By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Friday, October 1, 2021

Lightheaded is a three-piece dreamy power pop trio based out of Long Branch, New Jersey. Since first forming in 2017, more recently the band has moved in together and started hosting all ages shows at their house. This has proved to help strengthen a scene that has been affected by the pandemic and also encourage creativity in a safe, inclusive space. Having seen Lightheaded live a few times over the summer, I recently reached out to the group to learn more about them and find out when we can expect some new music. Thanks again, gang!

When did Lightheaded first form?

Lightheaded was first formed in 2017. The bands we had been playing in were coming to a natural conclusion. We met during what ended up being one of the last handful of shows for both of our bands... it made sense. We have a really similar music taste and vision for what our band should be.

Who are the group's main influences ?

Lightheaded’s main influences are countless. We love The Pastels, mark that down first. Probably the reason we started the band. They set the template. The Feelies, New Jersey legends. Got to mention them. Stephen used to live in the same town as Stan! Dwight Twilley and Phil Seymour, we love all the sorta one-off power pop bands! Felt are very special to us. Belle and Sebastian. The Clientele’s first couple records... The Go-Betweens never missed... just cut us off now, we’ll take up the whole interview.

How would you describe your music?

Lightheaded’s music sounds like people who care about music. Listen to us or watch us and you can tell. We take writing interesting arrangements with literary lyrics very seriously. All of our songs develop their own unique direction over time. Some might be based very much off of synth or a delayed guitar and sound almost shoegaze, but the next might be rooted in French pop and an acoustic guitar. Album #2’s got a tune inspired by Devo. It’s overwhelming how much we want to do and how many hats we want to try on.

How has the pandemic affected the group's songwriting, if at all?

The pandemic affected our songwriting a bunch of different ways, but most obviously, we all moved in together lol. Anthony has a reel to reel and we spent months working on tape demos when we couldn’t be in public spaces. Not much really went anywhere spectacular, but it was important. That period allowed us time to incubate and think of where our ideas were headed. Those demos afforded us a platform to sketch those ideas into meaningful songs we’re proud of.

Where has your inspiration been coming from lately?

Lately, our inspiration comes from our community. We have been throwing monthly gigs at our house and the artists that we have met have made the process comforting and satisfying. To play with new artists like Teen Idle, or 2nd Grade, a band building one of the best discographies in the game... It's proof that what’s happening right here in New Jersey is going to be stronger than it’s ever been. It’s fertile ground at the Jersey Shore. We want to be a part of the next new memorable NJ scene, like The Feelies were in Hoboken or Screaming Females in New Brunswick.

Favorite show you’ve played?

Our favorite show we’ve played... was in front of Susan Sarandon. Twice. Our hearts could only beat so hard...

Who did you work with for your upcoming debut EP?

For our upcoming debut EP, we worked with Adam over at Retro Media Studios in Red Bank. Sometimes, it’s hard for us to be in a room with people, but Adam has been beyond accommodating and flexible to our studio anxiety. If we want to sound good, we need to be in a good head space.

You can keep up with all things Lightheaded here!

Upcoming plans for the group?

Plans, plans, plans... we’re schemers. Always trying to have stuff cooking. #1 is the Season of the Lost EP. We couldn’t be more excited to show everyone the first batch. We are going to continue throwing monthly shows, throughout this year and next.

But seriously, most importantly, we just want to get our songs out to the public in an official form. We’ve been a band for awhile now and have a ton of songs that we’re really happy with, so we figure to release the full-length sometime in 2022 and play an out-of state tour, too. We are also looking for someone who slaps the keyboard around, so if you know anyone... send ‘em our way.

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

<a href="https://viaripa.bandcamp.com/album/while-it-lasts-ep">While It Lasts - EP by Via Ripa</a>