Author: patrickdonders

THE 1984 DRAFT – Makes Good Choices (Q&A)

Posted on by patrickdonders

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‘I listen to a lot of the Menzingers and The Hold Steady, so it only fits that we could be grouped into that.  Throw in my obsession with Bob Mould, John K. Samson, and the Replacements and it is easy to see how we got here.  I take it as an honor to be compared to those bands.’. It is Joe Anderl speaking about his band The 1984 Draft.

But there is a lot more to it, check it out!

‘Wedding’ is such a beautiful song. How did that one come together?

‘Wedding’  was written the night before my wedding.  We had just finished the rehearsal dinner and I headed home to get ready to go meet two college friends for a beer.  Amanda came by the house to pick up a few things before she headed to the hotel with her parents.  We sat and talked for a little bit and she left.
I immediately picked up the guitar and that song came out.  I had never played with the chord progression or the lyrics for that song.  It literally just came spilling out.  Probably the fastest song I’ve ever written.

I just remember feeling so grateful and fortunate that I was about to marry such a cool, sweet, and giving woman.  I’m lucky that I have that moment captured in a song.  Every time I hear it, I can completely picture that moment she left.  Lucky for me she showed up the next day and said yes.

Midwestern Melodic Punk. That does make sense, doesn’t it? But somewhere between The Menzingers and The Hold Steady makes even more sense to me. Hope you take that as a compliment!?

 

I do.  I think there is a definitive midwestern sound.  You can’t quite explain it but when you hear a band you can tell if they’ve ever spent a long time in the Midwest.  It has a sort of dark grit to it.  It might feel a little sloppy, but you know it is honest.

I listen to a lot of the Menzingers and The Hold Steady, so it only fits that we could be grouped into that.  Throw in my obsession with Bob Mould, John K. Samson, and the Replacements and it is easy to see how we got here.  I take it as an honor to be compared to those bands.

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And the please pick 5 of the question you like best, from this list. Have fun!

She tells you she will decide on a 5-song-mixtape if there is going to be a second date. Which 5 would you put on?

 

I look at this two ways.  I could put the five songs on there that I know she would like to get to date two or I could put my top 5 on there and if she didn’t like them I would know it wouldn’t be right.  It would have to be a 10-song compilation of both.  I know some of my choices will sound weird, but I also know the songs that might get me to a second date with the only person in the world I would want a second date with (my wife).

1. Sugar – Hoover Damn
2. The Lassie Foundation – Blow It (Away)
3. Chamberlain – Go Down Believing
4. Pomegranates – In The Kitchen
5. The Smoking Popes – I Know You Love Me
6.  Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice
7. Kris N – First and 10
8. Mike Adams at His Honest Weight – I’m Worried
9.  Jawbreaker – Accident Prone

10.  Blame it on the rain – Milli Vanilli

The meaning of ‘success’ has changed over the years. When will the new record be a success?

 

This is hard for me because I have a little bit of a problem accepting success in my own mind.  I would like to say and would probably tell my children that you reached success when you were able to write, record, and put out into the world a group of songs that you got the chance to play with your best friends.  There is something to that.  I got to spend 100’s of hours with my 3 best friends in a basement, bashing out songs that we enjoyed.  We got to hone our craft, get better, share jokes, have a few beers and escape for a couple hours each week.  I think the moment we all said together this is good enough to put out is when we reached success with this.

The icing on the cake is that we get to play these songs for people and they pay us for it.

The dream level stuff came when a label wanted to work with us and put our record out on vinyl.

The never in my wildest imagination stuff is playing with bands you idolized, being filmed for an NFL films documentary, and being included in so many awesome publications, getting to do interviews and receiving positive reviews.

I guess I achieved success 20 something years ago and everything since has been the stuff dreams are made of.  I told my older brother last week that my 20-year-old self would be totally jealous of my 40-year self.  I truly believe that.  I wish I was better at sitting back and just taking in how lucky I have been to do this so long.  The opportunity isn’t lost on me.  I am extremely grateful.   I also don’t know how to stop.

Can you still recall the moment music became important to you? What happened?

 

It’s always been there for me since I was a kid but I can 100% tell you the moment I wanted to be in a band.  The 90’s in Dayton were a special time.  The bands coming out were awesome.  You could go to a different show every weekend and we did.  I was seeing kids my own age or a little older destroy small rooms with a musical power that still makes my heart pump.

The moment for me was Brainiac at The Lithuanian Club in Dayton, OH.  My older brother and his friends took me to the show.  This band walked on stage.  They had keyboards and weird guitars.  They were all dressed like what I would have called at the time fashion models from New York.  They were larger than life visually.  They then spent the next 19 minutes destroying every sort of expectation I have ever had from a band.  They were spastic and engaging.  They were all over the stage.  The drummer was destroying his kit with his power.  They were loud, cool, and weird and in 19 minutes left me with a performance that has gone unparalleled in my entire life.  That is when I wanted to be in a band.  I wanted to make people feel that way.  That was the night I realized how powerful of weapon music was.  It COULD completely change your life.  One show could do that.

Ever since I have been chasing that.  I want to leave people every show with that feeling that they just saw something special.  That is what we work week in and out for.

Which is the song you wish you had written every time you hear it? And why?

Sugar – Hoover Dam.  Every time I hear that song I am transported to the basement of my friend Paul’s house in Athens, OH circa 1997 / 1998.  There is the warmth of the opening and then it just kicks in…” Standing on the edge of the hoover dam”.  It has such a sense of urgency.  I hang on every single one of Bob Mould’s words.  Then you get to the instrumental breakdown.  It sounds like Rush or Yes became a 1990’s indie rock band and builds and builds and then you are hit with the outro.  Still to this day, my ears perk anytime I hear that intro.  Someday I hope to write a song that nails you so hard off the bat you spend the rest of our song still catching your breath.  When that happens, you are just forced to listen to it over and over.  That to me is what makes a good song.  I find something different every time I list to that song.

A close second would be “Accident Prone” by Jawbreaker.  It’s just heartbreaking in the best way.

What would change if Disney would call and tell you they are going to use your song in their next movie?

 

My kids would think I am cool.  I’m not sure what they think of their Dad playing music.  They know it’s something I do.  They come sometimes.  I can never really tell if they think it is good or not.  Maybe that would finally give me validation from them.  They would at least have something to tell their friends.

In all seriousness, I used to work in a movie theater from 15-21 years old so I had the chance to hear every Disney soundtrack during that period.  I am huge Elton John fan so when he did Lion King I was stoked.  That is until I had to listen to “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” four times a day, 7 days in a row for 2 months.  That’s a little much.

Phil Collins did some good song work as well.  I think for me, it would be an honor to be asked and to be in that company.

Personally, I would like to be included in a Pixar film.  I know that’s Randy Newman’s territory but to ever be uttered with him in the same sentence that would be awesome.
As for what would change, I’m not sure much.  I would make sure everyone in the band got paid.  Then I would put some money savings, do something special for the kids, and maybe go on a cool vacation.  I’m a pretty simple guy.  As long as I have my wife and family I am content.

The 1984 Draft is –

Passionate, Dayton, Ohio-based indie quartet The 1984 Draft, who channels alt-folk sensibilities through a ’90s emo and indie lens, is recommended for fans of The Replacements, Beach Slang, The Smoking Popes, Sugar and Cheap Girls.

Eli Alban
Joe Anderl
Justin Satinover
Chip Heck

THE GLAD MACHINE (Q&A)

Posted on by patrickdonders

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Formed in the fall of 2012, The Glad Machine set out to write some of the catchiest rock songs on the vibrant Western Massachusetts music scene. Drawing influence from Cheap Trick, The Posies, Jellyfish, The Beach Boys, and Superdrag. The Glad Machine has honed their sound into a power-pop vessel to be reckoned with.

The sing-along choruses, the fist-pumping guitar riffs and cutting leads and, the nuanced but rock-steady rhythm section.

The Glad Machine is drummer Mike Franklin, bassist Neal Robinson, vocalist Brad Thayer and guitarist Greg Saulmon.

 

Which is the song you wish you had written every time you hear it? And why?

Mike: There are a lot of those. Brad’s written a few actually. The bastard. Ha! The first
one that comes to mind is New Mistake by Jellyfish. More hooks than a bait shop. The
bass line in that one (I believe that was “T-Bone” Wolk) is so amazing too. It’s like a
counter melody for the song. I love kitchen sink production and this one has so many
wonderful things going on throughout the track. The outro kills me. The song works well
acoustically, but the phenomenal engineering and production just take it to another
level.

 

 

Do you feel part of a community, the Power Pop community?

Brad: The Glad Machine owes a lot to the international Power Pop community. We are
based in Northampton, Mass, and while we have lots of friends in the music scene
here, other than a couple amazing DJ’s by the name of David Sokol, and Jim Neil, We
have had a hard time garnering support locally. The Power Pop community, on the
other hand has been crazy supportive, and embraced our music globally, giving us
way more exposure than we could have dreamed of.

 

 

Every family birthday, same story. Again, you have to explain what kind of band you
are in. What’s the story this time for aunt Jenny and uncle Clive?

It really depends on the person I’m speaking with and what I can perceive of
their musical vocabulary. For “Jenny” and “Clive” I would reference The Beatles and The
Beach Boys as an influence on the music. That’s pretty broad and I imagine nearly
everyone is aware of those artists. Cheap Trick is usually a good reference point too for
the “we kinda sound like” answer.

If you could tour the world with two other bands, who would you ask to join?

Neal: I would love to see this bill, Cheap Trick, The Glad Machine, and Potty Mouth.
Kind of like a 3 generations of power pop thing. Plus I would get to tour with 3 of my
favorite drummers. So someone gets on that.

 

At what point, during writing, rehearsing, recording, did you knew you were on to
something special?

Mike: I can usually tell in rehearsal when we have something that the band is really
digging. The song or songs in question are typically the first requested when we
practice. Everyone’s body language is a good giveaway. I can tell that they’re enjoying
the music and having fun. I know I am. And we go back to the song(s) a few times in the
same session

CADDY – Ten Times Four (Q&A)

Posted on by patrickdonders

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‘Ten Times Four is an album dedicated to my love of power pop and harmonic rock which was a lot of fun to do!’, says Tomas Dahl.

What was the biggest fun during the making of the last album?

I really love the part where I’ve started to record my songs and I hear my ideas coming out of the speaker. It’s always a rush. I write songs all the time and not all of the songs end up in Caddy. I have a bunch of demos lying around from 10 years back and suddenly parts of these old demos can end up in a new song. But it somehow comes together once I start to record and it will sound like a Caddy record.

There is also a lot of art by accidents whenever I record. I’m really a mediocre guitar player, I’m no expert on the other instruments as well. But usually, there are these small details that suddenly happens while recording and the song can suddenly change shape. I’ve always loved harmonies and sometimes there are these magical moments, only a couple of seconds where the harmonies of the vocals suddenly blend perfectly with a guitar tone. Those are probably the best moments for me.

 

 

At what point, during writing, rehearsing, recording, did you knew you were on to something special?

This time I really didn’t plan to write an album. I was so happy and pleased by the support from my previous album “The Better End” so I kinda needed a break after that. It’s a lot of work being a one-man band and recording everything myself. I could never imagine getting the feedback I got from the Norwegian press and around the world on that record. It wasn’t really a full on power pop album, it was more of a mix between power pop, dreamy pop, some indie pop/rock etc. It had a real summer feel to it. I love writing and recording the dreamy songs, there are so many different forms of dynamics on those tracks than recording a full-on power pop song.

 

But the following year after The Better End I got these huge projects in my job where I didn’t have the time to write any music at all or work with other musical projects. That lasted pretty much that whole year and I kinda got depressed about not making music or anything else at the time. I knew these projects would take up most of my time that year, but I really missed the writing part. After that, some personal stuff happened and once I got around to finally sit down and write again, my head was really far away from writing a follow-up to The Better End and all those dreamy sounds. So the first songs I wrote were fast and catchy punk songs, which I hopefully will be able to record this year. I also made a lot of electronic music, not the EDM top 10 commercial shit but deeper sounds and much more underground.

So I did a lot of that to kinda get it out of my system. As I got my frustration got out I had some songs lying around which I thought would fit my Caddy project. Still more uptempo and guitar driven than my previous stuff but I felt it still had a Caddy feel to it.

 

 

The music industry has changed a lot (or so they say). What did it bring you? And what not?

 

I’ve never really felt that I’ve been part of the music industry. I’ve just been doing my own thing throughout the years. I’ve never gone down that path where I think my music is gonna be the next big thing or wanted to be a part of a big agency or whatever. I’m sure it could help in some cases to get some more promotion or maybe to get your name out there. I’ve always made music that will stay underground and probably never will hit it big. But I’m really happy with that I would be really uncomfortable if it did.

Many people ask me why I don’t tour or why I don’t do this and that because that’s what bands do. Well, I’m not a band and I have no need to be in the spotlight or on a stage. I feel really awkward on a stage and it’s nothing I want to do just because that’s what everyone else is doing. I really love making music and there has never been any money involved in what I’m doing. I’ve been approached a few times from other bands that like my sound and they’ve asked me if I wanted to produce them and so on. I rarely say yes to this but I have been working with a few bands lately.

These days I feel like many bands or artists care more about their posts and likes on Instagram or other social media instead of actually spending more time to write better music. I just want to make music as good as I can so I’ll leave the fame and fortune to other artists. I won’t be in their way haha.

Can you still recall the moment music became important to you? What happened?

One of my first big musical memories as a kid, was when I discovered my Dads collection of 7-inches in our basement.

 

Until then I’d basically listen to whatever my sister had in her room next to me, which was a lot of 80s music. She is 7 years older than me so I’d borrow cassettes from her. I still like a lot of the music from the 80s but once I discovered those 7-inches from the 60s my whole world changed.

 

Our record player wasn’t working so we bought a new needle and I started to go through them one by one. There was a lot of horrible music as well, like Swedish and Norwegian dance acts with accordion and funny haircuts. But then I discovered The Shadows and The Beach Boys and I couldn’t stop listening to them. I was so fascinated with The Shadows having no vocals but could still tell a story by playing only instruments. And those harmonies from The Beach Boys. Both bands still inspire me today!

 

What’s up for the rest of the year?

 

I will probably record a song or two with Caddy but right now I need a break from it. The album is out so I just need to something else. I really want to record some heavier songs, I kinda miss the time when I played in punk rock bands. Not necessarily the band itself but the music.

I’m also producing an indie-pop band called Family Values from Oslo, we are in the final stages of releasing what could become an album. I’m also working with some other bands in the studio now and then. I also want to pick up my electronica project. I need to do a totally different music genre once I’ve spent so much time working on pop productions. I get really easily bored and I need to have that balance to keep things interesting.

(Thanks Don) Read the I Don’t Hear A Single review here

EXTRA ARMS – Headacher (Q&A)

Posted on by patrickdonders

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‘If people don’t get stoked when you mention the Replacements, Husker Du, Superchunk and Teenage Fanclub, then I guess they wouldn’t like our band. 🙂’, says Ryan Allen.

And he has a whole lot more to say.

And, man, did he write another killer tune

 

 

(Pre)Order here

How did the new record come together?

 

 

Pretty organically, honestly. After I released my last album, “Basement Punk” (which I played all the instruments on) I put a band together to help me play the songs live. Once we had a few shows under our belts, I brought a new song to the table that I didn’t demo or really “finish” completely – which is different for me, as I normally demo everything out to completion.

Long story short, we learned the song, thought it kicked ass and decided to keep writing as a four-piece, instead of just me doing it all on my own. As we kept working on material, we began to function as a full-fledged band and not just one dude’s solo project. I began writing songs to suit the tastes/style of Michael, Ryan, and Sean (the members of Extra Arms, respectively) and out of that process we produced the 10 super rocking jams, and the one sensitive acoustic number that makes up “Headacher.”

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What can we expect?

 

I’d say this is the most high-energy, “aggressive” Extra Arms album yet. But at the same time, the songs are super catchy, the lyrics are meaningful, and the playing is very much on point. If you’re familiar with my other records, this isn’t some crazy departure, but it’s also a new beginning of sorts. I feel like we all really came together and made something great as a collective. I’m super proud of it.

And what do you expect?

 

I think when it was decided that we were going to make a record as a four-piece band, I expected to create something that exemplified the tastes and playing style of everybody in the band. Michael is a killer guitar player, Sean is a bombastic drummer and Ryan is a super-fluid bassist. And I think their playing on this record totally nails what they are all really great at. Furthermore, I knew that this record would probably lean heavily on the more “rocking” songs I was working on. I actually ended up writing about 25 songs since “Basement Punk” came out, and they were all over the map.

It was helpful to have a pool of songs to pull from, but knowing that we all collectively gravitate to louder, crunchier music, I knew that we would end up picking the songs that fit that description. And honestly, I’m glad we did. I wanted to try and bottle that political and personal rage I was feeling at the time, and the high-energy, aggressive songs seemed to get that point across the best.

You produced some high high quality records the last couple of years and received praise for them. Any pressure when you start a new record?

 

Thanks! I’d say yes and no to this. It’s not like we have millions of fans who are waiting with baited breath for a new Extra Arms record to come out. That said, there are people who are nice enough to give a shit about our music, and I never want to let them down. I, and we, also put personal pressure on ourselves to create a quality record. Luckily, I think we really nailed it this time. It helps when you work with awesome people, too. Geoff Michael did a great job engineering the album and Paul Miner absolutely killed it in the mixing/mastering department. We did what we do, but those guys pulled out the best in us for sure.

The record slams with the ‘Mats honesty, Husker’s abandon, Superchunk-y energy, and the Fannies melodicism, all played by a band firing on all cylinders. 

WTF?

 

I mean, that’s what it sounds like to me…wouldn’t you agree? If people don’t get stoked when you mention the Replacements, Husker Du, Superchunk and Teenage Fanclub, then I guess they wouldn’t like our band. 🙂

What was the biggest fun during the making of the last album?

 

Listening to my brother, who played keys on the album, make weird-ass sounds on his synthesizer. We kept most of it in there for the pure comedy of it.

At what point, during writing, rehearsing, recording, did you know you were on to something special?

 

I think when we wrote, “Done to Death.” It was one of the earlier songs in the writing process, and we all kind of rallied around that one. It was maybe the second or third song we wrote together, and when it clicked, it REALLY clicked. Everybody was smiling and was just generally stoked on the song. So, I’d say it was at that moment that we knew we were on to something awesome.

Do you feel part of a community, the power pop community?

 

I feel really lucky that the music I’ve made as Extra Arms has been embraced by fans of this little sub-genre of rock known as power pop. I don’t particularly identify with the overt 60s, jingle-jangle throwback vibe that some of the bands put out there, but I definitely appreciate being included in the same conversation of great bands and artists like Chris Richards and the Subtractions, Nick Piunti, Caddy, Ruler, and more. I am super stoked that there are people out there, such as yourself, that truly love the music and want to help bring it to more people via blogs, podcasts, and radio shows.

I get really excited when a new review is posted, especially when the person writing it really gets it. Some of the more popular mainstream indie blogs will likely ignore what we do – mostly because the music world is just so saturated with content – but I’m always confident that the power pop peeps will have our back. It’s a nice feeling, for sure.

Which is the song you wish you had written every time you hear it? And why?

 

Man, this is a really tough one. I can think of a ton: “True Believer” by Superdrag, “Glad Girls” by Guided by Voices, “Father’s Name is Dad” by Fire, “Dig a Pony” by the Beatles, “Nearly Lost You” by Screaming Trees, “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” by the Smiths, “Waiting for Somebody” by Paul Westerberg… I’ll stop now as the entire article could be just this list. The thing that ties them all together is that they have great hooks, great chords, and great lyrics. That’s what I strive for when I’m working on my own tunes.

If you could tour the world with 2 other bands, who would you ask to join?

 

“In the Valley of Dying Stars”-era Superdrag and “Here’s Where the Strings Come In”-era Superchunk. We’d have to add “Super” to our name to complete the trifecta.

So what about putting your ultimate band together? No restrictions. No limitations. If you want David Bowie on backing vocals and Prince on guitar, go ahead. What would the band look like? And what is the song you will start jamming on? To find out it if this really works?

 

I’m super happy with the band members I’m playing with now, but if forced I’d say Johnny Marr on guitar, Bruce Thomas on bass and Dave Grohl on drums. It’d be weird for sure. We’d have to jam on a Beatles song or something…that’s the only way you would know if it worked or not.

What’s up for the rest of the year?

 

We’re playing some regional shows in Canada, Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois. Trying to get out there as much as we can and play these songs for as many people as will listen. Wish us luck!

THE GREAT AFFAIRS – Ten & 2 (Q&A)

Posted on by patrickdonders

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The Great Affairs is a rock ‘n’ roll band.

 

And they made a rock ‘n’ roll record.

 

You get it all: classic rock, power pop, roots rock, Southern Rock…

 

When you think you are hearing Cheap Trick, The J. Geils Band, The Bottle Rockets and Bad Company at the same time, you are probably a good listener.

 

More important, if you are looking for a Saturday-Night-Record, I have found you one.

 

Enjoy!

 

Denny Smith explains.

 

 

The music industry has changed a lot (or so they say). What did it bring you? And what not?

 

Well, I’ve seen the better part of the Continental United States, made a ridiculous amount of great friends I wouldn’t have otherwise ever even met, and gotten to share all of the above with a bunch of guys that I now consider family…those are all wins in my book that have  been brought to me. It has also laid at my feet a few truly heartbreaking disappointments and close-calls, but I could be mopping a hospital floor or working in a machine shop instead of sitting here answering these questions for you, so I like to believe it’s all worked out as planned, because I’m generally a pretty happy guy.

 

I think as I really got into the guts of the machine, that I kinda knew it wasn’t going to be the dream I had as a kid. I just periodically remind myself to stop before I fall out of love with it, so it hasn’t managed to bring me to my knees yet I guess.

 

 

 

 

Can you still recall the moment music became important to you? What happened?

 

I have a very vivid memory of being at my grandparents’ house and finding a little metal 45RPM carrying case that had belonged to my mom when she was a kid. I looted all the CCR and Beatles singles I could get my hands on and dragged them home to my portable record-player, which up until that point had been used to play nothing but Planet Of The Apes, GI Joe, and Space: 1999 book & record sets. I wore out a 7” of  “Can’t Buy Me Love”… I just couldn’t get enough of it. From there, I dove into my parent’s VERY limited LP collection and spent entirely too many hours in from the of their old console stereo system with those giant headphones pressed to my ears. It was right around that time when I started begging for a guitar, a plea my grandmother kindly obliged by giving me an old acoustic that I could barely wrangle sound out of because my hands weren’t strong enough to press the strings to the fretboard. Sadly I don’t have that guitar anymore…but I still have those book & record sets.

 

 

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Which is the song you wish you had written every time you hear it? And why?

 

 

There are so many of these but the obvious ones that spring to mind are Elvis Costello’s “Man Out Of Time”, and I can’t even tell you why…there’s just something in that tune that nails me to the floor when it comes on. Maybe it’s that bizarre, frantic intro, and the sudden shift into the song proper that catches me off guard…whatever it is, I’m hooked and in for the full 5 minutes and 29 seconds(I had to look that up) whenever it hits my ear.

 

Two “Honorable Mentions” that occasionally slip into the #1 spot are “Crazy” from The Afghan Whigs, simply because it gets under my skin, and maybe because I’ve seen the story he’s telling play out in real time, so it hits home. It doesn’t hurt that that arrangement and groove are so hypnotic either.

 

Lastly, even though you only asked for one(sorry) would be Del Amitri’s “Driving With The Brakes On”, just because it breaks my heart each and every time I hear it. Justin Currie can do no wrong in my book.

 

 

 

Magic can happen when you are playing in front of a crowd. Can you recall such a moment?

 

Any time I hear a group of folks I’ve never met before that night singing along to something I wrote on an acoustic guitar in my spare bedroom, I chalk it up to magic. That happening every now and then can make up for so many disappointments, flat tires, crappy hotel rooms, empty clubs, warm beers, and long miles on no sleep, that it might be the only thing keeping me going sometimes. Thankfully, I can recall several of these moments. It always makes me smile when I see it happen for another artist too because you can feel that connection, like the whole room, finds a mystery frequency that we can all operate on in complete bliss for a few fleeting seconds. I wish the world felt like that all the time.

 

What would change if Disney would call and tell you they are going to use your song in their next movie?

 

My address, because I could finally afford to buy a few acres in the country, and I wouldn’t have to mow the hill behind my current house that is almost surely going to kill me one day. Seriously.

 

 

What’s up for the rest of the year?

 

Our #1 order of business is to stay out promoting ‘Ten & 2’ for a good, long while. Kenny is close to wrapping up a solo EP, and I’ve got another batch of tunes kicking around that might turn into a new solo record for me too, but they’re going to be more in the Pop/Singer-Songwriter vein… still plenty of guitars, of course, but less of the riff-y Blues-based stuff that we sometimes do with the band. I’m sure we’ll start throwing around new ideas soon though and look towards another TGA record down the road a bit.

 

EX NORWEGIAN – No Sleep (Q&A)

Posted on by patrickdonders

An arcane indie rock band with psych and powerpop overtones from Miami Beach are an unlikely bunch to be named after a Monty Python sketch, yet the musical collective Ex Norwegian indeed are.

‘No Sleep’, the ninth album arguably takes the band back to the beginning, crafting straightforward pop/rock songs with effective arrangements and quirky lyrics with strong melodies. The main trio of Roger Houdaille, Michelle Grand, and Giuseppe Rodriguez will be touring later this year to support the release.

BabySue writes: If you like pop songs that stick in your head like glue and never go away, you’re gonna totally dig this album. No Sleep features eleven super smart guitar-driven pop tracks that are sinfully addictive. A few of the band’s more recent albums have featured a more raw basic sound. On Sleep, they return to the more produced and polished sound they had when they were just getting started. 

 

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Sweet Sweet Music talked to Roger Houdaille.

 

What was the biggest fun during the making of the last album?

It was fun to realize we even had an album to work on! Originally the plan was to compile a sort of “best of” collection and do heavy promo and tour behind it. But once we started fleshing out the project and working with the PR / MGMT people, it became clear that it made more sense to do something totally new and “No Sleep” was born. I didn’t have any songs ready but in a week or two, there were enough to start rehearsing them, which was something we hadn’t done in a while…rehearse the songs a bit before actually going to track them! Although it was a very quick process, we had a good time recording backing tracks at our friends’ studio and eventually putting all the bells and whistles on it.

 

 

At what point, during writing, rehearsing, recording, did you knew you were on to something special?

 

I remember introducing the song “Triggered Weeknd” at rehearsal and first run thru it just came together effortlessly and sounded great. That was interesting for me because I didn’t think too much of the song at that point so the band really made it something special and it sort of became our lead single. Overall, there was a good energy and because of the spontaneity of it all, there was also a good level of excitement which I hope transfers itself onto the record.

 

 

The music industry has changed a lot (or so they say). What did it bring you? And what not?

 

Ex Norwegian started 10 years ago and it was a little fun to think back on how we did things with the first album versus the ninth! Social media seems to be more and more important. While it’s easier to reach more people it’s also a lot harder than it was. Stuff like college radio or even traditional PR we don’t do anymore. So it brings us a lot more work as artists! Companies we used to work with now train the bands to do their own work. But at the end of the day, truth be told without the internet, we wouldn’t have released any albums or have any listeners, so there comes a gratitude with the modern music industry for allowing independent artists to even exist.

 

 

The meaning of ‘success’ has changed over the years. When will the new record be a success?

 

It probably won’t! At least not in traditional sense. We actually did try to do something bigger than before with “No Sleep” but it backfired bigly when the company in charge went out of business right around the release date. We had to cancel our US tour and everything. But for my meaning of ‘success’, the fact that it exists is enough. I do think Ex Norwegian is a band with a wealth of catalog that will survive as long as interest in this kind of music exists.

 

 

exn2

 

 

Do you feel part of a community, the power pop community?

 

Yes, I think the band fits in well. We get most of our sales and reviews from the power pop community and done the International Pop Overthrow and all that. And although we do get labeled often a power pop group, I think we merely flirt around with the genre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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DOT DASH – Proto Retro (Q&A)

Posted on by patrickdonders

Dot Dash’s new album Proto Retro, the band’s sixth long player, out now on TBM. 

Coming off of 2016’s amped-up, fuzzed-out Searchlights, the 12 track Proto Retro sees Dot Dash taking a poppier, janglier direction but one that retains the punky, garagey energy that has marked the band’s previous releases.

 

Dot Dash is a Washington D.C.-based trio — Terry Banks (guitar & vocals), Hunter Bennett (bass), and Danny Ingram (drums.)

 

dotdas

 

Sweet Sweet Music talked to Terry Banks.

 

 

 

 

The meaning of ‘success’ has changed over the years. When will the new record be a success?

 

I suppose it’s a success just by existing.  I think that’s the big goal, to just have the stuff exist.  We’ve had a few of our songs licensed for use in TV shows and movies in the past and when that happens it produces money that helps to pay for recordings. So, it would be nice for that to happen again with this new album, but you can never count on stuff like that.  It happens when it happens.

 

Terry photo credit Roxplosion

photo credit Roxplosion

 

Do you feel part of a community, the power pop community?

 

At the risk of sounding anti-social, no, not really.  There’s no question our stuff is pretty power poppy, but we don’t see ourselves as a “power pop band.”  That said, if other people do, that’s fine with us.  At various points, our music has been described as power pop, garage, punk, post-punk, indiepop, and indie rock, so maybe we’re a mix of those things.

 

 

Which is the song you wish you had written every time you hear it?

 

That’s a hard one.  Maybe “The Airport Song” by The Byrds, or “Outdoor Miner” by Wire.

 

 

If you could tour the world with 2 other bands, who would you ask to join?

 

The closest Dot Dash has got to touring was a little string of East Coast dates with Tommy Keene, who was a real music hero of mine/ours, but Tommy passed away last fall, so that’s him off the list.  Let’s see, who else?  How about Guided By Voices and The Monochrome Set?

 

Dot Dash photo

 

 

If the budget was unlimited, how would you record the next record?

 

Hmmm… it would be cool to record at Ardent Studios in Memphis (where the Big Star stuff was done, among many other things.)  Or, further afield, Abbey Road.

 

Proto Retro is available as a digipak CD (which includes a free download of the album) here:  http://thebeautifulmusic.com/

And as a download here:  https://dotdashdc.bandcamp.com/

band info:  https://www.facebook.com/dotdashdc

 

THE PRETTY FLOWERS – Why Trains Crash (Q&A)

Posted on by patrickdonders

The Pretty Flowers are Noah Green, Sam Tiger, Jake Gideon, Sean Johnson. Based in Los Angeles. They just released a new record called ‘Why Trains Crash’  and it’s out on Dirt Cult Records.

L.A. Record wrote: twelve songs that are like Guided By Voices’ hi-fi power-pop and Mountain Goats-style poetic righteousness plus—at least on “Sitting Duck CA”—a little twin-engine Thin Lizzy guitar acrobatics, too.

And yep, all true!

Listen, watch, and read what Noah Green shared with Sweet Sweet Music.

 

 

 

She tells you she will decide on a 5-song-mixtape if there is going to be a second date. Which 5 would you put on?

 

That’s What Life Is All About – Paul Collins’ Beat

– For me, this song is one of the best opening tracks of any album and just a timelessly romantic Buddy Holly-esque rock ‘n’ roll classic.

Make Up Your Mind – Stiv Bators

– Great power-pop from Stiv’s solo record, Disconnected. This is a cover, and the original by David Quinton is fantastic, too, but I like the energy and drum fills of Stiv’s version a bit better.

Allt ska forsvinna – Hurula

– I was a fan of Masshysteri, but Hurula is a band I truly love. The album this song comes from is so amazing. Even though I can’t understand a word he’s singing, the music really connected with me and became a big influence–maybe more in spirit than anything obvious–on the songs that became Why Trains Crash. The opening track of our album, “Cream of Canvas”, was a bit of an attempt to write my version of a Hurula song. I’d put this song on a mixtape for sure.

Phoebe Bridgers – Would You Rather

– I’d seen Phoebe Bridgers live when she just had a single out a few years back and was blown away by her songs and voice. When this album came out last year I didn’t immediately love it, but it grew on me hard and I listen to it all the time now. Her live band is so good, and I love the way drummer Marshall Vore plays. I always find myself in the mood to listen to Phoebe’s beautiful maudlin folk. The Pretty Flowers are going to record a bunch of cover songs soon and we’re going to attempt to adapt a Phoebe Bridgers song as one of ours. We’ll see how that goes.

Dumb – Manhattan Murder Mystery

– MMM has been one of the best Los Angeles bands for the last 10 years. Matthew Teardrop’s songs and lyrics are unparalleled in this city and the band chugs along without compromise or apology. There are not a lot of bands that make you feel happy to be bummed out like Manhattan Murder Mystery do.

 

prettyfl

 

 

Do you feel part of a community, the power pop community?

 

I don’t feel like there’s that much of a power-pop community in Los Angeles. At least not one that I that I feel connected to. I was in a band called The Henry Clay People in the mid-to-late 00s, and being in that band connected me to a bunch of good bands and people around LA at the time, and that did feel like more of a supportive scene than it does now. A lot of those bands have broken up, but being in The Pretty Flowers now, it feels different and I haven’t quite figured it out yet.

 

There seems to be a lot of power pop/pop punk that comes out of the Burger Records label here, but I’m not really a fan. Maybe there’s some good stuff in their catalog, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of quality control going on from what I can tell. I went to the NorCal band Culture Abuse’s album release of Bay Dream (which is some kind of modern masterpiece to my ears) here in LA and they had ten bands playing 10-minute sets before they played. They were mostly hardcore bands, which is a scene I’ve never felt a connection to because it was so macho, but it was really cool to see a music community I haven’t really experienced in LA before. But it was disconcerting that I only noticed one woman in the ten bands that played that night. As far as local bands, Maniac is a band on our label, Dirt Cult, who I’d consider power pop and are awesome. I want to play shows with them.

 

Pinned In Place are great, too. There’s a band called NO WIN, who was nice enough to play our album release show in June, who write catchy, amazing songs. They’re a band that if The Pretty Flowers could play every show we ever play with them we would do it.

 

We played a show with a band called Autogramm, who were on tour from Vancouver, BC a month or two ago, and I like them a lot. There are great bands around, but it doesn’t feel like a really supportive, cohesive music scene to me. Maybe I just need to get out more? I dunno.

 

 

 

Can you still recall the moment music became important to you? What happened?

 

I do recall that moment. It was when I got Nirvana’s Nevermind album when it came out and I was 12. I listened to the cassette on a yellow Sony Sports Walkman (which was important because it had auto-reverse) and it played over and over on an 8-hour drive from Northern California to Lake Arrowhead in Southern California, where my aunt, uncle, and cousins lived.

 

Before that, I was mostly listening to MTV hair-metal bands and thinking that was the best that music could get, but Nirvana was serious music without fast guitar solos, and the lyrics were saying things that I’d never heard, or even really considered, before. It was music, but it was also art, which I didn’t know music could be before that. I got to see them live later that year (because my Dad was cool), and they were amazing, but being in bands still seemed like some unattainable thing that special people got to do.

 

 

It still took a while before I realized that they were regular people and that making music and playing in bands was something that regular people did too. It still amazes me that a band as punk and actually as good as Nirvana was, achieved such mainstream success. I can’t imagine that kind of thing happening again on that level.

 

Which is the song you wish you had written every time you hear it? And why?

 

Oh, man…there’s probably 100 I wish I’d written myself (and ten of those probably belong to Nick Lowe). There’s a band called The World Record from LA, who are seemingly from another place in time. They have a power pop album called Guitars Forever that’s the only album I’ve played, and while listening, said, “this album so good, it seems weird that I actually know the guy who wrote these songs.” That would be Andy Creighton.

 

For a song, though, I’m going to say I wish I’d written John Cale’s “Buffalo Ballet”. When I write songs, I have a difficult time telling a cohesive story or being direct, and I tend to focus more on how lyrics and music create a mood or a feeling. Stephen Malkmus is someone who’s really good at doing that. “Buffalo Ballet” is a song that does it in a way I can only hope to. I try not to analyze that song for meaning and just accept the emotional effect it has on me. The refrain “sleeping in the midday sun” is perfect.

 

 

 

What’s up for the rest of the year?

 

We’re going to record some cover songs at Golden Beat studio in LA with Andrew Schubert in a few weeks, and we’re excited for that. That will probably be a digital-only thing, but we’re looking forward to recording with our new drummer, Sean Johnson, who joined the band in March. We have about 8 songs written for the next album so far, but I imagine it will be a little while before we record those. We hope to do some kind of west coast tour in Nov or Dec, but life makes touring is difficult for people in bands, as it’s always been. We also plan to play as many shows as possible around LA and slightly beyond.

 

 

 

 

 

ANCHOR & BEAR – Raincoats and Gold

Posted on by patrickdonders

‘Folk Rock’, they say. ‘Twangy (Power) Pop’, I would say. Whatever. Quality songs and great melodies over here. No need to argue about that. Anchor & Bear’s new release ‘Raincoats and Gold’ is a joy. A JOY!

 

anchor

 

 

Anchor & Bear are Katy Pearson – vocals/bass/guitar, Brian Bringelson -vocals/guitar/bass and Eric White – drums.

 

 

What was the biggest fun during the making of the last album?

 

I think we really became a band making this record. It was such a different experience creating this record than it was with “Ahoy”. With the first album, Brian and myself had all the songs sorted out, some even had demos already recorded. With “Raincoats and Gold” we worked through these tunes as a band. The writing, the arrangements, and the grooves were all collaborative which made recording the record a much more enjoyable experience. Plus our producer Matt, he was and still is a highlight.  – Katy

 

 

Which is the song you wish you had written every time you hear it? And why?

 

The easy answer for me would be any song written by The Beatles, but I’ll choose another artist! Neko Case’s song “The Pharaohs” is a song that completely changed the way I looked at songwriting. The melody twists and turns in so many beautiful ways that it almost seems impossible a mere human could create such a thing. Of course, Neko Case is much more than a mere human. In addition, the lyrics stop me dead in my tracks every time I hear them. On top of all of this, it’s a song that is constantly in my head, which is a good thing in this case since it’s just so perfect. 100% a song I wish I had written. – Brian

 

This is hard because there are probably a million I could say but two stick out.  “Lullaby” by Loudon Wainwright III. It’s this biting, sad, lilting, tough song. I think writing something slow without it becoming mundane is an art form. It’s filled with beautiful moments of interesting chords that are purposeful but not forced. It’s haunting but weirdly sweet at the same time. Lyrically it’s dynamite. The other song would be “Surfs Up” by Brian Wilson. The melody line on  “columnated ruins domino” is still the most beautiful melody line I’ve ever heard in my life. – Katy

 

If the budget was unlimited, how would you record the next record? 

 

I would book 2 months at Abbey Road to record basic tracks: drums, guitars, bass. Then I would book another month at Sunset Sound to do overdubs and some vocals. Then finally I would book a couple of weeks at Capitol Records to finish it all up. I’d also have it mastered at Abbey Road just so I could be there for another few days/weeks. – Brian

 

Saaaaaaaaame ❤ – Katy

 

 

 

What’s up for the rest of the year?

 

We will continue to play shows up and down the California coast promoting “Raincoats and Gold”.  In addition, we’ll be making another music video for one of the tracks off the new album which should come out this fall. Katy and I have already started writing songs for the next album and hopefully, we will begin recording before the end of the year. – Brian

 

Shows, Shows, Shows, and Shows. We’re also writing because we never stop. We’ll be putting out a music video soon and then hopefully (after a few other recording projects get checked off) we’ll be headed BACK into the studio as a band before we see the downbeat of 2019! ❤ – Katy

 

 

 

Can you still recall the moment music became important to you? What happened? 

 

The moment music became important to me was when I was very young and would listen to my parents play records on their amazing stereo system. Albums like “A Hard Days Night” and “Rumors” sounded so perfect and just seemed to mean something very important. The fact that my whole family was sitting on the floor just listening to this amazing music really left a mark on my life. I knew I wanted to do something involving that feeling. – Brian

 

Man, the moment music became important. I think it happened even before I had the brain capacity to recall it but, my two biggest memories are forcing my dad to teach me every single lyric to “Why do fools fall in love?” the Beach Boy version as he drove me to school. I was obsessed with the B section. The other big life-changing moment was when I wrote my first complete real song. I think I was 12? I had piddled around with writing but this moment was different. I wrote it and I liked it, plus other people liked it too. But more importantly, I loved how I felt when I was doing it. I’d never felt freer or more like myself in my life. So I just kept chasing that because, why wouldn’t you? – Katy

 

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Bird Streets (Q&A)

Posted on by patrickdonders

John Brodeur worked with Jason Falkner and they created something special. Something special? It’s BEAUTIFUL!

At what point, during writing, rehearsing, recording, did you knew you were on to something special?

 

 

I knew Jason Falkner for a number of years before we finally got into the studio together. So when that finally happened, there was a very natural, easy flow to the creative process.

We made “Direction” that first day and both felt right away that it was really strong, and that we should do more. “Betting On The Sun” was another one that was written and recorded very quickly. By the end of the session, we were congratulating each other on how good it was.

On the last day of mixing, we invited 8 or 9 friends to come by the studio and listen back to the album, and each person named a different song as their favorite. That’s when I really knew we’d made something that has the potential to reach a lot of people.

 

Which is the song you wish you had written every time you hear it? And why?

 

 

This could easily be a Top 40 list. But, a few that jump to mind: Elliott Smith’s “Waltz #2 (XO),” because it just stopped me dead in my tracks the first time I heard it. I remember sitting in my car for about 5 minutes after the song finished so I could hear the DJ identify it. Elliott’s music deeply affected my creative path. It just seemed way too pretty to be on alternative radio in 1998–true songcraft was scarce on commercial stations–and it made me 1) immediately buy all of Elliott’s recordings, and 2) write at least a half-dozen songs in waltz time.

Another one is Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally).” It’s such a lively-sounding song, but it’s full of these little suspensions and neat twists in the progression, and it has a rather difficult and surprising melody. And the lyric is incredibly mournful. Apparently, it wasn’t autobiographical, and I can’t decide if it makes me appreciate it more or less. A 21-year-old kid fabricated that? Unreal.

 

 

 

If you could tour the world with 2 other bands, who would you ask to join?

 

Foo Fighters, because, I mean, who wouldn’t want to play with the Foo Fighters? And Neil Young, because he is my spirit animal and it would be a blast to watch him perform every night.

The meaning of ‘success’ has changed over the years. When will the new record be a success?

 

 

In many ways, at least from my perspective, it already is a success. Working with Jason was a career highlight, and Bird Streets is by far my best album–I mean, it’s not even close. Having the record out on Omnivore is a real badge of honor.

The reviews have been really generous, our single is picking up traction at radio, and people from all over the world that I’ve never met are e-mailing and posting on our page about how much they like the record!

Even if the momentum dies down in a few months, I can take pride in having made music that a lot of people enjoy.

 

If the budget was unlimited, how would you record the next record?

 

Underwater.