If you find yourself part of Katie Miller’s inner circle, consider yourself lucky. Over the years, this South Jersey singer-songwriter has managed to surround herself with a diverse group of creative and talented people, sending the right energy out into the universe and attracting it back. When I first spoke with Katie (almost exactly a year ago) her band Kate Dressed Up had just released a single and an accompanying music video for the song “Ride Home.” Now, a year later, Katie has released a second song, entitled “The Fountain”, this time accompanied by a beautifully produced animated short. As it goes, a lot has happened in Katie’s life over the course of a year, but what has remained constant is her dedication to her craft, her practice of gratitude, and her ability to continue welcoming people in with open arms.
Read moreInterview with forgettable History
By Sonia Schnee | Posted Sunday, October 20, 2019
Earlier this month, South Jersey alternative/indie rock duo forgettable History released two new theatrical and thought-provoking singles, "kaleidoscopic cobblestone" and "amber nectar." We were fortunate to get an interview with songwriter/lead vocalist, Andrew Lodge, to learn about the inspiration behind their music.
What's your name, where are you from, where are you based now?
My name is Andrew Lodge, and I am from Medford New, Jersey. I am currently at Pennington, living on Campus at TCNJ. My bandmate is Kevin Savo (lead man of Out of The Beardspace & Pan Song). He's originally from Clementon, but he lives in Waterford now.
How would you describe your sound? Who are your musical influences? What’s the inspiration behind the name of your band?
Our sound is luscious, passionate, theatrical, touching, and artistically fearless.
My musical influences are the following: Radiohead, car seat headrest, School of Seven Bells, and The Unicorns (just to name a few).
The inspiration for the band name goes two ways. The simple version is that I purely suck at history and lack the desire to study it. I remember taking Honor's APUSH my sophomore year, and it felt like I was picking the best shade of blue if the question was "Which one is blue?" My teacher was a wonderful lady, so it wasn't her fault at all. The extended version will be kept for personal interactions with my beautiful fanbase one day.
Congratulations on the release of your single, “kaleidoscopic cobblestone.” What was the creative process like for you (which came first, the melody or the lyrics)?
My process with Kevin is sporadic, but typically we write the song first and then the melody on top. I studied music theory in my junior year of high school, but I never applied anything I learned to my art. I sit at a piano, play some chords, show Kevin, and his excitement fills my body with confidence. For "kaleidoscopic cobblestone," I wrote it on guitar. Vocals and melody always come last, since I always play with the lyrical content of a written song.
What's next on the horizon for you? Do you have any shows coming up?
I would love to perform some unreleased material with Kevin anywhere! TCNJ or any small venue would be lovely. However, being at college is difficult and Kevin is in multiple projects. The day we perform will be the day we show it all on stage. We haven't been rehearsing at all, because the album is not finished. But, we have just released a new track called "amber nectar" that is out now.
Tell us a little bit about your personal journey. How did you get to this point? Do you have other creative work that you’d like audiences to check out?
I wish I could remember my whole journey. I can probably say that it started when I was jealous of my sister playing the Adele song "Someone Like You" in front of her attractive friends.
"I can do that!" I blurted out.
"Okay, go ahead."
I sat at the piano and it was terrible. Her friends laughed at me and I was determined to learn the song afterward. So, I watched YouTube videos on how to play the song. I learned "The Scientist" then "A Thousand Years" later.
My mother pushed me to do the musical in middle school since I stopped wrestling. My audition was fairly good, but I didn't receive a lead role in Seussical. The judge even said, "Where were you two years ago." It felt that wished he could have given me something, but couldn't since kids had the experience. I was a Who (even though I was the tallest one, since I was an early bloomer) and the Grinch. There's a hilarious Wiki page that claims the following:
For Jr., various songs are cut and shortened; the subplots based on The Butter Battle Book and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and their relevant songs and characters, are removed to make the story more understandable for younger audiences, though the Grinch retains one line during the song "Here on Who".
(I even remember reading that sometimes they cut the Grinch and have The Cat in The Hat dress up as the Grinch for the one line).
"Where even a Grinch wouldn't dare to be totally mean." I'll never forget that.
I met a kid who wanted me to join his band and wanted me to get bass lessons in the winter musical (Peter Pan) my freshman year (little did he know that I played piano and sang). And that's how I met Kevin. At the School of Rock. I got kicked out of the band and Kevin wanted to help me.
Do you have any words of advice for people who share a similar passion or have maybe faced similar obstacles/challenges?
You're your own worst critic. Sometimes it's best to let go of the little details if they're holding you. Being in states of monotony is an awful feeling. Know that not everyone is doing what you're doing. You're unique, embrace it.
Finally, what are some ways that fans can connect with you and forgettable History online? (Website? Facebook? Spotify? Etc.?)
I would give my number, but I don't pick up if I don't recognize the number. So I would recommend our Facebook, Instagram, and even Twitter. If you're into email forgettableHistory@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/forgettableHistory/
https://www.instagram.com/forgettablehistory/
https://twitter.com/forgettablehx
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Anyone who wants to shoot a music video or set up a gig, let me know!
Cheers!
Ghost Friends - "Tree Speak" (Album Review)
By Sean McCall | Posted Sunday, February 24, 2019
Ghost Friends is an indie rock / emo band from Moorestown, New Jersey. Ghost friends is:
“A 4-piece basement dweller howling echos of love and loss. Our reverberations cling to the the rusted pipes cemented into your foundation as the sounds of our angst pry their way through the cracks in your floorboards. We’re down here.”
The band consists of Alec Pezzano, Kyle Forgason, Jimmy Jenca, Justin “Juicy” Condora, and Sid (who is known for ghosting/melancholy).
Their most recent release, Tree Speak, was released on mischief night (Oct. 30) of 2018 which makes this record extra spooky. Tree Speak was Produced and Engineered by Jim Jenca, the bassist, which is definitely a cool easter egg.
The record begins with “Diving Bell” which immediately has you intrigued with what’s going to come next. It’s instrumental up to about a minute and a half into the song, and then finally resolves with some angsty and catchy lyrics. “Diving Bell” is a solid feeler and introduction to Tree Speak and sets the mood of the EP very well.
The second track, “VertiGogo,” is super poppy and gives me a Mayday Parade feel right away. I really like this track personally because it’s very well-produced and spacey. There’s a lot of dynamic and rhythmic changes in this song which I can definitely appreciate. I really dig the line “you move in stereo,” and if you’re itching for a catchy pop punk breakdown, “VertiGogo” definitely delivers.
Transitioning into track 3, “Malfoy,” Ghost Friends keeps pop punk alive for sure. The intro of this song gives me a heavy Four Year Strong vibe followed by The Starting Line’s “Say it Like You Mean It” once the vocals kick in. Malfoy will have you naturally bopping your head the entirety of this track.
“Blood Eagle” is the fourth track on Tree Speak, and it’s definitely one of the most emo in my opinion. There’s a lot happening dynamically, and the lyrics definitely pull at your heartstrings. The theme of the song seems to be dealing with the ability to help a loved one grow alongside with you; if both parties could work towards healthier communication.
The 5th track, “Split Ends,” definitely reminds me of earlier the story so far from the get-go. This is another emotional feeler that copes with the idea of being better off without someone that you once felt very attached to.
Tree Speak closes with “21 grams,” which they released a music video for that you can check out here. This song gives me an optimistic and hopeful feeling, despite all of the heartbreak and loss throughout the record. It mixes happiness, hope, despair, and heartbreak into one place. I think Ghost Friends did a great job summing up the record with this one.
All in all, I think this is Ghost Friends’ best release, but be sure to check out “The Blackmaker Demo” from 2017 as well. There’s plenty more to discover with this band, so head over to their website if you’re interested!
Interview with Illustrator Keith Glidewell
Artwork by Keith Glidewell
By Nicolas Palermo | Posted Wednesday, October 17, 2018
From the Andy Warhol/Velvet Underground collaborations of the 60s to RISD alumni Talking Heads, to the anime-inspired characters that make up Gorillaz, visual art has been almost if not equally important to the history of music as the music itself.
Take NJ native Keith Glidewell, for example. When he isn’t noodling bass riffs for the emo/punk group Ditz, he’s doodling exaggerated, whacked out cartoons that you could easily imagine on your favorite Adult Swim show. Although still images, the facial expressions and body language of his characters give them an animated quality. Some of them might even reach out to hand you a beer. Many of these doodles become finished products that adorn the album covers and fliers for his own band.
I spoke to Keith to learn about the creative process and inspiration behind his work.
Where did you grow up? Do you feel like the area you live in and your experiences there have had an effect on your artwork?
I grew up in Florence, NJ which is a small, blue-collar town in Central Jersey—right on the Delaware River. When I say that Florence is small, I'm not exaggerating; I graduated with 97 kids. Most people are shocked when I tell them that, but I thought it ruled. Everyone knew each other and that was super humbling. For the most part, there weren't social cliques and this allowed me to get to know people on a personal level that I wouldn't have otherwise. I was exposed to many different cultures and ways of thinking. On top of that, I had a really, really great group of friends (that I'm still friends with today), and we spent most of our time building forts down by the river, playing "office chair hockey," and hanging out in cardboard dumpsters at the middle school. I think the area that I grew up in and the experiences I had there absolutely has an effect on my artwork. Florence gave me a good look at people and what it means to be human, and I try to reflect that in my characters.
What is the process for making your doodles turn into album covers or show fliers?
I kind of stumbled into making artwork for bands and as a result, stumbled into being in a band myself. I had been posting character designs and doodles on Instagram for a while and, although a few people commissioned me to do design work for them, I was mostly doing it for fun. One day my buddy Todd asked me to come up with a logo for his new band, Ditz, and he sent me the demos to listen to while I worked on it. He also let me know that they were looking for a bass player. The design took a few days and the band loved it, and I ended up liking the demos so much that I tried out for the bass part. Now I play bass in Ditz and handle the design work which has been extremely rewarding. I was always a huge fan of James Heimer's illustrations and how he branded The Wonder Years' early stuff. He had such a distinct style, and that's something I try to accomplish with Ditz.
Your characters appear cute and goofy at first but many of them seem to have very “human” qualities to them (i.e. smoking cigarettes, partying, being violent). Is this a style that’s influenced by any artists in particular? Do you give your drawings a hidden darker quality consciously or is that just how they end up?
My work has always been pretty gross! In high school, my math notebook was filled with drawings of people vomiting or smoking giant cigs or giant cigs vomiting up people. I think that gross-ness stems from me being obsessed with shows like The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Superjail!, Spongebob, and Courage, The Cowardly Dog. As I grew up, I got into R. Crumb and I really dig all of his characters and their exaggerated features. All of these shows and artists influenced me greatly and I take a little bit from each one. I always appreciated the fusion of innocence and the sad/gross parts of being human. Characters can be both charming and disgusting and that's something I like to highlight in my artwork.
In addition to drawing, you have a talent for animating. How do you bring your doodles to life? What is the process for making animated cartoons?
I didn't consider animation as something I'd like to do until my uncle, cartoonist Mark Tatulli, told me that I had the potential to do it. So, I picked up a few animation classes at TCNJ and fell in love with it. I'm interested in 2D, frame by frame animation and I have this overly complicated process (that involves drafting, inking, and coloring in one app and then editing the frames together in another), but it works for me. As much as I love animation, I like to stick to pre-production like storyboarding and character designing!
What projects do you have planned next as far as visual art goes? What about in music?
Well, artistically, since I JUST graduated college, I've been doing personal work. Doodles and gross characters— things like that. I'm going to start posting on Instagram daily again, and I'm excited. My senior year made it hard to do that and I can't wait to get back. I also have been working on a few short films and music videos, which is another passion of mine. Musically, Ditz has been writing a full-length record, smoking cigs, drinking a bunch of beer, and playing shows. We're going to keep doing that!
What accounts could we follow you at for updates on any new art or music?
My instagram account is: @keithglidewell where I post drawings, film stuff that I'm doing, and pictures of my big dumb head. The Ditz account is: @ditztheband. This is where we post show dates, video clips we have, and pictures of our big dumb heads.
Space Cadets - "We Deserve Better" (EP Review)
By Sean McCall | Posted Sunday, October 14, 2018
Space Cadets is a two-piece emo/math rock band from Mount Holly, New Jersey. The band consists of Jarrett Wenzel on Drums/Vocals, and Matt Trinkle on Guitar. We Deserve Better is Space Cadets’ second EP release. The record was recorded by Matt Bogacki at Blue Light Digital Sound and was released in June of 2017. They have CDs and currently have 5 cassettes available (courtesy of Cheap Plastic Records).
The record opens with “New Vermont” which is a purely melodic and vulnerable song. Lyrically, it seems to discuss an internal struggle of stress and your mental health. "I can't lie to you, but I've been trying to, and I might go through with it, ‘cause I'm sick of wanting to die, every single time the stress hits.” I think this is discussing the ability to make a choice and be open in communication versus trying to lie; the temporary fix. This can bottle up and the stress can start to feel like too much, and this song covers that perfectly in a minute and a half.
The record transitions seamlessly into “Vanilla,” where the drums are introduced with a sad jazzy-sounding melodic guitar. The beginning seems to be reminiscing moments of admiration with a loved one, followed by coping with them moving away and the hardships of moving on. It picks up to a mathy beat and instrumental break where it transitions to a much more emotional and dreamy vibe. I love the rhythm throughout this entire song because it seems like you hear something new with each time you listen. Whether it be a ghost note, or hi-hat accent, it’s always super tasteful. Musically, I think this is my favorite song on the record.
The third song on the record, “Disconnecting,” is hands down one of the catchiest and most "finger-pointy” songs. The chorus is a jammer that speaks for itself: "3 years takes its toll on me I can't be everything I know you need, I'm not taking this lightly, but I can't help you when no one’s helping me.” My finger is aggressively pointing through the entirety of this chorus. That’s all you need to know; its a great time.
The last song on the record is called “In the Shirt You Gave Me,” and it continues with the theme of heartbreak of 3 years. This track essentially wraps up the entire theme of We Deserve Better. The transitions and dynamics are artistic and charming to the ear. My favorite part is the ending— almost breakdown—which closes the record perfectly.
This record is short, sweet, and powerful. Overall, it just gives me a feeling of genuinity and vulnerability. Their following and most recent EP, Coming Along Slowly, was released in July and is definitely something you should check out as well. It’s a solid follow-up to this record.
Jarrett’s input on the record is stated on Space Cadet’s bandcamp:
"There's been a lot of changes in my life over the past few months. The week before I recorded the vocals, we had a completely different record lyrically. Some things can change so quickly, when you least expect it. However, I think that's where this EP came from—honesty in the moment. In that week before I recorded vocals, I re-wrote 75% of the lyrics because the original ones were no longer relevant to my life. The past few months have been hard, but this band and this EP have kept me going. I hope these songs speak to you in some way. hope they help you as much as they've helped me."
~
We Deserve Better is available for streaming/download at:
Bandcamp: https://spacecadetsnj.bandcamp.com/album/we-deserve-better
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7MkXUOx99xBOcPBAdLtm2M
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist…
Apple Music: https://itun.es/us/ASlEkb
and more.
Aw Shucks - "Better Now" (EP Review)
By Sean McCall | Posted Thursday, September 20, 2018
Aw Shucks is an indie rock band from South Jersey and Delaware County. The band consists of Dylan Walker (vocals/guitar), (former member) Jarrett Wenzel (vocals/guitar), Jack Meidel (bass/production), and Chris Kearney (Drums/vocals). Their first EP is the “Better Now EP” which was released in October of 2017. This record was recorded by their bassist, Jack, and mixed by the band. Better Now was mastered by James Forbes (Fine Cut Studios), and the artwork was done by Austin Pettit.
The record opens up with a song “Elizabeth Cranford,” which introduces Jarrett Wenzel and a hot clean guitar tone. This song is 5 minutes long, but doesn’t ever drag because it's packed with hooks, instrumentation, and tempo changes that keep you on the edge of your seat. The lyrical content of the song deals with going through a tough breakup with somebody you love and can’t help to still be in love, so naturally, it’s a super emotional song that still gives the listener a feeling of hopefulness with the way the music is portrayed.
The second song, “Pawn,” switches over to an immediate head-bopping vibe. It also switches to their other vocalist, Dylan Walker. I really love how they incorporate their strengths as songwriters/singer and go back and forth on who’s singing on which songs. In my opinion, this is one of my favorite songs. There’s a beautiful change at the end of the song when Aw Shucks sings “is that how this ends, with you leaving me, useless and gone,” where they just go off. The rhythmic change is super tasteful after the entire song already being catchy. I also like the idea of extending the chorus of the song towards the end.
The third track, “Swaying Flowers,” has one of my favorite instrumental hooks ever. The song opens with that which is essentially the chorus in my opinion. It’s subtly mathy and very tasteful. This is also the track where they say the EP’s title in the lyrics, so you know it’s gotta be a bop. This song seems to deal with the hardships of being stuck inside your own head, and not being content with where you are.
The fourth song, “Backroads,” switches back to Jarrett being the primary singer, and he doesn’t fail to pull at my heartstrings again. This song seems to be discussing making the mistake of driving home drunk, and those irrational intoxicated feelings on top of dealing with personal mental health. A lot of the song is talking about wishing death amongst yourself, which seems to be an impulsive feeling when you’re at your lowest of lows. What I love about this song is the dynamics throughout -- especially the ending which says, “I have far too much in me to watch it end like this.” He changes the mood and mentality to something positive and optimistic regarding self-health.
The fifth song, “Oh Sheesh” (by Aw Shucks — that shit made me laugh) seems to be dealing with putting up with somebody who is bringing negativity into your life; the idea of wasting your time on someone you should have never given your time to in the first place. I love this song’s instrumentation. There’s a lot happening dynamically and a lot of tasteful changes throughout the song.
The last song on the record, “Signals,” is my personal favorite.V Dylan wrote a simple and melodically catchy song with an assortment of dynamics. The lyrics talk about the hardships of being in love in a struggling relationship. It combines memories, reminiscing, past, and future of moments with somebody who is held close to his heart. My favorite line is “...but I swam to the depths of the sea, ‘cause I know that you are safe with me. All I did was dream of what could be, but now I can barely fall asleep.” These lines are super relatable to something I’ve gone through personally, and I feel as though a lot of people have had their own similar situations themselves. What I love about this song is the way you can hear the emotion portrayed in the vocals.
Overall, I think Better Now was an absolutely amazing and impressive record to introduce themselves to the world. I really hope this band gets the recognition they deserve sooner rather than later, because this is not a band to sleep on. On top of that, they are all wonderful musicians as well as people. If you haven’t gotten the chance to, I strongly suggest you get out to a show and try to catch these guys live. The record is recorded beautifully, but I think they portray themselves even better live.
Check out their second EP, Big Plans, release show here:
Space Cadets - "Coming Along Slowly" (EP Review)
By Sean McCall | Posted Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Coming Along Slowly is an EP by the South Jersey band Space Cadets. They are a two-piece emo/math rock band from Mount Holly, NJ, featuring vocalist/drummer Jarrett Wenzel and guitarist Matt Trinkle. The album starts with luscious and melodic guitars in the first track, “Angel.” Jarrett Wenzel pulls at the heartstrings with this song that seems to be talking about believing in a relationship between two human beings. Although going through hardships, he says, “But you’re the sweetest, kindest, most perfect human being,” which really hit me personally. The song ends with “I hope you believe in me” with the softest vocals and all the music cutting out at the end.
The soft clean tones and horns continue in the second song, “Slowly,” which features South Jersey band Regrown (Kyle Lloyd & Ben Greenblatt). The song is very melodic and beautiful. It ends with Regrown featuring on the emotional outro, “I’m sorry I put you through this, I just want to be forgiven.”
The third song, “DIY Machine Broke,” really hits home for me. The song discusses the hardship of being a musician as well as a human being. To me, they’re trying to say that we are all human; we make mistakes. Yet, the anxiety of being a disappointment in someone else’s life can sometimes overwhelm you easily. At the end of the day, at least they’re doing what they love -- creating art and music.
Moving onto the fourth song, “Committing” (which features Luke Knoblauch from South Jersey), they continue the theme of the hardships of life becoming overwhelming. They close the song with, “Can’t be an excuse, fix the problem at the room, let’s all agree to do the things we said we’d always do,” which seems to imply connection amongst community to make everybody feel a little more at peace.
The record closes with the song “Balcony.” Like the rest of the record, this one is just as emotional and discusses the fear of losing loved ones. I really love the percussive hip-hop samples on top of the tasteful jazz cords and emotional melodies. They also include some very beautiful intervals in their “ooo’s” while reintroducing the horns to close off the record.
I’ll be honest, this EP left me wanting more from the band, which in my opinion is exactly what an artist should aim to achieve. I really enjoyed the overall consistency of the theme of the record. I believe a sense of community amongst your peers and working as a team will always get you further towards happiness and further in life in general. According to their Bandcamp, they planned to record a full-length prior to their summer tour, however, they realized they wanted to put something out before touring and created this EP almost spontaneously. See what the vocalist, Jarrett Wenzel said about the record, below:
“A little while ago, I got an idea for what has become our newest EP. Earlier this year we had been writing songs for a full-length and planning our summer tour. Around April, we realized it had been a year since we put anything out, and that our summer run wouldn’t be in support of new music. So my idea was to write and record an EP with little-to-no preparation. We had about 4-6 weeks to write the songs and coordinate things with the featured musicians, but most of the writing was done in the two weeks prior to the dates.
I brought everyone (aside from Matt) into the studio without parts written or without knowing exactly what was going to happen. We never got together beforehand. There was so much room for failure but not once did I feel like it was a bad idea. I just believed in it wholeheartedly. I didn’t explain this more than briefly to anyone, I just kind of did it and made sense of the process along the way. I am so proud of what happened. I can’t thank my wonderful friends enough for lending me their time and patience throughout the recording process. I certainly could never thank them enough for being in my life. I would like to think that all of this is a metaphor for believing in yourself/your peers and being completely blown away by the outcome -- but who knows, maybe I’m just a sap and our EP sucks! In all seriousness though, have some faith, my friends. You just might surprise yourself."
-- Jarrett Wenzel
Ser Xerri - "The Hype" (EP Review)
By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Monday, June 18, 2018
For fans of: “Weird Al” Yankovic, They Might Be Giants, Barenaked Ladies
Ser Xerri are an eclectic 4-piece alt rock group with a sense of humor. Based out of Bordentown NJ, the group consists of Ser Xerri, on vocals and guitar, Brandon Broderick on guitar and vocals, Ryan Lesinski on bass and vocals and Tyler Chiara on drums and vocals. The group’s latest effort, The Hype, is an infectious three-song EP showing how music does not always have to be “serious.”
According to their website:
“Hello, friends! It has been less than one year since we began sharing our unique brand of Rock and Roll Music with the world, starting here in our own Bordentown, NJ. From the very beginning, it became clear that we had created something special, and we are very excited to continue this journey with you all! We have somehow found a way to combine all the things we love, funky grooves, ripping guitar solos, inside jokes, sky-high vocals, harmonized guitar lines, and tight pants, into one weird thing that simply is Ser Xerri.
Ser Xerri told me, “We’ve been a band for just over a year now, and we recently released our debut EP, The Hype. It’s a 3 song collection of fan favorites. The title track is a fun and catchy tune that pokes fun at the controversial connection between birds and dinosaurs. It’s become our most requested song when we play live, and I just found out that it was played last weekend at an 8th-grade formal dance!”
A band for just over a year, they already found the formula for writing catchy tunes. The group is tight, rhythmic and just as fun to watch perform as it is to listen to their recorded music. All three songs on The Hype make you want to get up and dance around, a challenging feat for a newer band. In a world where most bands demand to be taken seriously, I love how Ser Xerri just wants to make fun music that will put smiles on faces young and old. Listen to the album here, and catch them in a town near you!