Interview with: Pete Shauger of The Bye Byes

Once upon a time, way back in July (well it feels like forever ago, anyway), I caught a rare live show performed by Philadelphia’s The Bye Byes. Since that night, front man Pete Shauger and I have been playing interview tag. Over the course of a three month long conversation, we talked about our respective histories with the saxophone, the MySpace/Facebook revolution, and the band’s vacancy for an agent. Enjoy!

Jessica, PopWreckoning: I haven’t been able to find much in the way of a biography on The Bye Byes. Would you please explain how you four joined together to create the band?
Pete Shauger: Well, Steven [Binnig, bass] and Erik [Schmidt, drums] have played in bands together since their teens, most recently and notably in The Alkali Flats. Steven also knew Joel from a short-lived band they played in together. I didn’t know anybody…
But they (Steven and Erik) found me, and basically decided to form a band around me – well, around my songs. I’ve been writing for years, but with no grand plan. I always wanted to put a band together and thought, well, if it’s meant to happen, then one of these days, the right band will come along… and it did!

Pete Shauger, Photo: Jessica McGinley

PW: You certainly lucked out with Steven and Erik finding you! So many people search for band mates for ages, but it basically just fell right in your lap — how does it feel to be so lucky? [laughs]
PS: It feels great. They’re great musicians AND swell fellas to boot. I really feel like I lucked out in every possible way with them. Technically I did wait for ages, though…I just didn’t search for ages.

PW: Fair enough. When did you beginning playing music and what/who are/were the influences and motivational forces behind it?
PS: Let’s see, earliest influences… AM radio of the early, mid, and late 1970s is one. You know, the Little River Band, Paul McCartney, Dionne Warwick, Pilot (oh oh oh it’s magic!) … There was also a Beatles cassette (the Red album, 1962-1966) that we nearly wore out (but didn’t! I still have it, actually) playing on one of those old portable tape recorders. There was a Beach Boys compilation album (“High Tide” – part live, part not live) that we used to wear the grooves out of too. And then over the years I would soak in whatever my elder siblings were listening to.
Then there’s my family. My dad played the accordion, my mom and all my siblings took piano lessons. My brother played saxophone, and later guitar. My grandpa was a mean whistler and harmonica player…and my grandma (who also knew how to carry a tune) had this awesome double-decker organ we always loved to play when we visited. When she died I inherited it, and still have it. I took piano and saxophone lessons in grade school. Near the end of high school I discovered the acoustic guitar.

Erik Schmidt, Photo: Jessica McGinley

PW: I played the saxophone in grade school, too!
PS: No WAY! Did you also attempt to play “The Andy Griffith” theme song, and Men At Work’s “Who Can It Be Now” on it? I never had a problem with the instrument itself, I just hated the lessons. Same with piano. Um, same with swimming too.
PW: Totally feel you on the lessons and practicing thing. I was always last chair because I preferred playing soccer outside or something than sitting at home practicing my sax. The band director did not like that, but then in middle school I dropped band all together in favor of art classes.
PS: Good for you, way to stick it to the MAN. I usually preferred anything else over practicing. Which is funny to me because I love sitting down at the piano now, and I wish I still had a saxophone (and saxophone skills!). I think it was the structure of the lessons, the regiment of the practice, and just the pressure of it that turned me off. I’ve always been an “at-my-own-pace” kind of person. Some people really excel in that environment, but it just makes me want to shut down. Same reason I quit the bowling team at work! Stopped being fun, you know? Did you stick with art? Do you still wish you played saxomaphone?
PW: I did stick with art. Took a ton of art classes in high school and loved every second of it while my friends in band hated their lives. Or band class anyway. I’m no longer as active with art, but I’ve come full circle back to music, obviously, though not on the performing side.
I’m not too sad about not playing the sax anymore. I actually still have the one I played in elementary school. From memory, the only thing I would probably be able to play is “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” haha. I have no problem reading music, though. Let’s start a two man sax band! I bet we can find you a sweet little alto in a random pawn or vintage shop in this city of ours. [laughs] But back to your influences…

PS: It wasn’t until college in the early 90s that I discovered the late 70s early 80s new wave scene. In particular: Squeeze, Nick Lowe, Split Enz, and Elvis Costello. That was the last awakening for me. Like, oh…THIS is what I like. So when Nirvana and Pearl Jam were in every other dorm room, I was learning “Cruel To Be Kind” and “Pulling Mussels from the Shells.”
PW: You didn’t really miss much in the early 90s — I was at the age where New Kids On The Block and Paula Abdul were just the greatest musical acts of our time (I’ve since seriously reconsidered that position) but aside from Nirvana, nothing spectacular happened. Except for Radiohead, but they started in the late 80s and first found some fame in the early 90s. But anyway, the new wave-y, retro pop sounds totally works for you guys. It’s refreshing in a scene where most stuff sounds the same because a lot of bands now all have the same influences from the 90s.

Steven Binnig, Photo: Jessica McGinley

PW: How did you become involved with Home Tone Records?
PS: Well, one day while traipsing around on myspace.com, I found this band called Stingrays from Columbia, Missouri, and we began trading the occasional message. But I didn’t realize that the head Stingray, Wes Wingate, also co-ran a small label called Home Tone Records. One day, out of the blue, Wes sent me a message to say, “Hey, if there’s anything I can do to help you get your album out, let me know.” That’s it really. He offered and I accepted.
PW: For as much flack as MySpace gets, it really is servicey! I hear from so many musicians these days that all these incredible things have happened to them because of MySpace.
PS: I agree. And with Facebook now, it’s like a one-two punch. I really love what the online revolution has done, at least for artists like me. I finish a song, post it to MySpace, then almost instantaneously, fans all the way out in Australia can hear it. I think that’s awesome. Still don’t know how that translates to making a living out of it, but I can’t worry about that right now. Right now I’m just trying to make the best songs I know how.

PW: When we talked at the show, you mentioned that you’re 4 songs away from completing your debut album. What’s the process of creating the record been like? When do you expect/hope to have it completed and released by?
PS: The process is slow but thoroughly enjoyable. I hope to have all the recording done by the close of 2008, and maybe a release in the spring of 2009? We all have day jobs, three of us are married and one of us, I won’t mention names, might as well be…, and I have kiddies, so finding the time to squeeze in a recording session, let alone rehearsals and gigs, is tough.
We record a track here and there. Usually in my basement or Erik’s. I would like to record in a “real” studio someday but I also like the home-spun feel of doing it ourselves, in our homes, on our equipment. Can’t beat the price either…
PW: I can 100% sympathize with the busy lives of day jobs and, well, not so much wives or kids, but yeah, life is busy. I’m glad to process has been enjoyable, though. Taking your time is better anyway — stretch it out and make sure you’re happy with the final product. Whenever it’s completed, I look forward to hearing it.

PW: Hailing from the City of Brotherly Love, how have you found the Philadelphia music scene in terms of both other musicians and audiences?
PS: Well the bands / musicians I’ve met so far (at the shows we’ve played) seem nice. I know that sounds generic but it’s true. And the audiences have been sweet. Which is to say, they seem to like us. The scene is hard for me to gauge since I live outside the city walls. I don’t really feel part of it…which has its pros and cons. At times I like being an outsider, but other times I feel like we’d get more shows if we were insiders. Whatever that means.
Or maybe we just need an agent. Wanna be our agent?
PW: Well I do live inside the city, so I’ve got that going for me. And I’m fairly entrenched in the local musician scene. We did just talk about how both of us don’t have time for anything, but yeah. I’m in. I can be agent-y, no problem. Done.

Joel Rose, Photo: Jessica McGinley

PW: You guys have played a handful of shows in the area with some great acts, but if you could put together your dream tour, who would you want to share the stage with? Just totally run with it, it can be any band/musician ever, living, dead, broken up, whatever!
PS: Well there was a tour in 1980 that had Squeeze / Elvis Costello on the bill. That would have been an amazing tour to open for. I also would have loved to share a stage with Beulah before they split up.
PW: Oh, Beulah! I can’t even remember the last time I heard that name. Well, actually, I just read a book in which a woman gave the fake name of Beulah to someone, but it was in no way related to the band. They were great.
Costello has his own television show now. It films at the Apollo Theater in New York. As your agent, I will book you on the show and demand that Elvis jam with you guys. I just went from being completely inexperienced to being the best agent in the business. Stick with me, kid, you’ll go far. [laughs]

PW: So back to reality, what are you currently listening to? Anything you’d like to recommend?
PS: Why I’d love to. I hereby recommend the new CD by a band called Fugu. It’s been out for a while but just recently became available stateside. Just some great 70s-style sunny-day pop.
Oh and I also really like this band from Columbus Ohio called Paper Airplane. And a band from Baltimore called Gary B and the Notions. Again, more great stuff I’ve found,or they found me!, on MySpace.
PW: Awesome, thanks so much! It’s been a pleasure, Pete!

Philly loves, you can catch The Bye Byes at The M Room on Thursday, November 6th with Arizona and The Shackletons. Since no one should wait that long to check out their delightful pop sound, head over to the Bye Byes’ MySpace page to download a bunch of free songs!

The Bye Byes: myspace | live review

Darker My Love @ the TLA, Philadelphia

Saturday night, Los Angeles’ Darker My Love played a hard and dark acid rock set supporting The Dandy Warhols on their headlining tour. The five piece’s psychedelic approach to music was beautifully accented with a large project screen behind the band playing a series of trippy visualizations, which bummed me out about the box office not having my photo pass.

Darker My Love’s ambient set was often dark, heavy and lush with reverb as drummer Andrew Granelli decimated his kit with tight beats. Rob Barbato‘s bass lines droned on as vocalist Tim Presley, also on lead guitar, lulled the audience with his smooth vocals and modern Brit rock influences. A great deal of the poppy yet moody atmosphere came from Will Canzoneri‘s clavinet melodies that often flip flopped between an airy mellowness and a raging intensity. Much of their playing had me thinking of Radiohead sans the distinct vocals of front man Thom Yorke.

It was clear from their minimal interaction with the crowd that Darker My Love meant all business up on stage, which paid off for a particularly tight set. The most exhilarating aspect of Darker My Love’s performance came as Granelli and rhythm guitarist Jared Everett raced each others beats and riffs, respectively. The two created a monstrous energy for several minutes before the song fell back into a mellow vibe, spiking once more with intensity before ending on a lulling progression.

Sporadically, 60s pop flourishes would make a captivating appearance and one song seemed to sample Supergrass‘ “We Are Young.” The contrast of moody ambiance and lighter pop songs kept the set interesting while musically it was intricate enough to makes the vocals unnecessary but a nice accessory to the songs.

Catch Darker My Love on tour now with The Dandy Warhols through the end of the month before they head to London for a string of dates.

Darker My Love: blog | myspace

The Windupdeads self-titled album

I’m not quite sure what I expected from a band called The Windupdeads, but it certainly wasn’t the brightly ambient indie rock sound mixing elements of Absolution Muse, Injury Loves Melody Diffuser and the vocals of Sigur Rós with a tinge of Radiohead.

The Swedish four piece is lead by Rickard Olsen (lead vocals, guitar) displays melancholy with his vocals and often times sound as if he actually belongs in the Iceland four piece Sigur Rós. The vocal patterns throughout the album are inconsistent as they switch back and forth from being influenced by Diffuser’s Tomas Costanza (most notably on track 2) and Jón Þór “Jónsi” Birgisson‘s (Sigur Rós, if that weren’t obvious from the many accented vowels).

Also incongruous is the record itself. Many songs sound like Muse ripoffs while others take cues from upbeat and airy pop styles of early Diffuser. Guitarist Petter Ingman creates lush melodies to counter Marcus von Boisman‘s (drums, backing vocals) heavy Muse-like beats and create beautiful, if not stylistically original tunes.

Track 11, “No Actions No Regrets” is by the most likely to be a hit single with its big pop sound, steady beats, and hooky lyrics. Much of the album is airy and melodic with smooth like butter vocals, but at 15 tracks all sounding nearly the same, The Windupdeads get old quick. The one saving grace would have been “You Can Sleep When You’re Dead” near the end of the album, but everything that makes it a breath of fresh air is quickly lost when The Windupdeads revert back to the desperate desire to be a Muse-Sigur Rós hybrid.

Preview “The End”

The Windupdeads self-titled debut album will be available through One Eleven Records on October 7th.

Tracklisting:
01. Intro
02. Options
03. A Few Hours Of Light
04. The End (download)
05. On Your Way Out
06. No Denial (Murderer)
07. Sunblock
08. Wide Open Windows
09. Reverse Of Shade
10. Band Tuning
11. No Actions No Regrets
12. I’ll Pay You Back Someday
13. You Can Sleep When You’re Dead
14. The Bottom Of Hell
15. Hell

The Windupdeads: website | myspace | download “The End”
One Eleven Records: website

Interview with: Justin Kennedy of Army Navy

Earlier in the week I got a phone call from Army Navy front man Justin Kennedy. If for some reason you don’t recognize the name, you may recognize the name of former Pinwheel bandmate Ben Gibbard. Gibbard’s had some wonderful success following Pinwheel and Kennedy and company is no doubt set for the same.

During the call, Kennedy and I discussed the band’s debut album, set for release October 14th, other projects including their inclusion on the Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist soundtrack, and plans to dominate 2009. Read on for more:

Jessica, PopWreckoning: How are things working out in New York?
Justin Kennedy, Army Navy: They’re great! We had an awesome show last night. It was really fun. Have a five hour press day today. Breeze. [laughs]

PW: What question are you tired of answering because I promise not to ask it.
JK: It hasn’t been that many interviews. I guess “Where did the name Army Navy come from?” because it’s not really an interesting story.
PW: Avoided, for sure. I’m glad to hear things are going well in New York, though. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it up last night and can’t tomorrow night, either, but good luck tomorrow night!
JK: I think it’s supposed to be pretty big actually. It should be fun.

PW: Have you been to the east coast before?
JK: Yeah, we played at CMJ a few years ago. I’ve been to New York a bunch of times. I have a lot of friends out here. I come as much as possible.
PW: I know what you mean, I love New York. I’m glad you guys got to come out here for press stuff, then.
JK: Yeah, it’s been pretty fun. I think we’re going to be back for CMJ this year. We’re just trying to figure out all the details right now.

PW: Any other plans to tour the rest of the east coast? I’m just down in Philly, so if you guys wanted to come hang out, that’s cool. [laughs]
JK: Absolutely! Actually, we were thinking that if we can get our plans together for CMJ, we’re going to try to hit Boston and Philly and a lot around the area. We just need to get on top of that. There’s been so much other work with press and reviews and stuff. It’s not a nightmare or anything, it just takes a lot of time.
A tour is the next thing we’re gonna be working on. But definitely, we’d love to come to Philadelphia. I’ve actually never been to Philadelphia before. Everybody says it’s amazing.

PW: It’s no New York. It’s smaller, but great. I love it. I’ll give you guys a tour when you come.
JK: Our producer Adam Lasus lived there for years. I think he grew up there. He’s always talking about it.
PW: I had no idea. But enough about Philly. Let’s talk about you, we don’t need to talk about Philly.
JK: OK. [laughs]

PW: It seems as if October is Army Navy month. You guys have your new self-titled album coming out on The Fever Zone label and then you’re also on the Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist soundtrack and you’ve got a song on a Cure tribute album coming out.
JK: Yeah, it’s pretty nuts. We have two songs in Nick and Norah’s: one song’s on the soundtrack and we just found out that they’re actually using the song [pause] we released an exclusive track just for the soundtrack, and the other track is off our record.
We just found out two days ago that they’re using the song on our record for the TV commercial for Nick and Norah, which is pretty insane.
PW: Yeah, that’s awesome!
JK: We’ll be like everywhere! That’s fuckin’ nuts!

PW: It’s crazy. Congratulations, that’s huge! You’ll be rockin’ out at Madison Square Garden next time you’re in New York, I bet. [laughs]
JK: [laughs] Yeeeeah…that’s a lot. Hopefully some of this will help us take off a little bit, definitely. We’ve been talking about putting out a record ourselves and we’ve been talking to labels. Big Hassle came around and we felt like we got it. We had some checks come in and we thought, ‘We can do a better job than some of these indie labels that seem to have no idea what they’re doing.’
We created our own timeline for things to come out and then Nick and Norah’s was coming out, which, you know, they’re putting millions into marketing this movie. So we thought we’d just ride the coattails of their marketing a little bit because they’ll have a lot more opportunities to get our name out there than we would. We decided to just put our record out right after the movie came out since people might know who we are at that point.
The Cure thing came along, which comes out two weeks after our record, which is nuts. It all just kind of came together all at once.
PW: That’s amazing. You can’t even buy that kind of publicity.
JK: Absolutely. It’s like we have Atlantic Records putting out the record. There’s gonna be an iTunes exclusive and, basically, it’s way more than we’d ever be able to do ourselves.

PW: With the Nick and Norah thing, today it’s far more common, but back in the 90s, if a band was in a movie or commercial, that was considered selling out. What do you think…
JK: It was totally uncool. That was what my viewpoint was, as well. It was something I would never do, unless it was something really specific or whatever. I still am. I wouldn’t sell my song to an Exxon commercial or something.
For Nick and Norah, we’re sharing the soundtrack with a lot of great bands and the whole movie is about music. Nowadays, with the record industry so screwed up and no one buying records, you have to find these other angles to make money so we can go out and tour.
One thing about being in L.A., we all have professional relationships with music supervisors and people in and around the industry, so we have a lot of contacts. For us, we have some songs that would be good for that stuff and it’s paid for part of the record and for Adam’s fees to produce the record. All those little things that come and go that people don’t really think about. It’s been a way to make music our only income at this point, which is really great.

PW: Absolutely. I was going to ask what you think changed the negative stigma that used to come along with this, but you’re right. The record industry is completely messed up and people aren’t buying as many records as they used to. It’s unfortunate because there are a lot of great records out there.
The internet has screwed a lot of stuff up. It’s done a great deal to help a lot of artists just get their stuff heard, but it’s also had a negative affect on the monetary side of the business.
JK: I think us not having much overhead putting out this record, we actually could make some money on the record, because we don’t have a giant label paying for all of this extra stuff. Everything that we make goes to the band fund and we pay for it ourself. It’s just more of a chance for us to make a little money if the record sells copies. We eat and everything on it these days.
Besides, the movie looks hilarious. I saw a little bit of it on a screener. I saw the opening scene and I saw the scene that we were in, it’s pretty funny.
PW: Yeah and it’s got a lot of great kids in it, too. Michael Cera who was in Superbad and “Arrested Development.” He’s so funny.
JK: He’s hilarious.
PW: It’ll be a big movie and it’ll definitely get you guys out there. Especially being in the trailer, now.
JK: Omigod, that’s everywhere – it’s gonna be nuts. I haven’t seen it, but I hear he sells it. It’s just cool that some random people are gonna hear it that wouldn’t have before. Some people are going to hear our song on TV. People find music in really weird places these days. Those iPod commercials, they blow up.
PW: Oh yeah. Every single band that’s had one has just gotten ridiculously huge.
JK: Yeah, huge! They also run up the iTunes charts. Something like this is only going to be helpful for us.

PW: For the Cure tribute album, what song did you cover for it?
JK: “Jumping Someone Else’s Train.”

PW: Did you choose that one or had you been playing it before and someone got in touch with you about it? I honestly have no idea how tribute albums or most compilations work.
JK: My friend Paul was putting the soundtrack together. He says, “Hey, you’re a Cure fan. I’m putting this soundtrack together.” He asked us to be in it. We talked to Adam and Adam was stoked at the idea. We were actually going to do another song for it. We were gonna do a doo wop version [laughs] — that would’ve been really amazing — off the Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me record. I can’t remember which song it was.
We we kind of worked it out and then Paul said the person he’d offered it to wasn’t going to do it and then they changed their mind. He gave us a list of what wasn’t already taken. It was hard because, for us, most of these songs are kind of jammy. We had to try to find a song that sort of lent itself as close to an Army Navy song as possible. We didn’t want to make it a total Army Navy song but that one has some parts that we felt had a poppiness to it.
Our version is really fucked up. I say it’s like Talk Talk meets Nirvana.

PW: That is definitely a way to sell this tribute album: “It is really fucked up.” [laughs]
JK: [laughs] Yeah. I love it! I mean, I’m so psyched at how it turned out. We definitely took it as a recording experience. It gave us the opportunity for a song that we don’t ever really need to play live.
We tried it in probably 15 different styles. We just went in and hashed out every different way of playing it to figure it out. We love how the track turned out. We went in with Adam for a couple days and banged it out and fixed it. It will be interesting to see what people think of it.
PW: Yeah, I can’t wait to hear it after hearing that explanation.
JK: I don’t know if that’s a good explanation of it, but that’s totally what it reminds me of. It would be like later Talk Talk with the weird keyboards and really fucked up guitar. I dunno, but I’m really happy with it.
It’s a different outlet. The other bands on there aren’t bands we’ve played with before and wouldn’t necessarily be associated with. Like Bat For Lashes is on there. That’s going to be a really interesting track.

PW: What are you listening to now yourself?
JK: Ben [Gaffin, bass] gave me a copy of that Last Shadow Puppets record. I really dug that one. That kid’s from Arctic Monkeys and I’m not really a huge Arctic Monkeys fan. Mainly because we played their first show in L.A. and they were assholes to us, but they’re nice now. That record is pretty awesome.
I can’t say I’ve listened to a lot of new records, I tend to listen to a lot of old stuff. I’ve been on a really big bubblegum kick lately. Early 70s or 60s bubblegum, like The Archies. One of my buddies is into making me a bunch of CDs of a lot of really great singer-songwriters of the early 70s. Like all the soft rock-y stuff like Ricky Nelson and Neil Diamond. I’m just a big songwriter fan no matter what style it’s in, that era in the 70s had a lot of great artists and albums. The Carpenters, the Beach Boys all fall into that. A lot of old stuff.
Then my favorite classic 90s stuff: Teenage Fanclub, The Pixies. Wilco was always a favorite of mine, too. I did go to a Radiohead show, although I did kind of stop loving them a while ago. Not for any reason, but I loved the first couple records. I did go to see them last week and it totally changed my mind. I think I really like a lot of the stuff on the new record. Seeing them live really sold it to me more. It was an amazing show, a really amazing show.
PW: I’ve never gotten to catch them live.
JK: The mix is pretty phenomenal. We saw them at the Hollywood Bowl. The light show, the whole thing is pretty incredible. They know how to put on a show for sure.
PW: I should think so. They’re pretty big. [jokingly] People have heard of them, I think.
JK: [laughs] Yeah, maybe. Fuckin’ Jonny Greenwood was playing lead guitar and also playing a lead keyboard line with the head of the guitar. I’ve never seen that before. I was like, “Wow.”
PW: Now I have to go see them! Are they still on tour? I don’t even know.
JK: I think they’re tour is done. I had seen The Bends tour, which is so funny. So many years ago. You can tell they’re still up there having fun and it’s just so incredible.

PW: Do you plan on touring that big?
JK: I would love to! We’re definitely trying to spend ’09 touring as much as possible. We’ve gotta get out there and we love playing shows. When people see the live show, I think they’ll get into it. It’s more of a stripped down version of the record.
We have a lot of crazy lead guitar parts, which is amazing to see live. Louie [Schultz, guitar/keys/vocals] is a really incredible guitarist and he’s been able to transfer a lot of the stuff he does on the record to the live show. Definitely more of a hyped up version of the record.

PW: For these tour plans, if you could tour with anybody — living, dead, anybody — who would you want to play with on the same bill?
JK: I’d love to play with The Pixies. I think that would be amazing. It’s obvious to pick The Beatles [laughs]. Teenage Fanclub is one of my all time favorite bands and they would just mean more to me than any band. I would be totally stoked to tour with them and hang out with those dudes. It would be pretty amazing.
Oasis would be amazing just because it would just be so hilarious. Be able to hang out with them everyday, go to the bar with Liam [Gallagher] and try to keep up with him [laughs].
Mudhoney, I’m a massive Mudhoney fan growing up in Seattle.

PW: Yeah! I was at Sub Pop‘s 20th anniversary show so I got to see them recently.
JK: So was I!
PW: Oh, you were?! Did you enjoy it? It was the greatest weekend!
JK: Oh my god! It was good! I just wish Mudhoney had closed the show. How can Flight of the Conchords close a Sub Pop show? That’s TERRIBLE! It should have been The Vaselines, although Mudhoney were so phenomenal. They are still as good as when I saw them when I was a teenager.
PW: Yeah, I was pretty shocked at the arrangement of the line up. I guess Flight of the Conchords are pretty big now, but how are you not going to close with your legends?
JK: That’s what I’m saying! I didn’t understand that. The whole order of bands was a little weird to me. It kind of got lighter and lighter as it went. I thought that Mudhoney would’ve closed it and killed it. On the main stage, too. They played the small stage but they were still amazing. They were so good.
I didn’t go to the second day, though. I really wanted to. I was back home visiting the family so I didn’t want to spend my whole time watching a concert. They’d've gotten mad at me. [laughs]
PW: I was there for the second and it wasn’t as good. I got there on time, the morning was strong I thought, but I left pretty early. I did that with the Conchords, too, I left about halfway through their set.
JK: I wanted to do that, too, but my friends wanted to stay till the end. It was a complete nightmare trying to get out. It look an hour just to leave the parking lot.
PW: I didn’t drive, but I had no idea that the last bus from Redmond straight to downtown Seattle left at like 10:30, so I missed that bus by minutes. I ended up taking about 5 different buses and it took 3 hours just to get back.
JK: What a nightmare. It was a beautiful day in Seattle, though.
PW: Oh yeah! That was my first time ever in Seattle and I fell in love with it. It’s beautiful out there.
JK: If you can go to Seattle when the weather is like that, it’s the best thing on Earth. It’s when it’s rainy and gloomy all the rest of the year…
PW: That puts a damper on my plans to move there.
JK: [laughs]

PW: Thanks so much for giving me call, it’s been great talking to you.
JK: Me, too. Thanks for talking to me.
PW: Absolutely! Enjoy the rest of your time in New York and I look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia soon.
JK: Awesome, I’ll talk to you soon.

Army Navy: myspace

Ratatat – Granada Theater, Lawrence KS

At 27, I honestly believe that I missed out on the best periods of popular music. I couldn’t get into clubs or venues in the early 90s, which left me outside looking in on grunge. By the time someone had handed me a legal form of identification, Nu Metal had replaced Nirvana, and I was left with little desire to sport a red backwards Yankees cap.

Sadly, I missed New Wave as well, as I was busy filling my day planner with events like “attend first grade” and “color inside of the lines,” rather than “see Psychedelic Furs.” Of course, everything prior to that was complicated by my lack of being born. Therefore, short of watching a few Indie movements, which for the most part amounted in little to nothing worth mentioning, I have pretty much missed out on everything worth bothering with.

This is because, in my opinion anyway, musicians have been transformed from traveling entertainers to replaceable marketing pawns. The Pinks fade to make room for the Katy Perrys, all the
while burying the Kevin Devines, Rocky Votolatos and Stacy Clarks. Granted, sometimes a Radiohead will emerge from the rubble and shambles of the music business. Hell, just in the past year I’ve stumbled across a few bands who I think could easily follow in Radiohead’s shoes of providing both substance and record sales.

After experiencing Sunday night’s sold out show, I’m adding Ratatat to that list.

In a haze of smoke produced by the mixture of a fog machine and pot, the group took stage, walking out to greet their onlooking ratataters, who had spent the last eight minutes cheering at the appearance of a poor man’s power point presentation a screen above the stage. Sporting a cut from their newest album, LP3 called “Brulee,” Ratatat sent the crowd of twelve-hundred bouncing, grinding and grooving in more ways than can be found in the movie Flashdance. Somehow combining hip-hop electro-beats with a Pink Floyd light show, Ratatat provides a very theatrical live setting.

The trio worked at an overtime pace to sell every note they’ve constructed, jerking their bodies in beat with the accents and shaking their asses in time with the synthesizers. I was pleasantly surprised to witness guitarist Evan Mast slam himself onto the floor in front of his amps, milking the feedback of “Lex” as much as he could. Fill in keyboardist Jacob Morris, from the Brooklyn group The Double, contorted his body into endless angles, leaning disproportionately away from his instruments until his head was resting on the stage floor. Needless to say, the group’s energy was rather moving, as seemed to inspire the whole damn room.

The groups set seemed to peak at “Wildcat,” in which a better half of the crowd growled with the song’s cat screeches so loudly, the venue walls were left rattling and my ears were left ringing. However, I must confess that if ringing ears is the only complaint I have at the end of an evening, I’m honestly doing pretty well in today’s market. Trust me when I say Ratatat’s intense live show is one worth mentioning. I expect big things from these boys.

Setlist:
Brulee
Mi Viejo
Mirando
Gettysburgh
Bird Priest
Snifters
Lex
Mumtaz
Loud Pipes
Flynn
Falcon Jab
Wildcat
Schemi
\\
Montana
17 Years

Ratatat: website | myspace | LP3 review

Photos By: Joshua Hammond

Interview with: Jamie Pressnall of Tilly and the Wall

Tilly and the Wall is the upbeat, colorful Omaha band everyone knows immediately because of their trademark tap-as-percussion sound. The band recently played some shows in the area and I had a chance to sit down with their star member and tap dancer, Jamie Pressnall, before their show at the Bowery Ballroom. Check it:

Jamie Pressnall performs with Tilly and the Wall @ the Bowery Ballroom, NYC, 7/30/08

Dese’Rae Stage, PopWreck(oning): Who are your musical influences?
Jamie Pressnall: We all have different influences. I personally love Top 40 stuff. It’s kinda what I grew up listening to. I grew up in dance class, you know? I really love Wham! Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of Sinead O’Connor and Cyndi Lauper. There’s so much great stuff out there. Capgun Coup–they just got signed to our label [Team Love Records]. They’re from Omaha and they’re really amazing, too.
That’s a few of them. I really love Bob Dylan and Lou Reed. You can sorta tell in our song writing styles more, who each of our influences were, I guess. I can just ‘cause I know them, but it’s kinda across the board.

PW: How do you guys do that?
JP: What, with the five different songwriters?
PW: Yeah, how does that work? Is there a power structure?
JP: No. If anybody has any ideas for a song, they just bring whatever they’ve got. When we write the records, we just take off. We’re all just like, “Okay, the next four months, all we’re doing is writing the record.” And usually we work at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. They give us a space, so we just go there.
Basically, there aren’t rules, but you’re supposed to be there as much as you can. We try and be there eight hours a day, just like a job. Usually, there’s one or two ideas to work on, so someone will bring a full thought, like a finished, almost-skeleton of a song and then they’ll give you direction, like, “I want it to sound like this or…” For me, because I’m a percussionist, they’ll be like, “I want it to be drive-y or heavy or dark,” and give me some kind of adjectives and I’ll try and realize that as much as I can. It just depends.
Sometimes people come in with a verse or a chorus or they’ll be like, “I want to write a dance song.” It just runs the whole range. We just try and be as supportive as we can and work on it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Some of ‘em make it, some of ‘em don’t.

PW: Speaking of which, “Tall, Tall Grass” is an old, old song.
JP: I actually wrote that song for Wild Like Children. The verse was the same, but that’s the only part of the song that stayed the same. I was trying to re-work it. I tried to do it for Bottoms of Barrels and it wasn’t working. Then, when we started working on this record, I was like, “You know, I’m gonna see if “Tall Tall Grass” will work for this record,” so I just kept working on it.
Derek [Pressnall, guitar] had a chorus that he wrote that was perfect. Basically, everybody contributed. Nick [White, keys] wrote the melody for a bridge, which we needed. We kept the lyrics the same. It was kind of cool because we’ve had that song for six years and it’s evolved and changed a bunch and it’s a totally different song now, but we’ve all contributed to it, so, in a way, it’s kinda like the story of our band. We thought it’d be cool to start the record with it.

PW: Your shows are so high energy and so much fun. What happens if someone’s in a bad mood beforehand? How do you psych yourselves up?
JP: Sometimes you’re just in a bad mood and that’s when you’re like, “This is my job and people paid money to see us play.” If I’m in that kind of a mood, I just think about how people are excited to see us, how they fucking spent money and everybody’s broke. I just try to put myself in the shoes of the audience. That helps to get me excited and get me in a good mood. I just try and feed off their energy. Usually, a few songs in, I’m in a really good mood.

PW: What are you doing once you’re done touring? Going back to Omaha?
JP: Yeah. Well, we’re possibly going to Europe the last half of October. It’s not confirmed, but we’re hoping that’ll be happening. Basically, in between, I’m just in Omaha. I substitute [teach], so I usually just work a few days a week and hang out. I manage Tilly, so that takes up a lot of my time as well, but I’m trying to pass the reigns over. I’m like, “Who wants to do it? Do you want to do it?” I’m working on that. I’m hoping that someone else can start doing that soon.

PW: What does everyone else do? What do musicians do when they’re home?
JP: Well, Derek has another band, Flowers Forever, his solo project. He spends a lot of time doing that. He’s a visual artist and he works at the art movie theater in town. He’s on call when we’re home, so he works a couple of days a week there. We have paycheck jobs when we’re home. He just does a lot of art stuff.
Kianna [Alarid, bass] has an EBay store, Neely [Jenkins, vocals] substitute teaches, and Nick works on set designs. It’s kinda stuff you can come and go with. We just have odd jobs for some extra money when we’re home. Tilly pays the bills, but barely, so it’s like if I ever want to go shopping or go out to eat more than once a month, I need to have extra money coming in.
PW: For real?
JP: The thing is, Derek and I have a house. We have a mortgage now. I mean, I could have had more money if I’d made different choices, so I chose to get an extra job when we’re home. Our goal is to not have to do that. That’d be awesome.

PW: So, what’s the deal with the drummer?
JP: I don’t know. He’s awesome? What do you mean?
PW: Well, in the past, there was no traditional drummer involved full-time.
JP: There was me.
PW: Yeah.
JP: Well, we actually have had drums on every record–on a couple songs. On this record, we didn’t want to limit ourselves to a tap dancing beat as the main percussion. We didn’t feel like doing that. For me, I wanted to challenge myself and do different things. I wanted to incorporate other kinds of percussion. We all talked about it. It was a way for us to do something new and interesting to us. So we’ve got drums on a lot of the songs on the record. Live, we do stuff together like you saw. So, as artists, we’re just trying to always do what we feel is gonna be fun and interesting. I guess that’s what the next level was for us: going more traditional. In some ways.

Photos: Dese'Rae Stage

PW: The new album is different. It’s a little darker. What influenced that?
JP: Nothing, really. Nothing that we talked about or was intentionally discussed. We talked about the record being a little more punk and a little more rough and raw sounding. And we wanted to write some dance songs. We didn’t really have any ideas. Everybody just brings their own songs and, since we function as a collective, that’s just how it came out.
There were a lot of songs that didn’t make it on the record too, but we kind of gravitated toward those songs that went together and were a little darker and had more of an edge. I think it’s just how that songwriter was feeling at the time, which is cool. We wanted to go in a different direction, but didn’t know what. When those songs were brought in, we were like, “Sure, let’s see what we can do.” It was actually cool because we have a stomp troupe on some of the songs.
You know how, down south they have the stomp teams for pep rallies and stuff? I always wanted to do that. We talked about it for Bottoms of Barrels and it just wasn’t appropriate for any of those songs. I was like, “These are perfect songs for something like that.” So, it works. We had a group of about ten people and we had rehearsals and I taught them the dance and we recorded in a big gym, so it was really fun to do something like that and challenge ourselves.

PW: What’s your favorite song to perform [from the new album]?
JP: We don’t actually perform this one that much because, technically, it’s hard to perform, but I really like “Poor Man’s Ice Cream” a lot. I think the lyrics are really good and I like the beat. That’s one of the stomp team songs. That was a big challenge. It is fun when we do play it. It doesn’t sound that good yet, so we’re hesitant to play it live. It’s hard to play. I have to listen to a sampler. We have a sample of the beats and I stomp with them, so if I can’t hear that completely perfectly I’ll get off and then it just looks ridiculous. It looks like I’m lip-synching to tap dance beats, you know what I mean? So I don’t wanna do it until—it’s just so rare that I can hear everything perfectly on-stage.

PW: Favorite song to perform overall?
JP: I like “Cacophony.” It’s on the new record and it has a really great energy and it’s just got some attitude, so it’s fun to play live.

PW: Costumes! How does that work?
JP: Well, everything you’ve seen was designed by our friend Peggy Noland. Her website is peggynoland.com. She’s this amazing designer from Kansas City. She has her shop down there. She’s just awesome. She designed everything Kianna wears, pretty much, and a lot of the stuff I wear. All of us wear her stuff. She’s amazing. Basically, if you have any ideas, she can just make it. She’s that good. You’re like, “I want this,” and she’s like, “Okay,” and just sews it. The last couple of years, we’ve been wearing her stuff. She’s rad.

PW: How do you keep up with your dancing? Do you take classes?
JP: I grew up taking classes. I kinda stopped taking classes in my teens and then I taught. I was a professional ballet dancer for a while–a couple years. I didn’t really enjoy it. In Omaha, that’s really all there is if you want to be a dancer. So then I went back to teaching dance. During this time, too, I was in bands.
I was in a band called Park Ave and I tap danced on a couple of the songs with the drums for fun. I played guitar in that band. I did the same thing in a band called Magic Kiss with Kianna. And then with Tilly, we were all just hanging out writing songs, not even really a band yet. We were like, “Oh, we don’t have a drummer.” I was like, “I’ll just tap dance until we figure out what we’re gonna do.” Then we just never went back, really. It just never got discussed, getting a drummer. It just was me. I did play guitar for a while with the band. I’d sing too, but we just decided to stick with our strengths. I’m not good at guitar and not good at singing. I do that to write songs, but I’d rather have somebody with a better voice singing, so I just stuck with the tap dancing after Tilly actually started out.

PW: Do you keep it traditional when it comes to your tapping?
JP: Not really anymore. In the beginning, it was a lot of traditional steps. But now, as the band has grown, I just do what’s needed that I think sounds cool. It’s some traditional mixed with what I call Tilly tapping. We mix stomping, flamenco–sometimes just whatever works. If I have to make a sound, I’ll try and figure out a way to make that sound. So it’s a bunch of weird steps. I have to videotape myself a lot so I know what I did later ’cause there’s no way to remember it other than doing it over and over. It’s like body memory. It’s challenging at times, for sure.

PW: You guys did Sesame Street.
JP: Yeah, we did the alphabet song. It’s gonna air in the fall and we’re so excited ‘cause I used to teach pre-kindergarten, so I could watch that with my classes. So I’ll have that later. But between Derek and I, we have twelve nieces and nephews who are all really young. We’re superstars to them now. We’re like, “We’re gonna be on Sesame Street.” Now they think we’re super famous, which is totally not the case.
It was really cool, though. We blue screened it for eight hours and they’re gonna animate around us. We haven’t seen it. It’s supposed to be edited soon and I’m not sure what they’re gonna do, but I’m really excited to see it. We just filmed all day, did a bunch of different versions of it and we don’t know what they’re gonna use. I think it’ll be really cool.

PW: If it’s nearly as adorable as the Feist one, it should be great. What have you been listening to lately?
JP: Now? What am I listening to? I actually like the Ruby Suns, who we’re playing with. They’re awesome. They’re from New Zealand and they’re really, really cool.
Who else? We’ve been listening to a lot of dance music–the new Miley Cyrus! She doesn’t really need any more promotion, but she’s pretty fun. We all have fun in the van with her tunes. I really love Sinead O’Connor. I’ve been listening to The Lion and the Cobra, one of her older records. It’s awesome.

PW: The last question is hypothetical: if you guys were headlining your dream tour, who would be supporting you?
JP: Well, honestly? There are so many great bands. We all love Quasi. They were trying to work us out a tour, but that didn’t work out. They would be awesome.
One tour, we were trying to figure out who could open for us and our booking agent asked if we had any ideas. I was like, “Oh, there’s this really awesome band called Beirut!” I just had heard that record. I was like, “You think they could open up for us?” He was like, “Yeah, they’re way bigger than you guys.” I was surprised. So yeah, I don’t know.
I love Radiohead. Can Radiohead open up for us?

Tilly and the Wall: website | myspace | O review | Phila. 1, Phila. 2, NYC live shows

Outside Lands Festival, Day 1

Golden Gate Park in San Francisco was the site to the inaugural Outside Lands Festival this August 22-24. The headliners were Radiohead, Tom Petty and Jack Johnson along with Beck, Ben Harper and Wilco filling out the bill. Golden Gate Park isn’t accesible by car or BART *(Bay Area Rapid Transit) so the only option was to park from afar or take the MUNI from the closest BART. I had to walk over a mile just to get to will call and the park is over 1,000 acres. Needless to say I was somewhat overwhelmed on how to navigate among the six stages with no additional press access to several of them.

I was looking forward to catching Black Mountain but I heard most of their set while waiting in line to get my credentials. What I did witness was pummeling drums combined with weaving guitars and organ. To me, they sound like Zeppelin and Sabbath meeting up with one of the Beach Boys‘ sisters.

Next up was political South American rocker Manu Chao. Chao and company sing in Spanish, French, Portugese and English while melding rock, folk and punk into their songs about injustice and freedom. He’s been winning fans over in the US since opening for Rage at last year’s Coachella as well as headlining Lollaplooza in 2006. There isn’t a dull moment on stage when this band is playing, they were the most energetic groups of the weekend.

I didn’t get to shoot Beck because there wasn’t any access for press on the stage he was playing. Trying to get through 10,000 people isn’t an easy task so I resorted to getting everything squared away for the next band.

Taking the stage at dusk, Radiohead became the first performers to play at night in Golden Gate Park. Traveling with their “green” light show, they lit up the whole park up with their near flawless set. Aside from a couple minutes where the sound cut out, the band had the crowd of 50,000 in the palm of their hand the whole set.

Setlist:
15 Step
Reckoner
Airbag
There There
All I Need
Nude
Talk Show Host
National Anthem
The Gloaming
Videotape
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Idioteque
Karma Police
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Just
Exit Music (for a film)
Bodysnatchers
//
Pyramid Song
You And Whose Army?
Paranoid Android
Fake Plastic Trees
Everything In Its Right Place

Stay tuned for Day 2

Choke Soundtrack Released September 23rd

ATO Records is proud to announce that the soundtrack to the subversively comedic film Choke, based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel by the same name, will be released on September 23, 2008. The album, a digital-only release, will have the seven songs from the film and eight others that are significant to actor, director and screen writer Clark Gregg‘s vision while he was making it. Highlights include previously recorded songs by the likes of Radiohead, Death Cab For Cutie, My Morning Jacket, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Fiery Furnaces, The Twilights Singers and Ben Kweller.

Most notable additions are the previously unreleased or rare tracks that appear on the record, among them “Orgasm Addict” by The Buzzcocks as sung by the band’s original singer Howard Devoto, a great version of The Doors‘ “Crystal Ship” by the incomparable Nicole Atkins and The Sea, and the original version by The Natural History of Spoon’s current hit single “Don’t You Ever.” In a very cool turn of events, the full tracklisting and comments on each song by Gregg are below.

Fox Searchlight Pictures and ATO Pictures present Choke, a Contrafilm/ATO Pictures Production. Actor-turned-director Gregg shows he is as adept behind the camera as he is in front of it with this wickedly comedic tale of Victor Mancini, con artist, sex addict, Colonial village re-enactor, angst-filled son, serial restaurant choke — and unsuspecting romantic antihero for our unsettling times.

Choke, which ran away with the Special Jury Prize for Best Work by an Ensemble Cast at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is not only a cathartic and romantic satire about uncontrolled lust, lost faith, childhood trauma, mad addictions, bizarre fantasies and blockages both emotionally and literally, but also about second chances, redemptive moments and true love – that is, it’s about modern life.

The film will be in theatres on September 26th and features an ensemble cast including Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald, Brad William Henke and Jonah Bobo. Nathan Larson composed the score.

Tracklisting w/ comments by Gregg:
01. Ben Kweller – “The Rules”

Ben Kweller kicks ass. These lyrics feel like Victor Mancini’s rowdy, pissed-off subtext. I love that it starts off the soundtrack with some slamming indie rock and that it comes in during the colonial village while we’re looking at all the puffy shirts and bonnets.

02. The Natural History – “Don’t You Ever” (rare)

I only found this band recently, but I listened to them all through post. Max Tepper’s vocals are superb. I actually prefer this version to the one by Spoon and I’m a huge Spoon fan. The band broke up a few years ago. I’m going to picket their houses until they get back together.

03. Fiery Furnaces – “Navy Nurse”

This groove just takes your breath away.

04. Radiohead – “Reckoner”

Like most people, I am a huge Radiohead fan. The adaptation took me years to write so I wrote it first to Kid A, then Amnesiac and then Hail to the Thief. Later, I learned from Chuck Palahniuk that he had written the novel while listening to their song, “Creep.” In Rainbows came out while we were editing and I used almost every track in my early temp cuts of the movie. They all fit really well, but I particularly loved “Reckoner.” The tension between Thom Yorke’s keening vocals and Phil Selway’s brilliant, driving drum track fit so perfectly that it worked almost like score. I was truly dreading the day when we’d have to take it out. Somehow ATO Pictures producer, Johnathan Dorfman persuaded their manager to show the band some footage and to our shock they were generous enough to let us use the song. It’s a monumental addition to the movie.

05. Alap Momin – “Sin Terror”

I love this jam. We needed music for the strip-club scenes and music supervisors Lyle Hysen and Ken Weinstein knew Alap Momin from the band Dälek and he was kind enough to cook this up just for the movie. He even tailored the tracks to the scenes. The driving discordant build they layered into this piece feels like it’s feeding the tension between Denny and Victor.

06. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – “Satan Said Dance”

I loved their first album and we needed something dark but not too heavy for Victor’s sudden rollercoaster ride back to the dark side. Hysen and Weinstein pitched this song and when we saw it over the scene it was just right.

07. Buzzcocks – “Orgasm Addict” (rare)

This is the anthem. I sort of grew up loving The Buzzcocks, moshing my way through their songs in the East Village. I must have played it every day I was writing “Choke.” I always thought we’d open the movie with it, but it didn’t work out. In any case here is a cool alternate version with a more deadpan feel and at least it made it on to our soundtrack.

08. Death Cab For Cutie – “No Sunlight”

What can you say, they’re just really, really good.

09. Blitzen Trapper – “Wicked” (unreleased)

We listened to a lot of Blitzen Trapper during the crazed five-week summer shoot. It just seemed to fit with spending your 18-hour days in a sweltering mental hospital. They’ve got some excellent chaos going on.

10. Ms. Tyree Sugar Jones – “If You Feel It”

This plays in another tricky scene where everything we tried felt wrong. And then I got turned on to the soulful sexy stylings of Ms. Tyree “Sugar” Jones. You put this on and you know some clothes are coming off.

11. My Morning Jacket – “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Pt 1″

We’re all big Jacket fans. Listened to them constantly during the shoot. Very proud to have them on here.

12. Shout Out Louds – “Bicycle” (rare)

Nothing like a little kick ass Swedish indie rock. They’re like The Shins’ attitudinal Scandinavian cousins.

13. Twilight Singers – “There’s Been An Accident”

One of the producers, Contrafilm’s Beau Flynn, and I have been Greg Dulli fans for years. I listened to The Twilight Singers a lot when I was writing the script. The song is really moving in a haunting, portentous way that really works for the movie.

14. Nicole Atkins – “Crystal Ship” (unreleased)

Brilliant. She’s got a great torchy, Peggy Lee sound with just enough tongue in cheek to feel like a perfect citizen of the Palahniuk world.

Interview With: Tad Moore of Low vs. Diamond

Tad Moore, keyboardist for quickly rising rock group Low vs. Diamond took some time out of their busy schedule to talk a little about their group and new self-titled, debut album.

Bethany, Popwreckoning: Can I get you to state your name and instrument in the band?
Low vs. Diamond, Tad Moore: My name is Tad Moore and I play piano and guitar.
PW: So you met Lucas and Howie while you guys were at the University of Colorado. Is that right?
TM: Yeah, we did and we started jamming out there.
PW: So you started as a jam band. How did you develop from that into your current indie rock style?
TM: I think we were jamming, but we weren’t necessarily bro-ing and beer and all that, so I think that got us a lot more into song structure, which led to where we didn’t need those kinds of songs anymore.

Photo by Autumn De Wilde

PW: What were you guys doing before you started playing as a band?
TM: We were students. I mean, we all played instruments before, our respective instruments. But yeah, we were all students at the university. I think Luke was in Journalism, Howie was in Business and I was in Humanities.
PW: Then you guys moved to LA and you met up with Anthony and Jonny?
TM: Yep. We met them through our producer of some time. Howie, Lucas and I played in two other bands in LA before we knew Anthony and Jon through our producer and then that was Low vs. Diamond.
PW: How did you guys come up with the name Low vs. Diamond?
TM: Well, our second band, another friend of ours from Colorado came down with us, he had a girlfriend named Leila — I shouldn’t use her name — that sounded like Low and she would always fight with Howie Diamond and she was sort of like a Yoko persona. So she sort of took him out of the band and he was doing his own thing with her. So yeah, we just sort of said Low vs. Diamond. We wanted a name that sounded like there was a war on and show what our band came out of.
PW: What were some of the other names you guys were toying with? You went through a few others, didn’t you?
TM: In our previous bands? One was called Shadows, that’s the hardest band, but we were playing as 1984. We used to be the band written out as 1984 and I was never fond of that one.
PW: Not really a fan of George Orwell?
TM: No, I’m not really an avid reader. I’ve only read Animal Farm and 1984 in the third grade, but not much more. Our former guitar player came up with the name. It wasn’t really Orwellian. He just thought that it sounded cool.
PW: I’ve read that you guys are really into the “big moment” of a song. How do you guys keep those diverse enough so that the moments stay big and they don’t get repetitive?
TM: I think it’s mainly strong structure. Laying back and not just blowing up. Not just climaxing all the time and giving some in between time so it is a “big moment” and not just heavy rock the whole time, I guess.
PW: So kind of like what you did on “Actions Are Actions?” You kind of started off with piano, then it built up and then you cooled down so it was just piano and vocals.
TM: Yeah, exactly like that with the piano and vocals.
PW: Dominic Hardesty of the UK imprint Marrakesh originally signed you all?
TM: Yep, he was the first to talk to us. We met through a lawyer who also did stuff for the Killers and mentioned us to him. Dom showed up in England and we did a showcase for him and he was like, “You guys got a deal.”
PW: Now, you guys have actually been compared to the Killers. How do you feel about that comparison? Do you feel like there’s any pressure to prove you’re different because the guy who signed the Killers also signed you?
TM: I understand why people would compare the Killers with us. I think they’re a great band. I wouldn’t necessarily say we were influenced by them, but if people say we are, it doesn’t really bother me that much. We don’t need to shy away and show that our style is different from them really. I mean it’s music, people can decide that for themselves.
PW: Who would win between like a battle of the synthesizers? You or Brandon Flowers?
TM: Who would win? I’m just going to be nice and say Brandon would. He’s more experienced than me.
PW: Maybe in a few years you can take him on?
TM: He’s older than me. He’s got a year on me, I think. Or he’s a few years older. I don’t know.
PW: Are there any other bands that you would have preferred to be compared to than the Killers?
TM: I don’t really know. It’s hard for me to do that. I used to better at it. Lucas writes the songs and he looks at a lot of Serge Gainsbourg and stuff like that. There’s not a lot of bands that we necessarily sound like, but there’s definitely a lot of bands that use keyboard and guitar. Off the top of my head, I can’t really think of any. There’s a lot of new bands I like.
I don’t think there’s necessarily any that we’d want to say we’re one in the same. I’d like to say Radiohead, but I don’t think we’re anything like them.
PW: Yeah, Radiohead’s kind of in their own category.
TM: Exactly. There’s only one Radiohead.
PW: Even though you guys are from the US, you signed in the UK first. Why did you decide to go after the UK first? How was the UK’s reception?
TM: The UK went after us first. At the time we loved the Strokes and we knew that the UK was a good place to start off as a band, at least it was in the early 2000s. So, yeah, it happened. Dom presented a great deal for us, so it was exciting. We signed and Dom’s a great guy. We trusted him. We just went for it and a few months later we were signed just like that.
PW: Has the UK’s reception of you all been different than the US’s?
TM: We went over there about a year and a half ago. They kind of have more of a teen-oriented thing. Bands like the Horrors and stuff like that. So, our reception was kind of lukewarm.
I mean, fans that actually did hear about us, it was great. We had trouble with the “NME” and getting in the “NME” and stuff like. It was more of a tastemaker. We didn’t have our album done yet and we just had an EP, a limited release EP. So, we still have some work to do over there, but we’ll be back there at the end of the year.
PW: How has being labeled by iTunes and a couple other things as the “Next Big Thing” affected your outlook on the band and your whole process of touring and writing?
TM: I’m really excited for it. The “Next Big Thing” on iTunes is a program that I think is really great and exciting.
PW: This was your debut album and it just came out like a week and a half ago.
TM: Yeah, on the 22nd (of July) it came out.
PW: What songs are you most proud of and really excited to have people hear finally?
TM: I wrote some of the lyrics to “Cinema Tonight” and a few others here and there, but my favorite song on the album is “Don’t Forget Sister.” Brandon Murphy was a friend of ours and he wrote the lyrics. I think it has some of the best imagery and is just really good.
We’re excited to get “Sister” out on the radio. I think it’s just a great rock song. I mean, it’s also one of the ones I’m most excited to play.
PW: Yeah, “Sister.” I really liked that song on the album. I really enjoyed what happened lyrically. So that was written by somebody not in the band?
TM: It’s Lucas’ best friend and they wrote it together. They’ll help each other out on the lyrics.
PW: A lot of the songs tell a little story. Were they inspired by any real-life things? Is “Annie” a real person?
TM: Annie is Lucas’ fiancé. There’s about a month before the wedding. Annie had this really tough year and that was written two years ago. It was just him sort of wanting to be there for Annie with the support of 26 year old band.
PW: On “I’ll Be,” I’ve listened to that a couple of times and I get a different feel each time I listen to it for the emotion being expressed. What were you guys going for on that song?
TM: That’s a good point, I think. Lucas wrote that one. It’s just about being really inspired by some one. I think that and there’s big bursts in it and we just wanted to go cosmic. “I’ll Be,” Luke wrote it so I think he can probably explain it better. I think he was really excited to get it in and it was one of the first songs he wrote as Low vs. Diamond. So yeah, he was very emotionally inspired by a lot of things going on at the time and I think “I’ll Be” just sort of came out of that.
PW: Can you name one song that your band didn’t write, but you wish you could say you had?
TM: There’s a million. Off the top of my head, “Crimson and Clover” by Tommy James.
PW: I don’t know if I’ve heard that one. I’ll have to look it up.
TM: Or “Tops” by the Rolling Stones. That’s one I wish we had written.
PW: Just for fun, what’s the song that you’re most embarrassed to admit is on your mp3 player?
TM: The song I’m most embarrassed to own? Oh, there’s a lot of those, too. There’s a lot stuff by U2 that I shouldn’t really love. The old U2, the hipper U2, I’m into a lot of that stuff, but the newer U2 songs I actually love as well. I just don’t admit it so much. Let’s say “Walk On.”
PW: That’s alright. There’s a lot of U2 fans out there. That’s not that embarrassing.
TM: Yeah, it gets worse.
PW: Well that’s all I have. Thanks for talking with me.

Band Info: website | myspace | Low vs. Diamond review

Lollapalooza @ Grant Park, Chicago

Despite some rain late Thursday night, the weather in Chicago’s Grant Park was perfect for this year’s 2008 Lollapalooza festival. A nice breeze off the lake made this the perfect weekend to host the excellent and diverse lineup of music. The park was kept in pristine conditions as crews constantly walked around encouraging recycling and a cleaner environment. This festival knows what it’s doing and is one of the best organized and most considerate (they even had lots vegetarian options at the food booths!) shows in the business.

Lollapalooza by Jeff Gentner

The whole weekend was sold out for the first time in the history of the festival. Friday had a record-breaking turnout as headliners Radiohead drew a sold out crowd of 75,000. Although, the earlier portion of the day wasn’t quite as packed, a solid crowd showed up to see the fine bands performing at the different stages leading up to Radiohead.

Starting off my day was Butch Walker on the PlayStation 3 Stage. Walker started his set solo with some fun loops on two new songs off his highly anticipated new album Sycamore Meadows before his band joined him on “State Line.” Walker performed a solid set showing that he is just as good an artist as he is a producer. If the new songs from his set are any indication of his new album, it is going to be phenomenal.

Butch Walker by Adam Bielawski

Any act following up the strong set by Walker would have a hard time not falling a little flat. Sure enough, the next act on the Bud Light Stage The Go! Team did just that. Maybe it is all that jumping around, but just because you want to be energetic in your presence doesn’t mean you should let the vocals suffer. Instrumental tracks like “Junior Kickstart” were just fine, but anytime Ninja would open her mouth I kind of wanted to go ninja and karate chop her throat.

Ninja of the Go! Team by Alberto Trevino

After the poor pitches of the Go! Team, Welsh singer Duffy‘s soulful vocals were a welcome refreshment at the PlayStation 3 Stage. The young singer definitely has some pipes, but her stage presence could use a little work. Her hand motions quickly got repetitive, but maybe with a little experience, her set will get a little fresher.

Following Duffy, I caught a few songs by rockers Louis XIV over on the Citi Stage. Despite a few technical difficulties, the crowd went wild over radio single “Finding Out True Love Is Blind.” I didn’t stick around too long for Louis XIV because I didn’t want to miss a second of gypsy punk group Gogol Bordello over on the AT&T Stage and this was definitely not the set to miss. This raucous set was exactly what the crowd needed as an energy boost to get through the rest of the day. After walking around all morning in the sun, Gogol Bordello brought the crowd back to their feet for a big dance party as the band played through their accordion rock set.

Gogol Bordello by Chase Agnello-Dean

Next up was Lawrence, Kansas indie rockers Mates of State. Their gentler set on the MySpace Stage was beautiful and it was a nice touch when the couple was joined by some strings. The crowd loved them, but it was hard to settle into their set after jumping around with Gogol Bordello.

Playing at the same time as Mates of State across the venue at the PlayStation 3 Stage was songstress Cat Power. Cat’s voice was just as great live as it is recorded. It is a shame that her set had to be the same time as Mates of State because they attract the same crowd.

Cat Power by Alberto Trevino

Toward the end of Cat Power, the crowd quickly scrambled for a place to see The Raconteurs perform on the Bud Light Stage. Jack White and crew sounded great, but there was something a little off about their set. It could have been that they weren’t in their usual uniform, but street clothes or it could have been the technical difficulties causing Brendan Benson to drop out during the vocals of “Level,” but it just wasn’t as tight as their club performances.

Jack White of the Raconteurs by Stephanie Janisch

I stopped at the Citi Stage for a few songs from Brazilian electro group CSS. Lovefoxxx must be tired of looking sexy because she sported a bright red spandex outfit with ruffles wrapping around it. CSS sounded a lot better live than their recording, surprisingly, and the crowd loved dancing around to their beats.

CSS by Abbey Braden

Radiohead closed out Friday on the AT&T stage. Thom Yorke and the rest of the guys thrilled the crowd by combining their tight instrumental skills with an amazing light show and fireworks as they performed songs like “Airbag,” “Fake Plastic Trees” and “There, There.” Friday’s crowd went home pleased after Radiohead’s double encore.

The crowd during Radiohead by Alberto Trevino

Radiohead by Alberto Trevino

Radiohead wasn’t the only reason to attend this festival and Saturday looked just as packed. British group The Ting Tings was the perfect start to the day. Katie White (Interview at Diesel U Music Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel) easily draws the eyes of the crowd as she energetically moves around singing their hits, but Jules de Martino should not be overlooked as he plays and sings with precision.

The Ting Tings by Alberto Trevino

There was a little lag after the Ting Tings. Dr. Dog took to the MySpace stage, but was unmemorable. Foals played some fun dance songs over at the Citi Stage, but didn’t stand up to the high standard for other electro dance groups set by the Ting Tings. MGMT sounded phenomenal live, but their disinterest in a majority of their own set detracted from the performance. They finally loosened up and started bantering by the end of their set.

MGMT by Abbey Braden

Brand New was the band to beat for best performance of the day, although Jesse Lacey‘s attitude may have detracted from the musical experience causing many to quickly forget just how good this performance was in actuality. Joined by Kevin Devine for their first song, they took to the AT&T Stage and put on the most powerful performance of the day. Jesse Lacey’s performance is better than ever, but he appears just as moody.
He seemed to be in a good mood at first as he seemingly jokingly told the crowd, “You should all be at Explosions in the Sky. You’re all fools.” But as the set progressed through “Sowing Season,” “Sic Transit Gloria,” “Jesus Christ” and a new song (tentatively called “Bride”), Lacey grew more and more frustrated with a pocket of disinterested crowd members before finally climaxing and throwing his guitar into the drum set and leaving the stage a full fifteen minutes before the set was meant to end. Despite this mishap, this was still one of the best performances of the day and the part of the crowd that was interested was left confused and chanting for an encore.

After Brand New, I caught some of Okkervil River‘s set across the venue at the PlayStation 3 Stage and their sweet indie rock was a nice respite. They were followed by Broken Social Scene over on the Bud Light Stage, but BSS is more suited for a smaller setting where their fun instrumentations can completely engulf the listener. As great as Okkervil and Broken were, they just couldn’t match the amphitheatric power of Brand New’s set.

Okkervil River by Amrit Singh

To be quite honest, the crowd gathering for Saturday’s headliners Rage Against the Machine didn’t really appeal to us and we headed out early to get a head start home, which is lucky we did because the Chicago Transit system got backed up by three hours from the large crowd leaving Lollapalooza.

Lollapalooza continued on to Sunday and featured the usual buzz acts like Black Kids, but the real buzz swarming the venue all weekend was the suspected appearance of democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Unfortunately, Obama didn’t put in an appearance, but there were still plenty of special guests present at the festival. While Stars member Amy Millan joined the boys in Broken Social Scene on the Bud Light Stage, guitarist Slash joined festival co-founder Perry Farrell for a few songs. Plus, there were plenty of celebrities to spot like Lindsay Lohan and the Wentzes if you just kept your eyes open. This festival was filled with fun surprises and definitely not a weekend to miss.

Lollapalooza: website | schedule | setlists

Written by: Bethany