indie

Scout Alexandria

Bryan V. — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 19:31:07 +0000

Scout Alexandria Bryan V. Fri, 04/21/2017 - 14:31

Scout Alexandria's beguiling music is a mix of indie folk and sparse pop that immediately brings to mind a sunnier take on "Moon Pix"-era Cat Power. Released in February, her first album, Scout and the Snaggles, rewards multiple listens. She will perform on May 6 at Mills Record Company as part of the Middle of the Map 2017. We are excited to share an interview with Scout Alexandria on Listen Local.

Please introduce yourself. Where do you live and work?

I'm Scout I live in Kansas City (born and raised)! I work at Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters and KC Wineworks. Both located in the Crossroads.

Talk about the making of your wonderful debut album, Scout and the Snaggles. What was the recording process like? What did you learn that you’ll take to future projects?

I started playing guitar and writing music a year and a half ago. The recording process was very natural, since it was my first album I was wanting it to take time as I write the songs. I learned a ton of things for recording in the future. One of those things is just practicing every day has changed a lot of things for me..

Scout and The Snaggles by Scout

How much of an editor are you of your work? What’s one song on the album that gave you the most trouble?

I am a huge editor of my work! There's a lot that I would change but that's the thing of always growing as an artist, knowing your songs don't have to be a finished product after you have recorded it. The song I would change is "Hamms." I play it full band now and prefer it so much more

How long have you been a songwriter? Who are your biggest influences?

I've been a singer-songwriter since I first started singing, I was always humming and making my own tunes. My biggest influences would be Leonard Cohen, The Everly Brothers, Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen.

Scout and The Snaggles by Scout

What inspires you the most about the Kansas City music community?

Kansas City inspires me because of all the collaborations here and trade and everyone is so freaaaaking nice!!

Scout's recommendations from the Johnson County Library catalog:

1. Just Kids by Patti Smith

2. M Train by Patti Smith

3. How Music Works by David Byrne

4. Revolution by Russell Brand

5. Joan Baez

6. The Essential Bernie Sanders and His Vision for America by Jonathan Tasini

7. You Must Change Your Life by Rachel Corbett

8. Poems and Songs by Leonard Cohen

9. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars by David Bowie

10. The Legendary Patsy Cline by Patsy Cline

Crooked by Scout

indie, singer-songwriter

Eggs on Mars

Bryan V. — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 21:16:29 +0000

Eggs on Mars Bryan V. Thu, 01/31/2019 - 15:16

Pop

Rock

Eggs on Mars is Kansas City's contribution to the glories of underground indie pop, combining the stripped-down melodic jangle of bands like The Bats, Cub and The Clean with the 60s garage rock sounds of bands like The Creation. Led by guitarist Brad Smith, bassist Justin Longmeyer and Mason Potter on drums, the band recently released its fifth album, Mama Pancake, a ten track album that definitely shoes a band playing to its strengths. We are fortunate to share an interview with Smith about the album's creation, songwriting and what's ahead for the band in 2019.

Please introduce yourself and the band. Describe your sound for new listeners.

I am Brad Smith and I play guitar and sing lead vocals. Justin Longmeyer plays bass and sings backup vocals, and Mason Potter plays the drums. We play a surfy/poppy/psychedelic blend of garage rock. WE ARE EGGS ON MARS!

What was the recording process like for your new album “Mama Pancake”? What did you learn that you’ll take to future projects?

This was the first time we ever recorded with our good friend, Rodd Fenton, who has a degree in audio engineering. He was a huge help in making this album sound so good. In the past we usually just put an eight track recorder in the middle of the room and played it all live. This time Rodd helped us to more professionally mic, record, mix, and master the songs. It made a big difference and changed my outlet and philosophy of recording. I didn’t realize how good our music could sound until Rodd helped us do this record, and I hope to work with him on our future albums. We are looking to put out another next year!

A Song

How does songwriting work with Eggs on Mars? Who brings what to the table?

I’ll usually bring a semi-formed song to the band and we’ll all work it out until its right. Sometimes we’ll change parts or throw out others. I may need to rewrite a part or something if we deem it necessary. I really love how we work as a unit and we all have input on the songs. Even though I write the chords or whatever, they are very much all our songs because everyone adds a little something to the song. Very rarely will the final song sound exactly like my original blueprint; it always sounds better after the whole band has put their special touch on it.

Not to Regain

Delve into your creative process. How often do you work on new songs?

I am always working on new songs, it’s something I’m always doing. It’s like brushing my teeth or taking out the trash. Working on songs is just part of my routine. When I’m home I usually have a guitar in hand to mess around with and I’ll record little riffs, ideas, and melodies on my phone. Songs come in a couple different ways. Sometimes after I’ve accumulated a good amount of decent little ideas and chord progressions, I’ll try and flesh them out or in some cases put two ideas together. Other times, I’ll just be playing guitar and a whole song while come to me: chords, melody, chorus, and verses all in one sitting. These usually end up being my most favorite songs and those kind of feel like a gift. After working on other songs and bending, tweaking them; it’s so nice to just get a full song all at once! The last thing to come is usually the words. I have to have a nice strong chord progression and good melody to put the words overtop of it all. I’ve got another album’s worth of songs stockpiled at the moment that I’m ready to take to the band.

Eggs On Mars Live @ KJHK

Who are the main musical influences on Eggs on Mars?

Built to Spill, Neil Young, the Ventures, and lots of 60s garage pop bands like the Zombies, Buffalo Springfield, and the Creation. I’m predominately influenced by a lot guitar-driven bands.

What music are you currently raving about?

Chris Cohen. He’s a really chill psych-pop, singer-songwriter artist on Captured Tracks. He’s got two really good albums that I’ve been playing nearly non-stop as of late.

Our local heroes Shy Boys released their second record, Bell House, pretty recently and has been getting a lot of my listening time. Their first record was so inspiring and important to our band, and this new one has grown on me quite a bit.

The Creation, who I mentioned earlier, is a severely underrated 60s garage rock band that has some great songs. Highly recommended.

The Monkees have an album called The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees that is very good and I’ve been listening to a lot as of late.

Red Haired Darling

Eggs on Mars Recommendations from the Johnson County Public Library Catalogue:

Mason’s picks:

Underground by Thelonious Monk

This is my favorite album of his. He was just a great jazz pianist. One of his best albums. I’d highly recommend it!

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

This is my all-time favorite book. Not just because of the source material, but the mythos surrounding it. Capote’s infatuation with Perry Smith, one of the murderers, is very interesting, and the extent of their friendship has been questioned and debated extensively. I also love how Philip Seymour Hoffman and Craig Collins Jr. portray this unique relationship in the movie Capote.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (directed by Paul Schrader)

I’ve read a lot of Yukio Mishima’s and found him to be a really interesting guy. He formed a militia and took over a Japanese military base and performed a seppuku the same day he sent his books off to his publisher! I thought it was pretty cool the library had a copy of this DVD.

Justin’s picks:

All Eternals Deck by Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats are my absolute favorite band, and this is the first album I listened to by then. The band has been a huge influence on me and I’m really indebted to the library for it since it is where I first borrowed this cd. I recommend it to everyone, but especially if you like music with a literary bent.

The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz (book)
I recently checked this book out from the library, and I can’t put it down. It’s a great primer for a huge number of projects; kimchi, mead, yogurt, etc. The author communicates just how essential and nourishing fermented food has been to society and it’s changed a lot of my ideas about cooking and food in general.

Persona (directed by Ingmar Bergman)
My favorite movie by this great Swedish director. The movie has only two characters and one of them doesn’t speak the entire time. On paper it’s a ludicrous pitch, but the dialogue and acting make this movie incredibly beautiful and intense.

Brad’s picks:

After the Gold Rush by Neil Young

As I mentioned, Neil Young is my biggest inspiration. This is my favorite album of his and possibly one of my favorite albums ever. It isn’t as highly accolated as Harvest, but it’s brilliant in its own right. It’s a great combination of solo songs and full band songs that showcase Neil’s folky side and his full band rocking side better than just about any of his albums.. I really like that template and used it a little for Mama Pancake. I first time I heard this album was from a copy borrowed from the library!

The Wrong Man (directed by Alfred Hitchcock)

A couple of summer ago I went on a Hitchcock kick and watched a whole bunch of his movies. This is one of my favorites. It’s a really great film noir and is based on true events, which makes it even eerier. The lead character is a musician too which is fun.

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut is one of my favorite authors. Great satirist and Cat’s Cradle is a nice entry point into his work and one that I think everyone should read. If this isn’t nice what is?

pop, indie

Schwervon!

Bryan V. — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 17:52:18 +0000

Schwervon! Bryan V. Wed, 02/21/2018 - 11:52

Indie

Pop

Rock

What is Schwervon!? Nothing less than Shawnee, Kansas's contribution to the world of ultra-catchy indie rock. Formed by Matt Roth and Nan Turner in New York City, Schwervon! are a prolific musical force with a catalog chock full of albums, EPs and singles, not to mention their own side projects and national and international touring schedules. They have worked with such indie luminaries as Belle and Sebastian, Guided by Voices and Speedy Ortiz. We are excited to share an interview with the couple about their recent European tour and other subjects. Enjoy!

Please introduce yourselves and describe your music for new listeners

Nan: We're a two piece rock band. I play drums and sing. Matt plays guitar and sings. We started playing music on the lower east side of New York City many years ago. I like to describe our sound as "an expression of imperfect love through jagged rock minimalism".

Matt: We like to have fun at our shows and I think we really enjoy it when people appear to be having fun or letting loose a bit. I think our secret weapon is that our lyrics reveal a darker side of us. I think it’s maybe a little more to chew on when you’re listening alone in the car or on headphones.

Schwervon! - Daydream Ration (Official Music Video)

How did your upcoming European tour come about? Who did you play with?

Nan: We had a great European tour. We've been touring Europe for about 13 years now---we try to go once a year or every two years....usually in support of a new release. We've had help of small labels and bookers in the past but now we do all the booking ourselves. This time we played a lot in Germany and the UK. We played with a fun band in Regensburg, Germany called 2am Decaf and a band from Vienna called Schmieds Puls and also a last minute show in Bristol, UK with Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth)! Also in the UK our friend Bob Nastanovich (from bands Pavement and Silver Jews) came along and dj'ed at the shows.

Matt: All our UK shows were with Bob Nostanovich (Pavement, Silver Jews) DJing. He also put out this 7” record for us. Bob is a great guy. It was real adventure. We also had a chance to play a show with our friend Lisa from one of our favorite bands out of Cincinnati called Wussy. Her solo project is called "The Magic Words". Other memorable opening acts were: The Cornshed Sisters, Schnick Schnack, Swearing At Motorists, Cosines, Savage Mansion.

We’re been going to Europe for a long time, since we lived in New York. It’s just, roughly, a six hour flight from there. Our first opportunities there were with a label in Glasgow called Shoeshine. It’s run by Francis Macdonald. Francis is a very talented jack of many trades. He plays drums for Teenage Fanclub. He’s also the manager of Camera Obscura and The Vaselines.

Schwervon! - Muscle Of Your Heart (Official Music Video)

Talk about your songwriting process. How has it evolved over the years in the life of the band?

Matt: I think our songwriting process involves a lot more “process” than it used to. It kind of used to be the this fun little hobby. Now it kind of feels like a metaphor for our life.

Nan: I second that. It's always a learning curve and we try different things from each of us coming up with lyrics separately to writing together. Whatever can work - is how we work.

Schwervon! "Truth Teller" Live @ Arts & Crafts Fest 2014

You’ve toured with artists like Speedy Ortiz, Belle and Sebastian and Guided by Voices, among many others. What have been some of your most memorable performances?

Nan: I think touring in Europe with Belle & Sebastian was pretty wild. We probably played for our biggest audiences and the sound was massive. After the shows we would have a dance party backstage for a couple of hours. Those belles can boogie! Playing with Speedy Ortiz in a now-defunct DIY space called Big Snow Buffalo Lodge was a trip- right as they were on the cusp of getting big- there was a little crowdsurfing. Other memorable shows: In Tubingen, Germany - a girl dancing wildly by my cymbals almost bashing her head on them for the whole show. The Brick (in KCMO), where we played with our good friend Jeffrey Lewis (from NYC) and the power went out midway through our set. We did rest of our set acapella/acoustic where I played drums stomping with my tap shoes. Playing in Nottinham while Bob Nastanovich played drums during matt's poetry break and I danced with the audience.

Matt: I’ll still never forget the first show we did where people got up and danced. It was at a student cafe in Leipzig, Germany. It felt like a movie. I think I went out of my body. It was the first time I felt like maybe we really had something to offer people. It inspires me to this day.

What brought you to Shawnee from New York City in 2012?

Matt: I was born in Shawnee. I moved to New York in 1994. The real estate market in New York is so crazy that, unless you own a place (which very few people do), you’re kind of always thinking in the back of your mind about getting priced out of your apartment or neighborhood. After living in the same place for 14 years, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, we were starting to really feel the pressure. Around the same time my father, who was still living in Shawnee, was having some health problems and I came back for about a month to take care of him. After hearing me talk about the stress we were going through he made an offer to us to come back to Kansas and live with him. The idea was that we’d look after him (get him to his doctor appointments and stuff), take care of the house and more or less crash in the basement. Nan was willing to go along with it. The rest is history.

What inspires you about original music in Kansas City?

Nan: What inspires me about the scene here is that there seems to be more resources for artists here and the city seems interested and invested in creating opportunities for musicians (e.g. Midwest Music Foundation/ Middle of the Map/ Midcoast Takeover).

Matt: I think there is a lot of support here. KCUR 90.1: Mark Manning at Midday Medley and John Todd at Under The Radar are both really great resources for local music. There are a lot of amazing venues in the this town as well. There are some nice local music labels as well. Feels like KC has kind of been on the verge of something for a while. I’m still discovering new stuff here all the time. Probably one the more inspiring things, for me, are all the underground basement and house shows. I think there’s a healthy underground if you know where to look for it.

Schwervon! - Cyclone (Official Music Video)

Schwervon's recommendations from the Johnson County Library catalog:

BOOKS:

Nan:

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. A great book to jumpstart your creative projects

Carsick by John Waters. I loved this book! A hilarious adventure adventure.

Matt:

A People’s History Of the United States Of America by Howard Zinn. Do they teach this in High School yet? If not they should.

Where I’m Calling From: Stories by Raymond Carver. Inspired me to study creative writing in college.

MOVIES:

Nan:
One of my all time fave movies is Ladies and Gentlemen, Introducing the Fabulous Stains. It was groundbreaking at the time that movie was made to see teenage girls playing rock music.

Matt:

Trainspotting, The Outsiders, Spinal Tap, Cool Hand Luke, Chasing Trane (a documentary about John Coletrane)

MUSIC:

Nan:

Love Waxahatchee "Out in the storm"

Lucy Dacus

Matt:

Pixies, Neil Young, B-52’s, Yo La Tengo, Robyn Hitchcock, Pedro the Lion, Wire, Thurston Moore, Kurt Vile

pop, indie, rock

Hadiza

Bryan V. — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 20:38:07 +0000

Hadiza Bryan V. Wed, 04/03/2019 - 15:38

Hadiza is a talented songwriter, keyboardist and performer who describes her music as "not quite soul, blues, folk, jazz, rock or classical but it sort of is?" One listen to her debut EP, Gone, shows how much Hadiza's songs sit at the crossroads of all these styles while revealing a young songwriter finding her voice. Originally from Iowa City, Hadiza wrote most of the EP's songs over a two year period and is currently at work on a full album. We're fortunate to share an interview with this emerging artist. Enjoy.

Please introduce yourself. Describe your music for new listeners.

My name is Hadiza [Kubura] Sa-Aadu but I release music and perform solo as Hadiza. It's hard for me to actually describe my sound but I suppose there are elements of jazz, soul, classical, blues, folk, and rock that all kind of show themselves here and there. I usually try to avoid describing my music with any specificity, but for those of who must have something I guess I would say my music is melodically and lyrically driven and usually starts with some riff or chords on the keys, then a vocal melody, then lyrics and then I get together with the band. It's not quite soul, blues, folk, jazz, rock or classical but it sort of is? Maybe this is just a ploy for new listeners to take a listen ;)

'Lazy Eyes' - Hadiza. 1/14/19 @ the Rino

Describe the road to your recent EP, Gone. How long had you been living with the songs?

It was probably spring of last year when I sat down with my partner to plan out our releases (she has her own solo project and we also make music together as an electronic/experimental duo called Collidescope). I knew I wanted to build up to a full length LP and had been feeling quite anxious to get something out with my solo project because I've been writing and performing for six years now. I was considering releasing two EPs six months apart to make room for completely new songs for a later full length but eventually decided to do the one EP.

The oldest song on Gone is "Langue Maternelle". It's a song that came out of me summer of 2016 when I was taking care of my grandmother after a mastectomy in Ghana. All of the songs on Gone were written between fall of 2016 and spring of 2018, so for the most part, these are the newest songs that I've performed on a regular basis. I'm reserving my oldest and newest (as in never performed) songs for the upcoming album.

In September of 2018 we went back to our home town Iowa City and tracked instruments with in our friend JL's basement. We recorded instrument tracks for six songs (two of which will actually be on the album). Madi played guitar and JL added drums. We then did the bulk of the work at home in Kansas City. Madi re-did some guitar takes and added bass. I re-tracked a couple keys and added main and backing vocals. I also tried my hand at mixing, but Madi held the reigns with that and she also mastered the final product. I think I started the album art in late November and worked on it up to a couple days before the actual release. We were trying really hard not to do what we did with our Collidescope EP the year before where we were literally putting CDs together the day of the show and good on us, we finished everything a couple days before the actual show which was a double release show for both mine and Madi's solo project "Babydoll" at our favorite venue in Iowa City, Trumpet Blossom Cafe.

What did you learn from recording Gone that you’ll take to future projects?

Oh so much! Technically speaking, I got my fair share of experiential knowledge of mixing, and I learned how to really navigate Ableton when I was engineering my own vocal sessions.

The project also confirmed for me that you should never compromise on your art. A couple of days before the release show I was in Iowa City and Madi was back in Kansas City because she had to work. I noticed that the high part of the backing vocal tracks was missing from the end of "Source" and I personally found it to be subpar to the original mix. I'm certain no one listening would have felt anything was missing but it didn't sit right with me. Somehow the track got deleted but I obviously couldn't just re-record it into Ableton since I wasn't at home with Madi. I ended up rerecording that track on my phone and sending it to Madi for her to mix it in. It was a push, but it was worth it and we both felt really satisfied with our scrapy-ness to solve a would-be disappointing situation.

These days I've been applying and developing the technical knowledge from working on Gone into working on my album. I've already grown so much just in knowing what to Google to figure certain things out production wise. I'm not starting at complete zero with knowledge so I feel way more confident with the Ableton audio engineering aspects of things. It's cool because it's allowing me to rework older songs in ways I wouldn't have ever conceived with just the keys as the composition tool.

I think the MOST important thing is twofold: I learned is to give myself enough time to deliver a fully formed package -- meaning, take the time to consider how to present the music and cover art along with digital distribution. And with a small investment there are resources out there to make things easier, it doesn't all have to be completely DIY. This might paint me as somewhat naive, but to be quite honest I didn't even think about presentation or packaging or distribution outside of posting on Bandcamp and sending to local radio stations in the process of making the music and cover art. I was laser focused on finally getting some of my songs out to the world even in a small way. I truly didn't even think about ways to make the packaging of the CDs look like I didn't print out copies of the cover art cut them and hand assemble the CDs. Ha. I think because Gone is an EP and not a full length, I just didn't really prioritize this release in terms of setting up a Distrokid account to get it everywhere or researching companies that put your cover art on CD cases. We've had a really DIY approach to things but next time around I'm definitely going to give myself at least a couple of months to execute a fully formed distribution strategy that includes nice packaging for the CDs (and possibly vinyl pressed but we'll see). All in all I'm not going to hold myself to hard deadlines if I don't feel like the whole package will be ready.

I wonder if you could illuminate the quote you have on your Bandcamp page: “To cope, to thrive, to die, to breathe. To deal. And when the limit hits, it's transcendence.” How would you connect this to your music?

What I'll say is this: The quote is really just a raison d'etre for my making music. So the quote itself is not so much connected to my music as it is a description of the vessel I use to process the highs and lows (mostly lows to be honest) of life. When you hit the point where your feelings have shifted about a situation, condition, treatment etc you're effectively an alchemist. My music is my alchemy. For other people their alchemy is writing or science or entrepreneurship. I am now in a position where I feel overwhelming gratitude that I have the ability and drive to use music to thrive in an often violent and ugly world. It's a form of therapy that is unmatched. It's a way to learn and know myself and mark my progress as a human being. That's the 'transcendent' part.

What music are you currently raving about?

Two different friends of mine introduced me to two artists that I'm currently really into. Jon Bap and Spelling. Jon Bap actually played in Columbia last month but I missed the show! He does kind of avant-garde, soul music that's super melodic and I listen to the album "Let it happen" almost every day since my friend introduced me to him.

Spellling is kind of a goth/r&b experimental synth/delay driven artist who writes "haunted" songs. I really love what she's doing. She recently released an album called Mazy Fly that everyone should listen to.

I'm also in LOVE with Adia Victoria and was really sad she had to cancel her show at RecordBar. She's an incredible blues musician who is quite outspoken about being a Black southern woman in a white male dominated genre (despite the fact that the blues originated from Black America). I love her power and the fact that she is truly reclaiming the genre. Definitely check out her latest album "Silences".

What’s ahead for you in 2019?

I'm working on my full length album! Hopefully I'll release it by the end of this year! Before that comes, we're also working on our second Collidescope EP which we'll release probably early fall. Other than working on releases we're playing as much as we can between Hadiza. and Collidescope in and around Kansas City and planning mini tours around the midwest. And also working a day job. Busy to say the least.

1) Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko. It really resonates to me now because its a winding story with diverse characters (centering Native Americans) and takes apart the creation of present day America (as ruled by the white man).

2) I Heard God Laughing by Hafiz. Hafiz in life was a sufi poet. I've been exploring Sufism quite a bit these days and these poems are very grounding reminders of Self and surrender to the divine within.

3) Mulholland Drive. First I'm a huge fan of David Lynch. If you haven't seen this movie it starts off with kind of campy acting with an amazing twist that just kind of splits your head open. I love mind bending movies like these and David Lynch is notorious for that. It's such a well crafted film and plot.

4) Four Women: The Nina Simone Phillips Recordings. These are live performances by the High Priestess of Soul someone who was a true pioneer, activist, trailblazer, and truth to power speaker. She's hugely inspiring to me because she was outspoken about the treatment of Black people during the Civil Rights era and specifically talked about the plight of dark skinned Black women during a time when no one dared to broach the subject. She did this through song, stage and interviews and never shied away from the truth. She paid the price for it through her career, but never through her integrity.

5) The Best of the Black President by Fela Kuti. I love Fela Kuti. He was a Nigerian musician blending highlife (which is native to West Africa), jazz, and funk. An eclectic and energetic performer and activist he also is a huge inspiration to me as he spoke out against neo-colonialism and imperialism.

pop, indie, jazz

Mr. Golden Sun

Bryan V. — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 20:29:50 +0000

Mr. Golden Sun Bryan V. Tue, 04/09/2019 - 15:29

Mr. Golden Sun is led by Matt Hamer, a singer-songwriter and instrumentalist who describes his music as "folk songs trying not to sound like folk songs." In this interview, Hamer describes the evolution of the songs on his brand-new Central States EP, what he learned from recording it and how fatherhood inspired the songs.

Introduce yourself. Describe your music for new listeners.

Mr. Golden Sun is the name of the songwriting project I’ve been working under for the past couple of years. Live, we’re a four-piece at the moment, but a different group of musicians tracked the parts I couldn’t play on the EP. The songs are the blueprint and we flesh them out with whoever is around and available.

Sonically I guess you could call most the material folk songs trying not to sound like folk songs. I’m really keen on combining organic sounds with more inorganic/mechanical ones. So we’ll pair really dry acoustic guitars with a repetitive Motorik drum machine beat, or add some jacked up synthesizer noise to something more consonant and natural. It mirrors the lyrical content in my opinion: lives that on the surface seem banal being only a thin wall away from something that disrupts that entirely. We get comparisons to Wilco and Neil Young but also stuff like Slowdive or The Sea and Cake. So I don’t know what to call it. I’m really selling this, aren’t I?

Mr. Golden Sun // "Heavy Water" (Official Video)

Describe the journey to Central States EP. How long had you been living with these songs?

I guess the seeds of it go back a bit. I moved to Kansas City in 2015 from Wichita and the band I was in at the time broke up. I was toying with the idea of reforming it up here, but the types of songs were coming from a really different place and deserved a fresh start. The scope was shrinking. I wanted to tell smaller, more intimate stories. Looking at the EP as a whole, all of the songs are about people feeling trapped by either decisions or their environment, or in other kinds of desperate situations. I don’t know if that’s just neuroses bleeding onto the page or if it’s just fertile ground for storytelling. Probably both.

Mr. Golden Sun - Julianne in Tangerine (Morton Hall Session)

What did you learn from the recording process that you’ll take to future projects?

A lot. We did drums and vocals in proper studios but I recorded most of the other parts myself in houses and churches and other less traditional spaces, which was pretty slow and felt like banging my head against the wall a lot of times. When it came to mixing there were some challenges cutting out muddiness because I tracked a lot of things that took up similar sonic space. I like midrange sounds a lot apparently and sometimes they step on each other’s toes. But as it is I’m pretty proud of what we made. I’d love the luxury of just rolling into a studio and banging out a record in the future, but this was a way more feasible way of working this time around.

Describe your creative process. Are you a heavy editor of your work or do songs come fairly quickly?

I feel like I’m still developing a real process. I do think I’m getting better about trying to get the bones of a song done and then going back and making adjustments, but there are a lot of factors that can scare a writer away from putting pen to paper when it isn’t perfect yet. There have been a few times where it all feels magical and like stanzas are coming out fully-formed and I’m discovering something that already existed. But most of the time it’s just putting in the work until I have to decide that it’s done. Talk to me in a year, maybe I’ll have it figured out.

How has fatherhood inspired your music?

All of these songs were written while I was a dad (my oldest is 4) though nothing recorded so far references my kids directly. I’ve got at least one song in the works now that’s more explicitly about fatherhood, so we’ll see if that ends up getting a life on the outside. They influence everything obviously, but it’s hard to write about them a way that does justice to that relationship. Even more so than it is with my wife, Meg.

Songs like Heavy Water and The Comedian are essentially controlled freak-outs about the world we’re living in currently, and that anxiety has definitely intensified since I’ve had kids. You start thinking about what kind of world you’re going to leave them, and at times it can seem pretty bleak. Though I’m happy for the world that it gets to have them in it. They love everyone and everything, and that gives me hope.

Mr. Golden Sun - Goldfinches (Morton Hall Session)

What’s ahead for you in 2019?

We’ve got shows coming up and are booking more. And I’m writing a lot. I’m sure a lot of stuff will happen this year that I can’t predict or plan for. So I guess we’ll figure that out as it comes.

The Comedian (Acoustic)

Books

Gilead by Marilyn Robinson. Probably the book I recommend more than any other one. It’s a stunning meditation on fatherhood, forgiveness, faith, and doubt. I needed it when I found it and it’s the book I’m most likely to reread in the future. It also falls into what’s becoming my favorite genre of fiction that I call “old man reflecting on his life”.

Tenth of December by George Saunders. One of the best collections of short fiction that I’ve ever read. It’s funny and tragic and masterfully crafted. The title story and Semplica-Girl Diaries are highlights, but the entire things is gold.

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. Lewis’ final novel and a bit of an anomaly if you are familiar with his usual fare. It’s a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche and it’s super

Movies

Rear Window (dir. Alfred Hitchcock). It’s amazing what Hitchcock pulled off having the entire film set inside a single apartment. Suspenseful and super fun. Plus you get Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. Have some friends over and watch it together. With snacks.

Take Shelter (dir. Jeff Nichols). This is maybe the best depiction of the anxiety of these times. What do you do when you think you see the end of the world on its way, but might also be going crazy? The storm’s coming, but at least Jeff Nichols and his protagonist portrayed by the great Michael Shannon see it too.

Boyhood (dir. Richard Linklater). As a child of divorce who grew up in the 90s/early 00s, this captures the feeling of my childhood more than any other piece of art I’ve ever interacted with. Though the details are different, watching the characters grow over the 12 actual years it took to film is like watching your own family change.

Albums

The Party by Andy Shauf. I became obsessed with this album at the end of last year. Lyrically fantastic, masterfully arranged, and the engineering! Try and find a better drum sound. I dare you.

FLOTUS by Lambchop. Another record I listened to non-stop when it came out. A great example of a veteran band who isn’t afraid to keep experimenting into middle age.

Made Possible by The Bad Plus. The opening song “Pound For Pound” is one of my favorite pieces of recorded music, and this is one of my favorite jazz trios. It’s a little on the “out” side, but there’s beauty and rage and possibly humor in there, and the songs actually have a structure even though the tether gets stretched quite a bit. Their use of subtle electronics to augment the acoustic instruments is also right in my sweet spot taste-wise.

The Agent Intellect by Protomartyr. Aggressive and witty and catchy post-punk wonderfulness. Joe Casey is one of my favorite lyricists working at the moment and they just come up with the most propulsive songs. If you’re looking for some catharsis, these guys are my current go-to.

folk, singer-songwriter, indie

Oxford Remedy

Bryan V. — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 19:07:03 +0000

Oxford Remedy Bryan V. Mon, 10/28/2019 - 14:07

Indie

Rock

Oxford Remedy is a band that seems destined for greater things. Comprised of sisters Kate and Grace McKown and Sydney Aldridge, the band -- all teenagers -- makes the kind of indie-rock that wouldn't have been out place blasting out of car stereos in the mid-90s. While the band members are hard at work at school, they are finding the time to record and release an upcoming EP. We are fortunate to share an exclusive interview with the band about their creative process, book, movie and music recommendations and other things.

Introduce the band. Describe your sound for new listeners.

We are a band from Kansas City, Missouri, and we mostly play in Lawrence, Kansas. We have an alternative grunge/rock sound with influences from Wolf Alice, Cage the Elephant and Paramore.

VENDING MACHINE (Official Music Video)

How and when did the band come together?

Oxford Remedy started around August 2016. All of us knew each other through School of Rock, a program that teaches music to kids and teens, and three out of the four of us came from a previous band that broke up. Our new drummer just recently joined mid June of this year after a split of our past drummer.

Fake (Audio)

What were the recording sessions like for your two latest singles “Fake” and “Vending Machine”? What did you learn that you’ll take to future projects?

We recorded the singles in both the garage/studio area of our past drummer and recorded just the vocals in a studio in downtown KC. They were pretty fun to record, but we recorded them live, meaning it was difficult to prevent “bleed” from one instrument to another, and made it even more difficult to isolate an instrument and change a specific tone or effect, but it all worked out in the end. We are going to record an EP this fall, at a studio where we’ll play each instrument separately. We’re all super stoked to record many more songs that we’re so proud of and in a more professional setting. Going forward we’ll take more time with each song, and we’ll make sure we’re doing what we as a band feels best.

How does songwriting work in Oxford Remedy? Who brings what to the table?

Our songwriting is very unstructured, and usually starts as someone bringing up a cool riff they wrote earlier, and the other instruments build off of that. We work in riffs and progressions until we feel it sounds the best it can. Some guitar and bass pedals, and a drum fill or two are worked into the mix. Finally, our lead singer, Kate, writes some lyrics to finish it off, occasionally premiering such lyrics at the show! Our songs have started off from anything, whether that’s a guitar riff, bass riff or drum fill, and there really isn’t a ‘primary’ songwriter.

Are You Satisfied - Original by Oxford Remedy (with intro)

What is the band currently working on? When can fans expect new music?

We are currently working on a 4 or 5 song EP. We have three songs finalized and two more are in the works. Hopefully the EP will be released mid to late fall!

Oxford Remedy's recommendations from the Johnson County Library catalog:

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
After Laughter by Paramore
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
My Love is Cool by Wolf Alice

rock, indie