It’s our one month anniversary! Yay!! We’re still tweaking and experimenting but we hope you’ve enjoyed the web series so far! This week on Episode 4 of MWL Live viewers can look forward to an interview with Tony Dekker of Great Lake Swimmers, a feature of Alabama Shakes at Live on the Green in Nashville, TN +++ plus a sweet projections in a user submission of Snaykhunt & RAFT ++ much more!
Keep submitting your show footage to katie@musicwithoutlabels.com!
Rifle Recoil is many things… fun and witty, entertaining, engaging… Above all Rifle Recoil is a damn good time. I met Jeff and Bryan Keller at Monster Island Basement, sheeze… kind of a long time ago… where is time going? Anyway, they played a Showpaper Benefit Show/some girls birthday extravaganza. I was working the door so I couldn’t see them playing but I could hear the music and there were lots of people bippin’ and boppin’ frolicking about the dark and dusty dance floor. I was intrigued. I tried to focus on capturing the biggest centipede I’d ever seen as it weaved between my boots but I had to let him go, I handed my ink pad over… I had to join the party.
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Sea of Bees
Since then Jeff and Bryan have picked up a bad ass bassits, Andy, and have continued to pick up the pace as far as getting their shit out there. I’ve seen them play a lot of great shows in Brooklyn this past year. Seeing them live gives me the same feeling I get when I’m about to go to a much anticipated wedding reception. Does that make sense? Assuming everyone attends weddings in hopes of a fun reception… dance, get wasted and be merry? Yeah, I thought so… well their live shows give me the same “it’s gonna be a good night” vibe. A big party packed with friends and some of the most lively and imaginative re-vamped covers I’ve ever heard/listened/danced to. I’m smiling just thinking about how nice, fun and groove these guys are. Have a listen, book them for your birthday party. It’s like… snorting a bunch of Pixie Stix and listening to the song you lost your first kiss to.
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Bad Girl
MWL: So Rifle Recoil… Let me try to get this right… you, Jeff, started the band. And moved to Brooklyn to play more shows, right? When did you decide to start playing with Bryan?
JK: Yeah exactly, Bryan and I started playing in January of 2010. We actually are very recently now a three piece with Andy Chugg on Bass, who also plays drums in the band Crinkles.
MWL: Where are you from originally?
JK: I am from Arlington, VA and Bryan is from Wilmington, NC and Andy is from Vergennes, VT.
MWL: Do you remember the first time you picked up an instrument? I guess what I want to know is when did you recognize your passion for creating music?
JK: The other guys aren’t here but I first picked up guitar by taking lessons in middle school. At that time I mostly just wanted to be able to play covers of songs I liked, but when I was in high school I started writing my own material.
MWL: Who does the primary songwriting? How do you go about this process?
JK: Right now the way that we’ve been writing is I’ll come to practice with a germ of a song and then we develop it into a full-band song.
MWL: You have some fun and funky covers, and some other tracks that are your own. Do you have a favorite song to play?
JK: I think out of all of the originals and covers we most consistently enjoy playing our cover of Prototype by Outkast.
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Prototype
MWL: What is your Prototype?
JK: Ha ha, probably a robot with bangs.
MWL: What is the most bizarre/fucked up thing that has ever happened at a show?
JK: This was before Bryan and Andy were in the band but a few years ago I played a house show in New Jersey at this place called the Whiskey Barn and there was a shirtless guy there who everyone told me was blackout drunk, plus had taken some acid that night and he was right in my face chanting “hail Satan” for the bulk of my set. Afterwards I found out he was a pretty nice guy.
MWL: That is bizarre. So, your shows are upbeat and everyone has a great time dancing, I love that. Like the Homecoming Dance at 285- so much fun, you guys were decked out in some pretty snazzy suits, the perfect band to play that event. I must say I was impressed. How would you describe your shows, visually and musically?
JK: When everything goes right, like that Y2K party in the jungle from the video for Waiting for Tonight by J-Lo. Visually and musically.
MWL: Do you remember your first show together? Total disaster or did all go as planned? Wait; does anything ever go as planned?
JK: Our first show together went really well, it’s on Vimeo! >>> HERE <<<
MWL: Any favorite bands or musicians you like to play with? Who are your buddy bands??
JK: Bryan’s band SoftSpot is one of my favorite bands right now and it’s always fun when we play shows together even though it means he has twice as much work. Andy’s band Crinkles is really great as well I love all those guys and I love the vocal harmonies in their songs. Bryan and I are big fans of Beacon who also have a penchant for reworked cover songs.
MWL: What is your favorite venue to play?
JK: Glasslands.
MWL: I like to ask what is your least favorite but I won’t make you…..
JK: Madison Square Garden is just, I just never feel like we sound good in there. The acoustics are terrible.
MWL: What else do you do in life? When you’re not playing music…. OR doing sound! You do sound at Cake shop still, right? What else do you do? Juggle, puzzles, yoga?
JK: Yeah actually I can juggle and do yoga sometimes at YTTP on St. Marks. I’m not much for puzzles. I play a lot of B-Type Tetris.
MWL: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
JK: Prince, The Microphones, and Gary Wilson. Non-musical would probably be empanadas.
MWL: What are you listening to these days?? Any recommendations? Old and new suggestions are welcome. You can’t say “everything”… that’s a cop out.
JK: I’m a very big fan of Cass McCombs and Dent May. I don’t think Dent May has half the following he deserves. I’m excited for the new Holiday Shores record they are going in a really interesting new direction. There is an amazing band called Distractions that are based out of Chicago that have really great group vocal harmonies. I like this band from LA called Knight Rider that makes great tunes. Ryan Power from Burlington, VT has a record coming out called I Don’t Want To Die that is absolutely incredible. Hume from DC are putting out a new record soon that I’m dying to hear. Little Women is a band that I saw live recently and it actually brought me to tears it was so amazing, if you get a chance to see them live it’ll change your life. I am a huge fan of Twin Sister but so is everyone right? Oh and TwinSisterMoon from France that actually existed before Twin Sister has an amazing 7″ called Bride of the Spirits that is really great that came out a few years ago. I listen to the new Com Truise record a bunch. I love John Maus. The new single from SoftSpot that will be coming out soon is incredible it’s called The Cleansing Hour.
MWL: What’s new with you? Anything in the making? Recording anything new, videos, planning any tours?
JK: We are in the process of recording a new EP of some of our more recent songs. We will probably tour late spring once the EP is finished.
MWL: How do you feel about the music industry as it stands today? What do you think the future of the industry holds?
I feel very overwhelmed by the state of music as an industry right now. I think there is a lot of opportunity to be heard via the internet but you also have to promote yourself constantly in order to get noticed, which isn’t a natural thing for a lot of musicians. I think the future of the music industry is that there will be only one recorded piece of music in existence and different bands will just remix the one song in different ways. This is like a thousand years from now I’m thinking.
MWL: Thanks so much for taking the time to do the interview. If you’re half as busy as I have been this New Year then it surely wasn’t easy to find the time. But it’s worth it, I promise. Anything else you might want to add before we conclude?
JK: The song is going to be Baby by Justin Bieber.
I feel obligated to share the outdated video above, I found it incredibly entertaining. Add Rifle Recoil on facebook for the latest news and info on shows!
Graffiti Monsters are releasing their 7″ Fox Grapes next week in Brooklyn then the band is hitting the road for a few months playing shows in Philly, Baltimore, Virginia Beach, Boston, DC and Richmond (all tour dates). Graffiti Monsters flirting with danger in the family car, sounds like a fucking blast. With Mark DeNardo (guitar/vocals/GAMEBOY), James Clark (bass), and Jon Flores on drums these guys are nothing short of rowdy, exhilarating, can’t stop dancing, moving, moshing… noise/punk/metal/rock your face off music that features playful Game Boy sound effects, strong bass and drums that make my head spin in the best way possible. You must see these guys live! MUST. Makes me wanna take a shot of whiskey, rip my shirt off and get sweaty…. and it’s only 11 am.
Read the interview below to hear more about the tour, Fox Grapes and how the Graffiti Monsters were conceived:
MWL: So you’re a three piece out of Brooklyn, when did you form the band? How did you all meet?
MDN: This band formed in Summer 2011.It’s a new band under the same name. We’ve only kept a couple of the old songs. I used to play with Luke from Anamanaguchi, but he was a temp. Jon is a fucking beast. NO ONE plays like him wit da chip. I think I probably met both James and Jon at Silent Barn.
JF: I actually first met Mark two or three years back when I printed a Graffiti Monsters / Future Islands / GDFX poster, this was the old lineup at that point.
JC: I’d known Mark and Jon awhile before running into them at this rooftop folk punk show thrown by Victoria Sobel (the now-CFO of #occupywallst) and saying hey, I want to play bass.
MWL: Where did you come up with the name Graffiti Monsters?
JC: I think Mark consulted spirits or the I-Ching or something for that one.
MDN: There’s this dude FARO that’s a Graffiti artist and he has all these dope wheat paste graffiti figures and he’s got like a mummy pirate and a mummy werewolf and a mummy Run DMC all around SOHO. He does some other ones too. Think that he did some t-shirt for Ninjasonik a while back too. He’s called FARO cause he’s Egyptian hence the phonetic spelling of Pharoah.
MWL: Do you remember the first time you picked up an instrument?
JC: no.
MDN: My first instrument was a bleach bottle, then a soapbox, then guitar. I always wanted to get good on guitar like my grandfather was. He used to play all the Latin nightclubs in NYC and Bethlehem, PA. My mom told me he would wear really sharp outfits and go out that way even in shitty weather. I heard he was a real fine singer. He died young.
JF: I learned “bass” via acoustic guitar when I was 13, finally saved up for a shitty squire bass and quickly learned my way around 4 strings.
MWL: When did you recognize your passion for creating music?
MDN: Probably 6 or 7. I used to write compositions on my grandparent’s piano that were 12-tone meets doom metal meets Middle Eastern. I wish I had some of those ideas recorded.
JC: I think The Replacements sum it up nicely.
JF: when I went to see Bigwig at age 13, I knew I needed to write for a band. New Jersey punk is tops.
Photo by Daniel Doherty
MWL: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
MDN: Musical influences right now is mostly Norwegian metal, SoCal Hardcore, Brooklyn Bachata. Written influences are fables, Dzogchen, 21st century architecture, French leftists, mosh pits, karate, drinking and smoking, Tarkovsky, Pina Bausch, I-Ching, 70s comics, manga, sleeping, and cats.
JF: Musically, I can’t stop listening to Deerhoof and Lightning Bolt, along with any NotRock Records bands i.e. Khantra or Emphasis.
JC: Tao is necessary, Google is a brain extension, skateboarding keeps it even, black metal, good wine, cassettes, harsh noise, 80s hardcore, two pairs of socks, BLACK, stickers, bodega sandwiches, espresso.
MWL: Who is the primary songwriter?
MDN: I’ve been the primary songwriter for most of our songs up to now. We are collaborating a lot more and it’s exciting.
JF: Mark is the main gameboy nerd. All our bass are belong to him.
JC: Mark’s got a good head on his shoulders
MWL: What is your writing process?
JC: Punch things and write about it.
JF: Three cups of mushroom tea (one each), one VHS copy of Godzilla VS MechaGodzilla, and a field recorder, followed by 4-5 sober hours of interpretation and transposition.
MDN: We’re still figuring it out. A lot of songs I wrote w Game Boy and guitar and vocals. Words usually come last, because they take the most or least amount of work for me. I usually have a concept in mind with a song that drives it along; many of these songs are soundtracks to personal concepts or adapted stories. I think even if you don’t say anything you have to have a narrative.
All three of us are collaborating at this point. We all throw down ideas. It’s easy because we all know what we want and it’s fun to talk about it.
MWL: How would you describe your music?
JC: Fuck it man let’s go skateboarding.
JF: A drunk punk with no teeth due to too much sugar.
MDN: Chipcore or h8bit. It’s fast shredding w crushing beats. We have song called “Crusher.”
MWL: How would you describe your shows> Musically and visually, vibe…?
JF: I encourage spazzing out, swaying, head swaying, head banging, fist banging, fist pumping, shouting, and skateboarding. Moshing is for idjits <17yo.
MDN: They’re a party. People get wild. There’s a lot of sweat and beautiful people. Usually a pit opens up. Girls dance to it.
JC: feel good but punch your friend
MWL: Do you have a favorite song to play live?
MDN: I really like playing “Fox Grapes” and “Bardo.” I like to “hulk out” on songs. Get real ecstatic. Singing crazy and playing guitar and jumping up and down come really naturally with this band.
JF: ‘Foxgrapes’ is and has been the jam for some time, yet future songs threaten its crown title on the daily. Current threats include “Crusher” and “I’m not a Gameboy, Not yet a GameMan”
JC: Anything with all down-picking.
MWL: Do you have a favorite venue to play?
JC: Your house.
MDN: Right now we really like Big Snow. For newcomers those guys are pros. We’re playing there on Thursday 2/2/12 for our 7” release party.
JF: Honestly, the smaller and crappier, the better. And we totally appreciate when there is no PA system.
MWL: Any favorite bands or musicians you enjoy collaborating or playing with? Side projects?
MDN: I’m in this folk metal band called Fables, which me on guitar and the guitarist Liz Hogg from Beach Arabs. We play quick, melodic, riffs. It’s definitely apart but a part of what I do here. We don’t play w a drummer. It’s a strong contrast from GM, which is all Game Boy and drums keeping time. It’s a very martial arts performance. We shred.
JF: I really enjoyed our shows with Fake Hooker, I’m not into the name, but damn if I don’t think the music kicks ass. Unstoppable Debt Machines and Puttin’ on the Ritz Riot are also favorite show buddies of ours. I currently play in Kamp Koala.
MDN: Yeah Ritz Riot and Filthy Savage are family. They’re some of the only ones making real punk in NYC. James is in a really cool band called Beef with this sweet girl named Greem Jellyfish. I love her.
JC: BEEF
MWL: What are you doing when you’re not doing music stuff? Hobbies, whatever you know what I mean.
MDN: I make music for videogames for this company PixelJAM . We sometimes work with Adult Swim. I’m a shodan [first degree black belt] and instructor at Traditional Okinawan Karate, an Isshin Ryu karate school in Brooklyn.
JF: I manipulate audio and electronics to do my bidding. I run a silk screen shop out of downtown Newark ,NJ.
MDN: He works with Damon Dash. Player.
JC: Shred or be dead / change your life.
MWL: Who does your artwork?
JF: Jared Bowditch is a personal favorite local BK art-genius of ours. I think he does a great job visualizing the chaos and action of our music. He also has the hair we all want.
MDN: He’s a really talented bro. He’s from RVA and we’re all friends with him. I think Jared’s work is Ralph Bakshi’s and Osama Tezuka’s bastard child. He does crazy murals.
MWL: What are you listening to these days?? Any recommendations?
JF: the Runners Four (Deerhoof), Fingers Become Bridges (Tiny Hawks #RIP) Delia Derbyshire, slowed-down Dead Kennedys and sped-up Mincemeat or Tenspeed
JC: Mayhem / The Jam / MC5 / ESG / Dropdead / Minor Threat / Altaar / Burzum
MDN: Can’t stop listening to Mayhem. It’s like a gospel right now. Liked that Kanye/Jay Z track for a minute , and then just forgot about it after seeing a bunch of people blow the track up on the train from their cell phones. Liked the new Earth album. Anything off “Slip it in” by Black Flag. Whatever my Dominican neighbors are playing outside my Brooklyn apartment.
MWL: Can you tell me a little about Fox Grapes, your new 7”, when can we expect that release?
MDN: “Fox Grapes” is a fable about wanting and loss of something you never had. It’s also about Fox spirits in the woods fucking with your head. ”Polar Bear” is about dwindling resources and fighting over them in complete futility. It’s also about eating and dying. The circle of life.
JF: The 7” costs $50
JC: we recorded it in basements on Squiers and it rules!
MDN: We’re releasing it on Datathrash Recordings. Arnie Holder is my patron saint.
MWL: You’re about to go on tour, anything to say about that? Excited about one place in particular or just ready to hit the road?
JC: don’t eat New York fried chicken in anywhere that’s not New York.
JF: Famous hip-hop producer Ski Beats gave me advice upon hearing we were touring to Greenville NC, his home state; “Yo that place is country-hood, shit’s fun!”. I take his advice to heart.
MDN: I’m looking forward to our show at Strange Matter in Richmond and the mystery show in NC…
MWL: How do you feel about the music industry as it stands today? What do you think the future of the industry holds for independent artists and labels?
JC: DIY – self record/mix/release
MDN: It’s all about marketing. Whoever has the edge wins. It’s also about talent. You can’t stop people that are just so damn good they are like the Juggernaut. The industry is confused, but people are confused. This is probably the second to last epoch of the human race. Only another 5000 years or so and we’re out of here. It’ll be for the best, I’m sure. DIY or die.
JF: Well, we are currently looking to sign with any label that claims to have an un-hackable website. EMI is no longer a consideration of ours. I currently don’t work in the music industry.
MDN: Right?
MWL: Anything else you might want to add before we conclude?
MDN: Check us out online and hit us up for shows! I have a karate tournament as soon as I get back from tour. OOS!
JF: I have recently invented what’s quickly been dubbed the “silent candy-wrapper”, and it is catching like wild fire across movie theaters and married midnight-snackers across the southwest.
It’s Tuesday, it’s Friday, it’s New Year’s f*cking Eve and you’re looking for some good live music.. you start fishing for something to do and the chances of you reeling in a Total Slacker show are pretty high. I’ve never heard of a band playing so many shows in such a short period of time. Three piece Brooklyn based music group {Emily Jane-bass/vocals, Tucker Rountree- guitar/vocals and Ross Condon- drums} Total Slacker has played approximately 5 million shows in 2 years. Okay, okay so I’m full of shit, it’s not 5 million but if you tallied all of their performances… ranging from DIY basements shows to house parties….sets at notable NYC venues… recording sessions…festivals… videos.. interviews I guarantee you’d be counting for a while. The list goes on and on. I don’t know how they have time to breathe.
http://youtu.be/qVkOvNgMXT8?hd=1
The first I heard of them was last summer… I don’t really remember all of the details of the first time I saw them live, I think it was at 285 Kent. It was so intense, people were literally bouncing off the walls. My friend and I were out of booze just as Total Slacker took stage, the bar was 200 sweat drenched people behind us and we didn’t want to lose our ear shattering corner spot to some other punks so we picked up an unopened ( I swear it was unopened) Four Loko off of the amp and gulped it down as the set began. Before we knew it we were laughing our asses off, being tossed around the room like rag dolls by a vigorous crowd of young rockers. I remember the energy, the bruises, the smell of booze and sweat oozing from the room, the hangover and obviously the music. Total Slacker left a lasting impression on me, and as far as I can tell by the number of people at their shows.. I’m not the only one.
Psychic Mesa- Total Slacker
MWL: How did Total Slacker come to be?
TS: We formed almost exactly two years ago and played over a hundred shows in our first year as a band. We put out a few 7 inches that year, toured last spring, and just put out our first full length on Marshall Teller Records in the UK. We’re working on setting up another tour now. We can’t wait to play more outside of NY.
MWL: Did any of you have any formal training or is music a hobby? Passion?
TS: Tucker’s been a professional thrasher since birth; I studied classical piano and guitar growing up and Ross had messed around on a bunch of instruments before settling in on the drums with us.
MWL: What do you do when you’re not producing and performing music?
Emily: I’m finishing up my last year of school right now and Tucker and Ross have part time jobs. When not playing, we’re probably reading, writing, and drawing, respectively. But most of the time we’re playing!
MWL: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
TS: Influences include Beck, Weezer, Home Alone 2, the desert!
MWL: Who is the primary songwriter?
Emily: Tucker writes most of the songs, though quite a few are collaborations either with me or with both myself and Ross.
MWL: Any favorite tracks that you’ve recorded/played together?
Emily: They’ve all been favorites at one time or another. Our New Kids On the Block cover was pretty cool, we only played it once live I think when we first started. We should bring that back…
MWL: I’ve been to a number of your shows, but how would you describe your shows, visually and musically?
TS: Loud and unpredictable. We have the most fun playing live, so that’s probably the most fun way to hear our music, too.
MWL: What is the most fucked up thing that’s ever happened at one of your shows?
Emily: One time Tucker cut his head open somehow while ripping apart a solo and jumping off an amp or something, and there was instantaneously a ton of blood everywhere and streaming down his whole face. We didn’t stop playing, though, and he was fine, just a little cut…but it was scary.
MWL: That’s amazing. Everyone pleas the fifth on this one. What’s the worst place you have ever played a show at, and why?
TS: I don’t know, I don’t think any of us have any grudges against any particular place.
MWL: Any venue you love to play at?
TS: We love all the Brooklyn DIY venues like Monster Island and Silent Barn (both now closed) and Shea Stadium…Also house parties, high schooler’s basements.
MWL: Favorite bands/musicians to jam with?
TS: Right now we’re really enjoying DIVE, Friends, Ava Luna, Prince Rama, Night Manager, Royal Baths, Slothbear….all great people and awesome bands!
MWL: Agreed. Anything in the making? Tracks, videos, planning any tours?
TS: Working real hard on putting together another tour. Touring is all we want to do! And we’ve been busy writing. We already have almost enough material for a second album, staying productive.
MWL: What are you listening to these days?
Tucker: Ice Cube
MWL: This question is heavy but MWL has a fresh outlook on the music industry and how labels are handled. What’s your outlook on the record industry today?
Tucker: The music industry is what paper is to pen. Ideas flow through the pen, but somehow in the end, the paper always tries to take the credit.
Crystal Necklace- Total Slacker
By: Katie McVeay| Beat-Play Ambassador New York | @crookedsunshine|Music Without Labels & Beat-Play, LLC
