An Interview with Kicking Bird (And a premier of "238!")

When you have a music blog, you sometimes get to hear new music early. I got to hear Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, the upcoming new album from Wilmington, NC's Kicking Bird, and was instantly smitten. Some albums just seem perfectly made for my specific tastes, and that's how this one feels. The songs on Original Motion Picture Soundtrack have that perfect mid-90's power pop sound with a little retro 60's cool. It's like a less ironic version of Fountains of Wayne and Weezer. I got the chance to interview three members of Kicking Bird (Shaun and Shaylah Paul as well as Robin Cooksley) over email, so we discussed North Carolina, their upcoming album, and the song we're premiering, "238." 

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is due out May 19 on Fort Lowell Records, and can be pre-ordered here. For more on Kicking Bird, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram. You can listen to "238" below the interview.

Your sound seems to invoke the early 60's and late 90's/early 00's. What are your favorite bands from those time periods?

· Shaun: I definitely think we take a lot of inspiration from garage rock. The Kinks are one band specifically that has been a major influence on our songwriting energy. They are also a band that made it ok to write any type of a song, and not be limited by any one "sound". I know that for me personally, Bob Dylan is the mountaintop for lyrical work so that is definitely a mile marker for quality. I also love his ability to only have a flirtatious relationship with melody, he can cram three extra words in any time he needs and no one is the wiser. When Shaylah and I first started playing together Arcade Fire was making really amazing records, so I think that kind of vocal interplay over really fun instrumentation became something we always worked towards. One of the most life changing concerts I ever went to was when some friends took me to see The Walkmen and I was able to watch Hamilton Leithauser sing in person.

· Shaylah: The Beatles and Weezer. The two greatest bands ever!

· Robin: I'm glad you can hear that, as my go-to music is 60's garage music and mid 90's indie. I love Bends/OK Computer era Radiohead, their guitarist, Jonny Greenwood is a genius, I lay awake at night dreaming of being able to make the insane sounds that he makes on the guitar ha! I used to play in a 60's mod band, so my love of 60's garage rock bands is strong, the Kinks probably most influenced me from that period. I can only imagine what it must have been like to first hear the rawness of the guitar sound and vocal swagger of You've Really Got Me, when most everyone else was doing bubble-gum pop in 1964. I love Ray Davies' storytelling, he can really set a scene and take you there, I think Shaun can pull that off in his lyrics, but instead of a 1960's rural England village scene, he's trying to take you to the moon on a rocket ship or riding on the shoulders of a bear, or some other crazy shit.

A lot of bands with your sound seem to cloak their songs in irony, but as fun as your songs are, they sound completely earnest. Is it tough playing songs that are so heartfelt?

· Shaun: We do feel it. At the end of the day we write fiction. We get to tell fun stories over jangly pop music and I truly love it. I really do connect with every member of the audience when we play live. It's great to feel like we are all at a party just dancing together. If something we've written resonates then that's amazing but I really want those narratives to be the soundtrack to someone's night, not something for reflective introspection.

· Shaylah: That's really interesting that that's the impression the songs give off, because literally not a word in any of Shaun's songs is true. Except maybe the distance to the moon. I think that's at least an accurate estimation. All of my songs are very specific and it is tough sometimes because people figure things out. All I can about Tom is he's a hopeless romantic.

What's the Wilmington, NC music scene like these days?

· Shaun: Building constantly. Post covid there was a real explosion of rock bands in this town. Up until that, it was starting to feel like if you weren't a punk band or alt-country there was no place for you. That has totally changed. A ton of different sounds are coming from the bands in this town now. There is some really great heavy garage stuff from bands like Narah and Cancel. Pleasure Island is consistently one of the best bands I've seen recently. I think the songwriters are getting better too. Mark Jackson of morning news is a phenomenal lyricist and has the best voice. The greatest part is the DIY feel that the music community has embraced. James at Fort Lowell records is a perfect example of that. He's totally been a really important part of the support structure that's allowed local music to get so good.

· Shaylah:  It's great and you know what would make it better? More venues with bigger stages and full sound!

· Robin: It's really cool, there's a decent number of venues and more keep coming up. I love being able to play outside shows at Tiki Bar at the beach and downtown at Satellite/Palate. There's a ton of bands, and they're all really good, which means everyone keeps striving to be better, it's a very healthy scene.

Any plans to tour for this album?

· Shaun: Not yet, but we'd love to find ourselves at some of the awesome street festivals that happen this summer.  We're also open to trying to make it up to Raleigh and or the mountains, do some long weekends.

· Shaylah: No. We would love to do a mini regional tour out to Asheville and back or something, but it's hard because we have kids and jobs and whatnot. It would be so great though. Maybe one day.

Your songs invoke a joy that sounds like it's a blast to hear live. What's the Kicking Bird live show like?

· Shaun: Loud. Sweaty, Lots of eye contact.

· Shaylah: Chaotic and barely held together. Shaun has always been anti-senseless banter. Like, he hates when songwriters do the thing where they tell you what the song's about instead of letting the song speak for itself. I agree. His sense of pacing drives a lot of the momentum of each set, and the rest of us try to keep up. It's exciting. It's definitely a dance party.

· Robin: I think everyone's main reason for being in the band is to play shows, that's definitely where the band are at their happiest. It sounds a bit corny but we really do try and make our shows a bit of a party, there's always good energy that typically gets people up and dancing. Shaun and Tom are always giving it all they have, Tom can usually be found dancing in the audience playing his bass. 

What's the first album you bought?

· Shaun: Weird Al-Even Worse.

· Shaylah: With my own money? Probably something off one of the listening stations at Borders.

· Robin: I think when I was about 9 or 10 I bought Run DMC's "Raising Hell" with my own money. Shortly after, my brother played me the "Help" album by the Beatles, and then I immediately started to buy every Beatles album. I bought them pretty much in order of release date and I just remember being blown away every time I got a new one, and the feeling of really discovering and falling in love with great music, that was such a great time.

How do songwriting duties work with having three vocalists?

· Shaun: There are some occasions when one of us will show up with a completed song, beginning to end, all the parts, ready to go. More frequently one of us will show up something that is incomplete to some degree and we will work it out all together. Each of the five of us have different tendencies and skills that make for a really wonderful outcome. Lauren is a really great example of that. Robin showed up to practice with this really fun riff, Shaylah and I banged out the basic chords and words, and then once Greg and Tom threw in the rhythm dynamics the whole thing turned into a complete jam. We are very collective and I really couldn't feel luckier that I get to be part of a team that works together so well.

· Shaylah: Historically: Shaun will write most of a song, and then show it to me and I'll help write a hook or a bridge if I'm singing on it. If not, I'll come up with something on the piano. When I write, I'll knock it all out and then Shaun takes over on guitar. A few times, I've written the progression and turns out it was better suited for him to sing. When it's one of those great times where we all collaborate on a skeleton in the practice spot, I feel like it's usually Shaun, Robin, and Tom working out the chords, structure, and dynamic. We'll argue about whether a certain chord should be minor or major. Robin will often lead the process with a cool guitar riff.

· Robin: Pretty much everyone comes up with their own ideas and brings them to practice and we just jam around on the idea/song, sometimes it's a fully formed song and sometimes it's just a bit that we all try to add too to make something cool. I love playing in a band with three very distinct songwriters, Shaun's lyrics are abstract and often weird in a fantastic way, Shaylah's are heartfelt or beautifully melancholy, and Tom's are about young love and just having fun, it gives us a well-rounded mix!  

We're premiering the song "238." What's the story behind the song?

· Shaun: I was watching a skate video at work and a song by Joel Alme that just floored me. I went home and just straight up started ripping off the chords and melody. The words came pretty quickly one night just thinking about how far away and beautiful the moon is. The sounds of words together is the first thing I start working with, and then any narrative or meaning kind of gets discovered after the thing is done. 

· Shaylah: I guess it's a love song to the moon. Or our dog, whose name is Moon. It's one of my favorite songs to play.

An Interview with Perennial

Photo by Omari Spears

I stumbled upon Perennial in late 2021 and instantly became a die hard fan. The trio play this highly energetic and fun version of noise punk that connected with me within the first few seconds of hearing them, and that has increased more and more each time I've listened. I ended up chatting with the members briefly after their set at Firehouse back in January, which led to getting to send them a handful of questions I was dying to know the answers to. We got to ask Chad Jewett (vocals, electric guitar, etc.) about the band's style (musical and clothing), oldies influences, Halloween, and their upcoming album!

So many of your songs seem to have a bit of a spooky/Halloween theme to their titles ("Perennial In a Haunted House," "In the Midnight Hour," "The Skeleton Dance"). Is this on purpose, and if so, are you big Halloween people?

We all love Halloween; in particular we really enjoy the campier “pop art” version of Halloween: It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes, all of those eccentric 60s horror-themed pop songs like “Monster Mash” or the way that the Universal Monster movies from the 1930s would sort of get remixed in pop culture of the 60s and 70s. So I think that particular aesthetic plays into the way we fold Halloween imagery/moods into our work. A title like “Perennial In A Haunted House” has this sort of Scooby-Doo energy; or “The Skeleton Dance” as a sort of make-believe early 60s dance craze themed around drive-in horror movies, etc…

 

Most loud and heavy noise punk is filled with anger and rage, but your music seems to be more joyous. How did you come to that sound?

I think part of it is a lot of our most central influences are bands and artists that also convey a lot of joy or even just enthusiasm, at their loudest or most energetic: The Clash, Otis Redding, Small Faces, Wilson Pickett, The Hives.
Added to that, we just love playing music together; we love making records; we love what we’ve crafted as the Perennial live set. We’re thrilled to be doing this. I suppose that can’t help but make its way into how we approach making what we do.

 

Last month you were hyped to play with Jon Spencer + The HITmakers. How did that show go? Any other dream bands to play with?

The show was amazing! Jon and the HITmakers were incredible and so kind and fun to share the evening with. My “dream bands to play with” list is endless: Refused, Unwound, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Be Your Own Pet, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Stereolab, The Make-Up, Blur, These Arms Are Snakes, Osees; the list goes on and on and on

 

Probably the dumbest and most obvious question, but I feel obligated to ask: How did you decide to have all three of you always wear matching striped shirts?

So many of our aesthetic decisions come down to wanting to be the band we’d want to see: I’ve always loved bands that have a sort of all-encompassing style; matching clothes, similar album art from release to release, recognizable flyer design, etc… I like when an artist presents their work as a world you can enter with all these layers and details. So when we formed Perennial, we all agreed that matching outfits would be a cool element to include.

 

You are obviously having an absolute blast when you're playing live. What makes the experience so much fun for you?

I suppose that connects to my previous answer: we love bands that treat the live setting as something special, as a space for energy and dynamics and fun. The Hives for instance, made/make great records, but they also had absolutely thrilling live shows. We love recording and experimenting in the studio, but our raison d'être is to give our absolute all when we play live – to never stop moving, to always be thinking of how we can make these songs new and interesting, how the whole show can be as compelling as possible; we want you to remember a Perennial live set. And that is a fun challenge for us.

 

Inside of all of the noise, I hear some callbacks to oldies music in a lot of your songs. What are your favorite oldies bands?

I’ll define “oldies” here as anything from the early 70s and earlier:
The Beatles, The Kinks, The Chiffons, Wilson Pickett, The Supremes, MC5, The Small Faces, Otis Redding, The Who (1965-1969 in particular), Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Sonics, Martha & The Vandellas, mid-60s Bob Dylan, The Remains.

 

If you were going to introduce Perennial to a new listener, what is the ideal first song to play for them?

I think “Perennial In A Haunted House” or “Food For Hornets” are pretty ideal introductions. You get both Chelsey and I singing on both, lots of dynamics, that mix of heaviness but with something you can dance to underlining it.

 

From your social media, it looks like you're working on new music. What should we expect from your upcoming songs?

Without giving away too much, I think the album we’re crafting will work quite well as a follow-up to ‘In The Midnight Hour’: the same “sonic collage” approach, the same 90s post-hardcore + 60s soul + garage rock ingredients. But I also think the choruses are even catchier. The heavier parts are heavier. The grooves are groovier. It’s the best thing we’ve ever done.

An Interview with RizzyBeats (and a premier of "Exit Velocity (End of the Line)")

RizzyBeats (photo by Justin Giles)

North Carolina based producer recently chose to rework MindsOne's 2006 debut album Time Space Continuum. The chance to talk to RizzyBeats came up, and seeing how much I'm enjoying The Time Space Continuum Redux, I jumped at the chance. I asked about the upcoming album, the North Carolina hip hop scene, and he even was nice enough to put together a monster seventy-eight track playlist featuring NC hip hop! 

MindsOne/RizzyBeats' The Time Space Continuum Redux is due out May 12 via Fort Lowell Records. You can pre-order the vinyl here. The single is due out March 10 digitally, and can be pre-ordered here. For more on RizzyBeats, check out his website. For more on MindsOne, check them out on Instagram. The original version of Time Space Continuum can be found here.

1. The new album (The Space Time Continuum Redux) is a reworking of MindsOne's 2006 debut album. What made you decide to make a new version of the album?
   
   It basically started with some conversations I had with Tronic (of MindsOne) about how there aren’t more remix albums out in the world. Tronic mentioned he still had a lot of his a cappellas from their previous albums and I made sure to take note of that. I had previously remixed Aesop Rock’s “None Shall Pass” album and had a ton of fun with that so the prospect of giving MindsOne that same treatment was super appealing.
   
   About a week later, I was listening to their Time Space Continuum CD and I remembered that conversation we had about the a cappellas, so I hit up Tron and asked if he had those too. He did, sent them to me right away, and I got busy.
   
   
2. What was the process of reworking an existing album? What did you decide to keep?
   
   
   For me, the process always starts with finding the right BPM so everything matches up correctly. I use FL Studio for producing so I usually layer the original track over the a cappella and make sure things are lined up on the grid before I start adding drums and other samples. Then I go song by song, seeing what inspires me from each record. I always want to give any song I remix a new flavor that I think better serves the artist and highlights them in a way they weren’t in the original. With this project, I wanted to keep it super hip-hop so I intentionally used a lot of famous drum breaks so it would give this project that golden era sound.
   
   
3. Being from the Boston area, I'm hearing a ton of Gang Starr influences in this album. Is that more your style or MindsOne?
   
   
   I think both myself and MindsOne are big Gang Starr fans. I’m hugely influenced by DJ Premier so I know I’ve subconsciously adopted some of his sample chopping techniques over the years. Preemo is the GOAT.
   
   
4. On the RizzyBeats Loves NC playlist, the tracks are incredibly diverse, but I'm hearing kind of a regional overall vibe that's laid back and embracing classic hip hop without sounding like a throwback. Do you think that's accurate, and what do you think leads to that sound? (If not, what would you say is the regional sound, if any?)
   
   
   I think that’s very accurate. I think, universally, there is a deep love for hip-hop in North Carolina. Every artist I’ve been a fan of, or even known personally, has been very conscious of their responsibility as a hip-hop artist in North Carolina and has sought to make a meaningful contribution to the NC sound. We’ve got a lot of range here but it seems that most folks respect the history of hip-hop.
   
   
5. In Boston, it was basically impossible to see live hip hop for decades, and it's just recently becoming an established scene for live shows. How's the live scene in NC?
   
   
   The live hip-hop scene here in Wilmington has been steadily growing for the last decade. There is a great acceptance among fellow hip-hop artists to stick together and work alongside each other so we can all succeed. The shows aren’t as plentiful here as they once were about 20 years ago but myself and a few others like Louis., Sheme OG, MoeSOS DC, and Shuron Maurice are trying to usher in a new generation of live performances to keep things vibrant and thriving. And I have to mention all of the hard work put in by MindsOne, Fuzz Jackson and the whole Monumental Music crew. They welcomed us with open arms and gave us the support we needed to carry on the torch.
   
   
6. What are the best/hottest cities for hip hop in NC right now?
   
   
   Lots of excellent music coming out of Durham, Raleigh, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Goldsboro, Greenville, and Greensboro. 
   
   
7. When I heard you were putting together a North Carolina hip hop playlist, I did not expect it to be 78 tracks and 4 1/2 hours. If someone is short on time and wants to dabble before jumping fully in, what are the key tracks?
   
   
   That’s incredibly tough to narrow down but a few of my favorites are:
   
   
   - “Whatever You Say” - Little Brother
   - “Gmots” - Miko X
   - “Carolina Too” - Louis. ft Rob: Earth-One
   - “Legion of Doom” - MindsOne
   - “Mah Shiii” - Defacto Thezpian
   
   
8. We're premiering "Exit Velocity (End of the Line)" today. Tell us about that particular song.
   
   
   “Exit Velocity” is the first track I worked on and what gave me the confidence to move forward with the whole project. It features both KON Sci and Tronic and is a really strong opener (in my opinion). I wanted to set the tone for the album and come in guns blazing.

An Interview with Muzzins (And their new single, "Send It Back")

It's only been eighteen months since Muzzins released their first single, but the Boston band has been riding a whirlwind of buzz since then. This is most likely due to their eclectic and unique sound and captivating live shows. They just released their third single last week, so when the opportunity to interview R-Muzz came up, I couldn't resist. We spoke over Zoom, and a fifteen minute conversation became a thirty minute conversation which flowed in every possible direction. I was only able to ask two questions in that time, but certainly no complaints because it was a wild, meandering ride. Here are some highlights from our talk.

On recording:

"I almost never record anything anymore. Except for the music we play sometimes, but even that I've become less and less concerned about recording... the more interested I get in the process of being present, completely present with the music as we make it. It's largely improvised."

On Muzzins' connection with fans:

"Our music, I feel, is music of instant recognition. The people who hear us see themselves in us and hear themselves in us almost instantly. We have instant superfans... It's very niche, it's not for everyone. 

On influences:

"There are certain filters and guidelines and concepts... a certain set of values... that I think drives the music. More than anything, I mean the influences, yes, everything, everything has influenced us, even the things we don't like have influenced us. Naming influences is only so interesting... The synthesis, for me, is more interesting to talk about. How do we synthesize these influences?"

On Muzzins' sound:

"It's the expression of our relationship to each other... None of this was planned. The entire concept is an improvised concept... The sound comes through us, it's like we each had electrical charges that each eventually found each other and the recognition was instant, as it is with people who listen to us... It's like if you're running a certain operating system... we're living in AI times, right? We have natural intelligence and our natural intelligences seek out certain kinds of similarities with other people."

On their new single, "Send It Back":

"That song came out of me in probably ten minutes. The lyrics for that song, they were instantaneous. Much of our stuff is like that... The music came together really quickly, as it does with us. The production took a while just because we were travelling and it's our first collaborative project as a band. We had two other singles before this that were more like pandemic projects in isolation so someone wrote a beat and someone wrote the lyrics, so we weren't in a room together making it. This really feels like our first collaborative effort coming out of our weekly rehearsals... It started off almost as, not a joke, but like a challenge, like 'I wonder what it would be like if... we wrote a stadium rocker.' That was the holding title of the song. 'What would it be like for Muzzins to make, like, a big, rock anthem'... It's fun to sing, too. I can get really loud and ragey."

On how our conversation kept going off script:

"Going off script is part of the process for us... I live and breathe my process, it's in everything I do, my entire life is improvised. Largely improvised. So it's inevitable because everything I do is an expression of who I am. That's been a central part of my own personal development... You're getting me exactly as I know myself."

On Muzzins' appeal to their audience:

"We're not for everyone. Our stories are not going to be the standard 'here's a band with some music'... Our composition is too fucking weird... We're an underground band. We're like a psychedelic, activist, underground band... It's just the right people, superfans only. I think of us as a premium band. And I mean that word very broadly, we respect our energy and we respect the creativity that comes through us. We want to involve other people in the experience of connecting back to their own ability to just be present, be in the moment, get the feeling of safety and adventure at the same time."

An Interview with Prateek

Photo by Stephanie Houten

We've been covering Prateek for a few years here at If It's Too Loud..., and he's always been one of our favorite local singer/songwriters in the Boston area. Lately it seems like he's suddenly writing music on a whole new level and suddenly become one of the most intriguing artists in the city. His upcoming album (Til June, due out in the spring) seemlessly incorporates just about every genre within the roots category, and we've been absolutely blown away with every single we've heard. When the opportunity to interview Prateek about his upcoming album via email was presented to us, we simply couldn't pass it up!

Q: With your new album, you jump wildly between genres while keeping the album cohesive. What inspired such changes in your sound?

A: The music that I love, for sure. So many of my favorite artists - Foy Vance, John Hiatt, John Fullbight - have recorded albums where all the songs vary wildly in terms of sound and genre and yet they all work together. I’ve aspired to that ever since I started writing music.

Q: While your previous songs have been more solo/acoustic recordings, "Til June" is a full band affair. How was this different as far as recording goes?

A: Probably the biggest difference was having so many voices in the room. The upside of recording stuff by yourself is that you get to make all the decisions. The downside of recording stuff by yourself is that you have to make all the decisions. By working with Sean McLaughlin and all the talented players on this album, I got to hear loads of great advice and different perspectives on the songs. Instead of getting in my head and overthinking things, I had a whole team who wanted these songs to succeed as much as I did, and were willing to share their thoughts. Consequently, I think this one of the best things I’ve ever been a part of.

Q: I was surprised that this is your first studio album. Have you tried putting out an album before this?

A: I put out one live album in 2020, but yeah, this is my first studio album. Putting together a good studio album is expensive these days, even when you have a lot of favors that you can call in. So I wanted to wait until I definitely had the money to make this work.

Q: What music helped inspire your new album?

A: John Hiatt for sure, especially his album “Bring the family.” And John Fullbright - his first two albums are some of my favorites. Great examples of artists who can jump wildly between genres while still putting together cohesive collections of music, as you mentioned before.

Q: What are you looking forward to once the new album comes out?

A: The fact that it will be done. And getting to tell people that it’s out, especially people I’ve never met before. I hope this album ends up being a firm handshake, if that makes sense.

Q: Besides your album release, what other new music are you looking forward to this year?

A: I had to go to Google to answer this question because I’ve been so far down my own little rabbit hole of video games and comfort-listening music. Definitely curious about Peter Gabriel’s upcoming album. And “Cracker Island” by Gorillaz - they’ve apparently done tracks with Stevie Nicks and Thundercat, which sounds like the best kind of fever dream.

Besides just the questions I asked, Prateek gave us some insight into the singles he's released off the new album!

• You’re Still On My Mind: “You’re Still On My Mind” is one of two songs on this album inspired by an ex of mine. I first wrote it at the beginning of 2020 to cope with the then-fresh pain of the breakup. It was a lot of fun to write something that I could belt to the rafters, and when Sean McLaughlin put together a killer horn section for the recording on the album, I was absolutely delighted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iZ9yR-GAMA

• Diamonds: I was scared that people would hate it. Thankfully, that turned out not to be the case. Ever since I wrote it, people have greeted this song with open arms. This meant, of course, that I had to nail down the perfect arrangement for a recording. I’ve tried it as a rock song (nope), a swampy, fiddle-led, acoustic tune (closer) before producer Sean McLaughlin and I came up with the lumbering, fuzzed out arrangement on this album. The road has been long, but “Diamonds” remains one of my proudest achievements, as well as a favorite of my late mother: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9W7s2sUehA

• The Gang’s All Gone: The title popped into my head one day. I couldn’t quite figure out what to do with it until I started thinking about the stories my brother had told about his former drinking buddies from a darker time in his life. There’s a strong connection between addiction and emotional stagnation, and before I knew it, the lyrics were pouring out. I recorded and released the song on my EP “All You Do Is Drown,” yet the arrangement didn’t quite live up to what I had in my head. As was the case with all the songs on this album, the song was missing something, and that something was Sean McLaughlin and the phenomenal band he put together. Several takes and a whole lot of discussion later, we’d turned the song into a driving slice of rock and roll. It’s also one of my proudest achievements - possibly one of my favorite songs I’ve written in my entire life: https://open.spotify.com/track/2gp06NIOgC0dkZDc9lnQDZ?si=a93d8f2cd5534dfd

An Interview with Tysk Tysk Task

Photo via Tysk Tysk Task

I've been a huge fan of Tysk Tysk Task ever since I stumbled on their music a little over two years ago. Their music has this amazing blend of completely raw emotion and noise mixed with an unexpected beauty that connects with me on a deep level. Last month the duo released "Colors," which has become one of my favorite songs of the year. They've also launched a Kickstarter to fund their next album (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tysktysktask/tysk-tysk-tasks-sophomore-album-youre-sorry-more?ref=project_build). You can pre-order the album, get some original artwork from Samantha Hartsel, and even hang out with the band at their practice space. I took this as a chance to reach out to Samantha and Danni Gannon via email to ask some questions about their upcoming album!

Q: At one point, it looked like Tysk Tysk Task might be done as a band. Obviously, we're thrilled you're still around. What made you revisit making music as Tysk Tysk Task?

S: I wouldn’t say I revisited it - Tysk Tysk Task’s music never stopped. There were some personal issues that developed between myself and my co-songwriter Kyle Cuneo. He had taken over for our previous drummer after she opted for a more corporate path and wanted to focus on a new job. When he stopped coming to practices, myself and friends continued to practice the songs with the hope that, if there would ever come a time for a post-pandemic world, we’d be ready to play out again. We auditioned some new players but the band really picked up steam again last summer when a mutual friend connected me with Danni. 

D: For me, the last few years have been tough personally, but I always knew I would get back out to doing what I love. I actually sustained an injury to my thumb while skiing and I could not play for many months. I thought I would never play again. It healed though, and my partner at the time sent me a link to an Insta ad from Samantha seeking a percussionist. I took a listen to a couple of songs and then responded right back. The rest is history.

S: Thankful always to Penelope (Alizarin), fabulous frontwoman of the one-woman project Stems in Worcester, for connecting us. Danni was really the one who made me realize the songs could continue, and should continue, maybe with a shift in vibe. She brought new perspective and focus to the project, while still loving the spooky woodland slumber horrorshow vibe I cultivated in TTT previously, with members rocking antlers during shows and creating shrine-like merch box set ups. I’m forever grateful for Danni’s enthusiasm and feel like I found a true sister. 

Q: Your latest single, "Colors," has a much heavier/grungier sound than your previous releases. What inspired that change, and is that the direction of the upcoming album?

S: Absolutely, that’s the direction of the next album and of the band going forward. Clearly, there’s been a lot of personal upheaval in the band and that’s absolutely related to the times we’re living in. I don’t think you can make happy music in a worldwide pandemic, especially with a tyrant like Trump at the helm to kick it all off. It didn’t feel right to craft soft love ballads like Lovers’ Covers or even lighter songs like Men of the Century from the first record in this time period. Instead, we started working on songs like “Pounding Sand” and “Flies,” coming out soon, based on that thing that happens when flies fill your house because you’re too depressed amid a Covid lockdown to take your garbage out. You know, stuff we can all related to now, hahaha.

S (continued): I’ll also say that I’ve always loved grunge rock bands and adore especially early PJ Harvey, early Yeah Yeah Yeahs’, thrashing Steve Albini drums and soul-crushing growls into a microphone; Danni is an amazing force who helped bring that out with the power she brings to her drumming.

D: I've been getting more into the heavy side of punk, for sure. This is the direction of the next album, but we have some things in the works too that will bring even more of a slightly different sound. 

Q: You're playing a ton of shows this summer. I think the current total is seven? Who are you really looking forward to playing with, and who are you hoping to play with in the New England area?

D: We do have a bunch of shows booked but we are being mindful also of where we are at in this world - there's an airborne virus to be cognizant of, and at least Samantha and I test frequently, isolate to really only hang with each other and our family members, and put our masks back on as soon as we get off stage. So as long as we are healthy, unexposed, and these shows go on, I am looking forward to playing with Eye Witness (7/15 at Hotel Vernon in Worcester). That show is going to be intimate and fun - we love that storied space. 

S: It's historic, too. So glad it didn’t close amid Covid and I believe it’s still the only place in Mass where you can get beers for $1? Babe Ruth used to party there and if you know the right bartender, you can get down to the basement to see the old speakeasy, and spot even the same urinal Babe pissed in. 

D: I mean, I definitely want to see that. And, I really want to play with more of our friends' bands who help us continue to all grow. Ellis (Roundy) has been a big part of our development, too. 

S: We are absolutely thrilled to have connected with The PAs, the Lowell-based psych rock noise band band formed out of the brilliant brain inside Ellis. He just graduated UML and he also runs the indie label Cursa Records. Ellis will serve as our engineer and producer of this next album, “You’re Sorry More,” based on a lyric from “Colors” that relates to my divorce. We met Ellis last fall when he  invited us to join a bill at Thirsty’s with the PA’s and The Freqs. It was our first show since the pandemic and it was an amazing night, first time Danni played with us publicly, too.

S (continued): Stoked that Ellis is going to be featured on the album as our bassist. We’re also actively auditioning bassists to join our fall tour and maybe the band full-time if the person is willing to make that commitment (so people can def contact us directly at tysktysktask@gmail.com to discuss). 

Q: Your band has a very specific vibe, from your album/single artwork to your practice space to your stage set up. How would you describe it?

D: We do have a pretty specific vibe, haha. I would describe it as nature meets grunge-meets-jazz-meets-shoe gaze-meets-rock? Kind of a lot going on but, that is the vibe and honestly, what brought me to start playing with Samantha and Tysk Tysk Task in the first place. 

D (continued): I’ll add that I am really looking forward to recording this entire album. We have put the work in and I feel we are bringing a new sound to the stage, the dynamics, the ebbs and flows of intensity on the whole. I am proud of this.

Q: Aside from music, what art has been inspiring you lately?

S: I have a couple of projects personally - composing music for my first-indie film project based out of Miami right now (“The Strawberry Jam,” written and directed by my cousin, Laura Lionetta of Lioness Films). I’ll be recording that with engineer Hadden Stemp, who is a lovely musician from the North Shore. My compositions for that film are piano-based so this summer, Hadden and I are going to record an EP of my piano songs. I started out in folk music initially in college as a one-woman show in the way of Amanda Palmer and Regina Spektor. Danni definitely helped me regain a lot of my confidence musically and her support means the world. I tell her all the time, she’s my muse now! And beyond that, I keep decorating our practice spaces like crazy because during the pandemic, I shifted my full-time work into slinging boho chic vintage furniture, peacock chairs and house plants and the like. If anyone’s interested in checking out my interior design curation, you can check out Bloom & Book (@bloomandbookma and www.bloomandbook.com). Our music inspires the artsy spaces and the spaces inspire the music. It’s sort of a symbiotic loop.

D: Samantha’s stuff is amazing and I love our studio because of the ambience she brings to it. From the lights to the rugs and the furniture, she makes our practice room a space you want to sit in for hours while writinfg some trippy tunes. Our new songs “Forest Down” and “I”m In Your Ocean Now” are more psychedelic definitely because of that. For me, I’m not only a drummer but also a photographer. I love to take pictures of nature and sunrise and sunsets. I am also a producer who likes to create hip hop beats, but that’s another story.