A Wednesday Conversation With Corsair

When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel, the first time I ever heard Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and mean. It changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphany's since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and revolutionary to your ears.

1. What have been your musical epiphany moments?

Paul: I think I’ve got a similar story to your Kiss story. When I was fourteen I was on a trip with my Dad and we went to this antique shop. I found a box full of cassette tapes in the back of the shop and after I was done rifling around in it I held in my hands my musical epiphany. Metallica's "Ride the Lightning".

When I put it in my tape player it was already on "Call of Ktulu". I had never heard anything so evil sounding. There was wind whipping and shreddy solos and evil evil riffs. The song sounded like it came from an ancient time and every time I heard it I imagined a different scenario that this song could be a soundtrack for. I listened to that tape until it was too scratchy to play. I still have it in a most secret place.

Jordan: It was in the twilight of my middle school days that my brother returned from studying his studio art classes at college with a handful of cassettes he had made for me. In that particular moment, I was exposed to a variety of music that was all new and unexpected, but nothing was as bizarre as Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew. At first I did not know what to think, but just looking at the album artwork was enough to intrigue my young mind. The album stayed with me through high school and I would listen to it frequently on the long drives to and from school. I even fell asleep listening to it for a while. It was like jumping into a washing machine and letting the whole cycle run its course until I lost track of where I was. I enjoyed that sensation of being lost and coming back to everyday life.

Marie: Definitely Black Sabbath’s, Master of Reality for me. When I was almost 15, my friend gave me a couple of copied cassette tapes at school. I happened to get really ill at that time and I was at home sick for a week or so, bedridden, reading “On a Pale Horse” a book in the Piers Anthony series, Incarnations of Immortality. I’d rock out my walkman to Master of Reality, Paranoid and Metallica’s S/T and my mind would completely be free of being stuck at home in bed being sick. My favourites were “Orchid”, “Solitude” and “After Forever”. It also made me want to play guitar a lot better than I was. I had just picked up classical guitar at school.

2. Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?

Paul: Rifffs. Gotta have the riffs first. Somebody has a riff and then we  all learn that riff. Then we say "uhh... And then uhh... It kinda goes like this.... Uhh... Duh nuh nuh duh nuh nuh nananana nuh nuh nuh". The lyrics come last.

Jordan: Let’s not forget the irresistible urge to throw in a squeal or a sparkle here and there with a dash of space travel. Occasionally the song comes together as a complete package with the riffs, but for the most part, we arrange various guitar riffs together and play with making the transitions interesting and the movement from one to the other varied. We enjoy mixing things up and trying to make it interesting, but we leave space in every song for a guitar solo to lead us onward and upward.

Marie: For me writing is mostly harnessing the movie playing in my head and trying to make it come alive with music, with guitar melodies or riffs. Somehow describing the imagery with sound. So the idea comes first, next the root riffs, melodies and solos, then lyrics last.

3. Who has influenced you the most?

Paul:  Randy Rhoads
Marie: Tony Iommi
Aaron: Dave Grohl
Jordan: Phil Lynott

4. Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?

Paul:I like to see what's going on now. A Lot of influences come from local bands. I also have a buddy named Nathaniel who’s always dredging up some old great records and then playing them for me.

Jordan: I find that being surrounded by other musicians in my hometown means that I’m constantly being exposed to new music. Whether it’s music that they play or find, I always have someone telling me to check something out. We live in a time rich with much music that’s easy to access and listen to online. Personally, I’m looking backwards for inspiration rather than keeping up with the latest sounds and modern trends.

Marie: I like to discover bands from the 60’s and 70’ that I don’t know anything about, underground or otherwise. I also am interested in what my musician friends listen to, what they find interesting. Other than that, I try to challenge my own likes and dislikes, always looking for new territory within my own headspace world.

5. How has it been to be a woman in a traditional male role in a hard rock band, particularly as a guitarist?

Marie: Not that bad actually! Jordan, Aaron and Paul have always been supportive. Paul has been such a great inspiration and coach (though he would probably deny any part of it) and has consistently been very encouraging of my playing, even when it is questionable what I’m playing or how I’m playing it. Other than that, I don’t really try to think about it too much, I’ve battled being nervous playing in front of primarily male audiences despite being able to shred pretty hard. I just focus on playing well and most of the anxiousness dissipates. I mean, it’s not like I’m the boring two chord strumming girl in the band, thankfully... and it feels pretty good to surprise people. Playing a festival last summer with another band I play in, Borrowed Beams of Light, the sound guy came up to me after the set and said “Wow, you really rocked. I just wanna come clean and say that I had immediately pigeonholed you for a shitty one chord strumming guitarist and had you turned down pretty far in the mix until I noticed your fingers moving. Then I turned you WAY up in the mix. WOW, you are amazing!! I’ll never stereotype female guitarists again!” True story.

6. What is your musical intention? What are you trying to express or get your audience to feel?

Aaron:  I try to get the audience to feel what I feel, writing the parts, it has to compliment the music, and the dynamics have to work.  Once that works, the beats have to be heavy and as honest as possible.

Jordan: We try to give the audience a sense of adventure and excitement while detaching ourselves from everyday life and rocking out to otherworldly ideas through the scope of being a human. I want the people to feel good and leave wanting to get out there and do the right thing. You know, I want the audience to feel empowered and righteous, but with a slightly disoriented state.

Marie: I want the audience to “see” with their ears.

7. Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap, rock and roll moments?

Jordan: Funny you should mention Spinal Tap because for Halloween in 2010, we played a show as Spinal Tap, dressed and in character. If you want, you can see video footage of this on our website www.skykrakken.com (click on “visuals” then “footage”). It was a blast to become them for a night. Paul is a marvelous player/actor. If you watch through til the end, you’ll even get a guitar lesson from him as Nigel Tufnel.

As for our own moments of absurdity, we once played a blistering set in Washington D.C. at The Velvet Lounge for my buddy, Darryl, and Paul’s friend, Allison.They were both thrilled. As was the sound guy. The bartender and the door guy, not so much because they found themselves twiddling their thumbs and casting rotten glares about the room. Granted, it was a Sunday night, but the local turnout left much to be desired on any given night. We left without bothering to talk about money or shut the back hatch properly, so as we pulled away, out shot Aaron’s snare drum as well as Marie’s 1976 Les Paul Custom. AAAHHHHH! Luckily, no one ran over them and the cases did what they were supposed to do. The icing on the cake came a few weeks later, when Paul received a ticket in the mail with a photo as a reminder of the strange face he made while accidentally running a red light in our nation’s capitol.

Marie: There was that time a few years ago, in Manhattan, at a certain club, upon arrival for loading in, we all needed to use the toilet pretty badly. We’d been in the van a looong time and had been drinking a lot of coffee if you get my drift.  Me first, Jordan, Paul and our buddy Nicholas I think. The barman lit a whole bunch of incense sticks and waved them about the club for a good 10 minutes. Needless to say, I was terribly embarrassed.

8. What makes a great song?

Jordan: Suspense, tension, explosions, adventure, an eye in the storm, and genuine lyrics. I’m constantly blown away by songs that make something very complex seem simple. If you can strip a song down to one or two elements and it still holds its own, then you have a well written song.  Whether it be a riff, melody, or rhythm, the essence of a song from which everything else grows has to be great on its own to make a great song.

Marie: A killer solo. Maybe with a harmonized part?

9. After three independent releases, you recently signed on with Shadow Kingdom.  How'd that come about?

Jordan: It wasn’t until our third independent release of the self-titled album that we received an email from Tim McGrogan. We had grown in the studio to the point that we could engineer, mix, produce, and package by ourselves with hand-screen printed packaging. Our model was simply to make the record, have a release show, and mail the album to reviewers to see what would happen. We generated enough buzz to catch Tim’s watchful eye as he keeps vigil over the world of metal’s past, present, and future. He liked what he heard and bought a few copies of all three independent releases. A week or two passed and he emailed us again with greater excitement, wanting to schedule a conference call to get a better sense of what we do and if we wanted to sign a contract.  We were very pleased with what we discovered online about Shadow Kingdom Records both in what they do and what they represent. Their efforts are an extension of our grassroots beginnings, and I hope that we both benefit in the long run.

10. Who today, writes great songs? Who just kicks your ass? Why?

Paul: Mastodon and Baroness. They have such an awesome mix of heavy and beautiful.  

Marie: Tame Impala, Dungen, Mogwai, Baroness, Valkyrie and Naked Gods..

Tame Impala have always hit a groove with me, I like them very much, they are in the same category for me as Dungen who I’ve seen live in our hometown and I’ve been a fan of for years and years. I think Tame Impala are coming through Virginia in February so I’ll try to see them then.

Mogwai, whom I also saw live in Charlottesville this year, are fantastic and loud, they kept my attention seriously fixed for the entire set and when it was over, I said to myself, “Already?!?!” It felt like it just started.

Baroness, again, I saw live opening for the Deftones in Richmond, VA. Shockingly emotive and very energetic and captivating. Yellow and Green is my favourite album because it is so colourful and expressive in many different veins. Kicking ass the whole way.

On that note, I also very much enjoy the music of Valkyrie, from the Harrisonburg area of Virginia. I’ve been following that band’s music for a couple of years now and I really enjoy their music, through and through, always a pleasure to hear.

Naked Gods are from Boone, NC and I first saw them at Macrock 2011 (Mid-Atlantic College Radio Conference) at James Madison University and I instantly fell in love. Superb musicianship and song-writing and exceptional stage presence not to mention really swell guys.

Jordan: I’m gonna throw a curveball here and say Cody Chesnutt. He’s been low on the radar, but I’ve been a fan for about ten years or so. I think his songwriting is extremely genuine and honest with a quirky worldview. He digs deep and gives expression to some of our hidden secrets that we sometimes fail to recognize or admit.

11. What's next for the band?

Jordan: First and foremost, the self-titled album will be released by Shadow Kingdom Records on January 21st. We are currently working on new material and will be headed back into the studio in late January to lay down and develop the tunes. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next for the band in 2013.

Marie: Record the new album then work on shredding on some solos for the album. That takes the longest  and is the most exciting part for me.

12. Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?

Aaron: Cd, just cause I love to order off of amazon.

Marie: Vinyl. I’d love for our S/T to be put on vinyl. Then digital. I haven’t put a cd in a cd player in eons.

Jordan: Vinyl sounds and looks the best and gives you something tangible to sink into while listening to an album. There’s a dying habit or appreciation of putting a record on for the first time while examining the details of the artwork and information. I think it makes a stronger bond to the music. I also appreciate the accessibility that digital media offers and realize that it is the primary source of modern music consumption.

13. Whiskey or beer?  And defend your choice

Paul: I have to go beer because I’ve gotten beat up too many times drinking liquor.....oh AlcoPaul...

Marie: Whiskey if I don’t have to be anywhere or do anything too serious anytime soon. Playing a gig I maybe allow one whiskey drink but it is tough to play complicated notey material when you’re a little too loosey goosey.

Jordan: Whiskey hits the right spots, from the back of the throat to the pit of the belly, somehow settling in the cheeks after running back up the spine. It’s tough to drink it on the night of a show with the hours of down time. It hits you fast and leaves you wanting more, which is a recipe for sloppy fingers, at least in my case.

14. We, at the Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new music. What's your home town, and when we get there, what's the best record store to lose ourselves in?

Marie: Charlottesville, Virginia and your first stop is Melody Supreme, a vinyl only record store. My good Frenchy friend Gwen runs the store, has a great selection of hard to find, rare and unusual records. He also re-ordered me the Baroness Yellow and Green album when it sold out. Also, Gwen has a great accent.

Jordan: I second that!

15. Any final comments or thoughts you'd like to share with our readers, the waveriders?

Jordan: I’m blown away by the level of involvement and participation by the online metal community. These definitely aren’t the average fans and go beyond to think for themselves and give the music thoughtful criticism.  The music then has a separate entity online to exist in another context outside the speaker box, and this helps us to learn about what’s happening beyond the walls of our practice space and the comfort of our hometown.

Marie: Thanks for the interview, thanks for supporting us and supporting under-the-radar music, there is so much out there waiting to be discovered.

Ryan Van Poederooyen - The Interview

Between shots of heroi...coffee, and reading Batman comics I think about good articles. This makes me think about good records, then good bands, then good musicians. My mind spins off the tracks until a neon laced nucleovascular (does that actually mean something?) explosion takes place at the intersection of Bitchin' and Appropriate.

I set out on a quest, I didn't need to take anything, it wasn't dangerous to go alone, but it was a quest all the same. I would interview some of my favorite musicians making music today.

Ryan Van Poederooyen was the first obvious choice for me. He's a great drummer and, being a drummer myself, I notice things like that. He has a new album out with Devin (Townsend, if you're uninitiated to things that are heavy and awesome), and he's just a fucking cool dude. So I hit him up and he was more than happy to oblige my drug induced fancy. What follows, here, is a short sequence of questions and answers. Enjoy.

What got you into drumming, and music in general?

RVP - My Father is the biggest reason I took an interest in drumming and music. My father played keyboards and sang in a cover band for many years when I was younger. My brother and I would always show up and watch him sound check for shows. Whenever they finished sound checking I would always jump up on the drum kit and smash around. My father took note of it and asked if I wanted to play drums... from that point on my interest in music and drumming took off!

Who are your biggest influences?

RVP - My biggest influences since I started drumming, other than my father, would be Neil Peart (Rush), Vinnie Paul (Pantera), Tim Alexander (Primus), Thomas Haake (Meshuggah) and my biggest influential drummer the past 6 years has been Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree). Any great groove or interesting drum pattern truly influences me on the drums. I'm open to all styles of music and drumming.

How did the hookup with Dev happen?

RVP - Dev had Gene Hoglan drumming in Strapping Young Lad and all his solo material at the time. He wanted to separate SYL and his solo material with a different band, since the SYL guys were doing both bands at the time. So Dev got the band together and tried out a bunch of drummers and then asked people he knew around Vancouver who would be a great fit for his solo material. I was playing in a popular Vancouver metal band called God Awakens Petrified at the time. Dev told me that he asked a bunch of local musicians he knew who would be a good fit for his solo material and my name came up every time he asked. He also asked Gene Hoglan about me and Gene gave me the thumbs as the story goes. So Dev got in touch with me, I went out and jammed with him and the rest is history as they say. 

If there was one record that you could recommend everyone listen to, what would it be?

RVP - That is a very hard question to answer, as I love so many bands and styles of music. I'd have to say it would be Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles. That album has so many great songs and I think it was a ground breaking album for music in general. It's such a versatile record being that it came out in 1967. Everything from the sample being used in the middle of  'A Day in the Life' to the heavier grooves incorporated in some of the songs were pretty heavy for its time and the overall vibe of the album is brilliant and very original compared to what was going on in that era of music. The Beatles are one of my top three favourite bands of all time. I grew up listening to them because my parents were such huge fans of them and played their music all the time. The Beatles really struck a chord with me. 

How would you describe your own style?

RVP - I would describe my own style as powerful, yet dynamic while based on groove, precision and versatile chops/fills. I always play for the song, not myself, unless I'm doing a drum clinic. I can do a little bit of everything not just Metal. I like people to know that. I try to be as versatile as possible....  I think that's important for up and coming drummers to know. That is why I get varied Session work from Pop Sessions  to Country sessions to Rock to Metal Sessions. I'm always working on my own style and learning while trying to make what I learn my own, instead of sounding like someone else.

Why did you choose to endorse Pearl drums?

RVP - I chose Pearl Drums because since I was a kid they always seemed to be the coolest drum company to me and the fact that they have always made consistent quality gear for years. All the big Rock Drummers played Pearl when I was growing up in the 80's, so I wanted a Pearl Kit and it stuck with me. The first kit I bought with my own money was a Pearl BLX (Birch) Kit that i still have to this very day and it still sounds amazing. We even used that same kit on the Devin Townsend Band's - Accelerated Evolution and Synchestra. So when it came time to choosing a company that would hopefully endorse me, Pearl was my first choice. I applied and got in with them in 2005 and have been super happy endorsing Pearl ever since! They treat me very well world wide.

What is the coolest place you've ever played?

RVP - The coolest place I ever played to date was definitely headlining The Tuska Festival in Helsinki, Finland back in July 2011. It was a 20,000 person sold-out festival on an enormous stage. The crowd was singing every song while the sun was setting, it was a magical night. I'll never forget it. I have a feeling that this headlining Sold-Out show - "The Retinal Circus" at The Roundhouse in London, England that we're performing on October 27th, 2012, could give the Helsinki show some competition for the coolest show we've ever played..... we'll see. 

What gets you through the tough times while on tour?

RVP - Staying positive and being grateful for the career I have, the family I have, the health I have and all the things that make my life a happy life. We all go through challenges and tough times in life and I think people should welcome those challenges, tough times or fears and take them head on. We're all born to succeed, that's what I believe. So I don't have time to look at anything negatively and if there is a tough time in front of me, I always look at what I already achieved from the past challenges I've conquered and know that I'll persevere and succeed in the end. There really is no other choice unless you want to fail. Who wants to fail ? Be positive, be grateful for what you have and believe you can get through anything challenging and then the tough times won't seem so tough. It works for me.

What's the best part about being in a world touring band?

RVP - The best part for me is seeing the world and meeting the fans from so many different countries. The world is an amazing place and it's a shame that a lot of people don't get to see as much as we do. I think everyone should travel and see how many amazing places and cultures there are on this planet. We're lucky and grateful that we get to do what we do for a living and I definitely don't take seeing the world for granted. Wherever i go I got my Canon 60D Camera with me to take pictures of the places I've been. I got quite the picture collection now.

What are your top 5 albums?

RVP - The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Clubs Band, Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon, Pantera - A Vulgar Display of Power, Faith No More - King for a day... Fool for a Lifetime, Bob Marley - Greatest Hits.

What's your favorite album, that you've played on?

RVP - Epicloud. Plain and simple. Not because it's the newest record but because I think it's the best record from Devin that I've been involved with (in my opinion) and one of the best records I think he's ever released along with Ocean Machine. I love Deconstruction for the technical parts i got to play on that record, same with Synchestra from a Proggier point of view. Accelerated Evolution and Addicted were great Rock records too. But in the end.... Epicloud is just a perfect record to me. It has a little bit of everything that Dev does and every song feels very honest to me. From a drumming perspective, I like Epicloud because it shows that I can do the proggy stuff, lay down some simple Pop or Rock grooves with big, powerful simplistic fills or whip out some crazy fun double bass with crazy fills in other songs. It covers a little bit of everything which is fun to play and listen to and most of all it shows that I can play for any type of song whether it's crazy or simple.

What is one artist we should be listening to, but aren't?

RVP - To be honest that is a very tough question once again. I listen to so much music and different styles that it really is hard to nail down one artist. So, I'll name a couple that deserve more attention. Karnivool from Australia - Brilliant prog band. Stolen Babies from the USA - Kind of a Ska, Reggae, Rock and Metal band with a female singer who plays an Accordion. Both bands are very original with cool ideas and songs, the definitely stick out with their respective sounds. There are more I could list but these two bands should really be heard by more people.

Anything else you'd like to mention?

RVP - I would like to thank all the fans and supporters of the Devin Townsend Project, Terror Syndrome (my side Metal project) and the different projects I do. I can't do what I do for a living without all these awesome people and their support. For more info, videos, pictures and much more on my happenings with the DTP and outside of the DTP.... you can go to www.rvpdrums.com and get everything you need to know about me from that website including links to my YouTube Page, Facebook Page, Twitter Page and more. Thanks for the support and see ya' on tour! Thanks for the interview Dustin!

There you guys have it. I really can't emphasize how much you need to get Epicloud, it's a great album. All the thanks in the world to RVP for taking the time to answer these, I got my fanboy panties all wet.

You can catch him on tour with Dev (and, oh yeah, GOJIRA) in the US soon, check out Blabbermouth for tour dates.

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=181156

Buy Epicloud: http://www.amazon.com/Epicloud-Devin-Townsend/dp/B008OHV6VI

You should buy some other stuff too, I really recommend the "Contain Us" box set. I have it, it is wonderful.

His websites: http://www.rvpdrums.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ryan-Van-Poederooyen/124471080905184

https://twitter.com/rvanpoederooyen

Some videmers:

(Planet of the Apes) http://youtu.be/NCFINl1Sxzs

(Terror Syndrome - Stupidity for All) http://youtu.be/1dreH7rppIY

As a quick side note, my band just released our first EP. You can listen to the whole thing: http://thebanddeadweight.bandcamp.com/music It's music

A Sunday Conversation with Mike Southworth

In a few weeks, Ripple Music artists, Fen, will be releasing their fifth full-length album and eagerly awaited follow up to Trails Out Of Gloom. With Of Losing Interest in the can and buckling our building supports with its sheer volume, we wanted to get to the root of how this disc came to be so awesome . . . so, we went to Fen co-producer, Mike Southworth, for the low down on how he gets sounds from the artists heads into our ears.

Mike, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions!


What’s the history on Mike Southworth? How long have you been in the production game?

I’ve been producing albums as my main job for about 10 years. I feel really lucky to be able to make a living doing something that I love. I went to a music school in Nelson, Canada called Selkirk College in the late 90s and then moved to Vancouver and started producing and playing full time. A couple of years after moving here, I started Creativ Recording Studios. It was a small-ish studio with basic gear but I did a ton of albums there. We’ve now expanded to a 3000sqft facility with two control rooms, a big live room and tons of great gear and instruments.


How did you acquire an ear for capturing sound to tape? Is it something that you’re taught or more of a raw talent, like a musician, who is continually crafting their art?

Like playing an instrument, recording is a never-ending learning experience. Styles and equipment are always changing so you have to keep learning if you want to stay current. I think I’ve always had a good visualisation of what I want from my recordings but over time,  I’ve gotten better at actually knowing how to get there.

Digital or analog recording, which do you prefer? What’s your pro’s and con’s for either format?

Since most of my engineering experience has been post 2000s, I never really got to use tape much. There’s a few people that still use it, and it does impart cool tonal qualities to a recording, but for my workflow I’m way more comfortable in the digital realm. Plus, the scarcity and costs of using tape makes it prohibitive on most projects. Digital plugins have come so far in the past 10 years. At the rate they are improving, I don’t think it’ll be long before digital plugins makeup the majority of the signal processing chain.

When you work with an artist, how much input do you have? I’m sure it depends greatly on if the band comes into the studio with a set idea of what they want, but do you ever try to influence an artist’s direction?

It really depends on the artist or the project. Some albums I co-write, produce and play most of the instruments on - others, like FEN’s, it’s more of an engineering/co-producing gig. The guys in FEN always have a very specific idea of where they are going with each song which usually is a good thing. I just help them get there and do a bit of steering along the way. ;)

Fen’s Of Losing Interest is a full sounding, thick and multi-layered album, and being that it’s your fourth album with the band, what did you do different on this one? What did you learn from recording this album?

Since it’s FEN, there’s still lots of thickness and layering, but we really made an effort to strip it down in comparison to their previous albums. I really used the live room and it’s tall ceilings to make all the instruments blend together. We wanted the album to sound like a hyper-realistic version of being at a FEN live show so I made liberal use of room mics and tracked less overdubs than on the previous albums. FEN’s previous album, ‘Trails Out Of Gloom’, was very overdub heavy and more acoustic based. ‘Of Losing Interest’ is back to more of a classic FEN sound with Nando and Jeff on drums and bass.

How many artists do you typically work with in a given year? Who are some of your favorite bands that you’ve had the pleasure of working with?

I usually work with about 15-20 artists per year in a wide variety of styles. For example, in addition to the new FEN album, I’m just finishing a lullabye album with my wife Hilary Grist, a roots album for Karly Mundy, an R&B/Pop album for Dawn Pemberton & BJ Block and an album with singer-songwriter Ailsa Rose. Some of my proudest productions are Warren Dean Flandez’s ‘Vintage Love’ - Nominated for a 2012 WCMA, Hilary Grist’s ‘Imaginings’ and of course all of the FEN albums! ;)

As a producer, who has influenced you the most? Are there certain producers that you would like to collaborate with?

I’m a huge fan of Jon Brion’s production and playing, he’d be fun to work with. I also love Justin Vernon (Bon Iver)’s work. Then there’s the classics like Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. It would be really intimidating working with those guys though!

Thanks again for taking the time to field these questions!

http://collideentertainment.com/
http://www.facebook.com/creativrecording

A Conversation with Pink Monkey

Pink Monkey are three cheeky, expert musicians who love irreverence and the musical manifestations of said attitude toward reverence in the form of musicians like The Ramones or Frank Zappa. Fortunately, for music in general and me specifically, they also just happen to play jazz.  What follows, as perhaps the above lede suggested, is the Sawtoothwave.com Interview.*

Sawtoothwave.com: If you yourselves could interview one musician, who would it be, and why?

[All] Frank Zappa, he was one of the original musical smart asses.

Your music seems dangerous, like jazz seemingly hasn't been in decades (to most modern listeners, particularly kids)--  like Coltrane and Dolphy getting in shit with Downbeat magazine in 1961 over their alleged “anti jazz” ... do you ever consciously consider precedents like that? What do you think of more "extreme," compared to most jazz musicians anyway, musicians like John Zorn or Peter Brötzmann?

[TK-- Tim Koelling, Saxophone] A big reason why Pink Monkey is so simple and out is kind of a rebuttal to the modern jazz scene. I love going to jazz clubs, but eventually I get bored - there is no reason “jazz” has to be accessible to only other musicians who understand what’s going on, or as background music. We all want to be rock stars!

[MK- Mike Koelling, Bass] Like Tim said, a lot of modern jazz gets boring. It’s just so cerebral that the common guy at the bar doesn’t get it. We would much rather be playing to a crowd of smiles than a few heads nodding in appreciation. We listen to a lot of John Zorn - We’ve even covered a few of his tunes. The Bad Plus is also a huge influence. Most importantly though we try to have a good time and keep things accessible and interesting.

Why "Pink Monkey"?

[MK] We had been playing for a few months and as a band bonding exercise we headed to mayfest in Chicago. After a lot of German beer, I ended up buying Tim a Pink Monkey and told him he had to wear it around his neck for the rest of the festival. A few steins deep I proclaimed “Let’s name our band Pink Monkey until we think of something better.” Five years later, we still haven’t come up with a better name.

For sax:
What type mouthpiece/ sax/ reed?

[TK] I play a Selmer series II alto, Otto link 7 mouthpiece, usually vandoren java 3's with a vandoren optimum ligature

The sax work on Ink suggests a bit of Zorn with Jackie McLean (particularly the intro to "A little bit off") and Rosco Mitchell... influences?

[TK] John Zorn is a big influence in my approach to pink monkey songs. Ne'eman from Masada was one of the first pink monkey "covers" I brought to the group. It's funny you mention Jackie McLean, one of my jazz professors my freshman year of college noted the tone similarities, but I had never listened to him at that point.

Whom do you think you sound like, versus who you actually wanna sound like (besides yourself, I mean)?

[TK] My favorite player, who doesn't really come out in the pink monkey project is Cannonball Adderley. The guts that are present in everything he plays, and sheer fluidity of all of his ideas are something that I continually strive towards. Other influences are Eric Dolphy, Andrew D'Angelo and all of the AACM guys. I want to sound like me though. My approach towards playing focuses more on melodic and sonic interpretation and manipulation rather than technical perfection or speed. It's about more than the notes I play.

If just alto, why just that? Many current sax guys use many types....

[TK] I play alto because that's my voice... It's also the only horn I owned until buying my first tenor last year (I added a soprano to my lineup last month). I've tried playing tenor in the group, but I hear everything on alto, and tenor gets lost in the bass and drums. I don't feel like the other horns speak the same language.

How does that growling through the alto hurt your throat, or does it? (I admire you, by the way, for that. I personally hate to growl.)

[TK] Growling doesn't hurt... It comes from the back of my throat, and at first was the byproduct of playing really loud and overblowing. I started learning to growl when transcribing cannonball in college trying to get the same intensity of his inflections and aggressiveness of his playing.

For Bass:
What type of strings/bass? Influences?

[MK] I play an American P bass special with La Bella flatwounds that are about 5 years old. James Jamerson got a great tone out of it, so why can’t I? My biggest influence is hands down my first bass teacher, Sam Greene. Sadly, after a little over a year of taking lessons with him, he was in a motorcycle accident, and most likely will never play again. I noticed him as the stand out player in the Chicago blues scene at the time. I went up to him after a show and asked him who I could take lessons from to sound like him. He gave me his number and told me to come by on Tuesday afternoon with $20. Still to this day every few months or so, something I learned from him will sink in and I’ll have one of those ah ha moments where something he told me 4 years ago will finally make sense.

Whom do you think you sound like, versus who you actually wanna sound like (besides yourself, I mean)?

[MK] I’d love to play like Victor Wooten. Sure, technically the guy is amazing, but the thing I like the most is that with all of his skill, he always seems to be having a blast no matter what he is playing. I also absolutely love Mingus. Nobody can swing like Mingus! I suppose I’d like to be somewhere between the two of them, but there are so many great bass players that I discover every day. I’ve really been digging Nathan Navarro lately. That guy has been pushing the boundaries of what live bass is supposed to sound like. I end up playing a lot of rock in my other projects though, so I suppose I sound like Nate Mendel trying to sound like Nathan Watts.

For Drums:

What type of drums...?

[NK-- Nick Kokonas, Drums] I play a Gretsch new classic four piece with zildjin new beat hi hats, a 20" zildjin flat ride, my main ride is a Sabian 20" artisan series, and a Ludwig speed demon bass pedal from the early 80's at least.

Influences?

[NK] All the jazz greats, I gravitate toward elvin, art blakey, tony williams (before he went into fusion), current Dave king, ?uestlove, Matt Wilson then billy cobham, Alphonse mouzon, and Peter Erskin.

Whom do you think you sound like, versus who you actually wanna sound like (besides yourself, I mean)?

[NK] I am really not sure who I sound like. I know I don't have the clarity of some of those guys, I play a little bit sloppy for what i want but fell in love with Dave king's playing and I'm constantly working on control and clarity in my playing. Rodney Holmes is always a strive with his tone. The thing that really inspired me was seeing Dave Brubeck at the Chicago symphony center. Hearing command of an instrument like that was an outstanding experience.

Best concert ever of yours? Worst? Describe in ridiculous detail.

[MK] The best show we had was definitely the release show for our live album. We knew it was going to be our last show for a while because Tim was leaving the country for a year, so we went all out. We had name tags for everyone that walked in the door ranging from “Batman” to “That kind of girl” to “looking to get laid”. It was an all out party. We had a piñata that was filled with candy and condoms and did a raffle for the leftover merch stock and shots of whisky. We gave away all of our CDs and I don’t remember much after that.

[TK] The worst concert ever never happened. In 2008 we were on the road heading to Des Moines, IA for our first “tour”. About halfway between Chicago and the middle of nowhere the oil line in our borrowed SUV blew and we were stranded on the side of I80 for 6 hours waiting for a flatbed tow truck. We ended up staying the night in Rock Falls, IL in the oldest, creepiest Holiday Inn ever. That wasn’t the worst part though, since we got there about 2AM we couldn’t buy any beer. We waited around most of the next day for friends with cars to come get us and drive back to Chicago. When we got back we had an impromptu BBQ at my sister’s place, got wasted, then proceeded to a bar to perform the most belligerent karaoke ever.

Who first inspired each of you (musician or not) to play your respective instruments?

[TK] Cannonball Adderley.
[NK] There was a bunch of kids growing up in my neighborhood that played drums. When I got to start playing music in school at age 12 I immediately said I want to play drums.
[MK] I can’t really say that there was one person that inspired me to take up the bass. I’ve always been a groove guy. I played trombone, rhythm guitar, and I even produced techno music for a while. I didn’t discover that my musical voice was best suited for bass until my mid twenties.

Each of your favorite albums lately?

[NK] I've been listen to a lot of now vs now which is amazing stuff. I just popped in Geoff Bradfield African Flowers (a former teacher of mine) again today and that will probably be in my cd player for a week or so

[TK] Lettuce - Fly

[MK] They don’t have an album out that I’ve been able to find, but I absolutely love the treatment that The Dirty Loops have been giving pop covers in their youtube videos.

How do you plan to arrange tracks? Is it pure improv? Do you agree on a key or a head arrangement ahead of time?

[MK] Arranging tracks is a crap shoot with this project. Sometimes Tim has a melody, sometimes, Nick has a beat, and sometimes I have a Groove. 10 Below was actually written by Tim and Nick while they were trying to play something energetic to keep warm in the practice space we were squatting in - in Chicago in February with the heat turned off- while I took a dump. Nick played a beat, Tim started playing sax and when I finished my business I played an active bass line. We usually have a head and some resemblance of form, but when we play we go mostly by feel. We all know how the tune will start. From there it’s like a tornado. The tunes tend to take on a life of their own and I just do my best to keep up with wherever they are going.

How do you record? Do you use the first takes of songs, or have these been played many time before live?

[MK] Just about all of the songs on INK have been performed live many times over the last 4 years. Most of the recordings were first takes. We’ve tried recording cleanly and doing overdubs, be every time we tried it, we lost the energy that comes from our live performances. When we recorded INK we knew we had 4 hours, and that was it. It’s not the cleanest recording, but it captures what we’re about better than anything else we’ve ever recorded. I also like that we each took one track to stretch out and do our thing. Each band member contributed one track independently of the rest of the band. For me that was Pike, Tim’s track was It was Yours, and Nick’s was Apple Skin.

Musically, how did the Ramones influence Pink Monkey? Did they?

[MK] I don’t know if they influenced us much musically, but they sure did influence our attitude. I love the attitude of punk rock. That punk rock attitude of “anyone can do this” is something we try to bring to jazz.

What kind of musical training do each of you have? How did you meet?

[TK] I grew up in a musical family, playing drums before I could walk while Mike sang.
I played Violin for 3 years starting when I was 9, all Suzuki method which is mostly ear training - probably what lead me to improvised music. I started playing sax at 10, in school. I started playing jazz around 12, learning scales, modes, and basic theory at summer band camps. I was fortunate enough to have an amazing public school music program with gigging musicians as teachers who encouraged us to practice a lot. They pushed the talented musicians a lot - if you were sitting around the band hall on a break they would force you to have an impromptu lesson, and would often write passes excusing you from other classes to spend more time playing. I got to play at Lincoln Center with our big band because of this, and my senior year of high school our music program was the first ever Grammy signature school, in 1999.

I studied music, jazz studies and saxophone performance at Webster University in st Louis my freshman year of college, then transferred to University of Iowa as a comm/sociology major. I think the 8 hours a day of practicing I did in High School burnt me out... and I wanted to learn some social skills that don’t come easily when you spend your time shut off in a practice room. I still played music at Iowa, continuing studies in jazz combos and big band.

I moved to Chicago to have access to a bigger music scene, but mostly played guitar for the first few years I was here (neighbors would complain when I played sax). Eventually we formed Pink Monkey. I’m also active in other bands, playing lead alto in a composers big band called The Heisenberg Uncertainty Players, playing and writing horn lines for Band Called Catch, alto in an awesome soul cover/tribute band The New Balance, and with whoever calls me on any given week. I even had a stint with a Billy Joel Cover Band.

[MK] I grew up in the same musical family that Tim did. We were encouraged to be musical from an early age. Looking back it was sort of weird. I actually got my start playing trombone. I may have worn wal-mart clothes to school every day, but I had a pro horn when I needed one. I went to the same amazing high school. I can’t say enough great things about it. You were expected to improvise over changes by 14 and play bebop at bebop tempos by 17. It’s actually the recordings of my band that won the Grammy, but Tim has the medal. We had amazing guest clinicians and got to play gigs with Clark Terry and Willie Thomas to name a few. I played in a section that could play Four Brothers to tempo on Trombone. It’s still probably the most talented band I’ve ever played in. Most of my band went on to Berklee or North Texas.

After high school I went to Missouri Western State College on a full ride musical scholarship, but I was disappointed. As a freshman, I was already one of the best members of the band. I dropped out of school, and started DJing Raves. I loved that the turntable was the first instrument that I didn’t fundamentally understand. Over 8 years, I forgot most of my music theory, but learned to groove. I moved to Chicago with the intention of continuing my DJ career. On a whim, I picked up the bass, and I rarely touch my turntables anymore. Shortly after I started fooling around on bass, I put out a craigslist ad, and Nick answered it. Originally we were going to play as a pop rock trio, but then Nick asked if we played jazz. It all took off from there.

After Pink Monkey started, I broadened my horizons and started playing in other acts. I learn a lot by playing in different genres. I learned how to up the stage show by playing in a kids music band called Super Stolie and the Rockstars, and I learned a lot about networking and hustling with my rock band, The Prime. I also do a fair amount of work on sub and cover gigs. I’m always learning something even if it isn’t advanced music theory.

[NK] I started in grade school band. I didn’t do much jazz in high school as I grew up in the alternative rock age. After high school I started playing hand percussion in a jam band and really got immersed in world music. From that I backed into the kit and immediately went into jazz.
How are you generally received live?

[MK] We are received very well live for the most part. Club owners who hate jazz love us. We do take some flack from some jazz artists, but we know how to have fun. I remember playing a gig with one group that played standards. During their set everyone was sitting in their seat, and even the musicians had a glazed over look in their eyes. We finished with Blue Monk and invited them all back up to jam, and they were having a blast and the entire audience had kicked their chairs to the side of the room to dance.

What kind of fans do you see? Mostly jazz? What kind of t-shirts do they wear, for God's sake??

[MK] Our typical fans are as diverse as our musical palate. My favorite fans are actually the people that happen to be in the bar when we take the stage. They are always surprised at how we sound. We can sure bring down the house in dive bars. Generally, we’ll play more rock clubs than jazz venues. I love the sight of a long haired dude in a slayer T-shirt digging some Monk inspired changes.

What standards did you start out playing? What "popular music covers?"

[MK] Like so many other jazz artists, we got our feet wet playing real book tunes. It didn’t take long for our stage antics start influencing our behavior though. I think Pink Monkey’s attitude was born when we were playing a martini bar and some buy walked out in the middle of our set. Tim followed him out of the bar and ½ way down the block while Nick and I kept things going in the bar. We do play popular music covers as well. The Bad Plus is one of our biggest influences in how to cover pop music. I can’t say we’re anywhere close to them technically, but we do our best to keep things interesting.

Have you actually been kicked out of a martini bar? if so, good for you.

[MK] Not officially, we have been locked into a Martini Bar though. Lefco, if you’re reading this, we love you, but my liver told me we can’t ever play the Blue Stem again.
I personally believe jazz should be energetic, outrageous, utterly, perfectly free to sound how it wants, whenever it wants (which, I would argue, is quite different than most modern jazz fans/players think); what non-jazz music do you listen to when not playing?

[TK] I listen to everything from Radiohead, The Low Anthem, Punch Brothers, Passion Pit, Rubblebucket, Son Lux... too many to list. If it’s got an interesting twist it goes on my playlist.

[NK] I love mos def and blackstar, the roots, d'angelo, lots of bluegrass and radiohead, i dig John butler trio, great players, Anit Cohen (sorry that's jazz but just killer), I am always checking out what's playing in the radio too, you need to know what is going in pop culture wise in this day in age in order to get music heard. Death cab for cutie, foo fighters, incubus (before there most recent album)

[MK] This is a tough one for me. My Ipod always has what I need to play for my next gig cued up. Lately I’ve been digging on some classic Stevie Wonder, The Dirty Loops, and Foo Fighters.

Closing: Yannow, it's nice when a band you're interviewing is more sarcastic than you; you don't have to worry about possible double entendres in interview questions that won't be comprehended and/or appreciated. Also, sorry if these questions were too jazz/instrument-specific. Although if you feel that way, you Philistine and/or Luddite whore, you can totally suck it.

Pink Monkey website

Pink Monkey bandcamp (the entire album is $5)

*I always wanted to say that. It sounds better than I'd imagined, frankly.