet clear songs. I got the chance to sit down with vocalist Tanner Merritt, guitarist Johnny Dang, and drummer Michael Martens after one of their sets on this tour to talk about their upcoming album Garden Window, as well as the tour and future plans. Oh and the zombie apocalypse of course!

Q: Ok so let’s talk about the upcoming album, Garden Window, first, and more specifically the name of the album

Tanner: It was a line from one of the songs, and the whole idea behind it was just like a view of life, like everything from start to finish. Like using a very organic metaphor, life from a different perspective, ya know from an outside perspective, just a view of life as it relates to nature.

Q. Who did the artwork for the album?
Michael: Our guitarist Aaron, and it’s all just line drawings and watercolors and he’s been working on it…he probably started it a little over a year ago actually. Yeah he also did the art for the last EP that we released a couple years ago.

Q: What would you say is your favorite track on the new album?
Tanner: Probably different for every one of us
Michael: Favorite song to play or listen to?

Q: Whichever you’d rather talk about
Tanner: My favorite song to play right now is Poison
Michael: That’s what I was going to say too, mostly that, the second half of it
Johnny: Lay Down
Michael: That would probably be tied, Lay Down and Poison
Johnny: They kind of go into each other so live, and even on the record they’re kind of just one song

Q: Ah ok, yeah on the advance stream they definitely chop them up so I wasn’t sure
Michael: Yeah there’s a couple songs, like Machines Part I and Machines Part II uhm like on record, they were basically one song but we split them into two so we could play them separate. Same thing with Poison and Lay Down, there’s a smooth transition that you can’t hear on the stream

Q: Would you say that there are any significant changes in your sound from the last couple EPs that you’ve released?
Michael: I think you can tell we’ve been touring a lot, and that we grew as a band. One of the things we tried to do a little different with this record was not be so dynamic within each song, but be more dynamic from song to song. Because on a five song EP you don’t really have the ability and the freedom to do that, but when you do 11 songs, or more, or any kind of full length, you’re able to….there’s more breathing room. Your highs can be higher and your lows can be lower. It was nice to be able to kind do whatever we wanted.

Q: Would you say there’s a central theme that ties the whole album together despite it being dynamic?
Tanner: I think it’s kind of true with like any piece of art that’s put together at one period time. It’s whatever you’re thinking about at the time. There was a lot of common themes, and we tried to reference other songs within songs. We wanted the record as a whole to seem like one body of work rather than a collection of songs that were just thrown together. And that’s really important to us, and that’s what we were trying to do. Yeah so we tried, and I hope it comes through

Q: You’ve had some pretty high profile support slots with Biffy Clyro, Cage The Elephant and now Thrice. Do you forsee a headlining tour soon?
Michael: Probably spring or summer, definitely before the middle of next year I would say. But uh there’s a couple plans we have, Anton our bassist is getting married in February. We’ve got a few things we’re working on for late February, early March. Personally I’d like to do one more solid support tour before we go out, because it’s scary. We’ve done like headlining spot dates, but we’ve never done like any headlining tour before, and I just want to make sure it’s solid
Tanner: It’s fucking frightening to think about

Q: You seemed to have gotten a great reaction tonight…
Michael: I do think it will be a very positive experience. You know it’s hard to tell on tours like this because there’s so many different types of fans. There’s the people that absolutely love your music and they come up and tell you that every single time they see you. And then there’s people like me. Like when I go to see bands, bands that I like, I don’t tell them that I like them, like, I don’t tell them that I’ve come to see them a couple times, but I’m there. So I think there’s definitely people that have seen us a couple times that we don’t know about

Q: Do you guys name your guitars?
Michael: I don’t think anybody names their guitars, really we always name our van. Do you guys have any names for your guitars?
Johnny: Nah
Michael: The only experience I’ve ever had is from naming different vehicles-
Tanner: -I think I did but I don’t remember them. At one time maybe…
Michael: Yeah we’ve just done vans…Vangina, and Lt. Van. Forrest Gump’s our favorite movie

Q: You guys have been playing different opening slots throughout this tour…which spot do you prefer?
Tanner: We were just talking about that. I honestly don’t know. Playing second is awesome but you have absolutely no soundcheck and you have 15 minutes from when the first band finishes to when you go on. And you’re doing it in front of people. So, it’s nice to be first and have your soundcheck and leave and then come back and hopefully everything is the same.
Michael: It kind of depends on my stress level for the day
Tanner: Sometimes the second slots have gone well, like if it’s taking a long time for the venue to get people inside the room and there’s like a line outside and sometimes they’re slow about getting people inside then sometimes second can be beneficial
Johnny: Second and third are kind of the same, because third, there’s more people there which is a good thing…
Tanner: …yeah we’ve done all three this tour
Michael: Yeah, it makes it really hard to get into a certain groove or pattern but luckily everyone on this tour has been really easy to work with

Q: What would you say sets you apart from other emerging bands right now?
Michael: Music-
Tanner: Our willingness to kill them to get to the top, we’re not afraid to knock them off
Johnny: I’ve handmade some bow and arrows. I’m gonna snipe everyone on the foodchain
Tanner: Johnny might be a ninja
Johnny: But a true ninja does not reveal his secrets
Tanner: His ninja status?
Johnny: Or his whereabouts…I don’t think a true ninja drinks Budweiser either
Michael: I think the music, ya know, to be an up and coming and emerging band you have to know that you have to bust your ass all the time. So really in that way, hopefully for a lot of other emerging bands we’re the same. We’re always gonna work as hard as we can and hopefully harder than any other band that is in the same ya know group as us or same circumstances

Q: Which one of you would most likely survive a zombie apocalypse the longest?
Johnny: Damn that’s a good question
Michael: Well Tanner can’t run very fast so he’s probably out
Johnny: You don’t know his strategies though!
Tanner: Yeah I would eat the zombie first
Michael: But I’ve seen you in stressful situations and you kind of freak
Johnny: But I mean, listen, I think Tanner would be the one that would actually survive
Tanner: I’m the only one who has experience building bombs
Michael: I lit a driveway on fire once making homemade napalm, so I’ve got that going for me…Johnny’s kind of small so I don’t know that they would be interested in eating bones
Johnny: I’d be the first to go, me or Aaron
Michael: Aaron wouldn’t realize that the zombie apocalypse is happening
Tanner: Actually, I think he’s the answer because he would probably be the one person locked in a room that had no idea what was going on outside
Johnny: He’s snaking on chips
Tanner: He would be that one guy in the movie that wakes up from a coma and the rest of the world is zombies. But he wasn’t in a coma he was just eating chips the whole time.
Michael: We’d probably just all end up dead to be honest

01 Dec
2011

TAP Exclusive Interview: Chris Cester of DAMNDOGS

By drainu182 , Tags :


It seems like it was only last week but we haven’t seen DAMNDOGS perform live since their great set at our CMJ party at the Delancey in late October. The new indie/electronic/rock group made a huge splash at CMJ in support of their new EP Strange Behavior. The band’s frontman Chris Cester took a few minutes to chat with our writer Kathryn Nasto recently. Read it all below:

Hi! How are you?

I’m good!

So I just wanted to jump right in and tell you that I am loving the EP. It’s fantastic.

Oh great! Yeah, it’s been on heavy rotation. Thank you!

How’s the recording of the full length album coming?

Really, great. Funny you should ask actually, because the other guys are back in Australia right now and I’m just here [in LA] all alone, so we haven’t talked about it for a while. So we’ve been having a breather from it, trying not to look at it for a second so we can look at it from a distance. We hadn’t don’t anything for a couple of weeks, but last night i had a meeting with someone I really want to produce the record. We went and saw a show – it was bizarre it was in UCLA, so it was like a hole and security were militant – but it was great. We went and had a meeting, talked about the DAMNDOGs record which I really want to start working on at the beginning of January. Just after Christmas break but, we’ll probably end up starting in the middle of January.

Excellent. Cause I keep listening to the EP and thinking ‘I need more!’

Perfect. Cause that was what we wanted for the EP. I think the album is going to be really different too, I’m excited to tell you. The band has come along in leaps and bounds, and the songs are actually quite old. They’re new to everyone else, but because of my other commitments it took a long time to get to the point were we could record the EP and by that time those songs had been around for a while. The new stuff is coherent in sound, but exciting and different. I think we’ve created something people can be surprised by. It’s unlike anything that came from JET, which is the most exciting part.

I wanted to avoid JET references because when I listen to the EP I don’t hear it, it’s a totally different sound. So, I agree with you.

Yes, exactly. It’s completely different people. It’s not because it’s a dirty word, it’s just that we’re trying to establish this as its own thing. I think whenever you bring up a band name when you’re discussing music it’s a bad thing. Cause people are going to start thinking “oh, so it sounds like JET,” and that’s really not it. And with influences, I could say Elvis Presley, and a year later if you have success, people will just say “oh, he’s just ripping off Elvis Presley.” You can’t win. I just want people to listen and decode the music in their own brains.

This kind of feeds into a question I had. There’s a video on your youtube channel that says the band is good for people who are sick of the 80′s and the 90′s. And I loved that. So, which artists of the past five years have inspired you artistically?

That’s a good question! Oh that’s difficult to answer. I really respect how James Murphy and LCD Soundsystem managed to make people dance without reaching through a pop market. They really bridged a gap in a genius way, and that is inspirational. It’s just a shame they’re not making tunes anymore. I really fancied them. I also really loved the Odd Future record because it had something to say. God, we could talk about this all day.

Your CMJ shows were last month. How did those go?

They were great. I had never done CMJ before, so it was fun going in at 4AM. And there were still a lot of people there! Which was the surprising thing. I was getting nervous cause I was thinking ‘well, shit it’s 3AM and there’s still people here, but I can’t imagine them staying around much longer.’ But they did! That was our introduction show, and it was great. Then there was one the middle, in the day time and I was like ‘what the hell are doing in the daylight?” The last show was probably my favorite, when we played at the Bowery Electric. It was a fantastic venue, cause everyone could see. The audience was fantastic. The audience was genuinely looking to see something new, and I could feel that. You can’t always say that, but I could with this crowd. I saw other bands go on first, and I watched how they were reacting. I could just tell they wanted to see something new. That was perfect and exactly what we needed. We were playing to people who didn’t know us, and it was incredible watching people discover us from the stage.

Did all the showcases have a good reception from the crowd?

They were all fantastic. The one at the Brooklyn Bowl was strange. It’s a wonderful venue, but it was a funny pairing with Duke Spirit. Because were coming from a more electronic angle and less of a rock and roll one. I think the crowd was confused at first, it took maybe three or for songs but then they got really into it. That’s my favorite kind of audience. When you have to work hard for it, it’s so much more rewarding. When you manage to turn a room, then you’re doing something for humanity.

Ha! Good way of putting that.

Haha, by that I mean people go into situations and I honestly feel, that people have higher expectations. They have all these smart phones and computers in their hands, and they’re waiting to be impressed. So it’s twenty times harder to do that than it was five years ago. And when you manage to yank someone out of their private world, and show them something different, then I really think you’re doing something powerful.

Having been at gigs where a room can turn, I completely understand. Watching a room change and watching a band come into their own, that’s my favorite part of going to a show.

Isn’t it amazing? I mean I’m no better then the people I was just talking about. I’ll be in the audience going ‘ok, impress me.’ And it’s very hard for a band to do, they have to be on all the time. But when it happens you just go ‘oh my god,’ and you call everyone and you tell everyone and you say “this blew me away.” That’s why everyone loved The Hangover so much. Because you see the billboard and you think “this looks like the biggest piece of shit ever.” But it turned out to be really funny! That’s exactly it was brilliant, because I wasn’t expecting anything. The element of surprise the DAMNDOGs have right now I am really enjoying.

Get a billboard with your band logo on it.

Haha! And have it say ‘Some guys just can’t handle doom disco?’

Yes, haha. Sorted. So. how do your live shows compare to your live recordings?

We’re pretty obsessive. We go into biblical proportions to ensure that was is on the records comes off on the stage as well. The idea for us is that the sound gives people what they know, but the difference is that we’re there performing it – playing it out. That’s the show part. It’s not like we drink a bunch of vodka, get up there, and sweat all over the place. We’re trying to deliver a show and be tight. It’s more theatrical. Instead of a rock and roll thing, with a dangerous edge, it’s more controlled and it’s a challenge. But I’m enjoying it. It’s more fun because we put more into it.

You have a live tour coming up in Australia in the summer, which will be gorgeous.

Yeah, Australia is so great in the summer, there’s so many great beaches. We’re playing Homebake Festival, which is great. Grinderman is playing this year, and Cut Copy. And then a couple shows on the side in the Sydney area. It’s a pretty quick tour that we’re just doing to close out the tour. Then we’re gonna regroup and work out what songs we’re going to cut in January.

Oh, well, that answered my next question about your future plans!

Yeah, haha! Those are my plans!

Do you have a favorite track that you’ve worked on?

From the EP or the new album?

Either one! Pick what you like the most.

There’s a new song that we rehearsed and rehearsed for CMJ, but we decided not to play it. It just wasn’t ready. It’s almost the best thing I’ve ever heard, in terms of DAMNDOGs not ever in the world. It’s the best we have and it’s called “Daughter.” I’m excited to get back in there to finish it.

Do you have a title for the record?

No, not yet. We’re gonna wait and see what songs go on there, figure out what shape it takes before we name it.

Well, that’s it! Thank you so much for the chat. It was lovely!

You’re welcome! Talk to you soon!

http://www.damndogsmusic.com/
http://www.facebook.com/damndogstheband
http://twitter.com/#!/damndogs
http://www.youtube.com/damndogsmusic

17 Nov
2011

TAP Exclusive Interview: Gareth Campesinos

By drainu182 , Tags : ,

By Ace Ubas

Though the average age of Los Campesinos! is around 25 years old, the Cardiff-based seven-piece are considered veterans in the indie music scene. Since 2006, they’ve released four full-length albums with the latest, entitled Hello Sadness, having been released this past Tuesday. This month of November is shaping up to be their busiest as they played a few dates in the UK last week, only to arrive in New York on Wednesday for the beginning of a brief East coast tour.

Before their show, I had a chance to speak with lead vocalist Gareth Campesinos over the phone to talk about the new album, the lyric-writing process, and their relationship with their fans.

I want to congratulate you on the release of your fourth album, Hello Sadness.

Thank you very much. Our heads are a bit all over the place at the moment. We arrived in New York late last night. A mixture of jet lag and excitement of being here means we’re all a bit stir-crazy today.

Having recorded the previous albums in the US, how did you end up recording Hello Sadness in Spain?

Well, a series of very fortunate circumstances, I guess. Originally, we were going to try to do it cheaply in Cardiff. The Manic Street Preachers, who are a Cardiff band as well, had a studio we were hoping to use. And every time we nearly managed to book the studio up, they said “we actually need it to do this or that in that week.” Eventually, we were offered two overly paid gigs in Spain in the space of three or four days; one opening in a club and one playing a festival. We thought that seeing as we were in Spain and we’ve been paid this money to go there, we might as well stay there and make the most of it. We recorded in a studio that our management (Turnstile Music) has used before. They also manage Super Furry Animals, so they were familiar with the studio. We ended up recording there with John Goodmanson once again. It was the most incredible recording experience we’ve ever had; it was the most fun. It was a really enjoyable month that we spent there.

Speaking of John Goodmanson, this is the third album he has produced. What makes him the ideal producer?

By now, we know how he loves to work and he knows how we best work. I think going into recording an album, there’s enough things to worry about with regards to how ready the songs are and how you want the songs to finish up. Having to get to know a producer, both musically and socially, would be another really difficult thing. I think the fact that on Romance is Boring and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, the experiences that we had recording with him, those were so enjoyable. He’s such an easy-going, fun, and kind guy. It’s just really nice to be around him, let alone his production ability. It was never really a question. We always assumed that we’d be recording with him and hopefully he assumed that he’d be doing the record as well. I think that this is certainly the best production job we’ve achieved on the record. That’s a testament to the relationship, both working and personal, that we forged with John.

Before entering the recording studio, all the music had been written, but the lyrics weren’t. Why did you choose to write the lyrics when you got to Spain?

To be honest, the last two records as well, I always leave writing lyrics to the last minute anyway. I’m not the sort of person that will sit down with a notepad and pen, and be like “I need to get my feelings out and put them into a song.” I find the notion of that incredibly embarrassing and I wouldn’t really ever think like that. What generally motivates me to write is the pressure of knowing that I have to and that these songs are complete, and what they need is lyrics and vocals. When we recorded We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, all the lyrics for that record were written in the space of about three days because I was under pressure to do so. That seems to be how I work best.

In this case, I sort of attempted to start writing a bit earlier to see how that worked out for me. About a week before going into the studio, the relationship that I was in broke-up and that kind of meant that everything that I’d written for the record, up ‘til then, the context was entirely different. And perhaps the sentiment that I was putting across in the song, in the lyrics, wasn’t appropriate and wasn’t something I could connect with anymore. I sort of started from scratch and just worked on it in the studio. I’m very fortunate that my band-mates and Tom especially, who writes all the music, are understanding and sympathetic to that. I’ve been very lucky, that on every occasion where I’ve written like this, it’s all worked out well. But I’m sure in the future it will come back and kick me in the face.

Did the city you recorded in provide any inspiration in writing the lyrics?

In this case, I would say not at all. I think the environment that we were in was a very nice working environment. We recorded in a place called Figueres, which is in Girona near Barcelona. The surroundings were filled with trees and mountains, the weather was lovely, and there was a swimming pool. There was plenty of space to relax and to have peace, if you needed it. The surroundings, in that respect, allowed me to concentrate on writing and not be distracted. But actually being in Spain didn’t really find its way into the lyrics so much because it was just like being anywhere peaceful, quaint, and nice.

Your lyrics are very honest and straightforward, but they’re also dark. Are darker lyrics easier than happier ones?

Yeah, completely. When I was attempting to write lyrics initially, I was in a happy relationship and I found it very hard. It’s a lot easier to write a sad song or an unhappy song than a happy song. Themes and ideas that bring sadness to people are pretty universal, so I think writing a sad song is a lot easier in that respect. It’s fortunate enough, for the fate of the album, that my private life ended like it did.

Do you think the audience can relate more to the lyrics with the way they are?

It’s difficult to say. The specific points that I talk about in the song are personal to me. I try not to think any further about what people will take from it or what they’ll think about it. The ideas of heartbreak, sadness, and depression are pretty universal ones. I’d imagine that there’s a lot in these songs that people can empathize with.

The somber lyrics are paired up with upbeat music so there’s this sense of duality. What do you like about this juxtaposition?

I think it’s very interesting in how it allows people to take different things from the music. From the way people comment about our music, the initial feedback we get from people at shows, or in messages people send us, it’s clear that many people take comfort or enjoyment in the dark nature or the descriptiveness in the lyrics. There are also an equal number of people who enjoy it because they hear this upbeat music. It’s always really surreal when people will say “this song really, really cheered me up,” and I just think “well, that song’s about how depressed I am and how lonely I feel.” The fact that somebody can get such enjoyment out of that is weird, but it’s great that people can take different things from the music. Performing live is a very visceral experience for me to be singing these lyrics, which are quite dark I suppose, atop of this energetic, raucous, and aggressive music. Perhaps it’d be more suited, in theory, that these lyrics to fit atop some sparse, gloomy minor chords. To perform them as we do, in the way that we do, it means it can be quite a classic experience.

In the past couple of years, the band has seen some line-up changes. How was the songwriting process different for this album compared to the previous three albums?

Hardly at all. One thing people kind of miss when discussing how three people who were originally are in the band have left the band, those three people never contributed to writing songs when they were in the band. I don’t think the band would be, in theory, any different in direction now if they were still in the band.

Jason is one of the best drummers I’ve ever had the pleasure to see play. Kim (vocals/keyboards) has got a gorgeous voice and a music degree, so she’s well-informed on the technicalities and details of music, something that we haven’t necessarily had as much of in the past. And Rob (guitar) is used to writing and recording his own material. He’s recorded EP’s in the past of his solo stuff and produced it. In the three people that joined, we’ve got people who can really contribute in very important and very definite ways. I think every change that has occurred, not even considering the line-up as it is, we’re the most united and happy. We’re enjoying each others company more than we ever have. I also think that we’re undoubtedly strongest musically and technically.

Los Campesinos! tends to have a strong, personal relationship with a very devoted fanbase. How important is it to maintain this kind of relationship?

I certainly think it’s very important. If wasn’t important, I don’t think we’d make the effort because sometimes it can a bit strenuous and occasionally frustrating. The main reason we do it is because it makes the whole experience so much more enjoyable for us. You have to travel to the UK, then to come over to the States, South America, and all over Europe and Asia. We have this amazing opportunity to play to these people, who shouldn’t really have to know who our band is. There’s no reason why anyone should know who our band is. And then to get to meet them by selling merch after the shows, hanging out while watching the other bands play, through direct e-mail communication, or even something so small like Twitter or Facebook, it’s so nice to see that these people who care about our band have names, faces, and accents. If we met them in any other circumstance, there’s a huge number of people that we’d probably become friends with.

On the other hand, you do meet a lot of other people that are extremely irritating and often quite horrible people, who sort of feel like because they’ve come to your show, that you owe them to listen to what ever differences or irritating opinion they’re spouting . It’s only natural that you’re going to meet a lot of incredibly nice people, but not-so-nice people as well.

That relationship you have with your audience translates over into the live setting. Your band is very interactive with the crowd. Do you think bands should do more to break down that barrier between audience and performer?

I don’t think bands should do more. I think a lot of bands would enjoy it more if they did. There are probably some bands that breaking down that barrier wouldn’t suit things so much. A lot of bands’ music benefits from a sense of mystery or keeping things behind closed doors. But perhaps because of the nature of our music and our lyrics, it makes sense to break those barriers down and be as one-on-one with every person in the audience as possible. Equally, I wouldn’t say that any other band should do it that way because it just might not suit people. I think it should be something that bands do because they enjoy it, rather than they feel obligated to do it. And we certainly do enjoy it.

You’re currently on the East coast for a brief tour. Are there any plans to head out West?

Yeah we do. We’re very excited to. With this trip to the States, it kind of makes sense to just keep it to this area because it’s a very flying visit. I think mid-January next year, we’ve got a very long and expansive tour planned, which will be equal parts exciting and crippling for us because of the length of it and the nature of it is going to be intense. We haven’t really done a proper tour in the whole of 2011 because we’ve been recording, completing all aspects of the album, and playing festivals. We did a five-day tour in the UK last week and it just felt like we were kind of getting into our stride and getting into the swing of things of being on tour, and then it ended. We’re going to crawl all the way down the West coast next year. We’ve got a lot of friends on the West coast and we’ve played a lot of memorable and exciting gigs over there.

08 Nov
2011

TAP Exclusive Interview: Michael ‘Fitz’ Fitzpatrick of Fitz and The Tantrums

By drainu182 , Tags : ,

By Laura McWhorter

They say good things come in threes. Chipmunks, amigos, Austin Powers movies… In keeping with this rule, Fitz and the Tantrums will be making their third appearance of the year in Boston this Friday, November 11th. The L.A. outfit has been mercilessly touring for 15-months in support of their breakout album, ‘Pickin’ Up the Pieces’ and each time the show only gets better. We had the pleasure of catching up with Michael ‘Fitz’ Fitzpatrick last week to talk about the touring, the fans, the tunes and…Katy Perry?

I caught you guys at the WFNX show at Paradise Rock Club. That was a really great show.

Yeah that show was crazy. That was the loudest crowd we’ve ever had. I think we were all kind of stunned. I walked out off stage and I knew we were booking a fall tour and I called our booking agent and I said, ‘We’re gonna need a bigger venue next time,’ and he says, ‘I don’t know…’ and I was like, ‘Trust me.’

Do you adjust the stage show for these bigger venues?

No. We always put on that same show whether we’re literally in a 200-person club or playing at Lollapalooza. We always try and put on a big, extroverted, fun show. The only thing that changes is the bigger the stage, we might have to move around a little more across the stage but we really always try to put on the same show.

Do you prefer smaller venues or the bigger stages like the Lollapaloozas?

No, those are fun and incredible and definitely dreams come true but I will always love a hot, sweaty nightclub. Just that energy at like Paradise Lounge…you just can’t contain that in the same way in an outdoor setting on a big stage. There’s a lot more people but there’s just something about when everyone’s packed into that venue. There’s just nothing like that.

Are there any venues you wanna play that you haven’t had a chance to yet?

I grew up in L.A. so for me a dream come true would be to get to play the Hollywood bowl at some point. I would not be mad at that.

How do you get ready for a tour? You’ve been touring for a long time. Are there things you do to keep things fresh and make sure it’s always dynamic and different?

We’re always trying to push the show more. We’ve included new songs in the set. We’ve added some cool covers. Just for us, I think the nature of the way that we play the songs – we’re not just playing them perfect arrangement on the record. Every night has an improvisational element to it in terms of somebody’s doing a solo, someone has a bari sax breakdown…So, every night has a unique thing. It’s never gonna be exactly the same format so that always keeps it fresh for us and forces everyone to keep themselves on their toes.

Speaking of covers…can you give any spoiler alerts for any new covers on this tour?

I don’t know if we did it the last time but we do a ‘Steady as She Goes’ cover. Did we do that?

You did indeed. I danced like a moron to that one.

Yeah, that one we had just started to introduce. That was one of the first shows we did that. We’ll probably do that again and see if we can come up with a new one as well.

Are there any other artists you’re bumping right now to yourself?

We have this band that we’ve got out on the road with us called Walk the Moon that we really love – just loving their music…They’re definitely a band that we’re super into. Tune Yards is another band that James, our sax player, turned me on to that everyone’s really digging.

What’s the most embarrassing thing on your iPod?

Extraterrestrial by Katy Perry. It’s a good pop song. I think more people like it than admit.

Not unlike Miss Perry…you guys are blowing up pretty quickly this last year alone. When you win a Grammy…who’s the first person you thank?

Without sounding cliché…really would just have to thank the fans. Because although it seems from the outside that our ascension has been really fast, we’ve also been just working our asses off for three years straight … And we started to get more mainstream exposure in the last 8-9 months but really before that it was just about fans that were passionate telling five of their friends and dragging them all to the next show and converting them and them telling five people. That really has been the only reason that we’re having this success – real music lovers, real people, finding out about us…falling in love with our music and having this need to just tell everybody about us and we haven’t asked them to do that and it’s been incredible.

You guys are one of the more gracious bands that I’ve been able to interact with. What goes through your minds when you play a huge show and it’s the loudest crowd you’ve ever seen like at Paradise? Is that something you get used to?

I think it’s a matter of staying grounded and staying appreciative. And we as a band from the very beginning it was important to all of us to be humble and appreciative. We’ve all been in the business for quite some time and we all know what a good fortune this moment is. And it’s really hard to ever get to this level. Most people will never see this moment so it’s really important for us, as people, to just be very grounded and never forget that every day is a gift. And I think that people really respect us even more. They love our music, they love our performance and our musicianship…but they respect us as human beings and that’s equally as important to us.

In 20 years, if people only remember Fitz and the Tantrums for one song… Which would you be proud for it to be?

So hard to say! They’re all our babies and we love them equally. So hard for me. I feel like I’d be hurting the feelings of my other songs. If I had to pick one it would probably be ‘Don’t Gotta Work it Out’ or ‘MoneyGrabber’. Hmm…’Don’t Gotta Work it Out.’

I said in my review of their most recent show at Paradise Rock Club that you should see these guys. Now’s your chance, kids. They’ll be at House of Blues Friday and unless you can think of a better way to spend your Friday night than having a great time dancing along to great music with great people…I can’t stress enough how much you don’t want to miss out. Have I ever steered you wrong before? (Note: I know I usually write reviews and I’ve never technically ‘steered’ before…but you just kind of have to trust me.)

07 Nov
2011

TAP Exclusive Interview: Anthony Green of Circa Survive

By drainu182 , Tags : ,

Before Circa Survive’s show at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ (review/photos), the band’s lead singer Anthony Green sat down for a few minutes with our Keeyahtay Lewis (DeadBoltPhotos.com) to talk about the band’s tour with Maps & Atlases and Sleeper Agent, using a taser from a flea market and his plans for the next Circa Survive record as well as his solo records for 2012.

Watch the interview below:

01 Nov
2011

TAP Exclusive Interview: Brenda Malvini of North Highlands

By drainu182


Brenda Malvini used to live in North Highlands (outside of Sacramento) and describes it as “a gnarly suburb trapped in time. It sounds like a beautiful name but it’s not a beautiful place.” Though she’d move to Brooklyn, NY, Malvini fronts a band named after her old town. North Highlands, the band, just released their debut album Wild One (Stream it here) last week. Our writer Ace Ubas sent over some questions to Brenda about the new album, CMJ and what the future holds for North Highlands.

How did living near a military base influence you as an artist?

Images of growing up near McClellan Air Force Base will stick with me forever. It was like a park with jumbo jets and bowling! It’s actually called McClellan Park now! My grandfather retired when I was very little but still had access to the base and would take us bowling every Sunday. Bowling is huge in my family. Outside of the base, we were kids playing Double Dutch in the streets, who made mud pies and had chalk fights. We were surrounded by retired military families, the cat lady on one end of the street, a church on the other. Ice cream trucks followed by fire trucks followed by cop cars followed by more ice cream trucks. We slept outside and we swam in kiddie pools. If I ever have children, I want them to have that, though maybe skip the gun fights and arsony part.

How is Brooklyn different from North Highlands, in regards to creative inspiration?

Brooklyn is my present. Sometimes it feels like home and other times I want to leave it and never come back. I’m always wanting for something here. When I’m in other cities like Austin and Chicago, I want nothing, I need nothing. And I know that’s romantic but what is it about those places that seem so wonderful? They feel like home and I’ve never even lived there. The album is about Brooklyn. When we started recording, all I could talk about was wanting to leave New York but then thankfully the project distracted me. It wasn’t until after the songs were mixed that I actually listened to what I was saying… And then came the break down…and I wanted to move again… Haha.

In a previous interview, you mentioned that ‘movement’ is an inspiration for you. Could you go into more detail about how movement inspires you?

I need to be in constant motion to be happy. I guess I need to be in between New York and somewhere else in order for my brain to function properly. I just need space I guess. And also- I hate talking everything to death. Don’t ask me how I feel, let me show you- Like that point in the night where everyone is drunk and talking too much and no one is making sense anymore– until somebody starts dancing. And then we all dance and finally everyone starts having fun because we aren’t thinking and feeling everything so damn hard.

Why did you choose Wild One to be the name of the album?

I think that Roundhouse encapsulates what we wanted to achieve on the album. Which is where Wild One comes from. Each song on the album is sort of a nod to the next and Roundhouse is the final say (even though, Here’s is actually the last song on the album). I must mention the album cover plays a huge role in Wild One’s meaning- a photo Daniel Stewart found of his grandmother’s bowling league. Imagine that group of prim and proper gals, as their mothers cars’ turn the corner, pulling out red lip stick, cigarettes, and liquor out of those bowling bags. Wild One. This city can be a lot of fun, but man it’s a lot of work going home to mom and trying to hide the new tattoos. And man does she have a past hiding in a box somewhere.

What was the writing process like for Wild One?

We worked on the album in the winter, literally through every fucking blizzard we’d walk to our space to write. I don’t know how we did it. Mike would come in with a sketch or I’d come in with a sketch and we’d jam on it for a bit. When the full band was all together and someone was working on a part, they might try goofing off- over stylizing something and going way overboard on that style, and this generally would make us bust out laughing and say, “Dude, let’s work that in, let’s work that in!” That’s generally how each song went and I guess that’s why there are a lot of different parts to our songs. But when it came time to finish the words for the album, I couldn’t do it here in Brooklyn, I was really stuck. We each overdubbed individually at Fancy Time Studios, in Philly. So it was really exciting receiving the demos after one of us had been there. And that pretty much changed how I felt about most of the songs, I heard them differently and it really inspired me to finish the others. It was on the bus back and forth to Philly and even on the couch of the studio where I was able to finish the album.

What were you and the rest of the band listening to while writing album?

I would go between Beck, Deerhunter, The Beach Boys, Bear In Heaven, Deerhoof, and Dirty Projectors, and Kraftwerk. Mike was listening to Twin Shadow and Bad Brains, Jasper was listening to Glasser and Television (Marquee Moon), Daniel was listening to Teddy Pendergrass and Shuggie Otis, Andy was listening to Fleetwood Mac (Tusk). It should be noted that on the way over to track the album at Carriage House Studios in Connecticut, Daniel introduced me to David Wise. We listened to Aquatic Ambiance over and over and over until we got there.

The title of the closing track, ‘Here’s,’ sounds as if it’s incomplete. Was it because you wanted the listener to create their own meaning of the song or another reason completely?

‘Here’s’ is a pet name. All of the song titles are pet names actually. The full title is, “Here’s To You” but we always just end up calling it “Here’s.” Interesting story right?!?

Is there really a place where fun and love go to die?

Indeed there is. You know when you really get to know someone, like really get to know them, and then can’t realize why you liked them in the first place? That’s where it goes.

What made Kyle “Slick” Johnson the right choice to produce the album?

I think Kyle was the right choice because he was so damn honest with us right from the beginning. It was refreshing. Upon first meeting, we worked on some songs together and ripped em’ apart. Man was it exciting to hear his ideas. This guy wants to work with us!? Not only did he understand what sound we were shooting for, he really got us. And that got me excited about writing again. It was quite the adventure working with him, best adventure ever.

Is there a tour in the works to promote the album?

We are seriously working on it. If we can get to the west coast by next spring (which is where a three of us are from) I think our hearts will explode.

You’ve recently played CMJ. What was the experience of playing your first-ever music festival like?

Actually this was our third CMJ! The first year we kiiiiinda used the back door and jumped on a show that a friend bailed on, the second year we did some fun shows in Brooklyn, and this year we were officially on the festival. And it was a blast! It coincided with the release of Wild One, which made it a super huge party. CMJ Week= Shooting a music video in two days + Beer + Shows + Day Job + Beer+ Pizza+ More Shows. It was awesome.

The instruments used on the album span a wide range (mandolin, violin). What other instruments would you like to incorporate on future songs?

Maybe a larger string ensemble, and some fun electronic stuff. We joke about me having a keyboard cage one day. Just like Genesis:

In your bio, your tour van is called ‘Dad.’ What’s the story behind the name?

He’s rusty, he moves slow, he’s got a beer gut, and he burps at the dinner table. He’s Dad!

How does North Highlands plan to close out the rest of the year?

We’ll be releasing a music video for “Benefits” in the next few weeks. We hope to make a few out of town dates before we break for the holidays and press Wild One to vinyl before the new year. And I guess it’s time to start writing again!

Pick Up Wild One on iTunes or Amazon MP3

http://north-highlands.bandcamp.com/

31 Oct
2011

TAP Exclusive Interview: Shirley Manson of Garbage

By drainu182 , Tags : ,

By Tina Benitez

Nearly 20 years since their self-titled debut, Garbage are aware that nothing will ever be like their first—and why should it? “We’ll never sound like the first record again,” says singer Shirley Manson. The Scottish-bred “Supervixen” admits that she felt like a complete innocent when she first joined Garbage, but that was a long time ago. If Manson felt naïve back then, it didn’t show as the raccoon-eyed, sex kitten crooned out dark, pop echoes of “Only Happy When it Rains,” reaffirmed the need for more female prowess in “Stupid Girl” or revealed a blatant girl-boy seduction in “Queer.” Manson, now 45, still oozes that sexy that some female front women work to attain. She’s even retained her potty mouth, randomly blurting out “fuck” in most sentences. Perhaps some things do remain the same, but almost two decades since their inception, there’s an older, wiser Garbage working on their fifth studio album, due out spring 2012.

“What I feel people are responding to this time is that there’s a lot of energy, and I feel like that is totally reminiscent of our first record,” says Manson. “It’s hard to do when you’re on your fifth record and you’re much older and you’ve seen a lot more. It’s hard to capture that sort of naïveté, and I feel like we have. It may not be the first album, and it doesn’t have to be.”

Maybe a glimmer of early Garbage is present, according to Manson, since she and the band are “mildly abnormal,” so it’s easy for them to tap into their childish notions with a lack of sophistication. Or perhaps Garbage has simply grown up, and the six-year hiatus since their last studio album, Bleed Like Me, has done them some good. During the band’s break, Manson wrote and recorded several songs for a yet-to-be-released solo album and was a regular, liquid metal terminator Catherine Weaver in the 2009 series “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” Manson recently starred in the upcoming “Knife Fight” with “Modern Family” mom Julie Bowen and brat packer Rob Lowe but admits that even if acting is something she’d like to continue to pursue, she still has a lot to learn, and Garbage is her focus. Drummer and founding member Butch Vig continued doing what he’s always done: producing. Keeping himself busy with Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown (2009), Muse’s Neutron Star Collision and the Foo Fighters’ latest Wasting Light, Vig is once again at the helm of the band he helped form in 1994.

Garbage is now clear of all the refuse of past corporate obligations and refuse to respond to any premature business decisions until the new record is complete. Past business commitments were something Manson says contributed to sucking the life of out of her by the end of the Bleed tour and part of the reason why the band eventually needed a long break in the end. After hitting their highest charts with Bleed Like Me at No. 4 (Garbage’s first-ever top ten album in the US), the band were called into a meeting and told “You’re kind of fucked,” says Manson. More than 17 million records worldwide throughout their first decade together and their recent tour already sold out still wasn’t enough. “They sort of pissed on our parade, and we just thought this is insanity,” says Manson. “We were running trying to live out someone else’s dream. Now, we’ll tease any tracks we feel we should and reintroduce ourselves and … fuck that as they say in Scotland.”

Far from their former, Madison, Wisc. haven Smart Studios, founded by Vig and guitarist Steve Marker and where the band recorded all four of their previous albums, Garbage moved their recording post to Los Angeles where Manson and Vig now live. “There’s no deeper reason [for the move] than practicality,” says Manson. “I wish I had more fantastic explanation like we got hijacked and taken to this hideout with these rebels. I would love if it was something that mental, but seriously, I don’t want to ever get kidnapped.”

Collaborating proves more chaotic than recording locale. Ideas mentioned over the telephone. Scraps of paper or a riff that didn’t quite fit on one song a few years ago and was never used—or other lyrics shoved away in someone’s computer. It’s rare for one band member to come in with a finished idea, according to Manson. This is how Garbage operates. “Over the course of working on the song, we disassemble it,” says Manson. “To be perfectly honest, we’re not particularly good musicians, so that has defined our style. We’re not virtuosos by any stretch of the imagination, and as a result that defines how we approach our music for better and for worse.”

Manson knows it’s a new era for Garbage. She gets that magic of discovering a new band and how fans will always love the Garbage of the 1990s but trusts that get this new age. “I don’t want to make a record that I made in my ’20s,” she says. “I want to make a record now, of who I am now in my ’40s. I want to be an adult. I’ve been there. I’ve done that, and I’m totally different now. So, there you have it.”

Read more of Tina’s work at http://tinabenitez.wordpress.com/

29 Oct
2011

Fanfarlo Light Up Mercury Lounge (Review + Photos)

By drainu182 , Tags : , ,

Written by Tina Benitez, Photos by Patrick Eves
 
Nearly two years ago, Fanfarlo closed their tour at New York’s Webster Hall with a man suspended in the air above the London quintet performing Houdini’s hanging straightjacket escape emulating the act featured in the band’s “The Walls Are Coming Down” video. The setting was much more placid but still as magical Thursday night at Mercury Lounge as the indie pop band returned to New York to a sold-out crowd.

Their first time in a long while, the band played Boston a few days earlier in a move to regain their footing and remember what it feels like to play again since their 2009 debut Reservoir. “To me it did feel a little like coming back home,” said drummer Amos Memon prior to the show.

Supporting their upcoming sophomore release Rooms Filled with Light, due out February 2012, the band played an early set full of new singles “Replicate,” featuring more electric instrumentation, first single “Deconstruction” and “Tunguska” with Reservoir tracks like the ethereal, sweet lullaby of “Luna” and “I’m a Pilot” gluing together the 13-song set. “We love you too,” said singer Simon Balthazar. “It’s been too long, two years, 10, 12 years.”

This time around, the band worked with Atlanta producer Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Deer Hunter, Cee Lo) for Rooms and abandoned some Reservoir instruments in the process. Violinist and keyboardist Cathy Lucas decided she didn’t want to play a particular style of violin anymore while Simon started using electric guitar more and writing songs on the keyboard instead of acoustic.

“We went back to the drawing board and started fresh,” says Memon. “We ditched some instruments like the mandolin, the acoustic guitar and replaced those with more synthesizers, so it’s like painting with different colors. As musicians we’ve grown. The new album is edgy but retains its melodic side.”

Read more of Tina’s work at http://tinabenitez.wordpress.com/ and check out more of Patrick’s photos at HippieDeathBed.com

1 2 3 4 Next > ... Last »
MMN Publisher Privacy Policy