Buzz Blog
For many of you, the holidays were spent with loved ones and not-so-loved ones, by force. For me, I just chilled out. --- Seriously, the past few days have been restful and a chance to run around the town without many people doing their own thing; not totally abandoned, but not cluttered with traffic and people, either. So, I took the opportunity to head out and catch an all-locals show.
On Friday, I made my way to The Shred Shed and caught three bands working their way up the ranks: Archeopteryx, Pinecone Radio and The Pelicant's. I chat with all three bands today, as well as look at about 300 photos that you can check out here.
The Pelicant's
Gavin: Hey, everyone. First thing, tell us a little about yourselves.
TPC: Hi. We are a progressive-fusion band based out of Salt Lake City. We're juniors in high school, and we're super-excited to be a part of this interview. Our band consists of four musicians and our esteemed hype-man, Gary Hafford. Ryan Collenburg, our guitar player, has been honing his skills for over five years now. The drummer, Kona Ossana, is a self-taught musician and brings a unique style and flair to the band. Parker Andrezzi, our newest member, is one of the best local teen trumpet players around. Finally, William Guss plays bass and manages most of the band's online presence.
Gavin: What got you interested in music, and who were some of your favorite acts and musical influences growing up?
TPC: Our musical interests are quite diverse; each member has their own unique taste, which really becomes apparent when listening to any of our songs. We grew up listening to jazz, fusion, metal, progressive rock and even trip-hop. Some names that come to mind are Genesis, Weather Report, Anvil, Pantera, Return to Forever, John Coltrane and Iron Maiden.
Gavin: How did you all come together to form The Pelicant's, and where did the name come from?
TPC: It was honestly by chance that we came together. Although we had been jamming together for a while, we never thought that we would start an actual band until our good friend Joren Carlson, the drummer of Anthropology, asked us to play a gig with him last minute. In a rush, we threw together "2nd period," a song written during our second class period on the day of the gig. After that, we started practicing and decided to form a band. As for the name, we came up with it while playing Rock Band.
Gavin: What made you decide to go more as an instrumental band, and what influenced the jazz-rock sound?
TPC: To take the music where we really wanted to take it, the idea of a singer really didn't work for us. Most of our musical influences don't have vocals, so we never put effort into finding a singer. As for our style, it kind of facilitated itself through our own musical tastes. However, Anthropology played a big part in motivating us to start making more complex and math-y rhythms and melodies.
Gavin: How has it been for you just starting up and playing around the area?
TPC: It's been exciting, seeing as we are starting to get a following. It's one thing to be able to play music with a bunch of good friends, but to have other people hear it and even enjoy is awesome.
Gavin: You currently have some recordings online. Any plans to record an album or EP anytime soon?
TPC: Yeah. If everything goes according to plan, we'll be recording our LP, Nude at Noon, this summer. If you want to stay up to date with that, check us out on Facebook.
Gavin: Have you given any thought to touring yet, or are you just playing around the state for now?
TPC: For right now, we just want to work on writing a whole bunch of songs and getting our album done. We’re definitely interesting in expanding our reach and sharing our music outside of Utah, but only after we finish our LP.
Gavin: Going local, what are your thoughts on the music scene, both good and bad?
TPC: The local music scene has been really good to us, and with help from venues like the Shred Shed and Kilby Court, getting our music out there has been really easy. It’s really cool how on any given night you can go down to either of those venues and listen to some amazing local music.
Gavin: Is there anything you believe could be done to make the local music scene more prominent?
TPC: Sure. More media coverage would certainly help. There are so many good artists here locally, and more coverage would totally help them get the fan base that they deserve.
Gavin: Not including yourselves, who are your favorite acts in the scene right now?
TPC: There are a ton of cool bands playing around right now. Anthropology, of course, is one of our favorites, but we really like Archeopteryx, The Wasatch Fault and Squash. It’s really surprising that Utah’s local math/progressive-rock scene is so large, and we’re glad that there are other bands out there representing this great genre of music.
Gavin: What's your opinion on current local-music airplay on community radio and how it affects local musicians?
TPC: Airplay is extremely important for local musicians, and we’re glad that KRCL is doing its best to help support local bands.
Gavin: What do you think of the rise of sites like Bandcamp, and bands essentially marketing themselves?
TPC: The advent of the self-marketing band is amazing. For us, websites such as SoundCloud have been really important, useful tools for us to market and share our music. We don’t think we’d here today without the help of the Internet.
Gavin: What can we expect from all of you going into next year?
TPC: As we said, we’re trying to release a new LP and spread our music as much as we can. We’re hoping to help promote local artists and play a ton of shows!
Gavin: Is there anything you'd like to plug or promote?
TPC: Well, besides our Facebook page, we have a battle of the bands on Jan. 11, and we’d be stoked if everyone came out see us at In the Venue. Also, our friends at Anthropology have a new album, Anthology. So, if you like great math rock, go support a local artist and purchase their album.
Pinecone Radio
Gavin: Hey everyone, first thing, tell us a little about yourselves.
PCR: We are Pinecone Radio, we like to groove. We are Ally Roundy on vocals, Juan Altuna on bass, Jeff Souza on guitar and Chris Shemwell on drums.
Gavin: What got you interested in music, and who were some of your favorite acts and musical influences growing up?
PCR: All of us have similar interests in music; we gain inspiration from artists like Jamiroquai, Marvin Gaye and several other Motown and funk artists. Mostly, these inspirations were discovered through our early endeavors with the School of Rock where we essentially grew up together.
Gavin: How did you all come together to form Pinecone Radio?
PCR: We all met at the Sandy School of Rock. Jeff, Juan, and Chris formed the band in the summer of 2012, and Ally didn't join until December of that year. We needed a vocalist for a Christmas party, and then she stuck with us after that, and we started writing and gigging a lot.
Gavin: What made you go for more of a soul/funk sound for the band?
PCR: At first, we just played a lot of party music and jammed, then once we played together more, we started developing our own style and expressing it through some tasty jams of our own. It's nice to be able to play with some of your best friends because you share that connection and it shows in your music.
Gavin: You've been together about a year and a half now, how has it been playing venues around the state and gaining recognition?
PCR: It's been a blast playing around and gaining some fans. The support we get at our shows is amazing, we love all the people that listen to us! All of the bands we have played with have been great to us as well, it's some of the best experiences we have had!
Gavin: Are there any plans to tour down the road or just playing at home for now?
PCR: There aren't any big plans yet, we just take all the local gigs we can get. Although, this summer we went on tour in Chicago with the School of Rock Allstars and that gave us a taste of touring experience.
Gavin: Anything in the works recording-wise for an EP or full-length, or are you still writing material?
PCR: Currently, we are in the process of getting some solid recording done, and we are also writing some new stuff. Get excited!
Gavin: Going local, what are your thoughts on the local music scene, both good and bad?
PCR: There's some really awesome things going on out there, but as far as venues go, the Utah scene is kind of limited. It would be nice if there were some more venues that support local artists, like The Shred Shed and Kilby, but other than that the local scene is rad. Meeting all the local bands out there makes our hearts super happy.
Gavin: Is there anything you believe could be done to make it more prominent?
PCR: Exposure is key for anybody trying to get out there. So things like being in the newspaper or local businesses promoting shows and artists would really help people take off.
Gavin: Not including yourselves, who are your favorite acts in the scene right now?
PCR: Some of our favorite acts include Squash, Archeopteryx, False Division and Of Earth Inside. They are champs, check them out!
Gavin: What's your opinion on current local music airplay on community radio and how it affects local musicians?
PCR: Like we said before, exposure is good for any local band trying to get on their feet. Airtime for artists like us is priceless, you never know who is listening!
Gavin: What do you think of the rise of sites like Bandcamp and bands essentially marketing themselves?
PCR: It's a great resource for bands trying to get out there. If you want to make it, you have to learn to market yourself or pay for a manager. So chances are the first option is the one for broke college students like us ... tools like Bandcamp and ReverbNation are helpful!
Gavin: What can we expect from all of you going into next year?
PCR: We've got an EP in the works, and hopefully more shows around Salt Lake. Keep an eye out for us, friends!
Gavin: Is there anything you'd like to plug or promote?
PCR: On Jan. 11, we will be grooving in Battle of the Bands at In the Venue in SLC, so check it out! Also, we have some demos posted on our Facebook and Soundcloud!
Archeopteryx
Gavin: Hey gang, first thing, tell us a little about yourselves.
APX: We are an experimental rock band from Salt Lake City. We have been playing for about two years.
Gavin: What got you interested in music, and who were some of your favorite acts and musical influences growing up?
APX: We all really got interested in music when we started listening to either Rush or possibly Green Day.
Gavin: How did you all come together to form Archeopteryx?
APX: We had played on and off with each other in different bands then finally sort of just started a new band with all of us in it.
Gavin: You do this meld of genres that hit classic rock, progressive, even metal at times. What made you go for that style, and how is it coming together to make that music?
APX: We do not really aim for any sort of style, we just write music we enjoy and it does reflect a lot of what we listen to.
Gavin: How has it been playing around the past couple years and gaining an audience?
APX: It has definitely been a huge learning experience.
Gavin: You have recordings online but no official albums. Are there any plans to record a full-length or an EP anytime soon?
APX: We are planning on doing a full-length and an EP within the beginning of this upcoming year!
Gavin: Have you give any thought to touring yet or will you stick to Utah for now?
APX: We would love to tour! After we finish our full-length, we will be playing that a lot then seeing if a tour is possible.
Gavin: Going local, what are your thoughts on the local music scene, both good and bad?
APX: The local scene is rather monotonous as far as music genres go. There also could be quite a few more all-ages venues that local bands have a chance at booking at.
Gavin: Is there anything you believe could be done to make it more prominent?
APX: More all-ages venues would be the greatest thing that ever was.
Gavin: Not including yourselves, who are your favorite acts in the scene right now?
APX: We like the guys in Advent Horizon, Pinecone Radio and False Division a lot. They do a lot of new things as far as music styles go in our scene.
Gavin: What's your opinion on current local music airplay on community radio and how it affects local musicians?
APX: There really aren't too many opportunities for it from what we have seen. We would really like it to be played at more listener-friendly times rather than around midnight when a lot of people are sleeping.
Gavin: What do you think of the rise of sites like Bandcamp and bands essentially marketing themselves?
APX: Bandcamp is one of the greatest tools that a band could use. You can’t solely rely on it, but it sure can help.
Gavin: What can we expect from all of you going into next year?
APX: You definitely expect a lot more shows, a full-length release and an EP. Possibly (cross our fingers) a small tour!
Gavin: Is there anything you'd like to plug or promote?
APX: Not right now, headed to the studio soon right as we finish putting together a few new songs.
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