New Band Love: Walking on Rivers

I’m sure many people have that fantasy of going off on vacation, perhaps to a foreign land, and falling in love, having that magical night, and taking home a perfect memory that you will never forget. Well, folks, it has happened to me. I went off on an adventure to Berlin and found a new love; a band love of course!

Meet Walking on Rivers:

 

They bill themselves as an indie folk/pop group, which I suppose is appropriate (think older Mumford & Sons).  The quartet is from Dortmund, Germany which I had to look up (it’s central west, has a football museum and a building with a giant U on top), but they sing in English.  I was drawn initially to the band’s use of harmonies and piano but what sold me at the show was their energy, cohesiveness, and connection with the audience…they even came into the crowd to sing for their encore.  They told me they had only been a band for a bit over a year which was surprising given the depth of well crafted songs on their set list.  They have a released EP that you can check out on bandcamp, but they also have a slew of videos that I think give a great sense of the band.  They mentioned that maybe next year they’ll get to The States.  I sure hope so. In the meantime, I may be the only person in all of this land sporting a Walking on Rivers t-shirt.  Hopefully that will change soon.

From my trip’s photo album:

 

Connect with the band:

Instagram
Facebook
Bandcamp
Youtube

 

 

 

~ Kristen

 

Amanda’s Top Acts of 2015- James Bay

Every year closes and there’s always a select number of events and things that stick around in my brain and really stand out as something memorable. I mean, if it wasn’t that memorable, I probably wouldn’t be able to recall it as vividly as I do after an entire year passes by. For me, 2015 was filled with a fair amount of music related trips and some really “omg this is really happening?!” moments. To be honest, you already know about these artists from our site but I’d like to share what makes them special and why going out to see a band/artist is such an awesome experience for me…

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Photo by: Megan Gotch (@thenerdygirlie)

James Bay is someone who’s name you should be familiar with from reading our site. He’s an amazing artist with a really soulful and gritty voice with lyrics that can cut you to the quick and reverberate through your soul. I was lucky enough to see him a few times this year with the standout moment being at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. Bay had been scheduled to play there back in May and I missed out on the tickets. (Drat!) Then the show had been rescheduled to August and I missed tickets again. (Bummer!) Finally, the date was rescheduled to November and I discovered it just in time to get tickets to the show in November. What luck!

Back in July I had seen James Bay sell out the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, which according to Wikipedia, holds 3,500 people for musical events. So, the opportunity to see someone who was literally selling out arenas across the US at the 600 capacity Belly Up was something truly special and unique. Also, something that wasn’t likely to happen again. Since I knew this would be a really unique opportunity to be up close and personal, I decided to get there a few hours early and wait in line. I’d say the wait paid off in spades by being part of the first line of people against the stage. There isn’t any kind of barrier at Belly Up so when I say we were there, we were right there!

It was a truly amazing experience and one that will likely never be reproduced. James was his highly amusing and entertaining self throughout the entire evening. He started the evening by saying that he was finally happy to be there after all the issues and “music industry bullshit” and he was just happy people showed up after all the jerking around. I won’t get into the minutiae of the entire evening here because that would take up entirely too much of your time. I will however give you these details (and maybe more if you ask me in person)… he played for over an hour, he played everything from Chaos and The Calm, he also played some of the songs from his previous ep, there was a sing along portion of the evening, and he did a cover of Proud Mary. He completely owned the stage. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see him yet, I urge you to get on it! He’s currently touring everywhere but here it seems so keep your eyes peeled!!



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New Band Alert: SPURS

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Adam Arcuragi is certainly not new to the music scene. His richly textured voice has been mesmerizing the masses since his debut album was released in 2006. Adam has toured extensively in the US and abroad, living in Georgia, Philly, NYC, and now Los Angeles. His last album, 2012’s Like A Fire That Consumes All Before It…, was met with excellent reviews (LMN included). This guy has even been deemed the founder of an entire musical genre (Death Gospel). Although “Adam Arcuragi” has taken different formers over the years (at one point there was an eight person woman’s choir involved), the music has always been under that name.  Then a year or so ago, Adam went to Joshua Tree to work on new music and he emerged with a new musical moniker, SPURS. Curious about this new project, I sat down with Adam over gelato where he pontificated on his new outlook, new team, and what is on the horizon for SPURS.

Here is what I learned:

SPURS was inspired by ghosts, a personal hero, and teenage Adam

After taking some time to go home and be with family, Adam came to a realization: “Life’s too short so why not do the things you want to do. Part of that was just wanting to expand. I was driving just outside of St. Louis and it just washed over me. You’re done. You’ve scratched every itch you’ve wanted to scratch. I made all the records I wanted to make in that style and in that way. I was hungry to learn something new.  So when I came out here [to Los Angeles] it was a combination of the desert (places like Santa Fe and the high desert out there in New Mexico)…I don’t know a better way to put it than they have ghosts. I know it sounds kooky but it made be believe. Any good scientist is going to tell you it’s never knowing, it’s only failure to disprove, but I was of the mind that pretty much everything has been failed to disprove at this point. It opened me back up on a weird way.

I think this set me up personally to meet a songwriting hero of mine [Jeff Barry, co-writer of 60s hits like “Da Doo Ron Ron” and “Be My Baby”]. At first it was just kind of hanging out and talking about the process and what not. Then we worked together and he said he’ll actually master and the dude made it look like nothing. Remember the piano playing Muppet who would pound his head against the piano? I always thought that real genius was that. Sitting in a dark room somewhere just feeling it. It overcomes you. And for him it was not that at all. He had his method. He had his insight. And he just went through it.

It was that combination that really let it loose. It was a feeling of sort of letting 16 year old Adam out of the box.”

 

More than a new sound, the new name represents a new freedom (freedom to use reverb).

From Adam’s perspective: “When you are trying to do anything creative, there is a certain idea of challenging yourself. You put up these rules or restrictions. For me, I love reverb, I love tremolo. I love organs and Mellotron, and lots of vocals, but I always sort of held back on all of that, especially reverb because in my mind, it was the easy path and as an artist I wanted to challenge and grow. I think I just got to that point that I’ve proved to myself that I can do it well holding back all those things, the sort of teenage impulses. This project is about that [exploring those impulses]. If little Adam wants reverb, there is reverb. There is reverb all over this record. Like bonkers proportions. Physical reverbs, different kinds of processed digital reverbs, things like that. There’s a whole bunch of tremolo. There’s a whole bunch of piling on voices in such a way that it sounds less and less like a human voice. Yeah, it was that kind of freedom.”

 

The songs are more decoded, translatable

From his time in the desert and his brief apprenticeship with Jeff Barry, Adam learned a different way to approach his lyric-writing.

“He [Jeff Barry] always gave me a hard time. He said all of my lyrics are coded. He said some people are going to have the key to decipher it and some are not, how you fix that is you don’t make it a code. I said to him, Jeff isn’t that a matter of taste, a matter of that’s how it comes out and he said that is absolute shit. If you’re trying to tell somebody something, you need to tell them in a way that they are going to understand. My lyrics didn’t go from dense mess that they are into Da Doo Run Run, but I feel like I found a nice middle ground.

And in terms of performance, and how that translates, I just shook off that part of it that is thinking that everyone could see the same color haze that I saw and instead of relying on the idea that everyone could see the same haze that I saw, just breaking through it and saying so, there’s this haze, there’s a difference in terms of intention. It has a huge different in how you come across. “

 

Who exactly is SPURS?

SPURS is still basically Adam Arcuargi. The way he puts it is “it’s sort of putting that closet of clothes away and getting new clothes. It’s still you in the clothes. It’s just a new way of looking at things. “

The majority of SPURS’ debut album was conceived and recorded out in Joshua Tree where Adam recruited friends David Hartley (Nightlands, The War on Drugs) and Fabian Simon, two guys that Adam claims really got it and helped him achieve the sound that was in his head. The recordings were then mixed by Andy Brohard.

For the live incarnation of the music, Adam has recruited a local LA band that consists of drums, keyboard, guitar, bass, and a couple backup vocalists. The use of multiple voices helps to capture a bit of the lush sound of the record.

Beyond those in the recording booth and on stage, Adam has recruited a new team (manager, lawyer, etc), who all have had an impact on the new project with their ideas and support.

 

 

SPURS live: from The Hotel Cafe residency to house shows

SPURS has been doing a residency at The Hotel Cafe. The final show is Tuesday April 28th at 9pm. On these shows, Adam says, “All three of these shows have gotten successively better. I think the band is finally hearing what they want to hear in terms of everything coming together. We’ve got some nice things to come out for.”

After The Hotel Cafe, SPURS has a few more LA gigs in the works. Adam also hopes to head back to Europe where he has had several successful tours in the past. One notion he loves in Europe that wants to do more of is the house show.

“The thing we’re really getting into is house shows. In Europe, it’s a whole thing. A group of people get together, pool their money, and put it towards the artist they want to host and that is the entertainment over there. It’s fulfilling in a way that playing a show in a theater or club is not. It’s different, looking at people when they are in a more intimate setting. It’s not always in a living room. It can be on a porch or in a beautiful manicured garden, or a larger space like a church. The idea is that it’s a community of people that get together to curate this thing for themselves.”

 

SPURS recordings: 7” vinyl and the eventual record.

Adam is excited about the upcoming release of a promotional 7” to “test the waters”. Encouraged by his vinyl junkie manager, these limited runs will be done in small batches of colors like pink and white. Then when they sell out, they will be gone.

The full length record is basically done and should come out in the US, Europe, Australia and maybe Japan by the end of the year. To answer the question of why it has taken so long for the album to come out, Adam points to another thing that’s changed with the name, “We had everything in place for one model and then when the new team came on, they wanted to see what they could do and make it a little more there’s. If you’re gonna change the name. If you’re going to slightly change the sound and the focus why not change the way you go about it? I’m looking forward to it. “

 

To keep track of SPURS, bookmark/follow/like/friend/etc at the links below

http://www.spursmusic.com 

http://www.facebook.com/spursmusic

http://www.twitter.com/spursmusic

http://www.instagram.com/spursband

 

~ Kristen

Must See Show: Rags & Ribbons at Bootleg HiFi 10/8

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Portland trio, Rags & Ribbons have been on our must see list since they played the opening notes of “Magnesium Dream” at their Overture Con performance last year. The harmonies! The piano! The pulsating, hypnotic beats! This band deserves your attention and if you’re in So-Cal, you’re in luck as they are currently in the middle of their West Coast tour. Wednesday night, Oct. 8th, they will grace the stage at Bootleg HiFi in Los Angeles. Here are 8 reasons you need to be at that show (4 from us and 4 from Rags & Ribbon’s singer/guitarist Ben Weyerhauser:

Our take:

1. Pianos rock! – Who can resist a hook-y piano driven tune? Rags & Ribbons does piano rock right.

2. You enjoy a good live show – the recordings are great, but there is something magnetic that happens when the three guys of Rags & Ribbons take the stage together

3. The venue – If they can drive all the way down from Portland, you can certainly drive across town to The Bootleg. The venue is my current favorite in Silverlake. Street parking is never a challenge, there is a nice patio area great for in-between set chit-chat, and they serve ginger beer and sparkling apple cider. Bonus points if the back room is open with its comfy seats, ginormous wall TV, and ping pong table.

4. This video– This video from “Even Matter”, a song off their debut album, The Glass Masses has converted several of my facebook friends into fans. Press play and see if it does the trick for you.

Ben’s take:

5.. The lineup – Rags & Ribbons plays at 9pm, opening for LA rockers Kiven and that band has been on fire lately.

6.  The sound is right – The band is traveling with their own sound guy, so they will be sounding their very best

7. Last chance! – This is the last time Rags & Ribbons  will be in LA this year and it might be awhile before you have the chance to see them again

8. The industry is coming– It’s an important show for the band. If you’re already a fan, they would love to see you and have your support.

 

See you at the show!

 

~ Kristen

Top Ten Sets of SXSW 2014

Well SXSW might be officially over but we are trying to keep the magic alive here at LMN. And can you blame us? It was an amazing good time full of great acts, good friends, much love, and lots of fun. So in the spirit of keeping things going, we present to you our top acts of SXSW 2014. This list is in no particular order because let’s face it, that’s too hard to do. Instead, think of this list as the acts that affected us the most. There will be familiar names and new names but all of them got to us at SXSW.

 

Amanda’s Picks:

1. Morning Parade at Palm Door (The Universal Music Group Showcase)

One of the things that makes SXSW so fun is the opportunity to sample new music and discover your new favorite band. Morning Parade was a band that I wanted to casually sample. You know, stay for 3ish songs and go see someone else. That was my goal for the day. However, Morning Parade threw a wrench in my plans for the day. I was so enamored by them that I stayed for their entire set and was left wanting more from them. They had their fans dancing, heads bobbing, and feet tapping the whole time, mine included. They played new stuff, old fan favorites and I loved it all. Give me more! IMG_0036

2. Beware of Darkness at Wahoo’s Fish Tacos (Wahoo’s Music Showcase)

The show that nabbed the title for the craziest rock and roll experience ever was Beware of Darkness at Wahoo’s. I had only seen Beware of Darkness a few times beforehand but those shows were nothing compared to this wonderful insanity. I’m not really sure what inspired the frequent guitar shredding trips into the crowd or the standing on a table rockstar moments from frontman Kyle Nicolaides but all of it was amazing. Truth be told, I wasn’t even going to attend this particular show because fatigue had set in, I wasn’t feeling well, and I was already in the hotel but I knew it would be my only opportunity to see some familiar faces so, I made the trek. The set was short but absolutely crazy in the best way possible. Definitely an experience that will be hard to repeat.

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3. Dear Boy at Rusty’s (Swing House Austin Occupation)

I think there’s something really special in being able to support a band out at SXSW who is there for the first time. File the relatively new band Dear Boy under that category. They had a rather light show schedule at SXSW so it was imperative for me (well, us) to make sure we caught this particular show at Rusty’s. It was their best show of SXSW, which was impressive considering it was a day show and on a very tiny stage. Their set was far too short (isn’t that how it goes at SXSW?) for my liking but they had a great energy and were really into their groove. I can’t wait to see where they go from here.

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4. The Silent Comedy at The Tap Room at The Market (Official Showcase)

Seeing The Silent Comedy play at SXSW is always a good time. It’s an even better time when it’s at 1am, you’re tired from being up till 3am the night before, you’re in a small venue, and the stage is way higher up than you expect it to be. Sounds like a possible disaster, right? Nope. This was a crazy good time filled with some old favorites like “Prince,” “Gasoline,” and “Road Song” as well as some new tunes like, “Always Two” and “Avalanche.” Justin Buchanan, banjo and mandolin player extraordinaire gets an extra shout out for his crazy shenanigans, which involved leaving the stage to go play with the folks who thought it was safe to sit upstairs. You were wrong. I’m willing to bet there were a few folks in the crowd who fell for The Silent Comedy that night and really, who could blame them?

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5. Semi Precious Weapons at Rusty’s (Crave Online Showcase)

Semi Precious Weapons make me feel sexy. There. I said it. They were on my top picks last year and they are back again for putting on an even better show than last year. Since this was their only set at SXSW it was extremely important that this event not be missed. They had this really infectious energy about them that just bled into the audience, which kept growing and growing. The tight space gave me less dancing room but I didn’t care because being backed against a wall made it that much better. Their set included new/old favorites like “Cherries on Ice,” “Free Booze,” “That’s My Friends,” and “Drink” as well as two new songs “Vegas” and “Hands Up.” I’m happy to say that all of those songs will be on their forthcoming full-length album, Aviation. There was even a surprise visit from Lady Gaga herself who watched from the side stage. Needless to say, I left this show feeling Aviation High.

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HM: Robert John and The Wreck at Wahoo’s Fish Tacos (Wahoo’s Music Showcase)

As it goes with SXSW, you tend to meet new people at shows and chat about similar musical interests and swap names of bands worth checking out. Well, I met this guy outside of Wahoo’s when I was wandering back to my hotel and stopped by to hear the beautiful noise from the venue. He told me their name was David and Olivia and I should come see his band play there later that week. When he said his band was Robert Jon and The Wreck I immediately recognized the name as someone The Silent Comedy had mentioned they were playing with and had seen it on the bill but had never seen them before. I promised to catch their set later that week and I’m really glad I followed through. When they started playing I changed from a walking zombie of myself to an alert toe-tapping individual who was ready to do some dancing. Although I failed to nab a picture of them playing (there was a sleeping Trina on my shoulder), they were really enjoyable and I look forward to seeing them play again sooner rather than later.

 

Kristen’s Picks:

1.  We Met Tomorrow at Karma Lounge (Official Showcase)

I discovered some great talent at this year’s SXSW, but one of the most exciting for me is this young Swedish band called We Met Tomorrow. Their set at Karma Lounge was particularly sweet because I had tried and failed by mere minutes to see them earlier in the week.  This band is instantly captivating with their genre-defying sound and unique set-up. Sans drummer, beat duties are divided between singer, Rickard, who works a bass drum and snare and bassist, Emil, who takes on a foot-pedal crash cymbal.  The energy of the band easily transitions from heartfelt country/folk to frantic blues/rock making every song a new surprise.  In a week packed with new sounds, We Met Tomorrow presented something different and exciting and that, for me, elevated them above the rest. New Band Love.

P15201582. Meg Myers at Red Eyed Fly (Official Showcase)

I adore Meg Myers. Her songs have a tantalizing mix of hard and soft that give them an addictive quality. I saw her at first opportunity Wednesday at The Empire Garage, but her set was way too short and left me craving more. Suddenly, I felt the compulsion to see Meg at every possible opportunity. I rearranged my schedule and was able to make it to her Wednesday night set at Red Eyed Fly. I think I was left unsatisfied at the previous occasion because Meg didn’t end her set with the gut punching “Heart Heart Head”, a song that just leaves you devastated in the best possible way.  The set at Red Eyed Fly included more of the hard-hitting tunes like “Go” and yes, “Heart Heart Head”. I felt cleansed.

P15101903. Sam Smith at St David’s Historic Church (Communion Showcase)

I didn’t think this show was going to happen for me. Friday night, I wanted to get to St. David’s for Hozier’s set at 9:45, but I was running late and the line for badges was the longest I’d seen that week. I camped out in the Church Chapel enjoying some Yoshiki and Gungor. Afterwards, I was just going to leave, but walking back past the main hall of the church, the line had whittled down substantially and within minutes I was ushered into the church. There was no more room on the pews, so I sat myself down in front of the stage. This casual looking band was in the middle of a song. They would have easily been mistaken for a garage band had it not been for the angelic voice coming from the man on the microphone. 20 seconds in and I was so mesmerized I swear my heart stopped beating so that I could listen all the more intently. I only caught 2.5 songs of his short set, but that was enough to make it one of my most lauded performances of the week.

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4. Parade of Lights at The Brew Exchange (The Green Room by Beautiful Buzzz and The Most Definitely)

Parade of Lights is my break-out band of SXSW 2014. I ended up seeing them 3 times over the week. It would have been four had they not had to cancel their super late-night set on Thursday. I am a long-time fan of this band, but SXSW 2014 proved to me that they have really gotten to a place with their line-up and their tunes that has elevated them to be worthy of the big leagues. They are so electric! You see them once and you simply must see them again. The Parade of Lights set at The Brew Exchange was the first I caught that week and really reminded me of my band love.  I was surrounded by friends, all dancing and falling in love with the music. The moment was perfection!

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5. Queen Caveat and The Kin at Whole Foods Rooftop (Quantum Collective Party)

I’m not cheating here including two bands in order to get more of my favorites mentioned on the list. Although both Queen Caveat and The Kin are longtime loves, what made this a truly unique and spectacular SXSW moment, was the pairing of favorites I would not expect to ever find on the same bill. Another standout feature of this “set” was the audience. The rooftop was full of families and fans who really seemed to connect to both bands. Queen Caveat drew in a bunch of younger girls looking up to rock star frontwoman, Lauren Little, in complete awe. Then I spent quite a bit of time post-show chatting with newly minted The Kin fans who were enraptured by the Aussie brothers’ vocal harmonies and ear candy tunes as well as percussionist, Shakerleg’s unique hands on approach to creating a beat.

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HM: Heymoonshaker at Trinity Hall (French Tech Party)

This band gets the award for most unique act of the week. They are a combination beat-box/blues band. Seriously, let that sink in for a minute. The duo not only has a unique and very compelling style, but they have serious stage presence and get additional points for audience participation (there was some hard core hip-shaking going on).  This particular set was also special due to the SXSW miracle that needed to occur for me to get in to see it. Let’s just say I owe huge thanks to my new “friend” who was standing at the door.

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Listen Up- Featuring: All Mankind, Stone Cold Fox, Ten Ton Man

I’ve got some new tracks to work their way into your lovely and awaiting ears. No, this isn’t a New Music Tuesday post or a New Band Alert post. This is just a few tracks from a few bands that I’d like to share with you today. I’m feeling generous. Take advantage.

 

All Mankind- Simple Desire

This is a four piece originally from Sydney but they are now based in Europe. They have had their music featured in the multi-million selling FIFA 12 video game on EA Games, ABC’s Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (Theme Song), The Bachelorette Wedding (commercial), The CW’s Gossip Girl and Reign, MTV’s The Hills, The Inbetweeners, Jersey shore, The Real World, The Challenge and many more.

 

 

The Important Links:
Website
Facebook

 

Stone Cold Fox- January

This song by an Indie Rock band from Brooklyn, New York made it’s premiere earlier today on Huffington Post. The band is comprised of members from all over the US and are releasing their debut LP Memory Palace on May 6th. FILTER described the band as one that “blends a youthful and energetic sense of comfort through beautiful songs and simple aesthetics.”

 

 

The Important Links:
Website
Facebook

 

Ten Ton Man- Chunk of Change

This NYC based trio have a new EP out aptly name Chunk of Change. This EP follows up their self-titled debut album from November 2012. Their new EP will be out April 8th.

 

 

The Important Links:
Website
Facebook

 

Happy Listening!

The Bard Interviews: Dear Boy- Part II

Bet you folks thought I completely forgot about my sit down with Ben Grey of Dear Boy. Well, I hadn’t. Life just got in my way but it’s the still first month of the new year and time to come out roaring. Also, Dear Boy is playing their first show if 2014 tonight at the Bootleg Bar. In case you were snoozing, you can find the first part of my interview here. Without further chatter…

A: Do you have a specific approach [to your music videos] because they are definitely unique.

B: Well, we got lucky that we got to work with Bailey Wynn. Who I will just say is my sister. We finished the record in 2012 but we didn’t want to release it because, it’s been my experience and just as a listener [that] I feel like once I have the mp3, or if somebody gives me the mp3 too easily it looses value. And at that time we had never played a show, no one knew who we were and it just was like, I don’t want it out there yet because there’s no audience for it. So, I discovered a new facet of a band’s creativity, which is going to be that visual presence and so we released these teasers with my sister.  We had all this unused sound design we had all these ideas and we just want to start to make things and since there wasn’t a band there were no expectations and was like, well this is something I feel comfortable putting out and seeing how people respond to it. And so it started with a concept and from there it just sort of, I don’t know how to say … I don’t know. We knew what the aesthetic was and we knew what we were trying to go for and it was really easy. And having a collaborator like her, she’s so great that she would take small little ideas and turn it into these amazing things. I’m really thankful that we just had a chance to collaborate with her. It’s a big deal and I’m really proud of the videos.

A: Are there any special stories behind any of the songs? I know you have one that kind of pays tribute to Scarlet Grey. At least, that’s what it sounds like.

B: Yeah, actually. That’s interesting that you would pick up on that. The song “Green Eyes,” which is on the record, is kind of my… It was the first song written for this thing and it was just kind of a way of saying goodbye to all of that.  I think you’re probably referencing another song now that I think about it. But, that song is actually just kind of a “Bon Voyage” but in a really positive way because it was such a positive experience. I’m just kind of not the same person musically or really just at all.

B: So, I think you’re probably referencing a newer song that says my name. Am I right?

A: Probably. I don’t remember the lyrics offhand. I think it goes, “I’m still Grey but I’m not the same.”

B: Yeah. That’s it. That’s a newer one. That song is called “American Gloom” and it will be going on whatever it is this new record becomes. That’s a personal one. I’ll probably keep that a secret.

A: OK. That’s fine. I know your songs definitely take a different… I don’t want to say a different approach but they’re sonically different than what I’m used to from you. But I like them. I’m not saying they are bad or anything. They’re just different.

B: Cool.

A: So I’m just wondering, what inspires it?

B: It’s genuinely the music that I listen to. I mean really my favorite music, my favorite types of music; it’s early 90’s British pop music. You know, post punk and it’s really kind of traditionally how Americans, like I said before, romanticize British music. Obviously I have this propensity for British music. It’s the stuff that I’ve been listening to for 10 years. The problem is that I started Scarlet Grey when I was really young and I didn’t think that it was going to be… that we were going to make a go of it. And it’s just a bunch of friends and I and we just made this fun active rock music and then we started playing and people started coming and then it was. I was in a weird position because I love the songs and I did have this fondness for the whole thing but it was like the more we did it, the further I would get away from what I really wanted to be writing. And not that I don’t, you know have love for those songs or the friends that I’ve made or the fans that we made and all that but this is the first chance I’ve had to really do what I really really wanted to do.

A: Mmmmhmmmmm

B: I know I threw a lot of reallys into that.

A: That’s ok. You’re from The Valley.

B: I’m from The Valley. A lot of reallys and a lot of likes.