Kinda Cool Magazine: Issue 03

kindacool. issue 03

featuring

NEW POLITICS

+

TE SSA VI OLE T | BROA DSIDE | P!NK DREAMER S | FE STIVA LS OF 201 9

playlist We introduced our Issue #3 playlist topic requesting that everyone suggests their best “windows down, feet on the dashboard, screaming at the top of your lungs with your best friends” songs. This brought on some pretty immediate responses, which is why we couldn’t resist expanding the length of our usual playlists with all our top picks.

Crash My Car

COIN

Drugs & Candy

All Time Low

Orange Juice

Lostboycrow

Don’t Feel Like Crying

Sigrid

Passenger Side

Smallpools

1983

Weathers

One Foot

WALK THE MOON

drive all night

joan

Hometown

Twenty One Pilots

11:11

Arkells

The Sound of Reverie

The Maine

Rollercoaster

Bleachers

dancing around

flor

Something To Hold On To

The Band CAMINO

Perfect Places

Lorde

Listen on Spotify: https://sptfy.com/4Htr

contents issue 3

august 2019

5 Carlie Hanson 8 Vesperteen 12 Mental Health

and Music 14 Mom Jeans 19 Lights 29 Music Festivals 44 tiLLie 48 P!nk 55 PVRIS 64 Finding Your Way

Through the Music Industry

23 Broadside

36

52 Dreamers

New Politics

58 Tessa Violet

kindacool.

Staff Meg Clemmensen, Sophie Harris, Mary Perez Founder, Manager Meg Clemmensen Copy Editor Mary Perez Graphic Designer Sophie Harris

kindacoolmagazine.com

Contributors Mia Andrea, Avalon Angel, Polina Bakgof, Ravyn Cavanaugh, Gianna Cicchetti, Blu Covington, Stephanie Curtis, JenaRose Dahlstrom, Lexie Dopwell, Lisa Eggleston, Sarah Evangelista, Ashley Gallegos, Jenni Johnson, Emily Lantzy, Faith Logue, Katie Marks, Jessica Matilszki, Natalie Melendez, McKenzie Moore, Emilia Rangel, Emily Richardson, Piper Rosas, Cris Rulli, Ibbi Schwartz, Leeann Spangler, Kariann Tan, Chelsea Tiso, Cole Tucker, Devyn Vaughan, Hannah Wayland, Mickayla Whitt, Rebekah Witt, Tanya Wright, Emily Young Cover photo by: Ravyn Cavanaugh

@kindacoolmag

ones to watch...

CARLIE HANSON

At only 19, power-pop singer Carlie Hanson has already been featured on two playlists of Taylor Swift’s favorite songs and opened for the likes of Troye Sivan and YUNGBLUD. In September, she will be embarking on her very first headlining tour throughout Europe and the UK. With all of that considered, it’s hard to believe that only a few years ago she was working as a cashier at her local McDonald’s and trying to make it big on the internet like so many before her.

The singer calls it unreal, which it is; her second single “Only One” has over 55 million streams as of now, only two years after its release. Several other tracks have gathered up well over a million streams as well, exceeding anything she ever could have dreamed of.

“I’m still that same bitch,” Hanson says, even after moving to LA from her Wisconsin hometown and snagging a deal with Warner Records. In the time since, she’s made new friends, gotten an Audi, and fallen in and out of love. However, the singer is cautious to stay grounded and true to herself while on social media and talking with her fans. You can find her constantly posting selfies with funny faces and captions all over her Instagram feed as means of living unapologetically.

Along the same theme, her debut EP Junk, released in

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June of this year, touches on all of these experiences — growing up, falling in love, and falling out of it. The five-track record is quite the opposite of its name, which Hanson says she wanted to be simple and not too thought out.

“Back In My Arms,” a notable fan-favorite (and the track that Taylor Swift added to her most recent personal playlist) about being in love for the first time, follows Hanson’s lead by mixing her songs with honest lyrics and catchy hooks. In fact, the whole EP follows that lead; Hanson describes writing the album as cathartic and like a therapy session for her. “I haven’t felt this confident since I was very young,” she says.

“And I’m guessing that has a lot to do with how open and honest I have been with myself while writing.”

We can only agree. The future for this young artist looks very bright. She is beyond excited to be back on the road again, this time headlining a six-show run. On top of that, she’ll be opening for Lauv in Australia and New Zealand before the end of the year. As Junk continues to gather streams, we can only assume that the singer is continuing to work on her next project behind-the-scenes.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to check out Hanson’s music yet, be advised that she has a little something for everybody, so you’re bound to find a track you’ll fall in love with. For the most part, her music follows the styles of pop stars such as Maggie Rogers, Phoebe Ryan, and Nina Nesbitt. Junk and more by Carlie Hanson can be found on all streaming services now.

Written by: Lexie Dopwell, Meg Clemmensen Photos by: Devyn Vaughan

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kindacool.

Arkells

by Meg Clemmensen

8 • kinda cool.

THE HYPE BEHIND THE HYPE IS DEAD I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to sit down with Colin Rigsby, frontman of Vesperteen, for an interview at the DC9 Nightclub recently. We discussed the current tour as well as his most recently released album, The Hype is Dead. We also talked a bit about his writing process and motivation for creating new music.

Hello! How are you?

Good, thank you! Tired.

So I see that you just got off tour with Great Good Fine Ok. How was that?

Good! We actually have two more dates left, so we’ve been out with them for almost a month now. They had a bunch of days off, so we kind of peppered in our own headlining shows.

What is your favorite part about touring?

I mean, the whole point is playing the shows, so all of my mental effort goes into playing and performing. Playing is definitely the point, but I do love just experiencing new cities and seeing people I don’t get to see all the time, friends and fans and otherwise.

Do you have any favorite cities or venues?

There’s certain crowds that tend to be wilder for some reason. Whenever we go to Tulsa, everybody is always really crazy and fun. As a city, it’s

whatever, but the people there seem to be wilder. I like seeing new venues. I don’t really have a favorite, I guess. Any place where the staff is just really cool and nice is always great. Fortunately, we’ve had a lot of those on this tour.

You just recently released “Love Me When It Hurts.” What was the inspiration for that song?

That song is about a relationship, being with somebody, and appreciating the other person still loving you even when it doesn’t make sense, like if I’ve hurt them or I’m being difficult or irrational. It’s just about grace from one partner to each other.

From your self-titled album to The Hype is Dead, how would you say your music style has progressed?

That’s a good question. It’s hard to say how it progressed. Actually, on that one [The Hype is Dead] I had collaborated with a few other people that I hadn’t even met before. Most of those songs, I wrote with people I just met and we just jumped into writing and producing together, so that was a very different experience. I still wrote all the lyrics but that

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really grew me as far as the process of working with somebody else. I still always approach it the same way, but in hindsight, I can look back and say that it really pulled me in some different directions, mostly process-wise. Even working with different people and different people’s musical instincts that might be different than mine, following those instead of grabbing onto what my own was.

Can you explain your writing process a little bit for The Hype is Dead?

Yeah, let me think. For one or two of them, I already had an idea, and I had at least the melodies and lyrics for all of them. Most of them, I would get into the studio with whoever it was and start talking about whatever we want to do, and sometimes I’ll just start messing around with a synthesizer or something and we just catch a vibe and go from there. I’ll finish fleshing out lyrics and stuff on my own, maybe the next day or something, once we have a solid musical base started. Then we just put on the other touches after that.

What is your main motivation for writing new music?

really hard. I honestly didn’t even plan on starting Vesperteen, it just kind of happened. The motivation was just to write songs because that’s just in me and I just always liked to create things; I’ve always been a songwriter and performer. It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what. It’s not like I want to be famous or make money. I don’t even really have goals of needing to play Madison Square Garden or anything like that. I just have to play in general, and I have to write.

How do you stay motivated despite all of the doubt and/or negativity?

Seeing that it works. It gets me going if one person is way into it or just says that it means a lot to them.

Or then on a larger scale, if we get a great show or a great tour. Because I’m always a little unsure that I don’t think anybody really cares, so to see it working in any way is motivation to keep doing it.

Lastly, do you have anything you want to say to the readers?

Anything at all? Which direction do I take with this... Check out the music!

I’d like to think everyone can get something from it and find a little bit of themselves in what I’m writing.

Check it out!

That’s hard to identify, because by a lot of accounts, I shouldn’t keep doing it because it’s just

You can find Vesperteen’s music on all streaming sites, as well as his upcoming tour dates on his website. Be sure to check out his new singles and stay tuned for upcoming music as well!

Hosted and photographed by: Piper Rosas

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kindacool.

Kim Petras

by Devyn Vaughan

and music 12 • kinda cool.

Tears of joy, sadness, laughter, nostalgia — music makes us feel all sorts of emotions. No matter what happens, it always accompanies our emotional state and in a way, helps us overcome hardships — whether it’s a breakup, mental health issues, or just a terrible week. Somehow, we always tend to find connections with different bands or artists on an emotional level, and we all have songs that bring us comfort and catharsis, songs that move us and save us.

shameful, and the music industry has significantly contributed to spreading mental health awareness. More and more artists use their voice and open up about their experience with depression, anxiety, or other mental disorders, which inspires us — ordinary people — to do the same. It also teaches us that there is nothing wrong with being vulnerable; in fact, there is so much power and beauty in honesty and vulnerability.

The month of May was dedicated to mental health awareness, and we, as huge music enthusiasts, should not forget the vital role music plays when it comes to mental health. Its effect on our psychological state is undeniable.

It gives us a place to reflect on what we feel and go through, as well as the realization that we are not alone in our struggles. I vividly remember being ten and listening to Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” for the first time. It was quite a revelation, as I didn’t know there were songs that depicted grief in such an accurate way. Growing up in an environment where everyone was very private and reserved, it was shocking to hear someone sing about things that I was struggling with. It’s been years since I first stumbled upon that song, but it still holds a very special meaning to me, as it had served me as a reminder that it’s actually okay to be broken. That’s one of the most exciting things about music — it transcends any boundaries and unites people who may share the same pain, no matter who we are or where we come from. It’s quite powerful, isn’t it?

We often consider our favorite musicians as our role models; they are people we admire and look up to. It’s important that they use their voice and platform to address the stigma behind mental illness and how we can reduce it. Many artists also work with mental wellness organizations to make a change in our society and engage people in a dialogue. Additionally, there are special resources and services within the industry, as people in this sphere often suffer from mental health issues themselves.

According to University of Westminster and MusicTank, who carried out a large research in 2016, nearly 70% of people in the music industry believed they had dealt with depression.

One of the greatest examples of organizations that help people in the industry are Punk Talks, a nonprofit which provides artists free or affordable therapy, and Music Minds Matter, a round-the-clock helpline and support service for the British music community.

Equally, concerts are a very therapeutic, intimate experience. We make special connection with the artist on stage and their songs, which become even more personal when we hear them live. Surrounded by hundreds of people that probably feel the same as you do, the sense of loneliness dissolves somewhere in the middle of the crowd. Though we might not know these people around us, we still empathize with them. It’s sort of a “Hey, I know exactly how you feel,” moment.

With mental health issues being destigmatized, we still have a lot to work on. To this day, many people see mental disorders as something

While music can’t cure an illness, it still greatly influences our wellbeing. It can heal our wounds and help us overcome whatever obstacles we have to face in our life. It is truly empowering, and it does make life worth living for so many artists and listeners. Though some say it’s unhealthy to be emotionally dependent on music, mental health embodies our general well-being, and our ability to relate to others and seek solace in art and music is a huge part of it.

With this in mind, don’t ever feel ashamed to say, “This song saved my life.” Music is capable of doing many incredible things to us.

Written by: Polina Bakgof Photo by: Sophie Harris

kindacoolmag.com • 13

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IT Y

You’re at the end of Sad Summer tour. What has it been like touring with bands like Mayday Parade and The Maine who’ve been in the scene for a long time?

It’s really cool. I feel like we’ve been trying to learn a lot from them. It’s hard to think of examples, but just seeing the way that those bands operate on a day-to-day basis. I think both of those bands have been very good at cultivating a very involved and invested fanbase, and that’s something that all bands really have to do these days to have longevity in their career. That’s something that we’ve been thinking and talking a lot about, just trying to decide whether we want to be in this band for the next five or ten years. If we decide we do want to do that, we all know that growing pains happen and changes need to be made.

Finding out how you grow and in the ways that you can while still keeping on doing things your own way. Seeing how The Maine and Mayday Parade do that and how State Champs and The Wonder Years all have their own ways of operating and how they all have their place in that has been really cool for us. It’s been a great experience.

So keeping that in mind, how do you, as a band, plan to grow and change as the scene evolves around you? Do you plan on trying to stick to your roots with your fanbase, or are you more open to adjusting as music evolves?

I think that we’re all about just doing what feels right to us at the time. I think it’s inevitable that bands are going to grow and change and their sounds are going to grow and change with them, because we change as people. I mean, by the time we put out the next record, it’ll probably be two or three years since the last one.

You’re not the same person that you are two, three years later. I think what we try to do is be straightforward and honest about where we’re at when we put out and write music. I think that we do what feels right to us and whether or not we think something is sick and if we want to play those songs. I think we will kind of stick to our roots as far as what we think is important and what we think is fun; all we really want to do is to keep doing that.

Since you brought up the album, how did it feel when you were finally able to release Puppy Love and throw it out there for the world to hear?

Oh my, it felt really, really good. I don’t like sitting on music for a long time, and I really like making records and recording music. It’s very fun for us, and we all have a really, really good time with it.

So once we make something, we really aren’t going to sit on it. I just want to get stuff out there.

So, I don’t know, hype is weird sometimes. I feel like things get overhyped, and as a band, we’ve always tried to be very honest and straightforward about what’s going on. There’s no smoke and mirrors. You know? There’s no fourth wall or anything like that. We just like to pull back the curtain and what you see is what you get. There’s no crazy album rollouts or anything like that. We just like to make music and we put it out once it’s done. Hopefully people like it. Puppy Love is one of those things we had to sit on for a little while and we didn’t get to just put it out. So now that it’s out and people had time to digest the songs, it feels good. I think it’s growing on people?

Since Puppy Love was released in 2018 and your first album was released in 2016, does this mean you’ve got plans for an album in 2020?

Going every two years would be cool and that definitely would be nice if it ends up working that way with timing. I would love to do that, but I don’t know. It always comes down to when it’s ready and when it’s done. We’ve talked a lot as a band about what we want to do for the next album and what our expectations are, and I think we aren’t gonna know that it’s done and that it’s ready until it’s done and it’s ready. When we all feel like we’ve reached that point, then that’s when the album is going to be done. We don’t want to put any limits or timeframe on ourselves.

Right now, we just want to do the absolute best that we can.

You want to be happy with it before you give it to everyone else.

Yeah exactly, I don’t want to have any regrets.

I want to have a lot of time to play through the songs and a long time to record the songs so there’s nothing I regret releasing.

You guys have a very distinct sound and I love it. Was this something that took a long time to cultivate or is it something that kind of came naturally when you started playing music?

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A little bit of both. I think it definitely takes you a long time to find what feels good and what feels natural to you, at least for me personally.

I started playing guitar when I started playing in this band. I still don’t think I’m a very good guitar player, but I’ve just been learning as I go, and I think with that every new thing you learn is something that you can add to your arsenal.

Over time, we’ve each settled in to what we think is cool and what we like for this band. We found how we like to sound and that’s definitely taken a long time. On the other hand, it was a lot less intentional than you might think. For me, it was just turning knobs and listening to a lot of bands that I liked, and I think whenever you try to replicate another band’s sound you can never really fully do it 100%. It always ends up sounding a little bit unique and it always sounds a little bit like a mixture of all your influences, and so we try to wear influences on our sleeve as much as we can.

Absolutely! So since you’re wearing them on your sleeve, who would you say are your major influences when you are writing?

So it’s listening to a lot of Joyce Manor, Modern Baseball, Free Throw, and bands like that. I really like the twinkly stuff. Bart likes the really loud rock and roll stuff. Austin is somewhere in the middle, and when we put that all together, it just kind of becomes its own thing.

When it does come to your songwriting process, what do you do? Some bands just write as they’re on the road and some bands take a two-week retreat to the middle of nowhere. What do you guys do when it’s time to write a new album?

Well, I think something that all of us struggle with in the band is the balance of the high intensity work of being on tour and then having nothing to do when you get home and being bored. So when we are home and we’re not on tour, we try to fill that time with as much creative stuff as possible. We usually do a week on, then a week off. Bart lives three hours away from us, but he’ll come up and spend a week at our house. We try to fill the time as much as we can. We try to practice a couple times

16 • kinda cool.

a week. We try to jam or demo out a couple of times a week as well. We’re also in a lot of other bands and a lot of other projects that are always recording and practicing and doing stuff. When we’re on tour, we’re on tour and we’re focused on the tour we’re doing, and when we’re at home or writing, we’re thinking about the next tour or we’re getting ready to do all that stuff.

As far as the writing process goes, it’s definitely gotten a lot more collaborative. When the band started out, it was very much just myself and Austin, our drummer, writing songs together.

Over time, especially with this new record that we’ve been working on, Sam has been writing a lot and helping a lot and Mark has actually been writing a lot. It’s been really fun having all four people in the band writing stuff rather than just me and Austin creating songs and then bringing it to everybody. Everyone has been peppering on their own flavor, and I think we sound like a whole new band, and I think it feels different in a good way. It feels like a step in the right direction. It feels like we are tapping into the full potential that we have. My goal for making the record is if we do our absolute best and we think we smash it out of the ballpark and we give it a hundred and ten percent and do the absolute very best that we’re capable of and people don’t like it, fuck it. We did our absolute best. I don’t want to ever walk away from a project or walk away from an album feeling like we only we only did like 70 or 80 percent of what we were capable of, and right now it definitely feels like everybody is firing on all cylinders and bringing as much to the table as they possibly can. It’s a very good feeling, and it makes me really excited about what the next album is going to sound like. Whenever I’m in a bad mood, I listen to the demos that I’m super stoked on.

I absolutely love how excited you are for the next record, I’m sure the fans are just as excited! Bringing it back to the performing side of things, when you’re performing, is there a message you’re trying to convey? On this tour, I assume there are a lot of people who haven’t seen you before. Is there a message you try to convey to those fans?

I don’t know. I try not to. I try to stay in my lane. It’s really hard to make a solid point in

the two seconds you have between songs so I try to keep my mouth shut unless I’m really certain about what I want to say or unless there is a very specific issue or something that is really important to me. As a band, and myself personally, I feel like we very much found ourselves in this situation where people like our music and want to see us on tour. The first album that we put out is still growing and things are still getting better. Every tour that we do gets bigger, and we’re still improving as a band, which is a huge privilege. I don’t feel that we’ve done anything in particular or work any harder than anyone else to deserve something like this, and the way that I reconcile that is that I want people to know that if they want to be in a band and they want to go on tour and they want to do some stuff like this, they absolutely, totally can. There’s nothing different about me or nothing special about us. There’s not enough women that are starting bands right now, there’s not enough people of color that are starting bands, there’s not enough trans people starting bands, there’s not enough queer people starting bands. I feel like I don’t know what else to do as like a person with the privileges and platform that I currently have. I don’t know what else I can do other than encourage and formally invite people to please start a fucking band. If you’ve been waiting for somebody to tell you that your stories are good and that your experiences are valid, that’s what we’re here to do. You can be up on the stage in two years if you want to. The last time we were in Wisconsin, we played my friend J.J.’s mom’s basement. It was for like 60 people and it was awesome. That was less than three years ago and now we’re here and doing this huge show. If we can do that, so can you. We’re just like a ragtag bunch of kids from the fucking ‘burbs of California; there’s nothing special or different about us. I want people to know that and I want people to put aside whatever little voices in their head that are telling them that they’re not good enough at guitar or that they play ukulele and that it’s not important or that nobody wants to hear a girl singing a song. That’s bullshit. I think that people should just start making art for themselves and start making art because it’s important to them and because they believe in themselves. They should find people that believe in them and

want to support them because that’s what we’ve been lucky enough to do. And that’s that’s the only thing that we’ve done ‘right.’

We’ve surrounded ourselves with people who we genuinely care about us, and you can’t fail if that’s the environment you’re in.

On a completely different note, when you’re not on tour and you’re not doing anything music-wise, what are some things that you do when you’re at home?

I smoke a lot of weed and watch a lot of TV. That is definitely something that I do. I’ve been trying to find more creative and constructive outlets. I’ve been getting into drawing and tattooing a little bit, which is very terrible and is in no way anywhere near good enough to call myself somebody who has that as a hobby. But that’s something I’ve been filling my time with. I like going hiking, I like cooking, and I spent a lot of time with my partner. A lot of us in the band spend time with our partners. The downtime that we have is very much just downtime, very much just chilling. We also like having people over, like partying and stuff. Not like we’re getting wasted, just entertaining. We have a house and we like having people over and we grill and watch Foo Fighters music videos and stuff like that. It’s really fun, I’m sure you do something similar with your friends.

Definitely, my friends and I like to go back and watch the drunk history of Fall Out Boy regularly.

Oh yeah, there’s been many a night where it’s just a case of White Claws and the Foo Fighters documentary on Netflix. It’s just like, “Alright everybody, strap in, we’re doing this again.”

That’s an amazing documentary though, I completely agree. When it comes to the future, where do you see yourself going as a band? You’ve played a lot of smaller venues like your friend’s mom’s basement, and then this whole tour is a lot of bigger venues such as The Rave tonight in Milwaukee. When it comes to touring or anything like that in general, where do you see it going?

kindacoolmag.com • 17

I don’t know. It’s honestly hard to say, because if you asked me that two years ago, I never would have said this. I think as long as we’re still playing shows and we’re still playing music together and we’re still friends, that’s all I really care about. I don’t want to sound ungrateful or anything, but at the end of the day, I really don’t care about this band as much as I do getting to share this experience with my friends and the people we have been doing that with. That’s the only reason we ever started a band. It was just because it’s fun to play music together and there’s something special about all four of us just playing our instruments at the same time.

That’s the feeling I’m always chasing every time we go on a tour and every time we make an album, and as long as I get to have that in whatever capacity, just the four of us doing that together, then Mom Jeans will continue to be a thing. If something ever gets in the way of that and threatens our relationship as friends, I think I would definitely see us putting the band aside.

I just really hope that we get to we get to do this as as long as we want. There’s something really rewarding and validating about busting your ass every day and going to bed exhausted but proud of yourself, knowing that you did a good job and you deserve to be exhausted and that you kicked ass. There’s something really great and validating about that feeling, and that’s the feeling that tour gives me. You know?

Being able to go to bed at night tired and happy.

Yeah, and just looking back at the day and being like “Woah, I did that,” or looking back on the tour. When you actually try to sit back and process everything that you put yourself through physically and mentally, it’s astounding. I think every time I go on tour, most bands of our size that are doing the things that we’re doing, you’re really pushing yourself to your absolute limits physically and mentally. There’s something cool about that. A lot of people do that in other ways, like marathon runners do that and people who climb mountains and people who skydive do all these ridiculous things. And for me, that’s going on tour and that’s how I do it. I’m always chasing that feeling and I will for as long as we get to do that. As long as we feel like it’s worth

18 • kinda cool.

the time and it’s worth the effort and sweat we put into it, we will keep on going.

My last question that I always ask is the same. For someone who reads this interview and wants to check you out, what do you want them to know about you?

Everybody’s welcome at the Mom Jeans gig.

Even if you don’t particularly like our music and you just want to come to a show and see what the vibe is and see what it’s like, everybody’s welcome. We’re very much trying to do an anticool guy club thing. I’m sick of going to shows and feeling like it’s a leather jacket and tattoo sleeve contest and everybody is secretly having some contests for like the coolest looking guy in the room. There’s no prize. I hate that feeling and I’m sick of going to shows like that and I’ve been sick of going to shows like that since I was a teenager. Luckily we’re in a position now where we don’t have to make our shows like that. We get to be as accessible and as inclusive as we want. We’re trying to do gender-neutral bathrooms as much as we can at all the shows.

My goal is to have the only reason that anybody would not like our band or not want to come see us in a show is just because like they don’t care for the music and it’s just not for them. If you’re unsure about it or you want to come to a Mom Jeans show or you want to hang out with our band or be involved in whatever capacity and you’re not sure if you’re cool enough or whatever, fuck that. Say what’s up and come hang out, because this experience in this world is for everybody. I’ve been given so much of it and I’ve been given this crazy big platform and I want to share it with as many people as I can. It’s the only way I can sleep at night, it only seems fair. You know what I mean? I just want to share with as many people as I can.

A huge thank you goes out to Mom Jeans and specifically to Eric for taking the time to sit down with me and talk. The inclusive culture is coming, and Mom Jeans is doing their best to help cultivate that at their shows. Mom Jeans’ latest album Puppy Love is available now on all streaming platforms.

Hosted by: McKenzie Moore

SKIN&EARTH ACOUSTIC Brings a New Feeling to Lights’ 2017 Juno-Winning Album

About two years ago, Lights released her fourth full-length album, the Juno Awardwinning Skin & Earth. Earlier this year, on July 12th, she released an acoustic version — something she’s very well-known for doing with each album she releases. The album features acoustic versions of Lights’ seven favorite songs off of the 2017 album re-recorded in different settings that the singer felt suited each song. The locations used for the acoustic recordings were also based off of chapters in the comic series that were released along with the original album and were related to each song. Along with these reimagined versions of Skin & Earth tracks, there are also three new songs included on this album.

with the specific song and travelled to the settings of those chapters in order to record the songs there. One track in particular that stood out was “Skydiving.” The original track is upbeat and fast-paced, whereas the acoustic version is slowed down and more emotional.

When listening to the acoustic version, the raw emotion and the meaning behind the words is conveyed more bluntly and the intensity of emotions felt by the listener reflects the title of the track. The acoustic version of “Skydiving” was recorded on a cliff, and this relates to the title of the song which also ties into the freefalling feeling of letting the emotions in Lights’ voice encompass the listener when they hear the slowed-down track.

When re-recording each of the songs, Lights picked a specific chapter from the Skin & Earth comic series that she thought best coincided

The album as a whole has a more somber and emotional tone to it than the 2017 version because of how the tempo is slowed down and

the performances of the songs themselves are more raw on the acoustic tracks. Skin&Earth (Acoustic) lets the audience hear a more emotionally raw recording of the songs and the listeners can pick up on the message that Lights is trying to deliver with these songs.

One song that I personally think had less emotion and power behind it on Skin&Earth (Acoustic) rather than on the original album was “Savage.”

The acoustic version of this song, while well done and emotionally recorded in the rain, gives off a sadder and more somber mood than the original.

When singing lyrics like “What do you do when a man don’t love you / He takes the sun from the sky above you / How do you fix the damage / How do you break the habit / I never knew you could be so savage,” the 2017 full-instrumental version has more of the strong female power and sass that we expect from Lights. I personally feel as though that

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first version just conveys the emotion of the song more clearly, whereas the acoustic version shows her as vulnerable and weak to the subject of the song’s power.

Acoustic albums have been around for quite some time, and although a lot of artists seem to be straying away from putting out acoustic music, Skin&Earth Acoustic has seen great success already even though it has only been out for a couple of months. It is yet another creative and unique acoustic spin into what seems to be Lights’ specialty. Her acoustic tour to support the album sold out over half of the shows, including Toronto, Vancouver, New York and two shows in Los Angeles. You can expect a new project from Lights sometime very soon.

Written by: Cris Rulli Photos courtesy of management

by Emily Richardson

Train

kindacool.

kindacool.

Goo Goo Dolls

by Emily Richardson

FIN D PA ING RA D ISE wit h

When I think “summer songs,” the first pop punk band that comes to mind is Broadside. Though their latest album Paradise is over two years old, its eleven tracks are still filling up all my road trip playlists. Entering 2019 with two new tracks and plans to record their third studio album, they’re learning to conquer any and all challenges thrown their way. While on the road as an opener for the third leg of Set It Off’s Midnight Tour, lead singer Ollie Baxxter was able to sit down for an interview with me, where we discuss lineup changes, color schemes, and stan culture.

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How’s this tour been treating you so far?

Tour has been good! It’s been a while since we’ve been opening, so it’s really good to be touring with a band that has a new demographic for us. Set It Off’s fans are younger, so it’s nice to be performing for those people. I think it’ll be good! I mean — so far, so good.

Has the crowd been treating you as well as they do when you’re headlining?

Yes and no. At first, they’re kind of like “Yeahhh,” and sometimes they’re like, “Alright, where the fuck is Set It Off?” Any pits starting?

A couple, actually! Overall, people are buying a lot more CDs on this tour, which is what you want. You want to sell the music. So it’s definitely a lot of new people!

Are there any older songs that you’ve kept on the setlist for this tour just because you love playing them so much?

Yeah, we have a couple of older songs, like “Damaged Kids.” Oh, and we close with “Old Bones!” And “Coffee Talk,” of course. Just in case nobody likes us, we have to play “Coffee Talk,” because they’ve probably heard that one.

You’re also playing at least one of your new singles, correct?

Both of them!

Both of them, awesome!

Yeah, we’re playing “Empty” and “King of Nothing!”

Is there a reason why you released those two singles at once? Did they go together in any way?

Well, they’re so vastly different that I like the idea of putting out a synthy, poppy song that’s about sadness and then a true song about sadness that sounds aggressive. And I kind of just wanted to see where our fans are at right now, like what are people listening to more, so we can plan for the next record accordingly now that we’ve gotten older.

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So that’s actually another thing I wanted to ask you! It’s a lot different than what you’ve done before— Right! It’s a lot different.

How did you approach these songs with a different view than you’ve approached any of your music before?

Our music taste has changed drastically, but also — so many member changes, and we’re just trying to establish ourselves as a unified band with a unified sound. Before, it was just like, “Let’s just make songs and have fun!” So you get all these crazy things, like a ukulele song. These two kind of came organically, and those are like the last two songs of the experimental phase of Broadside. The next ones — sonically, they’re gonna have a more “one” sound.

I mean, pop punk as a whole is just evolving. There’s no such thing as pop punk anymore. It’s just like all genres. We put those out to hold people over, and then we go into the studio right after this tour.

So the one lyric in “King of Nothing” that really intrigued me and a lot of other fans was the “paradise of bones” line. Did you purposely do that to incorporate parts of your first two albums, Old Bones and Paradise?

Oh yeah! I love dorky stuff like that! I was gonna say “paradise old bones,” but “paradise of bones” works better. It’s the idea of “I’ve lost all control; I’m in this paradise of bones.” I don’t know. I live for moments like that.

Have a lot of people been picking up on that reference?

No! Really?

Which is pissing me off, but you did and that makes me very happy. I’m like, “It’s so cool and artsy!” Then they’re like, “Why are you so mad?”

So is the new color scheme that you’ve got going significant to anything? Where did the palette inspiration come from?

It’s significant in the sense that it’s a play on so many different types of color combos. We mainly just wanted to create the idea of self-expression in

washed 80’s colors. People are approaching us like, “Oh my god, is this the bisexual flag?” I’m like, “It could be!” We don’t like to put that stuff out there because it’s too derivative of what we’re doing, but it’s always in the background because we love love for the sake of it. We don’t like to label things, but the idea of it is that a lot of people are finding a lot of different meanings within it, and I think that is the most important part about it. But anyone who truly asks me — I don’t even know. I like the people who actually know and pay attention and ask what things mean. A lot of people just consume stuff. I think anything we do artistically comes down to what we are as people and we’re just figuring it out. That’s kind of the whole transition with the two new songs, it’s “What the fuck are we doing? What’s next?

Can we keep going?” We wanna be famous! But we don’t wanna be sellouts.

We don’t wanna be not true to ourselves.

Will these new songs or color scheme transfer over to the theme of an upcoming record?

Yeah, so we’ll probably put the two new singles on the new record.

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At least one of them, depending on how it all fits.

We’ve been writing a shit ton for the past couple of months, so after this tour ends, four days later we go into the studio. We’ll see where we are! As far as color scheme, I’m not sure yet. My mind is always like, “It can be better! It can get bigger!” But it might just end up being some play on that.

So your major focus at this point is just finish this tour, then go into the studio?

Right!

Do you plan to do anything else Broadside-related during the remainder of 2019?

On the road lately, have there been any new releases that you’ve had going on your heavy rotation? What’s your playlist?

So right now, we’re working with the new Lil Nas X because he put that out, and we’re like, “Okay, ‘Old Town Road’ was a bop, let’s see what else we’ve got.” Set It Off just put out a music video, which is crazy visually. I try to stay up on what everybody is doing online. Pretty much, it’s always the same stuff for me. My go-to is oldies and jazz; I’m very boring. The other guys are way more interesting when it comes to listening to new stuff, but I will check in on the old Twitter and see what other artists are doing.

Speaking of Twitter, I’ve seen a lot of people posting that they’re hanging out with you after the show and everything. Do you have any funny stories about anything that anybody has said or done this tour?

We have a potential tour lined up that I’m hoping will be announced very soon. Our main focus is definitely the studio.

This tour ends and then we’re literally right into the studio.

So as you’d mentioned before, there have been some changes in the lineup recently. How does that change the live show and whole creative process?

It’s vastly different. When you sleep in a van with people you’ve known for years and years and then you have to pick up strangers and act like — you know? The people that we hired are so talented, but it’s still not the same. At the same time, it’s part of becoming an adult and figuring out the next step because sometimes things just fall apart. No matter how hard, you can’t hold it together.

Yeah, it would definitely be difficult. Will these new members be a part of the whole creation process of the new album?

Oh yeah! So Pat, Jeff, and Dom are official members of the band now. We just had a member leave, so we just have a fill-in for him right now. It’s just gonna be us four in the studio. Just because you’re in a band doesn’t mean you like to write songs, so we try to only work with “If you want to contribute, then come to the studio,” so nobody gets mad for no reason — because being in the studio is such a process. You get annoyed at the dumbest stuff.

“Who ate my Poptart?!”

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Yeah, so Pat loves K-pop and always talks about it, so people will just come up and they’ll be like “Oh, I had a nice time, you had a good show, thank you, it was my first time seeing you, etc.”

Then the occasional one will come up and be like, “What do you think about this artist?” I’m just like, “What the hell are you talking about?” And Pat’s just like “You decide,” and then they just start talking K-pop. I pretend to know and I always get called out for being a poser, so that happens. As I said, there’s a lot of younger people on this tour, so a lot of energy and craziness. At the end of the show, I’m like “You just went ham for five hours at a show” and they’ll just come up like “What’s uuuup?” I’m like, “Wow, this is so cool.” I’m also learning about stan culture? Stannies?

Oh yeah.

I don’t know if Broadside has the kind of vibe to have stannies, but I’m starting to learn what that is. I’ve been studying up on that. Obviously, people like Awsten [Knight, Waterparks] have a lot of those.

So I’m like, “Oh, I see, so it’s this kind of ride-or-die gang.” It’s like a gang that will be with you.

Pretty much.

I’m pretty intrigued by that. I thought it was just like a One Direction, Jonas Brothers lifestyle.

I’ve seen some really creative tattoo designs based off of lyrics!

It’s with everything now!

It’s so sick! That’s what I was saying, it’s one thing to get the lyrics, but it’s another thing to get the visual representation of it.

I know! Maybe I’ll dye my hair yellow or something—

One last thing — is there anything in particular that you hope people find within your music?

See who stays?

Yeah! I’ve always promoted the idea of perseverance.

I’ve always wanted people to consume today as today and tomorrow as unknown, so the idea is that all you can control is what’s right in front of you. Like, I could throw this coffee at you right now or you could slap me in the face, and those are our options, but people often forget that they have those options, so they kind of fear “What if I get slapped in the face? What if I throw this coffee?” So the idea is just to remember what’s good and what’s bad in life, and just be humble in the fact that you are present, and when you’re born, you don’t have a rule book. We’re all just figuring it out. If you can be a good person, be a good person. Sometimes we’re all bad people; everyone makes a bad choice sometimes, or is mean, or says something they don’t mean, and that is human nature. If you can accept that, you’re doing alright.

Don’t stress the stuff you can’t control. That’s kind of what I want to promote — the idea of being here, being present. Being human.

Yeah, see if I can get at least one.

How does it feel when you’re at the show and fans are telling you that you’ve helped them in some kind of way?

I always get really nervous with stuff like that. I see a lot of tattoos with lyrics, or people ask me to write something and my handwriting is so bad and I’m like, “Please don’t get this tattooed,” and they do. I don’t know, I think it’s super flattering, because like I said, when you’re young, you’re invincible. So to come up and say “Oh, you’ve helped me with this,” it’s just kind of breathtaking. One, you didn’t have to say that, and two, thank you for devoting any amount of time to anything that I’m saying or doing. It’s crazy, right? There are 8 billion people in the world, and even if I gave you .0004% of influence or hope, I think it’s a beautiful thing.

It makes me feel really good. I blush sometimes!

When they’re really deep, I want to cry sometimes.

Out of curiosity, what’s your favorite tattoo you’ve drawn or written for somebody?

I love “Keep your head up, I swear that you belong,” it’s a good one. I love that one. “Isolation.” that’s just my favorite word of all time, I just love writing it out.

“Lovely,” I’ve written that out a bunch. Our friend Abby over in the UK has my handwriting saying “lovely.” Those are cool, but then we’re starting to see these visual ones! Like we have a lyric that goes “Let the sun shine in the back of your mind,” and it was a skull and it was all ocean, and then in the back of the mind was a sun. It was so badass!

As the Midnight Tour comes to a close, Broadside will head directly to the studio to begin working on what’s next. In Ollie’s own words, the experimental phase of Broadside ends now. The band has faced many changes in the past year, but they’ve come back stronger than ever and prepared to mark themselves as one of today’s most influential pop punk artists.

Stay up to date with the band by following them on Twitter at @Broadside_ and Instagram at @broadsideofficial. 2019 will truly go down as the year of Broadside.

Hosted and photographed by: Meg Clemmensen

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kindacool.

Forecastle Festival

by Emily Richardson

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There are very few lineups that I would drop everything and travel thousands of miles across the continent to see. “This is just one of those special occasions,” I thought to myself while I stood, jet lagged, in the smouldering Arizona sun waiting to be let past the gates of Band Splash Festival. The date was April 28, and having flown into the state from Canada, the climate was an extreme difference from the snow back at home. Maybe that was one of the things I should’ve thought about when I was impulse buying plane tickets for myself and my best friend.

So who had I caved and decided to treat myself to a trip to see live? Perhaps the most stacked lineup I’ve ever seen in my time of being an avid concertgoer — consisting of Super Whatevr, Chapel, iDKHOW, The Wrecks, SWMRS, Twin XL, Sum 41, and even more. To spice things up to a whole new level, the entire festival took place at a waterpark, with the main stage located inside a wave pool. It was any indie kid’s dream come true. And as if I didn’t already know, the whole experience truly showed me the importance of festival settings in today’s scene as a form of connecting music fans — regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, and yes, even favorite band.

My plans began as a joke around a month before the festival date. Being close with Super Whatevr and missing my chats with them while on tour, I tweeted the band account asking if I should book a flight to Arizona just to see them again. The response I received was “If you want to,” which is an incredibly dangerous game to play when you’re talking to someone like me. The next day, I was booking my flight to Arizona. Band Splash was kind enough to send me a free festival ticket after they heard how far I was traveling, which was absolutely unexpected and lovely. With all details finalized but limited time to let my decision sink in, I spent the next segment of time preparing for the big day to arrive.

The entire adventure began the day before the festival. Pushing aside any fears about flight delays and obstacles, considering

this isn’t something I’d ever done before, I walked into the Toronto Pearson airport as if I was walking on air. After a layover in Chicago, which only seemed to drag out into the longest few hours of my life, we finally landed in Phoenix that evening. I truly cannot describe the breathtaking views and feelings I had while looking out the window upon the lights of the city, realizing how far I was from home and that I was seeing my favorite band in this foreign place the next day, but it is something I will never, ever forget.

After collecting ourselves, we were greeted by another friend who was not only going to be our tour guide for the next few days, but also just happened to be the same person who introduced me to Super Whatevr way back in 2017. All I wanted to do at that point was sleep for five days straight, but I couldn’t come to the southwest without stopping for slushies at Sonic, which doesn’t exist back at home for me. We didn’t settle down until after midnight, but it was all worth it for the full American experience.

Despite the list full of places I wanted to visit while I was in the area for the next couple days, when I woke up the next morning, it was finally the day I’d been counting down until. After spending an unreasonable amount of time trying to put together a cute outfit that accommodates the dry heat of the Arizona environment, eating at Waffle House for my first time, and stopping for a quick Target run to pick up Maggie Rogers’ latest CD, we flash forward to that aforementioned point where I’m standing in line to enter Band Splash Festival. Though the lineup was long and it seemed like we’d never get in, I killed the time by messaging with Super Whatevr on Instagram about how excited I was for the day.

When we finally got past security, I walked past the festival gates and have never felt so overwhelmed in my life. There was so much to see and do!

I circled the festival until I familiarized myself with the area, instantly feeling welcomed by all

the other Super Whatevr fans who complimented my shirt that I purchased at their show the month before. It wasn’t long before I started running into all the band members that I’d flown there to see. Much to my surprise, almost everyone knew exactly who I was and where I’d come from to be at this festival.

Shortly after arriving, I was even given the opportunity to meet one of the wonderful Kinda Cool contributors, Mia. After running into each other while I was chatting with Skyler McKee from Super Whatevr about the first issue of the magazine, we entered the wave pool that the main stage was built inside so we could enjoy Twin XL’s set together. It was my very first time seeing the band after supporting them since they released their first single, and I must say that it was a perfect start to my afternoon. With a high energy set and a crowd based in the same state as they began to get their break in (thanks to The Maine), it was a flawless mixture for a successful opening set. Twin XL’s frontman Cameron Walker brought the first of many enthusiastic comments heard throughout the day about playing a set inside a pool. It was just as thrilling to all the bands as it was to the music fans — maybe the main reason why the festival was such a massive hit with people from all over.

I departed from my third-row spot in the wave pool to wander around and enjoy myself from all around, but what I’d been waiting for the most was still yet to come. I constantly checked my watch, waiting for an appropriate time to walk over to the side stage and get a barricade spot for Chapel and Super Whatevr, who played back-to-back. One of my favorite memories from the entire day happened in between this feeling and the start of Chapel’s set.

I ventured over to the side stage while the band before was still playing. They were called Love Like Fiction and I’d never heard of them before. I entered the crowd, expecting to just bop up and down for a few minutes and maybe find a new band to look up when I got home, but what I wasn’t expecting was to be sucked into the mosh pit. I had no idea who this band

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was, but that didn’t matter in that moment.

Nobody in the crowd cared who I was or where I came from. I was in the audience and I wanted to have fun, therefore I was their friend. I couldn’t yell out any lyrics since I didn’t know them, but I spent the band’s entire last few songs in the pit having the time of my life. That was truly a “woah” moment for me, where I realized just how unique festival settings can be in the sense that everyone is tied together and bonded for the day, but it doesn’t have to be for any particular band.

After Love Like Fiction ended, enough of the crowd left the area that I was able to get front and center barricade for two of my favorite bands who I was about to see. Another big moment that fits my thesis about festival settings happened during Chapel’s set when lead singer Carter Hardin’s laptop stopped working. Where an opening act in a regular venue show may be forced into cutting their set short or leaving the stage early under these circumstances, everyone stuck it out while the problem was resolved.

The crowd continued to sing the band’s songs while drummer Kortney Grinwis told jokes and entertained us. Nobody was frustrated or impatient over the mishap, but rather understanding and encouraging towards Carter.

Due to the positive nature of their audience, they were able to get back on their feet and continue their set with no more interruptions. I danced the entire set away, screaming lyrics at the top of my lungs that I hadn’t been able to scream with them in nearly a year’s time. The unexpected happened after they were done — Carter came into the crowd directly to seek me out and thank me for traveling all this distance for the show. Out of habit, I began

32 • kinda cool.

introducing myself after he said hi, but I was cut off with an “Oh, I know who you are.” In that moment, I felt so appreciated for something that nobody else in that crowd could relate to. I am so incredibly grateful for Chapel and can’t wait to see them again — hopefully next time with less boiling heat and technology errors.

Next was Super Whatevr. The whole reason I was there. I didn’t think it was even possible, but I managed to jump and scream to their set even more than I did to Chapel, which is saying a lot. Every ounce of energy in my body was used on that set. It was the final show of the entire Never Nothing album cycle, and I’m just so thankful that I got to be there to witness the special moment. I got to experience songs live that the band rarely plays during their typical sets. I wasn’t able to see the crowd behind me, but I know that fans were lined up for rows back, enjoying themselves just as much as me. It was truly such a special moment, closing off an era that meant more to the band and fans than words can explain, and being in attendance was the most incredible experience.

I debriefed for a little while by talking to members of Chapel, Super Whatevr, and Twin XL while regaining my energy. I watched The Wrecks’ set from afar, but the fact that I was surrounded by so many people I cared about made it so that perfect view couldn’t have mattered less. During my debrief time, I managed to grab a minute to check the Twitter group chat dedicated to this day that I’d been added to weeks earlier. Though I wasn’t a huge part of conversation with the exception of needing a couple quick favors, I found it truly amazing to look through the days’ messages and see all these people who barely knew each

other, but were there for each other throughout the entire festival. Helping them find water stations, driving them home from the festival, taking things to their lockers, finding out where each band was meeting fans.

If you still can’t see how festival environments are the most incredible concert setting you’ll ever experience, I’ve got one last moment to discuss. It was during SWMRS’ set. I hadn’t seen the band live since 2017, but it’s impossible to ignore their loud political voices, always fighting for minority groups and encouraging anyone with Republican beliefs to leave their shows immediately. So it didn’t come as a surprise that one of the first things they spoke to their crowd was in support of love, acceptance, and equality.

With a few sentences that definitely needed to be heard, lead singer Cole Becker claimed his support for the LGBTQ+ community in their fight for rights. Without prompting, the crowd began an uproar of cheering and hollering that they believe in this too. At the end of the day, it was really interesting to think about the fact that every last person on festival grounds identifies differently, comes from a different location and background, and is here for a different reason.

There is no way I was the only one who had traveled a long distance to attend the festival, but no one else was there that day for the exact same reason as the next person. We all have a different band who inspired us to just buy those tickets and go, different circumstances that cause us to interpret things in certain ways, different things running through our minds. But at a festival, this doesn’t matter. Someone who loves the most pop-based band on the lineup and someone who’s only there for the most hardcore band can be bonded for the day. Who you are doesn’t matter when you’re at a music festival surrounded by others who are just as passionate as yourself.

I had one hell of a time reflecting on all of this in the dark, sitting on the grass after the festival was over. The last festival I’d experienced was Warped Tour, which had the exact same environment, I just hadn’t quite noticed how special it was yet. I will never take my Arizona trip for granted. It was definitely the most insane lastminute decision I’ve ever made, but it taught me a lot about myself and how I wish to interact with

others. I wish I could share the feeling of a music festival environment with every single person in this world who is just as passionate about music as myself. Being bonded to thousands of people with little in common for an entire day as if we’d all known each other for life might just be the most special thing I’ve ever been a part of.

Written by: Meg Clemmensen Color photos by: Sophie Harris Black & white photos by: Meg Clemmensen

kindacool.

Rockstar Disrupt Festival

by Sophie Harris

kindacool.

Sad Summer Festival

by Tanya Wright

36 • kinda cool.

A Comeback for an Age: New Politics Rediscover Themselves When David Boyd, frontman of New Politics, called me right before 1 pm for our scheduled phone interview, I took my first opportunity to let him know that this magazine would not exist without his band. You see, I originally founded this magazine with a good friend named Vic, who I met at New Politics’ Lost In Translation 2018 tour.

We connected through Twitter prior to the show because we were both looking for someone to hang out with in Toronto during that day. There’s no way I ever would have felt confident enough to create Kinda Cool without the help and support of Vic. At the same time as I was looking for a partner, I learned that Vic specialized in graphic design while I was confident in most other areas required to manage a magazine. And so it began.

This being said, I was very excited when I was offered the opportunity to interview New Politics. I immediately accepted and made room for it as a cover feature. Not only did the band inspire the creation of Kinda Cool, but they have already embarked on a special, intimate tour and released their first single since 2017 this year, and they still have a new album and fall tour coming up before 2019 finishes.

Throughout our conversation, David gave me loads of insight about dipping their feet into a new era of the band, starting by closing off the first decade together. The Denmark native reflects upon his experience travelling across the United States on tour and creating a captivating live show, as well as looking forward to see what the next decade of New Politics will entail.

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2019 has been a really busy year for New Politics, especially because you’re celebrating 10 years as a band! How does that feel?

You just finished up your six-stop anniversary tour where you revisited super tiny, jam-packed rooms. How did that go?

It feels pretty wild! I mean, we didn’t realize it had been 10 years until our managers said “Yo, you guys are celebrating 10 years!” Then we were kind of like, “Oh my god, has it really been 10 years?”

We tracked it, and it was really 10 years! It’s really, really wild.

That was so amazing! It was really great doing that.

We were talking about what we should do, and we were like, “Should we go really big and celebrate?”

We realized that we could still go big and do some things that made sense for the 10 years and our journey so far. We kind of went back to venues like the first venues we started at. We hadn’t played a lot of them before. It was kind of like a journey — we started in Brooklyn, New York, which is where we moved to, and then we went to some of our favorite cities. Not entirely true, we couldn’t do all of them,

That’s a long time!

Yeah. It’s crazy. I’m kind of still blown away by it.

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but we picked out six and made our way across the United States and ended in Los Angeles, where we funnily enough finished all of our records. So it was kind of full-circle. Celebrating the reason we do it, like going back to the core as a reminder. Also maybe putting a full stop on this chapter in the sense of saying goodbye without losing anything, if that makes sense?

Yeah, I get that.

And then paying homage to the fans that are the core and reason of everything, and I think we really felt it on this tour. It was just wild to hear everyone sing every song from the beginning to the end.

And in tiny rooms like that, you get so much more energy than normal shows!

Oh, totally! There were a couple of shows — about three shows in particular — where I literally couldn’t believe what I was hearing and seeing. I don’t remember ever sweating that much; it was just so confined. They were 3, 400 cap rooms, and it was just completely packed. It was just wild. It was really nuts.

Your live shows have always been really energetic, regardless of the room size. Where does that energy stem from? What pushes you to put your all on stage every night?

I think it came very naturally. When Søren and I started off in Copenhagen, it was the first time I ever sang live on stage and held a microphone.

I had worked in studios a lot writing, and Søren was originally a pianist, so it was the first time he ever stood up with a guitar. He’d only really done it sitting down in the studio and stuff like that. I think in all honesty, this is just me guessing, looking back. First of all, we’re very energetic regardless.

We are definitely kids at heart, but my background is also theatre and entertainment. I used to make

a living doing street shows, dancing on the street and things like that. A lot of it was sort of based on entertainment and raw gimmicks. I think the energy was already there because you have to get people to pay attention just walking down the street, so you have to go over the top. I think they go hand-in-hand with our personalities, but I also think it was also just that I was singing and I wasn’t really a singer and Søren wasn’t really a guitar player, so you’re trying to find distractions. In the beginning, it was just a sense of “Don’t think, just go. Light yourself on fire and let that do the talking!” It doesn’t matter if you’re not in the right key, or you’re hitting a wrong chord or whatever. I think it was just a distraction. Things kind of just naturally happened, like throwing the guitar in the air, jumping off of the drum risers, the crowd surfing, all the dancing. Looking back at it now, I feel that it became a New Politics statement to do that, so we just perfected that in our own way without lights or gimmicks or equipment. We just do it in a very raw way without any extra sugar coating.

I think realizing now that we’ve been doing this for 10 years has made all of us reflect a lot, since we’re in such different places. About 3 years ago, we all moved separately; we used to live together. We’re all writing together in different ways now because we can’t really write together as much as we used to.

But I think all of us have very strong personalities, so we push each other in certain ways. Music and performing live is not only our bread-and-butter, but it’s also our joy. It’s what we love doing. The fact that we’re still all friends says a lot about the band.

In the last 3 years, we’ve been trying to readjust how we’re going to move forward. The universe kind of plays itself in such a natural and amazing way.

We’re no longer on our record label, we’re no longer with our publishing, we switched management, we switched entire teams. Now we’ve reached 10 years, and we’ve all been writing separately and together, and I had a baby. There’s so many adjustments and changes that it’s pushing us in a natural way to just change things up. And again, realizing that we’ve

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been a band for 10 years is making us reflect a lot.

I don’t think we’ve done a lot of reflecting because we’ve been so constantly busy. I feel like reflecting a lot also made us see and learn a lot about how we can grow and do things and renew ourselves in ways that we’ve always wanted to and probably didn’t have the chance to before.

I think this next record and moving forward is gonna be really exciting — and challenging. I’m really looking forward to it. I can’t remember being this scared and excited and fearful and just everything in one. I have to find courage, because there’s also so many steers and changes and whatnot, but that’s really pushing the creativity in sides that we’ve never shown because we haven’t had a break or the opportunity. It’s really exciting.

You actually did just release your newest single and the first taste at new music, “Comeback Kid,” right after tour! What is the symbolism behind that being the first single of a new era for the band?

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I think that’s part of the stage that we’re in now with these last 3 years. It’s really been shaky and none of us have known what’s happening. Things have gotten to a point where we’ve spoken like, “Maybe this is what we were meant to do. Maybe this is a sign that this is the end of the road.” We had a ton of conversations about what the next move was, and I was like, “I don’t think we can control that. It might seem like it’s the end of the road, but maybe it’s the end of the road for something that we’ve done for 10 years. Maybe this 10 years is actually a sign that there’s new opportunity without losing anything.” We’re never going to lose anything. We always take everything that we have with us on the road and on the records. Now we’re completely free to create and do what we want. At the same time, I was looking at it like, “It might be really hard and blurry sometimes, and it might seem like it’s a little confusing, but really when you look at it, it’s the first time we’re back to the basics.” When we first starting writing our first record, that was without a label and without anyone judging us or saying “I think you should sound like this band.” I’m not criticizing that as a bad thing; it’s always good to have people on your team to give you all types of angles, but I was looking at it like, “Man, if anything, this is an opportunity!” This is life. Every day is a new opportunity. This song just came naturally. I was in LA and it was just one of those days and it just came so naturally. It only made sense once the song was done and our manager heard it. He was like, “This is a really good song! It might not be the most original statement, it’s kind of something that’s been done before, but it’s a true statement and it’s a statement that we all need in life.” You always need that reminder! As obvious as it is, that reminder is important because everybody has ups and downs and challenges in life. I think it’s comforting to know that. You know, like every once in a while, your friend will let you know that they appreciate you, even though they don’t have to because you’re with them every day. It means a lot. I feel like this record and this

song in particular really resemble that, and it’s really a reminder that you always have to bounce back.

Every day is a new day and it doesn’t matter what people think or say. I think it was the perfect breath of fresh air for us for what’s to come. It’s just a reminder of these past 3 years that have been sort of rough for us.

That’s kind of what I interpreted it as! Kind of just a comeback and new beginning from a little while away.

Absolutely! That’s what it really is. At least for us!

Will it be a stand-alone track, or is this the first single off the upcoming album?

I’m still not 100% sure. I’m literally finishing up the record now, and I’m hoping that by August, we’ll have an official date or at least a new song.

Something to keep it going! Then we’re working on a tour in the fall that we’re really excited about.

Yeah, I saw you teasing the tour announce and studio time online!

Yeah, we’ve been recording live aspects and just going over some of the demos. I’m finishing some of them up here in Atlanta as well. Then I’ll probably fly to LA and round it all up and get it executed and done.

Are any songs totally complete yet?

Oh yeah! There’s a lot. Most of the record is pretty much done.

Another thing that I’ve noticed within your albums is that each one is a little bit different than the last, like Lost in Translation from 2017 was a lot more pop-driven than what you’ve done in the past. Do you plan to continue the theme of evolving your style over time with this new record?

I think that happens naturally. It’s hard to say.

When you create it, certain songs just touch you

and they make sense. Just the vibration or this unexplainable thing. You can’t really control that stuff! That’s a really tough question. It’ll definitely be a different record, but I think we’ll balance it a little bit. This record came really, really naturally.

I mean, this is the fastest, without-thinking record we’ve ever done. I don’t know what happened, I was just so inspired. It was just pouring out of me.

Some of the songs we didn’t even change from my original freestyle verses. On a lot of the songs, it’s just my actual take. We were just doing the songs, and I was like, “Record me! Record me!”

I just went in and sang entire verses. We didn’t even change anything! I don’t get as much time in the studio as I used to, so I’m always inspired when I come in and see a different light. I don’t overthink it; whatever comes, comes. It’s like capturing the magic when it happens! I feel we really did that with this record.

Now I understand why you’re really looking forward to this one.

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Oh man, yeah! I can’t remember being this excited to release songs.

So are you planning to have at least a few more singles out by that fall tour you were talking about, or will it be in support of the full album?

In a perfect world, the record would be out!

There’s only so much you can control because it has to be right, of course. But in a perfect world of rainbows and unicorns, I would love to be able to release the new record at the end of August or early September.

If anything, another single.

Will this tour be longer than the one you just finished and back to bigger venues?

Yeah, this will go back to bigger rooms, and it’ll be a full month or month and a half. Or a month and ten days, I’m not exactly sure. It’ll be a full tour across the States!

As you’d mentioned earlier, the band is native to Denmark and moved to the USA later. What kind of role does traveling and being able to visit all these foreign cities play in your life?

I think it’s really inspiring. It’s huge! I think this entire journey so far has inspired me so much, including when it comes to writing. I miss Copenhagen a lot, in particular this year because I haven’t been there for three years; since Christian got pregnant, we haven’t gone back. We used to go twice a year, but it’s been hard after [my daughter] was born. It’s been a

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lot, especially as a first-time dad. But I think it’s definitely played a big role in who I am and a lot of my writing and a lot that I’m grateful for.

I wouldn’t have met my wife, I wouldn’t have a baby. I travel the world and I love food and restaurants and all of that cool stuff, so when I go on tours, it’s really fun. Now, I’m just in this period where, as opposed to just touring, I have something that’s just meaningful for me and the family.

All of a sudden, all those things become a priority. When I was single and I was just on the road for seven years touring nonstop, we were like, “Let’s keep track of the Food Network and all of these food apps and let’s go to the best dining place in every city!

Let’s go see some of the monuments and then go shopping!”

I mean… the food part is still important, but those things aren’t as important anymore. Now I’ve just gotta find a way to make it all worth it in a different light.

You know, I’ve gotta bring my daughter along on tour and a lot of other adjustments. Make it meaningful.

Yeah, it’s definitely a struggle to balance the family and the music lives.

Totally! That’s really what it is. The most important thing is your happiness. That will show in the music as well. I’m not saying you can’t write depressed or happy; I’m just saying it needs to make sense and you need to enjoy it. Even if it’s sad, you need to enjoy it.

At this point, do you have any more 10-year anniversary celebrations planned, or are you just looking forward now?

I think that part of the gift of 10 years is gonna be the new record and then the fall tour with an incredible lineup. Hopefully the record of our lifetime, which we try to do every time. Moving forward, it’s gonna be a whole different game.

Now that we kind of have the ‘power’ back as artists, I think it’ll be very interesting. We just have so many songs and so much to say! There’s so much to release that a record isn’t enough.

Hopefully moving forward, we’ll be able to release songs when we have songs we want to release and we don’t have to wait two years.

And if we want to wait, we can! The ball is in our hand, so we’re learning and we’re going with this new chapter.

do from the theatre world! I’m just spitting out to you a bunch of ideas, I’m not saying any of this is going to happen, but I’m just saying that the opportunity is there. We’re definitely not in a place where we’re jaded in a way because we’ve done it all. We’re far from that. It’s really exciting because we could really look into these things.

There’s a lot of small ideas that we’ve been wanting to execute for a really long time but never really worked out with our old labels and teams.

We didn’t always see eye-to-eye. Moving forward, it’s going to be very exciting to explore what we can do and how we can use what we have and take it to another level or show a different angle.

Are there any goals that you’re still wishing to accomplish within the next 10 years, either related to the future of New Politics or your family life?

What once began as a small band started by a couple friends has turned into a name that will forever be engraved on the hearts of fans, but it’s clear that the band’s success thus far hasn’t stopped them from dreaming big. After 10 years, there is still much unexplored territory to experiment with, and David intends to try it all. It seems as if the upcoming album might just be the beginning, and it might just mark its place as the most “New Politics” album yet.

While looking forward to a killer fifth album and fall tour, stream the band’s latest single, “Comeback Kid,” which reflects on all these struggles the band experienced while beginning this new era.

I’d like to thank David for taking the time to go so in-depth about everything the band has been working on lately. With so much raw passion and optimistic hope, New Politics is a name that will go down in history.

Of course I have a perfect-painted picture in my head which is completely unrealistic, because I’m a very unrealistic person. I think that was one of the other things that really inspired me on this record. When I started reflecting on the past 10 years, I’m like, “Oh my god, we’ve really only been scraping the tip of the iceberg of potential for this band. And it’s been 10 years!”

In that sense, it’s been really inspiring because there’s still so much I feel we can do! It makes you want to give more, it makes you want to work harder. You set your goals high because you’re like, “Look at our friends in this band and these bands that we’ve seen and come up with, they’re in arenas and they’re doing this! They managed to cross over their music and do this!” There’s still a ton of untouched territory that we’ve never explored. Even with our live show, we’ve never really used lights on a high level or done gimmicks like hanging on a rope. There’s things that I can

Hosted by: Meg Clemmensen Photographed by: Ravyn Cavanaugh Last page photos courtesy of: @newpoliticsmusic on Instagram

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Discusses Experiences as a Female in Music 44 • kinda cool.

tiLLie is a rising star with tons of potential for success.

She has a new EP out titled Loud Mouth, and is currently touring with Canadian pop singer Lights on the Skin & Earth Acoustic Tour. I got a chance to talk to tiLLie about all things feminism and music before she took the stage at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto.

What is your favourite part of touring?

I find that it really forces me to be present in the moment, which I think all of us have trouble doing.

Like when I’m at home, I’m usually recording, but also thinking about everything else I should be doing as well in the future and planning. But when you’re on the road, you kinda know where you’re going to be everyday, and you’re doing the same thing, and you can’t really be doing something else. You just have to be in the moment, and I love it because it just makes me feel so centred and calm. Even though you’re moving, I feel more calm in a weird way; more steady.

people “My little friend” or make me feel like I don’t know what I’m doing, but I just have to tune that out and be confident in my abilities. In a way it’s kinda fun, because then you get to see them be really impressed, which is stupid, but you’re like “Yeah motherfucker!”

You know, you just gotta stay in your own world a little bit.

Who is your dream collaboration?

I would love to work with obviously just some females that I really love. I love Kacey Musgraves… that would definitely be a weird one, but I’ve known about her for a few years now. I found her because of this TV show Nashville, and she was a songwriter for a lot of those songs and I found a video of her singing that had just like 500 views, and I was like, “This girl is insane!”

Then she blew up and I was like, “Yes! I saw this coming!” I’d love to work with Lana Del Rey, I love her; or Hayley Williams, Gwen Stefani or Shania Twain.

Your music is very inspiring and very feministbased. As a woman in the industry, what are some struggles that you’ve had to face?

Even the other day something happened — someone at the venue, some guy working there, was like “Oh, I met your little friend earlier,” and I was like, “Who?” He’s like “Your little friend,” and I’m like, “You mean my tour manager?” You know, just shit like that, which is annoying. I guess when I was younger too, you’d find a lot of guys that would approach you under the guise of wanting to work with you and then would make a move, and then when you would reject them, they wouldn’t wanna work with you again. That was definitely upsetting in the beginning because it makes you question if your art is good enough, but then I realized that it’s bullshit and I think now I’ve gotten to a point where — maybe because of the topics I sing about or whatever — people don’t really fuck with me anymore. Then I guess there’s also people that assume that because you’re a girl, you don’t know about your gear or you don’t know how to play instruments. They try to talk down to you and you have to try to prove yourself ten times more when you walk into a room than a guy does.

How did you overcome and deal with these issues?

I guess growing up helped to become more sure of myself and learn how to just say fuck them and not let that get into my head, because when I walk into a venue it’s definitely there a little bit. Like all of these people, these men on these stages are gonna call

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Who are your biggest inspirations in music?

I think Talking Heads, Shania Twain, No Doubt…

I would say probably Paramore too, when I was younger and I first started writing. And Third Eye Blind.

What is your goal as a woman in music?

I don’t know… I also produce and write my own music and play multiple instruments, and I just want to continue to pave a path for women who have those abilities, because there are so many women who are amazing producers and engineers and people just don’t give them the chance. They don’t take them seriously and my goal is, hopefully as I get more successful, I can hire those people and give them platforms, you know the way that Lights has given me this opportunity. I hope that I can do that for other upcoming female artists, and eventually I would love to produce other female artists and just continue to pave a path for bold women in music.

How did the tour with Lights come about?

At first I wasn’t really sure, and then I tweeted at her and I was like “Thank you so much,” and she was like “Girl of course, you were the only person I thought of for this. You blow me away all the time with the videos that you post.” So I guess she

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had been following me. We’d followed each other on Twitter for a couple of years, and I guess she just saw some of my acoustic videos and hand selected me personally for this tour. They’ve been taking great care of me; she’s amazing, her whole crew is amazing. I feel so blessed to be here.

What is your biggest accomplishment thus far?

The fact that I’m still doing it. To a lot of people, it seems like I’m just getting started, and in a way as tiLLie I am, but I’ve been writing songs and playing guitar for like twelve years and I’ve always known that this is what I wanted to do. But it’s hard; it’s so hard and I know that I love it because I feel like I’m insane to want to do this. Some days I wish I could quit but I can’t, you know, it’s like there’s this machine inside of me that just keeps going even when I’m so fed up with the music industry. So I guess I’m proud of myself for sticking it out this long and throughout years of rejection or things just not quite clicking and finally being able to really organically build a fanbase, because I’ve never really gotten much support from the music industry. I think it’s especially because my music is different. I’ve had a lot of people, like old dudes at record labels, be like, “Is it pop or is it alternative,” or “I thought she was pop but she plays guitar with a band.” It’s so bizarre, like I don’t think it’s that hard to wrap

your head around, but for some reason to them it is.

For a while that made me second-guess myself like “Maybe I shouldn’t play guitar,” “Maybe I shouldn’t do this,” and eventually I was like, “Fuck it, this is who I am.” I’m gonna be loud, I’m gonna be bold with that, and it started to pay off. I think that’s the thing that people like most about me. It’s really just a lesson for everyone; the world has some cruel ways of taking people’s things. I guess maybe in school or the industry, people criticize you for being loud or being different, but as you get older you realize that those are your best or strongest assets.

Your song “Faith” is very empowering, what was the inspiration behind it?

So “Faith” is about my ex who I was in an abusive relationship with, and after getting out of that relationship, he stole one of my songs and released it on his band’s album and didn’t give me credit for it. I was having a really hard time coping with that and I have looked into legal options, I’m still working on that, but it’s a lot of money to do that, and as a starting upcoming artist, you don’t necessarily have excessive funds lying around. So “Faith” was my way of letting go of letting that consume me, and just trusting that people like that always eventually show their true colours and they do a better job at ruining their reputation than you could ever do, and so it’s about kind of letting that go and having faith that they’ll show the world who they really are and you don’t need to drag yourself down with them.

What made you decide you wanted to pursue music?

Touching on what I said earlier, I don’t know, it’s just something that’s always been in me. It’s like there’s a little machine inside of me that’s just been chugging, and no one in my family makes music, no one was ever like “Hey, play this,” it’s just something that I always felt like I gravitated to. In a weird way, it doesn’t really feel like I had a choice, it was just like “Okay, this is what I’m doing.”

What advice do you have for someone who wants to get their start in the industry?

Strap in. Really buckle in, because it is challenging and I feel like I see a lot of people give up too soon.

You know, it really takes time to build something and to reach people, and I’ve seen a lot of people where it’s like, they were so close, but to them it feels further and they give up and they change their

band name or they remarket it and they come up with a new thing and I think that has the opposite effect. So just stick with it, persevere, especially when you’re getting started — say yes to everything, because you never know who you might meet at a show or writing with someone, and that also allows you to find out what you don’t like to do. I think knowing what you don’t want to do and knowing what to say no to is more powerful than knowing what to say yes to, so that’s a really good way to figure that out. Put yourself out there. tiLLie has a bright future ahead of her and she will definitely continue to make her mark on the music industry while simultaneously paving a path for females who want to pursue careers within this industry. She is bold, brave, talented, and strongwilled, and the future looks very promising for the leader of the Glitter Gang. Check out tiLLie on social media at @whoistillie and look for her music on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music.

Hosted by: Cris Rulli Photos courtesy of: Mallory Turner

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NO ONE ELSE CAN BE JUST LIKE

48 • kinda cool.

What can you expect when you buy tickets to a P!nk show? If you checked off insane acrobatics, special guests, touching interludes, and fastmoving graphics to match each song, you would be correct. On August 18, P!nk once again brought her whole spectacle to the stage of Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena for a mind-blowing performance.

Despite the singer’s newest album Hurts 2B Human releasing in April 2019, the political, no-fucksgiven singer is still touring 2017’s Beautiful Trauma.

That didn’t stop her from peppering in a handful of her latest fan-favorites, including a live duet with opener Wrabel for their new track “90 Days.” By the end of the night, the entire audience had gotten a glimpse into every part of P!nk’s 20-year career.

The show began with P!nk coming out swinging (literally) to perform her signature opening song — “Get the Party Started.” Not only is this track from her second album an iconic party starter, but it’s one of her most successful singles of all time, which boosted her career into what it is today. P!nk performed this song while hanging from the air on a glitter-covered chandelier, which was only a foresight into what the rest of the night would bring. Wasting no time after her feet landed back on the floor, she flawlessly transitioned into the title track off Beautiful Trauma as a means of introducing her audience into the visual world that she’s created around the album.

P!nk even made a grand entrance onto the stage sporting a similar outfit to what she wore on the album cover before “Try” at the beginning of Act IV. One of P!nk’s most defining traits is her ability to constantly change her music and political voice

to keep up with the times, and this is definitely something that could be seen in her performance.

Though she was mainly focused on giving her fans the live experience that is Beautiful Trauma, it’s impossible for her to truly leave behind and quit acknowledging her roots. The singer’s debut record, released in 2000, is heavily R&Binfluenced, which isn’t a style she stuck with for long. As rock and pop punk became much more popularized, she slowly drifted away from her original sound to create upbeat anthems that both her and her audience preferred.

After a 4-year gap between the release of Funhouse and The Truth About Love, P!nk then began to experiment with elements of mainstream pop until finally settling with a flawless pop-rock blend. One thing that has never changed is her outspoken nature and outright refusal to stay silent on politics.

As times change, she continues to use her platform to speak out about the most relevant topic of change that must be made. Lately, this has been protesting American president Donald Trump. An introductory video before she performs Beautiful Trauma’s lead single, “What About Us,” echoes her beliefs regarding the importance of feminism and the sad truth about how fighting for basic human rights has become a struggle for all minorities, which basically consists of anyone who isn’t a heterosexual, white male.

The moral of P!nk’s message is to stand up for what you believe in and don’t be afraid to be different. Another tearjerker interlude discusses a conversation she had with her daughter about this exact topic. Her daughter had come to believe she was ugly because she looked like a boy, but P!nk made her a PowerPoint to convince her why

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50 • kinda cool.

she was beautiful and why she should continue to express herself and love herself for who she is. By sharing that message with the world, she hopes she can be a positive role model on the lives of other young women, which was definitely a goal she had achieved by the end of the night. She unapologetically belted out empowering anthems such as “Hustle” and “Fuckin’ Perfect.” Sporting every outfit imaginable, from a sparkly bodysuit to a simple white dress, P!nk turned a concert into a celebration of humanity.

If all of this didn’t already convince you to buy tickets to the singer’s next tour the moment it’s announced, there were even more surprises in store before her show was over. P!nk is here to prove that she’s not just your everyday pop star. Her first midair appearance after the show opener came in “Secrets,” where she performed trapeze tricks high above the stage with a male dancer. Real flames came out of the stage for “Just Like Fire,” which could even be felt up in the stands. Dallas Green, lead singer of Canadian band City and Colour, as well as a good friend of P!nk’s, joined her onstage to perform two acoustic songs from the duo’s side project titled You+Me. Before giving up the acoustic guitar, P!nk then sang her latest hit “Walk Me Home” in a stripped-down manner, which was a surprise for everyone. Another surprise came when she performed a cover of Bishop Briggs’ hit single “River.” After one last interlude, she came back on stage to wrap up the show with a few more of her greatest hits. With a burst of confetti over the crowd during “Can We Pretend,” she promptly strapped herself into a spinning harness, which allowed her to travel through the air to every last corner of the

arena and wave at fans while performing spins and backflips in the air and still flawlessly executing the lyrics to “So What.”

Though she closes every show with the 2008 piano melody “Glitter In The Air,” it still came as a surprise to some. Despite a high-energy and highproduction concert, she strips all of that away for her final song, and I think everyone in the audience could relate to the lyrics “Have you ever wished for an endless night?” right about then. Before leaving the stage, P!nk acknowledges all 20,000 of the fans who came to see her, introduces her entire crew and entourage of dancers, and gives everyone a glimpse into her world.

P!nk is one of the world’s biggest superstars and she knows that, but she took extra care to make sure not one single person in the arena felt unimportant to the production. She went above and beyond to deliver a jaw-dropping performance that everyone is sure to rave about for days and weeks to come. It’s no secret as to why the Beautiful Trauma world tour has been such a success — there’s truly not one single performer who puts on a show quite like P!nk. Whether she finally takes time off touring or she decides to embark on a Hurts 2B Human-focused tour, we know that whatever she comes up with next will bring a whole new set of songs to life. Though the only remaining Beautiful Trauma tour dates are a couple of one-off shows, you can keep up to date with P!nk’s touring schedule and more at www.pinkspage.com.

Written and photographed by: Meg Clemmensen

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DREAMERS:

SUMMER OF LOVE While on tour with 311 and Dirty Heads, I was able to catch up with the lead singer of up-and-coming indie band DREAMERS, Nick Wold, at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. We talked about music from their most recent album, LAUNCH FLY LAND, as well as inspiration for writing new music. Catch it all right here!

To start, how has touring been for you so far?

Tour has been amazing. It’s kind of just a summer of love for us. I was working way too hard in LA, so now I’m at my wits end, but this tour has been pretty chill. We only play for 25 minutes, so it feels a lot like summer camp.

Have there been any really good dates or cities you love?

Yeah! We got to play Red Rocks in Denver, which is one of the greatest venues ever! I hadn’t ever been there before.

Yeah, I haven’t either.

Up on a mountain; it’s everything it’s hyped up to be. That was a lifetime highlight, I think for all of us, to be there and feel the vibe.

So I see that your music has started making it to radio stations recently. How does that feel?

Yes! It feels crazy, like all the dreams from [my] childhood kind of connect me to that. It’s just one of those things. It’s been a while now that our songs have been playing on the radio, so you kinda get used to it.

You hear it and you’re like, “Is that our music?” I don’t know, it’s surreal.

So let’s talk about the latest release, LAUNCH FLY LAND. what was the writing process like for that album?

We wrote that while we were on the road touring nonstop for two years. We’d be home for five days and try to write five songs. That’s how the title came out eventually! We had all been going through these crazy journeys in life like tragedies and successes, and just a lot of stuff that changes you. We wanted to write about that; the journeys that you go through.

Are there any songs off the album that you hope everyone will resonate with?

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There’s two songs for me, the first being “Die Happy.” It’s the land phase of LAUNCH FLY LAND, and it’s about coming out of something and through to the other side. “Die Happy” is the song that starts that story for me, like coming back to happiness after a lot of really sad songs. “Celebrate” is another one. That’s my philosophy of life right there, through that song.

What’s your main motivation for writing new music and playing shows? What inspires you to create even when you feel uninspired?

Deep down, it all started from feeling such crazy things that I felt like I couldn’t express with words and I wasn’t able to communicate. Just wanting to try to be able to write it down or figure it out and somehow communicate it to people. I think that was my original drive for wanting to write songs. Now sometimes, I just force myself to write.

If I’m feeling uninspired, I’ll just sit down and force it and that seems to work. It seems to work better for me even more than waiting for inspiration.

How has your music evolved in the short amount of time in between your first album, This Album Does Not Exist, to now, LAUNCH FLY LAND? The first album felt like this fun summer record to us, and the second one, I feel like it has a lot more depth and angst and weirdness going on. The stuff that we had gone through in that time changed us as people.

How does it feel knowing that people are able to connect with the music you guys create?

It’s amazing. That’s really the whole point. I mean we could have just made our favorite music in our garage and that could have been enough, except there’s something magical about connecting with people and making it into a big phenomenon. A place like this, here at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, with people who just want to vibe together, that’s the real beauty of the art of rock n’ roll.

If you could tell all of your listeners one thing, what would it be?

That’s a great question. There are so many things, and to stick it down to one… in the words of Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t worry. Be happy.”

DREAMERS’ ever growing fanbase has allowed them to grow to almost 30k followers on social media in just four years from their first release, This Album Does Not Exist, in 2016. Now, they are playing on tour with huge names in the rock scene and scoring spots on massive festivals like Lollapalooza in Chicago, IL. You can “Die Happy” knowing all of their music is available on all streaming sites. Be sure to go check them out on tour before the LAUNCH FLY LAND era is over!

Hosted and photographed by: Piper Rosas

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PVRIS Return with Hypnotizing New Single, “Death of Me” Leaving behind the monochromatic aesthetics of their debut and sophomore albums, Massachusetts rockers PVRIS bring a close to 2017’s All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell era and head into a new one with the release of “Death of Me” in a pop of deep crimson red.

PVRIS fans everywhere went into a frenzy when the band’s social media accounts, all of which remained inactive during the trio’s betweenalbum resting period, posted a singular photo: a monochrome image of the band in what seems to be an abandoned site, surrounded by dormant companions whose eyes, like the band’s, are

scratched out in a deep, grading-pen-like red.

Excitement continued to stir when on the following day, the band posted some lyrics on a red background. The lyrics read: ‘You could chain me up or set me free, you could suffocate or let me breathe… Baby you could be the.’

What followed were blank spaces making up three unknown words, the continuation of the lyrics and presumably the name of a new single.

Within a moment’s notice, fans had cracked the code. Certain letters in the lyrics had been underlined, creating a jumbled consortium of gibberish. The unscrambled product?

“Death of Me.”

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The fans’ suspicions were confirmed when the next day, the band posted a video version of the still image from the first day. A snippet of a new song plays in the background as a car’s headlights illuminate the faces of the band and the group around them. The video fades at the end and introduces the band’s new logo in the same red, scratchy font as before prior to showcasing the title “Death of Me,” and the date 7/12/19. It was official.

A new era had begun and a new song and new music video were on their way.

Come July 12th, it is proven that the single is beyond anything any of us expected. Upbeat with a nightmarish twist, “Death of Me” features that classic PVRIS sound with a new electronic-like burst of life.

The song tells the story of a hypnotizing romance, one that consumes your entire being and leaves you crawling back for more. With lyrics such as ‘This love looks like a loaded gun / A noose around my neck or a sweet poison,’ PVRIS continue with their recurring themes of darkness and death. Gruesome metaphors and wordplay are but a few of the many lyrical strengths of the band. So naturally, the trio followed suit with descriptions of suffocation and a sense of encapsulation. These lyrics just so happen to be the ones initially shared by the band, but now in their final form: ‘You could chain me up or set or set me free / You could suffocate or let me breathe / Baby you could be the death of me.’ All the while, the beat only continues to pick up, hiding the lyrics’ darkness with a likewise hypnotic tune that makes one want to get up and dance along.

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The music video itself continued with the same grotesque themes and metaphors. In true PVRIS nature, the video features stunning black and white visuals, but now with a new fluorescent pop of red lights. Vocalist Lynn Gunn delivered a stunning performance as she entangles herself with a snake, one perceived to symbolize the hypnotic lover of the story. Our friends from the still image return, keeping a close, suffocating proximity to Gunn and bandmates Brian MacDonald and Alex Babinski, restricting their movement in a sensual manner.

There’s candles, white flowers, glasses filled with red wine, white statues smeared with blood. It’s captivating and terrifying all at once, making it difficult to look away. Though the majority of the video seems to take place in a church, the video ends in an abandoned site, where two people appear trapped in a crowded tank filled with a red substance.

Both the single and its video have left me in awe.

I’m constantly in wonder of the way PVRIS bring their songs to life, and of the way they’ve managed to evolve their sound while keeping true to their headbanging roots. The new splash of red signifies a turn in a new direction — a new plot twist in the story — and I’m excited to see where PVRIS take their musical journey next.

If you haven’t already, make sure to stream “Death of Me” and take a look at its music video. You’ll have them playing on repeat in no time.

Written by: Natalie Melendez

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by Stephanie Curtis

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WHO IS

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Who is Tessa Violet, one may ask? Well, look no further than this interview, where I was able to get to know this Oregon basedartist. From YouTube to live stage, she has made a career off music and her latest EP, Bad Ideas (Act One) is now available for all readers to check out.

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Hey! I hope you’re well. First off, did you manage to do some touring of [Washington] D.C beforehand?

We did not! As with all the cities, we basically roll into the city when we need to load in and then we are working from 2:30pm until load out at 12:30am.

So people ask, “What’s your favorite city?” and I’m always like, “I can tell you what my favorite venue is!” because the whole experience of the city is the venue. If we’re on the bus, we have a little bit more time to explore because we’d wake up in the city and have a few hours to do some exploring — but if we’re in a van, loading in and out is pretty much what our life is.

Wow, so you’ve been travelling in a van the whole time? How’s that experience for you? Is it tough or easy?

It’s definitely gruelling but I enjoy it. I’ve done more van tours now than I’ve kept track of. It’s definitely a life I’m much more familiar with. I don’t do too much of the driving so that’s easy, you know, and I really enjoy the experience of getting to look out the window and watch the different types of scenery.

To look outside and be able to see the Southwest which is such a beautiful part of the country — we’re not really in the Northeast anymore, but 2 days ago we were, which is also such a beautiful part of the country. It’s just spectacular, I like it.

That’s the dream honestly, just having to see different regions of the country. Just to transition over, I know you’re just off tour with Dodie last year and COIN this year. Now you’re on your own tour, which is amazing too, so what’s different?

It’s a whole different experience. Like when you are support [for a band], your job is to get the crowd hyped up and to introduce yourself to a new audience. When you’re headlining, it’s as if you are there to celebrate the artist that you are, which is a new skill that I feel like I’m learning and stepping into. Like at show one, I was like, “Oh man, this is completely different!” It’s not just a longer support set, it’s a whole different skill set, so yeah, everything about it is quite different.

Especially the fact that everyone at your show is there to support you.

It’s wild, it’s been really fun.

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Talking about that, we have to mention that you first started out as a YouTuber. You were behind the camera and then you’re finally moving from that to a stage, from a stage to another stage, to different shows every night. Do you ever get nervous or doubt yourself at some points as a performer?

I always love to be on stage way more than I love to be on camera. I never really liked being on camera.

I just like the creativity of creating something, so the stage is so much more fun. Every show is different and it’s so interactive and live and the crowd is half of the experience. Every now and then I’ll get nervous as random things will throw me off. For the most part, I just like performing. I just feel like when I’m having a hard day, I realize that I get to play for people and it’s a beautiful thing.

Let’s talk about your discography. Obviously, a lot of your fans have noticed that you’ve taken some stuff off Spotify. What inspired that and what inspired that fresh start for you?

I took my first record Mainly Trapped Mostly Troubled off Spotify just because at the time, the way Spotify would show you things on an artist page was different.

It’d show you the first top 5 songs being streamed that month and then it would show you the album. I just feel like Mainly Trapped Mostly Troubled is not a reflection of the artist that I am at this moment, and I just didn’t want it to be the first thing people saw.

I want them to see new things, so I took that down for that reason. Every now and then you have some artists scrubbing stuff from the internet. But I do respect Mainly Trapped Mostly Troubled, I don’t have anything against it. It was a beautiful snapshot of the person that I was at that time when I wrote it and I think it’s great.

What is one thing you appreciate or hope to accomplish when writing music?

I think writing is healing — to take an experience that you may or may not understand and organize it into couplings and a song is just wonderful. It sometimes feel like exorcizing. With regards to what I want to accomplish when writing music, I hope to play bigger and bigger shows. I love live music, so I hope that my songs resonate with more and more people, and then more people come out. At the same time, I am unwilling to make myself less genuine to resonate with more people. It is what it is, if lots of people like what I write, then I’d love that. But if a few people like it passionately, then that’s great too.

About “Crush,” your biggest song. Your music started to gain attention with the release of “Crush.”

What was it like to see everyone’s reaction to the song itself?

I think it was wild. I realized that it was a thing when it hit 20 million. I was like, “Whoaaaaa.” Just 20 million on YouTube meant what we would also be hitting around 20 million on Spotify, so it would’ve been 40 million combined streams. It’s just a whole different level than where I was before. Before, I was doing absolutely everything on my own — you know, I was managing my own tours, putting it together — and now, because of the success of “Crush,” I’ve been able to assemble a team around me, which is just the best ever because it frees up more time to be creative and to do many other things. It does take an army to make the whole thing work.

I don’t know if the explosion of the song itself surprised me. I remember one day we were musing about some breakout singles that some artists have, and my producer Seth [Earnest] asked me, “Do you think they knew in the studio that [“Crush”] was going to be a smash hit?” and I was like, “I don’t know Seth, every song we’ve done together, I’m certain that it’s going to be a smash hit and then it never is!” And then “Crush” very much was a viral hit and it went far beyond how I could’ve expected it. It’s cool!

I was following “Crush” for a while and just watching it go from 2 million streams and then all of a sudden my friend has heard of it, and my friends of friends have heard of it and we talk about it. That’s when you know that there’s a visceral response to your song and it’s amazing.

Yeah!

Are there any songs that you personally felt were hard to write?

The songs are never too hard to write. Sometimes people are like, “Woah, that’s really personal, was that hard to write?” and I’m usually like, “Not really, it just feels good to write.” Sometimes, I can get a little bit of cold feet around releasing the songs because that’s a different experience, like, damn, everyone gets to hear them now. From these three singles, I guess I did get a little nervous around “Bad Ideas” because that one was so personal. I mean, every song is personal but “Bad Ideas” is a little more selfreflective and a little, yikes!

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Let’s dig a little deeper into that writing aspect of music. Where do you go to write your music and what’s your overall process of getting into writing?

I mean, I call [my music] alternative, but it definitely has some pop melodies but not always with pop production. What do you think?

I write in my bedroom almost entirely. I write alone almost entirely, “Crush” is my only co-write. I wrote the verse and the bridge for that and I just had an idea of the “I could be your crush” part, and I was like, “I don’t know where to go from there,” and I brought that song to two of my friends who are co-writers to figure out that chorus. But everything else is pretty much playtime of just being alone and being creative and being like, you know, what works and doesn’t work. It’s also that thing about passionate and rewarding work because sometimes it is really hard and sometimes you have to fight for the song for a long time. Then when you figure it out, you’re like “YES! I’m a champion, I did it!”

From my side I feel like you can’t label it as pop — it’s like there’s an infusion of different things that doesn’t just make it pop. Indie? Alternative?

Maybe?

I write music and lyrics together — I think a well written song should sing like it’s spoken. It’s hard for me to write things separately, they kind of need to come together too.

Do you draw any influence from any artists or a place, or anything else in particular?

I mean, I listen to a lot of things. I don’t think any one thing fits into my influence. Nothing comes from nothing, I think that’s for sure a thing — I think a lot of young artists get stuck a lot because they buy into this idea that they need to pull something out of themselves that does not require any pouring into. And it’s like, no, you’re not a vessel. Think of creativity like a river, you know, it never runs dry and it just moves past you and things move through you and come out.

How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard you before?

That’s a great question! I think someone described that the other day and I was like “Wow, that’s such a good one!”

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Yeah. I think alternative is such a great catchphrase.

It feels more alternative than indie to me, again those labels are all so subjective like, what do they even mean? To me, indie is a little more organic. I’d be more likely to name someone indie if they didn’t have too much synth in it, which I have like lots of. There’s a lot of mellotron and 8O8’s on my songs.

What is gonna follow after Act One of Bad Ideas? Do you have any new plans that you can announce to readers?

I’m going to put out a single this summer, and then the album is coming out this fall!

Interesting! To end it all on a nice note, if you can say one thing to your listeners, what would it be?

Oooh! Someone asked me during the meet and greet earlier about what would be the one piece of advice I would give myself when I was younger, and I was like, I don’t know. The thing is that the one piece of advice that I would give myself would just not at all be helpful. I am the person I am now because I lived it, you know. The advice I would give myself I guess is to “be who you are” and to celebrate yourself and who you are. If I received that advice when I was younger, I’d be like, “That is NOT helpful!” because I don’t know who I was back then!

And I get it, you don’t, unless you just live it then you get to know who you are and then you get more comfortable with being who you are. So yeah, just celebrate who you are.

Check out Tessa Violet’s Bad Idea (Act One) now available on all streaming platforms.

Hosted and photographed by: Kariann Tan Original questions by: Piper Rosas

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finding your way through the

MUSIC INDUSTRY whenever I have the chance. The same goes for One of the coolest things about the culture editing: once I learned how much I genuinely music has created is how immersive it is; enjoyed proofreading and editing writing, I once you become so in love with music, you’ll sought out a position on social media in the only want to get more and more involved in same way I did as a writer. it. For many people, that means making their own music or gathering A tip I would definitely share some friends and starting is to, if you know you love a band. However, others writing and have much to (including us) have chosen say about music, try to to contribute other forms search for a magazine in of creativity to the music need of some help. With a industry, such as journalism magazine staff, you’ll find and photography. Though connections to so many it takes hard work and other like minded creatives dedication to the craft to who can help you edit, advance one’s way through promote your work, and music journalism and point you towards some photography, starting is not music you might have not as difficult as it may look. particularly noticed enough In this article, read as we Photo courtesy of Gianna Cicchetti to cover. Social media has give a look into some of our been the best place to find own experiences and how active publications in my we have become the writers own experience, so if you are willing to, submit and photographers we are now. as many applications as you can and see who gives you a response. If you are more of a I, Gianna, began taking an interest in music leader and want to take on a bigger task, start journalism after following some up-and-coming a blog or magazine of your own! The music publications on Instagram that featured some industry needs more young people who are of my favorite bands. Seeing how these truly passionate about it to take initiative and magazines were just a culmination of some make music discussion more widespread, so music-loving teens’ hard work inspired me to try to get your foot in the door and take on as start seeking out where I can put my own love much writing as you can handle. of writing to good use. I had spent countless days clicking on related pages and searching Another piece of advice is to be open in for applications of music magazines that terms of what subjects you try to take on in needed writers. Even though I didn’t have much your writing. Only covering your top favorite experience writing about music, I thought I bands’ releases, which happen 2-3 times a should take a chance and look into it because year, won’t do much for you as a writer and writing about what you are passionate about will not help your portfolio of writing grow as is the best writing of all. Eventually, I found much as you’d want it to. If you see a smaller this magazine that was just starting out, which band or artist you may not be very familiar with seemed perfect for me. I was accepted pretty release a song, write about it! It would help you soon after I applied and from there, I became gain more experience writing with a completely fully dedicated to my work and I love writing

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objective view of the artists themselves, and it would also bring the artist some attention if your article is posted somewhere for others to see. If you frequently go to concerts, try to start taking note of all of the little details at the shows you attend and write some concert reviews! Often, well thought-out editorial pieces about common trends or debated issues within the music industry get some attention and are enjoyable to write as you are not just sticking to one piece of work or one particular concert. You could pretty much write about anything you want with regards to music, and the more you write quality pieces, the more opportunities will come forth to advance yourself in what many call the most competitive industry out there.

Many independent magazines already have a higher quantity of photographers than writers, so it’s important to build up a portfolio to make yourself stand out. To do that, bring a camera to smaller shows that don’t have a camera policy. Make sure you shoot in manual mode and know your camera settings. The more you practice, the more familiar you’ll become.

First, and most importantly, practice makes perfect. In order to photograph your favorite band, you’ll likely need press credentials, which won’t be possible without an outlet to shoot for.

Written by: Gianna Cicchetti and Sophie Harris Background photo by: Sophie Harris

Most smaller venues don’t have much lighting, so you’ll want to know how to work around the low-light environment. To make things even trickier, most performers move quickly around the stage, so you won’t want your shutter speed to be too slow. I typically never shoot any slower than 1/200 of a second. Since the shutter I, Sophie, had no idea what speed doesn’t give you much I was doing the first time I wiggle room, you’ll want brought a camera to a show your aperture to be as wide in 2013. Although that wasn’t as possible, which means very long ago, there weren’t the lowest number possible. as many opportunities for Most kit lenses only open up a 16 year old to get press to f4.5, which isn’t ideal. The credentials back then, as best lens for beginner concert many of the independent photographers is the 50mm music publications we all f1.8 lens, also known as the Photo courtesy of Sophie Harris know today hadn’t been “nifty fifty.” Most major camera thought of yet. Even though brands sell them for a little I would never publish the over $100 - which isn’t cheap, photos from that show now - I shot the entire but it’s the most inexpensive lens you will show using automatic settings and flash, which ever find. The wide aperture makes it possible is a huge no-no - it sparked creativity in me. As to get sharp and stunning shots in low-light a visual artist with a deep passion for music, I environments. found something that combined both of these loves and showed the world how much live The last piece of advice I have is simple: always music can mean to everyone involved. Three be kind. Don’t be afraid to share your work on years later, after my first year of college and a social media and let others into your world. whole lot of experience bringing my camera to Open yourself up to constructive criticism and small shows, I found a publication that saw my surround yourself with people who will help potential as a photographer. I’ve now graduated you grow. Make sure you make an effort to college and completed a senior thesis focused share other photographers’ work and lift them on music photography. While I know I still have up as well. This is a competitive industry, but a ways to go in my professional life, I am happy it’s best not to look at other photographers as to share words of advice for anyone who wants competition, but to value them as friends who to give music photography a try. help each other.

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Set It Off

by Meg Clemmensen

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