BLUEBIRD: A STRONG VISUAL
Photo courtesy of Cold Weather Company
To make touring easier, the guys from Cold Weather Company bought themselves a bus, painted it blue and hit the road. After they removed some of the seats from its previous life as a school bus, their new transport (affectionately dubbed “Bluebird”), now comfortably fits the band, all their gear and even a friend or two. Beyond simple transportation, Bluebird has taken on a life of her own. The bus has a section on the band’s website and is frequently featured on Instagram. When marketing the band, Brian Curry emphasizes the importance of having an aesthetic, something visual to complement the music. For Cold Weather Company, Bluebird is just that.
Supatight’s music has gotten more serious. Such early songs as “Sugar Tits” and “Vape that Dank” recall memories of the teenagers who wrote them. The band has evolved as they aged, especially since Mack is now a father. This is reflected in their lyrics that have gained a social conscience, but, as Miller is keen to point out, not lost any of their goofiness. Their upcoming album is called “Does This Work?” and features Mack’s baby son Theo on the cover wearing headphones and holding an unplugged guitar cable. Miller spends much of his time working in the studio. Because the band members are spread out across the state, they have to record individually, but Miller says he likes it better that way, modeling themselves after the greats like Steely Dan. Cold Weather Company records most of their songs either in one band member’s bedroom or in one of two cabins. They like the intimacy of these recordings so much that the bedroom version of their song
“Horizon Fire” made it onto their album as the opening track. For both bands, trust and transparency are huge. They pool most, if not all, of the money made after shows into a band fund, and use it to pay for gear, gas and studio time. The guys from Cold Weather Company joke that this sort of budgeting scenario would make a great board game. Moore also works on his music full time, but he notes that “if I am unable to earn a living, I will need to return to work.” This is a pattern mirrored by Miller, who has gone back and forth from saving while working in the service industry to doing music full time on several occasions. While Miller likes the democratic aspects of working with a band, Moore prefers writing alone. “Logistically it’s far easier to write, arrange and record solo,” he says, going on to say that while he prefers guitar, he plays all the instruments needed in a band. He
adds that live shows do benefit from the styles of other musicians. Moore and Cold Weather Company find SoundCloud to be the preferred place to put their music online. It has more of a community and interactive aspect than other services such as Bandcamp. Koala Ghost doesn’t have any recordings now but plans on recording and releasing an EP soon. Moore hopes to get radio airplay from his contact in Dutch radio. For all these artists, the most important thing about being in a band is the love for the music. Without a constantly burning passion, it’s not worth all the late nights, long drives and questionable sleeping arrangements.
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