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The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die interview
THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE & I AM NO LONGER AFRAID TO DIE INTERVIEW - 1/9/11
Questions by
-Mike Ward
Answers by
-Greg Horbal
Alright. First let me say how much I love everything that you have done. The subtleness to your songs is really amazing. Almost an Explosions in the Sky esque to them. When you write songs, do you ever compare your works to other groups that you are influenced by as if to say ” does this sound enough like…” ? (If so, who are some of those groups?)
I don’t think we ever approach anything from the standpoint of “does this sound ENOUGH like…”. There have definitely been moments while writing where we finish a part and are like: “Oh man, this sounds like ‘Band X’” or “this sounds like ‘Band Y’.” If it feels too close to ripping off another band we tend to try and change the part. We’re more interested in developing our own sound than trying to follow in the footsteps of anyone in particular.
On the cover of your latest record, there are about ten guys laid face down on the ground. Was this some sort of metaphoric shot saying that you all died doing something that you truly loved (playing music) or was this just a cover you guys thought would be clever?
Honestly, we all just kind of thought it looked good! We had been discussing that image for months before we took the picture. We wanted to take a photo of everyone in our band and everyone in Deer Leap together and had originally been intending to include all of our gear out on the lawn. We kept running into issues, though. For one, Deer Leap live in New Hampshire and we’re all in Connecticut so we don’t get together too often. And then when we were finally all together and got ready to take the photo, the skies turned black and it looked like it was going to rain at any minute. We grabbed our less precious gear, threw it on the lawn and took the shot moments before it started to downpour.
So on the record Mixed Signals Comp, there is a song that is a bit different from most of your other works. Is there a reason behind why you guys chose the song ” To the Janitor, To the King” as your single as opposed to some more of your abrasive tracks?
We had intended to use a song called ‘Getting Sodas’ for the comp, but as the recording date approached we just didn’t have the song done. Parts kept changing, vocals and lyrics were not completed and it started to get really stressful. We had sat in Derrick’s room a few nights before we were supposed to go record and Tom showed us the first verse of “To the Janitor, To the King.” I remember all of us getting excited. We worked through a very rough version of what the song would end up being in the following hour, and made the call to place that song on the comp instead. We were all really stoked how it came out. I think we’re going to be using a very similar styled song for a single we’re going to be doing for Run For Cover next year as well.
Listening to your albums from the beginning of your discography, is there any one song that you are most proud of writing?
Honestly what I’m most proud of right now are all of the new songs we’ve been writing for our LP next year. I feel like we’ve finally started to reach our potential as a group. I have to have something like 15 demos on my iPod and they are all I’ve been listening to. I cannot wait to show this record to everyone.
The song ” Blank #6” sounds like a deep song that simply did not require anything more done to it to make it better. Was there an event in any of your lives that brought about the abyss that lies within the guitar riffs?
I don’t think there was an exact event that inspired the song, but that song and all the songs we write reflect what’s going on in all of our lives at the time.
Lew Curry did this poster. This is our only show in june, playing with Ape Up, Prawn and some of our friends. Wicked.
http://www.facebook.com/events/142960209154235/
http://www.facebook.com/events/142960209154235/
You Blew It! east coast & midwest tour
You Blew It! are hitting the road for a little over a month in support of their fantastic new record Grow Up, Dude. The Facebook event page for the tour can be found here.
- 6/23/2012 Atlanta GA @ Uner the Couch
- 6/24/2012 Greenville SC @ Earshot Records
- 6/25/2012 Greensville, NC, @ Pool house
- 6/26/2012 Christensburg, VA @ Lucie Monroe Specialty Coffee
- 6/27/2012 Richmond, VA @ House Address
- 6/28/2012 Philadelphia, PA @ TWOB HOUSE
- 6/29/2012 Brooklyn, NY @ Suburbia
- 6/30/2012 Robbinsville NJ @ 7 donna st r
- 7/1/2012 New Haven CT @ Taco Hut w/ Two Humans
- 7/2/2012 Providence RI @ Dusk
- 7/3/2012 Lowell, MA @ The Ant Cellar
- 7/5/2012 Burlington VT @ The Monkey House
- 7/6/2012 Montreal, QC, @ Casa Del Popolo
- 7/7/2012 Kitchener, ON @ White Lodge
- 7/8/2012 Toronto @ Parts & Labor
- 7/9/2012 Rochester NY @ A Park (TBA) w/ Slingshot Dakota
- 7/10/2012 Pittsburgh PA @ Mr. Roboto Project w/ Souvenirs
- 7/11/2012 Ashtabula OH @ West End Art Space w/ Souvenirs
- 7/12/2012 Louisville @ Chestnut House w/ Souvenirs
- 7/13/2012 Bloomington IN @ Indy Hostle w/ Souvenirs
- 7/14/2012 Grand Rapids MI @ DACC w/ Souvenirs
- 7/15/2012 Chicago IL @ 4206 N. Westen w/ Souvenirs, Spoon Boy
- 7/16/2012 Milwaukee, WI @ Scheme City w/ & This is Hell lo
- 7/17/2012 Minneapolis MN @ The Beat
- 7/18/2012 Cedar Falls, IA @ The Space
- 7/19/2012 Springfield IL @ Blacksheep Cafe
- 7/20/2012 St Louis MO @ The Foxhole
- 7/21/2012 Kansas City MO @ The Headquarters
- 7/22/2012 Oklahoma City @ Bad Granny’s Bazar
- 7/23/2012 Denton TX @ TBA
- 7/24/2012 Austin TX @ Trailer Space
- 7/25/2012 Lafayette, LA @ Jason’s House
- 7/26/2012 New Orleans @ TBA
- 7/27/2012 Tallahassee, FL @ TBA
- 7/28/2012 Gainesville, FL @ Turkey Town
Prawn’s new 12” EP will be released on July 3. The band also just started their European / UK run with Ape Up! from May 21 through June 29! The full list of dates is below.
- 21.05.12 – CZ – Prague – Chapeau Rouge
- 22.05.12 – CZ – Brno – Fléda
- 23.05.12 – DE – Menden - Autonum Zentrum
- 24.05.12 – DE – Hamburg – Komet
- 25.05.12 – DK – Copenhagen – KB18
- 26.05.12 – NO – Oslo – Revolver
- 27.05.12 – NO – Trondheim – Lobbyen
- 28.05.12 – NO – Oslo – Secret show
- 29.05.12 – SW – Stockholm – Kafe 44
- 30.05.12 – SW/DK - TBA
- 01.06.12 – DE – Berlin – Schokoladen
- 02.06.12 – DE – Aachen – AZ
- 03.06.12 – FR – Lille – L’Imposture
- 05.06.12 – DE – Trier – Ex-Haus
- 06.06.12 – SW – Porrentruy – Gallerie du Sauvage
- 07.06.12 – IT – Milan – Leo
- 08.06.12 – IT – Bolzano – Rock’n roll Club
- 09.06.12 – DE – Dresden – AZ Conni
- 10.06.12 – AU – Vienna – Rhiz
- 11.06.12 – PL – Lodz – Klub Dom
- 13.06.12 – DE – Mainz – Haus Mainusch
- 14.06.12 – UK – Southampton – Bargate Castle
- 15.06.12 – UK – Folkestone – The View
- 16.06.12 – UK – Sheffield – Redhouse (all dayer)
- 17.06.12 – UK – York – Stereo (matinee show)
- 17.06.12 – UK – Manchester – Tiger Lounge
- 18.06.12 – UK – Cornwall – Live Bar
- 19.06.12 – UK – Cardiff – Undertone
- 20.06.12 – UK – Brighton – Green Door Store (matinee show)
- 21.06.12 – UK – London – The Black Heart
- 22.06.12 – UK – Kingston (London) – The Hippodrome
- 23.06.12 – UK – Milton Keynes – The Craufurd Arms
- 23.06.12 – UK – Basingstoke – Bang Bar
- 24.06.12 – BE – Antwerpen – Kavka
- 25.06.12 – FR – Paris – La Miroiterie
- 26.06.12 – FR – Bordeaux – Les lectures Aléatoires
- 27.06.12 – FR – Toulouse – Connexion
- 28.06.12 – SP – Barcelona – Jazz Cava
- 29.06.12 – FR – Tarbes – Celtic Pub
The Facebook event page for the tour is here.
Topshelf vs No Sleep Out Today!
The new 20 song $4.99 CD Sampler from No Sleep Records and Topshelf Records is now officially available! Head into a Hot Topic by you and grab it (check the store list below) OR pick it up on www.hottopic.com (should be on there shortly!).
Don’t forget this includes a chance to win Vinyl Subscriptions, Label Merch and more! PLUS you get a bonus 50 song digital sampler to download with purchase :)
Prawn head overseas today to start their European tour on May 21. Check out a documentary that the band put together which includes footage of their time in the studio working on their upcoming EP as well as them getting ready for the tour. The video also gives a sneak peek at most of the new songs. Prawn’s whole catalog is now available for a “pay what you want” price on their Bandcamp page.
Here’s a statement from the band:
Over the past few months our best friend Scott Davis has been following us around and filming our every move. He compiled all the footage into a 12-minute documentary detailing the process of recording our new record and preparing for our first European/UK tour. If you want, we’ve included a donation link to help fund our tour for Europe. Any donations would greatly be appreciated and we’d be beyond thankful, but either way, we hope you enjoy the film. ALSO from now until the end of August we made our albums ‘You Can Just Leave it all’ and ‘False Institutions’ pay-what-you-want on our Bandcamp (http://prawnnj.bandcamp.com). There is NO minimum cost! Take care everyone.
Prawn’s EP was recorded and mixed by Greg Dunn of Moving Mountains and will be out July 17 on Topshelf.
Tour Dates (with Ape Up!):
- 21.05.12 – CZ – Prague – Chapeau Rouge
- 22.05.12 – CZ – Brno – Fléda
- 23.05.12 – DE – Menden - Autonum Zentrum
- 24.05.12 – DE – Hamburg – Komet
- 25.05.12 – DK – Copenhagen – KB18
- 26.05.12 – NO – Oslo – Revolver
- 27.05.12 – NO – Trondheim – Lobbyen
- 28.05.12 – NO – Oslo – Secret show
- 29.05.12 – SW – Stockholm – Kafe 44
- 30.05.12 – SW/DK - TBA
- 01.06.12 – DE – Berlin – Schokoladen
- 02.06.12 – DE – Aachen – AZ
- 03.06.12 – FR – Lille – L’Imposture
- 05.06.12 – DE – Trier – Ex-Haus
- 06.06.12 – SW – Porrentruy – Gallerie du Sauvage
- 07.06.12 – IT – Milan – Leo
- 08.06.12 – IT – Bolzano – Rock’n roll Club
- 09.06.12 – DE – Dresden – AZ Conni
- 10.06.12 – AU – Vienna – Rhiz
- 11.06.12 – PL – Lodz – Klub Dom
- 13.06.12 – DE – Mainz – Haus Mainusch
- 14.06.12 – UK – Southampton – Bargate Castle
- 15.06.12 – UK – Folkestone – The View
- 16.06.12 – UK – Sheffield – Redhouse (all dayer)
- 17.06.12 – UK – York – Stereo (matinee show)
- 17.06.12 – UK – Manchester – Tiger Lounge
- 18.06.12 – UK – Cornwall – Live Bar
- 19.06.12 – UK – Cardiff – Undertone
- 20.06.12 – UK – Brighton – Green Door Store (matinee show)
- 21.06.12 – UK – Derby – The Old Bell
- 22.06.12 – UK – Kingston (London) – The Hippodrome
- 23.06.12 – UK – Milton Keynes – The Craufurd Arms
- 23.06.12 – UK – Basingstoke – Bang Bar
- 24.06.12 – BE – Antwerpen – Kavka
- 25.06.12 – FR – Paris – La Miroiterie
- 26.06.12 – FR – Bordeaux – Les lectures Aléatoires
- 27.06.12 – FR – Toulouse – Connexion
- 28.06.12 – SP – Barcelona – Jazz Cava
- 29.06.12 – FR – Tarbes – Celtic Pub
The Facebook event page for the tour is here.
Welcome Cut Teeth to the Topshelf Family!
We’re Boston guys through and through, but boy, do we sure love Chicago. Chicago’s pretty cool, you guys. When I heard one of the city’s newest exports, Cut Teeth, I didn’t even finish the record before I was texting another Windy City mainstay, Evan Weiss, about how to get in touch with these guys. And so here we are.
The creed of Cut Teeth is a simple one: to be loud and be loud together. Dan Yingling, Kyle Johns, Matt Jordan, Dustin Currier began doing so while writing together in Chicago early 2011 when the combination of inheriting a practice space and taking a break from their other musical pursuits (The Red Knife Lottery, Monday’s Hero, The Felix Culpa, Stay Ahead of the Weather) created a perfect storm of sorts. Televandalism was the result of this time. No releases come to mind from this scene today that are more loud and unashamedly riff-heavy than this groundbreaking debut EP. It is undoubtedly the most mature effort yet in their musical careers and has been enthusiastically received as such. As far as they’re concerned, the future won’t look too different.
Televandalism — originally self-released earlier this year as a digital-only EP — will be re-released by us on July 24th of this year. The six tracks have been remastered, the vinyl version will include a bonus track and Ben Sears has cooked up something really awesome for the album art.
We’ll have more information soon. Until then, you can follow the band online on their Facebook, Tumblr & Twitter accounts.
Topshelf vs No Sleep
The wait is over! We are proud to announce what I hope will be the first in many collaborations with our good friend Chris at No Sleep Records.
Topshelf Records vs No Sleep Records: 2,995 Miles Between Us is a 20-song limited compilation featuring new, unreleased, and rare songs from both roster’s families. Inside every compilation is a code for a bonus 50-song digital download for free, plus a chance to score a ~golden ticket~ which could win you such extravagant prizes as a No Sleep (or) Topshelf 2012 vinyl subscription, label merch, etc..
The record will be available May 22nd, exclusively at select Hot Topic locations (we’ll have the full list as soon as we get it from Hot Topic).
