As the leaves begin to change into those Autumnal hues, it starts to sink in that the Summer festival season has come to a close. Thankfully, there’s still Fall festival season! First in line is the accurately named Fall Down at Camp Farnam in Durham, Connecticut, October 4-6.
Fall Down festival is described as New England’s premiere, theme-oriented music experience. The Fall Down encapsulates all the beauty of the East Coast. The festival began as just a simple gathering that included a fire, camping and some jams among friends. A year later the Fall Down became a festival that encapsulates the spirit of October (yes, that means a lot of pumpkins.) This festival does not strive to be the biggest, just simply the best. With art installations and a stellar lineup, the festival is not to be missed. Two things are a must for attendees of Fall Down; a costume, and a carved Jack-O-Lantern. The Jack-O-Lanterns illuminate the camp grounds, and the costumes embody the spirit of October, and of course, Halloween. There is simply no better way to welcome the Fall than with great music, art, costumes and A LOT of jack-o lanterns.
So far this years lineup will include Dopapod, Marco Benevento, Alan Evans Trio, Superhuman Happiness, Turkuaz, Soule Monde, Voodelic, Vorzca, Shakedown, Straddledaddy, Skyfoot, Gatsby’s Green Light, Steam Boars, Brummy Brothers and Birdseed Bandits.
After a long anticipated wait, the daily lineup for City Bisco has been released, as well as a kick off date in Baltimore, MD. The long weekend will start at the Baltimore Soundstage on September 26th and end in the Disco Biscuits home town of Philadelphia, PA. Disco Biscuits fans from all over the country will convene at the Mann Center in Fairmount Park for two nights of astounding musical guests on September 27th and 28th.
After the great success of last year’s City Bisco, and the tremendous success of Upstate New York’s own Camp Bisco, it seems the buzz surrounding this festival is greater than ever. Over the past 18 years the Disco Biscuits have created a vast following that spans from coast to coast. The boys have played Mayan Holidaze on the Riviera Maya, hosted Bisco Inferno at Red Rocks, and brought world renowned artists to the quaint town of Mariaville that hosts Camp Bisco. City Bisco has become an urban installment of their beloved Camp Bisco which has grown with great intensity to accommodate 25,000 patrons annually. Since the early 90’s The Disco Biscuits have created their own genre of “Jamtronica,” as well as forged the path for the exponentially growing music scene that is home to many electronic acts from all parts of the world. City Bisco will bring together a diverse group of artists for an epic weekend of music in Philadelphia that should not be missed.
The lineup will include two nights of The Disco Biscuits, Method Man and Redman, Big Boi, Treasure Fingers, Kill Paris, Twiddle, Risky Disco, Horizon Wireless, Suspence, a Simon Posford Shpongle DJ set, Emancipator, Gigamesh, Killowatts, Less Foss, Pimps of Joytime, Space Jesus, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and the Cosmic Dust Bunnies. This is sure to be a weekend to remember, so grab your City Bisco tickets now.
Driving through the winding back roads of Upstate New York, it was apparent that it would be a beautiful weekend for a festival. This would be Bella Terra’s fifth year, and fourth year at it’s current location on Gardner’s Farm in Stephentown, New York. The venue is home to people, plants and animals, and the name Bella Terra (beautiful earth) could not possibly embody a more perfect location for an upstate New York festival, and it definitely adds to the charm and allure of this late summer gathering.
The music was spot on all weekend. The moment your campsite was set up you were drawn to the Red Bull MXT stage residing on the edge of the woods. One of the best sets of the weekend was the back to back performance of Mentally Ill and Leila Harrison. The moment they took the stage, drum and bass reverberated throughout the campgrounds, drawing people out of their sites to dance in the cool August evening. Throughout the weekend the Red Bull truck stage pumped out a variety of different music spanning from early morning dub to late night dubstep. It was an excellent addition and created a balance between the campgrounds and the main concert area.
This year there were two main stages, much like most other quickly-growing festivals. It certainly makes it easier for the crew and it also eliminates the wait time in between sets. All of the headliners that played the festival absolutely blew the crowd away. The highlights of the weekend were definitely The Manhattan Project, Ghost Face Killah, and Robokop. The crowd did not seem to mind Ghostface Killah’s hour delay when he took stage and delivered an insanely high energy set. Ghostface Killah spoke in regards to the festival’s overall vibe saying, “It’s insane to be on stage and see the people singing your songs, knowing you, loving you, and you really can’t ask for anything else. I used to read about some of these places in text books and now I’m performing in front of them. It’s really a blessing.” That energy and that vibe permeated throughout the festival as each artist that took stage was met with so much love and admiration from the crowd. The overwhelming amount of appreciation and respect for music and art is very evident at Bella Terra. Robokop was especially an interesting act to bring to the Bella Terra stage; Clay Parnell of Brother’s Past and Allen Aucoin of The Disco Biscuits come together in an explosive collaboration creating something in the electronic music world that has not been seen before. Emancipator was another amazing and different act that stood out among the other talent. The smooth, ambient samples layered with live violin and down tempo beats made the crowd move in rhythmic waves within the hot tent packed with people.
Datsik took the stage drawing a huge crowd, in part because there were no other artists playing during his time slot, but also due to his huge following in the Upstate region. Although it was a great performance, another act was definitely needed because variety is the key to success at a festival. On the other hand, it is apparent why they chose to exclude any other acts during Datsik with the huge turnout for main stage during his performance. His set introduced hard womping beats that pulsated through the crowd and made the main stage area come alive. Turkuaz delivered a mind-blowing funk-filled set at the late night tent that had everyone moving in throngs from their sites to witness this erratic display of sonic-explosions. The stage was packed with a wide array of instruments Turkuaz brings to their signature sounds. The most interesting site within the tent was a festival goer who had casually fallen asleep atop a table ten feet from the stage using a volley ball as his head support. Interesting things can always be seen in late night tents at a festival, but this was surely a first. How one could take a cat nap during such a loud, energetic and funktastic set is a feat unto itself.
Cinder Block Hustle, true to fashion, had a large area near main stage filled with art installations. Scattered about were giant wooden cutouts of legendary figures that needless to say would tempt you to take some embarrassing pictures with that you would most likely find on your cellphone weeks later. Fantastic and vibrant displays of art were at every turn, adding even more beauty to the layout of the land. The installations also offered some shade and a place to rest during the hot afternoons. The festival also stayed true to nature with it’s eight foot Bella Terra Festival art installation created by some of the best graffiti artists in the game. Each year the amount of intricate detail only grows in this mind blowing centerpiece of the festival. Another spectacular aspect of the festival is the degree of effort put into making sure all of the children and families throughout the weekend are occupied. At one point a full troupe of larger than life puppets came strolling through the campsites riding on the tiny shoulders of the festival inhabiting children. It was certainly quite the sight to see.
Throughout the festival you could catch live painting and live graffiti from some of the best artists in the game. Bella Terra does a phenomenal job fusing the two worlds of music and art and bringing them together to be appreciated and respected in a community that promotes a wide array of talents. It was not strange at all to wake up in the morning and pass a group of jugglers, or unicyclists or even puppeteer- and that is the beautiful essence of Bella Terra. Taking a casual and slow stroll through the festival was a giant tortoise who visited camp sites and brought vast amounts of entertainment to the weekend. Only at Bella Terra would it be common place to see a tortoise wander through the camp grounds. If that was not enough diversity for you, there was also a field of grazing cattle all but a stones throw from the camp’s showers. These are the kinds of things you can only see at a festival in Upstate New York. Overall, Bella Terra was another great success and it is evident that with the growth and popularity this festival has already achieved this festival has become a staple for the East Coast Festival and music scene.
The Aura Music Festival has just released their biggest line-up yet for the fifth annual festival at the Spirit of Suwanee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida. The festival will be taking place February 14-16. The eclectic lineup will include two nights of Lotus, two nights of Papadosio, Conspirator, Zoogma, two sets of the Werks, Mike Dillon Band, two sets of Kung Fu, two sets of Dopapod, The Heavy Pets, Superhuman Happiness, Brock Butler, Jimkata, and many more. There are a limited number of tickets now available for $125 and can be purchased online.
Since its humble beginnings in Brooksville, FL, AURA has become one of the premiere multi-day boutique music events in the Southeast US, attracting fans from around the country. Now comfortably at home at the famed SOSMP, AURA comes to life in the midst of 800 acres of Spanish moss-draped oak and cypress trees along the Suwannee River and utilizes one of the most beautiful natural amphitheaters in the country only made more awe-inspiring by AURA’s attention to sound and lighting production. True to nature, AURA 5 will feature live painters, an interactive arts village, craft and food vendors, yoga & meditation, and inspiring transformational workshops. Stay tuned for additional details and artist announcements.
Thunder rolled in from the distance as The Big Up campers funneled into the venue, hurrying to set their tents up. As EZ-Ups and tents began popping up throughout the field, rain fell and dissipated in the August humidity. The levels of excitement were high for the return of The Big Up Festival, this time at a new location at Hemlock Hollow Farm in Claverack, New York.
The main camping lot was just on the other side of a small wooded area separating main stage from the campgrounds, but still close enough to hear each main act from the comfort of your site. lespecial took the main stage playing a high energy set, setting the tone for the rest of the weekend. Steering away from the normal and expected, lespecial adds a necessary and interesting variety to each festival and show they play. Directly following lespecial was Laser Sex at the Space Ball City tent directly adjacent to main stage. Laser Sex used a mix of funky-deep bass lines with a heavy use of samples, creating a perfect storm for an epic dance party. Light projections by Drew Suto of Dutch Masterson Designs spanned the walls and ceiling of the giant tent only further exemplifying each set.
Dopapod took main stage directly after Laser Sex which had the crowds wandering back and forth without much time to rest in between phenomenal sets. Dopapod only further proved why such a huge hype around them exists. Each time Dopapod picks up their instruments, it seems their talent as individuals and as a group grows exponentially. It is no surprise that their popularity only continues to grow in such rapid success. Dopapod played for an hour and a half before Gigamesh began his electrifying and energetic set in the Space Ball tent. If you had caught Gigamesh at his set at Camp Bisco, you knew that this was not a set that you could relax and hang out during. True to form he busted out amazing dance remixes of a variety of different songs. The highlight of the set was a rendition of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” which turned the tent into a giant, hot rave. When asked to describe the festival experience in a few sentences, Gigamesh spoke of the overall vibe saying,“The whole festival has created a very welcoming atmosphere. The people aren’t pretentious or uptight and that sets a great tone for a festival.”
Ian Stewart played short sets before and after Higher Organix’ first set of the weekend. The crowd seemed to be pleased to see Higher Organix once again take the stage together at The Big Up Festival. True to form, they packed a lot of energy into their allotted time and kept the crowd moving. Jules Jenssen really exhibited his diversity and talent by picking up his sticks and hopping on stage with his boys while also helping run the festival and his various other side projects throughout the weekend. One would think it was not physically possible. The rain had tapered off shortly after we had arrived and it wasn’t until Higher Organix ended their set that it began to downpour turning much of the festival grounds into a mud fest. No one seemed to mind the onset of heavy rain as they made their way into the wood stage for Mun’s amazing set. The paths leading into the woods quickly became a treacherous journey as the walkways turned to mud. At one point there was a large rope scaling the incline leading to the stage that individuals used to pull themselves up the hill without falling.
Festival goers are no stranger to the rain and mud that go along with camping alongside live music, so it would take a lot more than that to dampen the spirits of the Big Up patrons. The hill stage was worth the walk with mind blowing deco and surroundings. It was apparent that a large amount of effort went into turning the woods into an other worldly place. Neon decorations stretched from tree to tree lit up with projections and changing lights surrounded by a beautiful and serene babbling brook home to a large trout population. The woods stage was definitely a site to see. The night was capped off at the Space Ball tent with Party Supplies who laid down an awesome set that was reminiscent of bands like Two Door Cinema Club and Empire of The Sun. Thursday night’s lineup was perfect to ease into a long weekend of great music.
By Friday it seemed that the population had nearly doubled as more and more people funneled through the main gates. The rain had picked up significantly overnight, making the grounds a muddy mess and some of the earlier sets difficult to catch. The forecast showed a 100% chance of rain until 10 pm, so it was a pleasant surprise when it began tapering off in the early afternoon. Luckily, camping was so close to main stage that all of the main acts were audible while campers took shelter under their EZ-Ups and campsites. Once the rain stopped people began emerging throughout the grounds and filing back into the concert field for Color Channel. This was a perfect opener to release all of that pent up energy from sitting around the camp sites all morning. The sound was reminiscent of LCD Soundsystem with a psychedelic-pop undertone that was the perfect upbeat mix for a post-rain dance party.
Timbre Coup switched schedule times with their good friends Kung Fu after car troubles prevented Kung Fu from making it on time. People began emerging from their different campsites to dance to Timbre Coup’s funky afternoon set. Kung Fu promptly took the stage, and no matter how many times you see Kung Fu, it is always a different experience. Chris Deangelis, bassist for Kung Fu, described the connection between the name and the experience: “It’s all been pretty organic. We like to kick ’em in the face, and then nurse them back to health.” It is easily agreeable that anyone who has seen Kung Fu live can agree with this statement, as there is rarely a dull moment for the band or the crowd while these guys are on stage. After Kung Fu, Escort took main stage. The entire set was mostly focused around a 1970’s disco vibe, with the lead vocals from Adeline Michele creating a mind blowing stage presence with her powerful voice. The talent of each member in this band is incomparable when fused together to make a disco-funk explosion. When Michele picked up the bass, you were immediately aware that each member in the band had an outrageous amount of talent outside of their one specific niche.
The Indobox raised the heat in the Space Ball city tent; by the end of the set the inside of the tent had increased at least 10 degrees. The Indobox always packs a huge punch and brings something outside of what most festival goers are used to seeing. Jules Jenssen once again stole the show on the drums, but that is certainly not to say that the rest of the band did not throw down as well. The entire set had a very indie-electro vibe which was only solidified by their amazing cover of Mike Snow’s “Animal.” Holy Fuck! of Toronto, Canada took main stage at midnight and brought a new and eclectic vibe to the festival. The rhythm between drum and bass progressively built taking the set in twists and turns panning between high tempo and ambient beats. Each song played with different tempos and builds to create an experience that is unlike most electronic bands that exist. Overall the set was phenomenal and a great beginning to the late night music. Gaudi was another artist that brought a completely different sound to The Big Up Festival. The set played between world music and break beats shifting from harder, faster tempos into slower paced dub and reggae. Jeff Bujak played in between sets bringing his high energy, dance party vibe to the late night tent, in a way only Buj could.
Saturday was a beautiful day in comparison to the rainy days that had led up to the last day at the Big Up Festival. Consider the Source took main stage mid-afternoon in a very CTS fashion, holding absolutely nothing back and unleashing a fire set that had the crowd yelling for more as they left the stage. Halfway through the set they pulled out an insane cover of “Run Like Hell,” which is definitely over done, but somehow these boys managed to put their own twist on it and turn it into a loud, chaotic and beautiful rendition of a classic song. The Heavy Pets pulled out a great version of “So Thank You Music” while Higher Organix second set of the weekend was absolute fire. Throughout the set there were ribbon dancers cascading from the top of the main stage down to the floor. Jules Jenssen closed the set with an outrageous drum solo that made the entire crowd step back and evaluate what the hell was going on. This guy can play the drums, that’s an understatement for sure. Once he was done, he yelled into the microphone, “Sorry guys, I’m a little tired so cut me some slack.” If that’s tired, after three days of performing AND running a music festival, then wow.
Kung Fu came on main stage later with their Prince tribute. The Motet’s vocalist Jans Ingber stepped in to cover Prince’s vast vocal range and did not falter. The energy of Kung Fu is unfathomable, and when you mix that with Prince it is nothing short of spectacular. They played all the classics mixing in their own funky twist. They closed with the ever popular dance tune “1999”. Afterwards, it was no surprise that the Space Ball City tent was packed wall to wall for Normal Instruments. This powerhouse of musicians is always a crowd-pleaser and they certainly did not disappoint.
Beats Antique stole the show with Zoe Jakes pulling out all of the stops as she danced across the stage. Some of the highlights included a beautifully executed “Beauty Beats” and a high energy “Dope Crunk”. After their set, Zoe stated, “I feel like Upstate New York has an open community to anything. I feel a connection and openness and connection to the music and art that I give out to the crowd”
Walking into the tent stage to Eskmo’s performance would start as very confusing and end as absolutely blown away. Eskmo clearly has a very creative concept on how to make music, and it certainly works for him. Behind his table he did everything from pop soda cans, crumple bottles of water, smash two shovels together, and sing melodic sound bites into the microphone, all while looping them to a back beat to make a layered track. If you had just heard this song in passing you would never think it was created using a variety of household oddities.
Clearly The Big Up Festival did a great job of covering a wide variety of artists while giving the chance to smaller artists to share the stage with some of the biggest names in the game. It is no wonder this festival had such high anticipation and excitement surrounding the comeback after seeing the amount of talent that graced the stage of this small Upstate New York town. The Big Up Festival’s ‘upstronauts’ have already begun the countdown to the next epic year of amazing music and art.
It has been a while since we’ve seen Conspirator play the Upstate New York venues outside of a festival. After their January release of their highly anticipated new Album Unleashed, Conspirator has vastly expanded their fan base playing at many of the major festivals coast to coast. It is no surprise that there is a high level of excitement surrounding Conspirator’s fall tour, “Going Up.”
Conspirator Fall tour includes stops on Friday October 11th, The Westcott Theater in Syracuse, NY. Doors open at 8:00PM, show starts at 9:00PM, this is an all ages show. You can grab your tickets online at The Westcott Theater Online Ticketing.
Thursday October 17th, Putnam Den in Saratoga Springs, NY. Doors open at 8:00PM and show starts at 9:00PM, Ages: 18+ ($5 extra charge for under 21). Tickets are $15 in advance and $17 day of show. Purchase tickets online at www.putnamden.com.
Friday October 18th, Water Street Music Hall in Rochester, NY. Doors open at 8:00PM, show starts at 9:00PM, Ages:16+. Get your tickets online at Frontgate Tickets. Tickets are $15.00-$20.00.
Bella Terra means “Beautiful Earth” and the location and site of the festival certainly capture just that. The festival takes places in Stephentown, NY at Gardner’s Farm at the base of the Berkshire Mountains. The site is beautiful, the artists are amazing and the festival is ever growing. The Albany Drum and Bass Coalition, Leila Harrison and Jon Santolla (or Bad Manners/DJ Leila and Mentally Ill) did their part in creating hype around the up and coming festival with their Bass Fix, “Road To Bella Terra” edition.
The show this summer evening took place at Red Square, promising a great night of live music and awesome chances to win various Bella Terra merchandise and tickets. The night traded off with sets of Jeff Bujak, DJ Leila, Mentally Ill and the collaborative efforts of “Bad Manners.” As always, Jeff Bujak’s light installation wow’ed the crowd throughout his sets while he pounded on his keys sending the crowd into fits of dancing, hooping and personal glow-stick light shows. Bujak pulled out various samples from The Beastie Boys to 50 Cent turning The Red Square into a giant dance party. Jeff Bujak has always been a great set to catch at a festival. His energy alone is sure to lively up your Bella Terra weekend so make sure you make it to his set.
DJ Leila and Mentally Ill traded off on their sets playing some solo tunes and some collaborations which they refer to as “Bad Manners.” Each song ranges from down-tempo, trancier sounds to very high tempo drum and bass that could walk the line of sounding metal. Both DJs are well known in the area for their hard, fast and dirty beats, as well as bringing underground Drum and Bass to a music scene in which it had previously gone unnoticed. They clearly both bring very influential and necessary aspects to the Albany music scene and “Bass Fix” has become a year long, monthly staple at Red Square. All three acts certainly set the tone for the quickly approaching festival. Make sure you catch all three artists sets at Bella Terra Festial, August 15-18. Buy Tickets
The Big Up Festival is right around the corner and it’s time to start mapping out your festival game-plan so you don’t miss all of the awesome acts The Big Up has in store. I had the opportunity to ask one of The Big Up’s recent additions to the already stellar lineup Eskmo, or Brendan Angelides. If you had the opportunity to catch Eskmo at Camp Bisco, you know you are in for a serious treat at his late night set at the Space Ball City Tent.
Jennifer Wilson: Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got started in the music industry?
Brendan Angelides: I’m from the east coast of the US originally. I started playing music with bands in high school and then slowly started working on solo projects with cheap electronic gear. Flash forward a number of years and with a series of singles on vinyl, I ended up signing with Ninja Tune to release the latest batch of music.
JW: Can you tell us a story about a day in your life?
BA: Nothing too fancy really. I do my morning ritual, take care of simple tasks and work on music. I always mix in hiking, meditating and (just as of recent) practicing Kenpo.
JW: How would you describe your music to someone who had never heard it before?
BA: I’m not sure really, but I could say melodic Earth and Water music.
JW: Your musical technique seems to cross many different genres and styles. What goes into your process of creating a new song or album?
BA: Honest reflection of what is going on in my life and growth process. It can come from a variety of places, but as long as it’s authentic it is always the best route to take. Sometimes lyrics, sometimes melodies, sometimes it can be a cool recording I got at a train station.
JW: You released a collaborative project with Amon Tobin, what was it like working with such an influential composer and producer?
BA: Humbling and encouraging. I value his integrity and person a large amount. He is one of the best out there.
JW: What do you want The Big Up goers to expect from your performance and how will it differ from what they may have seen at CampBisco?
BA: Each set has a ton of improvised elements, live singing and happy accidents. I’m sure it will be its own experience. If anyone wants to bring me sound effects, go for it.
JW: What advice would you give to other artists at The Big Up festival who have less experience playing live than you?
BA: Be patient, stay focused and authentic; and breathe
The team at Catskill Chill Music Festival has announced a collaboration that all of the ChillFam is sure to love. An official “Dopadosio” set featuring all members of Papadosio and Dopapodtogether on one stage to close out the fourth annual event. As much fun as it has been for us fans to combine the two names “Papadosio” and “Dopapod,” finally we have a name that will stick. You surely will not want to miss this amazing festival closing set at Camp Minglewood in Hancock, New York.
After the success of last year’s intimate Acoustic Junction and the response to Consider the Source’s first-time endeavor at the musical style, the festival organizers have doubled the offerings. This year’s roster features Consider The Source along with a mix of artists that regularly perform acoustic such as Brock Butler, The Brummy Brothers and Dan Collins, along with acts performing stripped down sets for the first time. These performances by Tom Hamilton & Friends, Primate Fiasco and MUN are definitely not to be missed.
Yoga lovers will also be happy to hear that the Catskill Chill has expanded their program adding additional classes, some of which will be accompanied by live music from Cosmal so you can get down while getting downward dog. Also, new to the ever expanding Vendor Village for 2013 is a local Farmer’s Market serving fresh, seasonal produce and other delicious specialties.
With The Big Up Festival just days away, I had the great opportunity of compiling a list of questions for Maff Scott of The Egg to answer before they take stage in Claverack, New York on Saturday August 10th. The Egg is an extremely influential and talented British electronic band formed in the early 1990’s and they have toured all over Europe as well as Australia and Brazil. It is truly a pleasure for Upstate New York to be able to experience such amazing music at a festival so close to home.
Jenni Wilson: Can you tell us a little about each individual in the band and how you all met and got started in the music industry?
Maff Scott: Well there’s myself (Maff) and Ned. Ned started getting better at the piano and I picked up the drums. We started jamming at home, using saucepan lids and a pedal that we made by attaching a rubber band to a marching band big drum (it only worked once and then fell apart.) We’ve played with a few others over the years. We used Ben Cullum’s (a great house producer and song writer) bass lines to play electronically. We also wrote and toured a bit with Matt White who we met through Pete Doherty (whom we wrote the song “For Lovers” with). Drew is playing guitar with us mostly; he’s done quite a few tours now and co-written stuff (something to do) and he’s great. Most musicians we generally meet through mutual friends. We also tend to meet a lot of people through the West London scene. We met Sophie Barker (Zero7) whom we’ve done lots of UK gigs, and even a recent gig with Mick Jones (The Clash) and Greg Hunter (Killing Joke, The Orb). We’ve done lots of recent production for a new release with him, and used his parts for a tune “Psyfunk” in the set. He’s on tour elsewhere but we will try to connect if we can. We also met a great trumpet player, Richard Wendel, while playing in Costa Rica. We jammed with him… and it was brilliant. He runs a great jazz club (The Bitter End) in NYC so we’ll be having him do some crazy trumpet at the Webster Hall show.
JW: Can you tell us a story about a day in the band’s life?
MS: Erm, well there was the time we were driving to Cleveland, famous for Spinal Tap’s scene where they get lost on the way to the stage (“Hello Cleveland”) – We’d overloaded the van’s alternator with all of our UK converters, laptops and phone chargers. The final straw was putting ‘Spinal Tap’ on the DVD player. We drew too much power and snapped the dynamo off which busted the van. We were stuck in a ‘Bennys’ for the night and missed the show. Ironic that it was Cleveland and Spinal Tap. How we laughed.
JW: What goes into your process of creating a new song or album?
MS: Years of hell and stress! Sitting up late playing with electronic bits and bobs. Sometimes it’s a loop or a chord structure Ned has created which we can jam on and take the parts into rehearsal and make an arrangement. Of course, it changed when we play it live for a while. We’ve been known to stay up for days on one tune. Sometimes in hotel rooms or soundchecks or instead of actually rehearsing for a gig: we are VERY undisciplined.
JW: What are the biggest obstacles for a band and what is the hardest part about working in the music industry?
MS: Errr.. getting paid! It’s hard to get people to buy stuff when so much is given away. But we’re happy to give away live recordings. The hardest part is keeping the excitement levels up. Web stuff is hard because everyone is competing for your fans attention using the same tool.
JW:What are some of your pet peeves when performing?
MS: Time! We always run out of time and don’t get to play the entire set, and the best tunes are at the end. We’re also really warmed up by then and so is the crowd. Maybe we’re too ambitious with set lists thinking we can do it. The best gigs we’ve done are the ones that have no time limit. The tunes have the time to develop without stopping to squeeze the next one in.
JW: How do you feel about online music sharing and how has it changed for you as a band since your start?
MS: We don’t mind sharing a few live shows and all, but as for albums, well, it’s hard to get paid for sales if people are downloading them for free. Sure it gets your attention to a bigger reach, but if everyone does that then it doesn’t really make you stand out as ‘the band who gives stuff away’ – Even though everyone expects it nowadays. The emphasis is now on live shows I guess. We’ve definitely found people who’d never heard of us elsewhere so in measure it’s a great thing (as long as you hold something back).
JW: How was your experience playing a festival as huge as Glastonbury?
MS: We’ve done it a few times now. It’s like a city that never sleeps and you don’t know who you’ll reach. There are massively long walks everywhere and it is sort of split up into villages really… mad crazy villages where everyone is the village nutter. There have also been some crazy muddy years, but that makes a comic bonding effect with everyone. We can all look at each other and laugh. This year was fun.. like another world. You feel weird going back to reality sometimes.
JW: What do you want Big Up goers to expect for your performance musically/visually?
MS: We have video triggers and a synced up set of dance music and electronics with lots of different styles and live musicians. Basically Moog baselines, an influence of deep house, but mostly eclectic house vibe: guitars, vocoders, a bit of ambient bleeps, crunched up this and that… I think they’ll like it.
JW: What advice would you give to other artists at The Big Up festival who have less experience?
MS: Less experience is good! New bands have hunger and faith and blind optimism. That’s all you need! Generally, be good at what you do and don’t piss anyone off. Everyone’s ‘good’ in a way, depending on what music you like, so someone not liking you as people will have far more effect on your next booking than how good you are. Criticizing other bands doesn’t make your band better either. It’s a backfiring effect. I’m sure they’ll all know this. I don’t want to patronize but I personally don’t bother with covers. It’s easy to think your music is so different that no one will get it, but that’s the reason they’ll notice you. Being yourself is always original, because we’re all different. So be yourself! I’ve often forgotten that. Anyway we’re crap at other people’s music and we can only do our own.
Make sure you don’t miss these guys at the Space Ball City Tent on August 10th.
After the great success of last year’s City Bisco, and the tremendous success of Upstate New York’s own Camp Bisco, it seems the buzz surrounding this festival is greater than ever. Over the past 18 years the Disco Biscuits have created a vast following that spans from coast to coast. The boys have played Mayan Holidaze on the Riviera Maya, hosted Bisco Inferno at Red Rocks, and brought world renowned artists to the quaint town of Mariaville that hosts Camp Bisco. City Bisco has become an urban installment of their beloved Camp Bisco which has grown with great intensity to accommodate 25,000 patrons annually. Since the early 90’s The Disco Biscuits have created their own genre of “Jamtronica,” as well as forged the path for the exponentially growing music scene that is home to many electronic acts from all parts of the world. City Bisco will bring together a diverse group of artists for an epic weekend of music in Philadelphia that should not be missed.
