uncover music magazine- issue #3 by Uncover Music Mag

MUSIC MAG August 2016 Issue 3

10 YEARS OF BEAR HANDS Interview, Gallery, and more

Playlists

Dear Boy

Kid Cadaver

Matt Costa

GYMSHORTS

The Frights

GRIZFOLK

Cameron Avery

The Last Shadow Puppets

The Moth & The Flame

Atlas Genius

FEATURE: Bear Hands

porches

BÃ&#x2DC;RNS

Coast Modern

The Wombats

fall!

By Peyton Chambers

Automatic Stop // The Strokes Hesitation Waltz // Dear Boy Honey // Magic Man Honest Feedback // Saint Motel Global Concepts // Robert DeLong Grand Optimist // City and Colour Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene // Hozier

Boring // The Brobecks Hold No Guns // Death Cab for Cutie The Halocline // Hippo Campus Glass in the park // Alex Turner Iscariot // WALK THE MOON To Build A Home // The Cinematic Orchestra Listen to both playlists at uncoveronline.net 4

Songs To Fall For By Jiselle Santos

Animals // Coast Modern You & I // Colony House Sweet Disaster // DREAMERS Art Exhibit // Young the Giant Move // Saint Motel Changing Of The Seasons // Two Door Cinema Club

Disappear Here // Bad Suns Good Grief // Bastille Life Itself // Glass Animals Beggars // Mainland Atlas // COIN Pretty Face // Public Nova Scotia // Magic Man

Dear Boy Photos by Makenna Magdaleno-Mague

Kid Cadaver Photos by Heather Zalabak

Matt Costa Photos by Makenna Magdaleno-Mague

GYMSHORTS Photos by Heather Zalabak

The Frights Photos by Heather Zalabak

KAABOO is coming! Uncover is going to be at this year’s KAABOO fest! We’re stoked to cover our favorite artists such as Fall Out Boy, Grouplove, The Mowgli’s and more! We want to hear from you; who do you want to see at KAABOO in our next issue? Let us know at uncovermusicmagazine@gmail.com

GRIZFOLK

Photos by Makenna Magdaleno-Mague

CAM AVERY

Photos by Heather Zalabak

The Last Shadow Puppets Photos by Heather Zalabak

The Moth & The Flame Photos by Heather Zalabak

ATLAS GENIUS Photos by Heather Zalabak

BEAR HANDS celebrated their 10 year anniversary as a band on August 1st.

10 YEARS OF BEAR HANDS Interview by Alyssa Hall We had the chance to sit down with Dylan Rau, main vocalist of Bear Hands, and talked Weenie Roast, touring life, new album and more. A: So, how exactly did the band form and what was it like starting out? D: We started out playing shows in Lower East Side, Brooklyn in 2006. Ted and I met in college and I knew Val and TJ from like, playing in punk bands when I was in high school. A: Were there any bands that influenced you personally or as a band as it was first forming? D: You know I think you get inspiration from any band you like, but Modest Mouse was certainly a foundation influence growing up; LCD Soundsystem. A: If you could collaborate with any bands or artists, who would it be? D: I’d like to do some rap beats ya know, I like Young Thug a lot, Kevin Gates I listen to a lot, those are two rappers. So I would love to make some beats in the future. A: So your new album You’ll Pay For This, what was the writing and recording process like compared to your past albums? D: Well it took longer, Ted and I were working in Brooklyn for about 6 months on stuff and we’d already had a bunch of songs written from the Distraction Cycle, but after working in Brooklyn for some time we’d just realized that maybe three of them weren’t going to work out, just because they weren’t good enough. So then we went to this cabin down in Big Bear, California and we stayed there for like a week and a half and wrote like 3 songs and threw away the other ones basically. That was really good and it was really isolated and a lot of time to work in a very focused manner. We never really put time aside like that before.

After bringing up the writing of their own music he began to open up, looking up more often while he spoke. A: So it wasn’t really like, ‘Here’s a couple of weeks to go write,” it was all just at a bunch of different times? D: Yeah we were still kinda playing shows throughout ya know, just to make money or whatever; random fly-in shows. I tried to work on music when I could, but it’s hard to do it on the road. A: What are your favorite tracks on the album? D: I like “Déjà Vu”, “Boss”, “I Won’t Pay”. A: What about them makes them more special? D: I just think they were most successfully executed, ya know. I mean whenever you’re writing a song you kind of have an idea of what like, it’s supposed to sound like in your head. Those three probably got closest to it. A: How does You’ll Pay For This compare to Distraction? D: I think it’s probably a little more expansive. We’ve always been like a minimalist band, but this time having more time to work on it, we probably went into a little more detail than we usually do. I couldn’t help but smile when he described themselves as a minimalist band, considering even he himself seemed quite simple. Even in the way he talked, he spoke clearly and his answers were usually straight to the point. A: So “2 AM” off the album is getting a lot of radio time and you guys actually got to open Weenie Roast, which is a huge deal, especially here in southern California. How was it finding out and just the overall experience? D: It was really cool playing Weenie Roast, obviously KROQ is one of the most powerful rock stations in the world. I knew they were playing the song, but when we found out we were playing Weenie Roast we were ecstatic over it and they’ve been supportive since like “Giants”. So yeah it was great, it was a really fun day.

A: So you’ve been touring with Atlas Genius and The Moth & The Flame, what exactly has it been like? Was it what you expected? D: It’s been great definitely. Probably been out for like 2 weeks now and shows have been good, really enthusiastic crowds. We’ve been playing some weird markets we’ve never played before. We played Fairview, North Dakota, that was fun. Coming up we’re playing in like Missoula, Montana and Boise, Idaho, so it’s a little off the beaten path, which is fun. A: So today is the 10 year anniversary of Bear Hands, which is why we’re so excited to be able to talk to you today. How do you think you guys have grown as a band throughout the years? For the first time in the interview, Rau cracks a smile that exudes pride and happiness; you could plainly see how much love and dedication he puts into what he does in just one look. He even lets out a little laugh, immediately loosening up even more. D: I hope we’re better songwriters, I don’t know. Ya know we were listening to like the first demos we ever made up in the bus and it was like really funny to hear how like, how far we’ve come. Ya know for the first two years of the band there was like no keyboard. We used to be a punk band with just guitar, bass, and drums, so the sound’s changed a lot with the same people. A: So of course leading into that, what’s your plan for the future? D: We have like a week and a half left with Atlas Genius and then we’re gonna go on tour with Foals in the fall. So we’ll be playing in L.A. at the Palladium in October I think. Then we have a couple festivals to do in summer, Boston City Limits and Voodoo Festival in New Orleans, And then maybe like work on some new music after that. A: And what exactly makes the best show to you? D: Crowd enthusiasm, I always like small shows with not too many people in them, ya know that’s always a good vibe. And being able to hear yourself onstage is cool.

BEAR HANDS & ATLAS GENIUS TOUR Words by Alyssa Hall

BEAR HANDS Bear Hands was a refreshing and unique approach to today’s current alternative music scene, their music, stage presence, and even their setup, is very different compared to any band I’ve seen live. Many groups tend to use stage props, lighting, and endless movement to capture an audience and fill up a stage. Bear Hands, on the other hand, do the exact opposite. They have practically nothing onstage, aside from a banner with their name on it; even their instrument placement is organized, which leaves the wooden floors oddly empty. Dylan Rau, their lead singer, is a very solitary performer that has very little contact with his band mates, as well as the crowd. For the most part he stays standing in a single spot in front, eyes closed, sometimes swaying to the beat. Himself and the band rely solely on their music to fill up a stage and get the crowd going which, in my opinion, is such a breath of fresh air. To be able to truly listen to the lyrics, beats, and riffs of a song, with limited distraction is an entirely different experience. In each of the member’s movements, they are confident and precise. It’s obvious on all of their faces and in all of their body language that they are giving it their all. The music itself is spectacular, a mix between hard rock, current alternative, and even some folk and 80’s influence. Each song is a different twist and turn to the rollercoaster ride that is their newest record, You’ll Pay For This. Their song “I Won’t Pay” is a very groovy and creative track that really was a thrill to witness live. It begins with kind of an electronic, drum pad beat with some 80’s synthesizers mixed within. The lyrics are sung almost completely in a soft and captivating head voice for three fourths of the song. Suddenly, in the last few moments of the song, everything changes. What once was a drum pad, is now a full, cymbal heavy drum kit; what once was an electronic backtrack is now a hard, chord heavy guitar and bass line. That’s just a small taste of the many different approaches and perspectives they’ve brought to the music scene. Overall, Bear Hands is a simplistic band with songs that are extremely unique and multidimensional, while still staying true their fundamental rock roots.

ATLAS GENIUS Now Atlas Genius is a force to be reckoned with onstage. While both The Moth & The Flame and Bear Hands are very entertaining and diverse bands, Atlas Genius is otherworldly.

First off, for anyone that hasn’t bought their two latest albums, put it on your wish list. Every song they performed was better than the last, which is crazy because every song was so good. They have a sound that is all their own, while still fitting snugly in today’s alternative scene. It’s hard to describe their sound because it’s not hard rock, or punk, or folk, or indie, or electronic, it’s a mix of everything. They possess an incredible ability to achieve an effortless tone in every song, while still being able to get people to dance in their seats; it’s feel-good music in a way that never even edges towards being cheesy or full of fluff. I think what makes Atlas Genius so pleasing to listen to is how well each song flows. Each element in a song has its place and seems to fit there perfectly and nothing sticks out or crowds over any other element of the piece; balance is the key that Atlas Genius has found. Aside from their music, they have a captivating stage presence. Each of them wore all black with lead singer, Keith Jeffery, wearing a signature front man leather jacket. From the moment they walked onstage, they were like magnets, every eye drawn to them and the crowd holding their breath in anticipation for that first note. They are definitely one whole unit, every person exuded such charisma and confidence that no one could help but be drawn to. It may sound strange, but they interacted with each other onstage like brothers would: loud, playful, and with lots of energy. Often times if one of them wasn’t standing on the elevated front of the stage, another had gone down to play against the barricade, and another was jumping and swinging around their instruments to each end of the stage. Their energy and enthusiasm was practically creating sparks in the room. Every one of them knew where they had to be and at what time, like a well rehearsed dance. Every part of their performance, from the music itself to their stage presence, was seamless.

porches Photos by Heather Zalabak

BÃ&#x2DC;RNS Photos by Heather Zalabak

Coast Modern Photos by Heather Zalabak

The Wombats 8/5/16 Show Review Words by Makenna Magdaleno-Mague Photos by Heather Zalabak

"Whenever we come to Santa Ana, we always seem to have a great time!" lead singer Matthew Murphy yelled after finishing the first song. And a great time it was indeed. The Wombats: An English trio that know how to put on a show. Using a fusion of indie rock and pop similar to that of bands such as Two Door Cinema Club and The Kooks, The Wombats have taken rock music to another level. Formed in Liverpool in 2003, the band comprises of Matthew Murphy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard), Daniel (Dan) Haggis (drums, percussion, guitar, keyboard and backing vocals) and Tord Ă&#x2DC;verland Knudsen (bass guitar, guitar, keyboard and backing vocals). "A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation" (2007) was the album that started them out, following with "This Modern Glitch" (2011), and "Glitterbug" (2015) which both hit #2 on Australia's top album chart. It was August 5th, and when I got to The Observatory in Santa Ana, and the line was almost out of the parking lot to get in. This being The Wombats last show of the tour, I wasn't surprised to see the amount of fans eagerly waiting for the doors to open. After experiencing the chill vibes brought on by Coast Modern, The Wombats opened with "Give Me a Try," blue and pink lights flooding the entire venue. The crowd immediately began moshing: all the energy being thrown out by the band was doubled and thrown back by the people of the pit. The entire Wombats set was a blast, with fan favorites such as "Pink Lemonade" and "Kill the Director," everyone from the floor to the balcony was having the time of their lives. After leaving the stage and being called back for more, The Wombats joined back for a 3 song encore, starting slow with "Isabel," moving on to one of their most popular songs "Greek Tragedy," and ending with a fan favorite you can't help but dance to, "Let's Dance to Joy Division." By the end of the night, everyone was buzzing with adrenaline, and I had experienced one of the best shows of my life. If you ever have the chance to see The Wombats, I highly recommend snagging some tickets. Whether you are in the front or in the back, this English trio will show you a good time. Check them out here: http://www.thewombats.co.uk/home/

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