Interviews: The Voyces

NYC’s The Voyces are a five piece band led by singer/songwriter Brian Wurschum and featuring vocalist Jude Kastle, guitarist Steve Dawson, bassist Frank Carreno, and drummer Eric Puente. On May 8th they are set to follow up their international hit single “Relate To Me”(which was featured on Jack Johnson’s Thicker Than Water Soundtrack) with their debut LP on Planting Seeds Records‘ titled “Kissing Like It’s Love” – it’s a fine blend of 70s AM radio pop and pure California folk/country rock…

If you were making a mix for our readers, what would be the first three songs you’d select?
BRIAN: Camarillo Brillo – Frank Zappa; The Rover – Led Zeppelin; Till The End Of Time – DeVotchKa

JUDE: Our songs: Top of My Lungs, Canyon Ladies, You Can Not Know; Other peoples songs: Fat Bottom Girls Queen IOU Replacements Love Hurts or Hair Of the Dog Nazereth

STEVE: That is an impossible question to answer correctly, but this week, I’ve been listening to “Coming Up” by Paul Mccartney, “Dissident” by Pearl Jam and “Slit Skirts” by Pete Townshend.

ERIC: sex machine – james brown; now it’s on – grandaddy; last goodbye – jeff buckley

Name any musical influence(s)?
BRIAN: Lyrically: Roger Waters, Walter Becker, Randy Newman; Musically: Just mentioning Simon & Garfunkel and Judas Priest should about cover this.

JUDE: The Church, Rod Stewart, The Beatles, Styx, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, The Cure, Koko Taylor, Pat Benetar, The Eagles, Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Cowboy Junkies, Lucinda Williams, Willie Nelson…….way too many to mention

STEVE: Frank Zappa , Paul Westerberg, Joni Mitchell, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Elvis Costello. Growing up, it was Kiss, Rush, AC/DC & Van Halen.

ERIC: peter gabriel, steely dan, yes, missing persons, steve gadd

What new music are you currently listening to?
BRIAN: Jay – Z, Jenny Lewis.

JUDE: Kissing Like It’s Love> The Voyces, Lucinda Williams >West

STEVE: These days, Guided By Voices, Deerhoof, although they are not so new anymore. Some others i cannot think of at this moment. via audio is a great unsigned band from massachsettes. they re-located to NYC.

ERIC: peter gabriel, steely dan, yes, missing persons, steve gadd

Name a band (current or defunct) that would be your dream act to open for on a major tour?
BRIAN: I do not have one. The bands I love the most do not have opening acts. To me, that is part of their allure. So I do not dream of opening for anyone.

JUDE: The Eagles

STEVE: probably David Bowie. The Who, maybe. Led Zeppelin. I don’t know. That is something i don’t ever think about.

ERIC: i would have liked to open at Woodstock, or any Lollapalooza.

Who, if anyone, would you like to collaborate with?
BRIAN: Jude Kastle, Steve Dawson, Frank Carreno & Eric Puente.

JUDE: Rick Ruben/ Tom Petty

STEVE: Maybe Robert Pollard. Pink Floyd, back in the days of meddle, saucerful, etc… I collaborate with Brian Wurschum of The Voyces and Randy Lord & James Lord of The Fuzz Haunted & that makes me very happy.

ERIC: Frank Zappa

Tell us something about you that we can’t find on Google.
BRIAN: Any of the details concerning the absolutely insane week I have just had; my opinions about string theory.

JUDE: I was ran over by my dad when i was 2 years old, i almost died and he became a preacher.

STEVE: I don’t wear underwear. you may google it soon, if this prints online, though.

ERIC: I played drums in my high school marching band in the Syracuse Carrier Dome – same place the Rolling Stones played.

 

Interviews: Helena Josefsson

Perhaps there’s something in the water, I don’t know, but Sweden has been generating a wave of great artists in all sorts of genres these past years, such as The Knife, Marit Bergman and Peter Bjorn & John. The latest rising star from the north is Helena Josefsson, who’s debut album “Dynamo” recently hit the stores. Taking the liberty to describe her music myself, I would ask you to imagine Kate Bush, Björk and perhaps Regina Spektor collaborating together. Just check out the video below for Helena’s first single, “By Your Side” and you’ll see what I mean. First though, take a moment to read some of this former chewing gum junkie’s own words:

If you were making a mix for our readers, what would be the first three songs you’d select?
A mix from my own music would be:
Meadow and Sleepyhead from “Dynamo”
and Spiderweb Suit from Sandy Mouche´s latest album )

And if it was other music, I could choose
True Colors with Cyndi Lauper
Hello Earth with Kate Bush
Samson with Regina Spektor

Name any musical influence(s)?
I have a lot of different influences even though I´ve understood it can be hard to hear them in the music!
The Cure (fell in love with Robert Smith when I was a kid and I saw him in the “Close to me” video!)
Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Marie Fredriksson, Monica Zetterlund, Björk, Kate Bush, Cranberries, Michael Jackson (fell in love with him too!), Mary J Blige, Otis Redding,
Terence Trent D´arby, Nick Drake, Prince. The soundtracks of Astrid Lindgrens stories, and Peter and The Wolf by Prokofjev mean a great deal to me!

What new music are you currently listening to?
I like Joanna Newsom, Jay Jay Johanson, Regina Spektor, Laleh. Prince´s and Kate Bush´s latest albums are fantastic!!

Name a band (current or defunct) that would be your dream act to open for on a major tour?
I think that my music could match Coldplay or U2 tours, I like to make long mantras at the end of my songs live, and that way of forcing the athmosphere is in their music too!

Who, if anyone, would you like to collaborate with?
I would like to produce an album with Prince. I would like to bring my band and Christoffer Lunquist, producer of Dynamo. I believe it could be a fantastic match!
I love the way Prince uses clustres in the vocals and I think his pop-songs (not the funky ones) have something in them that I am trying to do too!

Tell us something about you that we can’t find on Google.
I love dancing: flamenco is my latest discovery, but I love the aggression in hip-hop dancing, too!
And one more thing!
When I was around 6 years old I adored chewing gum so much I would scratch off the ones on the ground:o) You know the white things one the asphalt that have been stepped on. And then I would chew them. And I asked my best friend My if I could take hers when she didn´t want it anymore )

Helena Josefsson’s MySpace

 

SXSW Interviews: Hot Live Guys

Amongst canadian Indie labels heading south in a few days is Transistor 66 Record Co. These guys are from my local town of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and consist of the province’s top alt and rock acts.

Before they head out in a few days with the Manitoban contingent, I had a talk with Mike, the Hot Live Guys drummer who is both excited and anxious to scorch his lungs to american cigarettes and enjoy some light american beers on his first time in Texas.

Name any musical influence(s)?
Sir Lord Baltimore, Nazareth, Andrew W.K., Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Prince

What new music are you currently listening to?
This is me speaking for myself and some of these albums may not be that new: Dragonforce – “Inhuman Rampage”, Electro Quarterstaff – “Gretzky”, Landshark (Of the Forest)- “Booze Your Delusions Vol. 1 and 2”, Covert – “S/T”

Name a band (current or defunct) that would be your dream act to open for on a major tour? Van Halen.

Where and when was, according to you, the best show you ever played?
Hmmmm…….there’s two that really stand out but only because of my habit of embarrassing myself…Juno-Fest 2005…Packed show at the Albert….On-Stage Carnage-Both musically and physically (I ended up getting 30 stitches in my back due to an errant back-flip…..Also, Western Canadian Music Awards Showcase 2006…..Got us a couple of industry contacts (Notibly Brent from SXSW)….every act on our record label played that night so it was like a family reunion….Ended up naked in a tub of ice at the end of the evening (Like a family reunion)

Who, if anyone, would you like to collaborate with?
We’re not really a band that collaborates well with others. We were absent on that day in Kindergarten when they taught you how to share.

Tell us something about your band and its members and how you were all brought together to create this band.
This question makes me want to submit an artistically worded response but instead will submit “Mike’s 10-Step Guide to Forming a Band”-

1: Take 1 shitty ska-funk band and a drummer from a punk band
2: Ska-Funk band loses horns, decides to start playing REALLY riffy garage rock, Drummer leaves punk band
3: Drummer from punk band starts going to shows after a 3 year hiatus and notices that shitty ska-funk band is still around
4: Former Drummer for punk band goes to formerly ska-funk band’s show, decides they’re not as bad as they used to be
5: Former Drummer for punk band joins NOW garage rock band as roadie, tries to convince them to kick out drummer
6: Former Drummer for punk band embarrasses garage-rock band on tour by being a wee bit of a drunk
7: Former Drummer for punk band becomes drummer for garage rock band after drummer he tried to get kicked out quits
8: Transistor 66 Records signs garage-rock band after TERRIBLE performance for Hank Fest
9: Garage Rock Band and Record Label officially become “Blood Brothers” by way of a CD titled “Robbin A Bank”
10: World Conquest and Languishing Devotees follow

What’s next for Hot Live Guys?
SXSW, Touring with C’mon and Pride Tiger this summer, We’ve got a 7” project we’ve been working on for sometime, and hopefully we’ll finally go to Iceland and Julian can give the Prime Minister his guitar and I can meet Bjork

MySpace
Band Site
Transistor 66 Record Co.

 

Interviews: Linda Draper

Linda Draper is set to release her fifth studio LP on May 8. Keepsake is the follow up to her 2005 Planting Seeds debut One Two Three Four which was produced by Kramer (Galaxie 500, Low, Sonic Youth, Urge Overkill, etc) – She is quickly receiving praise and new fans from the likes of Dean Wareham (Luna, Dean & Britta, Galaxie 500 etc), Regina Spektor (Sire Records) among others…

If you were making a mix for our readers, what would be the first three songs you’d select?
Blind Melon ‘No Rain’; The Jesus and Mary Chain ‘Just Like Honey’; Joni
Mitchell (‘Both Sides Now’ Album version) ‘A Case Of You’

Name any musical influence(s)?
Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Nick Drake…there’s always more, but those are the first that come to mind.

What new music are you currently listening to?
Juana Molina, Dean & Britta, Joanna Newsome, and Julie Sokolow.

Name a band (current or defunct) that would be your dream act to open for on a major tour?
Luna/Dean & Britta

Who, if anyone, would you like to collaborate with?
Eminem. I want to be his next Dido. Just kidding. I don’t know. I’m open to suggestion. It would be a dream come true if I could collaborate with Leonard Cohen, or Tom Waits, Sunday Smoke Kit…or pull a Mazzy Star and sing something with JAMC.

Tell us something about you that we can’t find on Google.
Is that a trick question? Because once this interview gets posted in your blog, then someone could find it through Google, so whatever I say would be irrelevent? Hmm…how postmodern of us. (Insert smiley face emoticon). I guess something you can’t find on Google about me (up till now) is that sometimes I have a tendency to overanalyze things.

MySpace
Download: “Shine”

 

Interviews: Pop Levi

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Pop Levi. If you haven’t heard of this guy yet, watch out, cause he’s coming to get you.

Here is an exerpt from a billions.com bio:

“The average musician who sits down and decides to write a song,” says Pop Levi, with absolute certainty, “gets out their guitar, and then goes into a studio to record it, well, there’s something dead about all that. It’s why music is the state it’s in. And everyone knows it.” He pauses to let his message sink in. “But there’s another way of looking at that. You study what you’re doing to the point of obsession, cutting and pasting ideas, and reducing things to mathematics, stealing magick from Marvin Gaye as well as Michael Jackson. There is magick afoot. Someone like Little Richard dressed in mirrors and sequins on stage – that definitely involves magick. Hendrix was heavy into magick, The Beatles, Dylan, Syd Barrett. I’ve always been into these ways, you know.”

As you can see, Pop’s view on music is somewhat based on the esoteric philosophies of the likes of Alleister Crowley, who’s influence in music is often undermined, but that’s a story for another day. Pop Levi makes music like nothing I’ve heard before and he kindly replied to the rocksellout.com interview earlier today:

If you were making a mix for our readers, what would be the first three songs you’d select?
1/ Bo Diddley – Doing The Crawdaddy
2/ Moondog – Viking 1
3/ Pop Levi – Skip Ghetto [Hollywood Version]

Name any musical influence(s)?
Delia Derbyshire taught me everything I know.

Where does your artist/band name originate from?
Pop Levi is my real name. First name is Robert, middle name is Pop, after the 19th Enochian Aethyr, and last name is Levi, from a long line of Lithuanian Jews. The band I play with are called ‘Woman’.

What new music are you currently listening to?
I’m listening to Biltone – check him out on MySpace. Crucial sonics.

Name a band (current or defunct) that would be your dream act to open for on a major tour? Kurt Weill’s original cast of ‘Die Dreigroschenoper’ from Berlin, 1930 – now that was an astral show!

Who, if anyone, would you like to collaborate with?
I want to produce the next Bob Dylan record in a cave in Lanzarote.

Tell us something about you that we can’t find on Google.
I always touch things seven times before I can feel safe around them.

Pop Levi is currently in the middle of a north american tour including dates at Austin’s SXSW and Coachella:
Thu 3/1/07 Portland, OR Lola’s Crystal Ballroom
Sat 3/3/07 Vancouver, BC Pat’s Pub
Sun 3/4/07 Victoria, BC Lucky Bar
Tue 3/6/07 Chicago, IL Schuba’s
Wed 3/7/07 London, ON Call the Office
Fri 3/9/07 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace ^
Sat 3/10/07 Montreal, QC Cabaret Music Hall
Sun 3/11/07 Allston, MA Great Scott
Tue 3/13/07 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
Thu 3/15/07 Austin, TX The Ale House $
Sat 4/28/07 Indio, CA Coachella Music Festival
^ Part of Rogers Wireless Canadian Music Week 2007
$ SXSW – Billions showcase

Check him and his band out if you can!

MySpace
Official Site

 

Interviews: Islands

If you were making a mix for our readers, what would be the first three songs you’d select?
1. John Cage – Imaginary Landscapes
2. Stockhausen – Kontakte for Electric Sounds
3. Bjork – 5 years

Name any musical influence(s)?
Steve Reich, but some people say Terry Riley

What new music are you currently listening to?
Lutoslawski

Name a band (current or defunct) that would be your dream act to open for on a major tour?
I think opening for John Cage would be pretty cool.

Who, if anyone, would you like to collaborate with?
If Ghostface asked us, we wouldn’t think twice. Unlike other bands that I’ve heard refusing to work with him.

Tell us something about you that we can’t find on Google.
Nick and Patrick cut their hair at this guy named Dan in downtown Montreal, Aaron goes to this guy named Sheldon. Alex is practising the Glazunov violin Concerto, Seb is doing the Glass. Patrice works for the circus.

Band
MySpace

 

Interviews: Capital Sons

If you were making a mix for our readers, what would be the first three songs you’d select?
Gary: Intro/Mr. Triscuits — Todd Rundgren’s Utopia “Another Live”, Linger — Jonatha Brooke “Steady Pull”, Sweet Dark Angel — Dada “Dada”
Karl: “Desire” – Ryan Adams, “Crazy” – Afghan Whigs, “Thirteen”- Big star

Name any musical influence(s)?
Gary: Todd Rundgren, Michael Schenker, Jimmy Page, Gabor Szabo
Karl: Paul Westerberg, Ryan Adams, David Bowie, John Lennon

What new music are you currently listening to?
Gary: Mastodon, Killers, Hot Hot Heat, Wolfmother, Imogene Heap
Keefe: The Hold Steady ‐ Boys and Girls in America, Ben Harper ‐ Both Sides of the Gun, Ray LaMontagne ‐ Till the Sun Turns Black, Twilight Singers ‐ Powder Burns

Name a band (current or defunct) that would be your dream act to open for on a major tour?
Gary: Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones…hey, dream big, I say!
Karl: The Clash, The Replacements, The Beatles, The Who, Jimi Hendrix

Who, if anyone, would you like to collaborate with?
Gary: Dan Wilson, Josh Freese, Slash, Lenny Kravitz
Karl: Ryan Adams, Duran Duran (I’m a longtime fan), Joe Strummer (Rest In Peace)

Tell us something about you that we can’t find on Google.
Gary: Nude pics of me…
Karl: Thank God for that. Just kidding Gary.

Band
MySpace
Download: “Miss Understood”

 

Interviews: The Idiots

If you were making a mix for our readers, what would be the first three songs you’d select?
Others songs:
Summertime Blues – Eddie Cochran
Maybelline – Chuck Berry
Have Love, Will Travel – The Sonics

Our songs:
1 – 2 – 3 – 4
I Want You
Lemonade Stand

Name any musical influence(s)?
Ringo Starr, The Kinks, The Clash, The Who, Linda Ronstadt, The Stooges, The Doors, Buddy Holly, The Dave Clark Five, The Sonics, Jimmy Walker, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Buddy Guy, The Association, The Velvet Underground, Napoleon, The Grass Roots, The Boxtops, The Ramones, Jasper Van Houten, The Pogues, Clarence Carter, Jesus, JoyFocus, Billy Squire

What new music are you currently listening to?
Mike: Cold War Kids
Brian: White Stripes
Kevin: Kings of Leon
Charlie: Elton John & Kiki Dee

Name a band (current or defunct) that would be your dream act to open for on a major tour?
Mike: The Who – 1970
Brian: The Clash – 1979
Kevin: The Strokes – 2003
Charlie: INXS – 1986

Who, if anyone, would you like to collaborate with?
Mike: Rick Rubin
Brian: Danger Mouse
Kevin: Jack White
Charlie: Beastie Boys

Tell us something about you that we can’t find on Google.
Mike: Once voted most likely to win in a truth telling contest
Brian: “Mr Pibb and Red Vines equals crazy delicious!”
Kevin: Hates chocolate
Charlie: Invented Dr Pepper floats

MySpace

 

Interviews: J. Vega from The Speeds

If you were making a mix for our readers, what would be the first three songs you’d select?
a mix of other people’s songs? “angel of death” by slayer (metal); “return of the grevious angel” by gram parsons (country); and “loveshack” by the b-52’s (pop)

or of our songs? “mean that”, “ask me if i care”, “how i got so tired”

Name any musical influence(s)?
Kinks. Clash. Stones. Fugazi. Big Star. Bowie. Blur. Television. Beatles. Oasis. Swervedriver. Pixies.

What new music are you currently listening to?
the killers, of montreal, shins, redwalls, sugarcult

Name a band (current or defunct) that would be your dream act to open for on a major tour?
oasis or led zeppelin

Who, if anyone, would you like to collaborate with?
adam franklin, elvis costello, gram parsons

Tell us something about you that we can’t find on Google.

we’ve kept secret as much as possible from the great
evil of google, and we’re not about to blatantly divulge anything confidential in any other forum!

MySpace

 

Interviews: LG from Dead Leaf Echo

If you were making a mix for our readers, what would be the first three songs you’d select?
Poison Lips
Walking Away
Shell of Love

Name any musical influence(s)?
U2, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Greg Dulli, Afghan Whigs,Twilight Singers, Low, Morphine, Joy Division, New Order, Depeche Mode, The Church, The Pychedelic Furs, Stone Roses, Cocteau Twins, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Happy Mondays, Eno, James, Scrawl, Husker Du, Sugar, Bob Mould, The Pixies, Frank Black, Buzzcocks, Smashing Pumpkins, Modest Mouse, The Walkmen, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, My Bloody Valentine, Blonde Redhead, Bauhaus, Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Tricky, Massive Attack, The Baby Namboos, Swervedriver, Ride, Doves, Ned’s, Pale Saints, Lush

What new music are you currently listening to?
Autumn Theives, Soundpool, Project Skyward, Her Vanished Grace, Elika, Mahogany, Monocle, Bell Hollow, ( All New York Local bands.)

The new Twilight Singers album

Name a band (current or defunct) that would be your dream act to open for on a major tour?
Someone we could compliment and connect with the audience, maybe Pale Saints, New Order or Doves?

Who, if anyone, would you like to collaborate with?
Just hope to collaborate with friend’s bands, for now!

Tell us something about you that we can’t find on Google.
Dead Leaf Echo hopes one day to play a show in the middle of a Desert.

Band
MySpace
Download: “Poison Lips”