Bands on the Rise: Paik Full Interview

(For more info on the band, check out http://www.myspace.com/paikspace and http://www.beyonderrecords.com/. For the complete interview, check out http://bandsontherise.blogspot.com/)

If you’ve see them live, you’ll know that not many bands can do what Paik does on stage every night. The sheer magnitude and ear bleeding velocity of their music will make you appreciate the quieter moments in their set. And believe me, the enduring silences they can conjure in addition to those caterwauling walls of noise are equally affecting. For over a decade now, Paik has put out some of the most daringly noisy, cathartic music that reaches far back into your mind: this is life changing stuff, like the first time you heard Kevin Shields make his guitar sound like an elephant. Drummer Ryan Pritts recently took the time to answer some questions about the band’s music and some of his best concert moments of the past.

Hector Mojena: For our readers, who is in and has been in the band throughout the years and how did you guys get started/meet?

Paik: Our original lineup was Ali Clegg on bass and me (Ryan) on drums with Rob Smith on guitar. She left the band in 05 and was replaced by our friend Anthony Petrovic who is the current bassist. We have done shows here and there with fill-ins as well when he can’t fly out.

HM: What bands/artists have been big influences on your sound? To these ears, there's definitely this swirling shoegaze sound, like My Bloody Valentine, but with a real wide open, unhinged sort of dynamic, like Can.

P: Definitely MBV is a fave, but influences range all over the map for all of us. It’s really hard to explain without going into a novel...

HM: I have your Magnesium Fire DVD and I really dig the projections you guys use in your live shows. How does the band usually come across these bits of footage and assemble them into what we see live? A lot of the cuts between different footage are pretty jarring; how does that play into the performance and influence the sound?

P: Well, I collect old 16mm films, and have used a lot of that imagery in cutting the projection videos; generally I just seek out very mentally intriguing stuff that causes me to really think and/or pay attention. This is the basis or criteria that I look for; it is not synchronized, yet always seems appropriate for what ever songs we're doing. We just want to give up a real psychedelic experience for the viewer as that is what really fuels our personal musical interests and endeavors.

HM: How often does the band tour or would like to tour? What venues, cities, etc. are you most excited to play? Also, what have been your favorite touring experiences collectively? I for one would have loved to have seen Paik and BRMC in the same night.

P: We don't have a set schedule for touring really, especially in these lean times. We prefer to accept invites to festivals, tours with bands we know/ like, etc. That way it always seems to be better received; supporting Stephen Malkmus' Face the Truth tour was a really fun time, and also doing tours/shows with BRMC (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club). But for sure, the highlight of Paik’s existence would be the Terrastock festivals we've played and the friends we have met through playing them. Hands down!

HM: How did you get to play Terrastock and how was your set received?

P: We were invited to our first one in 2002 and have played them all since then. Phil McMullen is the most incredible person in
the music world today for his perseverance in continuing this great event on a semi yearly basis. It is much like a family reunion in that the friends you never get to see because of living all over the world all assemble for three days of psychedelic music. You just can’t mess with that.

HM: What sort of equipment do you all use live to create the enormous walls of sound heard on stage

P: Basics really: large, high powered amplifiers, and speaker cabinets, and a really large drum kit.

HM: What is the process of putting together a song like for the band? Are most of the tunes conceived as jams or is their a song already written before-hand?

P: Usually it starts from a song someone brings as a complete piece or a sketch, and we flesh it out to wherever it goes from there. We've never been a jam band.

HM: What are the favorite songs to play live?

P: Phantoms, Satin Black, Dirt for Driver, Monster of the Absloute, lately. Favorites change and are created though, so its hard to really be very specific on that one.

HM: Last question. What future tour dates does Paik have planned? Miami maybe?

P: We have no dates in the book as of yet. Europe is on the radar next though. Look for that as it takes shape sometime in 09. Be sure to look for all our solo projects playing shows in our respective areas of the country: Rob Smith-Dark Red (Detroit), Ryan- Bolmongani (North Carolina), Anthony - E-Zee-Tiger/Drums (San Francisco).

Bands on the Rise: Rimsky Full Interview

(You can find the band and their latest EP, Five Heartaches in Stereo, at myspace.com/rimskymusic)

Rimsky may hail from Miami but their songs indicate a musical influence more in line with that of The Pixies and the Elephant Six collective. Its more Boston than any other band you will find in our city's eclectic music scene, and that alone makes these power poppers unique. Now, what actually makes them good is that lead songwriter Rimsky Pons isn't afraid to lay his soul bare and see what happens over the course of an upbeat pop song, rare in a time where only irony and kitsch seem to be prevalent. On their latest EP, Five Heartaches in Stereo, Rimsky proves that five songs can say a lot, with tunes such as 'Adaptation' and 'Your Good Nature' presenting stories of everyday apocalypse set to an entire studio's worth of sonic trickery. I caught up with Rimsky Pons recently to talk about the rigors of touring and how Rimsky (the band, obviously) came to be.

Hector Mojena: How did you get the band together initially? Who are the members and what does everyone play or contribute?

Rimsky Pons: The band wasn't very difficult to assemble. I work at a studio called the Shack North and I play in another band called Humbert, so between bands coming in and out of the studio and bands I've met and befriended over the years of playing with Humbert, it was almost like cherry picking a fantasy sports team. Currently, two of the guys from the now defunct band Pyrojet are playing with me. I've got Joseph Larrea, who was the guitarist and lead vocals for Pyrojet, and Orestis Bardoutsos, who was the drummer for Pyrojet. Also, Jorge Adrian Ubieta handles all of the bass duties. Additionally, he plays in two other bands. One is Arsonist and the other is Vultures are Wolves.

HM: The first time I saw you guys play was at Ninja Fest and the whole band put on an awesome set. How often do you tour and what are your favorite places to play, if any? Is touring generally something you like to do or is it more like a Jesus and Mary Chain thing, just work? Also, what's the favorite song to play live?

RP: Thanks for the Ninja Fest compliment. Matt from Rotagilla pretty much put that show together. He saw us perform at Churchill's and put us on the bill. I felt a little out of place because there were so many young kids and most of the bands leaned towards a really strange version of hardcore music I heard when I was younger. The cool thing was that as our set progressed more and more people kept peeking into the bay we were playing out of and stayed. It was really flattering. I know I went on a tangent, but I really like to talk. Answering your real question, though; touring for someone at my level is a very difficult thing. Booking the shows is easy. Getting on the road is hard, especially when your band is made up of working adults and the fact that gas is so expensive. There used to be a time when you could book a two week tour and take a reasonable economic loss, just to get the name out there. Right now, you really have to be tactical about the whole thing because filling up gas in a van full of people and gear is pretty expensive. Tactical means keeping it regional. Florida, Georgia and maybe the Carolinas. I just got back from Phila, and NY a few months back and although I had a great time, it really broke me. Favorite places to play. My new favorite is Alligator Alley in Oakland Park. Small venue but it's got a nice stage with a good sound system. The most fun has to be the Poorhouse. It's a hole in the wall in Ft. Lauderdale next to Revolution. I've had some of my wildest shows there. Favorite songs. I don't really have a preference. The only thing about that is I generally tend to stay away from the slower ones because when people don't know who you are, the patience to let a slow song develop may not be there. You're usually catering to weekend crowds who want to get away from their problems by having a few drinks and listen to some upbeat music. it's just the way it is at the local level, especially for the more successful local bands.

HM: I really love your album Five Heartaches in Stereo. It reminds me of The Pixies or Teenage Fanclub circa Grand Prix. I wanted to know what was the genesis of these songs? Had the songs been gestating for a while or was the whole process very immediate? They seem really personal but they also have this upbeat, optimistic quality to them, like 'Adaptation' and 'Your Good Nature'.

RP: I was seriously dating another local musician for the last four years and if you ever want action and adventure for your emotions, that's the way to go. During the decline of that relationship, those feelings kept seeping out and instead of falling apart all the time, I tried to channel and articulate those feelings in my songs as honestly as I could. It doesn't totally heal how you feel inside, but it sure does relieve the pressure. The most rewarding part has been people who have truly given my modest ep a chance and sympathize with it's message. I mean, who doesn't get heart-broken every know and then?

HM: What is the song writing process like for you? Do you typically come in with something that's already fully formed in your head or is there any sort of conceptualizing during practice?

RP: There is no practice. I've been doing this for so many years, that I will typically come up with the melody in my head. If it sticks, I'll flesh it out on guitar. At that point, I'll record the rest of the instruments myself. If there are instruments I can't play, like a piano or sax, then I'll seek assistance elsewhere. It really feels like back-tracking when you teach someone something that you already know how to play just to record it, especially when you can do it yourself. I don't want this to be confused as ego, though. It's just pragmatic.

HM: I heard that you co-own a studio called The Shack North. How has that been? Have you been able to record a lot of bands?

RP: I've learned so much from recording bands. The good one's the bad ones. The in-betweens. It almost falls under the umbrella of psychology more than the actual recording process. It's gotten to the point where recording software is so powerful, I almost think that if you taught a trained chimp how to mic, it could probably be an engineer. The real trick is feeling out people. Are they passive are they aggressive? If you can take the variable of the artist's vision and there budget and somehow make it work, then I believe you have a successful project, at least at the local level. In short, I've probably recorded over fifty clients. I'm not sure if that's a big number, but it's kept me more than busy.

HM: Last question. What future tour dates do you have planned at the moment and where can readers find out more about your music?

RP: Like I said, the touring will be really sporadic. I've got some local shows lined-up. It's on the shows section of my myspace page, which, coincidentally, is where you can get the most updated info. and keep in contact with me. I don't know if it's good or bad anymore, but most of my traffic comes through there and it's really easy to keep tabs that way.

Bands on the Rise: Francis 7 Full Interview

Francis 7 is a local band specializing in the sort of post-punk sound that Miami's music scene is sorely in need of. With a sound that evokes the haunting guitar textures of bands like Joy Division and The Cocteau Twins, Francis 7 manages to conjure up hazy walls of guitar in which you could (and should) get lost. This week I caught up with Omar 7 who plays guitar and sings for the group. If you want to find out more about Francis 7, check out myspace.com/francis7

HM/VJ: How did you guys all meet and what made you want to start the band? Who's in the band and how many members are you?

O7: I started the band because I was playing in other bands, other types of music, and this was the music I really wanted to do. I'd written and recorded a bunch of songs by myself and I decided I wanted to form a real band so I went out searching...

Trey, our guitarist, I met at school (MDC). We had a recording class together. From the moment we met, he hated me, and we've been friends ever since. Jonny, bass, is like a family member and I kind of watched him grow up, all the while forcing him to listen to good music! Raph, drums, is Jonny's high school buddy and after years of searching for a drummer we realized we hadn't thought of him. Omar, myself (vocals and guitar), I find myself generally lacking!

HM/VJ: What bands or other artists have been big inspirations on your sound? I sense this early Factory Records vibe and a bit of British shoegazing in your music as well.

O7: You're quite right. When we started, we were far more shoegaze-y, but my real love is early 80's post punk. My favorite band is the Chameleons, and I think they have been my biggest influence. I think the earlier shoegaze stuff we did was cool but I wanted to be more song-oriented, and I think we didn't find "our" sound until I focused more on songwriting and less on atmospherics. I'm real into the intensity of those bands, like the Chameleons and Killing Joke and early U2. They were also quite political and socially aware.

HM/VJ: Generally, what is the song writing process like? Does someone bring in a song that's already done or do you guys jam and find songs during practice? Who writes all the music?

O7: Well, I usually bring in the songs and teach the guys the parts. I write the whole song and record it at home on my Pro Tools rig and then we go over it. It's not entirely un-democratic, though, as the guys have changed quite a few things over time, and I trust them more and more every day and give them leeway. We're a real band. Trey likes to change things and thinks he sneaks them by me. He's wrong though, but it's usually a good change so I don't say anything!

HM/VJ: How long and how often have you played live? Do you have any gigs lined up at the moment? Are there regular fans at your gigs?

O7: We've been playing live for a couple of years. The local scene is very difficult. Not a lot of places to play, and some of the promoters are downright shady. We're in the process of finishing the album so we haven't been playing much, but we will soon. I for one love to play shows.

HM/VJ: What is the strangest moment you've ever had on stage/as a band?

O7: That's a tough one. I'd say there's a plurality of strange moments when we're on stage! Watching Mark Burgess of the Chameleons dancing to one of our songs certainly was the most surreal. I don't know- usually it's the "angry" or "Bono" moments that happen on a regular basis that are quite strange! Did I mention that I have a habit of bashing myself with microphones quite often?

HM/VJ: For the band, what's the favorite song to play live?

O7: I think we'd all agree it's "I Would." It's our most intense song, I think, and it really has become the band's song, very different from the demo I brought them. We own that song.

HM/VJ: Are you guys recording any music for release? Personally it would be cool to be able to listen to 'I Can't Feel My Heart Anymore' anytime.

O7: Well, thanks a lot. Yeah, we're finishing up our album- doing vocals right now, and then it's mixing time and Ulrich Schnauss is doing a re-mix for us as well, which I'm really excited about. We've re-recorded the songs like "heart" and we did it to capture the live sound of the band, which I think is more up-front. I hope we succeeded.

No album title yet but we're really looking forward to finally finishing it. We've had a lot of delays and snags and I just want it done and out there.

Bands on the Rise: Pyrojet Full Interview!

This week we interview local punk band Pyrojet whose upcoming gigs and other info can be found
here: www.myspace.com/pyrojet

HM/VJ: Who is in the band and how would you describe your sound?

Pyrojet: Pyrojet consists of Daniel Falquez (lead guitar), Orestis
Bardoutsos (drums), Santiago Cadavid (bass), and Joe Larrea is the lead
singer. I would simply define Pyrojet's music as orgasmic rock. It can
be fast, slow, dancy, raw, emotional, irrational but it is always
going to feel good no matter what.

HM/VJ: What are your musical influences as far as yourself and the other members?

Pyrojet: Santiago loves house and electronic.
Orestis wets his pants for ska and emo.
Daniel mmmmetal, metal, metal
Joseph likes alternative and some other weird stuff.

HM/VJ: How did you guys form? How did you settle on the sound you have now?

Pyrojet: Joe met O through a mutual friend. Daniel, Santiago and Joe used to
play together in a skate punk band called Ramshackles. The sound we
have come up with took us a little time to develop but it was
definitely worth the while. It makes us feel weightless when we get
together and share ideas and come up with songs that we all love.

HM/VJ: How long have you guys been playing live? Are there regular fans at
your shows?

Pyrojet: We have been Pyrojet for 2 years now. We have some hardcore fans that
never miss a show and some new ones that get from every time we play
some place new.

HM/VJ: How did you guys come up with the name?

Pyrojet: Pyro = fire Jet = plane, it takes you high in the sky. Music to us is a divine
experience that takes us higher, so in some way it's like a tribute to
music itself.

HM/VJ: What is the songwriting process like? Do you improvise a lot or bring
in certain chord progressions?
Pyrojet: The songwriting is mostly done by Joseph, but all the music is done by Pyrojet.

HM/VJ: Which of the songs are your favorite to play live and why?
Pyrojet: mmmm this one is a tough one..I would say two new ones "On my Own" and "Tragic Affair"

HM/VJ: Which of the songs have become fan favorites at gigs?
Pyrojet: "Reality TV" "Hellway of Living" "Tragic Affair" "On my own" "Pyroman"

HM/VJ: How long does it usually take to finish writing and working out a song? How much of that process is affected by fan reaction and the rest of the band?
Pyrojet: A song may take as little as one rehearsal or as long as a year + . The smile of a fan, or having someone sing your songs right back at you it the most refreshing experience in the world

Bands on the Rise: Oso Full Interview!

This week, Hector Mojena and Victor Goizueta (HM/VJ) interview Mike Montero (MM), singer/songwriter and guitarist for psychedelic pop smiths Oso (“bear”), who enlightens us about playing live, recording, and “Pedro.” To listen and find out local live dates visit: http://www.osotheband.com/ or www.myspace.com/osotheband

HM/VJ: Who is in the band and how would you describe your sound?

MM: -Alfredo Manzur plays guitar. He played synth in the middle of "Summons.." and at the end of "No Clue." He also played piano at the outro of Made of Mistakes. It's also his effected voice you hear in the breaks between the verses of "You Know."

-Felipe Troncoso plays bass, except for on "Split the Scene" (I had to play that line, and he covered the outro on that one.) He also played piano on "Made of Mistakes" and percussion on a few songs. It's his voice doing background whispers on "No Clue."

-Lorena Perez is OSO's official drummer since the fall of 2006, but she's the 4th one since the band's inception in April of '05. She played drums on the last 3 songs of our album, but has learned the drum parts for the other songs so we can play them live. The first 5 songs of the album were recorded with Peter Arzeno, and Danny Lopez played drums and congas on "In Her Way and drums on "Summons..."

-I, Mike Montero, play guitar, sing and write the lyrics and the majority of the songs. I played percussion on a lot of the songs too. Everyone sung at the end of "No Clue" by the way.

I would generally describe our sound as a good blend of rock and pop. Almost everything that falls under those broad categories can be found in most of our songs: From the grunge-influenced tone of "...Essence" to the latin feel of "In Her Way" to the R n' B soul of "Split the Scene" to the prog-rock arrangements of "Seconds Ago" and "You Know" to the psychedelic sounds in "Suchacrush" and "Summons..." -what ties it all together is the voice.

HM/VJ: What are your musical influences as far as yourself and the other members?

MM: In 1991, when my love affair with the guitar began, there were 5 bands that completely molded my mind-frame, approach and beliefs at the time. Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Primus, RHCP and Love Battery. Those are the bands that I either discovered on my own or that my high school friends turned me onto. Those five bands had a huge impact on me when I started playing. Right around this time my father turned me onto Led Zeppelin, the Doors and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Suddenly I began listening to everything I could but at the time it was mostly rock from the 60's and up. I started collecting everything I could afford and I was going to every concert that I could attend (sometimes by myself.) I still have cassettes from that era. Nowadays I try hard to give every sound a chance and not limit my listening to any one particular style or genre. I'm rotating Radiohead, Debussy, Red Snapper, the Velvet Underground and Dr. Dre in my CD changer as I write this.

I can't really speak for the rest of the band's influences but I do know that they all have very broad and eclectic tastes in music. I know that Lore listens to a lot of music in Spanish and she currently loves someone called Natalia Lafourcade. Felipe really likes REM and I remember that when I found out about that I suddenly felt like our little group would work. Alfredo is really into jazz lately listening to someone called Kurt Rosenwinkel but when we first met he spoke often of Sigur Ros and Jon Brion.

HM/VJ: How did you guys form? How did you settle on the sound you have now?

MM: Everyone in OSO met in college around 2004/2005. Felipe, Alfredo and I all had the same sound recording class. Alfredo and I had met the previous term in a different recording class. Felipe caught my attention because he has these big and colorful tattoos, he was very quiet, wore a couple different Suicidal Tendencies shirts and kinda reminded me of Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite. I asked him once what he played and when he said bass a light bulb clicked on over my head. I directed him to my MySpace where I have old demos and he dug them enough to get together once. He had a couple crappy fretless basses and his intonation was sloppy but I figured it could be developed and I liked that he was big into REM. Our first drummer was an old friend of mine Bruce who lived in SOBE. We were a trio for the first year but Bruce didn't last 3 months.Alfredo started playing in OSO in the spring of 2006 and that fall Lorena tried us out and stayed. They both complete this band perfectly. Fredo has interesting ideas (he wrote Icicles- I just added the lyrics) and Lore's syncopated sense of rhythm complements the band's sound immensely. We only settled on the sound we have now by writing and recording songs that we liked and thought other people might enjoy.

HM/VJ: How long have you guys been playing live? Are there regular fans at your shows?

MM: We started playing live in the summer of 2005. Our first show was with a band I liked called Objects in Transit. The venue we played at was/is called The Mental Ward and the place was a dirty hole in the wall. There were only a couple of barflies there sucking on their drinks and glued to their seats in the adjacent room. The stage was adequately sized for hand puppets and only the drum set could fit there. We literally played for the other band and vice/versa. I wouldn't wish a gig there on my arch-nemesis. Well, maybe I would. Regular fans? I don't think so but I'm not sure. We don't play live often enough to garner a following yet, but I have been trying to change that. Which leads us to the next question.

HM/VJ: How did you guys come up with the name?

MM: For those that may not know, OSO is spanish for bear. I came up with it for a few different reasons. First, I liked that it was a simple and symmetrical word. Secondly, I liked that you can't put a "The" in front of it. And thirdly, in my mind it described a cute and cuddly exterior with potential for unpredictable beastly-ness inside. Sometimes we run things pretty fast, but way too often we're lazy and complacent. We're very curious and feel unpredictable and can sometimes be approachable but some of us can be scary too. When we're supposed to be working on something important we all gravitate towards food first.

HM/VJ: What is the songwriting process like? Do you improvise a lot or bring in certain chord progressions?

MM: The process is more like bringing progressions to the table. Unfortunately this band rarely improvises or jams and I truly believe it's time related. I hope and believe that we'll change that someday. Mostly, one of the 3 string players will bring a near complete progression and we'll arrange it from there by either adding to or subtracting from the blob. Usually the music comes first too.

HM/VJ: How has the album You Know fared among fans? How do you feel about it?

MM: So far we've heard positively excited comments from people that have the album or have heard us live. We have a link on our site to another site that provides blind reviews of our songs by random peers around the world. Most of those are positive reviews, but many are by either angry, tired or bored reviewers and such comments can be fun to read.

HM/VJ: What is your favorite song or songs off the record? Does the band have any songs that they like to play more than others?

MM: My favorite song is "Summons..." because of the build up, the tones and the message. I wrote it for my dad and brother and all their crazy surfer friends out west. I think we're all pretty tired of the album by now but we all agree that it's fun to play it all live. I personally have a difficult time playing "Icicles" live because I tend to forget the lyrics. "No Clue" bores me live but the band loves to play it, whadayagonnado?

HM/VJ: Icicles, Summons Me the Sea, and Of the Essence are songs Victor and I like off the album. How did those particular songs come about during writing, recording, etc.?

MM: "Icicles" was a riff with a particular sound that Alfredo brought in one day in '06. He used a Whammy pedal to create this warbly sound and when he showed it to us he said "it sounds like icicles." And that became the title. I wrote the lyrics around the word and I complemented his sound at the intro and outro with a ring modulator that mimicked the sound of wind. I love the distortion pedal clicks at the bass bridge to the solo section and the tones of the two solos: To me the guitars there sound like a young bird on it's first flight that morphs into a Pterodactyl in mid-air. "Summons..." was a riff I began working on in '02 when I lived in Ocean Beach, CA. The riff had a hypnotic undulating feel and later I realized it was due to the single measure of 2/2 sandwiched between a couple of regular 4/4 measures. We used that single measure as a marker point for the drums to go from a mellow ride driven part to a busier hi-hat driven part and that gave the song a constant up and down feel. Alfredo had the idea to play an E-bow (an electronic device that replaces the pick in your right hand and makes the strings swell and vibrate with no apparent attack) thru his overdriven, tremolo-ed Vox at the 2nd verse. There's also the break after the 2nd chorus where Alfredo plays his synth set to sound like the ocean, the guitar riff there pits a measure of 9/4 against 2 measures of 4/4 adding to the overall vibe of cresting waters. The only thing that bothers me about this mix is the overwhelming bass frequencies of the doumbek I played at the intro. The title came from the first line of a Haiku I wrote in high school which can be found somewhere on our MySpace page. "...Essence" was a song I wrote in the 90's and it was the first one OSO ever worked on and played as a band. The lyrics deal with religion, death and our time spent alive but it's difficult for me to define it and hope that some psychologist can someday analyze it properly and tell me what it is I'm trying to say. It was also the first song we recorded and one can hear that my vocals came out a bit plaintive and melancholic. In this mix I worked hard to get one of the crash cymbals to disappear during the choruses, you can still hear it but its volume bothered me for a long time. I don't know how it went unnoticed during tracking but Peter banged the hell out of it like a caveman with a club and it was just way too overpowering in the song.

HM/VJ: What inspired the artwork/packaging of your debut album and who did it? Are there any secret messages in the album art?

MM: The cover art came from an idea that I had about presenting the band as "new". I wanted the image to portray the animal (OSO) as coming from the woods towards you (the fan) in the city. It definitely came out a lot different from what I described to the artist, Rafael Valenciano (a local artist and neighbor/friend of Felipe's.) Actually, when he first showed it to us I was against using it. We argued and disagreed a bunch and spoke over each other and things got heated in that little room. I was so close to kicking his ass out of the room but cooler heads calmed us both with their opinions and eventually the piece grew on me. Now I'm in love with the piece, I framed the original and it currently hangs in my home. I even called Rafael a couple times to thank him but he won't answer or return my calls dammit. The cover has a clear message of "choosing a path" which may not be obvious at first but becomes apparent when opened up and seen with front and back as one. The inside sleeve sort of shows the result of choosing that path. As for anything hidden I recommend 3-D glasses. Might not help much but they're fun and make you look cool.

HM/VJ: How long did it take to finish the album? Was it difficult or exciting in some way?

MM: Too long. We started recording in summer of '05 and recorded the last track in January or February of this year. We had to jump on every chance that we had to get Studio M for free at MDC Kendall and those were small windows that were far and few between. Some overdubs and vocals were handled in Alfredo's Polyphonic Studio. Some things that slowed us down were beyond our control, drummers freaking out and quitting, mixing engineers taking more than a few months to mix 3 songs, visual artists rebelling and re-starting the creative process, you know the peripherals. Not so much difficult as exciting. I absolutely enjoy every aspect of sound recording. The most difficult parts were losing a drummer and re-training 2 new drummers for recording. Other than that I had great fun during the recording process. The lighting there is perfect (I can't spend much time under white lights and luckily there are hardly any like that in the studio.) Also the temperature is very low in there and that's definitely enjoyable. The couches are pretty comfy too. And we usually had the place to ourselves with very limited interruptions which made it feel like we were in our own little world most of the time.

Music Review - Drums And Guns by Low

This is a review I wrote for the paper last year. The version here is the full unedited draft.



Drums And Guns by Low
Sub Pop Records; 2007
8/10

"All soldiers/They're all gonna die/All the pretty people/They're all gonna die," yells Alan Sparhawk as a wall of blaring, reversed feedback and funeral march like tom smashing (courtesy of wife and drummer Mimi Parker) envelopes your left and right chanel speakers in opener "Pretty People." It's telling that the Dulluth, Minnessota trio's (there is also new bassist Matt Livingston replacing former bass player Zak Sally) eighth album would pick up right where their last one did, 2005's The Great Destroyer. That album marked new territory for the band and saw a shift into more rock oriented songwriting that differed greatly from their earlier, more minimal efforts. Here, again we see that Low has been experimenting with their formula, but rather than writing songs with big dissonant guitars and fuzz bass, the band has opted for a much colder, electronic sound, more akin to their earlier, quieter days perhaps in mood rather than aesthete. Drums and Guns is not a retread of Long Division's glacial percussion and chiming, insistent guitars nor does it seek to sound like their more recent, distorted efforts like Trust. Rather, this is completely new ground for Low and returning producer Dave Friddman allows them to more fully explore their sound.

On first single "Breaker", Low showcases their new found love for electronic music: the married two-some of the group harmonize against the cold backdrop of a simple organ melody and a skittery electronic beat complete with handclaps and more feedback. Elsewhere, things dip into even more experimental, perhaps stranger pastures. "Dust on the Window", with its lazy percussion and Mimi Parker's haunting vocal, invokes old Low as played by ambient music composer Brian Eno. Songs like "Violent Past" and "Belarus" are deeply hypnotic, ghostly gems, the former reprising "Breaker's" melancholic organ and the latter using odd reversed vocal samples and thumping bass. The rest of the album runs along those same lines without much loss of momentum. From beginning to end, one can't help but feel entranced by the almost kraut-rock like dedication here, more so than on any other Low release, to repetition and noise, sometimes loud, as on "Pretty People", and sometimes delicately fragile, as on the machine like clatter of "Dragonfly." Despite the sort of nondescript drone these songs may conjure up on first listen, its interesting to note that never does there seem to be a dull moment here. In fact, unlike previous Low albums, Drums and Guns' songs always feel varied and on repeated listen,
the songs start to open up and reveal new sounds hidden beneath.

Unfortunately, the same depth can't be divulged from the lyrics of Drums And Guns' songs. Its clear from the album and song titles ("Belarus", "Sandinista") that Low sees the need for more pointed commentary in their music. To that end, the anti-war themes expressed herein may seem interesting fodder for the band, but this only reveals itself to be a sorely missed opportunity. For what is supposed to be an anti-war record, the closest the group ever gets to addressing the matter directly comes in odd lyrical couplets as in "Murderer" ("You may need a murderer/ Someone to do your dirty work") or "In Silence" ("They put the treasure deep inside us/ They thought the desert would divide us"). Where Low has always gotten by on their music alone in the past, on an album where political discontent seems to play a prominent role, the intent lacks and, at times, kills some of the momentum in getting their lyrics to affect us. The production, as well, may turn some people away from listening. Most instruments including vocals and bass are sampled through only one channel and therefore, some songs tend to suffer
from an uneveness soundwise.

If anything, Drums and Guns will probably be heard as one of the most dividing albums among Low fans such as The Great Destroyer was two years ago. Still, this doesn't mean that long-time Low fans will be turned off from Drums and Guns. In fact, this is surely one of their best records yet in a streak of solid albums dating back all the way to 2001's Things We Lost in the Fire. Sure, some people could say that all this album is is Low and a drum machine, but there is a more interesting dynamic at play here than just simply that. Hopefully, they'll take the time to explore those dynamics more fully and I'll be here waiting for another Low record, guessing the next new radical reinvention of their sound.

Bands on the Rise: ArtOfficial Full Interview!

ArtOfficial's resident sax player Keith Cooper talks about playing live, his favorite music, and, of course, ferbies. To find out more about ArtOfficial, check out http://www.myspace.com/weareartofficial where you can find all of their tunes and purchase their Stranger EP.

Hector Mojena (H.M.): Who is in your band and how would you describe your sound?

Keith Cooper (Mr. C.): We've got Danny on keys, Ralf on bass, me on sax, Manny on drums. The Mc’s are Newsence and Afterlogic. We sound like a four piece jazz/funk quartet with two rappers. Some people say it sounds like old A Tribe Called Quest and The Roots, but with its own unique sound.

H.M.: How did you guys form? How did you settle on the sound you have now?

Mr. C.: The piano player had a gig on the beach. I live on the beach and none of the people that were supposed to play that night could make it, so he made a couple of phone calls and they called me to come. The bass player, he called him and we kind of met there and there were these two guys. These two guys that rapped were in the audience and they were friends of some of the guys that were there playing. After the first set, we took a break and we were talking to them and said,"Hey, you guys should come up and, I don't know, start rapping." They came up and they ended up staying for the whole second set which was like an hour and a half. Everyone after we were done playing was like, "Oh man, that sounded awesome. You guys should play together." Then I went to India for a month. When I got back, they still wanted to play.

H.M.: So it was sort of an accident?

Mr. C.: Pretty much, yeah. Well, we knew each other, but we didn't play together, we just have played in random places together.

H.M.: How long have you guys been playing live? Does ArtOfficial already have a regular crowd that comes to the shows?

Mr. C.: Yeah, there's definitely a crowd that comes. We play all the time. Every month at P.S. 14 in downtown we have a show called "State of the Art" and there's tons of people, its always jampacked. It's pretty cool. They have art and everything, music, a bunch of bands. I've met people randomly in the street and they're like, "Oh, you play for ArtOfficial, that's cool."

H.M.: So you're slightly famous?

Mr. C.: No.

Victor Goizueta (V.J.): What are your musical influences?

Mr. C.: Pretty much...that's a hard question to ask. I listen to everything. Some sax players: I love John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, and Kenny Garrett. Anything from classical music...I learned to play the saxophone in a church, a gospel church. The soul of music, I Iearned to feel music by playing in a church like that, if that makes sense. I love jazz and hip hop like early Outkast, Nas, and The Roots. I listen to all different styles of music, except country, it bothers me, but I listen to all different styles. I used to play in a ska band, a rock band, a hip hop band now, and I've played in a jazz band.

V.J.: How did you come up with ArtOfficial as a band name?

Mr. C.: Honestly, I didn't come up with it. One of the rappers, Newsense, came up with ArtOfficial. He saw it somewhere and he was talking to someone about art. He thought it was a cool name. It's spelled Art-official. I don't know, I'm not really sure. He just came up with it and I liked how it sounded.

H.M.: What is the songwriting process like? Does someone come up with a riff or a rap and bring that in to jam?

Mr. C.: Yeah, mainly everyone comes in and writes songs. Everyone plays their own part. It's to the point that when we get payed, at the end of the night, we split it six ways because we feel that everyone puts in their own part and there's not one person in the band that does more. I make up my own parts, the bass player makes up his own parts. When we practice, someone will maybe have a chord progression and we'll be like, "Yeah, that's cool but maybe, here, let's try this chord. Let's do this, let's experiment." Usually we agree on everything, no one ever really argues, which is nice.

H.M.: How has your first official release, the Stranger EP, been received by the fans?

Mr. C.: It's five songs. Everyone that I've given it to loves it, even older people: they love the jazzier aspect of it. But I love it, I listen to it all the time. I think it's great.

H.M.: Do you guys have any gigs coming up?

Mr. C.: Some of them are "over twenty one" gigs at bars and we play at P.S. 14 downtown. We're playing a couple of places on the beach like the The Purdy Lounge and The Jazid. I think we're getting an all ages gig at Sunset pretty soon. The website is artofficialmusic.net; we just released a music video...it's right on the website. [The link to their myspace is also on the site]

V.J.: Do you play any other instruments in the band?

H.M.: Yes, I do.I play the flute actually on one of the tracks, its a samba track, the second one on the album. I play a couple of different kinds of saxes. We're actually going to play this one classical [song], a Bach piece you've probably heard in commercials but me and the bass player are gonna play something in unison on the clarinet. So it should be cool.

V.J.: Okay, last question: What is your obsession with Ferbies?

Mr. C.: I have no response to that question.

H.M.: Are you sure about that?

Mr. C.: I think Victor's psycho.

V.J.: Put that in the newspaper!