Tag: vinyl
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SXSW 2014: The Modern Electric x Vinyl Video
After running into Black Taxi at The Blind Pig in downtown Austin at South by Southwest, we were introduced (OMG passive voice – I’m so sorry, Mrs. Browning) to their friends and fellow musicians, The Modern Electric. We took advantage of this newly formed relationship and decided to do an(other) impromptu interview in the alley outside.
Check out the video below where we talk to The Modern Electric about their South by Southwest experience, their music and Matthew’s mysterious black eye.
In the words of everyone in Black Taxi, “these guys are going to be huge.”
P.S. I’m not preggers, I’m wearing a fanny pack. Yes.
Future Death x Vinyl Mag
Austin-based band, Future Death comes to life (ironic, seeing as how they recorded their album in a funeral home)! The band will be releasing their debut album, Special Victim, on May 27 on Bloodmoss Records. SV portrays a punk persona sure to make its listener heated with energy.
The band is composed of Alton Jenkins, Bill Kenny, Jeremy Humphries on bass and Angie Kang on vocals. Their first two singles have been described as “controlled chaos” as well as “bright.” The band mostly embodies a punk sound, but Kang’s feminine vocals soften the tone while also enhancing the passion. Most listeners would consider punk music to sound a little cynical, but Future Death’s first two singles, “Basements” and “Riot Trains” are equally crazy and just genuinely fun.
Vinyl Mag: Where does the name Future Death come from?
Bill Kenny [guitarist]:It’s actually an homage to The Flaming Lips, but the meaning I guess is pretty self-explanatory. Life, I guess. As much as I’d like to leave it to interpretation, I guess you could say its really about inevitability.
VM:. It seems as if not all the members of the band have known each other from the start. How have you guys come together to form Future Death, and how do you continue to balance roles?
BK: I had found a video of Alton playing drums on a friend’s Facebook page with a message saying that he was looking for a project. Got his number, we played one day. The next day, about 20 minutes into playing, we decided that this was something and we should start writing songs. Alton had known Jeremy Humphries from previous projects and happened to run into him the day he moved back to Austin while we were looking for a bass player. Over the next few months, we continued writing and recording what would be the S/T EP that came out last October. We had finished tracking the S/T record and were writing songs that would later be on Special Victimwhen we found Angie through a Craigslist post after trying out multiple vocalists. She sat in on a practice, and we immediately went to my place and started demo-ing vocals. For the most part, since day 1, everything has happened very organically without any of us really having to talk about what we’re doing much. It’s really based around letting the impulses out, which leads to a very fluid and collaborative process. It doesn’t hurt that we’re always blowing each other away with what’s brought to the table.
VM: As a new band, what are some challenges you have encountered in making your new album, Special Victim? What do you hope to establish with the album?
BK:As far as challenges, there haven’t been many in regards to producing the material. The more challenging part in my opinion was trying to simultaneously write and at the same, get to know each other. We all come from different places, but we’re all invested and ready to continue to move forward as fast as possible.
Angie Kang [singer]: The day after our debut EP release show, we drove up to Dallas to record the album. We recorded in four days during a storm that flooded the recording studio where we were planning to sleep. I had a sore throat, so I had quite a bit of anxiety since it was my first time in a real studio. It’s not anything to lament about though, because it was so fun and the album turned out great. We can’t wait to get back to the studio to record again. I hope it reaches as many people as possible so that we can tour and play live.
VM: Your sound has been described as “controlled chaos.” Do you find that different styles come out in your work? If so, how do you incorporate the different styles. Specifically, which bands or songwriters inspire you?
BK: It’s controlled in the sense that while there is this very busy, sometimes angular element happening, there’s a pop sensibility which I think we all have. This also makes producing material a painless and fast experience. Like I said, we don’t have to talk about the actual music, because I believe that we’re just on the same page. We’re very fortunate. There’s never a concrete idea when we go into something. We rely on impulses and even sometimes accidents to inspire or ignite new ideas, which keeps us challenging ourselves without it being a chore. It’s much more exciting when it just happens naturally.
>Alton Jenkins [drummer]: One of my favorite songs for the longest time is “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin. I’d say my drumming is heavily inspired by melody and lots of movement and expression, opposed to being a constant anchor for the other instrumentation. Or maybe I’m using that as an excuse to mask my general hyperactivity. Regardless, I think we’re collectively trying make “new” music but without straining ourselves in the process.
>AK: We all have different tastes in music, which lends itself to the chaos, because we all write our own parts. I just like anything that sounds raw. I have a techno side project called Rare Species and DJ as Baby Bones. I grew up outside of Detroit, so that’s been a big part of my influences.
VM: There is so much energy in your music! What are some typical Future Death rituals before performing?
BK: We practice and rehearse a lot, as well as record every second of everything we do. So when it comes to performing, its just another day in the space.
AJ: Water, bananas…and about 10 minutes before a performance I typically get, only mildly, agitated, uncharacteristically less talkative and withdrawn with my demeanor and try to keep distance. It’s something that developed naturally even when I started drumming at 17. I think it’s my way to channel whatever emotion/energy I was feeling when writing the songs originally. OTHERWISE I’m very kind, social and love to be with people, friends, whoever.
AK: We do what Snoop Dogg does.
VM: This kind of music can really incite some high emotions. How did your audience respond at South by Southwest? Any extreme – positive or negative – reactions?
BK: We did get a lot of great feedback – no negative responses. SXSW is so saturated and busy, the best you can really hope for as a new band is that they remember who you were. There’s just so much going on, we really just try to enjoy being a part of it and hope to reach out to new people.
AJ: A lot of energy is projected in our performance. For the people who hear us for the first time, I’ve noticed an introspective and focused, sometimes confused look on their face. For those who are familiar with us, it appears obvious who they are; tend to freak out/mosh and ride whatever wave we’re on at the moment. It’s cool to know someone’s perception of what they’re listening to has changed from start to the end of our set. These are things people have expressed to me, post show. And I can relate.
AK: We met a lot of people who have been supporting us since we really started putting our material out there, specifically our friends at Portals who put on an excellent showcase of their favorite artists. Right after we played the last note, everyone started bugging out to Future’s “Move That Dope.”
VM: What was it like playing at SXSW, given the fact that you guys are already Austin-based? Is it still such a surprise to find the growing number of participants taking over your town? How do you think the festival has changed over the years?
AJ: Playing SXSW, to me, is always awesome. It’s a rare chance to meet and witness bands from around the world that you’d otherwise not get a chance to see so easily. It’s a cool time to connect with strangers, which makes it easier to book tours that are more suitable with artists you enjoy. So it’s not a surprise to see more people flock here each year. The entire city jams up, and there’s a show/party happening in every building and every house on every corner. It’s nuts. A lot of locals, and some bands, leave town to avoid the madness. But I’m into to. One thing I’ve seen change over the years at SXSW is the increase in corporate presence. There’s even a 50 foot tall Dorito’s bag downtown that sponsors a mega event with really well known artists. I’m cool with it. Because even though that’s there, I can still easily disappear to DIY and/or unofficial shows that I’m more familiar with and can afford.
AK: We played three unofficial shows, because all of us had to work that week. That’s the paradox of living in Austin during SXSW; there’s so much business brought to the city that your day jobs usually need you to work extra hours. It’s always nice to see your friends come to town, so you want to have some time to hang out. I took it easy this year and was quite grateful the week after.
VM: Did any of you have any “weird” Austin moments at SXSW?
AJ: I met Lady Gaga for 2.5 seconds. Her friend/bodyguard? was dressed like Wonder Woman. I also got to jam on this life sized cell phone beat-making app called “KEEZY” with Reggie Watts. It was totally sporadic and unintentional. I was finding myself in a lot of strange situations between playing Future Death shows. Mostly just running into and spending time with artists that I really like, which isn’t particularly “weird.” But was unique to my SXSW experience.
AK: I went to a New York vs. Texas underground boxing match where Mobb Deep and Mike Jones performed. It was so far away from downtown that only about 40 people showed up. Everyone was yelling at the DJ, because he kept screwing up; it was so funny.
VM: What are Future Death’s future plans?
BK: Right now we’re getting ready for the release of Special Victim May 27 and lining up a tour for this summer. Again, we’re such a new band and have only been able to play Texas. The following months will see a lot of Future Death touring the country. We have release shows in Brooklyn in May, then hope to be on tour within the next couple months.
VM: What advice can you give to bands or songwriters that are just developing?
BK: Well, focus on your craft. And give in to your impulse. Its usually the more exciting thing you have kicking around anyway….
AJ: Create music for yourself primarily. That’s it. The rest of the “stuff” can come into place if you hope to make a career out of being an artist. But if that doesn’t work out, at least you can be happy with and totally relate to what you’ve made as an artist.
AK: Work with people who have mutual respect for you.
Kill the Music interviews Vinyl Mag Founder Emily McBride
Vinyl Mag’s Founder/Editor/Creative Director/Woman of Mystery Emily McBride recently did an interview with our affiliate friends over at Kill the Music to talk about how she got started, the most difficult parts about the industry and advice for people trying to break in. Check it out here!
Emily interviewing Charli XCX at SXSW 2014:
SXSW 2014: Black Taxi x Vinyl Video
We ran into our friends from Black Taxi at South by Southwest this year – in total honesty, I heard their music playing while I was outside conducting another interview, and once I wrapped that one up, I quickly ran to follow the sound and catch BT’s show at The Blind Pig.
After their show, we caught up with the guys and decided to do a quick impromptu interview to get the scoop on their new album (“guitar everywhere!”) , their new drummer and to find out if they actually went to that abandoned asylum we talked about after our last interview. Enjoy!
SXSW 2014: Two Cow Garage x Vinyl Video
We caught up with Two Cow Garage at South by Southwest this year to talk about their album The Death of the Self-Preservation Society, their Indiegogo Campaign, their thoughts on audio formats, and their revolutionary new use for feral cats. These guys are the bomb.
SXSW 2014: Rebecca & Fiona x Vinyl Video
We snuck into the upstairs at the Driskill Hotel in downtown Austin at South by Southwest for our interview Rebecca & Fiona, two kick-ass DJs all the way in from Stockholm, Sweden.
Check out the Vinyl Video below where I nod too much, and we talk about Rebecca & Fiona’s music, their problem with being called “female DJs” and their plans after South by. BTW, they made their jackets. Made them. These ladies are so cool.
Also, be sure to catch Rebecca & Fiona’s newest album, Beauty is Pain, out now!!
May 01 Bassmnt w/ Nause San Diego, CA
May 02 Tenw/ Nause Calgary, Canada
May 03 The Midw/ Nause Chicago, IL
May 08 SUTRAw/ Nause Costa Mesa, CA
May 09 Marqueew/ Nause Las Vegas, NV
May 10 New City Gasw/ Nause Montreal, Canada
May 30 Brännbollsyran Umea, Sweden
Jun 13 Summerburst Stockholm, Sweden
Jul 13 EDC UK Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Aug 23 Creamfields Liverpool, United Kingdom
SXSW 2014: Misun x Vinyl Mag
LA-based Misun met with us at South by Southwest to talk about their music (self-described as “spaghetti soul-dance”), their South by Southwest experience, leprosy from armadillos and Jon’s caffeine addiction. Check out our interview below, and then be sure to catch these guys on tour — they are truly, uniquely, awesome.
Vinyl Mag: So how have you guys been liking Austin besides the traffic issues? You’ve been here before, haven’t you?
Misun Wojcik [vocals/lyrics/keys]: I have not.
Jon Jester [drums]: Two of us have.
VM: Well welcome to the little blue dot in a big red state!
MW: It’s cool. We like it so far.
VM: It’s a unique place! I just moved here, so I’m getting my bearings on it all as well. Well, to start out, could you maybe tell me a little about yourselves and what roles you play within the group and what you bring to Misun?
William Devon [bass/keys]: I play bass, and that’s my role. I dance onstage [laughing], and style icon.
MW: “Diva” is a word we like to use.
Andrew Wallace [aka Nacey, guitar/production]: I play guitar, and I produce our tracks.
MW: I do vocals, lyrics, keys…
VM: And really cool hairstyles – I wish I could create that. Except the wind outside will destroy it in one second.
MW: Yeah! You should have seen it before! If you think this is nice…
JJ: I play the drums. And that’s what I do. I make sure we get from A to B. I’m addicted to caffeine, but not coffee.
MW: But not coffee.
VM: But you like the Crystal Light type of caffeine?
JJ: Yeah, the weird caffeine. I’m into these caffeine packs now that are essentially what you would have in a sugar-free Monster, but it comes in this little packet, and it’s really cheap.
MW: He makes it really yummy-looking, and it is, but it’s fat.
JJ: It’s poison, really. It is.
WD: Everyday, he picks us up with the same big cupful of his [laughing].
MW: Is this too much, Jon? [Laughing]
Will: All of our interviews are going to be like this [laughing]. Jon is the caffeine crack head.
MW: Jon has a problem.
VM: But he likes his caffeine artificially created, like chemically…
JJ: Exactly. The stronger, the better.
VM: Okay, so your music is super upbeat, but chill. I almost feel like it has a reggae vibe to it. When you’re creating music, creating a track, what is your focus? When you’re approaching it, what is your goal for how the music will turn out? Do you go in with an end goal in mind? Or do you just have it organically develop?
WD: I think it’s pretty organic every time. We don’t even really know what our sound is yet in some ways. We just know that…sometimes, it’s just based off of what we’ve been listening to, influenced by something a little bit, and we’ll just kind of roll with it in that direction.
VM: I read something about how you guys were influenced by Quentin Tarantino? So, how has Tarantino – also, what other art forms like music, film, writing – come into your work and influenced what you create?
MW: Some of the dance-heavy stuff is….what would you say the influence is?
AW: We’ve been DJs for a long time, so we’ve been into dance music for a long time. But it’s not… I feel like every single one of us pretty much like everything, so if we’re listening to rock music, we might start writing rock music.
JJ: Yeah, it’s cool not having…. like if you’re in a rock band, or if you’re in a hip hop band, you kind of stay within those lines. And I don’t think we have those lines. Those lines for us are…
MW: Ever-expanding. We would be bored if we couldn’t do different music all the time.
VM: If you could summarize your genre, what would you say? Sum up what you are in a couple of words.
MW: Well pop’s in there, for sure. Rock, for sure. Rock, pop, soul-dance.
VM: I like that! Soul-dance.
MW: Spaghetti soul-dance [laughing].
JJ: And that’s where the Tarantino can probably be heard. A lot of his guitar lines. Kind of twangy, western-y guitar vibe. Like Pulp Fiction and all of those. And what was the other? Did Kill Bill have a lot of that with the trill-y?
VM: So you secretly want to be in a Western? A Tarantino Western?
MW: Yeah, he is a cowboy, for sure.
VM: That’s awesome. Do you like any of the psychedelic Westerns? Like Dead Man with Johnny Depp? Austin’s a great place if you’re into Westerns, then!
MW: Exactly, what we want to get out of this city – but we won’t have the chance – we want to see Texas Texas. Like, ‘tumbleweed Texas.’ And I bet you there’s a lot of them, based on the wind outside.
VM: I’m pretty sure I saw a tumbleweed when I was driving over here, which kind of freaked me out.
JJ: Have you seen an armadillo yet?
VM: No, I haven’t.
JJ: It just looks like a little armored rat. On the side of the road.
MW: Are they dangerous?
VM: I think they carry leprosy…
All: What?!?
VM: Like if you touch it, you can catch leprosy!
MW: You’re joking.
JJ: Is there a cure for leprosy now?
VM: Yeah, antibiotics or something. I just would prefer not to catch leprosy!!
JJ: Yeah, and that’s how Misun ended up in in a leper colony.
MW: Someone needs to write a song about that [laughing]. Could you imagine if someone got leprosy out here? Like, ‘how was South By?’ ‘It was fun; we all caught leprosy.’
VM: What are your plans for after South By and moving forward throughout the year? Any projects you’re super pumped about working on?
MW: We’ve got a few shows lined up on the West Coast, and –
JJ: It’s really our first tour, too. We’re going to the Pacific Northwest. Middle of May, we’re going to… what is it – Everett, Washington? Something called Fisherman’s Village Music Festival there.
MW: We’re also playing in Oregon.
JJ: Yeah, a couple in Portland, a couple North West states. It’s all between the 12th and 17th of May, sometime in there. And then we’re playing the Echoplex March 22 – that’s an official after-South-by show. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the Echoplex, but it’s a great venue, I’m super pumped on that.
AW: We’re playing Hard Rock City again, going down to San Diego for that show.
MW: I think the hope is that we make more music this year and keep touring. Build awareness, and have fun. We love writing so much; we want to be able to do that as much as possible…we’re based out of LA, and we all moved from DC.
AW: We made that move about four months ago.
VM: How are you liking LA?
MW: Loooooooove.
JJ: On a day like today, it’s like, ‘wow, I miss LA, nice sunny weather.’
MW: Yeah, I miss LA. But seriously, the vegetables – the prices on fresh produce is just unbelievable. DC will rob you, you know, for a cucumber.
JJ: Although if you buy a 30-pack of beer, you’re paying $1.50 for the CRV tax in California, because they charge you about five cents a can.
MW: But, see, the wine is less, so I win.
VM: How did you guys get together to collaborate and become a group?
WD: We’ve kind of always done music, and we kind of all just started working together, and it just kind of naturally happened. I don’t think we originally had intentions of creating a band, and music just started coming and we thought, ‘let’s go for it.’ And then we met Jon.
MW: Yeah, it was definitely weird. There was a point where we were like, ‘are we a band?’ because before that, we were just kind of playing around.
JJ: Misun opened for a band that I was playing with at the time. It was in DC; I’d been in LA off and on for a while, living there, and when I saw them play, it was just the three of them without a drummer, and it was legit. I mean, I was really floored. I mean, I had heard of the band, but I had never seen them or really listened to them, and you know, saw her, and I grabbed Andrew after the show, and was just like, ‘look man, even if it’s not me, I think you guys really need a drummer, and I’ll throw my hat in the ring.’
VM: So you just went out there and were like, ‘I want to join’?
JJ: I mean, I’ve been doing this for awhile, and maybe a month or so later, Misun reached out to me and was like, ‘how’s this all feeling? In terms of friends, and do you want to do this?’ and I had already decided to move to LA, and we started playing together in March of last year, so it’s been about a year…
MW: And he’s incredible. We had like little tryouts for other drummers, and boy was it tough, but this was just like [clap] bam!
AW: And the band he was playing with was like electronic, so he has this whole system, and he triggers samples with his drum set, and for us, we do so much electronic stuff, he just educated us on how that works.
JJ: And I fought it. I was forced into that world, because I used to have long hair, and I wanted to just rock. I just wanted to hit things as hard as I could and then all of a sudden, then this other band was like giving me these electronics, and I was like, ‘this isn’t what I want to do.’
VM: It becomes scientific, almost.
JJ: It used to be you just show up, and you’ve got your sticks and your wood, and then all of a sudden I’ve got all these wires and things, and I fought it. Now I look back, and I’m like, ‘thank God those guys made me do that switch.’ Because when I met Misun, I was like, ‘I already know how to do this, here it is,’ and it just worked.
MW: Yeah, we didn’t even know something like that existed at all.
JJ: Sometimes, you know, you fight against what you think is not what you want to do, and then all of a sudden it turns out to be the perfect situation. I’ve been reflecting on that a lot over the past year. On how that all just…
VM: How that perfectly worked out!
JJ: Yeah. Like, maybe we’re onto something in this band.
MW: It’s like eating your vegetables. You don’t want to do it, but it’s good for you. But I do like my vegetables.
JJ: We’re very healthy!
VM: Yeah! You have your green juice – I was going to get y’all a drink, but Odwalla is probably a better strategy…
JJ: We’ll come back and meet you after our show and take you up on that.
SXSW 2014: ††† x Vinyl Video
“YOU GET TO INTERVIEW CHINO?!?!?!”
That was pretty much the response from everyone I told that I was going to interview ††† (Crosses) at South by Southwest this year.
You may mostly know Chino Moreno as Deftones‘ lead singer/guitarist, but if your knowledge of this dude stops there, allow me to educate you. Deftones isn’t even close to being the only thing Moreno is involved in.
††† is the downbeat, softer (notice I said softer, not soft – there’s still plenty of hard edge for your liking) side-project of Moreno and Far guitarist Shaun Lopez. And if you haven’t heard them, get all up over it on the immediate.
We caught up with ††† streetside at SXSW and screamed over the crowd at each other about their sound, their SXSW experience and what they’re getting into after the festival. Check out the Vinyl Video below!
May 10 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St Louis Maryland Heights, MO
May 11 House of Blues Cleveland Cleveland, OH
May 12 Altar Bar Pittsburgh, PA
May 13 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
May 14 Theatre of Living Arts Philadelphia, PA
May 15 The Fillmore Charlotte Charlotte, NC
May 17 Ziggy’s By The Sea Wilmington, NC
SXSW 2014: HEARTSREVOLUTION x Vinyl Mag
Leyla ‘Lo’ Safai and Ben Pollock make up New York-based HEARTSREVOLUTION. From embracing the food truck era by turning an ice cream truck into their tricked-out bandwagon, to graffiti “he(art)” via stuffed animals, to the synth-punk-magic-pop music they create, how these two even found the time to speak with us at Vinyl Mag at South by Southwest this year is impressive (to say the least). We shared eggrolls and talked about things like their favorite track to perform and their fabulous ice cream truck creation and the Swarovski crystals that were donated from Michael Jackson’s Neverland estate (totally a real thing). Be sure to also check out their latest album Ride or Die that dropped earlier this month.
Vinyl Mag: What are you most excited to see or do while in Austin?
Ben Pollock: I mean, personally, and I think Lo would agree, because we haven’t been here in so many years due to working on music or the ice cream truck or just not being ready in general, now that we are here, we are really focused on just representing what we came for. The album is coming out, the truck is done and we’ve got this graffiti thing we’re doing now – it’s just a big year for us. It took so much work and so many man-hours to be in the position that we’re in; it just feels like the right time to be back.
Leyla ‘Lo’ Safai: When we were building the truck, we thought it would take about six months, but…it just takes as long as it takes. People don’t seem to understand that, either. The first couple of years that we came to South by Southwest, we got a lot of super early buzz and press; we got really lucky. There’s this magazine out of the UK called NME, and they wrote highly on us and put us on their top 10 acts to check out for South by Southwest, and it really seemed to jump start our career and trigger all of the other magazines to write about us as well. It was great, but the songs were unevolved, there was no album, there was no management, and the ice cream truck we had at the time was a beat up 1960’s pink truck with chipped paint. There was in idea that was there, but it takes time to flush things out. People were really unforgiving to that and chalked it up to us taking too long….because we live in a society of social media and instant gratification, people think that everything is immediate, but that’s just not the case. Think of trying to build something terrific and magnificent like a pyramid or a sphinx and looking in admiration like, ‘Wow! That must have taken 20 years to make,’ and us building this crystal ice cream truck is just like that…of course, funding was a major aspect of it all, and during the process Swarovski gave us crystals, and we ran out, and it just so happened to be the year that Michael Jackson passed away, and they gave us his Neverland crystals in order to complete our truck. I mean, a lot of crazy stuff happened to get here, and that’s one thing that people just always seem to overlook.
VM: How have the fans responded to your latest music video for “Kiss”?
LS: There was a huge issue with the Noisey release of our video, and somehow it got loaded on a back-ended server, and none of the views were actually accounted for. So as far as the numbers go, we will never know how many times it was actually viewed through there before I ultimately uploaded it on my own. But, I do know that Skrillex tweeted the link to the Soundcloud of the song, and that got like 95,000 plays. It was really important to us to make that video, though, because before Lady Gaga and Macklemore and all of that, we had been trying to make a boy/boy love story for like four and a half years. We paid an animator like 5,000 euros to make the world’s first gay animation love story; they took the money, made the characters that are on the front of our truck and then just never replied. And so now it seems to be very ‘in’ to do that, but we’ve been trying to do for years.
VM: What is your favorite track to perform?
LS: Maybe Vertigo…
BP: Really? We’ve only played it two times.
LS: Yeah, actually.
BP: We really like performing the songs off of the new album, but we’ve only played them a few times, so we haven’t had too many chances yet.
VM: Right, so you’re super into playing and performing the new songs right now, yeah?
BP: Right; we’re going to start playing them a lot more. There’s a lot of range of that album, and we’re used to playing short, high energy sets. So we’re pretty excited to start incorporating more range into our shows.
VM: Where were you [last night] when the tragedy at Red River and 9th occurred?
LS: We were in bed, although we were supposed to be out – in the truck – there, essentially. We’ve been out doing graffiti every night while out here in Austin, so we had planned to go back to the Mohawk and take photos and whatnot, but we decided we needed some rest. It’s really crazy – we were literally going to be right there.
VM: A favorite question of mine to ask this year: are you food truck people or barbecue joint people?
LS: See for me, when I made the first ice cream truck in L.A., I was like, ‘This is going to change the way our life is!’, and everybody told me it would never work. It was during the peak of the recession, so people didn’t have money to start businesses, and everybody just hated their life. When we first came to South by Southwest, there were no food trucks- imagine that. I was like, ‘You guys, it’s going to change everything!’. I started tearing up when we got back to L.A. and saw parking lots solely dedicated to food trucks. It’s not about credit, because there is this thing called the Internet, so you can Google who started it. We pioneered this, and now everyone is enjoying the perks of it, which I’m super happy about. That’s how I feel about our music – we’re going to change the world.
VM: How did the two of you meet?
LS: The first time I ever really noticed him was at The Strokes concert, but we worked at the same place in downtown Los Angeles. After the concert I was like, ‘Hey, we should hang out sometime,’ because the strokes were my favorite band, and they were his favorite band, also. Since then we’ve just continued to have the best time of our lives. It’s like the universe pulled us together, because he’s super normal, and I’m super crazy and mental, so we balance each other out.
VM: What is next for you once South by Southwest is over?
LS: When we get home, I get to see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow – for lack of better words. For the past six months, we’ve been working on all of the tangible products of the release, and I’ve gotten to do everything that I’ve wanted to do with it. I had Crayola sponsor the CD, and the album artwork is a coloring book; it comes with an activity book that has three crayons- neon pink, yellow and green. We also had velvet record sleeves made in China that look like the old 60’s and 70’s covers. The vinyl itself is fluorescent pink and so beautiful. They really just let me make my sh*t, and it’s amazing. I honestly feel like I’ve given everything I had to give with this record, and now it’s about sharing it with the world and hoping they get to hear it.
SXSW 2014: Bonzie x Vinyl Mag
Nina Ferraro (Bonzie) isn’t your typical young college girl. While most girls her age would choose to spend their Spring Break on a beach somewhere taking Jell-O shots (I know I did), Bonzie chose to spend hers at South by Southwest, playing shows and pursuing her music career. Par for the course for someone who started booking her own shows at age 12. We sat down with Nina to talk about how awesome she is, as well as her experience at SXSW and her plans after the festival. Check out our conversation below, and be sure to give her music a listen – it’s more than worth it.
Vinyl Mag: How are you liking Austin so far?
Bonzie: I love it! I love it! First of all, I like the warmth. It’s a nice break from Chicago. I like the weather in Chicago.
VM: Chicago is freezing!
B: It is freezing. They got ten inches of snow a couple of days ago. Aside from that, I like the southern hospitality. Granted, most of the people I’m interacting with are not from Austin. It’s nice that you’re from Austin; I’m finally getting to talk with the locals. I like it a lot.
VM: When are your upcoming shows for South By?
B: I’ve got the Nylon show tomorrow. I love Nylon magazine; it’s one of my favorite magazines. I have a Hyde Park showcase.
VM: Hyde Park is awesome. It’s just a solid, classic restaurant to go to. Good food, good people – you’ll have a good time. Tell me a little bit about how you got into music.
B: It’s interesting; I don’t have a musical family. I didn’t have anyone in my life who was really musical to look up to. I’m not really sure, honestly. I started playing piano when I was very young, and I took piano lessons, and I didn’t really connect with it. I didn’t really like piano lessons like any other kids. I picked up the guitar when I was nine and started writing music, and it just felt pretty natural. It wasn’t something I really thought about or had conscious decision to do. It just started happening, and I went with it. I didn’t tell anyone about it for a while. I would write songs and play them for people and tell them that they were covers. I started booking my own shows.
VM: How old were you when you started booking your own shows?
B: I was 12 when I started. Granted, the first shows that I booked were very, very small, like coffee shops.
VM: And now you’re playing things like Nylon.
B: Yeah! It’s been great! It’s been amazing how it’s progressed, how I’ve progressed. It’s felt very natural.
VM: So you just released your full-length, debut album. Can you tell me about that process?
B: It’s an interesting thing, because I do write my songs by myself. So, I write them in my room with my guitar, just thinking and writing. Sometimes it sucks, sometimes it’s slow, but it’s always alone. So, when it comes to making a record, or even arranging a band, I have these very specific ideas in my mind about what I want to happen: this is part should be this, the drum should do this, this is a keyboard solo here. The record was a matter of – for me – playing with different musicians, seeing how they interpret my ideas, listening to it, recording it, and if it’s not right, doing it again. You know, doing it as many time until it’s as close as I think the material world can get to what I envisioned. That’s the way I did my album. It was nice, because I didn’t really have a time frame, so I really spent time on it and made it what I wanted it to be.
VM: And two of the guys from Milk Carton Kids played with you?
B: Yeah, Joey Ryan and Kenneth from the Milk Carton Kids. Joey sang on “Felix” and Kenneth played the guitar. They were super cool; they were really nice guys. Joey has the most beautiful voice. When I made that song, I wanted a male harmony part that was sort of like the voice of Joey Ryan from the Milk Carton Kids, and he ended up doing it, which was amazing. And Kenneth is really cool; he does this amazing, almost Spanish, guitar part over “Felix.” It’s beautiful. They’re great musicians.
VM: What about school? Have you graduated high school yet?
B: Yeah, I graduated high school. I’m in college. I’ve just made it work. You have to really be self-motivated. I know that’s so easily said and not easily done, because we have the Internet, and we do write essays on the computer – it’s just the worst combination.
VM: There’s this awesome app you can download, and it’ll block everything you want it to block for you.
B: Oh no, but why would you do that?
VM: So, it’ll keep you from getting on Facebook for two hours.
B: I’m not promoting myself here, because I just said you have to be self-motivated, and now I’m talking about all the ways I procrastinate.
VM: I’m sure you’re studying Music?
B: No, actually I don’t study Music. I’m doing more like Sociology.
VM: Does that inspire your music at all?
B: Sort of, yeah. I feel like I get a lot of my inspiration just by existing and meeting people, but I think anything you can add to your mind is good, for the most part.
VM: How did you pick your name?
B: Bonzie was a word that I made up but I started associating with creative outputs that I did. I had been releasing music under my own name and performing under Nina Ferraro. There’s something that just felt too personal about me as a person, which my music is not. When I’m in my music, I just think about the music, and I sort of lose my body. I just felt really natural and comfortable to go under Bonzie.
VM: It has a life of its own it sounds like. So you said for your songwriting, it’s more of a solo process. That’s unique for a lot of the people I’ve been talking to this week. Do you talk to people while you’re writing? Do you ask for advice from anyone?
B: I do write the songs on my own. When it comes to performing and playing with other musicians, it’s such an amazing type of connection, because it’s taking a singular idea and meshing it with other ideas, and that’s the sound that comes out. The song remains the same, but it’s a matter of how it evolves and the sound that comes out. That’s been fun with my band, especially playing the South By shows. Since we’re playing so many venues, you start to get to the core of what it means to be done and what the feeling is of the songs. It’s been really cool at South By, because we’re playing so many shows so close together that we feel very connected.
VM: Who are you performing with right now?
B: Right now, my band is Lucas Gillan on drums, Packy Monhelm on keys and guitar and Anton Catwich on bass. They’re all from Chicago. I play with lots of different musicians.
VM: Are y’all having a blast down here?
B: It’s so much fun!
VM: Have you hit up any of the parties? Have you let yourself breathe and relax yet?
B: Yeah, a little bit. I haven’t had much time. I had two shows yesterday, and I had a show the day I came in on Tuesday, so I’ve been sort of in that zone. Today was my day off. I’m thinking I might find Ellis Leone’s band, San Fermin. I’m hoping to go see that. I went to the ATO Records party, too yesterday, which was fun. Honestly, I have the most fun when I’m performing and on stage, and when I talk to people afterwards, but I love going to see shows too.
VM: Can you tell me about your craziest experience at South By?
B: I feel like every moment has been crazy. I got lost once; that was interesting. That was a little crazy and wild. Let’s see…we were unloading the car, and one of the guitarists pulled forward and put the car into drive, and it started rolling down a hill. That was kind of crazy!
VM: How did you stop it?
B: By running to the front seat and grabbing the wheel! That has nothing to do with Austin though. I did see the line for a Lady Gaga show that was absolutely insane and that horrible, horrible tragedy with the drunk driver. A lot is happening here. It’s a lot of people, it’s a lot of enthusiasm, so it’s pretty intense, but it’s fun.
VM: What projects are you working on that you’re really excited about for the future?
B: Right now, I’m working on this music video for my song, “Data Blockers.” I recorded it in Brooklyn with this group called APK Productions. It was fun to record; we’re just working on finishing it and getting the editing right. I’m looking through footage, and I’m being as collaborative as possible.
VM: I can’t wait for the release of it. Do you know when that’s going to be?
B: I don’t know. Hopefully by the end of this month. It’s going to be soon for sure.
VM: You’ve got a lot going on.
B: I’m doing some recording, too. I’ve been recording slowly for my next record.
VM: Do you record in Chicago?
B: Yeah, so far for this record it’s been mostly in Chicago. I put out a single that I did with Steve Albini in Chicago recently, but right now I’m recording more and working on the video.
VM: Do you think Chicago itself has affected the way you approach music in any way, because it’s a unique place?
B: It is a unique place! The more I travel, the more I realize that. I grew up in Wisconsin, and then I moved to Chicago when I was in my early teens, so it’s still in the Midwest.
VM: Midwestern girl deep down.
B: Yeah. I mean, when I come to a place like Austin, there’s just a different vibe. It’s really cool! The people are really nice and really interesting, just very kind and open, not that we’re not that way in Chicago.
VM: It’s so cold in Chicago; you’re like fending off the wind.
B: Yeah, there’s totally something to that! I always talk about the weather.
VM: It does affect you; I mean, you have to live in the weather.
B: For sure. Anthropologists, when they go to somewhere like Antarctica, they study those people. Those people are different…I don’t know. I just came up with that place, but anywhere, even like Alaska, even in the U.S. There’s a different culture depending on the environment.
VM: It is true. I’ve noticed what you’re saying. Like in the North, people act a little more insular.
B: Yeah, more focused on their body.
VM: Then you get southern people, who are just crazy.
B: Yeah! It’s fun; it’s awesome; I love it! But Chicago has probably influenced me in some non-descript way. I guess you can never really know how much something influences you, but the more I go places, talk to people, I guess it does.
VM: Can you tell me a little bit more about the shoot? I was Googling you earlier, and I saw the cover of your album, and you’re very stark and isolated. It’s a beautiful photo. Who did that?
B: Oh, are you talking about on my website? That was Jim Newberry in Chicago.
VM: So, you work with a lot of Chicago photographers and recording people?
B: Yeah, he does a lot of musicians. It was fun to do that. That was a while back. Thank you about that picture. I’ve worked a lot with Shee Sinsong; she’s a photographer in New York who I just became friends with, and we did a photo shoot out there. It was really fun. It was she and all of her friends; she had just graduated college, so she’s super young, and she and her friends just got the wardrobe together. I mean, the APK Productions felt like a similar thing, but it was just she and her friends doing the wardrobe and super inspired about how the backdrop needed to be. It was fun!
VM: Awesome! This is fantastic. I’ll have so much to write about.
B: Thank you for having me! I talk too much.
VM: No, this is wonderful!
*Bonzie, you’re just a delight.
Tour Dates:
May 09 Joe’s Pub New York, NY
May 10 World Cafe Live Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA
May 11 Sixth & I Historic Synagogue Washington, DC