Here are my favorite photos of bands I caught at Warped Tour in Dallas, TX on June 27. Click on the photo to see more of each band. See all photos on flickr.
Senses Fail
Mod Sun
Night Riots
Knuckle Puck
Candy Hearts
Born Cages
Indie Artists
Category
Q&A: machineheart on L.A. life, festivals and dream collabs
Photo courtesy of Harper Smith.
Riding high from “Circles'” success with 1.6 million plays on Spotify, machineheart’s vocalist Stevie Scott says it is just the tip of the iceberg for them. The band looks forward to touring and sharing an album later this year. On the way to start their summer tour, I chatted with Scott from Tucson, AZ.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
How did you get started in music?
We’ve all been doing music since we were kids pretty much. Carman and Trevor have been playing since they were teenagers, and then we met a couple years ago. I was doing another project and the boys were doing other various projects. When we met, we kind of clicked. I had never been in a band before.
Being from various backgrounds and working with different sounds, how did you collaborate to end up with machineheart’s sound?
That’s the beauty in a band, I think. People come together with different backgrounds and experience in music. I think that’s what really give machineheart its sound. I come from British-loving Anglophile kind of thing. I love very ethereal stuff. The boys come from Seattle and have that more rock ‘n’ roll front like Nirvana and Radiohead. Together it feels good and right and special. Someone actually recently referred to us as an intergalactic take on Fleetwood Mac, but I love that.
You guys are from L.A. That’s a place that has always been a culture capital for musicians. How do you like it?
Everyone there is creating. Everyone is doing something in the entertainment industry. I think it really inspires you and challenges you to really do your best, because there’s so many talented people – not in a competitive way to beat someone out to take their place. We always just try to compete with ourselves – try to have a better song, a better show than our last one.
With so many indie and alternative bands coming up right now. How do you differentiate yourselves?
We didn’t start with the idea that we wanted to sound a certain way, like “we have to be this alternative band.” I think that’s where we find a lot of freedom for ourselves. We didn’t have any requirements of what we were going to be. We just tried it out and it worked. We really liked that. Obviously with everyone having put in years of hard work, when we came together it was so easy.
Are there any artists you would ever like to collaborate or tour with?
Oh my gosh, yeah. I think everyone definitely has a dream list of who they would like to collaborate with. There’s the iconic ones, for me, like Stevie Nicks or Kate Bush or the musical artists that everyone looks up to. The boys love Dave Grohl. I mean the list goes on and on. That’s a good question. I’ll have to think about that.
You were just in Austin, TX for South By Southwest. How was it?
That was our first show in Texas. We had such a blast. We were talking about L.A. being a creative mecca. I think Austin is creative. There are so many talented people trying to get their music out there. We are grateful to be doing what we’re doing. There are hundreds of people just as talented as us or as passionate as us that are wanting to be doing what we’re doing. We are very thankful.
Machineheart just played Bunbury and you have Summerfest and Fashion Meets Music Fest coming up. Festivals are a different environment than touring. Do you prefer one or the other?
Festival are so fun and laid back because you play once in the day and then you’re done. You get to hang out with other friends or bands or bands you’re fans of. We get to listen to great music. I love the festival environment. There’s also fashion and all of the people there are so hungry to be inspired or to inspire. We definitely love festivals.
Is live performance an important aspect for you as a musician?
That’s probably what we consider our strong suit – more because of the energy we experience on stage and that exchange between the audience and us. It’s so special. It’s not how it used to be where everyone would go to shows constantly, but it’s a little more rare. So when fans come out to shows we want to give them an experience they won’t forget. It’s really magical. It’s not just a one way conversation but we really do feed off the energy. Fans singing those songs back to us is just as important. It’s more of a dialogue [than a monologue].
Do you have an albums in the works right now?
We do have an album in the works. It’s actually done. We just got out of the studio. It should be released sometime later this year. We’re very excited about that actually because we’ve only released “Circles” up to this point. We love playing and connecting with our fans but people are really going to be able to dig in so much more with the album and get a better taste for who we are. “Circles” is just the tip of the iceberg for us.
I personally can’t stop listening to “Circles.” It was at the top of the Hype Machine charts and it was on Spotify’s U.S. Viral 50 playlist. Did you expect that kind of reaction?
No. It’s just so exciting when something connects with people. Obviously that’s what we hope for as a band. That’s why we do this. It’s really cool to see it happen. It’s kind of fun too to watch the little number count go up online. To see numbers and actually be able to equate that to people now when we play shows and people are singing along with us, that’s when for us it really hits home.
Catch machineheart on tour this summer with Vinyl Theatre.
Tunes for Ears – June Playlist
Summer is here and your June tunes are awaiting. This month I hand picked quite a few new female artists, as well as some electronic ones. Enjoy!
Ones to Watch: Wolf Alice
All photos from Wolf Alice’s show May 19 at Holy Mountain in Austin, TX can be viewed here.
Halfway through Wolf Alice’s 12-song set, I find myself with a huge smile on my face when I soak in the reality of the moment. “Storms” is not the soundtrack to this moment. Packed into sold-out 200 capacity Holy Mountain with fans jumping and head banging, it is the moment.
There is a special feeling to hearing music performed live – the raw, unedited vocals, distorted guitar, the sound of fingers running up and down the strings, the thumping bass and the tinging cymbals. If the atmosphere is right, it is magic. It’s easy to get lost in it. Smiling to myself, that was my realization. It’s such a dream-like state, you forget it’s real. A 12-song set turns into hours and with the blink of an eye back into a second.
For the time being, Wolf Alice transported me to the place where all that mattered were the vibrations ringing in my eardrums. Some people say Rock ‘n’ Roll is dead. But Wolf Alice is gives me hope that it very much alive. Wolf Alice is a young band, no doubt, still solidifying their sound. But they are talented.
Starting out as a a folk-tinged pop project, “Leaving You” was the first glimpse we saw from Ellie Roswell and Joff Oddie in 2010. Followed by “Fluffy” in 2013, with the addition of drummer Joel Amey and bassist Theo Ellis, they formed their rock roots. The end of 2013 also brought us Blush EP, showing off a mix of driving drums and grunge guitar distortion on “She” contrasted with hauntingly delicate vocals and resonating guitar progression on “Blush.” Creature Songs EP, released May 2014, displays different sounds still – more guitar distortion, more hard-hitting rock beats, more driving bass, and overall more play with vocal expression and distortion.
Wolf Alice’s songs translate well in the live setting, emphasizing the grunge appeal. The four-piece are outfitted in Dr. Martens and ripped skinny jeans. Oddie uses a pedal board that looks like it could control the starship Enterprise. And Roswell adds another mic for distorted vocals. It’s a ragged act that could use some cleaning before hitting the big stage, but surely, their sound will command the audience at the many festivals they are playing this summer and fall, including Austin City Limits Fest’s second weekend. Listening to “Moaning Lisa Smile,” I can feel myself surrounded by tens of thousands of people singing and jumping along with the sun bearing down on my shoulders mid-day at a festival.
With the many different sides Wolf Alice has shown, there is much anticipation leading up to their debut album release My Love Is Cool on June 23 (US). Most recent singles “Giant Peach” and “Bros” establish that roller coaster sound that we are likely to hear on the album, from soft and tender to driving and powerful. It is one of my most anticipated albums of the year.
Tunes for Ears – May Playlist
Here is your May Playlist. Follow us on SoundCloud to stay updated on new music we love!
Matt and Kim Party With Austin
Matt and Kim played at Stubb’s in Austin, TX on April 23 with support from WATERS. Their current U.S. tour is in support of their album New Glow, which released earlier this month. All photos from the show can be seen here.
The first time I saw Matt and Kim was at Stubb’s in 2012. I remember them bringing the party to the big stage, and I must say three years later, they’ve still got it.
The 2,000 capacity sold out show packed in people of all ages from young teenagers to moms and dads. The concert goers at the front of the crowd had been waiting for hours in 80 degree weather and humidity so high it felt like you stepped into a sauna. WATERS opened the show and brought the fun. It was hot. It was sweaty. And it was a dance party. The stage was adorned with flowers on each mic stand and in vases spread across amps. Keyboardist Sara DaMert also brought out a bouquet of flowers and handed it out to crowd members before starting the show. They rocked their set with a San Fransisco sound reminiscent of Grouplove’s good vibes. Frontman Van Pierszalowski even commented that he hardly saw anyone distracted by their cell phones. Instead the crowd’s full attention was captivated by WATERS.
Austin was a special show. You could feel the energy the crowd had before Matt and Kim even started. Audience members were singing and chanting as the anticipation rose. One of the security guards even commented, “this is going to be a fun crowd.”
Finally an ecstatic Matt and Kim took the stage to a wild, roaring crowd. Kim Schifino ran around the stage, waving and smiling at different parts of the audience, while Matt Johnson waved a Matt and Kim t-shirt above his head before throwing it into the audience. Ascending an elevated stage that seated them high above the crowd, Matt and Kim mounted their keyboard and drums to start the first song with a bang. From that moment until the end of the hour and a half set, there wasn’t a sweaty body in the crowd that wasn’t dancing.
Matt sang in his quirky voice and played the keys while Kim banged on the drums, never stopping from smiling and yelling with the crowd. Already after the first song, the duo stopped to talk to the crowd before entering a dance break. Matt, laughing to himself, asked the sound engineer to turn down his in ear monitor and explained that the crowd that they have monitors so they can hear the crowd, but Austin was already so loud on the very first song that they didn’t need the extra amplification. Matt played a recorded dance track before shooting confetti at the crowd, all while Kim danced.
The rest of the night continued in more high energy antics set to new songs with a couple oldies here and there. Multiple times both Matt and Kim stopped between songs to talk to the crowd, repeatedly saying how insane the crowd was. Austin has always been a favorite city of theirs, and they expressed how thankful they are to be able to play sold out shows on all of their Texas dates. Matt said to come back to a city like Austin and have a crowd like that is an amazing feat for any band, and they are grateful for it.
One of the loudest crowds I have ever witnessed, it was no lie that Austin really was a special show for them. The pure energy exuded from the band and the crowd was larger than anything I’ve felt at a show in a long time. When the two left the stage, the night was far from being over. With the crowd chanting “Matt and Kim,” they returned for an encore that was almost more epic than the rest of the set. Matt explained that the two agreed on this tour not to do what they were about to do, but if it felt right they would. Going in, they both knew Austin might feel right, and it did. So for the encore Kim climbed on top of the crowd to dance, for a minute of booty shaking and head banging. For the final song, Matt and Kim both took their shirts off, a rarity for Matt, and asked the crowd to do the same. The duo hardly wanted to leave the stage when the show was over, taking time to say good-byes and toss memorabilia into the crowd.
At the end of the night, every sweaty body in the crowd left wanting to continue the party. That show wasn’t just one for the books, it was one to remember for a lifetime.
Tunes for Ears – April Playlist
I put together a playlist of new songs and old songs from new and old bands. Checkout what I’m listening to this month.
flor – A New Wave of Music and Art
Flor, stylized flor, is a project that is bigger than any one of its four members. To label each member as only a singer or bassist would undermine them as creative individuals. Flor is Zach Grace, Dylan William, McKinley Kitts and Kyle Hill. When they come together as Flor, they are artists.
A year ago Grace began to play around with a computer program in his free time, creating random synth sounds he says he never thought would work in a band environment. But William found that he could build tracks around it. And it worked. “I find a synth line that I’m really into, that works really well with some weird chords, and then if everything is going perfectly, the melody just kind of, like, floats on top of it all,” says Grace. He comes up with vocal melodies, singing random sounds as placeholders for lyrics. With the combination of the synth phrases and vocal melodies, William pieces together the songs. It’s an idea so crazy that it almost shouldn’t work, but it somehow does. The two channel percussion and guitar sounds, transforming chaos into music. “And we started getting these new batches of songs that were unlike anything we’ve ever done,” says Kitts. “But it was so cool, and it had something special to it.” For once, says Kitts, it felt like they were doing something right. They found their sound – not a sound that fit into any genre, or a sound that anyone was telling them to be. “We feel like we’re part of this wave, this new generation of music,” says Kitts. He calls it an energetic, young, new way of 80s synthesizer-inspired music. Grace says it’s an optimistic outlook on music.
And they’re not alone. The band sites artists like Halsey and Years & Years who are on the same wave with them. While they all draw inspiration from the same place, they interpret it differently. “The sound made sense for everyone, but it’s all independent,” says Kitts. As music started coming out this year they realized they fit right in. “It… feels comfortable and, like, not too derivative of itself. But it still… fits together,” says Kitts.
Last year, after struggling to find that sound with a different project, the four boys from Hood River, Oregon took a leap of faith and moved to Los Angeles, California. Grace thought he’d hate the move, being from such a small town, but he knew it was right for the band. “Everything just kind of worked out,” says Grace. “We found the right people. We connected on a deep level within ourselves and within these… new groups of people.” The change in location brought about new revelations for them. “I think it’s a big part of realizing it’s not necessarily where you are, but who you’re with and we kind of found a family down there,” says Kitts. Musically, he says, it changed everything. William found his niche as a producer, working with Halsey and other artists. Even more than that, Flor probably would not have happened if they hadn’t move to L.A. “[L.A.] was like the mother to our father (Oregon) that gave birth to Flor,” says Kitts.
But Flor is not just a band. Expressing their emotion in sonic and visual art, Flor molds the two to become synonymous. “It’s important for us to have a cohesive image that compliments itself musically and visually,” says Grace. Grace’s life is like a color palette, says Kitts. Grace laughs along and explains that he writes the best songs when there is a visual compliment to it, as if he were writing music to narrate a story in his head. It doesn’t always work that easily, but when the art pushes the story, and it’s stimulating, he knows he’s doing it right. “We want things that kind of assault you in a way, but also work with the music,” says Grace. As Grace talks, I can see the wheels spinning in his head, like he is full of ideas that beg to be expressed in the art.
In July 2014, before any of their songs were released, Flor started to post 3D visuals with music snippets on their Instagram account, and continued to do so for several months. The band collaborated with Jade Ehlers, a photographer and designer they met after moving to L.A., to create the visuals that accompanied the music ideas. Fast forward four months to November. Flor released their first song “Heart” on SoundCloud. It was something different. And the first time I heard it, I wasn’t sure what I thought of it. Poignant, hammering synth opens with Grace’s sing-song voice. Each verse is stripped back for a smooth and resonate vocal delivery. The choruses open into a syncopated wall of sound, of instrumentals and synth. With such a complete sound, it is hard to believe the song started off as fragments of synth ideas.
Since February, the band has added three more songs to SoundCloud, completing an EP. And more recently, they’ve had the chance to play a handful of live shows. Producing the sound live has been a challenge since playing the synth lines live would entail more serious equipment and manpower. For now, the band figured out a way to play all of the instruments and vocals live, while the synth track plays with them on a computer program. And it translates well in the live setting. The indie rock influence stands out, something I missed on their recordings, and brings the songs to life. “Every time we play, we are getting more in line with where we want to be,” says Grace. “We have huge dreams with what we can be doing.” It can be frustrating to set the bar so high, says Kitts. Being held back technologically and monetarily forces them to focus on perfecting their live performance. And while opening the show doesn’t warrant a great display of lights, they hope to someday have illuminating visual projections to bring home the art that is synonymous with their songs. “We want it all to be tied in with this one burst of art when we play,” says Kitts.
More than that, Flor is searching for their community of like-minded individuals. Grace dreams of a family-like environment where people can connect with the stories and art. “I’d like people to be able to connect with our songs, and feel with our songs,” says Grace. And not just as a fan, but be a part of something bigger. “[It’s] more than just, like, music. [It’s] like a living, breathing organism that we can all… be a part of,” says Kitts. “It sounds a little weird.” Sitting on the dimly lit stone steps of Stubb’s outdoor amphitheater, with live music droning in the background, it does sound a little weird. But listening to Grace and Kitts talk about their dreams is refreshing. The passion in their voices is clear and piercing. It’s apparent that they wholeheartedly believe in every word they say, and it makes you want to believe in them, too. Hearing them talk about their dreams feels a little less weird and a little more real. I can tell Grace views his goal as far off in the future, but finding a close-knit network may happen sooner than he thinks. They’ve already found it in L.A. – the group of friends, family even, supporting each other’s creative endeavors. They come to the shows and each time there are a few more people, says Kitts. It’s growing organically.
Online they hope to reach people through social media. The numbers of plays on SoundCloud show that there is someone out there who cares, and probably more than just someone. “That means people somewhere are connecting to the music,” says Kitts. “And that’s kind of all we can ask for.” With Flor being about more than the music, they have to maintain a certain image on social media. “I guess it’s important to guard that aesthetic, cause we don’t want it to lose that magic,” says Kitts. “Cause that’s what music is– it’s magic. And people that get the music and really relate to it– I think magical is really the only word to… describe that feeling when you connect with music and connect with other people.” Hopefully their magic is strong enough to foster a community where people can go and not be distracted by the ephemeral things. “When you go to Flor world, you’re there,” says Grace.
See all photos on Flickr.
Follow Flor: Website | SoundCloud | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
SXSW 2015 Showcase with The Maine
Before The Maine heads out on their U.S. tour in support of their new album, American Candy, they stopped in Austin, TX for a showcase at South By Southwest. Night Riots and Pianos Become the Teeth joined them for a night of rock music. Go here to see all photos from the show.
Fans eagerly lined up hours before doors to get a spot at the free show at Emo’s. Pianos Become the Teeth, a Baltimore-based punk rock band opened the show, serenading the crowd with Brand New-esque vibes.
Dressed head to toe in black, Night Riots took the stage for an energizing set of alt-rock anthems. Their up-beat sound and use of synthesizers and poppy guitar riffs, along with driving drums and bass-line gives their music a playful undertone. Charismatic frontman Travis Hawley commanded the stage in his jean jacket and leather gloves, flipping his hair and dancing. Hawley’s hauntingly sweet vocals add a unique face to the music, akin with bands like The Killers and Muse. Guitarists Nick Fontinakes and Matt DePauw shared their turn in the spot light, shredding the guitar during solos. Even fans of The Maine were impressed, leaving the show with a new favorite band to listen to.
Finally The Maine took the stage to play old songs for adoring fans, and showcase new ones. Starting out with “Miles Away,” a recently released track off of American Candy, fans went wild, singing every word. The Maine went straight into some old favorites, mixing it up with two new ones “Hair” and “English Girls.” As always, The Maine delivered a solid set, showing off their maturity and refined rock sound since their earlier pop-punk days.
With Pioneer (2011) and Forever Halloween (2013), The Maine crafted a guitar-heavy rock sound. From the sounds of “Miles Away” and “English Girls,” they will keep the rock ‘n’ roll vibes, embellished with signature distorted guitar riffs. American Candy is sure to please fans, and hopefully will open new doors for the band to reach new audiences.
American Candy is set to release on March 31 and is available for digital, CD and vinyl pre-orders here.
Cold War Kids Concert Review and Photos
Cold War Kids stopped on March 7 in Austin, TX to play Stubb’s on the last night of their U.S. tour. More photos from the show can be seen here.
Austin locals The Vanity opened the show with a rocking punch. Vocalist Alex Dugan was a crowd entertainer, passionately yelling and jumping around. Between their alternative rock sound and their entertaining performance, it was clear that these guys have the potential to go far.
Next up was Elliot Moss, getting the crowd warmed up with his unique alternative electronic music. Most akin to Odesza and Disclosure, Moss takes a more relaxed and rock-based approach to electronic music, using guitar and baritone saxophone to shape his sound.
Finally Cold War Kids took the stage with “All This Could Be Yours,” the opening track from their latest album Hold My Home. Immediately, they got the crowd hyped with fan favorite “Miracle Mile.” Every member gave it their all. Frontman Nathan Willett sang soulfully while skillfully switching between tambourine, guitar and piano. Bassist Matt Maust swung every which way across stage, never standing still in one place. Meanwhile Dann Gallucci jammed on guitar and sang along every word, even when he was not contributing to back-up vocals.
Willett said how excited they all were to be in Austin for the last night of tour. Austin is one of their favorite cities and it felt right for the band and everyone in the crowd.
The hour and 20 minute set was accompanied by a psychedelic lights show, adding to the rock vibes. Performing a mix of new song from Hold My Home and old favorites, the crowd danced and sang along every second.
