Cake: A Music Zine, Issue 3

Going Wild With Madi Diaz and Kyle Ryan

Interview with The Rolemodels Reviews of Dan Deacon, Rรถyksopp, Lady Sovereign and Peter Bjorn and John

Cake #3

Housekeeping And Such Cover Photo : Reid Rolls Back Poster: Derek Rogers

Editorial

Financier : Derek Rogers Layout: Brad Collins

So, somehow we have a concert. I don’t Title Design : Brad Collins know what we did to deserve a concert, but we have one. On April 11th, issue 1’s Copy Editor: Alex Palombo featured band These Electric Lives joins Staff Photographer: Taylor McIntyre local awesomeness Caution Children in a night of musical bliss. It will be the most Coloring Crew: Rose Cohen Westbrooke, Danielle amazing show for miles. I’m counting down Hendrickson, Taylor McIntyre the days until we rock out Emerson Suites.

Assistant Editor : Joanna Cook I hope that you all come by and dance with us. The show will hopefully be the first of Editor In Chief: Ryan Bryant many shows for Cake. We have so many exciting things left for the year. Last week Special Thanks : Marianne, Ty, Madi, Kyle, Meggy C we finally got our website up, it’s cakezine.

The opinions expressed within express blogspot.com. Right now we just have those of the individual writers or interview the issues up and the concert poster. In subjects and not necessarily those of the the future we plan to put more reviews, publishers of the magazine as a whole. articles and live show reviews on the blog.

We hope that you enjoy your third slice of cake. We put alot of work into this issue and we hope your like it. If you have any awesome suggestions for things you’d like to see in the zine, let us know. We plan on adding in all sorts of new things in the future.

2

-Ryan Bryant Cake Editor In Chief

Must Download 1.

2.

3.

4.

5

“Panic Switch” – Silversun Pickups

“Don’t Wanna Cry” – Pete Yorn

Delicious Music Video “Daniel” – Bat For Lashes

“Invisib le” – Winter Gloves “Make Me Believe” – Angel Taylor

. “Cantelowes” – Toumani Diabate

Artist to Watch:

Champagne Champagne

As far as

drinks go, Seattle is usually best known for Starbucks. If SXSW goes well, it will be known for Champagne Champagne, a hip-hop group straight out of the rainy city. The group is a combination of rapper Pearl Dragon, DJ Gajamagic, and lyrics written by Thomas Gray.

Their goal? To “make music that makes [them] feel good,” per their site. Their single “Soda and Pop Rocks” is certainly a feel-good party jam, with a synth-bass beat and screechy hook primed to rock any house party. In their trippy 80s themed rap “Moly Ringwald,” the group talks about a girl it loves with a “Coke bottle” body and a lethargic backing. So next time you throw a bash, put away the jungle juice and start serving up Champagne Champagne.

-Alex Palombo

Courtesy of Astralwerks

Where To Be Tuesday April 7th: Steph Taylor & The State Of @ The Nines 10PM $5 Friday April 10th: Funk & Disorderly @ The Nines 10PM $5 Saturday April 11th: These Electric Lives and Caution Children Emerson Suites @ Ithaca College 7PM Doors Open at 6:30 $3 at the door

Madi Diaz and Kyle Ryan

By Ryan Bryant and Danielle Hendrickson Photographs by Don VanCleave Madi Diaz and partner in crime Kyle Ryan released their first independent EP , “Ten Gun Salute” last year. The two recently moved to Nashville to take on the city with its vast history of great songwriters. Madi and Kyle talk about their EP, SXSW, future releases and how Madi never graduated.

Cake: You were in the documentary “Rock School”. What was it like having your life taped?

Madi: It was definitely awkward at first…It was really cool after a while. I became really good friends with a lot of the crew, so it actually was pretty great. Plus you’re 16 and you just think that it’s rad.

Cake: Do you still go by the name Shafreaka?

Madi: No. [Laughs] Cake: Any plans to start a rap career like Joaquin Phoenix? You had your Friendly Gangster days, any desire to start that up again?

Madi: No. Kyle’s smiling. I think he’s really excited. We do have this side rap project. [Laughs] It won’t be a side group for long. I assure you. We’re called The Street Babies…Our hit song is going to be called “Smacking On Your Buttcrack.” [Laughs] Cake: You had the Talk Radio album, then you did “Skin and Bone”. What was it like doing a more independent project with the “Ten Gun Salute” EP? Madi: I think “Ten Gun” for me and Kyle, we just felt more in control…We were in a much more relaxed environment. It was the two of us facilitating what we were trying to accomplish, so it was a lot easier.

Kyle: I would say that it was nice to not have to answer to somebody, particularly someone who didn’t know what they were doing. That sounded really mean. It’s not that... it’s that the first record we made, we were all kids and like “Hey, lets make a record.” No one really had ever done it before...On the next record we worked with Justin Loucks and Ian Fitchuck. They’ve done a lot of recordings and they’re really great. They felt really comfortable, and we felt really comfortable with them.

Madi: It was pretty cool because we just moved to Nashville, and we were just jumping into the pool of this whole new world of musicians… We had kind of sucked Boston dry a little bit… we kind of ran out of inspiration a little bit, at least speaking for myself in Boston. It was cool to come to Nashville and be surrounded by so many people with so many ideas.

Cake: Are you excited to go to SXSW and be part of such a huge festival?

Madi: Yeah, especially this year it finally became a legitimate thing. The first year we went, Berklee flew us down just for one party. Last year when we went, we just played a bunch of unofficial parties and just kind of hung out. We were there with our manager and our publishing company. We met so many people and saw so many people. This year, it seems like it’s going to be a thing for us. It will be a lot of fun if anything.

Cake: In terms of 2009, do you have plans to put out anything new that you’ve recorded?

Kyle: Yeah. Ever since we moved to Nashville at the end of July we’ve just been writing constantly. That’s what the “Ten Gun Salute” EP came out of… We’ve got another fifteen songs or so that we haven’t even demoed.

4

Madi: It’s a bit overwhelming, all the new material. We don’t know what to do with it. When we get in studio its going to be word vomit.

Kyle: It’ll be very cathartic I think. Also, I think it will be nice to do something official…Its been a while since we’ve sat down and organized something, and really set a goal and tried to achieve it.

Madi: The EP was fantastic. It was kind of a seven day sprint thing…It was definitely a brief moment in time. We were out on tour and trying to press it in the process. It became this rush thing. It will be nice to kind of sit with our ideas.

Cake: The temporary tattoos in the EP were fantastic.

Madi: I was sitting on the couch and …I get really bored. I would just go onto all these different websites and was like “Kyle what would you think if we had two thousand temporary tattoos of us riding giant bunny rabbits?” He was like…

Kyle: Yes. [Laughs] Cake: If you could have actors play you in a film who would you pick?

Kyle: Can we pick each others? I’ll say Madi’s…Rosie Perez.

Madi: What’s the guy that plays in “XXX”?

Kyle: Vin Diesel.

Madi: Yes. Best movie ever.

Kyle: Vin might need to take a little time beefing up cause I’m pretty ripped. [Laughs] Cake: What is your favorite artist or album right now?

Kyle: It was a little while ago, but “In Rainbows” was pretty monumental for me. I thought that was the best record I’ve ever heard. Ever.

Madi: I know we’ve both been into Dr. Dog. Their album this past year was probably definitely one of my favorites…Fleet Foxes are really great, I’ve been pretty into them recently. Dr. Dog I think pretty much takes the cake. I don’t think I ever got tired of that album at all.

Kyle: We just saw them play in Nashville a couple of weeks ago and it was incredible.

Madi: Yeah, the second time and you know it was incredible again.

Cake: What’s one random fact about you that most people don’t know?

Madi: I can wiggle my ears.

Kyle: I’m too boring, I’m from Nebraska. My front tooth is cracked. Its going to fall out at any point... I have a cheese bag.

Madi: He has a cheese bag! He keeps a special bag of cheese in the refrigerator. Its got all his favorite cheeses in it.

Cake: Any last words for our readers?

Kyle: Stay in school.

Madi: Stay in school.

Kyle: I don’t think Madi has ever stayed in school. I don’t think Madi has ever graduated from anything.

Madi: I went to Berklee College of Music… and I found out after my freshman year that I had never gotten my highschool diploma. Shows you how much research Berklee does before they do any sort of acceptance for their school…Yeah, and then I dropped out of there too.

[Laughs] You know, everyone just does things differently.

Kyle: Follow your dreams.

Madi: Follow your dreams. Everybody does things differently. That’s a great message.

The Rolemodels

By Danielle Hendrickson Photographs Provided By The Role Models

The Rolemodels are a local punk band from Ithaca High School who’ve made a killing of a following in town.

With help of the Ithaca Underground movement, The Rolemodels have played impressive shows at The Haunt and most recently at the FLEFF tribute to The Clash concert on Friday, March 27. Cake got a chance to catch up with 4 of the 5 guys: Jacob Brock, Ari Kaputkin, Alexi Bouvet- Boisclair and Corey Mahaney.

Cake: How did you guys get your start?

Ari: We’ve all known each other for quite a long time, and after being in a few bands in middle school, Graham and I decided at lunch in 9th grade one day, we wanted to start a punk band.

So we ask[ed] Jacob because he could play guitar, and then Alexi was just starting to learn drums. We added Corey a year later.

Corey: The band had already been started when I joined. I’m not really sure how I got started playing with them. I got invited to a band practice and eventually just sort of ended up being in the band.

Cake: What was The Clash tribute show like?

Jacob: I didn’t play at that... I was playing guitar for the Grease musical at my school. ‘Cause missing a show to play Grease music (12 bar, shuffle, surf rock... oh boy) is punk as fuck.

Ari: The Clash show was a lot of fun. We learned the songs in a rush, but I think it went well. All the other bands were great and it was cool to meet some new people. Also, it was good exposure for us: being a young band that most people don’t really know about and most of the people there we hadn’t seen at any shows before. Its always good to get exposure, especially now with Ithaca Underground growing.

Cake: If you could play with one punk band, who would it be?

Jacob: One punk band? No clue because there are those ones who’d be super fun to hang around with/play with, but there are also those ones who’s music I worship and those who’d be really good ‘exposure’ for the band. So, overall, probably The Germs; raising Darby Crash from the dead would be cool too. [Laughs] Ari: Minor Threat Alexi: The Clash Corey: This one.

Cake: What inspired you to play punk music as opposed to any other genre?

6

Jacob: I didn’t really listen to that much punk before we started. I listened to The Clash, Rancid, The Unseen, The Sex Pistols and The Ramones. I guess what attracted me to the idea was that I didn’t know much about the genre and the idea of playing with a bunch of people I was friends with from elementary school, (which is as far back as I go with anyone who isn’t related to me). I think there’s room for punk to grow too.

Ari: Well I grew up around all sorts of different music and I have always been into punk music.

We all play different stuff as well; we play a lot of folky stuff together too. But playing punk for me is very gratifying. There aren’t too many other genres as raw and honest as punk is.

Alexi: At first I just liked the music. Then I obsessively listened to bands like Rancid or The Clash and I wanted to play like them. Then I saw touring bands like Sonic Boom Six, Cobra Skulls and Static Radio NJ and I thought, “This is exactly what I want to do in life.”

Corey: We all connect better when playing punk. We each have separate backgrounds in music and we all play different kinds of music outside of the band. But I think the group started with the intention of becoming a punk band.

Cake: Are there any plans for 2009? AKA, any releases or tours you have going on?

Jacob: Hopefully we’re playing a couple of dates on Warped Tour, I’m really psyched, and incorporating that into sort of an East Coast Tour. I don’t think we’re about to go on a road trip to California though. I’m thinking it’s really about time we made some new recordings to put together an EP and some merch.

Cake: If you could have any band/musician cover you, whom would you choose?

Jacob: Jeffrey Lewis or Aphex Twin. Just to see what the hell will happen to our songs.

Ari: The Violent Femmes, again just to see what they would do.

Alexi: Any band covering one of our songs would be awesome.

Corey: I have no idea.

Cake: Do you have any last words for our Cake readers?

Jacob: If you want to hear us, listen to the Warmongers video and maybe the demos (they’re bad...) but don’t judge us too much until you’ve seen us live. Then you can storm out halfway through and we’ll have something to laugh about later.

Ari: Come out to some shows! Check out Ithaca Underground! Keep reading Cake zine!

Alexi: Come out to shows!

Corey: Support your local music scene!

REVIEWS Bromst - Dan Deacon

D an Deacon has built a career on the strange. Deacon’s music started as little more than sound collages and experiments, near

impossible for the average listener to engage with. With his 2007 release, “Spiderman of the Rings”, Deacon quickly became an underground smash with reports of his high-energy live shows traveling by word-of-mouth.

“Bromst” comes two years after Deacon’s last release, and it delivers in almost every way. The music still induces dancing. The energy level still reaches and exceeds the ecstatic highs of previous releases. The songs still contain the strange effects expected from Deacon. One of the strengths of the album is that Deacon holds back on some of his stranger aspects, never allowing the songs to fully explode into simply sound. The sensibilities of the album help hold Courtesy of Carpark Records

the entire thing together.

The songs are more conventional and unified than those found on “Spiderman”, almost too much so.

Many of the tracks take their lead from “Spiderman’s” epic “Wham City.” The structure of the songs doesn’t vary much, with the songs starting small, building to energetic climax, and then quickly winding down or ending entirely. This lack of varying structure turns into one of the few weaknesses of “Bromst.”

Deacon still experiments on the album. The vocal loop break in “Snookered” stands out as a true success, utilizing vocal clips and effects to create a unique and fascinating pallet of sound. A less successful experiment comes from “Wet Wings,” built almost entirely out of loops of a woman singing. The song is an eerie break from the high energy of the album, but feels out of place among the other songs, like the ugly sister kept in the closet.

As a whole, Dan Deacon seems to have finally found his niche in music with “Bromst”. His eccentricities remain present, but no longer distract from the energetic and fun core of the album. This is an album to make people move, bounce, flail. It’s an album to be enjoyed both physically, and sonically.

Jigsaw - Lady Sovereign

- TJ Gunther

9/10

W

8

you’ve heard in every Lady Gaga song, and the

ith Lady Sovereign’s new album, lyrics seem to make a joke of everything she’s “Jigsaw,” the rapper sheds her earlier, more worked for. unique sound and lyrics for video-game beats

Sovereign tried to come up with a record and a worn out disc full of unrequited love. Her full of dance hits to make bodies move. Instead, debut album, “Public Warning,” was a shoutshe just created mediocre songs that leave the out to the world, to let everyone know she was listeners wishing she’d stop singing and just here. Unfortunately, her second effort just told rap already. “Jigsaw” seems more like a demo everyone to stop listening.

CD instead of an upstanding sophomore

The beginning track leads us in attempt. with her sing-songing her way through the lyrics over an arcade-sounding beat.

- Danielle Hendrickson She doesn’t quite reel us in until the seventh track, “Pennies”, because she reverts back to showing off her rapping skills that she really does have while she continues to warble her way through the chorus. Her stab at a dance-club hit, Courtesy of EMI “I Got You Dancing,” has the same synth

5/10

Living Thing - Peter Bjorn and John

Junior- Röyksopp

After four

Living

Things, the newest album by Swedish indie electrorock trio Peter Bjorn and John, creates a melodic wall of Courtesy of Almost Gold Recordings catchy rhythms backed by heavy percussion. Fans of “Writer’s Block” will enjoy this album and the band’s evolution of their sound. The percussive elements that the band toyed with in the last album blossom throughout this one, especially in the title track.

The uniquely melodic, echoing vocals remain one of the band’s best qualities, and they come full force in Living Things. The lyrics explore different sentimentalities, rather than a single feeling, as they evoked in “Writer’s Block.” While “Lay it Down” sings, “hey the shut the fuck up boy/you’re starting to piss me off,” the catchiest tune, “Stay This Way,” sings sweetly that “you can only do so much in little time/if you’re up for sharing I could split up mine/‘cause it makes me happy.”

Overall, Living Things follows the footsteps of the band’s previous albums in that with each listen, it grows more and more remarkable.

- Joanna Cook

Courtesy of EMI Music France

Norwegian duo.

Leaving their chill-out electronic past behind, Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge construct a dance-oriented album: the synths are compressed and the bass lines fluctuate faster than the drums can beat. For example, “Tricky Tricky”, one of the strongest tracks on the album, builds in intensity and complexity until it unleashes into a beautiful arpeggio-lead outro.

Similar to most Röyksopp albums, guest vocalists abound. Unlike previous albums, the songs on “Junior” are almost entirely vocal-driven.

The singers’ unique voices and catchy hooks emphasize the dance elements of the album.

While Swedish singers Robyn and Lykke Li do a fantastic job, Karin Dreijer Andersson of The Knife and Anneli Drecker of Bel Canto truly steal the show. Despite the fact that “Vision One” is a recycled remix from the band’s back catalog, Drecker adds so much emotion to the song it easily becomes a standout.

“Junior” does nothing to revolutionize the electronic music genre, but it is a solid, polished and highly entertaining addition to Röyksopp’s already outstanding discography. Fans of the genre—and those willing to accept that the duo are not interested in repeating motifs of past albums—will find a lot to love on this one.

7/10

years, Röyksopp returns to the scene with their third studio outing “Junior.”

Building on the energetic themes of their second album “The Understanding,” “Junior” is a logical and exciting progression for the

- Derek Rogers

7/10

Join us on IC Link, or send us an email at cakezine@gmail.com. Check out our blog at cakezine.blogspot.com. We have meetings on Thursdays from 7-8. Email us or join the IC Link email list to find out the location. Thanks for reading!

10