Half&Half: ISSUE 7 by Half&Half

Ha Ha & lf lf HA

EDITOR IN CHIEF Sam Keeler CO EDITOR Jaycee Rockhold PHOTOGRAPHERS Pamela Ayala Sophia Ragomo Sam Keeler Kris Lori Jaycee Rockhold Daniel Christopher jr. WRITERS Jaycee Rockhold Emily Nelson Claire Chaney

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Wow hello! It has been quite some time since our last issue. Over the past year there has been a lot of big life changes happening. Your first year after college is really scary and no one ever really warns you about that! With things starting to fall in to place, Jaycee and I knew it was time to get things rolling with Half&Half. So that is just what we did. We are back with a fresh new logo, a new website, a new zine, and lots of new content on the way!! Now please sit down pour yourself a glass of coffee with a splash of Half&Half (or oat milk, probably oat milk) and enjoy discovering some new bands in cities all over America! Best, Sam

DESIGN Sam Keeler Oatmeal Cookie Â© COVER SHOT BY: SAM KEELER

Table of Contents Philly Corey Flood ..............................8 Strange Ranger ........................14 Rentboy ....................................22 New York City Frankie Cosmos .......................30 Dr Danny ..................................43 Patio ..........................................47 Chicago Girl K .........................................52 Divino NiĂąo ...............................58 Ratboys .....................................62 Kansas City Budget Motel ..............................70 The Greeting Committee ...........76

PHIL

LLY

Corey Flood

photos by Pamela Ayala words by Jaycee Rockhold

Corey Flood is a Ween-cover-band-turned-rock-trio. The three of them - Ivy GrayKlein, Em Boltz, and Juliette Rando, capture the uncanny. Their debut EP, “Wish You Hadn’t,” released in 2018 via Fire Talk Records, reminds me of the dark movement you see in the corner of your eye late at night. It’s brooding and dark, and smolders with a subdued intensity as they navigate through emotions that are difficult to put into words, like the disappointment from a toxic friendship or feeling empty. How would you describe the DIY scene and your involvement in Philadelphia? Juliette: It’s so nice. There are a lot of different scenes going on, but everyone is super supportive of each other. DIY has been good to us. Are there people/places in Philadelphia that you think specifically encouraged your music career / helped it along (DIY spaces, venues, etc)? Em: Planet Phitness.It was our first practice space, where we played our first show, and recorded our EP. Ivy: DIY spaces are constantly evolving and changing so a lot of the ones that helped us early on don’t exist anymore, like All Nite Diner and No Face Studios. My perennial fave is Everybody Hits. Dave, the founder, is a primo human, and Scott, who does the baseball cards, is a mensch. It feels like summer camp there. What other Philly-area bands are you listening to? I: Puppy Angst, Lunch, Blowdryer, Mannequin Pussy, Empath, Tact E: Sour Spirit, Boothe, Empath, Drill, Olivia Neutron-John.

What non-Philly bands are on your radar? I: Emily Reo, Patio, the Funs, Dehd, Privacy Issues. E: Marbled Eye, Wand, Gauche. J: Giveaway, Dump Him. A few of you were previously in a Ween cover band. What was the catalyst to make your own music?

E: The first EP came together so nicely, but it also felt so rushed! It has felt nice to spend the last two years intentionally cultivating a sound. We had only played maybe two shows when we recorded the EP and I had only been in the band for about a month. I feel I’ve learned more about what kind of guitar tones I want and what kind of shows I’m interested in playing.

J: Yes, it’s really interesting to compare the experience of making something when we were just I: Juliette and I did a Ween cover getting to know each other vs. set for a benefit show and that was having played together for 1.5 the first time we’d played together. years. When we recorded that EP, The band I’d been in was on hiait was all songs Ivy had written, tus, so It was a good excuse to play but this album is much more colwith other people and see if that laborative. part of my life could be sustained in a different way. I booked shows If you can speak on the fullin college with Juliette and knew length, how do you think it’ll she was a great person to collabo- change sound wise and therate with, so playing music togeth- matically? er felt like a natural progression! I: Well we recorded them in an acJ: I hadn’t been in a band before, tual studio instead of a basement, and I remember taking the Ween so that’s a big upgrade in terms cover band so seriously. I wrote of production! We also wrote the out all my drum parts by hand songs more collaboratively, whereand would practice all the time as the EP stemmed from the first (and it was only 3 songs!). I really songs I ever wrote and demoed wanted to play music in Philly, in my room. The new album is but didn’t know how to make that much more reflective of us writing happen, so I was always hoping and experimenting as a group. I the cover band would turn into think the record plays a lot with a real band. I’m so grateful Ivy the uncanny, like at surface level wanted that, too! the songs may seem brighter, but the content is still dark and full of Your first EP, “Wish You discordant emotions. Hadn’t,” came out last year and you are now in the works What do you all do outside of making a full-length. What of making music as Corey have you learned in the proFlood? cess so far?

I: I work in academic publishing and spend a lot of time with my black pomeranian, Zelda. E: I’m working on starting up a new musical project currently! J: I work in HIV research and am finishing up a Master’s in public health. What have you been inspired by recently? I: This summer I read all of Ottessa Moshfegh’s books and that felt very immersive and unsettling in the best way. E: Simone Weil and Nine Inch Nails, the production is just so incredible. J: I moved recently and now I can hear church bells from my bedroom and cicadas when I ride my bike every morning and it’s been making me feel very romantic. What are your goals for the remainder of the year? E: To get out on the road and play the record and to build a guitar pedal. J: I want to learn how to use my drum machine. I: Play some shows again after our summer hiatus, drink more water.

Strange Ranger photos by Pamela Ayala words by Jaycee Rockhold

When I call Strange Ranger, a Philly-based band led by Isaac Eiger and Fred Nixon, they’ve just picked up the van (now-fixed) in preparation for their upcoming tour with Joyce Manor and Stef Chura. They’re fresh off the release of their new album, Remembering the Rockets, on Tiny Engines a few weeks prior, and the two sound cheerful, and eager to get back on the road. Following Rot Forever, which they made under the name Sioux Falls, and Daymoon, Remembering the Rockets is a sonic revelation.Following Rot Forever, which they made under the name Sioux Falls, and Daymoon, Remembering the Rockets is a sonic revelation. Across its 14 tracks, an emotional drive is still at its core, but it has a poppier sheen. You two are originally from Montana, then you moved to Portland, and now you’re in Philly. Is there a difference to playing in all three different cities? Isaac: Playing in Montana was a lot different than Portland and Philly. We were in high school. It was a lot of being really young and confused with not many examples to emulate. Fred: Our hometown didn’t exactly have a thriving DIY scene, or basically any DIY scene to speak off, at least that we were aware of. It was a lot of jamming in the basement and I think we played two shows there during our senior year of high school. I: But when we moved to Portland it wasn’t an immediate incredible adventure necessarily. We spent several years playing bars to people who were totally disinterested. We weren’t playing the right kind of shows. F: It took us a while to figure out how to go about live music. The tipping point was meeting and befriending other people in bands that were trying to do DIY shows and stuff like that. I: In 2014 we met our friends in Snow Roller randomly playing a show and from there we started finding a community. F: Basically after three years of looking for drum-

I: Since we’ve moved to Philly we honestly haven’t been playing a ton of shows, just because of tours and stuff, but it has a great music scene. It’s been really fun. F: All of Remembering the Rockets was recorded before we got here. Is it daunting moving into an already established music scene or have you found that everyone has been pretty welcoming? F: I think yes to both. It is a little bit daunting but for the most part people are welcoming. Most people from any given scene are probably from some place else, also. I think sometimes you feel a bit like an outsider until you realize that it’s largely in your own head. People are usually nice. Plus you’ve gone on tour with some friends, like Spirit of the Beehive. I feel like touring with another Philly-band is a good introduction. I: I feel like that was the best-case scenario. They’re amazing and we were huge fans of them before we moved here. It was really fun, getting to know them as people. Is there any venues that you find yourself hanging out at a lot or going to shows at? I: Tyler, who plays guitar for us, lives at this place called Truck, which is a house venue. I just played a solo set over there the other night which was fun. F: There’s this one warehouse in west Philly where I’ve been too. There’s like ten spaces in there - I’ll go to multiple places in the same building. Are you looking forward to immersing yourself more in the music scene and playing more shows in Philly? Or do you prefer touring more? I: I think you look forward to whatever you’re not doing at the current moment. When I’m at home I’m like “damn I can’t wait to get out of here” and when I’m on tour I’m like “damn I can’t wait to get home.”

F: After these tours it will be fun to do some DIY shows and basement shows. Have either of you lived at a house venue or have done any booking? I: Yeah! The house that Fred and I lived in in Portland threw shows. We threw a lot, actually. F: We had shows there for three years. A lot of good times. How was releasing your album on Tiny Engines? F: This is our third release of Tiny Engines. I: This album has certainly exceeded our expectations, I feel, in terms of release. You guys have gotten a lot of great reception for it! The Pitchfork review was really nice. I: It was super nice! Tiny Engines has done a really job with us. It’s been pretty crazy to have people listen. Very appreciative. What other Tiny Engines artists are you a fan of ? I: Spirit of the Beehive, Peaer...A lot of them are really great. What other bands have you been listening to? Philly and non-Philly? I: I’ve been listening to Young Guv these last few days, pretty much exclusively [laughs]. He’s not from Philly.

Do you ever feel yourself feeling a bit tired of the songs when you have to play them live and the album has been done for months? I: I get completely sick of everything like the third time we play it. And then we play it 300 more times. There is `this kind of funny thing that happens where it’s like “the new album is out!” but I wrote that song like two years ago and we’ve been playing it on tour for a year and we recorded it a year ago... It’s fun now that people know the songs. That reinjects some of the life back into it. Do you kind of just have to power through that or do you switch up the songs? I: I don’t want to make it sound like it’s a slog - that makes it sound a little dark [laughs]. F: It’s still fun to play shows. We like being on tour. The material doesn’t feel “new” to us how it feels “new” to the audience. While you’re on tour do you ever have time to explore and enjoy the cities? I: We do our best, for sure. It’s hard when you have to make load-in. I think the most fun non-musical way is that we booked this tour that was through the western US that was very lax. We did a lot of nature stuff - it was very beautiful and a fun place to be. F: You get something out of everywhere that you go. One of the beauties of touring is that it takes you to so many places that you would never go otherwise. You might have a fun special experience in some random town in Kansas...Those kind of little experiences are special and I try to appreciate them.

F: I’ve been listening to this band called Cherry from Philly. They’re really good. I feel like since I’ve been here people have showed me so many sick Philly bands. I know you all just released a new album, but are you working on new stuff? I: There’s enough material to make an album with but we need to start working on it. Enough stuff has been written but we have to demoing and all that jazz. We’ll probably start that between these tours.

photos by Pamela Ayala words by Jaycee Rockhold

Rentboy 23

Rentboy - project of Bobby Brown - makes colorful, queer noise-pop. Named after a now-shutdown male escort site, Brown gained attention from the local scene in upstate New York, prompting him to move to Philly to join the budding music community. I’ve been enamored by his music ever since seeing him at a Chicago house show. Brown is a real treat - someone who is sweet and excited about music. He responded by email to a few questions we had about what’s upcoming in his music. What are your earliest memories of music, and what was the catalyst for you making your own music? I remember being a huge Jimmy Buffett fan when I was four because his songs were about food and the ocean. I started making music on GarageBand when I was 11 because I liked building things. How would you describe the DIY scene and your involvement in Philadelphia? The DIY scene is pretty diverse, it’s a lot of small groups with different aesthetics spread across the city. It’s very generative and there’s pretty much always something happening. I hadn’t been going to as many shows this year because of focusing so much on learning how to arrange and produce electronic music while holding down an exhausting service job. I also went to an arts residency in Nebraska for June and July, so I wasn’t in touch with what was happening in the city. I’ve gone to a few shows and raves since i’ve gotten back and am really excited about all the possibilities I see. Are there people / places in Philadelphia that you think specifically encouraged your music career / helped it along (DIY spaces, venues, etc)? I went to a round robin show at First Unitarian Church in 2016. Every act had its own space in this giant hall and a little light would come on overhead when it was their turn to play. Actual Pearls and Tiffany’s House, which are both performance art acts in addition to musical ones, really made an impression on me that night. It was absurd and campy and I had a feeling that I could fit in somehow. What other Philly-area bands are you listening to? Empath is one of my favorite bands from Philly. I think their new record is fantastic and I love the synthesizer work on it. The amount of energy they put out on stage is fantastic and their shows are very intense.

Do you think moving to Philly has benefitted your music? If so, in what way? The most important benefit has been material. I don’t think I could afford to spend as much time working on music if I lived in any other city on the east coast. While the same issues are present here as every other city, there’s a lot of freedom to experiment and a pretty open atmosphere in the music scene. There isn’t the same level of ambient financial pressure and dread that affects the people I know in New York right now. You just spent several weeks at an artist residency in Nebraska. Describe how you learned about the residency and your experience there. My friend Joe Rupprecht is a poet and had gone to Art Farm last year and I was really taken by the idea of isolating myself from everything and having an excuse to quit my job. I had just finished an album in May so it seemed like a good time to experience something outside of being a DIY kid on the east coast. A 73 year old machinist named Ed who grew up on the farm runs the place and it mostly consists of giant cobbled-together barns where artists live. Everyone works together doing repairs around the farm and I actually helped pour a concrete foundation which was exciting. I had my own little studio and had to cover my synths in plastic whenever I left because there was a hole in the ceiling and the rain got in. The isolation was really beneficial and i ended up writing about two hours of music. The last Rentboy EP, “L,” was more of a group effort. Since you’re moving into more of a solo project, what do you think future releases will look like? Writing on my own without the structure of a rock band has let me dive into making house and electronic music which are generally more solitary. Like everyone else on twitter I have no attention span, so next year I’d just like to release a million singles and hopefully get some producers I admire to make remixes so people can DJ with them. I’d also like to put out a dance tape of stuff I made in Nebraska which is all very lo-fi acid and deep house oriented. What have you been inspired by recently? Mostly by going out with my friends! In terms of music, I’ve been a Björk Stan since I was a temperamental gay teenager and I’m continually inspired by her ability to meld digital and acoustic instruments. Louisa Gagliardi is a digital artist doing the same thing but with figurative painting and it’s really cool. I’ve also been reading Dennis Cooper’s novels and watching a lot of Wong Kar Wai films; Both of them make explicitly queer work that has a really cool sense of internal logic and intuitive expression, which I really admire. What are your goals for the remainder of the year? I’d like to become a better DJ than Paris Hilton.

NEW Y

YORK

Frankie Cosmos photos & interview by Sam Keeler words by Jaycee Rockhold

While listening to Frankie Cosmos’ new album, Close It Quietly, there’s a shifting in the earth - a movement, a bloom. Greta Kline (guitar/vocals), Lauren Martin (synth), Luke Pyenson (drums), and Alex Bailey (bass) have been making music under Kline’s Frankie Cosmos moniker for several years, and although their discography boasts incredible collections of glossy indie-pop songs, Close It Quietly is a marker of continual growth, and the band’s most polished and collaborative work to date. To create their fourth studio-album and second Sub Pop release, Close It Quietly, the band chose to stay close to home. This album is their first ever recorded in New York - specifically at Figure 8 Studios in Brooklyn. Working with engineer and producer Gabe Wax was a crucial decision. Wax encouraged the band to consider their recordings more carefully, sometimes getting a few extra takes out of tapes rather than using one of the first few. This ethos is the driving force throughout the entire process of making Close It Quietly. The album presents the band at a more elevated level, in terms of sound, live performance, and gear. At a diner in Brooklyn, not far from the studio, the band describes how they’re how they’re amping up their music, shows, and themselves.

You just came from practice is that what you’ve been up to these last couple of weeks? Greta: Some days! Lauren: A couple of days a week. With your album coming out in September, I’m sure things are starting to pick up. What do you all have planned? G: We have three months of tour. We’ve been making music videos and doing press stuff and gearing up the release. We’re trying to practice a new set. We all have new equipment. We’re trying to amp up the live show. Is that fun, exciting, stressful? L: I say it’s mostly fun and exciting, with a sprinkle of stress. But healthy stress, you know? Motivating stress. Alex: We owe it to our audience to put in effort. It’s exciting to give the customer good value and what they deserve.

that was like the Guitar Center floor model because that’s what I could afford at the time. I mean, I couldn’t even afford it, Greta had to help me buy it. Now I feel ready to move up. G: We’re taking a moment and being like ‘this is our job we want to do a really good job at it and take it really seriously.’ Even visually we’re trying to make the performance more interesting in a way that I’ve never thought about before.

G: Totally! It’ll make it feel separate from who we are off stage. L: It’s like Orville Peck putting on a mask. He’s a different person, and that feels cool to be that onstage. Do you think your persona onstage is changing with this tour? L: Not necessarily. It’s evolving.

In what ways are you amping up the visuals, or is that a surprise?

G: We never really had a “persona.” I want to dabble in having one.

Lauren: Nothing’s been set in stone.

A: It’ll take some pressure off.

G: Maybe projections, maybe some costumes, you know...Just stuff to make it feel more like a performance and less like we wandered in off the street. L: Like usually what we wear onstage is what we wear in the car all day.

As you mentioned, you’re kind of switching up the instruments for this album. How does that deviate from your normal sound and push this next album forward?

G: Everytime that I meet a style-y people they ask me what I wear onstage and I’m always like, ‘I don’t know, whatever I’m wearing that day!’ We’re changing it to make it so we feel like performers.

G: For me it’s the first time I feel like I’m really investing in the equipment - buying an amp, buying a guitar. It’s been our job for years and it’s crazy that we haven’t gotten nice equipment to make it sound how it should sound. Finally we’re making the push and we’re doing it. Lauren got two new keyboards.

L: Let’s change it so it feels like there’s a driving part of tour and a performing part of tour as two separate parts. Just like you would change to go to work.

L: For the first few years I was in the band I was using a keyboard

feel more exciting in general.

G: We also just made a music video where I’m playing different characters with wigs. I felt like I tapped into a performer side of me that I hadn’t yet. I feel like that’ll make tour

G: Exactly. We all come onstage as ourselves so it’ll make it less intense to just stay that. You recently released a few songs at a time versus a whole album. G: Haunted Items wasn’t a “release” really. It was more that I made some solo piano songs and wanted to put them out. I didn’t want it to be a big deal. With Close It Quietly we spent years making it and it feels more presentative of what we sound like as a band. L: This is everyone’s full effort over the last two years. Haunted Items was one day in the studio, winter boredom. S: Has your songwriting process shifted at all from when you first started writing? Or do you have a typical routine? G: It’s always different, day by day. Sometimes lyrics comes first, sometimes a melody comes first.

The full songwriting process has gotten more extensive. I’ll bring a demo in and it used to be like ‘this is how the songs goes and you guys write parts around it,’ and now it’s more loose than that. On one of the old songs Luke wanted to cut a verse and I thought about how several years ago I would’ve bitten your head off for saying cut a verse. L: Yeah, I wouldn’t have said it! G: I used to be so much more strict. But now, if we’re going to be a band, let’s have it be more collaborative. I’m more open to those changes. Luke, even from behind the drums, has directed guitar parts in a way that changes the feeling of the whole song. In that way, it feels like an extensive process.

A: That’s related to the big difference in how it’s gonna sound live too. G: Do you guys have bass and drum inspo? Luke P: My inspiration isn’t related to drums. It’s more of the vibe I want the songs to have. Like I like the drumming in Broadcast, but my arrangement ideas for this album are more for others than just myself. G: I think in terms of drum inspiration Luke is an inspiration to all of the drummers in Brooklyn.

I read that “Rings of a Tree” was inspired by Orange Juice. What are some of the other inspirations you had for Close It Quietly?

LP: [Laughs] no! I love the drummer in Big Thief. His drumming influenced me a lot when we toured with them a few years ago. He has a lot of restraint I find admirable. I think I started drumming a little bit more like him after that. A lot of drummers in this bubble will cite him as a hero.

Lauren: As a keyboard player, I’m a really big Stereolab and Broadcast fan. I try to channel that energy sometimes. Orange Juice is one of my favorite bands. We tried to go for a darker synths sound this time around.

G: For me, I don’t have any guitar heroes, but I have vocalists that inspire me. Even then it’s not like I’m trying to sing like them, it’s more I get inspired emotionally by the way people are as performers. Like Lizzo’s Tiny Desk concert. It almost matters

more to be confident as a singer than every note to be on pitch. I think that’s something is inspiring. I get inspired by people that are amazing singers. People that are really in a performance - it’s not necessarily styles I want to emulate but the feeling that I think they’re feeling. I want to feel it too.

L: He understood the references we made and every weird way of describing things. We could use non-music language and he was down.

A: We record live, largely. So we hope some of that comes across in recording too.

G: He gets the looseness that we want but he pushes you to get the tape. My problem in the past has been that I accept tapes too easily. Especially because we’ve always recorded to tape. The tape wears out over time and you don’t want to do too many takes. This time, there was more a push.

G: In that way, we’re inspired by like the Ramones. I’m just kidding. I don’t know. What was it like working with Gabe Wax when you all were recording? A: I love to talk about it.

LP: He cares so much more than he has to. He wants to get in there and make something great.

L: A push to make it the best we can do.

G: Amazing.

LP: I feel like we’ve been portraying ourselves as lazy so far in terms of our investments into our equipment and recording and all of that in this interview -

A: He’s so good. It’s so fun to work with him.

G: But it’s not that, it’s just a priority shift.

G: He’s like the paper clip on Microsoft Word.

LP: We really pushed ourselves. I’m not exactly sure what did it, but a switch went off.

L: I think it was committing to working with Gabe which costs us more money to do, so we wanted to make a sick sounding album and the live show has to be as good. We’re not going to make the best sounding album we can and have the live show sounding the old way. We are investing in ourselves. G: In terms of laziness - I don’t think we’re a lazy band. We tour more than a lot of bands. Also, I spend a lot of time writing songs. It’s in terms of performance and the record... LP: The fact that I hadn’t bought any drum gear in years and it’s my fucking job...It’s ridiuclous. There’s no excuse. That goes back to the priority shift and focusing on other elements. LP: We were a band that prided ourselves on not being gear heads and not caring about our gear and that was cool to us. But we realized it’s not cool. G: It’s okay to not be a gear head when you’re playing in a basement and the sound is bad, but when you’re playing big venues and people can hear everything you want to have it. A: Like in the studio I tried using Greta’s elementary school bass, which I toured with for a year and a half, and instantly threw the recording out. I had to get a new one. G: When we tour as much as we do you want to make sure you have something that’s going to keep working for you. You know

how it sounds and how it feels. In the last couple of years my guitar did start to break and we recorded in a studio that had 20 amazing guitars and why would I use mine? LP: I want to finish my thought on use not being lazy - it’s not the right term. G: DIY? LP: Maybe DIY to a fault.

wasn’t New York do you think it would’ve had a different sound? How do you think being in Brooklyn affected that? G: We’ve never recorded an album in New York before Close It Quietly. It was amazing. We could go home and sleep at night. LP: Two of us could walk to the studio! L: I got to the studio really ready and excited to do stuff, whereas making Vessel was a little stressful. We are all in one hotel room and it was a little crammed.

G: I always had this thought that if a song is good that it will shine through a poor recording or a poor quality instrument or whatever - and I still do believe that but A: We only had a weekend to I think why not get better instrumake it. ments if we can afford it? People are paying more to see us play, we L: We’ve felt really luxuriated should give them a better show. during this album. LP: I spent more money from this band on making my kitchen really A: That was the word I chose for nice then I have on my own music the press release, “luxuriated.” Because we spend so much time equipment, and that’s wrong! on tour, it felt crazy considering anywhere other than here. Why G: We’re gear heads now. We would we choose to spend our can say it. You know what’s scary time in California or somewhere about saying your a gear head? I to record? There is a romance of want to retract my statement. If going off somewhere to record you say you’re a gear head, sudand maybe we’ll do it someday. denly people want to talk to you about gear and people want to G: Personally, I feel really differtell you what amp or pedal to get ent at home versus of when I’m (especially men) and part of what on the road. I think who you are I like to shut that down is to say “I don’t know about gear.” But to comes into question. We have this context of home. be a gear head you have to know about gear you have to be able to LP: We’re more relaxed and more talk about it. It’s stressful of ourselves. So you’re not gear heads but G: I don’t think either one is betyou care. ter or worse. If we went to California to record I may have been G: We dabble in gear. acting differently. Do you think if you recorded the album in a city that

“I get inspired emotionally by the way people are as performers... People that are really in a performance - it’s not necessrily styles I want to emulate, but the feeling that I think they’re feeling. I want to feel it too.”

This is what we needed this time around. G: We’re homebodies, ultimately. You wouldn’t guess that because we’re not at home that much and on tour, but when we’re home we really like being at home. Who are some of your favorite bands in New York at the moment? A: Tilted Planet. Crumb. G: Gabby’s World. L: Gemma. Do you have favorite venues that you’ve played or have been to? LP: I went to Warsaw for the first time recently and I was impressed. G: I love a cozy show at Bowery Ballroom. L: I was going to say that too. G: Best sound in the city, probably. Shout out Kenny... Alphaville is a good DIY venue. People ask me about DIY venues and I think of the Glove. A lot of them aren’t around anymore, like Death By Audio. L: The best venue in the world!

Dr Danny photos by Sophia Ragomo words by Jaycee Rockhold

Dr Danny - aka Danny Ayala - hasn’t had a quiet moment in a while. Besides touring with Sunflower Bean and previously playing as a part of the Lemon Twigs, he’s also released a full-length and EP with his own project. Ayala has been playing shows around the world - joined by Jonathan Ceballos, Andy Ballereau, and Thomas Murphy. The Long Island-born multi-instrumentalist talked with us about his next album, his sound, and the New York music scene. How long has Dr Danny been around? How did you get to this point? Our first show was June 20, 2017 at Pianos NYC, which means we are a little over two years old. Through vigorous rehearsal and extensive DIY tour planning we have quite the resume for a band who’s just starting out. We have three full tours (one being a UK tour) under our belts and two releases with our sophomore full length on the way. Your music has an old-soul sound. Is this influenced by the music you grew up with / the music you listen to now? My sound comes from a long phase of 60s and 70s pop/glam rock introduced to me by The Lemon Twigs. But it is also influenced by modern day bands and artists that I’m into such as Portugal.The Man, Oh Wonder, and Muse. This blend will be more apparent with my upcoming second full length record. You have toured with a few different bands, do you find your music being influenced by being on tour? There’s always a bursting scene of spreading new music to your band mates so there’s always a nice blend of ideas floating around.

While you’re on tour, how do you find time to work on your own music?

What other non New York-based bands have you been listening to?

I bring a portable set up on tour these days. It’s extremely helpful in getting ideas out because you got all these long drives and flights to think about it. Technology is crazy!

Some bands that I’ve been into lately:

Are you a part of any local music scene in NYC? If so, how would you describe it? The indie rock/ pop rock scene in NYC isn’t what it used to be. There’s a lot of bands and not enough opportunities to separate yourself from the rest. Hoping for more events that aren’t just shows but showcases for bands to really have a moment to fully portray their full picture. What are some of your favorite places to play in New York? Baby’s All Right is the venue and has been for a long time. It’s the perfect venue for bands to put themselves out there. It’s the perfect milestone for a small up and coming band. What are some places in New York that have contributed to your music career? I’m actually born and raised on Long Island NY and I met all of my musical friends (now musical legends) on Long Island. There’s definitely something in the water over there. Who are some of your favorite New York based bands? Sunflower Bean and The Lemon Twigs are the two best bands in NYC in my complete unbiased opinion.

Fleet Foxes, (Seattle WA) Oh Wonder (London UK) Cigarettes After Sex (formed in El Paso TX) Are you working on a new album? If so, how do you think your sound has progressed since the last album you released? I just finished my second full length record and I am very confident and pleased with how it came out. It’s very to the point and sounds coherent and will be easily understood. Looking forward to its release. Who plays in your live band? Are you looking to play more live shows later this year / next year? Andy Ballereau on guitar and backing vox Thomas Murphy on bass and backing vox Jonny Ceballos on drums Danny Ayala keys and lead vox We have a show at Muchmores Brooklyn Oct. 11.

Patio

photos by Sam Keeler words by Claire Chaney

The trio behind Brooklyn-based lady band, Patio, aka Loren DiBlasi, Lindsey-Paige (LP) McCloy and Alice Suh, have full embraced post-punk. Their debut, Essentials, released earlier this year via Fire Talk, is filled with minimalist instrumentation, nearly-spoken-chants, and sharp melodies as the trio take an introspective look at themselves with a wink. Between work shifts and juggling their personal lives, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing what it takes to bring Patio out into the sun to really shine. On a rainy New York afternoon, the three trickled into Samâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s apartment to divulge a little more about music.

How did you all meet and start the band? Alice: We met separately; Loren and LP met at an Ovlov show at Death By Audio, and LP and Alice met years prior in college. Everyone came together when it was decided that a fake punk “vibes” project should become a real band. Your music has an old-soul sound. Is this influenced by the music you grew up with / the music you listen to now? Loren: My favorite music is from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. I have a lot of romantic feelings for the past, whether it be music or novels or films. My mom raised me on a lot of 60s pop, and I love that timeless, sentimental sound, even if the music I make doesn’t end up sounding exactly the same. A: I listen to lots of very minimal music, whether it’s Carter Family country or sparse post-punk. I like to go back to the source, so that “old soul” reference makes sense! You have toured with a few different bands, do you find your music being influenced by being on tour? A: We haven’t actually toured very much, but we’ve definitely been inspired by out-of-town bands we’ve played with; recent favorites include the Knees, Still Kicking, Puncti, Fran. Dehd and Deeper from Chicago are eternal homies. And we’re excited to play with BRNDA and Poppy Patica in D.C. next month. You all have full time jobs outside of the band, how do you find time to balance the music?

A: It’s not easy juggling work, the band, and our personal lives. But we’re very lucky to have both the means and flexible-ish schedules to make it possible. Are you a part of any local music scene in NYC? If so, how would you describe it? A: hen we were just getting started, we were very supported by friends in the Brooklyn DIY community, which has definitely evolved over time. Today we play a pretty diverse range of shows, and try not to stick to just one thing. What are some of your favorite places to play in New York? A: Alphaville is always fun. Union Pool has treated us very well (hi to our favorite sound guy, Doug). What are some places in New York that have contributed to your music career? A: All of the now-defunct Brooklyn DIY spots were very formative for us, both as fans and musicians. Palisades and Shea Stadium were some of the first places we played and felt whole-heartedly supported. Who are some of your favorite New York based bands? L: B Boys, Operator Music Band, Palberta A: Show Me The Body, Painted Zeros LP: Operator Music Band, Palberta + all of their individual projects, Gemma, Water from your Eyes

What other non New Yorkbased bands have you been listening to? L: The guys from Deeper recently recommended Crack Cloud, and I am now obsessed. I also love the new Deadbeat Beat, Greys, and Cate LeBon records from this year. A: Recently, the bands on our label (Deeper, Dehd, Monteagle), otherwise I’ve just been listening to house music (Project Pablo, Ross from Friends). LP: Can’t wait for the new Fran record to come out so I can add that to this list! Otherwise, I’ve been listening to the Mauno record from this year and the most recent Big Thief album non-stop. Are you working on a new album? If so, how do you think your sound has progressed since the last album you released? A: We are currently working on new material and figuring that out! What’s some of your favorite gear to use? L: I don’t really know about or use any gear other than my bass. I’m pretty much winging it up there. A: I don’t think any of my gear is the best but it all works for me. My favorite thing in my gear bag is a pair of pliers - so handy for rusty or overtightened hardware in all the shared setups I use. LP: I keep a relatively consistent guitar sound so I don’t use a ton of gear, but I’ve been spending a lot of time getting to know my MXR Carbon Copy and hope to be able to use that for some wilder stuff soon.

CHIC

CAGO

Girl

photos and interview by Jaycee Rockhold words by Emily Nelson

Chicago indie rockers Girl K are on the fast track to being one of the city’s buzziest bands. Originally the solo project of Kathy Patino, Girl K has morphed from a Craiglist-powered side hustle into one of Paste magazine’s 15 Chicago bands you “Need to Know.” Pairing dreamy easygoing lyrics with gritty DIY sensibility, Girl K is well on their way to carving out their corner in the music world, and you can catch them playing alongside crunch-pop heavy hitters like Cherry Glazerr, Charly Bliss, and Beach Bunny later this month. The group chatted with halfnhalf about first tours, finding bandmates on the internet, and how Chicago built their sound. For this zine, we really want to focus on everyone’s involvement in their local music scene, and obviously you guys have been around for a while now. Who are some of the other bands out of Chicago that you guys have been listening to recently? Alex: The Hex! A lot of the Hex lately. That band is so cool They did a show last night at the Hideout, I wasn’t there but I know it was sick. Tony: [Inaudible - Sounded like Junwell Green?] Kathy: Varsity, Divinio Nino, Lala Lala, Family Reunion...Beach Bunny, of course A: Nnamdi! K: God, it’s so frantic because I love everybody. A: Rick Wilson, Felix, Luke Titus...there’s so many. K: We listen to everyone. Do you guys all live together? K: No, they all live on the north side. They live on the far north, we live around here though. I literally live a few blocks away. Do you guys have any particular DIY spaces you’ve liked playing, or would like to play in the future? K: Glitterbox is a great space, because it was just a backyard. They do inside stuff, too, but when we played it was just a backyard. It was really pretty. There were string lights and multiple balconies and stairways, and everyone was just watching us, it was really cool. 2: All the neighbors were out too, hanging out, watching the show.

You guys released a record earlier this year. What are you working on now? Are you planning on a new EP/record, or are you just focusing on playing shows? K: The plan right now is just to play some shows while I finish writing songs and we finish putting them together and getting them recorded. And also maybe just release a few singles here and there until we have enough content for a full-length. Unless I change my mind about EPs, but I like releasing whole things. But yeah, that’s kind of the move. Hopefully, tour next year again, but it all just depends on how the little stuff goes. So when you guys are writing songs, do you write the lyrics first, and then everyone else comes in with the instrumentation? What does that process look like? K: I usually just write the whole thing and then make a very basic demo. Then I send it to them, and they run it through and practice and then give input on the structure, or maybe how the tonality should change, or something like that. I mean, like, Kevin completely changes the songs with his guitar parts, and the drums, like, everyone changes the song and makes it way better. They see the vision and run with it. T: And some of them aren’t that at all. Like, I don’t think “Settle,” the one we just released, I don’t think that one was ever a demo. I think you [p3] just played it and we were like, ‘Yeah, that’s pretty cool!’ K: I definitely made a demo of that one, but that one wasn’t done. And I brought it to practice, and when AJ was in the band, he was like “this part is good, this part isn’t….here’s how we should do it.” It was a lot of that. Were you guys in a lot of different projects before this? Am I correct in saying that Girl K

is your first and main project? T: I’m still in this band called Baroque. We just played a show at the Hideout! I played too much, but I narrowed it down to two bands. I was in, like, ten bands at one point, but I narrowed it down. But now I have bands to focus on and priorities, which is nice. A: I used to be in a band called Books. It was with our old drummer, AJ. He was the frontman of that project. The idea started in July 2017, and it was about a year-long project. Kevin: and ever since that ended we’ve been doing Girl K. Did you guys meet at school? Through the city? How did you guys come together? K: I was just looking for bandmates, and I put on DIYChicago: “Hey, GirlK is looking for bandmates!” And I think Kevin and AJ hit me up and since the three of them were already in a band, I think Alex was just like “hey, I think I’ll do it too, I guess.” A: I think we all saw the post, AJ sent a screenshot of it to all of us, and we were like, “yeah, we’ll be in Kathy’s band!” Because we’d played shows with her, we knew her music was cool. Plus we were thinking that it might be cool to fill out these songs ourselves. That’s pretty cool, because DIYChicago can be pretty wild sometimes. K: I mean, that’s how GirlK got shows. Like, commenting Spotify links underneath every show posting. And through that, I was able to get a foot in the door. You guys book your own shows, I’m assuming? K: We do, yeah.

I’m sure that’s been a learning experience, because booking is a whole thing. What do you think you’ve learned since you first started? Do you have a method down now? A: We sort of have a method now. K: Yeah, for a long time it was just me sort of doing everything in that aspect - booking, answering show offers, press stuff, which has never been successful on my end. Colin Smith is a pro, so we have him help out with press stuff because he rocks. But it was just getting to the point where it was too much, and I was missing emails, not responding...it was just kind of crazy. I had the band account linked to all these things that were not Girl K-related, so at one point we were decided, “okay, I can’t do it all.” So we divvied up the work, and now we have more of a structure for handling things. But it’s all still a learning process. I feel like I learn something every time; there’s something new to learn every time I get an email. Whether it’s figuring out how to respond or learning the right questions to ask...it never ends! But it’s all part of the game, you know?

K: I think we headlined most of them. A: Did we? Really? T: We closed out the Champagne - I don’t think we closed it out, but we were like second to last on the bill. That was so wild, it was just like a crazy party. K: It was kind of scary. T: If enough people were drunk, like, the floor would have collapsed. K: I guess, really, then, I don’t know. It’s kind of a tossup. Because, like, at one college we were the headliner, but at another we were the opener because we were playing with Lala Lala. T: That was a great bill. K: I was so stoked! How was the first tour, experience-wise? K: I loved it. A: I think we all had a good time. T: I think back on it, and I think that it was honestly the greatest part of my life! K: I’m stoked to tour with Tony!

Have you been playing mostly DIY shows on your tours so far, or are you aiming for bigger venues? K: On our first your we played just DIY shows and one venue in Nashville, and then two colleges at the end of it. A: It ended up being a split, I think, of DIY and “official” venues. K: It’s definitely a lot of DIY, but we get offers to go play at colleges and venues outside of Illinois, but we just don’t have a car or a means of getting there. So it’s a lot of saying, “Oh, no, I’m sorry…” unless we’re going on a tour, it doesn’t make sense right now [to travel]. How was tour the first time? Did you headline some shows or were you opening?

Divino Nino

photos by Kris Lori words by Jaycee Rockhold

Foam, the latest album by Divino Niño, is one of the best works to come out of Chicago this year. The album is filled to the brim with hooky guitars, saccharine harmonies, and an infectious energy. There’s a doe-eyed demeanor across its ten tracks - a sincere effort to be open-hearted. Comprised of Camilo Medina, Javier Forero, Guillermo Rodriguez, and Pierce Codina, the four have a keen ear for beautiful, off-kilter instrumentation. Sitting down before their show with Combo Chimbita at Empty Bottle, the band has a refreshing excitement to talk about pretty much anything that comes across in conversation - Foam, what other artists from Chicago they’ve been listening to, and their upcoming tour with Crumb.

None of your are originally from Chicago, right? Camilo: The three of us (Camilo, Pierce, Javier) are from Miami area. Pierce: I have family there. I grew up in Argentina and Mexico and LA. Guillermo: I was born in Puerto Rico and moved all over before eventually moving to Florida. I was reading a few other interviews about you were introduced to the Beatles and it changed your sound. C: We were introduced to the Beatles in Chicago. J: We were pretty sheltered up until about 20/21. Then we started listening to different kinds of music, the Beatles and classic rock. Did you grow up going to church and all of that? C: No, my mom hated that I went to church. My mom was Catholic and it was a culty, weird pyramid scheme kinda church. Everybody is supposed to end up being a pastor. J: We were both going to schools to be pastors. C: We couldn’t listen to music that wasn’t Christian. Everybody in the church is destined to be a pastor. It’s a fucked up system they have. For 4-5 year of our lives we missed out on music that wasn’t Christian. When we turned 20 we moved to Chicago and we had a roommate named Daryn. We told him we hadn’t listened to the Beatles and he was like, “this is ridiculous, listen to this song.”

Do you learning about this kind of music later on in life benefitted you?

J: We’ve never played the west coast. Are you nervous?

J: Yeah! We didn’t take it for granted. We thought it was incred- C: So nervous! ible, “this is the best music ever.” J: I’m excited. I hear some of the C: It drastically changed things. drives are very scenic. We get Everybody that didn’t sound like along with Crumb so well. the Beatles automatically was like, lame. The Beatles were the best You played with them at band in the world. Thalia Hall, right? Would you say moving to Chicago was a catalyst for the band? C: Without a doubt. The scene in Miami was all connected and when we got to Chicago we were in the wrong scene for us. We were living in Lakeview when we moved here. J: There were a couple of classic blues bars and I don’t think I was really into that kind of stuff. We were wondering where the cool kids were. What other Chicago artists have you been listening to recently? C: Kaina, Sen Morimoto...

J: Yeah! We kicked it so hard. In the green room at Thalia Hall, the headliners have their own room and it’s separated by sliding doors. They were like, ‘let’s open this shit up, what’s up?’ And how you’re touring with them! C: We really had legit good friend time. I’m excited, especially because we did the Durand Jones & the Indications tour and it was awesome and it was amazing. Some of the people in the crowd on that tour were like you guys are great, where are you guys coming from? The cool thing about the Crumb tour is that it’s a lot of younger kids who are like ‘let me buy your record.’

J: Kaina is like the Beyoncé of Chicago. C: Nmadi is great too. Same vibe, really, really good stuff. Also Resarvoir, Will Miller’s jazz project. He just dropped an album a few weeks ago. J: It’s so good. Have many times have you toured across North America? G: Never!

Ratboys words and photos by Jaycee Rockhold

Chicago indie emo rockers Ratboys have called Chicago home since 2015. Founded by college classmates Julia Steiner and David Sagan and now joined by Sean Neumann and Marcus Nuccio, Ratboys has risen above the rabble with their rugged and earnest take on rock, fusing emo and alternative sounds with a signature folk-country twist. Fresh off a nationwide tour with Canadian powerhouses Pup, the band sat down with with us in Wicker Park to chat about DIY, house shows, and why itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better in the Midwest.

So I want to talk about what you guys have been up to recently. Your last album was in 2017, but since then you’ve been on tour with PUP. How was that for you? How was touring with another Chicago band (Beach Bunny?) J: Tour with Pup was really great. I can’t speak for you guys but I’ve been a fan of theirs for, like, five years, so it was really surreal to go from listening to a band five years ago and really enjoying it and kinda following their path from a distance, to getting to share the stage with them. S: They have such an inspirational career arc, because they kinda started as a DIY band, and we’ve seen them since they were smaller, but they’ve always had some buzz because they’re so awesome, but seeing them play every stage and club in the city until they’re selling out the Metro twice - it’s just so crazy to see a band start from DIY and go all the way up. It’s really dope. J: And to make that climb without skipping any steps - that’s what they’re so adamant about, and it’s made them a better band because they’re incredibly tight and super humble and down to earth and fun to hang out with. And it’s cool, because we’re kind of on a similar path - we know a lot of the same people in DIY, and it’s cool to see that you can make that progression. D: I was just gonna say, I think when we had just started touring, we were on our first DIY tour, when the PUP videos dropped for the debut album, for “Guilt Trip” -

J: And Resavoir! D: Yeah, and Resavoir! [with PUP] we’ve been able to follow them and see that they really made this jump really gracefully and really humbly. They so down to chill that whole tour. S: Yeah, so kind. I think it’s interesting, looking at a DIY band that’s gotten that much hype, especially with their last album, because in this industry bands will literally get famous overnight, or like pop stars will get famous without ever playing a show. S: Yeah. I was gonna say, [The guys in PUP] are a little older than me, so it’s nice to see that maybe around my age they were just starting out and doing DIY stuff and everything, and like I’m in my mid20’s now, so sometimes it’s scary thinking that DIY is only for 18-year-olds or something, but then you still see people doing it and blowing up that big, and you see it pay off - it’s nice to see that and know that could happen, we’ve just gotta keep going at it. D: And it’s great to see PUP now, because you know they’ve built that foundation, and now they have a fanbase that’s so solid. You know, like another band might get big overnight but they could kind of disappear overnight too, because they haven’t built up that community around them. But PUP is set, like, they have just such a legion of fans now because they’ve been hitting it so hard and so good.

home the idea that Chicago is such a huge, diverse place to be a band - you could end up on tour with a band who is doing what you’re doing and you’ve never met them. D: they were also just total sweethearts. They all do the tour thing and deal with the tribulations and are really great at what they do, too! J: Yeah, it was really cool to see them doing their thing at such a young age. When I was their age I was in college, so I wasn’t touring.

S: They literally have a subreddit. M: It was so fun to like check that throughout the tour. What do you feel like the reception was for you guys on tour? J: It was great! S: Yeah, it was really cool. J: We got lucky because, I mean, I don’t know, this is just one thing I’m proud of is that we’re really versatile as a band and can play to a lot of different crowds. The Pup crowd was really young and really energetic, so for our shows with Pup we wanted to play our songs that were more upbeat and that that crowd would be into. So we focused on more upbeat songs, we didn’t play too many of the downers D: We always end with the downer! J: - We end with the downer but then we bring it back up! So we were able to give them a journey, give them what they were into and we did great! We felt like we got some new fans. Our numbers went up a little bit, which was cool. And you asked about Beach Bunny, which is funny, because we’d never met them before tour. They live here in Chicago, but I didn’t grow up here, and none of us lived in the same suburbs as them growing up so we had never met them before the tour. So that, first, hammers

Maybe it’s just me, speaking as a Midwestern fan, but [midwestern fans] have an intensity that city fans don’t necessarily have. Because like you said, bands rarely come through and people are always super stoked when there’s a band playing. S: And you’re thankful, that that band is remembering to come there. Like, I would always play in Evansville, Indiana, which most people have never even heard of, and it’s one of the best scenes and places that I’ve ever played before. And we always come back, because we were welcomed so graciously when we were 17 and 18-year-olds. On that note, I know a lot of bands make a lot of their money off of touring, even though it’s grueling. Do you generally like touring? Is that something that’s always been a priority for you guys? M: We’re home now for nine months and I don’t know what to do with myself. Like, even being off of this Pup tour for two weeks, I don’t know what to do. We’ve been so used to touring and so comfortable with touring, and some of us are able to work from the road as well, so I was able to adjust my entire life around touring. And so now it’s like, being home is a little weird. So to answer your question, yes, I’ve curated my entire life around being able to tour, just because it’s so wonderful and awesome, and it’s something most people don’t have the opportunity to do, so you might as well go all in. What’s your favorite venue to play now in Chicago, and what are some venues you’d love to play in the future?

J: We got amazing there, we that was Sleeping but I used have a so There’s a street, a r you can t scratch, i whoever job. I wil booked R Subterra was a thi took a ch show I ev lived here fresh out booking h upstairs w Kittyhaw when I go down to We did n city at all would let DIY show let us do Kickstan show, and domino t they let u

D: And w able to se love com well.

J: Now th it’s a perf who’s nev love Sub-

Who are you guy recently go band whom y

S: Makay a jazz du

t to play Metro, which was — we’ve never headlined e played there with Pup — but really fun. I honestly really like Village, it’s such a new spot d to live right by there, and I oft spot for that neighborhood. a Taco Bell right across the really good Taco Bell, and tell it’s a venue they built from it’s definitely a labor of love, books for them is doing a great ll say the first venue that ever Ratboys in Chicago was the anean, before the downstairs ing. Anyways, Sub-T totally hance on us, it was the first ver booked in Chicago. I had e for two months, we were of college. It was my first show here and Sub-T let us play with Monobody, Easter, and wk. This was 2015, January, and ot that email saying they were let us play, I was so excited. not have any reputation in the l, and I was amazed that they t us do it! We had barely played ws here yet, and Subterranean that. And we met people at nd [Productions] through that d so that was kind of the first that fell. And I’m really grateful us play that show.

we’ve been lucky enough to be et shows up for bands that we ming through Chicago there as

hey have that downstairs space, fect-sized room for a band ver played in Chicago before. I -T.

e some Chicago bands that ys have been listening to y? Who are some Chicads you want to play with you haven’t played before?

ya McCraven is insane. He’s ude that came up in the South

side U of C jazz scene, he’s a drummer but he’ll kind of have a rotating cast of a band around him, and it’s just incredible music. J: One of my faves of all time is Meatwave, they’re awesome. A band that I want to play with is Lala lala, we’ve never played with them, but we’ve got some mutual friends, so...we should bug her on Instagram!! I loved her Pitchfork performance. I watched it on YouTube, it was really cool. J: Oh, Furbie! J: Mercedes [Webb] is really good. And Slow Mass, another band that she’s in, is amazing. M: There are so many bands! J: I had another one...oh yeah, this band Not For You. Have you heard of them? I saw them at a house called Flood House in Logan Square, they’ve played a couple times since then but I haven’t been able to go. But just that one set was so addicting. And [the lead singer] screams in the most beautiful way, I don’t know how to describe it. It is such an enjoyable thing to listen. It is so, so disgustingly beautiful. And we know their bassist, Michael, he drummed on our one tour, but that’s the only way we know them. I don’t know the other members personally. Seth [Engel] needs to be shouted out as well. D: Yeah, Seth has been going really hard for along time. J: And Options cranks out such great music. And [Seth] recorded our first Ratboys album! He recorded it in his old practice space. He’s a very important person. J: There’s just endless stuff. Endless variety, every type of band. It’s such a cool place and a really great community to be a part of.

D: You can draw connections from one band to the next, and especially in our history, having played with a lot of Chicago bands...I don’t know, it makes sense why everyone should be friends. But they haven’t met yet. What other music have you been listening to? What albums are you excited about? M: That Strange Ranger record came out, and I’ve listened to that three or four times. J: I’ve been obsessed with the new Mannequin Pussy record, and I’m excited to see them on September 11th at Shoebuzz. When I was driving home to Kentucky to see my family last weekend, I called in to the local DJ who does the 4-6 every night and was like ‘Can you play Mannequin Pussy?’ and she was like ‘what?!?’ I was like, ‘you should check it out! You would like it!’ D: I jumped into a hole last night where I was just listening to this jazz guitarist, Bill Frisell. He’s the best. I feel inspired by him. S: I’ve been listening to a lot of Jason Isbell. I think he’s one of my favorite songwriters. There’s also this band BBQT, they’re from Montreal, and I just found their album the other day. They’re super good. M: We’ve been listening to a lot of Rosie Tucker this week. She’s amazing. That record is amazing. And then through that I found this band called Cheekface, it’s the dude that runs New Professor records and his band. They sound like Dismemberment Plan plus Parquet Courts. J: I’m excited for the new Vagabon record as well, that new song she came out with is so good. The new Beach Bunny record is coming out in October, it’s very good.

KANSA

AS CITY

Budget Motel

photos by Daniel Christopher jr. words by Jaycee Rockhold

Kansas City-based band Budget Motel is comprised of Ethan Salyer, Lance Rutledge, and Nate Ward. Their self-titled EP, and their only release thus far, accesses a particular vein of youthful honesty. It’s reminiscent of early recordings by the likes of the Front Bottoms, Modern Baseball, and Tiger’s Jaw, but a bit more stripped down and clean. Across the EP, small moments represent big feelings - listening to pop to get to know someone better, smoking “last” cigarettes, and feeling warmer in someone else’s bed. How did you meet your bandmates and what was the catalyst for starting the band? A: Budget Motel started out as a solo project, turned full band at the end of 2018. I met Nate (bass) when I was really young, but we didn’t start playing together until pretty recently. Me and Lance (drums) met several years back at a show, and we’ve played together for a couple years now, in a couple different bands. How would you describe the DIY scene and your involvement in Kansas City? A: There’s a lot of different things happening in KC. A lot of people doing really cool things, creating a really budding DIY music community. There’s several operating scenes and lots of different types of music coming out. I’ve seen a lot more cross over between scenes the past year or so, which is really cool. It opens the door to more people getting involved and creating. Me and my friends also run a space out of our house called Parker 2, where there’s shows several times a month! Are there places in Kansas City that you think specifically encourages the band (like DIY space, record stores, etc.)? A: There’s a number of really awesome spaces, specifically Farewell Transmission. They run an open, safe space and pour everything they have into giving bands a kick-ass place to play from many different styles of music. Records with Merrit is another really awesome space that supports and gives bands a place to play many nights of the week.

What other Kansas City-area bands are you listening to? A: There’s a lot of really cool bands in Kansas City, and there’s always new ones forming, which is sick! Employer, Party Fridge, Chloe Jacobson, Tall Boys, Prüde, Stary, and Big Cola, to name a few. There’s a lot going on. It’s truly really exciting! Do you think growing up in the midwest vs. a bigger city (like NYC & LA) gives you an advantage or disadvantage? A: I bet there’s advantages and disadvantages. Kansas City kinda feels like the biggest small town, where you’re bound to run into someone you know at a lot of places. I think that definitely makes it easier to meet people and get plugged in. On the other hand, I’d imagine that with so much more going on in bigger cities, it could create a lot of opportunities to experience more crowds and things happening. Probably a little bit of both. Have you played shows outside of Kansas City or do you have plans to? A: We’ve played shows in neighboring cities, but not too many. When Budget Motel was still a solo project, I toured some and got the opportunity to see a lot of the states. The plan is to definitely get out and play as much as possible in 2020. We all play in other bands, as well, so this year has been a lot of writing and kind of collectively traveling with some other projects. You’ve released a self-titled EP. Are you working on anything new? A: Yes! We’re working on another end of the year release right now, and getting really excited about putting out and playing these new songs!

The Greeting Committee

photos by Sophia Ragomo words by Jaycee Rockhold

The Greeting Committee is the Kansas City rock band of Addie Sartino Brandon Yangmi, Pierce Turcotte, and Austin Frase. After forming the band in high school, one of their first singles, “Hands Down,” made it onto the radio airwaves - leading them to tour nationally and release new music with a bigger fanbase under their belt. Turcotte communicated with us by email to explain how the Kansas City community bolstered The Greeting Committee’s direction, areas of Kansas City they frequent, and what they have planned next. How did you meet your bandmates and what was the catalyst for starting the band? Addie had been playing solo music for a while but then started writing with Brandon who then recruited both Austin and me. Brandon and Austin had been friends since they were babies, and Brandon’s and Addie’s parents tried to set them up. I played in marching band with Brandon and Austin in high school, so we all met each other on different timelines. The catalyst for starting the band was to play the high school talent show. How would you describe the DIY scene and your involvement in Kansas City? There are so many great things that bands and people in the DIY scene have done in Kansas City that I don’t want to take credit for. We are so thankful for the support that Kansas City has given us to help us get this far, so we try our best to raise up other artists by mentioning them on social media and attending shows when we can. At our last headline show in Kansas City, we invited a bunch of local, female artists in Kansas City up on stage to sing Hollaback Girl which ended up being a really special moment. Are there places in Kansas City that you think specifically encouraged your music career/ helped it along (like Mills Records, The Buzz, etc.)? 96.5 the Buzz is a huge reason we are all still playing music to this day. Lazlo, the PD, really took us under his wing. Josey Records was another influential place for us. When we released our debut album, “This Is It”, Josey Records let us hang banners all along the side of the building which, after over six months, are still up. We spent a lot of time writing and recording in both our manager Peyton’s house as well as Austin’s house. Those basement were the most influential, I think. What other Kansas City-area bands are you listening to? The Moose, Mess, Olivia Fox, Jo Mackenzie, Brooks Brown, Hembree. Do you think growing up in the midwest vs. a bigger city (like NYC & LA) benefitted the band? Of course! The midwest is unique in the sense that you don’t expect much to come out it. It provided a setting that was encouraging and pressure free. When people ask where we’re from, they’re usually surprised to hear we’re from Kansas City. There’s something special in being able to say that we’re not an LA band or a New York band. Being midwest based, people can’t put us in a box as easily, and I like that.

I read in a previous interview that your first EP was recorded in a friend’s basement. What was the transition like recording in a professional studio? It was strange. We recorded our first EP in our manager Peyton’s basement (whom we had gone to school with) with the help of her dad. For our second EP, “Meeting People Is Easy”, we recording at the Capitol Record studio in LA which was a HUGE switch, a switch we are all still uneasy about today. In hindsight, it was pretty overwhelming, especially since none of us knew what recording was supposed to feel like. For “This Is It”, we recorded in what was a glorified shack that had been turned into a full studio which was a solid middle ground. There aren’t any rules when recording and everyone has different preferences. Working with the right people is also a huge influence when choosing where we want to record, and I think we’re finally figuring all those things out now. You released your debut full-length Harvest Records (a Capitol Music Group imprint) - what have you learned through the process of being signed and releasing an album through a well-established label? I think the main thing I learned about being signed to a record label is what a record label actually is. People talk about record labels all the time, but I don’t think I started to understand them until I was immersed into the music industry. There are so many things that, as a musician, you don’t think about. There are so many moving parts in a label, all doing different functions, you sort of have to put on a different thinking helmet. You have to be careful of where you tread the line between being a business and an artist, because at the end of the day, you’re both. You guys have been touring a lot lately...do you prefer to play shows in bigger cities or feel you’re at your best in your hometown? Hometown shows are always fun, and we want them to stay that way, so we only try to play in Kansas City a couple times a year. After a long tour, it’s nice to come back and play a hometown show and see so many familiar faces. I think we all enjoy the challenge and excitement of playing cities we’ve never been to before and then going back to the cities we know will be fun. What are your goals for the remainder of the year? Other than touring with some of our dream bands Bombay Bicycle Club and Hippo Campus, we are going into the studio in August to record an EP that we will hopefully have out by the end of the year! As a band that went from a small-town to a global tour in such a short amount of time, what advice do you have for others that are aspiring down that path? There are no rules! Be creative! Make friends and make music! Just take it one lyric, one note at a time.

where to find them

Half&Half: ISSUE 7

Articles inside

Patio

Dr Danny

Rentboy

Strange Ranger

Corey Flood