Heart Eyes Magazine / Issue 5 by Heart Eyes Magazine

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a music magazine highlighting how music affects life and covers the up and coming bands of our generation.

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the team founder gabi yost head of interviews caleigh wells head of graphic design jared elliott head of photography heather zalabak co-head of production management jiselle santos co-head of production management ky kasselman co-head of social media ashleigh haddock co-head of social media madi mize co-head of writing victoria taglione co-head of writing peyton rhodes music coordinator brandon quiroga

the contributors writers

ej jolly, quinn dycus, christa bandoni carissa mathena, elizabeth lee, jillian johnsen, yasmin ettobi, savannah rico

photographers

sydney king, kasey makal, amanda laferriere, briar burns

graphics

lindsey foust, jessica whelihan

R E M O D R I V E

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

It’s beginning to look a lot like winter, and from where I’m from that looks like wrapping LED lights around a palm tree and making snowmen out of sand at the beach. Regardless, it’s getting a little colder outside and my heart is full due to all the support Heart Eyes has received in these past few months. I would like to thank the Heart Eyes Magazine team and contributors for working so hard on the issues, for this whole thing would not be possible without the time and effort they put into each piece. I would also like to all of our readers for showing us so much love. This year was a great year for music and we’re excited to see what 2018 has in store for us. ISSUE 5: The Winter Issue is full of interviews done with amazing bands, themed playlists that will get you in the spirit of the winter season, and a photo gallery. Thank you so much for reading, stay tuned for more in 2018!

gabi yost, editor in chief

CONTENTS

culture best of 2017 the concept of curation stranger soundtracks mixtape of my adolecence working in the industry first snowfall of the year playlist strange names: band review an indie christmas foreign language in indie music thrift store tips music & mental health team winter blurbs

8 12 13 14 18 21 22 24 25 26 27 54

music hunny cuco dbmk remo drive

28 38 44 50

photography oh wonder great good fine ok hippo campus dua lipa

56 58 60 62

words by carissa mathena

As the year comes to a close, we look back on 2017 to find all of the music it has brought us. We received albums from established names like The Killers, to smaller bands that made us fall in love with their music like Remo Drive. I interviewed long-time fans of the bands who produced my favorite albums of 2017 to give you a personal angle that depicts these albums for what they truly are: art.

SUNDARA KARMA Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect January 6th

ANDREW MCMAHON IN THE WILDERNESS Zombies on Broadway February 9th

In short, this album is the one you blare in your car driving down the highway. It is a feel good album that truly gives you a look into the band Sundara Karma. While the album is full of songs that are truly certified “bops,” there are also songs on the album that are incredibly written and lyrically strong, like “Deep Relief.” When listening to this album, you truly understand the modern rock vibe that is Sundara Karma. Lead singer Oscar’s voice is so unique that it creates a different sound than the original indie rock we typically hear. I knew this album would be good, as it contained pre-released fan favorites such as “Loveblood,” “Vivienne,” and “Flame”, but paired with the new music, it is easily one of the best produced albums of 2017. “With the release of “Zombies on Broadway,” Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness jumped head first into the alternative-pop genre. A far cry from his former projects, high school band Something Corporate and emo staple Jack’s Mannequin, “Zombies” still manages to deliver the same profound lyrics but with a more polished and commercial sound. Early in the project, McMahon deemed this his “New York City album,” and the theme flows flawlessly throughout the entire record. Always a storyteller, Andrew manages to unfold a story of love, life, heartbreak, and redemption in the city. While nearly every track on this release is upbeat and full of energy, there are still a few holdovers that will sound more familiar for long time fans. A career spanning 3 bands and nearly 20 years makes for a one of a kind live experience with this band. The high-energy live shows always boast an exceptionally long setlist full of new hits and old favorites. Not shy of interacting with fans, it’s not unusual to find McMahon crowd surfing on a pool floatie, jumping on the piano, or dancing with fans under the rainbow parachute during the set. It’s truly difficult to hold back a smile when this band takes the stage. With his unwavering positivity, McMahon has transformed traditional concerts to profound celebrations of life that any music lover would appreciate.” –Andrew McMahon fan Lacy Ford

REMO DRIVE Greatest Hits March 16th

COIN How Will You Know If You Never Try April 21st

DUA LIPA Dua Lipa June 2nd

“Greatest Hits is important to me because it came into my life at an important and formative time when things were changing and I needed to find a new niche. Remo Drive gave me a band to listen to that had no connection to a past life. When I saw them live for the first time, I was so impressed by how talented and charismatic these guys were on stage and how friendly they were when I met them after the show. I knew I was gonna have to see them again the next chance I got, and 19 shows later I can honestly say it’s never gotten old; I could probably see the show 19 more times. After having been to so many shows and forming a friendship with the band and their friend group, I can honestly say choosing to click on the music video for “Yer Killin Me” for the first time changed my life. My favorite tracks are “Name Brand,” “I’m My Own Doctor,” and “Art School.” I honestly can’t even say I have a least favorite because the whole thing is full of such a variety of amazing songs. I’d feel like I was doing it a dishonor putting any of them down when I love them all. Overall, the album personally makes me feel very hopeful and content in a weird way. Like everyone listening to it is feeling the same thing and we’re all bonding over that shared experience, especially at one of their shows, which are some of the most fun you can have.” –Remo Drive fan Kerrigan Carr COIN’s second album is a must-listen album. Aside from being an incredibly musically strong release, this album also means alot to me personally. Not only is HWYKIYNT a showcase of the band’s lyrical talent, but every instrument truly shines through in every track. You can sense how hard the artists worked to make this album. There are songs to jam out to in your car (alone, because, let’s be honest, horrible dance moves are the best dance moves) and songs that produce a multitude of feelings. “Heart Eyes” and “Hannah” are two songs that truly showcase leadsinger Chase Lawrence for the talented songwriter he is. Lacy Ford commented, “Hannah is the most magical melancholy you’ll ever hear. It captures youth in all its brutal self-destruction mixed with pure exhilaration.” On top of the album being so well-produced, the live version of the album is impossibly better. The boys bring an energy to the stage and to their music that makes the audience believe in every word. There is something magical about this album and everyone I have talked to agrees, this album belongs on the best albums of 2017. Dua broke onto the music scene with a bang on her self-titled album. Personally, her music is not a genre I have been interested in in the past, but this album is not just pop. This album is expressive and real and lyrically memorable. There are songs to sing in anger, there are songs to sing in sadness, and there are songs to sing and dance to with your friends. This album has a little of everything. Not only is this album lyrically strong, but Dua is a great vocalist and the sheer volume with which she can hit some of the notes is astounding. Dua’s album was even described as “The 2nd coming of Jesus” by longtime fan Stephanie Audrey. She also commented, “I like it because the album has a good mix of more up-tempo and slower songs. Her voice is what really intrigues me and everyone else. It’s a lot deeper than most popular artists.” When asked what her favorite song was she replied, “‘Bad Together” because she gets so into it when she performs it, it was one of the first songs I ever heard from her before it was properly released, and the beat is amazing.”

LORDE Melodrama June 16th

DECLAN MCKENNA What Do You Think About the Car? July 21st

TAYLOR SWIFT Reputation November 10th

There aren’t enough words to describe this album. This album showcases the growth of a young woman, from her first album at 16 to her second at 20. Ella truly pours her heart and soul into every word, every melody, every note. She has created a moving masterpiece. It exemplifies why we can describe music as art. “Writer in the Dark” particularly shines on Melodrama, telling the story of a young woman who doesn’t stop loving you, her heart so big that she can’t fathom that concept. It’s relatable and it’s raw, just like the rest of her album. I feel connected to this album in a way that I never have been before. All together, it’s cohesive, it flows, and it moves you. This is definitely the start of something bigger for Lorde. She just finished her European world tour, performing a mix of the classics and her new album. The fans will wait another four years for another album, because as we’ve seen, Lorde’s music only gets better with time. It is also interesting to grow up with her. She is experiencing all of the hardships that we face when going from our teens into adulthood and she expresses them so eloquently. She is singing what we’ve all been through for us. She doesn’t hide, she lets us know what is was like for her, and as an artist, it makes her easily loveable. This album is everything you could have asked for in a Declan Mckenna album. There are all time favorites such as “Brazil,” “Isombard,” and “Paracetamol” mixed with new favorites like “Why Do You Feel So Down,” my personal favorite. This album doesn’t necessarily put McKenna on the map quite yet, but at the forefront of the new artist category. It is an album of greats and the beginning of his career as a voice of a generation, which is even more impressive considering he is eighteen. It captures the essence of youth throughout. “Why Do You Feel So Down” with lyrics “Don’t lie to me / I know I’m not as cool as I try to be” capture the awkward and phony stage of teenage years. It will certainly be exciting to see where he progresses with more live performances and with his age. Both of those things can shape his sound and take what is already amazing music to the next level, and the only way McKenna can go from here is up. As a long time Swift fan, I may be partial, but this album is certainly one people will remember. This is a new side of Taylor that we have never seen before, and I am liking it. This time, she is taking no prisoners. She doesn’t hold back; she is letting people know her true feelings, whether that be from rumors surrounding her to her love life with her new boyfriend. I think this freedom in her feelings is what caused her music to progress to where we have never seen her before. Her persona has grown from a damsel in distress to someone who is standing her ground and finally finding her voice. Her new sound comes with a collaboration with rapper Future and friend Ed Sheeran. The rest of the tracks come with the same amount of sass and bass as “End Game.” The only song that is remnant of the old Taylor is “New Year’s Day.” Maddie Ogden commented that her favorite song on the album is “Delicate.” “I think that it’s special that she can write so openly about her love for her boyfriend and the fact that despite her reputation and all of the drama surrounding her, he loves her for her.” Taylor isn’t holding back; she is done taking other people’s opinions into consideration, and she is going to sing about revenge, love, and lust. This makes this album one of the best of 2017. Of course, many albums released this year would more than deserve to make it on this list. These are just some that stuck out to me personally, and that I have heard being talked about by my friends and people around me. I am excited to see which albums 2018 brings us, and which new lyrics I will be singing along to with my friends.

THE CONCEPT OF CURATION. w o rd s b y c h r i s t a b a n d o n i In the world of modern music, streaming has become a prevalent way for listeners to consume their music. There are a number of websites and applications out there such as Pandora, Tidal, Soundcloud, Apple Music, and Spotify that are constantly fighting to be the most popular streaming website and having features that appeal most to listeners. Some of these features includes Soundcloud’s ability to potentially discover the next big artist in R&B or hip-hop, Tidal having exclusive releases such as the initial release of Beyonce’s fan renowned Lemonade, and Apple Music’s near seamless functionality with Apple products just to name a few. One of the major draws that Spotify has is the personalised playlists meant to expose the listener to new music -- Release Radar and Discover Weekly. Discover Weekly and Release Radar are two collections of 30 songs each, updated every Monday and Friday respectively, with songs that a Spotify algorithm believes you will enjoy and tends to be organized from songs you are most likely to enjoy at the top, progressing to songs that you may be less likely to enjoy. As someone who’s been using Spotify since it first came into the mainstream, I have never been one to personally use either of these playlists, mostly because my music taste is so varied, and what I’m listening to most can change from day to day or even in the middle of the week, so I just didn’t really trust it. This week, I decided to give the mystical algorithm the benefit of the doubt and let both playlists have a shot in helping me find new music. I started with my personal Release Radar under the assumption that I would be more likely to enjoy it, because I thought that maybe there’d be releases from artists I enjoy from the last couple weeks that I somehow managed to miss, and honestly it was disappointing. Out of the 30 songs on the playlist, this week (11/17/17) 10 of the songs were either a remix, instrumental, unplugged, acoustic version of a song that

I already knew and loved, such as a remix of Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” or an acoustic version of Bishop Briggs’ “Dreams.” In the playlist, there were also 9 songs that I had already knew had released and binged such as “Ctrl + Alt + Delete” by CallMeKarizma, “World Gone Mad” by Bastille and “Feels Good to be High” from Walk the Moon’s latest album. I decided to listen to the remaining 11 songs, and out of those 11, there were only 4 songs (13% of the playlist) that I can honestly say I enjoyed and that I wish I had been aware of releasing sooner. After the bust that I felt was Release Radar, I was honestly too nervous to dive right into my Discover Weekly, but instead I decided to give it another week of more varied listening on my own to try and give it the best possible chance of turning out decently. I waited two weeks (11/27/17) for the playlist to reset, just to give myself the fighting chance. During this week, my playlist contained a number of artists I recognized, but either never got into or never followed heavily enough to know they had released new music. The first song on my Discover Weekly was Marianas Trench’s new single “So it Goes.” I had been a general fan of Marianas Trench for a few years, always enjoying the 80’s vibes of their in their sound mixed with the purity of their vocal harmonies. That being said, I had never really followed them too closely to know when they released new music, so to hear the new single on my Discover Weekly was a good welcome. Also, having a familiar artist be the first song gave me a sense of hope in this playlist.

Once I finished listening, out of all of the songs on the playlist, there were two songs from artists I already knew and enjoyed (Marianas Trench as previously mentioned and Judah and the Lion), two songs from artists I had heard of, but typically didn’t enjoy (5 Seconds of Summer and Sleeping with Sirens), three songs from artists I had heard of, but never really checked out (Olivia O’Brien, The Ready Set and Zella Day) and the rest were artists I had never heard of. As I listened, I tried to not look at the artists playing in an attempt to avoid any biases towards the two artists I typically didn’t enjoy. Out of 30 songs on the playlist, I enjoyed 23 of them and out of those 23 I saved 17 of them to my Spotify library. Between the two playlists and my personal experience, I will say that the algorithm used for the Discover Weekly playlist is much more successful than Release Radar. With Discover Weekly, there was approximately 77% of songs that I liked and out of these I saved 74% (56% of the overall playlist). When it came to the Release Radar, I only enjoyed 36% of the songs I listened to (13% of the overall playlist). In the future, I don’t think I’ll utilize the Release Radar and Discover Weekly just because the overall enjoyment of the songs (13% and 56% respectively) was much less than anticipated, and I personally would rather listen to a playlist where I know I’ll enjoy everything.

SRANGEr� SOUNDTRACkS w o rd s b y e l i z a b e t h l e e

tranger Things has been the talk of the town lately, especially since the release of their second season in October. The acting, the set, the costumes—there’s no denying this show has all the components to make it deserve its acclaimed position of worldwide phenomenon. There is, however, one element in particular that makes this Netflix show stand out from the crowd--the music. One of the most intriguing pieces of music made is none other than the Stranger Things theme song. Created by Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon, the track is consists entirely of synthetic beats, reminiscent of 80s eery pop. It’s suspenseful and mysterious, perfectly setting the tone for the show. There’s no denying the energy and anticipation that increases as soon as those vibrant, red letters scroll across the screen. The rest of the show contains many originally composed tracks that align perfectly with each and every visual of the show. Think about those iconic scenes. They would not be the same without the creative and articulate key tracks that go along with them: The Upside Down, Joyce and the lights, Eleven with her bloody nose and supernatural powers, and the boys playing D&D in the basement. It’s empowering and engaging; beautifully capturing all the emotions within each frame. Not only does the show deliver on its composition, but it also includes a fantastic mix of classic songs from the 80’s. Keeping the energy alive and fun, each episode incorporates disco party throwbacks, embracing the old-school Hawkins, Indiana. Hits from The Police, Duran Duran, and the famous “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash are just some of the songs that are featured in the show.

Spotify even released their own Stranger Things playlists after the premiere of the second season. Each playlist is inspired by each character of the show, and contains songs within a certain genre. You can now check out “Mike’s Bassment Beats” for some synthpop hits, “Steve’s Morning Hair Grooves” for a mood booster, or “Nancy’s Slaylist” for some girl power. The Stranger Things soundtrack swings you back into the 80s, reliving the days where cassette tapes were blasting through old-fashioned BMWs. The riveting, original soundtrack aligns perfectly with the telling of the plot. The music is not just a minor component, nor a background detail. It’s front and center; a dominant framework that is classy, yet charismatic, and one of the many aspects that makes Stranger Things such a sensation.

a mixtape of my adolescence. words + photos by kariann tan

f you told me three years ago that I would be to lawfully immigrate to the United States with no chance of ever looking back, I would’ve called you insane. To be frank, not even a fortune teller would’ve convinced me of that particular forethought either. Yet here I am! Perched behind my laptop at 10 in the evening on a fairly cold day in Virginia, trying to organize the constant disarrayed thoughts in my head to write this piece. It’s been a long day after getting through a slew of. But I cope - with the faint sound of music echoing in the background of my room to keep me a little sane.

St. Lucia – Elevate

It was the first semester of my freshman year in Manila, Philippines. The sky was a natural mishmash of pastel pink and blue, signifying sunset. There I was, on the rooftop of the hotel residence that I lived in. The hotel was located smack dab in the middle of a bustling concrete jungle of Makati City. Sounds of cars honking can be heard from the 35th floor where I was at, relaxingly working at my own pace to get an essay paper done. Halfway through the process, an unfamiliar track came up on the Indie Pop playlist on Spotify that I recall myself listening to after a random click.

You see, that’s the thing about music. You kind of just never realize how significant and helpful it is to you at the particular moment of time. Years pass by, and when you chuck on a song on shuffle, something just captures you right there and then, and the overwhelming nostalgia just floods over you. What you are about to read is a collection of songs that has served as a mirror of a period, leading up to the biggest change in my life. Whether it was to get me through a depressive phase or a euphoric era, I can’t listen to these anymore without getting fairly emotional while at the same time feeling grateful for the journey I’ve been on as it’s definitely been one hell of a ride. So with that being said, here is a story of an new immigrant - told through the eyes of music.

I took this picture from the hotel rooftop where I used to go to after school occasionally to work on homework and other things. This was taken a few months before I immigrated to the US.

Well, this sounds… different. I vaguely recall saying to myself. The first lyrics swiftly emerged in, but my mind was preoccupied with other things. I’ll be honest – this song never really clicked with me on my first listen. Obviously that’s a little different now. At that point of time, I thought that I had reached the point of maturity wherein I can start doing things on my own - such as writing a paper on the rooftop all by myself, for example. All of this just attributed to that feeling of starting something new as a high school freshmen, after dragging ourselves through embarrassing phases in middle school. Oh boy, if only I knew what I was in for.

WALK THE MOON – Avalanche This is one of the first semi-indie songs that was suggested to me from one of my closest friends during the latter part of 2015, when life was starting to pick up for me after several months of attempting to get over a crush whilst balancing my academics. At that time, I suppose you could say that I was going through one of my heavier rock phases as I was getting into Royal Blood and Muse. However, it wasn’t until this song that genuinely sparked my interest with the indie genre. I vividly remember listening to this track on the way home after spending a day at the amusement park with my friends. The sun was beginning to set and the roads were immaculately clear – which was not something you’d see especially when you’re living in a highly urbanized region of a country. We were just rolling down the highway, tired but fairly content. It was then when I realized “Hey, I’m happy.” Happy with the way things were going, in spite of the several hiccups of life.

Foster the People - Coming of Age So as I mentioned before, life was swell at that point of time. My friend group was becoming more open with the idea of doing different things – such as having staycations at a beach hotel, walking around the city at night and the such. Everything was so picturesque; like something out of a teen coming-of-age movie. This track was constantly making the rounds on my phone as a result. Prior to early 2016, everything for me had been very turbulent, but during this period, I finally felt like everything was settling down personally in spite of the looming exam periods for that year.

And so we had to apply for a tourist visa; seeing as I was a Filipino citizen. The immigration process was one of the most arduous process that I had ever been to, and keep in mind, this was only for a holiday trip. I remember walking up to the counter – after missing a couple of hours of school - to be interviewed by a Korean-American officer with the same mundane question that probably applied to every tourist applicants. “Why do want to visit the US?” “I just wanted to spend time with my mom, who hasn’t been living with me for nearly a decade.” I said. “How long do you expect to remain there?” “Around 2 weeks to a month, I believe.” Her lips formed a thin line. Her brows creased as she read into the files that we tirelessly prepared for this interview. There was a moment of silence between both parties. And then. “I’m sorry to inform you – your tourist visa application has been declined. As your mom is a naturalized American citizen, there is only one alternative option.” “What does that mean?” I stammered as my mom remained silent. “The only way you can enter the United States is as legal permanent residents.”

Until this one encounter that completely changed the course of my life. Literally. It all started when my mom came back to Manila for a vacation as she had been living in the United States for several years after being separated from my dad. One thing led to another, and soon enough my brother and I were invited to come spend time with her in the US over our summer. My brother and I agreed to it obviously as we had never visited the US – hell, we hadn’t even been out of Asia before!

Paramore - Last Hope

Lorde - Green Light

The news that my brother and I were to immigrate to the US was evidently shocking to everyone I knew. It didn’t even sink in for me until months before I actually moved. At this point, I had been out of school since May of the previous year due to the assumption that we were going to move in June of last year. Obviously that wasn’t the case, as there were many issues during the application process that held us back for a year and a half. Because of that, the only thing we had to do was wait.

I will never ever forget listening to this during my plane’s final descent in New York. Just a good 40 hours ago from that period of time, I bid my closest friends, relatives and my dad behind goodbye at the airport at 6 in the morning. No tears were shed surprisingly, as we all knew that my life was going to change in the best possible way.

So, I spent the entire latter part of 2016 and early 2017 in semi-isolation. I didn’t go to school, which meant that I wasn’t able to talk to my friends and keep my mind busy with other things. I remained in my room a lot, not doing much at all as the days trickled by very slowly.

I remember the exact moment when the second pre-chorus of this track came in and the clouds shrouding my window view finally teared away, giving me the chance to see the New York City’s skyline glimmering at night. I was lost for words. The fact that everything was happening in sync gave me goosebumps, and I can legitimately recall myself tearing up at how overwhelming the entire situation was as the plane headed straight for the runway.

This led to a very internally reflective period of my life: wherein my mind was just flooded with self-destructive thoughts about a lot of things that I could have changed in the past. Looking back at it now, I think my angst was just turned up to ten due to the lack of distraction and socializing. It wasn’t healthy at all, and a lot of my nights were filled with the shedding of tears and loneliness. One night, this song came up on shuffle whilst I was just scrolling Paramore’s discography. I hadn’t heard of this track before, but the lyrics instantly struck a chord with me. I remember crying to this cathartic track for the entire duration on that night. Prior to that, I didn’t even know if I wanted to move anymore, or if anything else in particular was worth it at that point. But I’m telling you – there was something about this that completely turned my pessimism around. As this is the case, this song never fails to take me back to that one night when my breakdown turned into a moment of realization that it was up to me to make the changes that I wanted to see in life as well as remembering to never ponder and self-aggrandize my past mistakes.

This was the first picture taken of me in the US, just a good 12 hours after arriving at the JFK airport as an immigrant. As you can see, I was clearly taking in the view of the city. It was after this day when I realized that I truly belonged here.

Ironically, the overarching concept in “Green Light” has resonated with me for a very long time, especially with the following string of lyric: But I hear sounds in my mind / Brand new sounds in my mind. Because after a year and a half of waiting, everything had finally come to reality. People talk about being given second chances, but I felt that this was more than that. This opportunity presented me with the biggest reset button of my life. I was given the chance to become someone new again.

It has only been a solid eight months since I’ve permanently settled down here in the United States. Whilst it might seem like a small amount of time to a few, I honestly can say to you now that I have accomplished far more than I had imagined. I’ve met a great bunch of friends through school and social media, watched one of my favorite bands live for the first time and finally, I joined a community founded by people who loved music as much as I did. I’ve been asked many times whether I would’ve changed anything in my life leading up to this moment. And I’ll be frank. Everything that has happened to me had just merely been a stepping point towards one of the biggest opportunities that one could ever come across. Moreover, this mixtape collection of songs played a huge part in narrating the build-up to these opportunities. Being thankful doesn’t even begin to describe how much music means to me, as a result.

WORKING I N T H E an interview with miles rogoish by madison mize

few months ago, I attended a concert and music video release party for The Young Vines’ song, “Habits + Heartbreak”. I got a chance to sit down and talk to Miles Rogoish, the direc tor of the music video, to talk a little bit about the making of the music video and working with the band. How did you come up with the idea for the music video? Miles: Ever y one of them is dif ferent. Sometimes, a band comes at you, and they have an elaborate plan of what they want to create but thank fully, I have the opportunity for people to come at me and be in the dark about the situation. So what we did with this one was The Young Vines did a listening session of the entire EP with me to tr y to decide what song we wanted to make a video for. I listened to them all and said, “[“Habits + Hear tbreak”] is the best song on the EP.” One thing I do as a direc tor is I don’t want to make a video for the third best song on the EP. I don’t want to fuck with it. If you are going to pay for a music video, or do it, why not do the best one? [ The Young Vines] were a lit tle on edge with what they thought was the best one because there

was a lyric video out that was getting more trac tion and more views than the best song, but it’s because there was content out, and I kind of por trayed that to them. I told them, “This is the song that I want to do.” Af ter stating that, we listened to it again, and I took notes on all five songs, but before I told them, we went back through and listened to “Habits + Hear tbreak”, and I told them the vibe and the direc tion that I was feeling, and Josh, who did all of the titles for the video and is the guitarist for the band, brought up the idea of a night scene. He said, “What about if there was somebody performing under the hotel light?” and that’s when it clicked. I told him “Ac tually, we should ghost all of the per formers as the charac ters that I’ve created in my head. Let’s make you guys [band members] charac ters, and when you are per forming, no one can see you, but you’re still the charac ter that you are.” So Josh had a big play in par t of it, but unless they come at me with a concrete plan, I’m usually the one that comes up with the idea.

The guys came to me and asked me what ideas I had and it was rad. It turned out to be one of the best things that I’ve ever made, and I’m super fucking hyped. I loved the video so much. I thought it was shot beautifully, and the stor y was cool. Miles: That is thanks to the whole crew: Nathan Howe, Ben Meldrum, Shane Byler, Audie Hamon, Danny Husley, Temple Hull, the whole band, ever y single person on sound, Tyler Huf fman. I physically could not have done this on my own. It was one day before the shoot that Nathan got involved, he brought the slo -mo camera, and it still would have been awe some to me, but I literally could not have done it without the people who were helping and listening to what I had to say. I ap preciate your compliment, but at the same time, I can’t forget to thank the people that helped me make it. It wouldn’t be possible without them. Did the finished produc t come out exac tly how you envisioned it or did the music video transform as it was being filmed? At this point, no. [laughs] We were an hour and a half late premiering the video, and there are a few minor details that we still have to add, but when it is finished, it will be exactly what I wanted. For the showing tonight, a backdrop didn’t have all the logos, or some color, or some titles or something. The finished product will be one of the best things that I have ever done and I don’t have any regrets.

Did you guys run into any prob lems while shooting? Miles: I’m a super weird director. I’ve realized very recently that my passion is directing. I’ve come to realize that if something goes wrong and you’re upset about it, you’re a bitch and I thrive off of stress. I love this woman [gesturing to Temple Hull, the female star of the “Habits + Heartbreak” video] and she asked me, “Do you ever stop?” and I told her, “No, not really”. When I’m moving fast trying to get everything together while we’re running five minutes behind and you get to the point where it just works out, that’s where I feel the most comfortable. Everything worked well. When you’re doing things right, you have to learn how to accept when everything is falling into place. If something wasn’t to work well, I think the whole program would fall apart, so since the whole program didn’t fall apart, we ended up okay. Nothing huge fucked up, but the little things that did fuck up, like the drone battery dying and having to charge it and coming back and having one hour on the last day of shooting to get the shot we needed before he had to go work for Channel 6, that is a situation where I get in the zone. If I had 12 hours, 400 batteries, and a 50 person team, I wouldn’t be getting the shot that I needed, and I wouldn’t be doing what I needed to do because of the grace. I like the struggle, I like to thrive in the rush. All in all, everything worked out fine. We could have used a couple more Chick-Fil-A wraps, maybe an extra flask of whiskey in my pocket that nobody knows about [laughs] but other than that, no, everybody did great. The team murdered it and we created the project that we needed to.” Do you have a favorite scene from the video? Everything with her [Temple]. I’m in love with her. One thing I can say, to elaborate on

that, this will sound conceited, but, I know that there is a spot in my head where I know that I’m meant for greatness. I’ve done a lot in my life. Transferring from my last career to my new one, it’s really hard to get a job, especially with music videos, with the industr y and the money that there is now, to suppor t myself. I work my ass of f and I’m suppor ting the shit out of myself, but I am still not tired of this song. I fucking love this song and that feels good. So, other than my favorite scene being all the scenes of literally ever ybody, the yellow truck being yellow, with the green countr y setting worked per fec tly. If the truck was red, it would have looked nasty, if Temple’s jacket was black leather, and didn’t have tassels, it wouldn’t have flowed in the wind like it did. If you watch the video close enough, you’ll notice how when she closes the door, the fringe is a millimeter from getting shut in the door. She did it twice and it never got shut in the door. Ever ybody was on, but the fac t that I love this song so much and that I’m still so hyped on this song, and will play it in my car, or in my headphones while I’m riding my motorc ycle, and still be so into it is good. Even if it’s Led Zeppelin, Sabbath, Witch, or some other stoner-rock metal that I listen to, once I edit to something, I get burnt out on it. I am still not burnt out on this song, and I still love this song, and that feels good that I was able to create an ar t piece around something that I respec ted so much. Af ter the projec t was finished, I still love their produc t and

and I’m happy to collaborate with them and still respect what they do. So, that is my favorite part of this. That the entire thing isn’t burnt out in my head. I know every little decibel- whatever the fuck it’s called- in their song, and I still love the song, I still love the band, and I still love the product. It feels good to be done with it and still be able to respect all aspects of it.” How was the process of shooting the music video? Ben Meldrum, one of my apprentices, was on set while we were filming, and Shane [Byler], they have been here through more of the processes than just [the setup of the video premiere and the show], and like I said, the most satisfying part for me is the process. Of course I love tonight, but this isn’t what I’m like on set. This isn’t what I’m like when I’m editing. This isn’t like when it’s all going down, and it’s done. Even if we were all done yesterday instead of being a little late today for the premiere, I’d be sitting here all day at the pool with my friend saying “There’s an event tonight at 7, I guess I’m gonna get dressed for it.” That’s not where my head is as an artist. The process is always fucking insane, and that is where I thrive. That is where I feel good, that’s where I’m comfortable. That thing needs to be done, the people need to be told what to do. I can teach and I can help, and I also learn from all of these people that work with me. I’m not top dog, it’s not like that. Every single day I learn something from Shane and Ben, and even Temple as a friend. Whatever it is, I’m always learning. The process is always the same, but it’s as routine as doing the dishes, making my bed, making a video.

It’s doing laundry, it’s making love, it’s being a nice person, showing up on time, eating well, being healthy. It’s being a good son, a good uncle, there is always a process, and if you’re not willing to be a part of the process, you’re not willing to be a part of the program. I don’t fuck with anything other than that.”

Now, having a team, and having my head straight and having money in my pocket and being able to take care of my family and my team and my, hope fully, girlfriend again, of over 10 years, makes me feel really good and that is what inspires me. I wanna move for ward with my life. I want to have a family and I want to inspire peo ple, so, as long as I can inspire people myself, that’s inspiring to me. I don’t focus on other people’s work a lot, you know?”

What are some of your big inspirations when it comes to directing? Miles: “Oh man, that’s super weird. Not bad! I like the word “weird.” Tarantino, Wes Anderson, on a bigger spectrum of things, but I don’t watch a lot of TV, I don’t do a lot of Netflix. Other than Tarantino, there What was your favorite par t of aren’t really any huge inspira- making the video? Miles: “Finishing it! [laughs] tions. When I watch TV shows, I Right now! This inter view! watch Family Guy, Workaholics, Eight minutes, get the fuck Eastbound and Down. I watch out of my studio! [laughs] things that dumb me out beNo! One more showing for cause I have so much going on someone that missed it the with the stress of getting things first two times! No, but done. As soon as I watch someseriously, right now I feel thing that has a dramatic impact or storyline, I get anxiety and so fucking good. It feels I can’t focus on what’s going good to talk to you about on in the show because I have this, I mean ever y thing I enough going on in my own life am saying, and right now I and what I want to be doing and have come to fruition. That what I want to be taking care is one thing that I tell my of. My true inspiration would crew, and some people do be my best friend, John Swab. know it and some people From what we went through in don’t, but, doing some the film that he wrote, “Let Me thing 80% doesn’t mean Make You a Martyr”, shot here it’s done. Rick y Bobby jokin Tulsa, in my home, next to ingly says second place is my friends, and getting out of last. Seriously, if you can the hole that he was in, that is have it roughly done, you inspiring to me. I guess I could can have whatever done, just say the two top dog dudes you can get any thing parthat I named [Tarantino and tially to the position that Anderson] as an easy answer, it needs to be in. At this but that’s not what inspires me point, right now, I did deep down. What inspires me what I was supposed to do. is seeing someone get themWith the help of my team, selves out of a deep hole, and I am happy at this point to I am recently out of the hole, know that I did it. My mom with whatever it is. I wasn’t a smiled and the team smiled drug addict, in the sense of and people respec ted it something that would hurt and now I’m on to the nex t. me, but I definitely didn’t play by the rules for a long time.

Thank you so much for sitting down and talking to me!” Miles: Of course! Thank you for talking to a crazy person!

Check out the music video for “Habits + Heartbreak” on YouTube and check out Miles’ Instagram accounts to see more of his amazing work. @mrogoish @rogishfilms

Fisrt Snowfall of the Year Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood Alaska by Maggie Rogers Winterbreak by MUNA Cold Cold Cold by Cage the Elephant Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea by Missio Horchata by Vampire Weekend Wild Animals by Trampled By Turtles Sleeping lessons by The Shins All’s Well That Ends by Rainbow Kitten Surprise Dissolve Me by Alt-J The Last Snowstorm of the Year by Hippo Campus Cry for Me by HUNNY White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes Home by SPINN I Know All What I Do by Jack Garratt Holidaze by Cold Fronts You & Me Against the World by Oliver North Boy Choir I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun by Beach House Oh Father by Douglas Dare Dave’s Song by Whitney Seasons by Greyson Chance Home by Vacations Let Go by Horse Thief

STRANGE NAMES w o rd s b y j i l l i a n j o h n s e n

W h e n yo u s t a n d b a c k a n d l o o k a t m u s i c a s a w h o l e , yo u s e e t h a t i t c a n e a s i l y b e separated into two distinct categories; music t h a t m a k e s yo u w a n t t o d a n c e , a n d mu s i c t h a t d o e s n’t . S t r a n g e N a m e s c l e a r l y h a s a p l a c e i n t h e fi r s t c a t e g o r y, a n d w i t h t h e re l e a s e o f t h e i r n e w s i n g l e , “ I n t o M e , ” i n No v e m b e r, i t ’s o b v i o u s t h a t i s n’t g o i n g t o b e c h a n g i n g a n y t i m e s o o n . A b a n d o f 3 h a i l i n g f ro m M i n n e a p o l i s , M i n n e s o t a , S t r a n g e Na m e s h a v e p e r f e c t e d t h e i r 8 0 ’s s y n t h p o p s o u n d , a n d c o m b i n e d w i t h l e a d s i n g e r L i a m B e n z v i ’s b o l d , a l l u r i n g v o c a l s , t h e y ’v e re a l l y g o t s o m e t h i n g s p e c i a l . S t r a n g e Na m e s w a s f o r m e d w h e n k e y boardist/lead singer Liam Benzvi and guitarist Fr a n c i s X i m e n e z m e t a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f M i n nesota. It was just the two of them for a while; t h e y w e n t t h ro u g h s e v e r a l d i f f e re n t d r u m m e r s w h i l e t h e y p l a ye d g i g s w i t h t h e l i k e s o f M a c D e m a rc o, Ye a s a ye r, a n d t h e Wa l k m e n , a s w e l l a s m a n y o t h e r a c t s , a l l t h e w h i l e s t i l l fi n i s h i n g t h e i r d e g re e s . To g e t h e r t h e y re l e a s e d t h e i r f i r s t EP a s w e l l ; b u t i n 2 0 1 3 , t h e y o f fi c i a l l y hired their long-time drummer F letcher Ale c k s o n a n d f i n i s h e d t h e i r d e g re e s , a n d t h a t ’s w h e n t h e b a n d w a s re a l l y a b l e t o s t a r t c r a c k ing down on putting out their debut record. In 2011, Benzvi and Ximenez posted a m u s i c v i d e o o n Yo u Tu b e f o r t h e s o n g “ C r a z y O n T h e D a y ” , t h e fi r s t p i e c e o f mu s i c t h e y s h a re d w i t h t h e w o r l d ; b e i n g t h e i r o n l y s o n g t h a t u s e s a c o u s t i c g u i t a r, t h e y w e re c l e a r l y j u s t b e g i n n i n g t o t a p i n t o t h e i r mu s i c a l a b i l ities. Then, in early 2012, they put up a vide o f o r t h e s o n g “ B ro k e n M i r ro r s ” ; t h o u g h a v e r y s t r a n g e p i e c e o f mu s i c , yo u c a n d e fi n i t e l y hear the bands’ sound in it, and see how they w e r e l e d t o c re a t e s o m e o f t h e i r l a t e r w o r k s .

This can also be said for demo tracks “Slow D r a m a” a n d “ D e m o n s ” . “ S l o w D r a m a” i n c o r p o r a t e s t h e s a m e a i r y v o c a l s a n d l u s t ro u s g u i tar that can be heard all across their debut record, while “Demons”, a heavier track, comb i n e s s a i d v o c a l s w i t h g u i t a r p l a ye d i n s u c h a way that it feels like its driving itself into yo u ; i t f o r c e s yo u r w h o l e b o d y t o b e a w a r e a n d t o r e a c t t o i t . T h o u g h I w o u l d n’t d e s c r i b e a n y o t h e r S t r a n g e Na m e s s o n g s a s b e i n g “ h e a v y, ” t h e b e a t a n d e c c e n t r i c i t y ( n o t t o m e n t i o n t h e 8 0 ’s v i b e ) o f t h e s o n g m a k e i t s o clear how all their music is interconnected. Even though the band had quite a few s o n g s a l r e a d y, i t w a s n’t u n t i l S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 2 t h a t t h e y o f fi c i a l l y r e l e a s e d a n y t h i n g ; i t w a s t h e n t h a t t h e i r d e b u t s e l f - t i t l e d EP c a m e o u t o n W h i t e Ir i s R e c o r d s . T h e EP w a s a g r e a t start for the band, as it really got listeners e x c i t e d a n d w a n t i n g m o re – i t d e f i n i t e l y h a d t h e m g o i n g i n t h e r i g h t d i r e c t i o n . T h e g r o o v y, o f f b e a t t r a c k “ L u x u r y C h i l d ” f r o m t h e EP w a s a clear stand-out, and got the band some attent i o n – i t ’s s t i l l a c t u a l l y t h e i r m o s t p l a ye d s o n g o n S p o t i f y t o d a t e . “ Po t e n t i a l W i f e ” w a s a l s o a successful track, and quite possibly the most e c c e n t r i c o f a n y t h i n g t h e y ’ v e r e l e a s e d t h u s f a r. Then came the single “Minor Times / O n c e a n O c e a n” , a g a i n r e l e a s e d o n W h i t e Ir i s R e c o r d s ; t h e s e w e r e t h e fi r s t t r a c k s they released with drummer F letcher Aleckson. Even though both tracks could d e fi n i t e l y b e c o n s i d e r e d m o r e “ i n d i e - r o c k” than new-wave, they have the bands’ own distinct style written all over them.

I n “ M i n o r T i m e s ” , a l a d y s p e a k i n g i n Fr e n c h c o m e s i n a b o u t h a l f w a y t h ro u g h , a n d t h e t e m p o c h a n g e o n t h e c h o r u s i s d e fi n i t e ly characteristic of the experimentality the b a n d e x h i b i t s t h ro u g h o u t a l l t h e i r w o r k . “ O n c e a n O c e a n” a l s o h i g h l i g h t s t h a t e x p e r i m e n t a l i t y, m i x i n g s u r f - ro c k s t y l e g u i tar with f u n k y, u n c o n v e n t i o n a l beats. The next step then, of course, was t h e i r d e b u t re c o rd . T h e b a n d re c o rd e d t h e w h o l e t h i n g i n M i n n e a p o l i s , b u t w a s n’t s a t isfied with the way it turned out. As a res u l t , t h e y d e c i d e d t o m o v e t o Ne w Yo r k a n d r e - r e c o rd i t i n a s t u d i o i n B ro o k l y n . Fr e n c h K i s s R e c o rd s re l e a s e d t h e a l b u m , t i t l e d “ Us e Yo u r T i m e W i s e l y ” , i n 2 0 1 5 , a n d i t ’s c e r t a i n l y safe to say that this was when Strange Names t r u l y f o u n d t h e i r s o u n d . Fro m b e g i n n i n g t o e n d , t h e a l b u m e n c a p s u l a t e s 8 0 ’s s y n t h - p o p t o a p o i n t o f p e r f e c t i o n ; t h e re i s n’t a s i n g l e l o w p o i n t , n o r a m o m e n t w h e re i t d o e s n’t f e e l right to dance. Something else I believe to b e n o t a b l e i s t h e h i g h q u a l i t y p ro d u c t i o n o f t h e re c o rd ; e v e r y s o n g i s s o c l e a n a n d c o n c i s e , and ever y sound seems intentional. The band w e n t o n t o u r t h a t ye a r w i t h A z e a l i a B a n k s t o s u p p o r t t h e re c o rd , w h i c h b ro u g h t t h e m m o r e e x p o s u re . B e n z v i t o l d A t t i t u d e M a g a z i n e i n 2015 that he and his band members really look up to bands like the Human League and t h e B - 5 2 ’s , a f a c t t h a t d o e s n’t s u r p r i s e m e i n t h e s l i g h t e s t – i t ’s e a s y t o h e a r t h e s e a r t i s t s ’ i n f l u e n c e o n S t r a n g e Na m e s ’ mu s i c . Pe r s o n a l l y, h o w e v e r, B e n z v i i d o l i z e s a r t i s t s l i k e C y n d i Lauper and Siouxsie and the Banshees, while Z i m e n e z l o o k s u p t o Ni c k L o w e a n d E l v i s C o s t e l l o, a n d A l e c k s o n p re f e r s e l e c t ro n i c m u s i c l i k e A p h e x Tw i n . I t ’s i n t e re s t i n g h o w t h e 3 of them have tastes all over the spectrum, and ye t t h e y s t i l l c o m e t o g e t h e r t o m a k e m u s i c t h a t s o u n d s l i k e i t c o u l d ’v e c o m e s t r a i g h t f ro m t h e 8 0 ’s . T h e i r s t y l e s m e s h t o g e t h e r p e r f e c t l y.

T h e b a n d h a d 3 s i n g l e s f r o m “ U s e Yo u r T ime W isely ”, and released music videos for each. The most popular of the 3 singles is “I C a n’t C o n t r o l M y s e l f ” , a s o n g a b o u t w a n t i n g to be with someone even though they drive yo u c r a z y ; t h e c h o r u s i s a d e fi n i t e s t i c k e r – i t s t a y s i n yo u r h e a d f o r d a y s ! A n o t h e r single was “Ricochet ”, a track with a killer b a s s l i n e a n d ye t a n o t h e r i n s a n e l y c a t c h y c h o r u s . T h e l a s t s i n g l e w a s “ Tr e s p a s s i n g ” - t h e verses are really cool on this one, because they pull back on the guitars so that the beat i s m o r e p r o m i n e n t a n d yo u c a n h e a r t h e e f f e c t s m o r e c l e a r l y. T h e b a n d d e fi n i t e l y d i d a great job picking singles for this album. S t r a n g e Na m e s h a s r e c e n t l y released a new single called “Into Me” that keeps with their signature synth-pop sound – it sounds a bit more mature and experimental, h o w e v e r, w h i c h i s g r e a t b e c a u s e i t s h o w s t h a t t h e y ’r e g r o w i n g a s a b a n d a n d i s a l s o a s u r e sign that we’ ll be getting a lot more bops in the future! They plan to release their sopho m o r e r e c o r d i n e a r l y 2 0 1 8 o n Fr e n c h K i s s Records, so make sure to look out for that.

photo from capital sound dc

INDIE an

CHRISTMAS w o rd s b y y a s m i n e t t o b i

t ’s n e a r l y i m p o s s i b l e n o t t o l o v e t h e m u s i c t h a t t h e h o l i d a y s e a s o n b r i n g s . E v e r y y e a r, t h e h u m a n r a c e i s b ro u g h t t o g e t h e r b y f e s t i v e t u n e s t h a t w e a l l k n o w a n d l o v e , f ro m “ J i n g l e B e l l R o c k ” t o “ H a v e Yo u r s e l f a M e r r y L i t t l e C h r i s t m a s . ” H o w e v e r, t h e re c a n c o m e a p o i n t i n o n e ’s l i f e w h e re s o m e of these tracks can get a little stale. At times, it seems as though radio stations play the same 20 songs every day of the Christmas season. While a lot o f t h e s e s o n g s h a v e a s p e c i a l p l a c e i n m y h e a r t , i t ’s t i m e t o b e h o n e s t : i f I h e a r O N E M O R E S O N G b y M i c h a e l B u b l e o r F r a n k S i n a t r a , I ’ m g o n n a l o s e i t . To s h a k e u p t h e m o n o t o n y a l i t t l e , h e re a re f i v e o f m y f a v o r i t e o r i g i n a l C h r i s t m a s s o n g s t h a t y o u m a y n o t k n o w a b o u t f ro m s o m e o f t h e b e s t ro c k b a n d s a ro u n d .

R e m o D r i v e : “ L o o k i n ’ U n d e r t h e Tre e ” I n “ L o o k i n ’ U n d e r T h e Tre e , ” M i n n e s o t a t r i o R e m o D r i v e p ro d u c e s a g o o f y, a n g s t y, r i d i c u l o u s ly catchy letter to Santa. Backed with a driving d r u m b e a t , t h e g ro w l y v o i c e o f l e a d v o c a l i s t E r i k Paulson and the infectious chorus of this track will have you coming back to it again and again. The Frights: “Christmas Everyday” The lyrics of “Christmas Everyday” tell of the sometimes cringe-worthy gifts that family members feel obligated to give out in the Christmas season, whether it be a huge carton o f g r a n o l a o r a re d t u r t l e n e c k t h a t w a s o n s a l e . T h e F r i g h t s t a k e a b re a k f ro m t h e i r u s u a l s u r f punk sound on this two-minute cut and deliver a playful acoustic jam in the spirit of Christmas. T h e K i l l e r s : “ D o n ’t S h o o t M e S a n t a ” The Killers take their band name to heart with this track, in which Brandon Flowers pleads S a n t a t o s p a re h i m h i s l i f e . T h e s o n g ’s d r a m a t i c , g o rg e o u s m e l o d y c l a s h e s w o n d e r f u l l y w i t h the absolutely ridiculous lyrics. Flowers sings so passionately on this track that by the end of it, you’ll be begging Santa not to shoot him too.

D u d e Yo r k : “ B re a k U p H o l i d a y ” S e a t t l e t r i o D u d e Yo r k k n o w s h o w t o w r i t e a s t r a i g h t - u p f a n t a s t i c ro c k s o n g , a n d “ B re a k Up Holiday” is no exception. Cutting guitar c h o rd s , C l a i re E n g l a n d ’s r a w v o c a l s , a n d v i brant harmonies come together in a huge way t h ro u g h o u t “ B re a k U p H o l i d a y. ” T h e re s u l t i s a ro w d y, r a m b u n c t i o u s h o l i d a y t r a c k t h a t ’s almost impossible not to dance along with. We e z e r : “ T h e C h r i s t m a s S o n g ” When you hear this song title, you may autom a t i c a l l y t h i n k a b o u t c h e s t n u t s ro a s t i n g o n a n o p e n f i re , b u t We e z e r c h o s e t o t a k e a d i ff e re n t p a t h w h e n re c o rd i n g “ T h e C h r i s t m a s S o n g . ” Lead singer Rivers Cuomo sings a woeful story o f w a i t i n g b y t h e C h r i s t m a s t re e a l o n e , w a i t i n g f o r t h e g i r l h e l o v e s . H e a v y, m o u r n f u l g u i t a r s s u r ro u n d t h e s l o w m e l o d y o f t h i s t r a c k , m a k i n g i t t h e p e r f e c t C h r i s t m a s b re a k u p s o n g .

F O R E I G N LAN G UAG E

w o rd s by e j j o l l y The American indie scene has exploded with an unbridled amount of talent over the past f e w ye a r s . W h i l e i t m a y s e e m h a r d t o k e e p u p w i t h and even harder to figure out where to begin if yo u’r e n e w t o i t , t h e s h e e r a m o u n t o f m u s i c a v a i l a b l e m e a n s t h e r e ’s s u r e t o b e a b a n d o r a r t i s t f o r a l m o s t e v e r yo n e . B u t i f yo u’r e l o o k i n g f o r s o m e t h i n g o u t s i d e t h e n o r m , o r j u s t s o m e n e w mu s i c t o t i d e yo u o v e r d u r i n g t h e l o n g w a i t f o r a m u c h - a n ticipated album, check out these foreign indie arti s t s – yo u m i g h t f i n d a l o t m o r e t h a n yo u e x p e c t e d . I f yo u s t u m b l e a c ro s s S i m i a n G h o s t i n yo u r D i s c o v e r We e k l y, yo u m a y n o t e v e n re a l i z e t h e y ’re n o t a n e w u p - a n d - c o m i n g A m e r i c a n a l t e r n a t i v e g r o u p. S t a r t e d i n S a n d v i k e n , S w e d e n , t h e a l t e r n a t i v e , c h i l l w a v e a c t h a s a l re a d y m a d e a s t ro n g n a m e f o r t h e m s e l v e s i n t h e E u ro p e a n mu s i c s c e n e . S t a r t i n g a s a s o l o a c t by f ro n t m a n S e b a s t i a n A r m s t r o m , h i s i n i t i a l s e l f - re l e a s e d a l bum topped charts in Sweden, and Simian Ghost eventually grew to include Erik Klinga, Mathias Zachrisson, and W ilhelm Magnusson. Their newest album, self-titled Simian Ghost, was made in collaboration with Thomas Hedlund of Phoenix. W hile they may not sing in their native language, t h e S w e d i s h s t y l e i s s t i l l s t ro n g w i t h S i m i a n G h o s t . A n d t h e E n g l i s h - l y r i c s p ro v i d e a s t a b l e s p r i n g b o a rd f o r a v e n t u r e i n t o m o re f o re i g n l a n g u a g e mu s i c . G i v e t h e m a l i s t e n i f yo u t h i n k yo u m i g h t l i k e : D a y Wa v e , p l u s a m o re a n a l o g s o u n d . S o n g s t o c h e c k o u t f i r s t : “ N e v e r R e a l l y K n e w, ” “ C r y s t a l l i n e L o v e r s M i n d , ” a n d “ W h e n Yo u’re Ready ” M o v i n g e v e n f u r t h e r a w a y f ro m t h e A m e r i c a n ( a n d E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e ) mu s i c s c e n e , w e c o m e a c ro s s a n u p - a n d - c o m i n g g ro u p f ro m S p a i n – M i s s C a f f e i n a . Fo r m e d i n M a d r i d b a c k i n 2 0 0 6 , t h e 4 - p i e c e i n d i e - p o p / ro c k b a n d c o n s i s t s o f A l b e r t o J i m e n e z , S e r g i o S a s t re , A l v a ro N a v a r ro, a n d A n t o n i o Po z a . I t w o u l d t a k e a d e c a d e f o r t h e m t o h i t t h e i r s t r i d e w i t h t h e i r n e w e s t a l b u m , D e t ro i t ( 2 0 1 6 ) . No n e o f t h e i r l y r i c s a re i n E n g l i s h , b u t t h e m i x t u r e o f a n a l o g i n s t r u m e n t s w i t h a d re a m - l i k e synth will sound familiar to a lot of indie ears.

IN INDIE MUSIC

G i v e t h e m a l i s t e n i f yo u t h i n k yo u m i g h t l i k e : Ta m e I m p a l a , p l u s t h e f e e l i n g o f f l o a t i n g t h ro u g h a d re a m l i s t e n i n g t o a t e l e n o v e l a i n t h e b a c k g ro u n d . Songs to check out first: “Ác i d o, ” “ M i r a c ó m o v u e l o, ” a n d “ D e t ro i t . ”

W i t h t h e b a n d n a m e M A S S O F T H E F ER M EN T I N G D RE G S, i t a l m o s t m a k e s s e n s e w h e n yo u s e e i t f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e , b u t t h e b a n d c l a i m s t h e y m e re l y p u t w o rd s t o g e t h e r i n a w a y t h e y l i k e d . T h e g ro u p f ro m K o b e , J a p a n h a s b e e n a c t i v e s i n c e 2 0 0 2 , b u t re v i v e d i n 2 0 1 5 w i t h m e m b e r s Na t s u k o M i y a m o t o, a n d Yo s h i n o Ts u t o mu . T h e i r mu s i c is extremely guitar-driven, a staple for Japanese a l t e r n a t i v e , p o s t - ro c k mu s i c . B u t w h a t s e p a r a t e s M a s u D o re f ro m t h e i r c o u n t e r p a r t s i s t h e i r u s e o f pop-like vocals, something common in American mu s i c . T h e i r l a s t f u l l - l e n g t h a l b u m , a n d t h e o n l y o n e c u r re n t l y a v a i l a b l e o n S p o t i f y, Z e ro C o m m a Iro To r i d o r i No S e k a i , w a s re l e a s e d b a c k i n 2 0 1 0 , b u t w e ’re h o l d i n g o u t h o p e f o r s o m e t h i n g o n t h e horizon in 2018. G i v e t h e m a l i s t e n i f yo u t h i n k yo u m i g h t l i k e : Remo Drive, plus an angr y Japanese lady s c re a m - s i n g i n g t h e l y r i c s . Songs to check out first: “ Z u re r u” , “ O w a r i No H a j i m a r i ” , a n d “ S a n z a m e k u” S p i n v i s , re a l n a m e E r i k D e J o n g, i s a r a r i t y a m o n g mu s i c i a n s – n o m a t t e r t h e c o u n t r y o f o r i g i n . H e re l e a s e d h i s fi r s t a l b u m , s e l f - t i t l e d S p i n v i s , i n 2 0 0 2 a t t h e a g e o f 4 1 . To t h e s u r p r i s e o f e v e r yo n e – c r i t i c s , h i s l a b e l , E x c e l s i o r R e c o rd s , a n d h i m self included – the album was a massive success i n t h e Ne t h e r l a n d s . T h e D u t c h mu s i c i a n h a s b e e n re l e a s i n g mu s i c e v e r s i n c e , b u t h a s n e v e r l o s t t h a t o r i g i n a l e x p e r i m e n t a l , l o - fi s o u n d h e s t a r t e d w i t h . H e h a s a l w a y s d e s c r i b e d h i s s o n g s a s “m i n i - fi l m s t o r i e s d i s g u i s e d a s p o p s o n g s , ” a n d i t ’s a s c l e a r o n h i s fi r s t a l b u m a s i t i s o n h i s n e w e s t – Tre i n Vu u r Dageraad (2017). G i v e h i m a l i s t e n i f yo u t h i n k yo u m i g h t l i k e : S u f j a n S t e v e n s , p l u s a n e l e c t ro n i c a n d m a k i n g mu s i c on an old W indows computer vibe. Songs to check out first: “ k o m t e r u g, ” “ B a g a g e d r a g e r, ” a n d “ D a g e r a a d p l e i n . ” H e r e ’s a p l a y l i s t w i t h t h e s o n g s m e n t i o n e d a b o v e . h t t p s : / / o p e n . s p o t i f y. c o m / u s e r / e j r a p t o r / p l a y l i s t / 4 d n K b c 3 H a R b G 5 S t VA j c J Z H

With past decades coming back into fashion, people are heading to their local thrift stores for genuine vintage pieces, instead of Urban Outfitters for overly-priced remakes. As someone who not only thrifts, but believes it is a way of living, I am totally on board with this transition from fast-fashion stores to consignment. Thrifting doesn’t just save your wallet from distress, it supports the movement of “zero-waste” living, and protests against child-labor and sweatshops. With this conscious movement gaining popularity, the indie scene is becoming filled with more and more artists/attendees sporting retro looks of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s.

In order to find that perfect piece, you need to look through every section. EVERY section. Most of my favorite pieces came from the men’s or even the children section.

Not everything is going to look exactly like those trendy pants from your favorite store. Be open to adjusting pieces (cutting and sewing) or styling them in ways people would not expect to see them worn.

Find out when your local stores get new shipments! Pieces won’t be picked over, and you’re more likely to find clothing that people will die to have.

Just because something is less than $5 doesn’t mean you have to purchase it! Carry around your desired items as you shop and as you try them on, envision what and where you will wear the items with or where! Save your money for your next trip to the thrift!

Expensive brands are great when you find them for a fraction of what they would cost retail, but don’t buy for the name! If you like something, whether it’s a brand name or not, you should add it to your wardrobe!

by by carria mathena evan raunikar

One thing with numerous different forms, that can bring thousands of people together into one room lifting their voices into one harmony. Music has power in numerous people’s lives. It can change your mood, it can bring you peace, and it can make you feel alive. There’s something about sitting in your bedroom on a Saturday night listening to all of your favorite music as you just soak it in. Music just moves something inside of you that you cannot explain. Music also has the power to be used as therapy for people with mental health issues. Music therapy is used to treat active problems in people who suffer from depression and anxiety. What is music therapy as it is practiced? Music therapy can range from using music to articulate difficult feelings that the person has to using music to relax and change someone’s mood or state of mind. Many of us use our music as our therapy in a day-to-day basis. I asked numerous people if they had a happy song, or a song that makes their face light up from the first note, and can their mood change instantly. Their replies were endless, songs ranging from “Sweet Thing” by Van Morrison to “Eat That Up It’s Good for You Too” by Two Door Cinema Club. If you’re like me, you even have playlists for the different moods you can be in.

If I’m sad listening to a playlist full of music that is singing my feelings back to me, it instantly makes me feel better. Music can also add to the happiness you already feel inside. If you have a good day and listen to upbeat music, your good mood increases. There is a specific comfort about music that wraps you in with every continuous note, melody, lyric. Music then can become someone’s safe space. This space is not always physical, but more of an emotional safe space, somewhere they can escape to after a long hard day. From my own personal experience, I could not have stayed mentally sane some days without my musical escape. I asked a few people I have met through different concerts and through our general love of music what they thought about this concept. Taylor Hudgins replied with, “I think music is a great way to help with anxiety; I know from personal experience that my favorite songs calm me down. It’s just something about letting music take your mind places, helping you daydream about more peaceful things.” In the end, music is a lot more to people then some words and music put together, it can change lives.

HUNNY

interview by katie guarasci photos by caleigh wells

HUNNY is a 5 piece band hailing from southern California. Started in 2014, they’ve come out with two EPs and two singles, and have more music in the works. We got the chance to sit down and talk with the band while they were touring with Bad Suns on the Love Like Revenge Tour about their inspirations, touring life, and Winter Talent show. What has tour been like so far with Bad Suns? We know you guys have opened for them a few times for their shows in L A , but being able to open for them for this whole tour - how is that dif ferent? Greg: We’ve toured with them, this is our third big tour with them. Jake: We’ve done - we did a spot opening for them and The Neighbourhood on our first U.S. tour, and then we’ve done a few other U.S. runs with them, but they’re, I mean, we’re good friends with them at this point, so it’s always fun to be out with people that we have been for a long time. We knew them before tours, but yeah, it’s good to be out with people that you enjoy spending time with, and you have similar interests [with]. I mean, we’ve known them since we were borderline children, so it’s pretty cool. We have a long-standing friendship with those dudes. They’re the best guys, they were kind enough to ask us to come out for this, and it’s been great, I mean every show is fun, so can’t complain. Being from southern California, how much has being where you’re from inspired and influenced your music? Jason: Not much. Greg: To other people, it seems like it does.

Jason: Other people like to call us “sunny” and shit like that. Jake: I think it ’s only because they know that we’re from [California]. Jason: If we were to say that we were from somewhere else, I don’t think anybody would describe our music as “sunny California beat drop.” People have said that about us before. Jake: I think California bands might be the last group of bands that we ac tually draw influence from musically. It ’s almost reac tive in that way, where we like gloomy UK bands, and we like New York bands, and we like bands thatJason: Classic. Jake: Yeah, you know what I mean? Jason: Classic coasts, liking other bands. Jake: We like bands from places that aren’t L.A. for the most par t, but maybe that ’s just because we grew up in an area, and you’re inundated with things that are so culturally specific to southern California. Jason: The last thing we want to be is “beach rock,” but people still say that about us. Jake: Which is really funny.

What would you guys say are some of your influences and inspirations? Jake: The biggest ones are 80s UK bands. I would say for sure Depeche Mode, The Cure, that kind of stuf f as far as songwriting and tones go, but we also really enjoy a breadth and width of music. So I mean, the newer stuf f that you guys will hear pret t y soon is really power-pop influence. We really like The Cars, and we really like bands that rock, you know. We love Kiss, we love big stadium rock bands from the 70s, Thin Lizzie, Cheap Trick Greg: Big Star. Jake: Big Star, for sure. So you released a couple of the single EPs, and then you released Windows. How would you say that st yle of having an EP with more than one song dif fers from your other ones? Jake: Well, I feel like we kind of just took the model of doing singles but then applied it to specific EPs. The goal is to put out a bunch of dif ferent EPs that are snapshots into the world that we’re inhabiting.

A lot of bands do that with singles, like they’re not ready to put out a full-length, and that just essentially means that now we’re going to do that with like five song sets instead. So like, “here’s five songs about exac tly where we’re at right now” instead of one song. Like we said, we have so many influences, so many things that we want to say, that I feel like it ’ d be hard for us to just put out one song when we could put out five. You know? And you were talking about the new music, are you working on another five song EP sor t of thing or a fulllength album? Jason: Exac tly that, yes. Jake: The idea is to put out multiple five-song EPs in succession. How many, we’re not sure yet, but there’s going to be quite a few. he idea is to put out a bunch of those...A lot of bands put out an album and they tour for a year and half on that album, and what

we want to do is keep constantly put ting music out to keep people associated with new music all the time, and tour the same as the rest of those bands, because it ’s fun to play new songs live, and people like to hear new stuf f, and if you keep put ting new music out, then it ’s hard for people to get bored. Jason: It ’s hard for us to get bored at that point too. Jake: We just like writing music a lot, so to put out more music is going to be beneficial for us always. Jason: Especially if we’re changing it all the time. The whole point of the EP is just making dif ferent shit all the fucking time. Jason: It ’s a good thing so that we don’t get bored, and the people who like us don’t get bored. Is there a song that each of you love per forming live and why? Jake: As of late, we’ve been closing with “Televised” which has been really fun because we closed with “ Vowels” for a long time,

which is an awesome song to play, so a lot of energy, but I feel like people reac t to “Televised” in a dif ferent way. So when the crowd is hyped on something, then I feel like we get hyped on stuf f, and it ’s fun to interac t in that way, and that song really lends itself to a lot of interac tion. Jason: Yeah. Greg: I feel like closing with that was a decision based on how it was going over well live and ever y thing, we were just like “alright, let ’s tr y that last ” and make it a moment and ever y thing. It ’s ended being ver y cool, especially live. Jason: I think that one’s probbly become all of our favorites in the set, ‘cause it ’s fun to just fuck around in that one. It gives you a chance to just do fun stuf f, like if there’s raf ters, I will climb it. What do you want first-time listeners to take away from your live show? Jason: A fucking good time. Joey: A lot of fun! A fun good time. Greg: Loud. Jason: Ver y loud, yes. Jake: Ever y thing to tr y and shoot for during live per formances is to create memorable experiences. Joey: We want to give back what we got. To go to shows and have an awesome time. Jake: Be absolutely beyond the moon with fun, and the more that you come into a show with that mindset, the more that we’re also going to be able to bring that, so if you haven’t been to a show and you want to come, come stoked. Jason: Come stoked and stage dive.

Joey: We’ve watched people’s firs t s tage dives for the pas t t wo years, people are like “I don’t know what to do,” and we’re like, “GO!” Jason: At home, in L. A . and in Orange Count y, our shows go fucking, like, super of f, they ’re fucking really craz y. I love that back home, people are having their firs t s tage dives to our shows. That ’s what I want ever y where, that ’s what ’s up. So come out, get s toked, have fun, s tage dive. Jake: Jump of f the s tage, don’t trip on Kevin’s s tuf f. Kevin: Stay away from my s tuf f. Tell us a lit tle bit about the HUNNY Winter Talent Show, and what inspired you to s tar t it? Jake: We love the idea of having a recurring fes t that promotes fun, I mean that ’s our bigges t thing, is jus t, let ’s have fun. So to be able to showcase bands that we think are super talented and fun and have a great energy or have something interes ting about them is awesome, and I think to have a collec tive show where you can jus t celebrate that and celebrate a year that ’s passed is an amazing thing. Greg: It ’s like a year in review. Joey: We grab ever ybody that we’ve wanted to do anything with. Jake: Either we’ve toured with them, or we wanted to and couldn’t, or we played single shows with them and that ’s the lineup, and it always ends up being a time that we can celebrate and move for ward even bet ter than the nex t year.

Joey: It ’s our Make-AWish for the end of the year.

Jake: But there are bands also that are smaller that we enjoy, like I would love to tour with White Reaper or Twin Peaks. There are cer tain bands that I look up to now as someone that ’s a contemporar y of theirs. Jason: Bands that are doing what we think we’re doing. Jus t doing their own fucking shit, having fun. Jake: Bands that are fun, and bands that are promoting being a band.

Jake: There was an oppor tunit y for some shenanigans. Jason: Shenanigans, hijinks… Jason: I will say, for me, highlight of the tour: climbing tonight. Kevin: I mean, overall good vibe. Jake: Knock on whatever, but there hasn’t been a par ticularly unpleasant show this tour, I feel like all of them have been fine. Jason: Seat tle was fucking bitchin’, tonight was fucking awesome, ever y night ’s fucking sick. Joey: I’s a dream. We’re living a dream.

Jason: We’ d love for that thing to jus t become much bigger than it is. If you’re asking what inspires that t ype of thing, we look up to The Growlers in that aspec t, like The Growlers s tar ting Beach Goth, jus t building it from nothing, and it turns into this big massive fucking thing. I would love to get bands that we look up to to eventually play this thing that we s tar ted. And then get a bunch of Any hopes of headlining a bands that we think are tour soon? cool that need at tention. Jake: Yeah, absoluteAnd fucking good times. ly, I think that we, at a Is there any thing in par ticuAnd more s tage dives! point in the near future lar that influences your visuwill probably do that. als? Who would your dream ar tis t Kevin: We’ll see. It ’s Jake: I mean, J does a to tour with be? all dependent on one lot of the design for our thing… s tuf f, you could speak to Kevin: We’re already Jake: If people are it, but I think that there here. We’re here with our down to go, then we’ll are cer tain ar tis t s and bros Bad Suns. go. Let us know if you s tuf f that we visually Jason: Paramore? Parwanna see that. enjoy. amore. Paramore. I Joey: Bring the people Jason: With the new would love to go on tour and we will play. merch that we have right with fucking Paramore. Jason: If the people now, the new t-shir t s are Jake: Hones tly, top of want it, we will give it ver y Matisse-inspired. I the pops for me, as far to them. s tar ted painting back at as bands that we could Kevin: If you build it, J home, which I’ve been tour with would be, The will climb it. wanting to s tar t doing Strokes would be unreal. for a really really long Kevin: I’m gonna throw What have been some of time. I have a garage The Killers in there. your favorite moments on now, our apar tment has Jake: If you wanna do this tour so far? a garage which is craz y huge bands, Phoenix, Jake: Tonight. for an L A spot. I’m in the like, that era of music, Joey: All of today was hear t of the cit y and I of guitar-based music, is great. have a bitchin’ garage. what we grew up lis tenJake: We love being in So I get to paint in my ing to, so to then be able Chicago. garage now, so I’ve jus t to open for people like Jason: We love Chicabeen, I don’t know. One that would be unreal. go so much. of our new shir t s, that Jason: Mindblowing. white one is called the Matisse t-shir t. Jake: We jus t enjoy s tark color contras t.

Jason: We love colors. Colors are cool Kevin: We like to mix it up. We like to do man. That ’s one of my favorite things s tuf f. about this, is also being able to make Jason: That ’s our new Ins tagram bio. shit that ’s not music. Jake: That ’s the answer for ever y quesJake: We obviously love making music, tion you have. but also being able to facilitate visually what we feel is cool. . .it ’s awesome. What is you guilt y pleasure music to lis ten Jason: Back when I was in early highto? school, you s tar t a band and I’d be the Kevin: I got ta say, we found some good guy that was like, ‘so you guys wanna things today, with the 80s remixes. s tar t a band? Cool, I’ll play guitar, you Jason: There’s nothing guilt y about that play this, you play this, we’re gonna either. sound like this, and uh, cool, I’m gonna Jake: I have no guilt in my lis tening make the MySpace page tonight,” and pleasure. If a song is good, a song is I’d make the fucking MySpace page, good. There’s a YouTube channel that we have Jesse do the fucking HTML for me found today, what ’s it called Joe? because he was so good at it back then, Joey: TRONICBOX. even in high school, and I’d make the Jake: TRONICBOX, and he does 80s fucking logo and shit like that. I love remixes of pop songs, so unreal. Unbethat shit jus t as much as making the mulievable. The Jus tin Bieber “ What Do You sic par t of it. Mean? ” is the one. Jake: I really want a website called Joey: The “Per fec t Illusion” one is out of ‘OldMySpace.com,’ and it ’s jus t MyS this world, I got ta say. pace how it used to be. That ’s a big Jason: Kat y Perr y’s “Firework ” one was thing we want to do. really good. Jason: When I was in high school, MyS Kevin: Ariana Grande’s “Into You” was pace was so good for music, back in the good too. day. I know about half of the bands that Jason: That ’s jus t a good song though. I ficking lis ten to because of MySpace If it ’s uncool for me to like that Ariana ‘top eight.’ You find out about a band Grande song, I don’t care. I don’t conon MySpace, you’re like, ‘sick, they’re sider that a ‘guilt y pleasure,’ so I don’t tight,’ and then you jus t look in their top know. eight, who they’re friends with… Jake: I think that if a song facilitates a Jake: The OG Spotif y recommendation. mood, or an ac tion for you, whether it Greg: I wish we could have a top eight be you want to dance to it, or ponder, or these days, you know? you want to feel sad, or you want to feel happy, if it does something for you, then Who does mos t of the songwriting, and do why feel guilt y? you have a favorite/mos t inspiring place to Jason: If a bunch of people think that do so? something I like is lame, it ’s jus t like, Jason: We all jus t like hanging out and whatever. I’m going to continue to lis ten making s tuf f. to this. Jake: For the mos t par t, sometimes we sit in a room with a laptop and we all go, like, we have this sketch for a thing and then we flesh it out, sometimes it ’s in a band room, but generally speaking, ever yone has a hand in what we do.

A side from music, what do you guys like to do in your free time? Joey: Drink Soylent. Jake: Wow. Hilarious. Jason: We’d like to give a quick shoutout to Soylent. Joey: I like drinking it, and then going to bed. Jason: I like drinking it, it fills you up when you’re hungr y, and we are looking for ward to their release of Mys tic Mountain Blueberr y. Jake: Absolutely. I mean, in addition to all this s tuf f, we’ve already, we’ve hashed it out before, but J likes creating ar t, we like riding skateboards a lot, I like riding my bike a lot. All these nerds like Pokemon Go. Jason: Joey only cares about drums, so this is a hard question for him. Joey: I play drums ever y day, I love playing with dogs, and I like Pokemon a fuck ton. Jason: I like painting, hanging out with my dog, playing video games, riding my skateboard. Jake: I think you could say that for all of us, pret t y much. We all like dogs and skateboards. Greg: I can’t skate. Jake: Yeah, you can’t skate. Greg’s too tall to skate. Joey: Greg needs a longboard. Jake: Greg needs a size 14 sized board and I don’t think they make those yet.

C U O C

the west coastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newest teenage romantic words + interview by hope delongchamp | photos by jared elliott

t would barely suffice to say that Cuco has had one hell of a year. From releasing his new album, songs4u, to headlining at sold-out shows, the nineteen-year-old artist from Hawthorne, California has done quite a lot in 2017. He was able to talk with us and discuss the craziness that was 2017, as well as talk about his aspirations for the future. The day of the interview had been hectic for me personally. Having just finished a meeting for a leadership program I had graduated from, I jumped into a desk in a nearby classroom that left me with feelings of nostalgia. Plugging in some headphones that I had purchased from the local dollar store came to be all sorts of fun as it turned out to be of lower quality (surprise, surprise) and a lover of static shock. Despite these fun behind-the-scenes quirks, it didn’t stop me much from having a lovely and insightful conversation with the non-genre-conforming artist. Cuco’s passion and talent, evidently, did not begin at the start of the year: “I started playing music when I was eight.” Life sort of fell into place before he even realized it. Cuco explains that it was “only until recently [that he] started seeing it as [his] career.”

“It was always just a hobby. I play and make music daily, and it’s got me this far. It’s just a shift -- It’s hard to explain how that happens, because it’s so hard to grasp it all.” With a pause and a chuckle, he says, “I feel like it hasn’t really hit me yet.” His discography includes songs with energy and dedication. Every song of his Cuco feels a strong love for, but two songs he loved from the production process to performing had to be either ‘Lava Lamp’ or ‘Cupid’s Quiver’ “because of how different they were to my music.” Cuco has just announced that he will be on the setlist at Tecate Supremo, a festival at Parque El Chamizal, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. “I’m really excited for that festival,” he enthuses, “a lot of my favourite artists are going to be there!”

That’s sounds like fun! What song can you currently not stop playing? Actually, this week, I’ve been listening to a lot of Boy Pablo! Especially recently, I mean, my favorite music is changing every week. Recently, I’ve been bumping Boy Pablo, Tame Impala’s Innerspeaker and Lonerism, Jedi Mind Tricks, Los Ángeles Azules [...] because I’m playing with them so I’m just like, hell yeah. I’m vibing after that. With all this music and playing live, Sunday is your last tour stop of the year. What was one of your favourite shows of 2017? Damn, my favorite show of 2017... I mean, probably the whole tour. It was crazy. I think it was the most interaction I’ve had with all my supporters; it’s so hard -- every show is super fun.

What was your most memorable fan moment of all of those great shows? Man, honestly, there hasn’t been one specific moment. Coming back from tour with all these different paintings and little art pieces, necklaces, letters... Everything that they made for me... It’s crazy. It’s on such a personal level that I can’t explain how deep [the fans are] and to see how many people would take all this time for me. Every fan is so important. It’s crazy. So you’re right back on it; on tour in January. How do you think it’ll be different from this year? This next tour will be colder for sure. It’s all of the northeast. Texas is a lot warmer in October, and it’s normally super hot [in general]. In January? It’s going to be super cold.

It’s going to be a time full of jackets... To be honest, I’m probably going to get sick. Now that this year is all wrapping up, what’s your opinion on New Year Resolutions? Are you making any next year? Or have you set goals for 2018? Just to get more things done! Next year, I want to do more than just music. I want to put more focus into my business and focus on my clothing brand. I want to do more than being an artist. Being an artist is cool, but there’s so much I want to get out there and do! I have a bunch of ideas.

“Every fan is so important. It’s crazy.”

This year, what are some of the accomplishments you’re most proud of? Being able to drop out of college and make a living with my music for sure! Being able to help out my parents... that’s tight. That’s definitely an accomplishment, wow! What were some of the challenges you’ve faced so far? Keeping myself clean on tour; keeping myself well-fed and healthy. Through these difficulties, have you changed your music-making style or its process? It’s always changing. I don’t like to take one approach to music. Generally, I make the beats and write the music, but I use a different approach to each song. I absolutely adore your albums Wannabewithu and Songs4u. What were some of the changes and growth between the release of these two albums? I’ve grown up a lot more, for sure, and I’m getting better at it. I’ve gotten a lot more experimental with my music. I still feel bad with my writing; it’s my biggest struggle. What inspires you the most when you’re in the creative process? Being on the road! It gives me so much experience. There’s so much that happens in life and [there’s so much] to talk about. With all of this inspiration in your life, when can we expect a new album or new music? Honestly, I have no idea! I’m still working on it! It’s weird, because it can go from being ready in a month or two or a year from now!

I saw one of your tweets that said, “when my album comes out, I hope people have their best psychedelic experiences to it” -- Tell me about those kind of vibes. Is that the main feel of the new album? I just want there to be these vibes; I don’t want it to be a specific, “dude, we should definitely trip out to this album”, but I want to give that vibe that they want to trip out to the album. It’s that vibey music that I want to make. I want there to be all sorts of different emotions! Speaking of that world of Twitter, you’ve been gaining a lot of popularity on social media. How do you feel about that? It’s cool! I mean, I don’t really pay attention to that a lot. When I’m about to hit a certain amount of followers, my manager tells me before I even find out! I’m not as into social media as I used to be. The interaction I get on it though is crazy. Interacting with people that way is so cool. Looking back at where you were when you started this journey, where did you think it was going to lead you? I didn’t know where it was gonna lead me. I was kind of hoping it would lead me to where I am now, to be honest! To conclude this interview with something fun, I see that you used to use Vine. What is your personal favorite vine, both yours and in general? Man, I have so many favorite vines. There’s one with the guy, cedrick66, where he was next to some plants: https://vine.co/v/ezEHhu9YMax. Nobody I showed laughed at it, but I thought it was the funniest thing.

Above all, Cuco is preparing for new content, from new music to more videos. In the near future, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s planning to partner with different companies -- he wants to make content so that you can see inside his head.

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT

DBMK

interview by emma hintz photos by philip dudeoire

HOW DID YOU GUYS MEET?

Jacob: It was a long, long time ago. Kyle came to our family’s coffee shop to do an open mic, and we met then. At the time, Miclain, who used to be with Denim Blue and Miclain Keith was playing bass with a cover band I was in. That cover band kind of fell apart because I was the music director and I quit and then the whole thing just blew up. Miclain texted me and said “This guy and I have been working on some awesome music and we need to make it into a show.” So that’s when Kyle and I really met; we started working together, and I helped do stuff to make music happen. Kyle: Yeah, that pretty much sums that up. The rest of it kind of fell into place after that. Josh: You guys used to rehearse at Krazy Kup every Monday. Kyle: One day I texted you and was like “Hey, do you wanna be in that band you’ve heard forever?” Josh: And I said no, of course. Kyle: Colton was actually originally a fan boy, a super big fan boy. I was actually looking through some of our old messages he sent me a direct message forever ago. Colton: Yeah, I read this message the other day and I basically asked “Who’s your drummer and can I drum for you?” Kyle basically just said “Hey sorry we already have a drummer!” I don’t know why I thought that would ever work. Kyle: I started working with Phil with creative directing and all sorts of stuff. We were going through a different cycle of players, so I was like “Hey, DBMK needs a new drummer.” Colton: Phil and I have been friends for like 5 years now, so he recommended me to Kyle. Kyle: The first night of rehearsal with Colton, I sat all of my stuff down to go to the bathroom and I could hear the drums being played. I was like “Wow that better not be that kid or we are doomed,” and it ended up being Josh. I was honestly scared to death. HOW WOULD YOU GUYS DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND?

Jacob: Indie, electronic, alternative. Kyle: I would say we’re more post-reggae core, or post-mariachi core.

Jacob: We’ve never been able to answer this question. Kyle: I guess I would say the umbrella term is “alt-indie electronic” Jacob: To put it lightly, there no real good way to describe it. Kyle: At least for me I’ve never really been all about “genre.” I don’t think it really matters that much anymore. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really cool to be a part of a community, but nailing down a specific genre has just become too difficult. Colton: I feel like it’s becoming a thing to not be a genre. Heart Eyes: A lot of your songs sound so different from each other. Kyle: Exactly, and a lot of bands are doing that now, where every song is a different genre. We just won’t be dabbling in country. HOW DO YOU GET THE MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION TO WRITE MUSIC?

Kyle: I guess just living. The way that that we’ve always written music is kind of old school in the sense that we like to tell stories. We’ve all studied music basically our whole lives, and we have a pretty substantial vocabulary to draw from. Jacob: We basically use voodoo. Kyle: Step 1. Voodoo. Step 2. Song. ANY ARTISTS YOU’VE BEEN LOVING RECENTLY?

Josh: PHANGS Jacob: joan, they’re really cool guys. I didn’t start listening to COIN until I saw them live 17 times. Colton: COIN’s awesome. I’ve recently been getting a lot of inspiration from Ryan. Jacob: Here’s an artist you probably haven’t heard of, The Night Game. Kyle: Yeah, The Night Game is pretty dope, but here’s an artist you’ve probably never heard of: Michael Jackson.

“

THE WAY THAT

WE’VE ALWAYS WRITTEN MUSIC IS KIND OF OLD SCHOOL IN THE SENSE THAT WE LIKE TO TELL

”

STORIES.

IF YOU WEREN’T MAKING MUSIC WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?

Josh: Making coffee Jacob: I don’t have a fall back, literally. Kyle: I don’t know, I would probably either study language. Josh: Ew Kyle: I would be some sort of writer or music journalist, I’m really into that. I’ve been reading Rolling Stone since I was like, one.

Colton: I used to really want to work at an airline. I’ve never pursued that at all, so I don’t know how it would go but, my uncle is a pilot, and I’ve always loved flying. I think it would be cool. SO, WHAT’S NEXT FOR DBMK?

Jacob: DBMK 2 Kyle: Yeah literally DBMK 2. We’re kind of in a weird spot right now, but basically new music, new shows, new production, new tours. We’re gonna lock ourselves in a room and make some music.

SPEED ROUND CATS OR DOGS?

Colton: Dogs Josh: Dogs Kyle: I like cats, but you guys like dogs. Jacob: Neither, I don’t want to deal with animals. WINTER OR SUMMER? Kyle: Winter Colton: Summer Josh: Winter Jacob: Summer

PINEAPPLE ON PIZZA? Kyle: Yes, yes, yes. Colton: No TEA OR COFFEE?

Josh: Coffee Colton: Coffee Kyle: Coffee Jacob: Neither Josh: Actually, I change my mind tea. PANCAKES OR WAFFLES?

Colton: Pancakes! Josh: Waffles Jacob: Pancakes Kyle: I’m gonna go with waffles

IS A HOTDOG A SANWICH?

Jacob, Josh, Colton, and Kyle collectively: No! MEXICAN FOOD OR ITALIAN FOOD?

Kyle: Mexican Colton: I’m Italian so, Italian Jacob: I’m gonna go TexMex, Italian has too much red sauce Josh: I like both.

Earlier this year, one of my best friends sent a message in a group chat that said “Guys check out Remo Drive. They’re incredible.” I watched the music video for their song “Yer Killin’ Me” and got hooked. When it was announced that they would be opening for fellow Minnesota natives, Hippo Campus, on their 2017 Fall Tour, I was elated because they had a tour date in a city I live near. Heart Eyes Magazine got a chance to sit down with them in Oklahoma City on Halloween before the show to ask them a few questions. It was definitely a shock to walk into the green room to see a lifeguard, Flo the Progressive Lady, a Death Metal bassist, and a guy that looks like Steve Harrington (that wasn’t his costume, he just looks strangely similar to Joe Keery). We talked to them about inspirations, their creative process and really tight pants.

INTERVIEW BY MADISON MIZE PHOTOGRAPHY BY KASEY MAKAL

Do you guys have any hobbies outside of music that contribute to your musicality? SAM: ERIK:

SAM:

Remo Drive is a Midwestern pop-punk band, mainly a three piece, but touring as a four piece. When I asked about why the guys wanted to start the band, Stephen said that he and his brother, Erik, had been in a band before and that they have always enjoyed playing music together, so when that band eventually broke up, they decided to start Remo Drive. They started making music as Remo Drive in 2013 and never looked back.

Thank you for sitting down with us! Can you introduce yourselves and tell us your role in the band?

SAM:*holding a pink inner tube* Hi I’m Sam and I blow up inner tubes, and when I’m not doing that regarding the beaches of the ocean, I play drums. ZACK: I’m Zack. I play guitar and Magic the Gathering on my iPad. ERIK: I’m Erik, I play guitar and sing and sell insurance.” STEPHEN: My name is Stephen, I am in a Black Metal Norwegian cult, and in the band, I play bass guitar. ZACK: And burn churches. STEPHEN:*laughs* Yeah, and I burn churches in my spare time. ZACK: I play bass a lot but that’s kinda the same thing [as guitar]. ERIK: I’m a dabbler in everything and a master of none. ZACK: I knew you looked familiar, Aziz [Ansari]. SAM: I play hard on Guitar Hero and sometimes expert if I’m feeling really crazy. STEPHEN: And I sometimes play drums, but not anything else.

ERIK: HEM: ZACK: ERIK: HEM: ERIK:

ZACK:

Skateboarding! I’m not good at skateboarding, but I try to skateboard. We have a song about skateboarding and not being good at skateboarding. I don’t really do anything other than play music. Stephen burns churches!*laughs* Is that gonna be on the next album? It’s on every album! You have to play it backwards. I guess it’s fitting because vinyls are big again. Right, right yeah. Now we can just have people play it in reverse. Before, it was kinda tricky because we had to toss the mp3s into Audacity (music editing software) and revers it. All of our albums came with a flash drive with Audacity on it.” It was even trickier when Led Zeppelin was doing it. *laughs*

After talking about their hobbies outside of music, we discussed their album and what it was like releasing it this year. Remo Drive finally released a full length album at the beginning of 2017 and it was very well received. Anthony Fantano from theneedledrop, a youtube channel where he reviews albums of various genres, said, “For the emo kids out there, this is most l ikely going to be your album of the year.” Personally, I never had an “emo” phase, but this is still definitely one of my favorite releases from this year. I asked them about their album, Greatest Hits and their thoughts on Fantano’s reaction. Did it take a long time to complete Greatest Hits or did it come together quickly? ERIK:

I’d say that it felt like a long time, probably because the last time we put out any music was two years prior to that. There was a lot of writing that happened between then and when the record came out, but probably ¾ of that stuff was scrapped before... continued>>>

Sam even re-joined the band. Everything after that point came really quickly. We started writing in March [2016] and we finished recording in October [2016], so it was a pretty quick process. HEM: What went through your minds when you saw that Anthony from The Needle Drop did a review of Greatest Hits? ERIK: It was really cool! Stephen and I have been watching that channel for so long and it’s wild to hear his thoughts and have them be positive on our record. Especially, when a lot of the stuff that I like, he isn’t really super into, so it’s cool that somebody that was kind of formative to my music taste enjoys our stuff enough to review it. He came to one of our shows and it was really cool. SAM: We were all blown away when he just tweeted the “Yer Killin’ Me” video! If that was all it was, I think that we would all still be very, very happy with the fact that he just did that, and the fact that he included it in a couple other videos and did the album review is just beyond crazy.

twitter: @RemoDrive instagram: remodrivemn www.remodriveband.com

yer killin’ me!

Let It Snow

******************************************** WHAT WE’RE DOING, WEARING, AND LISTENING TO WHEN IT’S COLD OUT

VICTORIA: hot chocolate in Christmas-themed mugs, having National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Elf on repeat for the whole month, listening to every Adele album on vinyl and The Andy William Christmas Album on vinyl, going back to New York to visit family and friends and thinking of nostalgic childhood memories (getting plowed with snowballs)

KY: Pourover in a Johnnyswim mug, Rummikub, Depression Cherry - Beach House & VHS - X Ambassadors, Oxford crewneck ASHLEIGH: Denim jacket, Love Actually, “Home” by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros , candles n christmas lights

CALEIGH: dark lipstick, denim jacket, hot coffee, going to New Mexico with my family, finishing Call Me By Your Name, watching Star Wars with my dad, Hozier, cramming for finals before the break, driving around to see christmas lights, flannel pajama pants. Advertising

GABI: Denim Jacket and velvet ankle boots, building “snowmen” at the beach, palm trees with christmas lights wrapped around them, song: “Last Snowstorm of The Year” cover by Hippo Campus, ELF, album: Depression Cherry -Beach House

MADI: My red flannel that I got from Goodwill 5 years ago, black coffee from my favorite coffee shop called Evoke, Fear and Bliss by Horse Thief, ice skating, and watching A Christmas Story while decorating the Christmas Tree JISELLE: A scarf, perfect for the winter breeze. Listening to the Frank Sinatra’s christmas album, while making cookies with friends and family during Christmas Eve. Coffee shops, scenic routes with christmas light decor, nostalgic but comforting.

PEYTON: long coats that make me feel like a detective, A Christmas Story, hibiscus tea with lemon and honey, sitting on the roof and reading even though it’s thirty degrees outside, candlelit family dinners, “Northern Wind” by City and Colour, yelling “one, two, THREE,” and running from the car to the house with your best friends

AT THE FOX THEATER, OAKLAND, CA

O H WON DE R

PHOTOGRAPHER: BRIAR BURNS

GREAT GOOD FINE OK photos by ky kasselman

HIPPO CAMPUS PHOTOS BY AMANDA LAFERRIERE

N AS H V I L L E , T E N N E s S E E

P H O T G R A P H E D BY SY D N E Y K I N G

D UA L I PA