The Awkward Off Vs. Times New Viking

Before their show with Yo La Tengo, the three members of TIMES NEW VIKING joined me for an interview at ANTONE’S in AUSTIN, TX.

Acutely aware of the overblasting of the current hissy lo-fi movement, the three weren’t afraid to be mock-deprecating. Between talk of the grand goal of “selling out,” Adam,  Jared, and Beth gave me a quick glimpse of their humor while proving (through both words and a killer show) that they aren’t just another car in the quickly-passing lo-fi train.

Full Transcript: (Audio)

Nichole Bennett: I’m here at Antone’s with Times New Viking. They are opening up for Yo La Tengo tonight. So, you guys have known each other for a while. If you had to tell the story of Times New Viking would it be a pop-up book or a graphic novel?

Beth Murphy and Adam Elliott: Pop-up book.

Jared Phillips: That was ridiculous.

NB: Any reasons why?

BM: It just couldn’t be a graphic novel.

AE: Graphic novels are too clean, if that makes sense.

JP: A pop-up book will fall apart quicker.

BM: It doesn’t have a built-in fan base like graphic novels do.

AE: Pop-up books tell a little crazier stories too. Not like superheroes.

NB: Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?

JP: Crunchy!

AE: I would say crunchy.

BM: I don’t care really.

NB: Your songs are, for a lack of better work, pretty anthemic. Is there a rhyme or a reason to the song-writing process? Does it happen the same way every time?

BM: Pretty much the same way every time.

AE: Someone will come up with an idea and the other two people will come up with their own ideas. We all write our own part, and we don’t say, “Maybe you shouldn’t play that guitar part.”

NB: We hear a lot about the label, and we hear a lot about the production, but let’s talk more about the music. You guys kind of bridge between more pop sensibility and noisy sounds. Is that something that organically happened or is it something that you guys planned?

BM: I would say organically happened.

JP: Well, I came in one day when we were at practice, and I had this Wavves LP. I put it on, and it blew our fucking minds.

NB: Oh man, he spells it with two “v”’s.

JP: We thought it was Way-wes…we thought it was a “w.” Anyway, we just kind of ran with it.

AE: Where we are from what we sound like is kind of the normal thing to do. It’s sort of natural.

NB: These guys are from Columbus, Ohio.

AE: And nobody really listens to bands from Columbus, so we were never really worried about selling out…until now. Now, we’re selling out.

BM: Because it’s better to sell out than fade away.

NB: If you could break any world record, what would it be?

AE: Most records sold in 2010.

BM: Jared told the worst joke in the world the other day.

JP: Yeah maybe the worst day of jokes.

NB: Do you guys prefer studio or stage?

BM: I’d pick stage.

AE: Stage.

BM: Studio is only fun when you’re listening back after you’re done and you’re drunk.

AE: Stage had people reacting. Stage, it’s done after you’re done. You go out after you play, and the people that liked it are enthusiastic and tell you right away where with records, you make them and you wait four months for it to come out, and then people give you bad reviews and stuff.

NB: Speaking of bad reviews, do you guys read press about yourselves?

JP: Yeah, sometimes.

AE: Sometimes. I like to compare how everyone writes in the same way, like how they describe our lo-fi sound.

BM: It gets pretty cut and paste.

NB: Speaking of “selling out” in 2010, how many haters do you guys need until you’ve arrived? I was talking with one band, and they said it’s best to have haters because then you know…

JP: …you’re doing something.

NB: …making people think.

AE: Oh, we’ve got enough of them.

NB: You’ve reached the hater threshold, okay.

AE: We could definitely go more even, but by selling out we’re going to have less hater.

BM: Yeah, we’re trying to get less haters.

AE: Yeah, we have enough haters.

JP: It’s all about the ratio. I mean if you put all of the people that hate The Rolling Stones at one of our shows, it would be like millions of people. I’m saying that the whole demographic that we are talking about is very small.

NB: What do you guys think of Austin?
BM: Austin…is weird!

AE: We love Austin. It’s my favorite.

NB: And we’ll end on everybody’s spirit animal.

AE: Mine’s a kitten.

JP: Slug. Broom!

BM: A butterfly.

NB: Thank you guys so much.

The Awkward Off Vs. The Laughing

THE LAUGHING put on a show at BEAUTY BAR in AUSTIN, TX at the end of Free Week. Their frontman Logan chatted with me before their show across the street at The Side Bar.

The Laughing are a local Austin band who recently released their first full-length. Logan was kind enough to explain to me the intricacies of “glock rock” and “jungle smut core” in the sound of his band. We also talked about  taking criticism from the press, and how they’ve changed The Austin Chronicle’s mind after a past bad review. Logan tried to beat me at my own game, instigating an awkward off of his own.

Full Transcript (Audio):

Nichole Bennett: Hey, I’m Nichole, and I’m here with Logan of The Laughing. We’re at Side Bar in Austin across the street from Beauty Bar where they’ll be playing. If you had to tell the story of The Laughing as a theme park ride, which one would you use?

Logan Middleton: Well, I guess the obvious cliché is the rollercoaster that everyone says, but what would be a good rollercoaster?

NB: I mean you have kiddie coasters. Do you guys have loop-de-loops in your story?

LM: We certainly had ups and downs and metamorphosis. It would be a pretty cool ride. It changed looks and colors and faces several times. Now I’m thinking of a coaster that we should maybe make. Definitely early on some quick ups and downs and then a lot of changes. So far it’s been a quick ride.

NB: You guys have a new album, Fever. You had some EPs before that.

LM: We had two EPs and this is our first record.

NB: And you guys spent a lot more time on this one than you did on the EPs.

LM: We did, exponentially more. Our first EP—we were a new band—and we needed basically a demo, something to get shows and to put on myspace…sort of a calling card. For the second EP we were kind of messing around with different sounds and trying to establish a sound. I think on this latest record we really focused on realy making something, producing something with a theme and a start and a finish. We really dissected the songs that we had been working on and dissected the production techniques and went over things a lot longer. I think the amount of time we spent on the first two EPs is maybe an eighth of the amount of time combined that we put on the record.

NB: The EPs are nice snapshots of what you guys are—it’s definitely you, but I feel that this one is more of a work. In the press about you guys there are some really awesome genre names such as “smut core” and “glock rock.” Did you guys make those up yourselves?

LM: I’d like to say that those were dubbed by some British journalist right as we blew up, but I think that those names came from within the family of the band from several drinks and other controlled substances. “Glock rock” and the full title is “jungle smut core.” We’re pioneers of the jungle smut core. And now I don’t even know. It keeps changing. We haven’t come up with any new ones. We used to have a lot of saxophone, and we always considered that very smutty-sounding instrument. We’re thinking of dirty motel rooms.

NB: Speaking of that, do you guys read press about yourselves? I think I would find that kind of hard.

LM: I learned early on …when our first EP came out in our early demo years, Austin Powell [Austin Chronicle], who has since come around, had some interesting things to say about our EP. If something really cool comes up, I’d certainly like to show a friend or a loved one, but I just don’t know that someone who is creating music to always get the third-party analysis of it or try to read too much into it.

NB: Speaking of press, you guys were named one of Earfarm’s top ten bands to watch. If you had to say some bands to watch in Austin, who would you recommend?

LM: It depends because some of the bands I’m thinking of are bands that have really taken off. I watched the Brazos set the night before at The Mohawk. That was fantastic, and his album is great that just came out, Phosphorescent Blues. I highly recommend Brazos. There’s another band that played last night called The Tunnels that I like. There’s so many bands. We’ve gotten to meet so many just from playing shows. There’s a band White Dress that kind of a new band that’s really cool. They’re friends of ours, and they’ve kind of taken off.

NB: Do you guys have any favorite local places to play?

LM: My favorite-sounding venue is definitely The Parish, and I think it’s an underrated venue for regular shows. Not as many shows that I like happen to actually be there, but when they are there it always sounds fantastic. Mohawk is always a fun place. I love Emo’s, especially the outside stage because it’s got so many bands that I love that play there before Mohawk was really even doing stuff.

NB: If you could break a world record what would it be?

[silence]

LM: Longest period of silence on the radio, I guess.

NB: Most awkward interview! Do you prefer studio or stage?

LM: I love them both, but I love the studio environment. That’s where I feel the most in my element. My best contribution to being in a band and making music is probably in the studio. Not necessarily studio but on the creation end. I love performing, but there are so many different elements that can’t be controlled. I love live performance because it’s fun and you get drunk and it’s sloppy. It’s a good time and about energy, but I love the details of recording and writing.

NB: We talked a little bit about The Laughing’s sound, but if you had to describe it to a three-year-old, what would you tell them?

LM: Lots of booms and crashes. Lots of little oohs and aahs and whistles. Lots of little chimes and flutes. Bouncy! I would say it’s bouncy!

NB: We’ll end on if you could replace your arms with anything, what would it be?

LM: Legs.

The Awkward Off Vs. Moth Fight

FREE WEEK AUSTIN has taken over the city! I didn’t get back to Austin until yesterday, so I missed a lot of the action. Last night I met up with Kevin and Mike of MOTH FIGHT before their free show at BEAUTY BAR in Austin, TX.

This Austin-based experimental pop circus showcased their deliberately chaotic sound in a kaleidoscope of a show Saturday. Moth Fight shared the Beauty Bar stage with The Laughing, All My Friends, and DJ Car Stereo (Wars). Mike and Kevin were kind enough to sit down with me before the show to discuss sound collages, Austin bands to check out, and choose-your-own-adventure stories.

If you can’t get enough of them, Moth Fight are tumblr-ing and twittering their way to an Internet near you.

Full Transcript (Audio):

Nichole Bennett: Hey guys. I’m Nichole, and I’m sitting in Side Bar in Austin. I’m lucky enough to be with members of Moth Fight.

Kevin Attics: Thanks for having us.

NB: Thank you guys. If you had to tell the story of Moth Fight, would it be a pop up book or a graphic novel?

KA: It would be a choose-your-own-adventure.

NB: Oh man, those drove me nuts as a kid. I think I was O.C.D. only as a child. Do you guys prefer studio or stage?

KA: They are totally different animals. We seem to do a lot of our writing on-the-fly on the stage and get the song to where it needs to be. Then we go into the studio to try to get a good live representation of it. We use a lot of samples now when we pay, so there is a lot of pre-stage work that goes into it. It’s kind of a mix of both the whole way through.

NB: I’ve only been here since August, and I saw one of your shows when I first moved here. I haven’t actually heard a recording, and I was wondering how it translated between the two. If Moth Fight could have a superpower, what would it be? You guys can have individual ones. You don’t always have to be collective.

Mike Yaklin: I would be indestructible.

KA: Mike would be indestructible. I would have the ability to turn into a fox.

NB: Excellent. I would hang out with you guys. You guys have this really cool Tumblr and your videos. For a musical outfit, you have a lot of visual. And Jess is a seamstress. I’ve heard about her little moths. So you guys have this visual side….there’s a question here somewhere.

KA: The imagery works it’s way into the lyrics I suppose. Songs take on narratives sometimes. You construct things out of the things you see and the things you internalize. Personally, I like a lot of really weird books and really weird movies with really weird images. That has to filter its way into the music somehow.

NB: Excellent segue way into the next question. Thank you very much. You guys actually use a lot of literary allusion in your songs as well. You have some Cortázar and even some Jabberwocky.

KA: Yeah there is some Jabberwocky in there on one song.

NB: We are here at the tail-end of Free Week. Austin has a lot of local acts that you don’t really see if you are just glossing over indie bands. So if I’m first getting into Austin artists, who would you recommend looking into?

KA: Definitely Yellow Fever. Yellow Fever is absolutely amazing. Any kids that are a part the Business Deal records stable or Otham Empire. All of those guys are doing stuff that, to me, is the most important thing happening in the scene right now.

[Mike attempts to hold back a sneeze away from the recorder]

NB: We made him cry.

KA: Mike teared up a little bit at the mention of Otham Empire.

NB: I cried a little bit too. Do you have anything to add to that or did he cover it?

MY: I think he covered it.

NB: Do you guys have any favorite Austin venues?

KA: We started off playing at Beerland. Then we started moving around to house parties. Mohawk has been really nice to us. Emo’s has been really nice to us these past few months, actually.

MY: Yeah Mohawk and Emo’s. Just setup-wise, it’s a lot of fun to play.

NB: We talked a bit about studio versus stage earlier. When you are watching a Moth Fight show, for those listeners who haven’t heard them yet, it’s a lot like deliberate chaos. It’s pretty awesome, and I wonder how the songwriting process goes.

KA: It’s pretty frantic.

MY: It’s a lot like what you hear. There can be hours of recording a line that gets used for ten seconds or ten seconds of something recorded that gets used over and over.

KA: People think we improv a lot more than we actually do. We work really hard on hammering the songs out to get them to sound the way we want them to sound so that when we go to record them, they are exactly what we want them to be. The process of writing just comes from one of us coming up with a melody or a chord progression or something, just noise sometimes. Then we all filter it. Together, we filter it through the group, and it comes out sounding totally different than it originally started out being. That’s part of being in a band of friends.

MY: We have a song now that is just now feeling out to be the way it is going to be, but it has changed. It’s gone through like four versions of it. Some of the versions might find their way into different recordings here and there which is something I think we like doing as well.

KA: We also like sound collages.

NB: Do you guys have any hidden talents…other than music?

KA: [laughs] I think music’s actually still a hidden talent for us, actually. We’re still working on that one.

MY: I’m really good at useless games. I can win and dominate any useless game. I was never any good at sports, but board games…

KA: I’m really good at capture the flag.

MY: He’s really small and wiry.

NB: What advice would you guys have for a band just starting out?

[laughter]

NB: Be really good at capture the flag? Be indestructible? Turn into a fox?

KA: Turn into foxes.

NB: As often as possible.

KA: Make explosions.

NB: And we’ll end on if you could be any animal, what would you be. And I think Kevin kind of already answered that one.

KA: I would definitely be a fox. No doubt.

MY: I would have to probably be a dragon.

KA: Dragon versus fox. We’d make a good team.

NB: I’d be excited to see that band as well. Thank you so much.

When I Grow Up I Want to Be Local Live Austin

Every Sunday night from 10-11PM (central) on KVRX AUSTIN, you can catch LOCAL LIVE, featuring a live in-studio performance of a different artist every week. You can tune in to Local Live on 91.7 FM in Austin or online at www.kvrx.org.

Performances also air on Texas Student Television 10:30-11PM (central). You can watch these on channel 16 (Time Warner/Grande Cable), channel 15 (University of Texas dorms), or channel 9 (antenna).

These in-studio performances and interviews generate exclusive content for KVRX, Austin’s only student-run radio station, and TSTV, the only student-run FCC-licensed TV station in the nation. College radio stations like KVRX are huge supporters of up-and-coming artists and are the first to support their local scene. Live content, like that produced on Local Live, can’t be found anywhere else. Many indie darlings received support in their early days from KVRX and other independent college radio stations. Artists like Ghostland Observatory, The Dirty Projectors, and The Walkmen benefited from early KVRX exposure, and you can finde their performances in the Local Live archive.

Every year, KVRX puts out a Local Live compilation CD, which you can purchase here.

You can become a fan of Local Live on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

For booking contact Kayla at locallive@kvrx.org.

When I Grow Up I Want to Be Showlist Austin

Before I lived in the fairytale that is AUSTIN, TX, I would sneak my way there every year for South By Southwest. I used SHOWLIST AUSTIN to try to keep up with the flood of shows going on during the crazy week.

Now that I live in Austin, I still check Showlist Austin obsessively to see what acts are coming to town. It’s the best show aggregator that I’ve seen for the city. If you use something different and love it–leave a comment. I’d love to hear about it.

I love the disclaimer: “If your band’s show is not on here, it doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t like your band. If your band’s show is on here it doesn’t necessarily mean I like your band.”

Thanks Showlist for making life a little easier. I want to be you when I grow up.

When I Grow Up I Want to Be Taco Journalism

I once entertained the idea of doing burrito reviews, but then I realized that it was just one of my many excuses for eating burritos for every meal. Then, I realized that TACO JOURNALISM had beaten me to it.

The Taco Mafia reviews Taco Trucks and Taquerias in Austin, Texas. What a fucking awesome job.

They even have a Taco Map with all of the locations they have reviewed.

So maybe I’ll relinquish my dreams of a Burrito Off, but at least I know where I’m eating my next 70 meals.

I want to be a Burrito when I grow up. Being a Taco Journalist would be the next best thing, I guess.

Free Week Austin

Free Week in Austin, Texas means free local music January 1-10.

Free Week was started by Transmission co-owner Graham Williams while booking for Emo’s to liven up the slow period at the beginning of January. Emo’s kept the tradition after Wiliams left and the idea spread to all of Transmission venues along Red River. This year, even Stubb’s, The Parish, Beerland, and Beauty Bar are getting in the Free Week spirit.

Tranmission’s Blog announced the 2010 lineup last Friday. Emo’s has released their full week’s lineup on their website. Stubb’s and Beerland have posted their week’s events as well.

Free Week Austin is happening January 1st through January 10th.

The Awkward Off Radio Show 12.9.2009

As much as I try to keep my science life separate from my music life, they sometimes bleed into one another. For my last show of the semester, my guest Barrett Klein helped me bring together SCIENCE and music on KVRX AUSTIN.

We filled the first hour of the show with insect trivia, cultural entomology tidbits, and music made from insect acoustics. Barrett gave a lecture about sleep in honeybees that night at Science Under the Stars, a free and open-to-the-public lecture series of The University of Texas at Austin. Check out Barrett’s website for some of what we talked about on the show.

The second hour of the show was filled with rock ‘n’ roll.

Special thanks to Eben Gering for rocking at insect trivia.

Playlist for 12.9.2009

They Might Be Giants–Science Is Real

Stexe–Periplaneta americana

Efterklang and the Danish Chamber Orchestra–Him Poe Poe

Allen Bishop–Brood X

Vic Chesnutt–Flirted With You All My Life

The Horseflies–Human Fly

Mirah and Spectratone International–Community

Regina Spektor–Aching to Pupate

Thao With the Get Down Stay Down–Know Better Learn Faster

Reigning Sound–Stormy Weather

King Khan and the BBQ Show–Lonely Boy

Deadly Snakes–Gore Veil

Jay Reatard–My Shadow

White Denim–All Consolation

The Strange Boys–Should Have Shot Paul

The Ponys–Double Vision

Fungi Girls–Dream of Oz

Dum Dum Girls–Catholicked

The Carrots–Secret Since ’99 (Live at KVRX)

Ween–Boy’s Club

Pinback–Penelope

The Awkward Off Radio Show 12.2.2009

KVRX had a premium dose of HIP-HOP on The Awkward Off Radio Show today. Guest DJ Chad Brock educated us about the genre’s history and variety as we explored the connections between producers, labels, and rappers and the diversity of sound within this genre.

My favorite moment of the show was listening to Blackalicious rap through the alphabet–incredible! I learned a ton–hope you did too!

Join me next Wednesday 5PM-7PM(central) as we talk to Barrett Klein about the science of sleep and honeybees–only on www.kvrx.org.

In accordance with KVRX music policy, we started off the hour with a look into the diversity of genres that KVRX radio has to offer. The rest of the hour was hip-hop filled.

Playlist for 12.2.2009

Sunset–Change Comes Slow

Fool’s Gold–Surprise Hotel

Wave Hands Like Clouds–The Bees

Bill Frisell–Lonely Man

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros–40 Day Dream

The Maldives–Darkness Follows

Aesop Rock–Rickety Rack

El-P–Delorean

Rob Sonic–Superball

The Coup–We Are the Ones

Cannibal Ox–Real Earth

Zimbabwe Legit–Wake ‘Em Up

Binary Starr–Slang Blade

Decompoze–Good Vibe

Onemanarmy–Waterworld

Daniel Johnston–I Had Lost My Mind

The Telephone Company–Panda Brains!

Fuck Buttons–Rough Steez

The Very Best–Yalira

The Avett Brothers–Kick Drum Heart

Akrobatik–Kindred

Shad–I Heard You Had a Voice Like an Angel/Psalm 137

Dela–I Say Peace

Fashawn–Father

Mood–Millennium

John Robinson–Jazz Unconditional

Blackalicious–Alphabet Aerobics

Blue Sky Black Death–Days Are Yours

J Dilla–Nothing Like This

KMD–Plumskinzz

The Awkward Off Radio Show 11.26.2009

KVRX in AUSTIN, TX is currently on interim over Thanksgiving Break, so I got to do a sweet surprise radio show tonight from 10:00PM-12:00AM.

It’s finally getting cool enough outside to pretend like it’s fall in Texas. I think some of this autumn feeling seeped into the playlist.

Special thanks to the listeners and the call-ins. Thanks for reaffirming to me what college radio is all about. You’re the best.

Playlist for 11.26.2009:

Wild Beasts–This Is Our Lot

Cave Singers–I Don’t Mind

The Clientele–I Wonder Who We Are

Yo La Tengo–Stockholm Syndrome

Xiu Xiu–I Luv the Valley OH

El Perro Del Mar–Change of Heart

Voxtrot–Kid Gloves

Daniel Johnston–In My Infinite Memory

Fool’s Gold–Night Dancing

School of Seven Bells–Half Asleep

Wye Oak–Take It In

John Vanderslice–The Tower (Live at KVRX)

Lavender Diamond–Open Your Heart

Laura Marling–Ghosts

Alela Diane–White Diamonds

David Bazan–Please, Baby, Please

The National–Lucky You

Nada Surf–Inside of Love

The Eastern Sea–Young Lovers

Sunset–Civil War

Mew–The Zookeeper’s Boy

Massive Attack–Teardrop

Elvis Perkins–While You Were Sleeping

Eels–Lone Wolf

The Avett Brothers–I And Love And You

Vandaveer–Divide and Conquer

Madeline–Sorry