interskramz is a great label for underground and new music, that is deemed skramz. Giving people the chance to purchase music, listen, share, and broaden their own bands is something the scene is in need of, and interskramz does so selflessly. By paying for everything only by what is ordered as well as out of pocket. And yes, you can buy this shirt.
If there is a band, that I have ever feel so quickly, and inequitably fallen in love with it is Palmkite. I read once, that they broke up, because the four friends went to different colleges. But I still listen to them, their Demo and The Sound of Snowfall are so wonderful, each and every song. With lyrics, and tunes to dance to, and feel, I guess. I hope you're not one of them, and I hope I'm not one of them.
Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate), need I say more? A husband and wife making beautifully consistent music for people to enjoy. I have on two occasions been lucky enough to catch Keith play at a show, the last time, we sat on a couch, and just talked about his music, and how much I loved it. There is not another band that I can sit, and listen to every single track, and enjoy them all so much. I will never get enough, and it will be a sad, sad, sad, day if they decide to stop doing what they love. No interview now, but maybe in the near future, just enjoy the music.
Tim Barrett, is a man I have spoken to for years brokenly, and we finally got together over the interwebs to do this interview. Part of an amazingly addictive experimental, beautiful, existential, band with the hums that make your head sway from side to side, Benthos. Here is the interview.
1. Where did the name Benthos come from?
well the name was created before i even met the two guys who started it.
benthos has to deal with the benthic layer of the ocean
where all the sea creatures and organisms live.
2. With that, when did the band start? And who are the members?
benthos consist of myself on guitar, eric dulcet on guitar, caleb jorgensen on bass, and dan arney who plays drums.
dan and eric lived with each other when i started my freshmen year of college
I didn't really know anyone and i buddy from my hs introduced me to dan, I just really wanted to jam.
basically after my friend dropped me off there I never left.
I met eric and it just clicked.
we started hanging out and talking about music all the time
the two of them had a show booked at a local record store and i just said i would do it
we were not even a band really.
Eric grew up with caleb in Niles MI and just asked him if he would play bass.
our first official show was sometime in march playing just chaotic messy experimental punk i guess.
3. Would you say your first show was the best one you played, just because of the experience of being in a group, or is there a more recent one that comes to mind when thinking of your best performance?
noooo we didn't really know what we were doing our very first show.
it was mostly slews of jams/riffing that were potential songs
my best performance i would say was our show opening up for Tycho
we opened up for him at the crofoot ballroom in july
we got on the show cause we saw on the flyer that they had a tba
without really thinking, we just emailed them expecting nothing to really happen or to even hear a response back.
luckly they heard our music liked it enough and allowed to play. it was really awesome we had 2 months to promote and sold all 60 tickets we were given
all our close families and friends came and we played to a sold out crowd of over 350 people i think.
that was the show were i felt like i was taken seriously and i truly gave my best performance possible. it was a totally indescribable feeling.
4. At this sold out show was it predominantly the Phone Home release being played, or do the old songs from 2011 still come out?
We played both those songs, two older ones that we still feel are a good representation of us now and we enjoy playing. Also we played a new song yet to be recorded.
5. Would you say your writing, or the musics sound itself is different over the years span between releases?
well in the beginning, a lot of the skeletons of songs or parts came from eric n dan cause they were the first to play together
soo a lot of what I contributed stemmed from what they wrote
the music totally changed when were all a full band writing together
6. What is in the works right now? More shows, a tour, new music?
Well we would really like to take a break from playing tons of shows cause we have the plan of releasing an album this summer. I have lots of ideas and 8-9 new potential songs.
Our buddies in Newday dreamers n benthos were talking about a 5 day tour over xmas break
but nooo nothing has been made official yet.
7. How do you feel the dynamic of the group has changed?, You mentioned before that it was them writing the parts, and you somewhat filling in with their own flow, but now that you have been a member for a while, you contribute a lot more. Does that make the songs fuller, or more based in your opinion, even more enjoyable?
well in the beginning it never really felt like a real band, nor a real representation of what we wanted to sound like or write i think
I think as we got more comfortable and played as a full four piece our sound developed more and we got tighter playing together
and this last year and a half has been the most fun ive had playing music in my entire life.
8. Well, coming from that small start, where you would not vacate the premises, to opening for Tycho on a whim, Where do you see the band going now?, Do you see it lasting much longer?
I think we have a lot more to accomplish, a lot I wanna see and do. New friends to meet, new songs that include vocals and grow more and more as a band. I don't see us stoping anytime soon.
On a more serious note, Dexter is a wonderful person, he conducted this interview with me over days of me being stupid, and putting it off, but finally we got it done. This band is full of wonderful people of whom I have never met, and probably never will, that play wonderful music that they enjoy, for others to enjoy. So please listen, read, and support.
1. How did the name Tawny Peaks come to be?
I was reading an article on different porn stars and strippers who had been sued for whatever reason and I stumbled across "Tawny Peaks" who is this really hideous, very 90s looking woman with these enormous breasts who got sued for giving a dude whiplash when smacking him in the face with them and it was funny and phonetically appealing so we were like, "sure."
We always joke about getting sued by her for like stealing her name.
2. What do you currently have in the works after the eight song release?
We have a two song EP/B-sides sort of thing coming out hopefully by the end of the year. One sounds like a weirdo Braid song and one is something completely different that we really like but doesn't have much to do with anything else we've written or plan to write.
But I don't know what it'll sound like full band just yet or what we'll do with layering or production on that one so I don't wanna categorize it by genre just yet, but country seems like the closest for right now.
3. Would you say that is how your writing has changed since the first 3 songs?
I think the biggest difference is that initially Sam wrote the bulk of the parts to our songs and we sort of followed his lead, but now it's more of a collective effort. Like, Charlie wrote a good deal of More Proof and one of the new songs, and Ambiguity and the other new song are like Jonah songs.
The other difference is that now that we are all in separate places we really don't have as much time as we'd like to write songs.
Being in separate places does that make practice, or even a tour more of a harder thing to accomplish?
We've only done one tour and it was only a week so I dunno if it even qualifies, so I guess it'll become more clear how difficult it is when we tour in winter, but we definitely suck at practicing.
4. When did the band start up?, Do you see it lasting much longer?
We started in the spring of 2011. I think we will last as long as we want because we're not the most active band as it is, and we're all in the band as a result of us liking the music and each other, which sounds sort of cliche as far as band interviews go. If we get tired of the sound, we'll write something different. We'd probably just have to hate each other or let it fall by the wayside.
5. What's your incentive for the music?, is it just for the sake of liking it, or is there something more you wanted to do with it?
We are a band because it is fun, we all like playing our respective instruments and playing our songs and playing them at shows to people who hopefully like them.
We have no agenda, and no hopes beyond writing things we are like proud of and that other people enjoy listening to.
6. Where are you all from? How did you all meet?
We're all from Montclair, but are now scattered across the east coast. We all met by going to high school together and being in bands together before we hung out.
7. Do you feel that helps makes your band, stronger, I guess is the best word?
I guess, not especially though.
8. Would you say you're music has influences, or do you just write what you are good at?
Um, we all have separate influences, but I am not sure what they are exactly.
Sam listens to a lot of pop-punky/emo-y stuff and uses a lot of jazz in the way he writes.
Jonah likes a lot of indie and emo and screamo and more stuff like what we write.
Charlie listens to hardcore and Braid as far as I can tell.
and I lately have just been listening to whatever rap is on the radio and Neil Young.
I dunno if what we play reflects what we listen to, and we haven't played enough kinds of music as a group to be able to say if this is what we are good at writing.
Yeah, we do have influences, but I dunno if they are unified, but we are comfortable playing with each other when it comes to what we do play.
9. This may be someone of a restatement of you all knowing each other before the band, but Tawny Peaks being somewhat knew, do you feel that the bands you were all in previously adequately prepared you or, maybe even gave you experiences to make this band better than the ones previous?
The first band I personally was in, I played guitar in and Charlie played bass in. That experience I can comfortably say made this band better because it was immediately clear I shouldn't play guitar in a band.
On a more serious note, all the bands we've been in I would say have made us more comfortable with like writing with other people and like playing in a band.
Like we've all been playing in bands for a relatively short time, and most of that time we have been in bands together.
Being in other bands made little things easier, like booking shows, and knowing people, but as a whole this experience has challenged each of us to be better at playing by itself and isn't an extension of any previous band's existence.
When on one of my musical discovery crises (a period of time when I am obsessed with finding new music), I stumbled across a brand new band named Haverford. Though their music suffers from awful recording quality, I was still really impressed after listening to their only album At Least I Did Something. The band is young, and I really look forward to watching, or rather listening to, this band's progression over the coming year.
Double Jump is an acoustic duo from the middle of California. They broke up after their first album only to come back for more. They are back together and currently writing. Julia Bentley and Joshua De La Cerda both make up this minimalist acoustic two piece. With Julia Bentley fronting the band with her angelic vocals and catchy rhythms and chord progressions. while Joshua also playing guitar adding percussion, rhythm and melody. Their recordings give off a diy type vibe and in this case it seems to help more than hurt. They play their own brand of indie acoustic folk. With songs talking about the dream of love or the nightmare of heart break. Both fitting together flawlessly, going from one track to another hearing the ups and downs of a relationship. Their first album "Back to the basics" is up for free on their bandcamp. They are currently writing a new EP called "Back with scars to show". They recently put out a song from this EP. Its on their tumblr and soundcloud. The song, while still holding on to their roots is a different side of Double Jump. It has a more mature feeling to it. from the lyrics to the instrumentation. These things combined make for an awesome new sneak peak to their up coming EP. Im sure we'll write more about it when Its finished. until then I'll leave you with some good stuff. Add them on facebook and tumblr!
Well a few nights ago I found out that Joyce Manor and Algernon Cadwallader were playing a show extremely near me, only a ten minutes car ride. I quickly recruited my brother and a mutual friend of ours to come along, despite being the only one of us who actually listened to either band. We were, amazingly, able to organize ourselves quickly and etch out concrete plans for how the three of us would go down there and get back, which was great.
Doors were said to open at 8:00, which was exactly when we arrived, though we weren't actually allowed inside for around ten minutes. Standing in line, the shirts were as friendly as those who wore them, The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die and Title Fight among them, a couple who I engaged in brief My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic banter with. We agreed that nobody partied harder than Pinkie Pie. By the end of the night, we all knew that to be false; no pony party could ever have anything on that night. We rocked the fuck out of everything.
We were just at this little Toronto venue, the Hard Luck Bar. The place consisted of a small stage up front and then a bar and a few tables at the back, tables which we would visit in between sets, and where my associates, who brought hats, sat their hats as not to lose them in the mosh.
The first band to play was Dead Broke, a band from Guelph (a city outside of Toronto). The room was nowhere near full, and I would be surprised if there were more than 100 people in there at the time. That being said, it likely wouldn't have made much of a difference had there been a thousand; corpses are just as dead in large numbers. A few people near the stage, myself included, were sort of moving a bit to the music, gentle head-banging and all, and one guy tried to start a mosh, with no success. Dead Broke played some good music, but the highlight of their set was their guitarist/vocalist changing guitars mid-song. "Here, hold this for a second" he said as he handed his guitar to someone in the crowd. After getting out his other guitar, he said "Just throw that over there. Well don't actually throw it, that would suck!" Like I said, they played some good music, and I hope that they can survive the usual crap the plagues young bands, preventing them from becoming veterans.
(I wanted to put a Dead Broke song here, but I can't find any on youtube. I might edit one in later)
It was a 15 minute wait until Stuck Out Here, the next band, started playing. The room was a bit more full than it was before, I'm not sure if this was a result of the time or of the band playing. I really liked Stuck Out Here's music, but I can't really remember much of their set. The reason for that is because, in the middle of the set, a girl I went to middle school with appeared at my side. I didn't notice her, even though she noticed me, until my brother, seconds later, pointed her out to me. Like I said, I can't remember much from the set, but I can vividly remember the conversations I had following the set (with her and her friends), so clearly my brain decided that those were more important. Probably a good call.
Stuck Out Here -- Sober Up Tomorrow
Well I'll skip the conversation and just mention that the dude at the bar refused to give us any free water, or even a cup we could fill from the sink, so we had to buy a bottle of water and just keep refilling it from the washroom for the rest of the show.
Next up was Algernon Cadwallader who, for whatever reason, decided that their drum kit needed to be placed at an angle. Their first some was Some Kind Of Cadwallader, and the crowd went completely fucking crazy. The place must have reached it's peak capacity, 200 people, by this point; 200 people screaming "OHHH MANNNN IT'S TAKING ME OVERR!" while crashing into each other. Their set never calmed down, with more stage divers each song. For those of you who aren't familiar with Algernon Cadwallader's music, you should be. 'Is This Thing On?' placed the song Some Kind Of Cadwallader as the 19th best emo track ever (in his opinion) which has gotta say something about how awesome this band is. They played great and their set was just fantastic.
Algernon Cadwallader -- Some Kind Of Cadwallader
Nothing much happened in between sets. Some guy asked us to watch his beer while he went to make a phone call (you're welcome, by the way), but that was about it.
Then Joyce Manor came on. All I can say is that they completely killed it. I thought the crowd had energy during the Algernon Cadwallader set. To compare the energy during the two sets is like comparing a campfire to an atomic explosion, the latter being Joyce Manor's set. One of the most memorable parts of the set, one which illustrates the force of the crowd, was near the end of the set when the entire right side of the crowd got knocked over by the left! Joyce Manor was just as great as the crowd, no strangers to this environment. It was a real battle to get on stage (for the purpose of jumping off, naturally) because of how insane the crowd was, which just made it even more rewarding once you got up there. I was happy that I was able to be right at the front when the microphone was placed over the audience as we shouted "I still wish I could have seen you having sex in the morning, your love was foreign to me, it made me thing maybe human's not such a bad thing to be, but I just laid there in protest, entirely fucked, it's such a stubborn reminded one perfect night's not enough".
Joyce Manor -- Constant Headache
They say a picture is worth a thousand words (which is probably close to what I've written above), so this picture should probably sum up the show pretty well. It was fucking awesome.
Hellfire Sox is a Ukrainian band who, according to the internet, is a central component of the Ukrainian underground music scene[1]. Since their conceptual formation in the year 2000, by two high school misfits[2], Hellfire Sox has released two studio albums. Their earlier music features hoarse vocals and catchy guitar riffs, and was very reminiscent of the 90s punk rock we are all familiar with. Below is the song We Are Grown, the first Hellfire Sox song I heard.
Several years after their first album's first inception, in 2011 Hellfire Sox released a second studio album. The first song I heard from this album was Misery, featured below.
As soon as the song began, I was struck by the vocals. Departing from the hoarse vocals prominent in their music for the past 7 years, this song features clean vocals. The album as a whole is not a dramatic change from their first album, though I find it to be more diverse in all respects. Their second album, Hellville, feels a lot more like horror punk, and I think is indicative of years of music growth. Hellfire Sox is a great band from across the Atlantic, and is definitely worth a listen if you're a fan of punk rock. Hellfire Sox's discography can be downloaded here. [1] I lost the citation [2] http://www.last.fm/music/Hellfire+Sox (It's probably bad practice to source LastFM. Oh well)
From my understanding; Cody (vocals) and Pj (guitar) got the name from the book.
2. What are you currently working on?
Currently just on new material, I guess. We have multiple half songs we need to finish.
3. Do you have a tour in the works?
I don't think so.
I know we want to, but it isn't that easy.
If we had the time and money, it would probably happen without question.
4. How has your music changed over the course of the band?
Recently, our bassist Daniel replaced our original drummer Darien.
With that came our newest Bassist Dillon.
Both members have done well in their new positions.
We've only recently gotten back onto writing new songs, so I'm not sure we've really changed too much.
But we've only been a full band since March.
5. Oh shit, Well what has been your best performance to date and why?
I'd have to say, personally, and only being one member, was our last show. Each show becomes my favorite because of all the people and bands we get to meet. It's a really cool experience.
6. Where do you wanna be with your music or your band in the future?
I want to still be doing what I'm doing, with the same people.
There's going to be tons of people that think what I do is stupid. Plenty of people aren't going to like this kind of music, or this band.
But I love doing it, and I know the rest of the band does. I'm fortunate enough to be in a band with musicians that are more than capable.
7. Well if you wanted to do something or anything with your music what was it? and did you accomplish it yet?
I've always wanted to be a musician. And I was well aware that isn't the best career choice.
But I've learned that what I'm doing is a perfect choice for me, because I love it, and I know the rest of the guys in the band do. I've just started, but I don't intend to stop soon.
So, I've accomplished my goal in learning that I can do this.
I think all of us want to continue to make more music, and get it to everyone that wants to hear it.
8. How long do you see the band lasting?
I'm not sure.
I would love for it not to end.
But it's probably only a small amount of time until we hate each other too much to play together, or one of us dies, or moves too far away.
We all hate each other enough as it is, so hopefully one of us will die soon
9. What does each person bring to the band?
Dillon definitely brings transportation as well as food and drinks. And tattoos.
He brings a new meaning to bass. He's also actually the best guitarist in the band, but he's stuck on bass.
Cody brings Echo Base. It's his dads house, and our main home. When we aren't living with Dillon, we're at Echo writing, practicing, make terrible videos, and whatever else. He's lucky his dad has a rad house, because he's an awful vocalist.
Daniel, our drummer, brings a lack of hair to the band.
No, for real, he barely has any hair and it is dumb.
Pj brings the best beard. He's the youngest member, and can grow the best facial hair. Fuck that guy.
I, Ron, don't bring anything. I talk down to everyone, and let them all know that I hate them.
An Embrace Of Angels was a short lived screamo band; one which the internet knows rather little about. I don't really care much about the history of the band, and their future was pretty nonexistent, consisting of a few bands which never seemed to go anywhere.
As one of the first screamo bands I discovered (alongside I Would Set Myself On Fire For You and Circle Takes The Square) An Embrace Of Angels provided me with something different, unlike anything I had every heard before; even now, after having dived much farther into screamo, and even into music itself, I still have yet to find a band like An Embrace Of Angels. Their music featured chilling screams and beautiful singing atop beautiful piano melodies, accompanied by awesome guitar parts and viscous percussion, assembling to form fantastic songs, ranging between one and eighteen minutes.
This band demonstrates the power of music; the ability to create a work of auditory art which can evoke so many emotions, even in the span of only one song.
cerce is essentially a completely made up word. the word "serce" is a Polish word that means "heart" and we took that name and just put a C instead of an S because it looks better.
its more round. mmmmmmmmm.
2. Well when did the band start, and who are the members of this fine group, and explain the intricate parts and roles each member plays?
we started sometime towards the end of 2011 but actually got really serious around september-ish before 2012. we got Becca who is the princess of the band so she provides all the pink hair and sassy attitude. she's a great lyricist and is always writing which I totally respect. super good at telling a story and conveying it emotionally through her vocals. Homie Zac on guitar is the resident doctor who loves to touch his patients. one of my favorite guitarists, super solid time, really great arranger and really knows how to tie parts together. super noisy too and every band needs that guitarist that makes all the noise. incredibly developed ear too, that dood knows like every Beatles song ever written. Tim is my boy and such a gentleman. Tim is another one of my favorite guitarists and I think the reason I like him so much is because of his natural ability to really feel on the instrument. Tim brings this really raw element to the band and has literally come into practice with full tunes written. it's bonkers. on bass we got Zach the golden pup. one of my favorite musicians period, really understands the genre, knows his shit, and works super hard. total stickler for tone which I didn't get at first but now I really appreciate the time he spends trying to get us to have a great overall sound. When all is said and done I just play blast beats over what everyone else wrote.
we definitely all have our own role which is really cool and I think the reason we work so well together is because we're all best buddies and we understand what needs to get done to really progress forward with what we do. we all work together as a team and have this crazy interdependence that holds us all together. it's really beautiful.
3. haha What are you currently working on besides a poop?
I'm actually totally on the toilet again, cafeteria food is killer! Since our little baby hiatus, I've been on the road for six weeks teaching drums at rock camps for a company I work for called Camp Jam. Right now I'm in Moraga, California teaching my last week of camp! feeling super stoked. I'm really lucky to be able to teach kids about something I love and help them express themselves through music. As far as what Cerce is working on, we recorded a single cross country style which was pretty fun. I was in Chicago at the time teaching a camp and everyone else was between Boston area and NY state. That track will be out on some compilation we got asked to do and we'll probably release it ourselves as well. We've also been working on new material and cutting demos for some stuff we have in the works. YOW
4. What has been the best show/performance you put on?
probably the tightest we've played/most fun we've had was in Louisville. shit was seriously ELECTRIC YOW!!! the kick off we did for tour was pretty fun too and we played like a million songs. SHOUT OUTS TO LOUISVILLE!!!! YUH!! MADELINE FORD AND VIA ANIMO LOVE U!!!
5. How has your writing style or sound changed?
ohhhh dats a tough one
it's hard to tell when you're in the same shoes everyday and I definitely notice growth with everyone but for the most part we just feel it out and write whatever comes out
we don't really care how it gets written as long as it's completely 100% us and we're satisfied
sometimes it'll be one of us that brings a whole song in or it'll be a collaborative effort. changes every time which is real cool!
6. what did you want to do with your music when you startred?
we wanted to be a pop band
I hit up becca cuz she has a beautiful voice and sus was a mutual friend so everything kinda fell into place
we got zach on bass and then after we found out we didn't want to do the pop thing we experimented with punk cuz I love that shit
and we all just decided to write music and added tim to the mix
basically what happened after that is the material that is on Teen Bible
7. Do you have alot of touring planned?
yea, we wanna get around as much as possible. it'd be sweet to hit up the west coast.
8. Last one, How have you all grown, as a band or individually in the band since you first started?
I feel like one of the biggest things that has happened to us was finding our sound as a group. we're not doing anything new under the sun, but at least we are doing us namsayin? When we first started, all of our influences were very present in our writing style but now it's less mathematical/forced than that. We just play from our hearts and guts so basically whatever happens happens and if we like it, we call it a song. We feel really at home doing what we are doing and we are challenging ourselves to think outside of the box and become better musicians/people everyday.
It's been a really beautiful and rare experience finding ourselves through the music we write. We really love each other and the more time I spend with my friends in this band the better everything gets. As long as we still got that love and are able to do exactly what we want musically and artistically I could care less what anyone thinks about us.
thanks for taking the time to talk about what we do. we all appreciate it greatly. spread love and positivity my friend.
me. no thank you for being a great guy, playing great tunes, and keeping the shit going man
not a problem at all. never take no for an answer and love what you do homeslice. love.
1. Where did the name Things Fall Apart come from?
Where did you come from?
but the phrase was in a poem I read in high school and I thought itd be a cool band name. our old drummer and I wrote a weird 90s emo-ish song and called the band that and didnt do anything with it for over a year then decided we should do the band because our other band broke up
2. What do you have in the works now?
Sorry for the late response! Been super busy. But anyways! Right now we're recording a couple covers for a split with our best friends Light Black and City Of Ifa. Also we're writing for a full length that we're releasing on 12" later in the year and touring as much as possible. And it looks like next year we'll be hitting Australia for a bit!
3. How do you feel your writing has changed?
I feel like both lyrically and musically we've matured our sound a lot since the beginning. We were going in a softer emo direction but now it seems the stuff we're writing with our new members is hitting a little harder, and we love it.
4. What has been the best show youve played so far?
Almost every time we play in Richmond, VA we play better than any other time. Its always a ton of fun and we've gotten a lot of friends there that we really love and appreciate.
5. What are you wanting to do with your music overall?
Just simply release honest music that people can relate to, travel to wherever we possibly can, and meet a ton of new people along the way.
6. Who is the sexiest one in the band?
What have you learned through playing honest music, whether it be about yourself, or the entire world, or just people in general?
We like to think that we
we're all hot as fuck.
Playing the music we do and seeing people relate to songs that mean a lot to us is the most amazing thing we've ever experienced. it seems to make some of the people that listen to us feel closer to us and I love that. I love meeting people at shows on tour.
7. Do you feel there is alot more life in your band?
forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever
for real
but on the real until we go crazy and kill ourselves or some weird shit
8. Whats your favorite kind of pizza?
Cameron: vegan pizza with onion, Jalapenos, green and red peppers, garlic, zuccini, tomatos, vegan sausage
Dustin: Garlic, Hot cajun links, hot peppers, banana peppers, bacon, pepperoni, sauerkraut, tomatoes, and diced white onion, extra sauce
Josh: Mushrooms and extra cheese
ryan: Pepperoni and cheese. (all pizza is good pizza)
