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The Ithaca Underground Pirate House
505 Cliff St
Ithaca, NY 14850
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
HUMAN HOST INTERVIEW MARCH 2009
HUMAN HOST RETURNS! When we last left Mike Apichella, Human Host was embarking on a full-scale cross-country US tour. We caught up with him, now six months later as he prepares for a short east coast trek in March including a stop in Ithaca, NY on Wednesday the 11th at No Radio Records.
Bubba: How did the rest of that tour go for you guys?
Mike: As a whole, it was awesome. I mentioned the last time we spoke that I had to rent a car to do the tour and money-wise having to rent the car messed things up a bit. I’d never rented a car for that long before. But as a whole, the tour was a big, big success. It’s something I would have done no matter what and I’m glad I did. It served its purpose. Many people know about us who’d never seen us before and I got to go to a lot of strange places I’d never been too, let alone played.
B: Like Wyoming and Idaho?
M: Oh yeah! (laughs) Those places were really cool. Wyoming not for shows as much, but driving through that state was probably my favorite part of the entire tour, honestly. It even inspired the title of new song. That area is so under populated and so weird. There are all these geological formations everywhere… there’s nothing like it on the east cost. Idaho is the same way, but much more populated. There’s actually a pretty awesome scene. They have a bunch of really good bands. Really good “Rock” bands, which is unusual; in my travel I don’t come across too much rock music that excites me. My one regret about Idaho is not spending more time there.
B: Really?
M: Yeah, just loved the whole experience of driving through that area, WY, UT, NV, all of which I had to drive through twice. I drove through another really scary place called Eastern Oregon, which is even more desolate in some areas. It’s not even a desert or rocks but just a bunch of dirt and these hills for as far as you can see in some parts. It doesn’t look like there’s any water or anything. I found myself in awe, thinking of the settlers from the 1800s. They went right through this area that I went through called Umatilla, which also inspired the title of another song that’s brand new. Everything was so alien to me. I had a great show in Wyoming in a place called Green River, Idaho. I played Boise at an incredible house show. Both of those I was the only band on the bill. It was a good time; I played for an hour and a half in Boise. The Green River show, I played a little bit shorter because it was an afternoon show and I couldn’t get a place to stay the first time. I was staying in ID about 5hrs away that night. The people that set up the Wyoming show were literally all about 14-15 years old.
B: That’s awesome!
M: Yeah, I think there was one kid there that was MAYBE 17. They had to go to school the next day and it would have been a little awkward to stay there.
B: That’s really inspiring to hear about people that young putting shows together themselves.
M: It is. Every little town has something going on especially in the post-internet world where people are just tuned into everything. Everywhere you go there’s some sort of scene waiting to happen even if it isn’t already.
B: You’d touched briefly on some new tracks that the trip inspired. What do you guys have in the works? Another new album?
M: Most likely none of those tracks will be on the next album we’re going to do. We do have a new album out now called “Creature Mountain” and that is mostly material we’ve been playing since 2006, some of it since only 2007. It’s really great. Musically it’s just as rad as the Halloween Tree. The recording itself is a lot better. It was recorded in two different studios – the first time we’ve used a real studio. Usually we home record.
B: Where was Creature Mountain recorded?
M: One studio called Catastrophic Sound, which is in northeast Baltimore, and another one in downtown Baltimore called 2 East Audio. This guy Jeff Duncan who is a producer who works with us, making beats, owns the studio. We’re friends with Kevin Bernstein who runs Catastrophic, as well. They’re both really rad guys. The recording quality is very uniform, outside of the one track we recorded on a handheld tape player. Otherwise the rest of the album is very clean. Not the songs though. They’re just as screwed up as any other Human Host songs, just the quality of the production was much more high tech.
B: So what else is new? What can we expect for this tour?
M: You’ll get to see Josh perform, which will be something new.
B: What does he do?
M: Well, he sings and makes beats for us - no instruments live or anything. Actually, “vocalizes” might be a better word for what he does (laughs). He’s awesome.
B: So there’s Josh, who sings and creates beats, Jeff who produces and writes beats, in an earlier conversation you’d mentioned Rick contributing as well. What is the process of creating a Human Host song?
M: Lately its been very much people contributing their part, finishing their beats on their own then passing them along to me. The songs on keyboard I write myself, then I’ll either get a live drummer or use the drum patches on the keyboards I have. It’s all very fragmented when it’s being made but it comes together in a big way. We’re very careful with which parts we choose. Josh and Jeff are both constantly making beats to pull from. Human Host is my project so I pretty much decide what goes in and what goes out. They trust my judgment and understand how much I have invested in it. Josh and I have been music together a long time. Since 1994-95 I think. Sometimes he’ll take a break and then come back. He’s been steadily working with Human Host almost non-stop apart from 2003-2005 where he wasn’t involved much at all. He’s been back contributing to songs and lyrics since.
B: How many different people have been involved in Human Host, either live or in the studio?
M: I’m not really sure. There have been a lot of players over the years on the side. I can play with all different kinds of people. People who have really vivid imagination though – that’s the main criteria. And that they’re willing to put up with my megalomania! (laughs) …patient people who have ideas and are willing to share them regardless. The main people have been me, Rick Weaver – he hasn’t contributed a whole lot lately but he produced Creature Mountain. He did so much we were going credit him with production of the album but he felt that we helped produce as well so we just credited Human Host with production. He’s done a lot in the past and his stamp will be felt for a long time. If there were to be someone listed as second in command, it would be him. He, Josh, and Keith – the hype man, dancer-guy – he’s been performing with us since 2006. He’s only made one beat, which is actually on the new album - this great track is called “The Flying Captain.” He has his own project that is still together but he doesn’t make beats anymore.
B: He was a great addition to when you guys came through last year!
M: Yeah, he’s the kind of guy you can set on autopilot and just let him do his own thing.
B: You have toured quite a bit--what’s your reasoning behind pushing the live shows?
M: I’d say the main reason we’ve played shows so much, besides supporting and promoting the records, is to display the visual component of the music. Which I feel is just as important as the music and the lyrics. A person like Keith is someone who really embodies that and it’s good to have someone like that around. Too often people refer to us as a band, when it’s much more of a conceptual art piece, a multimedia thing.
B: I agree! You really can’t just listen to Human Host, you have to be there and experience Human Host.
M: Definitely, and the biggest thing that’s going on is we’re working on a Human Host movie. Since about 2007 we’ve been steadily piecemeal making bits and pieces. After this northeast tour we’ll be working on that project exclusively. We’re not going to retire from playing shows or anything, but we will be taking most of the rest of 2009 off to finish the project. The movie already feels a lot more comfortable than playing shows even. Working in an audio/visual medium is more helpful to us and what we’re trying to put across in Human Host.
B: So is the movie based on the music, more theatrical, or what?
M: It is based around the music, there’s no narrative or story. There will be at least one part where there’s something like a plot. Other aspects will be live footage, visual counterparts to the music, and some portions we’ll make the music for specific scenes. To be honest though, I won’t know exactly what it’s going to be like until it’s finished. I almost feel like its more of a visual album, than a movie. We’re arranging it in a way the same way we arrange an album – when we get enough material compiled we take a broad spectrum of songs, improvisation, compositions, and just pick from them. Whatever fits bests in its place. The albums are barely different from a movie in the way they unfold, “Exploding Demon” in particular. I’ve had many people tell me they could never listen to that album track by track or the tracks by themselves, which is a good indication there are at least a few people out there who get what we’re trying to do. I directed the whole thing on my own last summer. That was a great experience. I’d never directed a film before but it felt very natural. We’ve soundtracked movies before “Mallcrawlers” and “Electric Blood” and those both came out in an organic, good experience that just happened. It just worked in this awesome way. That got us pumped to really focus on doing the movie.
B: Wow. A new album, a new tour, a movie… anything else you are working on?
M: We’ll be starting another album pretty soon. Not sure when that will be done. Wild guess… by the fall of 2009. Creature Mountain is out now. It will be available for download soon and is out on CD-R from Firecracker Firecracker Records. Staying busy, business as usual, and just trying to have fun.
B: For Creature Mountain, which tracks have you been play live for the past few years?
M: Both tracks off the “False Prophet” EP are on this album. “Everlasting Ending,” which is a beat that Rick made, “The Flying Captain” the beat that Keith made – totally genius, some keyboard & drum tracks one called “ITZAMNA.” There’s an improv called “Phogg” which is the track that was recorded on the handheld tape player. A couple songs with beats by Jeff Duncan called “Plastic Food” and “Tree Hugger,” which is a real mellowed out song, which this girl Kim sings on. I perform it live but Kim was someone that used to tour with us a lot but she went back to college. I’m really proud of this album not just in the quality of the composition but how it came out as a whole production-wise.
We’re looking forward to heading up to New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut and we’re going to have a good time on tour in March.
B: Great! A parting question for you: You’ve done several tours up and down the east coast, plus your trek across country last year. Any advise for kids that are pulling together their first DIY tours?
M: Before you go on a big tour, no matter why you’re doing it, make sure you know WHY you’re doing it. And make sure you know how you want to be successful. I don’t mean that just in terms of money but in general, all around. As long as you have that in mind and you really love whatever is bringing you out on tour, you’ll have a good time.
Bubba: How did the rest of that tour go for you guys?
Mike: As a whole, it was awesome. I mentioned the last time we spoke that I had to rent a car to do the tour and money-wise having to rent the car messed things up a bit. I’d never rented a car for that long before. But as a whole, the tour was a big, big success. It’s something I would have done no matter what and I’m glad I did. It served its purpose. Many people know about us who’d never seen us before and I got to go to a lot of strange places I’d never been too, let alone played.
B: Like Wyoming and Idaho?
M: Oh yeah! (laughs) Those places were really cool. Wyoming not for shows as much, but driving through that state was probably my favorite part of the entire tour, honestly. It even inspired the title of new song. That area is so under populated and so weird. There are all these geological formations everywhere… there’s nothing like it on the east cost. Idaho is the same way, but much more populated. There’s actually a pretty awesome scene. They have a bunch of really good bands. Really good “Rock” bands, which is unusual; in my travel I don’t come across too much rock music that excites me. My one regret about Idaho is not spending more time there.
B: Really?
M: Yeah, just loved the whole experience of driving through that area, WY, UT, NV, all of which I had to drive through twice. I drove through another really scary place called Eastern Oregon, which is even more desolate in some areas. It’s not even a desert or rocks but just a bunch of dirt and these hills for as far as you can see in some parts. It doesn’t look like there’s any water or anything. I found myself in awe, thinking of the settlers from the 1800s. They went right through this area that I went through called Umatilla, which also inspired the title of another song that’s brand new. Everything was so alien to me. I had a great show in Wyoming in a place called Green River, Idaho. I played Boise at an incredible house show. Both of those I was the only band on the bill. It was a good time; I played for an hour and a half in Boise. The Green River show, I played a little bit shorter because it was an afternoon show and I couldn’t get a place to stay the first time. I was staying in ID about 5hrs away that night. The people that set up the Wyoming show were literally all about 14-15 years old.
B: That’s awesome!
M: Yeah, I think there was one kid there that was MAYBE 17. They had to go to school the next day and it would have been a little awkward to stay there.
B: That’s really inspiring to hear about people that young putting shows together themselves.
M: It is. Every little town has something going on especially in the post-internet world where people are just tuned into everything. Everywhere you go there’s some sort of scene waiting to happen even if it isn’t already.
B: You’d touched briefly on some new tracks that the trip inspired. What do you guys have in the works? Another new album?
M: Most likely none of those tracks will be on the next album we’re going to do. We do have a new album out now called “Creature Mountain” and that is mostly material we’ve been playing since 2006, some of it since only 2007. It’s really great. Musically it’s just as rad as the Halloween Tree. The recording itself is a lot better. It was recorded in two different studios – the first time we’ve used a real studio. Usually we home record.
B: Where was Creature Mountain recorded?
M: One studio called Catastrophic Sound, which is in northeast Baltimore, and another one in downtown Baltimore called 2 East Audio. This guy Jeff Duncan who is a producer who works with us, making beats, owns the studio. We’re friends with Kevin Bernstein who runs Catastrophic, as well. They’re both really rad guys. The recording quality is very uniform, outside of the one track we recorded on a handheld tape player. Otherwise the rest of the album is very clean. Not the songs though. They’re just as screwed up as any other Human Host songs, just the quality of the production was much more high tech.
B: So what else is new? What can we expect for this tour?
M: You’ll get to see Josh perform, which will be something new.
B: What does he do?
M: Well, he sings and makes beats for us - no instruments live or anything. Actually, “vocalizes” might be a better word for what he does (laughs). He’s awesome.
B: So there’s Josh, who sings and creates beats, Jeff who produces and writes beats, in an earlier conversation you’d mentioned Rick contributing as well. What is the process of creating a Human Host song?
M: Lately its been very much people contributing their part, finishing their beats on their own then passing them along to me. The songs on keyboard I write myself, then I’ll either get a live drummer or use the drum patches on the keyboards I have. It’s all very fragmented when it’s being made but it comes together in a big way. We’re very careful with which parts we choose. Josh and Jeff are both constantly making beats to pull from. Human Host is my project so I pretty much decide what goes in and what goes out. They trust my judgment and understand how much I have invested in it. Josh and I have been music together a long time. Since 1994-95 I think. Sometimes he’ll take a break and then come back. He’s been steadily working with Human Host almost non-stop apart from 2003-2005 where he wasn’t involved much at all. He’s been back contributing to songs and lyrics since.
B: How many different people have been involved in Human Host, either live or in the studio?
M: I’m not really sure. There have been a lot of players over the years on the side. I can play with all different kinds of people. People who have really vivid imagination though – that’s the main criteria. And that they’re willing to put up with my megalomania! (laughs) …patient people who have ideas and are willing to share them regardless. The main people have been me, Rick Weaver – he hasn’t contributed a whole lot lately but he produced Creature Mountain. He did so much we were going credit him with production of the album but he felt that we helped produce as well so we just credited Human Host with production. He’s done a lot in the past and his stamp will be felt for a long time. If there were to be someone listed as second in command, it would be him. He, Josh, and Keith – the hype man, dancer-guy – he’s been performing with us since 2006. He’s only made one beat, which is actually on the new album - this great track is called “The Flying Captain.” He has his own project that is still together but he doesn’t make beats anymore.
B: He was a great addition to when you guys came through last year!
M: Yeah, he’s the kind of guy you can set on autopilot and just let him do his own thing.
B: You have toured quite a bit--what’s your reasoning behind pushing the live shows?
M: I’d say the main reason we’ve played shows so much, besides supporting and promoting the records, is to display the visual component of the music. Which I feel is just as important as the music and the lyrics. A person like Keith is someone who really embodies that and it’s good to have someone like that around. Too often people refer to us as a band, when it’s much more of a conceptual art piece, a multimedia thing.
B: I agree! You really can’t just listen to Human Host, you have to be there and experience Human Host.
M: Definitely, and the biggest thing that’s going on is we’re working on a Human Host movie. Since about 2007 we’ve been steadily piecemeal making bits and pieces. After this northeast tour we’ll be working on that project exclusively. We’re not going to retire from playing shows or anything, but we will be taking most of the rest of 2009 off to finish the project. The movie already feels a lot more comfortable than playing shows even. Working in an audio/visual medium is more helpful to us and what we’re trying to put across in Human Host.
B: So is the movie based on the music, more theatrical, or what?
M: It is based around the music, there’s no narrative or story. There will be at least one part where there’s something like a plot. Other aspects will be live footage, visual counterparts to the music, and some portions we’ll make the music for specific scenes. To be honest though, I won’t know exactly what it’s going to be like until it’s finished. I almost feel like its more of a visual album, than a movie. We’re arranging it in a way the same way we arrange an album – when we get enough material compiled we take a broad spectrum of songs, improvisation, compositions, and just pick from them. Whatever fits bests in its place. The albums are barely different from a movie in the way they unfold, “Exploding Demon” in particular. I’ve had many people tell me they could never listen to that album track by track or the tracks by themselves, which is a good indication there are at least a few people out there who get what we’re trying to do. I directed the whole thing on my own last summer. That was a great experience. I’d never directed a film before but it felt very natural. We’ve soundtracked movies before “Mallcrawlers” and “Electric Blood” and those both came out in an organic, good experience that just happened. It just worked in this awesome way. That got us pumped to really focus on doing the movie.
B: Wow. A new album, a new tour, a movie… anything else you are working on?
M: We’ll be starting another album pretty soon. Not sure when that will be done. Wild guess… by the fall of 2009. Creature Mountain is out now. It will be available for download soon and is out on CD-R from Firecracker Firecracker Records. Staying busy, business as usual, and just trying to have fun.
B: For Creature Mountain, which tracks have you been play live for the past few years?
M: Both tracks off the “False Prophet” EP are on this album. “Everlasting Ending,” which is a beat that Rick made, “The Flying Captain” the beat that Keith made – totally genius, some keyboard & drum tracks one called “ITZAMNA.” There’s an improv called “Phogg” which is the track that was recorded on the handheld tape player. A couple songs with beats by Jeff Duncan called “Plastic Food” and “Tree Hugger,” which is a real mellowed out song, which this girl Kim sings on. I perform it live but Kim was someone that used to tour with us a lot but she went back to college. I’m really proud of this album not just in the quality of the composition but how it came out as a whole production-wise.
We’re looking forward to heading up to New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut and we’re going to have a good time on tour in March.
B: Great! A parting question for you: You’ve done several tours up and down the east coast, plus your trek across country last year. Any advise for kids that are pulling together their first DIY tours?
M: Before you go on a big tour, no matter why you’re doing it, make sure you know WHY you’re doing it. And make sure you know how you want to be successful. I don’t mean that just in terms of money but in general, all around. As long as you have that in mind and you really love whatever is bringing you out on tour, you’ll have a good time.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Interview with ROSETTA!!!
Bubba: Thanks for agreeing to do the interview and all getting involved! I’d like to start by getting some background from each member. Are you all self taught,? Some lessons? Any theory or college training?
Matt: I was classically taught as a kid; played violin for 10 years, self-taught at guitar for the last 12 years. Lots of theory/composition training in both high school and college.
BJ: I started on the trumpet in elementary school, gave it up, picked up the drums, took lessons for around 4 or 5 years, and then self-taught myself guitar, bass, and piano.
Dave: I took piano lessons for a year or two when I was a kid and guitar lessons for two years.
Armine: The only training I have in sampling is endless hours of playing with music programs on my computer, the results are nothing more than experiments gone right. Nothing I do sample wise is standard, and to this day I do not think I'm even using the programs I have properly. The only piece of equipment I can honestly say that I know how to use is my Roland SP808.
When Rosetta formed, did you set out determined to create the sound you've developed or was it a gradual process?
Matt: I think we set out to be one thing, and it became something totally different. That feels pretty authentic because it seemed like our true musical personalities were a stronger force than whatever arbitrary style decisions we had made in our heads.
For "sound manipulation" what gear does Michel use?
Roland Jazz chorus
2 Roland SP808s
Ableton Live 7
A few analog effects pedals
Midi-keyboards and effects racks.
Any unique effect pedals/rack units you and/or Matthew use to get your sound?
Matt: Almost all of my stuff is modified. I'm also a self-taught electronics hobbyist, and I mod/repair my own guitars, amps, and pedals. I joke that my favorite instrument is the soldering iron. I use a heavily modified TSL 100 amp (my own specs, one of a kind) for all the different distortion sounds --- all the effects are in front of the amp. I use a lot of delay effects piled on top of each other to create a wall of sound, but it always has to be tightly controlled because it gets washed-out otherwise. Another big part is using a slave bass amp with the guitar setup, since we tune so low that regular guitar cabs can't reproduce the lowest frequencies. That makes the live sound bigger.
What do you each do outside of Rosetta?
Matt: I'm an administrator and advisor for the undergraduate Art History & Visual Studies programs at UPenn. I also work on bikes.
BJ: I freelance graphic design/web programming along with various music composition, and part-time at a local starbucks coffee.
Dave: Sadly I have a crappy job in retail sales right now.
Armine: History Teacher. At the start of the summer of 2009 Grad Student.
On your website the band has a strong manifesto emphasizing DIY and denouncing the music and ad industries. I have a few questions in regards to this.
Were each of you raised with in DIY, find it as a tool to reject what you were told to abide by, or something else entirely?
Matt: For me, DIY was never about rebellion, it was just pragmatism. You know, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. That applies to recording, touring, equipment maintenance, ANYTHING. I just have a desire to learn as much as I can and develop new skills. The other thing is that DIY has two fronts: first, you develop your own skills, and second, you start to realize how often you're getting screwed by other people who are trying to sell you those
services. Those two things cyclically reinforce each other over time.
How does a band like yourselves keep true to your own DIY ethics as you get more popular while more and more is asked of you and offered to you?
Matt: By being old, lame, and married, and not devoting my whole life to touring (ha). For me it's about establishing personal boundaries.
BJ: I just play the drums and enjoy the music and the people.
Armine: DIY as I apply it to Rosetta is the avenue that we need travel to achieve the dream we all had growing up in Philadelphia during the 90s. There were 3 really solid DIY venues in the city that ran consistently for 6 or so years. The First Unitarian Church still does DIY shows to this day. Those venues and the people running them along with the bands of that era really set the tone for what we wanted out of our bands in the future. The way we interacted in music
then is what we dreamed being in a band would be like when we finally had one. It's simply a way, at least for me personally, to live out the dream. It's unfortunate that so much as changed so quickly. Hardcore has become a modern day Gap catalog where it's bought and sold without any reference to the values we once associated it with. This ethic is also a matter of pride for me. Rosetta represents me, and I represent it. In no way do I want to personify either myself
or the band with what is currently known as "hardcore". Someone found a way to make a quick buck off of it, and it's destroying what we believed in so long ago. Kind of like how Bam and others like him have destroyed skateboarding culture by making it marketable and appealing on just an aesthetic value, not a cultural one.
Favorite aspect of running the band and booking shows yourselves?
BJ: we don't really have anyone member 'running' the band, but Dave usually books all the shows, and Armine helps a bit.
Matt: Democracy in action.
I personally enjoy the creative ties the lyrics and themes have with astronomy and space. Do any of you have backgrounds, hobbies, or favorite literary works in these areas?
Matt: 2001 - A Space Odyssey is obviously huge, although none of us had read it until after TGS came out.
I see you'll be headed to Europe. Is this your first trip?
BJ: I think that Armine and Matt have been before, don't know about Dave. But this will be only my 2nd time out of the country. Our Australian tour was my first. I'm excited.
Armine: When I was 24 I spent a week in Paris. I'm really looking forward to that trip but am very disappointed that we will only be these cities for just one night.
What’s the scariest thing you’ve seen or encountered on tour?
BJ: having to take Armine to the hospital in the middle of no where in the middle of tour.
Armine: Almost dying in the middle of nowhere on tour.
Matt: Williamsburg.
Going back a few years, how did Translation Loss take to releasing your debut as a double album?
BJ: they were actually really excited, I don't think they knew what they were getting themselves into when they agreed to the project. I just remember Drew just wanting to release something of ours.
Would you ever do a project that large again?
Matt: Nope.
I heard at one point you might do a split with Souvenir's Young America. Is there any truth to that and will it ever see the light of day?
BJ: I think there was something planned, but various projects had to be dropped or postponed, cause we have a couple other projects coming out in a small time span.
Matt: We just didn’t have the time and resources to complete it in a way that would actually help SYA. We had taken on too much during that time.
Any material that is in process?
BJ: We just started writing for the next record. Starting to play a couple of them live. I think we're heading in to record hopefully at the end of the summer following the European tour, but dates get shuffled around so much that I'm not sure
now.
Matt: Yeah, summer. We have three new songs, and will probably do three more before we record. We’re also incredibly lazy about recording so who knows.
We’ll look forward to it, whatever schedule you’re able to record and release it. Thanks again for your time!!
For our readers, come out and support Rosetta with Snowstorm, Dance-A-Tron, Chutzpah, and The DeVilles for the second Ithaca Underground All Ages Saturday at The Haunt on Feb 28th.
Doors @ 5.
Matt: I was classically taught as a kid; played violin for 10 years, self-taught at guitar for the last 12 years. Lots of theory/composition training in both high school and college.
BJ: I started on the trumpet in elementary school, gave it up, picked up the drums, took lessons for around 4 or 5 years, and then self-taught myself guitar, bass, and piano.
Dave: I took piano lessons for a year or two when I was a kid and guitar lessons for two years.
Armine: The only training I have in sampling is endless hours of playing with music programs on my computer, the results are nothing more than experiments gone right. Nothing I do sample wise is standard, and to this day I do not think I'm even using the programs I have properly. The only piece of equipment I can honestly say that I know how to use is my Roland SP808.
When Rosetta formed, did you set out determined to create the sound you've developed or was it a gradual process?
Matt: I think we set out to be one thing, and it became something totally different. That feels pretty authentic because it seemed like our true musical personalities were a stronger force than whatever arbitrary style decisions we had made in our heads.
For "sound manipulation" what gear does Michel use?
Roland Jazz chorus
2 Roland SP808s
Ableton Live 7
A few analog effects pedals
Midi-keyboards and effects racks.
Any unique effect pedals/rack units you and/or Matthew use to get your sound?
Matt: Almost all of my stuff is modified. I'm also a self-taught electronics hobbyist, and I mod/repair my own guitars, amps, and pedals. I joke that my favorite instrument is the soldering iron. I use a heavily modified TSL 100 amp (my own specs, one of a kind) for all the different distortion sounds --- all the effects are in front of the amp. I use a lot of delay effects piled on top of each other to create a wall of sound, but it always has to be tightly controlled because it gets washed-out otherwise. Another big part is using a slave bass amp with the guitar setup, since we tune so low that regular guitar cabs can't reproduce the lowest frequencies. That makes the live sound bigger.
What do you each do outside of Rosetta?
Matt: I'm an administrator and advisor for the undergraduate Art History & Visual Studies programs at UPenn. I also work on bikes.
BJ: I freelance graphic design/web programming along with various music composition, and part-time at a local starbucks coffee.
Dave: Sadly I have a crappy job in retail sales right now.
Armine: History Teacher. At the start of the summer of 2009 Grad Student.
On your website the band has a strong manifesto emphasizing DIY and denouncing the music and ad industries. I have a few questions in regards to this.
Were each of you raised with in DIY, find it as a tool to reject what you were told to abide by, or something else entirely?
Matt: For me, DIY was never about rebellion, it was just pragmatism. You know, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. That applies to recording, touring, equipment maintenance, ANYTHING. I just have a desire to learn as much as I can and develop new skills. The other thing is that DIY has two fronts: first, you develop your own skills, and second, you start to realize how often you're getting screwed by other people who are trying to sell you those
services. Those two things cyclically reinforce each other over time.
How does a band like yourselves keep true to your own DIY ethics as you get more popular while more and more is asked of you and offered to you?
Matt: By being old, lame, and married, and not devoting my whole life to touring (ha). For me it's about establishing personal boundaries.
BJ: I just play the drums and enjoy the music and the people.
Armine: DIY as I apply it to Rosetta is the avenue that we need travel to achieve the dream we all had growing up in Philadelphia during the 90s. There were 3 really solid DIY venues in the city that ran consistently for 6 or so years. The First Unitarian Church still does DIY shows to this day. Those venues and the people running them along with the bands of that era really set the tone for what we wanted out of our bands in the future. The way we interacted in music
then is what we dreamed being in a band would be like when we finally had one. It's simply a way, at least for me personally, to live out the dream. It's unfortunate that so much as changed so quickly. Hardcore has become a modern day Gap catalog where it's bought and sold without any reference to the values we once associated it with. This ethic is also a matter of pride for me. Rosetta represents me, and I represent it. In no way do I want to personify either myself
or the band with what is currently known as "hardcore". Someone found a way to make a quick buck off of it, and it's destroying what we believed in so long ago. Kind of like how Bam and others like him have destroyed skateboarding culture by making it marketable and appealing on just an aesthetic value, not a cultural one.
Favorite aspect of running the band and booking shows yourselves?
BJ: we don't really have anyone member 'running' the band, but Dave usually books all the shows, and Armine helps a bit.
Matt: Democracy in action.
I personally enjoy the creative ties the lyrics and themes have with astronomy and space. Do any of you have backgrounds, hobbies, or favorite literary works in these areas?
Matt: 2001 - A Space Odyssey is obviously huge, although none of us had read it until after TGS came out.
I see you'll be headed to Europe. Is this your first trip?
BJ: I think that Armine and Matt have been before, don't know about Dave. But this will be only my 2nd time out of the country. Our Australian tour was my first. I'm excited.
Armine: When I was 24 I spent a week in Paris. I'm really looking forward to that trip but am very disappointed that we will only be these cities for just one night.
What’s the scariest thing you’ve seen or encountered on tour?
BJ: having to take Armine to the hospital in the middle of no where in the middle of tour.
Armine: Almost dying in the middle of nowhere on tour.
Matt: Williamsburg.
Going back a few years, how did Translation Loss take to releasing your debut as a double album?
BJ: they were actually really excited, I don't think they knew what they were getting themselves into when they agreed to the project. I just remember Drew just wanting to release something of ours.
Would you ever do a project that large again?
Matt: Nope.
I heard at one point you might do a split with Souvenir's Young America. Is there any truth to that and will it ever see the light of day?
BJ: I think there was something planned, but various projects had to be dropped or postponed, cause we have a couple other projects coming out in a small time span.
Matt: We just didn’t have the time and resources to complete it in a way that would actually help SYA. We had taken on too much during that time.
Any material that is in process?
BJ: We just started writing for the next record. Starting to play a couple of them live. I think we're heading in to record hopefully at the end of the summer following the European tour, but dates get shuffled around so much that I'm not sure
now.
Matt: Yeah, summer. We have three new songs, and will probably do three more before we record. We’re also incredibly lazy about recording so who knows.
We’ll look forward to it, whatever schedule you’re able to record and release it. Thanks again for your time!!
For our readers, come out and support Rosetta with Snowstorm, Dance-A-Tron, Chutzpah, and The DeVilles for the second Ithaca Underground All Ages Saturday at The Haunt on Feb 28th.
Doors @ 5.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Zs Interview with Sam Hillmer
Zs Interview with Sam Hillmer
What inspired you to start playing together?
Sam: At the time we were all students at Manhattan school of music. We began playing together because we were of a like mind as players, improvisers and composers and knew that there would not be another outlet. We were frustrated by the conventional channels and wanted to run it like a rock band, tour, make records and actually have fans. So that’s what we did.
Where are your greatest musical influences derived from?
S: Early music, African music, some classical music, free/post jazz stuff, and some punk and metal stuff. Oh, and Wu Tang… and pop.
How has it been touring with music scores? Is it a necessity, have you ever lost pieces along the way?
S: At first everybody fucked with us. Then they'd hear our set and be like “Oh, OK!” and not really know what to make of it. But now everyone expects it, so we stopped doing it. We never lost anything that couldn't be regenerated or that wasn't already memorized.
How has the transition from six, to four, and now three treated you?
S: The first transition was no sweat. It came really naturally. This latest one has been more challenging but has yielded some pretty strong results so no one is demoralized.
What happened to the forth member?
S: Charlie is doing his band Extra Life full time and totally ruling it. That band is awesome and both Zs and Extra Life are stronger now. We're good friends and are maybe going to be doing some dates in Europe come June.
Everyone excited for that? Anything or place in particular you're looking forward to there?
S: We're psyched... we don't know anything about our itinerary yet.
Will this be your first time abroad with Zs?
S: For all intents and purposes, yes.
If you could add any additional instrumentation to your current line up in the future, what would you choose?
S: Guitars, keyboards, and maybe some electronics.
I saw you finally while on tour with The Locust, Sleeping People, and Yip Yip. Can you tell us about this tour experience?
S: Crowds have always dug Zs. Even when we think people are going to hate our shit... somehow people end up digging it.
For the latest 12”, “The Hard EP” Did you get hooked up with 31G because of the Locust tour or was it in process before hand?
S: The Locust asked us after that tour.
And the “Folio and Four Systems” Earl Brown tribute on Tzadik, how did you get involved with that project?
S: Our boy Micah Silver was working for his estate and he asked us.
Any other projects any of you are involved with?
S: The Pygmie Shrews, Hunter Gatherer, Yarn Wire, Regattas, Moth, Dirty Projectors, Sam Hillmer/John Dwyer duo, Trouble and Ian just did some work on Ty Braxton's (of Battles) new record. Oh, and I’m about to go to Switzerland with Skeletons!
Wow! All that an working on new material - impressive! Can you give us any details in regards to your upcoming release on The Social Registry?
S: The record is all called "music of the modern white" and it is a very different kind of thing. I’m fully amped on it as are all the boyz and everyone working on the record. We recorded at Ben’s studio "The Bullet Proof Chinese" and you can expect something totally curvaceous. We also have a record of remixes coming out done by Excepter's Nathan Corbin (aka Zebrablood). That is going to be deep too.
What inspired you to start playing together?
Sam: At the time we were all students at Manhattan school of music. We began playing together because we were of a like mind as players, improvisers and composers and knew that there would not be another outlet. We were frustrated by the conventional channels and wanted to run it like a rock band, tour, make records and actually have fans. So that’s what we did.
Where are your greatest musical influences derived from?
S: Early music, African music, some classical music, free/post jazz stuff, and some punk and metal stuff. Oh, and Wu Tang… and pop.
How has it been touring with music scores? Is it a necessity, have you ever lost pieces along the way?
S: At first everybody fucked with us. Then they'd hear our set and be like “Oh, OK!” and not really know what to make of it. But now everyone expects it, so we stopped doing it. We never lost anything that couldn't be regenerated or that wasn't already memorized.
How has the transition from six, to four, and now three treated you?
S: The first transition was no sweat. It came really naturally. This latest one has been more challenging but has yielded some pretty strong results so no one is demoralized.
What happened to the forth member?
S: Charlie is doing his band Extra Life full time and totally ruling it. That band is awesome and both Zs and Extra Life are stronger now. We're good friends and are maybe going to be doing some dates in Europe come June.
Everyone excited for that? Anything or place in particular you're looking forward to there?
S: We're psyched... we don't know anything about our itinerary yet.
Will this be your first time abroad with Zs?
S: For all intents and purposes, yes.
If you could add any additional instrumentation to your current line up in the future, what would you choose?
S: Guitars, keyboards, and maybe some electronics.
I saw you finally while on tour with The Locust, Sleeping People, and Yip Yip. Can you tell us about this tour experience?
S: Crowds have always dug Zs. Even when we think people are going to hate our shit... somehow people end up digging it.
For the latest 12”, “The Hard EP” Did you get hooked up with 31G because of the Locust tour or was it in process before hand?
S: The Locust asked us after that tour.
And the “Folio and Four Systems” Earl Brown tribute on Tzadik, how did you get involved with that project?
S: Our boy Micah Silver was working for his estate and he asked us.
Any other projects any of you are involved with?
S: The Pygmie Shrews, Hunter Gatherer, Yarn Wire, Regattas, Moth, Dirty Projectors, Sam Hillmer/John Dwyer duo, Trouble and Ian just did some work on Ty Braxton's (of Battles) new record. Oh, and I’m about to go to Switzerland with Skeletons!
Wow! All that an working on new material - impressive! Can you give us any details in regards to your upcoming release on The Social Registry?
S: The record is all called "music of the modern white" and it is a very different kind of thing. I’m fully amped on it as are all the boyz and everyone working on the record. We recorded at Ben’s studio "The Bullet Proof Chinese" and you can expect something totally curvaceous. We also have a record of remixes coming out done by Excepter's Nathan Corbin (aka Zebrablood). That is going to be deep too.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
HUGE SHOW UPDATES!!!
GET READY FOR A HUGE 2009! Tons of shows. Lots of weekend stuff. All awesome and underground. Check myspace for links and venue details. New website in the works!! More shows in the works too.
01/31/2009 05:00 PM - Ithaca Underground All Ages Saturday @ The Haunt:
Sakes Alive!! (Rochester), The Rolemodels, The Motivators, and The Debunks $5
02/06/2009 07:00 PM - Eric Margan & The Red Lions, Control Escape, Glad Rags + Spurs @ No Radio Records
02/12/2009 08:00 PM - SILENT CITY DISTRO TOUR! with:
Emily Shumway, Rye n’ Clover, A is for Apple, and Glowbug @ The Ithaca Underground Pirate House - $donations$
02/15/2009 07:00 PM - Sonorous Gale (Buffalo), Ailments, Makeshift, +TBA @ No Radio Records $5
02/21/2009 09:00 PM - Zs [31G/Planaria], American Sphinx + Chris Knight @ ABC Cafe - $8
02/24/2009 07:00 PM - Yo, Adrian! + The Berettas + TBA @ NO RADIO
02/28/2009 05:00 PM - Ithaca Underground All Ages Saturday @ The Haunt:
Rosetta [Translation Loss], Snowstorm (Philadelphia), Dance-A-Tron (Binghamton), Chutzpah, Thë DëVills - $6
03/08/2009 07:00 PM - Microwaves + TBA @ No Radio Records $5
03/11/2009 07:00 PM - Human Host @ No Radio $5
04/22/2009 07:00 PM - Shooting Spires, Daniel Francis Doyle, Twin Powers, Glad Rags + TBA @ The Ithaca Underground Pirate House (possible switch venue) - $8
04/27/2009 08:00 PM - Realicide + TBA @ The Pirate House $5
01/31/2009 05:00 PM - Ithaca Underground All Ages Saturday @ The Haunt:
Sakes Alive!! (Rochester), The Rolemodels, The Motivators, and The Debunks $5
02/06/2009 07:00 PM - Eric Margan & The Red Lions, Control Escape, Glad Rags + Spurs @ No Radio Records
02/12/2009 08:00 PM - SILENT CITY DISTRO TOUR! with:
Emily Shumway, Rye n’ Clover, A is for Apple, and Glowbug @ The Ithaca Underground Pirate House - $donations$
02/15/2009 07:00 PM - Sonorous Gale (Buffalo), Ailments, Makeshift, +TBA @ No Radio Records $5
02/21/2009 09:00 PM - Zs [31G/Planaria], American Sphinx + Chris Knight @ ABC Cafe - $8
02/24/2009 07:00 PM - Yo, Adrian! + The Berettas + TBA @ NO RADIO
02/28/2009 05:00 PM - Ithaca Underground All Ages Saturday @ The Haunt:
Rosetta [Translation Loss], Snowstorm (Philadelphia), Dance-A-Tron (Binghamton), Chutzpah, Thë DëVills - $6
03/08/2009 07:00 PM - Microwaves + TBA @ No Radio Records $5
03/11/2009 07:00 PM - Human Host @ No Radio $5
04/22/2009 07:00 PM - Shooting Spires, Daniel Francis Doyle, Twin Powers, Glad Rags + TBA @ The Ithaca Underground Pirate House (possible switch venue) - $8
04/27/2009 08:00 PM - Realicide + TBA @ The Pirate House $5
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Static Radio nj + The Rolemodels + The Debunks @ No Radio
STATIC RADIO NJ (Chunksaah Records), The Rolemodels, and The Debunks TONIGHT 12/18!
No Radio Records
312 E Seneca St
Ithaca, NY 14850
$5 7PM
Some info on SRNJ:
"In 2002 Static Radio started inconspicuously enough: four friends who grew up going to shows and listening to all types of music got together, wrote some songs, and played any show they could get their hands on. Initially, the band reflected much of what had drawn them into punk: simple, aggressive guitars, angry vocals, and speeding drums. As a relatively young band, they cut their teeth on the New Jersey scene the hard way; painstaking trial and error, and above all an unrelenting energy and desire for experiences. Over the years these experiences seeped themselves into the way the band crafted their songs; although they never strayed from hardcore punk their material began to take on additional elements, nuances reflective of their years as a band. Somewhere along the way, two things happened; someone on the opposite side of the country unleashed their legal team upon the band in order to protect the image of their bar-band/ puppet-show/God-knows-what (at which point Static Radio became Static Radio NJ) and more importantly, the band somehow decided that the progression and growth of the band would become the member’s main priority. Static Radio NJ don’t plan on stopping anytime soon because they simply love what they are doing and couldn’t imagine doing anything else but playing to anybody that wants to listen."
http://www.myspace.com/staticradio
Print out flyers!
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/11/19/2192629/SRnjcopy.jpg
Local punks The Rolemodels (Ithaca) and The Debunks (Lansing) to open!! Come out and get your punk rock on.
No Radio Records
312 E Seneca St
Ithaca, NY 14850
$5 7PM
Some info on SRNJ:
"In 2002 Static Radio started inconspicuously enough: four friends who grew up going to shows and listening to all types of music got together, wrote some songs, and played any show they could get their hands on. Initially, the band reflected much of what had drawn them into punk: simple, aggressive guitars, angry vocals, and speeding drums. As a relatively young band, they cut their teeth on the New Jersey scene the hard way; painstaking trial and error, and above all an unrelenting energy and desire for experiences. Over the years these experiences seeped themselves into the way the band crafted their songs; although they never strayed from hardcore punk their material began to take on additional elements, nuances reflective of their years as a band. Somewhere along the way, two things happened; someone on the opposite side of the country unleashed their legal team upon the band in order to protect the image of their bar-band/ puppet-show/God-knows-what (at which point Static Radio became Static Radio NJ) and more importantly, the band somehow decided that the progression and growth of the band would become the member’s main priority. Static Radio NJ don’t plan on stopping anytime soon because they simply love what they are doing and couldn’t imagine doing anything else but playing to anybody that wants to listen."
http://www.myspace.com/staticradio
Print out flyers!
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/11/19/2192629/SRnjcopy.jpg
Local punks The Rolemodels (Ithaca) and The Debunks (Lansing) to open!! Come out and get your punk rock on.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
IU Newsletter #11 - THE BIG 2009 ANNOUNCEMENT
[[insert drumroll, blast beat, white noise squall, oi oi oi, etc of your choice]]
I'd like to proudly announce ITHACA UNDERGROUND ALL AGES SATURDAYS AT THEHAUNT!!!
Yep, you read that correctly. Starting Jan. 31st, the last Saturday of every month you can mark on your calendar for a great show. Check each show for start time but all shows will end by 10PM (like the Cobra Skulls show in November) to ensure making these all ages, all the time.
You all have really turned heads with your enthusiam and continuing support of underground music. Others in this town are starting torecognize the necessity of encouraging and nurturing what you all have started. I'd like to give a huge shout out to Chris Mazer for his support of all ages shows, DIY, and of Ithaca Underground as a collective group of people, artists, and bands for making this possible.
To repeat, mark 1/31/2009, 2/27, 3/27, and onward on your Calendar for ALL AGES AT THE HAUNT. If there are bands you'd like to see play [especially, but not limited to, acts from the Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse,Binghamton, Albany, Brooklyn/NYC, Philly, Wilkes-Barre and surroundingareas] let me know and we'll see what we can do!
***ATTENTION LOCAL BANDS***-
Any Ithacan or surrounding area band/artist/group on this list, please let me know your availability for the last Saturday of the month so we can start booking bands. These will run similarly to what we have been doing at No Radio - encouraging national acts to play Ithaca and giving local and surrounding area talent opportunity to support. I'm sure there will be dates where it is Ithaca and surrounding talent alone supporting theshow. So please, let me know your availability.
...>>>what does this mean for shows else where??<<<...
We will still be doing basement shows and shows in other spaces as we do now and just as frequently. We wanted to give you all a time and placeyou can count on for a show. Please continue to support these shows just as strongly since some shows we do don't translate well to the size, setup, or location of The Haunt.
Check back for updates as we book for this!!
I'd like to proudly announce ITHACA UNDERGROUND ALL AGES SATURDAYS AT THEHAUNT!!!
Yep, you read that correctly. Starting Jan. 31st, the last Saturday of every month you can mark on your calendar for a great show. Check each show for start time but all shows will end by 10PM (like the Cobra Skulls show in November) to ensure making these all ages, all the time.
You all have really turned heads with your enthusiam and continuing support of underground music. Others in this town are starting torecognize the necessity of encouraging and nurturing what you all have started. I'd like to give a huge shout out to Chris Mazer for his support of all ages shows, DIY, and of Ithaca Underground as a collective group of people, artists, and bands for making this possible.
To repeat, mark 1/31/2009, 2/27, 3/27, and onward on your Calendar for ALL AGES AT THE HAUNT. If there are bands you'd like to see play [especially, but not limited to, acts from the Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse,Binghamton, Albany, Brooklyn/NYC, Philly, Wilkes-Barre and surroundingareas] let me know and we'll see what we can do!
***ATTENTION LOCAL BANDS***-
Any Ithacan or surrounding area band/artist/group on this list, please let me know your availability for the last Saturday of the month so we can start booking bands. These will run similarly to what we have been doing at No Radio - encouraging national acts to play Ithaca and giving local and surrounding area talent opportunity to support. I'm sure there will be dates where it is Ithaca and surrounding talent alone supporting theshow. So please, let me know your availability.
...>>>what does this mean for shows else where??<<<...
We will still be doing basement shows and shows in other spaces as we do now and just as frequently. We wanted to give you all a time and placeyou can count on for a show. Please continue to support these shows just as strongly since some shows we do don't translate well to the size, setup, or location of The Haunt.
Check back for updates as we book for this!!
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