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MP3: Andy D – “Moderne Romance”

Links:
Andy D: http://www.rockslow.com/
Roaring Colonel Records: http://www.roaringcolonel.com/

Fanny Pack: check
Rattail: check
Cut-off Denim Vest: Check
Zubaz Style Pants: check
Gold Reebok Pumps: check
Viking Helmet: check

You may be asking yourself, whose checklist would entail all this? No, its not a Christmas list for a child from 1991, it’s the one and only Andy D’s.

If you have never heard of Andy D, you are missing out. And if you’ve never been to an Andy D show…well, then you haven’t lived. Okay, that may be a little dramatic, but after months and months of people telling me about Andy D, the anticipation and excitement to see one of his shows had built up. When the big night came for me to finally see Andy D perform, he did not disappoint or let me down. But then again, how could anyone who dresses like he does, sweats harder than James Brown, and raps about drunk chicks be boring?

He writes all of his songs as well as his beats, and according to him his band is a robot, which really is code name for iPod. The inspiration for his songs, such as “God Loves Drunk Chicks,” are mostly inspired by those around him and from actual situations he has been in. He just had a new CD released in March, Songs in the Key of Magic (Roaring Colonel Records) where he sings about unicorns, female pleasure, dance parties, unclean pants, disco ball halos and general magic. Pretty much all the songs on the album are pure gold with “Angels on the Dancefloor” and “Hey Tina” being personal favs; you’re laughing harder and harder after every lyric he delivers. The Beastie Boys, Andrew W.K., The Darkness, and Prince are just some of his musical influences, which fits considering many of these artists are colorful, ostentatious, and energetic performers.

He has been performing for about four years, and for the last year and half his fiancée (now wife from a recent Vegas wedding) Victoria sings his backup vocals. She has just as awesome a presence and style as he does if not more since she is always dressed to the nines.

Andy D’s wardrobe is a blast from the past. He wears Zubaz style pants, unicorn T-Shirts, cut-off jean vests, and when he’s feeling really adventurous a Viking helmet. He totes his musical equipment around in a darling rolling suitcase adorned with kittens and precious delicates. Ask him why he dresses this way and he will tell you it’s what he likes, and it reminds him of a time when things were simpler; when people rocked mullets without shame, when men wore Zubaz everyday—even to work. It was a time when women doused an entire can of Aqua Net onto their mile-high hair and dawned blue eyeliner with hot pink lipstick.

“My formative years were spent in the early 90’s, and I just love the style then, because everyone was so fearless and it was so bright and I feel that grunge sort of came and ruined that spirit a little bit.”

Andy D recognizes that not everyone will get him. “I feel like the people who don’t get me are the people who don’t want to get me. They just think I’m a novelty, but I have a six-year-old rattail. That’s not novel—that’s dedication.”

Many people, including me at first, thought that he was a character or that his performance was a joke—but it’s not. He understands that many people don’t take him seriously.

“You can be humorous without being a joke, there’s no punch line to my life.”

There lies the problem, most people think that because you are being funny in this sort of medium, you are not being serious, but Andy D uses his humor for a different purpose. He’s not fond of wallflowers and likes it when show-goers interact, sing back to him, gyrate around the room, and perhaps disrobe.

He uses the humor in his music to lighten people up; “I feel like if people are laughing, they are one second closer to dancing. I’ve never seen someone dance that was having a bad time. I encourage everyone to move, the humor is not the end goal, the humor is to just to get people to loosen up.”

If you haven’t been to one of his shows, you don’t know what you’re missing, (even when people like me tell you what happens at one of his shows), there really isn’t anything that comes close to how amazingly entertaining and funny his performances are.

There have been hundreds of thousands of bands that have played to unresponsive disinterested crowds, but not Andy D. He’s never had an audience that didn’t laugh hysterically or dance foolishly—that is his ultimate goal he wants for his fans. As he says, “My superpower is winning people over.”

When Indianapolis fans found out that Queens of the Stone Age were coming to The Vogue, there was a mad dash to buy tickets first thing Tuesday morning, oh but wait—it was sold out before tickets we even available to the public. Thanks pre-sale codes! Why The Vogue you ask? Why such a small venue? Well their Facebook page says it all. “Hey guys. Would you want to see QOTSA live, playing the ENTIRE first LP, b-sides and all? plus some other jams? smallish places – Something like a TOUR?”

Well they did just that, and it was all to promote the rerelease of their self-titled debut album. Now this may sound like an easy way to repackage a band’s first release, however they are able to find a way to do so without making it feel generic or a rip off to fans.

Queens of the Stone Age is one of the few artists in contemporary music that can “rerelease” their debut record and make it feel genuine to fans. When most rereleases occur the songs are rearranged or “remastered”; in this situation this is not the case, however a couple of B-side songs were added to bolster the track list.

The thing I love most about seeing Queens of the Stone Age is they just come on stage and just blast into a song. No, “Hey how’s everybody doin’ tonight?” It’s just, “Let’s get down to business.” Once on stage they opened with Regular John, the first song on the album, and remained to play pretty true to the order of the album. After playing the record in its entirety, they came onstage for their first encore to play “Sick, Sick, Sick”, “Medication”, “Infinity”, “Make it Wit Chu”, “Long Slow Goodbye”, and “Little Sister”. For their second encore they played “Leg of Lamb”, “Monster in the Parasol” and “No One Knows”.

Playing The Vogue was an ideal setting for this show, it was intimate, personal and I felt like I was in on a secret that only a select few knew about. There is no substitute for live music, especially for this band. Their energy, their bad-assedness, and of course Josh Homme’s Elvis-like hip shaking is something every QOTSA fan must see before death. There is just no way to recreate it unless you see them live.

Link: http://theautumnportrait.com/

The Design Is Over is the first full-length album to be released by The Autumn Portrait and it is definitely an Indie Rock Pop album. The record is filled with melodious songs accompanied with strong up-tempo drums, all backed by Freddie Mojallal soft vocals. The first song starts of interestingly enough, it’s seems somewhat experimental and a little electronic in the beginning, with snippets of robotic like sounds and faraway voiceovers. However the next four songs are mid-tempoed and consists of the same guitar riffs and beats, and I must say it gets a little repetitive after awhile.

However the sixth song, “This Is the Life” livens up the album and snaps the listener back into interest. It has a faster tempo than any previous song before it, and is pretty catchy with Mojallal’s high-pitched vocal chorus. The fast pace continues with “Carousel” and it is somewhat reminiscent of Harvey Danger’s “Flagpole Sitta”. However the fast pace is short lived when the final two songs slow it down and mellow out the album with a sound similar to Incubus. “A Mile Away” is a great song that has warm vulnerable vocals and a sultry sound; I would have to say this is probably the best song on the album. The record ends with “The Light” and even though it follows somewhat of the same formula as the first half of the album, it offers a different more gentle sound. The female vocals that duet with Mojallal’s are a perfect mix that harmonize with each other effortlessly and are reminiscent of Damien Rice.

I must say, I wasn’t too crazy about the first half of this album, however the second half is great. Even though The Autumn Portrait has strong melodies and pleasant enough vocals, I feel like the band is still trying to find their “sound.” You know, that one thing that will set them apart from other bands allowing people who tune into a radio station to differentiate them from all the other Indie Rock Pop bands out there. If they continue to make music like they did in the last half of The Design Is Over, they should have no trouble finding not only their niche, but success as well.

[Words by Andrew Duncan. Photos by Sarah e. Williams.]

Link: http://www.myspace.com/betamale

Under a dark canopy of neon-tinged synth rock, Beta Male has wowed Indianapolis with their flashy songs and unique live performances. Conceived by P. David Hazel, the band has explored, expanded and transformed throughout the years. And just when you felt that an album was on the horizon, we would have to wait … longer.

Now that wait is no more. Beta Male (the incarnation now features David and Allison Hazel, Jess Hack and T.J. Briggs) has finally released their debut long player that drips of seduction, poise and pop bravado unlike anything else this city has experienced. One listen and you will agree that the wait was well worth it.

When it came to their CD Release show, it was a no brainer. It felt that everyone showed up for the event as it not only became an monumental occasion for the band, but a nice showcase that featured four popular local heavy hitters: Pop Lolita, Slothpop and Andy D. to lend their support.

When Beta Male took the stage, they seemed relatively calm and subdued. It could be because we are used to being glamored by the flashiness of the band, be it hula hoops or body paint, face masks, or simple eclectic fervor. It could be that that band wanted to let the music speak for itself. I vote for the later.

On the debut, the band slides from glistening pop decadence stained with moog-like glitches on “Where Were You?” to the brooding and soulful rocker “Taste For Blood.”

When Allison Hazel went into “Are You Holden?,” it made people go out of their heads. Live, the synths and bass lines rattled heads deeper than the album version, but either way it is one of the highlights of the album. The real charm of the album is when the band turns down the lights and swoons with gorgeous songs like “Alone” or the sensuous and contemplative “Get Right,” which properly ends the album just in time to make you realize what a beautiful experience it all is. It’s hard to find fault with this album as so much care and attention was given to every element from the recording to that night it all became reality.

And that was why the music deserved to be at the forefront.

The day after, there was a note on the band’s FaceBook apologizing for having to turn people away due to capacity. That just proved my point amongst looking out amongst the crowd that Beta Male was indeed too small for a place like Radio Radio.

Link: http://www.thrilljockey.com/artists/?id=10145

Arbouretum’s fourth album, The Gathering, is dark and seductive. The frontman, Dave Heumann, developed his inspiration for this album from Carl Jung’s The Red Book. With only seven tracks, the album isn’t too lengthy, but still manages to be pretty hardy. The first song, “The White Bird” is a mellow song that isn’t heavy on the lyrics, but definitely heavy on instrumentals. The song meanders for a little over seven minutes and with its entrancing melody, it’s easy to get lost in. The second song “When Delivery Comes” is more lyrical and shorter than the first. Heumann’s voice, along with its drumbeats resonating throughout the track give this song a mystical feel. With lyrics that describe speaking in tongues and travelling into the woods, “Destroying to Save” has probably the most interesting lyrics on the album, the band describes this album as numinous and this song definitely embodies that.

“Waxing Crescents” has galloping drumbeats, and like “The White Bird” is very instrumental. The second to last song “The Empty Shell” has a solid guitar riff that makes you want to shred the air guitar, after a good minute and half Heumann’s voice cuts it off with his abrupt arrival into the song. This song is more up-tempo and is a definite toe-tapper. The last track, “Song of the Nile” is over ten minutes long, I must say it’s a little drawn out at times, but overall it’s probably the best song to wind down the album. It’s starts of loud and strong and as the track progresses it slows and mellows out a bit, but just when you think it’s about to die it comes back and swallows you up.

Arbouretum’s sound is similar to that of Deep Purple, and dare I say…Jethro Tull, just add in a little jazz flute and you’re set. Heumann’s echoing vocals and raw guitars are reminiscent of 70’s rock. After listening to this album, one would imagine that the inside of their tour bus is adorned with plenty of shag carpet, lava lamps, and a penetrating aroma of Nag Champa. Overall, I like this album, it’s music that isn’t really being experimented with lately, and I personally find it refreshing.

Performing songs off their latest album Family Tree, Lohio graced Indianapolis with their presence Thursday night at the Vollrath. They have been on tour for the past few weeks and after Indy they are heading to Columbus, OH and then back home to Pittsburg where they will be heading back to the studio to work on new material. They were kind enough to answer some questions concerning their latest album, musical influences, and creative process.

Listening to your songs, you use a wide variety of instruments. Is it difficult to bring that to a live performance? For instance in your video, “Adelai” you use drums, bass, guitar, cello, horn, and a xylophone.

Liz: I think we look at in the same way as a lot of bands do, where recording and playing songs live are two different opportunities. When we’re working in the studio we take advantage of the technology and process to allow for really full arrangements. When playing live, I think distilling a song back to its core makes it easier for a listener in a crowded, noisy venue to understand what they are hearing.
Dave: For a lot of reasons, it doesn’t make sense for us to be traveling with a marching bands worth of band members right now.

James: It comes down to context. With a lot of the instrumentation that you find on the record, it’s not the type that’s appropriate for the context of the venues that we’re playing. Not only can you not reproduce the sound of those instruments successfully, they lose power emotionally.

Greg: And to build on that idea, my hope is that the songs are written well enough that their success doesn’t hinge on these elaborate arrangements we’ve worked up in the studio. When we play the songs live, it’s a different interpretation of the songs and maybe sometimes more paired down, but hopefully they’re just as successful and are able to draw an emotional response.

Having asked that, when writing songs and recording them, do you take performing live into consideration?

Greg: Only to a certain extent, or maybe not at all. It’s hard to say. I think we try to write and record successful songs. And if the song is a good one and we’re passionate about it, then we’ll figure out a way to have it translate in a live setting.

What is your creative process like? How do you create song ideas, how do you decide which instruments to use at which parts?

Greg: It’s differed at various times, but the way we work now is that I’ll have a sketch of a song that Liz and I will develop; meaning I might come to her with a chord sequence and an initial melody. Then we’ll develop the idea from there, coming up with some additional parts and hooks. After working on it, if it seems like it’s going to be a good song, we take it to the band and develop it into a finished piece.

Liz: Our yield is pretty small, considering how much content we sift through. Greg will record 60 or so ideas for songs, at home or on his phone. From these we’ll identify the ones that seem to have promise. We don’t always agree, but usually there are about 5 or 6 from this that for a number of reasons stand out. Then we workshop them, come up with a loose form and parts, and of those that stick after the demo process we bring to the band. Even after the band has developed a tighter rendition for these few songs, it seems that several go back to the drawing board or end up on the cutting room floor.

Who are some of your musical influences now and when you first started making music?

Greg: The first artist I really got into was Neil Young, and he’s still one of my favorites. He’s probably the first person that I actively tried to got out and buy all of his records. Then as I got into high school, I moved on to brit-pop bands like Blur and Radiohead.

Liz: Until a few years ago I was following a career in classical music, so my knowledge of popular music was pretty limited. I was more inspired by musicians whose strengths were in performing rather than songwriting. Artists like Edgar Meyer and Joshua Bell. I’d also become very attached to composers whose processes I felt were easy to understand, like Arvo Part, Claude Debussy, Philip Glass.

James: I started playing guitar because I wanted to be Tom Rush, and I started playing piano because I wanted to sound like Professor Longhair.

Greg and Liz: Some of the records that we were drawn to from the past year were the Beach House record, along with the ones by Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem.

How has your music evolved since you first began?

Greg: The songs are written a lot differently now than in previous recordings. Prior to this release, all of the songs started out as folk songs on acoustic guitar and were built up around that premise, which was pretty broad. With this last batch of songs, I think we kind of narrowed our focus. Plus, I wrote a lot of it using keyboards, so that had a strong influence in how they were arranged.

What have been your biggest challenges as a band?

Greg and Liz: Everything..haha.. It’s all hard work. it’s hard to write a good song, touring is hard. There’s so many bands out there now, known and unknown, that it takes a lot of work to create a space for yourself. But that being said, when you do start having success it’s a really great accomplishment.

It seems you keep your albums pretty short. Your first album, Sleeping Stereo had 7 tracks, History the Destroyer had 9, and Family Tree has 5, is there a reason for the brevity?

Liz: No, it wasn’t intentional. We just try to release the music as it makes sense, as a full piece or thought. We haven’t really stockpiled enough songs for a full length in a while, but that is our plan for this next one. Looking back it makes sense, as we’ve been stabbing at this idea and that, trying not to overdo any one idea.

How would you describe the sound of your latest album, and how does it differ from your previous albums?

Greg: I think with the new record we were really interested in playing with tone colors and instrumentation. And there was some excitement in changing the way we approached writing pop songs.

What are your plans after your tour?

Liz: After this tour we’ll be back in the studio, finishing up the writing and recording of the new record. And then after that we’ll be back out on the road.

Link: http://www.myspace.com/eulogiesmusic

The singer/songwriter of Eulogies, Peter Walker, has been quite vocal about the joys as well as hardships he has endured over the past year and a half. The birth of his first child as well as the death of his close friend’s child changed his outlook on everything to do with life. Walker said that this album was his outlet and when listening to it, it is easy to hear his emotions transform and evolve with each progressing song.

Eulogies fourth album Tear the Fences Down gets right to work with the first song “Out of Style, Out of Touch.” It is poppy and upbeat, and has beats reminiscent of Vampire Weekend. It has mellow, laid back vocals that set the tone for the remainder of the album. Their third song, “You Hide”, begins with gloomy vocals similar to those of Mark Oliver Everett’s from the Eels; it has a taut drumbeat that gives it a rock yet composed and controlled feel. When the chorus bursts in it breaks the rhythm up a bit, giving the listener a change in pace.

The whole album has appealing lyrics; especially “Separate Heart,” its melancholy words are poetically depressing but somehow refreshing at the same time. “Little Bombs” has a faraway echo that creates a feeling of isolation and despair. It’s angelic background vocals compliment the harsh beats constantly going off—like little bombs, the end picks up and then spirals out of control. The last song, “Little Else to Say,” has lyrics that are sadly comforting, “You’re gone you’re gone you’re gone…but you live on and on and on…your words could wrap around my heart and guide me through the day.”

The album is well balanced; with a fair amount of songs that are upbeat, yet just the right amount of mellow songs to ensure the listener doesn’t go into a banal trance with a constant stream of repetitiveness. Tear the Fences Down won’t take up too much of your time, it’s a short album, only 32 minutes in length and listening to it in its entirety is easy since the albums flows and melds together seamlessly.

When Robert Plant describes a band by saying, “There aren’t really many good bands coming out of Wolverhampton, just one great band called the Lines” you know their music is going to be kick-ass. “El Matador” is the first single to be released off of their self-titled LP. The toe-tapping song makes you want to get out of your chair and dance, with its synthesized electronic beats, echoing vocals, and siren-like guitar riffs.

“El Matador” is an addictive song that makes you wanting more of the Lines. Their wild rhythms and impulsive spoken vocals make this song animalistic and exciting. They’ve already reached the Top 10 on the Indie Charts and are scheduled to perform at SXSW this year.

Link: http://www.wearethelines.com/

Link: http://www.trailofdead.com/

…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead’s seventh album, Tao of the Dead starts off with “Introduction: ‘Let’s Experiment’.” The track begins with a delicate intro that smashes into an energetic instrumental passage, which is a foreshadowing of the remainder of the album. The songs are short, but far from simple—with several key and time changes, as well as heavy crescendos, you never know which way a song will take you.

It is easy to see why “Summer of All Dead Souls” was their first single released from the album. It stands out from the other tracks with a catchy, head-bobbing intro; the song is reminiscent of that of Oasis or The Doves. This song offers listeners a change in instrumentals and is the first song that relies a little more on lyrics than the ones before it. The beginning and ending tracks do not rely heavily on lyrics, but when they are present in the intermediate tracks they are magnetic and appealing.

“Cover the Days Like a Tidal Wave” is another great track that borders on hard rock but still experiments modestly with electronic sounds that emphasis the ending of song. “Pure Radio Cosplay” as well as “The Fairlight Pendant” harks back to that of The Who’s Who’s Next album, particularly “Baba O’Riley”.
“Ebb Away” fools the listener into thinking the album is winding down, with its mellow vocals and beats, it’s a strategically placed song that gives the listener a break from all the hard drum beats and guitar riffs.

After listening to the entire record, the most surprising and perhaps best component of the album is the first three minutes of the sixteen minute “Tao of the Dead Part Two: Strange News from Another Planet”, which ends the album with an immediate kick of energetic instrumentals and engaging vocals. However the remaining thirteen minutes seem like a montage of jam sessions they couldn’t quite work into other songs on the album, but in the end the song circles back to how it started and everything is laid to rest.

Performing songs off his latest album Black City, Matthew Dear made a stop at Talbott Street last Sunday night. I definitely suggest checking out his live performance. DJ Taylor Norris, Adam Jay, and John Larner also performed that night, entertaining the crowd with some house music before Dear went on at Midnight. Dear had a great stage presence that gave off a contagious energy to the crowd.

Matthew Dear

DJ Taylor Norris