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Interview: Lazerbeak of Doomtree

February 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Doomtree plays at Casbah on February 3

 

By Tom Roth

Recently, USD Radio’s Tom Roth spoke with Lazerbeak, DJ for seven-piece Minneapolis rap collective, Doomtree to discuss the group’s current super-tour and new album, No Kings.

Catch Doomtree on Friday, February 3 at San Diego’s Casbah. Tickets available here.

Tom Roth: At first glance, Doomtree can seem a bit dizzying. It’s not every day that a seven-some rap collective enjoys the same success as Doomtree. Did that group dynamic come about on purpose or was it more of a happy accident?
Lazerbeak: It was a little bit of both. We all kind of met up and joined forces a little but after high school and at that point, we are all kind of figuring everything out. The whole “strength in numbers” philosophy kicked in where if one rapper finagled his way into a show he could maybe pull along another one and they could share the 15-20 minute slot… things like that. We could pool resources, we could do jobs. I remember having a ledger and a little cash box and we made $40 from a show, I could go to Best Buy and buy CR-Rs so we could press up some CD’s to sell. It started there. We all knew that we were individual artists but it just made sense and seemed easier to forge a path together. As that continued and got bigger, slowly, it seemed like it never made any sense to stop. We’re fortunate. Now we’re here and we’re enjoying a little bit of success and working real hard and so we can enjoy that together. It’s pretty gratifying.

TR: How is the Doomtree of 2012 different from the Doomtree from back in the day? How’s the material different?
LB: [Laughs] the structure has changed. We’re all nearing 30 now – some of us have hit 30  – and so that’s a lot different than when we were 19-years-old…. Also, we’ve learned a lot. We’ve gotten the opportunity to do a lot of things and we’ve learned from all those things. We’ve tried to implement new ways of making us successful. A lot of that has brought some structure. Dessa and I end up doing a lot of the business stuff . Sims is really good at the merchandise stuff. Everyone has their own little role that they contribute to make this thing run as smoothly as it possibly can. Through experience and all that stuff we’ve been able to fine-tune it to work for us. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it for anyone else but for us, it works.

TR: With so many people contributing to Doomtree, who are the top three influences for the group?
LB: Ooh, ok, three outside artists? Oh man…we all have such different tastes… let me poll the room here [poses questions to the crew]. I’d say maybe Outkast. It’s very rare that all seven of us will agree that we like th same artist but I think Outkast is one of the few that we can always agree on. Outkast for sure. Steely Dan? I think we all like Steely Dan. I don’t know if that’s an influence or not but we all agree on Steely Dan, Outkast, and Kurt Vonnegut, the author. We all ended up reading a fair share of his books when we were younger. I know I did.

TR: Looking at the tour schedule for No Kings, the first thing to notice is that there are 40+ shows on just about as many stops. Got any tactics for keeping your sanity?
LB: [Laughs] I don’t know if we’ve figured that out quite yet. We’re really happy to be out on the west coast. We love it out here and we’ve been fortunate enough to do some shows here. This is some of our biggest markets in the country. For some reason, the west coast has always been really good to us. Starting the tour out and routing it that way, the drives are kind of a grind and we’ve packed it in so that even if we have a day off, its usually a driving day and we do an in-store that night. I think we’re feeling the fatigue a little bit up front since we’re on four or five hours of sleep per night, through the past week. But the longest drives are behind us. I think that’ll help. Honestly, the difference between waking up at 7 and getting in a van, and waking up at 9 and getting in a van is astronomical. We can sleep in a little. We’re trying to take it easy. We’ve been on enough of these now that we know you can’t go hard every night. Just trying to pace ourselves. Even though we’ve all done a lot of tours, this is probably one of the larger ones. Its almost like a three month tour with a week off in the middle. So far no one has gotten super sick. We’re all drinking our Emergen-C’s in the morning and hoping that we make it through. We’re looking forward to the shorter drives. I think tomorrow we have a three hour drive, which is awesome.

TR: With that many shows, are you working in room for improvisation or are all the shows going to be pretty much the same in terms of their format?
LB: Honestly, for the first half of the tour it’ll be changing because it takes us a while to really get into the “perfect set” for that tour. With all the different material that we have, it’s not just the crew songs. Obviously, the set is heavily focused on No Kings but we have probably 30-some releases on Doomtree (Records) and we can play any of those songs so it’s a challenge to pick which ones and to see how the crowd will react to them. It takes some time. Once we get it locked in, we usually don’t stray too far from it because of how long it took us to get it to feel right. It’ll generally be around the same but we’re talking about close to two hours of music with all seven of us on stage every night. It’s a lot. You definitely get the overview of the whole last ten years.

TR: Two weeks ago, you were in Kansas. Now, you’re in Southern California. Have you been surprised by the fan response so far?
LB: I have. Every time you go out, you hope that it’s better than the last and that gives you an indicator that you’re doing something right; that things are growing. We were really hopeful putting this crew record out – really, the first all crew record that we wrote together from start to finish – that that would be reflected in the attendance. And it has. It has, man. I’ve been floored by people’s responses to the new material, how many people are singing along every night, selling out a couple of shows already, and doing an encore every night. It’s things that, when you start out, you don’t really think about or ever even expect. You just work hard. I always think of the tour right after you release the record as the reward for all the hard work you put into making it and promoting it and now, you get to see the positive effects of it. We’re all thrilled to get on stage every night and the response from the people who’ve been coming out has been really uplifting for us.

TR: While No Kings is Doomtree’s fourth release, it’s also your second studio album, a notable feat considering all contributing members are balancing solo/collaborations recordings and performances. With all that going on, what was the recording process like for the album?
LB: It was cool. It was different than I’ve ever done it before. We went to Sims’ wife’s family cabin because we knew there was no way – even though most of us live in the same city, our lives are so scattered – there’s no way you get all seven of us in a room even for two hours at a time anymore. We kind  of had to carve out this five day period where everyone said “Yep. We’re free. We’ll go up there. We’ll turn our phones off and we’ll just do work”. We’d gotten together with the producers before and stacked a lot of beats so we had a stockpile of music up there. I went up there with the rappers and we just holed up and five days later, we had eleven of the twelve songs demoed. At that point, we had no clue what was gonna… we just had these songs. We didn’t if they were really good yet or not. We knew they were different. They felt really weird to us at the time. Over the next couple months, we got to fine tune them, add stuff, and when it all was said and done, I looked back and was like “Wow… 90% of this happened in  those five days and we didn’t  really have any idea what we were getting into”. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to duplicate that process again… I’d heard stories of that working for other people but I figured there was no way in hell we’d ever get there. Somehow, we pulled it off with this one. I’m really happy about that because from the business side, I had set the release date before we had any songs because we knew we had to release an album in the fourth quarter so it was a very scary task to be like “Well, we gotta come up with something. I hope it rules”. We lucked out. I don’t think I’ll ever do that again, but we lucked out.

It speaks to how good these guys have gotten at working with one another because, like I said, that first crew record – the self-titled album – was compiled over a five year period. Those songs were written mostly by one person who then brought another person on board late or stuff like that. It just showed through all the touring and stuff we’ve been through that the rappers are at a place with each other where they can feed off each other so quickly. I was really impressed to see that.

TR: “Bangarang” makes mention of “rappers/beats/raps” that sound the same. Is that in any way related to the album’s title?
LB: Mike came up with that chorus and then those guys kind of filled in their verses. We didn’t set out like “We’re gonna call the record No Kings, we’re gonna write about this stuff”. It was interesting. We didn’t name the album until a couple of months later… it was interesting that everyone was on the same path of “all equals” and doing it together and all this kind of stuff. I feel like that chorus does sum up a lot of that stuff… we don’t want to be negative about this stuff at all but we want to say “we’re here to level the playing field and we want everyone to come with us”. It’s just kind of a statement that everyone can do this stuff. And everyone should. We shouldn’t have to worry about a hierarchy or anything.

TR: Whose idea was the iTunes flashmob?
LB: That was Dessa’s idea. She’s the creative one when it comes to brainstorming “how do we promote on these really small budgets? How do we become effective and get our name out there?” For us, those first-week sales are kind of our opportunity to get out there and compete a little bit. If we can mobilize our fan base within that first week to really support it, we have an opportunity to show up on those charts with the big guys…. We had seen a couple people get up on those charts and we knew that they [the charts] regenerate every 12 hours or 24 hours but if you can get a burst of sales, you have a shot sometimes,(if there isn’t a huge release out) of getting up there. So we gave it a shot. We sent a letter to our mailing list and we put it out there on our social networks and we said “Hey, if you were thinking about buying the album today, would you please consider buying it at this time from iTunes to see if we can’t do this together”. And sure enough, we cracked the top 10 hip-hop. We got the #9 for a day. Which is awesome.

Honestly, looking into more and more and understanding what these sales mean, it doesn’t mean that we sold 50,000 records or anything like that but for one 12-hour period, we were hanging. And this is the end of November, this is fourth quarter, this is when all the big rap albums come out like Drake and Yelawolf and all these guys and to see our album cover next to theirs even overnight. To wake up and it was still there was pretty awesome…. Huge shout goes to our fans. Everyone says “Oh, our fans are the best” but we’ve always tried to be as transparent as possible when it comes to this stuff, from the business to the music. I think that really worked to our benefit. We put it out there and told them what we were trying to do and they backed it. Pretty awesome.

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Interview: Rachel Platten

January 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Rachel Platten comes to San Diego's House of Blues on Jan. 13

By Tom Roth

USD Radio’s Tom Roth spoke with Boston pop artist Rachel Platten prior to her Jan. 13 show at San Diego’s House of Blues. From Homer’s Iliad to 100,000 screaming Caribbean fans, Platten shared her influences and even spilled the beans on why her friends make fun of her.

Tom Roth: Your music tends to be very upbeat. How do some of the more brooding artists you list as inspirations (like The Roots or Lauryn Hill) influence your music?
Rachel Platten: It’s funny because this record has a lot of the really uplifting, funny side of the stuff that I’ve been writing and that happens when I co-wrote. I’m kind of a joiner, I always have been. I love being a part of things. I love being a part of a community so going into a co-writing session is so fun and I’m instantly in this mood of “I love doing this and I wanna write something positive and happy”. When I write by myself, the stuff is… not dark, but maybe a little bit more… thoughtful and serious. That’s maybe where the artists that I listen to – like Lauryn Hill and the Roots – come in but I dunno if either of those artists are that dark. They’re talking about some serious subject matter but they’re not doing it in a brooding, miserable way. I think both of them address stuff that is painful but in a way that you can listen to it and feel like “OK, there’s hope”. And there’s a good beat [laughs] and there’s a melodic line….

TR: Another band you’ve said is influential is The Pixies. Is there a Boston connection going on there?
RP: No, because I didn’t learn about them when I was in Boston. Although now that I know that, I’m slowly getting more into them. But I didn’t find out about them until I moved to New York which is strange because I was 20 and my producer at the time, this guy Mark Turrigiano, who’s a big Pixies fan, introduced me to them along with some other artists that I love like Elliot Smith and Nada Surf and a lot of indie rock that I hadn’t been listening to but before we went in to make some songs together, he was like “Alright, girl. You need to completely absorb yourself in these artists”. And the Pixies were one of them that I fell in love with. So no, no Boston connection from the start but now that I know it, yeah. Huge fan.

TR: The title of you album (Be Here) implies a philosophy of living in the moment which fits with your words that in life “there will be pain, but there is always joy in it”. What events in your life and career led you to this mindset?
RP: I think maybe the search for, or the quest of following my dream led me to that. It has not been easy – there have been a lot of ups and downs. It’s funny because when you have success and stuff on the radio, people are like “Oh my God, it’s overnight and you’re the new artist!” but I’ve been working for a really long time and really hard and there’s definitely been a lot of “no’s” and a lot of people who didn’t believe in me. I think it was figuring out how to overcome that and not let the darker side of my mind (which we all have) win… telling it to be quiet. I know that if I stay positive and do the work – not only the work in songwriting, but the work in maintaining my happiness like yoga and meditating and all that stuff that my friends make fun of me for – that stuff keeps you on the light side of life, I think. I think the search for following my dreams has prompted the theme of wanting to stay in the moment and staying present because all we really have is right now. We can ruminate and get depressed about stuff that happened in the past but that doesn’t really exist. This is all we really have.

TR: The sounds of “You Don’t Have to Go” belie the – shall I say – sultry subject matter. Was this track written on a whim or was it more thought-out?
RP: [laughs] It was kind of a whim. I think how I wrote it was my ex-boyfriend and I, actually, he played the drums. We went to this rehearsal studio in New York and he was playing this groove but the groove you hear is changed a little bit. I started beatboxing on it… the original groove he had was this sexy, dirty… [beatboxes]. You can’t really write that, obviously [laughs]. It was just this soulful beat and I think that inspired it. It was like “Oh man, this beat is so hot” and I started playing those chords over it and it just came to life in that studio pretty quickly. It wasn’t like “Oh man, I gotta write a song about a girl having a one night stand. I gotta figure out how to do this”. So no, it was kind of on the spot. And the subject matter was funny. I kind of surprised myself with it. I hadn’t ever really written anything like that before.

TR: Commercially, “1,000 Ships” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r61LFkzKzQQ) has become your most successful song so far. Were the lyrics influenced by Homer’s Iliad? Is that an important story for you?
RP: I wouldn’t say its important any more than any other Greek mythology. I don’t really subscribe or follow Greek mythology much but I love to investigate it when I’m writing and I love to investigate scenes and stories. I like to even look in the encyclopedia for random ideas and things that I might not have known or thought of. I had reread The Iliad but kind of a shortened version several months before I went to Sweden just because I was fascinated with the story and Helen of Troy. I loved the idea that her beauty had all this power over men and I thought it was fascinating that we have that echoed in modern movies and TV shows and it’s so funny how much it comes from these old stories and how much of it replicates it. I read it and I think it crept into my consciousness. I haven’t really told this story before, but I did not think of Helen of Troy when I wrote that line, “I have sailed a thousand ships to you”. It wasn’t until afterwards that I was like “oh man, that’s what I was talking about!” It wasn’t conscious. I wrote those words at 3:00 in the morning in my hotel room in Sweden in a half-daze. I needed to have the words by the next day because I had one day to record the vocals before I left Sweden. They just kind of came out. I know people say this, but it really did just happen with that song. I don’t feel like I wrote it, I feel like I caught it, in a way. I feel like I put out this net and was able to catch it. It came so quickly and so easily.

TR: Critics say you seem comfortable on stage. Has that always been the case?
RP: Yeah, I think it always has been. I love it. I love performing and I’ve always loved performing…. I did musicals when I was younger and did plays when I was younger and I’ve always loved it. I felt this energy from the audience. I just feel electrified when I’m on stage. I think being on stage has always been the easiest part. It’s kind of like what I go back to when the other stuff gets hard and when I was having a hard time when I first started following this dream, that was always the thing – being on stage – that was the thing that restored my faith and my belief in myself. It was like “Wait a second, I can do this! This is all that it’s about. It’s about performing tonight and being in the moment onstage”. So yeah, that’s always been something I’ve been blessed to have come easily. It’s the other stuff that was harder that I had to work at.

TR: You note your performance in Trinidad at the Soca Monarch Final as a big performance in your career. Can you tell us a little more about that day?
RP: I had been singing backup with this soca band and they asked me to join them like a week before the Soca Monarch Finals so we didn’t really rehearse. I learned the songs maybe a week before, at the most and practiced them a couple times so I was so nervous. We got to the stadium – like an outdoor park with a hundred thousand people. It was incredible. Trinidad and Carnival is something that would take hours to try to explain. It’s nothing like what we have in America for concerts. It’s like this wild, crazy, thing that’s packed with emotion because Carnival is not only about the music, it’s about the culture and the music represents the culture. I don’t know how to explain it, really. Basically, there’s all this energy there that may not be in a normal performance… that day was amazing. I got backstage and there was just this crazy, crazy mesh of people running around in crazy costumes because they’re all wearing Carnival costumes. Getting onstage was amazing. I got out there and couldn’t even see anyone. I could see like the first 20 rows and behind that was that was just a sea of people, and sparklers, and flags flying, and I just felt this light jolt up my system that was like “this is EXACTLY what I’m supposed to be doing” and I’ve been trying to chase those 100,000 people ever since.

TR: Your upcoming tour kicks off on Jan. 13 at the House of Blues in San Diego. What can you tell us about this tour?
RP: I am beyond stoked to be opening for Andy Grammar. I’ve been a fan of his for a while, we did two shows in Ohio and he’s such a talented performer. This is our first time (for a lot of us) on a bus. We’re all gonna be on a bus together so that’ll be amazing. The San Diego show is the first stop on the tour so we’ll all be fresh, and clean, and showered. I’ll be playing with my drummer. We have a couple of new songs and we’re really excited to debut those. One of them is gonna be the song that I just wrote, the theme song for an ABC Family show called “Work of Art” and we’re gonna be playing that one live, so I’m excited to see how that goes over.

 

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/rachelplattenmusic
WEBSITE: http://www.rachelplatten.com/
TICKETS TO SHOW: http://www.livenation.com/event/0A004769FA944455?brand=hob

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Interview: Paul Meany of MUTEMATH

November 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Paul Meany of MUTEMATH. Photo by Tom Roth

USD Radio’s Tom “Wonderboy” Roth recently spoke with Paul Meany, front man of New Orleans rock group MUTEMATH to discuss the band’s most recent album, upcoming tour, and what drummer Darren King carries around in his little black bag.

Tom Roth: In March 2008, you told The Orange County Register that your goal for MUTEMATH’s second album, Armistice, was to “embarrass” the first record. Did you accomplish that goal?
Paul Meany: The jury is out on that. I’m not sure we did. I think the second record is certainly as good as the first record but, yeah, we didn’t blow it outta the water. We tried though. We had to tell ourselves we were. I do think they are two great records though.

 

TR: If we could go back to an earlier MUTEMATH song, what were the circumstances under which you wrote “OK”?
PM: I think at the time, I was just trying to find a new beginning. I think me and Darren had just started writing songs together and experimenting and that was certainly one of the first songs we had put together. I think a lot of the songs on the EP were about recovering from losses and trying to cope with falling on your face and getting back up which is certainly where I was at that point.

 

TR: MUTEMATH has been fortunate enough to enjoy exposure through a variety of popular outlets including television and movies, notably the Twilight and Transformers series as well as spots on Discovery Channel and ESPN. How has this been for the band?
PM: I will say the Twilight one was certainly the most surprising. I don’t think anyone was sure what was gonna happen with a song on the first Twilight soundtrack. First of all, it paid for our third record so we’ve been thankful for that. We probably wouldn’t have gotten to another record without having that. But yeah, what a phenomenon that became.

 

TR: From the opening of Odd Soul, it’s apparent this record is different than MUTEMATH’s previous releases. How did this new sound develop?
PM: From a culmination of a few things. First of all, I think losing our previous guitarist was one factor so it’s kind of strange that it became a more guitar-led or guitar-heavy type of record. To some degree it makes sense because the guitar became a new instrument for the record. We went ahead and did the record as a three-piece and had a lot of fun with picking up a guitar… all of us did. Roy certainly did most of it. I think also, partly in our mind, was to make a record that was very stage-ready which we had never done in the past. That wasn’t something we were thinking about. I think we kind of evaluated what we thought we did well as a band and what we didn’t…. Our show is pretty high-dynamic and just a couple slow songs so we wanted a record that had that same ratio and it kinda fell suit into that. I certainly feel like this record, Odd Soul, is our most cohesive – certainly our most high-spirited – record and I really enjoy it. I think it’ll certainly stand the test of time and with this record, I would probably lay claim to embarrassing the previous two. I think it’s our best one.

 

TR: Were the sounds on Odd Soul in any way influenced by the music of MUTEMATH’s hometown, New Orleans?
PM: Absolutely. I think that’s always been an influence to our band. We certainly just let ourselves go there more on this record. We indulged a bit more on that. You have to remember our band started out as an electronic experiment. It was just Darren and me and a lot of the music was “built” in samplers and drum machines. It started there and kinda ended there in a way too even when we record the instruments. But over time, and you can probably see the evolution from each record, it just kinda has become a little more organic. The formula hasn’t changed too much. Song ideas for us still start in samplers and drum machines. It’s usually how we get ideas off the ground but how we develop those is a little more informed by what we do in our show; what we’ve started to find we naturally do live anyway. We spent a lot of time on the last couple of records, reinterpreting them to work for us live or feel right when it’s just four guys on stage. We just decided to invest that effort on the front end this time, going into the record so that when we’re done with the record it’s actually more ready to happen for us on stage.

 

TR: Which tracks on Odd Soul are you especially proud of and which are you most excited to share with fans?
PM: Certainly “Prytania” is the top for all of us. We love that track. I love “Cavalries”. I think “Cavalries” is probably one of the most exciting songs we’ve ever done. “In No Time” is certainly a special song for this band… “All Or Nothing”…. “Blood Pressure” and “Allies” are the two songs we started with when we were writing new material. Once we got those two songs, we kinda built the rest of the record on that. So those were pretty pivotal tracks as well.

 

TR: Your shows are notable for the on-stage energy. How do you keep that up while on tour?
PM: I don’t really know. I could probably make up some non-sensical answer that’d probably be more interesting but the truth is, we just get on stage, we just play, and react. That’s it.

 

TR: San Diego is lucky enough to have two opportunities to catch MUTEMATH in the near future at Wrex the Halls Ball with Blink 182, Social Distortion, Everlast, Pennywise, Switchfoot, and DMC on December 11 and at 4th and B on February 3. What can fans expect to see?
PM: For 4th and B, we will have started the new show that we’re developing right now. We are creating what I will call an “electric sanctuary” that we are going to take out on the road. We are going to be playing the whole record – the whole new record – on this upcoming tour. Every track, along with some old stuff, but we are definitely going to play the whole new record and put it in this environment of an interactive 3D approach. It’s as vague as that. We’re raising the stakes on our show. That’s what we’re trying to do right now. I’m really excited about next year. It’s a must-see, if I shall plug [laughs].

 

TR: Armed with a new set of songs and a new guitarist, what have the differences been between the Odd Soul Tour and MUTEMATH’s previous tours?
PM: Just the songs. I think Todd (the new guitarist) has fit in very well. He’s a great musician. He’s very talented, so he just kinda learned the music, and stepped right in and has been covering it all. We’ve been playing mainly new music and it’s just been really fun to rebuild chemistry with the band and the new songs and enjoy the new sparks that are happening around the music right now.

 

TR: I saw you in Portland, OR in 2007 while you were on the Flesh and Bones Electric Fun Tour. Did Darren duct tape his monitors to his head every night and did he ever complain about getting the tape out of his hair?
PM: Yes. He’s always done that. He quickly learned that he can’t use duct tape. He has to use gaff tape. Gaff tape is a little more forgiving and usually by the end of the night, he’s sweated it all off. There were a couple of nights where he ran out of gaff tape and someone at the venue would have a roll of duct tape and he’d use that. That was always the kind of thing where he’d be sitting in the bus, kinda pouting, knowing that he’d have to rip this off and it was gonna be really ugly. Those were painful enough to teach him to always have gaff tape. If you ever wonder what Darren is carrying in around in his little computer bag he’s always got with him, there’s certainly a roll of gaff tape in there.

For tickets to MUTEMATH’s upcoming San Diego shows, click here or here

 

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Interview: Macklemore

November 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Macklemore. Photo by Jimmy Hickey.

By Tom Roth

 

USD Radio spoke with Seattle rapper, Macklemore before his upcoming show at San Diego’s Epicenter on Nov. 22. Read on to learn more about Macklemore’s touring, songwriting, Irish roots, and which Seattle Mariner is his least favorite.

 

Tom Roth: This summer, you played Sasquatch, Soundset, Outside Lands, Rock the Bells, Bumbershoot, and Musicfest NW all in a row. What effect did that have on your exposure?
Macklemore: I haven’t really thought about it that way and I haven’t really listed them off in that way either in my head. I think those festivals are a great opportunity, obviously, for new fans, and also for the people that are already following you to kind of track your progress. Because those festivals you mentioned were really good looks for us. They are high-profile festivals and I think it’s a way to kind of measure that the music is having an impact not only just with fans but also with the people who are booking the festivals… the eyes of the industry that are putting together these things. I’m sure they definitely had a great impact and a lotta new fans get turned on to it, hopefully and also people just realize that the music is being taken seriously and people are really connecting with it.

 

TR: You’ve recently played a couple of shows in Ireland. How was your track “Irish Celebration” received there?
MM:“Irish Celebration” was absolutely insane. We’ve been performing that song now for the last two years and it was, by far, the hypest one we’ve ever done. It was just ruckus, man. The drunken Irish-European vibe was absolutely amazing and everything I could’ve dreamed of and more.

 

TR: On this current tour, shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, Minneapolis, Spokane, Denver and Eugene all sold out over a month in advance. How has that set the mood for the rest of the tour?
MM: It’s just been exciting. It’s been exciting. You know, when you book a tour like this – or when the booking agent books it – it’s hard to predict how it’s gonna do even though you hope that you’ve grown since the last one. To get the numbers back and to sell out the venues that far in advance is incredibly inspiring, for sure. I wish we would’ve done a little bit bigger venues, in hindsight in a couple of these places but it’s hard to really measure. The last thing you wanna do is book a huge venue and have it halfway filled. It’s been incredibly inspiring and I think it’s a better gauge for where we’re at for the next time.

 

TR: While writing “The End”, what message did you hope listeners would take away?
MM: “The End” was a crazy experience. I actually wrote the third verse first on that song. I kinda wrote it backwards. Not on purpose. It just kinda wrote itself that way. It was a very emotional song. I never really get too emotional writing songs but I definitely got emotional during the process of writing it and just started crying uncontrollably at one point so it was definitely a different experience for me. In terms of the message, I think people interpret it differently. The way I wrote it, in terms of the content, was as a piece of music that was going through the dance of life. It’s like this dance… this high school – or not even high school – this school dance setting is a metaphor for life and being born and then eventually dying. That’s how I intended it to be written in terms of the message, but in terms of how people listen to it, it’s completely open to interpretation.

 

TR: Northwest rap has been growing on the scene over the last few years with acts like Blue Scholars, Common Market, and Grieves (just to name a few). How has that experience been for you?
MM: You know, those are all friends of mine. I like to think of the Northwest scene as something that, you know, we’re all friends. We all are, for the most part. It’s been great to watch everyone grow and to really develop their own fan base and get outside of the Northwest and be able to get in front of different fans from all around the country, all around the world and do what they love for a living or just for fun. Spreading the music of the Northwest has been really exciting.

 

TR: Do you have title for your upcoming LP? What can fans expect on this one and when do you hope to have it out?
MM: We’re going for, hopefully, a late spring release. That’s what we’re shooting for. In terms of what they can expect, I think it’s more honest music, music that’s from the heart that is trying to document a moment. I’ll keep it short. That’s about all I can say about it at this point.

 

TR: Which up-and-coming artists should rap fans keep an ear out for?
MM: I would say my guy, Xperience, who is on the road with us right now, actually. He’s a very talented person and a great friend of mine. He’s been on the road with us and has been absolutely killing these shows. He’s got a brand new mixtape out and is working on a bunch of different stuff. He’s exciting to me. Another one is a guy named Sol. He opened up for us in Bellingham. He’s an up-and-coming guy with a new album coming out. He’s real fresh. Those two are definitely exciting to me.

 

TR: Any Macklemore fan knows that you are a huge Mariner’s fan so let’s play a little Mariner’s word association. What’s the first word that comes to mind when I say… Randy Johnson?
MM: Hair.
TR: Alex Rodriguez?
MM: Bitch.
TR: Dan Wilson?
MM: Big dude.
TR: Edgar Martinez?
MM: Classic.
TR: Jay Buhner?
MM: The Bone.
TR: Ken Griffey Jr.?
MM: The Man.

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Interview: Andrew McMahon of Jack’s Mannequin

November 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Jack's Mannequin's newest album, People and Things

By Tyler Sivero

I recently had the chance to speak with Andrew McMahon of Jack’s Mannequin about the band’s new album People and Things. Andrew McMahon was raised in Orange County, California and formed Jack’s Mannequin as a side project from his high school band Something Corporate. He has worked as a solo artist and has an incredible amount of musical talent. Andrew not only was diagnosed with cancer right before the tour of Jack’s Mannequin’s first album, but he also survived it and continued to write music. A few years ago USD showed his movie Dear Jack that shows his battle from his view.

Now in their seventh year, Jack’s Mannequin released a third album about a month ago. As mentioned earlier, the first album was intended as a solo project by Andrew but turned into a three album series after his unexpected battle with cancer. I was able to ask Andrew about his battle and how it affects his writing as well as what it means being from Southern California himself.

 

Tyler Sivero: How did making the new album People and Things feel different than your others?

Andrew McMahon: In a way it was approached almost as a hybrid as the processes of Everything in Transit and The Glass Passenger (previous two albums). With Transit there was a freeness to the recording process that was something I’ve always looked to recreate. Passenger was tricky because there was a lot of things going on behind the scenes. For one, I was recovering and then two there was major restructuring at the record company. That definitely made that record hard to create, period. With this album my goal was really to have a good time and to keep it feeling free, creative and inspired at every step of the way. I think in that sense I tried to approach it in a way that would make it possible to keep it fun, free and inspired. With this record the biggest difference and approach would have to be the way we recorded the songs. I mean usually the way I’ve recorded the Jack’s records has been where I go in with my piano and my vocal and lay those down vocals first and then build the band around the piano and the vocal. With this record I started doing that and it just didn’t seem to be working the way I wanted it to. I sort of did a 180 and I got a couple of guys I’ve known for the last several years. We sort of just went into a space, learned how to play these songs and sort of jammed on them until they sounded right. Then we took that into the studio and recorded together. I think you sort of pick that up on the record; you sort of pick up that sense of freeness on the tracks. It’s sort of more a live approach to producing an album than I’ve implemented in the past.

 

TS: You’re first album was a solo project and the second album, like you said, was a response to you recovering from cancer. A lot of people have said you are straying away from the original piano rock found on Everything in Transit. Glass Passenger strayed from it and it seems like this is also heard on People and Things. Is this a trend?

AM: I mean that’s hard to say. I certainly still play the piano and the piano is very much a part of the songs and the music on both of those records. I don’t know if that’s something I’m straying from. It’s hard to be objective about stuff like this. As an artist you just do what feels right. You do what feels good in the moment. I know with this album I didn’t necessarily put the piano out in front. I didn’t necessarily do that consciously. I think I did that from the prospective from what I like to always do and what is right for these songs. These songs seemed to be presented best in the fashion that they were presented. From record to record it’s hard to say what’s going to come next. I think that’s why I like to make records. For all I know the next record I make will just be me and a piano, or it’ll be me and a symphony, I might not even be on the record. For me I try and follow the songs wherever they take me. When I sit down to write a song I’m not really thinking about how it’s going to be perceived or whether or not it’s a piano rock song or a ballad or a song id rather hear a guitar on. I’m just thinking about what makes me feel good when I hear this lyric or sing this melody and how do I position that so that people will get it. And for me that’s all I can really think about when I make these records.

 

TS: What is the meaning behind the new album title People and Things?

AM: There was something about the starkness and the broadness of the two words together that conjured the same feeling that I got when I thought about the songs on this record. It’s a record about relationships, it’s a record about my life in the time I was living it when I wrote these songs. I sort of felt that in a lot of ways because what was so central was the idea of the human relationship and how it makes you feel. I just thought when you really look at life that is the universal thing. It’s how we connect with the people around us and how that makes us feel. With me the concept of People and Things seemed sensible to me. I think as it relates to the language on the record there is sort of a tone to this, that it approaches love from a little more of a transparent and less hyped angle. Its not about break ups and make ups. It’s about the stuff in between, kind of the grittier stuff. I thought in that sense it was a very broad sense.

 

TS: Did you encounter and unexpected problems or challenges when writing this record?

AM: I mean you always come up against some things. There were definitely a couple. For one, I had done an early version of the record that I wasn’t totally thrilled with. It was the first time I’d ever got that far down the road with production and said, “I’m going to start over”. So that was tricky but it was the right thing to do. Where I think certain problems can scare you or make you lose your confidence, I think that moving on from that version of the album I gained the most confidence in my step and felt really empowered by that. I think the other thing that happened with this record, which was also what happened with the last record, was that there was a huge shakeup with the record company in the middle of the recording process. They basically fired half the people I had worked with for the last five or six years. That certainly was a tricky transition to make. Ultimately it worked out fine but when you’re recording to ultimately have your record released by a group of people and then all of a sudden that whole group of people is fired in the middle of the recording process; it can be a little nerve wracking.

 

TS: I attended the show in Ventura a few months ago. I noticed one of your band mates looked a little different and later you mentioned that he was a new member. Can you give some explanation on this and tell me a little how the band has changed over the past six years?

AM: I think like anything we had come to an impasse and we made a change. John our old bass player, who is still a very dear friend, was kind of going in one direction and I think we all recognized that. At that moment we decided that we would bring somebody else in ‘cause you have to keep going. I wasn’t going to stop playing music. So Mikey joined the band, which was over a year ago now. Obviously, recently we’ve been doing a lot more touring with him. I think it’s been a really positive thing for us. Mike is a fantastic musician. Not only is he a great bass player, but he’s a guitar player and he sings. He was a new energy for us, which at that moment was something I think we really needed. We had been on the road a long time and there’s been a lot of drama in the Jack’s Mannequin world since it started considering everything that happened to me in 2005. I think it gave us a new lease on our existence on the road as a band. I certainly felt, especially with this last tour with the new record out, that there is a very fresh, excited energy out here. We’ve really benefited from having a new person in the band.

 

TS: I know you grew up in Orange County, CA. What does growing up in Southern California mean to you? How does it impact you in being an artist? Do you use it as an inspiration?

AM: Absolutely. I consider Southern California home. To me, the V-necks to the Pacific ocean and writing music is really what I find to be the most inspiring. I was living in L.A. for the better part of the last four or five past years and in February. I made my way south back in to Orange County. Largely because I felt I was missing out on some of the inspiration I had found there. For me being from Southern California is imperative to my artistic process. It is really important to me and has been a constant source of inspiration.

 

TS: So I see how you get inspiration from southern California and things such as your battle with cancer. What else as a writer inspires you to write your music?

AM: I think for me, I gain a lot of my inspiration from traveling. There’s a huge factor from being in motion and being available to see and experience new things. My personal relationships and the people I meet in my everyday and how those relationships play out in my life become a huge source of inspiration as well. I’ve been really honest. I write my truth the best as I can. That’s what inspires me. When I write it really comes down to it being an affect of the everyday. It being a representation of what I see on a daily basis. I find a lot of my inspiration in the minutia, the little things, the little moments that add up to a feeling and make me sit down and want to play the piano.

 

TS: Jack’s Mannequin has been around for six years now. Do you still plan on recording with the band and touring after this? Are there any future plans for the band?

AM: Jack’s on the road and Jack’s in the studio are two different things. For me I love the guys I play with and I hope to play with them for many, many years to come. I think there is a factor for me that I am starting to consider. That being the reality of Jack’s Mannequin is that it was meant for one record. I wasn’t really shooting to make Jack’s Mannequin records for the rest of my life. I wanted to make this story about being home in California for the summer. It just so happened that in the course of making that album my life took a radical turn that I just never expected. I felt like there was unfinished business that made the Jack’s Mannequin story three records rather than one. I certainly am in a moment right now, regardless of the fact that I have every intention that the band I play with on the road with will stay my band for as long as I’m playing. I don’t know how useful the name Jack’s Mannequin really is to me anymore after this. I think I might be in a moment where I do step out of that and have a different experience in the studio and take my excitement over where modern music has gone and build a new experiment and explore myself and my music in the studio in a different way. I haven’t fully hashed that thought so it’s hard to say. At this point I kind of feel like the sky is the limit and I’m just really thrilled to be lucky enough to be out here and have people still coming to the shows and buying records and still seemingly enjoying what were doing. I think whatever we do next is going to be an expression of my excitements being a part of the modern music world. To go out and make something under what ever name it may be. I know that I’m excited to go do it and do it as soon as possible.

 

Although Jack’s Mannequin just finished their American tour for the new album this last weekend in Pomona, you can still buy their new album on iTunes. I highly recommend taking a listen to it. If you’ve never heard any of their stuff take a listen, including their original album. Andrew McMahon is a very talented musician that I look forward to hearing about in the future.

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Interview: Jesse Miller of Lotus

November 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Lotus' new self-titled album

By Mackenzie Gilchrist

No matter the venue, the energetic joy and catharsis of a Lotus show is infectious. The band slowly built a devoted fan base through steady touring and the crowds have grown at an increasing pace. This grassroots growth has made the band in high demand for festivals including Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Ultra, and Rothbury and earned the band sold out shows at the country’s premier theatres and clubs. To coincide with their upcoming show at the Belly Up Tavern on Nov. 18, USD Radio writer Mackenzie Gilchrist had the chance to talk with the band’s bassist/sampler Jesse Miller about their fall tour, new self titled album and what makes their group so unique.

Mackenzie Gilchrist: With this new album ,you have made it known that you went in a much more electronic direction than you have with your previous work. Is there a specific reason for this shift?

Jesse Miller: In some ways it was just going in a different direct than previous albums like Hammerstrike or Oil on Glass/Feather on Wood which all came out of one long set of studio sessions where we were focusing on guitar sound. With this self titled one though, it was not so much intentionally going in different direction. Basically we just started writing a lot of different songs and what got picked out for the album sort of just presented itself organically.

 

MG: Have you noticed any particular reaction from your fans in regards to the new direction of your music, especially those who are more prone towards your jam band style?

JM: To me it seems really positive overall. Even when we say it’s electronic, it is really only in comparison to our previous stuff. We still obviously keep the live vibe.  We still have all of the instruments that are part of the Lotus sound, and that is something that is not going away. I would say it is generally positive among the fans. I mean, this is also stuff we’ve been playing live for a while in the studio and in performances. We’ve gotten to really work out the sound and some of the stuff people have already heard.

 

MG: As you said, this album is self titled and it is your fourth full-length studio album. What is the reason behind why you chose to use a self title with this one?

JM: Well, we’ve never done one before, and something about this seemed like a culmination of a lot of work.  The whole work represents the band and it is something that we were proud of. We put a lot of time into it and concentrated our sound and it just really felt like a milestone. It seemed better not trying to go in any particular direction coming up with titles. It just felt right to make it simple with just LOTUS.

 

MG: In the video that was released from your Red Rocks show this summer, you mention that you guys are currently working on your next upcoming album. Should fans expect a continued sort of electronic shift or was that just something you tried with this album?

JM: In a lot of ways the newest material we’ve written is a continuation of stuff from the last album. It definitely continues with sort of synth base kind of sound but we always try to explore lots of different territories with our music.

 

MG: You just released the official video for your first single Backlight Sunflare. Do you have an explanation for what is happening in the video or does it reflect any meaning within the song?

JM: We really just turned that over to the director to do his take on it. The beauty of instrumental music is that it can be interpreted in many different ways. We try to write stuff that is really effective and moves people and reactions are always really different. The director tried to tell a story and I think he really accomplished that.  The video is not necessarily something to display the meaning of the song or what went into writing it. It was just one person’s take on it and the video is a visual representation of that particular interpretation.

 

MG: The song Orchids, one of my personal favorites, is how you guys chose to close the album. It seemed to have a distinctly different feel than the rest of the album, slightly similar to your older stuff. Was there any strategy behind that?

JM: It just seemed like the release track for the album. It was something that was in some ways slightly different from the rest. It is very heavy on the springs, less of a groove and builds slowly. In the context of the album it seemed right to release on this kind of open ended sound—more relaxed and not as intense.

 

MG: I have seen you guys play a bunch of times in a lot of different places and venues.  Obviously with a group that jams like Lotus each show is unique, but I have noticed that each show has a very different feel. Is this an intentional effect that caters towards different audiences or just something that happens naturally?

JM: I would say a little bit of both. We design our setlists for each show differently.  Some circumstances call for different things and we have massive catalogue of songs we’ll play at different venues. Depending on the stage we decide which direction to take. It might just be perception, but we do shape our setlists to fit each place we’re in or the crowds we anticipate.

 

 MG: You just announced the news that you are welcoming percussionist Chuck Morris back to the group. Is he back for good or just this particular tour?

JM: Well, I don’t want to speculate on something like that. We never really know, but I can say that he is here for the tour and it is great to have him back.

 

MG: One great thing about Lotus is that your shows always seem to be affordable—something that college students like myself really appreciate. It seems to be a common practice with bands that start to blow up and gain more attention to start increasing ticket prices, but you guys have not. You even did a “Pay What You Want” tour two years ago. Do you have any comments on this particular strategy?

JM: (laughs) I mean, there are financial realities to what a ticket price is and some of it is based on the economy, but we want to help as many people get to the shows as possible. Obviously, we have to charge, but we don’t want to exclude anyone based on price. When it comes down to it, we would rather play at bigger venues and get more people included than do something small and super exclusive.  Of course we have to make sure we’re allowing all of our people to get paid but the fact that we want to bring in as many people is definitely reflective of our overall strategy.

You can check out a sample of their live performance with this video from their show at Red Rocks in Colorado this summer. Be sure to take advantage of your chance to see this amazing group perform at the Belly Up Tavern on Nov. 18 in Solana Beach! Also keep an eye on the USD Student Radio Facebook page for a chance to win a free copy of their new self-titled album.

 

 

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Interview: See-I

November 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The reggae band See-I. Photo courtesy of see-i.com


By Tom Roth

Tom Roth: How has See-I’s membership changed over the years and how has that affected the band’s music?
See-I: We have grown stronger and stronger over the years.  Our band members are so talented and each brings his own background and special experiences to the table, that’s what makes the band’s sound so unique.  We are really proud of each one of these guys, they are all so talented and accomplished on their own.  It’s really a band of all-stars.
TR: With a discography reaching back to 2003, when would you say things really started picking up for See I? Was there a certain release that helped in that?
SI: We started touring heavily in 2009 and that was a big catalyst.  We were also able to rebuild our entire studio that year and the new gear really helped us get the album together.  And now that the first album is done, we are already halfway done with our second album, so things are rolling now.

 

TR: In the reggae genre, which artists do you identify most with, both musically and in terms of style? Any artists from other genres?
SI: Mostly dancehall, lovers rock and foundation reggae from the 1970′s.  Of course there was great reggae before and after the 1970′s, but that decade shaped our singers, Rootz and Zeebo, the most.  And not just 1970′s reggae, but also funk and soul.  When you hear our music or come see us play, you will realize this is a unique and genuine reggae sound.  A fusion based on rock, soul, gospel and funk, all driven by a steady reggae beat and vibe.  This is the real See-I sound.

 

TR:  See-I seems to have a fairly special relationship with Thievery Corporation. What sort of things have you learned from each other?
SI: See-I’s relationship with Thievery Corporation goes back to the 90′s and the history of both bands are intertwined together.  Thievery has been real blessing, giving our singers and musicians incredible opportunities worldwide.  Chances to play on some of the best and biggest stages all over the world.  Thievery has also maintained a pretty busy touring schedule, so the See-I guys are trained and ready for extended stays on the road.  When you come to a See-I show you get to enjoy the vibes developed by years of touring, and that’s a special thing.  This is positive and fun music, you are meant to have a good time.  But we take it seriously and are professionals.  So let’s get it on!!

 
TR: Which cities, on east coast and west, do you have the closest connection to?
SI: We love Colorado.  It’s like a second home to us.  The people, the landscape, nature, energy, everything is so great there.  California has been incredibly good to us, i think you get a similar vibration out here – people are tuned into nature, the earth and each other.  We thrive off of that kind of energy.  The people just love music and love to dance so much, we give you a lot of respect for that.  On the east coast, DC is our home and has a special place in our heart of course.  We play in Baltimore a lot and have some great fans and friends in Charm City.  And of course we have to give a shout out to our main Rob Paine in Philly, him and Lee Mayjahs of PEX have really built that city up musically and shared their community with us.  Much respect and thanks to them.

 

TR:  In September, you played the Earthdance festival in Vallejo. How was the West Coast vibe apparent there?
SI: Love, unity, mother earth, positive vibrations, yoga, and lots of reggae music.   Earthdance is incredible, much thanks to Chris Deckker and all who work so hard to put it on.  Music is a spiritual thing and we have a lot of respect and admiration for those who can keep the sacred aspects alive while bringing together thousands of people under one roof.  Corporate sponsorships and funding are not really our thing, we believe in the people, the underground and our family.  YOU!

 

TR: What can fans expect to see on this tour and more specifically at your San Diego stop on November 5?
SI: Expect a funky good party.  Wear your dancing shoes.  Get ready to smile and get down with us from start to finish.  We came to party.

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Interview: Metronomy

October 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Metronomy's newest album, The English Riviera

By Crystal Lynn Walter

When I meet Metronomy, the England-based band, at their hotel in El Cajon, they have just arrived and are unloading their belongings, awaiting access to their hotel rooms.  I am struck, almost immediately, by their overall friendliness, wittiness, and charisma as we gather in the lobby discussing Toms, the American shoe company, and the ways that technology seems to be manifesting a new form of language within modern society.  Soon, we have made our way into the hotel room, complete with the luxury of hot-running water, and Joseph Mount, composer, singer, keyboard player, and guitar player, takes a seat next to me on the couch to begin the interview.

 As broaching the topic of their newest album The English Riviera, released in April 2011, the album art and its significance initiates the direction of the conversation, due to its direct relationship with the contents of the album.  The album cover selected for their newest album, The English Riviera, produced on the Because Music record label, is that of an old poster originally used to revamp the image of the English Riviera, in hopes of making it appear to be more of a desired travel destination, Mount said.  This sleek and modern image, evoking a sense of glamour, is very different from the actuality of the English Riviera, and thus the band’s utilization of this image helps to create a sense of irony between the album’s content and one’s first visual impression of the album.  The English Riviera is filled with a sense of irony, appreciation, and reminiscence with regards to childhood experiences and hometowns, revealing the various ways that these characteristics can influence and shape one’s future. The band expressed excitement about their gradual rise in success and the increased publicity they are receiving for The English Riviera, with songs such as “The Look” and “The Bay.”

Crystal Walter: What was the point in time that you realized Metronomy was really working out, and that it would be a project that would experience the high level of success and popularity that it has today? 

Joseph Mount: I mean there’s been a few points where it’s felt like it was going better than I could have imagined in a way.  When our band started playing the live stuff it felt like a nice time for us to start going out and touring, because it felt like people were coming out and watching us.  It has gotten better and better, and this year has felt very exciting for us…so maybe now (laughs).

 

CW: Do you feel that The English Riviera contains more of a dance-pop feel, where Pip Paine and Nights Out are more centered on electronic sounds and beats?  Why these changes towards a more dance-pop feel? Is this a direction that you would like to continue moving towards and further exploring, or do you see yourself returning to music focused mainly on electronic sound?   

Gbenga Adelekan: It’s interesting that you say that, because in Europe I don’t think that anyone has really called the new album “dance-pop.”  A lot of the questions we’ve had about the album in Europe have been “why the move away from dance-pop into a pop rock?”

JM: The same question has been oppositely phrased in Europe.  People notice a move from something that’s maybe more nice, into something that’s a bit more commercial.  It’s weird because the only thing that makes it commercial is the coverage it gets.  There are no decisions to change the style for any particular reason other than just keeping it kind of interesting.  It just so happens that on this record it seems to appeal to a lot more people, at least more than other albums.  It sounds a bit more palatable for a lot of people (takes off his 1980s style windbreaker).

Oscar Cash: I always think that Night Out, in particular, was definitely trying to be pop.

GA: I think the production values on The English Riviera are higher, just because it was recorded in a studio for the first time.  Joe and Ash, the guys that engineered it, got a great sound out of that room, so for people who are listening to it on the radio may find it easier to get into it.  It sounds better than the previous albums, but I think that the previous albums are just as catchy as say “The Look.”

 

CW: How did you decide on the album art for The English Riviera?   

JM: The artwork is actually an old tourism poster from where I grew up, which is the English Riviera.  I was always aware of that picture, but it seemed too obvious and too easy, and so for some reason I was trying to think of other bits of artwork to make.  In the end I just tried it, and thought “that was easy wasn’t it?”  It’s funny, because for that picture itself, they hired this graphic designer to try and help re-brand the area for the tourism office, but the only way he could do that was to make this very simple graphic image.  It’s not a photograph of the place, its not very literal, but makes it seem very beautiful, clean, and sheik.  That’s the idea for the record.  If you see that picture and you actually travel there, the feelings the picture gives you aren’t necessarily the feelings you will have when you get there.

 

CW: The album name, The English Riviera, evokes a sense of vacation, relaxation, and almost paradise, was that your intention when selecting the title for this album?  What significant meaning does the album title have for you?  

JM: Yes. It’s maybe a bit more of a personal attachment because it is a place that reminds me much of my childhood.  I think the thing that I really enjoy most is that you find yourself going to places like Brazil, Chile, or even here in America, and someone is asking you about the English Riviera.  It’s quite a funny concept.  So…yeah, the idea that there is this paradise in England and it’s somewhere that no one would ever really think to travel to is quite nice.  It is the idea of being a bit proud of the fact that there is this relatively nice coastline in England.

 

CW: For me, the lyrics and instrumentals present within “The Bay” evoke a sense of yearning and desire that seems to be limited or unfulfilled to a certain extent, was that the intention when composing “The Bay”?  What influenced its lyrical and instrumental content?  

JM: I guess the idea of the song is to give an anthem to the people of the bay, in Devon, England.  I think it’s the same for Anna who is from a relatively small town “it is a town, isn’t it?” (Joe says to Anna), “It’s a town” (Anna responds to Joe).  There are these towns in England where the biggest decision, and maybe the one that will affect your life the most, is if you leave that town or if you stay there.  So…yeah, I guess a whole lot of the lyrics share this idea where leaving is a very big step and staying is deciding that you are content.  I know that Anna’s is always saying that if she were still in Duncan’s (Anna’s hometown), that she would probability have lots of children.

Anna Prior: it’s a bit of a “booger,” because you go home for Christmas and people treat me differently.  They say, “oh your accent’s changed.”  They think that for some reason I feel that I am better than them now.  I have to say I come home because “my parents still live here, and I have to go back to see my parents.” I find it a bit annoying.

JM: It’s the same from where I’m from.  There are all the people working in the supermarkets, who were working there when you left and are still working there when you come home.  It’s supposed to have the idea of being stuck somewhere, being proud of where you are stuck, and believing that “it’s a great place” (spoken with a hint of irony).

 

CW: Within the song “The Look,” the lyrics and corresponding instrumentals, remain somewhat upbeat, but also mellow at the same time.  Throughout this song I gained the feelings of betrayal, rejection, and nostalgia for times passed.  Were these the intended responses you considered while composing “The Look”?  What influenced its lyrical and instrumental content? 

JM: Yeah…the song is really simple and based around this little organ idea.

GA: “Hook,” a massive organ (spoken with a hint of friendly sarcasm, laughs).

JM: Yes, based around this “massive” organ (laughs).  When anyone asks me about this song, I have to sing the lyrics in my head (more laughs).  When I was writing it, I was thinking it was about small towns.  I can remember that when I was growing up in a small town, if you had an interest, which was maybe a bit artistic, you would end up becoming this weird “target” for people.  People who thought, “oh, you like drawing, you’re a girl.”  They had these weird, jealous reactions. The interest in something different was almost like your ticket out of the place that you were from, because it was something to focus you.   The song was based on the idea that you have to really stick to what you want to do, despite the people who want to “take the mink out of you.” Anyways…I’m rambling…I’m getting heavy (laughs).

 

CW: What songs on The English Riviera have a special meaning to you, and for what reasons? Which songs do you really connect with, and for what reasons?  

AP: I feel a connection to “Love Underlying,” because of the drums in it.  Joe got me into playing the “little synthesizer pad thing” and I played it for eight, nine, ten minutes (acts out laboring over the instrument)…So, I feel connected in that way.

JM: Yeah.  There’s probably about thirty minutes recorded material that you did (referring to Anna’s drumming).  But yeah, I guess the ones that we’ve talked about, “The Look” and “The Bay,” that I feel an emotional connection to.  It’s weird because once you start playing them live you they start to become this other thing.  You start to think of them much more in terms of how people like them, rather than your experience of them.

GA: So…then that becomes your experience of listening to them (referring to Joe’s comment).  It becomes this sort of weird symbiotic relationship.

JM: I mean playing “The Bay” in places where there is water you feel a nice interaction with the people in the audience.

AP: In some ways “The Bay” feels Christmassy to me because the first time I heard it “properly” and in full, was when I had gone home for Christmas.  Our manager sent it to us and I remember lying in bed on the 26th of December (acting out listening to the song and being satisfied with what she is hearing).

 

CW: Are there any examples of songs, on the new album, that you wrote a certain way and then they turned out completely different that was originally intended? 

JM: Umm…they all go through quite a different process from when they were first done to what they are like now and when they are played live.  It’s been so long since I’ve listened to the record, that when I’ve occasionally listened to a song it has a real different feel and that’s nice.  None of the songs are any different for the worst.  There are some songs on the record like, “The Bay,” that started out very different than how they are now on the record.  That’s the nice thing about working like we do, because half of the experience is working into stuff and seeing what they change into.

 

CW: What inspired the imagery, story line, and setting for “The Bay” music video?   

AP: The west coast (laughs).  That’s what we were trying make it look like, and I think we kind of succeeded in a way.

JM: It was the idea of making a really glamorous, almost R& B style video in England, which no one has ever really tried to do before.  I think the whole idea that it would be shot in England gave it a slight sense of irony I suppose.  It’s kind of humorous in that way.  There’s this nice idea of doing a kind of glitzy video in England (laughs).   Someone, the other day, said “it’s like a biggie video,” and this made me feel like, “oh, that’s brilliant.”  Because if people can actually think this, not like it’s trying to be like an R&B video, that’s great, because that was the idea.  The idea was really to make this slightly tongue in cheek, slick video which people hadn’t expected form us.

 

CW: What do you want listeners to get out of listening to The English Riviera?  What sort of audiences to you hope to reach with The English Riviera? 

JM: I’m Kind of old fashioned.  I always imagine the records that should be listened to in cars, in teenagers’ bedrooms, not like albums in clubs.  These are the places that I always imagine that you listen to records, on headphones, while you are traveling. I think all kinds of places.  That’s how I kind of listen to records, you just don’t want people to feel like they are wasting forty-five minutes of their lives. Kids, children, (laughs at the reference) everyone, have this attention span that is getting shorter.  I think of the amount of time people spend watching terrible films from start to finish, two hours, even three hours sometimes.  All you want to do is to make a type of record that makes people want to listen to the whole thing, like a good film, where they don’t feel bad about wasting forty-five minutes.

GA: Yeah.  You don’t notice the time passing, you get to the end and you’re like, “oh… that was good.”

AP: I was on a train back to my hometown, and I sat behind this girl.  I was sitting, you know, behind those big seats, so I couldn’t see the girl, but I could hear what was coming out of her headphones.  She was listening to “The Bay” (Anna acts out the excitement she felt).  It was pretty cool.

 

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Interview: Lil Debbie

October 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Lil Debbie Interview from USD Student Radio on Vimeo.

If you’ve been anywhere near a computer lately, let alone a Tumblr page, you know one of the hottest personalities out right now is Lil Debbie. Still not familiar? Well, you better recognize! Seen alongside Kreayshawn’s mega hit video “Gucci Gucci”, Lil Debbie has been causing quite a buzz not only for her association with the Oakland MC, but for her unique look and dynamic personality. With already 54,000 + followers on Twitter, the Bay Area born and raised stylist is on her way to the top. But dont be fooled by her petite frame, she’s packing a punch with an array of talents, everything from modeling, styling, DJing, and more.

We’re happy to bring you one of the first one-on-one interviews with her as we had a great time choppin it up and buzzing on somethings I’m sure you’re Mama wouldn’t condone.

Video shot by: Roy Hathon
Edited by: Scott Roush for Black Resume Productions
Hosted by: Alex Floro
Follow Lil Debbie on:
Twitter – @L1LD3BB13
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Interview: RGLND

September 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Alex Floro

If the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear Oakland, CA is “where the youngsters get hyphy”, let us help you out. Coming out of “The Town” is up and coming rapper RGLND (pronounced RAG-LAND). Departing from the stereotypical Bay sound that had been popularized nationally by E-40 and Mac Dre, RGLND gives listeners a new perspective. With beats give a much needed breath of fresh air, and lyrics to match, his career is definitely on a steady progression.

Recently, he’s been opening for the hottest names in hip hop, with shows with The Cool Kids and  Wale in November. Look out for his upcoming album Electric Daisy coming out Nov. 11, 2011.
Check the video interview out where we discuss how he relates to fans, his rise to the top, and why he hates to be called a “rapper.”
For more information on RGLND: RGLND.tumblr.com and follow him @RGLND

 

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