An interview with a musician in back-to-back weeks!  What's with this craziness?  Glad you asked.  The song that TINO and I collaborated on is available tomorrow, Tuesday 14th July, on all streaming services. I figured this would be a good time for all of us to get to know him better.  First, and you might have already guessed this, but "TINO" is a nickname and stage name.  His "government name" is Valentino Halton.  (I need to remind myself of this, as I misprinted his last name as "Hamilton" in the liner notes for the compact disc version of Anxious Inventions & Fictions.  He's chill though, so he has forgiven me.)

TINO recently released an EP called Past Due.  It's solid, you should definitely check it out.  You'll probably enjoy the groove on the track "95 Tribe", which is about the baseball club in TINO's hometown of Cleveland.  (He's a Dayton fella now, but is originally from Cleveland.)  I happen to personally enjoy this track very much, partially because of the excellent groove and lyrics, but also because I remember the World Series that year quite fondly, it being my senior year in high school, and my favorite team being involved.  My favorite team is the National League club, by the way.  Just to remind everyone, the World Series lasted six games that year.  In Game Six, there was only one run scored.  This was it.   Do you remember how that game ended?  I do, but let's refresh everyone's memory.  This is the last out.  TINO managed not to mention Carlos Baerga in "95 Tribe", but it's ok.  My personal favorite from the EP is "Gov't", which also has a fantastic groove.  

Strangely enough, all of the previous interview subjects in this series are women, so I'm breaking new ground with this one.  Interview with this gifted gentleman after the photo.

1.  Let's hear the elevator pitch for your skill set and genre.

I’m a high energy performer who is at home over uptempo production. My music ranges from deeply personal to ubiquitous in theme. There’s something for everyone, but not in a generic and vague way. 

2.  I remember meeting you because first, I saw you perform with Sidekick Complex, and second, I would see you at the indie rock shows, and that's my genre.  Then I checked out a couple of your solo sets.  At some point if/when we can all go to shows again, I imagine there are folks who go to the rock shows who also enjoy hip hop, but don't know much about that music community in our town.  Maybe it works the other way as well.  How do you think we can cross-promote so the music community has fewer silos?

I think it’s as easy as “Hey, I like your music. Want to play this show with me?” That’s how I got my first shows and I construct a lot of bills I put together in a similar fashion. I try to attract fans that enjoy a wide spectrum of music and not just one genre so variety is welcome. 

3.  What was the first album you can remember buying with your own money?

Mobb Deep, Infamy. I bought it to score a movie I made in high school 

4.  What is your creative process like?

For me it always starts with a beat. I hear something, fall in love, and I start writing. It could be production someone sends me, a song I heard on the radio, or even a moment during another artists live performance. I don’t use everything I write. 50% of what I do will never see the light of day or I’m not good enough yet to flush the idea out. 

5.  What artists do you consider to be your biggest influences?

Michael Jackson for his showmanship, Prince for his musicianship, Lauryn Hill for her spirit, Amy Winehouse for her ability to channel her pain, Kanye/OutKast for re-popularizing music that wasn’t gangster rap, and Drake for his ability to sum up a lot of these qualities in one hip hop artist. 

6.  If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be?

I would hope a focus would be placed back on full bodies of work instead of collections of singles. I miss the cohesive journey music used to be about. 

7,  How do you intend to keep growing as an artist?

As long as I’m willing to admit there is still room for improvement in my art and I don’t get content with where I’m at I don’t believe I can stop growing as an artist. 

8,  I know you've done a ton of studio work over the last couple of years.  If you don't want to give too much away here, that's fine, but what can we expect from TINO in the near future?

The pandemic has afforded me the opportunity to tweak and refine my next work as well as slate some releases before it. I will say my next full length will be the best version of my work to date.

***

Personally, I strongly believe in the album as an art form, and am disappointed at the general listening habits of folks today.  I agree with TINO on this 100%.  Having TINO in the studio for "Anecdote" was a very educational experience for me, as he has a skill set that I do not have, and I was able to learn from his preparation and his approach.  The man is serious about his craft, and it shows in his results.  I linked to his website above, but you can also find TINO on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Please check out "Anecdote" tomorrow on Spotify, YouTube, iTunes, Deezer, or wherever you stream music, and also please check out TINO's work on these platforms.

You ever listen to an album and immediately love it?  That's not something that happens all that often with me, I usually take a few listens to warm up to something.  Brevity is an exception.  I loved this one right away... the lyrics, the melodies, the nineties rock sound that reminded me of my youth.  Brevity is still in regular rotation for me, and that has been the case ever since it showed up in April.  The people responsible for this album are Punch The Sun, from New York.  The person responsible for writing the songs is fellow bass player and lead singer Shannon Söderlund, shown at the bottom right of this photo:

Shannon has songs.  So many songs.  Good ones.  Great ones.  She keeps making more.  Remember that songwriting challenge that I previously wrote about where you write five songs in five days?  Shannon is part of this same group of songwriters with me, and the songs that she writes for these are so good that I generally question what in the world I am doing.  

Ok, you've heard enough from me.  Let's amplify Shannon's voice.

***

1.  Let's hear the elevator pitch for your skill set and genre. 

My elevator pitch, eh? I grew up singing and playing in a family band, so music has always been - quite literally - my life. After us kids grew up and the family outfit wasn't playing as often, I tried out a bunch of different musical areas (Wind Ensemble, Jazz vocals) until I found my home among what I listened to in high school: Alt Rock. 

2.  You joined Wheatus for a European tour.  (For my readers who don't know that band, they are a New York rock band who had a hit single in 2000 that was on radio and in movies.)  How'd you get that gig?  Can you talk about your experience touring Europe and playing music? 

As happens so often in this industry, it was mostly a circumstantial thing. About 2 years ago, I shared a bill with an artist (Gabrielle Sterbenz) who was in need of a singing bassist. And she saw me playing bass and singing in my own band, right after her set! So we got together and I played with her band several times in the following months. Then last year, she needed someone to head out on tour with her, as she was supporting Wheatus. Obviously, I said yes. 

Touring Europe and Great Britain was really fantastic. I basically grew up touring with my family, so even though I hadn't done it in years it felt very much like hopping back on a bike, y'know? I love all the parts of a touring production: moving equipment, setting up, soundcheck, finding food in a new city, the show, sleeping in an unfamiliar place (though we had the bus to go back to, which was lovely), meeting new people every day, traveling with the same dozen people for weeks on end. It's one of my favorite things in the world. And I feel so blessed and honored that I got to do it with a truly special group of people. 

3.  What was the first album you can remember buying with your own money? 

Hmmm... either Norah Jones' Come Away With Me or Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine. I might've gotten them together? I listened to a LOT of my brother and sister's music in high school until they left to go to college and I had to fill my own silences. Those two albums, along with Hot Hot Heat's Elevator, where basically the soundtrack to my senior year in high school. 

4.  Tell me about the last concert you saw. 

If I'm honest I don't even remember the artist's name; it was a show my friends were excited about, so I tagged along. The music was fantastic - kind of experimental prog-jazz - and I remember there was a female bassist, whose left hand I was staring at literally all night. 

5.  What artists do you consider to be your biggest influences? 

Fiona Apple is a big one. Cake is another. Weezer, definitely. Most of all though, it probably was my parents and the Christian Rock we played (oh yes, it was a missionary family band). I definitely see that 90s-worship-music as defining a lot of the music I write. I think music is about connection and relationships. And in my mind, songs should be catchy and sing-along-able, which is almost certainly a holdover from worship music. I definitely sing more about existential dread these days instead of Jesus, but hey. 

6. At the moment, COVID-19 has you stuck in Liverpool.  I imagine there are worse places to be socially distant.  How are you managing being that far away from home for so long?  [Note from Mike:  This interview was done in May, Shannon is back on this side of the Atlantic now.]

In a weird way, Liverpool feels very much like home. I'm here with someone I love dearly and consider family. I think it would be much, much harder if that were not the case. But there's plenty about this town that feels familiar - all the flora here is like, exactly what my mom has in her garden in the PNW (that's Pacific Northwest, for those of you who are unfamiliar). And videochatting, both over Marco Polo (hi, Shiree and Danielle!) and in realtime has been life-saving. Being able to stay connected with friends and family has been huge. 

7, If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be? 

This... I have complicated feelings about this. Many of the problems I have with this industry have to do with money, and the people on top who want too much of it. It's much the way I feel about our society. 

That being said, I think there are a lot of things that musicians (especially ones starting out) complain about that come from a basic misunderstanding of how businesses operate. Money is obviously a necessity for society to function and businesses to run. And there are a lot of ways in which the industry is surprisingly functional, especially when it comes to touring and live gigs. It's hard, but I understand why it's hard. And this has ALWAYS been a hard industry. So... *shrugs shoulders* 

8,  Brevity probably didn't get the big marketing push that it deserved, due to the pandemic.  Assuming the situation improves, will you all re-visit promotion for that album and perhaps tour?  Also, what's next for Punch the Sun and for you personally? 

I definitely want to tour on Brevity! Once the pandemic is over, that's a route (#tourpun) that we will certainly pursue. I can see us perhaps making some music videos down the road (omigosh ANOTHER #tourpun) to highlight some songs on the album. Ultimately, though, I'm really glad it's out in the world for people to listen to and think, "wow, that's what Punch The Sun sounds like!" 

Next up, though, is more music - of course. I'm already working with Campbell (our drummer) on some new songs. We're just in the demo stage, since we're on opposite sides of the Atlantic, but we're deep in the writing process again, which feels fantastic. Music forever!

***

I linked to both the website for Punch The Sun and to Brevity up in the first paragraph.  You can also find Punch The Sun on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

This is what Merriam-Webster says about the word  anecdote:  "a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident"

Let me tell you a short narrative of a biographical incident that is not amusing in any way.

A few years ago my wife and I were coming home from a brief trip to New York.  We ended up flying into Detroit, then renting a car to drive home.  As we were headed South on I-75, we were stopped by the Michigan State Police.  I was not in violation of any traffic laws.  You should know where this is going.  This armed person yelled and screamed at us, succeeded in intimidating my wife by saying we would be charged with "a felony" (which was complete nonsense), and was generally abusive.  I ended up handcuffed, illegally searched, and screamed at even when I complied with instructions.  After sitting for awhile in his vehicle, and upon him discovering that I am not, in fact, a criminal, he tried to get me to say that I understood why he had to stop me and cuff me and search me.  I didn't want any such discussion on his recording, so I remained silent.  Once he ran out of reasons to detain us any longer, he let us go.  No apology.  I asked Misty to get the entire interaction on video from the moment the lights and sirens went on, but she didn't do so.  I thought that armed person was going to shoot me and then excuse it with lies... I was armed, I was on drugs, I tried to take his taser, he feared for his life, I threatened him... as they do, they kill and lie about why they kill.  I tried to explain to Misty afterward that if he shoots me, it's her word against his, and nobody will believe her, so she needs to have these interactions on video to have a basis for a lawsuit.  At any rate, I am convinced that if she wasn't also in the car, I wouldn't be here today.

The above interaction completely ruined my day.  It made me angry, but of course, when you're dealing with an armed racist, you can't afford to be angry.  All of the adrenaline pours into your blood because you are in a true "fight or flight" situation, but either one of those options results in your execution.  Later, you get the shakes. I'm a songwriter, and that's how I process emotions and such, so the skeleton of what would eventually become "Anecdote" started that very day, still on I-75, still driving toward home.  It took awhile for me to edit and distill all of the above paragraph into a package that would fit neatly into a song, but it didn't feel complete.

Then I heard an interview that TINO did with Gem City Podcast.  I think it was this episode. He told one of his personal experiences with "driving while black", and I thought to myself that his story and his skill set would be the perfect addition to this song.  I reached out.  He agreed to come rap on my song.  

What we have now is a cross-genre collaboration called "Anecdote".  We both tell short narratives of a specific biographical incident.

You'll be able to hear this song soon.

I met Doc a couple of years ago at a music conference.  She has a signature look... a hat, a rat, and always a guitar.  Her artist name is Dirty Metal Lefty, partially because of an innate southpaw status, which is something we have in common.  (I mean, I do play bass like a right-handed person, but I eat, write, throw, golf, swing baseball bats, and shoot basketballs left-handed.)  This is a very talented person who wields the guitar with all kinds of skill... this is the kind of wizardry that eludes me, as I find guitar strings to be too numerous and also way too tiny.

Here's my favorite song from the Neva' On Sundays album, "Ain't No Friend of Mine."

The last time I saw Doc, we sat in a hotel lobby down in Austin singing and playing Chris Cornell songs.  Well, I didn't do the playing, and I did the singing rather poorly, but it was a great time.  No, not that Chris Cornell song.  No, not that one either.  Yeah, and this is also not one of them.  Here's one. Here's another.  Here's a third, that almost makes me cry every time I hear it.   Interview below the picture.

When I run these, I usually put my questions in bold... but Doc used some unique formatting in her response, and I think it's best to show you this interview the way she intended.

1.  Let's hear the elevator pitch for your skill set and genre. 
Blues Inspired Indie-Alt Rock with Jazz and Metal undertones 
Think "If Sade had a baby with Alice In Chains who was REEEALLY into CSN (Crosby, Stills, Nash) and Albert King" 

2.  How did you get started making music?  How soon after you started learning to play did you start to write your own songs? 
I guess from the moment I could make noise and bang on stuff.  Music for me and a headache for others. LOL 
If memory serves me proper, I was around 9 or 10 when I first sat down and intentionally tried to write a song; on a keyboard, surprisingly enough. The songs conjured from lyrics only were usually set to the melody of a song I already knew. #UnintentionalDerivativeCover 

3.  What was the first album you can remember buying with your own money? 
Remember Columbia House music club with their "10 cassettes for 1¢"? 
Alice In Chains - Dirt. And spoiler alert, those cassettes weren't really a penny. Boy did I learn that lesson the hard way. . .   
[Mike adds: You and me both, sista.]

4.  Tell me about the last concert you saw. 
Mon., Mar. 9th - Michale Graves (ex-Misfits) w/ special guest JJ Speaks 
Covid ruined everything after that (>_<)* 

5.  What artists do you consider to be your biggest influences? 
In addition to the elevator pitch in question 1: 
Chris Cornell, Nina Simone, Fantastic Negrito, Deftones, Afro Celt Sound System, The Absence, Dave Brubeck, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Fleetwood Mac, Lamb of God, Nevermore 

6.  So, you're a guitarist.  Most guitarists that I know tend to be really into their instruments, their pedals, and their rig.  This is your opportunity to indulge in a lavish description of your favorite musical toys, if you would like to do so. 
I LOVE gear but I don't have or use a ton of it. I don't want to "hide" behind too many effects. . . aaaand I don't like having to keep up with too much stuff. [LMAO!!!!!] 

Boss Metal Zone pedal is my absolute jam for electric. It pairs well with most of my guitars and Vox tube amp; just kinda sucks that the price hasn't gone down in over 20 years. For Acoustic: I use a series of loopers, a Digitek Trio, a dope vocal dohickey from TC Helicon, and devices for backing track playback. On occasion, I'll also use a A/B box to split my guitar between two different amps with separate pedal setups. The concept adds more texture to my overall tone. It also affords the opportunity to alternate my set between full band sound and intimate feels. 

7,  How are you dealing with this pandemic from a music standpoint?  Touring is out of your toolbox for the moment, has anything taken its place? 
Maaaaan, Covid swooped in and snatched my gigs like an owl pouncing on an unsuspecting field mouse. [Mike interjects: This might be the greatest of all similes.] That was painful; financially of course but even more so on the emotional and mental front. I figured I try to use the "mandatory" down time to work on writing and finally getting around to cleaning my house. It's amazing how many pieces of life get neglected when you don't take enough time to tend to stuff. As for the music as a whole, live streaming has become the new trend but it does not and cannot replace actual live music IN PERSON. 

There's a special, uncanny bond forged in the heat of the moment between musicians and their audience; a sort of energy exchange that breaks down barriers. I miss that. Genre aside, music, in general, is one of the only few things we [humans] can all agree upon. I don't think I've ever met anyone who doesn't enjoy music on some level. 

8,   It's cliché, but it's a good question to end with:  What's next for you? 
A resurgence of gigs, I hope. I miss connecting with people. In the meantime, I do plan to release a single or two or three. . .maybe a video to accompany them. No dates yet but new stuffs ARE indeed coming. I'll keep adjusting to our new normal as well supporting my mates and local small businesses around town. A friend and I have even paired together for a side project, busking around town and such. Busking is the next best step until we're able to navigate proper live gigs in the midst of this pandemic madness and social distancing.

Let me know when it's safe to pop in for a slot in your neck of the woods.

***

Dirty Metal Lefty has indeed stopped by our state on a previous tour, playing in Columbus.  I had planned to go, and ended up not being able to do so, which still makes me sad.  Here's hoping she stops by Dayton someday.  I linked to her website above, but you can also find her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.  Also, you know how Bandcamp has been waiving their fee on the first Friday of every month recently?  Well, Friday July 3rd would be a good date to swing by the Dirty Metal Lefty Bandcamp page and buy some music.

I live in Ohio, which is one of 50 states in The United States.  It has been a long time since a war was fought within the borders of this country or state.  It has been so long that all of the people who fought in that war are long dead.  Now, I've visited plenty of other places where war has come much more recently.  For example, I happened to be in Sri Lanka when celebrations were planned to commemorate ONE YEAR since the end of their lengthy civil war.  I visited El Salvador once, and anyone there who was my age at the time would have had civil war as a back drop to almost half of their life.  I have visited France many times, have many friends there, and the folks who live there experienced devastating war fought in and around their homes, a war in which my own grandfather was a participant. War is a horrible, terrible, destructive, evil thing.  People who live where I live tend to forget that.  As a person who is a voracious reader of history, I haven't forgotten, and I ended up writing a song about it.

Here is a picture of the poem I wrote called "Ton Soldat", told from the point of view of a soldier who is sick and tired of war.

See the date on that?  February 9th, 1998.  I was 20 years old when I wrote that, I still had a brother, I didn't yet have gray hair, and I hadn't been to France yet.

When I was putting together songs for my debut album, Echo in the Crevices, I wrote music for this, and asked some of my dear French friends to have a look at the lyrics to ensure they made sense.  I applied their suggestions, changing out the verb "lutter" for "combattre" and "battre".  There were a few other adjustments made to fit the music and make the song flow better.  This song is now called "Le Soldat".  

When it came time to head to the studio, I knew I wanted a shoegaze feel, a wall of distortion and sound, but also laid back.  The bass was going to do most of the movement.  I remember asking Tod Weidner, who was kind enough to play guitar on this song, if he could play the guitar part whilst making sure the attack sound of the pick hitting the strings wasn't heard.  He did a great job with that. He also brought some ingenuity to the bridge, building the chords that I specified piece-by-piece, playing one note at a time during multiple takes... when all of the overdubs were done, we ended up with the sound of full chords.  Also, I figured that if you're going to write a song in French, you had better have some accordion in it, and Eric Cassidy helped me out with that.  Our community drummer, Brian Hoeflich, also added a nice touch to the bridge, laying heavily on the snare drum to give a military feel to the music, which was quite appropriate.

This song needed to be on the album, for its theme and its mood.  I didn't figure many people would like it, because, let's be frank, most people where I live do not listen to music that isn't sung in English.  This was the favorite song on the entire album for one reviewer in particular, and that surprised me. 

It is my hope that having this extra context helps you to hear this song in a new way.  Why not check it out on my Bandcamp page, on Spotify, on YouTube, on Amazon, or wherever else you listen to music?

The calendar has turned to June.  That means this is a great time to tell you about Sarah Rudy, who is a songwriter, guitarist, and singer.  Her band is called Hello June. They hail from the State where I was born, West Virginia.  Those of you from Dayton might already know about Sarah and her band, as the folks over at WUDR play their music.  Sarah might not be all that great at elevator pitches (unless the building is very tall), but is pretty great at writing songs, at playing guitar, and generally being awesome.  

Interview below the picture:

photo by Josh Saul

1.  Let's hear the elevator pitch for your skill set and genre. 

We've been called, "indie rock," but I honestly don't even know what that term means. We're not hard rock, but we're not soft rock either. We're not fast and dance-y, but our shows are full of energy. I/we create every aspect of the music, the videos, the designs, the marketing - if that is what they mean by "indie," we are that (haha).I'm an artist who is drawn to writing and creating songs that mean something to me and that others can relate to. The one thing I can say wholeheartedly is that we are genuine - the music that you hear comes from experiences and stories and real life events that mean a lot to me. My hope is that I gather people around me who relate to the music, regardless of the "genre" it happens to be called at the time. I'm sorry that this was possibly the worst elevator pitch to ever hit anyone's ears. 

2.  During the time of social distancing in March and April, which albums or artists did you listen to the most?  (Note from Mike... I thought some semblance of normality might resume by the time I published this interview, but yeah, not quite.)

I have listened a whole whole lot to TK Blockstar's self-titled album - the way that she conveys emotion in her message is exceptional and even though the genre is completely different from whatever we would be considered, I've found her presentation of emotion very inspiring. On top of that, shes from the great state of West Virginia - her album's have been giving me strength during a tough time. I've also listened a whole lot to The Band's "Music from Big Pink" a good bit and I'm always circulating back around to Big Thief - their music is so genuine and beautiful. 

3.  What was the first album you can remember buying with your own money?

As soon as I caught wind of Alanis Morissette, I felt deeply empowered in a way that I did not even understand. I bought the "Jagged Little Pill" album and played it a million times. Up to that point, I was just playing stuff that an older cousin of mine had given me. 

4.  Tell me about the last concert you saw.

We saw Big Thief in Columbus - the last show of that tour. Although I've watched live performances online, I hadn't gotten to see them in person and that was something that I was really wanting to do. I have such a visceral reaction to her songwriting - she has such a genuine realness that you don't see very often. The experience was surreal and beautiful and thinking of it makes me miss the magic of live music. 

5.  Imagine you have a gig tonight.  How do you decide what goes on the setlist? 

When I'm creating the list, I consider who's going to be on stage with me that night (some songs just translate better full band), the venue (do I anticipate poor sound quality or will I hear every breath I take?), the likelihood of an attentive crowd, and now, with livestreams, I'll tailor my setlist to what some sweet fans have asked me to play. I've been known to cut a set or song short when the crowd is being rude - so sometimes the decisions about setlist are made right there on stage. 

6. If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be? 

This is a hard question because the system is so broken. I've thought about this so many times, but I usually end up running in circles. I wish there wasn't a need for a record label - I wish that independent musicians had a platform that they could use to reach their fans AND find fans that would enjoy their music. Facebook doesn't like to show posts unless they are paid; Spotify, Apple Music, etc gives artists a couple cents for what people are buying, but yet, these are reliably and interestingly enough, our best tools? I also have seen that the problem with a few people having the power leads to the abuse of this power - there is a lot of gate-keeping by powerful people who could "make a career," and so many ways to fall into bad/unsafe conditions due to this. We have a long way to go in a lot of ways. 

7.  What is your biggest challenge when it comes to making music? 

My biggest challenge has been finding good "fits" for our band in terms of long term band-mates. Whit Alexander has been around since day one and together we've played with a revolving cast of characters for years. We actually really love playing with different people and learn from doing this, but sometimes there are challenges to what we have done for most of our time as a band. We've played many shows where the only practice that we'll have with the band would be an acoustic run-thru in the hotel or even no practice at all. Our current lineup is an interesting one - we've brought Travis Evans back to play drums. He originally helped me back in 2013 when I moved back to WV from Baltimore - we didn't even have a band name back then and I was just developing the songs (Whit was around and playing bass at that time). Whit is once again on bass and the way that he plays is so melodic and full that it allows me to play much more lead guitar than I've been able to do in the past. When you're moving your line-up around, one frustrating but efficient move is to keep things relatively simple so that everyone in the band knows where they are in the song, etc. This three piece line up is as freeing as I've ever been able to experience and it's much more true to the songs, I think. 

8.  How do you intend to keep growing as a musician and songwriter? 

My goal is to be able to more fluidly create songs that more accurately depict what is in my head/what is the intent for the song. In order to do this, I intend to keep listening to those who do this well and working on my craft. There is so much good music to consider - the bar is high. I've also got some collaborations coming up - for me, there is always a learning curve to that and I'm always pushed by other people.

***

Sarah and her band have gotten some very positive press for their self-titled debut full-length.  You should listen to it, and if you dig, maybe by a copy to support them?  You can also connect with Hello June on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Once upon a time, in a far away and mysterious land called The Nineties, there was a band called Failure.  The much younger version of me discovered them somehow, via their single "Stuck on You".  That song came with a very cool music video that was clearly inspired by the opening montage from a James Bond movie. That song came from the album Fantastic Planet, which I did not hesitate to procure, and that was my first experience with a concept album.  Alas, Failure broke up before I could see them live.  I bought their other two albums (Comfort and Magnified), I bought everything Ken Andrews released with his solo project On, I listened to the Greg Edwards project Autolux... and time passed.

After much time passed, the gentlemen of Failure - Ken Andrews, Greg Edwards, and Kelli Scott - literally got the band back together.  They discovered that people out there still loved Fantastic Planet very much.  They went on the road to play music.  This was my chance to see them... and see them I did, almost exactly six years ago.

I flew to Atlanta to see them at The Masquerade.  As is my custom, I got to the venue very early, well before the doors opened.  I was expecting most of the concert attendees to be my age or older... after all, this band had vanished for seventeen years.  I was surprised to see some young folks in line waiting for the show.  Then I remembered, that there are some younger artists who dig Failure, and other well-known bands who aren't so young who dig Failure, and maybe that's how a different generation came to discover them.

They couldn't have picked a more appropriate song to open the show.  I mean, it was the TREE OF STARS tour, they had to play this one:

Notice how perfect and pristine their sound is?  You're probably thinking that they sound this way because this is a controlled studio environment in the video.  Yes, this is... but this is EXACTLY what they sound like in a less-controlled concert environment.  This band... they are obsessive about their sound.  Due to their lengthy career and changing gear, in order to replicate all of the sounds on their albums, they use fractal technology.  I am not an expert, so I can't explain all that well how it works, but if you really want to know, Ken Andrews can tell you.  What I do know is that Failure concerts are the best-sounding shows I have ever attended.  (Side note:  Even if you don't want to watch the entire last video I posted with Ken talking about fractal audio, at least watch the beginning.  He films himself rehearsing after ten months of not having done any singing.  He sounds great.  He essentially used his engineering experience to mix the vocals and the guitar out of the recorded song, and is playing guitar and singing along to the rhythm tracks.)

When I was young, there was a great deal of jumping around and jostling at a loud rock show.  I'm too old for that now of course, and was just a tiny bit apprehensive once Failure got into the groove onstage.  They have plenty of songs that aren't as laid back and restrained as "Another Space Song".  Well, there was no jumping around at this show.  No jostling.  No shoving.  There was some singing along, but barely even anyone nodding their head.  I looked around at the audience, and I immediately understood.  Most of these people were about my age, and none of us ever thought we would see this band play live.  We were all just in too much shock at what we were seeing. I kept watching in awe, trying to figure out how to play songs that had come out of my CD players over and over again by watching Ken's hands. I was also rather transfixed by watching Kelli Scott's drumming in person, especially on their song about Virginia Woolf, "Wet Gravity".  

They didn't disappoint.  They played something from all of their first three albums.  I mean, this setlist, wow.  When they played "Dirty Blue Balloons", it made all the sense in the world hearing the audience sing "I've waited so long without you/ I've waited too long for you"...  Indeed, indeed we had.

Our interview subject this week recently released her first EP, called Sense of Self.   Listen to it here.   She does her own arranging, engineering, mixing, and production.  She is based in Boston.

1.  Let's hear the elevator pitch for your skill set and genre. 

I'm an a cappella looper artist. I perform solo vocal arrangements of covers and originals using a loop pedal. 

2.  Your song "Sense of Self" shows some vulnerability.  How long did it take before you were comfortable singing out those feelings in public? 

Honestly, I try not to think about it. When singing in front of an audience, I treat it like any cover I would sing. The song already exists, and my job is to perform it to the best of my ability. It's not about me, anyway. Each person projects their own feelings onto a song, or at least that's my goal - to have a song resonate with them personally. 

3.  What was the first album you can remember buying with your own money? 

Believe it or not, it was the soundtrack to the Broadway musical Next to Normal. It's my favorite musical. The sound is all in the rock genre, and it's about a family dealing with mental illness and loss. 

4.  Tell me about the last concert you saw. 

My most recent concert was Ingrid Michelson at the House of Blues in Boston. I think my favorite moment was when she forgot the words to one of her songs. She just started laughing, and started the song over with the band, but then the whole place, band included, got the giggles so badly at that point, that they weren't even able to finish the song. She was like "Who forgets the lyrics to their own song??" But we've all been there. I love those moments of imperfection at a show. 

5.  What artists do you consider to be your biggest influences? 

As far as a cappella looping goes, I draw most of my inspiration from a jazz singer named Cyrille Aimée. I bought my looper because of her. The first song I learned on the looper was hers - "Nuit Blanche". My new album is more in the vein of singer-songwriters like Sarah Bareilles, Ingrid Michelson, and John Mayer. I have lots of experience in jazz, musical theater, classical, and popular music, so my influences are vast, but that's where I'm living musically at the moment. 

6. Based on your background, when you write songs, I imagine your process is very different than most other songwriters.  Would you be so kind as to describe how you approach songwriting? 

I've been writing poetry since I was very young, about 10 or 11 years old, so the lyrics almost always come first. I recently learned that most people have an "inner monologue" of thoughts. I actually don't. It's more of a sensation than complete sentences in my head. Writing, talking, singing, and sketching come naturally when I'm simply trying to organize my thoughts. Then, use those ideas to write the lyrics in a more structured format. I edit so that the accents fall in the right place, and I break out a rhyming dictionary. Sometimes, I'll just write down a group of words that rhyme that I feel resonate with the emotion or mood, and I'll write an entire verse around those words. When I'm happy with that, I'll write it in musical notation so I don't forget it. From there, I can analyze the implied chord structure of the song and add those to make a lead sheet for myself. Sometimes I'll borrow chord substitutions from other songs that I like at the time. 

7, You have some experience on the engineering side of the business as well.  Can you tell me about how you got in to that, and about what you try to get done in the studio for your clients? 

Before considering myself an engineer, I'm an arranger. I create arrangements of songs for live performance using sheet music. I was able to break down the different elements of a song to create memorable moments within a song. Recording and producing is just another way that I can do that. 

I primarily work in a cappella, so I focus on vocal arrangement and production. Typically, the song is already arranged by the group, so my job with a musician in the studio is to get the best performance possible out of them. Notes and rhythms are second to the emotive energy you need behind a vocal. As a vocalist myself, I also have the pedagogical skills to coach singers on getting a stronger sound, or a completely different vocal technique. Everything I do after that is to honor that performance. 

8,  What is your biggest challenge when it comes to making music? 

Creating the music isn't really challenging at all. I think the challenging part of being a musician is taking the thing that you created and sharing it with the world in a way that they're going to love. People don't realize how many grueling hours and meticulous planning go into an hour-long show or an album release. I love the marketing and management side of music, but it's very hard to do it for yourself. It feels very weird to put yourself out there and promote yourself. I wish there were two of me!

***

Did you notice that Nina actually writes in musical notation?  I find that most impressive, and also very much enjoy the way she builds songs with only her voice.  Why not visit her official website?  You can also connect with Nina on Instagram or on her Facebook page.

This is a question I have been asked many times.  After all, bass is not an instrument that lends itself all that well to solo performance, unless you happen to be Victor Wooten.  (I am not Victor Wooten.)  The role of the bass in a band is to help the drummer with the rhythmic foundation, whilst also lending some bottom end support to the rest of the music... sometimes, some melodic stuff, but generally, the role is a supporting role.  Bass players are usually the people in the band whose name everyone forgets (with a few exceptions), standing in the back by the drummer (I see you Colin Greenwood), holding it down without recognition.  That's ok, I dig that role.  Why do I dig that role?

Well, think about when you used to drive around in your car listening to music.  What did you turn up to really get your head nodding? (I'm going to guess it wasn't the treble.)

I think back to some of my favorite songs on the albums I used to listen to back in the early nineties.  On Nevermind, it was "Lounge Act", especially the first ten seconds.  On Foo Fighters, it was "For All the Cows", with those fantastic slides. How about Superunknown?  "The Day I Tried To Live".  Dirt? "Would".  Notice something in common?  SO VERY MUCH GROOVE.  The bass makes those songs what they are.

Here's what really made up my mind though.  This video, right here:

Be still my heart.  I was in high school, and still remember thinking this was one of the coolest musical performances I had ever seen.  Listen to how much the bass moves around, but never gets in the way.  Hear those awesome bass slides in the turnaround?  They're so much more groovy than the guitar slide sound.  In the second chorus, wow, look at the bass gentleman's fingers, looking like a person briskly walking.  Ooooh, then the break down.  Not only could this gentleman play, but he also sang harmonies!  Check it out:

This gentleman's name is Rob DeLeo.  He plays bass.  He sings.  He also wrote most of the best riff-tastic parts from this band's catalog.  A bass player that writes songs, how about that?  He also made playing bass look cool, even though nobody ever looks at the bassist.  I mean, look at his outfit here, in what is admittedly, a delightfully cheesy music video:

In summary, Rob DeLeo was the factor that made teenage me decide to learn bass.  Now, I'm old, and have lost all concern about looking cool, because whatever, just listen to my music.  I still like singing harmonies though, even though I'm not good at it.  I still like playing bass, finding that groove.  I still like writing songs.  I also still consider Rob DeLeo to be one of my favorite musicians.

The dream I have had most often, since I was young in fact, involves a horrifically violent death in a car.  I even wrote a poem about it once, way back on 24th November 1997.  Here it is:

Most Recurring Dream

Silent
Under the shroud of night
Wearing a cloak of blood
Shards of glass scattered about
Trapped in this mechanical tomb
One arm twisted against the window
The other folded into my smashed chest
My final breath a gasp of pain
But not of surprise
Eyes open staring ahead lifelessly
I am wrapped tightly by these blankets of steel
The final sound was metal on metal
Broken at last

Yes, I know that's not exactly pleasant, but what can you do?  The brain comes up with what it comes up with.  Also, of course, driving (or riding) in cars is extremely unsafe, and worse when there are impaired drivers about, which there often are.

It's about that time where I link to a song that is relevant to dreams... how about this one?

That song is great.  Of course, that's not the album with the cover art that most closely matches the particular horrific dream I describe above.  (That would be Do the Collapse, which is probably my personal favorite GBV album.)

Sometimes I wonder if it's a symptom of my depressed state that a dream this macabre would keep turning up again and again.