november 2013 issue four
Kaitlyn dever
3 magic man 6 reviews and music
11 kaitlyn dever 15 echosmith 19 november fashion 25 electric guest
contents
9 the preatures
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Line-up Editor in chief evan Candelmo Senior editors/writers Grant Anderson Ryan cirillo Reece dennison Amanda figueroa Sammy Gilligan Carly Meyers Ali pham style editors ryan cirillo mariana rodriguez meg tamara models owen brinker ryan cirillo mariana rodriguez reBecca warren beccA VICHI thank you: mlc pr. Danger village, Foundations mgmt., wbr pr, monotone inc. stay in touch: teennationtv.com facebook.com/teennationtv twitter- @teennationtv
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Magic Man
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Boston-originated Magic Man has cast
their spells on audiences nationwide with their uplifting choruses and pensive lyrics that epitomize “joie de vivre.” We spoke with guitarist Sam Lee as they gear up for a tour in early 2014. Was starting up difficult for you given the equipment needed for your synth rock sound? Finding the right gear is always a (fun) challenge, but in general, we've been used to working with what we have. Alex and I wrote the first Magic Man songs using Garageband and the built in microphone on my laptop, and those are some of our favorite songs we've written. Sometimes it isn't always about the gear. Can you explain the cover art of your "You Are Here" EP? The photographs from our EP artwork were done by a photographer named Katherine Mitchell—we found her through the internet and were completely amazed by her work, so we were ecstatic when she agreed to work on our album art together. It's always great to be able to collaborate with other passionate artists. Having such a vibrant sound, how do you give a performance if you've had a rough day? It definitely can be difficult, but at the end of the day, making music is what we love, and playing it for an appreciative crowd is incredibly rewarding, so even if we go on stage feeling a little down, we nearly always leave feeling energized and most importantly, lucky that we're doing what we love. Is there a reason why many of the songs on your EP are named after cities and states? It wasn't a conscious decision to name three of the songs after places, but one thing we like to do is try to capture the emotions or associations a place has for us. We try to bring a little of our experience into the song and take the listener on a bit of a journey.
How has the dynamic of the time you all spend as a group changed after going on tour with WALK THE MOON? We all started out as friends before we were in the band together, so being on tour is great—it's just another adventure with some of your best friends. The best part about the tour was becoming good friends with Walk The Moon and their crew—they're all such awesome and wonderful people, and it really made the tour a special experience. How do you battle creative ruts during a stressful tour? It depends—sometimes you just need to push through and keep working on that next song or remix, and sometimes you need to realize that you can't do everything all at once. It's easy to forget to take a break on the road, and sometimes that's just what everyone needs. If you knew in five years your career would completely be over, what would you do in the present to go out with a bang? Honestly? I'd probably be doing exactly what we're doing now—playing as many shows as possible and writing and releasing as much music we're proud of as we can. Do you have any big plans for the future? We're just finishing up mixing our full length album, which will come out sometime early next year. I realized the other day that this album is the single project I've worked the hardest on in my life, so I couldn't be more excited to finally share it with the world.
Reviews ≈
“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Soundtrack” by Various Artists 15 artists were all asked to write songs emulating fan fiction for the new Hunger Games movie. And they literally all hit the mark. The songs on this LP are just as dark and loveable as the hit franchise is. Big names like superstar Christina Aguilera, singer/songwriter Sia, and famed British band Coldplay feature on the album but for me, standouts were growing artists like the soulful Lorde on her Tears for Fears cover. Overall, there are no major disappointments on this album. Props to the new music supervisor, Alexandra Patsavas, who replaced T Bone Burnett, because this soundtrack could possibly be better than the first. EC Standout tracks: “Everybody Wants to Rule The World” by Lorde and “Silhouettes” by Of Monsters and Men 4 out of 5
“Night Time, My Time” by Sky Ferreira Ferreira's debut is as deliciously angsty as her heavily lined eyes promise on the cover, yet becomes repetitive at times. Tracks like "24 Hours" and "Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay)" express a synthesized desperation which would come across as silly from any other artist, and evoke a gut-wrenching desire to both scream all your frustration away and lay in bed for the rest of the day. However, deafening backing drums and frequently repeated lyrics prevent many of these songs from being listenable more than once in a sitting. Each song doesn't differ much from the next. For an interesting albeit predictable album, Ferreira hits all the right spots.
-CM Standout tracks: “24 Hours” & “Heavy Metal Heart” 3 ½ out of 5
“ARTPOP” by Lady Gaga Lady Gaga’s reinstatement into the music industry has been everything except smooth sailing. After a two year hiatus since the launch of “Born This Way,” the mother of pop has burst back onto the scene with “ARTPOP,” an album that can best be described as chaotic. While her newly discovered 80s influence impressed in “Venus,” “Gypsy,” and “Do What U Want,” her experimental tracks such as the vaguely satanic “Aura” flopped. Also unpopular with the Little Monsters was “Jewels and Drugs,” which was reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s “T-Swizzle” act a couple years back (except T-Swizzle sold it to me better than Gaga is). The lack of genuineness and poor organization in the promotional stage will most likely lead to Gaga’s least successful album ever. -RC Standout tracks: “Venus” and “Dope” 2 ½ out of 5
“Hard Out Here” by Lily Allen After going through two births and a stage name change, Lily Allen is back and here to stay. Her newest hit “Hard Out Here” addresses misogyny in the music industry while still producing a radio friendly pop hit. A concern the song produces though is the auto tune. Ms. Allen clearly uses the effect in the pre-chorus and chorus. I’m not sure if it is helping point out the message in the song or it is purely because of vocal problems. Either way, it makes the song go from great to just plain good. –EC 3 1/2 out of 5
“The Monster” by Eminem and Rihanna Eminem and Rihanna have done it yet again. Their newest track from The Marshall Mathers LP 2 is everything we dreamed and more. Contrasting from the downtempo “Love The Way You Lie,” this track shows the great chemistry between the two as well as being a potential club hit. Expect to see this at #1 on the Billboard charts in the upcoming weeks with the music video releasing soon. -AF 4 ½ out of 5
More Standout Tracks
MIA- Come Walk With Me
A Great Big World and Christina AguileraSay Something
Justin Timberlake- Drink You Away
Ariana Grande- Love Is Everything
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We talked to vocalist/keyboardist, Isabella Manfredi, of the new “it band,” The Preatures, from Sydney, Australia. Their EP “Is This How You Feel?” is out now.
How does your 2012 release "Shaking Hands" differ from your newest EP "Is This How You Feel?" Shaking Hands was more about us saying "ok, we have this bunch of songs, let's do them in this way". It was more fixed, and we had a producer who was very involved. 'Is This How You Feel' we recorded and produced ourselves in our own space, and Jack (Moffitt, lead guitarist) mixed all the tracks. We wanted space to fuck around and make mistakes by ourselves, do things the wrong way, if that makes sense. And I'd like to think the songwriting has improved from the last EP, hopefully! Do you have a favorite track from the new EP? 'Is This How You Feel' was the last track to be written and
it came from everyone just being in the room together. It's my favorite. How did you guys meet and then end up getting signed to Mercury? Tom and Jack met in high school, and I met them at the Australian Institute of Music, which is like a contemporary music college here in Sydney. They were both doing sound engineering and I was doing performance. I wasn't singing though, I was studying piano because I'd come from a classical background (though that makes me sound like I was some sort of pro - I wasn't). We started a band and then dropped out pretty soon after, and spent time playing covers in RSLs to old people on Valentines Day and stuff
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The preatures
like that. We met Gideon at the Lansdowne Hotel when our bands were sharing a bill, and Luke joined the band about six months after that. Signing to Mercury happened after our first single 'Take a Card' was released in early 2012. Who are some of your greatest influences when it comes to writing songs? We like good songs and good songs can come from anywhere. Before recording the EP we were listening to a lot of Bowie (the Eno years - Low 1977), Roxy Music, Prince, even Bee Gees, and also new records by Chairlift, Cat Power, Metronomy and Here We Go Magic. Personally I really like traditional pop structure, and I think our songs are quite tightly structured. I enjoy editing and structuring
songs, I find ordering and organization of parts and ideas really satisfies something sick and twisted in me. How would you describe your music in 3 words? Perpetual Hazard Lights How did you come up with the name? We were The Preachers before The Preatures. We had to change it because it was too generic. Funnily enough there is a history of Australian bands with religious names; The Church, The Saints, The Angels. But we're not a religious band. When we had to change the name we thought of Siousie Sioux's old band The Creatures and thought it'd be cool to spell it similar.
KAITLYN DEVER
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Adolescents: overrun with hormones, emotions and mental and physical adaptations. The average teenager’s vision easily gets muddied up in the whirlwind of education and sports, so you can only imagine how teen breakout actress Kaitlyn Dever copes with juggling an extraordinary actress’ agenda with an ordinary sixteen year old girl’s agenda. “Family and friends are very important to me,” Kaitlyn confesses, “ I can always manage to squeeze in a movie with friends or shopping with my sisters.” Kaitlyn’s entry into the theatrical field was quite unpredictable even though she has been featured on sitcoms such as Modern Family and Curb Your Enthusiasm since 2009. It wasn’t until 2011 when she stuck a deal to become a regular on ABC’s “Last Man Standing” starring critically acclaimed actor, Tim Allen. Now that she has conquered TV, Dever sets her sights on movies. “Having [to perform] in a room with only several other people including the director just sitting there watching me was really hard, “ she says as she goes into depth on her audition for feature film, Short Term 12. Despite the bone-chilling terror the
relatively inexperienced actress had face to face, the director of the film was so emotionally moved he was brought to tears. “It felt great,” Dever says triumphantly. Jayden, the character Dever portrays, is a stray from her norm. When asked about her role in this film, she replied fearlessly. “All my [roles] have been so diverse. I hope it stays that way.” Despite seeing parts of herself in all the characters she’s portrayed, she grudgingly states that her favorite has to be Misty from her upcoming film Laggies. “She’s a bit of a partier and always seems to be in a good mood. She’s always ready for fun and craziness and she has a great heart. She was really fun to play.” You will see the always-positive Kaitlyn Dever with the bright personality and brighter future in 2014 when she stars in “Laggies” alongside Keira Knightley and Chloë Grace Moretz. Also, be sure to catch her on Last Man Standing on Fridays at 8/7c on ABC. Photos featured by: Marc Cartwright Photography
Echosmith
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Echosmith was once a pop rock gem from the LA area. After being signed with Warner Brothers Records and going on their first tour, they released their debut album, Talking Dreams, which will secure a place in being a cult favorite among alternative fans everywhere. What was the craziest part of your tour this fall? The weather! Us being from Cali, it's hard getting used to the cold. What do you guys like to do when you’re not making music and performing? Do you guys have different hobbies or do you all just hang out?
Do you think there are any advantages of being in a band with your own family? We grew up listening to the same stuff, so we are all on the same page musically and lyrically. But we also know each other so well, so that can be an advantage but also a disadvantage, haha. Growing up in a musical household, who influenced you musically? We always loved 80s new wave, like the Smiths and joy division, but also U2, Coldplay, the killers, and Fleetwood mac. Your first studio album Talking Dreams came out recently, what was it like putting it all together?
Music is our main gig. None of us are really good at much else, haha. We all just love going on random adventures that usually involve food or coffee.
It was so much fun. We had a great time. Our producer, Mike Elizondo is great because he knows when to let an artist breathe, but he also knows when is a good time to give input. It was a very collaborative and relaxed process!
Being siblings, do you guys ever get into fights?
Where do you see your career in five years?
Of course. All bands have disagreements sometimes. We get along better than you'd think though. We genuinely enjoy each other, believe it or not!
We hope our music will reach and affect people all over the world in a positive way. The more people the better! We love how things are going, and we are so grateful to our fans!
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November Fashion
Legend has it that the velvet top with scalloped neckline (pictured below) used to be a floor length dress fit for a nun. With a pair of scissors and an extra half hour, our fashion team completely transformed this piece into a contemporary structural shirt. When there’s a will, there’s a way. -RC
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Tight fitting, tucked in button ups, as timelessly classy as they may be, have a tendency to look too much like office wear for teens and young adults. For a more rebellious and youthful touch, buy a size up and untuck your shirt! -RC
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Electric Guest Asa Taccone and Matthew Compton of Electric Guest sure do know how to improvise. “I don’t know honestly [what genre of music we create]. We used to say it was pop music but I think that was more out of insecurity or fatigue of trying to think about it in that way. I think it's just a mix of where both of us came from. We grew up without the Internet for the most part but then that came along and everyone got exposed to everything. So, even though we never meant it to be, it come out as this mix of stuff”. A Los Angeles band formed in 2011, Electric Guest’s music has been identified as genres from indie rock to psychedelic pop to dream pop. “I wish it were psychedelic pop, though. That would be better than what it is”. Electric Guest rose to prominence in 2012 with several singles including the acclaimed “This Head I Hold”, the release of their debut album, Mondo, and an accompanying tour. The title, according to the guys, is an “ode of sorts”, “Mondo” being “the name of Danger Mouse’s old studio” where the album was finished. The guys have released a few music videos as well, the most recent being for the charged “The Bait” off of Mondo, featuring a muted color palette and a choreographed dance. We asked them about their inspiration behind it. “We were on tour and had done a show the
night before somewhere in France. It was supposed to be our one day off but the label pressured us so we woke up and took the train off like, 3 hours sleep and got to Paris at 8 in the morning. And then we had to try and freestyle some dance routine for about 14 hours. It was really hard but also quite fun. We got along so well with the dancers and became friends with a few. It was initially supposed to be a weird, 80s, European influenced montage of different, odd choreographed vignettes but it ended up being kind of like a musical or something”. And they don’t only keep their cool when stringing together a music video in less than a day- they do it when they play live too. “Matthew never messes up”, Taccone claims. “Seriously. On David Letterman, his kick drum pedal broke towards the end of the songs and he just immediately changed the drum pattern and started playing the low toms where the kicks would have fallen. It was such a smooth transition it ended up sounding like it was on purpose.” The band has got big plans as they look to the future. “We want to release a greatest hits album”, they claim in earnest. “How gangster would that be? Having one, 10 song album out that wasn't even that big and then releasing a 9 song greatest hits album? So, yeah, we'll do that and then release a new album after”. Hey, with all their experience in improvising, it just might work.
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november 2013 issue four Â
echosmith