Third Degree Q&A

Your name: 
James Law, lead guitar.

Where are you from? 
Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Name of band: 
Third Degree.

Who else is in your band? 
Cathal Gorman (drums), Ryan Connolly (bass) and Sammy Stevenson(singer).

How would you describe yourselves? 
Always a tricky question, we have been called alt rock, rock, pop rock, I don't like to say we're trying to be a particular genre, we like rock and we write what we like I suppose!!

Who are your main influences musically?  
We all listen to different music, but my personal influences would be Led Zeppelin, Biffy Clyro, Anberlin, A Day To Remember, Bring Me The Horizon. The other guys are into bands like Tool, the Answer, Stone Roses, Muse..... Too many to mention!!

What do you hope to achieve in music? 
Being a small local band our dream would for loads of people to have heard our music or seen our videos. We don't ever say we want to be bigger than the Beatles or anything like that, but we would love to achieve the amount of success to get ourselves on tour around the uk, also do a gig in somewhere like America. Would just be cool to say to people we toured somewhere far away, even if it was just to the Barman and his dog!!  
In the meantime we love recording songs and making videos for them, we give them all 100%.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?  
Probably videoing our latest video, we had so much fun doing it, we ended up shooting it on a beach at 3 in morning with all our equipment set up, with more than enough rum and whiskey to keep ourselves fuelled!! Then the next day we videoed back on the beach with loads of charity walkers all watching us, while dressed up in pirate gear with make up!!!  Moments like that make being in a band so worthwhile.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?  
Ha easy, driving 40 miles to a gig that we were already late for then as we unpacked the equipment we realised we had forgotten the bass!!!

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
Our track "Thunder" sums us up. It's a track we really enjoy playing and can get stuck into. It's been played on the radio a few times. Was real strange the first time I heard it come on the radio in the car unexpected, felt great!!

Where can we listen to it? 
http://youtu.be/cq_tEtPIGaM

Where can we find out more about your music?  
Here our a few links www.facebook.com/Koashmusic where we would appreciate a lick if you like our stuff. Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/13thirddegree.And here's the link to our video flamin rum that we filmed on the beach: http://youtu.be/HTK1ZT1lLTg

Anything else you’d like to say that I forgot to ask?  
Keep on rockin on the free world!!

Dysfonic Q&A

Your name:
My music moniker is Dysfonic. My real name is not so important.

Where are you from?
I grew up in small-town Oregon near Portland, and currently live in Santa Barbara, California

Name of band:

Dysfonic.

Who else is in your band?

It's just me. I'm a very DIY oriented person, and I love that with the music I make, I can be in full control of all aspects of the production.

How would you describe yourself?
I make loud, fun, mostly electronic music. While I draw a lot of inspiration in my sound from modern EDM, my first love was rock music and the structure of my songs (verse, chorus, bridge, etc.) comes mostly from that style. I tend to favor quick changes in tone and dynamics, rather than the long drawn out build-up then "the drop" structure of most EDM. Although some of my songs are instrumentals, when I include lyrics I try to make them meaningful, at least to me.
Outside of music, I make my living as a research scientist at a university. With my technical training in the sciences, the signal processing aspects of music production come very naturally for me.

Who are your main influences musically?

I listen to and like lots of music, so my influences come from everywhere. For electronic music I look to the drama of Nero, the energy and intensity of Skrillex, the hard-hitting fun of Dada Life, and the catchy pop melodies of Zedd. The first, most important band influencing me musically are the Smashing Pumpkins: creative and varied sounds ranging from heavy rock to light acoustic. While I don't think my music sounds anything like them, my songwriting thought process and ethos comes from them.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

I mostly just want to get better and better at what I do, and become capable of making music that is competitive (in artistic content and production quality) with the music-makers I admire. I think I'm making progress. Of course, I'd love to get a solid community of fans that really enjoyed my music, but only time will tell if that happens. 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

I recently released my first EP on Bandcamp, called Progress (shameless plug), which you can get at crlsscllctive.bandcamp.com/album/progress-ep

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

I haven't been releasing musically publicly for very long, so no bad moments yet. There are some old music recordings I made a long time ago that make me cringe now. Hopefully those never get out.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

My song Freedom. I think it's my most instantly appealing song, and contains all of the pieces I described earlier: EDM sound, rock structure, meaningful lyrics. It's also the first song that I felt totally satisfied with when I finished. There isn't anything I would change about it.

Where can we listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/dysfonic/freedom

Where can we find out more about your music? 

Here's the full list:
(the nice part of inventing a word for your name is that no one has taken the URL)
https://soundcloud.com/dysfonic
https://www.facebook.com/dysfonic
Twitter: @dysfonic
To download EP: http://crlsscllctive.bandcamp.com/album/progress-ep
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/dysfonic/videos
Soundcloud is the best place to listen to new music as I release it. If you like it enough to download the EP, the best place is the Bandcamp link above. The Bandcamp link has the possibility to donate money for the EP, but much more than money, if you like my music please share it with others!

Anything else you’d like to say that I forgot to ask?

A big part of the little bit of attention I've had on Soundcloud is due to the CRLSS collective that I'm a part of: https://soundcloud.com/carelesswithvinyl. It's a great bunch of really talented indie musicians of disparate styles that release a mix tape every couple of months. If you're reading this blog, then you're probably the type of person that would enjoy their music.

emzae Q&A

Your name: 

Emma.

Where are you from? 

Derby, UK.

Name of band: 

emzae

How would you describe yourself?

I describe myself across social media as a "20-year-old eccentric British lady who uses music to make sense of things" and I would say this is an accurate way to describe me. I write from the heart and I sing from the heart. I spill my thoughts into my lyrics and my emotions into my vocals.

Who are your main influences musically?

I adore music, and it has always been the only thing that has never let me down. It has saved my life on many occasions. I like a wide range of music, my favourite song of all time is probably Unchained Melody. I enjoy listening to 90s Britpop such as Blur, Pulp, Suede and Oasis as I grew up around it and it comforts me. I also adore r'n'b/hip hop and will generally listen to almost anything within that genre. I will always love pop music and will stick up for it forever. I feel as though it is actually the most interesting and diverse genre there is. It takes all the best bits from the most obscure genres and turns them into something awesome and beautiful. My big aim is always to create something that has soul and credibility, but at the same time a super catchy melody. At the moment I adore Lana Del Rey. I think she's by far the most interesting female popstar out there today, whatever people may say about her. Anyone who takes the time to listen to all of her unreleased tracks will change their minds about her. I also have huge admiration for RiRi. I love Nas and Kanye West too. I tend to like marmite characters in music. I admire people whose music and attitude has balls. I like people who are just themselves regardless, I think those people set the best exemples and are the best role models. People say that Rihanna isn't a very good role model for young people, but I think she is perfect because she shows young people that they should just be who they are and not care what anybody thinks. She shows people that you can have difficulties and make mistakes but you can still succeed and be a badass biaaaatch. I also have huge love for Queen Britney. As a sufferer of mental illness, I feel like her recovery has been inspiring and think it would be really cool if she opened up about her mental health more. That is something I feel passionately about.
My current favourite albums are: 13 - Blur, This Is Hardcore - Pulp, Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey, Annie - Anniemal, Solange - Sol Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams, Jay Z and Kanye West - Watch The Throne and Kanye West - Yeezus. One of my favourite songs at the moment is The Hollies - Air That You Breathe. For my new album I was inspired by a lot of classic British ballads like that. I love anything that has minor chords and anything with melancholy.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

I hope to keep writing, singing and creating for ever, no matter what happens. My dream would actually be to become amazing at music production and produce for others. I feel as though there is a lack of big female producers in the industry, and that women are often seen as the 'pretty voice' that can be added to a track that a group of men thought up, wrote, recorded and produced. I am nowhere near ready to produce for anyone yet as I would like to spend a good few years studying and gaining more experience. So until then, I shall continue to write songs as I have done throughout my life.
For my next album I would love to combine my taste for 'alternative' music with r'n'b. I think it could be really cool. But I never really know how to explain music, I just know what I hear and what I envisage in my head.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Without a doubt, the first sale I had of my album Breaking Circles. It's indescribable the feeling that you get when you know that someone has paid real money for something that you created. It means so much more to me because I wrote the album to help me cope during one of the worst times in my life, and to think that something good has come out of it and that it has some value means everything to me. It helps me to carry on and it gives me new life and courage.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

When I was about ten I wrote a load of songs, printed the lyrics off and recorded me singing them onto a cassette tape. I got an old Hear'say sleeve and decorated it with my own album cover. It was called Silencing The Crowd and it featured a picture of me holding a camera, that I had cut out with scissors then stuck a microphone from clip art over the top of. It definitely silenced the crowd, and not in a good way. 

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Wow, that's so difficult because I feel as though I'm still finding myself as an artist and I don't think I am the kind of person who would ever stick rigidly to one genre. If I could choose one song to represent me as of now though, how I feel about things, who I am, where I am right now both personally and musically it would have to be my song I Just Hope You Know. It's my favourite song off my new album and I only wrote it in about ten minutes! I love writing like that, it ensures that I get my true immediate thoughts out onto the page and the guitar.

Where can we listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/emzae/i-just-hope-you-know-album

Where can we find out more about your music? 

You can read about and download my album "Breaking Circles" at https://emzae.bandcamp.com
You can listen to some audio where I describe the background story and concept behind "Breaking Circles" at https://soundcloud.com/emzae/introducing-breaking-circles
You can listen to me in general at https://soundcloud.com/emzae
You can follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/emzaemusic

Anything else you’d like to say that I forgot to ask?

Thank you for the opportunity and good luck with everything. <3 (I hope you add the heart......)

Them&Us Q&A

Your names: 

Ami and Lee.

Where are you from? 

London, England.

Band name:

Them&Us.

How would you describe yourselves?

Lee: We often describe ourselves as a twisted fairytale mixed with a bombastic Game Of Thrones. Ethereal strings and vocals meets heavy drops, anthemic melodies and vocal hydraulics. 

Who are your main influences musically?

Lee: The first things that hit you as a kid are normally the things that never leave your heart - for me it was Guns N Roses, Motorhead, Public Enemy, NWA. Nowadays its everyone and anything. old, new.. but its gotta be good. Music with guts and a political point of view. 

Ami: Mine are artists Like Bjork. Grace Jones, David Bowie - but also heavier artists like The Prodigy. I guess a lot of our music is influenced by the greats, the artists who aren't/werent afraid to push the boundaries. We are very much on our own vibe musically and try not to let too much 'influence' the sound. If we vibe on what we are doing, we keep going!

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Lee: For me I just want to achieve music with integrity, instead of all the questionable middle of the road commercial stuff that's coming out at the moment. 

Ami: Same here. I've been making music a long time, but Them&Us really feels like the thing I've been waiting for. To be able to put everything into something and have people enjoy that is the greatest achievement. Of course, to take Them&Us on a world for would be great too!

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Lee: That's a question that'd be good to ask this time next year as we're still building :-) I'd say our best successes have been the small the steps, like making 10+ tracks. Being a couple, that alone is a highlight considering the energy it takes and the creative space you have to work with together.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Ami: Actually I don't really want to forget anything! Even the hard or embarrassing moments! Things like that keep you human. If there are no cringe worthy moments in your career, you haven't been working hard enough! Haha!

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Lee: Lost Our Heads. I think, it says and does everything I get off on. 

Ami: That's tough for me because there are so many facets to our music that to pick one wouldn't do it justice! We have so much more music in the bag that isn't online or anywhere yet. I'd say our song Heart attack (as yet unreleased) represents a softer side to Them&Us that hasn't been unleashed, but with the same grandeur / wall of sound as Sleep Talk!

Where can we listen to it? 

Sleep Talk (our new track online) can be heard here 

https://soundcloud.com/themandusofficial/themus-sleep-talk

It had its first UK radio play on Eddy Temple Morris's show on XFM. His words were "This is Epic Stuff!"

We have a live version up on our YouTube channel - http://youtu.be/CkV2cASiEcQ

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.facebook.com/themandusofficial

soundcloud.com/themandusofficial

www.youtube.com/user/ThemandUsOfficial/videos

twitter.com/ItsThemAndUs

instagram.com/them_and_us

Feral Conservatives Q&A

Band name:

Feral Conservatives.

Where are you from?

Virginia Beach, USA.

Who is in your band?

Rashie Rosenfarb (vocals, mandolin, bass)
Matt Francis (drums, pedal noise and feedback)

How would you describe yourselves?

We're a mandolin/drums duo who think they're a garage rock band. We're a band of oxymorons (right down to the name) flirting with equal parts beauty and melancholy, folk and punk, and minimalist songwriting and rock and roll bombast. 

Who are your main influences musically?

We definitely draw a lot from DIY and the college rock and indie scenes of the 80s and 90s...Some of our musical heroes include Paul Westerberg (The Replacements, solo) Tanya Donelly (Belly, Throwing Muses), and Superchunk and their impeccable Merge Records label.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

We really hope to bring back a sense of danger to indie. We want to return it to the initial qualifier, sprung from punk, before "cute" and "quirky" became the norm for the genre, and honor some of the powerful female voices of the movement. We hope to carve out a niche with our inventive take on the genre and be the best mandolin-indie-rock band in the conversation. We also hope to provide an honest form of expression for darkness, depression, and failure and in turn provide some hope or camaraderie for people struggling. 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

There was this moment on our first tour where we were onstage and the show was so poorly attended, the other bands just jumped onstage with us and started rocking out--dancing, yelling, grabbing drum sticks and pounding the kit. It was a beautiful moment, one that cuts through the haze of PBR and whiskey and snap you to attention, saying "this is it, this is what it's about." For all the time we carefully craft our recordings and count YouTube plays and Bandcamp downloads, those are the moments I live for. Unscripted; cathartic and beautiful, united by song, by rhythm, and making new friends in strange cities.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Great question...I'd like to forget the traffic and tolls touring in and through New York. Maybe I just don't get the appeal of the city (when driving and parking). I'm trying to think of a misstep in one of our releases thus far, but I really believe in albums being a snapshot of a time and place for a band, as well as a statement on their career thus far. Hopefully we represent ourselves better and better as we continue, but our newest single series is the best we've done so far! 

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Our new single Little Pieces is a good starting point. It showcases our dualties through beauty--of violin with airy female vocals, introspective and melancholic lyrics, and noise--crunchy guitar, feedback, and a touch of aggression. 

Where can we listen to it?

Grab the single:
http://feralconservatives.bandcamp.com/album/the-light-in-the-hall

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.feralconservatives.com
feralconservatives.tumblr.com
facebook.com/feralconservatives
twitter.com/feralconservtiv
soundcloud.com/feralconservatives
feralconservatives.bandcamp.com

Anything else you’d like to say that I forgot to ask?

We have a new full-length coming out later this year, with US touring to follow. Stay tuned!

Reading Festival - Day Three

OF all the headliners at Reading, Blink-182 was the one I was least bothered with - but they turned out to be the best of the bunch.

Blink-182's Mark Hoppus...pic by Jen O'Neil

But before we get there, I have to moan. 

RealSoundsOK has a bit of a lay in Sunday morning before packing up the tent and gathering all the stuff together ready to take back to the car, which was parked a short boat ride away. This in itself is unusual. At festivals in the past - V Festival and Sonisphere for example - I have never been more than five minutes stroll from the motor. Having to take any sort of transport to get there is alien and impractical.

This is compounded when we get dodgy directions to the boat from a security guard, end up in no man's land between the landing point and car park and it takes us 45 minutes walking with all our stuff to get back to the car. There's a half hour wait for the boat back too.

And so this unhappy blogger missed The Story So Far and Tonight Alive on the Main stage. Grrrr.

Back to the music and it was going to take something special to get me back in a good mood. Young Guns didn't do it. They were alright - and Bones is still a great track - but there wasn't enough there to get me excited.

Papa Roach did perk things up though. The nu-metal survivors - although in frontman Jacoby Shaddix looks like he barely made it - kick things off with Infest and them ramp it up with Between Angels And Insects. They're having fun and even though Shaddix seems a little distracted by the female contingent in the crowd, they're on point. Favourites like Kick In The Teeth and Getting Away With Murder go down well and there was no way they could end with anything other than Last Resort.

And so RealSoundsOK is back on the up and we're taken even higher by our next on the Main stage, A Day To Remember. And if you want some praise, here goes. This may just be my favourite performance in 15 years of covering festivals.

Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix meets the crowd...pic by Jen O'Neil

If Papa Roach were having fun, these guys were in ecstasy. The crowd interaction - including singer Jeremy McKinnon climbing into a giant, inflatable ball and running across the crowd - was superb and they delivered their songs with aplomb. Great stufff. I can't wait to watch it back again.

And from the sublime we went to the, well, a bit shit frankly.

You Me At Six were one of my "must-see" bands ahead of the festival, but it just didn't seem to happen. There was something missing. A spark? Charisma? Sincerity? I don't quite put my finger on it. But it seemed others picked up on it too. Yes there were lots of people dancing, cheering and singing along near the front, but even frontman Josh Franceschi seemed overly desperate as he constantly appealed for Reading to "make some noise" and pleaded for crowd surfers.

Maybe the youthful crowd was too tired after two or three days of hardcore partying, but even the band's delivery of Bite My Tongue - a song I think is superb - seemed lacklustre. The whole thing was a real let down.

But the saving grace for Reading for me was Blink-182.

For the purposes of full disclosure, I have to admit I had left before they took to the stage. A three-hour drive home and a return to the day job the next morning meant I couldn't stay.

It really was A Day To Remember...pic by Jen O'Neil

However, I have watched the set on TV since and I'm gutted I wasn't there. Hampered by poor sound to begin with - a recurring problem on the Main stage all weekend - they quickly got into their groove with Feeling This, What's My Age Again? and Rock Show.

Their shtick is so simple. Three guys - guitar, bass, drums - with a puerile sense of humour bashing out three-minute songs. But their act is so polished, they know each other so well, and they are all musically talented beyond their mirth that it is a joy to watch them.

And their charm meant that even when they were sharing in-jokes, you didn't feel out the loop.

They may not be the greatest singers, but they make incredibly good pop-punk songs and deliver them with real fun, verve and vigour. A fitting way to end the festival.

Reading Festival - Day Two

Indie rock king Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys...pic by Sidney Bernstein

EVEN from first thing in the morning, there is a sense of expectation and excitement in the air with the Arctic Monkeys waiting for us at the end of the day.

But that's still some time away. The day for RealSoundsOK starts with a touch of Tea Street Band in the Dance Tent before heading to Lonely The Brave on the NME stage.

Like Twin Atlantic yesterday, it's a tight little set that gears you up for a day of music without really getting you over-excited. I was, perhaps, put out by vocalist David Jakes taking up position at the rear of the stage by the drums rather than near the front. A band needs a leader, doesn't it?

My disappointment was not helped by a "quick" jaunt back to the car that took the best part of an hour and saw us miss Royal Blood. 

Lower Than Atlantis rocked it...pic by Joshua Halling

However, RealSoundsOK was back on site in time to catch Lower Than Atlantis deliver an absorbing set. Kicking off with If The World Was To End, they also performed favourites like (Motor)Way Of Life and Deadliest Catch alongside new tracks English Kids In America and Here We Go for the finale. Great stuff.

We saw some of The Hives as well as Foster The People and Imagine Dragons, none of whom managed to impress enough to make me want to see them again. And I'm gutted I made the decision to see some of these over Don Broco, whose performance - on replay - trumped them all. Sorry guys.

Another tough choice came later on as we decided against watching new kid on the block Jake Bugg (who earlier did a secret acoustic set on the BBC Introducing Stage) in favour of Bombay Bicycle Club. It was the right decision.

For me, Bugg's sound is not original. Too many of his tracks "sounds a bit like...". Bombay Bicycle Club sounded different - with a vibe and sense of fun from their indie rock that had been missing from too many of the bands today.

And, rightly, the NME tent was packed out for them - a cracking feat when the child prodigy was up against them on the Main stage.

The Hives...pic by Sidney Bernstein

Enthusiasm returned, it was over to the Main stage for the Arctic Monkeys. I've always been put out by the fact so many people tell me I have to like AM. And to spite them, I don't own any of their albums.

They are - however - purveyors of superb, British rock n roll music and in Alex Turner - who is slowly turning into The Fonz - they have one of the suavest frontmen in music today.

Starting with Do I Wanna Know?, the Sheffield lads performed a whopping 20-song set as they wound down their UK tour of their album AM.

Dancing Shoes, Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair, Crying Lightning, I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, When The Sun Goes Down were all included in a triumphant performance before an encore of One For The Road, Snap Out Of It and R U Mine?

British indie rock music at its best. Smooth, cocky and sounding superb.

Reading Festival - Day One

Paramore's Hayley Williams..pic by Marc Sethi

IT'S not often you get joint headliners so different from one another as we did on Friday night.

Paramore were up first - upbeat, young, fresh, vibrant. Then it was Queens of the Stone Age - slower, older, cooler and more laid back.

But it worked.

Delayed by motorway traffic and the nonsense of having to park a half hour's march (at best) away from the festival site, RealSoundsOK arrives too late to see Mallory Knox on the NME stage- the first 'must see' band of the weekend.

The wonders of modern technology have now allowed me to watch a cracking set. But it would've been great to be there. And so our first band of the day are Twin Atlantic, who do just the job of getting me back in the mood with poppy-rock offerings.

We also took in a bit of Jimmy Eat World on the Main stage, but not enough to write home (or to you) about. 

We're back there soon enough though for Enter Shikari who are an early highlight. Although the setlist was missing a few of my personal favourites, the likes of Sorry, You're Not A Winner had the crowd bouncing.

There were a few confused faces as frontman Rou Reynolds later paid tribute to the NHS - mainly among those who miss the band's political messages in song - but the band were very well received.

Enter Shikari's Rou takes a jump...pic by Joshua Halling

But after a highlight came something of a lowlight. Aside from A-punk and Holiday, I don't know many Vampire Weekend tracks but was open to hearing a much-praised band. However, as much as I wanted to like them, the music was just too laid back and - to be honest - I got bored.

And so I was looking forward to being geed up by pop-rockers Paramore at the business end of the day. Having seen them play at Wembley Arena a few months before, I knew what to expect - and they delivered, despite the sounds troubles thrown at them.

Kicking off with the incredibly girly Still Into You, they followed with classics like That's What You Get, Ignorance and Decode before the troubles set in. About to slow things down, Hayley Williams' mic went midway through one of her passionate speeches to fans. 

She looked miffed as the boos rang out - against the silence, not her - before she was informed of the cut.

Long story short, she was handed the only working mic and began to sing The Only Exception to all intents and purposes a cappella. She was accompanied by acoustic guitar and bass, which the crowd only started to hear halfway through the track. The drums and other guitars coming in late on actually made for a perfectly framed performance and the whole experience showed what a class frontwoman Williams is.

With the sound back up, albeit substandard, they continued with the likes of Brick By Boring Brick, Misery Business (with fan help as per) before finishing with Proof and Aint It Fun.

There were no such problems for Queens Of The Stone Age - even if the start was a little underwhelming.

Queens Of The Stone Age close the day...pic by Marc Sethi

They kicked off with You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire, a track screamed brilliantly on their Songs For The Deaf album by former bassist Nick Oliveri. But the track sounded gound, the vocals didn't transfer well to Josh Homme's mumbled style.

But that feeling of disappointed was soon smashed away as Homme came up trumps with No One Knows, My God Is The Sun and Burn The Witch.

While Homme's fan interaction wasn't a patch on the talky Hayley Williams before him, the bands superb catalogue made up for it. Little Sister, Feel Good Hit Of The Summer, The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret, I Sat By The Ocean and Make It Wit Chu all followed before they finished with Go With The Flow and Songs For The Dead. What a finish to the day.

decoded Q&A

Your name: 

Derek Jordan.

Where are you from?

Los Angeles, California.

Name of band:

decoded

Who else is in your band? 

Heather Miller and Amy Clark.

How would you describe yourselves?

Native rock. Our style of rock is really organic, genuine and it has a Native American twist to some of the rhythms and melodies.

Who are your main influences musically?

Dead Sara, Muse and Dave Grohl.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

decoded has many goals all focusing on one big picture. We want to be a part of as many lives as we can through touring the world many times over, putting on unforgettable shows for everyone in attendance, and putting out as many quality albums as we can. 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Touring the Northwestern United States with decoded. It was our first tour. We booked everything on our own and loved the whole experience. We also got to play our first festival on that tour at Boise, Idaho's Treefort Music Fest.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

We recently toured through Phoenix, Arizona, and during one of our road snack stops, we bought this pure, no-ingredient added beef jerky. It tasted like chalk and was so dry that it gave me the chills as I was chewing it. It was awful.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Topanga. It's our most popular song and an absolute blast to play live.  

Where can we listen to it? 

https://soundcloud.com/decodedmusic/topanga-1

Where can we find out more about your music?

http://decodedband.com

http://www.facebook.com/decodedmusic

http://www.instagram.com/decodedband

http://www.soundcloud.com/decodedmusic

http://www.twitter.com/decoded_music

http://www.youtube.com/decodedstation

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/topanga-ep/id722010015?uo=4

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

We'll be hitting the studio soon to record a new song that will be produced by Vanessa Silberman and we're putting together a Fall tour!

Magner Tales Q&A

Band name:

Magner Tales. The word "tales" in the name can be read both a noun and a verb. Like this :)

Where are you from? I'm from Russia, Saint-Petersburg. It's rainy town with kind people.

Who is in your band? Hm... let's think... me, and me, and me, and Cubase. Me on guitar, me on keyboards, me on bass guitar, me on vocals, Cubase just plays all I do :)

How would you describe yourself? I don't like to describe myself, so I let others do it. I may only say, that I am enthusiastic and easy.

Who are your main influences musically?

I list some of: David Sylvian, The Blue Nile, Jane Siberry, Tinavie (Russian band), Joni Mitchell, Kimbra, Emery, some Japan music like "Anzen Chitai – Suki sa". Is it enough?

What do you hope to achieve in music?

I want to sing to people my stories, my thoughts. I want my songs to touch souls of people and I want to be popular at least as well as The Blue Nile. There is relatively small percentage of people in the world who love them. Think, these achievements are the best for an artist or a band.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

When I realize that people do love my oeuvre. Besides the music, I write poems (most in Russian, but I'm working on translation), so I'm a kinda poet. Maybe, it sounds funny but, yes, I write poems, and do it well. At least, it seems to me so, ha-ha :)

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

There are no moments I want to forget. Every second is important and precious, every moment is experience.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

I'd represent one of the songs from an album that I working on, because it's fresh and interesting. By the way, I will release a single from an album soon, so stay in touch!

Where can we listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/magnertales/carry-war-no-more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEpoZ5AVlKw

Where can we find out more about your music?

http://magnertales.com/
https://www.facebook.com/magnertales
http://twitter.com/MagnerTales
http://instagram.com/magnertales
http://www.poemhunter.com/magner-tales

Anything else you’d like to say that I forgot to ask?

Just a short poem. It's called "Be my dream".

Be my genuine vivid dream, be as the air or a glint of a snow. Be full of stars, be a vernal stream, a secret of seas with no visible coasts.

Be as a swan in the morning sky colored in sapphire of purest sample; swan that falls in a dawn of July, falls as a dew is slightly trembling.

Be as a spotted gracious bobcat or a mirage not similar to you.

Be my effortless frequent dream.

Is it a trouble for you?