The DT's - "You With Me" (MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERE)

By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Friday, August 20, 2021

The DT’s are a power pop group hailing from central New Jersey. Having released their first single, “You With Me” in June, the group is now back to share their music video for the catchy single. Since the release, The DT’s played their first full band show at House of Independents in Asbury Park, NJ, and have been hard at work at new content for their fans. I recently spoke with Dave and Tom about their past year, playing shows again and their new music video. Thank you Dave and Tom!

The DT’s live at House of Independents

How was your first full band show at House of Independents? 

Tom: Our first show was really special and was really a magical night! It meant the world to be on that stage especially after such a long time and just battling a lot of adversity over the past 18 months. Both of us hadn't played in a full band setting live for quite some time and to debut at one of our favorite venues was a great experience. It almost felt like a Twilight Zone episode, like was this actually happening? It went really well and our buddies Lou Panico (Natalie Farrell Band, Levy & The Oaks, Solo) & Frank Lettieri (The Paper Jets, Dust Of Days) really did such an excellent job. They are true professionals! 

Dave: It was such an exciting experience. We were very happy when Bobby Mahoney reached out to us, and asked us if we wanted to play. It had been so long since we played in a full band setting, and it felt so good to be back out there on stage. Our talented friends Frank Lettieri (The Paper Jets, Dust Of Days) and Lou Panico (Natalie Farrell Band, Levy & The Oaks, Solo) helped us out that night, and they were extremely professional. We only practiced the four of us collectively one time, but I think that made the show more fun and lively! We were able to hang out with some friends that we have not seen since the start of the pandemic, have fun with the crowd, and play some new originals at an awesome venue. 

What can fans expect at a DT’s concert now that shows are coming back around?

Tom: In this new project, we really like to keep it fun, loose, engaging and entertaining with the audience. We work very hard at our craft but we also really like to keep the audience involved in a variety of settings. I also enjoy having freedom in this project where we are an acoustic duo some nights, other times full band electric, all while mixing in different instruments we play. At the end of the day, we just want to make sure the crowd is having fun and that we are spreading some joy. I think we all could use some after the past year.

Dave: Anyone that comes to one of our shows can expect a good time! We are always trying to have fun at our shows by throwing in some covers, getting the crowd involved, and telling some jokes on stage. We just like to have fun while providing a high energy rock and roll experience!

This video accompanies your latest single “You With Me.” What does this song mean to you as a group?

Tom: This was a really special song for Dave and I as it was one that came really quickly and naturally for us. Our emotions and feelings really lined up at the time and the song both structurally and lyrically came together in one night. We really didn't try and over think many parts and allowed ourselves to explore while keeping the song refined into a pop format. It was really neat sharing parts from our own songs and mashing them together melodically. 

Dave: To me the song means a lot. Lyrically, it references some personal/emotional setbacks we have experienced in the past few years. It was the first song that Tom and I wrote collaboratively from scratch. We started with a drum idea, and then layered on top of that. We both brought different elements to the song that we were able to blend cohesively, which gave it a unique sound. I am extremely proud of us for making this track because we also produced everything in Tom’s basement. We were then lucky enough to have our friend Frank Lettieri record drums and Joe Pomarico (Telegraph Hill Records) Mix/Master the final track.

Who did you work with for this music video?

Tom: We worked with Tom Garrigan, an old friend who is a photographer/videographer from our hometown. Tom is nationally known for his photography work shooting abandoned settings, and he really did an excellent job getting the footage for this shoot. He really had a lot of our visions behind the song come to life in a really simplistic way. All the editing work was done by Frank Lettieri who also plays drums for us live! 

Dave: We worked with our good friend Tom Garrigan. Tom Garrigan is a very talented photographer who has gained a following on Instagram under the handle “moldy_lungs” taking photographs of abandoned places. You have to check his page out!  So it was interesting to work with him because he is normally a photographer, not a videographer. So he himself was a little reluctant of how the final product would be, but we all think it came out great. Frank Lettieri then took all of the videos that we got with Tom G and made it a cohesive piece. Working with these talented two individuals was extremely easy, and we could not have been happier with how it came out.

What’s next for the DT’s?

Tom: We are truly having a blast doing this, and the past 3 months have been a huge reaffirment for us. We have many more singles lined up and some really awesome shows on the docket. Recording has also really turned into a passion for us, so more writing and experimentation in the fall will be happening for sure. It's been such a great year connecting with new artists, old friends and just letting our passions in this project flow. It's been such a great vehicle for expression for us and I'm so grateful for my friendship with Dave. 

Dave: Not stopping! The only things that are next for us include more music, more shows, more merch and more content. I am also so grateful for my friendship with Tom, and we would like to thank everyone who has supported us so far!

Interview with Grander

By Sonia Schnee | Posted Friday, April 30, 2021

When the pandemic hit and NJ went into quarantine, Hoboken experimental indie collective Grander used the time to self-produce and engineer their newest single, "Just Beneath the Surf", out of their apartment. They also produced and released an accompanying lyric video, while working on a (soon-to-be-released) EP entitled "If Found, Cherish.” Check out our interview with the guys, below, to learn more about how Grander came to be, what their creative process is like, and their plans for 2021.

What are your names, where are you from, and what do you do?

The core of Grander consists of Matt Cugine, Chase Montani and Aaron Vigliotti. We are based out of the Hoboken/Jersey City area and work boring desk jobs when we're not making music together lol.

The greater Grander community consists of several other collaborators, including Angie Cuzzola, Jesse Henshaw, Darien Henshaw, Josh Flores-Vitti and Greg Anastasio. We'd like to think of this band as a collective - with many different contributors. We're lucky to have a wide net of friends who are a blast to work with.

For first-time listeners, how would you describe your sound?

Our sound really is an amalgamation of our collective influences. We like to push the boundaries of indie rock by bringing in influence from hip hop, electronic music and classic rock, which we think makes for a unique listening experience. Our forthcoming project features seven tracks, each with their own distinctive feel - yet as a whole, it sounds undoubtedly like Grander.

Who are your musical influences?

Our biggest musical influences are Radiohead, Bon Iver, Toro y Moi and Mac Miller. Matt comes from a background of playing classic rock and blues, while Aaron and Chase came up together in the emo scene - so those influences bleed into our music as well.

Congrats on the release of your latest single, "Just Beneath the Surf"! Where did you record? Who produced it?

Thanks so much! We recorded and produced the track ourselves in Matt and Chase's Hoboken apartment. The song was mixed by Justin Krass and mastered by Sam Stauff, both members of the post-rock bands Wess Meets West and Wide Waters. They have been awesome to work with throughout this process and helped bring our apartment recordings to life.

This song was one of the first ideas that Matt and Chase started toying around with early in quarantine. We all found ourselves with a lot of time on our hands, and started engaging in experimental songwriting exercises - one of which included setting a timer for 10 minutes and trying to come up with the skeleton of a song with loops. The main "hook" of “Just Beneath the Surf” came together in these sessions, and we worked on the song pretty meticulously for about eight months (!) to get the final product you hear today. It went through many different iterations, and I think we were able to mess with it just enough to get it perfect. Or as perfect as it could be...

What's the inspiration behind the song?

The lyrics are about the complexities of contradiction, and the role that contradictory decisions play on our subconscious. Matt really went deep into this concept after coming up with the words "just beneath the surf." While the song does have a "surfy" vibe to it - there is a feeling of uncertainty to the music, and the lyrics play off of that. We love to use juxtaposition between the music and the lyrics in our songs.

What is your songwriting process like?

It really varies for each song. Matt and Chase handle most of the songwriting, usually independently, as far as the core of a track goes. For our forthcoming project, Matt wrote four of the tracks and Chase penned three, but we all worked together once the core ideas were developed. It's not like Matt or Chase writes a whole song and that's it - the three of us really build off of each other's ideas. Some of Aaron's contributions have completely changed the feel of these tracks, and it's been so exciting to see that come to life.

One constant in our songwriting process is that the music always comes first. We think the music really is our strong suit, and are still working on being poignant and effective songwriters. That said, this batch of music we are releasing soon is much more polished than what we've done in the past, and we're so excited to share it with the world.

Are your songs largely based on personal experiences? Fictional characters? Inspired by movies/TV?

Again, our songs come from different places each time. Matt and Chase both pull from personal experience and fictional/historical characters. Matt takes a lot of inspiration from movies/TV - and will sometimes try to watch certain films to get lyrical ideas flowing. It's an awesome practice that he engages in. Sometimes the inspiration that we pull from films is even related to the movie's score - as is the case with one of the instrumental songs on our new project, inspired by Jonny Greenwood's original music for Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice."

So, take us back to the beginning. Do you come from musical families or are you trailblazers?

Matt's mom plays the piano. Chase's parents both played instruments growing up as well, with his dad being an all-county baritone horn player on Long Island as a teenager. Aaron's uncle plays a mean blues guitar and was a big influence on his relationship with music growing up. So there definitely is some musicality that comes from our families.

That said - the approach that we've all taken to our own music is much different than that of our parents and relatives. Aaron and Chase started a punk band in seventh grade, playing blink-182 and Taking Back Sunday covers around their small NJ hometown. Matt picked up guitar in high school, but really dove into playing in college, thanks to the inspiration of his roommates at the time and listening to a lot of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.

Looking back, what have been some of the highlights that you’ve experienced so far as individual artists and/or collectively as a band?

We were on a real high going into the pandemic as far as momentum goes. The Grander live experience started in June 2019, and by January 2020 we played a sold-out show at Pianos in NYC. That was a big highlight for us, but we also had a lot of small victories along the way. We put on a show in Matt and Chase's apartment to 50+ people, booked our first festival appearance at Cornchella in Western PA (not to be confused with Coachella, but maybe one day...) and played to large crowds in Brooklyn and Downtown Manhattan.

At the same time, quarantine did help us slow down and focus on the music. We had been recording our debut album at a professional studio (we were recording in the same studio as Blue Oyster Cult, lol), but were forced to put that on hold as well. That time allowed us to really sharpen our songwriting, and our next batch of music is easily our best yet.

It has been a great experience starting Grander and bringing it to a live setting, and we can't wait to get back out there!

What’s next on the horizon for you? What are you most looking forward to in 2021?

We are releasing our debut project, "If Found, Cherish" later this Spring/early Summer. The seven-song EP features songs that were all written during quarantine, and we're really excited to share it. As it stands, we have four songs completed and mixed, and the last three are very close to the finish line.

Otherwise, we're looking forward to playing live again! We are looking into putting together a livestream or virtual concert and have also talked to some friends about doing small intimate live experiences in our own spaces with small groups.

Before the pandemic, we were a five-piece band, with Angie and Jesse joining the core band, but we haven't all played together since our last show in February 2020, so there's definitely going to be a bit of an adjustment, and perhaps some new personnel coming to the live show in 2021.

And we may release some more music before the end of the year as well. There are two songs that we decided to leave off of the EP that we may package together as a release, and some old ones that we started in the studio that we hope to revisit. So hopefully we come out of 2021 with a nice body of music for our fans to enjoy.

If you could collaborate with any artist, producer, or musician -- living or dead -- who would it be and why?

I think we'd all agree that it would be a dream to collaborate with the late Mac Miller. We had very personal connections to his music, and hearing about the way he worked with other musicians is one of the big inspirations behind the collaborative energy that Grander tries to facilitate.

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and the members of Radiohead would also be amazing to work with. Both groups push the boundaries of genre and sound, and that's really fundamental to what we do. We like to learn a lot about these artists and incorporate some of the ideas behind their songwriting into our own. We question everything in the studio, and always ask what more can be done? Sometimes we'll go and completely fuck up a song, just to see how far out it could've gone, and then rein it back in, and I think a lot of that comes from Bon Iver and Radiohead.

What words of advice or encouragement would you give to someone who’s trying to make it through and stay mentally healthy during this pandemic?

I'm not sure that we are qualified to give out advice or encouragement ourselves, as we've been going through many highs and lows personally throughout the pandemic. But I think it's important to take a step back and realize that we're all in this together, and that it will get better. It's been inspiring to see progress of late, but of course, we're still in the thick of this thing.

It's been helpful for us to lean on creation in this time, but there are also some days where you just don't have it. And that's ok! I think realizing that is important too. We were so productive in the beginning of quarantine with all the extra time on our hands, and then really saw our production slow down once Summer came around. That's the ebb and flow of making art, and it's inevitable.

Is there anyone who you’d like to give a shoutout to?

We're all very lucky to have great support systems in our families and we can't thank them enough for coming out to our shows, listening to demos and just being encouraging overall.

Justin and Sam, who are mixing and mastering the album, have been great collaborators and willing to "go there" with us to create a really unique and interesting body of work. It's our first time working with mixing and mastering engineers as Grander, and it's been a real pleasure. This project sounds awesome thanks to them!

We want to thank Corey Zack at Cocoon Recording in Jersey City for letting us come through and record drums for a few tracks on the EP in November. He's got a beautiful space and is a great person to work with, and got these drums sounding real crispy.

Shout out to our close friend group who have been down to listen to our demos and give us feedback, especially LeighAnn Armbruster, Dennis Desantis and Brandon McNamara, who have all heard these songs a bunch and have been really helpful in giving us perspective from a listener's point of view.

All of the people who have collaborated with us on this project deserve high praise. Angie Cuzzola delivered some beautiful vocal performances, Josh Flores-Vitti brought that thump on a couple bass lines and Greg Anastasio provided some dreamy atmosphere. It's so great bringing our friends in from afar (Josh is in DC and Greg is in LA) and being able to create something together.

Big thanks to the Henshaw brothers for everything. Jesse's art is going to be the cover image of the EP, and Darien came through and helped us out with some production. We miss them greatly, as we've been separated through most of the pandemic, but cannot wait to jam with them again soon.

Finally, where can people find you online?

We're all over! Our Instagram is the best place to keep us with us day-to-day. You can follow us on Spotify to make sure you don't miss "If Found, Cherish" when it drops. Check out our Soundcloud for some unreleased demos as well.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks so much for reaching out for an interview! Shouts to Sonia and the Jersey Indie team for doing things like this for independent artists in NJ. It's been an honor!

Interview with Bobby Mahoney (Quarantine Edition)

By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son have been working tirelessly since first emerging from New Brunswick, NJ back in 2012. In the past few years alone, the group has toured the East Coast and Midwest, released a handful of EP’s and singles and even opened up for Bon Jovi at the Prudential Center. Most recently, the group released an acoustic version of their track “Called It Quits”, recorded in New York just before the shutdown started last year. 

When the pandemic first hit a little over a year ago, any lover of music knew it was going to be a little while before they were out seeing live music in any “normal” capacity. While some bands headed to the studio and others dissolved, Bobby took this time to help bring people together during this isolation. His livestreams have helped create an online music community that both inspires and connects musicians and listeners all around the world. I absolutely love what he has been doing with this somewhat new livestream medium and Bobby was kind enough to talk to me about what he's been up to the past year with The Seventh Son and the year of the livestream.

When and where was your last show before the venue lockdown?

B.M.: Our last full band show before the lockdown was at The Saint on February 20th with Latewaves, Lake Lilies, and Earth Telephone, but I also jammed with Matty Carlock at The Stone Pony on Feb. 22nd, played acoustic at Langosta Lounge with Joe Rapolla on March 7th, and then I was on a float with Williams Honor in the Asbury St. Patrick’s Day Parade on the 8th. The next week, the school I teach at went virtual and things hit the fan.

How has the pandemic affected the band (i.e. practices, songwriting, release dates)?

We have definitely rehearsed less than we would have, and we definitely have spent less time in the studio to say the least. We have been able to record 5 songs as a full band so far, but we have more work to do. We have put out a few new videos, a new live track, and new acoustic songs in the meantime, which we are all proud of.

How has the pandemic affected your songwriting, if at all?

I have a lot of songs that I was working on pre-pandemic that have new context to the world we find ourselves in currently. I still write down fragments of ideas and record bits of voice memos most days, and am constantly revising ideas, but I find myself letting them marinade more, living in various states of completion. As we have been in the process of getting vaxxed up, we have been starting to get back in the swing of rehearsals and studio sessions to complete the next batch of songs that I’ve let marinade enough. 

When did you first premiere your Bloody Marys and Coffee show? How did you come up with it?

I believe it was March 22nd, 2020. It started as me feeling unsure of how to help the situation, feeling restless, and wanting to give people a distraction. Part of the restlessness was feeling the need to ‘stay relevant’ and active, which I am sure a lot of our peers can relate to. 

“Called It Quits (Acoustic)” on Bandcamp now!

How many live streams have you done since the pandemic? Did you ever expect this medium to take off the way it has?

I honestly haven’t been counting or keeping track in any way (laughs sheepishly). I didn’t think we would be doing this for this long, or else I would have kept a better record. I would approximate there have been around 50 solo acoustic ‘Bloody Marys and Coffee”, two successful full band live streams, one less successful one early early on before we asked more friends for help, plus many more benefit video contributions and streams over the last year. It's like putting a bandaid on a headshot, but we are making the best of the medium. The best upside is that I get to check in with my friends all around the world once a week, and that's been a gift, and the coolness of it isn’t lost on me. I’m very grateful for all my friends, old and new, who have tuned into any of the streams this year. Some people haven’t missed one. I’m also grateful to have been able to still play with my band in any capacity over the last year, so I will take what I can get. The safety of our friends, and families who could have been directly or indirectly affected by us playing music in a less-than-safe setting has weighed heavy on me, and it continues to. 

Have you been finding yourself writing more or less the past year?

Less in the overall volume of songs, but I still have too many songs that I want to work on. I’m excited to put the band back to work as soon as possible. The gears haven’t stopped turning but they definitely were slowed for a while when it really wasn’t safe to even be in the same room for too long. Now as things are starting to look up a bit (knocks furiously on wood) we can start to rev the engine and get the gears moving faster.

Plans for future releases? Currently working on anything?

Yeah, there will be a new Seventh Son record in the not so distant future. Will it be an EP? Will it be an LP? Will it be a Double Record? Not sure. I really am still figuring that all out. Time and the process will present that information to me when I am ready for it.

You can keep up with all things Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son here!

Interview with Via Ripa. New EP "While It Lasts"

By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Via Ripa are a four piece rock outfit based out of Long Branch, New Jersey. Forming in summer of 2019, Via Ripa already has two EPs out; their latest “While It Lasts” was released 2/14/2021. Their blend of influences lead to a unique, energetic sound, with a familiar New Jersey attitude. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, after Via Ripa’s first three shows, venues were shut down and the group was forced back to their practice space. Luckily for us, the group has been hard at work and are showing no signs of stopping. I reached out to the band to see how they have been keeping busy in the wake of their latest release, as well as what is next for Via Ripa.

When did Via Ripa first form? 

Via Ripa: Mike and two of our friends (Sam Macpherson and Kyle Kieper<333) had started writing songs together and posting them on YouTube in like 2015/2016, and they called that Via Ripa, but only did that for about a year. Fast forward to the summer of 2019, and Matt, Mike and I (Sean) started jamming together and eventually got our drummer Nick in the mix. We got the okay from Sam and Kyle to use Via Ripa as our name in the beginning of 2020, but I guess you could say Via Ripa has been around for a little while. 

Who were your influences when starting the band, have those influences changed?

As far as influences go, all four of us come from varying backgrounds with varying interests in genres and artists.  Personally, mine (Nick) range from jazz artists like Louis Prima, Art Blakey and Benny Greb to bands and artists like Streetlight Manifesto, Jack Johnson, PUP, Vulfpeck and Led Zeppelin.  Sean was listening to a lot of Slaughter Beach Dog, Skeggs FIDLAR, bands like that, and Mike was on a big Jimmi Hendrix and The Smiths kick. Matt is more into blues and progressive, like Ariel Posen. That said, we feel that our sound is a result of all of these bands and evolves due to the wide variety of our own personal influences

When did you start writing for your latest release, "While It Lasts"?

Over the summer we sat down and kind of just wrote whatever popped in our head. I think in total we wrote 11 songs and ended up recording 10 of them in a two day span, with some over dubbing sessions in the following weeks. “Summer is Dead” was a reworked version of the song Mike wrote in 2015, but all of the writing for the “While It Lasts” was done in the summer.

How has the pandemic influenced how the band functions (i.e. practices, songwriting, recording)?

We had our first three shows in a two week span before COVID shut down live music, so it really sucked going from full steam ahead to doing nothing. We didn’t have practice for the first few months, but we slowly got back into playing and writing. I think the time away from practice for a little allowed us to write material in our own space and bring it to the band and then have it take a whole new shape and sound. The live music shutdown also changed the way we feel about releasing music. We could have put out a ten song album, or two five track EPs, but staggering our releases and creating anticipation for our next songs, that has really been the best way for us to present our music to people. 

Any bands you are looking forward to playing with once shows come back around? Venues in particular?

Sean — Loveseat Pete!!!!!!!!! And I would love to get back to The Saint and The Brighton [Bar], but House of Independents and any 4333 Collective show would be really cool, too. 

We would also love at some point to start branching out to NY, Philly, and Boston. Nick’s got a bunch of friends and bands out there from touring and school, which is pretty great.

How have you all been maintaining your sanity throughout the past year?

We haven’t. This band is full of neurotic basket cases who cannot be saved from themselves. 

Future plans/releases?

We have a direct-to-vinyl session with Leesta Vall on April 3, and we will be putting out another EP, 5 songs, in the near future.  We are also always writing and pumping out new songs, so at some point or another we will record those, too! But definitely give our new EP, “While It Lasts”, a listen.

Via Ripa is
Nick Marinelli — Drums
Michael Pinckney — Voc/ Guitar
Matt Smentkowski — Vox/ Guitar
Sean Cuddy — Bass 

Idle Wave - "Party Guy" Album Release. Interview with Guy Battaglia

By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Wednesday, February 24, 2021

After their self-titled debut in 2018, Idle Wave are back with their latest release, aptly titled “Party Guy.” While the project remains spearheaded by singer-songwriter Guy Battaglia, he enlisted a new cast of fantastic musicians to help bring his ideas to fruition. This record includes the catchy melodies listeners will remember from their first release, adding a focus on Battaglia’s lyrics and vocals with the track's sometimes sparse instrumentation.  After a delay with the original release date due to the pandemic, “Party Guy” was officially released to the world February 19th, after much anticipation. I recently reached out to Guy to ask him about the creation of this new record and releasing music during a time where live shows are unfeasible.  

When did you first start writing for “Party Guy”? Are these all new songs?

“Party Guy” first began with the song “Home.”

In the Spring of 2019, I’d go for regular walks around my neighborhood, that of which were often accompanied by my own voice, humming along to the spontaneous melodies crafted in my mind. Sometimes these melodies would follow me all the way home, so I’d repeat them out loud and then store them as voice memos in my cell phone. Curating these melodies not only became as habitual as my daily walks, but a way to process my life experience during that time.

Having recently left a suffocating job, I was without a doubt relieved, yet perplexed by what was to come; the next chapter of my life dawned on me as an unsettling and haunting mystery. Through these revelations, I gathered my senses, sat myself down on my bed and pressed record on my phone. Beginning with a two-chord progression and an improvisation of lyrics, one of the spontaneous melodies came adrift. This voice memo would ironically be saved as “Home 44”, as it was one of the many drafts that my voice memo app would default the title name as my phone’s location.

After recording a raw acoustic version of “Home”, I sent the “Home 44” memo to Erik Kase Romero (The Front Bottoms, Stillhungry) and asked him to cut the track with me. Since we were overdue to work on a record together, Erik kindly accepted the project and I began gathering new material. Throughout the Summer, Erik and I reworked the two most Pop-Punk influenced tracks on the record (“Happy” and “Stay”) which were first demoed with Idle Wave’s former band members and respected friends — Joseph Enright, Matthew Herman, Kevin Houston, and Chris Russo. Even though these two songs were originally demoed elsewhere, they needed to be completely reconstructed with Erik to the styles of “Home” and the new Indie-Alternative genre that we were naturally gravitating towards. (You can hear the original demos of “Happy” and “Stay” when you download the deluxe version of “Party Guy,” only on Bandcamp).

By the Fall, most of “Diet”, “All Night”, “My End”, “Sex/Tape”, and “Space” were mapped out or tracked with Erik, and it only took a few more sessions into the Winter to finalize the album. In the several months that carried the recording process from Fall to Winter, we experimented with tape loops, shuffled between guest musicians, and even changed studio locations. Anyhow, as  “Happy” and “Stay” constitute as new songs, despite of their original format, “Sex/Tape” does not. “Sex/Tape” was borrowed from my former Alternative project “Flammable Animals” and was instrumentally reimagined to create a darker and deeper experience then it’s original counterpart, “American Counterpoint.”

For those who are interested, “My End” was the last song to be written for the album. Beginning as just another melody on the acoustic guitar, “My End” startled my own thoughts with feelings of nostalgia. I foresaw “the sounds of my childhood”, and reflected on the sounds of Indie-Rock bands from the 90’s. After listening to the final instrumentation back for the first time, I felt something indescribably large about the song; I knew I’d make it “track 7” on the album from that moment on.

Who did you work with when recording “Party Guy”? Have you worked with these people before? How did that affect the music?

This was my first time collaborating with Erik on my own music. For years I have sat in on sessions with him during college classes or when I was just hanging out at his studio and playing shows with him.

Erik and I were both determined to enter a realm of sounds I’ve never been a part of before. I was particularly inspired by Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” and how it was an acoustic driven record with distorted bass and raw drums that just took you away lyrically to a bizarre fantasy land. Although I went in not knowing what to expect, one thing was for certain; I wanted this to be a full-length record.

Featured musicians included either close friends of mine or other talented musicians that I had crossed paths with in the Asbury Park scene. Not only did Erik produce this record with me, but he helped craft bass lines, piano embellishments, and drum machines. I hired two incredibly talented drummers (one of which is a longtime friend of mine), and even did a vocal feature with my friend Brittany Byrne (singer of Skyeline). My long-term friend Samir Bunty Tawalare played drums on the latter half of the record while Chris Donofrio (formerly of Deal Casino), was commissioned during the early Summer sessions. 

How has the pandemic affected your songwriting process?

I’ve spoken to a number of songwriters I look up to who have been cursed with “writer’s block” this year. I am happy to say that has not happened to me (knock on wood). In fact, once we were given a go on proper public safety precautions, my friend Connor Hanson and I began meeting up to work on a follow up record over the summer.  

What has it been like setting up a virtual release show opposed to one in person? Any benefits/drawbacks you feel strongly about?

Honestly, nothing will ever beat a live show. In this Black Mirror era of civilization, live shows are where I meet the people that see the world eye to eye with me; the ones who don’t mind being alone on a Friday night and aren’t afraid to scream their heart out to their favorite songs.

I feel eternally grateful to all who have tuned in to our previous livestreams, and we are making a point to deliver this time; four 4K cameras, a new studio space, a full five-piece band, and some of the most exceptional musicians and engineers I have ever worked with.

Nobody is satisfied with the current state of things, but I’m beyond lucky and thankful for being able to get in a room with people and track 11 songs in one day for this supportive community to experience. I am not exaggerating when I say it blows away some of our previous streams.

Who will be joining you/playing with Idle Wave at the release shows?

For the upcoming ”Party Guy” release show, my extraordinary band will feature:

Connor Hanson (Cloud Hands)

Jon Chang-Soon (J C Soon)

Samir Tawalare (Talk to Plants)                                                            

Brittany Byrne (Skyeline)

Erik Kase Romero (Stillhungry, The Front Bottoms)

Personal favorite part of the record to you? 

I do love all eight of the songs, but “Diet” and “Space” are the ones I’m most excited for people to hear.

You can purchase “Party Guy” by Idle Wave here!

No Great Pretender Releases Debut Album, "The Piano Project"

By Sonia Schnee | Posted Friday, February 19, 2021

If you’re craving tunes with an indie/folk, singer/songwriter vibe, look no further than No Great Pretender’s debut album "The Piano Project,” which was released today on Spotify and other streaming platforms (via Mint 400 Records). No Great Pretender is the solo project of Eric Sosler (Union City, NJ), who also is a member of the band The Racer. The first music video for the album ("Comfort") also premiered earlier this week on Blood Makes Noise. Check out our interview with Eric, below, to learn more about the inspiration behind his album, what it’s like to solo-crew a music video, and more.

Congratulations on the release of your debut album "The Piano Project" and your music video, "Comfort"! What can you tell us about the inspiration behind this album? How long has it been in the works?

Thank you! I started writing for this album in the beginning of the pandemic. I lost my job as a bartender and had all this extra time and decided this was a great opportunity to start doing something I had been wanting to do for a while. Write and sing my own songs. My own ideas. Being in the band The Racer, it's always been great to be able to write songs in a group setting and all the ideas get molded together, but this was a chance to do something completely on my own. So as bad as the pandemic and quarantining was and is, I am grateful for the opportunity it allowed for me as a songwriter.

Where did you record? Who did you record with?

I am fortunate enough to have a best friend in The Racer, Michael Esserman, who was able to carve out some time to record these songs for me. It was interesting as I was able to send him all the piano tracks in email that were recorded on GarageBand (I have very limited knowledge on all these programs), and he was able to transfer to his ProTools sessions. I was then able to record vocals in his studio, which we did in only a few takes. I am new to singing as a lead vocalist, and I also did not want to strive for perfection on these vocals. I wanted them to flow naturally and for Mike to capture what came out without singing a hundred takes. Of course, I rehearsed and had a game plan for it, but I was curious to see what would come out in real time.

I think Mike did a really good job of enhancing the intimacy of the project. In his words, his vision when presented with the songs was to make it sound like I walked into an empty room and played on an old dusty piano. I am grateful for his work on this!

What was the music-video-making process like?

So, I love making music videos! We have a bunch of videos for The Racer that I love being involved in. The biggest challenge is always what can be done on basically zero budget. The “Comfort” video is a perfect example of this. The goal was to just try and capture all the emotions, uneasiness, discomfort, comfort, pressure of being in front of a camera when trying to perform or interview, or just attempting to stay sane in your own mind.

I was by myself doing this video, so that was unusual and a little weird but still fun (like looking around for someone to laugh with after I just did one of the angry emotion takes). But I just cleared out a section in my home of all the furniture and set a tripod up with my iPhone11 and let loose with all the ideas and went with the flow.

I'm also very proud of this video since I was able to do everything myself, especially the editing. Technology has really advanced in the sense of being user-friendly for people that aren’t the most tech savvy, and something I've been able to do over the course of the pandemic is learn just enough to edit a simple video such as “Comfort” using the iMovie App and VideoLeap App on my phone.

Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? What has your journey been like?

I’m originally from Monroe, NY and always grew up with that New Yorker sense of pride and New Jersey is gross mentality! I moved to Jersey City almost 7 years ago and boy was I wrong. I now consider myself so lucky to be part of this Jersey music community, and I like to think I have made it to the point where I can say I represent New Jersey now! It feels like home to me.

There’s so much going on here with all the arts and music, which has really influenced me in growing as an artist. It’s allowed for me to develop my own ideas and venture off into this solo adventure. Up until now The Racer, the band that I am in and have been in since 2001, has been my only real creative outlet.

The idea of No Great Pretender and me finally writing my own songs came to fruition in the beginning of the pandemic. The name is from the song off of The Roots’ 1996 album, Illadeph Halflife. I love what that name conjures up for me. The imagination. The possibilities of it all. So I don’t want this to be just about music. I want it to represent a creative practicing lifestyle, and I want to continuously grow with it.

How would you describe your musical style? Who are your influences?

I don’t want to be beholden to any one style. I just want it to be me. For “The Piano Project” there’s a ton of influences in the songs. Most notably Gregory Alan Isakov, Justin Vernon, The National, Frightened Rabbit to name a few. I love the sad, melancholy type vibes and it definitely showed up in the songs. I think “indie folk singer songwriter” is what I put down for this album, but the idea of No Great Pretender is ever evolving. I want to collaborate with artists. Do all different types of music. I have really been getting into Jazz and Blues and trying to learn that as much as I can, but I'm open to anything.

Do you have a favorite song on "The Piano Project" and if so, what is it about?

“Hardly Anymore” was the first song I wrote for this solo idea. So in the beginning, I was just so proud of it and kept playing it all the time so I wouldn’t forget it and of course loved it for that purpose alone.

Over time, “Comfort” has stepped into a nice role for me. I think the video enhanced it for me. I really let that vulnerability feeling out on that one so it’s developed into something special personally for me. I'm not used to being the focal point.

What are your goals, personally or professionally, for 2021? What are you most looking forward to?

I just want to keep growing as an artist. Keep improving and learning from others. I’ve learned a lot during this pandemic time period and mostly that I don’t know a lot! So I just want to keep improving and keep creating as much as possible. I’m looking forward to playing live music in whatever capacity. Although, I am worried about my nerves getting the best of me, so I will have to rehearse a lot for it!

Finally, how can people find you?

You can find me at:
www.instagram.com/no_great_pretender
www.nogreatpretender.com

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

“Cause I'm the soul avenger, remember I'm no great pretender” - Lyrics from “No Great Pretender” by The Roots’ Illadelph Halflife. I love that line in the song.

Interview with Joyer

By Sonia Schnee | Posted Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Back in June, indie slowcore duo Joyer released a new album entitled Peeled. Check out our interview with band members Nick and Shane, below, to learn about their musical style, upcoming shows (November-January), and words of advice.

What's your name, where are you from, where are you based now?

We're Nick and Shane Sullivan from Nutley, NJ. Nick still lives in Nutley but Shane goes to school in Boston, but we do most of our recording and practicing in Nutley still.

How would you describe your sound? Who are your musical influences?

We've been categorized as slowcore a lot, which is cool because a lot of our inspiration is drawn from bands like Codeine or Bedhead, but when we started we really just set out to make indie music that we like the sound of, and a lot of it just happened to be in that vain. Some other influences would be Pavement, Spookey Ruben, Slint and Stereolab, so a lot of 90's stuff haha.

Congratulations on the success of your album, Peeled. What can you tell us about the inspiration behind some of the tracks on it?

Thank you! There isn't really a defined inspiration behind any of the songs, some might have meanings for us but we try to keep it pretty suggestive. A lot of what we try to do is evoke interesting imagery, and just express what we're feeling at the general time of when were writing. The lyrics come out sort of collage-like sometimes, with a mixture of different inspirations/feelings.

Tell us a bit about your creative process. Which comes first for you, the melody or the lyrics? Is there anyone who you actively collaborate with, or would like to collaborate with in the future?

There's not really a set way we write songs, they all start a bit differently. Sometimes one of us will write almost everything and the other will give notes or play the bass or drums on the recording, other times it's more collaborative. There isn't really any song that is totally written by just one of us though, there's definitely input from both of us on everything.

You have some shows coming up. When/where are they, who are you playing with, etc.?

Right now we're preparing to put out two different releases so we're slowing down on shows a bit, but the ones we have coming up are:

Nov 16 in Hamden CT with Pulsr at The Church
Nov 23 in Boston with Bedbug, Snoozer and Plight at Tedhouse
Dec 14 in Brooklyn with Spookey Ruben, The Red Room, and Littlefoot at Sunnyvale
Jan 9 in Montclair NJ at The Meatlocker

There's a few more in the works but aren't quite confirmed yet, but we're definitely going to try to play a few more shows this winter.

What has you personal journey been like so far? How’d you get to this point?

It's been really fun, we've met some really great people and played with some awesome bands. I'm not really sure how we got to the point we are at or really even what point we're at. To us we feel like we're just doing what we've always been doing with our music. It’s hard to put in perspective how far we've come, so its always surprising and exciting to hear that people we don't even know listen to our music.

Do you have any words of advice for people who share a similar passion or have maybe faced similar obstacles/challenges?

For anyone making music to just keep at it and keep experimenting with different approaches. It'll eventually get easier to write and you'll get increasingly happier with the results. Also take breaks from writing when you need it because you won't enjoy it as much if it starts to become a chore.

Finally, what are some ways that fans can connect with you online? (Website? Facebook? Spotify? Etc.?)

Our bandcamp is: https://joyer.bandcamp.com

You can find us at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at: @joyernj

and you can just search us up to find us on Spotify!

Interview with The Bummers

By Sonia Schnee | Posted Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Emo punk indie band The Bummers may be based out of New Orleans, but they also have a New Jersey connection. Guitarist/Vocalist Ben Shooter grew up in Little Falls NJ and, back in July, the band performed at The Meatlocker in Montclair as part of their summer 2019 "Mass Consumption Party" tour to promote their new EP Dairy Beach. The guys recently released a new single ("Animal Familiar") as well as a music video ("NHL 2002"). If you’d like to support The Bummers, they currently have a GoFundMe campaign up to help them record their sophomore album and organize a 2020 West Coast tour. Check out our interview with band, below, to learn more about their musical roots and plans for the future.

What's your name, where are you from, where are you based now?

Guitarist/vocalists Ben Shooter and Sean Doyle, bassist Clay Hakes, and drummer Fox Capone comprise The Bummers.  The band is currently based in New Orleans, but Ben, Sean and Clay are originally from Little Falls NJ, Philly, and Buffalo NY, while Fox is originally from Nashville.  

How would you describe your sound?  Who are your musical influences?

Our sound is most easily described as emo punk with some other diverse influences (metal/grunge/post-punk/goth/hip-hop/etc.) mixed in.  But we don’t really care about fitting too easily into any specific genre.  

Bands we like include Violent Soho, Car Seat Headrest, MCR, Coheed and Cambria, The Toadies, Donovan Wolfington, and Deal Casino (who we played with earlier this year for their New Orleans show).  

If we’re doing classic rock covers, though, our go-to is always David Bowie.  

Congratulations on the release of your newest single, "Animal Familiar."  What can you tell us about the inspiration behind this song?  

We wrote “Animal Familiar” while on our summer 2019 east coast tour.  On the way to Buffalo, we stopped in at Nada Recording Studios in Montgomery, NY to record some songs with John Naclerio (known for his work with MCR, Brand New, etc.).  We more or less put together the lyrics and music in the studio. John’s space is deep in the woods and he had mentioned that he’s also near the “UFO capital” of NY, which made for a spooky atmosphere.  We had the intro riff already worked out but in the studio Sean came up with the lead guitar melody which is very minor key and eerie. So we ended up feeling like the lyrics should be about magic and witchcraft.  We ended up releasing “Animal Familiar” right before Halloween and made it the opener for our Halloween night show in New Orleans.

"NHL 2002" by The Bummers - from their summer 2019 EP "Dairy Beach.”

You released a music video not too long ago (which is a blast to watch!) for the song "NHL 2002." What was the music-video-making process like? 

For the “NHL 2002” video, we worked with a group called Pixel Collective.  They had us drive out to their location in Baton Rouge and we filmed the entire thing in one all-day session.  The song is all about nostalgia and longing for the simpler joys of early 2000s childhood, so naturally we based the music video on one of the classic video games we played as kids.  The actual process involved a lot of jumping around in front of a green screen - they recorded us one at a time and then edited it all together. You can see some of that in the behind the scenes shots at the very end of the video.  The studio was also great and reached out to a bunch of their friends to find someone willing to let us borrow a Nintendo 64 to use in the video.   Dairy Beach

Your EP Dairy Beach also premiered back in June of this year. Tell us a bit about your creative process.  Which comes first for you, the melody or the lyrics?

We started working on Dairy Beach in early 2019 as a follow up to our 2018 debut album A Very Exciting Life.  We recorded the EP at the Music Shed in New Orleans with engineer Ben Lorio.  On this EP we had a couple of songs we’d been sitting on for a while and songs we more or less put together in the studio.  We also had a little bit more time and freedom to do new things we’ve wanted to try. With our first album it was mostly very bare bones - 2 guitars, bass, drums, vocals with maybe one additional harmony.  With Dairy Beach we did a bunch more vocal layering than we’ve done in the past and we also got to use some additional instruments - for example we used a B3 organ on “Kill Yourself”, and a cool sequencer that Ben Lorio had for parts of “Pile of Little Arms”.

As we went along we started to notice common themes in the lyrics of our songs and we put together a sort of concept for the Dairy Beach EP.   A lot of the tracks on Dairy Beach have a very bleak and nihilistic attitude about them, so we kind of packaged the EP as a bunch of anti-summer bops.  

The Bummers outside First Wok in Little Falls, NJ.

There’s also a track on the EP about growing up in New Jersey which is called “First Wok.”  It’s kind of a tribute to Ben’s favorite Chinese restaurant in Little Falls. When we came through NJ this summer on tour we stopped at the real First Wok for lunch.

We almost always come up with music first.  Lyrics usually take us a bit longer although we usually have a concept for what the song should be about.  Sometimes for lyrics we end up needing the pressure of the studio situation to get anything done and we’re still working on them until right before its time to record vocals.

Is there anyone who you actively collaborate with, or would like to collaborate with in the future?

We’ve been sending John Naclerio our songs to mix and master since A Very Exciting Life, but this summer recording “Animal Familiar” and “Fists” was the first time we’ve gotten to meet him in person and work in his studio.  So we’d really like to do a full album at Nada Recordings with him.  

Recently we’ve had our friend Davey Ginger joining us on trombone for select shows in New Orleans and we’d love to have him do some horns on the next record. We’d also love to incorporate some rap influence and we were thinking of collaborating with the NJ group Melting Mindset, who played at our Meatlocker show this summer.  

Do you have any tour dates coming up, or any shows planned for New Jersey specifically? 

We are currently planning a January 2020 tour in California.  However we’ll likely be back in New Jersey sooner than you think.  Our show at the Meatlocker this summer went really well - we had a lot of friends and family come out but we also got a lot of new people who were interested in the music.  We’d love to come back to the Meatlocker and also try some Asbury Park/Jersey shore venues, maybe in summer 2020.  

What has you personal journey been like so far?  How’d you get to this point?

All 4 of us have been in various bands for most of our lives and are really avid music lovers, so we each bring a slightly different musical perspective to The Bummers. It sort of becomes a bit of a musical stew at times, with a lot of different influences converging. We started in 2014, and I think in our stuff from back then you can hear those differences isolated in different songs. In our more recent stuff, those different sounds have really started to blend together and make a sound that feels a little more unique to ourselves. 

We’ve been a band for 5 years now which feels like a big accomplishment.  We all work full time jobs and put a lot of time and a lot of our own money into this.  We work hard to make time for this, to make the best music and recordings we can, and to put on the best live shows we can with the resources we have.  In this past year we’ve started to see our work pay off and we’ve gotten to do some great things. Dairy Beach was our first release to get some real press.  We got to do our first TV performance in New Orleans.  We’re getting bigger and better shows and also doing a lot more shows outside New Orleans.  And this summer we had our tour and it was great to see that people were into our music in places like NJ and Philly.  

Being a band certainly isn’t easy in 2019, it can be pretty expensive and everybody has to really be on the same page to maintain a constant schedule. I think because of that, you really have to genuinely love it. 

Do you have any words of advice for people who share a similar passion or have maybe faced similar obstacles/challenges?

Play music that makes you excited. Don’t worry about how the crowd will react or what music other people are making and don’t compare your progress to other peoples’ progress.  

Find other bands you like and help each other out - share your resources so you can build a community around all of your music.  

Finally, what are some ways that fans can connect with you online?  (Website? Facebook? Spotify? Etc.?)

Our music is on all major streaming platforms including Spotify/Apple Music/Bandcamp/Soundcloud/etc.  Here are a couple of relevant links:

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/441IiUTM9Sy6tb6wqaF2PK?si=7d8lGw0vROWMzIOwcANWHg

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thebummersband/

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAffos5hV9OP09QQXBMxtJw

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thebummersband

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thebummers

We’re not on TikTok though because we’re not really sure what that is.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Be on the lookout for new music. We like the momentum that we have so we’re going to keep putting out new music constantly until long after everyone asks us to stop.