Issue #2 Electric Touch by Download Mag

PHOTO: Crissy Glasser

ARTTM

PHOTO: Rachel Bergen

ELECTRIC 24

C TOUCH PHOTO: Kaetlin Fehl

HANKS TO ELECTRIC TOUCH ROCK N ROLL

isn’t dead, but seriously, what happened to all the good rock n’ roll? This Austin, Texas based band’s sound is reminiscent of old school rock. You know, the good stuff. So many bands in the industry are playing the same cookie-cutter top-40 songs and not possessing any sort of musical talent. Sorry, but its true. However, Electric Touch raises the bar and breaks that cliché music mold. They're not scared to stand out and that's exactly what this music scene is thirsting for. “Electric and touch individually, explains a lot about the band. ‘Electric’ because it's energizing and it's thrilling; it's awesome. And the ‘Touch’ is like passion cause every show [we] just play from the heart every day,” said drummer Louis Messina Jr. Made up of British Frontman Shane Lawlor, keyboardist Isaac Strycker, guitarist Christopher Leigh, twin brother and drummer Louis Messina Jr. and bassist Portland Musser this group is a band you’ll want to keep an eye and an ear out for in the future. We see big things for them in the future just as they do. “Our goal is to headline an arena tour and play stadiums in the summer, that's our dream,” says Messina. This band has already been exposed to Coachella and big names such as Bon Jovi. They are a musical ball of potential energy waiting to explode and obviously another group to look out for this year. And remember, you heard it here first. They may not be as adorable as Justin Bieber, as old school as The Killers or as rough as Rihanna, but they are in fact signed to the same label as these artists; Island Def Jam. Sweet gig, right? It’s refreshing to see a major label with their heads screwed on straight and who actually

care about the music. In comparison to their label mates, Lawlor said, “We’re a baby Rock n' Roll band, so we really have to compete with people who sell billions of records.” Which is silly, because Electric Touch is completely different than the majority of the artists on their label. No comparison. When asked to categorize their music into a genre or compare it to some other style of music, lead singer Shane Lawlor said “we wouldn't,” he added, “it's very honest and natural to us, we just wear our hearts on our sleeves and what we love comes out and we like to play it.” The band puts their all into each album they put out, you never know when it's going to be your last “so you want to make it special,” as Lawlor said. “It's a breath of fresh air and hopefully people can connect with it because it's all about the human condition and real things,” said Lawlor. No sugar coated nonsense, just lyrics. After seeing the band open for Hot Chelle Rae on the Beautiful Freaks tour, it was obvious that even though the crowd wasn’t necessarily familiar with the band’s music, they had no problem dancing along and enjoying every second of the bands’ songs. They put on a powerful set to open each night of tour. Even after 30 shows, the quality of their sets never let up. Some concert-goers were even shocked that Electric Touch were performing as an opener. The band has continued to hold very high respect for Hot Chelle Rae and vice versa, the tour has been such a success. Lawlor told us that, “they're great guys and they've been really great to us in giving us an opportunity to play

with them and play to their fans, it's just great.” So Hot Chelle Rae is a band that around this time last year was literally just starting to blow up, and has since been fortunate to have multiple hits on the radio. Electric Touch is obviously a little bit of a different genre when it comes down to the music, so had Electric Touch even heard of Hot Chelle Rae before this tour? “Yeah! We’d heard their music all over the place. They are all over the radio and have really, really good songs,” says Lawlor. “To be able to see them live, like everybody hears that Tonight Tonight or I Like It Like That, but they've got so many songs that are so good. We're like, oh my god, I can't watch them because their songs get stuck in your head for weeks!” added Messina. The band's sound is comparable to that of Bon Jovi’s, another label mate of theirs. You can hear the British punk edge that Lawlor (assumingly) brings to the table as well. It's like a blend of 80's rock hits combined with a bit of contemporary pop to add the modern feel that they have. In fact, Electric Touch played a show with Bon Jovi back in 2010. It’s not everyday a “baby rock and roll band” gets to open for Bon Jovi. Messina says that Bon Jovi gave him the advice to “play from the heart,” one of the mottos that he now lives by and jokingly brought up multiple times throughout our time with them. “I've been told that from a lot of people, but when Bon Jovi tells you to play from the heart – you know – it's Bon Jovi. Need I say more?” Bon Jovi’s given the band some tips, and the band gives it to their fans. What does it take to be a good musician, to make

it in the music industry? “Practice, Practice Practice,” said Lawlor, “And remember the want, there's nothing more important than the want.” “Attitude. Attitude is everything. You always have to want to learn from everybody as much as you possibly can, and work as hard as you possibly can. There's always people working hard, you have to be able to work the hardest,” said Strycker. Electric Touch’s newest album Never Look Back was released on March 20th of this year. It’s definitely an album you can listen to from start to finish without any hesitation. Besides receiving an abundance of positive feedback from fans and critics, the album climbed to number one in the bands hometown of Austin, TX at Waterloo Records. To which Strycker adds, “We've got so many friends in bands in Austin that are blowing up, it's just fantastic to be apart of the scene there. It's our home and our hearts are there.” “It's just such a pleasure to actually have [the album] out,” said Lawlor, “it's been such a long process to get to this point. So the fact that it's actually available and people can get it,” he said. But seriously, if you haven’t already we suggest you check out the bands most recent release; check it out. “It's wonderful. It's ten songs of love or the lack thereof and the 21st century and tales of ordinary life and glorious Technicolor,” said Lawlor. The songwriting process going into the album was quite extensive. “We had to go deep into our souls. We wrote about fifty songs for the album and just picked the ten best. It's a big deal when you put an album out, it could

always be the last one you ever do so you want to make it special. We wrote a lot and lived in New York for a while and did it in Los Angeles for a while and just writing all the time. It's all honest. It's all stories from real life, about love or the lack of love. So it's all those kinds of things that we write about, said Lawlor, “we wanted to make it exceptional because that's what it really is. Everyone's the same and the things about love and those feelings is that it doesn't matter how much money you've got or haven't got, you have to go through those same emotions. It's exploring the human condition and there's no better drama than that of real life.” The band was signed to a smaller indie label, called Justice and are now on a major label, Island Def Jam. This label move gave them the push to publicize their music to a broader audience and just get their name out there. “You get a lot of support, where as on an Indie label it was basically, they were a phone call away, but we were doing everything. We were dotting every I and crossing every T, but then you got the major label and they help out a lot. They definitely take some stress off our shoulders,” said Messina Jr. This label switch put Electric Touch’s videos on VEVO, gaining them hundreds of thousands of views they wouldn’t have acquired on the indie label. Hometown support is key to a lot of bands out there right now. Lawlor adds that “it's nice cause you want to be accepted.” From the band's support from a major record label, to their fans, and their hometown, Never Look Back is destined to be a record that won't be easily forgotten. “People have really taken to it and say they like it,” Lawlor said, ‘it's definitely different from a lot of [music] that's going on right now, it's not following any trends or anything, it's trying to trail blaze.” If you want to see what's happening on the road behind the scenes with the band, check out electrictouch.com for videos and information. And if you’d like to check out some other talented bands and artists from Electric Touch’s hometown of Austin, Texas; they recommend you check out Hour Band, Gary Clark Jr., and Blondes Make Better Victims.

INTERVIEW/STORY: Kaetlin Fehl PHOTOS: Rachel Bergen & Kaetlin Fehl

PHOTO: Andrew Harrell

S ET IT OFF IS A BAND FROM TAMPA, FLORIDA

creating a name for the genre of pop-rock that lead singer Cody Carson refers to as “orchestral rock.” Yes, orchestral rock. “We basically found this style where we mix straight up orchestra music with not rock n roll, but like dark pop-rock,” said Carson. Not a genre you hear everyday, right? The band is made up of vocalist Cody Carson, guitarists Dan Clermont and Zach DeWall, bassist Austin Kerr and drummer Maxx Danziger and as this summer rolls around, they will have been a band for almost four years. “Is it really four years? Wow,” said bassist Austin Kerr, almost shocked. To this four-year mark, Carson responds, “as far as personally I’ve really matured as a human. [We] live in a van with five or six guys and learn really quickly what it is that you do that upsets other people and vice versa.” The boys have learned to cope and deal and if anything claimed they have changed for the better. “I’ve definitely learned how to talk to people better. How to deal with people, sell people on myself if that makes any sense,” said Kerr. Kerr remembers starting Set It Off and being somewhat of a shy person, “I was kinda awkward at first, and now I can just walk up to anyone,” something the boys suggest may not have happened were in not for the band. One thing Set It Off tries to communicate to their fans through their songs and their lyrics is that it’s okay to be weird, “so just embracing that and if people think you’re weird cool, if not, than just go with it,” said Carson. Set It Off encourages individualism and self-expression, they try to lend a hand to those who deal with bullying and allow their music to be an escape for their fans. “When we were growing up, music was our savior,” said Carson, “when we didn’t have friends to talk to growing up, we turned to our favorite albums. That was how we coped and how we got through tough times. To see that we can be that source of coping for other people is incredible,” he said. Music was something they looked up to growing up, and they feel the need to reciprocate that through the music that they provide to their fans. The band often receives messages from fans that had thought about suicide, or were going to through tough times, and with the help of Set It Off, made it out alive. “We don’t want anybody to ever think about [suicide]” Carson said, but he said that even though it happens, it’s an incredible feeling when somebody has the courage to thank the band, “it’s the reason why we keep going - because of them. They’re absolutely a huge part of our life and a huge part of our career.” Another important thing that Carson learned was to, “not care how different you are to other people,” a trait he learned while being on the road with Set It Off, something every fan can take with a grain of salt. The band released their first EP in 2009 called Calm Before The Storm and recently released a revamped version of their EP called Horrible Kids in August of 2011. The album features eight songs including their most popular songs, “Breathe In, Breathe Out”, “@Reply” and “Horrible Kids.” The music video to the song “Horrible Kids” was recently put into rotation on MTV earlier this year. But Set It Off isn’t putting their music writing on pause,

Carson confirms that the band is already working on new material to release after the shelf-date of their recently recorded studio album. “To be straight up with you, while we were in the studio I started working on a new song for our next album, so yes,” said Carson, they’re already working on new material. The band has been playing one of their new songs “ I’d Rather Drown” on their current headlining tour with Divided By Friday. If you show up before doors at one of their shows, they’ll play two of the unreleased songs over the PA for a minilistening party. “As far as the album itself we honestly don’t really know when that’s gonna come out, probably sometime during this year,” said Kerr, “sooner rather than later, but there’s a lot of different factors that are still being set, we don’t have anything solid yet.” So what does the new Set It Off music sound like? What we were told was that it’s basically a more mature and perfected Set It Off sound. “If you take Horrible Kids and just matured it a little bit, it’s like a terrible adult,” said Carson. “It’s like through the four years ... we’ve just become more of what we are ... so the album is just more Set It Off,” said Kerr. “We found our sound and this is basically our introduction to the world,” said Carson, “I guess you can say we finally found the Set It Off sound – and we’re really happy about that.” Sometimes it takes a few albums and a lot of trial and error for a band to find the right sound, and the group seems to have found theirs.

The band revealed that they write most of their material on the road but like any musician, being “in the mood” is what inspires Carson to write lyrics. Being in a different city everyday can change the environment and the surroundings. While at home, the environment is easier to control. Since the band is touring so frequently, finding time to sit down at home is limited; and if anything, non-existent. Carson said, “ I know how to accomplish [writing on the road], it’s just easier to do if I’m at home and I can create the environment myself. If not its just more effort that goes into [writing].” “So as far as environment goes, if we’re on the road I can’t really control that, but I can at least put myself in my own little world that I need to be in, in order to get that mood out. So it’s all depending on environment for me in order to complete imagination. If I have to write a song and I know that the mood is coming out as kind of pissed off, I’m not gonna turn on every light in the house and go outside on a beautiful day,” said Carson, “so I’ll like sit in my room, with a dim light.” The mood in Set It Off’s songs are what Carson considers one of the most important parts of their music, “when you’re hearing a song [the mood] is gonna show,” he said. So the band allows the mood of the song to overcome them when they perform live. “You may not think about the little things for example, like if you’re smiling when you’re singing into a microphone, people are gonna hear the smile. If you look pissed off when you’re singing people are going to hear that too,” said Carson. When the band performs, they give it their all. Before we talked, the boys had just finished a set in a small intimate venue in Vienna, Virginia; Jammin’ Java. The crowd was smaller than expected but it didn’t seem to affect the bands energy. Their stage presence was exceptional given the circumstances. Just goes to show, that no matter the size of the crowd or the venue this band

gives it their all. They bring the most energy they can, every night, city after city. And what’s most important is that they play with emotion. “It’s important that when somebody hears a song you wrote that they get every ounce of emotion that you meant for there to be,” said Carson. So what exactly is the key to this Orlando based bands quickly multiplying fanbase? Their hometown fans. When asked about their hometown fans Carson, without hesitation said they were fortunate enough to have many of them and credited them for the success that the band currently has. “ Just because [we’re] from Florida doesn’t mean that everyone in Florida is gonna get out of their home and come see [us] play so we learned that you have to swallow you pride and sell tickets and open for big bands that are coming to the area and open for every show you can get, no matter how big you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re on a label or not, you flyer for every hometown show you have. You go to them all, you sell presale tickets, you give out CD’s to people that you can. You’re never too big to promote yourself and as soon as you put your head up your ass and think you’re too big to do that, then you’ve already defeated yourself.” “It’s really hard to play music when your heads up your ass,” said Danziger who added his share of humor. But the bands nation-wide fans deserve credit too because they keep the band sane. “Having people in all these different towns to like us and think that we’re interesting people who want to have conversations with us, it’s a really cool aspect to have in our lives,” Kerr said, “I’d go crazy if it wasn’t for all these people here to talk to everyday.” “You are literally making our dreams come true. By coming out to shows and doing all this so thank you and keep listening to music and keep going to shows whether it’s ours or anyone else’s, just keep supporting the music scene,” said Danziger. If you get a chance, check out Set It Off on tour. They’re a band that we as a Download Mag team feel are completely underrated and deserve all the attention they can get. Although they weren’t chosen to play the Warped Tour this summer you can bet you’ll be seeing more of them on the road. Their album drops sometime this year, so buy it when it drops.

FEATURE: Rachel Bergen INTERVIEW: Kaetlin Fehl PHOTOS: Andrew Harrell

SET IT OFF EXPLAINS THEIR HOMETOWN MUSIC SCENE OF TAMPA, FLORIDA: Austin: Honestly, our music scene was kind of dying. When we started our band, like three venues had just closed and [the local music scene] was dying. Cody: Heres the thing, the way you rate your music scene I think is really subjective as far as like New York City and the Long Island area – actually those are two completely different scenes, but they thrive and are very judgmental at first. You have to prove yourself and once you do, you are theirs. You are literally their baby. Places like Florida are the same way but they can be more harsh. There's a band that we thought were like on top of the world and we’d listen to them play and be like, 'there's no one here' and 'no one gives a shit.' There are a lot of scenes that you have to like prove yourself in and Florida has always been that kind of place. If you’re from there of course you get a little bit more pull but then at the same time there's not a lot of bands of our style there. There's a lot of hardcore bands and that’s what I mean by subjective. Its subjective to what scene, what genres there are as in who is on top there. It also depends on your environment, there are some places in like Tennessee that it's small towns and the most exciting thing that happens to them is a high school football game on Friday. If you catch them on the one day that that’s not going on there, everybody’s at your show. Max: Those are fun. Austin: But I mean I do think that the reason why we’ve been able to like cultivate a bigger hometown following is because we’ve been able to open up for shows. I definitely think it's helped more than cities that don’t have tours coming through. Like they cant really expand past their market. So, to that extent I do think that’s helped us.