Tag: vinylmag.org
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The Front Bottoms announce new album
The Front Bottoms are releasing their sophomore album, Talon of the Hawk, on May 21. They also have a new music video for “Twin Size Mattress,” available here:
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.
Sonny & the Sunsets announce new LP and share first single
Sonny and the Sunsets announce their new LP, Antenna to the Afterworld, set to release June 11, 2013. The LP can be pre-ordered through Polyvinyl Records.
Sonny and the Sunsets have also shared a new single from the LP, “Dark Corners”. Check it below.
SXSW with Ginger & The Ghost
Ginger & The Ghost is one of my absolute favorite South by Southwest finds.
Not only were they some of the most friendly, personable people I’ve gotten to talk to, but they are also enormously talented. Seeing them perform live feels like a privilege, almost as if the audience is being granted an exclusive chance to view them in their natural habitat. Usually I feel the overwhelming urge to sing along when I see a live show – this is one of the only ones I have seen that made me want to hush and unblinkingly observe the artists in front of me.
Missy (“Ginger”)’s voice is not of this world, and as you listen to her, you can’t help but think that she was made for this…actually hand crafted to be doing exactly what you see and hear. Her talent is real.
Dan, “The Ghost,” manifests himself in a way that perfectly befits his title. He stands beside Missy with a ghostlike omnipresence, but that by no means implies that he fades into the background. He seems to be haunting the stage as he plays, and he is undeniably felt.
Only Ginger & The Ghost could make an audience forget that they are in a small, unassuming bar in the middle of 6th Street in Austin, Texas and transport them into an otherworldly galaxy (one that I’m eager to return to).
So there you have it. Amazing band. Awesome people. So before you bolt off and scoop up their EP (which came out March 15!!), go ahead and check out this interview first!
SXSW with D E N A
“Cash, Diamond Rings, Swimming Pools.” It’s catchy. It’s fun. It’s been stuck in my head for about three weeks.
I got the chance to catch up with D E N A, Bulgarian (Berlin-based) vocalist/songwriter/pop/hip hop artist/badass at South by Southwest for a quick chat. Before we got to the official interview, we met up at a party at Icenhauer’s on Rainey Street (I may have creepy-fangirl approached her in the bathroom before meeting her professionally…it’s fine).
Once we met up, I went with her to grab a taco from one of the food trucks, followed by a cupcake and some coffee (thanks, Jonas!).
After geeking out for a little bit about going to see Icona Pop at their show at The Belmont later that night and how much we both love the show Girls, we got down to business. So check out our interview below, and be sure to become as obsessed with D E N A as we are.
Vinyl Mag: Are you excited to be playing SXSW?
DENA: Totally! I’m super looking forward to it. We already played a gig last night that was kind of a warm up, so yeah I’m looking forward to playing Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
VM: So, how was last night?
DENA: It was great. It started a little bit with technical complications, of course. Like we had a cable that had broken and stuff. It took us some time, but we found a substitute and rocked the show. It was cool.
VM: How was [audience] reception?
DENA: I was really, totally, stoked how it turned out, because it was a very short showcase, you know…twenty minutes, which is usually – for that time – crazy from the beginning. We played two tracks, and then from the third one everyone was super feeling it, and it was super crowded although it was super late already. It ended like a crazy cool party.
VM: What people are you most looking forward to seeing?
DENA: I’m looking forward to seeing Icona Pop tonight and Charli XCX. I’m going to see [Charli XCX] for the first time ever, so I’m excited.
VM:I know you’ve done some audiovisual work. What are some of your other creative outlets?
DENA: Audiovisual is a big term. I’ve done some animation, some motion graphics, and vector animations, drawings, and video editing and photos…everything. But parallel to that, I was always writing and making songs and composing.
VM: Do you ever implement that other creative stuff into your musical career?
DENA: Yeah, well that’s very interesting, because sometimes I have the feeling that it’s totally working separately. But in the end – always when I direct everything and have the last word and just create a vision and work with other people – I see that it’s a great mixture of everything I’ve done so far. The interesting part now is that I get to work with other people and just combine and join forces on projects and work together on ideas. It’s more exciting.
VM: Do you have any collaborations coming up or do you have any collaborations that you want to do?
DENA: I currently have collaborations going on. Just actually last week, there was a track that came out where I’m featuring my friends, they are called LCMDF – two sisters from Finland and based in Berlin – and the tune was actually having to premier one day before my last video on Friday. I don’t know if you saw it. And then I also try to write right now for other people. It’s super exciting and great because I love words…like, lyrics. And I just wrote a tune for a German producer called Robot Koch, which is going to be his next single now coming out like on a major German label. It’s very exciting, because a lot of cool people are remixing the track, and it’s just so interesting to work not only on my own with what my own head is producing, but placing content for other people that I like. It really is something that I want to develop and upgrade.
VM: So you were in a [band before this]. What made you decide to go solo?
DENA: I was in a band a few years ago where…I played synth, and my friend played drums. We were like ‘do-it-yourself’ kind of. It was like trying to combine instruments with drums and synths. It was a little bit of a funky approach to disco or house music or music to dance to…[very] ‘do-it-yourself’ everything. And then, at some point there were different things like had kind of separated us from the duel thing. And then I started to program beats and work on my own ideas. I got this beat machine, MPC, and started learning how to sample and program and play chords and kind of produce home demos and bring them to a level where I knew that the structure was ready for it to be a pop song. It was kind of a natural process.
VM: So what are some of your major inspirations?
DENA: You mean music or life?
VM: Well, either one, you know. Music, but let’s get really deep and talk about life.
DENA: [Laughs] Life, love, beats, and happiness. Good vibes…I love definitely like hip hop, and I also like the way that hip hop was produced in the 90s…and I really adore everything that Neptunes has ever produced. Right now, I realize how significant [Neptunes] is for my way of thinking structure-wise, beats-wise, and production-wise.
VM: So what is next for you besides what you’ve already told me?
DENA: Well, I just put out my new video [last] Friday…I have a lot of new tracks coming out and new videos that are now in the process to be made…I really want to put out my album during 2013, probably Fall. And it’s very exciting now to collaborate and just put out singles first with different labels. I just had the Cash, Diamond Rings, Swimming Pools EP that came out in January…and basically I’m looking forward to putting all my music from the past three years out.
VM: So everything is already written and everything?
DENA: Yeah! Well, I mean I keep on writing and stuff, but there is a lot of new material to come.
SXSW with New Madrid
Upon first listen, I quickly realized that New Madrid would turn into one of my favorite SXSW finds. The music they make is powerful; it forces you into a trance-like state and transcends the boundaries of your mind far from worldly concerns. Each time I play Yardboat, I feel a little more free and lot closer to myself and the music. It’s definitely one of those experiential listens that you kind of want to share, but kind of want to keep to yourself all at the same time. Fear not, though, because we at Vinyl decided to share it with you. This four-piece Athens-based group has created something special, and we got the chance to meet with them during SXSW. Feast your eyes on what they had to say, and then I highly recommend you go listen to Yardboat, streaming now for free on their website.
Vinyl Mag: Is this your first year playing SXSW? If so, are you expecting it to affect your musical career?
New Madrid [Ben]: Yeah, it’s our first year. And I hope so. That’s the plan.
VM: What sets would you like to catch while you’re here?
NM [Ben]: I want to try to check out Dive today; they’re playing right off of Sixth at 5:00. Unknown Mortal Orchestra- I really want to see them. Hopefully we will catch Futurebirds play.
VM: You have actually played shows with Futurebirds, right?
NM [Ben]: Yeah, totally, we’ve played with them a couple of times.
VM: Did David Barbe and Joe Lambert approach the band to work on Yardboat or vice versa? How was that experience as a whole?
NM [Ben]: We hooked up with David in Athens just playing shows. We won a contest to get a session in the studio, and he saw us play a show and wanted to do some recording with us. So we set up three days and worked with him.
VM: Did you knock it out in three days?!
NM [Ben]: All of the instrumental tracking, yeah. We did the vocals later. Phil lived in Athens at the time, so he could just come in whenever David had a free hour or something. We mixed it over two weekends just trying to get it done.
VM: Phil- do you currently live in Athens?
NM [Phil]: I do, I live in Athens. The rest of them didn’t at the time.
VM: Was the move from Tennessee a professional or circumstantial move?
NM [Phil]: We had all wanted to move the year before. We had done these demo sessions, and we were all like, ‘let’s just do it. Let’s just move to Athens.’ But we decided we needed to get something together first. So we finished the record and had something to be proud of. We all moved together and we all live together. We live in a barn; it’s pretty awesome.
VM: What’s in store this year for New Madrid?
NM [Ben]: Keep on playing shows. Get back into the recording studio. After SXSW, we’re just going back home. We had about five or six shows down here, and we did a tour to get down here. When we get back to Athens, we’ve got a schedule for the last half of March and first half of April at this place called The Green Room.
VM: Who did the artwork for Summer Dream Sigh and Ghost and Fire?
NM [Phil]:Two different people; Summer Dream Sigh I did, and our friend Anna Dewitt, who lives in Nashville, did Ghost and Fire.
VM: How did the album writing process go for Yardboat? Was it instrumentals first or were the songs created around the lyrics?
NM [Phil]: It’s really all over the board, but some of the songs on Yardboat were songs that I had written in high school, and I matched the words and the guitar parts together. With other stuff the instrumentals come and in a stream of consciousness, the words just come.
SXSW with Wax Idols
One thing I came to realize after being at SXSW was that my life-long battle with having no sense of direction (in navigational terms, of course) was going to be an issue. Growing up on a 10-mile long island has definitely spoiled me, as I have become accustomed to knowing every in, out, and shortcut to anywhere I needed to go; Austin definitely threw me for a loop in that sense. I quickly realized that knowing where you need to be is one thing, but getting there is the real battle.
Finally I stumbled upon Red 7, where Heather Fedewa (aka Hether Fortune) from Wax Idols, in all of her hot –leopard-pants glory, greeted me. I grabbed a beer, and we headed outside to conduct what I considered one of my most personable interviews of the entire experience. This girl keeps it really real. How real, you might wonder? THIS REAL:
Vinyl Mag: How do you feel the show went?
Heather Fedewa: It was good; I’m really sick, so I was pretty like…’bleh,’ but it was good!
VM: How did you collaborate with Shaun Durkan (The Weekend) to do the album artwork for your past three releases?
HF: Well, that’s a great question; I’m glad you asked about that. Shaun and I have been friends for a long time, and when I was about to put out my first 7” I just wanted to work with him, because I knew that he was a really talented artist and graphic designer. We figured out quickly that we worked together really well, so we decided to create a ‘thing’ as partners, art-wise. So then he did the full-length record with me, No Future. He also used some of my collage work for their last EP, Red, and we just kind of went from there. Every time we do something, it gets a little crazier and crazier- it’s cool. He’s one of my best friends. I’m really excited to see him at SXSW, actually. He moved last year, and I never get to see him anymore, so I’m really excited to see them later.
VM: Are your musical influences actually drawn from the musicians that you seem to be constantly compared to?
HF: Yeah, I mean, sometimes they get it right. The thing is, I think it’s really easy for listeners and writers to kind of pigeonhole bands, because it triggers stuff that they’ve heard before, which is okay. Do I love The Cure and Joy Division, and have I listened to them since I was 14? Yes, absolutely. But, I don’t know. I don’t listen to The Cure and Joy Division all the time. I think I listen to Nick Cave probably more than anything else. He influences me in different ways, though, because I don’t write the same way that he does. He influences me to think differently lyrically.
VM: Is this your first SXSW?
HF: With this band, yeah.
VM: Who are you interested in seeing while you’re here?
HF: We’re trying to find Nick Cave. We won’t be able to get into his show, because we opted for the money over the wristbands, because we’re broke. But it’s cool, because he’s playing in San Francisco soon, and I’ve already got tickets. We’re going to try to find him, though. I also wish I could see Prince, but we won’t be able to get into that one, either. I’m excited to see The Weekend at the Slumblerland Showcase, and Girls Names, as well.
VM: Do you personally keep up with your own social media? Who runs it?
HF: I do. I run all of it. I’m an internet whore. When it comes to how the band is represented visually and online, it’s definitely my thing. I totally push it- my Twitter is outrageous. I’m pretty outspoken, and people get mad at me a lot, but I feel like so many bands and artists are so pre-packaged with their responses; they’re trying to put on a façade of being a certain way. So with us and with me, what you see is what you get. That’s it. I don’t apologize for any of it.
VM: Do you find it helpful, hurtful, or irrelevant to be an up-and-coming band from California, being that California seems to just breed musicians?
HF: I don’t know. I don’t pay attention. I don’t care or think about it. I would be doing what I’m doing no matter where I was; California is just where I kind of ended up. I grew up in the Midwest, so I grew up always being like ‘f*ck Californians, spoiled brats!’ Blah, blah, blah. But it’s home, now. Well, Oakland is. Not L.A, not San Francisco – definitely Oakland. It reminds me of Detroit. I’m not sure whether it hurts or helps, but I think probably my attitude and my big mouth hurt us more than anything at times. But can’t do anything about that!
VM: What do you see in store for Wax Idols in 2013?
HF: We’re going to be touring a lot. My plan is to make two back-to-back EP’s that like, everyone will hate. And I really enjoy doing that. I don’t like to repeat myself. I’m really looking forward to making some records that a lot of people will really not like at all- I’m excited about that. I’m excited to tour and play. We have this new drummer, Rachel, who is phenomenal so I’m excited to grow with her in a live setting because it gets cooler and cooler every time we play together.
REVIEW: The Flaming Lips’ The Terror
When the Flaming Lips released In a Priest Driven Ambulance, I was a trembling fetus nestled in my mother’s womb. When I was nine, the band was radiating mainstream attention, but I didn’t know because no exceptionally cool third-grader brought The Soft Bulletin to show-and-tell. And when I was 12, Yoshimi was battling the pink robots while I was battling… well, puberty.
It’s been thirty years since the band’s inception, and it never occurred to me that the Flaming Lips are getting old.
And how could it? Last year the Flaming Lips’ collaborative album, Heady Fwends was one of my 2012 favorites. In 2009, both Embryonic and the covers of The Dark Side of the Moon completely changed my perception of the Flaming Lips by rocketing out of pop and floating into an experimentally psychedelic galaxy of psychosis. Seeing them live at Piedmont Park in 2012 was an even more electrifying experience than seeing them live at Bonnaroo in 2007. Chronologically, everything they’ve done has been an acclaimed next step in a new direction— so when Wayne Coyne described the upcoming album as heroin new wave at a funeral for aliens, I was ready for abduction.
But during the slow wait for their upcoming album, The Terror, the Flaming Lips were featured in a Hyundai Super Bowl commercial, and hit me. “They’ve passed their peak,” I thought to myself. “The Flaming Lips are on the downward slope of their musical career.” They were selling something to us on a commercial, and it wasn’t even theirs— and it wasn’t even art. The self-proclaimed freaks were trying to sell us a car? I couldn’t fathom it, and betrayal is a bitter drug.
But it wasn’t just the fact that they were selling Hyundai. The irritatingly peachy song they used for it was a perfect fit for a car commercial— it’s the equivalent to Robin Sparkles’ “Let’s Go to the Mall” covered by indie-headaches, Passion Pit or Vampire Weekend. “Sun Blows Up Today” is definitely the most uncharacteristic Flaming Lips song ever recorded. My face contorted with grief as I saw a sneak peek of the commercial online, and with disgust as I saw it like millions of others on the television screen. As a follower who once went full freak-out during a fleeting interaction with Wayne Coyne, I was writing off the Flaming Lips.
But as any true fan, I couldn’t stay away. I couldn’t actually write off an album I was so recently certain would blow my mind into cosmic explosion. No, of course I jumped to listen to The Terror as soon as I could. It’s Flaming Lips!
And I’ve gotta say it. Even though I don’t agree with the commercial, I also can’t say it directly affects the quality of their music. Sure, “Sun Blows Up Today” might be as excruciating to endure as the sun actually blowing up, but guess what— it’s a digital-only bonus track that sounds nothing like the rest of the album. We can handle this, we can disregard it, we can delete. The commercial-ridden track, as well as any low expectation you have for The Terror, can and should be dissolved.
That being said, The Terror isn’t the best Flaming Lips album, or the second or the third. What The Terror is, however, is a total eclipse of Flaming Lips ideology.
It’s almost like NASA told the Flaming Lips that they could finally live in outer space, but that each member must travel in their own separate spaceship. And after each member is launched into the cold, dark blanket of stars and mystery, the Flaming Lips simultaneously realize in a sudden state of agoraphobia that space-travel isn’t what they had expected. Instead, while hyperventilating into their spacesuits, the Flaming Lips become painfully aware that that life in space is like an eerie post-death experience of existence in an abyss.
The Terror takes fans in a totally different direction than previous Flaming Lips albums. With its seamless structure, it both absorbs and isolates in an atmospheric experience that somehow soothes yet scares, and makes the listener completely aware of silence.
In other words, The Terror is pretty close to a parallel of Radiohead’s Kid A.
Kid A begins with the sorrowful “Everything In It’s Right Place,” balancing chaotic alien-like background noises against a slow rhythm. The Terror begins with “Look… The Sun Is Rising”’s high frequencies, glitches, and smooth, echoing human vocals.
Where “Everything In It’s Right Place” feeds into “Kid A,”’s robotic lullaby of mechanical vocals, “Look… The Sun Is Rising” also leads into the hollow-sounding “Be Free, A Way” filled with cherub lingering vocals against short repetitive chops like a helicopter propeller.
Kid A peaks as “Kid A” becomes the sonic-storm of “The National Anthem,” while “Be Free, A Way” extends its likeness into “Try To Explain,” which then becomes the thirteen-minute peaking “You Lust,” spaciously spitting vocals repeating “Lust to succeed” between creepy, paranormal ringing-sounds.
“The National Anthem” then recovers into the most isolated and serene tracks, “How To Disappear Completely” and “Treefingers,” while “You Lust” spills into the most remote-sounding track, “The Terror” and then the schizophrenic “You Are Alone.”
Kid A picks back up after “Treefingers” with the The Bends-reminiscent “Optimistic,” and on The Terror with the higher-energy “Butterfly (How Long It Takes To Die),” similar to the tracks off Embryonic.
“Optimistic” then becomes “In Limbo,” which drowns the listener with waves of haunting harmony and vocals repeating “you’re living in a fantasy,” and then into the more electronic kick of “Idioteque.” On The Terror, “Butterfly (How Long It Takes To Die)” becomes “Turning Violent,” which hypnotizes the listener with distant vocals and close shaky, industrial sounds.
Closing in on the album, “Idioteque” transitions into “Morning Bell,” which repeats “cut the kids in half,” and into the melancholy dream-like, “Motion Picture Soundtrack.” Meanwhile, “Turning Violent” becomes the almost chanting, nightmare-like “Always There… In Our Hearts.”
Kid A ends in minutes of silence, while The Terror ends with a moment of echoing feedback.
Wayne Coyne may have said that The Terror is like a funeral for aliens, but I disagree. Kid A is more like a funeral for aliens, but taking place on Earth. The Terror is more like a funeral for humans, but taking place in space— mourning their own lives lost in a vacuum.
Outside of that vacuum and despite the commercial, The Terror echoes that the Flaming Lips haven’t begun the downward slope. Instead, they’ve embarked on a haunting and sorrowful journey that I can only imagine depressed astronaut Elton John would completely empathize with. It’s lonely out in space, man.
Q&A with A Rocket To The Moon
A Rocket To The Moon has been around since 2006, and the band is only just now dropping its second album. A little taken aback? We were too, until we gave the new album, Wild & Free, a listen. This band has matured a lot in their seven years, developing a very folksy angle to their usual pop punk sound – it’s no wonder that they needed a little more time to unleash their potential.
We caught up with ARTTM’s lead singer, guitarist, and founding member, Nick Santino, about everything from the group’s inspiration for the new album to touring with bands like fun. and Motion City Soundtrack. Check it out below!
VM: So, you guys have been a band for about seven years now. Where do you think you’re at right now in your musical career?
NS: I think we are still learning and still growing. There’ve been some changes over the last four years in our band, and I don’t think I could have predicted them if you asked me then. I think that’s the most exciting thing about music – and the most frightening. It’s always changing. You never know what’s happening next.
VM: Who are your major musical influences?
NS: Anyone from Tom Petty to Katy Perry. A good song is a good song no matter how it’s performed. I like to keep an open mind when it comes to music and try to not discriminate against certain types.
VM: What do you guys typically write about?
NS: We write songs about real-life situations. We want our music to be relatable to anyone who listens. We’re big on musical storytelling.
VM: You’ve played with some pretty big bands, such as the Maine, the Cab, Motion City Soundtrack, and fun.. What has that been like?
NS: It’s always great touring with people that enjoy what they do. Touring’s half of the band’s existence so you need to have fun with it. Every so often you’re on a tour where you don’t see eye to eye with another band or band member. But I always look at it like we are all here doing the same thing for the same reasons. And if you’re here for a different reason, go home.
VM: Your next album, Wild & Free, is set to drop March 26. How’d you choose the album title?
NS: Wild & Free was something that I typed into my notes app on my iPhone three years ago in the middle of the night while sleeping in the van on tour. I wanted our album to be very youthful and fun while keeping a mature side. When it came to writing songs for the album I remember digging through my notes and finding “Wild & Free” from a couple hundred days before. We wrote that song and it later ended up becoming the title of the record. I guess I kind of knew in the back of my head that it would be the title of the record before we even wrote it. The record reflects the title pretty well.
VM: To me, the new album has a more mature, almost country sound. What do you think caused such a shift?
NS: Natural growth and touring. We’ve been on the road for four years straight now. Our musical influences have changed and expanded. Our live playing has improved. We never set out to write a country album. I don’t think that is what we have here. But we just played from our hearts and what you hear on this record is the sound of live hearts beating.
VM: What do you think are the standout tracks on the album?
NS: They are all so different. That’s what makes our band “A Rocket To The Moon”. We will play a few pop rock songs then jump into a Garth Brooks cover. You never know what you’re going to get with our band and I think that’s what sets us apart. There’s a track called “Wherever You Go” that stands out most because it’s the most country-sounding song. But it’s also my favorite song on the record, both because of the story and because of the music.
VM: What are your touring plans concerning Wild & Free?
NS: We’re gonna hopefully be on the road all year. I can’t wait to play more of these songs.
VM: In your wildest dreams, which bands would you want to tour with?
NS: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for sure.
VM: Where do you guys see this album taking you?
NS: Hopefully, somewhere that I can’t even begin to predict. Fingers crossed.
SHOW REVIEW: EOTO at Georgia Theatre
On the eve of a month that many of us consider to be the start of the season of spring, a flower was in full bloom. Instead of promises of warmer weather, the blooming spectacle of EOTO’s iconic lotus flower stage promised concertgoers a night of seemingly endless body-moving jams. The duo, comprised of Jason Hann and Michael Travis, both members of the acclaimed jam band The String Cheese Incident, played the Georgia Theatre in Athens on February 28. The electro-jam show was a complete improvised, free-formed, and live mixed party.
With anticipation for the main act growing, opener Crizzly and his MC took the stage with high energy that translated through the receptiveness of the crowd. Between the bass drops and familiar hip hop samples, Crizzly’s set of “crunkstep” enthralled the audience and the party started — the night could only go up from there.
As Hann and Travis took to the lotus stage, a welcoming roar of the crowd filled the theatre. The set began with down tempo jams and complementing visuals as the lotus flower morphed with colors of pinks, purples, and blues. It wasn’t long until EOTO was building the crowd up through a fusion of jam and dubstep. In addition to the inevitable bass drop that was to come next, EOTO pleasantly surprised the crowd with laser visuals. This use of lasers and the manifestation of psychedelic images on the lotus set the tone for the rest of this livetronica set.
Travis’ use of his MacBooks, software, keyboards, guitar, and bongos, and Hann’s drumming and vocals kept the audience on a unstoppable trip of funky heavy house music. With a steady energy of builds and drops, Hann’s spitting freestyle was added into the equation. Throughout the night, the music of EOTO was constantly evolving and maintaining a pace that left the crowd constantly wanting more.
The set progressed into a blend of something I can only define as Arabian reggae–sounds of the Middle East fused with slow motion grooves and island vibes. This journey of worldly sounds eventually blasted off into a raw spacey trance with an accompaniment of mesmerizing visuals. Heavy bass and a fast tempo throughout the rest of the show kept the crowd continually raging until the very end.
With the end of the encore and the house lights of the Georgia Theatre turned on, a disappointment swept over many in the crowd that night. A disappointment because the intoxicating transcendental escape from reality was over.