Recent Posts in interviews
November 20, 2009
an interview w/ BOAT (and videos from Coney Island)
words by Bill Pearis, photos by Ryan Muir
Seattle band BOAT were in town over the weekend playing Friday (11/13) at Union Hall and Saturday (11/13) at Bruar Falls. The band were on at both shows, probably due in part to vocal and ready-to-participate crowds who did not want them to stop playing. BV photographer Ryan Muir was at the Bruar show and took the band out for a photo session after the show. Before the show, I sat down with them over dinner for a long, funny conversation that included such topics as not fitting in in today's indie landscape; how recycling would seem less important if we knew aliens were going to invade; and a quiz about 1989 (the name of the new album's lead track). You'd be reading all of that right now if I properly knew how to operate my digital recorder, which only managed to capture 54 seconds of the interview. I'm infinitely bummed... However, BOAT frontman D. Crane agreed to a little post-tour wrap-up Q&A to make up for it. More of those pictures and that interview below...
Continue reading "an interview w/ BOAT (and videos from Coney Island) "
Posted by brooklynvegan at 9:15 AM | Comments (0)
November 5, 2009
an interview w/ Conrad Doucette of Takka Takka (who have a new lineup & a free show in DUMBO tonight)
DOWNLOAD: Takka Takka - Silence (MP3)
(the new) Takka Takka @ Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn - CMJ 2009
photo by Erin Molitor
Brooklyn band Takka Takka are playing a show in DUMBO tonight (11/5). This gig follows a few shows that the band played in town during CMJ. You can see them playing at one of the showcases in the picture above. If you're familiar with the band, you may notice some changes including one less member, and no it's not front-man Gabe Levine aka Samuel Izdat. Gabe/Samuel has started playing solo, but that's in addition to being in the band.
In light of all this, I asked Takka drummer Conrad Doucette if he would answer a few questions...
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BV: Name and position?
Conrad: Conrad Doucette, second base
BV: Did you watch the last game of the World Series last night?
Conrad: I did.
BV: Were you jumping up and down and screaming really loudly when the Yankees won?
Conrad: I was jumping up and down and screaming loudly in the alternate universe where the Cincinnati Reds have a chance to win a World Series.
continued below...
Posted by brooklynvegan at 1:11 PM | Comments (8)
October 28, 2009
an interview w/ Bryce Dessner of The National whose show, The Long Count, opens @ BAM tonight ++ 2 MP3's
by Andrew Frisicano
DOWNLOAD: Aaron Dessner - We Were Born (from the Long Count) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Long Count - Bull Run (feat. Kelley Deal) (MP3)
Twins! (the Dessners & the Deals)
The Long Count kicks off its three show engagement at BAM's Gilman Opera House tonight (10/28). Tickets are still available for the show, as well as for the Friday (10/30) and Saturday (10/31) performances.
The 70-minute music and multimedia piece, commissioned by BAM Next Wave Festival, is the work of Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the National and visual artist Matthew Ritchie. But they haven't been working alone. At every step of composing and arranging the Long Count over the past year, the brothers have tapped into their crew of skilled collaborators. The 12-piece orchestra that will be joining them on stage counts talents like NYC violist Nadia Sirota (who played last month's Archipelago series show), sax/bass clarinet player Colin Stetson, and Antony & the Johnsons' guitarist/violinist/conductor Rob Moose (who in particular assisted with some of the arranging duties).
As previously mentioned, the Breeders' Kim and Kelley Deal (twins) collaborated with the Dessners (also twins) on much of the music - they sing for nearly half of the show. Other vocal turns will be taken by the Nationals' Matt Berninger and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden.
All four singers play roles in the narrative of the Long Count, which takes its story from the Mayan creation myth of Popol Vuh. In that, multiple sets of twins (in the story and on stage) experience repeated cycles of life and death until giving birth to the world as we know it. The original tale ties in strongly with a ballgame played by its main characters - an element which the Dessners have woven in with their love of baseball, particularly Cincinnati Reds and the Big Red Machine.
Musically, the Long Count sections posted above, both from the show's work-in-progress performance at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on September 11th, showcase the piece's diversity. The first, "We Were Born," highlights the minimalist pedigree of the show, while "Bull Run" layers those elements with fearsome orchestral lines and extremely creepy vocals by Kelley Deal.
Paired with the spooky nature of Mathew Ritchie's animation (which you can preview here) the show looks to be a good Halloween night warm-up as any. In fact, the early Saturday night show has the most tickets available, and it follows a pre-show Q&A (ticketed separately) led by Brandon Stosuy (who's curating the Mount Eerie + metal show at Market Hotel later in the night).
Bryce generously answered some of our questions over the phone while in the last week of rehearsal (and in the hectic center of CMJ week). More photos from the production, and that interview, where he reveals the existence of an unreleased Christmas album he made with Sufjan, details on the new National record and more, below...
Posted by brooklynvegan at 1:33 PM | Comments (5)
October 21, 2009
an interview with Goes Cube
by BBG
Goes Cube (Kenny, David, Matt)
Goes Cube, are, to quote El-P circa Company Flow, "independent as fuck". Self-funded, self-booked, and self-taught, Goes Cube released their first LP, Another Day Has Passed via The End earlier this year after a string of three self-released EPs. Much like the rave reviews suggest, Goes Cube have delivered an excellent record that touches on post-hardcore and metal all while holding true to melody.
On the heels on that killer LP, we invited Goes Cube to play the Brooklyn Vegan Day Party at Fontana's on 10/23, and decided to throw a couple questions their way. The results...
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Goes Cube is an NYC band, so I'm sure you have seen your share of great performances during CMJ. Any favorite CMJ memories?
David Obuchowski: The first year we were formally part of CMJ was 2006. That year, I set up a number of day parties, one of which was Goes Cube, Foreign Islands, Read Yellow, and Jake Brennan. Shout Out Out Out was supposed to play but they literally couldn't fit their gear down in the venue (Julep). Fun show, and it was a great opportunity for us to play with much bigger bands. The lesson learned is that bands of all sizes want to play a lot of shows during CMJ and SXSW. Book it yourself. Things are way different from when we were teenagers, but that aspect has never changed.
Kenny Appell: Hull in '07
continued below...
Continue reading "an interview with Goes Cube"
Posted by brooklynvegan at 8:22 PM | Comments (11)
October 20, 2009
an interview w/ Rival Schools (Walter Schreifels & Sammy Siegler) (the long lost part 2)
by BBG
Walter Schreifels @ Knitting Factory - BV-CMJ 2008 (more by Zach Dilgard)
Last CMJ, Rival Schools played their first public NYC reunion show at Knitting Factory. It was part of a day-long and free BrooklynVegan party. Right before that happened we interviewed Rival Schools members Walter Schreifels and Sammy Siegler, but only ever posted half of it ("part 1"). As sometimes happens around here, time went on, and the interview got older and older... and then I remembered we had it today. What reminded me was the show that the new Walter Schreifels Band will be playing at Music Hall of Williamsburg this evening (@7:30pm). What better time then to finally post the never-before-seen conclusion? (not to mention it's as relevant now as it was last year) (and better late than never?).
Rival Schools have now been back together for over a year, and though they promised a new album, so far it looks like the newest one will be a solo LP coming out by Walter himself (video preview at the end of the post). He'll play some of those new songs, along with lots of classics, at Music Hall tonight (right after an opening set by Think About Life).
In the second part of the interview below (read part one first), we talked about Youth of Today, Quicksand, Walking Concert, Walter being a dad, and what inspires the old friends today.
{Please note that the interview was conducted before Chi Cheng of the Deftones was involved in a serious car accident. )
Check it out...
Posted by brooklynvegan at 1:00 PM | Comments (2)
The Antlers (Peter) in conversation with Sharon Van Etten (both playing CMJ shows & stuff)
DOWNLOAD: The Antlers - Two (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sharon Van Etten - For You (MP3)
The Antlers
The Pistola Press: What was it like working with The Antlers on Hospice? Your part on 'Thirteen' is beautiful. It fits so well with the album, it's fantastic.The interview that snippet is from was posted in September. Hospice was re-released by Frenchkiss in August. Sharon's debut solo album, Because I Was in Love, was released in May.Sharon Van Etten: I feel really lucky to have been a part of it. Peter (Silberman) is a genius. The first time I heard his voice, I thought "this is someone I want to know". I only sang what belonged there. He did all the writing. It IS a beautiful record. I am so proud of those guys! They deserve all the praise in the world.
The Antlers help kick off CMJ with a performance tonight, 10/20, at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn (the BV showcase to be exact). After CMJ they head out on the road before returning to NYC and playing their own headlining show at Bowery Ballroom in December. Opening that December 15th Bowery show will be their friend and collaborator Sharon Van Etten, who is currently on the road with Rain Machine (aka Kyp Malone from TV on the Radio), but will be back this Saturday (10/24) in time to play a free afternoon show at Pianos before opening for Rain Machine at Bowery Ballroom that night.
I asked Peter Silberman and Sharon Van Etten if they'd be interested in asking each other some questions. They went for it. This is what they said....
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Sharon: Hi
Peter: Hi
Sharon: Where are you right now?
Peter: I'm home
Sharon: You're home, that must be nice.
Peter: Its nice but we're leaving on Friday as you might know. I'm in the process of process of making coffee and trying to learn to use a French Press because I'm not very good at it.
Sharon: A French Press is where it's at!
Peter: I know but my roommates keep breaking them. Apparently the glass is really easy to break so I'm really worried every time I make coffee I'm going to break it. Where are you now?
Find out where she is, and much, much more, below...
Posted by brooklynvegan at 8:15 AM | Comments (12)
October 16, 2009
Chris Denny in conversation with Ben Nichols of Lucero (both in town to play shows very soon!)
Ben Nichols (Lucero) @ Maxwell's (more by Tim Griffin)
Seeing that Lucero is about to be in town with a big show at Webster Hall on Saturday night (10/17), and that Chris Denny (last seen on stage with Deer Tick in Prospect Park) is about to make another NYC appearance (including at the free BrooklynVegan day party at Pianos on Thursday, October 22nd), I thought it might be cool to get these two Arkansas musicians (who have met before) on the phone.
It turned out better than I could have imagined. Chris (who recently singed to Partisan Records making him Deer Tick's label-mate) and Lucero front-man Ben Nichols ended up discussing Lucero's decision to go with Universal Records for their new album (1372 Overton Park), drinking, horns, whiskey, marriage, The Pogues, whiskey, Tom Petty, drinking and much more. Check it out, along with all tour dates and some videos and stuff, below...
Posted by brooklynvegan at 1:03 PM | Comments (12)
October 2, 2009
an interview w/ Dave Witte (of Burnt by the Sun, Municipal Waste, Human Remains, Black Army Jacket...)
by Black Bubblegum
They say that the clothes make the man, but in the music world, the drummer makes the band. That's the only way to explain the string of successes that have followed Dave Witte since he first sat behind the kit as a member of the influential yet under-appreciated Human Remains. Since then, Witte has played with some of the greatest bands in the heavy underground, laying the back beat to names as powerful as Municipal Waste, Discordance Axis, Anodyne, Black Army Jacket, Melt Banana, and we can't forget about Burnt By The Sun.
Burnt By The Sun recently released their swansong, Heart of Darkness, via Relapse Records. In celebration of this last LP, the band will embark on final tour of Europe in October with only one US date scheduled: October 2nd at Cake Shop with Tombs, Black Anvil, Bloodhorse, and Torchbearer. Considering the band members' current undertakings, it isn't out the question to say that this could be their last show for a very very long time.
With that as a primer, I fired some questions at Dave Witte about Municipal Waste, the end of Burnt By The Sun, and the possiblity of him returning to the kit for Human Remains, Discordance Axis or Black Army Jacket. The conversation is below....
Posted by brooklynvegan at 12:38 PM | Comments (10)
October 1, 2009
an interview w/ Jay Reatard (whose Shattered Records tour hits Le Poisson Rouge in NYC tonight)
Jay Reatard @ the Wired Store (more by Tim Griffin)
As I was saying (and Bill will say even more about later), Jay Reatard and his Shattered Records crew (Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders & Useless Eaters) are on their way from Pop Montreal to NYC for a late show at Le Poisson Rouge tonight (10/1). Tickets are still on sale.
Yesterday, with some help, I rushed together some questions for an email interview with Jay (not the ideal format). Jay in turn rushed some answers back this afternoon, presumably from the road and after playing a late show last night. With that in mind, you can find that interview, which attempts to set the record straight on Jay's recent hate for Brooklyn, and what time Hamburghini practice starts, with all dates and tonight's set times, below....
Posted by brooklynvegan at 2:27 PM | Comments (11)
September 24, 2009
an interview w/ Charles Maggio of Rorschach (who are in the middle of their short run of reunion dates)
by Black Bubblegum
Charles Maggio of Rorschach
June 1993 at ABC No Rio with Assuck & Scrog.
That's the last time that the mighty Rorschach blessed NYC. The band called it quits shortly after, splintering into projects like Gern Blandsten Records, Beautiful Skin, Deadguy, Kiss It Goodbye, and tons more, but those great successes only highlighted an undeniable fact: Rorschach were innovative and before their time.
After deciding to reunite earlier this year in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Remain Sedate LP, Rorschach announced a short east coast tour. The band is currently in the midst of that tour, which impacts Asbury Park in their native New Jersey tonight (9/24) and Santos Party House TOMORROW (9/25, tix here).
We spoke with the mighty Charles Maggio (Vocals, owner Gern Blandsten Records) to get to the bottom of the reunion and what we can expect going forward....
Posted by brooklynvegan at 2:17 PM | Comments (13)