Tag: vinylmag
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Alex G: ‘Beach Music’
Alex Giannascoli, more commonly known as Alex G, is a lo-fi bedroom pop artist from Pennsylvania. Although he has tons of albums currently on Bandcamp, Beach Music will be the first released under the record label Domino Recording Company. Beach Music features the same good old Alex G with smooth and fuzzy vocals, but this time introducing a variety of rhythms to the mix. With melodies ranging from ‘80s crime drama theme songs’ to ‘blues-influenced western steel guitar,’ Beach Music gives a dreamy and effervescent performance.
Beach Music is a mashup of everything: genres, melodies, vocals, rhythms, you name it. Every song contains at least two different types of each, which normally should not go together so well. Alex G manages to bring together harmonies with styles of music in a way that flows from song to song in a continuous motion, with each element building on the other throughout the album.
The only thing that remains consistent throughout the album are the lyrics. Alex G is known for relating his songs to the inevitability of growing up and the hardships accompanied with difficult topics like psychological disorders and illness, broken romances, and discovering the true nature of oneself.
It’s easy to see that at play during the introduction to the album, nicely titled “Intro.” Sounding like garage noise, the track is short and leads into the slower and more “head bob along” track “Bug.” On Bandcamp, the only songs from the album available for preview are “Bug,” “Kicker” and “Salt,” complete with lyrics for each.
According to the comment section, fans are already falling head over heels for “Bug,” which is understandable (it’s one of my favorites from the album). “Kicker” however, is not high up on the list mainly because of the lyrics. Something about saying “white bird” over and over with the same vocal melody just drags the song on for longer than is needed. Aside from that slight blunder, there’s a lot of bird imagery in Beach Music, matching the lyrics with the drifting organ and guitars.
Track 5 brings something new to the table. “Salt” dives in with machine-orchestrated power drums like you’d find in classic hair metal but then pairs it with diluted electric guitar riffs that sound oddly close to the Twin Peaks theme song. It doesn’t seem like it would go together, but Alex G can pull anything off. Should he add a quick organ chord progression in the middle of the song with no backing sound? Of course. Backing choirs of muttled children and adult vocals? Why not. A slightly remixed beat that only shows itself for a few seconds then disappears for the rest of the song? You bet. “Salt” is a break-out for the album, because it ties in so many different approaches to self-made music and instead of falling flat it adds dimension.
I’m going to skip “Look Out” and head straight to “Brite Boy,” which is another that shows exactly how flexible Alex G is with his music. The track starts off with a kid’s vocals: “Brite Boy I can help you if you let me take your hand” only to have G take the reigns with “bring you right to promised land” and then switch back off. Having a deeper and older voice in a lyrical call-and-response with a pre-pubescent voice makes this song a lighthearted listen. Although the melody and lyrics are relatively simple for this song, the easy-going and poppy guitar makes it a nice break from slower tempos.
Immediately following that uplifting track is “In Love,” a dreary ballad complete with trumpet, old-style piano, and fuzzy interference in the background. Luckily, the fuzz sounds almost exactly like rain, which paired with the bluesy nature of this track works magically well. G takes on a scratchy and strange voice that sounds similar to someone you’d find in Dr. Dog, which fits perfectly seeing as a lyric in the song is actually “scratching in love.”
“Walk” (track 9 just for organization’s sake) is an instrumental that is very welcomed. It breaks up the album between two songs that are both relatively slow and monotonous, then quickly builds up sound into a bright and poppy intermission between halves of the album. The final track “Snot” follows the same pattern, ending the album on an instrumental mesh.
Most artists chose to have their most influential track listed last on the album to make it stand out more, but Alex G uses an instrumental. More than just an interesting stylistic choice, it offers nice closure to a pretty all over the place album. The absence of lyrics gives time for things to come together, and if you listen to the album on repeat then it flows right back to the beginning like a continuous loop.
In between track 9 and 13 are a mix of interesting songs, but the one that (in my opinion) stands out the most is “Ready.” It uses guitar and bass with a Western-influenced flair that may just be interpreted that way because of the blurring technique used on the album, but for 4:22 minutes, it’s still very fresh.
Alex G is pretty much the next posterchild for abstract lyrics, and Beach Music shows an evolution that calls for multiple listens to get all of the meanings. It took the second or third listen to notice that the particularly upbeat songs owe their catchiness to their simple and effective rhyme scheme. It’s an extra tid-bit that’s pretty interesting.
It may be something about lo-fi music as a genre, but that specific piano sound is found in almost every single lo-fi song I’ve ever listened to. That makes it difficult for most lo-fi artists to stand apart from the others. However, Alex G took that same muffled and drowned-out old school piano and matched it with so many other instruments that there’s no way Beach Music isn’t one of his greatest releases yet. Pair all of that instrumental praise with his growing armory of lyrics, and you’ve got something great.
Beach Music will be released on Oct. 9, 2015.
The Pope Rockstar Playlist
As the rocking world has heard, Pope Francis is set to release an 11-track album to help preach his message of faith and righteousness with the masses. The pop-rock album will be called “Wake Up!” and is slated to come out on Nov. 27, 2015. The Pope released a single from the album entitled “Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!” which features his Holiness himself delivering inspirational speeches over beats and background instrumentation.
In honor of the Pope’s budding career as a musician, here are some songs featuring religious figures in the title or the song itself.
- “Hood Pope” – A$AP Ferg
There’s nothing like a bold start to a playlist, and that’s exactly what you get with A$AP Ferg’s “Hood Pope”. The Pope doesn’t seem like a hardened person at all, making this both humorous and serious (because of the lyrical content, it’s not to be taken lightly obviously).
- “Bishop’s Robes” – Radiohead
This particularly dark song by Radiohead is not a light point of the playlist by any means, but it serves as a nose dive into a different territory of rhythm. The bluesy style of “Bishop’s Robes” that sounds similar to something Muse would produce is strangely soothing.
- “Oh My God” – Ida Maria
This song is featured on a lot of soundtracks, but not enough as a single itself. From the gentle crooning of “So you think you’re in control” to the combinations of both singers chanting “Oh my God”, Ida Maria brings a fresh indie element to the playlist.
4. “Jesus Christ” – Brand New
Probably one of the most fitting songs for this playlist, Brand New questions life after death in the reflective “Jesus Christ”. This track questions morality and personal beliefs in a way that both asks for forgiveness and condemns the need for it.
- “Angels and Demons” – Front Porch Step
Front Porch Step brings romantic emotions in juxtaposition with the stereotypical forces of good and evil in “Angels and Demons”. A man and his loved one are at odds and it is comparing his lost heart as being (surprise) sold to the Devil.
- “Superstar” – Jesus Christ Superstar
No religious playlist is complete without a track from the hit musical Jesus Christ Superstar. This is that track.
- “The Pope Smokes Dope” – David Peel and The Lower East Side
There’s no good way to follow up a track as great as “Superstar”, but “The Pope Smokes Dope” is very close. Pope Francis is regarded as the “hippest” Pope in a long time, which probably inspired songs like this. Don’t fret, The Pope does not actually smoke dope.
- “An Audience With the Pope” – Elbow
Elbow is a sleeper hit. Their musical artistry is shown in the cool cascade of random instruments for the intro, followed by the lyrics which are in the style of low-fi indie pop.
- “The Prophet” – Slightly Stoopid
There is no explanation for Slightly Stoopid. They just appear, and whatever they create magically fits into the world perfectly. “The Prophet” is an example of that.
- “Jesus Christ Was An Only Child” – Modest Mouse
The earlier Modest Mouse albums feature low production sounds and are notoriously more indie and acoustic influenced than later albums. The interesting thing about this song is that even though the instruments are friendly and inviting, the lyrics are actually very dark subject content.
The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die: ‘Harmlessness’
Noted as one of the frontrunners for the emo revival of the 2010s, The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die is a nine piece indie punk band from Connecticut. Their music can be described by their use of confessional lyrics and a large range of instruments that make a “full” band sound. Although their discography includes a lot of EPs with great content on each, the full length albums tell entire stories through the progression of tracks and are highly regarded as an accumulation of the best of TWIABP. Harmlessness is the second studio album to be released by The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die and will be available on Sept. 25, 2015 for purchase. A streaming version of the album is currently available for free on Bandcamp, or you can purchase it digitally for $7.
Harmlessness brings a new chapter for the band by creating a flow of motion from start to finish. The tracks blend into each other so well that the album doesn’t feel like it’s made up of individual songs, it’s more of an elongated soundtrack. The switching of male and female vocals brings depth to the album, and layers of harmonies make the feeling more visceral. An ode to realizing, forgiving and carrying on, Harmlessness is warm-sounding with heavy impact.
Because the themes mentioned in Harmlessness are similar to “Whenever, If Ever”, it’s easy to draw comparisons between the two full-lengths. However, Harmlessness exceeds all expectations. The album draws on floaty riffs that fade into the background and pull forward at just the right times, allowing space for the sweet twangs of the synthesizer to shine through. Every different instrument is used at full potential, with the right sounds pronouncing at the right times to give an unparalleled listening experience.
The album starts with “You Can’t Live There Forever,” a kick-off to ignorance of people in the world around us. With lyrics littered with rhetorical questions, the track ends with the important phrase “we think that the world is alright, and that’s a lie.” It’s interesting to note that the name of the band, The World Is a Beautiful Place, is taken very seriously throughout the lyrics of “Whenever, If Ever” but is torn apart on the first track of Harmlessness. This could be a progression of TWIABP as a band, or possibly a further stab at self-realization through breaking ignorance. Either way, it is a powerful start.
The third track “January 10th, 2014” was released early as a single and is easily one of my favorites from the album. The song draws from the story of Diana the Hunter of Bus Drivers, a woman that killed at least two bus drivers in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico during 2013. The news of the killer spread rapidly through the city, plaguing its citizens with fear of the unknown for months. The track encourages everyone to draw on bravery and hope for something better despite atrocious things that have happened in the past, citing the killer as an example of past horrors. “We are brave and strong, but don’t you quiver.”
Another special mention should be made for the final two tracks on Harmlessness. “I Can Be Afraid of Anything” and “Mount Hum” are the finale of a brilliant climb. They summarize the full album through a post-rock build up to the chanted phrases of high impact. “I Can Be Afraid of Anything” revels in the phrase “I really did dig my own hole, but I’m climbing out,” with the entire band breaking into whimsical harmonies at the height of the song. “Mount Hum” does the same, but in the classic TWIABP style of layered lyrics. Much like the infamous “Getting Sodas” from “Whenever, If Ever,” “Mount Hum” finished off an impressive album with a message that remains even after the track ends:
“Come off and fall, so that I can pick you up. Our homes are not the kind of places you own. We were ghosts even then, errant sunlight on our skin. Sunlight, sunlight. And we drove out to the bluffs, raced each other through the dust. We’re all going to die.”
Each song on Harmlessness manages to carry some sort of weight, and it is impossible to list all of the reasons and meanings. Some important positive mentions are on “Mental Health” and “Rage Against the Dying of the Light,” where the lead singer chants “you are normal and healthy to forgive yourself” and “I am alive, I deserve to be.” Overall, the album exposes the dark points we all experience throughout our lifetimes with questions that we have all thought about at one point or another (like the emotional line “Whose side am I on?” from track four’s “The Word Lisa”). Despite the hardships we all have to pick ourselves up and keep moving until we reach a beautiful place.
Easily one of the best new albums to come from 2015, Harmlessness should be at the top of everyone’s “need to listen to” list.
Tracks to listen to: “January 10th, 2014,” “Rage Against the Dying of the Light,” “I Can Be Afraid of Anything,” “Mount Hum.”
The Front Bottoms: ‘Back on Top’
The third album release from indie punk band The Front Bottoms brings in new instruments to accompany the quirky and angsty goodness that is Brian Sella.
Back on Top brings a mature sound to a band that was made famous for being quirky. The album uses a different production and sound value, which can be seen in the clearness of each instrument and the synthesized twang placed on every lyric. Elements from the past two albums are still present in Back on Top such as the style of anecdotes as lyrics and if you listen closely, you can hear backup female vocals that were introduced on a few songs such as the self-titled album’s “Flashlight.” For dedicated fans, it’s little connections like that between albums that make listening to the discography more of story-telling experience. If the first two albums were sarcastic introductions to the hardships of being an adult, Back on Top is the perfect addition to a trilogy making light of all the crap we go through.
The album kicks off with “Motorcycle” and “Summer Shandy,” both lighthearted tunes that bump along without any snags. Although they’re catchy songs, nothing about them stood out too terribly much.
“Cough It Out” and “HELP,” tracks three and four off of the album, were released earlier as singles and already gained prominence through streaming services like Spotify and Youtube. The songs were originally met with criticism for such a different sound with the main complaint being that it was more electronic than the indie acoustic sound that made The Front Bottoms famous. The straight-forward confessional lyrics that made the band popular can still be found in places like when Sella repeats, “I am delusional with love,” or “I don’t know what I’m going to do about anything.”
“Laugh Till I Cry” shows off Sella’s impressive vocal range, putting lots of emphasis on his accent that set The Front Bottoms apart from others. The use of sound effects like a motorcycle when the lyrics scream “motorcycle” makes this track one of my favorites off of the album.
“Historic Cemetary” for someone that sings about “getting high” so much, Sella has openly admitted to not being a fan of smoking. The irony of that only adds to the humor found in dark places of the album. Sella touches on difficult topics, particularly on how to deal with emotional hardships through relationships, personal importance, and our place in the universe. This track brings in a singer other than Sella that spits dark spoken word about drug abuse over a bright and poppy synthesizer. Nothing could epitomize The Front Bottoms better than that.
“The Plan (Fuck Jobs)” is another personal favorite, because it starts off with a quieter acoustic guitar that lets Sella show off his lyrics and voice. Kicking off with personal faults like hypocrisy through lyrics like “when my mind is uncertain, my body decides,” “The Plan (Fuck Jobs)” accomplishes what the rest of the album is hinting at. It balances the Front Bottoms sound that everyone is used to with its new elements in a way that welcomes the listener to something new.
“Ginger” and “West Virginia” are more of those catchy filler album songs that give the listener something to jam with their friends on a road trip or something to blast at a party. “West Virginia” manages to show the goofy side of Sella that has been missing a little on this album. He even slips in “ride or die” to describe some friends in West Virginia, whom he also gives a personal shout out.
The ninth track, “2YL,” is another favorite. It’s a shout-out to the tingly feelings you get from romance with cute little stories that could rival the perfect dates we’ve dreamt about. A instrumental break with a large trumpet section is refreshing and a great addition to the lightness of this song after which Sella professes his affection, saying “I can be the rainbow in your sky” and his willingness to be there for someone else.
The hardest part of closing an album is picking the perfect track to finish the list. “Plastic Flowers” is a great end to a blossoming album. The highlight is the mid-song monologue that Sella speaks, encouraging everyone to chant along to the chorus of “I believe that someone’s got a plan for me even if I don’t know it yet.” “Plastic Flowers” tags a bigger sound with more background vocals, leading up to a the conclusion of their discography so far: even though things are hard now, it will work out in the end. Another added bonus is that if you’re listening to the album on repeat, the end of “Plastic Flowers” flows perfectly into the beginning of “Motorcycle,” bringing everything full circle for round two, three, and four.
Overall, Back on Top brings a new sound that evenly splits the album into songs that sound vaguely like “old Front Bottoms” and songs that scream “new Front Bottoms.” Characterized with chanted choruses and those certain lyrics that stay hooked in your mind long after the song is finished, Back on Top is a light-sounding but hard-hitting addition to the musical arsenal of The Front Bottoms.
Tracks to check out: “Cough It Out,” “2YL,” “Plastic Flowers,” “Laugh Till I Cry.”
Beirut: No No No
Beirut began their journey in 2006 with Gulag Orkestar. Influenced by front man, Zach Condon’s, visit to Europe, the first album combines Balkan folk and Gypsy music, which continues throughout their most recent albums. Since then, Beirut has evolved into a folk pop sound, but still incorporates the common European instruments and melodies using brass and string instruments such as trumpets and violins. Their newest album, No No No, gives the classic sound a modern twist by utilizing pop synthetic sounds and upbeat piano melodies. No No No introduces a focus on the folk pop sound that seems less prevalent in previous albums. Multiple instruments and the contrast of Condon’s deep, smooth vocals with sharp synthetic sounds give the tracks a layered and complex sound.
“Gibraltar” opens with a tribal beat and transitions to an upbeat piano sound that becomes prevalent in multiple tracks and gives the album that folk-pop sound. The piano, prevalent in multiple tracks, exudes a vintage, 70’s pop sound that listener will find comforting and catchy. “August Holland” also exhibits the same style with a rhythmic piano melody. “No No No” follows with Beirut’s signature electronic sound, overlaid with fluid vocals that soften the synthetic sound. “At Once” transitions to a somber mood with blooming trumpets. “As Needed” follows suit and acts as an intermission for the energetic album with a soft, instrumental melody. The track successfully combines subtle haunting melodies with the softness of a lullaby. Finally, “So Allowed” completes the album with Beirut’s familiar sound and Condon’s deep, lofty vocals.
Perhaps this album is an indicator of Beirut’s evolution in a musical world where one listeners can be attracted to vastly different genres. No No No debuts Beirut’s ability to keep with their old, familiar sound, while pushing the limitations of multiple genres in order to appeal to more listeners as well as keep up with their loyal listeners’ continuously changing tastes.
3.5/5
AthFest 2014: Stokeswood x Vinyl Mag
Imagine a group like Young The Giant on 80’s dance steroids. That’s kind of what comes to mind when I try to describe the incredible and unique sound of five-piece Atlanta rock group Stokeswood.
I had the opportunity to sit down with the guys before their set this weekend at AthFest, and let me tell you – they’re awesome. Sometimes speaking with bands makes you realize that the people you thought were cool aren’t actually that cool.
But man, these guys are cool. After a long buffalo wing and World Cup filled discussion, we got down to business discussing their newest single, their killer logo, and of course, Smashmouth.
VM: So, how did you guys meet?
Jon Joiner: A couple of us went to school together, you know, college years.
Justin Mullinix: Adam, Jon, and Mark went to college together, and technically Mike, too. So I’m the only one. I did go to elementary school with Adam, though.
VM: So you guys have a new single out – “Our Streets” – and a video. Tell me about the song.
Mike Roman: We were just writing songs one night. We’d just get together and say, ‘cool, we’re going to write songs on Wednesdays.’ We’d just clown out chords, hum along, and have our Pro Tools rig open. The song actually came together pretty naturally in one night.
VM: That must be super convenient when something just comes together like that.
MR: Yeah, the best songs always do.
Mark Godwin: They don’t always happen that way.
VM: So is this single leading up to a new Stokeswood album, perhaps?
MR: It is. But no official, ‘hey, we’re putting out an album’ or anything. We’re just writing and recording.
MG: We have enough songs for a new EP definitely, but we’re still working and writing. We also had the opportunity to go film the music video [for “Our Streets”] out in LA with Eli Berg, which was great timing.
MR: This single was just ready, and we hadn’t put anything out in a long time. We actually did the whole song as a ruse to get us to California.
VM: Will the new album sound a lot like the old one, or are you all moving in a new direction?
MR: I mean, how much do you miss Smashmouth?
VM: I mean, I miss Smashmouth everyday.
MR: More like Sugar Ray and Smashmouth.
MG: It’s definitely like the next evolution of the last album. It’s going to have the same soundscape that the new single does.
JJ: The first album was more rock-y, but it had some leanings into dance music, and we’re now even more on the dance side.
MR: We’re all 80’s kids, so I feel like it’s always going to have that 80’s retro vibe.
VM: Random technical question, but where did your logo come from? Because it’s awesome.
MG: We did that on a night we got together and decided to come up with a logo.
Adam Patterson: Show her your tattoos.
MG: On the first album, we had this song called “The Extraordinary Mr. Hit,” and this is back when Justin wasn’t in the band, and the song was written by Adam before we went into the studio. Justin had produced some hip hop tracks and was showing us some production techniques, and the sound wave image ended up resembling this guy which I tattooed on my forearm.
AP: The images are vocals, so it’s technically our sound waves.
MG: It wasn’t completely planned, but it turned out nicely and worked well.
MR: [Stoner voice] We all got together and-
MG: [Sarcastically] Oh yeah, we were all on meth!
VM: Oh, great! [Laughs] A lot of artists outsource that kind of thing, so it’s cool that it’s something you all came up with organically!
MR: Sean Kaminsky, he actually goes to UGA [University of Georgia], came up with the final draft of the one we use now though.
VM: So you all played Party in the Park, and now you’re playing AthFest. What’s your favorite part about playing festivals?
MG: I think the fans. Festivals are unique, because people save up money, they plan around it, and they’re there for one reason, and that’s to see live music. That’s the best part for me anyway, because you really get a group of people who are there for the same reason as you.
AP: Yeah, the campout festivals versus the one-day festivals are really awesome, because people are there to really let loose for two to three days in a row. We were lucky enough to play Aura Fest the last couple years in North Florida; we played the inaugural CounterPoint Festival, and the campout vibe is awesome.
VM: So this is a question I love to ask everyone, but if you could plan your ideal musical fest with any artists, dead or alive, who would play?
MG: Smashmouth and Sugar Ray!
MR: We were playing a show with Papadosio, and our third show with them, there was a guy who was very clearly on substances, and he wanted to bring a festival to Brazil, and he wanted it to be ‘avant garde and retarded,’ and he was going to call it ‘Avantarded.’ He was onto something, I think. He wanted us, Paul McCartney, Daft Punk, Papadosio, and U2, and I’m just going to go with him, because I think he is a visionary. Avantarded 2020, we’ll see you in Brazil.
MG: I think on my festy of the dead people I’d say Mozart, Whitest Boy Alive, Talking Heads in their heyday.
MR: Bernie Worrell.
MG: Just dueling pianos Mozart vs. Bernie.
JJ: Talk about Avantarded…
MR: Avantarded! Oh, Kilo Ali!
All: Kilo Ali!
MG: Kilo Ali, Mozart, and the Talking Heads.
JM: And DJ Khaled.
[Whole table laughs for about 10 minutes talking about Stokeswood’s hypothetical new side project, MethMouth]VM: To wrap up, what’s in store for you guys in the future? Obviously, you’re working on an album.
MR: We want to expand our touring to get over to the west coast. But at least for now is making sure we can just put together the best album we can.
VM: What’s the number one west coast city you guys want to play?
MR: LA.
MG: Portland.
AP: Oh, Portland [laughs].
JM: Seattle!
MG: All of them – ‘City of the West Coast.’
Stokeswood on Tour!
Jul 06 PARK TAVERN w/ Radio Birds Atlanta, GA
Jul 17 River Jam Concert Series Charlotte, NC
Jul 18 New Mountain Theatre Asheville, NC
Jul 19 Play it Forward Music Festival Atlanta, GA
Jan 24 The Rock Boat XV w/ Michael Franti &… Cozumel, Mexico
Jan 25 The Rock Boat XV w/ Barenaked Ladies Cozumel, Mexico
Jan 26 The Rock Boat XV w/ Scars On 45 Cozumel, Mexico
Jan 27 The Rock Boat XV w/ Sister Hazel Cozumel, Mexico
Jan 28 The Rock Boat XV w/ The Mowgli’s Cozumel, Mexico
Athfest 2014: Wieuca x Vinyl Mag
Four piece “characteristically noisy” (their words, not mine) southern rock group, Wieuca, was founded in 2011 by frontman and guitarist Will Ingram and drummer Robert Smith. Three years, two new members and one full length album later, Wieuca takes the main stage at AthFest and kills it.
The chemistry onstage is incredible, and the group works a hot and sweaty 1 p.m. crowd with ease. The four shred through their performance and earn themselves a place in my ranks as one of the best groups in Athens to see live. These guys come from all around Atlanta and are somewhat new to the Athens area, so I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re glad they’re here.
We grabbed an interview with the boys before their set and asked them a little about how it feels to be performing on the main stage this year, and what plans Wieuca has for the future.
VM: I read that you guys describe yourselves as having a “characteristically noisy approach to the southern sound.” With such a unique sound, what kind of artists influence you as a group??
Will: When we started playing together, we were heavily influenced by 90’s college rock and midwestern alt-country, but we’ve started incorporating a little bit of everything. It’s fun to combine different styles in an unexpected way.
Robert: I think it’s always hard to pinpoint exactly who or what is influencing us at any point in time. Consciously trying to emulate any particular artist isn’t something we really do. Our everyday lives, our relationships, are really our biggest influences. But if I had to name an artist, I’ve spent the past couple of months listening to a lot of Todd Rundgren. And War on Drugs. They’re pretty tight, too.
VM: I saw you play at Rowdy Dowdy a few weeks back, and I was thoroughly impressed with your dynamic as a band. You have great chemistry and just all around good stuff going on on stage. You’ve had a few lineup changes in the past; do you finally feel really good about the group?
Robert: Yeah, the lineup seems pretty solid at the moment.
Will: The band is more collaborative and fun than it ever has been, but we’re open to adding more members to expand the potential of our live show.
VM: There Is No Balance, your most recent record, was released in 2013. Do you guys have plans for a new album in the works?
Will: The last album came out seven months ago, and since then we’ve been recording our next one. We haven’t decided whether to release it soon or to make it a double-length and record a few more tracks first.
VM: First of all, congratulations on earning yourselves a main stage performance at AthFest this year! Who are you all most excited to see?
Will: Elf Power. And DEGA was great last night.
Robert: Futurebirds are one of my favorite bands, and seeing them in Athens is always pretty radical, so them of course. And one of their openers, Woodfangs, are another one of our favorite local bands.
VM: You guys clearly have a sense of humor, from the fantastic Jesus Christ critique on your website to the name of your band, Wieuca. Tell us a little about why you finally decided on Wieuca as a band name to represent you all as artists.
Will: Wieuca is straight, so we wanted it to represent us.
VM: What is your favorite song from the record to play live?
Will: We usually play our new songs at shows and try them in front of a crowd before recording them.
VM: Who came up with the idea behind the music video for “Low Probability”?
Robert: Will.
Will: The video stars a handsome young man with a mustache.
VM: What’s your favorite activity, besides playing music, to do together as a band?
Robert: Scoping out new and exciting ethnic cuisines. Which goes pretty well with our other favorite activity of teaching O’Reilly how to correctly pronounce certain words.
VM: What’s in the pipeline for Wieuca? Do you have any exciting plans in the future?
Will: We’re looking forward to releasing our new songs.
VM: I have to ask you my signature question as well: If you could choose the headliners (dead or alive) for a new music festival, who would play?
Will: It would be really cool to see Bill Doss with OTC. Or Vic Chesnutt.
Robert: You could make a pretty awesome festival solely with Athens musicians who have passed away…
AthFest 2014: Party Dolls x Vinyl Mag
After making their debut on Valentine’s Day 2013, the local collaborative supergroup, Party Dolls, knew they had created something awesome. Exactly one year later, they had an album under their belt, and they haven’t stopped playing since. Party Dolls, a conglomeration of members from multiple Athens/Atlanta area acts including The District Attorneys and Tedo Stone, will continue taking the local scene by storm this weekend at AthFest
Party Dolls have a huge Athens following, and they are all about putting on a good show. The group masters their attempt at a “mini-Arcade Fire” sound, and really fosters and rekindles the collab-rock genre. Their debut album, Love Wars Baby, is an album of anthems that front man Drew Beskin says “had to be written.”
We caught up with them before the fest to chat about what it’s like to be part of such a big collab project, who would play their dream music fest and what’s in store for Party Dolls in the future.
Vinyl Mag: So there are quite a few members in Party Dolls; you’re a kind musical collage featuring members of multiple Athens/Atlanta bands. Do you all have a ‘the more the merrier’ philosophy when it comes to the band?
Drew Beskin: We definitely have a more the merrier attitude for Party Dolls. The band was put together in a very spur-of-the-moment kind of way. We all have or have had bands that fit a very specific structure, so this is everyone’s side pop band where we can just let loose and see how weird we can make it.
VM: Your record has been out for a few good months now – what’s that like? How has the reaction been?
DB: It is great to have it out there. We worked on it casually over a year, and we are very proud of the record. We have had some great press and premieres from some very cool publications. People seem to like it; I am proud of it. That is all that matters. The live version is a trip, because we have accordion, violin and a bunch of random instruments that I have never had on stage before, and I get a huge kick out of that.
VM: A lot of the record, Love Wars Baby, alludes to a bad breakup. I’ve always been curious about what it’s like for the rest of the band to play a song about someone else’s breakup. Is it hard to get into that head space?
DB: By the time the songs were recorded, the meaning behind them kind of vanished. They just turn into songs that happened to be about the past. When we play them now, we just enjoy the music and hope the audience does as well. There is no message or hidden meaning.
VM: Is it easy for you all to collaborate, having come from such varying musical backgrounds and groups? Do your styles all align when you come together to create something new?
DB: Yeah, for sure. We all just want to do the song justice and have as much fun playing as possible. We want to show each other off; we have a lot of amazing musicians in the band right now.
VM: What kind of artists influence you as a group?
DB: A lot of Whiskeytown and Rilo Kiley. We made the album with just four people, but we wanted to try and get a kind of ‘mini-Arcade Fire’ sound. A lot going on in 10 very short pop songs.
VM: Who are you most excited to see at AthFest 2014?
DB: Probably Dead Confederate and Kishi Bashi.
VM: Alright, this is my signature question: if you could choose the headliners – dead or alive – for a new music festival, who would play?
DB: Prince, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Rilo Kiley, The Smiths and Oasis.
VM: What’s in store for you all in the future?
DB: Not quite sure post-Athfest. We have some new songs and might record another album under the Party Dolls name or we might start a new project. Kind of playing it by ear right now.
VM: What’s the hardest thing about being in a group with so many members?
DB: Probably trying to write new songs off the fly, so we have stuck to listening to demos and learning from there. It’s never really that hard though; we all want the same thing, and if someone isn’t feeling it, they usually have a better idea. We are all friends with each other, so it’s pretty easy.
VM: What’s the craziest experience you’ve had at a show thus far?
DB: Our band usually floats between having seven or eight members, so whenever we are able to pull that off and get the sound right and everyone is locked in and happy, that is a pretty crazy experience.
*Check out Party Dolls at Athfest Saturday at Hull Street Stage at 4:00 p.m. See you there!
AthFest 2014: Dank Sinatra x Vinyl Mag
It is safe to say that Dank Sinatra is a band that is as unique as the music they play. Originating from Athens, Georgia, these five members manage to fuse energy, joy, an electric mix and a dash of old school rock and roll to create an unforgettable sound in their newest album, Strange.
As they tour the east coast, Matt Henderson, Joe Gaines, Clint Meadows, Josh Birmingham, and Jimmy Mcalpin will take some time from playing concerts on hotel roof tops and travel back to the Classic City for their performance at AthFest.
We caught up with Matt and Jimmy to talk about their biggest influences, “The Dank Tank” and, of course, AthFest!
Vinyl Mag: You recently released your album, Strange – what was the inspiration for the album?
Jimmy Mcalpin: We sought out to make a tighter record than our previous releases and really start to hone a sound that we are continually working on improving and refining.
VM: I saw you recently played the song “Down South Georgia Boy” on BalconyTV Charleston. How was that experience, playing on the roof top of a Holiday Inn?
Matt Henderson: It was a great experience because we met two NASA engineers who were staying in Charleston at the Holiday Inn, and we were able to give them a copy of Strange and chat with them about the opportunity for a tour of the Milky Way in 2015.
VM: You play AtheFest on the 20th. How do you like playing Athens compared to other cities?
JM: Well it is always nice to drive 10 minutes to get to your gig. It’s a great town to play as well; you can always count on some people who are as in to live music as you are to be around for your show.
VM: How has Athens influenced your music?
JM: It probably hasn’t influenced our music in too many stylistic ways so much as it has in conditional ways. There is so much music and so many musicians that it creates an environment of having a good work ethic and an atmosphere of excitement about creating new music and sharing it with friends and the town you live in.
VM: Have you ever been to/played AthFest before?
MH: This is going to be our fourth time playing AthFest, and we would probably be around even if we weren’t, it being one of our favorite times of the year to be in Athens. Can’t wait to see all the other great bands.
VM: What can your fans expect at your show in the Green Room?
JM: We have been working hard lately writing songs and creating new music, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to play live again, so fans can expect to see a band that is ready to play out, have fun and blow stuff up.
VM: What are you currently listening to?
JM: We’ve been listening to a lot of Sibelius (Fifth Symphony) and the thoughts of such men as Ernest Hemingway and David Foster Wallace. Music is a very important thing to listen to as a musician, and it is equally as important to absorb as many other creative arts as possible to provoke creativity in yourself.
VM: What are some unexpected hobbies that each of you have besides music (other creative outlets?)?
JM: Matt is currently engaged in all the World Cup action happening down in Brasil, while Joe has been holed up in his house with a model train project that he is currently working on. He just finished the first boardwalk he will be using as a platform to the other stations. Also we have been playing a lot of monopoly lately.
VM: I recently read that you all are headlining this year’s Unitus Music Festival at Cherokee Farms. How does it feel to go from a starter band to headliner in just a few years?
MH: It is really nice to be sharing the stage with some of our friends in Sumilan and Funk You and being apart of the festival experience. Hopefully we can do some collaborating and get some other musicians on stage during our show.
VM: Are there any differences in your shows when you play a festival vs. a regular show?
JM: There is a lot of energy at a festival and that inevitably will make it into our performances at festival shows. The opportunity to share our music to a diverse audience is also in our thoughts when we are preparing for a festival show. We want to make sure we can deliver the best of what we have to offer to inspire the listeners and grow our fanbase.
VM: We have to know – where did “The Dank Tank” nickname originate?
MH: That is part of the long storied history of Dank-isms we have been writing and hope to publish in the coming months. Part of having a silly name is the opportunity to have fun with it, which we like to do.
VM: Ok last question. Have you finally calculated how you will play the first concert on the moon?
JM: We were doing some calculations recently about how many shows we would have to play in order to raise enough money and awareness to make a lunar show possible, but our calculator broke right in the middle of figuring it out. Once we raise enough money to get a new calculator (have to use a TI-83 because of the extensiveness of the lunar calculations) we can begin the process again.
EXCLUSIVE Premiere: Poppy Brothers: “Where Nothing Grows”
The boys of Poppy Brothers are back with another exclusive song premiere off their upcoming record, Sour Fruit, the bros’ first release since 2013’s End of the Rainbow EP. Sour Fruit drops on Tuesday, so get your ears ready!
Check out “Where Nothing Grows” below!