Drop Magazine is happy to present Best Friends Forever hailing from Minnesota, with the supporting act from Bob Carlton, and opening Madam Lee. So if your in the area and looking for an amazing show, make sure to come by.
Mirror Mirror is a captivating group. This New York City based band has formed much of their forthcoming album 'The Society for the Advancement of Inflammatory Consciousness' around their home, NYC. Through their music you can really start to get a picture of their urban surroundings. 'New Horizon' is a track that is most engaging and you likely won't tire of it anytime in the near future.Davie Riley: I think we were sitting in the park, writing out a list of any names that came to mind. MM was the name that offended everyone the least—which is to say it's generic, hinting at duality and self-reflection and mysticism without really meaning anything. It could be the name of a perfume.How did all of you meet? What made you want to form a band?
Ryan Lucero: When I first moved to NY I went out a lot. I was at this crazy-ass gay dance club where I saw David dancing around on stage in his underwear singing in his old band Navy... DR: I think I was covered in flour. RL: I thought to myself "I need to start a band with this guy!"Did you come from very different backgrounds? Do you think where you grew up had a large impact on the music you make today?
DR: Yes. I grew up in a small town on the coast of Maine. We would sail from island to island, exploring and eating wild peas on the beach. My father is British, so we also spent some time in the UK, and I lived in Denmark for three years, and France for a year. I went to international schools. My friends were from Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Turkey, Romania… I don't know how that affected the music, but it gave me an outsider's perspective. I learned to be diplomatic, observant and adaptable. Good qualities for a musician in the end.If you weren't making music what would you be doing?
RL: I grew up in the suburbs in LA but went to a totally insane arts high-school in LA. I would drive 2 hours everyday to get there and back, but it was totally worth it! It was an audition only school, so the kids were fucking amazing. Everyone was so unique and had such advanced interests in art, music, dance and all that. It was also super experimental.. We were all into really obscure music. I was in a lot of experimental bands with my friends. Around that time, the first incarnation of The Smell opened. I'd hang out and play there a lot. Now when I see all the bands that have created such a scene around that place, I think "Geez I'm old", or "Whoa cool!", or "Wha?"
RL: Painting.What did you listen to growing up?
DR: Ryan went to RISD for painting, and I went to NYU for Film and Video, so I'd like to think we'd be putting our pricey educations to good use. Well I guess we already are. We have strong opinions about what we want to do with the band visually. We make props and costumes for our shows at our studio in Bushwick. I just found a church podium at a yard sale for $5, and I've been re-finishing it. And making a series of ritual objects, like silicone molds, cloth snakes. We've also been shooting the New Horizons video there. Actually, we don't even have a rehearsal space, just an art studio...
DR: I remember driving with my mom when I was 12 and hearing "Dirty Boots" on WERU Blue Hill (my favorite Maine radio station) and thinking "What is this?!". A few years later I was at track practice in little shorts when I heard Kurt Cobain shot himself in the face. Basic 90s. Jane's Addiction, Breeders, Husker Du, NIN, Skinny Puppy. And then there were a whole bunch of Dead heads and Phish heads, you understand you're from Vermont. Ryan went to an arty high school, so he had much cooler taste. RL: I was really into the Swans, Art Bears, This Mortal Coil, Subversion! I was drawn to darker stuff, but in general, I had really broad taste: Stacy Q, John Cage, Wee Papa girls, Harry Pussy, Harry Partch, tons of north Indian music (I took sitar lessons all through high school).Do you think where you live today has a large impact on your music?
DR: Of course. In New York we're surrounded by so many talented artists and bands. It's inspiring but also really competitive. And there are so many crazy characters stalking the streets at all hours. A lot of the inspiration for our album came from the storefront churches in our neighborhood… in the summer, the doors are open, and you can hear all the wild, distorted sermons mixed with off-key choirs. And then that mixes with screaming children and bass-pumping minivans.Are any of your songs/characters in your songs based in reality?
DR: Well, I'm not really based in reality most of the time... but I feel like I've known all of the characters in my own life in one way or another. The album is based around a group of people who reject society, and try to live outside the usual boundaries. I've known a lot of people like that. Some of them were successful, some weren't. Some survived, some didn't. But none of the characters from the album is based on any single, actual person.Have you ever been on tour? What is tour like for you?
DR: We've played in NYC, LA, SF, Miami, Providence and Paris, but never really an extended tour. We're going to be touring in September and October to promote the album. So far we have dates in the UK and France, and we'll be doing an East Coast tour with one of our favorite bands (and Cochon label mates) The Judy Experience. Maybe we'll even get to Vermont...What is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you during a show?
RL: We've done some smaller tours. We're planning some bigger ones. I've been on tour with different bands. I just finished a leg tours with Telepathe. It was a lot of fun, but also really hard work. Getting up early and staying up late every night can get pretty draining. I think touring is really just all about showing up to places on time, being hyper-organized and professional. Partying comes so naturally to the environment, but too much of that can kill you.
DR: Ryan would call me up when he was on tour, either ecstatic or completely miserable.
DR: That's difficult because we really try to cultivate weirdness at our shows, it's part of the job. We've led sing-alongs, served audience members food, given them massages. Whatever it takes to make them comfortable. We played a really fun show with our friends Ryan Trecartin and Veronica Gelbaum in LA, they're really great artists. They bought a ton of stuff from Target and glued it to their clothes: fake fruit, seashells, bath soap, teapots. The weird and wonderful Dynasty Handbag played that show too...How do you feel about today's culture? If you could change one thing what would it be?
DR: I don't know where to start. This country simply can't survive in its current form, it has to adapt. In a word, simplify! Consume less, pool resources, grow a garden on your roof. Share pants with your lover. That was one of the reasons we wrote an album about a sort of visionary society looking for "answers". It's not new age bullshit, it's survival. Also, radio is terrible, let's change that.What are some of your favorite acts circulating these days?
RL: I'm really into Girls from San Francisco. They are such amazing song writers! Chris has a totally captivating voice.If you could play with any other band/musician in the world who would it be?
DR: Our friend Lispector, from France, writes wonderful lo-fi Casio symphonies. The new Telepathe album, which Ryan played on, sounds incredible. Not sure when it's coming out though.
RL: Kate Bush. She is a major inspiration, especially now that she's older. I'd love to play a few tunes with her and then have tea, talk about life. DR: I heard she has a circular, glass-walled bedroom with a 360 degree view of the forest. I don't care if it's true, she's an idol of ours.As people from an internet site, how do you think the internet affects the music industry?
DR: We're not a major label with a terrible business model, so we're very happy with the internet. It means that people everywhere in the world can hear our music. And we have immediate access to so much great music, old and new, that would be impossible to find in most record stores. I find it very exciting.If you could sum yourself up in a few words what would they be?
DR: We've been called mercurial. I like that. I think we're a little moody and hard to pin down. Also: organic, interactive, synergistic.What can our readers look forward to? New releases, tour etc..?
DR: They can look forward to the dawning of another day. And our album The Society for the Advancement of Inflammatory Consciousness comes out September 16th. We'll be starting a tour around the same time.
Out thanks to Mirror Mirror for answering our questions.
'New Horizon' - Mirror Mirror
If all bands from Alberta, Canada are this good, Drop Magazine is going to have to relocate. Women is the kind of band you listen to over and over again. They are talented and just make good music. 'Black Rice' is an engaging song that will have your right from the start. Everything about this band makes you want to listen to them. They make you want to take a road trip to Canada,(the entire time listening to their music) just to catch one of their shows.We were hanging out in my apartment and Matt suggested it and we said "Alright". Not an amazing story unfortunately. Picking a band name is the most painful process because most things sound really stupid. We definitely like that our band isn't called "okay panda sex tiger go" and we like that it's a word that doesn't stand out.How did all of you meet, and what made you from your band?
2 of us came out of the same vagina, and the others we've known since elementary school.
Our parents were usually listening to horrible movie/television show soundtracks (Dances with Wolves, La Bamba, Northern Exposure etc.) but also listened to alot of other things like Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, Patsy Cline, CCR, Roy Orbison, Django Reinhardt and Lenny Breau.Chris' parents actually met at a Captain Beefheart concert. His dad is an amazing jazz drummer.
It's really hard/weird to write about how we come up with our music but here's a long list of bands that we really enjoy / wish we were : Black Tambourine, Scars, Les Rallizes Denudes, Fire Engines, Orange Juice, Artery, Tim Hecker, Azeda Booth, Deerhoof, Autechre, US Maple, the Doers, Daughters, the Famines, Knots, Psychic Ills, Kleenex, The Clean, Storm and Stress, Aids Wolf, Normal Humans, METZ, Metropak, Mt. Royal, the Neighbourhood Council, Eddie & Ernie, Your Food, Swell Maps, Drive Like Jehu, Glenn Branca (Static and Theoretical Girls), Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Skeeter Davis, This Heat, Delta 5, One Last Wish, Vangelis, Sonic Youth, Josef K, the Urinals, DEVO etc.Have you ever been on tour? What is that like for you, how do you get along with your fellow band mates?
We recently toured Canada (30+ shows) w/ our friends from Medicine Hat: Mt. Royal. It was totally fine. If we were going to get sick of eachother I think it would've happened by now.
It's just second nature at this point. . . recording, touring and being on a computer alot of the time doing band things. We really enjoy it.We'll probably be those creepy old facial hair guys lounging around at shows.
Tour is alot of fun. Sometimes people drink alot of beer. I've found that most of the time it does not result in a good story.Favorite Expression:
" Utah! : get me two! " - Gary Busey
1. The internet is really taking off. 2. The internet is an excellent resource.
We are touring out to Pop Montreal at the end of September, after that we're playing some stateside shows. In November we are touring in the UK/Europe. Our record is coming out in the States and the rest of the world in the next 6 months. We are already demoing/working on new tracks. We now have vinyl which is exciting, and cassettes are on their way.
(Photo by: Andrew Young)
Drop Magazine was lucky enough to get an interview with Datarock. The Norwegian duo's character does not fall short of their music. While waiting for the interview I was able to sit in on their sound check, getting ready for their performance that night at the Bowery Ballroom. The large space was empty so there were no bodies to absorb any of the sound before it reached me. The sound of the bass drum made me feel as if my heart was going to beat of my chest at any moment. One would think that music that makes your heart feel as if it has just run a marathon can't be healthy, but there's nothing better than the endorphin rush it gives you. Hearing songs that have come across my iPod so many times, being played live before me was amazing, I had to try and refrain from making a fool of myself by singing along.
