Tag: sxsw
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SXSW 2014: Charli XCX x Vinyl Video
Reunited, and it feels so badass! You know it’s going to be a good SXSW when your first interview is a follow-up with pop princess Charli XCX.
You may remember her from our video interview last year. OR you may know her from her awesome collaborations with artists like Icona Pop and Iggy Azalea (no, but seriously…anyone who has been in my office or in the car with me over the last two weeks month can attest to the fact that I can’t. Stop. Listening to “Fancy”). OR you may just be obsessed with her last album, True Romance and counting the days until her next. Either way, every one of you should know and love this girl by now.
We caught up on a balcony at the Hilton in downtown Austin for a quick reunion on the first day of South by Southwest to talk about her new projects and what’s next for her (but not before she viciously attacked me with my own microphone – don’t worry; we hugged it out). Enjoy.
SXSW 2014: SomeKindaWonderful x Vinyl Mag
For Cleveland based grunge-soul group SomeKindaWonderful, songwriting comes naturally. “There’s always something holding you back. I think that’s the human condition. It keeps you playing for something,” says Jordy Towers, lead singer/songwriter for the group. Jordy’s powerful vocals combined with the band’s haunting melodies drive their first release Reverse beyond your average pop break-up ballad.
With lyrics like, “I told my story in REVERSE ’cause it hurts” and “Could I get a DO-OVER?!,” regret and second-guessing become songwriting avenues that lead the listener on a reverse chronology love story.
“One of my favorite movies is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. They tell a love-story backwards. I’ve always wanted to do a song like that. The lyrics started coming out, and as they came out it, I started noticing that maybe I can just write this backwards,” says Jordy of his inspiration for the song.
“Reverse,” written the first night the three band members got together, provides an eerie soul-rock punch to the ears. On a soul-searching journey after leaving his LA rap career with [a major label], Jordy stumbled into a small-town Ohio bar where he met Matt Gibson and Ben Schigel. Matt (guitar) and Ben (drums) combined their Cleveland rock influences with Jordy’s LA hip-hop sensibilities to create a sound that doesn’t quite fit neatly into any genre. In addition to the three members that emerged from that fateful meeting in the Ohio bar, Sarah brings her gospel upbringing, with a love of neo-soul and rock to SomeKindaWonderful while Steve adds hip-hop, soul, and gospel elements to the sound.
The members of SomeKindaWonderful kindly took the time to sit down with Vinyl Mag during SXSW to talk about the evolution of the group, their inspiration and upcoming album.
Vinyl Mag: So, you guys are from Cleveland and LA?
Jordy Towers: I’m from LA, and these guys are from Cleveland.
Vinyl: And you left LA, and you found your way to Cleveland. Tell me about that.
Jordy: Dude, I got depressed [when my major label deal didn’t work out]…so, I had some family out in Ohio, and I was doing some soul searching.
Matt: We were in this bar just drinking right by this studio in Cleveland, and Jordy is in there for whatever reason on his soul-searching trip. We went back and started talking and wrote “Reverse” that night.
Jordy: We wrote “Reverse” that night, and we finished it the next day. It was pretty much demo-ed out that night with rough vocals.
Matt: Like 90 percent mixed that night.
Jordy: Ever since then, every little thing has felt like fate. Even timing things, like obstacles, we got over them at the right time…I’m not mad about anything, because everything led us up to this point.
Vinyl: Could you all talk about what each of you do in the group?
Jordy: I’m pretty much the tip of the band; I bring all the elements together. I used to be a rapper – an underground rapper. I toured with Lupe Fiasco. I’ve been in a freestyle battle with pretty much everyone in the game. I’ve moved on to something else. That’s where our music is. Our music is a mesh of hip-hop, reggae and rock. Cleveland is really known for rock.
Matt: I was thinking about that today, because Jordy brings the hip hop reggae vibe. You were always listening to Folky music, and I was always into the Genesis and Rush, high production stuff, and we interfused everything together.
Ben: It’s a songwriting vibe mixed with great production and sound.
Matt: Steve probably comes from the hip-hop world with a little bit of reggae, soul, gospel. Sarah brings her beautifulness of bringing it all together.
Matt: It’s a really cool mix.
Vinyl: Sarah, what about you?
Sarah: I had a heavy gospel influence in my upbringing. I grew up a huge hip-hop fan, a huge neo-soul fan, a huge rock fan, and it just works. That’s why, even though each of us has different backgrounds and upbringings, it works, and it’s very natural. You can hear my gospel element in the music. I balance out the testosterone.
Jordy: And she brings the perfect hair.
Matt: Stunning good looks.
Jordy: Perfect style.
Vinyl: And you guys bring the….stubble?
Ben: We almost called ourselves The Stubble Boys.
Matt: If we were going to play Irish music, we’d be The Stubblins. But like I said, I play guitar and ukulele and little bits of other stuff…harmonica at times.
Vinyl: Ukulele! That’s the instrument of peace.
Matt: It reminds me of Hawaii; that’s where I bought it. I had to take the island with me, musically.
Jordy: There’s something about when it comes to writing songs; there’s something about the way he plays that pulls songs out of me. I write the lyrics and most of the songs. Just something about Matt, and it’s not just the way he plays but something about him, he makes me really comfortable to just f*ck up if I have to. You know what I mean? If I sing a bad note, it doesn’t matter. He just wants to get it done with me.
Ben: The musical chemistry is crazy between all of us.
Sarah: You would think we’ve all been life-long friends.
Vinyl: How long have you been together as a group?
Matt: About a year; we’ve known each other longer.
Vinyl: Tell me more about the process of getting your songs out. It sounds like you have been hampered by legal and logistical difficulties.
Jordy: We have a song called “In Chains,” which is about how we’re all still locked down at some point in our lives regardless of how we have gotten our release…as far as we think we’re getting, there’s always something holding you back. I think that’s the human condition. It keeps you playing for something.
Sarah: Yeah it does.
Matt: Gotta have struggle.
Vinyl: It’s really impressive that your first song “Reverse” was not only written in one night but on the first night you guys met.
Jordy: One of my favorite movies is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. They tell a love-story backwards. I’ve always wanted to do a song like that. The lyrics started coming out, and as they came out, I started noticing that maybe I can just write this backwards. I wasn’t sure if the guys were going to like it but…
Everyone: We really like it!
Jordy: I wasn’t sure; I was like f*ck it! I just tried it, and it f*cking worked.
Ben: Musically, we didn’t have any ideas for what we wanted it to sound like. We just ended up with this haunting eerie cowboy soul R&B song.
Jordy: Now it’s become our sound.
Vinyl: How would you define you your sound?
Jordy: We actually call it grunge soul.
Sarah: Regardless of the genre, that element of the soul is there, and it’s raw and powerful.
Ben: I think that stems from all of us having different things we like, different kinds of music; it’s not like I like what I like, and he likes folk music, and I’m like, ‘I don’t want to hear that sh*t.’ We’re all open to whatever.
Jordy: Subconsciously, we all want to please each other musically. Subconsciously, we all know that we are pleased musically. It’s a mixture of everything that we’re happy with.
Vinyl: Can you tell me more about your name. When I first googled you guys, this 1961 song “Some Kind of Wonderful” came up by Gerry Goffin and Carole King.
Jordy: That was us. We produced that.
Vinyl: Ha! But where did the name come from?
Jordy: I had a dream about the word wonderful. At first I was like, we hate to use the word wonderful, because our music is f*cking gorgeous. There’s wonder and then there’s wonderful, and I was like man, let’s just call it SomeKindaWonderful.
Ben: It’s how it makes us feel. We had about five or six different ideas of band names before that but [Jordy] actually still changes it everyday. Everybody who hears it loves it. That was the first one that we were like, ‘that’s it.’
Vinyl: So what other things inspire you?
Sarah: Inspiration in life. Life itself is inspiration.
Jordy: When people do good deeds out of their character. Anything that makes you feel super strong.
Ben: Any feeling you have could be inspiring.
Jordy: Being around my family, my band; that’s what inspires me. I love you guys, you know? And being around our fans; the people that are there for us.
Sarah: You know…there are also lot of things that make you feel pain when you see in the world, and our songs hope to empower people. Our inspiration comes from wanting to make the world better, from wanting to help, from living up to a sense of purpose in our being. Jordy and everyone likes to say, it’s about the message.
Vinyl: What’s the timeline for your upcoming album?
Jordy: We’re kind of wrestling with the name of the album. [It will be out this summer]…one more thing I want to say: I feel like music is in an intermission stage right now, and they’re waiting for something, and that’s where we’re going to give them something. I’m honest about that, too. Our record is f*cking ridiculous.
Matt: We have been so part of every genre that we try to put that in our music but make it have the artistry again. But we write such great songs that it still has a pop appeal but not to the point where that’s what our whole thing is about.
Sarah: Kind of like how Lorde was; I don’t think Lorde had the intention to make a pop song, but her song really thrives in that arena.
Matt: Here’s another thing I want to say: a lot of times the whole listening of an album from start to finish is lost. It was created with the intention of a certain experience. I want people to put it on the beginning and be taken on a journey. We want to release it on vinyl, really cool color with a bonus track.
Vinyl: What does the year have in store for you and what upcoming shows are you most excited about?
Ben: This is kind of our introductory show, us presenting what we have to the world and to SXSW and then LA next. We will continue after that, but we’re not exactly sure yet as of now.
Vinyl: Craziest moment?
Matt: Partying on the road, getting roofied in Chicago, showing up at the hotel at 9 a.m. with no shirt on – just a sports jacket. This is ON the record.
Jordy: This is on the album!
SXSW 2014: Aer x Vinyl Mag
New-age hip hop duo, Aer, is comprised of Boston natives Carter Schultz and David Von Mering. Having just released their sophomore album earlier in March, the evolution in their style over the years is not only prevalent, but pioneer-style impressive. During SXSW, and (literally) hours into their arrival in Austin, we sat down with the two to pick their brains and find out what’s going on in their world. Give it a read, and follow that up with giving them a listen (I recommend “Feel I Bring,” but note that it’s been in stuck in my head for weeks now, and that’s a commitment in itself).
VM: It appears March and SXSW are the beginnings of an extensive tour for you two- what is the ratio of time spent on the road as opposed to off?
Carter Schultz: I’d say about 65 percent on the road and 35 percent off. It’s definitely what I prefer; I get stir crazy when I’m home in Boston.
VM: Are there any artist comparisons that you frequently get that you’re over hearing about?
CS: Anything “Frat Rap” – get out of here with that. I hope you didn’t have all of these bands you had compared our sound too…
VM: Well, I did have one in mind, but I wouldn’t consider Gym Class Heroes “Frat Rap.”
CS: Oh, no, I’ll take Gym Class Heroes any day. I just hate being put into that pool of college rap, or anyone who is just doing it really “normal.” If you really listen to our music, it’s clear how different it is than that, but I honestly think the real comparison solely comes from our age. We are of the typical college kid age, but that’s as far as it actually goes.
VM: What are you most excited to see and/or do, being that this is your first year at SXSW?
CS: I want to go to Iron Works; I want to see The Felice Brothers, and I’m really excited to be playing the same showcase as Dom Kennedy and Casey Veggies.
David Von Mering: I’m looking forward to everything Carter listed, but also to finding a new artist.
VM: Do you feel like you’ve had a breakthrough moment into the industry yet?
CS: I feel like we’re not even close. We’ve had our moments where we’ve had sold out shows where it felt a little surreal, but I wouldn’t say there’s been a “break.”
DVM: It’s funny, because I feel like five years ago the big “break” was just signing a deal, and now deals aren’t really prominent or even normal. I wouldn’t say we’ve had a break, but the “Feel I Bring” video did a lot for us.
VM: Currently, what are your favorite releases of 2014?
CS: I’ve been bumping Satellite Flight (The Journey to Mother Moon) by Kid Cudi a whole lot lately, and obviously the new Arctic Monkeys has been on replay non-stop since it came out.
VM: Are you two hands-on with your own social media accounts, or does anyone handle that for you?
DVM: Our manager usually does boring, dry announcements, but other than that it’s one of us.
CS: I think it’s so important to give that personal interaction. It takes tweeting, “Haha thanks” or a little smiley face, but that means so much to the fans. I’d say that we owe most of our success to the tools on the internet.
DVM: I’m not totally satisfied with my Twitter, personally, but I’ll get there. The thing with that is you can tweet one thing, and it gets totally misconstrued into something else. I do love Instagram, though, and all the photos from artists that I follow- I like that sh*t.
VM: Have you ridden in a pedicab yet?
CS: A bike cab? I have not, but our hotel is like seven miles away, so maybe they can take us that far. It’d probably take like eight hours or something insane like that. I did see this beautiful girl today who was a pedicab driver, and she had these leopard pants on- I may have to find her later.
VM: Do you both participate in songwriting, or is one of you more prevalent than the other in that aspect?
CS: David is the one who is most prevalent, because he produces all of the music that you hear. But in terms of songwriting, we each collectively come up with a concept, and I’ll write my verses to the concept, and David will write his hook to the concept. So I’d say we each have our respective duties, but David takes on the bulk of it.
DVM: Our songs usually start with instrumentation, so I usually try to let that dictate where I personally go with it. Also, if I have an idea but Carter doesn’t like it, we scrap it or vice versa. But definitely instruments come first and play the most part.
VM: What can we expect from Aer for the rest of 2014?
CS: Over the summer, we are touring the UK, and later in the summer we’re going on another tour that’s still in the works. In the fall, expect videos, more music, and just more.
DVM: This is just the beginning, kind of like one of those sitcoms like Seinfeld or Friends; there’s still a lot more to come from us.
SXSW 2014: Sol Cat x Vinyl Mag
Sol Cat grooved all the way to SXSW from their home base in Nashville, Tennessee, and boy are we glad they did. Filling the airwaves with explosive psychedelic guitars, Sol Cat made an impressive showing at the Austin music festival with several showcases. We were lucky enough to get to sit down with the Johny Fisher (guitar) and Taylor Craft (bass) of the band and talk about their sound, funny stories from tour, and what is next for them.
Vinyl Mag: So you guys have an eclectic sound that brings together different elements from such a range of genres; how would you define your sound?
Johny Fisher: I would say we have a rock ‘n’ roll sound, where we really just like to get funky and groove. There are six of us, and we all have pretty simplistic parts, but we are fooling everyone with so many of us. We really just like to play music that we can groove to and bob our heads. The groove defines us.
VM: You guys have been touring for quite awhile now – any favorite memories or funny stories?
Taylor Craft: Every time we go on tour is great, but we have a running joke where we call Tom, our drummer, anything but Tom. One time we had the people at Chick Fil A people call him Toby, and he had no idea that was him. He is the newest member of the band, so we have to give him a hard time.
VM: So you all played last night at the Thirsty Nickel. How did that go?
TC: Yeah we did; it was our first gig of South by [Southwest] for Big Picture Media. It was kind of nutty, and the sound was out of wack where you couldn’t hear much. But we had an absolute blast playing for a packed crowd.
VM: Any showcases you guys are super pumped to perform?
JF: Yeah for sure! The Big Picture Media showcase yesterday was awesome, and we are really excited to play all of the others, but especially the Audio Tree party tomorrow night.
VM: You guys have been at SX a few days now; any other artists that have really impressed you?
TC: Well, we saw Snoop Dog hanging out, which was really cool. He is such a crowd-stopping guy. But as for bands, most of us are friends, and it is tough to discover new ones, because we are trying to support the ones we know. Also, we roll about ten deep everywhere we go, so that makes it kind of difficult to move around too much.
VM: Do you guys have a favorite city or venue to play?
TC: Laredo, Texas has definitely been one of our favorite spots. It’s almost like a little mini festival before South by Southwest every year. We are always treated like family there.
VM: What is the song-writing process like for you guys?
JF: We usually write songs part by part; no one writes each other’s either – we all just write our own. When we find something good that we can all agree upon, we build it up from there part by part. It is impossible to go into the studio and record a good record in a week with everyone rushing. Nothing great is made quickly; it’s about sitting on a track and seeing what comes to you with fresh ears.
VM: Would you say your music has evolved, and if so, how?
JF: Yeah, our music has most definitely evolved. We started with two and now we are a six-man group, so that has definitely changed the dynamic of the band. I would say our sound has changed as we have grown up, but if you don’t evolve as a band, you are doing something wrong. We really just focus on not being anything we aren’t, and if something isn’t turning out well, it is helpful to have five others telling you that it sucks and being honest with you.
VM: If you guys could collaborate with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
JF: Wow, it’s really hard to narrow it down to only one. We are all influenced by such a variety of artists and genres. Our keyboardist really likes hip-hop, and the rest of us are so different as well. But if I had to narrow it down, I would say Willie Nelson, Herb Alpert..really anyone that’s real.
VM: So, what can we expect next from Sol Cat? Any new music in the works?
JF: Yep! We have a whole slew of new tracks sitting in our computer at home. Probably 40 or 50 tracks that we are just sitting on, tweaking. And we probably have about 50 more that we are in the process of making.
SXSW 2014: Quiet Company x Vinyl Mag
Hailing from Austin, TX rock ‘n’ roll band Quiet Company is definitely not a company to keep quiet about. The five-member group lays out punchy guitar beats with meaningful lyrics that have warranted coverage on NPR’s “All Things Considered” as well as several Austin Music Awards. We were graced with the opportunity to sit down and chat with them at the Chuggin’ Monkey in downtown Austin during SXSW and talk about their biggest successes, the new album coming out, and their love of Game of Thrones.
VM: So 2013 turned out to be quite the year for you guys. What do you guys think was your biggest success of the year?
Tommy Blank: It was the first year we were able to fully dedicate – all of us – to Quiet Company, so we were a full-time band. And we toured, so any one thing really encompasses everything. We were able to spend the full-time amount on rehearsals and writing up songs. I guess we got All Things Considered on NPR too, and that’s a pretty big thing. It was kind of an interesting thing, because it wasn’t all songs, and [it was] based on the topic of our last record and Taylor’s tackling of religion and his perspective.
VM: I saw on your website that you guys have started recording a fourth studio album. Can we expect to hear any thing off of it during SXSW?
Taylor Muse: Yes, I think we are only playing like one old song. Everything else we are playing is new. We are really excited about the new material, and we just got out of the studio Tuesday. We are adding some mixing now, and Tim Palmer is mixing it. He is one of – if not the – best mix engineers in the world for our money, so we are super excited about what we are hearing back. We are really proud of it. It’s our first record we have done with a producer, and we are working with Matt Novesky.
TB: It’s also the first one we have done completely in the studio, and we are using Orb Studios, which the grand opening is actually this Sunday, so we were in there before they actually opened the doors, and it was a really good experience.
VM: What should your fans expect from the new album coming out?
Evan Smoker: They should expect loud, catchy rockin’ guitars and awesome drums from me, the best drummer in the band and super hard punches. It’s going to be a great tour de force of rock ‘n roll greatness.
VM: What has it been like working with Matt Novesky producing?
TM: [Jokingly] Matt is just real human garbage. No, Matt is just a really lovely, amazing person. He is really kind and generous, and he made our recording experience so much fun. He was really all about getting the best version of us, you know, instead of making us into to something else. He helped us to see the making of the album as more about capturing a moment rather than capturing an idea. It was all about capturing a particular performance, something believable, something pure and genuine. Not how we have seen records before, when we were trying to capture the idea of something instead. We recorded it live, which is the first time we have done that, and I would hate to have to go back to recording any other way in any other studio. It was a really great experience, and Kevin Butler was the engineer, and he is fantastic.
TB: Because we had a great producer and an amazing guy like Kevin, we were able to focus on it being a live performance on this record. We were able to just perform and focus on that, instead of all that bullsh*t like miking amps.
VM: You guys recently re-mastered and re-recorded your 2006 album Shine Honesty. what was the inspiration to get back in the studio and give it another shot?
TM: Part of it was bad advice, but that’s the one record we didn’t own since it was on our record label. And they did nothing with it, and so it had been out of print for three years. So really, it was just a way for us to own the record again. We corrected a lot of things, but we were pretty true to the original as far as arrangement goes. It sounds better now, and it ended up being cheaper for us to just do it where we can manufacture new copies whenever we want, as opposed to spending money buying them back from the record label. It wasn’t a big thing for us; [it was] really just to fill that hole in our catalog.
VM:I know we are all dying to know, was the title of the Christmas EP Winter is Coming a Game of Thrones reference or just a coincidence?
TM: Oh yeah, of course.
TB: What’s Game of Thrones?
TM: Tommy doesn’t really watch game of thrones, but the rest of us do. It’s an overt reference; we weren’t really trying to hide it.
VM: Who writes the songs? Is there a common theme or subject that tie them together in any way?
TM: We did Belong, and that record dealt exclusively with the whole religion thing and not having one anymore and all the emotions and stuff that come with that. But we aren’t ever going to talk about that again. Oddly enough, I have always been a big fan of that imagery. To some degree, you can take the boy out of East Texas but you cant take East Texas out of the boy. There is still a lot of very religious imagery on this new record, but there is not a religious thought on it whatsoever. The new record just deals with this past year that we have had, and the overall message of the thing is anything that you love that is worth having, you will have to struggle for to some degree, so it deals with struggle in different aspects.
VM: What is the process you guys go through to make new music? Do you have a routine, or does it vary?
TM: I don’t know, since we have a new band now, we got a band that really wants to be here, so our process may differ from how it was in the past. Bill has only been our keyboard player for about a week. He has gone from being a piano player to a sensation worker. Evan may be the best drummer I have ever met; he’s phenomenal, but we have only had him for maybe a couple of months. We had been struggling to write this record for about a year, but then there was such an energy there with these new guys. We were just plowing through stuff, and everything was so easy.
TB: All the doubt from the writing room that we had been having was gone.
TM: Not to say anything bad about the guys from before; you can’t really control what you like and don’t like. But now we have a group that is a little more like-minded creatively. We all like big guitars and big rock songs, so let’s make big guitars and big rock songs.
VM: Could you give us any hint as to when the new album will be available?
TM: No. Not in the past; it’ll be in the future! We have never shopped a record before, so we aren’t going to do that. And if the right deal comes along, we just have no idea. If we don’t get it picked up or don’t find the right match for us, we will just release it ourselves, and it will probably fail. But we are really hoping it does get picked up. Plus, it is not even done mixing yet; we have done that thing in the past where we set a goal before the record is even done, but this year we finally learned all the lessons we need to learn.
SXSW Recap: Females Shine at House of Vans
Checking the pages upon pages of lineups the morning of March 12th with coffee in hand, I found it. I found the one party that day not to be missed. It was taking place at the historic Mohawk in downtown Austin. Four amazing female acts played, and they were not there to mess around. Below is a short synopsis of each act.
Unfortunately, I was running behind and arrived late to this rising star’s set (in my defense, no one is ever on time during the chaos that is SXSW). But on the positive side, I did get to listen to the last half from behind a protruding wall partially blocking the overflowing room for which she was playing. The number of people willing to pack into that small room was a good indication of the huge amount of talent this petite blond possesses. Her country twang had an infectious edge reminiscent of the rich voice of Stevie Nix. As her set came to a close, I understood why so much hype surrounded this artist coming into the music week of South by, and she sure lived up to it.
Kelela:
Oh, Kelela. I could listen to this songstress’ lovely layered voice for hours on end. She is impressive pre-recorded but even more so live, her voice boasting such a range from full and rich bass notes to beautiful and airy falsettos. Unfortunately her set overlapped slightly with Lydia’s, so I only truly caught the tail end. The uniqueness of her sound, her breathtaking voice layered on top an eclectic mix of bass, drum, and electronic tones, especially rang out on “Cut 4 Me,” the title track of her 2013 LP.
Her avant-garde sound is difficult to pin point, which could be because of her out of place feelings as second generation Ethiopian Immigrant raised in the states. Yet her music reaps amazing benefits from this situation, breaking the confines of any particular genre.
Charli XCX:
Punk pop princess of the UK Charli XCX was next on the bill at the House of Vans – the performance I had been waiting for all day. Bounding onto the stage, she immediately began strutting around the stage like she owned it, throwing her wild black locks around as she danced. Known for her synthy pop beats with a dark side, the 21-year-old shined on slower track “Black Roses” and fist pumping crowd favorite “SuperLove.”
Not only did she sound fabulous, she looked the part as well donning a lovely vintage plaid dress and stunning the crowd with her intense stare and sassy red lips. She ended her high energy set with an appropriate cover of the famous tune “I Want Candy.” Needless to say, Charli XCX did not disappoint.
Dum Dum Girls:
If you are looking for a powerhouse all female rock band, then go see Dum Dum Girls live. In their 40 minute set, the four-woman group managed to kill all guys rock harder stereotypes. Dee Dee’s voice soared high above the dreamy psychedelic guitars, sounding especially ethereal on tracks “Coming Down” and “Lord Knows.” All four wore all black, fitting for the slight melancholy that melds into their music. Addictive 80s melodies are sprinkled into certain tracks, especially those off their 2014 album Too True such as “Rimbaud Eyes” that captivated the crowd. Although the Dum Dum Girls went last for the females that day at the Mohawk, they certainly weren’t the least.
NGHBRS x Vinyl Mag
Propelled into the public eye thanks to their Instagram video for “Hold Up Girl,” NGHBRS plans to bring their energetic Rock & Roll show to SXSW 2014. Hailing from Long Island, these rockers boast a sound that is both punchy, smooth, and melodic. We got the chance to talk with Ian Kenny of NGHBRS about their iconic Instagram video, their 2013 album, Twenty One Rooms, and their beef with vowels.
VM: It seems like you guys have blown up overnight. Does it seem that way to you?
Ian Kenny: Haha, it definitely does not seem that way to us. We have been working hard for about four years and counting, and have endless goals as a band, but we are insanely grateful, and will always be, for our current successes.
VM: What made you guys decide to go with the Instagram medium for your “Hold Up Girl” video?
IK: We wanted to do something completely out of the box and share-worthy. Instagram is a great platform for being creative and unique, and it is built on the idea of sharing. So, with that being so readily available, it was easy to conceptualize the video. The hard part was actually doing all of the work.
VM: You guys basically posted the coolest selfie ever. How does it feel to be the Kings of Instagram Rock & Roll?
IK: It feels great to have our mark on the rock, social media duo. We could not be more proud of our release.
VM: Ever had any good app ideas? I promise I won’t Zuckerberg you…
IK: Haha, we actually have a running app idea list on our white board in our practice studio. One of our favorites is Find-A-Sh*tter (Yelp for public bathrooms), We were pretty stoked on that one – would be great for touring bands.
VM: I saw on FUSE that you guys recorded Twenty One Rooms in an old mansion that William Cullen Bryant (the late American poet and journalist) used to live in. How do you feel like that environment helped shape the record’s sound?
IK: The mansion was the life force of Twenty One Rooms, and I believe it would sound completely different recorded anywhere else. We had such a beautiful and life changing experience living in that house and on those grounds, it was definitely the fifth member of the band on that record.
VM: Do you have a favorite song from the album? Favorite to play live?
IK: Twenty One Rooms is both my favorite song on the record and to play live. It is such a vibey tune, and I believe it says a lot about the barebones of the NGHBRS sound. Emotively, it really transports me to a special place every time were playing the bridge.
VM: The album has a really pure Rock & Roll sound. Who in the band is the most Rock & Roll?
IK: One hundred percent Tommy Fleischmann is the most Rock & Roll NGHBRS member. The dude has so much talent, has not let technology dilute his brain, and sometimes he wears cut off sleeve shirts. That’s ROCK.
VM: You guys are from Long Island. Do you feel like New York has influenced you as musicians; if so, how?
IK: Completely; living so close to a melting pot of music and the most toured-through city in the world has given us the chance to see so many incredible bands live. As well as growing up in such a historically praised place for alternative music, like Long Island, really has shaped our sound and influences.
VM: If you could play a show with any rock band past or present, who would it be?
IK: I’m going to be specific here and just say Nirvana, 1992.
VM: What did vowels ever do to you guys? Or what favors did consonants do?
IK: Vowels aren’t not for everybody; we like to trim the fat.
VM: You guys are playing at SXSW 2014. What are you most looking forward to about the festival?
IK: Just the ability to see so many awesome bands working hard and playing hard in one place is going to be awesome. We’re stoked to play four showcases and show Austin how we roll. We definitely intend on leaving our mark this year.
VM: Do you think this will be the coolest place you’ve yet to play? Or do you have a particular venue from the past that holds the number one spot in your hearts?
IK: I’d say nothing really beats playing Irving Plaza. We played to a sold out room, and it was our seventh show as a band. In the moment, we knew we were doing something special.
VM: Any chance there will be a Twitter-themed sequel to “Hold Up Girl?”
IK: Haha, definitely not. We definitely are not going to put out the same thing twice. All I have to say is be prepared for the next one; it’s going to be insane.
SXSW Showcases:
TUES. MARCH 11TH –
9 PM – Third String Productions Showcase – The Aquarium – 403 E 6th St.WED. MARCH
WED. MARCH 12TH –
5PM – Red Gorilla Showcase– Bourbon Girl (The Alex And Ani Stage) – 212 E. 6TH STREETTHURS. MARCH
THURS. MARCH 13th –
5:25PM – Set.FM Showcase @ Hyde Park Bar and Grill – 4206 Duval St.
FRI. MARCH 14TH –
TBD – Charlie Says Fest @ 2336 E Cesar Chavez St.
FRI. MARCH 14th –
4:40pm – Big Picture Media Showcase @ Blind Pig Rooftop – 317 E. 6th St.
SXSW with Hunters
Hunters was my last interview at SXSW, and I have to say, I couldn’t have asked for a better one. Because it was the last day after a long week of running around frantically like a headless chicken, I was feeling a little fried, and forming full coherent sentences was getting a little complicated (more than usual).
Fortunately for me, Izzy Almeida and Derek Watson – Hunters – are two of the chillest, most conversational interviews I got all week. To cut to the chase, these dudes are just plain cool (cheesy? Deal with it). It was one of those interviews that felt like just hanging out rather than firing questions and receiving formulated answers.
We found ourselves a quiet little place to sit and talk, and we had ourselves a nice little chat about their SXSW experience, their influences, and what is next for them.
If you haven’t listened to Hunters, you’re in for a treat. Be sure to check them out. The duo has just signed to Mom+Pop and announced a tour with Bleached. So check out this interview, check out their tunes, and then be sure to hit up their tour.
VM: So, [how has it been at SXSW?].
Izzy: I’ve been having a lot of fun, even though I’m super sick – I have horrible allergies, I can barely breathe and I have no voice. But I’m still having a lot of fun!
VM: How has the audience response been?
Izzy: It’s been great, actually, yeah. I think it’s been a good opportunity to meet more people and see a bunch of bands. And it’s nice out and we’re coming from New York – it’s so cold there, so I’m enjoying it.
Derek: We’ve been running into friends in other bands, you know, all playing in one place…
Izzy: And you play some pretty weird shows, like playing after a rap group, and it doesn’t make any sense, but somehow the crowd’s into it and you’re like, ‘okay, cool!’
VM: It’s a really mixed crowd, but it’s fun. It keeps you on your toes, you know? So do you have a favorite venue or show that you’ve played so far?
Derek: I think maybe Mohawk.
Izzy: That was fun, yeah.
Derek: I’m trying to think what else… it’s kind of all a blur… oh, no! The Gypsy! That was the best one.
Izzy: Oh yeah, the Gypsy was awesome; it was like a house party. It was really cool. It was really packed and small, really cool. It was really fun; I didn’t really have a voice, but it didn’t matter.
Derek: Yeah, there was one monitor, and it wasn’t really working, so we couldn’t really hear ourselves, but it made us feel comfortable. You know, it made us feel like we were doing something we always do, so yeah, that was probably the best one.
VM: So I read you met at your job, and then you never went back.
Derek: It was a horrible job. It was one of those things were you’re in New York and you have to get a job quickly.
Izzy: It was definitely a temporary job, like, ‘okay, I’ll do this for now, and then I’ll go find something else,’ you know, but then we found each other. That’s really cheesy.
Derek: Wow. You should write Hallmark cards.
Izzy: I do actually, that’s what I do on tour!
Derek: That’s her next job! She just comes up with different cards and then sends them into Hallmark (laughs).
VM: So, did you find your sound the first time you ever played together?
Izzy: No, it was really weird and easy for some reason. I don’t know why. Well, I think the reason why is we had an adventure, playing together…we had talked about music before and had a lot of similar tastes and backgrounds.
VM: You’ve been compared to the Stooges and Sonic Youth. Do you like that comparison – do you think that’s accurate?
Derek: I don’t know if it’s accurate, but it’s nice. I mean, those bands are awesome.
VM: Izzy – I read that you’d had a bunch of bands in your head since you were a kid. Was it always the same genre?
Izzy: Oh, when I was way younger, it was really cheesy stuff, like…it’s embarrassing. But then when I started getting more into rock and stuff, that’s when I started trying to write rock songs, but they were really bad because I was really young. I still remember them because, wow, they were awful. They’re going to the grave with me (laughs).
VM: No sharing?
Izzy: No way. It’s definitely one of those secrets you have to keep.
Derek: And I think maybe the Sonic Youth thing comes up, because we use tunings for our guitars and stuff, so maybe in that way I could hear it. And, you know, since it was a guy and a girl, I think people gravitate toward stuff like that automatically. In that way it makes sense.
Izzy: The Stooges and Sonic Youth were definitely a big influence for me, especially coming from Brazil where it was hard to find out about bands. So for me finding out about the Stooges and Sonic Youth was already a huge thing, like, ‘oh my God, I found it!’ And there was a scene in Rio that knew about those bands, but I wasn’t part of it. Like, my brothers and sisters were listening to stuff that’s just not good, and I was just trying to find stuff out on my own, you know?
Derek: Yeah, and they’re really good intro bands, bands that you can start to dig with.
VM: So how did you get put in touch with Nick from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to mix you?
Derek: We just knew him from around, and the timing was just such that they were on a break – like they had just finished touring, and they were kind of taking a break to sort of regroup and have a little time for themselves – and he was down; he was like, ‘oh, I’m kind of interested in doing stuff with you.’ And we didn’t have any money, so for someone to offer to do it for free was kind of, you know, from the heavens. No matter who would’ve asked us we would’ve said yes, to be honest. It was just a really lucky situation. And he was super cool about going back and forth with mixes and stuff like that, so that worked out really well.
VM: Wow, that’s awesome. So, [Izzy] what was it the Village Voice said? Did you read that? They said that when you’re on stage, you’re the world’s most rhythmic stroke victim.
Izzy: I feel like that makes sense actually, because sometimes when I see a video of a show or something, I feel like I’m just not even in rhythm, like I don’t even know what’s happening. I think it’s funny; it’s cool. I don’t care.
VM: So I know we’ve talked about your favorite show, but who’s your favorite person that you’ve seen at SXSW?
Izzy: I haven’t been going to that many shows, because I’ve been so sick!
Derek: Wow, I’ve seen a bunch. Believe it or not, I think Riff Raff was kind of awesome. I wasn’t expecting that. I wanted to see the dude from Hawkwind – he was doing Space Ritual, but I couldn’t go – I think we were playing at the same time. That was kind of a bummer. We saw Pangea and FIDLAR – that was good. We saw like a song of Bleached.
VM: Aren’t you touring with them?
Derek: Yeah, almost as soon as we get back we’re leaving.
Izzy: Yeah, we’re recording and then we’re going on tour.
Derek: It’s hard to say though, I feel like you just see so many things here. I might wanna see Waka Flocka tonight, if that’s possible. It’s like a guilty pleasure.
VM: Do you wanna see JT (laughs)?
Derek: Oh, is that tonight? I didn’t have any plans to do that, but that could be kind of funny. Where is that?
VM: Is that that MySpace secret show or something?
Derek: Oh yeah, doesn’t he do MySpace now or something? They’re like revamping it or something?
VM: Yeah, every time I hear about MySpace now it’s associated with him.
Izzy: Maybe it’s an urban legend or something, because I don’t know how I found out about that, but that’s all I hear.
Derek: Yeah, it’s like I think of them together, which is weird, because I haven’t thought about that website in so long.
VM: So, you’re touring, and then are you coming up with anything new?
Derek: Yeah, we’re finishing our record as soon as we get back. We’ve got a bunch of days where we’ll finish up everything. I think we record the day after we get back, so we’ll be nice and refreshed for that, right (laughs)? But yeah, we record for a bunch of days, and then we leave a few days after that to go on tour with Bleached, and then we’re out with those guys until the end of April… and then we’re back, and then we have another tour after that.
VM: And you’re coming to Atlanta?
Derek: Yeah! Are you gonna come?
VM: Yeah, I’m from Athens, which is right there.
Derek: Oh, that’s pretty close?
VM: Yeah, it’s like an hour, so we’ll be there.
Derek: I’m not sure where we’re playing but…
VM: The Earl.
Izzy: Oh, I’ve been there before, it’s fun, I like it!
Derek: Oh, that’s cool. Yeah, we played the Drunken Unicorn there once, and the Masquerade.
VM: Did you play upstairs there, or…?
Izzy: Yeah, upstairs.
VM: Yeah, the Masquerade has Heaven, Purgatory, Hell…
Derek: So we were Heaven-sent? But the backstage was like Hell. It felt like jail, like a holding cell…
Izzy: It was like a green room, for real – everything was green.
Derek: Yeah, it had a high ceiling, but there were no windows, and there were these really weird, greasy chairs. It was fine. I mean, it was actually really funny. I actually liked the stage there. You could really get to the audience.
VM: Yeah, that’s cool. The floor though, if you’re in the audience, I always feel like I’m gonna fall through. It freaks me out every time.
Derek: Yeah, that’s kind of scary.
VM: Well, cool, we’ll see you in Atlanta then!
Vinyl Mag’s Guide to SXSW
Indescribable. But here I am, about to try to describe it.
SXSW was intense, exhausting, physically painful at times, and overwhelming. But it was also arguably the best week of my life. I’ve never had so much productive (and thoroughly professional at all times, of course) fun in my entire life, and I’m already ready to go back. Seriously…is it next year yet?
It is important to note that, more than being the X Games of music festivals, SXSW is also a conference and an incomparable networking opportunity. Most of the day for me was spent attending parties and exchanging business cards American-Psycho-style, making connections and building mutually beneficial business relationships (such a hard life).
This was my first year at SXSW (and definitely not my last), so I had a lot to learn. Like…a lot. And fortunately, I had the presence of mind to take notes so that I could share my knowledge with you – and so I would be prepared the next time around. So here it is. My rundown of SXSW 2013:
Favorite venue: Mohawk.
Least favorite venue: The Belmont (too crowded; unless you get there four hours early and wait to be in the tiny pit, anywhere you stand provides a pretty unimpressive view of the stage).
Favorite discovery: Ginger & the Ghost.
Favorite day parties: Spotify, Yard Dog Gallery (both of which required some serious Frodo-and-Sam-style trekking, but were well worth it).
Favorite food: Taco N’ Madre food truck (I don’t know what the sauces are, but don’t ask questions and just put all of them on your tacos — you’re welcome).
Favorite live performance: Still is (and may always be) Diarrhea Planet. They make me act stupid and get sweaty, and I appreciate that.
Favorite line-up: Sirah, Charli XCX, Icona Pop, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis all played at The Belmont on Night One. Pretty epic.
Favorite app: Hail A Cab Austin (this saved me countless times when I was trying to get to an interview. Wish I’d discovered it Day One. Kind of wish I hadn’t told you guys about it. If I can’t get a cab next year, I’m blaming my readers).
Biggest show I sort of made it to (but more like listened to from far away): Flaming Lips at Auditorium Shores Stage. So crowded I would have gotten the same experience watching it on TV.
Earliest bed time: 3 a.m.
Latest I slept in: 8:30 a.m.
Best public place to regain strength, charge your phone, use the bathroom, and lay on the floor and complain about how much pain you’re in: Austin Convention Center upstairs (surprise, surprise).
Favorite street: Rainey Street.
Favorite celebrity sightings: Standing in line behind Pauly Shore at Iron Works BBQ, meeting Perez Hilton at the VH1 Cafe, and being too scared to go talk to LeVar Burton at the Sennheiser + Paste Interactive Studio & Lounge on Rainey Street.
Favorite fan-girl moment: meeting Icona Pop at the VH1 Cafe and acting extremely uncool about it (sorryI’mnotsorry for creeping).
Favorite score: Generous Unknown Girl came up to me while I was sitting pensively on a bench and asked me if I wanted the free red American Apparel skirt she got because she didn’t feel like carrying it around. If only she had a backpack (see Lesson One below). Thank you, Generous Unknown Girl. I am forever grateful to you.
Biggest rip-off: Wu Wu Fest advertising “free Wu Wu sushi” at their party if you RSVP/”Like” them on FB…what they should have said was “one tray of six pieces of free sushi to be passed around once every two hours so you probably won’t get any unless you hang out by the kitchen, suckers”…I’m bitter, yes, but I was really hungry.
Most pointless “secret show”: Justin Timberlake at Myspace. It’s not a secret show if it’s plastered all over the wall of the building in giant letters.
Now that I’ve shared my high and lowlights with you, let me move on to the valuable lessons I learned…
Lesson One: Don’t wear new shoes, stupid. Wear the most comfortable, walkable shoes you can find. I don’t care if they are Crocs (actually, I take that back — Crocs are inexcusable), but in this case, style is secondary to practicality. I seriously have blister scars on my heels from these stupidly adorable mint Oxfords that I thought were a good idea. Damn my vanity.
On that note, go with a backpack instead of a purse. Hands-free is where it’s at. And throw a sweater in there. It gets a little chilly at night.
Lesson Two: Let some things go. You will never be able to stick to the uber-strict time-crunch schedule you have made for yourself, so allow yourself to go with the flow, always have a Plan B, and remember to leave yourself some time to stumble upon some new discoveries. That’s part of what SXSW is for. It’s not just a festival to see your iPod playlist come to life (did that reference date me? Should I have said Spotify or Drinkify playlist?).
Lesson Three: Bring your phone charger with you. Bring a portable charger. Trust me. You’re gonna be InstaTweetVining the crap out of this thing, and your phone can only handle so much.
Lesson Four: Don’t wait in line for any band for more than 15 minutes. It is a waste of time. You are missing too much of the goings-on around you, and chances are the band you are impatiently waiting for will be playing an unofficial show tomorrow at 2:00. Which brings me to…
Lesson Five: Do not rely strictly on the official SXSW show schedule. Now, don’t get me wrong, this schedule is THE BOMB, and the SXSW app on your phone that allows you to make your own schedule kept me from running around like a headless chicken (more than I already was, anyway), but chances are, your must-see-or-it-was-all-for-nothing band is playing either a day party you don’t know about or an unofficial showcase somewhere. Look up your priority bands on their Twitters and websites, and chances are you’ll be able to track them down.
Lesson Six: Stalk Twitters and RSVP to absolutely everything you plan on attending well in advance.
There you have it. Now let’s do that again.
SXSW with PEACE
You’ve probably heard of PEACE by now. This British quartet are making serious waves in the music world, and we can’t get enough of them. They’ve been called the future of indie rock – although, as you’ll see in this interview, they don’t consider themselves to be “indie.” Either way, they are “the future of something.”
I was able to catch up with them for a few minutes after a morning showcase at South by Southwest to talk a little bit about what drives the music, their boredom, and who they enjoyed most at SXSW.
They are men of few words, but honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. They are the perfect caricatures of true rockstars- they give the impression that they genuinely don’t care, and it’s not a facade. They prefer to let their music speak for them. PEACE is a group of musicians, and they don’t feel the need to be anything else.
Their album, In Love, just dropped yesterday, and we’ve already run through it several times. Be sure to check it out right after you check out this interview.