Tag: The Westcott Theater

The Wood Brothers got up close and personal with The Westcott Theater on February 23rd

The Westcott Theater offered music fans of all tastes an intimate musical experience last Saturday night, as The Wood Brothers took the stage. The band is comprised of brothers Chris (upright bass) and Oliver Wood (acoustic and electric guitar), accompanied by drummer Jano Rix.

The Westcott Theater had a seated floor area for this show, which I have never seen them use. The seated floor gave the room a much more intimate vibe, encouraging the audience to sit back and listen attentively to the music. The Wood Brothers began their set with a few acoustic tunes that featured Rix alternating between playing a unique percussive guitar instrument (referred to by Oliver Wood as the “shitar”) and a melodica. Right from the start, a few bold characteristics were evident. The power of both the vocal harmonies and the lyrical melodies was immense. Chris Wood’s bass was an essential part of the group’s sound and was brilliantly mixed for the space (I could feel it in my shoes, but could also pick out the distinct textures of the upright bass). Rix added his percussion/drums fittingly to the music, while also offering precise vocal harmonies.

The Wood Brothers went on to play a blend of new and old songs, including the older “Postcards From Hell” (Loaded, 2008) and the newer “Payday” (Live, Volume 1: Sky High, 2012). The Wood Brothers announced that they would also be trying out some new tunes and arrangements. One of these experiments involved Oliver telling the crowd to be silent while the band huddled around a condenser area microphone in the middle of the stage. They proceeded to play an acoustic version of “Shoofly Pie” as well as a new track. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience because the silence in the room enabled me to hear the intricacies of the acoustic instruments as well as the subtleties in the vocal melodies/harmonies.

By the end of the show, the younger crowd had filled in the small space in between the first row of seats and the stage, grooving out to the band’s exquisite blend of folk, blues and rock. The Wood Brothers really turned it up for their last few songs and encore, with Oliver shredding electric guitar and Chris slapping strings on songs that were more upbeat and rocking. Jano had gone back to play drum kit and exhibited his advanced musicianship during a percussion break during the encore. Overall, I was taken aback by the raw quality and authenticity of the music. The Wood Brothers pleased a few different types of music fans with their performance at The Westcott Theater. The folk fans got their distinct vocal harmonies, melodies and passionate lyrics, the blues fans got tight instrumentals and a soulful tone and the rockers got some grooving rock songs with raging guitar solos.

The Wood Brothers website and on Twitter, Facebook

February 28, 2013
An Interview with Aaron Carter, Making a Comeback at The Westcott on February 24

A surge of nostalgia washes over the gaggle of sorority sisters in the front row as Aaron Carter jumps out of a black bag (yes, that’s right) and takes center stage. Armed with red plastic cups in hand, everyone is ready to. well, come and get it. The lights dim and before you know it, he tears up the Westcott Theater stage, bouncing from corner to corner, staring into souls and dodging bras being flung at him. Obviously, we all know better than to expect the subtle from Aaron, who looks for any excuse to lift off his shirt to flaunt his newly ripped abs. The good news is his dance routine kept the indulgent, drunk crowd entertained enough to keep their attention off of the pitchy vocals and off-key runs. I mean, who’s to blame? I know my teenage hopes came right back knocking on the door within the first ten seconds into “That’s How I Beat Shaq”. And though nobody remembered, “Do You Remember?”, we ought to give the devil his due for getting the whole crowd on the floor to dance to “I Want Candy” as if it weren’t a day past 2000.

Before embarking on his tour, Aaron Carters gets straight on the phone with Morgan and Gauraa from after his rehearsal in New York City to discuss his new album and tour, The After Party. He might be dripping a sweat, but he claims there’s nothing else he’d rather be doing.

Aaron Carter: What’s up guys? Girls?

Mary Morgan Craig: It’s so nice to get the chance to talk with you.

Gauraa Shekhar: Yeah, finally!

MMC: We really appreciate it.

AC: Sorry if I’m a little quiet right now, I just got out of rehearsal so I’m like really tired right now…

MMC: No problem! So you’re currently working on a new studio album and you’re busy with an upcoming play on Broadway, “The Fantasticks”, and now you’re also going on tour. How do you manage everything?

AC: Oh well, I just go with the flow, I mean, I don’t really try to manage anything really, I just kind of do what I’ve got to do, you know? I love performing so much that, you know, anything I can get to perform I’m just, I’m going to do it. It’s not really something that’s like an inconvenience, you know, I mean, but… I mean logistically what it comes down to is I have a manager, you know that. It helps keep my life simple and, you know, takes care of all the business, so I can, you know, have fun and perform.

GS: Yeah, that’s the spirit. You’re working on a new album. How is that going for you? Could you tell us a little bit more about it?

AC: Oh yeah! I’m kind of taking it a little more, I mean, I’m taking it a lot more seriously this time around. Um, you know, I’ve been growing up so, it feels kind of hard for me to pick a sound that I really like, want to stick with, so um, I think there are quite a few songs that other people produced and wrote for my album. It’s going to be like a dance sound. The kind of music that all my fans grew up with, you know.

GS: Sounds exciting!

MMC: Yeah we’re excited!

MMC: Yeah totally. Do you think you’re going to put any EDM influences into it?

AC: Sorry?

MMC: Any EDM influences in the new album? Like electronic dance music?

AC: I mean, there will be a little bit, but I’ll do little hybrids with my dancers like hip hop, but like pop music.

GS: Yeah, sounds good! What inspired the title of your tour, “The After Party”?

AC: I was just sitting there one day, and it just came to me that the theme for the next album should be, “The After Party”. And I came up with it because, you know, “Aaron’s Party” was a huge success and uh, literally the beginning of my career, you know, was “Aaron’s Party”. I wanted to embrace that, you know, I love all the songs that I’ve got.

GS: So do we!

AC: Yeah, I’ve performed them and toured them and toured them all around the world and, you know, thousands of times I’ve performed the songs, and I was like, it would be cool to bring them back.

MMC: That’s really cool, I’m glad you’re embracing that! I thought it was really clever.

AC: Why thank you.

MMC: A lot of people are really excited to see you on tour again. What made you decide to tour this year?

AC: Well, uh, it’s just been so long and, I mean, I guess after doing Broadway and so many consistent shows over and over and over, I just felt like my endurance, my, you know, my performance had just gotten a lot better and so has my craft. So it was nice to get out there and I can’t even tell you guys how happy I am, you know, that I get to be able to go back out on tour and do what I love, you know? You know, it’s really cool.

MMC: That’s awesome. What was your Broadway experience like, playing Matt the Boy and all?

AC: Oh it’s been amazing! It’s been exhausting and exhilarating, ha. I don’t know I have all kinds of feelings about it. It’s hard work! It’s hard work. I mean, I did “Seussical the Musical” when I was 15 years old for 6 months and you know, it was tough! It was really tough. And I remembered it. And out of all the tours and things I did, you know, it was probably the hardest thing I ever did. You know, the experience, I mean, I learned more from the actors that I’ve worked with, you know, I’m a sponge and I kind of absorb what everybody does. It’s tough, but it’s been good. I like it, but it’s tough. I like feeling exhausted like I am now.

MMC: We want to know what the typical day in the life of Aaron Carter is.

AC: Well, there’s no typical day per se, I mean it varies. I mean, I wake up and reach out to my phone and get right on twitter to talk to my fans immediately.

MMC: That’s great!

AC: Yeah, that’s pretty much what I do. I go get ready to perform and I go chat up with my dancers and those people who are opening up for me. It’s kind of like a party. We just have a lot of fun!

GS: Well, speaking of dancers, we saw that you tweeted yesterday: “By the way, if you recognize some of my dancers from ABDC (America’s Best Dance Crew), that’s because they were on the show”. Are these back-up dancers touring with you?

AC: Yes! They were in The Funkadelics. They’re actually brothers, Nico Rich and Trey Rich. They bring a lot to the table and they challenge each other. They’re really amazing.

MMC: What is the weirdest fan experience you’ve ever had?

AC: Oooooh! Well, I’ve had a fan climb up, like, thirty balconies once. I was actually started throwing paper airplanes with my autograph on them to the crowd of three thousand girls in the parking lot. And then this one girl was just out of her mind, I guess she really wanted an autograph so she really climbed thirty flight of stairs. In the end, she finally made it and ran up to me and started squealing, “Oh my god, It’s Aaron Carter!”.

MMC: Wow! Well, you were definitely my first crush so I can totally relate. I’m sure you get that all the time, though. I was totally one of those girls! Ha, not chasing-you-crazy, though, so don’t get creeped out!

AC: Well, I like hearing that!

GS: Okay, well, a lot of people still look at you as if you’re still that kid who kissed Lizzie McGuire under the mistletoe. What has it been like trying to grow out of that image?

AC: Well, a few million people probably know me from that, but I don’t know, I’m proud of everything I’ve done. People still come up to me today and recognize me from all the different things that I have done. It does kind of annoy me to hear that though because she’s my ex-girlfriend, you know; she was kind of my first love so it pulls on my heartstrings a little bit but that’s about it.

MMC: We interviewed your opening act, singer-songwriter Justin Levinson. What do you think of his music?

AC: I actually haven’t had a chance to check him out as yet. But I’m going to, so good call.

GS: Well, he’s great. So, what was the last record you bought?

AC: Um, I don’t know. I haven’t actually bought a record in a year to be honest! I think it’s probably Aaron’s Party!

MMC: It seems like you’ve been on the receiving end of a lot of scrutiny from the media since such a young age. Obviously, you’ve handled it so well. We were just wondering what was it like growing up under the public eye?

AC: I kind of just, like, bottle my life. I try not to immerse myself in all of this stuff, you know. I just try to be the person that I am and that kind of helps me stay sane.

GS: Your on stage routine is pretty demanding. How do you manage to stay fit on tour?

AC: I don’t know, I just do my performance routine. I try to eat as much as I can and rehearse. That’s the only way to stay fit, really.

Morgan: So what’s your favorite song to perform?

AC: Right now, it’s probably “Leave it Up to Me”.

MMC: Cool!

GS: You’re starting off your tour on the East Coast this time around. But what’s your favorite place to tour otherwise?

AC: Um, that would be Malaysia, South America, and the Philippines. They have a great crowd.

GS: Oh, sweet. You should definitely hit up Indonesia sometime also. I’m from there so I know they have a dedicated following. Really great energy, really.

AC: Oh, really? Will do. I mean, my whole goal with this tour really is to tour the whole year and kind of introduce the fans to my new music.

GS: Sounds like a plan!

MMC: So, do you have a Valentine this year?

AC: Sadly, no!

GS: Well, you have a bunch of fans regardless so it’s not half as bad for you I’m sure!

AC: I mean it’s hard to have one Valentine, you know. I have multiple, ha!

GS: Who’s your favorite artist right now and why?

AC: Bruno Mars. I love him! Great performance at The Grammys. Also, he’s just an incredible singer.

GS: Great choice!

MMC: Okay, we’re going to do a Valentine’s day rapid fire, if you’re down. We’re going to say a word and then you have to say the first word that comes to your mind.

AC: Okay!

MMC: Okay, so the first word is Marvin Gaye.

AC: Sexual.

GS: Alright, next word is candy.

AC: Lollipop.

MMC: Candlelight.

AC: Romance.

GS: Taylor Swift.

AC: Red.

MMC: True Love.

AC: Um, no.

GS: Bieber.

AC: Carter.

MMC: Long distance.

AC: Relationships.

GS: Love song.

AC: Bump and Grind.

—–

Who knew a trip down memory lane would only cost $14?

February 26, 2013
An Interview with Dopapod’s Neal Evans and Rob Compa

I first became aware of Dopapod when I downloaded a show of a band with the funny palindrome name. They had a good sound, a bit heavy for me at the time, but they also did a killer cover of Daft Punk’s “Robot Rock,” a band I have been a fan of since college in the mid-90s. While that cover hooked me, it was the originals and the improv that kept bringing me back. When plans for a book release party for PhanFood came together in the fall of 2010, Nectar’s in Burlington was the venue and Dopapod just happened to be the main act of the night. A couple of emails between band manager Jason Gibbs and myself and the band was happy to help promote the book release, and led to a packed house for both the release and the show. At every festival since and every opportunity throughout, I’ve seen Dopapod continue to grow at an exponential pace. Nearly a studio album a year, plus a heavy touring and festival schedule has made Dopapod a sought after act that is spreading quickly from their Northeastern base. Upon the release of their most recent album, Redivider, we sat down with guitarist Rob Compa and drummer Neal ‘Fro’ Evans of Dopapod to talk about their roots, what lies ahead, and what’s up with the palindrome band name and album titles.

Pete Mason: How did the band first come together? Who knew each other and when and where was the first gig? Any memories of that first Dopapod moment?

Rob Compa: The band started with just Eli (Winderman) and our friend Michelangelo Carubba as a keys and drum duo. My first show was at a little sports bar in Boston called The Draft. I wasn’t in the band yet. I just came out and sat in because Eli and I knew each other from playing reggae gigs around town. The first moment when I really felt like we were on to something was at my first rehearsal in a basement in Allston. We had a jam and just trailed off harmonizing with each other and answering each other’s phrases. It was crazy, like we had the same musical vocabulary right off the bat. It took a while before we were comfortable enough to play off of each other like that on stage though.

Neal Evans: Before I was in the band, I asked Dopapod to play an after party that I was planning for my band Cashed Fools. The party never ended up happening, but Eli invited me to come to the festival that they were playing the next day (Heady Fest), and I asked if I could bring some percussion. Heady Fest was my first show with the band.

PM: You blend a wide degree of sounds among your catalog. What musicians have provided the major influences for each of you?

RC: I’ve been a huge Phish fan since I was a teenager. That’s the biggest one for me. I’m also really influenced by country guitarists, particularly Duke Levine and Jim Campilongo. And I studied a fair amount of jazz over the years; I don’t consider myself a jazz guitarist necessarily, but I learned enough of it to have some bebop vocabulary in my playing. I particularly love Django Reinhardt.

NE: I came from a heavy metal and progressive rock background; the first song I played on drums was Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls”. And Primus. Then I got into more funk and groovin’ stuff. I’ve always listened to a wide variety, but the heavy drums really got me started.

PM: Are there any new artists that you are listening to that are having an influence on you, or simply ones that you enjoy listening to?

RC: The Fleet Foxes have been a big influence over the last couple years. And Fro recently turned me on to Megadeth. Also, Tim Palmieri’s (Kung Fu/The Breakfast) playing has really had an impact on me.

NE: Jaga Jazzist and Snarky Puppy are my favorite new bands. They are musically amazing and very forward thinking. I’ve never heard anything like those two bands. Also Dub Trio is just super bad ass.

PM: What gear do you each use?

NE: I have a Yamaha Maple Custom drum kit, DW kick pedals, assorted hardware, cymbals from Sabain, Zildjian, Ufip, and Meinl, and Vater Fusion drumsticks.

RC: I use a Paul Reed Smith Hollowbody II that I love the shit out of. I pretty much only use that live, although I used a Fender Strat and Tele on a lot of the new album. My amplifier is an old Fender Vibrolux that sounds great. For pedals, I use a maxon OD808 and an Analogman King of Tone for my overdriven sounds. I’ve also got a delay, phaser, and a octave pedal on my pedalboard

PM: How have you found the EDM and electronic environment to be, considering that the scene is becoming quite large and almost super-saturated with talent?

RC: I like bands that use computers and click tracks to do the electronic thing. And I think it’s cool that music is changing and evolving with the whole DJ thing, even though that way of making music doesn’t really resonate with me, personally.

NE: There are some that I like and some that I don’t care for. As long as its originality is clear, I’m usually into it. I love hearing sounds and grooves that I have never heard before.

PM: What do music festivals provide to bands as they are growing, and how do the fans benefit from acts like Dopapod playing festivals on a regular basis?

RC: Festivals are awesome because it gives bands a chance to to be heard by tons of new people who might not have ordinarily gone out of their way to take the chance on the band. And, it gives people the chance to discover new bands.

NE: Festivals are great for helping a band gain a following in the greater area of the festival. Most festivals have a large local attendance, so when we come back to the area, there will be a lot of people who first saw us at the fest. There is definitely a large growth of electronic music at festivals, and a lot of fans express their gratitude for keeping the live band element strong at festivals. And we like to do fun special things at festivals, because they feel like special gigs. Our festival sets usually have some fun surprises that may not happen at a club or venue.

PM: Branching out from the Northeast, you have recently dipped into the Southeast and Midwest. How have you found the experience entering new markets, with only word of mouth to precede you?

RC: It feels great to play a market for the first time and already have people there excited for the show. It’s encouraging. At the same time, going to different parts of the country and playing for smaller crowds is very humbling. It’s important for us to remember that we still have a lot of work to do.

NE: It’s always fun to go to a place you have never been before for the sake of playing music. Some new markets do well, some not so well, but we will just keep at it. We have seen steady growth just about everywhere, which is a great feeling.

PM: How has the reception been from fans in these parts of the country?

NE: So far so good! Gaining many fans and street teamers all the time, and getting a lot of support from people in the new areas.

RC: It’s been awesome, all around. Even if a show isn’t necessarily packed, people always seem to have a great time. Crowd size matters not.

photo by Andy Hill

PM: Was there a moment for each of you where you were playing a show or on the road, and the thought crossed your mind, “Wow, I can totally see myself doing this for a living!”

NE: I think that happened for me when the first time I played a drum set.

RC: I think we’ve all felt that way the whole time. None of us really have any doubt that this is what we want to do.

PM: One burning question that I’ve had is the use of palindromes, both the band’s name and each album title: I saw live Dopapod evil was I, Drawn Onward, Radar, and the latest, Redivider. Did the band name come first, then palindrome album titles, or was that sort of the plan all along? Can that well ever run dry?

NE & RC: ?yrd nur reve llew taht naC ?gnola lla nalp eht fo tros taht saw ro ,seltit mubla emordnilap neht ,tsrif emoc enam dnab eht diD .redivideR ,tsetal eht ,radaR , drawnO nwarD ,I saw livE dopapoD eviL waS I :eltit mubla hcae dna eman s’dnab eht htob , semordnilap fo esu eht si dah ev’I taht niotseuq gninrub enO

PM: Regarding Redivider, the album is a fantastic mark of growth in the band and your best album to date. “Braindead” has a hint of Oysterhead, while “Bubble Brain” gives off a hip-hop feel, “Trapper Keeper” has one of your catchiest lyrics – they make for a powerful start to the album. What was the process behind each of these songs?

NE: Each song came together differently. “Bubble Brain” and “Trapper Keeper” were ideas that Eli had, and “Braindead” was written completely off of a guitar riff that Rob wrote.

RC: They were all different. “Braindead” seriously took like a year to write. It started with just the intro riff, which I brought to the band to jam over in rehearsal. And it became a finished piece very slowly. Eli wrote Bubble Brain on his computer, and we all learned our parts on our own, then rehearsed it and made some arranging changes. We started working on “Trapper” right before the Redivider sessions, and basically finished it in the studio, which was a cool new method for us.

PM: One song of note, “Vol. 3, #86” is not only a stand out, Nintendo-esque track, but also one of the more unique titles. Where did this one come from and how were the pieces of the song composed and melded into one final tune?

RC: Eli wrote the music and I wrote the lyrics after the music was written. I’ll give 5 bucks to the first person who can figure out where the title comes from.

PM: You’ve played all over New England and Upstate New York. What stands out for you when you go through New York and hit off Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Ithaca and all points in between?

RC: Oneonta, NY is a standout. Some of our first shows were there, so we’ve got a lot of fans from there who’ve been with us from the beginning. That’s a really special place for us. Also I’m from Rochester, so I always enjoy playing there.

PM: Did growing up in Rochester influence your music playing in any way, either through school or the local music scene?

RC: Absolutely. While I was in high school, I did a bunch of musical extra-curricular things that challenged me as a musician, like pit bands and even an Irish band. I also played in a local cover band called the Earthtones, which taught me a lot about gigging and having a good attitude about playing with other people. After high school, I got really into an amazing local band called the Niche. Eventually, they sort of took me under their wing and let me sit in with them at shows. That was a huge influence for me and I still love their music to this day. Also, an early jazz based influence was a great local group called Doja. Their guitarist, Paul McCardle, is an amazing player and had a big impact on my playing early on.

PM: Got any favorite places to stop for food while in Upstate New York?

NE: Dinosaur BBQ, Alto Cinco in Syracuse and anything around Ithaca is great for hiking and chilling.

RC: Garbage Plates.

Dopapod plays Albany at Red Square on February 28th with special guest Big Something, March 1st at The Westcott Theater in Syracuse with special guests The Manhattan Project and The Greys, and March 2nd at Water Street Music Hall in Rochester with special guest Haewa. There will be Garbage Plates late night.

February 25, 2013
Turkuaz, Conehead Buddha and The Monk headline The Westcott Theater on February 28th

Thursday February 28th will be a triple-threat show at The Westcott Theater featuring Turkuaz, Conehead Buddha and The Monk. Turkuaz is a 10-piece band with a crazy stage show and has moved from opening for Kung Fu this past fall to headlining in their own right a few short months later.

Turkuaz’s stage show combines influences from Sly and the Family Stone to Talking Heads into an explosive auditory and visual circus, causing a full-frontal assault on the senses. The group has played multiple residencies at NYC’s Brooklyn Bowl, festivals including Bear Creek, Mountain Jam, Strangecreek, Equifunk and Wormtown, among others, and has toured nationally. Turkuaz on Facebook and check out their music here.

Conehead Buddha started out in Albany in the early 90s and was one of the early Jambands to come out of the Capital District. They return to play shows every so often, so they are not to be missed! The Monk was spawned out of a fusion of genres found all over the world and all across the musical spectrum. They promise to bring infectious rhythms to make you move, blazing guitar and sax to make you scream and monster melodies to make you sing. Above all, The Monk will bring the Funk, that much is guaranteed.

Doors open at 7 at the Westcott Theater, with The Monk Bought Lunch and Conehead Buddha taking the stage at 7:30pm and 9pm, respectively. Turkuaz goes at 10pm. Tickets are $12 at the door, $10 online here. This is an all ages show.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ5OYeHV4Kg]

February 21, 2013
Interview with singer-songwriter Jamie Kent, playing The Westcott Theater on February 23rd

It’s a Sunday afternoon and while every other touring artist may take the seventh day off to catch some forty winks, workaholic Jamie Kent takes the time out to interview with Morgan and Gauraa . It’s no surprise, though; he does include singer-songwriter, concert promoter, entrepreneur, and mischief maker in his job description!

Mary Morgan Craig: Okay so before we get down to business can you tell us about this “stint” you had in a Mariachi band?

Jamie Kent: Ha ha, okay so I was in high school and there was a battle of the bands and a group of friends and I formed a mariachi band called Suko Gringo and we won the crowd award for it.

MMC: Thats awesome. Ha, the coolest kids in school I’m sure.

Jamie Kent: Yeah, it was an experience.

Gauraa Shekhar: So what was it like growing up in Northampton, Massachusetts?

Jamie Kent: Northampton is a really awesome town. It no doubt influenced my goals in the beginning being musician. Its a big music town I pretty much spent all my money growing up going to concerts. and when graduated high school I knew I was going to do music. I was either going to go to Berklee in Boston or Babson in Boston to either do music or music business. I did an undergraduate program for music business but continued to do music on the side at Conservatory.

MMC: So why did you choose to apply to ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers)?

Jamie Kent: Well, when you’re first starting out you kind of take the advice of people you look up to and my producer at the time had a big music library that he would sell to radio stations and film and TV. He was both an ASCAP and BMI member and he said both are tough to deal with but I get paid more from ASCAP. So I was like “Oh Cool!” and started to figure out why it was better to go with ASCAP and what’s been really great with them for me personally is they have some really great programs to develop songwriters which a lot of others don’t. Last year I got into this songwriting program out in L.A. working with some really crazy people, (including) the dude who wrote Adele’s “Someone Like You” and Keith Urban and Lee Ann Rhymes’s last two records. So, they really network well and help you connect with other great songwriters that help take it to the next level.

GS: So what is it like writing music solo compared to writing with the band or in workshops?

Jamie Kent: Its definitely different. It’s got its benefits and setbacks. Solo you can really do everything that you want to do which is awesome but for me sometimes I will lose focus and get distracted by Facebook or whatever and then it’ll take me a few days to write a song whereas when I’m writing with other people and we’re in a room together, we will focus for a few hours until the song is written. You do lose control over some of the things you want and you have to make some compromises but it is a lot more productive.

GS: Kind of keeping each other on track.

Jamie Kent: Yeah, exactly! And also about challenging each other. Sometimes when you’re writing by yourself you can settle but when you’re with other people they can push you and you’re like “Oh yeah, it could be better” but you don’t think of that until you’re with someone else.

MMC: We’ve heard you have a tireless work ethic but touring 200 days is a lot. What was that like?

Jamie Kent: You know, I love being on the road fundamentally but I also really believe that the live show is the most important aspect to being a musician these days and important of course in order to make money and survive since anyone with a laptop and a Myspace account can be a musician these days which is cool but that also means there’s an overwhelming amount of people so if you want to distinguish yourself and take it to the top your show has to be incredible. And ya I just love playing. The more I play the better I get.

MMC: Practice makes perfect.

JK: Yeah, exactly and you know like in Malcom Gladwell’s book Outliers he talks about putting in 10,000 hours into something you’re going to know it better than everyone else and do it better.

GS: If you could pick one thing you like the most about touring what would that be?

JK: Thats a good question. I love the stories that come out of it. I’m a big fan of at my shows of weaving stories into my shows and making that part of it and that does inspire songs a lot. That is where a lot of stories come from: being on tour and putting yourself in uncomfortable situations and having something interesting come out of it. Often it involves like a random character that you meet in Rock Island, Illinois or wherever you might be but there’s nothing that you could ever experience by just sitting at home in the studio.

MMC: You’ve got a campaign going for your next record. You must have a great fan base, you’ve got a very successful campaign going and it looks like they’re even sponsoring your next record. How do you maintain such a strong connection with your fans?

JK: Well I think that the way I’ve been able to do it really well is because of this thing I started couple of years ago called The Collective. Its a community of my most loyal fans and in return for their contributions they get free tickets to shows, free music, free merch and they can log into a specific program where I post exclusive content and ask them questions. So like The Collective voted on my album artwork for the last two albums and like where they think we should tour, what the first radio single should be, that kind of stuff and that’s kind of kept people really involved in like my career and vice versa. I think that that’s been really helpful and since the beginning I wasn’t sure that people would continue to reinvest in the next project or the next album that kind of thing but they really have which has been awesome and they’ve spread the word to friends and it has really kind help create that loyalty.

MMC: That’s great. I think we’ll start seeing a lot more of that kind of fan base building.

JK: Yeah, I think so. I launched it before Kickstarter even came out and then when Kickstarter came out I was like oh that will sort of become like what The Collective is on a bigger scale. Whats sort of surprising that they haven’t done yet is kind of create the community. Kickstarter is just like a project-to-project kind of thing, where they help you make that one record and then that’s it and then hopefully they’ll go to Facebook or sign up for your email list or something like that but The Collective is about a long term community to create loyal fans. So even like we’re doing the Indie GoGo campaign for the next record but everyone who contributes gets a part in the collective so we can keep it evolved for the long term.

GS: When you first jammed with The Options was it a “love at first jam” kind of a thing or did it take some time? How did you know they were right for you?

JK: Its been an interesting journey with the options. Looking at The Options as they are now are the solidified Options. My bass player and drummer, Dan and Rhees have been with me really since the beginning. Rhees for almost 3 years and Dan for like 2 and a half years. And then our keyboard, accordian and electric guitar player Killian and Zach. They’ve been with us for about 6 months. So they are the newer Options. Rhees I met when I was first looking to form a band. He was playing with this other girl in the area who actually wanted to be on The Voice and then they had a falling out. I met him at a mutual friends party right as they were falling out and we just hit it off. He was surprised to have a band leader who treated him well and shared the money and shared everything with him. Then Dan came on shortly after through the Northampton music scene we kind of saw him and brought him on and then we had a different keyboard piano player for a while which was he was incredibly talented but we had kind of a lesson learned that personality goes a long way in a band. It’s about both talent and personality and if personality goes askew then things can not be the greatest on the road. So we made some changes and brought on a few new members who were both really awesome people and killer musicians and its been the best setup we’ve ever had and I think at shows we displace that energy as well.

GS: Cool, yeah we can definitely hear it in your sound.

JK: Cool! That’s the goal. Yeah, when you’re on the road you really want to be with people who you like and connect with. It really comes through in your music. If there’s bad energy there that will come through as well.

MMC: Your last album Navigation had a fresh Americana twang to it. What can we expect from your new, evolved sound?

JK: Its sort of taking that and pushing it. The idea behind the record is Brian Eno producing Bruce Springsteen. That’s sort of the vibe we’re gonna go for. We’ve got a couple chops that we’re pretty excited for so far. Its gonna be really kind of roots rock vibe, really song focused.

GS: Definitely like the sound of that.

MMC: As you grow as an artist, do you feel as if your songwriting process has evolved?

JK: Yeah yeah I really do. When I began I was interested in song writing and when I wrote my first one I was like wow this is sounding really cool, boom done. But I’ve become a lot more picky in my songwriting now. I want every lyric to kick ass and if it doesn’t, I won’t release it.

GS: It’s really cool that you have a lot of different work experiences under your belt, you were reviewing craft breweries for Two Foot Media nearly five years ago…was that something fun you just decided to do?

JK: Well I went to Babson in Boston. The focus is on entrepreneurship there and I kind of learned just a different way of viewing the world. Entrepreneurship allows you to turn what you love into a career or business which is fundamentally what I’m doing with music and I’ve always had a big love for Microbrew and in college a friend of mine and I decided we wanted to go on a road trip across the U.S. and sample different brews and so we convinced the magazine to hire us and we reviewed all the breweries across country and put together article on them. If you love something you can always figure out a way to make money doing it.

GS: Well we couldn’t help but notice that you’re known as a “mischief maker”. Where did that title come from? What mischief have you been making?

JK: Ha, yeah I’ve always been a mischief maker. That was kind of coined this one time when I dressed up in a costume and planted my first CD in 172 Starbucks stores in Manhattan. The video for Mischief Man films all that. So that’s where it came from and I’m always causing little bits of mischief on the road and thinking of new ways to promote shows. For example we’ll go into like the nearest restaurant and start playing with a sign that says we’re playing tonight and then just take off. Usually we confuse people and also attract some attention. We are also playing for SXSW and we have an RV that we’re gonna drive around and party in and do flash concerts.

MMC: Very cool. Sounds like fun. Do you miss your family while you’re on tour though?

JK: Definitely. But I’ve sort of gotten used to it. I’m really good up until three weeks. At three weeks I start to get a little homesick. I love life on the road but you do miss home sometimes. Northampton is a great home to come back to as well. When I’m out on the road I’m always looking for a place that’s cooler than Northhampton and I haven’t found too many.

GS: So what’s it like opening for The Wood Brothers?

JK: Yeah I mean they’re fuckin’ awesome. They’re so good. And they’re really good guys too. Just unbelievably talented as I’m sure you know but also equally as nice. Rhees has worshipped Chris Wood since he was growing up so the first time they met Rhees was really nervous but they totally ended up hitting it off and Chris turns Rhees on to they’re great players and they push us both to be better players.

MMC: Who is your favorite contemporary artist?

JK: I’m really liking Milo Green, Churchill, and First Aid Kit are like the three bands that are getting a lot of iPod time with me right now. I’m sort of on this like female male singer combo thing. But i’m always bumping like Ray Lamontagne.

GS: Is there any advice you can offer young musicians about the industry?

JK: Yeah I would say if you want to be a musician you have to be willing to work your ass off. Its so competitive and the market is so flooded with musicians you really have to work your ass off and want it to get yourself out there. Otherwise I would say just put yourself out there like just do it. A lot of people ask me “How do I book shows?” How do I play shows?” and I always tell them really you just have to do it. Get out there, go to the venue, talk to people. The only way anythings going to happen is if you just take action and do it.

Make sure to catch Jamie Kent open for The Wood Brothers on Saturday, the 23rd of February at The Westcott Theater!

February 21, 2013
Interview with Burlington, Vermont based singer-songwriter, Justin Levinson, playing The Westcott Theater on February 24th

The promising Burlington, Vermont-based singer-songwriter Justin Levinson chats with Gauraa and Morgan about his trajectory as a musician–from the good ol’ Berklee days spent playing gigs at the All Asia Cafe to his upcoming tour with Aaron Carter.

Mary Morgan Craig: Your music is an interesting combination of country, pop, and rock. How would you best describe the influences that led to that?

Justin Levinson: I think most of my music right now is in the power-pop genre but when I spent some time out in Nashville a couple years ago, I was really inspired by a lot of the music that was out there and one of my friends gave me an Elton John record called Tumbleweed Connection and it just turned out to be a really influential record for me. That’s one of Elton John’s records that had some country influence on it and it was piano driven as well.

MMC: We can definitely hear that in your music.

Gauraa Shekhar: Yes, for sure. We read that you went to Berklee College of Music. What did you major in while you were at Berklee?

Justin Levinson: Well, I started out as Jazz Trumpet and then I changed over and did songwriting. It was more like School of Rock than normal college.

GS: I’d imagine!

MMC: Do you think the Boston music scene helped you grow as an artist? I’m from Boston, by the way.

Justin Levinson: Yeah, definitely. Going to Berklee was great because I was around incredible, awesome peers who were great musicians and I got to learn a lot from them. I also played a lot of the local clubs like The Middle East. I actually started out playing at the All Asia Cafe, which is kind of the place to start when you’re in Boston and you know, all your friends have to buy a drink and everything. It was small and no one actually went there so it was mostly just students playing, ha. I kind of worked my way up from there to playing bigger venues like Great Scott. I feel like I played every venue in the city until I worked my way up playing at The Paradise.

MMC: Nice. The Paradise is such a gorgeous venue! I would have been so pumped to have played there.

Justin Levinson: Yeah, it was a real privilege and now actually, when I’m not on tour with a bigger headliner, I go frequently back to the Lizard Lounge, which is in Cambridge. Ha, you probably know the spots. Where are you from in Boston?

MMC: I’m from a little town right outside of Boston, actually, called Boxford. I mean, there’s nothing going on there so we go to Boston all the time.

Justin Levinson: Ah, nice. Yeah, Boston’s great!

GS: It’s pretty interesting you say that because you went straight from Boston back to Burlington, Vermont, which you described as the “one horse town”. What inspired that?

Justin Levinson: Well, originally, I had been interested in moving to Nashville. A lot of my friends were thinking about moving out there and I was pretty certain that I was going to move out there–not just because of music but also because this girl I was chasing was moving out there, and since that didn’t work out, I pulled an audible and said I’m gonna move to Los Angeles. Ha, and I ended up not moving to Los Angeles. Then, my final choice was New York City but New York City just wasn’t for me. I mean, I loved visiting but it moved a little too fast for me and I just really loved the people in Vermont as well as the quality of life and I was able to do enough touring to be able to make my confections in the music industry on the road and be able to not have to kind of live in the chaos in the big, urban music meccas.

MMC: Ha, good! So you described your latest album, This Side of Me, as feel good heartache. How’d you come up with that?

JL: Yeah. Basically, I was making a record that was filled with a lot of heartache but at the same time I wanted to keep it a little lighthearted for listeners and I didn’t wanna make kind of a woe-is-me record. Also, I was really aware that making a concept album about heartache is probably the most overdone topic so I realized that it was important for me to put a twist on it. I tried to have a little sense of humor–kind of heart-on-sleeve, using simple metaphors and silly euphemisms…just kind of playful stuff, ha.

GS: Well you did a good job because we definitely liked it! People say musicians write music most when they’re either falling in love or falling out of love. Would you agree with that statement?

JL: Yeah, definitely! Love alone is like the number one topic in most songs and I think when an artist is writing from the heart, its definitely one of the pretty intriguing concepts, I think.

MMC: You have experimented with your sound quite a bit over the past years. How did you end up with The Valcours?

JL: Well, I spent a lot of time playing with session musicians and there’s a big difference when you’re playing with session musicians as opposed to when you’re playing with a band. Session musicians have higher guns and technically you don’t let them into your world as far as writing and ideas are concerned. It’s kind of like you’re showing up to work for the artist, basically. I work that way a lot because I’ve been in bands in the past and it hadn’t really worked out for me. When I met the guys that are in my band now, we just really got along well and we would have dinner together before we would practice and we would totally talk about our troubles and there was this ‘bromance’ going on and I thought to myself maybe I won’t let the jaded past of the band thing haunt me and give this band a chance and let them in a little bit. It really made a big difference because it let me listen to other people’s ideas for once instead of my own. If you don’t work with people who trust you enough, you end up writing the same song over and over and over again but if you listen to four people in the band, someone could be like, ‘Hey man, you’ve already done those four chord changes a few times. Why don’t we try this instead?’ It might be hurtful at first to listen to but it definitely makes you grow as a musician. I think anyone that thinks they can do everything on their own, all DIY and all, is at a setback. In the music industry, it’s always good to listen to other people.

GS: Well said. As musicians, we are consistently trying to find “our sound”. Would you say you’ve find your sound with your new backing band?

JL: Yeah, I think I’ve found a sound but one thing with me is that I get really bored playing one kind of sound so I don’t know if I can make that a final answer. I mean, look at The Beatles, they never made the same record twice. They had some similarities, yeah, but they went from “She Loves You” to “Let it Be”, you know. I’m hoping that I’ll achieve that kind of growth and maturity if I keep it up.

MMC: Yeah, we’re excited to hear more. Your song “City With Two Lights” sat tight on CMJ charts for quite a while, granting you nation-wide exposure. Would you recommend artists like yourself to leverage themselves at conferences like that?

JL: Yeah, I think college radio is a great thing for independent artists. I learned a lot about the industry by doing that as I had to build relationships with people. One of the best piece of advice that I got was from a friend who worked for WERF, which is the Emerson College radio station, and he was actually a DJ there and he suggested putting in a personal note in with my press kit when I sent them out to colleges because college DJs get so many press kits so it needs to have something that separates you from the pack and makes you go, “alright, Justin Levinson is a human ‘being’.

GS: We do get a lot of press kits, that’s true! A personal note can make all the difference.

JL: Yeah, that was really a cool thing and I started writing notes to DJs and build authentic relationships with these people who I’m still in touch with today. I would say for artists coming up, that’s an important thing to do because people you meet as you’re rising are very important. Kids that were DJs at WERF are now working at Columbia Records.

GS: Yeah, hopefully that’ll be us in a few years.

JL: Ha, definitely!

GS: Okay, so, how did you end up as an opening act for Aaron Carter?

JL: Well, that’s actually a good question. I don’t really know all the details about how that came to be but in November I signed with new management and since then I’ve been working with artists like Aaron Carter. I also toured last fall with Tyler Hilton. He’s actually in the cast of One Tree Hill.

GS: Oh, wow, that’s amazing. Tyler’s really good, I have his records and everything.

JL: Yeah, his new record is really good and he’s possibly the nicest guy I’ve ever met, too. He’s totally an authentic dude and the first show I jumped on on tour, he introduced me to all his friends and you know, every time I’d play he’d mention my name three times to the crowd. It was a great experience, really. I think the new management is opening up a lot of doors for me. Hopefully, I’ll be doing a lot more stuff like this in the future!

GS: Oh, sure.

MMC: So when you’re writing, do you keep a certain demographic in mind?

JL: I don’t really think I ever really thought about it but you know, recently, with the Tyler Hilton and Aaron Carter tours, I definitely think about it a little more. During the Tyler Hilton tour, it was like 300-500 screaming young girls every night, which was crazy and something I wasn’t used to but when I write, I want to have every age group and gender have some sort of experience where they can relate to the music. I think I have a pretty good perspective right now. I’m 27 so I’ve still got some sort of teenage angst in me but I’m also kind of an adult now and been into college for a while so I think I can kind of balance out a lot of age groups. Well, I hope I can at least. I mean I’m wishful that a lot of different age groups would enjoy my music.

GS: With the growing EDM scene, what do you see happening to the future of the power-pop/ singer-songwriter genre?

JL: You know, I’m not really sure, I think with the power-pop stuff that I’m doing right now, there always seems to be a market for it, you know, I aspire to be as successful as bands like fun. Nate Reuss is kind of one of my heroes, he’s around my age right now and he’s been doing this power-pop thing for a long time and it seems like it all has worked out for him. I think if artists are able to be as creative as him and really combine a lot of really cool things like hip-hop, power-pop, and even some of those marching band kind of rhythms that he kind of sampled, it would be a great feature for the indie, power pop market.

MMC: Do you think that you will incorporate anything like that in your music?

JL: I would love to keep experimenting, you know. My drummer right now has a sampler and we use a sampler for our drum beats and use real drums over them. I’m always up for doing different things. It would be really cool to try to fuse those things.

GS: Very cool. Is there a specific songwriting process that is your default? Like, do you write the melody first or the lyrics? Or does it vary from time to time?

JL: You’re asking really good questions! These are really thoughtful, I appreciate it.

GS and MMC: Why, thank you!

JL: Yeah, I mean, I’m kind of the dude that plays on the piano with the melody in his head. The lyrics kind of come after, I guess. Usually it comes after playing the piano and guitar. You got to kind of see what the mood is like if it’s a minor chord progression, then it might be a sadder topic. If it’s major, then it might be a happier topic. If it’s kind of transitioning between major and minor, it is likely that it’s going to be bittersweet. I guess that would be my process for the most part.

MMC: Cool. So, in the video for “I Was So Wrong”, what inspired the ballerina in the video?

JL: Well, one of the things I do besides playing music is a lot of social work. I work with people in development of disabilities and one of the things we do is we volunteer at a lot of different places and I volunteer at the main society at Burlington, Vermont and one of the women that works there had told me that she was a dancer and I said, ‘Well, I kind of have this circusey idea for this song and it would be cool to have a ballerina dancing in the background as my muse.’

MMC: Well, it looked good!

JL: Yeah, I’d say it worked out fairly well.

GS: Do you find yourself using social media at all to stay connected to fans?

JL: Yeah, definitely. The whole DIY thing is great and I can’t speak for every songwriter but I have not reached the pinnacle of my career yet but I think being all DIY is an impossible feat in music so it’s important for me to have a lot of help. Even though I’m not with a major label, I have a publicist, a booking agent, a college booking agent, a licensing company, that puts a lot of stuff together for me but I still spend endless time doing the whole social media thing. A lot of publicity these days is doing social media. PR campaigns are all about reaching out to bloggers and podcasts. It’s all about networking, really. It’s a big social networking game and I spend a lot of time doing that. Even though I have this team, I love talking to fans and friends and everything, but sometimes I’m like, “I really want to be writing a song right now” instead of sitting on my Twitter page and what not. It’s really all about balance. If I can do both, it makes me a happy camper.

MMC: Awesome!

GS: We loved having you on our show.

JL: It was a pleasure, really. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. Hopefully I’ll see you guys at the show!

GS: Oh definitely, we have our tickets.

JL: Nice! You should come in and introduce yourselves, it would be fun to chat a little bit.

GS: We’d love to!

MMC: Thanks and have a great night!

JL: You, too!

Make sure to catch Justin Levinson open for Aaron Carter at the Westcott Theater on the 24th of February!

To listen to this interview with Justin Levinson, tune into The Laura and Meg Show via iTunes Radio on Wednesday, February 20th at 11pm! Just click on “Radio” on the menu bar at the top of your iTunes Library. From there click College Radio> Syracuse University>WERW. Or simply head over to SoundCloud

February 13, 2013
Danny Avila at The Westcott Theater, February 4th

After a set chock-full of massive club bangers from the tattooed Mikael Weermets, 17- year old DJ Danny Avila emerged from backstage at The Westcott Theater last Monday night with an edgy new haircut (literally edgy, it was quite spiky) and a pair of Studio Pro Beats by Dre around his neck. Once the crowd recognized him they went absolutely nuts despite having been pretty wild already. Mikael Weermets had already gotten people to form dance circles and at that point I had already seen two 28 year-old men booty drop, which is two more than anyone should ever see. Weermets suavely transitioned into “Snapbacks & Tattoos” by Driicky Graham while he did the equipment switcheroo with Avila.

When Danny finally got situated at the table with his three Pioneer players and mixer he faded out of “Snapbacks” and the crowd really got ready to jump. Avila has been playing a residency at Pacha in Ibiza so it came as no surprise that he knew how to put hands in the air, but what sets him apart from other DJs is his energy. Throughout the show you could see how much he truly loves making people dance. It shined right through his Bieberesque smile. He was literally glowing with passion, and it had nothing to do with his Spanish tan or the crazy light show. The light show was pretty impressive though and in addition DJ DBerrie, Krill was in the house along with Mikael Weermets who hung out on the stage to throw stickers and shower the crowd in champagne.

During the set he dropped a handful of massive tracks by Knife Party, including “Rage Valley”, “Power Glove” and an interesting trap remix of “Internet Friends” which he got everyone hyped up for by transitioning in with the intro guitar riff of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. A few other songs he used for epic transitions were Deadmau5’s “What The Fuck”, where he slyly mixed in the vocals, “They know what is what but they don’t know what is what” during the track,and the infamous “1, 2, Woop, Woop!” from the track “WARP” by The Bloody Beetroots and Steve Aoki which was a huge crowd-pleaser. What I appreciated most about his set was its versatility. In addition to surprising the crowd with classics like “Jump Around” by House of Pain and “Zombie Nation” by Kernkraft 400, he showcased every spectrum of EDM, from Dubstep to Trap to Moombahton and Dance to House. I really feel bad for anyone who missed this show.

Some tracks he played that I strongly suggest for your listening/download pleasure include: “Say My Name” by Porter Robinson, “Raise Your Weapon” by Deadmau5, “Goin in’” (Skrillex Goin in’ Hard Mix) by Birdy Nam Nam, “Go Deep” by Neoteric & Wax Motif, “Rukus” by Valentino Khan & Will Bailey, “Animal Rights” by Deadmau5 & Wolfgang Gartner, “Atom” by Nari & Milani, “Pursuit of Happiness” (Steve Aoki remix) by Kid Cudi, and “Heads Will Roll” (A-Trak Remix) by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Danny Avila Twitter, Website and Soundcloud

Check out his bangin new single “Breaking Your Fall”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iftO6DYT1_E&w=420&h=315]

February 11, 2013
Review and Interview: The Brew at The Westcott Theater, January 26th

Over the past year I’ve often heard people voice concern about Rock N’ Roll as a genre, seemingly worried that it is dying out these days due to all of the EDM and Indie music that is over saturating the mainstream. If you are one of these people, fret not. I assure you that Boston based band The Brew is keeping Rock alive and kickin’.

Before they completely brought the house down at The Westcott Theater this past Saturday night, lead singer Chris Plante of expressed his love for Upstate New York and the ‘Cuse. “We’re so happy to be back in Syracuse! We love playing The Westcott,” he yelled into the mic from his spot at his double-decker keyboard. The Boston based quartet consists of brothers Chris Plante (lead vocals, keyboards), Joe Plante (Bass, vocals) and friends Dave Drouin (Guitar, vocals) and Aaron Zaroulis (Drums/vocals).Together they are like the Fantastic Four of Rock. There isn’t a single weak link in the group on instrumentals and their song writing skills are something to envy.

Following Chris’s warm shout out the band opened with one of their new songs titled “Aftermath”. From the sounds of the track we can look forward to enjoying a killer new release. As soon as the powerful instrumentals of this track filled the room I was reminded of why I fell in love with Rock N’ Roll in the first place. Aaron has driving in-your-face drum beats that make it virtually impossible for anyone with a soul to stand still. Chris sings the band’s insightful and relatable lyrics with an honest raspy voice while his piano parts cascade over the tracks. Dave plays epic guitar solo’s on his edgy Gibson explorer with seemingly no effort and Joe coolly holds the entire sound together seamlessly on bass. Their sheer musical awesomeness evoked multiple and loud shouts of “I love you!” from the audience on multiple occasions throughout the show.

When they vocally harmonized for the intro of radio hit “When Darkness Comes” off the album A Garden In The Snow, I doubt if there was a single person in the room that didn’t have the chills. Later in the show they played their hard rocking version of Led Zeppelin’s Going To California which I might actually like even more than the original because of its absolute head banging break down. They also included tracks such as “Into The Remembering Sun”, “Sharks In The Pool” and “Garden In The Snow”. As soon as they left the stage the crowd cheered for an encore and they all came to play “What I Want” (the ladies love this one) and a few others as the crowd begged them not to go.

After the show, I got a chance to sit down with The Brew and ask them a few questions.

Mary Morgan Craig: So first of all who are your biggest Musical influences individually?

Joe Plante: My biggest influences at the moment are Little Feat, Radiohead and Beck has a really big influence on me.

Aaron Zaroulis: I like Guns and Roses and I like the Allman Brothers .. a lot.

Chris Plante: I’m doin’ a lot of Bruce Hornsby, a lot of Chick Corea and a lot of classical.

Dave Drouin: I listen to Iron Maiden a lot and MJ. (MJ’s Dirty Diana plays in the background)

MMC: I know Chris and Joe are brothers. How did the two of you meet Dave and Aaron?

AZ: Well the band was around for nine or ten years with another drummer and then I joined about a year ago and I met all these dudes through the power of music.

CP: Yeah but the real story behind that one is like six or seven years ago we were playing a show with our other drummer Kelly. It was a show in Newburyport, Massachusetts, that we put on ourselves. We didn’t have like a green room or a bathroom for ourselves. During set break Kelly like really had to pee, so he went outside because there was a big line for the bathroom inside. It was a packed show with a lot of kids. A lot of younger kids, and he got arrested outside for peeing in a public place. So we didn’t have a drummer! We frantically tried to bail him out. We reluctantly went back onstage when we, you know, had to. We basically made an announcement to the crowd. We were like “Does anybody know how to play drums?” “Put your hands in the air because our drummer is arrested”, and a bunch of young girls in the crowd were pointing to Aaron who was like 13.

AZ: Yeah I was 13.

CP: And then he got up on stage and already knew a bunch of our tunes. So we’re like oh good job, cool, thanks for sitting in. Then like eight years later or whatever it was…

DD: No six years later.

CP: When it came down to audition for the band when we were moving on from a different drummer he showed up and already knew all of our songs and he was like “Yeah, I’m that kid” and we were like “Sweet!”

AZ: Yeah I’m that Kid. (all laugh)

MMC: What was the first CD you ever bought?

JP: Green Day’s Dookie. I remember that. I really remember that day.

CP: Didn’t you get it from your 5th grade girlfriend?

JP: No. Oh Yeah ! I did. I did get it from my 5th grade girlfriend.

AZ: That was the worst Valentine’s day ever huh?

(All laugh)

JP: I love that CD.

AZ: No. Its not that bad. I don’t remember my first CD. I think it was like Tom Petty or Paul Simon something like that. Something that my parents passed down to me kinda thing.

CP: I don’t know. I’m in the same boat. Me and Joe started finding music around the same time and I remember doing was it Toadie?

JP: Yeah Toadie.

CP: Toadie was awesome. Yeah I remember doing the Toadies.

JP: The Toadies!

CP: Yeah The Toadies were awesome.

DD: I had tapes way before CD’s.

CP: Ya. Ya no we were all actually into tapes.

JP: I bought an Oasis tape and a Blues Traveler tape.

DD: Yeah, I had the Blues Traveler tape with the cat on it. I traded my Aerosmith Pump when it was like the new thing.

AZ: Bad move.

DD: Bad move.

MMC: So are your parents as musically talented as you or are you guys the first in the family?

JP: My dad happens to be extremely talented musically. He started playing when he was about our age professionally out in California. He met my mom out there and then moved back to Massachusetts and had us children and surrounded us with music our entire lives.

CP: He was sitting in with us at a show recently. We were doing like a more acoustic broken down sort of show. We were telling the stories behind certain songs and stuff like that. And he comes up and he plays an original song of his with us and its like the last song of the show cause it kicked so much ass.

MMC: That must be so cool.

CP: Yeah, its pretty nice.

MMC: So is that why you guys chose to do that cover of “Going to California”? Which I love by the way.

CP: Thanks! That’s an interesting connection but no we just did that cover because we were doing a gig opening for moe. at The House Of Blues and we really wanted to do something special, you know? Dave came to practice and he was like “I just Heard Going to California and was picturing it with a more driving groove under it” and we just started doing it.

MMC: Well it came out great. I love that one. When did each of you start playing your instruments and what made you gravitate to the specific ones?

JP: I went to a show when I was 17. I ate some mushrooms and I heard bass for the first time. I was tripping and I was like “I am gonna be doing that for the rest of my life.” That’s pretty much how I decided. And I had a bass so I decided just to start playing it. I picked it up that night and started playing it.

CP: That was my bass.

JP: Yeah. I stole his bass.

CP: I had a black Guild bass.

JP: It was awful to play. It was terrible, but then i actually started jamming with Dave literally four days after.

AZ: I started playing drums in the fourth grade. It wasn’t cause I started eating mushrooms though. And I got serious around my freshman year of high school and I just haven’t really stopped since.

CP: I started playing piano when I was like 3 because of my dad and then took classical lessons when I was like five. So, I did that and then jazz and a lot of stuff so I’ve just been playing my entire life. I remember when I was like 14, I really realized I could play piano. Because I never made the conscious decision to actually do it. So its been a long time. I should be better than I am.

DD: I started playing guitar at like age 14. It was mainly because I couldn’t have a drumset. I had drumsticks. I really wanted to play drums. But they were like “too loud” or something. So I got a guitar.

(all laugh)

MMC: Good thing you did

DD: Ruined my life

(All laugh)

MMC: OK so who is your biggest Rock-Chick crush?

CP: Rock Chick Crush?

MMC: Yeah, well it doesn’t have to be rock. Musical artist crush.

DD: The lead singer of Heart.

AZ: Aw this is rough man.

CP: There’s not as many hot rock lead singers as there are like pretty sexy pop stars.

MMC: Well what about Gwen Stefani?

All: Yeah

AZ: True. She’s hot

DD: I don’t know.

CP: But she’s a little too muscle-y for me.

JP: I’m a ‘Sineado’ fan. Just, you know, because… (gestures to his bald head).

DD: Did you just call her ‘Sineado’? Sinead. O’Connor.

JP: ‘Sineado’. That’s what I call her. She likes it.

(all laugh)

AZ: I’d like to take Mila Kunis out to like a nice dinner at like The Ninety Nine or like The Olive Garden.

CP: Salisbury Steaks?

AZ: Yeah yeah! I would definitely buy her a nice Salisbury steak.

CP: I like Rachel McAdams. I think she’s the hottest. I like her.

AZ: Yeah, shes pretty dreamy.

DD: I like Taylor Swift.

MMC: I knew that was going to come up.

CP: She looks like a deer. Not in like a bad way.

JP: In the headlights.

DD: That’s why I like her.

CP: I think shes beautiful but she resembles a deer slightly.

MMC: A majestic deer.

(all laugh)

CP: A majestic blonde deer.

MMC: Have you played any festivals recently? Are you planning on playing any this year?

CP: Yes. A lot. We played Mountain Jam last year.

JP: Absolutely

AZ: We played a lot of festivals last year.

DD: Its mid-winter now so..

CP: Yeah we’re actually starting to think about next year and any festival, you know. We’re having our agent and our management work with all the promoters of festivals to hopefully get the right situation worked out.

MMC: How would you describe your own music?

JP: Um, not butt rock. Rock.

(all laugh)

CP: I mean, its really just like rock n’ roll but we try to be versatile with how we deliver our songs. We get into different production techniques the same way The Beatles or anybody else would.

MMC: What was the thought process behind the Triptych project? Who did your album artwork?

JP: Well actually we decided to make the Triptych just based on the fact that we had a really large catalog of songs and certain songs fit into different groups. Like for instance, the first album was really driven by acoustic singer-songwriter songs that kinda fit into a certain category. We felt like they all really fit on the album. Then the second album we really stretched out live. We wanted to take that same energy in the studio and do some improvisational stuff. The third record basically is really more pop oriented the way The Beatles used to like look at all their parts and really kind of like figured out how they wanted everything to fit.

CP: As far as the album artwork goes, that’s a tapestry that was meant for King Louis the 7th. It was a tapestry that was meant to commemorate like his wedding with somebody. It was back in 1495. Its called The Hunt of The Unicorn. You can see the unicorn on the second record. When you put them all together it makes one large image that kind of gives you the whole scope of the artwork.

MMC: Very Cool. What has been your best tour experience ever or just one that sticks in your mind?

CP: We were rolling through from New Mexico to Austin, Texas and we pulled over at this like really sketchy looking Subway. We were like ‘Fuck we have to get Subway today. This is gonna suck.’ But there was a burger joint right next door that was kind of like home made burgers but you could tell it was like real like southern cooking.

AZ: They had like Boston stuff in the windows so we were like ‘Fuck it lets go in here.’

DD: Yeah it was weird. It was all like Red Sox stuff and Patriots stuff.

CP: Yeah we felt good about going there and so we walked in and just like everywhere we show up, they’re all like are you in a band or something? It was this older guy and his wife. Very old like 85 or 87. With this other lady and we were like yeah we’re in a band and hes like have you ever heard of Roy Orbison and we’re like ‘Yeah of course.’ and then he’s like ‘Have you ever heard of Buddy Holly?’ We’re like ‘Obviously.’ and he’s like ‘I used to sing with them.’ So we met a member of Buddy Holly’s band, the only guys to like background sing. They were called The Roses.

JP: And then hes like ‘Do you want to go see Buddy Holly’s studio? I’ve got a key. I live there.’ And so all Buddy Holly’s original stuff is set up there, untouched, and we sat in the same chair that Buddy Holly was (once) sitting in.

AZ: I got to play on the drumset. It was rad. It was awesome. We got it all on video too.

MMC: That’s crazy!I’m so jealous. So last year when I saw you play at Brewfest Chris was playing with a broken arm at Brewfest in Lincoln, NH, which was so impressive. I actually remember I Instagrammed about it and I captioned it like ‘my hero’ or something. I read somewhere that you just recovered from broken ribs. What happened there ? Are you always this accident prone?

(all laugh)

CP: I wouldn’t say i’m accident prone. I play indoor soccer so I just smashed into a dude that was way bigger than me and it was like this really awkward point in my side where my fist got like jammed right into my rib. But I didn’t know it was broken for like the first four days. I thought it was just really badly bruised.

MMC: Glad you’re better now! Do you have any advice for other bands who are just starting out?

DD: Don’t do it.

(all laugh)

MMC: I think that they should just focus on the songs and then really work on the business aspect even though that’s the last thing you want to do as a musician. That’s what it takes to actually succeed. Cause you know its a small business and it sucks to look at it that way but you can’t go on forever running out of money. So just get good content, believe in your music, and then like just be doing your work. What has been your weirdest fan experience?

CP: Oh man there’s like too many twisted stories to get into that.

DD: There’s like naked dudes getting tied up. Well we were at a festival and there’s this guy running around naked like going ‘Get off my island! Get off my island!’

CP: And then they hogtied him and had to like put him in the back of the truck.

MMC: Well why were you on his island?

JP: Well we weren’t on mushrooms and he was, so we were on his island.

AZ: Dude he was on his own island.

(all laugh)

CP: He was being aggressive toward everybody.

JP: The last straw that they wouldn’t put up with at this festival was when he went up to an old woman that was pushing a baby in a carriage and walking a dog at the same time and he like tried grabbing the dog leash from her and then they tackled him and hogtied him.

DD: I think they like duckttaped him up.

CP: It was a duct tape hogtie job. They did really well

AZ: Hogtied!

(all laugh)

To listen to this interview with The Brew, tune into The Laura and Meg Show via iTunes Radio next Thursday night (Feb 7th)at 11pm! Just click on “Radio” on the menu bar at the top of your Itunes Library. From there click College Radio> Syracuse University>WERW.

Check out the stations blog and The Meg and Laura Show

Check out The Brew’s Website, Facebook, Myspace, Soundcloud, and the official video for When Darkness Comes
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3lkwFjHvw0]

February 1, 2013
Emancipator loosened up The Westcott Theater on January 27th

The Westcott Theater in Syracuse, NY has been a go-to venue for Syracuse University students and area residents for years. Recently, the Westcott has offered an eclectic blend of bookings that span across many different music styles and genres. This particular night was no exception to this relatively new trend, as Oregon-based producer Douglas Apping took the stage with live violinist Ilya Goldberg under the moniker of Emancipator.

The crowd was primed well by openers Beatkid, Tor and Eliot Lipp, who offered fast-paced infectious dance grooves that drew from several subgenres of electronic dance music like House, Drum n Bass, and Dubstep. I had broken a sweat and felt loosened up by the end of Eliot Lipp’s set, anxiously waiting to see what Emancipator would bring next. As Emancipator began their set, the overall vibe of the crowd seemed to change from raging craziness to a slower, more relaxed feel. Emancipator’s advanced lighting rig grabbed my attention right away. The rig included thirteen LED lit triangles that towered over the two artists. It was obvious that the lights were programmed for each song, as they seamlessly changed with each subtle transition in the music.

Emancipator seemed to build in the layers in each track carefully, which allowed the set to take on a free-form. Emancipator barely used any distinct riffs from any of their albums, but did include brief teases of “Jet Stream” and “Kamakura” from their latest album Safe In The Steep Cliffs. Douglas and Ilya seemed to be in a trance, lost in their own musical take on down-tempo, trip-hop grooves.

The performance was especially enjoyable and unique because the music warranted multiple potential responses. One could dance to it, just stand and relax to it or immerse one’s mind in the detail and complexity of it. An even blend of these types of expressions was apparent in the audience and I was eagerly sampling each one. This show presented me with three things that I look for in a live music experience: a danceable groove, some musical complexity to ponder and a chill crowd to experience it with.

www.emancipatormusic.com

www.thewestcotttheater.com

Emancipator on Twitter

January 31, 2013