Urban Vinyl Magazine-Issue XVI

URBAN VINYL

Issue XVI

Plastic Picnic

• Wild Cub • Neon Trees • ARMORS • Grizfolk • • BØRNS • Smallpools • HUNNY •

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 • • Editor-In-Chief • Writer • Layout & Design • Content •

On the Cover

• Plastic Picnic • Berlin, New York City • • October 21, 2017 •

Stay Connected

Thank You

• Amanda • Ken • Michael • • Rico • Nicole • Shawna • • Christine • Greg • • Beth • Sarah • • Plastic Picnic • • Wild Cub • Neon Trees • • ARMORS • Grizfolk • • BØRNS • Smallpools • HUNNY •

urbanvinylmag.com

• Most importantly, my family and friends for always supporting my photography and my love for music. •

For booking and inquiries: sophie@urbanvinylmag.com

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

@urbanvinylmag @urbanvinylmag

• All social media icons by Good Stuff No Nonsense •

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

Contents

Main Artist • Plastic Picnic • 13-18

Live Shots • Wild Cub • 3-4

• Neon Trees • 5-6 • ARMORS • 7-8 • Grizfolk • 9-10 • BØRNS • 11-12

• Smallpools • 19-20 • HUNNY • 21-22

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• The Bowery Ballroom, New York City • October 4, 2017 •

Wild Cub • Nashville, Tennessee • • Jeremy Bullock • Keegan DeWitt •

@wildcub @wildcubmusic /wildcubmusic 3

• Keegan DeWitt •

• Gavin McDonald •

• Harry West•

• Jeremy Bullock •

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• The Bowery Ballroom, New York City • October 10, 2017 •

Neon Trees • Provo, Utah • • Chris Cordley • Tyler Glenn • Elaine Bradley • Branden Campbell •

@neontrees @official_neontrees /neon.trees 5

• Tyler Glenn •

• Branden Campbell •

• Elaine Bradley •

• Chris Cordley •

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• Mercury Lounge, New York City • October 17, 2017 •

ARMORS • Orange County, California • • Sam Beresford • Olen Kittelsen • Kody Buxton •

@armorsmusic @armorsmusic /armorsmusic 7

• Olen Kittelsen •

• Sam Beresford •

• Kody Buxton •

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• Mercury Lounge, New York City • October 17, 2017 •

Grizfolk

• Los Angeles, California • • Fredrik Erikkson • Adam Roth • Billy Delia • Brendan James • Sebastian Fritze •

@grizfolk

Grizfolk’s sound in 3 words: North Meets South

Favorite song to perform live: “Waiting for You”

@grizfolk

Favorite food and/or drink: Ramen

/grizfolk 9

Favorite spot in NYC: Ippudo Ramen

• Fredrik Erikkson •

• Adam Roth •

• Billy Delia •

• Brendan James •

• Sebastian Fritze •

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• PUBLIC Hotels, New York City • October 19, 2017 •

BØRNS

• Grand Haven, Michigan • • Garrett Borns •

@bornsmusic @bornsmusic /bornsmusic 11

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• Berlin, New York City • October 21, 2017 • @plasticpicnic @plasticpicnic /plasticpicnic

Main Artist • Plastic Picnic •

plasticpicnic.com

The intersection of old and new lies within Plastic Picnic’s soft, yet upbeat sound.

Combining 80s synth vibes with catchy guitar riffs, Plastic Picnic, based in Brooklyn with members hailing from the Pacific Northwest, showcases the charisma and talent of Emile Panerio (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard), Lincoln Lute (guitar, vocals, keyboard), Marshall Hunt (bass, vocals, keyboard), and Gordon Taylor (drums, vocals). They recently released their debut EP, on October 20, 2017, via Highland Park Records, featuring the tracks “Miss It Still,” and “Nausea in Paradise.” Spreading their sound mainly in New York City, they have shared the stage with artists such as pronoun, Cape Francis, and Coastgaard, and have taken the stage at venues including Baby’s All Right, Mercury Lounge, Rough Trade, Arlene’s Grocery, Alphaville, Shea Stadium BK, Berlin, and Elsewhere (Zone One).

Ahead of their EP Release Show at Berlin on October 21, 2017, the band generously contributed some time to pose for some portaits and to chat about the process behind creating the EP, in addition to their guilty pleasures and go-to late night snacks, and recommended a restaurant in Brooklyn to check out.

UPCOMING SHOWS:

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Dec. 5-Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 1 Dec. 31-Rough Trade

What’s the story behind the formation of Plastic Picnic?

EMILE: Lincoln and I played in a band together during undergrad, and became close friends through that. After undergrad, we moved to New York City, and there’s a similar story for the bassist and drummer, Marshall and Gordon. They were childhood friends and grew up together playing music, and also moved out to New York City after undergrad. We had separate projects in the Pacific Northwest, writing as two duos, and then a mutual friend brought us together, which became Plastic Picnic. The only one who studied music was Marshall, the bassist, and the others were just in bands throughout college and beyond.

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

LINCOLN: Mine was saxophone.

GORDON: Mine was piano.

EMILE: Mine was technically piano, but also trumpet. I’m not sure which one was first. Marshall’s not here, but I can speak for him. His were flute and bass.

You released your debut EP on October 21, 2017. What was the process of writing, recording, and producing it?

EMILE: It was a kind of a semi-McGyver process. Once we formed, we were all in the in-between stage of no longer being in bands and wanting to create a cohesive project. By the time that the band actually formed, I think writing just took off very efficiently. We were all pretty hungry to create something in that moment, so writing was pretty fluid and collaborative among the four of us. It was a mix of each of us doing personal home recordings, and then bringing them to our rehearsal space and collaborating on different ideas in a live, standard rock band outfit. As far as recording, we were looking to work with a producer named Ariel Loh, and he kind of brought in some opportunities. Most of the tracking was done between a studio he partners with in Connecticut called Stone Studio, which is more of an independent, cabin in the woods situation, not to sensationalize it. It was more of a cozy studio vibe. The other was Converse Rubber Tracks, which is fancy, yet also offered awesome opportunities. We were able to split tracking between those two.

Post-production involved more home recordings, one-on-one time with Ariel, with regards to the vocals. The synthesizer work was done in apartments in different parts in New York.

A lot of the basses were done in a proper studio, and a lot of the fine touches were done in bedrooms. I guess Ariel now has a studio room in his house, but the after-studio work was done in bedrooms.

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• Elsewhere (Zone One), Brooklyn • November 3, 2017 •

• Emile Panerio •

• Gordon Taylor •

• Lincoln Lute •

• Tony Hall •

• Marshall Hunt •

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

GORDON: I really like “Tilden.” I think that one for me because that one only took a couple of takes to lay down, and it just felt really good playing it. I feel like you can hear some of the energy that we had in the room, and it’s something really nice when you can actually capture that.

What happens before you go onstage? Is there a Plastic Picnic pre-show ritual?

LINCOLN: I don’t know if there’s an official ritual, but I feel like we all try to stay focused and think about the show and what’s happening so that by the time we get onstage, we all feel warmed up mentally, even if we haven’t played our instruments or songs that day.

GORDON: A couple times when we’ve had a show we’re nervous about, we usually take a minute to be quiet for just a second not really talking to anybody, not even to each other. Usually, we try to get together to huddle and say something like, “Alright guys, let’s go play some rock and roll.” We’ll then be like, “Nah, this is not rock and roll.” We then go onstage and play a show.

EMILE: I think for shows that have more value, everyone tries to find some alone time, whether that’s physical or mental. We try to get a couple minutes alone, whether that’s walking around in the corner or singing loudly in the bathroom stall.

It’s a rock show, so we don’t get too worried.

Out of all your songs, my favorite is “Miss It Still.” Can you touch on the inspiration and creation of that particular one?

EMILE: The EP kind of has an overarching theme that was heavily inspired by New York, but that theme is witnessing maybe people trying to sensationalize life, with a huge influence from social media. I think New York City is a catalyst for people on different paths to impress others. The song is in the vein of loss, not like physically losing someone, but losing one’s identity to become a version of oneself you don’t interpret as sincere.

I think that was the miracle heart of it. That song was the one of the early discoveries when we realized that we could make songs that had a more synthesizer focus, instrumentally.

GORDON: I think that one was kind of funny instrumentally, too. We started writing it when we had to change practice spaces, so we were sort of without a home.

We had to write it kind of broken apart on different instruments; I didn’t even have a drum set. It was weird because we were forced to work with smaller keyboards, and that made us uncomfortable. When we went into the recording studio, we were like rewriting parts of it. Since we were rewriting and retracking it, we never got a chance to listen back on it and see how it sounded. When we all heard it for the first time all put together, we were a bit surprised and stoked that it actually worked. It seemed like a gamble for us when we were making it.

LINCOLN: That one really improvised a mix of crunchy guitar and 90s Rock. We blended more lushy, soundtracky 80s stuff, and I think it’s more evident in “Miss It Still.” There’s an instrumental juxtaposition.

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What’s your favorite restaurant and/or food in NYC? LINCOLN: Chilo’s Tacos. There’s a bar in the back, but they also serve amazing tacos. It was started by a guy in Austin. Maybe it’s because it’s super close to us, but we’re at Chilo’s all the time.

If there a pizza with the name “Plastic Picnic,” what toppings would it have?

EMILE: Pineapple. I feel like on the West Coast, Canadian Bacon and Pineapple is super popular. It’s not a thing in New York, so I think it’s funny because it’s so common over there. I’m a big fan of Motorino Pizza, which serves wood-fired pizza.

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

EMILE: We’re big fans of juxtaposition, so I think they can expect a nice split of 80s pop and 90s post-rock. In the future, we’re trying to stay true to that. In the new songs we’re writing, there are ones with a more polished instrumentation, but there are also others that are super guitar-forward and have the crunchiness of our earlier guitar-forward stuff.

From there, we’re kind of stepping into writing and recording time. We have some new songs that we’re really excited about, and others that are in the works. We might be getting started on a full-length this winter.

As far as shows, even though the EP is only five songs, we want to put on a full show. Almost half the set will be unreleased stuff we’re working on; I think that’s special because after the EP is released, people still want to be able to hear those.

There’s still going to be instrumentation things; we have a friend who will be playing saxophone with us at a lot of the sets. Almost half of us grew up in a horn-heavy and jazz world, so we’re trying to incorporate more of that.

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

EMILE: I feel like bands, in general, get tired of answering questions about their own music, so I feel like it would have to be non-related to music.

GORDON: No one ever asks what books you’re reading.

LINCOLN: I was going to say, if anyone ever came up to us and wanted to know what our late night drunk snacks would be, I feel like that would be a really good question. For example, I know Emile went through a phase of making ramen late at night.

Or maybe, pizza and tacos. I feel like you can tell a lot about a person from that.

EMILE: I love hearing bands’ guilty pleasures. That’s always fascinating to me. For us, *NSYNC’s first record is a huge one. I feel like that’s always interesting because in the music industry, the bigger bands are always building pretension, where they’re always expected to have this impeccable and diverse music taste. 18

• Terminal 5, New York City • October 25, 2017 •

Smallpools

• Los Angeles, California • • Mike Kamerman • Sean Scanlon • Beau Kuther •

@smallpools @smallpools /smallpools 19

• Mike Kamerman •

• Sean Scanlon •

• Beau Kuther •

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• Irving Plaza, New York City • October 28, 2017 •

HUNNY

• Los Angeles, California • • Jake Goldstein • Kevin Grimmett • Joey Anderson • Jason Yarger • Gregory Horne •

@hunnytheband @hunnytheband /hunnytheband 21

• Jake Goldstein •

• Kevin Grimmett •

• Joey Anderson •

• Gregory Horne • • Jason Yarger •

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LISTEN. EAT. EXPLORE.

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