sound, phrase & fury 1.4

1july/aug 2013 • Sound, PhraSe, & Fury

2 Sound, PhraSe, & Fury • july/aug 2013

Available on Bandcamp


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Editor-in-ChiEfJanet adamana

Contributors & PhotograPhy CrEdits

Cody almond ally Sigurdsonalexander Bruce Herbig Haley ViningKristen Neufelder garrett Danzamy Dey Eric levin

sPECial thanksEmily Hearn Harrison Rachel Mardoiangarrett Danz Dan KelseyCam Wilgosh jordan Ngantianjarrod Mikolajczyk Kevin CheethamMatt MacDonald Kristie MacDonaldIan Bergeson joe BroderickCraig Bray Mike WolfendenCody almond Marven Mendozaaj Patiag andy Morgan

jane Decker Smith

Sound, PhraSe & Fury is a Canadian music magazine and website

out to help promote musicians not usually covered in mainstream media. all music, photos and articles used are for the sole purpose of spreading the knowledge of

these artists and their music.

We always encourage readers to support every act through purchasing releases, merchandise and attending live shows.

[email protected]@soundphrasefury

facebook.com/soundphrasefurySound-Phrase-Fury.com

july/aug 2013

Sound-PhraSe-Fury.com

SPF gotta let it happen 4 Words from the Editor-In-Chief Wild & Free 6 Folk-acoustic duo talk about living the simple life.

life & art 10 garrett Danz & always Empty Crew Sugar & Spice 16 Our profile on Emily Hearn

all in the Past 20 The Offseason and their new EP, Pastimes

heroes ascension 26 Winnipeg’s Kids & Heroes and their new album, Chalet

Just Jane 32 Singer/songwriter, Decker, talks about her debut EP, Clean Hands

Comeback kids 34 Don’t Call It a Comeback takes us through their new EP, Telescopes


Gotta let it haPPen...

editor’S note

Janet adamanaEditor-in-Chief

Welcome to Sound, PhraSe & Fury Issue number 4! It’s a very surreal thing for me to be able to say that . We’re already half way through SPF’s first year, and I could not fully express how happy I am to see it still continually growing. We’ve recently started reaching even larger audiences in even the far corners of the globe, gaining new contributors, and fans who have expressed their own personal zest and love for what we do here. I am thankful for each and every one of them.

With every new issue and every new artist we feature, I get the opportunity to repeatedly become inspired by these amazing people and their equally amazing stories. and like a Sesame Street episode has a word of the day, I keep finding every issue accidently exudes a particular theme. With the artists we’ve worked with for 1.4, like our local loves in kids and heroes, the visual production king behind always Empty Crew, or the husband and wife of Vocal Few; I noticed there was one big thing the folks within these pages have in common.

It’s Trust.

This undying trust in themselves. Trust in the dream. Trusting in their own hard work and will power. and the ultimate trust that everything will always be okay.

Chasing your dreams is a heavily romanticized notion, and something that the world likes to pump you up about, without properly preparing you for. anyone who’s ever tried it will most likely reveal that it’s a pretty tough thing to take on.

But Mediocrity is safe. guts equal glory.

Just trust your Gut


Ever find that one song in a cyber sea of a trillion others, that seems to fix every single calamity and emotional ailment thrown in your direction? One song, that, through some miraculous binding of strumming, bashing and thumping of noisy inventions, shakes every cell in your system and wakes a part of your existence that felt so stagnant yet fleeting like a hazy childhood memory? The one song reminiscent of late summer nights with good friends, running wild and free. The one song that reminds you what it means to be young, hopeful, and naive.

This is an ode to those songs and an ode to the ones who have created them. The ones who write, dream and hope that, with the little song they wrote in their bedroom they could someday reach someone. That somewhere in the simplicity of minimal lyrics, soft pretty keys, or a poignant honesty in a singer’s voice, a stranger can find their footing and all becomes right in the world again. Somewhere in the divine chaos of that beautiful noise, a stranger can find their old impassioned self and regain their old unwavering composure.

Headphones in, the whole world out.

This is what it feels like to get lost in sound.

Sound, PhraSe Fury&


wild free&


Q&a

Tucked away in the peaceful abyss of ancient towering Washington trees, husband-and-wife folk/acoustic duo, Vocal Few, put pen to paper, and vocals to chords to create a delightful ode to their life and love with their new EP, Tall Trees.

Matt MacDonald, singer/songwriter and one half of the Seattle-based outfit, spoke to us about his wife and musical partner, Kristie, their bohemian lifestyle, and the joys of simple living.

free

Photos by alexander Bruce HerbigInterview by janet adamana


Q&a

Ja: Can you explain how the two of you got to-gether? (as a band and in general, as i’m assum-ing your relationship helped spark Vocal Few) MM: We dated since 2000 and have been married since 2005. Kristie spent a lot of time with me on the road during the first few years of our marriage. Being a musician herself, she always wanted to re-cord some songs with me, but I was always too busy. around the time we found out we were pregnant with our first daughter, Kristie made a bucket list of things she wanted to do before becoming a moth-er. at the top of the list was our little side project. She sold it to me as a project that would allow us to raise money for diapers, so I begrudgingly agreed and recorded our first four songs. It turned out to be a great success from our humble perspective, and truthfully Kristie deserves the credit for being the motivation for me to do it.

Ja: tell me about your new eP, Tall Trees?MM: It’s a longer EP, seven songs instead of four. I spent more time on it, added more layers of instru-

ments, percussion and bass guitar to round out the bottom end. I think it’s a natural progression from our first release, She’ll Be Right EP.

Ja: take me through the process of creating it? i hear it was inspired by your new neighborhood.MM: We recently moved from Seattle to a suburb 15 minutes north to a neighborhood that features clus-ters of tall old-growth trees. The name of the album comes from those trees, as it was inspired by and re-corded in the shadows of them. There’s something moving about being in the company of trees that are older than you, older than the houses on our street. Something lasting. We want our music and our fam-ily to last. We want to grow into something like that, metaphorically speaking.

Ja: What’s the best way for people to get their hands on the eP?MM: Online is the easiest. iTunes and amazon mp3 have digital copies, as well as other online music

I’d rather get

and live simple & free haunted by music

nicer than the


vendors. We have a Bandcamp page where we sell hi-quality digital, CD’s, and vinyl copies of Tall Trees and our previous release. Technically, it’s the most beneficial to us if people go there, but we don’t mind. We just hope people give the songs a good listen, however it is they come upon them.

Ja: is there anything in particular you hope people will take from listening to it?MM: I think we repeat a few themes directly in our songs: Money isn’t everything, follow your dreams, don’t waste your time, life matters, etc. But I think we also say a few things indirectly: Marriage doesn’t suck, raising kids doesn’t mean you have to give up your life, happiness is a choice. I hope people take all those things and more from our music.

Ja: i want to talk about those overall themes, which you perfectly outline in your song Simple & Free, basically making the choice to live a much more simpler life, and how it’s been

a blessing, when others may see it as a struggle.MM: That song is a little cheeky. It’s like a person-al pep-talk. On one hand, I’m thankful for the life (and struggle) that seemed to pick me, on the other hand there is a bit of a burden, as the chorus says the musical notes “haunt my mind and resonate from my bones.” There are negative connotations to being “haunted.” It’s not always sunshine and inspi-ration... there’s a burden to making art, and often the people who don’t make it, don’t see it.

But you’re right in picking up on the theme of sim-ple living leading to freedom. I’d rather get haunted by music and live simple and free than make my life mission about accumulating wealth, compromise my integrity and be haunted by paranoia at night. The ghosts of music are much nicer than the ghosts of money.

Tall Trees is available at VocalFew.Bandcamp.com

The ghosts of music are much

Q&a

and live simple & free

nicer than the ghosts of money

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In 2012, aspiring designer/filmmaker, Garrett Danz, left his humdrum day job in Oklahoma and headed for California’s city of dreams. Armed with nothing more than a few film and design samples, his friendly demeanor and humility; the diligent dreamer has been pounding the pavement ever since. We spoke with the 21-year-old production extraordinaire, about his move to LA, and his new production company, Always Empty.

Life

& A

rt

Interview by Janet Adamana

Image by Garrett Danz

Ja: tell me about Garrett danz Film & design?Gd: That was the name that my work had been under, originally. It was the stuff I was producing when I was building my portfolio. Now I’m work-ing to launch a full service visual production com-pany called, always Empty Crew, like in reference to a gas tank (laughs). I’m taking the skills and the things that I’ve already been doing, as far as design and film making goes, and just filling out the pack-age. Doing what I do I’ve developed a lot of friend-ships with other creative individuals who do things

in the world of graphic design, special effects, and audio engineering. I really want to build that into a team that can be utilized in a streamline way. If a client or a band came to us, we would be able to create their logo, do merchandise design, websites, promotional films, lyric and music videos. Basical-ly, just keep it all in house. We’ve just come up to about one month that we’ve sort of soft launched this company and operating under this new name. We’ve got several projects on the table and we’re just busier than we could have ever imagined.


induStry

Ja: do you have any official employees that you could talk about?Gd: Right now I’m working with a guy named an-dre Brown. He’s a young artist from Oklahoma. He helped me out on some of my earlier portfolio work and I’ve seen him grow. Some of the things we’ve been working on together are some of our best work yet so we’ve definitely got some good things coming. We’re working on the portfolio for this company to represent our whole body of work. Other than that, I don’t have any permanent members. I have several people that I’ve been working with but no one that’s directly tied to it just yet.

Ja: So how did you get started in all of this in the first place?Gd: I started at a young age. I grew up being very artistic; doodling and drawing, and that eventually morphed into graphic design. as I got older, my fo-cus switched to the music industry. Working with bands and stuff, I did design, merchandise, album art and things of that nature. That’s what got me into that scene. I was also introduced to film in my young teen years. My interest was there but I hadn’t really sought after it as much. as I got older I realized that was where I wanted to push my work; into moving pictures and visual imagery. Music video produc-tion was what I was originally doing under garrett Danz Film and Design. It’s where I really started to build my portfolio. I was still living in Oklahoma at the time. I got some music videos under my name. I mostly worked on local stuff. Some of the bands were starting to get some regional success, and then as I made the move to los angeles in early of 2012, some of the bands that I had worked with started getting national success. That helped build a foun-dation under me and helped me to move forward.

Ja: What made you decide to go la?Gd: I was 18 and I was working at a little record op-eration in with a publishing firm. I was on a salary position with benefits at 18, but I wasn’t happy. I was comfortable but it was really mundane. So I applied to some film schools and I got accepted. I chose one

out in los angeles. I got really close to the move and then my financial aid ended up falling through. I talked to a few other people who were a little further along the same train as I was and where I wanted to go. They all told me that I really didn’t need film school. They said, if you just start doing it yourself, its basically the same thing.

One thing that really inspired me was this idea that, if you want to be an aspiring anything, just do it. ‘Don’t be an aspiring director, just be a direc-tor.’ you’re not going to be good at first but you can progress. That kind of lit a fire under me. It was like ‘Okay, well I’ll just go learn it. I’ll take those years that I would have been in school and just put my feet to the ground and get coffee for bigger directors and all of that.’ I’m not very far out of that by any means. I still take the occasional production assis-tant gig but that’s kind of where it all started.

Ja: Was it really hard breaking out?Gd: I definitely wouldn’t say I’ve broken out yet (laughs). I’m still in the process of doing what I can to spread my name. With music videos, it’s really all about putting in your good work and showing that you can do something creatively. Once you get the people who are on the covers of magazines and you’re able to combine your work with artists of that calibre, that’s when you start to really tap into other fan bases and you’re able to introduce your artwork to them. That’s what it is to really break out. I’m still in that process.

Ja: is there anything you learned from those as-sisting jobs, being on those sets, working with bigger companies and bigger artists, that you take into your own work?Gd: absolutely. When I first moved to California, I had several music videos, several productions under my belt but when I came here I took a back seat. I intentionally wanted to work lower level positions when I got here. I obviously couldn’t come right in and get big budget music videos handed to me as anobody in la, but I was really eager to work in thosepositions. I was able to see the inner workings of


what I was already doing, but on a larger scale. The knowledge I’ve picked up from some of the direc-tors, is just invaluable. Overall, I’ve learned just how it all functions, how to deal with label interaction, and just different elements that start to produce themselves as your budget and projects start to get a little bigger. just seeing how other directors handle that stuff is really good and gives you an idea of how to hold yourself on set; how to really be the best that you can be.

Ja: your current portfolio includes a lot of work with bands in the upcoming pop-punk, rock scene. What it is about that scene and working with independent artists that you love so much?Gd: I grew up on punk rock. I haven’t really worked with as much punk rock bands as I wished I did. When I was growing up and was sort of fresh with a camera in my hands, these local bands were also fresh with writing their music, so we were able to collaborate. One of the first or second things I shot was a little promo video for the very first EP of this band called, outline in Color. Now they’ve really taken off and they’ve got some big things in store. a lot of the stuff that I had worked on in my port-folio were based on what was going on around me, and what I had available to me. I really want to get into directing and designing for different genres. I definitely have a spot in my heart for anything punk rock and pop punk but right now I’m working on an

EDM music video. So I’m really excited to get myself some new audiences.

a lot of these bands are also my friends so I’ve watched them struggle from playing to nobody and still loving the hell out of what they do. That just strikes me. just anybody who’s doing something that isn’t a part of the average plan and just anybody out there who’s creating something and really making their lives work for them; that’s really where the soft spot would be. as far as like naming names, some of the bands that I’ve seen grown and absolutely loved working with: forever Came Calling. They are just doing amazing right now. They’re out on [The Vans] Warped Tour. I went out on tour with them a couple of years ago, so I’ve seen them go from the level they were at then, to where they’re going now. I can’t help but want to be a part of things like that. The same goes for tiger lily. They’re from Oklahoma. They are an amazing band, an amazing group of guys and are just really enjoyable to work with. I like helping people who are really putting the effort in; bands who are out there, recording music, getting on the road and making things happen. I just love to see that.

Visit GarrettDanz.com and AlwaysEmpty.tv to view work by and get in contact with Garrett Danz and the Always Empty Crew.

induStry

when you start to tap into other fan bases and you’re able to introduce your artwork to them, that’s what it is to really break out.

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new ep from acoustic duo,vocal Few

vocalfew.bandcamp.com


new ep from acoustic duo,vocal Few


ProfilE

sugarspice&

Photo by amy DeyStory by janet adamana


ProfilE

Put on an emily hearn record and dare yourself not to smile; a proven impossible feat for even the most miserable of folk. With her gentle, melliflu-ous croon, set upon a whimsical and darling mu-sical backdrop; so sweet and bubbly, that putting on the record alone can make the cloudy skies part, and force the sun to shine through.

unlike most musicians’ tales of tantalizing dreams of super stardom and a lifelong desire to achieve them; the happy-go-lucky 23-year-old fell into the minstrel’s life more or less accidentally. “If you had asked me about my career goals in high school, I probably would’ve told you that I wanted to write for a magazine, or maybe even become a marine biologist.” Explains Hearn. “Music snuck up on me and stole my heart.” She picked up a guitar in her senior year of high school and be-gan teaching herself how to play, often using the floor of her father’s closet as an intimate practice space. “I used to sit, flipping through chord books and strumming on a cheap old yamaha guitar. In college I started writing my own music, and my friends asked me to play at a few of their parties. Before I knew it I was playing my first show.”

With her 2010 debut EP, Paper Heart, Hearn quickly established her infectious style and solid-ified her own love for song writing. “I knew noth-ing about writing music, but between sorting out a devastating break up, moving away to start col-lege, and discovering new dangerous crushes, I had plenty of emotions to inspire songs.” She ex-plains. “[Paper Heart] started as more of an ex-pression of creativity rather than a career move,

but eventually in the process, I realized that mak-ing music is my passion.” although lyrically, the four-song EP, and her 2012 debut album, Red Bal-loon, both act as snapshots of a young girl in the midst of growing pains; her music is not all doom and gloom. Hearn’s signature is matching sincere, often heartbroken lyrics with playful and peppy pop, rock and country elements, similar to her mainstream predecessors, Colbie Caillat and Dia Frampton. “I wrote some really honest, sad songs but I also sprinkled in some hope and some hu-mour,” she says. “I’ve decided to be an artist that embraces and sings about real life. I want to be genuine, which sometimes means singing about the fights and the betrayals. But ultimately it makes the fun songs that much happier.”

Hearn is currently working on her follow up to Red Balloon; a new, currently unnamed, EP set to be released later this summer. Hearn has always written alone, but the new EP has her experiment-ing with co-writing in hopes of adding different ideas and energy into the process. “I think I have a few co-written keepers, and a few that I wrote alone. It’s a unique mix and a really fun EP!” She exclaims. “It has lots of energy, sass and depth. With each album I hope to convey a little more mature version of who I am as an artist. The more I write, the more I get in touch with that. This EP will be a little simpler, perhaps, than the previous two-- but I think that’s a good thing.”

grab Paper Heart and Red Balloon atEmilyHearn.com

spiceathens, georgia is home to up-and-coming pop acoustic act, Emily Hearn. The down-to-earth, self-taught musician douses her energetic pop songs with the truth and tales of a young girl growing up; giving us a glimpse into the emotional world of a southern songstress.

Photo by amy DeyStory by janet adamana

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CAN YOU READ

AND WRITE?

& ABSOLUTELY LOVE NEW MUSIC?

then do What you Should Be doinG, and Write For uS!hit uP Sound-PhraSe-Fury.com For more inFo.


AND WRITE?

& ABSOLUTELY LOVE NEW MUSIC?


ALL INTHE

PAST

STory By JANET AdAmANAPHoToS By ErIc LEvIN


Ja: Can you explain how the offseason all began?ib: The Offseason began as a project that joe Brod-erick, our friend Matt Foley, and I were working on after our previous band split up. We have been in bands and have been going to local punk shows since we were in middle school, so playing music was always a way of life for us. after our last band broke up in 2009, we decided we wanted to keep play-ing music. I started re-cording a bunch of demos with our friend Dave at his apartment. We listened to them and had faith in the demos, so we found a couple of guitar play-ers from Berklee, went to Providence and re-recorded the songs. These would become what we know as the Goin’ For Broke EP. af-ter a series of line-up changes, joe and I reconnect-ed with our long time friends Mike Wolfenden and Craig Bray to help complete the line up we are today.

Ja: tell me about your new eP, Pastimes?ib: Pastimes is an EP centred around the idea of looking back and realizing that things are different now. We used to hang out with certain people, do certain things, and make certain judgements on

others when we were younger; but now that time has passed, we have a better understanding as to why we don’t associate ourselves with these people and situations anymore.

Ja: it’s been almost 2 years since your last re-lease (Pride and Progress / Goin’ For Broke),

can you tell me what actually happened in those two years that in-fluenced the new EP?ib: We’ve had a number of run-ins with people from our past that kind of reaf-firmed why we don’t like dealing with toxic people. It’s not like we won’t be friends with anyone - I’d like to think we’re all gen-

erally nice dudes - but the time has made us more aware of the kinds of company we should be keep-ing and how the wrong people can steer you away from your goals in many different ways.

Ja: Were there any significant differences be-tween writing and recording Pastimes and your previous releases?ib: Not really. I still recorded demos to start the pro-cess. We picked them apart as usual, and the songs just sort of happened. We did spend a good chunk of time fine-tuning ‘98 but other than that, every-

Q&a

rougH ANd TougH, wITH A TINgE of SPITE, THE offSEASoN’S LATEST EP, PASTImES, IS SErvEd oN A SILvEr PLATTEr of uNSPArINg HoNESTy.

Inspired by the toxicity of terrible friends, guitarist/vocalist, Ian Bergeson, joined bandmates joe Broderick (Bass), Craig Bray (Drums) and Mike Wolfenden (guitar/Vocals), at getaway Recording, to create a pop-punk goodbye and a rock-and-roll F-you to the unpleasant people of their past. We talk with Ian about their hometown of Boston, their supportive local scene, and the story behind their new EP, Pastimes.

The time has made us more aware of the kinds of company we should be keeping and how the wrong people can steer you away from your goals.


-thing came rather naturally. I guess the biggest dif-ference between this record and the last two is how aggressive we play on it. all the instrumentation on Pastimes is played harder, louder, and faster than our last two records. I feel like the songs on this re-cord, and the way we play them, showcases the high energy and intensity that we bring to our live shows more than our previous releases.

Ja: is there anything you hope people will take from it?ib: I want people to listen to this record and under-stand where we’re coming from as human beings. We’re all fans of music. all we want to do is play our music energetically and honestly wherever we can. granted, certain people and situations get in the way of all of that, but we want to come out on top through all of our troubles and do what we love to do.

Ja: let’s talk about the music scene out in bos-ton. east coast america has been known to

birth really notable pop punk bands. What is it about boston that influences and creates all these great musicians?ib: In Boston there are so many different genres on display with a separate scene for each of them. It makes musicians feel comfortable playing what-ever they feel like. There’s no pressure to fit into any specific genre of music, and that freedom allows all sorts of creative artists to emerge from this area. Our friends in transit, Foreign tongues, the Weeds, Ghost thrower, and the tired and true all have different sounds and influences, but the freedom in the Boston scene allows bands be who they want to be. I think that’s the most important thing of all when you’re trying to be a musician. Perfect your own craft and find other people who share those influences with you, because nobody wants to play what they hate just to fit into a mold.

Grab Pastimes through iTunes or at TheOffseason.Bandcamp.com

Q&a

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“The freedom in Boston allows bands be who they want to be. I think that’s the most important thing of all.”


heroes


PhotoS and story By ally SiGurdSon

Without a doubt, Winnipeg’s own kids and heroes have been taking the city by storm.

The five-piece pop-punk band is quickly capturing the hearts of the local music scene; with an intriguing vibe and sound that has helped them climb to their success.

Band members Dan Kelsey (vocals), Cam Wil-gosh (guitar), jordan Ngantian (guitar), jarrod Mikolajczyk (drums) and Kevin Cheetham (bass) released a self-titled five-song EP in 2010, and in 2012, ventured off to Vancouver, BC to record their first full-length album, Chalet, produced by Stu Ross and recorded at Rain City Recorders with Stu Mckillop.

Dan, Cam and Kevin sat down and gave us an inside look into their fast-paced, pop-punk band.

ascension

loCal lovE


as: so how did kids and heroes begin?kC: Kids and Heroes all started in the fall of 2008. jarrod, jordan and I had played in a band together when we were in high school. at the time, I actu-ally played guitar, jordan sang and played guitar and jarrod played the drums. Cam and Dan were in a different band. We had all met through the local music scene and played shows together. Dan was playing bass and singing while Cam was on guitar. When summer rolled around both bands decided to break up. We were five friends who had all the pieces of a potential band, with no band to be in. So, we just made some minor adjustments, Dan handed me his bass and became the front-man, and that was it.

as: What is the reason behind the name, kids and heroes?dk: growing up, a very influential band for me personally, was The Bouncing Souls. To this day they are one of our favourite bands. When we started searching for a new name for our band I was looking through my iTunes and Kids and He-roes was one of the Bouncing Souls songs. It just seemed to really stand out for us.CW: We had also been compared to The Bouncing Souls; so it seemed so natural to take the name Kids and Heroes.

as: you guys put out your first full-length al-bum, Chalet, this year. tell me what it was like to record it in Vancouver?dk: It was the bomb. Honestly, it was the best three weeks of my life. Being out in Vancouver with my four best friends, making music, getting to know new people who we are now extremely close with, who were idols of ours at the time; it was perfect. We still all keep in touch, and we lis-ten to each other’s music constantly. It was hon-estly amazing.

aS: Chalet is incredible. obviously, a lot of hard work went into creating it. What was it like to finally get to perform these songs at your release party?dk: It was awesome to finally get the chance to play all the songs that we had been working so hard to finalize, come back to Winnipeg and let our fans see what we had put so much effort into. Personally, I was really nervous. as an artist, you always worry if people are going to come [to the show], and if they’re going to like our new stuff, but it was a blast.CW: We had released a couple songs but no one told us which songs to release, when to release them, or how to go about doing a release at all. So it was very much a learning experience for us put-ting together something so difficult and trying to promote our band at the same time. It was tough to balance out, so it was really cool to finally get reactions on the stuff we had done. kC: a lot of work goes into making an album, and a lot of things we didn’t even realize were impor-tant, we had learned about on the way. It’s pretty much like having a second job. Then the release day comes and it’s completely wild and worth it.

loCal lovE

aS: What, in your opinion, is the greatest ac-complishment you guys have had as a band?CW: This interview! (laughs)dk: I think the fact that we went out to Vancouver and recorded a full-length album, with producer Stu Ross (Comeback Kid) and Stu McKillop (Pre-cursor), is the highlight so far. We’ve played some sweet shows with some incredible bands that we enjoy, and that’s been really awesome too. But, for me, I think making it out to BC and creating an album out there is incredible.kC: I never thought that our band, who used to play in jarrod’s parents basement once a week, would travel somewhere to record a full-length with people we admired.CW: Our greatest accomplishment is always our next accomplishment, because the fact is, we’ve been a band for a long time, and there were times


loCal lovE

we’ve been a band for a long time, and there were times where it would have been easy to

just give up.where it would have been easy to just give up. Each time we kept doing something it kept leading us to bigger things, and building from our last accom-plishment as a band.

as: Who are your greatest influences?dk: Bands like living with lions, blink 182, Set your Goals, and daggermouth were very influential growing up. I just remember going to hockey and having those albums playing in my car, and knowing all the words to all their songs. Those bands have songs about kids singing their lyrics back to them and I remember wanting that really badly for myself. Now we have that, and it’s strange to think how we wouldn’t have any of this if it wasn’t for those influences.

CW: It’s interesting how your influences change as your band grows. When you first start out, you just want to be a band people will like. Then eventually you get to the point where you want to be the band that tours, or makes music videos, and you start to look up to bands that are doing the things that you want to be doing next.

aS: What do you want people to know about kids and heroes that they may not know al-ready?kC: We’re all really nice, down to earth guys and we encourage people to approach us, because that’s something we sincerely appreciate.


loCal lovE

CW: We’re humbler than you. (laughs) But in all seriousness, we all have jobs that make being in a band totally impossible, so the fact that we are do-ing what we’re doing is pretty impressive.dk: We’re a super tight group of friends getting to do what we love, and that’s so awesome. We have similar, amazing taste in music and our band and fans mean a lot to us.

as: What’s the plan for the future of kids and heroes?kC: Our drummer, jarrod, is gone for the summer, so we plan to focus on some new tunes, consider-ing we haven’t written anything new since last year. We’re going to be taking some time to try out some new ideas, and hopefully start discussing another EP and tour.dk: I’m going to continue growing out my hair. But, touring in the fall is also ideal. We plan to make some more awesome music for people to enjoy. as for anything else, we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing and let things unfold for Kids and Heroes.

we’re just going to keep doing

and let things unfold for Kids and heroes.

what we’re doing

&

Grab a copy of Chalet, atKidsandHeroes.bandcamp.com and KidsandHeroesMusic.com


just jane

Photo by Haley ViningStory by Janet Adamana


just jane

Photo by Haley Vining

Ja: take me back to where it all began, how did you get involved in music?Jd: It was always something I loved. I would stand on the fireplace bricks and make my family watch me sing songs about bugs and anything else that came to me. When I was 5 or 6 I started taking voice and piano lessons, from then on I was hooked. I started writing when I was about 12 years old.

Ja: you’re also a part of indie-pop group, belle histoire. What inspired you to do a solo side project, and how do you manage to bal-ance both?Jd: When I went to try out for (NBC’s) The Voice, I was alone and started writing so much on my own. By the time I had gotten back Belle was kind of put on the back burner, so I decided to start a solo proj-ect called decker, which is my middle name.

Ja: Can you tell me about your debut EP, Clean Hands?Jd: It was crazy doing all of it on my own. Coming up with drum ideas was never something I imag-ined I would do. luckily, joe Dunlap, who recorded my record, also helped produce and brought so much to the table. This EP was really just giving everyone a taste of what I’ve been doing over the last 6 months.

Ja: i’d like to talk about your influences. you have created a really mature and dynamic sound with your debut eP, successfully meld-ing a bunch of different genres like indie-pop, acoustic, country and even some blues, which is rare coming from a teenage musician. Where has this musical prowess come from?Jd: Oh dear, everywhere. I know everyone says this, but I’m one of those people who appreciates all music. I never thought I’d have any country twang in a song, but when you write, you’ve got to do what’s best for the song, not what yOu want to be. your genre/sound finds you. I think I wrote these songs not trying to be any band or anyone and allowed myself to naturally be inspired by art-ists I’ve listened to my whole life. I wasn’t afraid of sounding like someone else, I just wanted to write good songs.

Ja: i know you have a little tour coming up this month. What else do you have planned for the rest of the year?Jd: as much as possible. I’ve always loved touring, so that’s really what I’m focusing on now. In the next few months I want to start writing another EP. I’m so excited to get back into the studio. I’m slowly starting to find myself through this music, and it’s very rewarding.

Q&a

jaNE DECKER SMITH...Is a rare pearl in the colossal sea of today’s overly-saturated music industry. just 19 years of age, yet already exudes a musical expertise well beyond that of her peers.

The front woman of Cincinnati’s indie-pop outfit, belle historie, has had a busy year; with a trip to la and a “lipstick-smeared” appearance on NBC’s The Voice. She talks to us about and her decision to go solo and her debut EP, Clean Hands.

Get Cleans Hands and The Live Bellwether Sessions Acoustic EP at Deckerband.bandcamp.com

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Story by Janet Adamana


com

ebac

Kids

Photo by Kristen Neufelder with encompass StudioStory by cody Almond


sound sPotlight

life at 19. The weight of the world is on your shoulders; you’re a soldier in the battle of growing up vs. staying true.

Vocalist, Cody almond, of Indianapolis-based pop-punk quartet, don’t Call it a Comeback, knows this fight all too well. He writes us a play-by-play with their new EP, Telescopes.


sound sPotlight

This is who we’ve all grown into and what we’ve managed to create out of the little fragments of wisdom we traded pieces of ourselves for.

I really wanted to start things off right away by just having the whole thing full blast to begin with. In my opinion, it’s very much a “driving song.” lyri-cally, it references our older songs. I thought that was a cool way to open things up. It is very much about reflecting on the past, and truly questioning why things turn out the way they do. I felt this was a common theme in all the songs on the record.

To Save His Sanity (He fell In Love with The Sound)

Recording Telescopes was really great. When we had done our EP, Something Worth Fighting For, I had what I wanted and exactly how I wanted to do it, already set in my mind. I didn’t take the time to experiment or anything. This time around on Telescopes, I worked with a great producer named Nate adams (Sweatshirt Weath-er). He had done our last two EPs but for Telescopes we really sat down together and focused on every little detail. He really helped guide my head through the recording process and got me to step out of my comfort zone and try new things.

Never really Alone This was the first song I wrote for Telescopes. I think when you listen to it, you know exactly what the record is about. although, at the time, I had just come home from a summer-long coast to coast tour, I was questioning where I was going. I was

I am in no way condoning the use of drugs to run from your problems. I had lost my cousin to suicide our freshman year of high school. It completely wrecked my world. you already go through losing so many good friends with peo-ple just changing in high school, but then I find out one night that my best friend just gave up? I lost it. That’s really when music went from be-ing about “it’s cool to be in a band,” to me really wanting to make a difference. When we did our West Coast tour I finally had the opportunity

Everybody’s Scared

really coming to terms with my past and learn-ing to be okay with myself. In short, it’s about growing up, recognizing that it’s okay to feel everything you feel, and also knowing that you still have a ton more to learn.


Everybody’s Scared

This was supposed to have been an intro track for a full-length, but when we cut it down to six songs I decided to put it in as a sort of interlude. It’s just about realizing that we live in a very fragile world; if you slip it can come crashing down. To be 19 and suddenly have to be a grown up when I feel like a kid is a heavy weight to bare for anyone. I think everyone struggles with it in their early adulthood.

No good Thing Ever dies

It was a song written when the band first finished one of our old EPs. The song got tucked away somewhere. I’ve rewritten the thing about six times but when I got into the studio for

Take what you can

It’s about something I struggled to tackle for years; my personal “Mt. Everest.” It sounds like it’s about a girl, which it is, but to me, it repre-sents so much more. I saw this person, whom I had put up on a pedestal, turn their back on me. Not on purpose or out of spite, but just because you grow up, grow apart, and the world gets its hands on you and tries to kick your ass as much as possible. People build up walls, get cold and lose that sense of wonder you have as a child. I mean, when was the last time you walked into a puddle on purpose? That was the coolest shit when you were a kid and now we go out of our way to avoid things like that. I think that’s con-veyed in the last part of the song. I’m not really sure how to resolve speaking about the last song on my record. It should just do it for itself.

Everest

to visit his grave and finally bury some demons. I spent about two hours talking to him. On our way back home, the car broke down and we had to take a bus home. I think we only missed three shows, but in my mind it was a failure. It was just some-thing I couldn’t swallow, on top of a lot of the other stress and issues I had waiting for me. Everybody’s Scared is really about this total melt down I had while coming home. It resulted with me locking myself in my car and refusing to talk to any of my friends.

I really felt that, although this song is so dark throughout, the end chorus really feels hopeful and resolves it.

Telescopes, we tried it again. It was really great to construct a song from the ground up in a studio. It was a cool experience that I had never gotten to do before.

In all honesty, it’s a simple heartache song. I watched a girl walk away and a close friend leave the band. It all kind of got jumbled up in my head one night and the lyrics are what came of that. I decided to put a line from a get up Kid’s song (No love) that The Early November had used in Baby Blue. Kind of as a tribute to two bands that heavily influenced me growing up and this EP.

sound sPotlight

Telescopes is available at causeItsNot.Bandcamp.com


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sound, phrase & fury 1.4

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