Jane Church is a band hailing from Queens, New York. The band was formed in April 2017. The band produces music under a genre that they classify as “Beatlegum” and “Janitor Rock” music. The band is back to release their new single “Rocket to the Kremlin”.
“Rocket to the Kremlin” is a song about an American spy who is excited, confused and lonely about their new life. The purpose of the song is evident through its sound. The song’s tempo is a little disheveled, showing what the spy is feeling.
The song is creative, vibrant, and full of different emotions. After this release,Jane Church is clearly the band to be on the lookout for this year.
Lead singer and songwriter of The Winter Sounds, Patrick Keenan has brought new and electrifying tracks to the music scene unlike anything that listeners and fans have ever experienced. Not only are his productions unique and completely particular to his style, but they also induce an atmosphere full of perceptual magic tricks and danceable synth draped seconds. “Earth After a Thunderstorm” captures more than just beats and rhythms strung together. It is a work of art that has been pieced together with creative lyricism, laced with some of the best budding talent in the industry. With nuances of dream pop, classic rock, folk and synth pop, this band has created a spectacular array of visual and vocal spectacles that bring critics and fans alike on a journey.
Along with musical talent that is virtually unmatched by many others, this group is able to demonstrate extreme versatility in translating their music to visually appealing videos. Most recently, they have come out with a video for their newest release, “Earth After a Storm,” which brings the viewer on a curious journey between man and mannequin. While some would call it romantic others are mystified by the oddity that their video presents. Not only do the intentional angled shots, lighting and effects give the viewer and intimate experience with this unlikely couple, but it also shows off more of Keenan’s quirky genius. As a stunning follow up track to their successful single, “Heartbeats,” The Winter Sounds have escalated their sound and revitalized their music for the enjoyment of fans worldwide.
Folk-rock artist Greg Connors is about to drop his brand new record, Home Made Compass, on March 3rd. Today, we’ve got your first listen with a streaming premiere of it in its entirety, as well as the premiere of the picturesque music video for his single “Armadillo”.
Starting off with “BEGIN ANYWHERE”, Connors brings his own take on folk music with this raw track. Next up is ARMADILLO, a deeper track that focuses the listener into the multidimensional layers of his music. “ARMADILLO” is followed by “JUST TO BE”, which features some killer guitar moments; a truly laid back and smooth rock track that balances folk aspects as well. Taking a completely different angle with “BUTTERSCOTCH”, a spoken-word interlude, Connors moves the listener into “INVISIBLE AUDIENCE”, a gutsy song that takes the listener for a trip.
A groovy, almost psychedelic track, “ONGOING END”, follows up next. With emotion packed lyrics and some “radio” parts, it’s a unique song on Home Made Compass. “RAPTORS” takes the reins next, definitely leaning towards the rock side of the LP. The first few notes are almost Bowie-esque. “CALICO”, another spoken interlude, carries listeners into the final two tracks on Home Made Compass. “TENNESSEE’, the denouement of the album, is a lovely song filled with a love for home, even if it’s not where you come from. Closing out Home Made Compass is BOATYARD”, the last song on the album. With masterfully poised instrumentals, Connors ends his album on a nostalgic, yet hopeful note.
Overall, the album does an excellent job of marrying folk with rock, and balancing the strengths of the two throughout the record. Whether you prefer rock or folk, Connors has got you covered.
Austin, TX rock/pop/r&b/guitar/soul artist Jackie Venson is coming off an an exciting national solo tour for her EP, Transcends, which was released in September of 2017. It was highlighted by shows with Gary Clark Jr. She has also dropped the music video for her song “Mysterious” off of Transcends.
With confidence and phenomenal guitar skills, Jackie brings a mix of genres to the table. After attending Berklee and playing piano for most of her life, Jackie took up guitar in 2011, and has been performing for over five years. She brings authentic, soulful feels to every song, at times with a playful twist. Her latest EP, Transcends, is teeming with talent-filled tracks. Be sure to check out Transcends .
Recently, Venson curated a playlist exclusively for Imperfect Fifth. Check it out – and the inspiration behind it – below!
Folks always ask me ‘what do you listen to Jackie?’ and I can never answer their question. I don’t believe in genres, I believe in great music and I think confining oneself to playing or listening to only one genre is dooming oneself to a life of monotony. Here is my super random playlist of songs I love that I have listened to all throughout my life.
africa – toto
come around – marc broussard
maggot brain – funkadelic
multiply – jamie lidell
soul rebel – bob marley
shade of a shadow – teitur
addicted – amy winehouse
unthinkable – alicia keys
defying gravity – Wicked
young blood – the naked and famous
to zion – lauryn hill
retrograde – james blake
waltz between eva and che – Evita
We wanted to speak with the voice behind this wonderful music, so we caught up with Jackie, who answered a few questions from us about her musical career, fears, and inspirations.
What’s your biggest fear? – Getting pregnant anytime within the next 5 years. It would impede on goals I have for sure which horrifies me because I have worked so hard.
How was your tour with Gary Clark Jr.? – it was really fun, exhilarating, and eye opening. It was cool to see how things work on that level.
Who would you call your favorite biggest musical inspiration? – hmm pretty impossible to narrow it down to 1. It’s a mixture of Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, and Disney.
How much does social media affect your musical journey? – tremendously. It is responsible for about 90% of the opportunities I get as well as the fact that folks even show up to my shows on tour.
Do you prefer to be put in a genre, or make your own type of genre? – I like hybrid genres, I consider myself rock/r&b/soul.
Favorite song on “Transcends”? – gotta be Flying. We were able to capture the groove so well, it feels like how we play it live.
Favorite instrument to play? – definitely the guitar by a long shot. It feels like it’s a part of my body.
**Originally published Oct 22, 2016. Reposted with permission from the author.
Yesterday, the Dean Ween Group unleashed their debut album under the direction of founding member and frontman Dean Ween (Mickey Melchiondo). Formerly of the notorious American alternative rock band Ween (begun in 1984) – and still pulling inspiration from past work – Dean Ween has brought a new flare and energy to his catalogue with this new work. A rotating cast of incredible musicians finds their home with the musical project, various talents displayed on the recordings that were created in the incredible new(er) space that Dean Ween built from the ground up.
Shortly before the release of The Deaner Album, we got to sit down and speak with Dean Ween himself. Here’s a little bit from one of the most influential alternative musicians of our time.
Tell me about the studio you’re working from today.
Sure. I’ve ran it – and no exaggeration – over 25 buildings since when we started. It’s very hard to find a place where sound is not an issue, you know, privacy, security, neighbors, all that. So finally after being at this for 32 years, my friend’s father owns 200 acres and offered to work with me on my own spot. He’s a younger father, like only in his 50s. I’m 46 as of today. Yesterday was my birthday actually.
Oh wow, happy birthday!
Thank you. So, he said if you build a nice place you can have it. So I did, and sunk about $150,000 into it. Borrowed and built this beautiful place that I call my forever studio. It’s in the woods, I’m here all day everyday and all night every night. Every instrument, cable, amplifier I’ve ever owned is all here, it’s all set up. It’s very hard to force a studio into a vintage house. You know, we’ve had to do that – use the living room as a recording room, control room. So, I have everything perfect. It’s a gigantic live room for a band to play in, everything is mic’d up. Then there’s a giant control room with monitors, talk back, kitchens and showers and bathrooms. Musicians can stay here. You could blow up a bomb in here and you wouldn’t hear it outside since its soundproof.
We built it with being a studio in mind. We made it totally perfect and right. It’s so relaxing when you come here. It’s like a second home. We’re so respectful of it. I do not- a lot of time over the years, studios were too close to the bar, and the place turned into a hang, after hours. So it was very important to me that never happen here. So the couple years I’ve been here I respect it, and we keep it very clean. It’s very relaxing when you walk in. It’s all esthetically fun to look at and play with. I tell people don’t bring your junk here. I’ll put it outside if you do. I don’t want your broken amps or guitars. No I don’t want that poster. Take it with you when you leave.
Every time we move out of a place we end up throwing out half the shit- it’s like stuff that doesn’t work or will never get used. Some junk someone left while crashing there.
Well it’s cool to have your own space and establish your own rules.
Yeah. It’s really gorgeous.
Before all this happened, Ween, The Dean Ween Group… what’s the first album or song you remember listening to, and who introduced it to you?
Wow. That’s going back too far- I can remember pivotal things. Radio was a huge thing for me. Just seeing that radio isn’t as important as it used to be. That’s where you went. Even MTV doesn’t show videos anymore – it’s like reality shows. The local station would play the top 5 at 5 every night. The 5 most requested songs. So the fans were actually choosing them. I remember buying the 45s and taped the songs at 5, and would use my tape decks to edit out the announcer talking. Which was really hard.
I remember watching Teen Tot with my babysitter on Saturday Night Live – Steve Martin doing it – and she worked at like Gimbles the old department store. She bought it for me and the next time she babysat me she brought it and I was so happy. I listened to them and I still have it actually.
Musically, my babysitter had a bad brother. He was a bad kid, same age, and had his older brother’s record collection and A-tracks. I remember going over there and hearing Sleeper and Ziggy Stardust. The first *record* record I got on my own that I really coveted and wore out was the Beatles Red Album 1962 – 1966. Then they put out The Blue Record, 1966 – 1970. They had the lyrics with them. That was the thing that changed it with me. Reading the lyrics you know, “Yellow Matter Custard”, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, all that. Just the visuals that went along with the lyrics are just so freaking great. I wore that record out until the needle went out the other side of the record.
Was that around the time that you decided you were going to pursue music?
I didn’t really know that until later. My father owned a car lot. There was a music store across the street. And I’ve learned this as a father, I don’t want to buy expensive stuff if I think it’s going to be a passing thing. And I want to be there to support him, but want him to appreciate it. So, my father bought me this guitar, it was probably unplayable. But I made it playable, made it look cool with stickers, painted it. Kinda sounded like a chord when you belted all six strings. I would play it with myself. Which meant I couldn’t play minor chords or you know, too much with it, but I was off to a start.
Then I really wanted a drum set after that. I had two cassette decks, so I would record the drums first, the foundation, I was like 11. And then I’d put the guitar on it. Of course I needed a bass but it was all cheap stuff. And then my father realized that I was really, really into this. And I started taking lessons, and at Christmas one year, I was like 13, he got me a real guitar, a Fender, and I started taking lessons, learning how to play without just that one chord. I was recording every day, starting to see concerts. I wanted to be that guy really badly. Not a singer, but a guitar player.
Yeah, my drumming was really good, still is. I played drums on the Ween records, people don’t realize that. You know I remember an interview once where Kurt Cobain said he wanted to be as big as Sonic Youth. That was his goal. And that really stuck with me. Because, it was the same thing with us, except, we wanted to be the Butthole Surfers. As big as the Butthole Surfers. I mean, that was my goal. I thought if we could get to that point, then we were really famous and really good.
I didn’t think about what I was going to do after high school. I wasn’t going to college, I knew Aaron wasn’t going to college, we figured we were just going to work. We wanted to get an apartment together, so we did the day we graduated high school. We made music there pretty much 24/7. We had been doing that in my parent’s bedroom for like 6 years already. So we had a lot of experience recording ourselves. We got a multi-track recorder, a 4 track, instead of just dubbing two tapes back and forth. I knew we weren’t going to go to college, I didn’t know where Ween was going to go, but as it turns out, we had put all our energy in the right places, and we got signed that summer.
So there was never really any guesswork to it. So that was in 1989, and our debut record came in 1990. It was a double record. It was almost to me like a greatest hit, of like 7 years of Ween. We had that much experience. So we got that one out of the way, the second and third ones were almost done already. The second one came out and we got signed. Then we were on Warner Brothers all of the sudden. So I never really had to think about it much. Like I said, we put our energy in the right places. We worked really, really, really hard on being good.
You know, it seems like a whirlwind thing, but it’s not. When Ween started out, it was very experimental and noisy. And it sounded like two twelve year olds, you know. But within a few years, we were happening. We were writing really clean songs. Choruses that you could remember, that were catchy, my parents were hearing it, they loved it. You know, I was still doing the same exact thing, it’s incredible. Really nothing has changed on the front end. I still work exactly the same way I did back then, you know, but with better music.
I heard there was about a year after Ween where you didn’t work with your guitar, really?
It was more like 6 or 7 months, I don’t really think that much about that. I’ve suffered from anxiety my entire life. Depression is something that was never in my vocabulary. I’ve never been depressed but when Ween split up, I lost everything. All I’d ever done was that. I mean, I’ve told you how long I’ve been at it, I just knew I couldn’t get out of bed, eat, shower, go out. The guitar was just another thing that got ignored during that 8 months. I didn’t mow the lawn either. I just didn’t do anything, just ran up debt. Only battle with depression I ever had. I was stuck. I really empathize with people who have it now.
If it weren’t for my friends, my friends saved my life, they were like, “You have to start playing again. You have to force yourself, even if you’re not into it. Go out. You don’t realize how much you miss it.” So I started and it didn’t feel right. But it took, and they were right. I got a band together, called it the Dean Ween Group, said “fuck it I’m still Dean Ween.” And when does Johnny Ramone cease to be Johnny Ramone? He dies, that’s the answer. Even when the Ramones broke up he was still Johnny Ramone. And with Ween being a duo and all that, I didn’t know who I was. Hard to explain, I lost my confidence, my career, my identity, sense of worth. Love. Hobby. Passion. I’ll never make that mistake again.
You’ve been working on The Deaner Album for a hot second. Any fun anecdotes from the recording process?
Yeah, it took a while to make, and then it happened like a tornado. When I got it going I really got it going. Up until that point, I had like two songs from like a year before and then it just like caught. I ended up replacing those songs with newer ones, when I was like totally back, when the group was happening and touring. People were commenting and fans wouldn’t go away, and good stuff like that. So the anecdotes have more to do with building the studio, and watching it go up, and really just visualizing it. Fantasizing about how long I was going to be in the studio. I swore I would come here every day, and do a song a day. All day, every day, all night. And I have for a couple years now. So I have this enormous catalog, just ready to go. The second Dean Ween record is done. It’s ready to go. It’s better than the first one, and I can’t wait to get it out there.
But for the touring, we’re playing everything. I don’t have to play Ween songs unless I feel like it. Which, I do, they’re mine too.
“Exercise Man” is pretty witty. What inspired that song?
I sang it to my son when he was like 2 or 3 in the car every time we saw some idiot jogging or riding his bike in the snow at 6 am. i would make up lyrics to songs and we’d sing them. Ironically enough I’ve recorded a few of them, he’s 15 now, they were just funny ideas. A lotta people say ween makes children’s music and I guess that’s partially true. evidenced by how many kid’s shows we’ve been involved in—especially spongebob.
Do you have a favorite song off of this album, by chance?
YES. “Bundle of Joy” is my hands down favorite. It was one of the last songs I wrote for the album too.
You have a pretty extensive tour coming up.
Yeah, that’s the first leg of it. We’re going to be out all of next year. We might even go overseas.
What are you most looking forward to about getting out on the road?
The food. I eat much better on the road because normal people need to eat a few times a day. The restaurants where I live totally suck. Honestly, the music and the camaraderie, read the lyrics to Willie Nelson’s “On the Road again”, Willie has a way of summing things up perfectly and that song is about touring. traveling will always represent the epitome of the American dream, especially for a young man. Getting to meet people and play music for them, the road is where u get all the love back from the people you’re hoping to reach with your music.
You have a fishing charter business? HOW do you find time to do all of these things?
I am very busy, just leave at that. even having a few spare hours feels like a victory. I took some time off to go fishing two nights ago and I enjoyed every second of it.
Just last month, Wilmington, Delaware’s Impetus Records released a three track EP on behalf of now-defunct band The Subterraneans. Active from 2015 to 2016, the highly talented members of The Subterraneans – Seb Roat, Peter Furman, Gavin Powers, and Sam Greaves – recorded their self-titled EP during their sophomore year of high school. Replete with intense guitar licks, the EP begins with “Earl and Everette’s Day Out”, which feels like it single-handedly fills the room with smoke as you enjoy the lazy, beautiful, 70s-influenced sound. “Tercel” brings out more of a garage/punk feel with its increase in pace and the fact that it’s driven instead by percussion where its predecessor was driven by guitar chords, though it never quite meanders out of the warmth of nostalgic psych rock. “Hey Man” eases us out of the insanity, allowing the quartet to show off their innate ability to cover a variety of sounds as though they’re old pros. (In other words, they could never have been considered a one note song.)
Good luck scraping your jaw off the ground while listening to it.
The Subterraneans is available now. Get the best from Impetus Records here.
Relatively new to the scene, rock trio Invisible Candy – comprised of Jen Smith (cello), Carter Zumtobel (drums), and Colin Campbell (guitar/lead vocals) – often refer to themselves as “Brooklyn’s chamber rock sweethearts,” but might just be on their way to having the world believe them. The fact that a rock trio features a cello prominently is already alluring enough. Take three distinctive performers who proudly proclaim their newfound love for “flowers, German expressionism, fake blood, and obviously candy,” add the frenetic, romanticized sound that steadily flows from the speakers, and you’ve got genre-bending rock that encapsulates chamberpunk ditties like “Mental Hatchets” alongside sweeping indie rock tunes like “Simone”.
In honor of their latest single we got a few minutes to learn more about the band behind that intense, enigmatic sound.
What is the Invisible Candy conception story?
Jen Smith: We’re not a concept band, but I could see us going in that direction. We have divergent influences from the past that we could weave into a modern sound and build a narrative around that process … that’s the dream, right? But as of now, the origin story is three people met through mutual friends and started making music together. The name literally came out of a dream and since inception we’ve been challenging ourselves to write more freely … more psych, more garage rock, more experimental.
Colin Campbell: We’ve all been in bands that had several more cats to herd at once. So a trio, at least as the constant core to then ornament, was immediately appealing.
Carter Zumtobel:
With your collection of bold personalities, what is the writing process like? Does it vary from song to song? Take us inside your process!
JS: Well, this EP we’re working on is somewhat “soaked” subject matter – heavy, drunk, woeful. Even though our original batch of songs is from Colin’s notebook, Carter brings a new element with the drums and we have to work as a collective to find what the cello will add. Nothing is set in stone. We revisit a lot of songs on a structural level just to see what happens. And it’s usually a fun jaunt, not at all a confrontational or frustrating process. We will have some new material soon too, and that might come from Carter’s writing and my arrangement or Colin on lead guitar and me on keys or any number of combinations. We’re all about the possibilities right now.
CC: I generally use simple pop structures with lyrical references from an otherwise useless liberal arts background. Part of me always wants to coax audiences into something sweet and entertaining, almost saccharine, then twist it with something a tad more sonically or lyrically demanding.
Your latest track “Mental Hatchets” is so, so good. Do you mind discussing the inspiration?
CC: It’s of course an unironic bullet-pointed list of why we’re living in a globalized urban utopia!
With so much good music being released right now – especially since a certain event last year – we’re falling over ourselves trying to keep up with it all! It makes me wonder, is there pressure with an up-and-coming band to have a message or stance with everything?
JS: For me, it’s important to have a stance and to have integrity, on stage and off. I’ve seen lots of bands lend their talents to benefit shows, and we are participating in that movement too. We’re donating a set to Thursdays for a Cause at Our Wicked Lady in Brooklyn on 12/14, for example. That’s something we’d like to do regularly, as well as put our resources behind artists from marginalized communities.
As artists, we’ve looked to the past for inspiration, like the antifascist movement Rock Against Racism, to see how musicians felt and dealt with such troubled times historically. And I think off stage, we’ve all taken steps to educate ourselves on structural oppression and we talk to each other pretty freely. The openness and acceptance in this band definitely helps me effect changes in my non-performer life.
If you could be a superhero, who would you be, and why?
JS: Superman, because I am a masochist and I want to know what it’s like to control your otherworldly strength in every human gesture, thereby taking notice of every delicate and unbearable human gesture.
CC: Professor Xavier because he does his ass-kicking under a cozy blanket on a levitating barcalounger.
CZ: Rod Kimble, stuntman extraordinaire.
BIGGER question… if “Mental Hatchets” were part of a Thanksgiving meal, what part would it be and why?
JS: I think cranberry sauce cause it’s a small portion with a lot of zing!
CC: The stuffing, just cause it’s all I can think about right now.
CZ: Keep on rocking in the free world.
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Catch Invisible Candy at Gold Sounds Bar in Brooklyn on November 29th. Keep up with the band here.
Southern California-based alternative rock act DAVIS is still flying high off the critical acclaim and crowd reaction from 2016’s EP Crooked Finger. And – as you may remember – idobi Radio premiered his video for “Los Angeles” in September. (And he curated a playlist just for us to celebrate!) So it’s safe to say it took a few moments for us to sit down and pick his brain a little bit. But we did it, and got some good behind-the-scenes explanations, as well as a silver lining to the future of music. Check it out!
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What is the first song or album you ever remember hearing, and who introduced it to you?
Bob Dylan and John Lennon were the first artists that really spoke to me at a young age. “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and “Imagine” were the coolest sounding songs to me. Growing up, my Dad had a huge collection of vinyl. My family and I would sit in the living room and dig through his records and just play tons of music together. We listened to everything: Cat Stevens, Prince, Nirvana, Michael Jackson, everything! And everyone got a chance to pick out a record and add to the experience. It’s funny cause that’s basically what I do these days whenever I have people over to my house: I make a Spotify playlist and everyone gets a chance to add to it. Music brings people together. That’s what it’s all about. My favorite songs are always the ones that remind me of sharing an experience with family or friends.
What made you choose to pursue music as a career? Was there a defining moment?
I started a punk band in junior high and we got to play at high school parties. That was the best feeling ever. I knew from then on that I wanted to pursue music. Eventually I went to college and got a degree so that my parents were happy, but as soon as I graduated I started doing music full time. But writing songs isn’t just a career choice for me, it’s something I have to do. It fills my soul. It’s my purpose in life.
You have had quite a bit of attention surrounding your work as of late, including some stellar premieres under your belt. How does it feel, getting this type of positive exposure?
It’s rad. As a songwriter you always hope that people will enjoy what you’re offering to the world. I’m very thankful for all the positive energy people are giving me in return.
What was the production process like on your video for “Los Angeles”? Seems like you had a really fun time!
Yeah, it was! There was a lot of pre-production that went into the video. The director, Haley Reed, had a really unique way of filming it, using all kinds of weird projections and stuff. Her and I have worked together for all of my previous videos, and each time we completely change the process like we are starting from scratch. That’s what makes it fun. I like challenges and breaking the rules.
Just like my music, my videos are all about juxtaposition. One minute we might be filming in a huge studio with all this super posh equipment, and the next we might just grab a GoPro and shoot in an alley. Making this video was rad because I got to drive all throughout every pocket of LA.
The Crooked Finger EP has been out for a hot second. What has the reaction been to it? The songs from the EP are really best experienced live at my shows. They’re really fun tunes to play and people seem to really connect with those songs when they hear them live. Everyone loves to sing along to the song “Fuck You.” Which is awesome.
If you could have any superhero help you promote your favorite song from the EP, who would you choose and why?
I would say Thor, I think! He always lays down the hammer. That’s what I strive for with my music: laying down hammers. “Touch The Sky” is my favorite song off the EP. It’s a hammer.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Rock n roll is the future. Come with me. I’ll take you there.
In the wake of the release of Broke Royals‘ emotion-filled video for “As Long As I Can See” – and in the direct lead up to the release of their self-titled album in November – we had a few very pointed questions for the band. Formed in 2014 shortly after graduating from the same University (William & Mary, but who’s keeping track?), Collin Cross asked Philip Basnight to record some demos at his recording studio so he could gauge interest from potential clients. But they immediately clicked with their music, and have developed into the duo we see before us today. As we prep for their upcoming folk-tinged pop/rock album, check out our brief interview – as well as their latest video – below!
What is the first song or album you ever remember hearing, and who introduced it to you?
Philip: The first song I remember hearing is Smokey Robinson’s “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me,” which is wild because it could be the best song ever recorded. It’s almost a bad thing haha. Where do you go from there?! It’s the perfect pop song. It was on a soundtrack that my family listened to in my house on Saturday mornings while we made waffles. Later, my cousin gave me a burned copy of The Stroke’s “Room On Fire.” That was the first album I owned myself. Again, my family helped me get off to a strong start. “Room On Fire” got heavy rotation in my discman.
Colin: My family listened to music constantly growing up. In all our early family videos and pictures we’re dancing (see attached). The first specific memory I have of this was sitting in our living room with AC/DC’s Back in Black album blaring and my dad air drumming and telling me how drummers play the kick drum with their feet. The first album I remember pronouncing my favorite was Third Eye Blind’s self-titled album. Another album showed to me by my parents, but 3eb is definitely a band that has a special space in the shared Broke Royals heart having been one of the first concerts Philip and I worked together when we were on our college’s programming board.
Inline image 1
Philip:
^^^Colin Cross… born to rock.
Colin:
… what’d ya say, Philip?
Broke Royals – as many know now – was kind of a happy accident musical project with you two. How has your process evolved since the early days?
Philip: Honestly, it’s not wildly different from the early days but it is very refined now. Things generally start with an acoustic demo and blossom from there. The studio process has evolved the most. A lot of the time, we have a sixth sense for the what the other is thinking. Whether it’s a tone or a production trick, once one of us starts to say an idea the other can usually finish the sentence. That’s a really exciting feeling.
Colin: Definitely agree with Philip 100% here. Our producer, John Naclerio, would always rib us for not fighting.
We imagine you spend quite some time together. Any pet peeves or interesting stories you’d like to shed light on about each other? (We want all your secrets!)
Philip: I know what I would say if I was Colin! I think I was late to every recording session for an entire year. I had to take 95 South to get to the studio and never once got my timing right. I listened to so many audiobooks that year. Also, I think Ben and Caleb, who are touring members of the band, get pretty tired of our obsession with tacos and coffee. Every time we’re in a new town, we have to find the best tacos and coffee.
Colin: Philip is OBSESSED with Ezra Keonig’s Beats One show “Time Crisis.” Anytime we’re on the road we’re listening to it full blast. Benji and Caleb get tired of my and Philip’s love for podcasts and audiobooks in general. We’re a funky bunch, but we’re certainly grandpas at heart.
Ooooo… Philip also can’t hang past like 10 pm if we’re out drinking. He’ll just start falling asleep at the bar. He’s learned to just pregame with coffee, though.
Philip: All true. Not ashamed. PS it’s KOENIG*, duh. #8minuteCapeCod
Your track “As Long As I Can See” is both beautiful in displayed vocal content, but has this almost hypnotic sound to it. What was the production process like for this track, and what specifically inspired it?
Philip: Thank you! The structure came together in the demo but the production really came together in the studio. We went up to NADA studio in New York because we knew John Naclerio could handle some of the bigger elements of the record. Colin’s drum parts and the guitar riffs came through really well with John.
Colin: The production on this song was really fun. We knew we wanted it to feel really sparse yet sonically full, so we used only one guitar take that we re-amped through several different amps to get a really wide, full stereo sound. John also really helped us bring out the space in this track in a beautifully subtle way.
How do you imagine people listening to this track?
Philip: To me, this song is the closest we’ve ever gotten to a club banger. It’s got heavy rock elements but I can still see people putting it on to dance. We like blurring genre-lines.
Colin: Definitely in the middle of the blizzard sitting a wingback chair. It’s a warm jam with a cold body.
Philip: I hope one day our Wikipedia page says “Broke Royals invented Blizzard Rock.”
Your self-titled debut is in the works. How does it feel to be getting ready to release that?
Philip: It feels great! We worked on this album for a long time and that can be exhausting but every time we release a new song or video we get to see it again through new eyes. That’s really when it becomes bigger than just us. Anyone who listens to the album will bring their own experiences and interpretations to it.
Colin: I’m so excited to get this bad boy out. Some of the unreleased tracks are my favorite we’ve ever written and I can’t wait to share them with everyone.
Who is your favorite superhero, and why?
Philip: Spider-Man. Even with all the movie reboots he’s been dragged through- I still love him. I was at “Spider-Man: Homecoming” on opening night. When I was growing up (before wikipedia) I had this giant book called “The Complete Guide To Spider-Man” and I read it so many times that it fell apart. Then my parents bought me a new copy but the same thing happened again. Superheroes are irresistible for kids with big imaginations. That was definitely me. I’ll always love Spidey. Man, I sound nerdy.
Colin: Batman. The idea of a superhero who could actually exist is great. I like to think that I’m just a few thousand push-ups and several billion dollars away from being him.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Philip: Anytime I get to mention Smokey Robinson in an interview, it’s been a success.
Colin: A studio session isn’t complete without a PB&J sandwich, coffee, and huge salad.
Philip: Very true. We are pro-Salad.
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Broke Royals is out November 17th. Follow Broke Royals’ pro-Salad adventures here.
