Tag: shaky knees
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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: Rising Above the Rest
Day One
Day One of Shaky Knees kicked off bright and early with a set from Cymbals Eat Guitars over at the Ponce de Leon stage. Not a bad way to jump start your day, with front row head-banging right at the crack of noon. The lineup for Friday was overwhelming in the best way, with no down time from one kickass band to the next. We’re genuinely surprised we even found time to eat anything. We ran straight from Cymbals to Zipper Club, then on to Temples followed quickly by Margaret Glaspy (hero), and from Glaspy we hauled over to Car Seat Headrest. Post Car Seat at the Peachtree Stage, we made it to The Growlers on the Piedmont Stage for half a set, and then booked it back to Ponce to catch everyone’s new favorite band, Pinegrove.
Pinegrove’s set was one of the most anticipated of the day for us (although, with this bottomless smorgasbord of fantastic artists, it was hard to choose which set to get the most pumped for), and we weren’t alone. Though the Ponce stage was the smallest of the three, the New Jersey band commanded a crowd, and personal space was impossible to find. The six-piece folk rock band took us through most of 2016’s Cardinal, only leaving off third to last track “Waveform,” which…yeah, we get. Even though we’re probably never going to see them play our favorite track “Peeling Off the Bark” from 2015’s Everything So Far, they did pull out “Angelina,” “Problems,” “The Metronome,” and “Recycling” from their debut release, so we were more than satisfied. They also played big guns “Old Friends” and “Aphasia,” and ended with our latest on-constant-repeat obsession “New Friends” for the finale.
From Pinegrove, we settled in at the main (Peachtree) stage for Wolf Parade, followed immediately by Portugal. The Man, and then Cage The Elephant.
Matt Shultz’s presence as Cage The Elephant frontman Friday at Shaky Knees is not the first time that crowd chatter has compared him to Mick Jagger. Shultz’s stage presence is memorable, to put it lightly. While he isn’t exactly Jagger, he has surely proven himself as an epic (and we don’t throw that word around too often) performer time and time again. Cage’s Shaky Knees set was mega high energy and captivating.
Post-Cage, we fought our way to a good vantage point at the Piedmont Stage for Pixies‘ set, which was a lot easier to obtain after a third of the crowd dispersed halfway through the set once the band finished “Where Is My Mind?” (really, guys?). Side note: bless Shaky Knees for booking the Pixies for two years, first in 2015 and again this year. Anyone who missed this set made a huge mistake. We’re still reeling.
Legends in their own right, headliners LCD Soundsystem took the stage Friday night of Shaky Knees like the kings of electronic rock they are. They walked onto the stage to the Peech Boys’ anthemic “Life Is Something Special,” a fitting opener to one of the best and most highly anticipated sets of the weekend. James Murphy then commenced orchestrating a giant festy dance party as the group worked through a setlist that catered to all, especially lovers of their debut self-titled and 2007’s Sounds Of Silver, breaking down into a beautiful, swaying close with “All My Friends.”
Day Two
Day Two was definitely the slower day of the festival, on top of being the rainiest of the three. (Though to be real, it only seriously rained for about five minutes and was a welcome refresher from the heat.) While Friday and Sunday both boasted lineups that were destined to have us well over our daily “steps” goals with all of the time-overlap sets we’d be running to, Saturday’s offerings gave us a little more down time to catch some shade or, you know, actually taste the food truck fare we were scarfing down.
The day started promptly at noon again, this time over at the main stage for North Carolina duo Flagship followed by LA’s The Record Company, and then on over to the Piedmont Stage for British pop singer Bishop Briggs, who you may recognize from her mega hits “River” and more recently “Wild Horses.” Since “River” first released in January 2016, Briggs has been rapidly climbing the charts. While her soulful performance was a great introduction for new fans, we would love to see Briggs break away from sounding exactly like her recordings and bring something extra to her live performance. We’re super excited to see what is in store for the emerging artist, and we’ll be keeping an eye on her for sure.
Dr. Dog was the most anticipated set of the day for us, and we posted up at the Piedmont Stage to catch the psych rock band for their early evening set. The band took the stage and wasted no time on teasing the audience, launching right into fan favorite “How Long Must I Wait” off of 2012’s Be The Void, later on also gifting us with tracks “That Old Black Hole,” “These Days, and “Heavy Light” from the same album. The rest of the set consisted of a good mix of their catalog, surprisingly lacking heavy focus on this year’s Abandoned Mansion and also exploring 2013’s B-Room as well as 2010’s Shame, Shame, with a couple of tracks from 2008’s Fate and last year’s The Psychedelic Swamp for good measure. They closed the set with their signature cover of Architecture in Helsinki‘s “Heart It Races.”
Day Three
Day Three was a beast. Starting off with Hoops at the Piedmont stage at 12:30 p.m., it’s hard to pinpoint what the highlight of the day was between sets from Whitney, Hamilton Leithauser, Fruit Bats, Third Eye Blind (might be a real contender, because #nostalgia), The Shins, Ryan Adams (who basically just made fun of The Shins the whole time), and Phoenix.
That said, we’re a little bit nuts for Fruit Bats over here, and we were front row rail for the entire set, taking enough videos to make our phones complain that we were running out of storage. Our obsessive fandom was rewarded later on during The Shins’ set, when Fruit Bats frontman Eric D. Johnson (former member of The Shins) jumped in with them on tambourine.
Despite personal favorites, it has to be acknowledged that Phoenix was genuinely, indisputably incredible. Their hour-and-a-half set was masterful, complete with the coolest backdrop we’ve ever seen—a slanted mirror aerially reflecting the stage below, with the floor projecting trippy visual effects. The entire surrounding crowd was near hysteria throughout the entire show up until their encore which included—obviously—2009’s smash hit “1901.”
Final Thoughts
We’ve talked about this before, but we are all about the sustainability factor of refillable water stations in lieu of plastic bottles, and Shaky Knees was one of the first festivals we ever saw implement this system. We’ve been seeing this more and more on the festival circuit, and we’re so glad that it’s becoming a best practice. Shoutout to Shaky for being proactive here.
Also want to note that Centennial Olympic Park is a great location. When they hosted the festival at Central Park in 2015, we thought it was perfect and wondered if it could get any better. Plenty of shade, stages far enough apart that their sound didn’t step on each other…it seemed like the ideal spot to plant this festival, and when we heard about the move in 2016, we were skeptical. It turns out our doubts were unfounded. Yes, Centennial is a smaller park, but this didn’t, as we worried, result in overcrowding. There were less stages than before, but this mainly resulted in easier transition from stage to stage without feeling like you had to leave a set 10 minutes after arriving in order to be on time for the next. In short, this festival is excellently planned, and runs like clockwork. We’re believers.
Since its inception, Shaky Knees’ consistently stellar lineup has made it stand out, and it remains one of our all-time favorite festivals, from soup to nuts. The bottom line is, the lineup is always unbeatable and, more importantly, uncompromising. Keep it up, guys, and we’ll keep insisting that this is the festival that should not be missed.
Countdown to Hangout 2017
Live music and the beach, does it really get any better than that? In a few hours, fans will be flocking to the white sandy beaches and the turquoise water of Gulf Shores, AL, for the annual Hangout Music Festival.
This year’s line-up boasts the likes of Mumford & Sons, Phoenix (who has replaced Frank Ocean), Twenty One Pilots, Chance the Rapper, Weezer, Major Lazer, MGMT, and many more.
Hangout kicks off tomorrow with an annual Thursday Kickoff Party featuring Migos, Cherub, Tchami, DJ Jazzy Jeff and special guests.
So whether you’re stuck at your desk the rest of the week or prepping to make the journey to the Gulf, give our Hangout playlist a spin to get you weekend ready.
See you on the beach!
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!
Rundown Recap: Shaky Knees 2016
It has long been known that spring officially begins in the South the weekend of The Masters tournament in Augusta. The ‘tradition unlike any other’ offers new beginnings with each dirt cheap pimento cheese sandwich and $3 domestic draught. However there’s a growing argument that spring doesn’t quite get rolling until Shaky Knees takes over whichever plot of Atlanta real estate its founders find suitable.
In four short years, this festival has risen to the top of the region’s music scene by offering up 3+ days of consistently solid lineups. Like most festivals, Shaky Knees offers full weekend passes, single day tickets and VIP treatment, but the biggest coup here is the late night sets at local clubs throughout the city. After each headliner finishes pouring it on at the Peachtree Stage, music spills over into some of Atlanta’s most happening spots including Terminal West, The Masquerade, Variety Playhouse, Center Stage, and The Earl. The late night sets allow further examination of a day’s new find or simply a chance for non festival-goers to see a huge act in an intimate setting. It’s the perfect ending to a sunny spring day.
Though in it’s fourth year, the festival has yet to find a permanent home and I can’t figure out why the festival keeps jumping around…Are the coordinators trying out every venue until they find one that sticks, or do they just keep getting kicked out for noise complaints? I know the Old Fourth Ward Park and Atlantic Station were too small, but I thought Central Park was a great host last year. The sports fields and parking lots provided plenty of room to spread out and shade trees were plentiful. This year’s installment was housed in Centennial Olympic Park and and on the lawn in front of the Georgia Dome. Atlanta’s Olympic memorial handled the large crowds well but didn’t provide much in the way of sun relief. Drinks were easy to get, restroom facilities were clean, and food options were great. I especially admired the incorporation of local restaurants into the various food courts. Food trucks were again front and center but one could also snag a BBQ sandwich from Fox Bros or a burger from the Grindhouse tent. Nice touch. I do wish festivals would take a page out of Augusta National’s book and stop charging $7 for a Dos Equis…but I digress.
Overall it was a well coordinated endeavor, aside from the pedestrian bridge over Marietta Street connecting the Peachtree, Ponce de Leon, and Buford Highway Stages to Boulevard and Piedmont in front of the Dome. At peak times the bridge became a log jam and forced 10-15 minute wait times to get to the other side of the park. Next time just pay whatever the city wants to shut down two blocks of traffic…
Now here’s a rundown of our favorite (and not so favorite) acts from this year’s fest:
The Front Bottoms
The hot afternoon sun didn’t stop the crowd from enthusiastically singing along to the catchy tunes of “Au Revoir (Adios)” and “The Beers.” With their earnest lyrics and witty banter in between each song, catching The Front Bottoms was like catching up with old friends over a few cold beers. – Camren Skelton
Craig Finn
Finn’s laid-back, confident style and thoughtful lyrics made for a performance that was more introspective than other acts of the weekend. Although taking in Finn as a solo act is different than hearing him with The Hold Steady, the performance is still just as captivating and intense. – Camren Skelton
Beach Slang
Although they were playing an early set, I was impressed at the large, engaged crowd these punky newcomers attracted. After taking requests from the crowd and making jokes throughout, Beach Slang put on an entertaining show that kept the crowd singing along until the very end. – Camren Skelton
Wolf Alice
Heading over to the main stages, I was able to catch British alt rockers Wolf Alice, and they did not disappoint. As people made their way into the gates, they trickled into the area around the stage, just as enthralled in the band’s folk/grunge/electronic elements as I was. Despite the hot Atlanta sun, the band brought a big crowd and put on a performance that was a favorite of the weekend. – Camren Skelton
Barns Courtney
The acoustic set Courtney delivered made for a performance that was unlike any other I saw throughout the weekend. Although he was standing on stage alone with his guitar, he filled the stage with a big sound and proved that he earned his spot on our Artists to Watch list. – Camren Skelton
Hop Along
This freak-folk/grunge-pop outfit from Philadelphia absolutely blew me away. Emotive vocals, angsty lyrics, and intricate guitar licks fuel their heavy pop sound. I love how lead singer Frances Quinlan’s voice perambulates the spectrum of screech-scream to delicate whisper through each song.
Catchy, painful, even epic at times. The soundtrack to your next breakup. – Chris Hunkele
Day Wave
If Weezer, Washed Out, and Real Estate were puréed in a blender, you’d end up with the smooth synth sounds of Day Wave.
Soundtrack to your next road trip. – Chris Hunkele
Baskery
Sirens, man…These Swedish sisters were everything of which Circe warned Odysseus. The self-proclaimed “banjo punks” commanded the stage with infectious, foot-stomping energy. It was impossible to look away as they flawlessly harmonized their way through the mid-afternoon Atlanta heat.
Your girlfriend’s favorite band, your new guilty pleasure. – Chris Hunkele
Silversun Pickups
Holy Crap! – who thought shoegaze could be so intense? The plan was to watch through “Lazy Eye” and head over to see Huey Lewis & the News, but an hour later I found myself trying to shake Brian and Nikki’s fuzzy guitar tones from my ears. I never expected a performance that good. – Chris Hunkele
The Decemberists
The unexpected dig of Silversun’s set made me late for The Decemberists, which honestly wasn’t a bad thing – ’twas damn near impossible to slide into melancholy after such an energetic performance. It was kind of a bummer as I was really looking forward to seeing the Portlanders for the first time, but my gut tells me they’re the kind of band that requires four walls to really lock you in. – Chris Hunkele
My Morning Jacket
I made my way over to the big stage (aka Peachtree) looking to get sucked into an epic Jim James performance, but all I saw were a lot of theatrics. I was hoping to hear something to make me fall in love with MMJ again, but the half a dozen or so songs I stuck around for only served as affirmation that my ears will never hear anything the way they first heard 2005’s Z. – Chris Hunkele
Murder By Death
The second night of Shaky wrapped up with a late night Murder By Death set that absolutely rocked. As tired as I was, it’s never hard to get in the mood to belt out “Lost River” or “I Came Around”. I Scooped up these tickets the day it was announced and am really glad I was able to power through to the 1am start time. – Chris Hunkele
Parquet Courts
These guys rip. Saw ’em at the 40 Watt last year and was curious to see how their sound would translate to the great outdoors. I definitely recommend seeing them in a club, but if all you have is a festival chance, get there early and try to move up front. – Chris Hunkele
Nothing
I was so looking forward to this I sat through their sound check. The heaviness of their new record was replicated on stage, but the vocals were…well…just bad honestly. Almost cringeworthy. Though they did do a pretty sick cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”. – Chris Hunkele
Deftones
Completely blown away by Chino and the boys. Any heaviness or on point vocals I was hoping to get from Nothing, I received tenfold from Deftones. If this year’s Shaky Knees was an episode of Supermarket Sweep, their set would’ve been the Farmer John golden wrapped hams. – Chris Hunkele
Shaky Knees 2016: Polyenso X Vinyl Mag
St. Petersburg-based trio Polyenso create their sound through an eclectic fusion of indie rock, electronic, folk and hip-hop. Formerly known as Oceana, the band brings something new to the table with lighter, more uplifting music under their new name. We had the chance to chat with Polyenso’s own Alex Schultz prior to their set at Shaky Knees to discuss influences, songwriting and what fans can expect in the future as the band evolves, changes and continues to push the boundaries of what they do.
Vinyl Mag: So are you guys excited for Shaky Knees?
Alex Schultz: Oh yeah, this will be our first major music festival.
VM: And you’re playing Bonnaroo this year too right?
AS: Yeah, second major music festival.
VM: Pretty exciting way to kick off your U.S. tour!
AS: Yeah, this tour is kind of like a festival sandwich. We’ve got Shaky Knees the first date and Bonnaroo the last date. So it’s perfect, it worked out really well.
VM: Are there any other cities or venues you’re really excited to play at?
AS: Oh yeah, we haven’t been out to the west coast, as Polyenso, ever. You know in other bands we toured out there a while, but not as Polyenso, so we’re just excited to be out there. It’s been too long. But New York of course is going to be amazing. We have a lot of friends in New York and we’re excited to play there. And a couple other cities, but mostly I think we’re just excited to get out to the west coast.
VM: Do you guys have any favorite songs to perform live? Do you do any covers, or have anything that gets the crowd really excited?
AS: We kind of re-invented this album, because we recorded the whole thing in the studio. And we never played any of it live before until we started rehearsing for this tour. So we kind of re-invented a lot of the tracks live. So they’ve got this whole new dynamic. My favorite to do live is “Let it Go.” I know, I think Denny’s is “Every Single Time” or “A Pool Worth Diving In,” but yeah, no covers on this one. I was thinking about doing a Prince thing, but things were so crazy, we didn’t have time to put something that would have really honored him together, so we decided to just play our songs, maybe say something.
VM: So you guys started out as Oceana…how has it been changing from that sound to the sounds of Polyenso?
AS: Honestly, back in those days when we did play with that band we had always listened to the things that inspired Polyenso’s music, we just never really let them come out in our writing. Little bits here and there vocally and melodically sometimes, but there wasn’t really room for it in that type of music. So with this new stuff, we let those influences completely take over. Influences like Sufjan Stevens, Bjork and Paul Simon. And Flying Lotus. Some of the other hip-hop influences you can hear on the new stuff. We’ve been listening to that stuff forever, now just let it finally really influence our music and that’s why the big change happened and that’s why we decided to start a new band and honor that stuff we didn’t in the past. Cause that was a time and we’re proud of it but we just started something completely different, and didn’t do it under the same moniker. But luckily when we did form Polyenso, we had a lot of fans from our other band that kind of grew with us, so there was a lot of crossover. They were like okay, I can get into this now at this point in my life and they were on the same page as us. So it helped a lot and we got a lot of support from those fans.
VM: Loyal fan base.
AS: Yeah, totally. I mean we got a lot of heat for it too, a lot of internet hate, stuff like that, but if you’re gonna change something up like that you’ve got to expect that.
VM: Yeah, you’ve got to stick to what feels right for you. So what was your writing process like for Pure In The Plastic?
AS: It was something completely foreign to us as musicians. We got an awesome opportunity to be in the studio with a producer that some friends introduced us to, in our hometown, and we talked for a little bit, we showed him some of our old music from our first album, and he was making all these comparisons like R.E.M and Radiohead, and he really loved it and wanted to hear some new stuff so we showed him some little things we had been writing, and one thing led to another and we ended up being in that studio almost every day for about two years. So our first album was pretty classic writing scenario, we would all be in a room together and would be bouncing ideas off each other and I would have my guitar, and Denny would be on the drums and Brennan would have his guitar and keyboard and we would just write classic band style. But with this new one, we had a little bit written, which is what we showed the producer, but for the most part we went in and completely wrote and recorded everything piece by piece. So the three of us were rarely in the studio at the same time. Denny would come in and lay down a drum groove, then I would come in the next day or so and put bass and synthesizers or a vocal melody and some guitars and then Brennan would come in and do the same thing and we would just tweak this thing until it became something that we all were completely obsessed over. And then we would all sit down together and structure it out. Decide which part was the intro, which part we would do verses or choruses. Pop music, Prince, Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, people like that they still have a huge influence on what we do, as does the experimental, so we’re big on The Beatles, stuff like that, we experiment for sure, and we got the opportunity to experiment like crazy on this new one, but at the end of the day, we want to make it accessible for ourselves and for other people, and the blending of pop meets experimental is what happened there. Because of what we listened to. But the writing process was literally all in the studio, we never played any of it live together before, so playing it live together now is an experience. It’s really cool. Super fun.
VM: Going forward, what do you want people to think of when they hear your name, or hear your music?
AS: I want them to be excited about what they’re going to hear from us next, and I want them to be excited about when they listen to our records, that they’re going to hear something new every time. Because some of my favorite records are like that, you listen to it once and you love it, or you don’t love it, it takes some time to get used to, and then you listen to it again and you hear something new. We put a lot of love into this record, so I just hope when people think about us they get excited for music in general. And what’s next. Because we’re going to keep evolving, keep changing and pushing the boundaries of what we do.
VM: Is there anything else you want to share with Vinyl readers?
AS: Well if there’s any of our fans out there reading this, just wanted to say thank you. For helping us get to this point, because this is the start to what we’ve been working towards for the past five years. These opportunities are right there in front of us and we’re not going to mess them up. The reason that we’re here, not only because of music but because of that awesome fan base we were talking about earlier. So anybody that’s reading this that’s been listening to us, thank you.
Shaky Knees 2016: LANY X Vinyl Mag
Although they only emerged a little over a year ago, Los Angeles-based trio LANY has quickly made their way to the top of the charts. After touring with Halsey, X Ambassadors, Twin Shadow and, most recently, Ellie Goulding, the young band is now on their own headlining tour across the U.S. Vinyl Mag had the chance to chat with LANY prior to their set at Shaky Knees to talk about their music, touring and the exciting future ahead.
Vinyl Mag: So you guys started out in Nashville and now you’re based in LA. Has that change impacted your songwriting or is the process still pretty much the same?
Paul Klein: I think it’s the same. I mean I was living in LA when we started LANY but I would say it’s probably the same.
VM: Where does the name LANY come from? Does it stand for anything?
PK: Los Angeles, New York. It just represents, all over the country.
VM: And speaking of acronyms, your EP Make Out is full of them—what was the idea behind doing this?
PK: Well Make Out was a re-release because in 2014 we put out an EP called Acronyms that had a voicemail from his mom, I love you so bad and be right back, so we wanted to, we went on tour last year and opened up for people and got a bunch of new fans. And we wanted to kind of, noticed that on our Spotify albums we had a bunch of singles, and it felt a little unorganized, so we wanted to condense and make it an easy discovery process for people. So we complied our songs and put it on Make Out.
Jake Goss: We were actually in Nashville eating when we decided on the Acronyms thing.
VM: Well it’s a cool idea. And you guys recently toured with Ellie Goulding, how was the experience?
PK: It was super tough, probably the hardest thing we’ve done as a band. Just playing two hours before Ellie Goulding in arenas is interesting.
VM: Have you ever played an arena show before?
PK: That was our first. So normally we’re used to being really close, and on top of our fans, or people and in an arena people are really far away from you and two hours before the headliner goes on it’s pretty, it’s like half full. So for instance when we were playing the O2 that holds 20,000 people and there probably were 10,000 people there when we were playing, but it really just felt like there were 10 people.
VM: So would you say you like playing for smaller venues better, or was it cool to play in something that large?
PK: Well our songs sound really humongous in arenas so that’s always awesome. It sounds huge. But I’m gonna say smaller rooms because we’re headlining smaller rooms right now, so that feels better. But I think our greatest challenge as a band but something that I look forward to is making an arena feel like a 500 cap room. Because I know that we will be there one day. So that’ll be, I can answer that question better when we headline.
JG: But it’s always the best to just play with your fans.
VM: So when you get to the arena level, who would you want to open for you guys?
Les Priest: Coldplay
VM: Solid choice.
PK: Yeah, I don’t know probably whatever. I mean I hope that we can bring up bands that remind us of us when we were not playing arenas. Bring those people out.
VM: So if you could describe your sound in three words, what would you say?
PK: Dreamy, aspirational and emotive, or convincing. There you go, you have a couple choices.
VM: Looking towards the future, what can fans expect from LANY? Any news on an album release date?
PK: No news, just because we don’t have any news on that. But you can expect just a lot of activity I guess. A lot of content coming your way.
Shaky Knees 2016: The Dear Hunter X Vinyl Mag
What started as a solo project of frontman Casey Crescenzo eventually turned into a full band with over a hundred songs to their name. Progressive rock band The Dear Hunter features a wide variety of instruments and sounds and is known for their creation of immersive concept albums. Vinyl Mag got the chance to sit down with Crescenzo at Shaky Knees to talk inspiration and the strategic writing process behind each new creation.
Vinyl Mag: You guys have such a huge back catalogue. How do you narrow it down when you’re playing a set at a festival?
Casey Crescenzo: It’s really hard, honestly, especially because we always want to just play new songs. The one’s that we’re the most fresh on, and excited about. Represent us the most in the moment. But I think that’s a little too selfish to do it only that way. So it’s just a mix. What songs do we really really want to play right now and what songs do we think people who already know us might want to hear. If they aren’t super up to date on all the new stuff. But it’s pretty chaotic, the act of making a set list.
VM: I love the idea of you doing concept albums. Can you tell us a little bit about the writing process behind it?
CC: Yeah, I think it’s changed per record. The first few records were really just me, in a room writing for hours on end. And this last record is the first time it was really kind of, I gave the band a treatment of the story and concept artwork that no one else would see and just—nerding out on it—but just so they would have a frame of reference of where my head’s at about it. Cause I think of track listings before there’s a note of any of the songs, just to spell it out. So lately it’s been me coming with a few skeletons, and then everybody in the band, I don’t want to say putting their mark on it, because that sounds like they’re forcing it, but it’s like everybody with the story in mind and with the concept in mind kind of working together to complete a song, or a record.
VM: So when you’re writing, do the lyrics normally come before the music?
CC: No, I think the meaning comes before the music. But the lyrics usually are the last thing I do. When I’m writing music I sing with it, but it’s mostly just phonetics and gibberish, and I get my melody really comfortable. And this is going to sound really clinical, but it’s almost like painting by numbers, because I know the cadences already, I know the rhythms and the melodies, so it’s kind of like I know the rhythms, I know the melodies, I don’t know the lyrics yet but I know what I want to say with them, so it’s an easier process than to write lyrics from scratch. With no melody and no idea. But that is usually the last thing to come. Curiously enough with a concept album. I’m not a poet, so I don’t just sit and write poetry.
VM: So if you were describing your sound to someone who has never heard your music, what would you say?
CC: No idea, I hate when people say we’re just music, or it’s eclectic or something like that. Usually when people do ask I say it’s a rock band because I think if you took the widest cross section of the band that’s the element that’s shared amongst all the varying genres, but honestly there’s everything from Latin folk, to dark industrial rock, to ambient, kind of shoegaze music, to just pop. There’s plenty of just stupid pop songs that I’ve written. But it’s really all over the place, so instead of it being just kind of like, oh there’s something for everybody, it’s more like there’s everything for people who want to hear everything. And I think that’s why it doesn’t really appeal to a wide audience, it’s more just people like me who just like music, and aren’t necessarily genre specific. They don’t really have an interest, or exclusively listen to one type of music. So that’s the people I think it appeals to, and that’s what I usually describe it as, rock music that can be pretty much any type of genre.
VM: People that enjoy the meaning behind the songs too.
CC: Yeah I think it goes both ways. I think some people get really into the story, and then some people don’t think about the story at all and just think about the visceral pleasure of it. Some people cast the story away and the lyrics still have meaning. I mean there’s some songs that are really plot-driven, concept record songs. But there’s 90% of music I believe has a meaning, and can be enjoyed void completely of a concept. It is still identifiable and relatable without being over arching, 30 hours, space odyssey music.
VM: When it comes to playing something like Shaky Knees, do you have a different way of choosing your songs, as opposed to playing a smaller venue?
CC: Yeah, I think it’s just knowing that we’re not a headliner here. And knowing that while some people might know us, it’s not necessarily satisfying people who might know us at a show like this, it’s more of what do you choose that you think might be interest-catching for people who have no idea who you are. I mean we arrange a set the same way we would if we were supporting a bigger band, like going on tour as a supporter. I think the headliner sets we do are usually a little more selfish, a little bit more what do we want to play and what would our fans want to hear. And not even thinking about what might be interesting to someone who’s never heard us.
VM: So what’s next for the Dear Hunter after this? Any tour dates you’re looking forward to, or anything new you’re working on?
CC: We actually do this and then two days off , and then we start a three week tour with O’ Brother and Rare Futures. But we do that until the beginning of June, then we have a few months off and I don’t really know what’s after that, but those are the immediate things.
VM: An exciting few weeks ahead it sounds like. Staying busy.
CC: Lots of friends, that’s the best thing is we’re friends with all those people. Mini vacation.
Shaky Knees 2016: Craig Finn X Vinyl Mag
If there’s one thing to learn from Craig Finn, it’s how to weave an intriguing story. While the Hold Steady frontman knows what it’s like to rev up an audience as a loud rock band, he appeals to the more mellow side of things as a solo artist. We sat down with Finn following his Friday set at Shaky Knees to talk inspiration, Purple Rain and the importance of telling a story through rock ‘n’ roll.
Vinyl Mag: So have you played Shaky Knees before?
Craig Finn: Yeah I played with Hold Steady in 2014, had a really good time then. I’ve never seen so many guitars at a festival, it kind of feels like nice as a rock ‘n’ roll band to feel like it’s a rock fest.
VM: Are you gonna check out any other sets while you’re here?
CF: Well, we have to get to Nashville tonight but we played at an after party last night and I saw Beach Slang, and we have a ton of friends here, so that’s been fun.
VM: So what was the transition like from going as a band with the Hold Steady to going into a solo career?
CF: You know there’s ups and downs to both, obviously you have the camaraderie with a band, a history, you have different side jokes and all that. But the cool thing is I write so much. The solo thing is able to work on my schedule a lot more. If I want to record two songs, I’m going to get who’s available to try and record with me, rather than try to make everything work for all, or get schedules with all different people. And also the solo thing allows me to play with different people, under the umbrella of the solo thing so that’s really rewarding and helpful. So there’s great parts to both, I just sort of like getting to flex two different muscles.
VM: So in the future do you see yourself branching out into a solo-only career or do you want to stay with the Hold Steady?
CF: Well we already have a couple shows with the Hold Steady in the fall, but we haven’t played in 18 months or so, so right now I’m concentrating on the solo thing. I’m trying to do, I think it will probably be a mix of everything. My first band Lifter Puller played a show last summer. So I feel like it’s just all the things I do. I’m hoping to do a different type of writing. So that’s kind of my idea of where it goes. But I think now that I have the solo thing there will always be the solo thing. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to do it, you can’t break up with yourself. Like my next record could be electronic, but it’s still Craig Finn. And then it’s like you’re still building a body of work.
VM: So do you think your audience as a solo artist is different than the Hold Steady? Or was there a lot of crossover?
CF: I think it’s quite honestly a lot of the same people. Hopefully you grow into, and some of the tours I’ve done in the last year have grown. I went out with Jason Isbell and Heartless Bastards and certainly met a lot of people at those shows. That’s always encouraging. But you’re also getting people who were at the Hold Steady. Hold Steady is a lot louder rocking band, so some people are disappointed they aren’t going to be able to throw beer in the air, but hopefully those people are also getting more mellow as I am, so hopefully it’s at least the Hold Steady people.
VM: It’s nice to have a good mix.
CF: Yeah, I mean I hope it will appeal to people of all ages. And we’ve done a lot more shows with the solo thing that are seated shows, which is kind of nice, a different energy, and hopefully it will appeal to a different group.
VM: Yeah, you get to play a lot of different types of venues I guess.
CF: Yeah, we did Lincoln Center in February and I did a lot of small theaters with Jason Isbell. Just kind of different. Again, it’s like flexing a muscle. Playing down south with Jason is a lot different than playing Chicago with the Hold Steady. Playing Bristol, Tennessee, that was a really small town in the south and no one knew who I was and that’s cool, that’s a challenge. You’ve got to be funny and you’ve got to try to charm them a little bit.
VM: So to someone who’s never heard your music before, how would you describe it?
CF: I would say it’s rock, with a focus on storytelling. Cause I think that’s one of the defining things that my songs are—stories.
VM: I like that. Do you pull inspiration from your own experiences?
CF: Yeah I do, I think we all do. I think novelists—I forget who said it, someone said “there’s one hero in every novel and that’s the author.” Gregory Dunn said that. But when I write, it’s myself but it’s also stories. And books. Like reading novels, cause I still just read, going on tour, traveling, walking around, looking in a house, and saying ‘what happens in there?’ Picking up a story, trying to entertain myself.
VM: So what has been your favorite venue to play at, in all the time you’ve been touring?
CF: So I’m from Minneapolis, and First Avenue is the club there, and it’s not only that it’s my hometown, but I think if you ask me, and most people would say that for a club this size, that and the 9:30 club in D.C. are probably the two best. But especially, First Avenue is where Purple Rain was filmed. And so there’s a lot of nostalgia, and it’s also my home town. But also I just think it’s the best club, and now that Prince has left us there’s a special nostalgia. I watched Purple Rain in 1984 when it came out, and then I watched it for the first time in full last week—it’s so good. I thought it was terrible when I was 13. But now I love it. I guess I’m in a sympathetic mood. It’s bizarre, but it’s entertaining,
VM: Yeah, seeing it from a new perspective of him not being here anymore.
CF: Yeah it’s very melodramatic. It’s not real feminist I have to admit. When they put the girl in the dumpster…
VM: Yeah it definitely has some bizarre moments. Well that’s about all I have for you, but is there anything else you want to share with Vinyl readers?
CF: No, I think we’re good. Just thanks for having me.
VM: Thanks for talking to us, and good luck on the rest of your tour.
Shaky Knees 2016: Kaleo X Vinyl Mag
With their brilliant blend of blues, folk and country, Kaleo took America by storm last year when they arrived on the festival scene. After great success in their native country, the four-piece Icelandic band moved their sound to Austin, TX and was met with an equally receptive audience. Vinyl Mag sat down with Kaleo frontman JJ Julius Son to talk inspiration, audience and an exciting new album coming out next month.
Vinyl Mag: So you guys are from Iceland, and have been a big hit in the U.S. so far, gotten a pretty big following. Are there any key cities you want to hit?
JJ: Good question, I think we have probably played almost every city. I think we played soon, every state pretty much. The past year we’ve really just been touring pretty much. But a lot of great cities that we loved. Nashville is a big favorite. San Diego. New York is always fun. Chicago.
VM: And you guys are living in Austin now, how is that?
JJ: Yeah, Austin’s a great music city. We wish we had more time there, cause we’re constantly on tour so we don’t really spend much time there. But maybe in the future.
VM: So how was the transition from the Icelandic market to the American market?
JJ: It’s a huge transition, cause Iceland is a country of 300,000 people and America is 300 and something million. So it’s very different and you know, long drives. But every state is different, every city is different. And I think that’s one of the qualities we like.
VM: Would you say that your audience is pretty similar in both countries or do you have a different following?
JJ: No I would say they are similar. We see now that it’s more and more people from all ages in the U.S. And that was always the case back home, so we’re delighted it still crosses over to America as well.
VM: Right, appeals across the spectrum. So to someone who has never heard your music before, how would you describe your sound?
JJ: I would describe it as diverse, dynamic, soulful.
VM: And you guys have a new album coming out next month?
JJ: Yes, June 10 – very excited.
VM: What can fans expect to hear?
JJ: I would say it’s very much, to kind of go with the vision that I had which is diverse, and you’ll hear that. It’s a kind of concept album. It’s called A/B, so side A, think of it as a vinyl, side A is very much rock ‘n’ roll, blues, and then side B has more balance and softer stuff, like folky. And you can label these things into all kinds of genres and stuff, but yeah it’s gonna be diverse, definitely.
VM: So this is your debut album for the U.S.
JJ: So we did release an album back in Iceland that was only released in Iceland, so you can call it a debut album, well outside of Iceland. I think they are calling it a debut album in the U.S.
VM: And after Shaky Knees, what are your plans?
JJ: I have to catch a flight I think in an hour, but we have a festival in Austin and then we have a show in Houston, and then we have Hangout Fest.
VM: Staying busy! Have you ever done Hangout before?
JJ: We did last year, lots of fun. Right now it’s obviously festival season which is fun. And then this summer we’ll be mostly touring, and then we go back to Iceland for a few weeks, which will be nice. See some family. And yeah, that’s kind of the summer.
VM: Do you play any shows when you go back to Iceland?
JJ: Yeah, we’re planning on doing one concert when we go back.
VM: Well I don’t have anything else for you, but is there anything else you want to share with Vinyl readers?
JJ: Yeah, check out the album. It’s a vinyl concept, A and B.
VM: So great excuse to buy it on vinyl, right?
JJ: Always, yes.