Urban Vinyl Magazine-Issue XIX

URBAN VINYL

Issue XIX

• Flint Eastwood • Post Animal • Handsome Ghost • Future Teens •

About

Founded and launched in February 2016 by Sophie Hsu, Urban Vinyl Magazine is an independently-run outlet that harmonizes a passion for music and food. Started and currently based in New York City where both music and food are at their best, the artists and restaurants featured on the site and the upcoming issues are individually handpicked in order to reach a diverse spectrum of sound and taste.

Created by a music lover and a foodie, the aim is to provide high quality content for fellow music lovers and foodies.

LISTEN. EAT. EXPLORE.

Sophie Hsu • Founder • Photographer •

Thank You

• Mary • Ben • Inge • Candace • • Editor-In-Chief • Writer • Layout & • Rian • Sue • Tyler • Daniel • Design • Content • • The Academic • • Flint Eastwood • Post Animal • • Handsome Ghost • Future Teens • • The Academic logo • • And most importantly, my family • Courtesy of The Academic • and friends for always supporting my photography and my love for music. •

On the Cover

Stay Connected urbanvinylmag.com @urbanvinylmag @urbanvinylmag

• And of course, to my readers! You make this happen! •

For booking and inquiries: sophie@urbanvinylmag.com

• This issue would not have been possible without all of you! •

• All social media icons by Good Stuff No Nonsense •

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Contents

Main Artist

• The Academic • 7-12

Live Shots • Flint Eastwood • 3-4

• Post Animal • 5-6 • Handsome Ghost • 13-14 • Future Teens • 15-16

2

• Mercury Lounge, New York City • February 1, 2018 •

Flint Eastwood • Detroit, Michigan • • Jax Anderson •

@FlintEastwood

Flint Eastwood’s sound in 3 words: Intensely Loud Pop

Favorite song to perform live: @flinteastwood

“Monster”

Favorite food and/or drink: Espresso & Breakfast Food

/FlintEastwoodMusic 3

Favorite spot in NYC: Barcade or MoMA

• Jax Anderson •

• Joel Parks •

• Dalton Thomas •

4

• Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn • February 7, 2018 •

Post Animal • Chicago, Illinois • • Matt Williams • Javi Reyes • Wesley Toledo • Dalton Allison • Jake HIrshland •

@postanimalmusic

Post Animal’s sound in 3 words: Heavy Psych Pop

Favorite song to perform live: @postanimal

Our intro

Favorite food and/or drink: Mediterranean Food

/postanimal 5

Favorite spot in NYC:

Bagel Pub in Crown Heights

• Javi Reyes •

• Jake Hirshland •

• Dalton Allison •

• Matt Williams •

• Wesley Toledo •

6

• Mercury Lounge, New York City • February 15, 2018 • @TheAcademic @theacademic

Main Artist • The Academic •

/theacademic

An encounter at school sparked the formation of The Academic. The Academic, formed and based in Mullingar, Westmeath, Ireland in 2013, features the musical passions and talents of Craig Fitzgerald (lead vocals, guitar), Dean Gavin (drums, vocals), and brothers Matt Murtagh (guitar) and Stephen Murtagh (bass, vocals).

They self-released their debut single, “Different,” on April 24, 2015, followed by their debut EP, Loose Friends, on October 30, 2015 via Room 6 Records. They then put out “Mixtape 2003” on August 19, 2016 via Downtown/Interscope Records, and most recently, January 12, 2018 marked the release of their debut full-length, Tales from the Backseat, via Downtown Records, which they recorded in LA and at Abbey Road Studios in London (available on vinyl, CD, and digitally). Not only have they played massive shows and festivals all over the UK, they have performed at various venues and festivals in the U.S., including SXSW.

They recently wrapped up a small headline tour in support of their debut record, including Mercury Lounge on February 15, 2018. Taking a pause from his busy schedule, Craig generously shared some of his time to chat about the process of creating their full-length, what “The Academic” pizza 7 would feature, and even his dream celebrity friend.

What’s the story behind the formation of The Academic?

It’s a question that gets asked a lot; we all met in school around the age of 13. Stephen was about 11; Matthew and Stephen are brothers, so they knew each other a bit longer. We all went to the same school and bonded early on to a lot of guitar bands and Nicolas Cage movies that were out around then.

I’m not sure when exactly we said we are a band now or if we ever did, but we all got instruments around the same time, and started jamming out in a shed on weekends and after school. Those early days were spent learning and trying to play songs by our favourite bands, and it was just natural progression I guess when we started writing our own music.

What was the first instrument (musical or non-musical) you started making music with?

For me, it was guitar. Interesting fact—I nearly gave up on guitar because I only had an acoustic that used to really hurt my hands. I thought there might have been an easier instrument to learn, but I persevered through the pain barrier, and it got a little bit easier as time went on.

You released your debut record, Tales from the Backseat, on January 12, 2018. What was the process of writing, recording, and producing those two songs?

The writing for Tales From The Backseat probably began in our mid-teens when songs like “Bear Claws” and “Girlfriends” surfaced. We then went on to write a bunch of songs over the course of 2 years, demoing tracks and trying to grow our musical palette. We could have put out an album a couple of years ago, but in hindsight, we are glad we held on and set aside some proper time to go and make it. The recording was a labour of love; it was recorded for the most part in Los Angeles, and we were lucky enough to finish it off over at Abbey Road in London. To have a space were we could completely commit to the music and have no distractions was great. We focused a lot on production and making sure the songs all moulded together and felt like one piece. Definitely the hardest part in the process was choosing the songs. We had so much material and I think we surprised ourselves at some of the songs that didn’t make the cut that we always thought would.

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• Craig Fitzgerald •

• Dean Gavin •

9

• Matt Murtagh •

• Stephen Murtagh •

10

Which song (released or unreleased) are you most proud of?

It’s hard to say; we are proud of all the songs in their own way. “Bear Claws” was one of the first songs we wrote and the immediate reaction from us all when it was finished was, “We just wrote a fucking great tune.” It is still one of our favourites today. “Different” just really connected with fans all over the world, and it blows our mind the amount of energy in a room when we play it. Of the more newer songs on the album, I have a soft spot for “Bite My Tongue”; I was going through a bad writer’s block at the time, and I was trying all these crazy methods to start creating again. I was really overthinking my writing process; it was even getting to the point where I was taking random words from newspaper articles to see if I could come up with something (I heard David Bowie did it, so I decided to give it a try!!!). I tried meditation just for the laugh really, and then after a while, I got “Bite My Tongue.” That song got the flow going again.

What happens before you go onstage? Is there a The Academic pre-show ritual?

Our pre-show ritual is usually not to have a pre-show ritual. We are all pretty chill before shows, usually having some banter in the dressing room.

We might do something for the next tour; we will let you know!

Out of all your songs, my favorite is “Permanent Vacation” Can you touch on the inspiration and creation of that particular one?

Yeah, that is a fun one, alright. You ever look at social media and think, “There are a lot of people on here who look like they are on a neverending holiday?”

The theme of the song is basically about that and whether that’s actually a good thing or not!

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What’s your favorite restaurant and/or food in NYC? NYC is so hectic when we have a show; we have never really had a lot of downtime in the city, but the next time we go there, we will definitely be making some time to explore it a bit more. In saying that, we do have a lot of love for the dollar slice! Hopefully next time, we can try out some hot spots.

If there were a pizza with the name “The Academic”, what toppings would it have?

It’s hard to say. There is a split in the camp about vegetables on pizza, so we probably would have to make a compromise and go with pepperoni, chicken, bacon, with a barbecue base for Stephen.

What can listeners expect in terms of upcoming projects and/or releases?

We are going to be touring a lot this year. The diary is rammed and we are already booked for shows into 2019. We have been in the US quite a bit over the last few months, but we have an upcoming UK and European Tour, our biggest headline show to date in Dublin at Iveagh Gardens which we are really excited for. There are a bunch of festivals over the summer, and then we are going to be looking at a lot of new countries towards the end of the year and into early 2019. We might even have some new music, oh, and some interesting video projects on the horizon...

What’s a question you have wanted to get asked in an interview, and what’s the response to it?

Dream celebrity friend?

Roger Federer

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• The Bowery Ballroom, New York City • February 17, 2018 •

Handsome Ghost • Boston, Massachusetts • • Tim Noyes •

@handsomestghost @handsomestghost /handsomestghost 13

• Tim Noyes •

• Eddie Byun •

• Austin Perez •

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• Sunnyvale, Brooklyn • February 24, 2018 •

Future Teens • Boston, Massachusetts • • Maya Mortman • Dylan Vadakin • Amy Hoffman • Daniel Radin •

@futureteensusa @futureteensusa /futureteens 15

• Daniel Radin •

• Amy Hoffman •

• Dylan Vadakin •

• Maya Mortman •

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LISTEN. EAT. EXPLORE.

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