The first time I heard Audiences was during a soundcheck at Schuba’s Tavern in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood in August of 2011. It was a sound that I couldn’t exactly put my finger on but it was something that I knew was going to bring them a lot of attention in the Chicago music scene. Nearly a year and a half, one EP, and a slew of shows in some of Chicago’s most well-known venues later, Audiences has brought attention to themselves in a scene where bands tend to piggyback on one another’s sounds and styles. I was able to sit down with Audiences at Chicago’s Double Door and discuss how the band got to where they are today, their future plans, and what it’s like to be a permanent fixture in the Chicago music scene.

MVRemix: How about you introduce yourselves…

Stephen Kraniotis: I’m Stephen, I play guitar

Brian Suarez: I’m Brian, I play bass.

Billy Jesus: Billy. Singing guitar.

Bobby Is: I’m Bob, I play the drums.

MVRemix: Where did you get the name audiences?

BI: We did a song called “Audiences.”

BJ: Actually I remember this really clearly. I was thinking about this the other day in a weird way, actually. Seriously, we had this song called “Audiences” and we’d been playing the shit out of it and we didn’t really know what we were going to do with it. We don’t play it anymore-

BS: We were called Bad Moon at the time.

BJ: But yeah, then Brian one day was like “Dude, you know what? We should be called Audiences.” Like, I remember. He screamed it from his bedroom.

BI: No, I’m pretty sure we were like “We should be called Audiences and the song should be called ‘Bad Moon.’”

BJ: Yeah, that’s right… And we did do that!

BS: So we would have a lot of house shows.

BI: And people would come and play.

BJ: We were named Audiences before our first show.

SK: There was a lot of people involved that inspired us a lot and we were just like, alright.

BS: And just like he (Billy) says on stage, is that, you know, “We’re all Audiences.”

SK: It’s like paying homage.

BS: You’re trying to connect with people, and musicians are always trying to connect with people, and it’s just so different saying “Oh, I’m going to the Audiences show!”

MVRemix: When did you start playing together as a band?

BI: What is 20-

BJ: July 2010.

BS: November 2010?

BJ: So me, Brian, and Stephen all grew up playing together in weird basements in the suburbs. The three of us grew up playing together and we went to high school together, and I learned how to sing, sort of. Maybe from the same entity. And Bob and I played in a little thing before this.

BI: I actually don’t even know these guys last names.

SK: And then, like, we were just kind of just kind of picking up instruments.

BJ: Something ended and then something bigger started.

SK: I used to play bass. On the song called “Audiences” I played bass.

BS: I never played bass before this band.

SK: And he learned.

BS: I learned how to play bass for this band because I wanted to be in a band.

SK: And we were just kind of dicking around in the apartment.

BS: Yeah, that’s the weirdest thing. It was a kind of an organic thing.

BJ: I kind of thought this was going to live in the living room and die in the living room and then we got a few shows.

BI: Big shows!

BJ: Yeah, bigger than us.

BI: It just escalated quickly.

BJ: Yeah, we just got to do some shit that was bigger than us.

MVRemix: What were your influences when you first started Audiences?

BS: Big Bird.

BJ: Do you hear the guy doing vocal warm ups in the next room? That was my biggest influence. The guy you could hear through my walls in my apartment.

SK: Probably the people we were just surrounded by made us want to start a band. Just the people hanging out in the apartment, it was very much a party house then. People were just picking up instruments.

BJ: Nothing positive or negative was happening. It was just noise.

BI: We all come from different backgrounds. It was interesting the first two songs. I come from a very heavy metal, death metal background. So somebody would be like “Hey, let’s play this bluesy riff.” And I’d just be like “Fuck yeah, let’s put some double bass with that!”

BJ: Double bass!

BI: Or something ridiculous. So I think just, going over the first few songs we learned each other better and learned how to write music to assist everyone’s strengths.

BS: I used to be in an emo band that opened for Fall Out Boy at Knights of Columbus on a six band bill. I guess 90’s stuff too?

SK: I’d say every one of us has different influences.

BJ: Tool was in the 90’s.

SK: Yeah, that’s why we sound so much like Tool.

BI: Not like 90’s pop.

SK: Okay. We all have very different influences which helps us have this spontaneously unique sound.

MVRemix: Would you say that everything you just threw at me continues to influence you and help you create music now?

BS: Actually, you’re always listening to new music and you’re always going to find new stuff that you like, or dislike or whatever. But I think that you hear stuff that you’re putting out and there’s this bar that you’ve set that at one point maybe you didn’t think you would reach but you did. Now you get to get set that bar even higher.

SK: It always keeps being different. It evolves.

BS: I think all of us could just play shit that we couldn’t play when we started. The songs that we’re writing right now or aren’t playing yet or aren’t recorded yet, are songs that we could have never come up with when we started. We just got better.

BI: When I first started hanging out with you dudes, I’d go to a party and I’d be like “Holy shit. What is this music?” Because I wouldn’t know, I had listened to death metal. And after a while after hanging with you, I started learning your catalogs and all that. So now we could say “Hey listen to this song!” And everyone is like “Oh. Okay!”

BJ: Everyone’s listening to crazy shit. Bob and I have been jamming bluegrass for the past two weeks, exclusively. Legitimately! Like, Doc Watson. Like, I can’t get it out of my head.

BS: Because we come from different backgrounds, we tend to inspire each other.

BI: It’s good because if we all listened to punk rock we’d be playing punk rock.

BS: There’s some bands that just have that one genre. I don’t know, like, The Strokes is a good example of a band who took that one thing and this album that’s coming out is like a breakthrough. We haven’t reached that. You still have to establish that stuff and it does keep influencing us.

SK: It goes along with the thing like, I wasn’t a lead guitarist, Brian wasn’t a bassist, Billy wasn’t a singer, really. Bob wasn’t an indie rock drummer.

BS: No one felt comfortable in the roles we were playing.

SK: So it’s basically been learning where we belong and we’re now kind of figuring out, so let’s take some things from there and there.

BJ: Except Bob because he just plays his drums like, all the time.

BS: But ultimately those are the things that continue to influence us. We’re not all just listening to one thing. There’s some bands we’re always going to agree on but everyone listens to their own shit.

BI: It’s better when we don’t agree on a band.

BJ: When has that ever really happened though?

BI: One time Brian was like “You should listen to this Creed song.”

BJ: But that never actually happened.

MVRemix: Since Audiences started playing, you haven’t really left Chicago but have made a pretty good name for yourselves out here. Did you ever expect that?

BS: No way.

BJ: Absolutely not. So many bands that we know because we’re playing with them are on the road and they ask us where we’re from and we’re just like, “We’re from here.” Because we have that pride.

BI: It’s most exciting because when we first started we were doing the Chicago thing and then we started talking about going on the road. Like, oh we can do this and that, but thinking about getting as big of a following in Milwaukee or Ohio or any other city. Like being that intimate to a crowd in a city we don’t belong in-

BS: We went and played in DeKalb and that was our first shirt outside of Chicago and that was 90 miles outside of the city.

BJ: I think we can make the name in Chicago and then it’ll just bleed.

SK: We never expected anything to come of this.

BJ: It’s really hard to make a name for yourself in the city because there are a thousand people making music and it’s really humbling, there’s no pride in it whatsoever. It’s just so humbling to get on stage and play at places like tonight. This is a really big deal for us. Like, the first time we ever played Double Door this was a huge issue. I said to Stephen when we walked in here earlier and got our fucking badges, “Do you remember the first time we played here? This was the first time we ever got a fucking badge.” It was insane and we felt nuts and now it’s like “Where do we get our little badges and things.”

SK: Not that we don’t appreciate it.

BS: No, not that we don’t appreciate it. It’s just like, it’s crazy.

BJ: And then we can learn more about the people who put these things on. Like, we love local venues. We learn about it because we play a venue so many times, whereas a touring band doesn’t do that. They know the production person the day of and they’ll never talk to them again. But we know the production guy from the last time we played here because he’s the house guy and he took care of us and he always does. So when you play in those venues, you’ve got that sense of-

BI: They ask you back. Like, they ask you back.

BJ: Yeah! Then it’s fun.

SK: You just gain a sense of community and obviously we need to grow here first. We’re not ready to spread our wings yet.

MVRemix: The part of the scene in Chicago that Audiences is a part of is a pretty tight knit group. Do you think that’s helped create the fan base that’s helped you get known throughout the city?

BS: Of course.

BI: Well, here’s a good story that’s about 17 minutes long, so sit down and relax. But when we first started playing those house shows people would come over.

BJ: And they didn’t have to pay.

BI: Right, and I didn’t know anyone but now they’re our good friends and they come here. Every show we go to we meet a new person and they come back.

BS: Fans become friends.

BI: I hate when people are like, “How many fans do you have, man?” And we don’t even really know. We just know the people that come.

BS: Don’t you think that’s more of the essence of Audiences? We love the people that come to the shows. That’s why we make the music, because of them.

BJ: Playing those crowds and playing in the niche that is this mock community, it’s kind of fun. Sometimes you get to play with some people who are really neat.

BI: It’s kind of culty in a way.

BJ: Sometimes you’re loading in and you’re loading in with people who you’ve seen a hundred times.

BS: That’s what I mean. This band that’s playing right now, they’re from California and they load in and are never going to see these people again. But like, we load in and get to see people we know and it’s comforting. I don’t think a lot of bands have that because they tour. You have to make that choice to give up and go out and do it right away.

BI: That’s why we’re never going to tour.

MVRemix: What’s your dream show to play then?

BS: The Vic.

BJ: Yes! That’s it! I want to be able to load the gear in from the house and walk it next door.

BS: But with who? A national touring act. It’s that easy. Because if we’re playing at the Vic would you guys even care who? Like, it’s a band we know, so would you even care?

SK: I wouldn’t care.

BJ: And because we live so close and I mean, once you’re on their radar.

BI: This is kind of negative in a way, but when you’re not responsible for the draw you get to play in front of new ears and it’s a lot of fun.

MVRemix: Future plans, dreams, and aspirations?

BI: We’re going to put out this album and try really really hard-

SK: At putting out the best album we can.

BJ: We want to tour. You know, in fall.

BI: In fall? Like, when the leaves are changing colors?

BJ: Just listen. People say we’d be good on the college scene.

BS: You know, we’re just going to try our best to put out the best album we can because we don’t really like the one we have out now.

BJ: That’s a great answer.

You can keep tabs on Audiences via their Facebook, Twitter, and website. They will be releasing a Split EP with fellow Chicagoans Apollo House through AEMMP Records on April 9th and will be releasing their first full length album later this year.

I stumbled upon a Soundcloud account a while back. It belonged to a prolific songwriter from the United Kingdom. Her name is Charlie. She is sixteen. I suspect she have a bit of genius about her. When I was sixteen years old, I had trouble holding major seconds in vocal harmony. I could play four chords on guitar, and my fingers were still getting raw from practice. At sixteen, Charlie has written well over fifty songs, and shows no sign of slowing down. When I last checked in with her, she informed me that in a six day period, she wrote and recorded fourteen songs. Her music can be found here.

MVRemix: How many songs have you actually written?

Charlie Leavy: I have the lyrics to 55 of my songs on my computer but I have actually written quite a few more in the past that would bring the total up to about 65.

MVRemix: What inspired you to play music, and what inspired you to write your own music?

Charlie Leavy: I was inspired to play music when I was very little. I loved singing at home, then I tried out for school plays in primary school and ended up getting a main part in all of them. My love for music developed on from there. I got a small 3 octave keyboard when I was about 8 and started to teach myself, and then I got a larger 6 octave keyboard at about age 11/12 which I loved. I just had a huge passion for music which made me want to learn instruments and sing.

Then for the inspiration for writing songs: I always, from a very young age, made up little songs in my head which I loved doing. Then, I wrote my first song which I named ‘Blank Canvas’ when I was 12 for one of my best friends who was really upset over a boyfriend. Song writing just progressed from there. I loved writing my first song, and singing it after so I just kept writing and I haven’t stopped to this day!

MVRemix: You mentioned you’ve played in bands before. Tell me about them. Do you write songs for those bands as well?

Charlie Leavy: I’ve been in a few bands: The Last Laughs, The Alternatives and Atlas. In the Last Laughs I was just the lead singer and we stayed together for about half a year. We played a gig at a pub and a set for St. George’s Day in the middle of my town. We also did a few school concerts, it was a fun time while it lasted! We wrote one song called ‘That Love Song’, our guitarist wrote the chords and me and our keyboard player wrote the melody and I wrote the lyrics. Then The Alternatives didn’t get nearly as far, we didn’t play anywhere, just rehearsed. And finally, the last band I was in: Atlas. We were a four piece with a lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, drummer and I was the lead singer and bassist. This band lasted the longest out of all 3, we didn’t write any songs together but we did have 2 of mine in our set: ‘Be Mine’ and ‘Hello Hello’. We played a couple of pub gigs and a small charity festival too.

MVRemix: What is your set-up?

Charlie Leavy: My set up is in my bedroom. I have a laptop which has Avid Pro Tools software on. I use the Pro Tools Audio Interface plugged into both my laptop and a Studio V3 Tube MP pre-amp. I then plug my instrument/mic into the pre-amp. I have a mic stand which the mic sits in and I also have a pop filter which I use.

MVRemix: Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Charlie Leavy: I draw my inspiration from just about everything. My experiences and feelings, friends’ experiences and feelings, nature, the way people are, sleeping habits seem to be a common occurrence too. I love to take things from different angles and write about what I see in the natural world, then link it to a feeling or an experience. I also am inspired by writing with a message. Quite a few of my songs, (e.g: Good Enough and Who Are You), convey a positive message about loving yourself because you’re you and that’s something I truly believe. I think that way too many people dislike themselves and hate their differences, and that needs to stop. Uniqueness is there for a reason.

MVRemix: Tell me about your songwriting process.

Charlie Leavy: My song writing process varies significantly with each song. For the most part though, I write in my bedroom with a wordpad document open on my laptop. There are exceptions though, for instance: ‘Player 2’ was written on the way up to school and ‘Picture Of You’ was written during Form time at school in my planner. I just try to retain the melody that I’ve thought up until I get home and I can work out which chords I should play. Sometimes I write because I’ve found an interesting melody or some gorgeous chords, other times it’s because I’ve experienced/seen someone experience something that I’m inspired to write about, other times it’s simply because I thought up a few lyrics that I feel like writing a song about.

MVRemix: You’ve done most of your recordings on your own. Do you prefer the do-it-yourself method, or do you hope to find a label one of these days?

Charlie Leavy: I love recording at home. It feels like a mini project and I feel so great when I finish. However, I would definitely like to find a label in the future. I feel like with more professional recordings I could do so much more – in my room I am limited. In a studio I could add drums if I wanted or strings, etc and the tracks could be mixed a lot better since I’m still a beginner at that sort of stuff.

MVRemix: Do you see yourself studying music at the university level, or would you prefer to hit the road and tour your own material?

Charlie Leavy: I actually see myself studying Economics at university, it’s another passion of mine. Music is my ultimate passion though, so, I may study Music at university if it looks like I’m going to make it somewhere. I feel like I need something to fall back on if nothing happens for me regarding Music in the future. However, I would love to tour. If there are ears which want to listen to my voice, my voice will get there. I think touring would be incredible and so fun to do, especially because performing is one of my favourite things ever.

MVRemix: What direction do you want to take your music in the next few years?

Charlie Leavy: In the next few years I’d love to have recorded an album of professional quality in a studio. I’d love to be doing gigs a few nights a week too. I’d also love to experiment with some more collaborations. I think my some of my music will stay I the acoustic genre, but I think that some of my tracks will be a full band because that would be amazing to work on! Also, I will definitely continue to write with all sorts of influences like pop, folk, country and rock.

MVRemix: Any thoughts, comments, questions, jokes or manifestos you’d like to leave us with? 

Charlie Leavy: Yes, I’d like to say thanks for this interview! It’s been really fun to do and something which is a great piece of advice…Two little words; be you.

Nathan Temple Vocals, Ben Evans Guitar, Cody Hilliker Guitar/vocals, Kyle Edwards Bass, Shane Rutledge Drums

Bands come and go, especially in Seattle. It’s a tough gig surviving the work that goes into getting a group together, practicing and trying to get club dates. It’s a lot easier if there is talent to back up all the idealism, such is the case with Love The Lost. A band of five musicians, young but very focused, their music resonates with metalheads as much for the energy and volume as the lyrics.

Formed in 2012, Love The Lost is a Seattle-area post hardcore/metalcore band who performed at Studio Seven’s Battle of the Bands In July 2012. Coming in second place to a more experienced band, the group graciously agreed to an interview after their set.

LTL:        This was our first show together and we’ve been practicing hard. We loved seeing the audience getting involved, especially all the bouncing up and down during ‘Monstrosity’.

What are your influences and who does the writing?

We do our own writing. Each person writes their past and then when we come together, we fine tune it and blend it. One of our influences is Armada; they have a lot of fun when they write and perform. We want to give our fans the same kind of satisfaction and we like the high energy we get back from them. We all come from metal backgrounds (Cody Hilliker: “I’m from a Christian metal band”), so we all bring in something a little different from the same genre.”

What’s your favorite song? And what about CD release dates?

Our favorite group song has to be “Arrogance”.  We have an EP recording session August 7^th with the release later this year and then have about 9 more song ready to go for a CD. We are working on making a download available from the web site.

What’s the meaning behind the name?

We are not a death metal band. We want to reach out to people and love them through the music; we think we can reach a lot of people who otherwise don’t get enough love. We have a humble approach to what we do. We love to meet other musician and their fans, we appreciate those who come out to support the music and we’d meet and shake hands with every single fan if we could.”

Love The Lost has a variety of club gigs scheduled in and around Seattle/Tacoma. Expect to hear more from this group and watch for more music to be released later this year.

MVRemix.com caught up with Eric Cannata of Young the Giant when they passed through Montreal to play Osheaga Music & Arts Festival. Playing on tour with Incubus, lucky shirts and plans for the next album are all on the table in this waterfront and Montreal skyline style Q&A.

How are you enjoying the festival so far?

Eric: I’ve had a blast so far. I didn’t get much time to see the whole entire grounds, but our crowd was incredible and the catering is probably the best catering we’ve had at a festival. It’s been really nice.

Did you get to see any fellow performers?

Eric: Not really, not today. Just a second of Brand New, but nah we just kinda got here. We drove for a while this morning, we were in New York last night and we drove the rest of the way this morning. So when I got here I was kinda sleepy, just hung out. Yeah it’s boring but yeah.

Is there one band that you’re kind of hanging around with the whole tour or are you doing your own thing?

Eric: This run we are actually only doing two shows. We’ve had a lot of time off recently to write our new record and the two runs that we played both shows with a band called Portugal. The Man.  And we got to hang out with those guys so we’ve been hanging out with them, but we haven’t really been on an extended tour.

What do you think makes Osheaga unique compared to other festivals?

Eric: Just how everything is run. Sometimes you get festivals where it’s a little bit hectic and just the whole plan of where everything is and stuff. I keep hearing everybody telling me how awesome it is here. Like I said I haven’t got much of a chance to walk around the whole grounds but everyone is saying it’s a really well planned out festival and again the catering is unbelievable.

How does a song make it on a set list for these types of festivals and what gets cut?

Eric: Today we cut… we usually play three or four new songs that aren’t on the first record and today we only played one of those songs. We try to stay away from the slower songs and stick to a more up tempo set for these kind of shows.

Talking about your self-titled album, was there one inspiration that came to the table when you were producing it?

Eric: There were a couple. I think we always go back to when we were living close to the beach in Orange County. We were kind of inspired by living by the beach and kind of eternal summer, and just hanging out. We all took time off from school so it was kind of just a big party and celebration. Then we moved to L.A. and then it got more serious. When we were finishing up the record we lived in Hollywood right on Sunset Boulevard and lived a bike ride away from our studio, so a little bit inspired by the city and the city life.

If you had to sell it on one track which one would it be, and could you tell me a little about it?

Eric: I think our song “Strings” is kind of a good mix…It’s kind of a more summery vibe on it, but yeah I think “Strings” can give you a good view of the album.

What has been your greatest challenge as a band so far?

Eric: I think being away from home, being away from our girlfriends and families, and friends definitely takes a toll, but we’ve been very fortunate to get to where we are so quickly. We’re about to take a lot of time off to do the second record at home. That’s probably the hardest thing for us, just being away so much and figuring out a way to be at home as much as possible but also, you know, tour as much as possible and play shows.

Do you ever get to bring your friends and family on tour?

Eric: Yeah, I had a couple of instances. My girlfriend comes out every once in a while to a show. I had a friend out for Bonnaroo and that was a lot of fun. You know a friend from growing up, he got to come out and see kind of how it is at festivals, being in a band at a festival. He had a blast and we got to see Radiohead together.

Is there one thing that you take from home that you bring on tour, one special item?

Eric: I have a bird. Its like a hand carved bird that I put on my amp. I always have a lot of lucky things, you know. I guess I bring all of my shirts that are lucky to me. I guess I’m that kind of person, where I have a bunch of little things that I find give me good luck. This time out I brought my dad’s old hat from when he played baseball, I’ve been wearing that…reminds me of my dad.

Do you have any crazy stories on tour, past and present?

Eric: Yeah we do… I always forget when that question is asked. We’ve done a lot of van tours, we we’re lucky enough to get on a bus last year. But one time when we were in van we just broke down on the side of the road, on the side of the freeway in the Mohave Desert and it was burning hot and there were those fire, red ants everywhere like crawling up our legs and stuff. We had, you know, no reception- couldn’t call anybody so I was waving people down on the freeway and making little chants. What happened was our trailer, the tire popped with how hot it was, luckily this guy in a pick-up truck took an exit when he saw us and pulled back around and pulled over. He happened to be a trailer repairman and he had all his tools and we gave him a shirt and a CD for his son. Yeah he just fixed the trailer for us for free and it was really, really cool. It was a little bit of luck and dancing out there, yelling shit, saw the trailer broken down and felt like being nice.

Now, what is one question you wish you had been asked in an interview but never have yet?

Eric: I don’t know. I feel like we do all these interviews and there’s a lot of general questions but I guess something more specific to what each member does in the band.  Maybe like what gear we have and use, but I guess that would have to do with a more guitar based magazine, considering I play guitar. I’m really into gear, I like to talk about it.

Just wrapping it up, what is one thing die-hard fans don’t know about you?

Eric: Me personally? I’m a black belt in Taekwondo, but I got it when I was like thirteen so…

You’re a little rusty?

Eric: Can’t really pull the same moves. But about the band…ah… I don’t know. We’re all very close, too close sometimes. We lived together for about four years, on and off the road. We’re pretty much like brothers at this point.

You spoke a lot about your upcoming album, can you tell me about the plans surrounding that, have you recorded a lot?

Eric: Yeah, it’s been a lot of fun actually. We first had about three months off. We lived in East L.A. and we set up a home recording studio and we were recording demos there. We got about maybe three to four songs done there and then we started playing them out on the road. Then when we came back for about three weeks we actually got to live at my friend Mikey’s place and Mikey plays guitar for the band Incubus. We got to go on tour with them about a year ago. So he was really kind and let us stay at his house for three weeks and record demos in his home studio, which was a blast. Now were probably at about nine or ten songs done. We’re planning on recording either in November, December or January, going in the studio so we’ll have a couple more months to work at everything and write new tunes. So hopefully we’ll have a good amount of songs and then we’ll pick the best ones for the record.

Meet the Black Lips – the self-proclaimed “flower punk” band from Georgia. It’s been just over a year ago since, Arabia Mountain, their sixth full-length hit the stands – but its not like this four-piece is at a loss of things to talk about.

MVRemix.com got down and dirty with Jared and Cole of the Black Lips when they passed through Montreal to play Osheaga Music & Arts Festival. Crazy tour stories, fish sticks and plans for the next album are all on tap in this interview.

How are you enjoying the festival so far?

Jared: So far so good. It’s been great.

Cole: Pretty awesome.

Have you seen any acts so far?

Jared: Nah…

Cole: We’re watching Garbage right now from the backstage screen.

Are you going to some tonight? Snoop Lion?

Jared: Well I have to DJ after this. Most of the times we play festivals we don’t see anyone.

What’s unique about Osheaga compared to other festivals?

Cole: The food is the best food I’ve ever had!

Jared: Top-notch catering!

I heard there’s a crazy chef…

Jared: the Iron Chef!

The Iron Chef?!

Jared: Yeah, he beat Bobby Flay.

Cole: Oysters, lobsters, payaya.

What’s your favourite meal so far?

Jared: Poutine.

So how do you chose what gets played in a festival like this and what gets cut?

Cole: Best of the best.

Do you do anything special on stage… compared to other festivals?

Cole: I vomited all over the stage. If that’s not special I gay fucked the crowd.

So your latest album was released just over a year ago, how’s the success surrounding that?

Cole: Incredible success.

Jared: We all bought houses, I’m building a bathroom right now. It ain’t cheap you know? You gotta get contractors and stuff. We can buy food. We go to markets…

Cole: It’s helping us survive.

Jared: Yeah, hotel rooms, jet planes sometimes.

No private jets though?

Jared: No, no.

Cole: We’re gonna try to work on that.

Jared: All custom made shit too.

But is there one inspiration that came to the table when you were making your album?

Cole: Science, technology…

Jared: Mine was more nature and sociology, just figuring out how people work.

Cole: We always study psychology because as a band, you know, you’re dealing with people.

Jared: I’m the only male in my family who’s not a preacher, so I grew up seeing – and these are evangelicals, so they’re like screaming on the stage, speaking talk, slapping people off… so I’m like hmmm how do I use that to my advantage and be in a band and use that. You will never be able to recreate that because we are not eternal.

Cole: We are so unique. Like me I’m in such a niche demographic being a homosexual, Satanist, scientologist. I’m the only one in the world. It’s a new perspective.

Jared: People get really mad at us because we don’t really have politics but we can agree with anyone. We like independent businesses. But like Chick-Fil-A was really bad the other day. Me and Cole started dating and we made out in the Chick-Fil-A. It’s been a hard kinda few days because not only are we Christians, and like the gay community was. His girlfriend – he got pregnant with his girlfriend when he started dating me and we live next door to each other and we’re in the same band! They say always not to mix business with pleasure.

Cole: It’s okay man.

If you had to sell your album on one track which one would it be?

Jared: Oh one track… I guess…

Cole: That’s hard. We love all our children.

Jared: On this last one? They’re all our children, we can’t pick one of them.

Fair, fair. So from the recording process, how many songs did you record and how many did you scrap?

Jared: We usually track about 30 and put about half on the record.

Cole: There’s a lot of scraps, lot of editing.

Jared: When you got four writers you got a lot of songs.

Are you gonna release any of those?

Cole: Yeah we’ve released a couple.

Jared: And now with like our thing we write songs about each other, I admit they’re kinda gay.

Do you think you’ve grown both musically and personally since your last release?

Cole: Yeah sonically, psychologically…

Jared: We’ve seen more places, for sure, we’ve been around the world about four or five times.

Cole: We live every day like all hell is about to break loose.

Jared: If you don’t think like that everyday like all this shit is about to hit the fan then why would you wake up?

Cole: That giddy feeling that the General gets when he had his finger on the nuclear button.

Jared: I like to picture myself in 1962 with Castro with his finger on the bomb like should I do it? And just like… Lets go!

Cole: That’s the feeling we like.

Jared: That’s that rush! That’s like divers get that feeling when they do a triple back flip.

Cole: Some people live for that. They call them daredevils. I consider us one of them.

Jared: They call them adrenaline junkies

Cole: Yeah, adrenaline junkies.

So what is one of your greatest challenges so far?

Cole: Going to Iraq, that’s one of our greatest challenges.

Jared: Yeah the borders are closing soon, we have to go September 13^th, we have to keep watching Aljazeera every day.

Cole: We’re not kidding.

Jared: We’re not lying.

You have to go by then or you’re not in?

Jared: No that’s when our plane tickets are for.

Cole: We cant just like go to Iraq, it’s not a tourist destination.

Jared: Do you think we’re going to Sandestin Florida or something? C’mon now.

Cole: It’s gonna be awesome.

Is there one thing you bring on tour, like a special item?

Jared: Guitars, voices.

Cole: Guitars, drums.

Tell me about one of the craziest stories you’ve had, past and present on tour.

Cole: Oh man, there’s so many…

I want a good one

Cole: Ah me and Jared we got basically removed by a police officer off a flight in Australia because we smart off to the flight attendants.

Jared: Ok! Here’s the story I was sitting in an exit row and I had a light windbreaker on my lap and they’re like ‘Oh I’m sorry you have to either wear that or stow it’. I was like ‘Okay’. So I wrap the light windbreaker around my neck like a scarf. He’s like ‘I’m sorry you have to either wear that or stow it’ and I was like ‘I’m wearing it as a scarf’. He’s like [Australian accent] ‘I’m sorry mate that’s not a scarf’. I was like ‘Oh yes that is a scarf. I’m from L.A. and I know way more about fashion then you and this is a scarf I’m wearing.’ Then he left and then five minutes later eight federal agents come aboard and escort me off and then he got escorted off later.

Cole: I told the flight attendants to stop harassing me. She said my bag was too big so I went out and made sure it fit the specifications there before the flight. It met the specifications of size. You didn’t have to shove it through this rectangle and then she’s still like ‘C’mon’. I said ‘Can you please get out of my face you’re harassing me.’ And then she said ‘You calm down’ and I was like ‘No you calm down’. Then I shut up ‘cause I knew I was gonna get in trouble. And then next thing I know, I wake up and there’s police coming on the plane. Go figure they let a guy from Jordi3 on because he was trying to get a seat and we didn’t get the last seat so we got kicked off…

Jared: But the best was they moved us to a Virgin and we went with Virgin and they wouldn’t charge us for any of the drinks, we’re like ‘Why?!’. In the end all the stewardesses we’re like ‘We want to go to your show!’. And the pilots came out they’re like ‘Oh you’re the Black Lips?’ So we took both pilots and all the stewardesses to our show that night and we got wasted…

Cole: And at the end the flight attendant invited Ian back to her hotel room but he was too tired, which like never happens.

Jared: And I’m scared of airplanes, like really really bad and I had the pilot coaching me like ‘Are you seriously never scared when you take off? Cause I always feel like I’m going to die’.

Well what’s one word you would use to describe each other?

Jared: Awesome.

Cole: My boyfriend.

Jared: Yeah, my boyfriend.

Cole: Sometimes I think its hard dating Jared but then when we snuggle at night all the pain melts away.

Jared: Well its kinda cool because its not like I have to bring my girlfriend on tour anymore because we have to share hotel rooms anyways at night so it works out perfectly. And we get to share the same funds we make exactly the same amount of money. So it’s always a Dutch Date.

If they had to make a movie about your band who would you chose to play each other?

Jared: I wanna be Denzel.

Cole: George Costanza… what’s his name… Jason Alexander. He shares my last name.

Jared: Yeah I wanna be Denzel Washington.

So what’s one thing die-hard fans do not know about you?

Jared: We’re pretty open, like we don’t really have any secrets.

Just wrapping up, what’s coming up in your future?

Cole: Going to Iraq! Hopefully we can get in.

Jared: Going to Iraq and then we’re going to record our seventh album.

Do you have any songs written or recorded?

Jared: Oh yeah, a ton of them a bunch of them, we already started going in the studio.

Name for a title yet?

Jared: Ass Dogs.

Cole: Ass Dogs, yeah.

What’s the album cover gonna look like?

Jared: Just gonna be a dogs butt. Hey! Do you like fish sticks?

Yeah for sure.

Jared: Do you like them in your mouth?

Sure? [laughing]

Cole: Have you seen South Park?

[Cole & Jared laughing]

Setting me up here!

Cole: He’s been trying to set people up. He always tells girls the joke, it doesn’t sound as good.

Are there any fish sticks here?

[Cole & Jared laughing]

Cole: I would have them in my mouth

You didn’t have any in your mouth yet?

Cole: No I will ‘cause I like fish sticks and I like them in my mouth

They have some outside if you wanna go pick ‘em up!

Cole: Really? Really?

Yeah, around here, downtown!

Cole: You serious?!

Jared: I’m not going downtown!

Cole: He doesn’t like fish sticks, I like them.

Jared: I’m waiting for a girl that I like

Cole: What?! We’re dating!

Jared: Oh yeah

Cole: See what I have to deal with! We’re gonna go get some fish sticks

photo credit: Kyle Dean Reinford

Hemlock Tea Debut EP set for Fall Release on Cantora

“it’s just so good…how can I bribe them to play my birthday party….?” – NYLON

“It’s pretty much impossible to get their songs out of your head.” – Noisey

“overflowing with joy [and] an adorable accessibility…Slam Donahue’s undeniably on-point pop instincts make this one a must-have for your summer playlist.” – MAGNET

Download ‘Bug In the Sun‘

Download ‘I Turn On’

NY-based pop trio Slam Donahue has debuted ‘Bug In The Sun,’ the newest single from its forthcoming Hemlock Tea EP, produced by Ayad Al Adhamy (Passion Pit, Team Spirit) and coming out October 2 on Cantora Records (MGMT, Bear Hands). ‘Bug In the Sun’ follows the band’s first single, ‘I Turn On,’ which premiered with Noisey last month. The band just performed at NYC’s SOHO House and will be playing select NYC shows leading up to the release.

Slam Donahue debuted its ‘Big House Nice Dreams’ mixtape in March, which Interview Magazine’s DISCOVERY piece called “a collection of pop songs (recorded through a boombox) that reflect upon the subconscious anxiety of growing up and living life to its fullest.” Led by singer/guitarist David Otto and bassist Thomas Sommerville, the band started gaining attention with eclectic live shows and free CDR mixtapes, but eventually outpacing their surroundings, they moved on. Leaving a trail of short-lived band members and meticulous, though admittedly lo-fi home demos, the duo left its small town of Wolcott Connecticut, arrived in New York in the summer of 2010, and signed to Cantora Records in 2012.