APRIL 2015
CITY STREET exclusive
FULL INTERVIEWS WITH
• JON VAN DINE OF CRUISR • • RALPH PELLEYMOUNTER OF TO KILL A KING • • ROB COLES OF LITTLE COMETS •
CITY STREET: EXCLUSIVE UNIQUE, CANDID INTERVIEWS WITH PROMOTED ARTISTS OF APRIL 2015. ALL FEATURES CONTAINED A LIMITED SPREAD WITHIN THE MAGAZINE, BUT CITY STREET MAGAZINE DESIRES TO SHARE MORE. CATCH THE UNEDITED INTERVIEWS WITH CRUISR, LITTLE COMETS, AND TO KILL A KING IN CITY STREET: EXCLUSIVE.
PHOTOGRAPHY TRENTON MATTHEW, EMMA BARROTT, SIMON GODLEY, SALONI JAISINGH AND SAM KEELER
MANY THANKS JON VAN DINE, RALPH PELLEYMOUNTER, ROB COLES, OLIVIA HOBBS, AND STEVE LEWTHWAITE
CONTENTS CRUISR
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4
LITTLE COMETS
8
MAGIC MAN
11
TO KILL A KING !
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12
CITY STREET: EXCLUSIVE • 3
JON VAN DINE // CRUISR
For how long have you been drumming? I have been drumming for about 19 years, but I would air drum to Nirvana for hours when I was 7. When I was in the 6th grade, I wanted to join the school band but was afraid of messing up in a concert. My mom finally talked me into pursuing it and I couldn’t be happier that she did! I took to it very naturally and studied under a great teacher for 8 years. Favorite moment you've had whilst performing/ drumming? My favorite moment was playing the Tower Theater in Philadelphia on the 1975 tour. That’s one of the biggest venues in the city and some of the biggest names in music have all played there. Our families were at the show, which was so great because we had been gone for about five weeks, so it was a great homecoming show. It was also pretty emotional for me because all my life I fantasized about that exact scenario: playing a sold out show to thousands of people in front of my family. It was a dream come true. Had you always wanted to be in a band / a drummer? I have loved music my entire life, but I think when I was 7 is when I got the itch. My sister (who is 11 years older than me) gave me a copy of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’. That is when I realized I wanted to be in a band. Do you prefer to play bigger shows or more intimate gigs? That’s a good question. I really love both. I love the intimacy of smaller shows because the energy is so raw and heightened. With really big shows, sometimes that energy gets disconnected between us and the crowd. I absolutely need to feel the energy of the crowd when I play. It’s a symbiotic relationship. I remember playing one of the largest shows we ever did, which was to 5,000 people in Phoenix and the gap between the stage and the crowd was so incredible that I felt alone on that stage, which just made me feel a bit awkward. When we came home from the 1975 tour, we headlined two smaller shows in NYC and Philly which were both sold out and we had the entire crowds singing our songs so loudly, it was so rewarding. CRUISR has been gaining many amazing opportunities lately. Do you feel more pressure to perform well now that your audience is increasing, or is your skill natural? There's definitely more pressure than before, but I think we welcomed it and in doing so became a way better band. I think naturally we are all very good musicians, but we are always striving to improve our live show. The 1975 tour was our first tour as a band, so we spent several weeks before tour started obsessively picking apart every weakness in our live show and built something much better. We got better every single night and I think seeing how amazing The 1975 were day in and day out, it constantly pushed us. "All Over" recently reached 1,000,000 Spotify plays and was just a free song on iTunes. How does it feel to know that people around the country sing along to your songs? Not too long ago, my goal was to have a song get 100,000 plays. The fact that 'All Over' reached 1 million blows my mind. Now I just wanna top that!
When was All Over "born?" What was the writing process? Did you expect its success? All Over started being written last year around this time (March). Andy writes most of the music and creates demos that are pretty close to the real thing, and then I write the drum parts. We are kind of shy to the idea of expecting a song to perform well, to be honest. If anything, I expected Kidnap Me to be the successful single, as we had previously recorded and released it on our own and it charted pretty high on Hype Machine. You toured with The 1975 just a few months ago, has this impacted your life/ music? Touring with The 1975 has changed a lot of things. We grew our fan base, which in turn has increased our visibility to the world. We’ve seen such a surge in sales on iTunes, plays on Spotify, and our social media has grown so much. Our own headlining shows now have been packed with fans who discovered us on that tour. Musically, The 1975 helped elevate us as musicians and have inspired us greatly. They are the hardest working dudes we know and that’s why they’re so successful. We want to work harder than we did before. How did you get the gig to open for The 1975? How did you feel when you found out? The 1975 are on the same US label as us (Vagrant Records). Our manager signed them years back and we actually played with them in March of 2013 for their first Philly show to about 100 people. We were offered the tour out of nowhere with only about 4 weeks before the tour was to start. Getting that call was unbelievable. I remember playing it cool on the phone and then when I hung up, I was jumping up and down running around the apartment in excitement. Were the members of The 1975 ever a "mentor" to you? Any words of wisdom they passed on? Funny moments? Absolutely! They taught us so much. We are a very young band and had never toured prior to that one. We were able to gain so much experience in those 7 weeks that I think really elevated our band. The 1975 is one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen as well as one of the most successful bands I know. They didn’t just get there with luck; they worked REALLY hard. They were great mentors to all of us. Everyone buddied up with their 1975 counterpart. George and I would talk drums a lot, and same with everyone else. Matty and Andy would talk about songwriting and I think Adam even gave Bruno a guitar pedal. Their crew even helped us out since we didn’t have a crew of our own. Leon fixed Bruno’s guitar and would help us on stage if we needed anything. There were many funny moments, but for me personally, in the beginning of the tour, I was most nervous about them watching us perform. I remember looking over to side stage and there was Ross, watching us and as soon as I noticed, I got super nervous and completely missed hitting a crash cymbal. I basically just hit the air with my stick. Can we expect more music or another tour in the future? We recently signed on for a short tour this summer with a really rad band but can’t announce it yet. We’ll be doing some other tours throughout the rest of the year, as well. As for music, we are releasing 'Go For It' as a single with another song as the b-side. I believe that’s slated for March 10th! We are gonna be writing a lot between tours and working on a full-length for later this year. You’ll most likely hear a few singles released throughout the year. Who are your musical influences? The bands that helped influence me as a drummer, and as someone who wanted to pursue music full-time are Nirvana, Blink 182, Rage Against The Machine, The Police, and The Appleseed Cast. That’s just the list of bands early on in my life that really shaped my drumming style. Today, my list is pretty vast and I take inspiration from everything I listen to. I am really into funk and hip hop lately, which you can probably hear in 'Go For It’. You've mentioned on your twitter how you can endure panic attacks or anxiety in certain situations. How do you cope as your job is to constantly be in front of people? Anxiety is something I am constantly struggling with. It’s how I am wired and I do what I can to keep it in check. Oddly, it doesn’t seem to get worse when it comes to playing shows. I am terrified to speak in front of people, but playing drums in front of 5,000 people doesn’t really scare me. Sometimes I'll get nervous if I know industry people will be there, but I don’t really feel any different playing to 5,000 or 100 people. I guess it’s just the right element for me to be in! Is there anything you'd like to say to people that are currently suffering from anxiety? Don’t ignore it or fight it. It only gets worse if you do that. It seems like a lot of people are afraid to go seek help from a therapist; I think people see that as a weakness and it proves that they’re “crazy”, which is hard if they’ve been trying to ignore it. It is super important to take care of yourself. I see a therapist, I take medication, I meditate, and I also exercise. I want everyone to know that they’re not alone and that talking with a therapist is the best thing you can do. A book that kind of saved me in a lot of ways is a book called “Feeling Good” by David Burns. Go read it. CITY STREET: EXCLUSIVE • 5
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“I NEVER STOPPED PLAYING MUSIC BECAUSE IT’S JUST SOMETHING I HAVE TO DO. I DON’T THINK THERE’S ANY REAL SECRETS TO ‘MAKING IT.’”
What is the best part of drumming? My favorite part of being a drummer is that it is very cathartic. I feel like I ran a 5k every time I finish playing a show. Any stress I may have felt prior has melted away. Do you enjoy being active on social media? Do you like the fact that you can interact with fans in an instant? Yeah, I do. I’m probably the most active of the band. I really love being able to interact with fans because I really appreciate them and love to get to know them. They mean the world to me and I think it’s important to have a relationship with them. Do you have a motto / mantra that you live by? "Be here now.” But I don’t think I am the best at living by it. It’s just my goal. If you could tell your 17 year-old self that by now you'd have released music and toured with one of the most successful indie bands of the age, what would he say? Do you have anything to say to 17 year-old Jon? First off, 17 year old Jon would never believe that I’m signed to Vagrant Records. I was listening to almost every band signed to Vagrant at the time. I feel like I actually react the way 17 year-old Jon would whenever we get cool news or tour offers. We just got a new tour offer last week and I celebrated by jumping up and down and running around the apartment with Andy. What type of drum set do you use? I am sponsored by C&C Custom Drums. They have built me two rad kits over the years. I’ve got an acrylic kit that is clear, and then I have a beautiful maple kit that I am thinking about taking out on our next tour. Advice for aspiring musicians? It’s funny, I feel like I don’t really have much to offer. The most important thing is to have fun and don’t get caught up in trying to make it. I never stopped playing music because it’s just something I have to do. I don’t think there’s any real secrets to “making it". I think it just comes down to writing good music and surrounding yourself with great musicians that you can learn from. You are gonna have to play in crappy bands for a while, but those years for me were so much fun. It doesn’t happen overnight. Anything else you'd like me to know about you? Nahhhhh. Black and blue or gold and white? Black and Blue.
CITY STREET: EXCLUSIVE • 7
ROB COLES // LITTLE COMETS
For how long have you been playing? Since I was 12/13 my dad used to write songs on guitar with me and my brother (Michael Coles). We met Matt a few years later when rehearsing in Newcastle. They asked if wanted to be a bass player about years ago. Favorite moment you've had whilst performing? We had a secret gig for a festival in Sheffield in a pub. We started out by playing in people’s houses. There were no tricks, it was just you. This gig was like playing a house part again. It was absolute magic. Do you prefer to play bigger shows or more intimate gigs? No. Our gig in Sheffy only had around 50 people. At The Roundhouse in London we supported another band but the venue was great. I love playing venues where you feel welcome. I feed off of the audience. If the harmonies feel particularly like unit, I love those little moments. It’s great when the crowd is really with you. it feels like you’ve done the set right. Little Comets has attained many phenomenal opportunities lately. Do you feel more pressure to perform well now that your audience is increasing, or is your skill natural? I don't like letting people down. We’re good on stage because when someone makes a mistake, you smile about it. We’d glare at first, and that’s negative energy. We like to make sure we feel comfortable on stage. ‘Dancing Song’ is almost at 3,000,000 Spotify plays and your newest album has been a massive success for your band. How does it feel to know that people around the country (beyond the UK) are listening? It’s lovely, it’s a nice byproduct. I love seeing people sing back songs and have a knowledge of the band. Never would have envisioned that as we started. What was the writing process for your newest album? Do you have a favorite song from the album? With the first and second album, there were not many moments it was more of a process. Now, we recorded with tea, in the house, on a mic, and edited 2/3 hours of sounds. It was lovely. We just set up and recorded with a tape recorder. It was emotional because we were working so hard due to lack of sleep. You're currently touring, have these shows impacted your life/ music? How are they different from playing with your previous album? I get stressed when touring new songs because they're not familiar. I’m able to vibe off of the audience. I have to be careful that they don't derail the experience. It was easier with second album because it wasn't taking songs out, but adding in. This time we can’t extend it. It’s harder to get setlist right, but I love the familiar faces. Do you have an opinion on "natural ability" vs a "practiced player" as it correlates to music? Both. Anything is a craft. You have to learn what works for you. You’re not your own songwriter until you've written 100 songs. You don't necessarily have to be born with it, but certain things allow you to express yourself. You have to channel the song. Anybody can do it, but there can be no weaknesses, and you must be extremely dedicated. Some are predisposed to be an athlete; everyone has something. CITY STREET: EXCLUSIVE • 8
Do you enjoy being active on social media? Do you like the fact that you can interact with fans in an instant? When we were growing up, we had an address for fan mail. For the album we did a Q and A, and it was nice that we could relive the moment. However, if you spend too much time doing it, then you wouldn't be writing any songs. Do you have a motto/ mantra that you live by? We always trying to serve the song in every decision we’ve made. The art can live, so you've got to do right by it. Advice for aspiring musicians? Have no reason for starting to write songs. We needed to express ourselves. We went to uni and it was very linear. We missed this linear progression, but then when we started to do music, and this was our linear. We’re not going to have a degree, but we’re going to have a career in music. It was too formulaic at times though. The “let’s make a career out of being a band” idea forced us to actually work on our first record. The second album became the ability to just write again. Since that point we’ve been a lot more happier in a much healthier way. We do it because we love it and we do it for the consequences of it. Everything in your life brings you to the point you're at. You cant change any moment because you wont know the impact. We could have been resenting music, but we love music, we love playing it, and we’re lucky that we still get to do it.
©TRENTON MATTHEW
MAGIC MAN: BONUS PHOTOS
CITY STREET: EXCLUSIVE • 11
RALPH PELLEYMOUNTER // TO KILL A KING
For how long have you been a band? What's the story of you coming together? 5 years, it's a long dark story with with many deaths along the way, actually exchange deaths for changes in line up and remove the word dark from that sentence and you'd be much closer to the truth. Favorite moment(s) you've had whilst performing? Headlining KOKO last year and the whole room singing along with choices was a great experience. Had you always known you would end up in a band? I've been writing songs since I was 15 so I always wanted to have music be a part of my life. Do you feel more pressure to perform well now that your audience is increasing, or is your skill natural? It's all to do with what you are used to, if we have been playing a series of big shows then a small living room show will be the more pressured one. You're about to release a new album. What can we expect? Did you try any new approaches as you composed the music? Yeah this one was written on the road a lot more, recorded in bedrooms, recording studios, backrooms. It meant we jammed a lot less and focussed a lot more on layering parts. You have been gaining more recognition in America lately, is there a likelihood that the band will tour here? We can't wait to come back. It is my main ambition of 2015 to come back to the states. What are the goals you hope to achieve as a band? We just love making music and want to continue to be able to do that. Could you create a superlative for each member of the band? OK I think I got this: Taffel the fastest, Ben the slowest, Pete the strongest, and Grant the the hostess (may need work on that last one). Who are your musical influences? They are mostly bands with strong songwriters, so anyone from the Stones to The National. How has your sound evolved since you began playing music together? It's got heavier, faster, bigger. Do you enjoy being active on social media? Do you like the fact that you can interact with fans in an instant? Yes I really do. It is a fun time to be an artiest in that way. I don't like it when it becomes an obligation though. Do you have any regrets since you've chosen music as your career? What drives you to continue? No, I love making music, it's the making of music that drives me. Although you are obviously a gifted band, do you ever have lessons from other experienced musicians? Are you your own teacher? Not since I was at school, but I think every time you watch a good band you start seeing what they are doing right. CITY STREET: EXCLUSIVE • 12
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