Category: All Interviews
Shaky Knees 2017: Ron Gallo x Vinyl Mag
Every sound has been explored. So the thing it comes back to is, what can you contribute to the world? What can you actually give to people that is beneficial to them or can better their lives or make them think or make them feel?
Ron Gallo is calling us out.
The ex-Toy Soldiers frontman recently released his first solo album Heavy Meta, an aggressive departure from his roots Americana past. The album’s heavy, energetic garage rock vibes may make it impossible for you to sit still in your seat, but they’ll knock you right back down again if you pay any attention to the lyrics. The Nashville by way of Philadelphia artist’s debut is a raw and poetic expression of frustration, holding a glaring mirror up to societal issues, sometimes ironically, and oftentimes more harshly.
I sat down with Gallo at Atlanta’s Shaky Knees Music Festival to discuss Heavy Meta and where he goes from here.
Vinyl Mag: Who are you most excited to see this weekend?
Ron Gallo: J. Roddy [& The Business]. On Thursday, we did the kickoff party with FIDLAR and Twin Peaks. And they were both amazing, and then they were the two bands I was most excited to see again. We caught FIDLAR again, and we missed Twin Peaks, because we were parking. Third Eye Blind for sure. I would say Ryan Adams, but he’ll probably cancel an hour before his set. I actually want to see Hamilton Leithauser, because I was a big Walkmen fan.
VM: Do you have any go-to Atlanta activities?
RG: We always end up at Junkman’s Daughter. Went to 24 hour diner with really good organic food—the R. Thomas Deluxe Grill.
VM: Can we talk a little bit about the concept for “All The Punks Are Domesticated”?
RG: Before I moved to Nashville from Philly, I had a job cleaning houses for the last six months that I was there saving up for the move. Basically, the job was getting up early, and you would team up with one other person, and you’d hit four or five houses in one day. And all of the people I worked with were all these punk rock kids. Just punks, through and through. We were cleaning houses, and the girl would be wearing this shredded punk rock tee and have all these tattoos and play in her punk band, but she would talk about her student loans, or like, “me and my boyfriend just got this apartment, we’re financing this new car, I’m trying to go to med school.” And it was just this really funny thing, like the aesthetic of the lifestyle in comparison with just listening to her talk about all of these…I shouldn’t say her, because it was multiple people, but it was kind of the same experience…and then the title came to me. Then at the same time, I was in Philly, and I didn’t know what I was doing in my life at all, and I had this sort of underlying misery just trying to figure it all out and making music and having my frustrations with that as well. So the title came from that, and then I kind of put it all together with my feelings about the current state of music and the world.
VM: In your bio, you said that Heavy Meta was “the first few findings from my guerrilla treasure hunt for bullshit.” What kind of bullshit did you uncover?
RG: A lot. So like, externally in the outside world, “Why Do You Have Kids?” and “Kill The Medicine Man” are comments on outside things. And also, “Kill The Medicine Man” is an internal confrontation. But also, “Poor Traits Of The Artist” is tongue-in-cheek me bitching about how hard it is to be an artist in the modern day, in a whiny but a self-aware way. So “Why Do You Have Kids?” was just seeing things in the street, like bad parenting. “Put The Kids To Bed” [is about] sort of being in stagnant, complacent, dead relationships, and we’ve all been there, and I’ve been there. It’s all pretty reflective of just starting to dig in and look at the world around you and look at yourself and be like, “it doesn’t need to be this way. Let’s get to the bottom of what’s bothering you. Let’s get to the root of the suffering.” And then look at it, and confront it, and that’s how you can start to overcome it. So that’s really what the record is.
VM: Tell me more about the creative process of the record as a whole.
RG: I kind of just like to live it in a way. Just kind of living with it and looking for things. For example, “Why Do You Have Kids?” was a very clear creative process, because it was just seeing something, asking a question in my head, walking a couple of blocks, and then the song comes out—words first and then music. Not always words first, but for the most part usually that’s how it goes. I don’t like to limit it to one thing. Certain songs on the record—”Poor Traits” and “Put The Kids To Bed”—started as I took a Casio keyboard, and I pressed play…I found a fake drum beat, and I let it loop for three minutes, and I went and played bass and created this musical bed. It’s always different. I think lyrics are the most important part to me, and that’s something that you can always be thinking about. Notes in your phone and voice memos and stuff, and then kind of see how it comes together.
VM: You’ve said that you believe the universe is in all of us. What does that mean?
RG: Well, it is. I do believe there is a sense of oneness. There is no difference between you and I or anyone else or any other living thing. Even when you kind of look at the way that our bodies work versus the way the universe works, they’re almost mirror images of each other. We are all composed of atoms that work together for a greater good, and that’s the same as the universe…also just the idea of perspective: that the universe only exists because [we are] here to experience it. Without us, it’s not there—and not in a self-centered way, but in a unifying way. It’s about realizing the limitless potential people have, the capability to become a part of that and surpass this distraction, material world bullshit that we reside in.
VM: Back to “Poor Traits [Of The Artist]”—it does call out the artist. It’s intentionally meta. There is a line “is luck a pursuit worth pursuing.” Do you think this is all luck?
RG: No, actually. Not anymore. I think for awhile, especially at the time, it seemed—even what we’re doing today, being here at Shaky Knees sitting in this room on a beautiful day—seemed like an impossibility. Like, how do you get there? How do you put records out? How do you reach people? Like, it just seemed like an impossible task, for doing it for eight years with not much quote-unquote reward. So I guess when I wrote the song, and I was frustrated about it, it seemed like it came down to luck, just being at the right place and the right time. But I think the realization, too, was that it just comes back to what you’re making, and it’s music. Nobody needs it. Nobody ever needs to hear what any person ever needs to say. It’s been done a million times. There’s millions of bands that all have something to say. Every sound has been explored. So the thing it comes back to is, what can you contribute to the world? What can you actually give to people that is beneficial to them or can better their lives or make them think or make them feel? So it just comes back to doing that. It’s not really luck. Make something that is meaningful to you or that really hits with somebody, and it will work the way that you want it to. And I think that the God’s honest truth is that, if it’s not working, it comes down to what’s being made. I don’t think anybody that’s ever done anything earnest and good that had even a bit of a work ethic just completely went unheard forever. Sometimes it’s a longer road. But that would be a really sad story. I just don’t think that it happens like that. I think it’s just making good shit and being down to put the work together and not giving up. Luck can expedite the process, but it’s not the be-all end-all.
VM: Do you write on the road?
RG: Always. We started recording this random concept EP that came out of nowhere. Our friend Chris had this idea, and he called me and told me about it. It’s like an extension of Heavy Meta. It’s kind of based around using puns, and it’s all about the music industry. It’s gonna just be fun and this lighthearted concept, extension of Heavy Meta, and then we have a lot of the next album pretty much written and worked out. We play some of the songs now, and we’ll probably start recording that soon.
Ron Gallo is currently on tour in Europe and gearing up for upcoming US shows with Twin Peaks followed by a west coast tour with White Reaper. Dates below.
Ron Gallo On Tour:
May 25 – Stroomhuis – Eindhoven, Netherlands
May 26 – London Calling Festival – Amsterdam, Netherlands
May 27 – Sniester Festival – The Hague, Netherlands
May 28 – LA MECANIQUE ONDULATOIRE – Paris, France
May 29 – Shacklewell Arms – London, United Kingdom
Jun 01 – Nelsonville Music Festival – Nelsonville, OH
Jun 02 – Nelsonville Music Festival – Nelsonville, OH
Jun 04 – Governors Ball – New York, NY
Jun 06 – Chameleon Club – Lancaster, PA
Jun 07 – The Stone Pony – Asbury Park, NJ
Jun 09 – Fete Lounge – Providence, RI
Jun 10 – The Ballroom at The Outer Space – Hamden, CT
Jun 11 – Baby’s All Right – Brooklyn, NY
Jun 17 – Kilby Court – Salt Lake City, UT
Jun 18 – Neurolux Lounge – Boise, ID
Jun 21 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
Jun 23 – Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA
Jun 24 – Shoreline Amphitheater – Mountain View, CA
Jun 25 – Constellation Room at The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
Jun 26 – Soda Bar – San Diego, CA
Jun 27 – Troubadour – West Hollywood, CA
Jun 28 – Valley Bar – Phoenix, AZ
Jun 30 – Larimer Lounge – Denver, CO
Jul 01 – recordBar – Kansas City, MO
Aug 02 – Turf Club – Saint Paul, MN
Aug 05 – Grant Park – Chicago, IL
Shaky Knees 2017: The Record Company x Vinyl Mag
Love it big, and lay it out there. That’s The Record Company’s motto. From their Grammy Nominated music to their captivating live shows, it’s easy to hear and see that this power trio (Chris Vos, Alex Stiff, & Marc Cazorla) love what they do…big.
Ahead of their Shaky Knees performance, Chris Vos (guitar & lead vocals) had a quick chat with us..Vinyl Mag: A belated congratulations on your Grammy Nomination for Give It Back to You! Can you share what it was like when you guys found out for the first time that you had been nominated?Chris Vos: Thank you very much. It was very unexpected, none of us saw it coming. I live on the West Coast so the nominations came out really early, like 6:00AM. I was actually at home on a brief brake form the road. I was dead asleep and my wife was up and looking around online and saw we were nominated. She starting screaming and it woke me up. I thought the house was on fire or something. She says, ‘Chris you guys are nominated for a Grammy,’ to which I replied with silence because I really couldn’t absorb it. Then I called my Ma and Dad back in Wisconsin and told them the news.
Ahead of their Shaky Knees performance, Chris Vos (guitar & lead vocals) had a quick chat with us..Vinyl Mag: A belated congratulations on your Grammy Nomination for Give It Back to You! Can you share what it was like when you guys found out for the first time that you had been nominated?Chris Vos: Thank you very much. It was very unexpected, none of us saw it coming. I live on the West Coast so the nominations came out really early, like 6:00AM. I was actually at home on a brief brake form the road. I was dead asleep and my wife was up and looking around online and saw we were nominated. She starting screaming and it woke me up. I thought the house was on fire or something. She says, ‘Chris you guys are nominated for a Grammy,’ to which I replied with silence because I really couldn’t absorb it. Then I called my Ma and Dad back in Wisconsin and told them the news.
VM: On the heels of your last album and many successes, you guys released the single “Baby I’m Broken” this past March. Where did inspiration come from for this single?
CV: When we wrote that song we just wanted to do something that had some space to it. A riff that had space and the melody kinda wove in and out. When we had the form of the song completed we felt there was something missing, so we added a harmonica part to round out the song. We felt it was done once that harmonica was on there.
VM: The song delivers a similar rawness and energy heard on Give It Back to You. Will we be hearing more new music from The Record Company in the upcoming months?
CV: We are currently on tour, but we have been writing the new album and every time we are home (which hasn’t been the often). We will be taking the end of the year off the road to finish the record.
VM: What does the behind the scenes creative process look like for The Record Company?
CV: We are a collaborative band. Everybody contributes. We split everything equally from work, to creativity, to money be it gain or loss.
VM: How would you describe the band’s chemistry?
CV: We are very close as friends. It’s not uncommon for us to get off the road and be hanging out on the back porch listening to records and having drinks the night after we get home. We enjoy each other as people as well as musicians. That comes in handy when times are tough or you have to make decisions together.
VM: The band’s onstage presence is absolutely captivating. How you would describe your live performances to someone who may be interested in seeing the band for the first time this weekend at Shaky Knees?
CV: We see every performance as one less time not one more time. So why not play your guts out? You only get so many times to do the things you love in this life so love it big and lay it out there is out motto.
VM: Are there any artists you are excited to see at Shaky Knees?
CV: LCD, Sylvan Esso, The Revivalists, FIDLAR, Shovels & Rope, Fantastic Negrito, and The Growlers.
Shaky Knees 2017: Lo Moon x Vinyl Mag
Lo Moon is somewhat a mystery. And it’s that allure and intrigue that’s captured our attention.
In a day and age where audiences are bombarded with high amounts of digital content, Lo Moon has kept it simple. One song. That’s it. We’ve only heard one song, “Loveless,” from the LA trio (Matt Lowell, Crisanta Baker, and Sam Stewart), and it’s left us wanting more.
We sat down with Matt Lowell ahead of Lo Moon’s first festival performance at Shaky Knees this weekend. Check out what he had to share…
VM: There’s a lot of mystery and intrigue surrounding the band. But beyond the mystery, there is a trio that is all about the music and doing the music ‘right.’ I would love to talk about that process of doing that music right.
Matt Lowell: As a band, I think music is so important and integral to our lives. When we decided to start rolling out music, back when making the record and songs, we wanted to take our time and make sure after a certain amount of time passed that we still like what we did and we still had a feeling about it. For us it’s not about just getting it right in terms of getting it right in the way we present it. It’s important to us in the way that we feel about it and I just think now that sometimes music is just rushed out because it’s easy to put it out. We just wanted to go against that grain a little bit. We felt that just because SoundCloud exists and just because we can put it up whenever, and we can get a reaction and put clips up here and there…
Everything right now is very instant, especially with the scrolling culture; you can like and move on and you can like and move on. We just said, what happens if we put something out and we take our time on it, and then we let that live and its own space for a while. Let’s see how many people can find it and let’s see what it does. And eventually it just starts adding up and then it becomes a little bit more real overtime. Then it’s up to us to then decide what the next move is and how we feel about it, because now we’ve got a larger scope. Especially with a song like “Loveless,” we just felt like it was going to take time for people to find it. People are still finding it, and it’s not done. We’re kind of into this idea that song live on and that’s kind of the basis behind my song writing style. It’s trying to make songs that emotionally connect and hopefully live for a longer time than a month on SoundCloud and then replaced by another song the next week or something.
VM: You mentioned taking time in this day and age, because everything today just feels so instantaneous.
ML: Everything is. From ordering food..
VM: Exactly, we can just Uber food now on an app.
ML: And I think that’s great. But I think there’s something to be said about artists having control. The fact that today you don’t necessarily need a label and they can put music out whenever they want. But for us, it took time to find the voice and we then wanted to give that voice some time to find its way.
VM: I think it’s so great, especially in this day and age, that your label and Chris Walla have this understanding of the need for time time and giving you the time to experiment as a trio. I know you guys have been working on an album that it’s been said it’s set to be released this year. What has the creative behind-the-scenes process looked like for that album?
ML: This record was an interesting one. You know, I started working on “Loveless” a long time ago and then move to LA and met Crisanta and Sam, and I had a bunch of songs that we’re just really basic demos. We just started working from the ground up and becoming a band and jamming them, spending hours and hours on one song in my back house just trying to figure them out. The beautiful thing about this band is that everyone, even if it’s something that I wrote, everyone brings their own connection to the music in the way that they approach the song. Everyone is really conscious of trying to feed the song and feed the emotion. With that it just starts becoming apparent when everything feels right. A lot of it is an experiment. When we did have the songs to a point where the band felt really good about them, we then went into the studio and started on the process. Chris then took that and deconstructed it even one step further. There were times when we were just listening to the vocal and then the drums for hours and days. We had to just figure out where the emotional quality was going to fit. Frank Tetaz who also co-produced the record, Frank and I spent months going over lyrics and just him getting inside my head and figuring out what I was talking about, why it was important, and connecting to it emotionally. So when it came out out of the speakers it felt like that. I think that’s what we’ve hoped we’ve achieved with the album and the songs.
The reaction on “Loveless” has been very emotional which is kind of a beautiful thing. That’s kind of the whole point. But behind the scenes there is a lot of jamming, and tweaking, and moving, and building the knocking it down, and building it again until it feels like a thing. I think that’s true with any great art, you just need to work it. I think what we’ve made reflects a time and we’ve put everything we have into it. We gave it the time again, and that feels like the essence and the ethos of this band.
VM: And that’s a beautiful thing for a band.
ML: It really is.
VM: You mentioned being able to experiment. Does that mean experimenting with sound?
ML: All kinds of experimentation, arrangements, sounds. “Loveless” was four minutes at one point, then it became five minutes at one point, then it became seven minutes at one point, and we finally made it to seven minutes because of the arrangement, the feel, and the emotional journey. That song was built over five years. At times the bridge didn’t feel right, ya know, ‘ why doesn’t the bridge feel right? Let’s get into a room and jam it.’ Crisanta would come up with a piano part, Sam would start a drone, I’d be playing a synth, and then all of a sudden it was a thing. It’s all over the map. That song, Chris and I spent over 5 hours arranging it in different ways, moving pieces around, finding out with the second versus trying to say, rewriting lyrics… it’s a lot of whatever it needs. And I think that’s the thing, whatever it needs, you just have to commit yourself to doing it.
VM: For someone who hasn’t seen your live show before, and may only know the song ” Loveless,” what can we expect out of a live performance? I know we’re going to get a taste of new music from you guys, but what does that feel like?
ML: I think it’s a little bit heavier and hits a little bit harder. It’s a little bit more rock. I think the bones of everyone in the band is rock – we were rock kids, we’re children of the 90s. I think a lot of the beauty is that it has a lot of space and it’s just heavier in a way that comes with the nature of just playing live. Anyone who has already heard some of the recorded versions and they come to the show have been really excited about that. I think it’s going to be really interesting putting out the studio versions and seeing what it’s like when people come to the gig.
VM: And we are very excited and looking forward to your set this weekend at Shaky Knees.
ML: This will actually be our first festival.
VM: That’s amazing, and you guys are on some really big festival names following Shaky Knees, like Gov Ball and Lolla. We’re excited to have you in Atlanta, and you’re playing the Earl for a late night show with Temples which will be awesome. Are you excited to see any of the performing artists this weekend?
ML: I think we’re really excited to see LCD and the Pixies. Those are the two we’re most excited for, and to just see some other bands.
VM: Well I know Atlanta will be happy to have you this weekend and like I said, we are just excited to see more music live from you guys. Now, is it possibly the fall, maybe, for some new music?
ML: I hope so. We’re looking towards the fall, but we’re also coming out with a new single right around the corner. So something is coming out soon and then we’ll go from there. We’ll see how that goes and if everything is right, it will be the fall.
Lo Moon plays Shaky Knees on Friday at 1:30 PM at the Criminal Records Presents: Ponce del Leon stage. Don’t miss it!
Shaky Knees 2017: Zipper Club x Vinyl Mag
By tomorrow, bands and their fans will be swarming Atlanta, Georgia for the Shaky Knees Music Festival. On Day One, listeners will get a chance to hear Zipper Club rock the Peachtree Stage at 1:00 p.m. at Centennial Olympic Park.
Zipper Club may make indie pop music now, but the band members didn’t start out that way. Mason James hails from the Brooklyn punk band Cerebral Ballzy, and Lissy Trullie had her own killer indie-rock career. Now, however, the two have joined forces, working alongside drummer Damar Davis and producer James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins.
To gear up for their Shaky Knees performance, we chatted with the three musicians all about their latest tunes, what makes them unique, and even what makes them panic.
Vinyl Mag: Tell me about your song “Regrets.”
Mason James: I was writing it in a room actually with my dog at the time, and it’s kind of funny—you can hear my dog scratching his stomach or his chain jingling, and I think it kind of adds a little subtle dog vibe. That was a really cool track for me because I got to experiment with some new stems that we had, and that was kind of a definitive song in the songwriting process for the band. It was a very definitive song for kind of the direction of the sound we wanted to go. The process for the record was kind of written in three groups of four, and that was one of the initial songs that was written. And that song kind of shaped where we went from there—“Breath” came out of that and other stuff afterward.
VM: You’ve said before that Zipper Club’s style is a bit different from the music you’ve made before. What inspired the change?
MJ: I wanted to try new things! I definitely felt a little bit confined—punk and hardcore music can have a lot of rigid boundaries and a lot of people telling you what it is and isn’t in that genre, and I kind of just wanted to say, “screw all that stuff; I want to make what I think sounds cool.” So, if I want to put some weird sounding synth pad or some chimes or some bells or some reverb guitar, then why not? And that’s kind of what we did.
Lissy Trullie: My style of songwriting is not such a leap. Mason played in a punk band; I had my own thing, which is like still sort of pop-ish. It was more experimental and R&B. But I think it was both for us a combo to do something new.
MJ: Lissy and I came together and had a lot of the same mutual respect for a lot of the same bands, and kind of did draw on those influences. So, as a result our sound kind of meshed, and we’re able to collaborate in an awesome way.
VM: What does each of you bring to the table?
LT: I think we just bring our special selves! That’s kind of half the battle, especially when you’re writing together. You know, inevitably you have a view from yourself, a perspective, your voice, your inherent style of what you do. But I think if we’re talking skillset, writing music is my jam. It’s my favorite thing to do. It’s what I’ve always done and what I absolutely love, love, love to do. I love to be in the studio and play around with ideas and experiment with different things.
MJ: I think we’re all very different individuals in a sense. If you go to certain festivals and stuff like that and you hang out backstage, you can see certain people in certain groups, and they all look very much the same in a lot of different ways. You know, they’ve got their matching outfits and all that sort of stuff. We’re definitely not that, and I think that’s what’s cool about this project. It’s much more reflective of the modern world, modern times. We all come from different backgrounds and different musical tastes and different styles. So, I think we all bring a unique aspect to the table that is different than most bands, and I think that’s the cool thing about Zipper Club.
VM: Do you prefer writing/recording or performing?
LT: We love both!
MJ: I think both have their awesome side, and I mean obviously there are not cool parts. I think every band that writes music should love writing music. We love writing music but also want to share it with people, and we try to share it very visually. Our live show is definitely very … we have lasers and have really cool projections and stuff like that. We want to make it an experience for everyone that’s coming out to see our show. We love sharing what we do with people. So, I think they’re both equally as good.
VM: Do you have a favorite venue you’ve played?
MJ: I’m excited to go back to this bar that we’re playing in London. It’s this really divey, shitty bar, but it’s super London and super fun. We’re playing there in a couple weeks.
VM: What part of playing at Shaky Knees are you most looking forward to?
LT: The Pixies, LCD Soundsystem and then I think my friend’s band is playing there—Public Access TV.
DD: I’m excited to see Phoenix!
VM: Do you have a favorite song to perform live?
DD: My favorite song to play live would probably be “Tick Tock.”
LT: I’m going to have to go with “Breath.”
MJ: My favorite would be our cover of “Mad World” we did with Curt from Tears for Fears. That was definitely an awesome live experience.
VM: What’s your mindset like before getting on stage?
LT: “Ohhhh, shit.” That’s my mindset.
DD: It really depends on how our soundcheck was.
VM: Do you have any pre-show band rituals?
LT: We do a little huddle thing. Of course, we always want to play and we always want to play a good show especially, but it really depends on the venue you’re at, and we have a complicated thing happening on stage. So, if we feel like something might not be in the right place, you know, it can really put us into a panic. But, we’re working on that!
Shaky Knees 2017: Flagship x Vinyl Mag
Life is a rollercoaster. The ups and downs, the twists and turns, the celebrations of the lighter moments, and the facing and surviving of the darker ones.
Flagship’s singer/guitarist Drake Margolnick and drummer Michael Finster take listeners on such a life journey, from light into darkness and back again, with their latest album, The Electric Man.
The duo sat down with Vinyl Mag prior to their upcoming performance at Shaky Knees this weekend. Here’s what the guys had to share…
Vinyl Mag: I would love to start off by talking about your latest album, The Electric Man. You’ve talked about the album being this journey from light into darkness and back again. How would you personally describe this light and dark?
Michael Finster: For me, it’s just kind of how my life is as of late. Trying to experience the good things while also accepting that bad things will happen too. Seeing the light and not being too distraught if the dark happens.
Drake Margolnick: Being comfortable with the reality of life.
MF: It’s just the principle that there can be light and darkness at the same time. You accept all of it and then you can try to find the peace in that.
VM: I think that’s how life is anyway, it’s this roller coaster of ups and downs and you can’t have the light times without some of the dark times. I think you guys capture it really well on this album; I’ve really enjoyed listening to it. This is your first full length as a Duo. How would you describe your chemistry now as a Duo?
MF: I will say it’s easier to make music with less people. Say you have a band with 6 or 7 people and you want to go to the studio. You are the drummer and you have an idea for a piano part in the song, and you’re like, ‘well I don’t want to go in and try to play the piano part when we already have someone playing the piano.’ Everyone has their part, but as a duo you got more chances.
VM: With the writing of songs and putting them together what does your creative process look like?
DM: It changes often. It’s kind of different for each song. Sometimes I’ll come up with a skeleton of an idea and bring it to Michael and we’ll put it together. That’s kind of how it usually goes, but sometimes we’ll write in a room together if an idea captures our imagination.
MF: It’s always different. For this album we spent time with our producer Joey Waronker We kind of just hung out at his place in LA. I remember we just kind of put a mic in a room and jammed out. We jammed ideas and listened back later to see if there were 5 second snippets that should be expanded upon. There were songs that were premeditated by Drake and there were some that we just kind of built. Some of them were a big hunk and we had to shape them down. And that’s kind of how we approached this record.
DM: And and sometimes ideas come to me in dreams.
VM: There are two songs that really stick out to me from this album. The first being “Midnight,” with a music video with Kate Bosworth in it. I think we can all agree that Kate is an absolute babe. How did that video come about come about? It’s absolutely beautiful; it’s black and white it’s cinematically interesting. How did that all come together?
MF: It was actually our director who put all the ideas together – his name is Michael Polish. We met up with him, and he’s Kate’s husband. We were actually making a few videos at once with him and he kind of surprised us. He mentioned that we’re gonna have a female lead. He didn’t tell us who it was, and then surprised us with Kate. That was a nice surprise. It was great that he orchestrated that. In the video we went around town, kind of guerrilla style, very minimalistic, and filmed everything. It was from his brain, so we owe a lot to him in that respect.
VM: I think the video came out really great. The other song that sticks out to me from this album and I can really personally relate to is “Burn It Up.” I just really like it and it sums up this album; as you said, going from the light to the dark, and in this song finally getting fed up with the dark and just moving forward. Where did the inspiration come from for “Burn It Up?”
DM: I wrote that song a long time ago. I wrote it when I was watching one of my best friend’s families kind of fall apart, to be honest. It was a very important family to me, and it was very interesting to just watch them fall a part. I kind of wrote it for them, thinking, ‘it’s ok, you just need to move on.’
VM: I think it’s just a absolute great song. Now, you guys are based out of Charlotte, and Charlotte isn’t too far from Atlanta, where you’ll be heading this weekend for Shaky Knees. Is there anything you are looking forward to doing in Atlanta or any artists you are looking forward to seeing at Shaky Knees?
DM: We really like Atlanta. We actually made our first full length album there and that was really my first time spending time in Atlanta. We have a lot of cool friends there and we have gotten to know the city a bit. There are definetely a few restaurants we want to re-visit.
MF: We’re all going to be at Shaky Knees, so we’ll all get the opportunity to see some really incredible bands.
DM: I’m really looking forward to seeing Ryan Adams. I’ve never gotten to see him live so I’m really looking forward to that.
Flagship is set to play Shaky Knees this Saturday at 12:00PM EST on the main stage, Peachtree.
On Repeat: Jay Som
California-bred solo artist Jay Som—real name Melina Duterte—is a favorite here at Vinyl Mag and indie pop’s newest gem. Though describing her music as just “indie pop” is limiting; her sound has a harsher, grittier element that separates her from other artists in her genre. Musically gifted, Melina plays all the instruments on her records herself. The arrangement flows naturally, evident in the effortless instrumentation in her songs. Her first record, Turn Into, was a collection of demos that ended up getting more attention than she had expected. Her most recent album, Everybody Works, is the first official record Melina created for release and a treat for anyone who appreciates honest and raw musicianship. We were fortunate enough to have a chat with her about the new record and her love for her dogs.
Vinyl Mag: You recently played SXSW. How was that whole experience?
Melina Duterte: It was very very fun and super overwhelming. We had 10 showcases, which was all my fault. I really wanted to have the SX experience. Other than that, it was cool. I got to see a lot of bands.
VM: Congrats on the release of Everybody Works. We love it here at Vinyl. It’s also getting a lot of attention from music sites like Pitchfork and SPIN. Is it a relief to get such a positive response on something you essentially poured a part of yourself into?
MD: Of course. I think like, this being the very first album I’ve worked on with a label, for it to have such a positive and wide reception is amazing. It’s still very crazy to me that people buy the record and come to the shows.
VM: Everybody Works is musically similar to Turn Into, but there’s obviously been an evolution that’s taken place. How would you say you’ve grown as an artist in between the two records?
MD: I guess in terms of my musicianship and kind of my ability as a producer. It’s been more refined throughout the year. Turn Into was just like a collection of demos. In between Turn Into and Everybody Works, I had enough time to sort of grow. It’s a natural, organic sort of progress.
VM: The music video for “Baybee” has a bit of a Wes Anderson vibe. Was that your intention?
MD: That’s the first time someone has said that.
VM: I think it was the fur hat. It’s very Moonrise Kingdom.
MD: You know what, now that you mention it, yeah! I do see that. All credit goes to the directors, Charlotte Hornsby and Jessie Ruuttila. It was all their idea.
VM: You do a great job of capturing dreamlike instrumentation while still maintaining a rock ‘n’ roll edge. Do you make a conscious decision to merge the two or is that just something that naturally unfolds?
MD: Something that naturally unfolds. I listen to, I guess you would say, harder music? I’m very interested in guitar rock. I like loud dynamics.
VM: You’re also a trumpet player. Is there a chance for more brass in future Jay Som tracks?
MD: It’s definitely on this record. I didn’t make it very obvious though. I wasn’t like, “here’s the trumpet!” I think in the future I will have more. I’m experimenting a lot with how the trumpet sounds.
VM: We’ve been stalking your Twitter and couldn’t help but notice you have a very cute dog. Is it hard to go on the road without him?
MD: Oh my gosh, yes. I have two dogs. They live with my parents. It’s very hard to be away from them. They’re just the cutest and sweetest dogs ever. All dogs are great. I get very homesick, and actually petting a dog is so therapeutic. It’s crazy to be away from them for so long.
VM: Speaking of Twitter, you recently tweeted that you might quit music to live on a farm. Should we be worried?
MD: Absolutely not. That was definitely one of my post-tour emo moments. I was tired. We were driving back from the Pacific Northwest, and there were just lots of farms we were passing. I definitely love farms, but that’s in the very far future.
VM: Do you have any music recommendations for our readers?
MD: The band Palm just released a song called “Walkie Talkie.” They’re coming out with an EP soon. They’re literally the best band ever. We saw them a million times at SX. Also, if you could see them live, that’s very important.
VM: What’s your dream artist collaboration?
MD: Definitely Andy Shauf. He’s this songwriter from Canada. He has this super funky accent. He makes incredible music. It really is one of my dreams to work with him. I think he’s on a whole different level.
Catch Jay Som on tour now. Seriously though—do it. Dates below:
FRI 19 MAY – The Green Door Store, Brighton, UK
FRI 19 MAY – The Great Escape 2017, Brighton, UK
SAT 20 MAY – Paradiso Noord, Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam, Netherlands
TUE 23 MAY – The Garage, London, UK
WED 24 MAY – Sebright Arms, London, UK
FRI 26 MAY – SUN 28 MAY – Sasquatch! Music Festival 2017, George, WA, US
THU 1 JUNE – SUN 4 JUNE – Nelsonville Music Festival 2017, Nelsonville, OH, US
TUE 6 JUNE – Rough Trade NYC, Brooklyn, NY, US
WED 7 JUNE – SUN 11 JUNE – Northside Festival 2017, Brooklyn, NY, US
THU 8 JUNE – SUN 11 JUNE – Bonnaroo Music Festival 2017, Manchester, TN, US
SAT 17 JUNE – Potrero Del Sol Park, San Francisco, CA, US
FRI 30 JUNE – Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA, US
SAT 29 JULY – SUN 30 JULY – MO POP Festival 2017, Detroit, MI, US
THU 3 AUGUST – SUN 6 AUGUST – Pickathon 2017, Happy Valley, OR, US
SAT 9 SEPTEMBER – Meow WolfSanta Fe, NM, US
SUN 10 SEPTEMBER – Fox TheatreBoulder, CO, US
MON 11 SEPTEMBER – Reverb LoungeOmaha, NE, US
WED 13 SEPTEMBER – The Back Room at Colectivo, Milwaukee, WI, US
THU 14 SEPTEMBER – Subterranean, Chicago, IL, US
SAT 16 SEPTEMBER – Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ON, Canada
TUE 19 SEPTEMBER – The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA, US
FRI 22 SEPTEMBER – First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA, US
SAT 23 SEPTEMBER – Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington, DC, US
SUN 24 SEPTEMBER – Local 506Chapel Hill, NC, US
MON 25 SEPTEMBER – The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA, US
WED 27 SEPTEMBER – Sidewinder, Austin, TX, US
FRI 29 SEPTEMBER – Valley Bar, Phoenix, AZ, US
SAT 30 SEPTEMBER – Soda Bar, San Diego, CA, US
SAT 30 SEPTEMBER – SUN 1 OCTOBER – Music Tastes Good Festival! 2017, Long Beach, CA, US
‘New Girl’ and ‘Broad City’ Writer Eliot Glazer Discusses His Live Show ‘Haunting Renditions’
Comedian Eliot Glazer’s web series turned live show, Haunting Renditions, turns all of the best bad pop songs of yore and repackages them into beautiful(ly ironic) ballads, shining a giant spotlight on just how cheesy your favorite pop lyrics can get.
The series, which started as a “vanity project” for the Broad City and New Girl writer, features a variety of musical and comedy guests. We spoke with Glazer about the creation of his project, as well as his hopes for adapting Haunting Renditions for television.
Vinyl Mag: How did this concept first form? What made you decide that you wanted to incorporate music into comedy?
Eliot Glazer: My friend Seth Keim and I simply made it as a vanity project. Seth works on Jimmy Fallon, but we grew up together and always collaborated, literally starting in 9th grade. After we worked on Shit New Yorkers Say, [my other web series] It Gets Betterish, and Eliot’s Sketch Pad (for Above Average), we made five Haunting Renditions videos honestly just for ourselves based on an idea I’d had for a while—a sendup of MTV Unplugged or Austin City Limits.
Mike Fram, the musical director of my college a capella group, helped arrange the songs and played the piano, and from there, the show naturally progressed into a live show.
VM: Not all of your songs are blatantly lyrically amusing, but their comedy comes out in the context of the performance. What do you look for in the music you select?
EG: Yeah, leaning into silly lyrics with self-serious music is accessibly funny on the surface. But playing with the context or artifice of the song is more challenging. But when it’s about context, the joke tends to come from the arrangement: it’s in the way a song is sung and played. Visual aids also help, too, but it’s really just a matter of sonically breaking down a song so that it stirs up feelings of nostalgia, which then hopefully make you laugh. Or at least remind you that you knew every word to this song, but never stopped to think about what they really mean.
VM: What about nostalgia appeals to or inspires you?
EG: So much of nostalgia brings you back to childhood. It’s funny to apply your adult brain to your child brain, for better or worse.
VM: Do you come up with the concept and then figure out the guest, or the other way around?
EG: We always figure out a fun bit with guests, not the other way around. It should always feel personal for them.
VM: Is everything rehearsed, or is there an element of improvisation in the performance?
EG: There’s certainly improv in the way I sing, but everything is tightly rehearsed.
VM: How does your classical music training inform the series?
EG: Not very much! I know my vocal ability is based more in pop/R&B, so any operatic training doesn’t really apply.
VM: Who are some of your dream guests, both comedians and musicians?
EG: Erykah Badu, Maya Rudolph, Fred Armisen, The Roots, and I really need to get my buddy Eric Andre sometime (he’s a jazz musician).
VM: Will you be continuing HR the web series?
EG: We’re pitching an adapted version of the web series for TV with a production company, so hopefully we can make the jump later this year.
VM: What are some of your favorite performances so far?
EG: Performing a Toni Braxton song with Thorgy Thor for 420 was pretty incredible. I always love when I can share the stage with my sister, which has become a holiday tradition. And having Abbi Jacobson reprise her alter ego, Val, from Broad City, was super fun. Doing bits with Pete Holmes, Gilbert Gottfried, and Mamrie Hart were also super special.
VM: What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned since your first show? How has the vision changed since then?
EG: The show started out with me acting like some egomaniacal musicologist, and I’ve slowly become more myself onstage, less of this “character.” It’s been a real boost of self-confidence to not feel like I had to hide behind an alter ego.
VM: What is coming up for Haunting Renditions? What is your vision for it in the future?
EG: The hope is to adapt it for TV, which we’re working on with a fantastic production company. It would be really cool to see the brand continue to develop and grow, but ultimately I just want to keep having fun. Bringing it to festivals, even internationally, would be really cool, too.
“Popular, Weird, and Big”: Rey Pila Talk ‘Wall of Goth’ EP
Rey Pila is riding high. Signed to Cult Records, the four-piece just released their Wall of Goth EP, produced by Julian Casablancas. The group’s roots in Mexico City have influenced their sound, which oozes broody, garage rock. Their last album, The Future Sugar, is a larger-than-life record with an ’80s flare. The band is currently in the middle of a festival bend to support its release; we caught up with frontman Diego Solórzano while he was in his hometown of Mexico City to get an in-depth look at the EP and discuss the difficulties of breaking into the New York City music scene.
Vinyl Mag: What’s the meaning behind the title of Wall of Goth?
Diego Solórzano: I guess we’re secretly goth in a way, or if not, we’re big fans of that culture. We’re huge fans of bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees. We feel they don’t have enough recognition, like they should be 10 times more popular. It’s not like we’re such a big and popular band that we’re going to put them out there, but we owe them that. There’s a club in Mexico City where people only go to dance. There’s a wall there, where we got the name from, that has a bunch of pictures of goth artists. Musicians but also like romantic writers that were also the first steps toward goth, like Edgar Allan Poe and even Beethoven. He’s considered goth.
VM: If you had to describe the EP in three words, what would they be?
DS: I’d say popular, weird, and big.
VM: When I first heard “Alexander,” it reminded me of Echo & the Bunnymen. Is that early ’80s British sound something that inspires your music?
DS: Well it’s weird, you know, because there are so many bands and all artists in general now talk about their influences. In that song in particular, it was part of a moment. That moment in particular we were trying to do a Cars-inspired song, and that’s what came out. That’s something that’s very interesting about perspective in music in general. Like, you hear something different than we intended you to hear.
VM: What’s it like working with Julian Casablancas?
DS: For this EP, we knew what the studio vibes are with him. It’s cool. It’s fun. It’s really interesting, and he knows what he wants from music. The decisions don’t take that long. It’s definitely a pleasure to work with Julian.
VM: You’re from Mexico City. How did growing up there influence your sound?
DS: There’s a big like ’80s following here in Mexico. Eighties bands are huge here, like The Cure and The Smiths. That part of music I would say influenced us the most. The club that I mentioned before is a place that people who are like 50 years old go to still to hear ’80s music. Mexico City has a lot of different things going on musically. Also it’s a city that’s growing a cult following from a lot of people from all over the world. It’s also a bit dangerous, which makes it exciting.
VM: You guys play a lot of shows in Mexico. Do the shows there have a different vibe than ones in the United States?
DS: We pretty much play an equal amount of shows there [as in the US]. A year and a half ago, we played only shows in the US. When we play in Mexico City, it’s our hometown, so it’s always a great show. People are very excited. The US is different. The response from the crowd is very particular. New York is getting there. We’ve played there so many times. Last time they were so excited, and it was a sold out show. It’s a hard town to break. Salt Lake City is a good place for us. It’s fucking weird. One of the weirdest places I’ve ever seen in my life. Under all the buildings, it’s really dark and kind of evil. We also get good responses in Texas and Vancouver. The people are what make it good.
VM: “Ninjas” recently got played on the Chicago Cubs fancam. Are you guys Cubs fans?
DS: Well, I’m a Yankees fan. But that’s great it’s getting played!
VM: Any music recommendations for our readers?
DS: Jim Williams. He’s French composer, and he’s really cool. There’s a European band called Principles of Geometry. They’re electronic/experimental. Frank Ocean is always on the playlist. Justice’s new album Woman is great. We like that one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq0MKAXkwRM
VM: What’s your dream artist collaboration?
DS: David Bowie. He’s a classic, but he’s the reason I started playing music.
Listen to the Wall of Goth EP below!
Track-By-Track: Welles Talk Debut EP ‘Codeine’
“My hope and my long term plan is to tour extensively and never let my feet touch the ground,” Jehsea Wells tells me of his grit-rock three-piece, Welles, who dropped their debut EP today under C3 Records. I think he’s got pretty good odds.
Wells, who recently made the move from Ozark, AR to Nashville, TN, is the mastermind behind Welles, writing songs that tear up your throat almost as much as they tear up your heart. He records all the vocals and instrumentals on demos in his room before taking them to the studio to lay down with session musicians.
The 23-year-old got hooked on great music at a young age (around the age when I was still only interested in boy bands whose posters I could kiss before bedtime). He received a cassette tape of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band from his grandfather when he was in the second grade, and he listened to it nonstop.
“From there, I wanted to play guitar, but I didn’t know that you had to put your fingers on the frets to make the different noises—I thought The Beatles were just moving their tuning pegs really quickly,” Wells laughs. “So I broke a lot of strings. I was a real dumbass. But when I was about 12, there’s an old neighbor of mine who lived down the street, and he had me over to his trailer, and he tuned my guitar for the first time, and I got to see him put his fingers down on the frets to change the notes and stuff, and he taught me ‘Camptown Races,’ and I was like, ‘oh shit this is great.'”
Now constantly writing, Wells keeps a notebook with him at all times and fills it with poems. He experiments with different rhythms, sometimes writing in quatrain, sometimes iambic pentameter, other times freeverse. Separately, he’ll craft a full song and then look to his notebook to fill in the lyrics. As another method, Wells also enjoys reworking and disassembling some of his favorite tracks.
“My favorite thing really for writing is to find a song that I really like, say like ‘Pale Blue Eyes’ by Velvet Underground,” he says. “And so you just take that rhythm of it, and you just fill in your own lyrics. I write my own ‘Pale Blue Eyes’ and let it sit for a long time until I forget how that song even goes. And then I pick up the guitar and take my own stab at it.”
The key to his process? Never overthinking a song he’s working on.
“I just never stop. It’s just a constant stream of consciousness, and then whatever’s good shines through, and we record and release,” Wells explains. “I don’t much have the patience to sit with a song for more than two hours. Because at that point, you’re just forcing it. Once it’s forced, too many other thoughts come at you. You’re just running with an egg in a spoon. And it’s a very short race, but you just wanna get that egg there without breaking it open. Because once it cracks, there’s absolutely no putting your song back together; there’s too many thoughts in it. You thought about it too much. You’re worried, ‘aw shit, this is a Lou Reed tune. Oh no.’ Don’t think stuff like that.”
Check out the EP below, and then see what Wells has to say in his track-by-track breakdown below.
“Life Like Mine”
When I got to Tennessee, I felt memories from home fading and getting bland as the days rolled past in the new place. Each line is a brief description of situations I was in at any given time over the course my few years out of high school playing in bands and living in northwest Arkansas. I wrote them down in hopes that I wouldn’t forget them, that they would jog my memory if I were to read the poem again. As the stanzas progressed I thought ‘how fucked.’ That’s the chorus. I’m already seeing those were formative times for me. Smoking cigarettes in Wilson Park, playing cards drunk with all my friends, hearing constantly how everyone was sick of that town when at the same time no one was making any real effort to get out. Gettin’ dosed down real heavy for the first time and getting scared. They’re nightmares and they’re sweet dreams. It’s my ode to home.
“Codeine”
It’s about drugs. The drugs doctors give you that are so good, they’ll literally ruin your life. You’ll lose yourself, find yourself, kill yourself, and if you have any luck you’ll bring yourself back out of them. You clear up and your brain readjusts and you see things for what they are after everything being grey and static and it’s beautiful. Lovely, painted in color.
“Hold Me Like I’m Leaving”
It’s me bitchin about a hard life. Nothing’s been easy. No money,always grinding, two steps forward and one step back. Easy to get real down if you don’t have real friends. It’s not a unique situation. As far as not being ‘cut out for love’ that’s a throw away. I love very much. But when that anxiety kicks in everybody jus hold on, I’ll be back but I feel like I’m leaving. Completely unwarranted apocalyptic and devastating feelings.
“Into Ashes”
It was a quick write, a few personal lines mixed in with some kind of bare industrial infrastructure word painting. Wouldn’t it be nice to smile brightly, or to have long lovely hands? I don’t even know what I’ve done.
“Are You Feeling Like Me”
It’s a big apology for being a rotten hang sometimes. I get heavy, my close friends are usually along for the ride. I just wanted to them to know it’s not me. I dig dumb video games and making blanket forts and gettin’ high and eating junk too. There’s a kid in there. There jus also happens to be a ten ton war medal that i didn’t ask for. I jus wanna write songs and show them to the folks I love, and I want them to make their art and show it to me. That’s what we did over on Space Mountain, trading demos, jammin’ in the dark, James and me making art and playing in bands and going to house parties and double wide backspace trailer shows. Reality is heavy, and we’re all aging and dying and time keeps blowing past us, and it’s a tragedy to me. I write the songs ’cause talking about it doesn’t do it justice for me.
Artist to Watch: Kilroy Kobra
10-piece retro-rock band Kilroy Kobra has been busy gaining a following in the Atlanta music scene, having just released their debut LP Man of the World back in September. The 10-piece band includes: Michael J. Barnard on drums, Michael Denness on percussion, Zachary Harrison on trombone, Andrew Rowland on trumpet, Edward Gloria on bass, Matt Petino on guitar, Tommy Uribe on guitar, keys and lead vocals, Joshua Seckman on synths, and vocalists Carly Jones and Asiel “ZaZu” Langely.
Frontman/producer/multi-instrumentalist Tommy Uribe met the majority of his bandmates within the past year—Harrison and Rowland through Barnard—but he says that he wrote all of the material on their debut album long before actually forming the group.
To form the band, Uribe claims that he first sought out musicians online. “Eventually, I started hitting people up over the Internet,” he says, laughing. “I found our bassist via Craigslist. He had friends in another band that was breaking up, so they ended up being our brass players. So we’re all still kind of getting to know each other, but it’s been awesome.”
While the band may seem like a hodgepodge of different personalities, their sound is cohesive, tailored, and, yes, diverse.
Uribe says that to draw inspiration, the band used Spotify to create a playlist where each band member added five songs that they liked monthly. This helped the members get a feel for everyones’ tastes and visions.
The bandmates come from a variety of musical and cultural backgrounds, bringing a unique edge to their sound.
It’s hard to know where each of us come from, since we are 10 people,” Uribe states. “We come from a lot of musical backgrounds. I come from a Latin American background, but I’m really into psych rock, so it’s kind of a mixture. But everyone kind of brings their own flavor. It’s exciting to bring all of our genres together. Honestly, I kind of want to live in a more compassionate world, and I find the best way to do that is through music.”
The diversity definitely comes through in the band’s unique sound. Uribe grew up simultaneously listening to Latin American music and classic rock (The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, all that good stuff). Now, he says he can’t seem to find many genres that he doesn’t feel inspired by. These unique combinations of sound drive the tone of the band.
The cultural melting pot of Atlanta also serves as inspiration for the group. The singer says that having an audience open to combinations of sounds allows the band to experiment. “The audience of music listeners here are very open to a lot of different genres, and that’s what I want to do: I wanna challenge listeners to listen to many genres,” Uribe says. “Find the similarity in music instead of the difference. It’s more rewarding that way, I think. There are so many different cultures (musically and literally) here in Atlanta that we should celebrate that, in an inclusive way. Why can’t hip hop and psych rock bands share the stage? Why can’t a funk band play a Latin song? Those questions seem ridiculous for obvious reasons, but why aren’t there more artists locally doing this? So, why not us?”
Uribe tells me that the new group is still figuring out how to write together. Since the lead singer had originally written alone, there has been a bit of a learning process for the musician. He felt that writing alone was too much of his “own flavor,” and that adding new musicians with individual sounds added a lot to the texture of the overall result.
He reveals that the band has already started writing new material together. “After we recorded the whole album as a band, it just all came together. Now, two or three people are mostly getting into the songwriting, and everyone else is kind of adding their ideas on as we go. It’s a collaborative effort for sure.”
This unorthodox group recently released a new project in the form of a visual album entitled Man of the World.
When asked about the process for the album, Uribe says, “a few of the songs in Man of the World were songs written while I was in another band, Otium, that just didn’t work out but that I wanted to hold on to. As that band started to slowly break up, I started going to the Atlanta Institute of Music and Media and was introduced to the creative world of recording. That led to an infinite source of inspiration due to me not having to rely on other people to come up with musical parts, changes in the song, other creative ideas—it was just all me, and I was learning to become inspired in other instruments I wasn’t skilled at thus eventually learning how to play those instruments, including it in my recordings, etc. I started having so much fun with it that I thought I’d purposely plan out an album with all the musical choices I’d love to make in a perfectly tuned album for my taste. So I did precisely that.”
The young musician goes on to reflect that he listened to his favorite albums in detail before recording, paying attention to song order, music theory, and the overall execution of the albums.
“I applied certain things I learned from all my favorite records, wrote a bunch of new songs and added some old song ideas that I re-worked to make sense in Man of the World.”
But, Uribe says, there was still something missing; he needed input from artists with different perspectives to give his album texture.
“Once I got to the end of making and recording the album, I couldn’t help to notice that eventually everything sounded like it was just me—duh, no shit! It didn’t sound alive and collaborative. The reason I say that is because, being from South America, the musical culture that I grew up in was a collaborate party. Everyone is involved, no matter what the topic of the music or the feeling, everyone is just trying to have a good time and letting the music come from within everyone.”
Kilroy Kobra also puts significant effort and thought into the band’s live shows. The frontman assures that improv and audience involvement are to be expected from the band’s unique performances. Ever inspired, they also try to mesh other types of art into their production, as well as having themed shows and special guests from time to time.
Kilroy Kobra is currently collaborating and writing with different hip-hop performers in Atlanta, so be on the lookout for new material.