Mind
of a Squid
Neil Haverty
Rockets Red Glare
Fin Fang Foom
The Vermicious Knid
White Star Line
The Patients
Eudora
Off
The International Radar
Audiosleep
Shy Child
DJs + MCs
MIND
OF A SQUID
WAVELENGTH 129
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 11PM
Purveyors of:
Pseudo-improv rock-outs from the ocean floor
www.mp3.com/squidmind
Wavelength threw our rookie interviewer Steven Venn
into the water to see if he could swim, but also to track down what lies
in the Mind of a Squid. This quartet plays an interesting blend of space-rock
jams and have decided to come ashore this week to play Wavelength. At
the core is The Atomic Cosmonaut, Erik Culp, who answered some quick questions
for us, except about why calamari is so tasty (Steven thought that would
be too unfair).
Mind of a Squid. Well there's a name for a band you don't hear everyday. Very interesting. Explain what it means and how you came up with it. Mind Of A Squid developed from improvisational jams between myself and Mike and Chris Bell from Chore. "Who knows the mind of a squid?" is a Newfoundland term that basically means that you can't predict things. As well, squids cannot process information individually, and can only function as a collective... and that seems pretty relevant to an improv band.
What is your relation to Newfoundland? I get a certain sense of the sea when I listen to your music.
I just travelled there a couple of years ago... nothing significant.
It's interesting that that phrase can mean "unpredictable." Listening to some of your songs, I get the sense that there is a distinct improvisation, an unplanned direction, accidents that result in something unique and different. What do you think?
We are no longer an improv act... songs are never identical, sure, but we have a framework... and structure.
How long have you guys been together as a band and how did you come to be Mind of a Squid as it exists now?
We've been together a little over a year. The original band consisted of me, Mike and Chris Bell of Chore. We used to jam in Sonic Unyon's basement... someone heard it, liked it and booked us at the wonderful (but now defunct) Raven in Hamilton playing with Elevator and hangedup... so we became a band. Later that year Mike and Chris were replaced with Owen Davies and Blas Melissari... and since then we have arrived at our current line-up.
Who is in your band now? I've read that your drummer, Blas, is from Uruguay. How does that add to your music?
The Atomic Cosmonaut (Erik Culp) -- guitar, moog, theremin; Marina Adam -- vox/rhodes; Franky Joey -- bass guitar; Blas Melissari -- drums. Blas has a progressive Latin sensibility which lends itself to the music quite nicely.
You've mentioned that squids cannot think independently. How has the "collective mind" of your band aided in your performances? Is there a sense that everyone is somehow connected psychically when you play?
It was more relevant when we were improv... but I still think that when there is any marriage of people that the sum is greater than the whole.
There has been a lot of music coming out in the past little while that's strictly based on instrumentals (gybe!, Rachel's, Labradford, etc). What do you think the fascination is with this renewed interest in non-vocal music?
We do have vocal bits, but by and large we are an instrumental act. Personally, I just like the drama of instrumental stuff... probably 80% of the stuff I listen to is lacking in vox. I think without the constraints set in by lyrical work, one is allowed to immerse themselves more thoroughly in the work, as they do not have to concentrate on words, etc.
Mick Turner of Dirty Three, as an example, often builds loops of guitar parts to create interesting textures of sounds. Explain the process by which you guys might create a song, either in studio or live. What can we expect to see?
Much of our work live is looped. It just creates a bigger sound and I am allowed to have a bigger textural palate. In the studio I single track everything... we are currently working on an album, and it takes me forever just to do one song, as every loop I have to lay in manually. So say if there are eight drones, and the song is eight minutes, that's over an hour, even at one take a pop.
Who are some of your big influences that inspire the Squid sound (musical or non-musical)?
Logan's Run for sure, and spaghetti westerns.
If you had a chance to do the soundtrack (either recorded or improvised) for a film, which one would you choose and why?
I don't like to score, I've done it in the past... It can be OK, but on the majority of jobs, you are required to be a totally non-creative sausage factory that has to accommodate an annoying budget-conscious producer.
What's coming up for Mind of a Squid? Are you going to be releasing anything soon?
Working
on an album now, should be finished in mid October. Our bassist Franky
Joey is moving to Germany in October... so Mike Bell is temporarily filling
in the void... but if anyone knows a bassist please give us a call.
NEIL
HAVERTY
WAVELENGTH 129
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 10PM
Purveyor of: Wistfully complicated pop songcraft
www.neilhaverty.cjb.net
To read an interview with Neil, check out this month's Home Invasion.
ROCKETS
RED GLARE
WAVELENGTH 130
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 11PM
Purveyors of: A
mathematical suggestion of movement on bleak, static landscapes
www.rocketsredglare.ca
With their staggeringly intense, Jeff McMurrich-produced self-titled debut now out on Chicago's Sickroom Records, Toronto's Rockets Red Glare are currently blowing mental fuses from coast to coast with their make-you-cry-they're-so-tight live set. RRG's Wavelength appearance on the eighth is the last date of a six-week continent-wide tour, and we can't wait to see what kind of shapes their songs will mutate into after playing almost every night for that long. TCB interviewed mercurial and misunderstood frontman-of-sorts, Evan Clarke.
Presumably, you are taking a computer break from your road-weary American travels at a strange cafŽ or a stranger's house. While trying to avoid notions of nationalism, I wonder if you feel part of (or the by-product of) a local Toronto music scene, or an offshoot of a much larger community of influences?
In the past I have attempted to generate musical community within Toronto, by playing in a seemingly innumerable array of like-minded bands. This strategy, having brought me as close to psychological ruin as I hope to come, has lately been abandoned in favour of a campaign whereby I attempt to provoke as much animosity towards my band as possible, thereby bringing people together in their shared disdain for all things RRG. The fact that we are required to sacrifice our inclusion in this community in order to bring it into existence, is a small price to pay for the ultimate triumph of a united and musically progressive Toronto.
Why do you tour in the United States?
Its relative proximity and the abundance of reasonably well-populated areas were the clinchers for me, but I can't speak for Gus and Jeremy.
There is a recurring (although never identical) mathematical icon printed on every surface of your CD design. Is this a reflection of sound or design aesthetic?
The icon was an attempt on the part of a designer friend of ours, to spruce up a somewhat desolate design concept through the suggestion of movement on a bleak, static landscape. In other words, the icon is an interpretation of a visual aesthetic, reflected through a like-minded, but independent visual aesthetic, and informed on both ends by the musical component of the release in question.
I understand your American label (Sickroom Records) has released an unbelievable amount of albums in the last year. Has this helped or hindered your record? How involved are they in your tour?
I'm told that there is a method behind the seemingly mad strategy of flooding the North American market with debut releases by anonymous bands, and I trust that this is indeed the case. Much of our present tour has been with a fellow Sickroom band, Runner, which has been a strange, but not unwelcome respite from the one-band crusade that we have been on for the past two years.
There is a rumoured connection between the name "Rockets Red Glare" and a Phleg Camp song. Discuss. Or ignore.
Or refute, as I have done at every given opportunity, evidently not emphatically enough. Imagine the fallout had we named ourselves "The Patio Lanterns" as originally planned.
How do you define success?
Staying in tune for an entire show.
Do the RRG members fall into distinct roles while on the road and do these roles in anyway correspond to the instrument played? Orienteer? Driver? Worrier? Drinker? Sleeper?
Much as Gus pays a relatively high physical toll while performing, so have his auxiliary responsibilities on this tour begun to have deteriorative effects on his body -- as a result of being the only licensed driver on a six-week, continent-wide tour, his right arm is now permanently frozen at a 90¡ angle from his body, while his eyes stare vacantly into the distance, even while sleeping. Jeremy probably qualifies for the remaining three categories, in so far as his stressful responsibilities as in-house RRG publicist have subtracted at least a decade from his life expectancy, which in turn spurs him to hitherto unimaginable feats of libation, as a result of which he is in a near-constant state of semi-consciousness or total slumber. I of course am far too comfortable in my role as the aloof, hypersensitive frontman to make any ironically self-deprecating comments with regards to my role in the band.
If someone demanded (and you obliged because this is an absurd question) that RRG radically change its sound, what direction could you foresee the band taking? Insofar as we exist within a finite framework of ideas and abilities, the most "radical" change that we might undergo would be a retreat to either extreme of the musical spectrum that informs our music. Hence, we would either emerge as an ensemble of black-clad nihilists, carving bowel-disturbing compositions out of the sub-harmonic frequency range, or a free-wheeling, nine-piece booty-funk ensemble. I can't imagine the type of depraved individual that would demand that we make either change.
Why do you play music for other people?
The fact that we play music for other people is only remarkable in terms of the politics and logistics involved in doing so. Music is indeed native to the social sphere, and has only been partially divorced from it on account of the intrusion of commerce and the violent externalization of creativity. In other words, it makes more sense, to my mind, to ask why everyone doesn't play music for everyone else.
Your bio is more manifesto-parable than chronicle. How do you impose rigourous standards on the music community that surrounds you?
By standing at the back of the room, if indeed we deign to attend in the first place, and making snide comments about whatever band happens to occupy the stage. In other words, our manifesto is to be taken with a grain of salt -- or to borrow from one of the few bands that i wholeheartedly endorse, as a "small m manifesto."
Do you like to dance?
Preferably in an irony-free environment.
FIN
FANG FOOM
WAVELENGTH 130
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 10PM
Purveyors of: Nice new North Carolina noise
www.lovitt.com
Guitarist Michael Triplett, drummer Michael Glass and bassist/vocalist Edwin Sanchez make up the melodically aggro Chapel Hill trio Fin Fang Foom. TCB took care of business.
The flute is an inimitable instrument, and while I'm often afraid of its musical musings, you fearlessly flaunt a flautist. If you have a moment, can you suggest some other bands that use this under-utilized woodwind?
MT: I have to say
there aren't that many bands that to me are worth mentioning. I think
it is more interesting that you think we flaunt our flautist...
ES: Only the true mack gods do it best. Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes,
etc. I ain't never heard no dope-ass pimp song without one.
MG: Jethro Tull, Trans Champs.
Alliteration is an absolutely addictive (although not always admirable) literary device. Fin Fang Foom (a name so nice but don't say it thrice) was a dangerous dragon devised by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Like the dragon, have you considered wearing purple panties? And any word from Marvel Comics on your sur-reptilian stolen sobriquet?
MT: No, but I bet
your daddy does... Marvel... bad subject...
ES: Well back in Ô63, I was chillin' with ol' Stanley and Jack K (a.k.a.
Jacky K) in Cuba. We were all talking about that old ancient Chinese folklore
of this huge dragon called Fin Fang Foom and about all his mystical powers
and such. Well, they thought it be cool to put him in their comic books.
But the purple panties was my idea, although nowadays I prefer a thong.
MG: I normally leave the panty-wearing for the ladies. Not yet!
This query is unquestionably queued for Michael Triplett. if I am not mistaken, I believe you book bands in North Carolina at Go Rehearsals Room 4. Has this trade tempered how you approach touring, tour-booking and performing?
MT: I think the main way it has tempered me is that for the first time since 1996 I am not booking our own tours. I think mainly that happened because I could not keep up booking my band full-time and booking a club. The past few years FFF has been touring extensively, and the whole time I have been also booking a venue from the road. I feel it is less selfish of me to work on other peoples' shows instead of my own. I only have this duty because I play music, so for me playing music comes first. However, as long as I play music, it's important to give back what has been given to me. The whole thing is a cycle and I try to do my part to support it. I think it has also raised my awareness for clubs and smaller promoters.
This constant consonantal repetition is tantamount to trauma. Fuck alliteration. What is your relationship like with the other bands on your label? How did you come to join the Lovitt roster?
MT: Pretty much because
we are good buddies. Much love for my homies... Greenbacks and kissing
ass.
ES: We all cool, like brothas, if you know what I mean. It's because of
our bros that we joined the gang. Initiation was a bitch--my ass still
hurts.
MG: I'd say we're friends with 90% of the bands on Lovitt. Other bands
turned them on to us. After seven months of talking with Lovitt, they
came out to watch a few shows.
What is a favourite (and least favourite) quote someone has written about your band?
ES: "Wow, these guys
sound like ÔNSync. Damn these guys sound like ÔNSync."
MG: One zine described us as "schizophrenic orchestral."
MT: "And certainly, they wouldn't have an equally incompetent back-up
vocalist, showing up from time to time to take things from bad to simply
unbearable. Nah, they'd know better." -- David M. Pecoraro. There is no
back-up vocalist, you bastard.
What are your thoughts on universal health care?
MT: I pray to god that one day America will realize the advantages of it. I spend way too much on health care every month. I am envious of Canada and Europe. More Americans should become active in making it happen. That includes me.
How do you define success? Are there bands that inform your forward plans? (Which ones?) If so, do you try to avoid their missteps or follow their footsteps (or both)? Are these brackets getting confusing (yes)?
MT: I define our success
mainly through the quality of the writing. As long as we are creating
music that we enjoy or someone else is, then we are succeeding. Our plans
are pretty full -- we will be out for three weeks of touring in September.
Then we do a month-long U.S. tour in October/November. Record our new
record in January. Then from there, a European tour Is in the works. That's
pretty much it -- write, rock, tour and enjoy being alive.
ES: Gold teeth.
MG: If we play a show and we get a good response, I'd say we succeeded.
Why tour Canada?
MT: Well, Rockets
Red Glare offered us a show in Toronto, so it just started from there.
I have heard really good things about Canada and how beautiful it is,
and we have never been there. So here we come...
MG: I will tour anywhere given the opportunity. Especially outside the
U.S.
ES: Cause it ain't the U.S.A.; I ain't never been.
Any Canadian bands you like? It is a small country. We'll try to invite them to your show.
MT: Rockets Red Glare, Shut-IN, Rush, The Sadies, The Hylozoist, Choke. You can invite Mach Tiver out and let them know that the CD they sent me doesn't play.
THE
VERMICIOUS KNID
WAVELENGTH 131
a.k.a. the ANTIANTENNA CAMPUS BENDER
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 11PM
Purveyors of: The angst of having a Brantford mailing address
www.antiantenna.com
The Vermicious Knid play happy music. Some might call it emo, some might be reminded of early Ô90s "grunge". Decide for yourself by checking out their CD Days That Stand Still on AntiAntenna Recordings, or live as part of the AntiAntenna Campus Bender on the 15th. Awolf asked the questions, Ryan Stanley answered Ôem.
Give a bit of an outline on the goals of the band called The Vermicious Knid.
Basically the only goal we ever had was to be accepted into our local music community, because when we started in a mostly punk scene, nobody understood or liked our music. We've already accomplished more than we set out to, so now it's more a matter of playing as many shows as possible, and getting our music heard by as many people as possible.
How many different ways have you heard your band name pronounced?
More than we could ever count. Some common mispronounciations are "The Vicious Kid" and "The Vermicious Nid". It's more often misspelled than mispronounced though, i.e. Yermiscious Kinids.
Most bands would shudder at the sound of the word "emo." Would you prefer the "grunge" description?
We shudder just the same as anyone else, and if you ask us, emo is the new grunge -- it's just a word, and it's not a very smart descriptive word when you think about it. People can call us whatever they want, but we should make it clear we don't whine about broken hearts. We're all quite happy and usually sing about sleeping and eating.
Which actors would play your band if there was ever a documentary made? Who would be Ryan Antenna?
Maybe the Marx brothers,
because they're all weird looking, and we are as well. But in all seriousness,
here's the rundown of my personal picks for actors to portray us:
Ryan -- Tobey Maguire. Except in the movie version, he would be Spiderman
by night, and there would be a sub-plot in which he makes out with Kirsten
Dunst.
Jesse -- Jesse would be played by a young, drum-playing Marlon Brando.
Tim -- Elijah Wood, with big sideburns. Just picture that.
Brian -- A young Dan Aykroyd. Or possibly Bill Murray. Or any of the Ghostbusters
for that matter. With a wig, obviously.
Last but not least, the part of Ryan Mills would be played by Orson Welles.
Because he's kind of weird and always schemeing something.
Tell us a story about your hometown hero, Wayne Gretzky. We could probably tell more stories about his dad Walter, because he's always walking around the mall -- usually in Radio Shack. He's a great guy. Actually, if Walter is home, you can go to his house and he'll show you a lot of Wayne's cool old stuff. Though probably not now because we're old and smelly. Would you let us into your home?
What would you say was the highlight of Brantford-based actor Phil Hartman's life?
Probably not living in Brantford. Zing!
Why do you think Wayne Gretzky has a Brantford highway in his name while Alexander Graham Bell goes unnoticed?
Come on, how many goals has Alexander Graham Bell scored? That's probably why. Zing!
WHITE
STAR LINE
WAVELENGTH 131
a.k.a. the ANTIANTENNA CAMPUS BENDER
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 10PM
Purveyors of: "Scattershot slack"?
www.antiantenna.com
Read a review of White Star Line's new CD here.
To find out more about
AntiAntenna, read an interview with label boss Ryan Mills here.
THE
PATIENTS
WAVELENGTH 132
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 11PM
Purveyors of: Soulfully not giving a shit
thepatients@hotmail.com
Toronto's The Patients are part serious-music-school-trained
folk, part crowd-pleasing-onstage-antics performers and part make-your-head-bob
rock champions. Along with John Wilson on back-up vocals and guitar, Chad
Byreiter on bass and Ian Lane on drums, frontman Stu Stout will dance,
kick and tap his way through the Red Cap beer dribble on your (insert
favorite band name here) shirt and into your heart. Awwww.
Do you speak any German?
John: If by German you mean English, then yes, I speak fluent German.
What will you be wearing for your performance?
John: Enyce, Fubu, 555 Soul.
Stu, what makes you think you can tell the others what the fuck to do?
Stu:
Because I'm the boss.
Chad: He's the boss.
Stu: What makes you think I tell the others what the fuck to do? I have
always tried to treat the little guy the same as the big guy. But the
"team guy" has always been my guy.
Chad: Amen.
Why should we listen to you on Sunday the 22nd?
Stu: Because we want to play for you. We put a great deal of ourselves into the music we make. Whether or not our intentions translate into an enjoyable experience for the listener, that's a different story. It is out of our hands. Is this reason enough to listen to the Patients? Maybe I'm being a bit ambiguous with my answer here. OK. We've got dry ice! Come out for the dry ice. Oh, and the free drinks. If all you people are getting free drinks, c'mon, the least you can do is listen to a song or two. Right? Boy, I'm gonna get in shit for this one.
What should we listen for, anything special, specific?
John: The backwards Satanic messages and the Anne Murray influence.
How is your unemployment going to improve The Patients?
Stu:
You would think, with all the free time I've recently had, I'd be writing
a whole lot. No such luck. I've been a fucking lazy sod. It's unbelievable.
Moping around the house, eating too much Indian food. I probably could
have come up with half a dozen songs by now. When you're busy with work,
etc., you value your personal time and have more focus.
John: Well, you did get a lot fatter, and that's funny.
-- interview by Sherpa Dee
EUDORA
WAVELENGTH 132
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 10PM
Purveyors of: We're nice guys, really, we are
Left to right: Craig Dunsmuir, Jeremy Finkelstein, Mike Gennaro, Ray Pearen
wristerror@yahoo.com
Wavelength's own Buddy of the Pines, known for his hard-hitting questions, was sent to interview Eudora, known for their thorough approach to music. Kindred smartass Jeremy Finkelstein, known for his hard-hitting drumming and loose-cannon anti-DJing, tells it like it ain't.
You want everybody to sing along.
Fuck yeah. There's nothing better than your ex-girlfriend coming to a show and feeling the pain she put you through by singing along to lyrics she basically wrote.
The riffs have a classic power-pop feel with confident melodies.
So what if we ripped off Free's "All Right Now." Fuckin' P Diddy ripped off Sting and I don't see no complaining. Nothing wrong with a little sampling to get girls to think you are cultured in Ô70s rock, dude.
This band is a good time.
Band consists of: Michael "Corleone" Gennaro, the Italian who won't stop quoting Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and Ray "Ray-P" Pearen, the man who loves to put on Sade in the "darkness," on vocals, guitars, and keys; Craig "Grindin'" Dunsmuir, he of the phat basslines and poor stage manner, on bass; and Jeremy "Finkelstein" Finkelstein, still crying about his rejection from Wavelength, on the drums.
A lot of attractive women like Eudora.
Mike has a whole bunch of hot ex-girlfriends; I'd like to shout out to all of them for the orgy. Ray has the hottest female friends; they won't even talk to me. Craig also has the hottest female friends -- sorry Kendall, I went too far. I have some girls I pay.
You're not rich yet.
I personally owe Mike a fin, so don't give me no cheap-Jew shit. I spend like the rest of you.
People are still having sex.
I was a virgin Ôtil I was 20, and now that I lost it, I want it back with the money I spent on the girl to lose it.
Mike Gennaro is well-dressed and a great dancer.
Dresser, yes. Dancer... Fuck yeah!
Eudora: "striving for perfection."
Mike Gennaro is a perfectionist. Ray is one too. Craig and I can give a fuckin' damn. We just come to rehearsals for funk jams, pre/post-Eudora songs.
OFF
THE INTERNATIONAL RADAR
WAVELENGTH 133
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 11:45PM
Purveyor of: The compelling drone
o_i_r@hotmail.com
Off The International Radar have been together two years, having performed half a dozen shows since Hallowe'en 2001. The Blue Co-pilot honed in on their signal and returned with this email exchange...
How does the OTIR creative process work? (i.e. experimentation/improvisation/jamming vs. concrete structure.)
Our process generally incorporates all of these approaches. Songs are conceived through a series of jams where we record the entire session. We then review the recordings and choose moments/parts we like. From there, the song is structured and worked on until the idea is fully realized. It's a process of discovery through experimentation and we consider it a very organic way to write music.
Your songs carry a certain weight to them, a starkness that reminds me of Factory bands like Section 25. How do you successfully combine the cold with the warmth?
We never try to tailor our songs to one specific sound or mood. Rather, each song is allowed to take on a character of its own and materializes from its own potential. So, the feeling of a song relies largely on how each of us feels when it's conceived; sometimes warm and sometimes cold. Those differences translate through the instruments effectively because we use a combination of digital and analog instruments, tone generators and filters. Each produces very unique characteristics of both warm and cold tones.
A collage, if you will -- Can, The Soft Machine, Kraftwerk, Eno, Seefeel; Germany, England; "Ô70s", "Ô90s"......does this make any sense? Where/circa when do your excursions originate from?
A collage would be a good way to describe it, however, there's never a time when we make a conscious effort to sound like another band. The influences come through more as inspiration, not imitation. We listen to an obscene amount of music and naturally, it comes through us in various ways (we do listen to the bands you cited above). We also incorporate other methods of artistic thought, such as art and architectural theory, film, as well as social and political theory. These are all part of what we derive inspiration from.
Is this music for certain seasons or elements or is it just about "cycles"?
The seasons probably do affect our music in the same way they affect people's moods. Different seasons do affect mood and this would certainly come through in our music when we write it. We want to keep things subjective and allow the listener to have an experience that is personal and independent from others' experiences.
You seem to have a nice lock on combining beats/breaks with "ambient" soundscapes. Are you guys writing music for films? What did you think of the last Aphex Twin record?
We haven't had the chance to hear the new Aphex Twin record, although we are familiar with his other work. Writing music for films is something we would be interested in -- we are currently working to integrate film projection into our live performance.
(How) do you integrate sampling into your live performances? What sorts of interesting instruments/gadgets/etc. can I expect to see onstage?
Very little sampling is used in the music itself, but it has become beneficial to us between songs. Each song requires us to take time to reset our pedals and so we've created a bunch of short recordings to play while this is going on; it keeps things engaging and interesting. Our set-up is actually pretty simple... the main instruments are as follows: treated keyboards, treated rhythm machine, treated guitar, organ and drums.
AUDIOSLEEP
WAVELENGTH 133
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 10:45PM
Purveyor of: Swirling space noises with lingering guitar lines
www.audiosleep.net
Audiosleep could not be reached for interview purposes. Instead, satisfy your curiosity by reading a review of their 3-song CD EP here.
SHY
CHILD
WAVELENGTH 133
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 9:45PM
Purveyor of: Tuneful electric meandering with percussive augmentation
www.shychild.com
Paddy O'Donnell caught up with Nate Smith, self-professed Shy Child (or, at least, member of said band.) Pete didn't make the deadline, but Nate had the following to say to the questions Paddy threw his wayÉ
You are an NYC duo that has become the first American signing to Canadian label Grenadine Records. How did this come to be?
Last year we made around 100 copies of our album as a demo to send around to labels. They also ended up being sold in Kim's, a local record store here in New York, and Eric from Grenadine heard it in the store when he was visiting last fall and bought the CD. He noticed we weren't on a label, so when he got back to Montreal he emailed us, and everything went from there.
As a duo, I'd imagine your music is limited by your membership and instrumentation. You have a live drummer, and a vocalist/keyboardist. Your music is primarily electronic and seems at times to be playful and light, while at other times it's noisy and aggressive. How do you sound "full" with only two players? How do you translate this to a live setting? (Thanks for the question, V-Tree!)
Pete's synth is electronic, but at the same time my drumming is pretty organic, so I think the two complement each other in way that works. And Pete is often playing a bassline and a melody line at the same time, which makes the music more full. Live, we've often added some elements like drum triggers and a laptop, but recently our live show has become more stripped down, more rock.
You will be playing the Montreal Pop Festival with The Russian Futurists on Sept 27. I thought of The Russian Futurists when I heard your music. Do you feel Shy Child fits into a genre or scene?
I haven't heard The Russian Futurists yet so I'm excited to play with them, other people have mentioned them to us before. As far as being part of a scene, I think we are able to play with a lot of different types of bands, from rock to electronic music, which I think is a good thing. Sometimes we become associated with a scene because of the bands we play with, but I always feel like we're on the fringes of most of those scenes.
What inspires you? What are you listening to? What are your influences, and how much do those influences play into the type of music you create yourselves?
Pete and I listen to all kinds of music between us and have different tastes sometimes. There's a lot of common influences in our music, though, from Kraftwerk and Krautrock to more experimental stuff, but I think our songs are just about the way Pete and I play together and have fun.
The song "TV Tunnel" was used in the short film Wha? Huh? Is your music meant to be multi-media-friendly? Do you intend to collaborate with artists in different fields?
Wha? Huh? was a short comedy that some comedian friends of mine made, and I thought it was pretty cool that they thought our song worked in their film. I don't think we have any concrete intentions to collaborate in any multimedia projects but we are pretty open-minded. Right now we're pretty focused on the music I guess.
The two of you who make up Shy Child have been involved in a number of other musical projects. Tell us about the other projects, and explain how this informs your approach to making music when you come together as Shy Child.
Pete is in El Guapo, a trio from D.C., and also ABCs, an accordion, saxophone and drums trio. I play drums in a bass-drums duo called Touchdown, and we both play on and off with our friends Seth Misterka and Brian Glick, who are both composers and saxophonists. We've both played in all kinds of bands and projects for years, and I think playing with different people has helped me expand my vocabulary musically. Pete and I have played together in other bands since college and so we have a good musical rapport.
You're currently in the process of recording your second album. How is it going? What is it going to be like? What plans do you have for it?
We've recorded all the music and hope to have it mixed down in the next month or so. This time we are going for a more live approach to the sound, which I think reflects our show pretty well. It will probably come out early next year. We're also tossing around some ideas for a vinyl release but plans are still in the early stages.
What is it like for you to be making music in NYC these days?
It's double-edged. On one hand, you have a lot of opportunities here to meet people, especially musicians, and to hear and see a lot of good music. But it's an expensive city and hard to get by as a musician, so most musicians like myself have real jobs too. Still, I love New York and still think it's an exciting place to be.
DJ Heavy Early a.k.a. "Linus"
Sept. 1
DJ Hi-Karate
Flyin' in bone-breakin' beats from Bavaria and beyondÉ
MC Konx
Gangster Computer God Worldwide Secret Containment policy made possible
solely by Worldwide Computer God Frankenstein Controls -- especially lifelong
constant threshold brainwash radio.
Sept. 8
DJ Valerie Lisa Uher
& Derek Lars Westerholm
Hits.
MC TBA
Better known than MC Private Party or MC Closed.
Sept. 15
DJ Dancing With Awolf
polka is dance indie rawk is dance disco is dance hardcore is dance new
wave is dance the free dance solution has begun. so dance if you cannot
dance... ...'cuz you know you want to. *special prizes for the dandiest
dancing*
MC Cold As Ice
"She's Cold As Ice"
Sept. 22
DJ Heavy Early
Dub/blues/soul/hip-hop/rock'n'roll of all sorts.
MC Backthefuckup Marching
Band
Senor Sayonara Presents a Sensational Seismic Sensation.... An abundance
of luxury and pleasure, With smells of orange and rosemary. The
Backthefuckup Marching Band! Whoah! (Etc.) (Vocal screams to end... again...)
Sept. 29
DJ Theory (the fad)
"Mediocre deconstruction since 1962"
Symbol = ThF Letter = H Number = 2
We shall depart from here.
MC Doc Pickles
The triumphant return of Doc Pickles!!!!!!!!