Musiqtone.com
This year at SXSW in Austin, TX I had the pleasure of sitting down with quite a few bands at Big Picture Media’s showcase day. I was able to see all the bands I interviewed perform live later in the day. I highly recommend all of these bands and I look forward to seeing where they go and what they do in the future. In these interviews I have summarized the bands answers as a whole, since all the members were contributing to the questions I asked.
The Body Rampant – JM Lopez (vocals), Jacob Nichols (guitar), Joseph Rojas (drums), Berel Steinberg (bass/vocals); from Los Angeles, CA
Winfield: How did you all meet and what is the story behind the Body Rampant’s name?
The Body Rampant: The band name really comes from a poem. It comes from a Jim Morrison poem, which is kind of just like let your body and your mind roam and just do whatever you want. As far as how we all met, about 5 years ago we were in different hardcore bands that toured together. We basically started this band in a barn, we had very humble beginnings and we started writing music in my cousin’s barn where we could make loud music. Then it got picked up by Casey Bates to go make an EP. Things happen so fast and now we’re at South By. We definitely did a lot of really cool shit when we were in the really early stages of our career, then we met Dana [Big Picture Media], and she hooked us up. So she had us out here last year when we had just released our EP. Everything’s been moving really quick.
Winfield: Your EP, Transient Years, was released back in April, what can fans expect from your full-length when that is released?
The Body Rampant: Umm, a lot more heavy metal, jazzersize and a soundtrack video. We’re not just going to be a rock band. We’re pioneers, we’re trying to do new sh*t. Definitely diversifying; just working with different producers, we’ve done enough with enough people to see all the different styles. But we really just want to make sh*t that we like, we don’t really give a f*ck what other people think about our music to be honest with you. It’s rad that people like your music, but at the end of the day we’ve had so many people try to change what we’re doing, like our last producers where trying to add in all these ideas, which is cool, but we just want to do what makes us happy. At the end of the day if we’re happy with what we’re doing, that’s all that matters. As long as we’re progressing in some way we’re happy.
Winfield: So I read somewhere that you all wear masks when you perform on stage. What is the story behind those and what made you decide to wear masks when performing?
The Body Rampant: Well the story behind that is there’s a really cool artist out in California and he’s basically just an idol of mine, since I was a little kid. I just see his artwork everywhere. We emailed him to ask us to work for us, he denied us. We emailed him a couple more times, and got him to make us these masks. Basically we use the masks as bait. It’s 2012, it’s hard as f*ck, there’s millions of bands out there and we’re proud of our music and what we do, but without the masses we wouldn’t be where we are now. The masks represent the name of the band because they have such crazy characteristics and “The Body Rampant” means your body going crazy.
Asleep – Todd Kaden (vocals/guitar), Jon Dean (guitar), Cory Snyder (bass/vocals), Ian James (Percussion); from Youngstown/Cleveland, OH
Winfield: Your most recent album, Unpleasant Companion, was recorded in 4 days. What was the reasoning behind recording in such a short period and what was that process like?
Asleep: It was much more spontaneous, for sure. It was a situation where we didn’t have too much time to think it through, which sort of just brings it out more, and that’s what we were seeking. That and where we recorded, we knew that it was an all analog thing and it was kind of done like a 70’s recording. 16 tracks, all analog. We had never experienced that before, we had the opportunity to do it and we couldn’t say no.
Winfield: Could you talk a little bit about the inspiration behind the new album?
Asleep: All sorts of inspiration, I mean, what inspires me is just to be on the same page with people, people that stick to their own guns and that do things on their own terms and that wake up and love their job, as opposed to just becoming lost and settling into that ‘everything’s nice and non-hectic’ kind of situation. The inspiration is to just keep going and keep making music, meeting as many new people as possible and experience culture and everything.
Winfield: What is a fun fact about Asleep that fans would want to know?
Asleep: We’ve fueled this entire trip on Indian Head Pumpkin Seeds! Those things are great. I think they put opium in the food coloring, hahah. Oh, we built a robot, a 15 foot robot! That’s pretty fun. We brought it down to South By last year and it has a big boxing glove on one hand and a big beer bottle on the other hand.
Mercies – Josh Rheault (vocals/guitar), Sammy Dent (drums), Jordan Flower (bass); from Suffield, CT
Winfield: I read that you go to a barn in Connecticut to write and record music, what is the story behind the barn and how does it affect your music making process?
Mercies: The barn was kind of just what you think of when you think ‘barn’, it was kind of junk. Anyway it became a place to store gear and a place to play music really loud and whatnot. When we started writing we would go down there and hash out ideas. We started restoring the barn so it was a little more livable, put in floors and whatnot. Yeah, for Three Thousand Days, when we were recording it, the barn was still under construction so there was kind of stuff lying around and we used different things as percussion. It’s also really instrumental in how we write music. It’s a great place to be in, it’s really inspiring, and for us, we like to use space a lot, we don’t like to use that studio sound where everything’s dry and you add fake reverb afterwards. We like really roomy, big sounds. So, the barn allows us to do that.
Winfield: Your debut album, Three Thousand Days, was very successful. What can fans expect from your upcoming EP, the Ballet?
Mercies: Well the Ballet EP has a ballet that we wrote. We were commissioned by a ballet company in Virginia to write a piece. So the EP has the music for that ballet and then it also has two songs, old songs, that we’ve reworked and then a brand new song.
Winfield: What is the band dynamic like when choosing what songs to put on your album/EP?
Mercies: Just argument upon argument and fist-fights [entire band laughs]. No, we were all friends before being in this band, so there’s really no egos involved. We’ve been in other projects where that may have been an issue, but for us it’s whatever is best for the song, whatever is best for us for the record as a whole. It’s easy, we try to be adults.
Car Party – Michael Natzke (vocals), Chris Martin (bass/vocals), Taylor Hughes (drums/vocals), Jim Luparello (guitar); from Baltimore, MD
Winfield: How did you come together as a band and is there a story behind the name ‘Car Party’?
Taylor Hughes: Okay, I’ll take this one. I posted a Craig’s List add in 2009 and I found all of these wonderful people, but Chris is the only one that I didn’t find on Craig’s List. After we kind of formed with an alternate line up from what we have now, we found him on tour with another band and I was like, well this is what we need to kind of complete the package. So two weeks later we kind of poached him and put him in our band. Mike had an ad out when I posted mine and I saw ‘pop singer looking for something along the lines of Say Anything, Motion City Soundtrack’, and it’s like I love this kid already, so I’m gonna have to talk to him. Jim came about a little bit later after we finished recording High and Low Places. I like to tell this story, it sounds way more cool this way, Jim was basically in our driveway when we got home. He had his amps, his guitars, and we were like okay, well this is great. He already knew the songs, like he came prepared. The name came from me living in the middle of nowhere. Baltimore is the closest city, it’s like 45 minutes away. So we would take these random adventures, just to get around Baltimore, site-see, it became like a party and that’s what we called it. We were trying to come up with a name and we went on a drive to think about it and decided by the time we came back we would have name. We had been a band for a couple months and we really needed a name. Why not Car Party? It’s catchy, it’s cool.
Winfield: In 2011 you landed an endorsement from Orange Amplifiers and toured on the Substream Music Tour, what was that experience like?
Car Party: It was eye opening. That was our first real tour, and not to be depressing, but you realize not everyone’s out to help you. There are people you need to look out for. We learned how to watch our backs and how to network with other people properly. It was just an all-round eye opening experience and a bonding experience. To get to work with somebody like Orange, just as a music fan, you see people play really cool gear and to have one of these companies dig what you’re doing so much that they want to support you, it’s a really awesome feeling. It’s like keep doing what you’re doing, we’re backing it.
Winfield: Do you have any big plans for 2012?
Car Party: Right now, we just got off of a tour and in a few weeks we leave for another Substream/Orange tour that we’re doing in the Midwest and North East. May is being worked on right now. There are a couple of different options, we’ve just got to see which one fits us best. But in June we’re doing Virginia to Florida. So we have a good bit of touring going on in the Midwest and the east coast. The goal right now is to be on the west coast for this upcoming fall. In between that we’re gonna be recording. We’re about to release a new single, it comes out April 3. Then we’ll be writing more and looking to put that on either an EP or a full length, whatever we have time to do. 2012 is pretty busy right now.
Lily & the Parlour Tricks – Lily Claire (lead vocals), Angelo Spagnolo (guitar), Brian Kesley (bass), Terry Moore (drums), Morgane Moulherat (harmonies), Darah Golub (harmonies); from Brooklyn, NY
Winfield: Could you talk a little bit about how you came together as a band and about your style of music?
Lily: We’ve been friends for a while; we formed the band two years ago. It was sort of kismet. The style of music is good old-fashioned rock and roll, I guess. There’s a little bit of weird thrown in.
Winfield: What are some of the inspirations behind your EP?
Lily: Music that I’ve listened to my whole life. Early rock and roll is a huge influence. Elvis Presely, Buddy Holly, jazz from the 1920’s and 30’s is a big influence. Also, we all draw from a lot of different stuff, there are a lot of modern influences as well. We somehow merge them together.
Winfield: As a band, what is the song writing process like and how do you decide which songs to put on the EP?
Lily: I write fundamentally, and then I bring a draft to everyone and we arrange all together. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t. Usually when things work, it works instantly. We have something where we’re like alright we’re done. We don’t want to give up, we’re efficient. Yeah, that’s pretty much how it works. Everyone has their input. There’s sort of a crucial harmony to what we do.
The Ugly Club – Ryan Egan (vocals/guitar), Joe Stasio (guitar/vocals/production), Taylor Mandel (keyboard/trumpet/vocals), Rick Sue-Poi (bass), Ryan McNulty (drums); from South Plainfield, NJ
Winfield: Could you talk some about the sound of your music and the inspirations behind it?
The Ugly Club: We generally describe it as a psychedelic, indie-rock kind of sound, like reminiscent of My Morning Jacket or Wilco. Everyone in the band comes from a different musical background, like jazz, electronic music, funk, rock music, so it’s pretty diverse and at this point we’ve been playing long enough where we have our sound and those other influences just kind of come in naturally. It makes for a good thing.
Winfield: Coming from such different musical backgrounds, how did you decide to come together to form a band?
The Ugly Club: Probably in the most natural way, like some of us played music together in school. We’ve also played in various bands. We’re from New Jersey, so some of us were playing in different bands together and in that case we appreciate each other as individual musicians, like oh that guy’s a great drummer when he’s in that band, and that guy’s awesome at whatever instrument. So it just happens that some of our bands broke up at similar times and we just got together recording music just for fun and then we had a collection of songs and were like alright, let’s play a show and it snowballed from there.
Winfield: Your full-length album is due out this summer, what was the process like for writing and picking the songs that will go on this album?
The Ugly Club: That’s still kind of in the process. We know what’s going to be on the record and we’re halfway through recording it. We have a batch of like 15 songs, we’ve been playing them live for about a year now and they’ve just been brewing and expanding. Even as late as this tour we’ve been playing on the street a lot and I think all of our songs have been fully realized at this point. By the time we record them they’ll be at their full potential and we’re really excited to get them out and the album as a whole is going to be the best representation of what we’re doing. Our guitar player, Joe, is the engineer and producer so we’re fully hands on with it and trying to record it and produce it to be whatever we want it to be.
This is an excerpt from our official review of One Direction’s Up All Night, which recently made history by doing what no other UK act could do on the US album charts, debut at no. 1 with their debut album! To read further more why Up All Night earned the fourth near-perfect score of 2012…
Name: Up All Night
Record Label: Columbia Records
U.S. Release Date- March 13, 2012
Rating 4.9 out of 5
Review written by: Hailey Sager
In my opinion, Simon Cowell is a genius at many things, especially when it comes to the boy bands he helps to create. Already under his belt were the British boy band sensations, Five and Westlife, among others. When he chose to save solo artists Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles from leaving The X Factor by forming them into a boy band, they finished third in the competition. After the competition was over, One Direction signed to Sony Records under Simon Cowell’s label, Syco Records in the United Kingdom, and Columbia Records here in the US.
Up All Night’s US release helped One Direction break the record that the Spice Girls set in 1997 for the highest debut of a British act. One Direction had their US album debut at Number 1 while in 1997 Spice Girls’ album ‘Spice’ debuted at Number 6 on the Billboard charts, (Billboard.com).
So far, One Direction’s first three singles have been the first three songs off of Up All Night in order. This was a great way to give fans a preview of what was to come from the band when the fans bought the album. “What Makes You Beautiful” sets the mood right off the bat that the rest of the album will be filled with inspirational music for their fans to continuously dance and sing along to no matter where they are. Generally, anytime a song is overplayed on the radio, it becomes a nuisance. But when I hear “What Makes You Beautiful” on the radio, I want to have a dance party on the roof of my car in the middle of the highway.
When “Gotta Be You” was released as the second single off of Up All Night, it showed that this album was going to have an eclectic range of melodies throughout the album. Liam’s strong solo vocals leading into Harry’s solo is a key element on a few of the songs on Up All Night and “Gotta Be You” is no exception. This element was a great fit into “Gotta Be You” at the beginning of the album proving that the band is filled with real raw vocal talent.
To read more, click here
Friday, March 16
I was able to interview some amazing bands today at the Big Picture Media Showcase. Interviews will posted soon from The Body Rampant, Asleep, To Write Love On Her Arms (non-profit), Mercies, Car Party, We Are The In Crowd, Lily & The Parlour Tricks, Super Prime, Casey Desmond, Glory Days, The Ugly Club, and June Divided.
I was also able to see The Gallery, The Ugly Club, Mercies, Casey Desmond, and Lily & the Parlour Tricks live at this showcase. All of these bands are amazing and have really unique styles, I highly recommend checking them out.
Later that evening I went to the Glamour Kills showcase (about half way through) and saw Bad Rabbits, The Early November, and Now, Now. Again, such amazing bands.
Saturday, March 17
The two big musicians I saw this day were Forever The Sickest Kids and Lights. I spent a lot of the day exploring, doing some touristy things, and watching some local musicians. Before I saw Lights (who played at 1am), I ended up talking to a bartender who was also a musician in Austin. His band is called “Michael Holt and the Trophy 500’s” and they play 50s and 60s style rock and roll. I checked them out and if you like classic rock you should definitely look them up!
Overall SXSW was an amazing experience, if you get the chance to go I would highly recommend it. You will meet great people and have the best stories to tell your friends when you get home.
written by: Winfield Dean
Today was one of the days I was super excited for. I spent the day walking around 6th street and hanging out at the Blind Pig Pub where Big Picture Media was hosting a showcase. I managed to see States and Every Avenue later in the evening. Both put on an amazing show even though the crowd was a little thin.
Later that evening I made my way to the Auditorium Shores Stage, down by Lady Bird Lake (Town Lake known by locals), to see the Shins. There were hundreds of people just hanging out and having a good time.
Tip:
Wear comfortable walking shoes. I’ve been wearing my combat boots everyday since I’ve been here, my feet hurt by the end of the day, but at least I’m not one of those girls wearing 4 inch heels complaining 3 hours into the day.
written by: Winfield Dean
Tip of the day for SXSW:
Make sure you make time to get food throughout the day. It’s really easy to forget to eat when you’re running around trying to fit in all of your favorite bands in one day. There are food trucks everywhere for SXSW so stop every once in a while, especially if you’re 21+ and you start drinking rather early in the day ;).
Tuesday is when SXSW music really starts to pick up. I took the time this day to explore sixth street, watch all of the street musicians and just watch a lot of local Austin bands that I wouldn’t be able to see elsewhere.
written by: Winfield Dean
SXSW is one of the largest festivals in the US, taking place in the live music capital of Austin, Texas. As you could imagine, as a first-timer to SXSW I was little apprehensive and wasn’t sure what to expect.
First of all, hotel prices skyrocket in Austin during this week. If you’re going to attend SXSW I highly recommend looking for an apartment to rent or even better, use your connections and find someone that will let you stay with them for free.
SXSW may seem a bit overwhelming to someone going for the first time. There’s always 20 things going on at the same time and it may seem daunting when making a schedule. Use this to your advantage. RSVP to everything you can and add as many things to your schedule as possible. Leave yourself open to as many possibilities. Your schedule will morph as the week goes on, so be open to going with the flow.
Highlights of Music Day 1:
- Sphynx: A local band from here in Austin. They have an interesting pop/rock 80s sound and are very high energy guys on stage. (http://sphynx.fourfour.com/)
- Blame Shift: Female-fronted pop rock band from New York. http://www.myspace.com/blameshift
“Gravity” could be defied when you watch the new video from alt/rockers Hit The Lights, now signed to Razor & Tie! Tell us what you think!
By Alan Ho
They have one of the most enduring graduation themes in the last generation (“Here’s To The Night”) and after a breakup, an attempt to reinvent with a new lineup and finally the long-awaited reunification, Eve 6 is back and ready to bring new music. Their fourth album and first with indie power players Fearless Records, titled “Speak In Code” will also be their first album with the original lineup since the initial breakup in 2004.
“Overall I’m really proud of it, and I think we’re doing right by our fans, who’ve waited a long time for us to make another record. I think we’re giving them something they’ll enjoy,” says singer/bassist Max Collins in their official band bio. “Once we got in the studio there was a lot of energy. There aren’t any filler moments; each song has its purpose. This is the strongest collection of songs we’ve ever had on one record.”
“In some of the songs frustration is a theme. I was sort of looking at difficult personal relationships with a humorous spin in some places, and with more earnestness in others,” explains Collins on their official website. “The title [Speak In Code] is a lyric from ‘Curtain,’ and there was something kind of evocative about it. In that song, I’m referring to being newly sober and just feeling like an open nerve, feeling freaked out, having people and life being sort of overwhelming. It’s almost like people are speaking a language you don’t understand.”
Are you excited for the return of Eve6? Let us know!
Check out after the jump the lyric video to their first single in nearly 8 years “Victoria”, which will be on their upcoming album. Also check out “Lost and Found” and go behind the scenes with the band as they talk reunion and recording an album nearly 8 years in the making! So we got a lot of videos…
“Victoria” Lyric Video:
Lost & Found Lyric Video:
“Behind The Curtains” Special:
By Alan Ho
Who: Carly Rae Jepsen
Where: Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Sounds like: Natalie Imbruglia, Tamar Kaprelian, Erin McCarley, Sara Bareilles
Already well-acclaimed in her own native Canada, the 25 year old pop singer-songwriter whose roots are firmly planted in the James Taylor folk classics Jepsen was fed on a regular basis in her childhood is on the cusp of taking her folk-infused breezy pop to the United States. The multiple Juno Award-nominated act and onetime Canadian Idol will look to conquer the US with a man who launched a fellow Canadian to superstardom in America and the rest of the world and his name is Scooter Braun. Now signed to Braun’s full service record label and management company Schoolboy Records, it will not be too long before the US starts drumming their feet to songs like “Curiousity” and her music video debut, “Call Me Maybe”. The Spotlight would like to call out right now this instant that we smell a potential star right here!
Music Video: Call Me Maybe (vote for it on The Countdown!)
By Alan Ho The spring tour machine continues to get ready to rev in high gear as pop-rockers A Rocket to the Moon announced today (Feb. 27) that they will go on the road to support the All-American Rejects on the “Kids In The Street” Tour. The tour kicks off April 2 in Albuquerque and will hit just about every major market like Chicago April 9 at The Metro, a hometown show in Boston April 28 and concludes May 13 in Cincinnati. A Rocket to the Moon performed a string of headline dates in The Philippines earlier this month which Alternative Press caught up with Andrew Cook for a tour diary. The band has just recently completed studio time as announced earlier in Nashville with big time country producer Mark Bright (Carrie Underwood, Reba, Rascal Flatts) for their upcoming album. The still untitled release is already garnering buzz, named to Alternative Press’ “Most Anticipated Albums in 2012”. Tour: A ROCKET TO THE MOON // ON TOUR: Supporting The All-American Rejects April 2 – Albuquerque, MN @ Sunshine Theater April 4 – Kansas City, MO @ Beaumont Club April 5 – Kearney, NE @ University of Nebraska-Kearney April 6 – Oklahoma City OK @ Diamond Ballroom April 7 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant April 9 – Chicago, IL @ Metro April 10 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues April 11 – Detroit, MI @ Motor City Casino April 13 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Borgata April 15 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club April 17 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre April 18 – Montreal, QC @ Le National April 20 – Potsdam, NY @ Clarkson University April 21 – Clifton Park, NY @ Northern Lights April 22 – N. Hampton, MA @ Pearl Street April 24 – Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club April 25 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE April 27 – Cambridge, MA @ MIT April 28 – Boston, MA @ Royle April 29 – Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live May 1 – Richmond, VA @ The National May 2 – Norfolk, VA @ Norva May 4 – Orlando, FL @ Beacham Theatre May 9 – Ashville, NC @ The Orange Peel May 11 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore May 12 – Louisville, KY @ Expo Live May 13 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
