#gigchat

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GIGCHAT : J.R. 

We caught up with Julianna Riolino or J.R. , the new indie singer-songwriter you need to anticipate.

Start with little introduction of yourself and your involvement in music

My name is Julianna Riolino. I reside in southern Ontario, Canada. I have been writing and playing and singing for the better part of my mildly young existence. I’m from Welland, Ontario, and I don’t know if there is something in the water but I have been blessed to grow up around very talented friends who encouraged me to play and gave me opportunities to grow and learn throughout the years.

Well, as a female musician, do you find any difficulties that you wish you never have to deal?

It is difficult when there is a distinction. I think music is just about seeing the world through a persons unique perspective. It’s hard because I believe we live in a society based sometimes solely on the image ones appearance presents. Most of the time there is more than meets the eye.

And honestly I enjoy 'Pal' so much, it reminds me a lot to several indie songwriters such as Hatchie and Sasha Sloan, tell us about your writing process?

My writing process is very organic and natural. I just kinda sit around noodling on my acoustic guitar. Feeling out melodies and the words usually get pieced together through this weird stream of consciousness. If that makes any sense? I get inspired through conversations I have, and interactions I witness. My empathy overflows and it’s a blessing and a curse.

Do you plan to make more music similar to 'Pal' or instead you would like to be as versatile as possible when it comes to your music?

Versatility is great. I love most genres of music. So I wouldn’t never limit myself in anyway. I just write what I write and what comes out is usually a genuine expression in how I’m feeling at the time. Would love to scream in a punk band, sing a Erykah Badu like jam or even rap. All of these things satisfy me, and a challenge is always a great way to grow.

What's the worst or funniest assumption people make about you, musically and generally?

That I am much younger than I am. I am quite short and look young for my age. Which people say is a good thing, also sometimes means people don’t listen or take you as seriously as they should. I’ve learned to be more vocal and blunt with people.

Any album or EP coming soon from you?

More music to come, releasing one more soon and then the ep to follow. Just gonna keep this train a rollin’  play as many shows as possible and keep making music.

As cheesy as it is, who's your biggest inspiration and why?

I would say I’m inspired by many people, images and circumstances. I couldn’t possibly narrow all of that down or make one artist the pinnacle of my creative existence.

Lots of classics though. Loretta, Dolly, Patsy, Townes, The Kinks, The Buzzcocks, The Who, Erykah Badu, Sade, MY FRIENDS, my family, flowers, and I could go on and on.

Other than musician, what do you see yourself doing?

Stained glass and mosaics. I actually went to school for architectural restoration and worked doing stained glass restoration for a while. I gave one up for the other. So I definitely believe if I couldn’t play music that is what I would focus my energy into!

If there is something you can change about the world and music industry specifically, what would it be?

I think that even though the music industry is a business I believe it’s important to be more socially and environmentally conscious. It sounds cheesy but it’s really important to be a good example to others and support your pals in there creative endeavours. I just wanna be a light and help others with my voice and try to inspire younger generations to be okay with being themselves

Last, share your recent most played songs!

The Kinks - Tired of Waiting for You

Jonathan Richman- Higher Power

Aretha Franklin - Say a Little Prayer, Daydreaming, Rock Steady

The Troggs - With a Girl Like You

Princess Nokia - G.O.A.T

Erykah badu - ...and on ( all of mamas gun )

Photo by Stella Gigliotti

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🌞🌈🚘 I'm coming for ya @maricelaela and ruby (and @carriesiskind and Lavinia ☺️) #LAbound #gigchat #sorryfortheselfies (at Lost Hills Oil Field)

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GIGCHAT : CAN WE FLY 

That was last Saturday when we fell in love with a song called ‘Attracted’ by a band named Can We Fly.  With the help of social media, we kept in touch and here we are presenting this inside look of the band. It’s #GigChat everyone, hope you will find a little happiness here! 

Let's just begin with introduction and how did you guys get together? We have been around making music for a long time. Our drummer and lead singer know each other since kindergarten and the rest of us joined with the begin of 2018 when we started “Can we Fly“.   

Congrats for your latest single "Attracted", that means fans will listen more from you after last year EP, right? What can we expect of your next release? We have been working on new stuff for a while and tried to create something unique in our own style. Finally, we went to the studio in summer and it’s planned to be released next spring. We are very excited to share our love to music with all of you guys! 

Describe your music in 3 words! 

Emotions, Rhythm & Energy

So, you've been touring and play along bigger names in the industry.Tell us things people outside music industry don't know about tour and stuff ! 

Long, never-ending road trips, heavy equipment, waiting to get on stage for hours and shitty food - but in the end it’s an honor to share the stage and perform an awesome show with your best mates!   

According to you, what is 'must have mentality' for musician? You have to be creative on your own way and don’t get affected by others. If you do exactly what you want to, you will have the best outcome. As a young people do you get rejection from parents to choose your musical path. How do you manage your motivation to make music in the middle of pressure of just being non-musician instead? Of course our parents want us to finish school/studying but at the moment we are able to manage both at the same time so it’s not a very big problem. Nevertheless being creative always keeps us motivated beside the everyday life. 

Have you ever feel stuck (when make music) and what you usually do to solve it? Going outside, making party, cooking delicious meals, hanging around with friends, smoking some jazz cigarettes and stuff like that.   

We all know, pop-punk and alternative rock are not really popular in Germany, but how do you keep up with that?  Of course there is kind of an alternative rock and pop-punk scene which is growing bigger and bigger and we try to be part of it with our style of music. Even if the common pop and hip hop scene will always be the largest in Germany. There are always bands and songs which influence you in a certain way, but we always try to create music which doesn’t remind you to other bands.

Things about your hometown people need to know? We have a big German hip-hop scene in Stuttgart,  nice clubs and bars, also of course Mercedes and Porsche!   

Share at least 3 songs you've been listening the most lately!

Parcels - Lightenup

Basement - Be Here Now 

Pink Floyd - Hey You

The Fever 333 - Made in America

Reach out and lurk more on Instagram/Facebook/Website

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CHALLENGE ACCEPTED: THIS IS HOW GEN-Z RESPONSE YOUR CRITICISM CREATIVELY 

Sometime ago, Instagram recommended us to a magazine called Aspirants Magazine. Their instagram account is heaven for visual enthusiasts, with alluring color grading and beautiful portraits. Let alone, their commitment to pick interesting individuals to be featured. We contacted the editorial team and that was totally surprising to know that they are juggling this promising magazine with high school and managing the task mostly through computers and internet connection. 

We ended up talk to Danielle (D), Ndemazea (N), and Ry (R). So, prepare yourself to erase pessimistic ideas about millennials, specifically gen-Z, as they definitely do things and make changes too. This is #GIGCHAT, please enjoy! 

Tell us brief history about Aspirants Magazine? Also how do you manage the task among you three? 

D: Aspirants is an idea I had bouncing around in my head for a couple years before it was realized. One day, I was waiting in line in a grocery store and took note of the magazines and tabloids on the rack in the checkout line. I started thinking about how celebrities we’ve all seen hundreds of times before repeatedly get the spotlight. What about that person—that musician, artist, model, actor, filmmaker, photographer, athlete, what-have-you—who works just as hard but just hasn’t been given the same opportunities? Doesn’t every hardworking creative deserve a chance to be on the front cover of a magazine? I think they do. Hence, Aspirants Magazine. 

N: As cliche as it sounds, my involvement in Aspirants can be pinpointed into one specific instance: a text. I had received a message from Ry and Danielle talking about an idea they had been working on for a while, and from the moment I heard about it, I knew that Aspirants was something different and special. Naturally, with that in mind, I sent my response. The rest is history. 

R: Aspirants works to spotlight creatives who never really have gotten their time in the light before. By doing so we are also acknowledging differences such as class or race that lend themselves to differences in perception and experience. In terms of managing tasks, we have delegated roles among the three of us and team members that work with us on each issue. Ultimately though, everyone on the board is sort of a renaissance person in the sense that we’re all able to help each other outside of our delegated roles if needed.

Do you consider/refer Aspirants to be called as magazine or zine?

D: In terms of the publication, we prefer to call it a magazine. However, in November we are expanding our brand from just Aspirants Magazine to Aspirants Co, so you may refer to us as Aspirants Co!

N: We prefer to call the publication a magazine!

R: Publication is a magazine!

How do you choose or pick artists to be your feature story?

D: We keep a log of artists we collectively update. Usually, we’ll stumble across someone on social media or across the internet and recognize their good intentions and good work. Additionally, submissions are open for every issue!

N: It’s probably the easiest part of the job. The internet has made it easier to share our talents, and with so many talented people in the world, we don’t have to throw the stone very far to find leagues of people to feature. And of course, sometimes those people come to us.

Other than musicians/artists, do you also bring up socio-political activists in your magazine?  

D: Aspirants in itself tries its best to be nonpartisan, but we aim to amplify the voices of those who are fighting for what they believe.

Among artist/musicians/figures that you feature and interview, what you could learn from them? 

D: So, so much! I’m so inspired by all of them. For example, I interviewed Maunder, a musician featured in Issue Three, and what he had to say about his music really inspired me. His music emphasizes honesty. To me, also patience. He wasn’t in a rush to release music just because he could; he took his time until he felt comfortable to do so and is now making awesome jams. I think I need a reminder that sometimes it’s okay for me to take my time. 

N: I’ve learned so much from each and every feature we’ve done, but as a whole, I have seen that there’s nothing conventional about being an artist. Each issue will show you multiple ways to express yourself and there’s no wrong way to do it. Our features have taught me that being genuine is key to success. 

R: Each of the creators featured here are inspirational. At their core, many of our creators emphasize other people. They emphasize community. I think that we—as a publication—are incredibly privileged to be able to work with creators who so closely share our vision. 

You also make a printed version of your magazine, how do you distribute it and how do you perceived the printed version ones in this digital era? Anyway, for me myself, printed magazine might be bulky and spacy, but it really feels nostalgic and real, we love it.

N: We distribute and publish our magazine with the self-publishing company Lulu. For us, the difference between looking at something online and holding something in your hands is immense, and everything feels much more real when you can touch something that you’ve created or see your face on the page.

Do you guys do this magazine as a side project and looking at the development, do you consider to make it your full time focus? 

D: We’re juggling the high school grind alongside this company, so I suppose it could be considered a side project for now, but I think all three of us want to be able to make it a full-time focus of some kind. 

N: Aspirants is a full-time job that, because of the aforementioned high school grind, is our “side project”. But it’s our passion and as soon as we can, Aspirants will become a full-time gig. 

R: Right now, Aspirants is a side project in the sense that I’m currently in high school. However, Aspirants is honestly something I always have my mind on, and it will always be one of my top priorities. 

How do you create and manage this team, as for some reasons finding and having people with the same amount of passion and sacrifice for something like magazine or blog or certain projects with almost zero profit (in the beginning) is quite hard?  

D: Google Drive, ClickUp, and Discord. Without those three applications, we’d probably be significantly more scatterbrained than we already are. But to delve deeper, the passion thing is a great question. I have a lot of struggles with mental illness so finding that passion is often difficult. However, I just try to keep in mind that I have people counting on me and people that have been positively impacted because of what I do. It allows me take a deep breath and move forward, even if it’s slowly. Profit was never the ultimate goal to us. We agreed on that when we started. It’d be a great benefit and it is an aim, but it’s not endgame. I don’t rely on Aspirants for income, and I hope one day I will, but in the meantime I am okay with where things are now. 

Now, what advice you would like to give to anyone/readers who wants to create change and inspirations through media or magazine specifically? 

D: Find some people you trust and can bounce ideas off of and go for it. Get feedback, work hard, and take advantage of your resources. We live in an amazing transitional age of technology where each and every one of us has an opportunity to create something unprecedented through the internet. Use it. 

N: Never stop creating. There will be days when you feel like it’s not worth it and there will be days when you want to quit and there will be days you will lie down on the ground, staring at the ceiling, wondering why you ever decided to start. But it’s worth it. Because there will be days where you’ll get a comment from someone giving you a compliment on your work or you’ll sell your first piece or you’ll have a larger turnout than expected at your event, and you’ll realize why you do it. And you’ll keep going. 

R: As cliche as it sounds, I would tell people to just start doing. It’s different for each person depending on our access to certain things but ultimately, get started in whatever way you can, as soon as possible. 

We really love your social media and website layout also art works, they're really cool and we fancy the color grading.

D: Credits to Ry, the one and only. 

R: Thank you so much! 

Last, share your favorite songs/musicians/music with us!

D: Dude, that’s like the hardest question for me to answer. Right now I’m digging the music of Disclosure, The Internet, MANON, and Twenty One Pilots’ new album. You can keep up with my favorite new music on this Spotify playlist. 

N: “Favorite” is a hard word, but if I have to choose, it would be any song made by Noname ever. She’s a beautiful artist that has done nothing but be true to herself, and her newest album Room 25 is a work of art. 

R: I honestly can’t tell you what my favorite songs are—this is an incredibly hard question to answer. At the time being though, my favorite song is Generation Why by Conan Gray.

Aspirants Magazine is online and printed magazine. Order here if you’re interested to purchase their publications. 

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HELLO, COLOUR ME WEDNESDAY !

This is our interview with Jen from the queer band Colour Me Wednesday which is based in West London, UK. The DIY pop-punk band are currently busy with the release of their new album “Counting Pennies In The Afterlife”  as well as preparing its promo tour.

Let's begin with introductions !

Hi, We’re Colour Me Wednesday, Jen on vocals, Harriet on guitar, Laura on second guitar or bass and Jaca on drums and percussion. The band has existed for around 10 years now but our first album came out in 2013 and we’re releasing our second album now! 

So, do you describe yourselves as an all-female-band ?

We aren’t an all-female band we are a band of 3 women and 1 non-binary person.

You talk a lot about vegan, feminism also sociopolitical issues, how do you come up the ideas afterall?

We all consider ourselves to be activists, we are opinionated and that’s just part of our daily lives so it feels very natural to be writing about veganism, feminism and socio-political issues in our music.

As a band, you must have experienced best and worst moment, which worst moment you hope it never happened again to all-female and queer bands like you?

As many people are aware, all-cis-male bands are considered the default, and anything that deviates from this usually does attract some negative attention or just plain ignorance from other musicians, sound people, promoters, fans or other people in the music industry. Some of us have been groped at gigs, we’ve been harassed and heckled and we imagine we’ve been denied many opportunities without even knowing it because we aren’t taken seriously. It’s not just about individual anecdotes though, it’s a huge problem which can be seen in statistics alone and everyone needs to constantly be checking themselves to readdress the imbalance. The best thing to do when you do here about a bands ‘worst moment’ is to believe them and assume that this kind of thing (like a musician being groped or attacked at her own gig or simply undermined) happens way more than you might think.

Anyway, talk about your upcoming album, it seems so clear from the title, it would be about politics and social issues, also satirical jokes, is that right ? Our new album is actually called: "Counting Pennies In The Afterlife" - a collection of songs which explore themes like the fall of capitalism, unemployment, weak and boring men and social anxiety. We really pushed ourselves to make each song exciting and catchy to try to make something even better than our debut. We do as a band do everything with a sense of silliness as well as dry humour because how could you bear it all if you couldn’t laugh?

How is it (the new album) compared to your previous albums, musically and lyrically?

I think some would say the new songs are less explicit in their political content, in some ways, but in others a bit more analytical and broad. We’ve become a lot more confident in our abilities, Jaca and Laura weren’t on the first album and they are two of the best and nicest musicians in the UK. Our last EP Anyone and Everyone was recorded at home by me and Harriet. Previously we didn’t believe we could be capable of doing something like that, it far outstrips the first album in terms of production and we wanted to see what we could do in a real studio. MJ at Suburban Home Studio in Leeds really engages with the songs and we felt safe with him. There are guitar harmonies, big riffs, key changes, synth riffs and interesting percussion on this album, every song is a treat.

Whom do you like to compare your music to?

We want to be considered a pop band in the purest sense. Every song is hopefully catchy and compelling in its own right. A band like Hop Along make interesting and unexpected songs which always end up stuck in your head, when, at first it doesn’t seem like it’s trying to be pop music. Wolf Alice really enchant us as a band because there aren’t many UK bands doing what they are doing and finding as much success. We are also always compared to the 90s band The Sundays, they are from a town not that far from us and have light but soaring vocals delivering a kind of dreamy social-realism.

All-female and queer bands with feminist lyrics are such a new trend in UK and US, do you guys lined up with other bands with the same mission? How is it like then?

I think that feminist girl bands have been around for decades, look at the Slits, look at Riot Grrrl. I think because of the internet, people are finding the music and music scenes they want to be a part of so this has meant a resurgence of feminist music and the mainstream are going to be forced to pay attention - in the DIY scene everyone has become very conscious of making their lineups more diverse, their spaces safe and accessible but it’s an ongoing process. We want to set a high standard for our fellow musicians and for fans and eventually, the mainstream music industry will have to follow that standard too.

The best offer or collaboration you've ever got ?

We are very proud of the tight-knit group of DIY musicians we have met who earnestly just want to be good people and make good music so we would never trade that for anything - and we are always talking about projects we can work on together. One being that Dean from Doe and Rich from Happy Accidents remixed our song ‘Blossom’ recently. Touring with Lemuria was a dream come true, touring with LVL UP was an unanticipated delight and opening for Waxahatchee a few years ago was dreamy.

What does an average day for you look like? Are you already set the music as your full-time career?

An average day has a long list of tasks because in the UK we run our own label and Harriet is constantly posting merch, sending emails and I’m constantly designing artwork, flyers etc. It would be good to have it as a full-time career but it doesn’t yield as much profit or status as you’d think it would for all the work we put in. We all have day jobs, Jaca is the closest to living the dream as they work as a drum teacher!

Do you ever find yourselves stuck and what would you do?

Once I got stuck in a tunnel at the City Museum St. Louis, USA. We visited this museum as part of our tour with Spoonboy and it was full of kids jumping into ball-pits and sliding down slides. It’s not really a museum but more a huge climbing frame/obstacle course/theme park - very cool. I’m very physically unfit and my body just gave up on me and left me lying on my front in a narrow tunnel carved out of a tree. I just couldn’t pull myself along anymore, and kids were pulling on my ankles.

Best advice you have for new bands, also listeners ?

Wear earplugs.

If you could come back to a certain era, what would it be and why?

I hate to say that I would go back to the 90s but it does feel like there were more opportunities for bands like us then. But then again, nostalgia is death.

Last, name the last artists you listen to !

Ariana Grande, SZA, Kacey Musgraves, Carly Rae Jepsen.

The second album of Colour Me Wednesday, “Counting Pennies In The Afterlife” out on May, 15. Order here ! 

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GIGCHAT : ISOLATED YOUTH

Hello all, holiday vibes getting thick today. Anyway, we're back with Gigchat series and now we have William from a Swedish indie band Isolated Youth. They already released trilogy singles. Among the other indie bands we've ever discovered, Isolated Youth is positively distinct and own such a haunting rock music they will guide you in more precise way here.  

Hello, guys, let's start with introduction !  

The band consist of Egon Westberg Larsson, Andreas Geidemark and William & Axel Mårdberg. We’ve known each other for a long time through friendship and blood band.  Isolated Youth is unpredictable sensitive music. A collision between fragility, melancholy and Dionysian ecstasy, beauty and intensity. The characteristics of Isolated Youth’s music is a boyish voice, crystal guitar, winding bass and innovative drumming which comes together in a burning display.  

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Patti Smith, Blixa Bargeld and Ian Curtis, among many.  

Can you give us guide track by track from Devotion, Bayonet, and Boytale?  

We always try reach the same thing in different ways. It’s an attempt to create something truly honest and beautiful.  

Devotion is a song about the sense of devoting yourself entirely to the sensitive souls, forsaken artists, bleeding boys and blue girls…

Bayonet is a song about my (William’s) sickness. And is perhaps the most aggressive one we’ve made.

Boytale depicts a boy who has reached the end of the road, it depicts a boy filled with sorrow. He sees himself in glass and realizes what he could become, what he was meant to do all along. The boy then kills his persona, and is incarnated by his true self. To be able to go on from there he has to surrender completely to his actual path. So he forsakes certainty and is ready to lose both himself and what he holds dear for his mirrored resemblance.

As a band, how it works for you between music/songwriting and publishing/management stuff ?  

All is done by ourselves or people close to us, as of now.  

Can you tell us about the Swedish indie music scene? Best festivals, most popular genre, and specifically the punk scene you've been into?  

Sure, the best festivals are probably Kalabalik på Tyrolen, a postpunk/ New wave festival and perhaps Way Out West for it’s international acclaim. The most popular genre in the indie scene is perhaps indiepop/electronical music, where Sweden has been successful over the years.  

The underground punk scene we’re familiar of, in Stockholm, exists in basements, under restaurants, and in small gatherings, although ”Klubb Död” has started to bring some of us into light, so that is where I would draw my attention if I were to explore the Swedish scene, right now.  

People say Sweden is country of music, do you find it gives you advantage to be Stockholm-based band?  

In some ways yes, and in some ways no. Music is much appreciated in Sweden, however there are not many bands like us out there, whereas Copenhagen and London might have more… the scene is yet to bloom again here, and we are looking forward to flower with it.  

Things you like to do together other than jamming?  

Many things! We are a close companionship, and we spend much time together.  

Artists/musicians/bands you want to collaborate with?  

We would like to collaborate with William Maybelline of Lebanon Hanover / Qual, and Anselm Kiefer.

Things you wish people would ask you?  

Mainly about our music.

Give us your musical wisdom or advise ?

Although we are the beginning of our journey we would say: rehearse constantly, study the greats and devote yourselves entirely.  

Plan for 2018?  

We haven’t made a bucket list, but we strive to take matter in our own hands and make it a successful and beautiful year for us and our loved ones.  

Give us music recommendation to listen to !

Vår, The Birthday Party and John Frusciante’s ”Niandra DeLades and usually just a T-shirt”.  

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GIGCHAT : WINSTON ON WHEELS

Winston On Wheels just released their debut album Bloom, Gloom, and a View From The Moon in December, 9 and it is such a lit lo-fi psychedelic-rock-punk album. We get chance to talk with them about their newest album, their hometown, 2018 bucket list, and a very wise advise for you who consider forming a band.

Hello, Winston on Wheels, you can start by introducing yourselves, describe your music and how did you meet and decided to form a band? 

Winston on Wheels is Jakob Sawyer (Guitar/Vocals), Kevin Rees (Guitar/Vocals), Patrick Crabtree (Bass) and Rocket (Drums). We consider ourselves “indie punk”. Jakob and Patrick are cousins. Jakob and Kevin have known each other since grade school. Rocket just showed up one day and we kept him. We all joined together as a band in 2016. Musics always been something we all loved so it just made sense for us to pursue it together.

Your biggest musical influences?  

Modest Mouse, The Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies, The White Stripes, Nirvana, Cage the Elephant, and Pink Floyd

It must been exciting to have your debut album released. Can you tell us about it?   The album was written over the course of three years. Making the EP we knew we wanted to save some of our songs for the Album. The album is considerably more conceptual than the EP, and seems to tell a story, albeit a somewhat vague one. We hope that the listener can sort of imagine the story in a way that means something to them personally.

Also, compared to play in regular gigs, how did this recording process challenge you guys?  

While the EP consists of live recordings, the album was recorded piece by piece. Though this wound up being for the best, it took much longer to record that way. The recording process was especially challenging to our patience.

Tell us about your town New Albany and its indie music scene?  

The New Albany scene does exist, but we gravitate more to the Louisville psych scene with bands like Voodoo Economics and, Boa as well as the Louisville punk scene. It’s a bit tough for us finding a distinct place in the scene but we love getting out to every show and being apart of the scene.

Things you like to do together other than jamming?  

We enjoying going on long drives through the backroads of Indiana and attending other local shows.

Artists/musicians/bands you want to collaborate with?  

Zach Hill

If people ask you to give advise about being in a band and involve in the scene, what would you say, based on your own experiences?  

Try to bring something new to the table. Don’t worry too much about fitting the “sound” of the scene because that sound is subject to change and you could be the ones to do it.

We may little bit interested in the musicians' point of view about streaming music service, are you seeing it as helping you or challenge you instead?

We feel that artists aren’t necessarily entitled to make large sums of money off of their music as it’s a changing market. So while right now may not be the best time to make big bucks in music it creates a great platform to connect with fans and it weeds out the people who are just in it for the money.

What is the biggest highlight for your band this year?    

2017’s been a great year for us. We all feel we’ve come a long way this year. Definitely preparing for the release of our album has been our biggest highlight.  

Your 2018's Bucket List ?

We like to just go with the flow. We plan to keep getting out and playing shows and we’re eager to see what 2018 has in store for us.

Give readers music recommendation to listen to !

Voodoo Economics, Boa, Tangled Headphones, and Vale they’re all some really good bands we’ve played with from around our area.

Things you want to say to readers? 

We hope you all listen to and enjoy the new album. What songs stood out to you?

Well, our top choices would be Dream Shoes, Strange Children, and Gloom.  Bloom, Gloom, and a View From The Moon album by Winston On Wheels is out everywhere now. 

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GIGCHAT : A Talk About Women and Music

The women and music week is not over yet. We still have stock of things to talk about. After showcasing some uprising female musicians both as solo artists and bands, we have more serious talk with one of the aspiring music and  lifestyle blogger Kate Sinclair from A Bright Tomorrow. Other than music, Kate also start her independent campaign through her blog called Flawless while she described as the way to against body shaming. Here Kate and us talked about her original campaign, women, and music thoroughly. Check this out !

Kate, tell us more about your campaign, Flawless !

I have always thought that social media is extremely influential and if used correctly, can achieve great things. One problem that I have noticed in society is body shaming and these constant comparisons to this ‘perfect body image’. Social media such as Pinterest and Instagram is full of skinny, young girls, but not everybody looks like that. 

“I wanted people to realise that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, so I decided to use my blogging platform to help end body shaming and encourage diversity in beauty. I interview models about their experience regarding body  image and attempt to let people know that they aren’t alone when it comes to body struggles.”

In any future how do you see music and Flawless campaign could connect? Currently ‘Flawless’ is solely about body image and I would like it to remain that way. However, it doesn’t mean that in the future I would not like to start a campaign regarding women in music; there is still plenty of marginalisation of  women in society and as music is so influential, more could be done to promote women rights. 

What kind of campaign about women do you think need to be done in music scene? Safe gigs for girls? On the whole the gigs I go to have a very safe environment. I always go to gigs with at least one friend and we always have a great time. However, there has been more than one occasion where I have been felt up by a male in the crowd when I showed no sign of being interested in wanting that. More so, there has been more than one occasion where I have been asked some pretty vile sexual questions by older men, who have also commented about my body without invitation. Whilst these men are in the minority, there is still a vast amount of objectification of women at gigs and this is something that everyone should try work together to stop. It can make women feel very insecure and unsafe and we have to remember that many of the girls who go to these concerts are still very young.

“If I was to start a campaign about women in music, it would be about protecting girls at concerts. I would always recommend going to concerts in a group, for it limits vulnerability. I think this is especially important for younger girls.”

Yeah, anything can happen while we are in the crowds, also sometimes that doesn’t feel comfortable to go to gig alone especially when the artist has more male fans. Anyway, I think body shaming also happens in music scene, but then Adele and Rihanna outbreak it all. What do you think? It’s fact that an audience will most likely look up to their favourite singer or band and be influenced by their lyrics and appearance. Therefore, it is vital that an artist promotes things such as equality and body confidence. For example, singers like Adele who don’t have that ‘perfect skinny figure’ teaches us that to be skinny doesn’t necessarily mean pretty (Adele is stunning!) That’s why it is so important to preach the right things, no matter the size of your platform, as you can always influence somebody. I think we are beginning to break the idea of that is accepted as ‘pretty’ and this is due to more and more people vocalising the need to end body shaming. This is where music links to body confidence - music is so influential and when used in the correct way, it can help so many people.

Who’s your female musician role model? I really love Beyoncé, because she has written some incredibly powerful songs in the past. For example, her song ‘pretty hurts’ is all about the pressure women feel to look a certain way. Another one of her songs ‘Run The World (Girls)’ is all about strength of women. Her songs are very inspirational and she acts as a brilliant voice for so many people.

How about the younger generations like Zara Larsson, Dua Lipa, Grace Vanderwaal? Very true! I love the new generation of music and I have a lot of hope for the future! I think it is a very exciting time for music, as we see both fantastic and inspirational new talent emerging everyday.

Do you agree with statement “men dominated music industry” ?

“The majority of managers I speak to are all men and the majority of bands I interview are all male, with only one female member at a push. That doesn’t mean to say that these managers and bands are sexist at all! In fact, they have all been very supportive and welcoming of my work and never treated me unfairly due to my gender.”

However, I think we must try encourage women to get more involved in music and bands and blogs such as our own are a great starting point for this encouragement. I do, however, believe that there is definitely a rise in confident and successful female artists! 

If anyone out there read this and willing to join your campaign, what first thing they can do? I am always looking for people to get involved with my blog and there are so many ways that you can! If somebody has ever struggled with body issues in the past and would like to get their story told, they can message me and ask to be featured on the blog. Other bloggers such as yourself can ask to talk to me and spread the word about the campaign. Some may just want to subscribe to my blog and read the blog posts about body confidence. I think it’s just about spreading the word and encouraging others to end body shaming. I would also encourage others to start their own campaigns.  

Last, this has been a tradition that we always ask people we interview to recommend some music to listen to, here is your turn ... Ahah! I think there is so much great music at the moment that it will be hard to decide! I’m loving Hippo Campus and Coasts currently, but I’m also a massive fan of Little Comets. They are very musically talented as well as having very inspirational lyrics!

Kate can be reached via her Website//Instagram//Facebook

pic source :  all pictures belong to Kate Sinclair ; 1) Kate Sinclair was interviewing Skinny Living; 2) Flawless campaign poster on body confidence 

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#GIGCHAT with TEMPLARS

Gigchat is back ! This time, let us introduce you to TEMPLARS again as we had talk about them in #theseindies before. Stockport (UK) based quartet who passionately talk about their love in music making. No, we don’t talk about the history behind the name, we talk about their last album, new single, fans, and perks of being indie band.  Glenn (lead vocalist) is here with us.

You can start by introducing yourselves, describe your music and musical influences, how do you end up together in a band? 

Hello all! We are an indie band known as Templars and we come from a town in the England called Stockport. We have myself Glenn on lead vocals and guitar, Scott on lead guitar, Kenny on bass and Jack on drums. Our influences individually vary considerably; ranging from The 1975, to Blink 182, to The Stone Roses. When we come together and compose new songs, we input each influence into this unique sound. To some people, they can’t pinpoint an exact band to match our music and say “Oh they sound like this band”. We pride ourselves in this fusion of influences to create our own unique sound. We ended up together as a band as 3 of us are from Stockport and Jack is from Bury near Manchester.

Congratulations for your debut EP last year ! Tell us how is it mean to you !

Inelegant Relations was released last year as sort of a statement to show what sort of music we could produce. We had a fantastic response from friends and family, but especially new fans who really liked our music. We decided to title the EP "Inelegant Relations" because it is a line off one of our most popular songs off that record "Under The City Lights"

 And a single early this year, "Hope", is that also means hope for better progress this year? Next album?

We got to know our producer we have now (André Eusébio), who lives over in Portugal through mutual friendships. He mixed and mastered our first record “Inelegant Relations” when we e-mailed over our stems we recorded over here in England. It was his dream to open up his own studio in Portugal, so after he built it up himself and kitted it out, he invited us to come over. We were the first band to record in Lemon Drops Media, and we lived in that studio for a week. It was an incredible experience being completely immersed in music in a foreign country and letting our creativity flow naturally. We released "Hope" earlier this year to give people a taste of the sort of music quality we made in the studio at the start of this year. The music that comes out of this new record, which is due to be released soon, was all composed over in Montijo, Portugal. 

You also have been touring in some gigs around UK, what is it to you, other than gaining experiences and networking? Build you a fanbase? 

We play as many gigs as we possibly can. We love playing to our fans and also to new music lovers. We've made good connections and networks with local promoters and performing consistently at gigs is slowly building up a loyal fan base.

As a band, how is the writing process going on to you?

In “Inelegant Relations” it was mainly me and Scott who wrote the songs. Over in Portugal we decided to do it differently and wrote them piece by piece together in the studio. There are some songs on the new record we wrote the lyrics for individually, and some collectively – so it was a big group effort! “Inelegant Relations” pretty much says it in the album title, that record is about the feeling, experience and empathy of love, lust and loss. Trying to mix things up a bit, with the new record we focused more on self reflection as a general theme for the EP.

 Who is your number one fan? Any memorable experience with fans?

 That's up for debate really haha, we have quite a lot of people who claim to be our number one fan. However, we have one fan who has travelled to see us for like our last 10 gigs in a row. She has her own Templars t-shirt and everything. Shout out to Orla.

 Unsigned or signed, which one would you prefer this time?

Currently unsigned, we work really hard as a band with travelling around, recording albums and performing gigs. It obviously comes with a lot of expenses but we do it because we love and enjoy it and we want people to enjoy and connect with our music. Hopefully one day we could get signed, it would definitely take the pressure off a lot of the behind the scenes stuff which is left to us and I guess it would give us more time to focus on our music. But until that day happens, we have to just keep moving forward.

Last message !

Thank you very much for the interview and I wish all the fans in Indonesia and Asia all the best. Being half Filipino myself and Kenny being half Chinese, we want to send our love to all fans of Templars out there in Asia. We hope you enjoy our music!

Templars is reachable here: 

YouTube//Spotify//Soundcloud//Twitter//Instagram//Facebook

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#GIGCHAT : THE GIRL TALK

In one of the places where music is well-respected, Dublin, you may find some talented musicians play from gig to another gigs. Almost no place for cover bands, instead each band play their originals, blessed your night wih fresh music just written from bedroom or garage jam. Once, our ears caught this band called themselves as The Girl Talk. They are Mark (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Jonathan a.k.a Jon (bass), Ben (lead guitar), and Jack (drum), most of them are in their various years of college, mostly majoring commercial music studies in British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM) Dublin.  Jon and Jack are like childhood sweethearts and finally met Ben at school. They found Mark in BIMM, “Jon and Mark wore the same jumper and hit it off on the first day!”

In Dublin, this band has made name and already booked in several great local gigs. Their popularity increases as people found that Mark appeared in a movie Sing Street (2016). That gave them international fanbase though. But, without even knowing about the famous film, we believe their music will bring them further in music industry. Listening to their songs will remind us a bit to The 1975 (let alone, their quartet formation) with more guitar parts similar to The Modest Mouse’s style. Each of them bring their personal influences and ideas to the band, Jon picks Simon Gallup, Jack’s Toro Y Moi, Ben is into The Smiths, and Mark is clearly in love with The 1975.

We already has reviewed them before. They already has two official songs released on their soundcloud and for the rest of theirs you can find on their gig’s videos uploaded on Facebook. Some fans uploaded their gig performances on Youtube and share them on twitter and instagram as well. Well, thanks to those fans, and we think this band needs one more crew assigned to record their performances. Well, their music is not heavy influenced by the bands they pick though. They created fresh alternative-rock on “Scariff” and “When I Know”, while gave that vintage 80s tunes on “In L.A.” and “Come Around” by adding Saxophone.

Many had asked you about the name choice, and you said it represent the music industry nowadays which mostly talk about girls, love, and sex, do you use it as a critics to the industry as well?

Ben : Yes, I suppose we do. But we can't say much ‘cause we do the same.

Jon : It’s more of a light-hearted joke, because we do the same

Song inspirations ?

Ben : I think you can be inspired by everything around you, hard not to be.

Jon : Inspirations is mainly from what every is happening around us.

You have such a massive fanbase in Asia, Thailand and Korea mostly, how do you feel about that? They even send you some amazing gift to Ireland, which was so sweet. Do you have something to say to them?

Yeah we love them all there amazing to use!

How is that being an indie band ?

Obviously we will come up on difficulties, it’s just putting in the hard work!!

If there is any big record label interested to sign you contract, will you sign it and follow what the label want or stay indie and do music you love? Because we know some bands change into mainstream ones when they do so?

We would only sign if we had creative control ‘cause otherwise it’s not use

Name bands or musicians (not the 80s) that you recommend us to listen?

Toro Y Moi, Wild Nothing, Mac Demarco

Well, this band plan to release more official songs this year, and maybe an EP. As an indie bands, usually they found difficulties on funding for recordings and promotions, but thanks to the social medias. That helps a lot today. You can find them on twitter, instagram,  facebook, souncloud. Surprisingly, this guys are really humble and friendly toward fans. They are willing to reply to any fans questions in the middle of their crowded schedule, both as band and as students. That’s awesome for a band, it creates strong fanbase and supports for their musical journey.

Members : Mark McKenna, Jonathan Cooke-Allen, Jack Bird, Ben Spelman

Origin : Dublin, Ireland

TOP 3 SONGS : Scariff, Medicine, Talk About Me

Year Active : 2016 - present

Twitter : @thegirltalkband

Instagram : @thegirltalkband

Facebook : The Girl Talk (@TheGirlTalk4)

Soundcloud : The Girl Talk

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GIGCHAT : GET TO KNOW THE DEADNOTES

A few weeks ago, we got chance to have a chat with an indie-punk band called The Deadnotes. The Freiburg-based band consists of Darius (lead vocals, guitars), Jakob (bass, backing vocals), and Yannic (drums). This was our first ever live video interview.

Thanks for making this happen guys, let’s start with an introduction!

Darius : Well, my name is Darius and this is Jakob. Our drummer, Yannic is at work right now. We started this band while we were still in school. Yannic has been a friend since kindergarten and we asked him if he wanted to start a band. It has worked out pretty well until now.

Jakob : Yeah, we started in 2011, we’ve been together as a band for 7 years now.

How is it being an indie-punk band in Germany ? I think the genre is not quite popular there, right?

Darius : Freiburg is a small city and not many people really enjoy punk, pop punk, indie, and all that. There are a lot of people who enjoy funk, reggae, hip hop, rap, and EDM. It’s difficult, it's a very small scene and only a few people really enjoy our music but it's still a lot of fun.

How is the German indie music scene in general?

Darius : It really depends. German indie music scene is quite big. Bigger for bands who sing in German. When you’re a German band that sings in English, it will be more difficult because there's no real pop-punk scene here like in UK or US which is, you know, very fantastic."

Tell us your musical influences and the bands you wish you could collaborate with?

Darius : Yeah there is a lot I think, bands like Boston Manor and Moose Blood, and many more. Personally, I’d like to collaborate with Muse. That would be cool.

You’re in the process of making the new album, how is it going?

Darius : It's our second album, we recorded demos in North Germany and we are working on the very last song. It's going pretty well. The album is untitled and we haven’t decided on the release date but it is planned for this year. This new album is very straightforward musically and we cover broader issues and wider perspectives in terms of lyrics,compared to the first album which mostly talked about feelings, tough experiences, and emo-related things.

You guys already have a manager, but as an indie band you started by doing everything by yourselves, so according to your experience when is the right time to assign a manager?

Darius : There is nothing like the right time to assign a manager. There are many bands that work with managers like us and think like: oh cool we already have a manager so we don't need to do anything, they'll work for us. That's bullshit , because it's a lot of hard work and you still need to do many things on your own, and that's cool because of the experience you gain.

Tell us about your tour experience ! Must be a lot of fun, some insights, and maybe bad experiences? 

Darius : Last two or three years we've been touring all over Europe and visited a lot of exciting cities. We've played a little over 60 shows. There are no many people we got to meet and we will go as far as possible to meet even more.

You also did European tour ? Maybe pick the best gig you’ve ever played for ?

Darius : Well, it's hard to say or to pick a city or show as the best, ever.

Jakob : Every time we make new friends is a show worth playing.

Darius : Yeah, then it feels like home, a second home.

Advise for new bands out there?

Darius : Well, I think, just do it, don’t overthink it, just make music and have fun. Also the same for the listeners. Many of them say, nah I don’t like this band, they sound too much like this or that, the singer looks weird. That's rubbish. Be open minded.

Things you like to do outside of music ?

Darius : We actually just had a nice discussion with Daniel, our manager, because we spend a lot of time together, mainly working. We decided to...at one point when the album is released maybe, that we need to have a fun day, with no business at all, just a fun day. Like talk, go to the park or something. Yeah, we spend a lot of time together as a band and as friends, we do everything pretty much together, like hanging out or going to a bar. "

Do you guys like listening music across genre? I think rap music is a big thing in Germany, is that true? I like Cro anyway (laugh)

Jakob : (surprised) Oh, you know Cro? Cool, but Cro is more pop though, pop-rap.

Darius : Yeah, Cro is pop-rap. There is one German rapper, his name is Casper. He does really cool music, especially when you understand the lyrics, it's really really good.

Okay, I don’t understand German, but I’ll try Casper. Anyway, can you mention fun facts about your bandmates ?

Darius : (laugh) ah, I am thinking right now. Sometimes it's the smallest things like someone makes some weird noise or someone shows up late to rehearsals.

Jakob : I hate the noise people make when they're eating or sleeping (laugh).

Last, name bands we should listen to!

Darius : Cold Reading from Switzerland. They’re also a pop-punk, indie rock band.

Jakob : They're our friends actually.

If you guys like pop-punk music, make sure to check out their music, you won’t be disappointed. The Deadnotes is reachable via Website//Instagram//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Hope you enjoy this and stay tune for the next #GIGCHAT !

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GIGCHAT : KIDS FROM THE 90s

Last week, we got a chance to interview one of indie bands from Barcelona whom called themselves as Kids From The 90s. The band had released debut EP This Is Where We Are in last September (read our review) which means a lot to them, "It's our first word as a band, it's the whole work we've done since the first day we met portrayed in four songs.", they explained. The band is Marina (lead vocals), Enric (vocals, guitar), Victor (drums), and Miquel (bass).  

"The band starts with the will of Marina and Enric to shape the songs that were piling up in a drawer. The band completed when Miquel, ex member of The Free Fall Band joins in along with Víctor, who played in other local bands. It could be said that the four of us share a fascination for a time we couldn’t live, but that doesn’t make us stop on searching a place in the today’s scene. We have strong influences of british pop and rock, especially since the 80s, but everybody has their own referents, for example Víctor loves classic and progressive rock and Miquel is more into pop."  

Talking about the band name, they admitted they just simply felt their style and musical interests are linked to the music in that decade, adding that Gallagher brothers from Oasis (both of them) are their 90s musical heroes. The guys seem to be both hardworking and realistic, keeping their everyday job while in the other hand sincerely work on music. Marina and Enric were the main songwriters, yet lately Victor and Miquel are also involved to write from the scratch.  

It was getting excited as this is the first time we interview a band from Spain, they give some glimpse about its indie music scene, "There are many great indie bands in Catalonia and venues too, but it's hard for emerging bands to get into the scene. Madrid seems to have more spaces that give visibility to this bands but it's true that in Catalonia we've got more indie festivals." Yet, with the increasing of political tension in Catalonia lately, it did effect their band activities, "We had a gig on October 1 (the independence referendum day) and a month before we cancelled it because we thought it wouldn't be a good day to play. Indeed, Victor had another gig that day and during the journey it was cancelled. Yet we have to keep making music to the extent possible."

Anyway, being indie is not easy as well as getting to be known widely. "Like all the bands, we would like to sign someday with someone who shares our vision and who we can trust." For now,  their mission is very simple, "playing, playing, and playing. Reach as many people as possible. Especially in places with a familiar audience who's willing to listen to new things. Anyway, during this year we've seen you can't plan the most important things. So, for better or for worse, we expect the surprise factor."

Last, Kids From The 90s' recommended, "Peace and Declan McKenna. From Catalonia, you should know about Núria Graham, El Petit de Cal Eril (you won't understand a word, but you don't need to) and the universe of Antònia Font, although they don't play anymore (from Mallorca)."

Instagram//Twitter//Facebook//Website

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#GIGCHAT : THE PATH LESS TRAVELED

Friday is the perfect day to find new music. For you who are bored with the pop and EDM music out there, there are Neck Deep, Sleeping with Sirens, One Republic, and even The Script who releases their new music. But, have you notice one of the good underrated ones like the song “The Devil” from The Path Less Traveled? This Canada-based band had just released a new single which catchy to all punk, hardcore, and rock music fans. 

The Path Less Traveled seems to be typical guys from a rock-band with tattoos, heavy voices, and everything associate to musicians you can name it. Yet, they are bunch of friendly guys with really cool humor and music taste. Here are they introduce us to their music, new single, and other fun stuffs. 

Can you introduce a bit about yourselves? How did you meet and decide to make band ?

 Jordan (our drummer) and I (singer/guitarist) were friends in Jr. and Sr. high school. We started playing our instruments at the same time, so we kind of learned off of each other in a lot of ways. After we got out of school Jordan and I stayed in touch and would jam together from time to time. Jordan was in another band at the time and so we did this fairly infrequently. After his band decided to call it quits, Jordan texted me and asked me about starting a band. After that point my brother Dustin came on-board and he played bass. Mike (guitar/vocals) and I met at a paramedic training course and he came on shortly after. We played with this lineup from 2013-2017. At this point a good friend of ours named Nic had recently left his band to try new things and we were really excited to see if he'd join us. So in February of this year Dustin departed the band and Nic joined on bass. It's been a really good fit so far and the shows have been a lot of fun.

How about the name “The Path Less Traveled”, is that a hint that you will take "anti-mainstream" path in music?

It's funny because that wasn't the idea of the name, but it actually does reflect how we write and sound. The band name basically means living your life to a higher standard that you set for yourself; to the best person that you can possibly be. Our world has a lot of crazy things going on and as an individual sometimes all you can do is be the best that you can be and try and inspire others along the way.

 How do you describe your music and also the influences?

 Our band has a lot of really unique factors. Jordan comes from a metal and hardcore background, so bands like Terror and Madball or Lamb of God and As I Lay Dying. Mike and Nic both come from a pop-punk background and really like that happy energy that you can put into music. Bands like Blink-182 and A Day To Remember. Then I come from sort of both worlds, although the more time we've spent together, the more we share new bands with each other and share interests. I like the heavier punk bands and some metal-core bands. I really enjoy bands like P.O.D., Seether, and Bullet For My Valentine. As I mentioned we share a lot of favorite artists as well. So we essentially put all of that together and get a unique sound that touches in the worlds of all of our favorite bands. The drums definitely sound metal, and the guitars have punk, hard rock, and metal elements. Then on top of that our vocal ranges also spread us around. I tend to have a more gritty and mid-range voice, while Mike and NIc both have the higher ranges that are familiar in the pop-punk scene. Jordan also sings on a few songs and his voice has its own sound too. We think that we have a lot to offer for rock fans though. We always try and create music that we would want to hear.

How is the writing process to you? You’re all involved on the lyrics writing or any other ways?

 This is kind of a song specific thing. We have some songs where I wrote the music and lyrics, some where Mike wrote the music and I wrote lyrics, and some where Mike wrote everything. We've just started to write with Nic in January and it's gone well so far. We've got a new song called Devil that we can talk about in a little bit. Nic sings on it and we're really stoked on it.

As an indie band what’s the most significant and effective promotion medium to you?

 It's really hard to say. Facebook and Instagram are our two biggest platforms. But what it comes down to is hard work. Tools won't do your job for you and that's something is really easily forgotten. At the end of the day it comes down to word of mouth. If people like what you're doing, they will share it with their friends. That can mean sending a text or calling someone to tell them about something, or just tagging them on Facebook. But at the end of the day that's what matters. Creating something that's worth talking about.

Do you manage to do all the management by yourselves or assigned a friend to manage the social medias and other band promotions ?

 We've never had a manager or booker. We run our website and all of our social media platforms by ourselves. It's great to have that immediate connection with people who are interested in reaching out to the band.

Can you tell us a bit about Canadian indie music scene?

 It's definitely in a weird place right now. There are more bands than ever before and more venues than ever before, but at the same time EDM and DJs are what is popular. There's a lot of competition for events and shows due to how many options are out there. Everyone in the live music scene is happy to co-exist though. There's a lot of support from each band and show turnout is usually really good. It's kind of hard because Canada has a much lower population than the United States and as such we have less cities to tour. If you're in California, for example, you could spend a week touring just that state because every 20-40 minute you hit a different county with 20 000 - 40 000 people in addition to the big cities like Los Angeles and San Diego. In Canada the cities are farther apart and the populations are less, which means it's harder to tour and make enough money to afford doing it. This does mean that the bands that choose to do it, do it because they love it. That's always really inspiring to see and to be a part of. 

 All that to say we are very proud of where we come from and our city of Calgary.

 Tell us about your next single “The Devil”!

 We're really excited about this song. It's our first song to release with Nic's vocals and it's a bit of a new sound for us. It kind of has a Rise Against vibe, but it also has elements of A Day To Remember and maybe Beartooth? The song talks about being stuck in the pattern of an unhealthy relationship and how it brings out the worst in you. Sometimes you know what the right thing to do is, but you just feel like you can't control yourself from being venomous.

Next project ?

 We had an EP nearly finished before Nic joined, but now that he's onboard we're looking at what we have and are building a plan. Some of the songs are worth keeping, and some songs should be either re-visited or scrapped. We have enough material to release until December. After that we're going to see where we are and look at releasing an EP or full length in 2018.

Name one of the most favorite things to do together as a band, other than music? 

 It's kind of hard because when we're not recording, playing, or practicing, we're usually going to shows. Jordan, Mike, and I went out to a festival called Montebello Rockfest last year and we saw every band that we've ever loved with 200 000 other rock fans. It was amazing. Before Nic was in the band we would run into him all of the time at concerts in the city.

 Besides shows we'll usually link up in smaller subgroups and go to a movie, watch the Calgary Flames (our hockey team), or get together with some friends and have a BBQ.

Mention bands/musicians you’d like to colaborate with?

I'd have to say that the number one goal would be to work with producer Bill Stevenson. He has touched every member of the band in a different way over his career, and we love that about our band. Nic loves the Descendents (the band that Bill plays drums in), and then all four of us love the Rise Against album "The Sufferer and The Witness". He produced one of Jordan's and my favorite bands called Wovenwar and also did A Day To Remember's latest album. We're just in love with the guy and what he does with his records.

 If it came down to strictly artist collaboration, it would be something like this:

 Scott: Shaun Morgan (Seether)

Jordan: Mike Johnston (Drummer)

Nic: Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) or Matt Skiba (Alkaline Trio)

Mike: Tom DeLonge (Blink-182 + Angels & Airwaves)

 Place you’d like to visit for gigin’? Asia ?

 Man! Asia would be super cool. The dudes in Our Last Night seem to go there regularly and they always have a blast. We'd love to play some US and European festivals.

A question you want hear people asking you but never been asked?

 We'd love to be asked to go on tour with Rise Against, but so far no one has asked us to. It's a bit sad. Ha ha ha.

Message to your fans or your new listeners?

Hey! Thank YOU for taking the time to read this interview and giving us a chance! If you'd like to keep up to date with what's going on with us, check us out on Facebook, Instagram, and our website  and you will be able to get any additional information on there. Hit us up! We'd love to hear from you and hear your thoughts on our music.

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#GIGCHAT : THE ESSENCE OF STAGE PHOTOGRAPHY 

Stage photography has been essential nowadays in music industry in helping musicians to get more recognitions. A social media like Instagram and YouTube show how people are in love with pictures and videos more than just a word #apicoritdidnthappen . We met a very humble young stage photographer from Indonesia, Clara. Instead of hearing us taking most of the conversations on this topic, let just hear her enjoyable story then.

Hello, can you introduce a little bit about yourself ?

I am  Clara, from Solo, I am reporting musical events as I am also contributor in a online music media (iheartgigs.net), I take photos and videos only, waiting for my (college) graduation schedule, and yeah looking for a job (maybe the one that fit me).

How long have you been here ( in stage photography) ?

I’ve been interested in stage photography since I was in Middle School, but I started to hunt pictures when I finally had my own DSLR in 2012. I was in High School back then, I am still using it now. I got formal basic photography skill as a reward for purchasing my first new camera, it was only a couple meetings but worth enough. I learned the other (tehniques) with my friends who has previously using DSLR.

Why is stage photography at first place? In what moment you begin to fall in love with it?

I love music basically, I love watching performances, music spefically. Moment when you can be in the front of the big crowd, especially when it comes to the performances of your favorite musicians.

What makes it difference than the other types of photography?

To me, stage photography is more challenging. Only God knows what will we get on the venue, we never know the situation, the lightings, where we should take position to get best moment. Photostage trai us to be more sensitive to the moments, both from the performers and the crowds.

Are you joining a community before and now?

I can say yes. First, I join a gallery web from irockumentary.club for Solo and Malang area (as I take my college degree in Malang) then I join a press in my campus and focusing journalism photography, then along with that I join iheartgigs.net

As a stage photographer, you should have craving for music, right? Do you have a favorite genre?

I don’t limit myself in one genre, as long as the music and lyrics please my ears

Your tool kit when you’re on action ...

I use Canon 550D lense that I often use is  kit 18-55mm and tele 55-250mm

Your very first or your most memorable musical events ...

Kickfest Malang in Rampal , that was 2014. Seringai was one of the guest stars. I was late so that I can’t take the front place, so I was on the place with their biggest fans community which all were dancing along. I couldn’t take pictures as it is not possible for me, I moved aside and even reach the security trenches, I climbed it, it was about 1 meter tall and with all that I could take pictures from it.

Have you met your favorite musicians then?

Thank God, I have, ERK that I love since their single “Udara”, then had chance to report The Adams, Rumah Sakit, Seringai, Edane, OM PMR and many more is such a bliss to me, mostly I got duty to report bands I like hehehe.

You’re friendly with freepass ?

Thank God, mostly, my press ID is the magic card

Another experience you’d like to share as stage photographer?

Em recently I helped documented a band performance in Surabaya it was drizzly there. I was about to take pictures from the left side of the stage, I tried to move something (that blocked my way)  but I forgot that my hands was wet that time, I touch the rigging and a little bit shock when the electric current hit me. Fortunately, it wasn’t high voltage, but embarassing enough though.

Stage photography in the future for you?

I think I will still be in that thing certainly, I love it. Nowadays, there are so many indie music events which showcase new artists, stage photographers are there to promote them as well.

Three words to describe stage photography !

“Yang Penting Yakin” (Just Be Bold)

Recommend band/musicians worth to be listened !

Perhaps,  you can try Elephant Kind, a pop band whose different kind of pop

[gigmusicdscvr]

Dear Music Bloggers, Keep Plugging Away !

Do you know how is it like to be a music blogger? People think it’s such a dream job for any music fan, you listen to music, write what you think, get free pass to watch your favorite musicians perform live, life’s a bliss. Well, the truth is in the beginning music bloggers have to put a lot of hard work with nothing as a return. It is such a long time coming story to get the recognition, will it worth in the end?   We get in touch with a cool and friendly music blogger who has passed those hardships, made name for herself, and be one of the rising music bloggers. In this #GIGCHAT, Mel from ‘Mels Jukebox’ (www.melsjukebox.com) shared her experiences, opinions, insights, and also tips for you who might also want to be one of us.

Let’s start with brief introduction of yourself !

 I am Mel and I run the music blog ‘Mels Jukebox’. (www.melsjukebox.com). On my blog I focus on live music reviews from concerts and festivals as well as artist interviews with established as well as new acts. I am on the wrong end of my twenties and I am based in the musical hot spot of London, UK. Originally I am from Germany, which is why you might find some bilingual articles on my blog every now and then, those mainly showcase German bands.

 How did you end up deciding to be music blogger?

I have always loved music and been going to gigs ever since I was a teenager. However, becoming a music blogger was just something that I wanted to do at some point in life and when I changed jobs it felt like the time was right and that’s pretty much it. I have always enjoyed writing. I even enjoyed writing essays at school. I did have a couple of creative writing classes along the way but that’s not mandatory you just need to have a passion for writing.

How long have you been doing this and will you do it for the rest of your life? How do you see the prospect on being music blogger nowadays?

I started my blog ‘Mels Jukebox’ in summer 2014 and in an ideal world, I would love to keep my blog running for as long as possible and take it from a hobby to the next level and let it become my actual job. There is so much great music out there and equally so many great music blogs. However it is a crowded market and you have to find your niche to stand out from the crowd. But as long as you’re passionate and enjoy what you are doing, there is nothing wrong with starting a music blog.

What is the most important thing as music blogger?  Do you manage your blog alone or have teamed up with friends?

 A nice personality and good writing skills are your best assets as a music blogger, I would say. The fanciest blog with the best photos is not going to get you far if your writing is boring and your content is lame. The readers want interesting content and they want some personality. 

On the other hand, being a nice person always pays off. Be it when contacting bands or PR people for interview requests or when actually interviewing an artists. People want to work with nice people, so be nice and everything will fall in to place. I run ‘Mels Jukebox’ on my own. I am still at that point where I can manage my blog as a side project to my full time job. I might need to expand at some point in the future, but as for now, it is pretty much a One-Girl-Show!

Do you think location/base have impact on the productivity and access for music bloggers? How does London (your base) support your work? 

I am really spoiled with my location I have to admit. Being London based gives you pretty much everything you could ever ask for as a music blogger. It is certain that all the big names will come though the capital and the underground music scene is also massive in London.  All these opportunities can be a bit overwhelming sometimes and you don’t know which concert to pick, so you can end up going to a gig every night of the week. Which is fun!

However, I am convinced that you can start a music blog from everywhere. There is so much great music out there and through social media and music being available online it is so much easier to discover new acts. And in case you live in a small town, there will always be a music scene.

Even my small home town (still) has a great music scene for up and coming bands. Just make it your mission and write about that band from your town. You never know where they might end up and the small acts will really appreciate your support.

Tell us about your very first interview experience? 

 My first interview experience isn’t too far ago, actually. I have been wanting to do interviews for a long time but could never bring myself to actually do it. So last year in summer 2016, I had the chance to do my first interview with a band at a festival. I was super nervous and downed an entire pint before starting the interview. This is probably not recommendable but it did the job for me. I was super nervous but after asking the first question and seeing the band happily answer my questions I relaxed and just enjoyed the ride. I can’t go back to not doing interviews now, it is so much fun!

How about the gig/show reviews, must be awesome experiences there, what do you say about that? Do you always get free pass from now on? 

 I’m glad you like the concert reviews. When I started out I would by tickets to shows and then review them afterwards, every now and then. But since I have taken a more serious approach to my blog, I have been getting a lot of press passes for shows and festivals.

It is a trade of work basically. You trade in your writing in exchange for a great concert / festival.

You also have great stage photos, do you also practicing photography for that? 

I am no professional photographer by all means. I have a normal point and shoot digital camera where I take all my photos on. Practice makes perfect. I also have the advantage of having an amazing concert photographer as my friend and she lets me in to some photography secrets and tips and tricks here and there.

Tell us ONE great experience as music blogger you want to share so bad? 

 I think one of the most random situations that have happened to me during my time as a music blogger was when I ended up around a camp fire in the backstage area at a festival in the middle of the night with some members of the band Creeper (If you don’t know them – check them out. They are amazing!) and we talked about Disney films.

 Best artist/musicians you’ve met/interviewed? 

Mickey Demus from Skindred.

 Advantage and disadvantage of being music blogger?

You get to meet so many great people. You get to see your favourite artists perform, you get to write about your experiences and also support your favourite bands. In addition, you get to support smaller bands with your work right from the start and to see them grow and evolve somehow makes you feel like a proud mum. The best thing, however, is when your hard work gets noticed by the artists.

 You will never have enough time to go to all the gigs that you want to, and you will be up all night writing that gig review and go straight to your normal job the next morning. A chronic lack of sleep comes hand in hand with going to a lot of gigs.

Tips for new starter? Something you want to warn them before fall into music blogging?

Always be yourself. Find your own voice of writing and stick to it. Give your writing some personality and people will come back for it. Be prepared to receive criticism. Especially when you are judging someone else’s work (be it a concert or an album / EP). There will always be someone that doesn’t agree with you, but as long as you stand by your opinion and you have a thick skin, that won’t harm you.

THIS or THAT time !

  Photography or Design : Photography. I’m no use at designing.

 Female or male musicians : Both. ☺

Band or solo artist : Band. I am just a band type of person.

Wordpress or Tumblr  : Wordpress. That’s what I use to run ‘Mels Jukebox’.

 Mobile Phone or Notebook : Phone. A smart phone technically is a small computer. ;)

 Last, message to music bloggers out there?

The one last tip that every music blogger will hear at some point: Keep plugging away!

 Mel is reachable in instagram//facebook//twitter//email

pic source : Melanie Jaekel 

[gigmusicdscvr]

#GIGCHAT : THE KLARES

Sorry not sorry, we can’t move on from Dublin as you can see. Dublin has magnificent musical scene which would be such a heaven for music enthusiasts. This time let’s meet these four lads from The Klares, Andy (lead vocals and rythm guitar), Jordan (bass and backing vocals), Cormac (drum and backing vocals), and Eoin (lead guitar).

After almost five years as a band and made two EPs, Dirty Birds (2013) and Cookoo (2015) plus more singles (Sparks Alone, Black Huaraches, Gooie). They have been on no more uncountable gigs around Dublin. As an indie band, they’re one step ahead compared to the others by professionally assigned a manager to look up their publicities including handle social medias and public relations.

Well, we won’t tell much about them here, instead let’s just hear from their side and see how they describe their own music. Here is our detail convos with the lads, including talk about future, parents, musical influences, fanbase. Spoiler alert , if you love indie-rock, or you’re in the middle of something to choose for your career path, these Q & A might giving you enlightenment.

 1.     Well, 2 EPs already, great, it is really productive and you always upload all the high-quality records of your music on your social medias (spotify, soundcloud, youtube), we think that’s good way to promote your music as an indie band, how do you think?

Eoin: I think it is also yeah. I don't think that as an up-and-coming band these days, that you can get anywhere without using social media.

Andy: I think social media is definitely the best way to get yourself out there and it no doubt has helped us 

Jordan: I think going forward its the way to go. Disks went to iPods and now iPods are going towards apps like Spotify. Most people stream their music nowadays so being active on the internet is necessary 

 2.     Your music has Arctic Monkeys, Imagine Dragons vibes, with combination of Britpop. How do you describe your music style?

Eoin: Yeah I would agree that we have an arctic monkeys style…

Jordan: I think we're a mixture of all of our influences (mostly early arctic monkeys) , but with our own unique sound thrown into the mix. I think our sound has definitely developed from simply emulating these influences though, like we perhaps did a few years back.

Andy: I’d say exciting, exuberant and overwhelmingly in-your-face

 3.     How do you come up with ideas to write music? Any particular theme for each EP you’ve made?

 Eoin: No themes really. Normally one of us would have an idea and we'd work around that. It's often that at band practice someone randomly plays something that sounds good when we're jamming and we work around that

Andy: Usually we just bang out a song with tons of different ideas mashed together. I'd love to make an album with a continuous theme through it. It'd take time and a lot of writing first 

Jordan: Andy would usually have a basic idea for a song and we'd build it up together. I don't think there's one theme that we aim towards, but we were only talking about how we'd love to have a thematic album yesterday. 

 4.  How do you get yourselves engaged on this music genre, in the middle of musical trends/mainstream nowadays dominated by EDM, pop ?

Jordan: We're really not big fans of modern music - there's some good stuff around, but not much. We ended up doing what we do from listening to bands that started before we were born, combined with the handful of modern rock acts that we think are good.

 5.     Do you manage your social medias on your own? How do you manage that? All of you involved?

Eoin: It is mostly our manager Rebecca on social media. She's good for it, and she's always on the ball, whereas me and the lads would probably forget to put things up half the time if it was us 

Jordan: Myself and Eoin are aiming to take on some of that workload soon.

  6.     Advantages and disadvantages on being indie (unsigned)? Any plan or prospect to be signed soon?

 Eoin: No plans really. I think at this stage, we're better off not being signed. Having said that, if we were signed, gigs would probably be more consistent and it would be a lot easier to fund the band.

Andy: Yeah not being signed is good I suppose. We've got more control over everything and it gives us more artistic freedom

Jordan: I think that being signed nowadays doesn't carry the same weight as it once did. We've had offers, but none of which we thought suited us. I think we'd only sign if the ideal offer came our way. 

 7.     This year 2017, what is your plan? Music video or merchs anytime soon?

 Eoin: We're hoping to get as many festivals in the summer as possible. No plans about music videos but I'd say we will make one for the next single released

Andy: I'd love an album this year with multiple videos 

Jordan: A music video is definitely on the cards next, probably for our latest single. As soon as the summer hits and the gigs start building up, we'll probably have a little look towards building songs for an album, as opposed to another EP. Also merchandise wise, there are The Klares available.

 8.     Activities outside the band? We know you just finished school last year, will you guys focus on the band or do something else outside of music? College?

 Eoin: We have no time for other activities really. I am in college and work as well so there's no time to do anything else

Andy: Not much, just work and sleep

Jordan: Two of us are in college at the moment which sometimes makes juggling our time difficult. We're still putting the hours into The Klares though, and as soon as the college year is over, the band will be our top priority.

 9.     This might be a bit personal, but many people want to know, how do you convince your parents to let you put much effort on the band? We know parents want their kids go to college, get a settle job and stuff...

 Andy: They don't mind and all the parents are incredibly helpful. Without them who knows where the band would be

Eoin: Yeah it’s easy at times, harder other times.

Jordan: They, like us, genuinely believe we're good enough to make a career out of this. With approval on our side, why immediately settle for a desk job without giving the music a go? 

  10.  How do you see The Klares for the next five years?

Eoin: Who knows. The music industry can let anything happen. A band can be nothing and suddenly be huge in no time 

Jordan: Hopefully playing festivals left, right and centre around Europe. I can definitely see us going on to better things in the near future. 

Andy: I think we're going to get to the top eventually. 5 year’s time who knows? Madison Square Gardens?

  11.  Tell us what do you think, which is more important in music industry, strong fanbase/network or talent itself or both?

Eoin: I'd say fan base is very important as well as talent but no so much individual talent but talent of how you work together as a group 

Jordan: There's so many acts out there who play modern over-produced, contrived music written by someone else. I think that talent isn't as important as it once was, and emphasis nowadays is on web presence and building a fan base. Obviously, this requires some talent.

 12.   Last, message for your fans out there?

Jordan: Keep on supporting us. You can be one of those people that can say you heard of us before we got huge.

 Well, if you’re curious to their music, they’re available everywhere. Get ready to begin your new musical experience with the pounding rifle drum, splashing guitar and bass, with some semi-britpop interludes in between. Can’t even describe them as punk, rock, britpop, indie-alternative, because they have them all. Reminds you a lot to the old Arctic Monkeys with a more fresh-energetic approach, reflecting their youthfulness. 

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Member : Andy Burke, Jordan Lawless, Cormac Sheridan, Eoin O’Shea 

Year Active : 2012 - present 

Origin : Dublin, Ireland 

Top songs : Gooie, Black Huarache, Sparks Alone

Contact : 

Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Soundcloud / Spotify / Website