A little over a year ago, I was asked to be friends with a band called Deafheaven on Facebook. I didn't know anyone in that band, or anything about them, but they seemed nice enough, didn't SPAM the shit out of my news feed, so they remained my FB bros. Fast forward to now, after getting on some outstanding local shows and releasing a demo, they were picked up by Deathwish Inc, toured to SXSW, and found their unique brand of heavy yet dreamy black metal being well received by the masses at large. I ended up meeting the Deafheavendudes at a Lil B The Based God show in San Francisco, and after having an evening full of libations, yelling, moshing, and taking over a VIP bottle service table that as far as I know, none of us paid for (I know neither my friend Tommy, my roommate Greg, nor myself paid for it), we've remained friendly. Check em out:
I interviewed singer George LeSage for another online blog who never ran the story (which are the sort of frustrating music writer problems that lead to me starting Freelance Fiend), so I've decided to run it here. Their latest release, "Roads To Judah" is fucking killer, and available via Deathwish, from the band on tour, and probably from your nearest independent record store (unless it wilted away and died thanks to iTunes and the internet). Deafheaven are currently on the road through the end of July with Ken Mode. I'm pretty sure the final show of their tour is with Ringworm in Santa Cruz. Should be awesome. Anyway, without further ado...Deafheaven.
FF: You guys are a relatively new band. How did you guys get together and form Deafheaven?
GL: The band started as a project between our guitar player Kerry, and I. We recorded our demo with only having aspirations as having the band be a studio project. As time went along and we were met with new opportunities, it came time to find other members. We did that and now Deafheaven is a five member band who collectively make up the sounds on our new record.
FF: You guys play black metal and are associated with the hardcore scene to some degree, both being subgenres that can be incredibly resistant to change and innovation. You've shared bills with more traditional bands of both genres. Have you had trouble finding a place for yourselves in both musical contexts? Has the reception been warm, cold, or a mixed bag?
GL: We started this band as a means to play music we enjoy. A lot of people will say we're this or that, but at the end of the day, that's their opinion on our 'genre', not ours. We play with a variety of bands as well, but only because we're apt to and I enjoy it. In a musical context, I don't have any problem with finding a place for ourselves. Again, we do what we want and any genre segregation will only come from listeners. It seems as though the reception for the band has been either we're loved or hated. I don't pay much attention.
FF: Was garnering the momentum and notoriety as fast as you did expected?
GL: No, not at all. I'm still not completely certain on how much notoriety we've even encountered, but whenever we're in a new place or just talking with a new person and they ask, "So how are you dealing with all the hype around you guys lately?", I just think to myself, "...is there really THAT much hype?" That being said, I appreciate all the attention we've received over the past year. I've had a few surreal moments in the last couple of months, especially.
FF: What are some of your favorite bands to play with?
GL: Not very local, but The Funeral Pyre, Touche Amore, and Bosse de Nage. Those are my top three.
FF: Have you received any backlash in regards to how quickly you guys have come up?
GL: Actually, no. Well, none that I've encountered. Critics seem too fixated on the way I dress or comb my hair to worry about how fast we've come up.
FF: How did you guys get hooked up with Deathwish Inc?
GL: When our demo started picking up in circulation around the blogosphere, Deathwish had taken notice of it. We started playing shows and after our third or fourth one, received an email from them in regards to releasing something. It's been a pleasure since then.
FF: You guys did a number of shows at SXSW. Did you prefer playing the SXSW official events or the off the cuff house shows that bands often end up playing in Austin outside of the event itself?
GL: Both offer different things. The official events and parties lend to meeting a ton of great (mostly music industry related) people who have a genuine interest in your band and that's always fun. Plus you play with bands you've admired and have never had a chance to see until then. For us, the house shows were more of an opportunity to play to a crowd that was unfamiliar with us, as we played with bands that varied a lot from style to style. The house shows were fantastic though. You can't go wrong with house shows.
FF: What's the rest of 2011 look like for Deafheaven?
GL: Just waiting out the next couple of weeks until the new record comes out and touring from then on. Just announced our June tour with KEN Mode and our appearance at Sound and Fury in July, both of which I'm excited for. The Fall looks to be very promising as well.
FF: Any last words/shout outs/disses?
Gl: Just thank you to those who took the time to read this and for everyone's support over the last year. It's been overwhelming.
For extra measure, here's a full Deafheaven live set from a show at Vacation Vinyl in Los Angeles from March 4th, 2011. Cop their record and go to their shows because as we all can see here, they're fucking awesome.
Showing posts with label Shoegaze. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shoegaze. Show all posts
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Anne - Keeping Shoegaze Alive and Well in the Pacific Northwest
A few months ago, two bands who happen to be friends of mine began working with A389 Records for upcoming releases, and found themselves on a free downloadable compilation with, from what I gather, are a bunch of bands A389 is either planning on working with or bands that they are currently listening to around the office. One of these friends in particular is far more into and involved with hardcore music and some of the non-musical elements that accompany it, and via a 2:00 AM instant messenger debate, started to think that my general lack of interest in hardcore (that is mostly a result of finding other genres of extreme music more fulfilling) was me taking a "been there, done that, my old days were the best" attitude regarding the current hardcore music and its bands. I am most certainly an asshole, and very picky about bands I will and will not listen to, but not the sort of asshole who acts like bands hardcore bands I saw/liked who came and went mean more than any current band does those still slugging it out in the pit. To prove to him that I wasn't being an old dude who "can't hang with the crap the new kids are putting out", I reviewed the comp for him track by track on my other blog. I did my best to review each track entirely based on what I heard, and even when it was something that wasn't my particular cup of tea, worked to keep that bias out of describing what I heard. Here is the original post with my reviews:
http://99milesofbadroad.blogspot.com/2011/03/a389-mixtape-song-by-song-review.html
I wasn't overly impressed by the comp in its entirety, but one of the featured bands completely blew me away. This band is called Anne, and on a compilation loaded heavily with aggressive punk, hardcore, and metal, their 90s throwback, heavy yet shoegazer indie rock was in stark contrast to their excessively brutal compilation-mates, and would stand out just as much on a compilation that wasn't stacked up with heavy hitters like Integrity, Ringworm, Rot In Hell, and Pulling Teeth.
Upon discovering this gem buried in the middle of this A389 comp, I pressed my friends in bands involved with the label for any info regarding Anne in terms of tours/releases/history. For the most part, my friends didn't know a whole lot about this mystery mellow band other than they were fucking awesome. Luckily, I'm a bit of a nerd and happen to have a lot of time on my hands, so it didn't take long for me to find their website (www.annepdx.com), downloaded Mixtape 1, and play the living shit out of it around my house. I forwarded their demo and their info to several friends with musical tastes ranging from heavy and aggressive all the way to 90s alternative/indie obsessed. As far as I know, there hasn't been a single person I've played for who hasn't instantly become a fan of the band.
Mixtape 1 is four songs that are melodic yet melancholy, synth heavy, and have an overall dreamy, foggy feel to them. Even their more upbeat songs like "Stripping" and "Perfect Teeth" exude dark, sorrowful undertones not unlike The Stone Roses, Hum, or My Bloody Valentine. Each song on Mixtape 1 takes on a life of its own, while still giving the four song release that feeling of each song flowing seemlessly into the next.
Due to my haphazard internet stumble, I read that Anne was to embark upon a short West Coast tour that began on Thursday, 6/9/11 in Santa Cruz and wrapped up on 6/12/11 in Oakland. I made a point to catch both the Santa Cruz and Oakland shows, and was totally blown away by the how well the band translated their unique heavy shoegaze sound as a live experience not unlike what you hear when you listen to Anne on record. One of the many pitfalls of playing effects/electronic heavy rock is being unable to recreate that music you make in the studio outside of the studio, and Anne is making this look easy at the "demo" stage of their career, which leads me to believe it will only get easier for them to branch out in the studio while staying true to their sound as their recording budgets grow. The west coast tour also featured Bay Area locals Whirl, who I am guilty of not checking out yet, so I can't comment on how Anne stacked up compared to them, but I can say with total confidence that Anne completely smoked Santa Cruz jokesters Wolf Feet who opened the 105 Pioneer St show, and elevated the psychedelic mood set by The Chaw, a Concord band who played before them at Mama Buzz in Oakland.
In addition to some sweet merch (including an awesome mock black metal design t-shirt), I grabbed Anne's Demo 2010. They were hoping to have a 7 inch version of the Mixtape 1 material with them, but alas, vinyl pressing and timeliness don't often go hand in hand, so the 7 inch is to expected from the band in the near future. Demo 2010 has five songs that are a touch more raw than the Mixtape 1 material, but still very much stay true to that melancholy, dreamy sound this fledgling band is developing. The guitars and synths sound much less blended on Demo 2010, which offers musically inclined assholes like myself to get a clearer understanding of their chops and how/what they are playing/effects they are utilizing. Demo 2010 is a touch easier on the ears for those not as rooted in the extreme side of music, but is still a far cry from being lumped in with so many uninspiring and contrived bands many would consider their peers.
Their website has links to their homemade videos on YouTube as well as links to download Mixtape 1. The band just completed a West Coast tour, which means unfortunately that they probably won't be back on the road until fall, but they are by far one of the best bands I've heard and seen in 2011, and are highly recommended if you like your music dynamic and heart-wrenching, and somewhat nodding to past greats like My Bloody Valentine, The Cure, or The Stone Roses.
http://99milesofbadroad.blogspot.com/2011/03/a389-mixtape-song-by-song-review.html
I wasn't overly impressed by the comp in its entirety, but one of the featured bands completely blew me away. This band is called Anne, and on a compilation loaded heavily with aggressive punk, hardcore, and metal, their 90s throwback, heavy yet shoegazer indie rock was in stark contrast to their excessively brutal compilation-mates, and would stand out just as much on a compilation that wasn't stacked up with heavy hitters like Integrity, Ringworm, Rot In Hell, and Pulling Teeth.
Upon discovering this gem buried in the middle of this A389 comp, I pressed my friends in bands involved with the label for any info regarding Anne in terms of tours/releases/history. For the most part, my friends didn't know a whole lot about this mystery mellow band other than they were fucking awesome. Luckily, I'm a bit of a nerd and happen to have a lot of time on my hands, so it didn't take long for me to find their website (www.annepdx.com), downloaded Mixtape 1, and play the living shit out of it around my house. I forwarded their demo and their info to several friends with musical tastes ranging from heavy and aggressive all the way to 90s alternative/indie obsessed. As far as I know, there hasn't been a single person I've played for who hasn't instantly become a fan of the band.
Mixtape 1 is four songs that are melodic yet melancholy, synth heavy, and have an overall dreamy, foggy feel to them. Even their more upbeat songs like "Stripping" and "Perfect Teeth" exude dark, sorrowful undertones not unlike The Stone Roses, Hum, or My Bloody Valentine. Each song on Mixtape 1 takes on a life of its own, while still giving the four song release that feeling of each song flowing seemlessly into the next.
Due to my haphazard internet stumble, I read that Anne was to embark upon a short West Coast tour that began on Thursday, 6/9/11 in Santa Cruz and wrapped up on 6/12/11 in Oakland. I made a point to catch both the Santa Cruz and Oakland shows, and was totally blown away by the how well the band translated their unique heavy shoegaze sound as a live experience not unlike what you hear when you listen to Anne on record. One of the many pitfalls of playing effects/electronic heavy rock is being unable to recreate that music you make in the studio outside of the studio, and Anne is making this look easy at the "demo" stage of their career, which leads me to believe it will only get easier for them to branch out in the studio while staying true to their sound as their recording budgets grow. The west coast tour also featured Bay Area locals Whirl, who I am guilty of not checking out yet, so I can't comment on how Anne stacked up compared to them, but I can say with total confidence that Anne completely smoked Santa Cruz jokesters Wolf Feet who opened the 105 Pioneer St show, and elevated the psychedelic mood set by The Chaw, a Concord band who played before them at Mama Buzz in Oakland.
In addition to some sweet merch (including an awesome mock black metal design t-shirt), I grabbed Anne's Demo 2010. They were hoping to have a 7 inch version of the Mixtape 1 material with them, but alas, vinyl pressing and timeliness don't often go hand in hand, so the 7 inch is to expected from the band in the near future. Demo 2010 has five songs that are a touch more raw than the Mixtape 1 material, but still very much stay true to that melancholy, dreamy sound this fledgling band is developing. The guitars and synths sound much less blended on Demo 2010, which offers musically inclined assholes like myself to get a clearer understanding of their chops and how/what they are playing/effects they are utilizing. Demo 2010 is a touch easier on the ears for those not as rooted in the extreme side of music, but is still a far cry from being lumped in with so many uninspiring and contrived bands many would consider their peers.
Their website has links to their homemade videos on YouTube as well as links to download Mixtape 1. The band just completed a West Coast tour, which means unfortunately that they probably won't be back on the road until fall, but they are by far one of the best bands I've heard and seen in 2011, and are highly recommended if you like your music dynamic and heart-wrenching, and somewhat nodding to past greats like My Bloody Valentine, The Cure, or The Stone Roses.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)