Tag: interview
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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!
Bombay Bicycle Club’s Ed Nash Talks Solo Project, Toothless
Bombay Bicycle Club’s impact on modern indie rock is undeniable. The four boys from England were part of the modern day British invasion that saw the rise of bands like Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs. After four gold certified records, the band decided to take a hiatus in 2016. While he deserved a break, bassist Ed Nash isn’t taking a vacation; he chose instead to embark on an endeavor all his own.
Thus Toothless was born, Nash’s solo project that proves bassists deserve way more cred for their musical prowess. His album, The Pace Of the Passing, debuted in January. The record, both fresh and familiar, incorporates elements of the artist’s own distinct sound along with allusions to Greek mythology. We caught up with Nash to talk about his new album and what song he would cover in Radio 1’s Live Lounge.
Vinyl Mag: The Pace Of the Passing is a phenomenal debut. How did it feel to finally get your solo work out in the open?
Ed Nash: It’s fantastic, actually. I’ve been planning on doing it for five or six years, but I never had the time with Bombay Bicycle Club. It’s quite scary as well. I didn’t realize how nervous I would be putting something I created alone out into the world. But mostly, it’s a relief.
VM: Do you feel like you approach the creative process differently for Toothless than you did for Bombay Bicycle Club?
EN: I guess they’re quite a similar process, but the roles I played are very different. For Bombay Bicycle Club, the songs were very much Jack’s songs. He’d write the song, and we’d give him pointers. With Toothless, all the songs start with me and are written by me.
VM: Do you think that being in a successful band prepared you to take on this solo project, or is it like starting all over again?
EN: It prepared me in terms of like writing music and how the business works. You learn tricks. I don’t think anything can prepare you for taking a step forward and taking on the lead role. Certainly I learned how the business works—like what’s a good deal, what’s not a good deal. The only thing I wasn’t fully prepared for was becoming a frontman …
When I say frontman, I mean the main focus of the group. In Bombay, there was very little attention or pressure on me, whereas with this project everything lives or dies by me, and I am the person that needs to interact with people and get across what the band is about. For example, talking in between songs is always the job of the frontman. I found this very hard at first, and I don’t think it’s something you can really prepare for; you learn by doing it. I can happily say I feel much better with all the frontman duties.
VM: [Who are your artistic inspirations?]
EN: I love Sufjan Stevens and Nick Cave. What I took from them was to tell stories, and to use your own experiences to talk through the music. With Toothless, that’s what I wanted to do with the songs. I wanted to tell stories through Greek mythology and things like that.
VM: Can you give us any details about a potential US tour?
EN: Actually, I literally just got my American visa. Hopefully in the next couple of months I’ll get to come back. I love coming to the states.
VM: [Bassists are often underestimated. Why do you think that is?]
EN: I don’t know. Bassists do really have a bad reputation. That’s kind of why I started Toothless. I needed to prove it to myself that I could play music and write music outside of playing bass. Everyone has an opinion. The name Toothless came out of he idea that nobody really expects anything out of a bass player. It’s quite unfair. Hopefully I can change that.
VM: Any music you’ve been listening to lately that you’d like to recommend to our readers?
EN: I’ve been listening to sir Was. It’s kind of like hip-hop and kind of like indie. That sounds like a weird description, but it’s very good.
VM: Do you have any artists in your library that might make you lose your indie street cred?
EN: One of my favorite records ever is Ozzy Osbourne’s debut Blizzard of Oz. It’s incredibly lame. When I was like 12 learning to play guitar, all I would do was listen to that album and learn how to play the guitar solos. That one would probably make me lose my indie cred.
VM: Bombay Bicycle Club played Radio 1’s Live Lounge a couple times. If you played the Live Lounge as Toothless tomorrow, what would be your potential cover song?
EN: I think about cover songs all the time. I really would like to cover “I Really Like You” by Carly Rae Jepsen. I’d like to make it a guitar song. That’d be fun.
Behind-the-Scenes with ACL Executive Producer Terry Lickona
Meet Terry Lickona. You may not recognize his face, but you know his influence. Lickona prefers to be the man behind the scenes making sure all the pieces come together, and though he claims he’s not musically talented, his role in the industry is highly instrumental. He wears the title of executive producer of Austin City Limits and also co-produces the GRAMMYs each year.
After a fateful move to Austin, Lickona started the journey he now gets to call his career. We chatted with him about that path and how he’s added yet another job title to his resume—artist manager to 22-year-old James Junius (Junius was on the South by Southwest lineup this year, so check him out if you didn’t catch him down there).
Apparently, we’re also the first to put him on the spot about choosing barbecue or tacos down at SX, so that’s our claim to fame now. Read the full interview below.
Vinyl Mag: So how did you end up as the executive producer for Austin City Limits?
Terry Lickona: Well, to make a long story short, I used to be a radio DJ back in New York where I’m originally from. And when I was in my twenties after college, I decided I wanted to pull up my roots and go live some place else and see what it’d be like. I’d heard about Austin and the music scene here–even back then–so I thought I’d check it out and maybe stay a couple of years. And 43 years later, I’m still here.
It turned out to be a good deal for me. My first radio job in Austin was with the NPR station KUT, and they happened to be in the same building as the PBS station where they were producing this new music show called Austin City Limits. I’d never set foot in a TV studio and never thought twice about working in television, but I’d always loved music even though I don’t really have any music talent. But I’ve always hung out with musicians–I’m one of those types. So, I got my foot in the door of this new TV show, and within two years I became the producer, and here I am. The show has become the longest running music show on television anywhere in the world as far as we can figure out. It’s become a great showcase for all kinds of music … I think that’s why it’s been so successful is that it’s kind of an “anything goes” format.
VM: How do you feel like your experience as a radio DJ helped prepare you for the producer role?
TL: I think it did in the sense that, for eight hours a day, all I did was play music and listen to music and discover new music … it definitely opened up the whole world of music to me more than just your typical listener. I would say it definitely did expand my horizons when it came to my musical taste. Anything that’s good is kind of my main criteria–good, original, authentic music that stands out.
VM: Do you have a favorite artist that you’ve put on the show?
TL: Well, that’s a hard question to answer after all these years! I think probably my favorite artist in the last couple of years is Kendrick Lamar. That might surprise some people, because people wouldn’t normally think of someone like Kendrick doing our show, but we pretty much are open to anything. He’s such an electrifying, live performer, and I think we really captured all of that really well on our show, and he seemed to think so, too. He raved about it afterwards. It was one of the only TV shows that he’d done when that record, To Pimp A Butterfly, first came out. But we do a little bit of everything, so my favorite show changes sometimes year to year.
VM: What’s the process like of finding and choosing artists for the show?
TL: Well, part of my job is to book the talent, and that’s the part I enjoy the most. It’s kind of like when I was still a DJ in radio—I try to absorb as much music as I can. I try to keep up with what’s happening and what’s new. We do 13 new episodes a year, and since our format is so eclectic, I try to break it out so that there’s a little bit of each in the mix to come up with those 13 shows. And I also try to mix it up between what’s new and what’s classic. We’ll have legacy artists—we just did a show this week with The Pretenders with Chrissie Hynde–and we’ll do shows like that at the same time that we’re doing Kendrick Lamar or somebody who’s brand new.
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that timing is everything. I don’t want to book an artist too soon before they’ve kind of hit their stride, and I don’t want to be the last one either. When an artist has a new record out or when they’re on tour and they’re getting a lot of attention, that’s usually the best time for them to do it.
VM: How do you make sure you capture the full experience of an artist with the TV format?
TL: We try to create the most natural environment we can for the artist or band just to get up on stage and do their show without feeling like the TV is getting in the way. We shoot the shows in Austin, of course, in our own venue with a live audience, and Austin music fans are the best. They’re very enthusiastic, and they don’t hold anything back and they don’t act inhibited just because of the cameras. So, we try to stay out of the way! The stage is surrounded on three sides by the audience, and we keep the stage low to the floor, so there’s a real connection between the performer and the audience. The artist could reach out and touch the people on the floor in front of the stage. That makes a huge difference in terms of the whole entertainment and chemistry of the show, and then we capture it!
VM: How is your role as a producer for the GRAMMYs different from your role at ACL?
TL: Well, on the GRAMMYs I’m the co-producer so I’m not the top dog, and I don’t personally book the talent like I do for ACL. For ACL, when we do a taping, it’s one band. For the GRAMMYs, there’s like 25 and it’s live TV, and there’s all this pressure about the awards … it’s definitely a different vibe.
VM: Has working behind the scenes completely changed how you watch award shows?
TL: Oh, yeah! I would say so once you see what goes on behind the scenes, what it costs and how complicated it is to put one of these performances together that you see on TV. When I was watching the Academy Awards with the rest of the world, I saw that huge faux pas … I could not imagine how that could’ve possibly happened. We’re behind stage during the GRAMMYs, and we sit next to the people with the envelopes, and it’s just hard to imagine how somebody could make a mistake like that, because we’re so buttoned up about it. So, I had to laugh but also shake my head wondering how did they do that!
But being behind the scenes, whether it’s the GRAMMYs or anything else, definitely gives me an appreciation for the artists. I get to work with an artist when they come in to tape Austin City Limits. We spend the whole day together, so we get to know each other really well, and then at the end of the night after the taping, I do an interview in the dressing room with each artist. So, I get to realize what they’re dealing with, and these artists don’t live normal lives, obviously. They get up on a stage night after night, and they pour out their heart and soul, and then they have to do it again the next day and deal with all of the logistics that go along with being an artist. The insecurities, the paranoia, and the anxieties … I have a respect for them, knowing what they go through.
VM: Does seeing all of that make you glad you’re on the production side and not a performing artist yourself?
TL: Oh yeah, I like being behind the scenes! When I was a radio DJ—that was fun doing my own show on the air. I did some on-camera TV for a while, too, nothing special, but I can’t imagine getting up on a stage and doing that night after night. So, I am glad to be just the guy behind the scenes who makes it all happen along with a big team of people–it’s not just me, of course.
VM: What made you want to add artist management to your resume?
TL: So, this is not something I was planning to do ever in my life. If you’d asked me six months ago, I would’ve laughed and said your crazy. But I met this young artist named James Junius on Facebook! He just reached out to me and said he was from Utah and that he grew up watching Austin City Limits, and one of his favorite artists was James Taylor and he heard that we were going to do a taping with James Taylor. He asked if he could find a way to fly down to Austin if I could get him in to see the show. Well, of course, that part’s easy, so I said, “Yeah, come on down,” and he came to the taping with James. He spent the day at the rehearsal and even introduced himself. The next thing I knew, he and James Taylor were sitting over there in the corner talking for an hour and a half, and they just hit it off instantly. He brought his guitar with him and sang some of his songs, and there was something about him and his songs but also just his personality that impressed me more than most of the artists I deal with and especially somebody just starting out at that age.
It was kind of a wild hair or an impulse for me to want to reach out to help him. I found myself taking on more and more responsibility, because I have those connections that I could use to help him and at least open the door. I helped him submit to South By Southwest for a showcase, and they accepted his application.
VM: How is being a manager different from your other jobs?
TL: It’s really interesting … as long as I’ve been involved with music and producing a TV show, I’ve worked with a zillion artists and managers and publicists and record label people, but I’ve never been involved inside of the process as somebody who’s representing the artist and pitching the artist to the other people.
VM: What drew you to this particular artist?
TL: He’s just a really good person. He’s got a lot of heart and soul for somebody his age. He’s very bright, very tuned-in to the music business and what it takes to try to get anywhere. So, I’m also at the point in my life where I am in a position to help somebody. That’s not to say that I want to open up my own artist management company and sign up a dozen artists right away. But if I can help somebody who I believe in who I think has talent, then why shouldn’t I? I feel like it’s almost an obligation to take the lessons that I’ve learned in life, the people that I’ve met and maybe put that to good use and help somebody else along the way.
VM: Kudos to James for putting himself out there with you and James Taylor!
TL: He’s good that way! He’s down at the convention center at South By right now, and he’s going to every panel he can get into, and he printed up a bunch of flyers to hand out to people about his showcases this week. He’ll go up to anybody and introduce himself, but in a good way–not to be pushy. He also has that kind of personality that it’s hard not to like him. And then on top of that, when you find out that he’s actually got talent, that makes it even better.
VM: What skills from your job as a producer have carried over into managing an artist?
TL: I would say I’ve got pretty good people skills when it comes to dealing with all kinds of people no matter where they’re from or what age they are. People have always told me throughout the years that I seem very calm. I never seem to get rattled or uptight when there’s a lot of stress, and that’s just the way I am I guess. I think that has helped me with James and this new role. Instead of trying to shove him down somebody’s throat, I think I’ve got a pretty good sales pitch when it comes to why I think people should listen to his music and why I like it and why I think it’s worthy. So, when you’ve dealt with so many different people over the years and all kinds of different situations … most situations that I find myself in I’ve kind of been in before or I’ve seen how other people deal with them. So, I think there is a connection between one set of skills and the other.
VM: If you had to describe James’ music to a new listener in one tweet, what would you say?
TL: I would say, singer-songwriter at heart but with a very contemporary outlook about the world he lives in today and someone who loves to experiment with different musical sounds as he tells a story with his songs.
VM: Besides him, of course, are there any other particular artists you’re looking forward to seeing at SXSW?
TL: You know, I’ve got a list of people that I’ve put together … people have given me names of people I need to go check out. I’d say 90 percent of the artists that I see this week I’ve never heard of or at least never seen or heard their music. But if someone who I trust recommends them, then I figure it’s worth me taking the time. Maybe the one exception to that is Ryan Adams is playing a showcase this Friday night, and I’m definitely going to go out and see him. He’s always been a favorite!
VM: And because it’s SXSW, we have to ask: barbecue or tacos?
TL: Tacos, for sure! I like really good barbecue … I’m not really the biggest meat eater in the world so I kind of limit my meat intake, but if somebody points me to some really good ribs or brisket, I will definitely go for it without any hesitation. Some people who come to Austin during SXSW eat barbecue every day, but you can’t beat a good taco! A breakfast taco, a lunch taco, you can have a plate of tacos for dinner. And you can have anything you want in your taco! You can have your eggs and bacon breakfast taco, your chicken taco, your salmon taco–yes, they do have it. So, I’m a bigger fan of tacos, because I think you can do more with them. Tacos win my vote.
SXSW 2017: Goon x Vinyl Mag
Los Angeles indie rockers Goon are a breath of fresh air, generating buzz around South by Southwest with their enticingly individualistic lo-fi jams. Singer-songwriter Kenny Becker leads the quartet, writing songs in his room and fleshing them out with the rest of the band.
Kenny’s affinity for making music stems from an unlikely place; he suffers from a medical condition that periodically deadens his sense of smell and hearing. Instead of letting it bog him down, he decides to make music during the periods in which he can hear clearly. The result is a pleasingly subdued sound that can only be described as summertime music.
They’re first EP Dusk of Punk establishes a seasoned sound that most bands don’t develop until after they pop out a couple of records, which is impressive to say the least. Goon is in the process of creating their debut album, and we caught up with Kenny to get the details.
Vinyl Mag: How many times have you played SXSW?
Kenny Becker: This is our first time playing SX.
VM: Do you have any pre-festival rituals?
KB: Not like officially, but we took a bunch of rest stops just any time we saw them. Also we found this tunnel, and we just yelled at each other. It was very cathartic.
VM: Dusk of Punk dabbles in a variety of musical styles. Is that sort of what we can expect from your first full-length album?
KB: That is a great question. I hope to continue that sort of range. At the same time, I’m not trying to make that, like, something that has to happen at all costs. It was just kind of something that happened from writing songs and just being down with whatever we make. We’re trying to maintain that spirit of music first. We’re trying to not be pigeonholed into a genre.
VM: Are there any specific artists whose sounds you try to emulate or who inspire you in other ways when you’re creating your music?
KB: For me, personally, I’m inspired a lot by Pavement’s sort of sparkly guitar work. Boards of Canada is maybe my favorite band of all time. Their crazy sounds and synth tones are something I kind of aim for a little bit. I guess I would say Pixies, too.
VM: The album artwork for Dusk of Punk really encapsulates the general feel of the EP. Who created the artwork? Was it one of you guys?
KB: I actually painted that. Actually, before I was trying to pursue music full time, I thought I would be a painter full time, but I kind of ended up being both. I had this phase of painting monster dudes and after doing that, that particular image happened. I ended up really liking it. It kind of looked like the Kid A bear for Radiohead. Kind of simple imagery but still iconic. I just loved that it’s a potentially menacing looking figure for music that isn’t particularly menacing.
VM: What’s your creative process like for writing a song?
KB: Usually I just kind of write a song in my bedroom and record it, and we’ll sort of learn it as a band. And sometimes we’ll end up fleshing it out more as a band, but I usually have a pretty good idea of where I want to take it.
VM: Are there any artists outside of your genre that you’d like to collaborate with?
KB: I’ve thought about this in the past, and I’ve often thought of Bibio. He’s really similar to Boards of Canada, but he’s really capable. His production style is just insane. Every time I listen to a Bibio song, I’m just like amazed.
VM: If you could bring one artist back from the dead to play a show with, who would it be and why?
KB: This is probably the most obvious answer, but it would be Kurt [Cobain]. Jake and I were actually just talking about this last night. He died at this crazy moment where they were still a huge band and they potentially could have continued their upward trajectory. I was hearing recently about how Michael Stipe [R.E.M.] was talking to him about making a new record and making it more acoustic sounding. But on top of that, it’s fucking Nirvana. Playing a show with them would be insane.
VM: What albums have you been listening to recently that you’d like to recommend?
KB: There’s a band called Porches–their album Slow Dance in the Cosmos. It came out in 2013, and honestly it’s just kind of perfect. It’s really good emotional rock ‘n’ roll. I also relistened to In Rainbows and kind of had my mind reblown.
VM: Who are you most looking forward to seeing at SX?
KB: If I had to pick one, it would have to be our friends, minihorse. We played with them in San Francisco. It’s like muscly shoegaze. They’re so in control of their fuzz tones. Also Charly Bliss. They’re kind of like pop grunge in a way.
VM: What’s your favorite part of the festival experience?
KB: It’s just really exciting that so many people are here just for music. It’s easy to get bummed out as a musician, because you feel like nobody really cares about music anymore, which I don’t think is ever really true. Still, it’s cool that they like shut down a city for a day for music.
VM: What would be your dream festival lineup?
KB: Definitely Boards of Canada, because they never play live, and they’re kind of like a bucket list band. It would be kind of a weird lineup. It’d be Pixies, Pavement and our friends, Draag. The term muscly shoegaze also applies to them I guess. They have really cool synth stuff going on.
VM: Do you prefer barbecue or tacos?
KB: I’d have to go tacos. I grew up in San Diego, so I just grew up eating tacos.
SXSW 2017: Communist Daughter x Vinyl Mag
Minnesota indie rockers Communist Daughter are on fire. But it wasn’t always smooth sailing for lead singer Jonny Solomon, who had to conquer a few demons before he saw success. Dealing with addiction and mental health problems before the band’s formation, he had several stints in treatment facilities and assumed the worst for his music career.
When Solomon reached rock bottom, he wrote a series of songs that he intended to be a farewell note to those he loved. He invited his friends—who would later become his bandmates—to help him flesh it out. The result was Communist Daughter’s acclaimed debut album Soundtrack to the End, which was released in 2010. However, the singer wasn’t done fighting his own personal fight, and checked himself into rehab soon after the release.
It seems to be true in Solomon’s case that some of the best art comes from the worst situations. He’s now fully recovered, with his positive outlook on life echoing in his music. Communist Daughter’s latest record, The Cracks That Built the Wall, received serious praise from critics. The album is a glistening light with bright guitars and an optimistic message. It’s a reflection of the artist’s upward motion, refusing to let his past weigh him down. We got in touch with him to talk about his SXSW experiences and what advice he has for younger bands as a festival veteran.
Vinyl Mag: How many times have you played SXSW?
Johnny Solomon: Officially this is our second time, but we went down there once for fun. It’s hard to be in Minnesota at the end of winter without dreaming of heading south.
VM: Do you have any favorite memories from the festival?
JS: We don’t go down there with weird industry dreams in our head. To me, it’s a chance to be in warm weather, plus it’s hard to see other bands play when you are always on the road. It’s great to just walk around and stumble into music. But my favorite memories don’t have much to do with music. We stay outside of the city, a little ranch way out there. My favorite memories are from there, soaking up a different lifestyle.
VM: Do you guys have any pre-festival rituals?
JS: We’re all pretty different about it. SXSW is its own beast, because you can let the logistical nightmares get to you, or you can just realize it’s all crazy and to take it as it comes. That’s why the ranch outside town comes in handy. This is the second time we are going to end our trip with a little acoustic show way out there for the folks that let us stay with them. So that’s a post-festival ritual.
VM: What albums have you been listening to recently?
JS: The Dig’s Blood Shot Tokyo. We just finished up three weeks with them. Probably my favorite band. I never got tired of seeing them night after night, and their album is now spinning around our tour van nonstop. I’m also listening to Hop Along’s Painted Shut. I’m late to the party on them, but I can’t stop listening to it. Such a great band and album. I need to creep on them and meet them. And then Paul Simon‘s Graceland always gets back in my headphones when I head south.
VM: The video for “Keep Moving” is beautifully done. What was the inspiration behind that?
JS: The director (Nate Matson) and I went back and forth a bit with that video. The song is very personal, and he connected with it right away. But it was hard to make a video that complimented that without making it so overtly literal. I was worried, but Nate lined things up right to make it right. It hits all the same themes without being in your face.
VM: Who were some of your musical inspirations for The Cracks That Built the Wall?
JS: The Beach Boys and Jason Isbell and a million other bands. It’s hard to pin down influences since the album was recorded over the course of three years.
VM: What inspired you to name the band after a Neutral Milk Hotel song?
JS: Honestly, I didn’t know it would be a thing, but Neutral Milk Hotel wasn’t around anymore when I started the band. They were one of those mystery bands that put out a masterpiece and then vanished. But it was so personal and intense of a record. I wanted to do that, so when I was writing songs by myself, I just thought I would take that as our name. I hate thinking of band names. They are all stupid until you are big enough for people to attach your music to it. I don’t think twice about my favorite band’s names.
VM: Were there any other songs you considered naming the band after?
JS: “Two-Headed Boy”? It’s hard to remember things from back then. I wasn’t in a really stable mental place.
VM: What advice would you give to an artist playing SX for the first time?
JS: Don’t go there for your own shows. Sure, play some, and be good at it. But don’t go there with some sort of idea that you are going to do anything important. Just enjoy the fact that every indie band you want to see that year is all in one place with tacos and beer, for the drinkers. Also, get all the free stuff you can. Sunglasses for days.
VM: Who are you most looking forward to seeing at SX?
JS: Not sure, I’m still in tour mode. I try not to think more than 48 hours ahead. I’m sure I will have an idea on Tuesday when we get there.
VM: What’s your dream festival lineup?
JS: It changes every day. I make a Spotify playlist, and then those are the only bands I care about for a week. Then I make another one and it’s totally new. But I have some all time favorites. If I were to put one together one off the top of my head [it would be] Paul Simon, Jason Isbell, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Angel Olsen, Hop Along, Death From Above 1979, and The Dig. And us of course. I want to be in my favorite festival.
VM: What shows are you guys playing?
JS: CLIF Bar Bash, SESAC Showcase, Central Presbyterian Church and Best Lil’ Big Fest.
VM: What’s your favorite part of the festival experience?
JS: The energy. It’s food, sunshine, super excited people and shiny free things everywhere. Then I go out of town and eat barbecue and finally get some sleep. It’s the end of three months of touring for us.
VM: We have to ask every artist playing SX: do you prefer barbecue or tacos?
JS: That’s not fair. Everyday food: tacos. Special meal: barbecue. I love barbecue, but I couldn’t eat it every day, because it would kill me. But pretty much every taco everywhere is good. I will eat a taco anywhere, any time.
Communist Daughter at SXSW:
3/14 – 3pm The Blackheart – 86 Rainey St – ” CLIF Bar Bash – The Current and NoiseTrade”
3/15 – 11pm Lamberts Downtown Barbecue – 401 W. 2nd St – SESAC Showcase
3/16 – 11:40pm Central Presbyterian Church – 200 E. 8th St.
3/18 – 5pm Tiniest Bar in Texas – 817 W. 5th St. – “Best Lil’ Big Fest”
SXSW 2017: Ocean Park Standoff x Vinyl Mag
A DJ, a producer and a classically trained vocalist walk into a studio. The names behind those titles? Samantha Ronson, Pete Nappi and Ethan Thompson. On paper, their three backgrounds may not sound like the most intuitive match, but take a listen to their music and you’ll be convinced otherwise. Ocean Park Standoff is the alt-pop trio heading from LA to Austin to impress and engage fans at all four of their SXSW shows.
On March 3 of this year, the band released their debut self-titled EP on Hollywood Records. To say that the EP was well-received would be an understatement, considering the fact that the band has since been added to Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist, named Elvis Duran’s Artist of the Month and performed the song “Good News” on the TODAY show.
I had the privilege of chatting with not just one or two but all three of the band members. It’s pretty fitting since their writing process never fails to include each of their unique voices giving their songs that extra something special. Each one of the EP’s tracks are well-written, both musically and lyrically, but still sing-along-able. I, for one, have had “Good News” stuck in my head for the past 24 hours, and I am not complaining.
Check out what the three artists had to say about their summer tour and band name, and take a guess at who prefers tacos over barbecue. And of course, don’t forget to check them out at SXSW with us this week!
Vinyl Mag: How did you three start playing together?
Ethan Thompson: We started playing together because Samantha and Pete had a session they got into together through their publishers and managers, and they hit it off right away. After they did a couple of sessions together, Pete brought me in because Pete and I had been working together as well. We wrote two songs together, and after the first two songs we were having such a good time that, I think Samantha was the first one to suggest that, “let’s make a project and put a bunch of songs together that we like and songs just for us.” And that’s kind of how the band started forming, really within the first 48 hours of knowing each other.
VM: How do you combine your different backgrounds into one sound?
Samantha Ronson: We’re all kind of in the room while we’re writing and playing, so I guess we all just kind of throw all of our ideas mainly at Pete, and then he makes them sound good.
VM: What’s your favorite way to experiment and create a new song together?
Ethan: I feel like one of my favorite things is that there’s always one of us that’s excited about the start of a song. Usually it’s not all of us at once–there’s someone that comes in with a base idea whether it’s Pete with a track, Samantha with a lyric or a melody or a chord, and me with a lyric or melody or chord. So it’s always someone’s excitement that kind of stirs it up, or it’s something that we’re going through in life that stirs up the songwriting.
VM: Do you tend to start more with a melody or lyrics first, or does it just depend?
Samantha: It totally, totally depends from song to song.
Pete Nappi: It’s always different.
Ethan: Yeah, it makes it entertaining for us, because we never really know what’s going on. We just do it ’til it feels good. If it feels good at the end of the day, then we’ll continue working on that song.
Pete: We basically just press a bunch of buttons all day and see what happens.
VM: What was your favorite part about making your EP?
Samantha: It’s all pretty fun! And that’s kind of why we’re doing it. I don’t think we’d be doing it if it wasn’t.
Ethan: I feel like one of our favorite parts is definitely that we’ve all done our own solo projects–Pete’s done his production, Samantha’s done her DJing–coming together and doing this as a group is the funnest part of the whole thing. Because waking up for radio things at seven in the morning or doing a show and packing out at like 1 a.m. is so much fun, because it’s the three of us there plus a couple others. But it’s the three of us together celebrating the victories and dealing with the losses the whole time, and that’s the best part–it’s the three of us together.
VM: On the flip side, what was the most challenging part of making the EP?
Samantha: I think it’s taking that risk of putting aside all the other things that we’re doing on our own and just having faith and diving into this and putting everything into this and hoping for the best.
Pete: To add to that, I think especially for me with all the production while we’re making it, it’s important to know when to just stop, because I could just keep going and adding things. I think a big part of it is to know when to stop or when to take away things to make it simpler. You get so into these songs, and you’ve been working on them for so long that eventually you just don’t know anymore. So, that’s kind of been the hard part for me, but it’s always worked out. Luckily, I have Ethan and Samantha to tell me when to chill the hell out.
VM: Do you have favorite songs on the EP?
Ethan: I think it’s always rotating, and every show it switches up—it just kind of depends on the night. But I think one of my favorites right now is “We Do” because it’s the song that I think kind of brought us together as a live band first, so that’s one of my favorites.
Samantha: My favorite is “Lost Boys”–it’s the first one we wrote together, so it’s always kind of been special to me in that way.
Pete: Whenever I listen to the EP, I’ll listen to “Lost Boys,” the first song, and I’ll be like, “yeah, this is sick.” And then I listen to “We Do” and I’m like, “wait, is this my favorite?” And I just do that with the whole EP!
VM: What makes your songs stand out from other artists in your genre?
Ethan: I’d say one of the things that makes it stand out is that we all come from three different backgrounds, and one of us isn’t overriding the others when we’re creating. We’re always doing our best to get the three of us into each song, which I think is what makes it unique because it’s not just one head leading it–it’s three heads leading it at all times. It’s one of our biggest challenges, and we get into our little battles, but at the end it’s just so much better when the three of us are all involved in it.
VM: So, what’s the story behind your band name?
Ethan: Pete and I were on our way to a session—we would always traverse like an hour to get to Samantha’s pretty much every week. This was when we were just deciding that we were going to make a project, and we’d just decided we wanted to be a band. But we were on our way over to Samantha’s, and we were going to be an hour late because all the streets were blocked off, and we couldn’t get to her house. After there were helicopters flying over her backyard, Samantha got online and figured out that there was a standoff going on at Ocean Park and Tenth.
Samantha: Yeah, there was a standoff with cops and a guy with a shotgun. And I was like, “That’s our band name–Ocean Park Standoff!” Of course, that’s where my brain goes when I hear about a standoff.
Ethan: It was cool the way the name came together, because I feel like it’s kind of how the project came together. We’re all very paranoid as artists–I wouldn’t say uptight but very paranoid people. And when we’re together, we’re taking things seriously and working hard, but I feel like we relax a little bit and everything seems to kind of fall to us with hard work. But, the way that the name came, how it naturally just came up is exactly how everything came together. It’s just kind of naturally evolved without us simply trying to force it to be something.
Samantha: I think it’s more that we overthink things than are paranoid.
Ethan: Speak for yourself—I’m paranoid!
Samantha: (Laughs) I just overthink things way too much.
Ethan: We’re able to relax each other a little bit, and we’re just having a great time.
VM: I heard you’re touring with Third Eye Blind this summer. What part of that experience are you most excited about?
Ethan: Just to hang out, honestly! We just went on a tour together in a van, and there was really no problem at all. We all got along. By the end of it, we got off the road and the next show we had in LA, we were all like, “we missed you,” and it’d been under 24 hours. So I’m just excited to hang out all summer—it’s going to be fun!
Samantha: Same!
VM: Do you have a favorite venue you’ve played?
Ethan: The Peppermint Club was pretty sick when we played in LA, and I think one of our other favorites was the show in New York at the Mercury Lounge.
Samantha: My favorite venue was the place in Troy, New York.
Ethan: Oh yeah, The Hangar in New York! That was a cool spot.
Pete: We’re going to play the Jones Beach Amphitheater this summer, and I’ve literally been talking about playing there since the day we started the band.
Ethan: Yeah, and then we got on the summer tour—which is incredible—and on the lineup it said Jones Beach. And it’s the night of Pete’s birthday!
VM: What shows are you playing for South by?
Samantha: We’re playing at Universal Party, Pandora, 7th Annual West of the Best, and the Grammy Museum Homegrown LA showcase.
VM: Are there any artists you’re looking forward to seeing perform?
Ethan: Friends! I’m stoked to see Hayley Kiyoko’s set—she’s a friend of Pete and ours, and also LOLO who we just got off tour with. It’ll be fun to hang out with them again in a different spot.
Pete: One of mine is this DJ/producer who’s super young–his name is Sam Gellaitry. He’s awesome.
Samantha: I just want to eat a lot of barbecue!
VM: Well, that’s perfect because we always ask if you prefer barbecue or tacos! I’m going to guess your answer would be barbecue, Samantha!
Samantha: (Laughs) Yes, it is! I just like all food.
VM: What about you two—barbecue or tacos?
Pete: Barbecue.
Ethan: I’d have to say probably tacos, because anything I can eat with my hands, I’m so down.
Pete: You can eat barbecue with your hands.
Ethan: Yeah, if I can eat barbecue with my hands as long as no one’s watching, then it’s my favorite. But I just like eating food with my hands—it’s pretty much my go-to. A burrito is my all-time meal no matter what.
Pete: It’s your primal instincts.
Ethan: Exactly, I’ve got to remind myself of my roots.
Leo James Conroy Brings Jazz to the SXSW Stage
His music has been called “eye-watering brilliance” by BBC Radio 1 with “a depth not often seen in young musicians” according to The Equal Ground. But behind the high (and well-deserved) praise is a street performer from England just trying to get used to the Los Angeles heat. Leo James Conroy is taking the SXSW stage this year with his signature trumpet in hand and a soulful voice guaranteed to garner fans within the first few notes.
After what he calls a “series of fortunate events,” Conroy ended up in Los Angeles performing and making music. He draws from his biggest influence, Jeff Buckley, whom he’s been compared to stylistically. Somewhere between the classical music training, the teenage emo lyric writing and a love for jazz, his soulful sound emerged.
In 2015, Conroy made his debut with a self-titled EP under Black Treacle Records. Now, his sophomore album entitled Sinners By the Book EP is on arrival. The first song off of it, “Forbidden Fruit,” is already available and full of the falsetto and blues he does so well. Between this song and his video submission for NPR’s Tiny Desk competition, the new record will be one worthy of perpetual repeat.
As I chatted with the singer-songwriter, I heard more than his British accent—I heard passion. After watching his grandfather play the trombone, Conroy decided as a child to follow in his musical footsteps. Years later, he’s getting ready to make his SXSW return and make his granddad proud. See what the artist had to say below.
Vinyl Mag: So, first of all, what shows are you playing at SXSW?
Leo James Conroy: At the moment, I only have one. There’s another one that’s still in the works, but I’m playing at Stephen F’s Bar on Saturday, the 18th. I think I’m on about 9:00 p.m.
VM: Is this your first time at SXSW?
LJC: This is my second time; last year was my first time. I played solo last year, and then I’m heading out with a band this year.
VM: Do you prefer playing solo or with a band?
LJC: It’s different every time, you know. Each song has its own sort of mood and its own sort of energy, so it really depends. It’s going to be good to head out with the guys, because last time I was completely alone. So it’ll be nice to have some friendly faces out there!
VM: What do you do to prepare for getting on stage?
LJC: Honestly, I don’t really think about it. It’s kind of weird—I don’t ever get nervous when it comes to performing, but once I’ve finished performing, the nerves hit me after I’ve played. It’s really weird. I don’t have a warm-up ritual but my warm-down ritual is just heading straight to the bars as soon as I’ve finished, and that sort of balances everything out.
VM: You have an EP coming out soon. Are you going to play some of those songs at SXSW?
LJC: Absolutely! We’re really excited about it, actually. For the new EP, I’ve been experimenting with the setup, so I recently got a loop station so that I could loop my trumpet and loop horn lines, and it’s really cool to experiment with all these new sounds. So, the last couple weeks we’ve just been practicing like crazy, and we’re just going to blast all of the tunes from the new EP. I mean, it could even be an album because things are going really well in the studio. We’re ahead of schedule, so we may fill the time with some more tunes, but we’re undecided just yet.
VM: Speaking of the loop pedal, I loved your submission for NPR’s Tiny Desk competition. What inspired the arrangement of that song?
LJC: Well, I was sat at the computer because for my writing process, I never really have a pen and paper. I just sort of sit and freestyle and then hit the record button, and then if something sounds good, I’ll keep it. So, I just laid down the guitar and vocals and thought, “hey, this could use some trumpet” and then I put some trumpet in and actually it just sort of came out nowhere. I showed a couple of friends and thought, this is something a bit different–let’s roll with it! Since then, I’ve written quite a few songs now with that kind of looped trumpet setup, which is really fun.
VM: Do you feel like the loop station has changed your writing process?
LJC: That’s a great question. I honestly don’t know, but I wouldn’t say it’s changed my writing process, because I firmly believe that whenever you write a song you should never have to rely on technology for it to be a viable piece. I like songs to be as raw as they can, but every now and then if something just needs a bit more energy, it’s always cool to pull the trumpet out since I can’t play the trumpet and the guitar physically at the same time. So, I wouldn’t say it’s changed it, but it’s definitely given me a new sort of weapon in my arsenal, and it comes to live shows.
VM: When you’re writing a song, do you usually start with the music like you did with “White Noise?”
LJC: I actually wrote the lyrics months before I put the music to it. It was actually going to be a slow, piano ballad. The song itself is a little bit about insomnia and when you get horrible thoughts when you can’t sleep, and then it turned into self-loathing, which it’s really sort of angry and weird. I thought, this isn’t good for me–I need to get these thoughts out of my head and put them on paper. Then I sort of stored it away and didn’t think of anything, and then I started playing around on the guitar and thought, “I wrote those lyrics all that time ago, maybe I can use them,” and then it just came together by accident really.
VM: Does the style of that song reflect what will be on the new EP?
LJC: Yeah, it is! Growing up playing music, I learned to play trumpet first and then as I started singing when I got older, I sort of swayed away from it, and I’ve missed it. These last few months I’ve really been trying to get back into playing some more. I’ve definitely included a lot more jazz, soulful, bluesy, and I just think the trumpet compliments that kind of well. So, it’s that very similar feel.
VM: You’ve been compared to Jeff Buckley and Amy Winehouse. Are those some of your musical role models?
LJC: Jeff Buckley, absolutely. His album Grace literally changed my life. Growing up, I always aspired to be a classical musician, and then when I was a young teenager, I heard Grace, and I would listen to it multiple times a week for probably five or six years. I listened to it so, so much, and his music completely changed the game for me musically. He’s my biggest influence for sure. Growing up I’ve always loved jazz, and I’ve always loved that old style. Amy Winehouse was just, well, she was Amy Winehouse—you don’t need to say any more about that!
VM: The trumpet seems to be your signature mark. What drew you to that instrument at the age of 10?
LJC: Well, my granddad is my best friend, my mentor, my role model, everything that I want to be as a person. He was a trombonist and was great, but it was more the classical side of music. Just whenever he spoke about music, there would be this sort of glimmer in his eye, and I was always drawn to that. He started teaching me how to play the trumpet as a kid, and I learned in a very sort of old-fashioned way. It was all about music theory and going to play in orchestras and brass bands and marching bands and doing everything prim and proper, always wearing a suit and always making sure my shoes are spick and span. But that’s what drew me to music, and then as I got older, I just drifted more to, you know, music was a little bit more freeform and less structured in terms of rules and order. So, that’s what really drew me to it–my granddad, he’s a special guy.
VM: How old were you when you started writing your own music?
LJC: I wrote some terrible, terrible emo songs when I was 15. I would hide them all around the house, because I didn’t want anyone finding them because I was always so embarrassed. But I’ve been writing seriously probably since I was 18 or 19, so six or seven years if my math is correct.
VM: How did you end up in Los Angeles pursuing music?
LJC: In the craziest way! So, as you’ve probably gathered from my accent, I was living in York in England, and I was in a bit of a bad place. I didn’t really have anywhere to stay, and I was just street performing just to get enough money to get by. And then I got heard by somebody who spoke to me and offered to fly me out to the U.S. to come and play some shows, and I didn’t really have anything to lose at that point so I said, “yeah, okay, I’ll come to the other side of the world by myself to a stranger’s house.” I ended up in Los Angeles, and I met a lady, and we started dating. I’d come over here for a while, and then she’d come back to England with me, and then we got married in July of last year! So it all happened because one day I was street performing in England, and now I’m living in Los Angeles, and it blows my mind every day. It was just a series of fortunate events.
VM: For SXSW, is there someone you’re looking forward to seeing just as a music fan yourself?
LJC: Johnny Flynn, he’s one of my favorite artists! He’s a British folk singer turned actor. Actually, he’s been in a couple of movies since his albums came out. He’s great; he sang with Mumford & Sons—he’s in that sort of sound and that circle. He’s a multi-instrumentalist as well, and he plays with a loop station, so there’s a bit of influence there. My guitar picking part in some of my songs is very influenced by him. He plays violin, trumpet, he sings, he plays guitar… he plays pretty much everything.
VM: If you had to tell a new listener in one tweet what they’ll hear at your set, what would you say?
LJC: I would say, big vocals, awkward chitchat in between, punchy horns with blues, soul and jazz influences. The thing that people are usually shocked at with my shows is that between songs, I’m pretty quiet and a little bit sheepish, and I don’t mean to be. But then I have a really loud voice, and it sort of throws people off a little bit.
VM: The last question that we always ask is: do you prefer barbecue or tacos at SXSW?
LJC: Barbecue every day of the week! I just like all things barbecue. Tacos aren’t really a thing in England, so that’s partially why. I believe I was 23 when I had my first taco, so I don’t have as much experience in that ballgame so perhaps my answer is slightly biased.
SXSW 2017: Marie Miller x Vinyl Mag
You may have heard her song “6’2” on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, or maybe you came in contact with her first single “You’re Not Alone” via CMT. Either way, Marie Miller is ready to recapture your ears with her new album, Letterbox.
The songstress used her love of literature to jumpstart her songwriting career at a young age. To this day, she still turns to classic novels for inspiration for her beautiful lyrics and melodies. Combining a character who is dear to her heart with one of her own experiences results in the narrative style she’s made her signature.
To capture her folk-pop sound, Miller teamed up with Eric Rosse and Chad Copelin, two producers who helped bring the songs of Letterbox to life. I grabbed a few minutes with Miller to talk about the album, her favorite books, and of course, being in Austin for South by Southwest.
Vinyl Mag: First of all, what shows are you playing at South by?
Marie Miller: On Tuesday, I’m playing Nashville House, so that will be awesome!
VM: Is there anyone you’re looking forward to seeing perform?
MM: I kind of love to just wander. So not a particular artist; I just like being mixed in with all the music and the crowds. It’s really fun.
VM: What’s your favorite part about performing?
MM: I love so many parts about performing. I’ve been performing since I was really little. Just that feeling of connecting to an audience, being on stage and being able to share who you are with strangers and have a connection … it’s really amazing.
VM: I know you love using classic books as inspirations for your songs. Was literature always your favorite subject growing up?
MM: Yes, definitely. It was the only thing I did in school that I would do outside of school. Literature is amazing and still a huge part of my life.
VM: Do you have an all-time favorite book?
MM: I have a few favorite books. I would say Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, Lord of the Rings and The Great Gatsby. I’m old school; I don’t know a lot of new books. People will be like, “Oh my gosh, have you read this New York Times best seller,” and I’m just still catching up on old stuff first.
VM: What is it about those books that makes you want to write a song?
MM: Well, all of those characters in the books that I’ve read, they’re just so vivid to me. I think a great book makes the characters just run out of the page and become part of your life and part of your story. For me, those characters get to play a part in my songwriting. So I’m writing a song, and it has something to do with something that happened in real life, but then maybe I’ll intertwine a character that I met in a book but that has become really real to me.
VM: How do you make that relatable to the average listener even if they haven’t read that particular book?
MM: I think that a lot of the struggles and triumphs and the situations are pretty universal. So just things like love, friendship, suffering, trying to get through hard times, courage–all those things we all can universally relate to, and those characters are just having particular instances of those things. So, for example, “This Side Of Paradise”—which was the first song that came out from the new album—is inspired by an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel called This Side of Paradise, but you probably wouldn’t even know that. Mainly when people hear it they go, “Oh, that sounds like a song where you’ve had a really crappy day and you’re trying to just rally yourself.”
VM: Would you consider yourself more of a lyricist than a musician?
MM: I think more in between … I would say a performer, actually, because there are a lot of musicians that are quite a bit better than me, and there are people that can song-write better than me. So for me, my sweet spot is performance, and it’s just super natural to me, like I have absolutely no idea what stage fright is–I’ve never experienced it!
VM: Well, you mentioned you’ve been performing since a really young age, right?
MM: Yeah, so I started performing at probably 11 or 12, so it’s been awhile!
VM: Tell me about your song “6’2″—I love the title so I have to know the story behind it.
MM: So, “6’2” is about not being too picky with who you date. This girl is saying “I don’t care,” and then she gives a long list up to his height. To me, the song was totally a joke. It was kind of making fun of girls and how they can be that way, but it’s been amazing because it was on Dancing with the Stars which was cool. But also people will say like, “We danced to this song at my wedding” and “I heard it on the radio, and it made me think of this guy with blonde hair and blue eyes that I met a few days ago, and I got the strength to write him” or whatever. So it’s been a really cool song even though for me it’s not my favorite song, it’s still been really neat to see the stories from it.
VM: What was the best part about making this new album, Letterbox?
MM: It was just an incredible experience–a long one, just years of writing and then it took a year and a half to record everything. But the particular experience for me would be recording in Los Angeles, and my sister was with me, so she got to be part of that. I hadn’t really spent a lot of time in LA, and I absolutely loved it. We were like six minutes from the studio, so it was really easy to get there, and the people were amazing, and I grew a lot just from being there for a month. It was really special.
VM: What about the most difficult part?
MM: We worked with a lot of producers, and I think that finally finding Chad Copelin who produced seven out of the 12–that took a long time. So trying to find the right fit to make the songs reflect what my sound was and not making it sound too country or making it sound too pop–making it that perfect blend of folk and pop is pretty hard to do, and I think Chad did an amazing job. But that took a long time.
VM: How did you choose which songs to put on the album?
MM: Well, it’s sort of a process. We have producers helping me choose, and then my A&R at the record label. So it’s all of us talking, and I really got everything that I really wanted on it, which is great because I have to sing it every night—they don’t! But it was difficult, and I think it’s the right group of songs. But now I’m actually writing a lot right now so I’m like, “Let’s record more!”
VM: Which song off the album are you most excited to perform at SXSW?
MM: It’s always really fun to perform “This Side Of Paradise.” It’s just a ton of energy, and I play it on my mandolin, and I love playing my mandolin.
VM: One question we’ve been asking all of our SX artists is: barbecue or tacos?
MM: Oh gosh, I could not decide that, I really couldn’t. Those are my two favorite foods! I love fish tacos or carnitas–all that! And then for barbecue, it’s kind of everything. I was born in Dallas, and I’ve got a lot of family in Texas so Mexican food and barbecue–those are my family’s favorites.