Category: Vinyl Video
Hanging outside the Masquerade with The Drowning Men
Everyone should know who The Drowning Men are. Everyone should listen to the song “Rita” (yes, it’s their most popular, but there is a reason– it’s incredible. Repeat repeat repeat…). And everyone should go see them live.
Got the chance to sit down with James and Nato from the band before their show at the Masquerade in Atlanta. Super awesome, incredibly chill guys. No rock star complexes, despite their outrageous talent.
*About the sound…I KNOW that it is hard to hear. Tragic. I swear to you the next thing I buy will be an external mic so we won’t keep having these problems. Bear with me. Underground magazine = tiny budget.
Exclusive- in the studio with George Boedecker
This was pure chance. A friend of mine ran into George Boedecker (founder of Crocs) in the elevator of our hotel while I was staying in Nashville for the week. He mentioned that he was recording an album. She mentioned that she had a friend with a music magazine (me!), and the next thing I knew, I was sitting in Fool on the Hill Recording Studio hanging out with George and legendary producer Richard Landis. Both of them were extremely gracious and accommodating, and it was a really incredible experience for me. I’m so grateful to have gotten this interview! Enjoy!
On Tour! An interview with KYLESA
Kylesa has been turning heads with their very own version of sludge metal for over eleven years. The Savannah, GA based quintet has toured relentlessly in the US and abroad, as far as Australia and Asia. The band is re-mastering and re-releasing two of their previous albums to vinyl this month and has just finished a tour with Heavy Metal icons, GWAR. Kylesa has a very powerful, smooth and expertly produced sound, thanks to the honed producer chops of guitarist / singer Phillip Cope.
I have been touring with Kylesa this year running Front of House sound and decided to take some time during the tour to put together this video interview for Vinylmag.org! Check out Kylesa’s most recent album “Spiral Shadow” and more at Kylesa.com.
Hanging outside The Masquerade with Kevin Devine
Kevin Devine is amazing. He has been one of my favorite artists ever since I saw him open for The Get Up Kids in Tampa three years ago (along with Mansions—see my interview with them!). I have seen him three times, and it is never enough.
Kevin recently released the album Between the Concrete and Clouds in September of last year. If you haven’t already checked it out (come on…), you definitely should. I don’t know how he does it, but he continues to produce music that is exceptional and addictive. I’m still listening to it, and I snatched it up as soon as it was released.
I was just given the chance to interview Kevin at his show at The Masquerade in Atlanta this weekend. This was pretty much a dream come true for me, as Kevin is an artist that I truly admire and feel honored to have featured in Vinyl.
So go ahead! Check out the interview below- we get into his album, tour, inspirations, what’s next, and updates on the new Bad Books release. Enjoy!
Backstage with Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless
Alright. So I just interviewed Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless backstage at The Masquerade. Not gonna lie…I had no idea what to expect when I went into this interview. However, besides the fact that we had to do the interview backstage during the opening act (where is the soundproof room?!), it all went down pretty smoothly.
Based on what I have read about Taylor, the last thing I expected was for her to be friendly (nice, sure…but downright friendly?). She welcomed us (my videographer, Katie, and I) backstage and comfortably chatted with us while we got set up. To put it simply, I really enjoyed myself during this interview.
As for the show…dude. Ok. Everyone talks about what Taylor does and wears onstage. A lot of the buzz seems to be about how scandalous she gets. However, people seem to keep forgetting to talk about the actual music. Which, after having seen them live, I now find absolutely astonishing.
The girl can sing. She gets up there and does whatever moves she does and wears whatever she wears to get the audience going, but the real “wow” moment for me was when she opened her mouth. Undeniable voice. Truly, truly talented. For me, he pure talent of the band and her voice completely overshadowed her stage personality (which, in my opinion, is how it should be).
Go ahead and check out our interview below. I’ve transcribed it as well as uploading the video, so bear with me on the dang sound issues.
EM: First, Hit Me Like a Man– Tell me how you came up with the name.
TM: We tend to title things after songs so we don’t have to think of anything else. So Hit Me Like a Man is the title track of the Hit Me Like a Man EP, so it came from the song. The line is “Hit me like a man, love me like a woman.”
EM: So what about My Medicine? Is that personal experience?
TM: I had my first directorial debut on that video. That was a really fun video to shoot. It’s just a bunch of friends, and we just kind of threw it together very last minute. It’s literally kind of…what you see in the video is what it was with some crazy effects added on the top of it. I try not to talk too much about the songs themselves, because I like to let people interpret them and take them how they want to take them. I think I give enough in the songs themselves, but yes- the songs are very personal.
EM: You’ve been writing songs for a very long time. Are you still pulling songs that you wrote way back then?
TM: No!
EM: What are you doing with those songs?
TM: Leaving them and forgetting that they existed.
EM: You’ve been touring since 2010. Do you prefer being on the road?
TM: I love the road…I love playing every night. It’s awesome. But I love the studio. Right now, we’re in the middle of a headline tour, and then we’re jumping on with Manson for a month, and after that we’re going into the studio to start working on the second record. I’m excited for that. I mean, I love touring, but I love being in the studio, too to take a breather and get back inside of my own head and have some time away from the rest of the world.
EM: Are there going to be any songs from this EP on the record?
TM: Possibly. Possibly all of them, possibly none of them- I don’t know yet. We’re still writing the record, so I think you’ll have to wait and see.
EM: Do you have any idea when that would be coming out?
TM: I don’t. I unfortunately do not control the release of things. I just write the songs and record them and hope it gets released…they’re not all written. You’ll have to wait and see. Believe me, I’m more stressed out about it than you are.
EM: What are you listening to lately?
TM: I heard the new Soundgarden single, which is pretty cool. I’m excited that they’re getting back together. I can’t wait for the new record. That’s what I’ve been listening to- old Soundgarden, new Soundgarden…lots of Soundgarden…Die Antwoord- they’re a rap band from South Africa that is pretty awesome, and they make really cool videos. Check them out. I’m kind of boring. I listen to the same stuff over and over again. You know- Beatles, Zeppelin, Who, Pink Floyd, ACDC, Soundgarden..Audioslave, Soundgarden…
EM: Are you channeling anyone when you go onstage?
TM: No. Me- I’m channeling me. It’s more of a performance aspect of myself, but it is myself. I don’t have some crazy alter ego or anything. It’s very much me. That’s it- I’ve played enough characters.
EM: Speaking of that, are you ever going to act again?
TM: I’m so not even thinking about it. It’s certainly not in my near future. To say what the rest of my life will entail I don’t know, but it’s certainly not even on my radar. I like writing. I like writing records, and I like writing songs, touring, and playing in a band. It’s amazing. It’s awesome, so why would I want to do anything else? Unless Rob Zombie calls, and then we’ll talk about that, because that would be awesome.
EM: Besides your acting and writing, do you have any other creative outlets?
TM: I paint. I play guitar. I sculpt. I sew dolls…I sew rag dolls. Um…I play guitar, write…
EM: What do you miss while you’re on tour?
TM: I miss New York a lot. I love New York, and I definitely miss it.
EM: You seem so nice! Why do you think you have such a harsh reputation?
TM: I think I’m nice! Tabloids spin all that stuff around. But thank you! You’re nice.
In the van with The Front Bottoms
Just got back from interviewing The Front Bottoms at their show with Kevin Devine at The End in Nashville. This was a brilliant show. For those of you who have been with me from the beginning, you will remember I interviewed The Front Bottoms back in November. I also met Kevin Devine a few years ago when he opened (with Mansions– see my interview with them as well!) for The Get Up Kids.
I drove nine hours to see this show. The drive got a little rough, and I started to think it might have been a bad idea. However, as soon as the show started, I knew that it was worth it. Completely.
The Front Bottoms are blowing up. The crowd was full of obsessed fans screaming and dancing along. I was one of them. Front row. Knew all of the words. Fan.
So was Kevin Devine. He spent a great deal of the show standing off-stage, singing along enthusiastically.
They played a new song, Twelve Feet Deep. It was completely true to their style and got me mega-pumped for their new album. They’ve definitely got a lot more to offer, and I’m looking forward to hearing it.
After their set, Kevin Devine came on. My friend, Regan, and I met up with Matt and Brian (The FBs) to set up the interview (after we watched Kevin’s set, of course).
Kevin played pretty much all of my favorites (hard to choose- everything that he does is gold), and the crowd was completely enraptured.
Once the show was over, Matt and Brian went to help load and then came back to bring Regan and I into the van for the interview.
It went great. These two guys are what every band should be- they are mega-talented, they love what they do, and they do not take it or themselves too seriously. They are just thrilled to be sitting in their cramped van talking about music and playing shows with great artists like Kevin Devine every night.
Towards the end of the interview, Matt gave me the scoop on what is next for the band. Touring for the summer and recording a new album. Perfect answer- exactly what I wanted to hear. I will be there, even if I have to drive another nine hours (let’s hope it doesn’t come to that).
Hanging out post-show with Mansions
I love Mansions. I first discovered them a few years ago when they (along with Kevin Devine) opened for The Get Up Kids. I was completely blown away. Christopher Browder (who is Mansions at its core) is a genius and a genuinely nice guy. I just got the chance to interview him, along with fellow Mansions musician Robin Dove, at The Masquerade.
This was a big one for me. Chris was the first person that I ever asked for an interview way back when the idea for VINYL was just being formed. I approached him as he was selling his merch after The Get Up Kids went on, and he was extremely kind and enthusiastic, giving me his email and telling me to contact him any time.
Finally, now that VINYL has launched, I got to go back and reunite with Chris for an interview. I cannot say enough positive things about him and Robin. They were completely gracious as we ran around The Masquerade trying to find a semi-quiet spot to interview. These two are the kinds of people that you want to meet again.
I had mentioned that I was going to be near Jacksonville the following night, which happened to be where their next show was. The next day, I had an email from Chris saying that he had put me on the guest list just in case I wanted to stop by. Did I ever want to stop by! Unfortunately, I didn’t make it in time- I don’t want to talk about it. I would have LOVED to see them two nights in a row.
From my brief encounter, these are some seriously great people. I could write a whole separate article about it. But I’m getting a little off topic– this show was amazing and worth going to- twice, if possible.
Anthony Raneri of Bayside- backstage at the Where’s the Band? tour
So much awesome in one room. Normally, when I go to a show, there are one or two main bands that I’m there for, and I enjoy the openers as a sort of appetizer, getting me ready to chow down on the main course of some serious, lose-my-cool rockin’.
This show was too much…in a good way. I have hardcore love for Bayside. And Saves the Day. And The Get Up Kids. Stick my obsessions all in a room together with acoustic guitars and make them sing, and you’re basically saying, “Yes, Emily, we read your diary. This one’s for you.”
Anthony Raneri (Bayside), Chris Conley (Saves the Day), and Matt Pryor (The Get Up Kids) were back to back. Each one’s set was perfect. Anthony serenaded us with some classic Bayside (Blame It On Bad Luck, Don’t Call Me Peanut, etc.), as well as one song (Sandra Partial) from his solo EP, New Cathedrals. Chris gave himself over to the audience and allowed his set to be dictated by requests. Matt’s show was a mix of requests (one from his son) and set songs that would have been requested anyway.
Now that that’s out of the way, I want to mention the first two artists, Evan Weiss from Into It. Over It. and Ace Enders from The Early November. They really should not be excluded from this rave. Both of them played an amazing set, and I immediately went home and added them to my music library (don’t berate me for taking this long to discover love for them).
After the show (which would have been enough to make it a perfect night, let me tell you), I headed over to the merch table to arrange my interview with Anthony. Ended up meeting Chris, Ace, and Matt, all of whom were beyond gracious and delightful while I stood there at a loss for words but trying to use them anyway. Teenage me was losing it. But so was 21-year-old me. These bands are still extremely relevant to me today.
Anthony then took me “backstage” to do the interview. I’m sure the last thing you feel like doing after playing a show is get filmed for an interview, but he was super nice and ready to dive in.
The interview is below. Check it out, and don’t forget to get Anthony’s album, New Cathedrals. It’s only five bucks, and it’s golden.
Couch time with Space Ghost
VINYL Mag sits down with the guys from Space Ghost to discuss their formation, their influences, and their upcoming debut EP, Museum.
Space Ghost is an Athens-based synthtastic band made up of Justin Belk, Michael Buice, Blake Lewis, and Grafton Tanner.
Be sure to look out for Museum, coming spring 2012.
Check them out at www.facebook.com/spaceghostathens
Also, just wanna thank these guys for letting me hang out and giving me a great interview and some truly delicious candy. This interview was a blast to do, and this band was so much fun to sit down with.
Join us.
Years Around the Sun talk about their new album, Incarnation
I just had the chance to sit down via Skype Chat with Dylan Raasch and Ronnie Dudek from Years Around the Sun about their new album Incarnation, available now.
Years Around the Sun is an indie California band who formed in 2004 (we talk about the band’s history and formation in the interview below). Incarnation is their second full-length album, and let me tell you- it is amazing. I have not stopped listening to it- yes, I am even listening to it right now.
So should you.
I want to thank these guys for doing this interview with me. Skype interviews are a little bit harder to coordinate and get set up, and they were very gracious through the whole process. And just delightful to interview.
So grateful that VINYL was given a chance to feature them and that they were on board with everything.
Check out the interview below: