Issue 5

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DEC2014 2013

Album Reviews 5 the rocket summer 5 jake bugg 6 one direction 7 childish gambino

show reviews 10 the 8:18 tour 14 not so silent night 16 the architects

interviews 18 carbon tigers 22 boymeetsworld 28 souvenirs 34 fall city fall 38 the elephant in the room 40 skytown riot 44 emily otnes

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on the cover 44

emily otnes

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ALBUM REVIEWS

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ARTIST: THE ROCKET SUMMER ALBUM: CHRISTMAS MADNESS EP RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 3, 2013 this world with considerably more talent and ability than I have. You guys and your loyalty keep this thing alive and fresh. Thankful to live in the same era as you. Thankful for this crazy technology and for the people that made it.

Thank you God for Rocket Summer fans. Thank you God for music. YOU GUYS. FOREVER.” To celebrate the music, holiday and now success, Bryce is holding two holiday shows. 18th December in Anaheim and 20th December in Dallas. Well worth the investment this Christmas!

REVIEW BY: SARAH KEMPSTER

Bryce Avary of The Rocket Summer spontaneously decided to write and produce his own ‘Christmas Madness EP’. Through the dedication to engineer the entire collection himself he has created three original holiday tracks, as well as a classic cover. In all around a week and a half! We appreciate the hard work Bryce.

The first track is the title track ‘Christmas Madness’ which talks of the finical pressures of Christmas, blanketed by the classic pop songs.

Also offering a lovely saxophone solo this was contributed by a friend of Bryce’s, sweetly followed by an ending of beautiful cymbal smashing.

Awesomely moving on to my favourite track ‘Elf Creep’ which I cannot help but smile when I think of how he must relate to fans through the lyrics; ‘I’m not a stalker I swear...I’m just a real big fan.’ The song alone offers a comic tale of an obsessed elf, told with an insanely catchy piano chord rhythm and the tone of Avary does not fault. Soaring high to creepy whispers is genius.

Next ‘Grapevine Christmas Eve’ talks of going home for Christmas, however far different from Chris Rea I assure you. Highly synthesized but allowing a beat for recollection when we consider how the home is not always where we think, especially for Christmas.

Finally ending with an acoustic cover of ‘O Holy Night’.

The success of the EP rocketed to number 4 in the Holiday charts. With Bryce humbly as ever thanking his fans; “Best fans in the world. Everyone says that. But not everyone puts out a last minute EP and then watches it rise up the iTunes charts with zero ads or any kind of strategic marketing.

And it’s not because of me. So many people in

ARTIST: JAKE BUGG ALBUM: SHANGRI LA RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 18, 2013 The English singer songwriter of only 19 years of age has already written his second album, which has soared through the charts. With an insane new sound Jake Bugg has outdone himself on the vocal and musical range scale.

Working with record producer Rick Rubin on majority of the album we get a more in-depth production of music.

Started with a ball of energy is ‘There’s a Beast and We All Feed It’ which doesn’t necessarily offer anything new in respects of recollecting on his old trouble town stories, along with ‘Slumvile Sunrise’. Although neither tracks can be faulted because the country tone has welcomed itself to the union of Rock, allowing for more eccentric sounds.

The development of this step up to a more electrified sound compliments the grit that Jake’s voice offers. Bugg has often said Hendrix was a huge influence to him, so to hear

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a combination of the electric guitar and a stronger emphasis of drum usage is wonderful. It truly opens up the philosophical lyrics to the pain it reminisces on.

Not to mention the solo at the breakdown in Slumvile is absolutely incredible...pwoar.

Furthermore ‘What Doesn’t Kill You’ was his first single from the album, which I can’t say was too impressive.

Seemingly lacking density with the repetitive chord being struck, although on a re-listen we have to appreciate the differentiation it offers for a heartbreak song, nothing cliché going on there.

Followed sweetly by ‘Me and You’ which quite simply sounds like an excellent theme song for Bonnie and Clyde. We also have the slowdown of the melodies here which is recontinued later on in the record.

But it’s okay, because the intro strings in ‘Messed Up Kids’ are enough to sweep you into the scuffle of messy stories of more trouble teens. Honestly though, the melody carries this song very far.

Now, I truly appreciate the experimentation in hearing the rockier side of Jake’s music—I do not favour acoustic tracks—I’m open to growth. But ‘A Song About Love’ is beautiful for allowing us to hear the great crescendo within his voice.

Darker solemn blues hits us incredibly with ‘All Your Reasons’, the delving in-an-out of percussion and strings at the end is sensational.

Carried on with ‘Kingpin’ but with a stronger country beat that reflects on old Elvis. The ‘big man’ track of the record, also featuring another awesome electric solo.

Whereas ‘Kitchen Table’ is the result of a jazz and blues explosion that words poetically the emotions of falling out of love.

Then there’s ‘Pine Trees’ which has to be my personal favourite on the record; working paradoxically as a song about escapism but allowing you to escape in such a delicate melody. Truly wonderful song that rightly so connects onto ‘Simple Pleasures’ that has a simplistic tune, along a striking underlying beat. This works to build upon the message of anger and frustration of anxieties that can work very well in trying to control the way you do live. Clever song indeed.

Ending finally in a simple country track ‘Storm Passes Away’ I suppose giving the fans what they originally fell in love with when Mr Bugg came about. But nonethe-less it’s a nice hillbilly touch in comparison with the diverse tracks that came before.

Jake may not seem like a big spokesman, but that’s not what is great about it. It’s just pure honesty and a personal release of his thoughts and feelings. The way he manages to encapsulate those through intricate or memorable songs is where the fan appreciation comes along. The music is simply worth listening to if you wish to appreciate something different than your general pop chart tracks.

REVIEW BY: SARAH KEMPSTER

ARTIST: ONE DIRECTION ALBUM: MIDNIGHT MEMORIES RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 25 2013 1D came soaring back to everyone’s radio stations and music charts with their third debut album ‘Midnight Memories’. The young heartbreakers have done incredibly well for themselves to maintain a huge fan base that it could be easy to forget the sole purpose of the group amidst all the merch – the music.

They have not failed on another album production, delving into the song writing themselves even more so.

With the first two tracks being their singles maintaining the classic 1D beat and jubilant tone ‘Best Song Ever’ and ‘Story of My Life’.

Arguably ‘Best Song Ever’ is just as catchy as ‘You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful’ but also lacking any real depth lyrically. But credit is given to ‘Story of My Life’ that manages a catchy rhythm with contributions from all members that collaborated to write a song that should be so personal to them.

‘Diana’ seemed on first verse to be almost a tribute for the princess, however it returned to more MJ ‘Dirty Diana’ as a typical obsession song. The boys are feeling more explicit in their lyrics now they are majoring also, it may seem.

But suddenly we get a stronger Rock sounding attempt with ‘Midnight Memories’ that contains a slight Bon Jovi-esk sound. I do applaud the effort though, it would be an excellent ballad for the band to end tour shows with.

Contrastingly there are some beautiful acoustic tracks. Moving on from the cute to the serious tone of real relationships, ‘You & I’ seeks to do this. ‘Don’t Forget Where You Belong’ continues with a more mellow tone, but features a nice breakdown that strengthens the songs optimistic message. Written especially by the

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McFly guys, Tom, Danny and Dougie with Niall, we can see the folk combined with pop to bring a nice song for fans – but also an essential message for the boys within all their fame.

‘Strong’ however is the cute sucker song, as in – if you cannot like it; I do not know what’s wrong with you. Although it’s not one to promote individualism, it’s the sentiment of what love can do to you. Hit the nail on the head really, but they make it sound like a beautiful thing – and hey! If a 1D loved you that much, they can depend on us all they want. Am I right?! I’m right.

Similarly we have ‘Right Now’ another love song following the same themes. Yet there’s ‘Happily’... maybe not a full rounded love song, a cheeky track indeed. Contains a beautiful banjo underneath the claps and it pieces together a well thought out piece of music.

‘Little Black Dress’ attempts to offer a different sound of nostalgic old rock, but the content doesn’t differ much from previous tracks. Same goes for ‘Through the Dark’, although it offers a bit more depth in the sense of romance, but there’s a running theme throughout here.

But before disappointment can settle ‘Something Great’ comes along. Oh yes – worded in the least cliché way. Ridded of the normal cheesy lines, and simplicity used instead. Allowing once more a track where we can concentrate on the vocals too, for we cannot deny they all have a tone worth appreciating.

The penultimate track is a techno one at last!

Offering a reasonably decent bass hook, and drop within ‘Little White Lies’. However containing similar themes to that of ‘Happily’.

Finally, we have ‘Better Than Words’ is a combination of all different efforts made throughout the album, Rock, Pop and Indie sound. With beautiful notes hit, singing about love once more.

Although there are not necessarily any ground breaking tracks they do suffice for the era’s classic boy band. They attempt and often succeed in the hits for chart music, and with so many love songs sung by acute voices; well, it’s no surprise they are loved globally. It’s fair to say progression is being made and growth of the boys themselves, and the lessons they have learned are working their way into the music.

REVIEW BY: SARAH KEMPSTER

ARTIST: CHILDISH GAMBINO ALBUM: BECAUSE THE INTERNET RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 3, 2013 On first listen, Childish Gambino is not your typical rapper. His latest album, because the internet, continues this legacy, but is perhaps less successful as a cohesive piece than earlier albums. This newest album’s electronic influences, wide range of vocal effects, and atmospheric elements culminate into an intriguing, but overwhelming mix of emotions and meanings that leave a listener more confused than awed.

Most noticeable throughout the album is the plethora of vocal effects. There’s some ambient auto-tuned screams in tracks like “crawl” and “no exit” that contribute to an underlying whimsical feel. His real voice is so classy and strong; thankfully, he features it in several songs off the album, like “shadows” and “V. 3005,” where it lends a necessary element of reality to an otherwise mystical mood. “the worst guys” is a great piece that exhibits Gambino’s characteristic playful side. The few collaborations and duets that can be found on the album are a refreshing addition, most notably, “earth: the oldest computer” featuring Azealia Banks and “pink toes” featuring Jhene Aiko.

Paired with the nature of the instrumentation though, Gambino’s success as a vocalist is wasted. Gambino mixed the record himself, but he didn’t quite achieve cohesion in the overall sound. “earth: the oldest computer” seems to be the best representation of the type of song he was trying to create: a seamless combination of deadmau5-esque dubstep and contemporary rap. The vocals slide smoothly out of the synth, and the general pitches complement each other nicely; the

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REVIEW BY: CANDACE CARTER

OTHER GREAT RELEASES

electronic rhythms stay intact and constant while the deep vigor and power of the rapstyle tone of singing shines through just the right amount. No other track on because the internet is so successful. The rest sound so overly segmented in the transitions between styles that creates that listeners can’t keep up with the melodies and rhythms; it makes for a less-than-harmonious experience. The sweetness of Gambino’s voice is drowned out because the focus remains on the instrumental aspects that are so strange, even a little confusing. In terms of general realness and solidity of sound, the shift between Gambino’s 2011 album Camp and this latest release is equal to the disappointing drop of Kid Cudi’s Indicud in 2013 in relation to his renowned Man on the Moon series.

However, Gambino’s transformation doesn’t represent the same death of lyrical genius as Kid Cudi’s created. Gambino’s talent as a lyricist comes from his tendency to firmly and clearly state what he wants to tell listeners rather than dancing around it with lengthy metaphors. “V. 3005” is a fantastic example of this: the general feel of the song is conversational, like he’s leveling with his audience, and that holds a lot of meaning. “the worst guys” is similar in this respect. The repeated line, “All she needed was some-” gives the track the mystery that the rest of the album delves into so thoroughly and leaves ample room for listener interpretation in the lyrics rather than in the special effect and musical aspects that the other tracks portray.

Still, because the internet is not a terrible album. The rhythms are solid and heavy, satisfying to the ear, and the album-wide mysterious mood is fun and interesting. Even though it doesn’t equal Camp, this new experimentation of styles and ideas is pleasant and will find its niche in the progressive mixing of genres that is so prevalent in today’s pop culture scene.

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THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

PHOTOS AND REVIEW BY: LORI GUTMAN

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NOW I’M NOT GOING TO LIE… PRIOR TO THE SHOW, I HAD NEVER listened to any of these bands before. As such, I had never really taken the opportunity to see them live. Luckily, the 8:18 Tour was coming to New York City around the same time that I was, and I decided to finally take the chance expose myself to a genre of music that was—and still is—mostly unfamiliar to me. Stepping foot into the photo pit on December 17th, I had zero expectations but high hopes. I think it’s safe to say I wasn’t disappointed.

SHOW REVIEWS

TEXAS IN JULY, A METALCORE BAND HAILING FROM PENNSYLVANIA, opened the night and ignited a rapidly glowing flame within a majority of the crowd. New vocalist J.T. Cavey kept encouraging the crowd to form circle pits, a request they gladly obliged to. To put it simply, there was surfing and extreme head banging throughout the entirety of their thirtyminute set. Overall, It was a great start to the show, and a good indication of what was to come.

TO SAY THAT VOLUMES WAS A FUN SET WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT. They were definitely, without a doubt, one of the most energetic bands I have ever photographed. Vocalists Michael Barr and Gus Farias were consistently moving and using the stage space to its fullest potential; they captured my attention and wouldn’t let go. The most memorable part of their performance, for me, was how involved with the crowd the singers were. The pair hovered over the fans, sang directly to those in the front, and held the hands of the ones who managed to crowd surf to the barricade. Witnessing such intimate moments was definitely a highlight of my night because seeing the connection between artists and their fans, and the happiness that a simple act can create, was—and always is—incredible.

THE NEXT PERFORMANCE THAT NIGHT CAME FROM LA-BASED BAND The Ghost Inside, who easily proved exactly why they are so popular in the hardcore scene. Most of the fans on the floor were full of adrenaline and ready to go all out for this set.

The amount of moshing and thrashing that took place on the floor truly peaked once The Ghost Inside took the stage.

Additionally, there was ample crowd participation as lead singer Jonathan Vigil encouraged the fans to scream along.

BY THE TIME THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA CAME ON STAGE, THE CROWD was revved up and ready to go even harder. Fans were all over the place and on top of each other, moshing, dancing, and surfing to the front time and time again. Their dedication to the band became evident when fans refused to leave no matter how symphonymagazine.net 11

hard they were punched in the head or kicked in the shin.

Their energy resonated in vocalist Mike Hranica, who was constantly on the move unless he stopped to deliver a particularly chilling growl or line. The lighting seemed to match the atmosphere in the venue; it was hectic and all over the place, but that only added to the intensity of the performance.

THE MAJORITY OF THE SET WAS COMPRISED OF SONGS FROM THEIR most recent release, which included 8:18, Martyrs, and War, yet older fans still got to hear some of the songs that first got them interested in The Devil Wears Prada. The band performed tracks from Dead Throne (Kansas, Mammoth, Deadthrone), With Roots Above and Branches Below (Assistant to the Regional Manager, Danger: Wildman), and Zombie EP (Escape, Anatomy, Outnumbered). With such a varied setlist, it was definitely a great night for all the fans in attendance.

ALTHOUGH I CAN SAFELY SAY THAT I’M STILL NOT A HARDCORE OR metal music connoisseur, I will admit that I found myself bopping my head to the music many times throughout the show. Every single musician on the stage that night gave his all to put on a passionate performance that surely satisfied the fans. And as a photographer and first-time listener, I was definitely pleased as well with how the evening turned out.

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TEXAS IN JULY

THE GHOST INSIDE

VOLUMES

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Poughkeepsie’s Mid-Hudson Civic Center was packed this past Tuesday, fans eagerly awaiting headliner Fall Out Boy, now wrapping up their comeback year with a string of radio shows. Their stop in New York had fellow label mates CashCash open up the evening with their DJ set with a surprise feature from Bebe Rexha, formerly a part of Pete Wentz’s side project, The Black Cards.

Following them up was an amazing set from New Politics. Even if the only songs you know are their radio hits, anyone could enjoy the three-piece band and their energetic show. Singer David Boyd put on quite a display with his break-dancing that culminated in a headstand.

After a lively night, Fall Out Boy finally came out to the opening on the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s classic Carol of the Bells to get everyone feeling the Christmas spirit. Opening with The Phoenix, Pete toted a flag bearing their insignia as Patrick Stump called “Hey, Young Blood!” Their killer set featured most of their classics, symphonymagazine.net 14

a well-rounded mix of each album ensuring that everyone spent the night singing along. The venue filled with shrieks and renewed moshing for the opening chords of Sugar, We’re Going Down. Same for Dance, Dance where drummer Andy Hurley boasts a nasty drum solo. Since their hour-long set could not accommodate the usual rigmarole of walking off and back on-stage for their encore, Fall Out Boy jumped right into I Don’t Care and their traditional closer, Saturday, where Pete steps into the crowd, which leaps at him ferociously, hands reaching and grabbing at him like a pop-punk Jesus offering face-shredding lieu of healing blindness.

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PHOTOS AND REVIEW BY: LAUREN ZAKNOUN THE BEST PART ABOUT THE NORTHEASTERN LEG OF THE ARCHITECTS’ TOUR IS THAT EVERYONE IS AMONG FRIENDS. THE ARCHITECTS and openers The Scandals are both signed to Skeleton Crew, a New Jersey-based record label founded by Frank Iero (formerly of My Chemical Romance), one half of the second opener, Death Spells, co-fronted with James Dewees, who goes way back with MCR. The unity is even visible in the crowd, where everyone is among friends.

As two of the three billed bands are from New Jersey, which is built upon a notoriously close-knit scene, this would explain how everyone seemed to know everyone.

AT THE KNITTING FACTORY IN BROOKLYN, NY, THE SCANDALS GOT THINGS STARTED WITH A SNARLING, GRITTY PUNK ROCK SET, A COMPLETE departure from Death Spells’ dark, hardcore-synth sound, which is almost intimidating. Their set is accompanied by nasty, visceral projection images that make you feel like you’re being mugged while on a bad acid trip. The Architects came out to a packed room, and the crowd was treated to Iero accompanying them on bass. The enthusiasm was an infectious back-and-forth between the band and the crowd, familiar faces shouting the words right back at the stage. The Architects, a bunch of talented and gracious musicians, left the stage with smiles plastered across their faces. symphonymagazine.net 17

CARBON TIGERS PHOTOS AND INTERVIEW BY: PENELOPE MARTINEZ

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Walking in the streets of Chicago, you’ll come across all kinds of people. Students, artists, crazy cat ladies, and then there’s that one person, or people, you meet all you can say is, “it was fate.” That’s no exception for the guys in Carbon Tigers.

Carbon Tigers began back in 2009 hitting the local venues in Chicago. The band consists of Chris Wienke (guitar/lead vocals/keys), Nick Cudone (guitar/vocals/keys), Aaron Sweatt (bass/ vocals/guitar), and Darien Williams (drums/vocals).

Getting their name by a random choosing of words, the band hoped to reach people with no problem what-so-ever. “We were being really indecisive. We wanted something where, if you were to google us, we’d pop up right away. We opened up the school newspaper, pointed at two words and they were Tigers and Carbon. It was all fate.” The members are from different parts of the U.S; Chris growing up in Libertyville, IL, Aaron from San Antonio, Texas, Nick from New York, and Darien from Naperville, IL., school bringing them together, and after that it was a domino effect. It wasn’t until a few months ago that Darien joined the band. “I was playing in another band before, then that band broke up. They (CT) put up some signs in Guitar Center and the bass player from the band I was in told me. I listened to their music, thought it was amazing and I emailed Aaron that same day they put it up.” After that the band kept playing with Darien and soon he was part of the band.

“It was definitely fate.” Darien comments. “Speaking of fate, that was actually the first song I heard from his old band!” Aaron says.

People always have their moments of doubt, but dealing with those moments, the good and the bad, whether you should go after something or sit back and let it be, is what their EP, The Wars At Home, is focused around. “The EP is based on the battle that people fight all the time, particularly when going through a big change. From a friend moving away or a band member leaving, anything really.” This album was a full on collaboration of all the members.

The songs usually begin by something as simple as

a lyric or melody idea and building from that, each member writing their own parts. Lyrically speaking, Chris will begin to write the song and go back to the studio with the rest of the band to brainstorm more ideas, having a general concept or theme. This is important to the members because they know that they all agree with the music rather than if only one person was writing it, that person would be to blame if it ‘sucked.’

After having a sold out record release show for their new EP, the band can only think of the past and future. Having their equipment and van stolen, the band got an immense amount of support and raised over $12,000 dollars to purchase new gear.

“We had played at Lincoln Hall and were all very tired after the show. We decided to leave the gear in the van, like a bunch of bozos,” says Aaron reminiscing, “We walk out in the morning, thought ‘who moved the van?’ ‘Maybe it got towed,’ Nope it was definitely stolen. From there we tried to let people know and raised awareness about it. We began a kickstarter and still took out a bunch of personal loans to get our stuff back.” This is now a bittersweet moment for the band, it proved to be a gut check to see how band they really want to do this. “When you sit there and think, we have nothing now. No money. Are we willing to figure out what needs to be done in order to get this back?” The band came out together and proved to everyone and themselves that they were in this for the longshot.

Carbon Tigers aren’t going anywhere though. After playing alongside bands like Cold War Kids and Gold Motel, the band hopes to tour next year and plans on sharing more music with fans. One of their biggest goal for this year was to solidify their line up and release the EP and were able to fulfill those. Apart from that, they have been able to play outside of Illinois with great bands and will continue to do so. 2014 will bring them a lot of great things.

Hoping to release a full album and to tour even farther while creating music full time, the band won’t be stopped anytime soon.

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BOYMEET

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TSWORLD

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“

IT FEELS AWESOME TO KNOW THAT SIMPLE SONG IDEAS I HAD IN COLLEGE ARE NOW ACTUALLY RECORDED AND PRODUCED AND READY TO BE HEARD BY HOPEFULLY MANY LISTENERS. WE’RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE WHOLE PROCESS.

”

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FIRST, CAN YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELVES AND TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOU AND THE BAND? The band is made up of the following members: DREW RICHTER: Guitar PATRICK BRYANT: Guitar RYAN SULKEN: Drums BRAD SULKEN: Bass CRAIG SULKEN: Vocals As you may know, we are a pop/rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio that started about a year and a half ago. Some people hate our name, we don’t care.

YOUR CHRISTMAS ALBUM, ENTITLED ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS, YA FILTHY ANIMAL…’ HAS TAKEN TWO YEARS TO COMPLETE. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO KNOW THAT IT’S FINALLY GOING TO BE RELEASED SOON? It feels awesome to know that simple song ideas I had in college are now actually recorded and produced and ready to be heard by hopefully many listeners. We’re very excited about the whole process.

WHAT TRACK WERE YOU MOST EXCITED TO RECORD AND WHY?

I think we were all most excited to record our bonus track, “Home for the Holidays,” The full band version, because we released the original song last winter and everyone absolutely loved it. I think the anticipation of people wanting to hear a new version of the song definitely helped boost the excitement for us in the recording process.

WHAT TRACK ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

I’d have to say Home for the Holidays, even though it was recorded and released last year as a single, just because I hold it so close to my heart and because of the story behind the song. Every time I listen to it, it just brings me back to being in my dorm, anxiously waiting to fly back home to see my friends and family, then walking around the airport during my layover - both very vivid memories because of this song. It’s pretty hard to explain, but I feel grateful to have captured my emotions perfectly into a song.

ARE ANY OF THESE SONGS ORIGINAL? IF SO, WHICH ONES?

All of the songs on this album are original, besides an O Holy Night instrumental I recorded.

IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT MAKES THIS CHRISTMAS ALBUM DIFFERENT COMPARED TO ALL OF THE OTHER CHRISTMAS ALBUMS? I wouldn’t say that this album is totally different than any other Christmas album, but you do get a variety of music styles, acoustic and electric songs, and fast and slow songs between the 7 songs that it consists of.

WHAT WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART IN RECORDING THIS ALBUM? The acoustic songs were pretty difficult because the

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mic would literally pick up the slightest sound, that’s why you can hear little creaks of maybe the chair, or the guitar slipping on a leg. There’s not a whole lot of other sounds to hide those noises, but we wanted the acoustic portion to sound very natural, so we don’t mind it.

WHAT SONGS WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO NEW LISTENERS, TO LISTEN TO?

Home For The Holidays (Both versions) and Christmas Time Again. Both songs will leave you wanting to listen to the rest of the album, so it’s a win-win situation.

WHEN RECORDING THE SONGS, HOW DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE FINALLY FINISHED?

We did a lot of pre-production ourselves, so we didn’t do a whole lot of ‘writing’ while we were actually in the studio recording. We knew how we wanted everything to sound beforehand, so once all instruments were tracked for each song is when we knew we were finished. (Possibly the worst answer ever?)

DO YOU HAVE AN EXPECTED RELEASE DATE?

Yes, we will be releasing this on December 3rd, for absolutely free. The best way to find the download link is to go to our official website: www.boymeetsworldmusic.com

WHAT’S ONE THING YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THIS ALBUM?

Since we’re giving away this album for free, we hope to gain tons of new fans and listeners with the help of our current fans to help promote this.

WHY, DO YOU FEEL, SHOULD OUR READERS LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM?

We put countless hours and hard work into writing and recording this album, and since it’s free, what do you have to lose ;)

PHOTOS AND INTERVIEW BY: SHANA MYERS

SOCIAL

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Boymeetsworldband TWITTER: https://twitter.com/_BMWBAND_

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Who were your musical inspirations?

Mineral Seam, Sunny Day Real Estate, Knapsack, Jawbreaker Who supported your decisions to become musicians?

Pretty much everyone in our lives. All of our families have been very supportive.

What are your goals for the next year?

Tour outside of the USA How long have you been playing together?

Close to two years, now.

How many years have you individually played music?

Everyone has kind of beenplaying since we were young. Doing funny bands and learning covers and such.

How do you want your music to affect your fans?

I want them to be overwhelmed with emotion.

What is your favorite song that you have produced?

It’s called Don’t Die, it’s not out yet.

If you could tell your fans anything, what would it be?

That we appreciate every single person who gives us thier attention.

What keeps you motivated when the going gets tough?

The music. Playing a good set when everything surrounding it sucks, happens sometimes while on tour. Keeps a person level, for sure. Reminds you why you are there. Long drives, van problems, missing home and people, all disappears when you have a good set.

What other kinds of activities do you do together when you aren’t playing music?

Snowboarding, skateboarding, hikeing, ride motorcycles, lay dg.

What do you want your lyrics to make people feel?

I want people to be able to relate my lyrics to thier life in a way that might help them cope with something or feel better about the past. I hope it can do for them what they do for me.

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FALL CITY FALL PHOTOS AND INTERVIEW BY: BRANDYNN LEIGH

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PEOPLE LOOKED THROUGH THE WINDOWS OUTSIDE AS THEY passed the venue, trying to figure out why such loud music was playing. As they watched the act through those windows, they saw groups of kids huddled around the stage, while others were spread out dancing and moshing around. While those wanderers were intrigued, everyone actually in the venue was glued to the music.

AFTER ONE OF THE OPENERS FINISHED THEIR SETS, I WALKED over to the merchandise table to ask for Nathan, one of two vocalists, of Fall City Fall so we could conduct the interview. When the girl working called out to Nathan, he hobbled over to introduce himself. The previous night, in Edmonton, Alberta, he hurt is ankle. Regardless of the fact that he had no crutches, alternative support of and kind, and presumably was in pain, he still showed up ready to play for all the people in the venue. After searching for a place in the back of the venue, we found a spot to start our interview.

and stuff like that. It’s literally all I do. All I do is music ‘cause I can’t skii, I can’t snowboard, I don’t know how to skate, I just play music.

NATHAN: I’m Nathan and I’m one of two vocalists, I just play music and work. I skateboard a lot and I destroy my knees.

HOW DID YOU ALL GET TOGETHER?

NATHAN: The band kind of started in High School, just friends, Keenan and I. Keenan started it and I joined shortly after and it’s kind of been this shift into the core unit that we are today. We’re all just best friends. We have fun together.

HOW HAVE THINGS CHANGED SINCE YOU’VE BEEN SIGNED TO VICTORY RECORDS?

NATHAN: The inquiring audience wants to know *uses his hand as a microphone for Andre* ANDRE: I suppose in a virtual way, with the social media, it helps. We’ve been in a couple of magazines so that’s cool. I guess that’s it, a little more attention but it’s like making that extra step to make it in the “real world.” From there you are going to start at the bottom, just like everyone else.

NATHAN: It’s like being at the top of the food chain in grade nine and then going into High School. You’re the loser kid IF YOU COULD JUST STATE YOUR NAME, POSITION IN THE BAND, AND again. It’s cool, I mean we got a really cool man for the TELL US A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF? team, good booky, and we got a label that the cool thing is Looking at each other, pointing to who would go first that the constant between all of them believe in what our they both decided to play a game of Rock, Paper, message is and what we’re doing before where like a lot of

Scissors to figure it out. Nathan came out victorious, leaving Andre to be the first to say a little something about himself.

labels would all “oh, image, sell yourself to sixteen year old girls.” They understand what we’re trying to do. For them to have that same passion to back us has been a ANDRE: Well I’m Dre, I play bass in the band, bass guitar. I don’t really cool experience. do a lot, I just work, that’s it and play in the band it’s kind of like I play a lot of music around and record with my friends

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IS THERE ANY FAVORITE SONG THAT YOU LIKE TO PLAY?

ANDRE: My favorite song to play... I’m going to have to say is Lovebirds. It’s probably my favorite song. It’s fast, and I like really fast and heavy music. It gets me going.

NATHAN: It’s kind of a toss up between three songs. I really, really, like playing Fearamid because I get into it a lot. Then it’s got to be a tie between Taken or Funeralationship, because it’s really cool to pour your heart and soul into something and then to exert that energy into the crowd and have them receive it in a way that we’ve seen on this tour has been really humbling. It’s really cool to see that we’ve possibly made an impact in someones life. I’ve never heard people sing like that before.

WHAT ARE SOME OTHER BANDS THAT HAVE INSPIRED YOU?

NATHAN: I think Ke$ha has got to be our number one... Nah, just kidding. I grew up on pop punk, and like punk rock and stuff like Blink-182, Transplants, and NOFX and stuff. I kind of got into The Used. If it wasn’t for The Used I would not be doing what I’m doing today. Obviously they’re a very different band from what we play *laughs* but I take a lot from that band. Everyone in the band is so different, like Jordan’s super into Converge, we all commonly love The Chariot.

ANDRE: My first CD was Ramones, so that was the first thing I really heard music wise. Then it got really metal. Recently my favorite bands have got to be definitely Justin Timberlake, for sure Saosin.

That band, literally, I have never heard of them before until like a week ago and now I’m like obsessed with that band. Quarter Inch Kids is definitely solid. I love that band, that’s the loudest band.

TRADITIONS?

NATHAN: Eggnog. Eggnog and sleigh rides and GT sled racing.

I hate winter but I love those things.

ANDRE: Probably peanut butter cookies. My mom makes them every year and she never bakes.

She’s awesome at baking but she’s just like, one day she decided not to bake for me because I was twenty-one or something. She said I should learn how to bake, but I disagree. But she makes awesome peanut butter cookies for Christmas, add milk, and awe man, have them every morning.

That’s my breakfast.

NATHAN: My grandma makes a pretty mean turkey.

HOW DO YOUR PARENTS FEEL ABOUT THE BAND?

NATHAN: My parents have kind of always let me be a free spirit. In the beginning I think they necessarily understand what I did. I grew up skateboarding and they were like “you gotta quit that” because I destroyed my knees, and then I discovered music and I just knew what I got to do. In the beginning, I was in like the worst screamo band of all time and it kind of grew. My Mom actually just saw me play for the first in in this band about six months ago. Mom and Dad together. That was so huge to me. They got to see what I work so hard at and what I’m passionate about. Just to hear them say “I’m proud of you”... that was it.

IS THERE ANY SHINING MOMENT THAT COMES TO MIND OF BEING TOGETHER?

ANDRE: I got two, but I don’t know if I should say one of them. But probably one night we were in the middle of no where in Ontario, we were at a park, we were all tired, and we decided that we had time to kill, so we parked by a Tim Hortens. We all kind of fell asleep, sleeping outside in the van. It was like minus thirty [Celsius] that day. We were all kind of in a circle in the van, passing whiskey around. It was the best, we were all cuddled up. Those moments we all get to talk and it’s the best.

NATHAN: It’s really cool to just experience the ups and downs together. I have so many stories now, that I can go tell my grand children, that I’m so excited to share other than “Oh I went to University, worked nine to five” you know what I mean? It’s cool.

SOCIAL

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/fallcityfall TWITTER: https://twitter.com/FALLCITYFALL

SINCE IT’S THE SEASON, DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE HOLIDAY

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THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM WHO WERE YOUR MUSICAL INSPIRATIONS? Growing up we all had very eclectic tastes in music. I think that helped us become who we are today.... our inspirations can range from; Elvis, Iron Maiden, Weezer, Radiohead, Boston, and the list goes on.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF PREFORMING LIVE SHOWS? The Show. I can’t even see the crowd sometimes... sometimes it goes by too fast. I really enjoy the little segways we create and how we exude the energy.

HOW HAS PLAYING MUSIC CHANGED YOUR LIVES? I can’t speak for everyone but for me it is a get WHO SUPPORTED YOUR DECISIONS TO BECOME MUSICIANS? Family. Friends. I think either way we all would have away. Might sound cliche but it is 100% true...

I write a lot of songs after something in my life persued music. inspired me or made me angry haha.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE NEXT YEAR? YOUR MUSIC IS REALLY UNIQUE. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR To play as much as we can! It’s hard to put out a SOUND? record the right way when you are unsigned...It’s These days I just tell people we play Rock music... even harder to go out on tour the right way. We We try our best to be original want to continue to create a buzz about the record and hopefully people like what they hear.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO GO THAT DIRECTION MUSICALLY? It’s just who we are. It wouldn’t be real if we woke up HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING TOGETHER? and said “hey, lets try and go in a more pop oriented Joe and I have been playing together since we were direction” and then we became the next Fall Out in our early teens. We started a band when he was Boy. We play and write music and over the last 15 still in 8th grade! This band as a whole, we have probably been playing for a little more than a year as years we learned how to put out own spin on it. is.

IF YOU COULD TOUR WITH ANYONE WHO WOULD IT BE? Alive? Dead? I think the perfect show for us right HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU INDIVIDUALLY PLAYED MUSIC? now would be... MUSE, Queens of the Stone Age, We all started when we were in our teens.

Imagine Dragons.

HOW DO YOU WANT YOUR MUSIC TO AFFECT YOUR FANS? In whatever way they interpret it. Music is meant to IF YOU COULD TELL YOUR FANS ANYTHING WHAT WOULD IT BE? move your emotions and if our songs can pull those I already told them! haha Help Spread the Word! The Elephant in the Room, The Collective & feelings from someone than we did our job.

The Individual WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG THAT YOU HAVE PRODUCED? It’s a toss up for different reasons. I really like the INTERVIEW BY: CAITLYN TANNER way “What you don’t know won’t hurt you” came out. Personally, I would have to say “We will meet again” because of the personal meaning, and the way the song came together during the recording process.

IF YOU COULD TELL YOUR FANS ANYTHING WHAT WOULD IT BE? ??????? No idea? Tell all your friends about The Elephant in the Room??? symphonymagazine.net 39

Sky FIRST OFF, I’M SO SORRY I COULDN’T MAKE IT TO YOUR SHOW HOW DID IT GO? No worries. The show went very well, thanks for asking! We shared the stage with three phenomenal bands (The Hollywood Kills, Audiostrobelight, and Uh-Huh Baby Yeah) and played for an energetic and attentive Nashville crowd. Couldn’t really ask for more!

I REALLY DIG YOUR MUSIC. IT REMINDS ME A LOT OF MUSE/ THE MARS VOLTA....BUT AT THE SAME TIME YOU GUYS HAVE A COMPLETELY UNIQUE SOUND - WHAT/WHO HAS INSPIRED YOUR SOUND? Thank you! We certainly have a lot of respect for bands like Muse and The Mars Volta. We are most inspired by bands that not only write great songs, but that have the chops to put on a stellar performance, because that’s the type of band that we strive to be.

Queen, Foo Fighters, Tool, DMB, and RHCP are some of the bands that have inspired us in that way.

GOING OFF OF THAT, WHAT INSPIRES YOUR LYRICS? Inspiration usually hits hardest during instances of self-discovery. As we get older we seem to surprise ourselves less and less, so when it actually happens the experience can be quite memorable. We draw from such experiences when writing, but song lyrics often seem to inexplicably appear out of nowhere.

HOW HAS YOUR TOUR BEEN SO FAR? We’ve been doing the weekend-warrior approach for a while now, which has worked well for us. Knoxville is a great place to call home because we can hit a lot of surrounding markets without having to travel thousands of miles. That said, we’re anxious to spend symphonymagazine.net 40

ytownRiot INTERVIEW BY: LAUREN CRADDOCK PHOTOS BY: SAMI WIDEBERG more time on the road in 2014!

one member short, and in lieu of searching for a lead guitar replacement we brought Cody in on keys. Best.

TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT THE FORMATION OF YOUR BAND - HOW Decision. Ever.

YOU GUYS GOT TOGETHER, WHEN YOU STARTED MAKING MUSIC, I READ THAT YOU’VE PLAYED WITH FILTER, HOOBASTANK & HOW YOU CAME UP WITH A NAME FOR THE BAND, ETC. (EXCUSE MY HALESTORM. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? EXTREMELY OPEN-ENDED QUESTION).

Yes, those shows were a lot of fun! As an opening Jimi and I (Van) knew each other from high school, act for bands of that caliber it is easy to put a lot of but didn’t really get to know each other well until pressure on yourself. But after playing a couple of we started playing in a band together after college. bigger shows we figured out that it’s actually easier to Finding Jason was just dumb luck. He replied to our play for a larger crowd. And the bands we’ve opened Bassist Wanted ad on Craigslist. The three of us were for have been on the road, putting on incredible all part of a band that didn’t have the legs to really last, shows, night after night. So we learn a lot just from and it eventually came to an end. But we still wanted being there. to play together, so we just completely started over and formed a new band, Skytown Riot. We didn’t meet WHAT ARE THE BAND’S PLANS FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR? Cody until 2011, when he happened to be at one of PLANNING ANY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS? our shows. Several months later we found ourselves The same thing we do every year… try to take over the symphonymagazine.net 41

world! Seriously though, we intend to spend much of JASON GOSTKOWSKI - Bass 2014 on the road. Every year that passes we resolve CODY HENSLEY - Keys to work harder and make better music, and 2014 will be no different.

WAS THIS YOUR FIRST TIME PLAYING IN NASHVILLE AS SKYTOWN RIOT? ARE THERE ANY BANDS IN PARTICULAR THAT YOU GUYS WOULD No, but it was our first time back in quite a while. We LOVE TO TOUR WITH? won’t be waiting as long to return!

We played with Hurt several months ago, and they were one of the few bands that we really clicked with WHERE ELSE ARE YOU GOING ON YOUR TOUR? (both on and off the stage). They’re an independent For the remainder of the year we are staying close band that knows how to tour smart, clearly work very to home, having just played in Knoxville and (on hard, stay constantly engaged with their fans, and they December 14th) we’ll be in Johnson City, TN at are a lot of fun to hang out with off the stage. Right Capones. now they probably top our list.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT THE WHOLE THIS SHOULD’VE BEEN ONE OF THE FIRST QUESTIONS I ASKED, BUT EXPERIENCE OF BEING AN UP-AND-COMING BAND? - WHAT’S EVERYONE’S NAME/ROLE IN THE BAND? It’s an exciting time to be an independent band, and VAN GALLIK - Vox/Guitar there’s nothing quite like your “first” anything in the JIMI JUDISCAK - Drums symphonymagazine.net 42

music business. The first time you hear yourself on the radio, open for a national touring act, get noticed in public… all that stuff is exciting. It all comes down to hard work, and our favorite part of the experience is seeing our hard work (slowly but surely) pay off.

Soul Or System has been well received thus far, so we’re excited to hit the road to wear out these tracks on stage. Already we’ve begun to see fans sing along to these new songs at shows, and that has been a huge motivation!

LEAST FAVORITE PART? Balancing life during such a transitional period. It’s extremely difficult sometimes to make music your number one priority. Not just for us, but for spouses, employers, family and friends. It takes a toll, but despite all of these challenges we have to remain focused, remain driven, and find a way to make it work.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER NEW BANDS? Don’t look for opportunities, create them.

ANY LAST MINUTE THOUGHTS/ADVICE/NEWS WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT? We would just like to thank you for the interview and for supporting Skytown Riot!

WHAT ARE YOU GUYS LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST WITH YOUR NEW MUSIC/TOUR?

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FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SkytownRiot TWITTER: https://twitter.com/skytownriot WEBSITE: http://www.skytownriot.com/

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ON THE COVER

Emily Otnes INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS BY: PRITEN VORA

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Since you’re mostly a local artist from the champaign, illinois area, could you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you do?

Well, I am the lead singer and writer for the band Emily Otnes and The Weekdays, and we play around town quite a bit, especially lately, but I’ve been playing as a solo artist as well for about five years now. I play piano, guitar, flute, and kazoo!

You said you’ve been playing for five years… is that when you started playing local shows or is that when you started with music in general?

I think my first show was either when I was 14 or 15. At the time, I was writing with my friend Tessa and we were in a little duo, and I did mostly writing; I didn’t sing until I was like… 16… at least in a serious way. So being a solo artist has definitely been a more recent thing for me, but I’ve been playing music for a really long time.

So you started writing with your friend first, huh? Do you still work with her at all, or is it mostly yourself and your band now?

She’s actually is in college in Chicago, but we kinda started doing our own thing a couple years ago and I’ve been working on my own stuff ever since, so it’s been a real journey. My sound’s changed quite a bit!

Yeah, i’ve been to a few of your shows, and you have a pretty nice variety of stuff that you play, both with your band and when you do solo shows. I know you’ve been more focused lately on working with your band and playing more shows with them… do you have a preference between playing with your band or playing by yourself?

Well, it’s completely different; it’s like apples and oranges!

Because with a band, you have this whole range of things you can do. As far as energy goes, it makes composing completely different because you can add voices in and out (or instruments)... but I think I probably prefer to play with my band in the end because we’re all really good friends, it’s so much fun, and I can have a little more fun performing. I’m a little more relaxed, whereas when the focus is all on me, I feel a little bit less into the music. So my band is really fun and I really enjoy being in it.

Nice! So how long have you guys been playing together?

We’re kind of a recent band. We really started getting a little bit more serious around Pygmalion (the Pygmalion Music Festival, a local annual music festival in Champaign), so that’d have been around September… So we’ve been developing and practicing a little bit more, but we’re very new.

Oh wow, even i wasn’t expecting it to be that recent! I figured it might’ve been at least a year or something, but wow, that’s really recent! How’d you guys find each other? Did you all just get together and say, “oh, you know what? Let’s have a jam session!” Or something like that?

Well, it’s funny because all of them came from separate situations, but they all have a lot in common, like the fact that most of us are from Champaign or Urbana… so it just so happens that all of us kind of are from the area. But honestly, with most of them I just said, “Hey, you! Wanna start playing together?” and then we all ended up in this group! We’ve had a couple people go in and out, like our violist… he’s a freshman this year so he’s really busy getting into the college scene and everything, so now instead we have a bassist, which is really exciting because it makes the sound a lot more even

throughout the whole composition.

Very nice. Ok, so you do have some stuff that you’re working on right now as a band, correct? Can you talk a little bit about that?

Well, we are working on an album… I think it’s gonna be a full-length album! Because of the pace we’re going, I think that seems like a realistic goal! We’re three tracks in, almost… almost there! Colin and I have been doing the guitar tracks - all the acoustic guitar tracks for every song recently. We’ve really making progress; we’ve already got “Don’t Call Me Darlin’” as a single on Bandcamp!

Yeah, i listened to it and it made my so happy because i’ve heard you play it at like… every show, so finally it’s recorded!

It’s a really fun song! We had a great time putting it together, and that’s one of the more collaborative efforts. Like… I do come to them with a song, but Colin and Joey especially, tend to go, “OK, what if we do this here? What if we take a pause here, or do some drum fill?”

Yeah, that’s awesome, because i would imagine that working as a solo artist, you’d have songs that you’ve already thought of, then maybe you think, “ok, well i would like to try this with the band,” and then you get their input. So… has working with the band changed how you write you solo stuff as well?

Absolutely, yeah! It’s hard to explain, but basically I think more along the lines of, “What would a group enjoy and understand?” rather than, “What do I have to express?” So for “Don’t Call Me Darlin‘,” we really focused on the feel of the song. It’s kind of retro; it’s got a lot of attitude, and we all tried to contribute to that message. Right now, we’re working on this song called “Shades of Blue”, and it’s a… blue song (haha) - it’s very sad, but also kind of sweet at the same time. So… Colin and I will get together and make our guitar parts… we’ll hang out a little bit, get in the mood, and then we’ll have a song!

I can imagine what your lighting would be like when performing that one… ha!

Actually, one time at Mike ‘N Molly’s, I think they changed the lights when we started to play it - by coincidence - which made me laugh…

Oh, they changed it to blue right then?

Yeah! I was just like, “How appropriate!”

So you’ve played a lot of shows locally, especially in the last few months…

I know! We’re just getting booked all the time, which is just really… it’s so FUN, and I’m just very happy about it!

That’s awesome! So, playing a lot of shows, then… out of all the venues that you’ve played, do you have a favorite that you just wanna keep playing at forever?

Yeah! I really like Mike ‘N Molly’s, because it’s upstairs in this kinda small room with a really well thought-out sound. It’s very loud. I like to be loud - I’ve never been loud before!

So whenever I can, I like to pump up the energy a little bit because when I play solo shows it’s just me and the piano and a bunch of people thoughtfully listening, you know? And now we can actually dance, because it’s a bar and it’s meant to be kind of a good time. So that’s my favorite; I also like The Canopy Club… Error Records is really nice - I really like what they’re doing with their business. We played at the Krannert

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Art Museum for Pygmalion; that was really nice, too - so classy!

The Courtyard Cafe in the student Union is a little harder for me because people are doing their homework, so I almost feel like I’m interrupting with my music! I’m like, “I’m sorry! I’m getting paid!”

Hmm, i can’t imagine having your voice there while doing your homework being a bad thing though…

Well, I don’t take the band with me for those - I do it solo, so maybe it’s a little less offensive!

Nah, i could imagine that being quite pleasant, actually…

Well thank you!

So… you also told me you’re gonna be be going to paris, i believe?

Oh! Yeah, although that got changed a bit - I’m actually going to Vegas! But yeah, I’m working on the music for a film, so I’ll be doing that for a while! I’m also trying to collaborate with as many people as I can, because that’s really where I find my work bearing fruit or really taking off - when I have a couple of minds on one idea.

Well, this is a film soundtrack, so that’s freakin’ awesome! Did they come to you or did you go to them…?

They came to me, which was really cool!

Well, that’s awesome! Are you doing more of a score of background pieces or a soundtrack of individual songs?

It’s gonna be mostly individual songs, kind of as if I were writing stuff for myself as a singer / songwriter or a pop musician or something like that. I’ll dabble in a couple different genres and see what I can come up with! But yeah, it’s individual songs.

Ok, nice! So it’s individual songs, but also it’s specifically for this film!

Yeah, haha more details to come! I’m not sure how much I can talk about now…

Oh yeah, i imagine you’ve got some kind of non-disclosure agreement or something to uphold so don’t worry! It’s just awesome that’s you’ll be doing that, because it’s a definite step up! How long will you be gone?

Probably about a week or so - we’re gonna cram it in and be very productive!

So i’d assume at some point during winter break… speaking of which, you’re a college freshman, right? Or are you a sophomore now? ’m actually not enrolled at the moment… I’m a college dropout!

I will be a sophomore again next semester. I just really needed the time to write, write, write!

And then practice, practice practice, and then play, play, play until you have it down, right? And then you can perform whenever!

Yeah, and if my drummer, Joey, can go to school and be in like five billion bands then I can be in one and go to school, and I will stop complaining!

Hey, i can barely go to school and photograph shows, so i can understand taking some time off and wanting to write and stuff. But yeah, i actually didn’t know you weren’t in school currently, but that explains a lot of how you’ve been able to play so many shows recently! I was wondering how in the heck you could do all the stuff you’ve been doing lately while keeping up with classes and such… so, out of all the songs on your new

record, is there any particular one that you’re really excited about? (Minus “don’t call me darlin’” though! You can’t say that one!)

I can’t, huh? We already did get that excitement out of the way, so now we can focus really hard on a bunch of different other types of songs. Let’s see… I’m really excited for “Revival”, which is… it’s a completely different mood; it’s hard to kind of put your finger on, but basically it’s a song about my grandmother. She’s getting pretty old and at that point where your mind sort of starts to fade, and I find it really interesting that as she ages, the less she remembers about us, the more she remembers about her husband that passed away. And that’s what the song is about - it’s about meeting him on the other side and what really sticks with you as a human being. And I just find it really beautiful that it stuck with her that long and that love can last that long. So I’m really excited about working with that. I gave Colin the acoustic guitar part because he’s a genius and I’m like, “I’ll just let you… just do your thing!” That’s what we did at recording, honestly! I was like, “You know what? I think I’m gonna give you this...” He was excited, and I’m excited too!

So what’s the process like for you? Was it a secret kind of thing where you didn’t let yourself hear anything he did were you hands-on the whole time?

Oh no, I was sitting there the whole time with the headphones and we’re both basically dancing along! When we record, we look at each other and we’re laughing, like, “Oh I like what you did there!” or, “I’m not sure that note was right…” so it was pretty fun.

Nice! Do you record at home, or do you have a studio setup at home, or are you working with someone… how exactly…?

It’s kinda… Colin’s hilarious, because he’ll just be like, “You know, I think I wanna record in this trash can...” I’m just kidding, he won’t actually say that, but it’ll be along the lines of somewhere ridiculous. Like in my apartment building, we have this really weird, glass front room and it’s got SO much echo - just natural echo - and he’s like, “I think I wanna record your vocals for one song in there, just to see what we can come up with,” so we hope around… We recorded “Don’t Call Me Darlin’” in like… three closets.

So really, just wherever you can find where you can place a mic, pretty much!

Colin will into a room and start clapping to figure out how the sound is echoing and such… He’ll make me turn off all the lights and heat. That kid’s gonna be successful! He’s our everything guy for sure, but we definitely work really well together, too.

It’s not like I just whip him into doing whatever I want! We often drink coffee and work on mixes and stuff so hopefully our input will bounce off each other and create something really good.

Ahh, yes. Mixing coffee and music, as everyone is want to do!

Yeah, but you want the ratio to be good, because you don’t want to have too much coffee and not enough music!

Right, it’s there to complement the music, not to take over!

Yeah, although we do get kinda carried away… (laughs) It’s ok, i think the same thing happens with computer programming… you just get to 6 am and keep ingesting coffee and keep coding…

Ha, yeah that’s how I write a lot of my songs; I’ll be like, “I HAVE to finish this, and I’m not going to go to bed!” My roommate… is not happy about that always, but she loves me, I think…?

Uh huh, possibly, when it comes to around 5 am or so…

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Yeah, that’s probably a good time to stop…

No, that’s the time to keep going! What are you talking about?!

Go for it!!!

So you’ve got your film, you’ve got your record… you’ve got all that stuff coming out, and that’s all going to be released… when?

The album will probably be more around April [Emily’s initial answer during this interview was late January or early February but this has been pushed back to take time for producing and mastering], because once tracking’s done we have to take time to mix, produce, and then order the hard copies… So that takes kind of a long time but we’re definitely getting there, so we’ll see!

Good! So you’ll be handing out copies at shows and stuff and actually having people buy them, huh?

Haha, Oh It’s So Great! I Know, I’m So Poor - People, Please Buy My Music!

Aww, people should though! You’re amazing, and i mean that!

Because i heard you first back in april, and even then i thought you were really good! You were playing later that same night at canopy and i was sad that i couldn’t just go and watch you play some more! But i’ve seen you play more recently, and it’s great because i can see you grow, and i can see the difference between you playing by yourself with your piano, and when you’ve got a band with you, and that’s awesome to see.

Well thank you! That’s so nice!

[At this point, we were interrupted, so we decided to cut the interview short.]

Well, i think that’s everything! Thanks for talking with us; hopefully the giveaway goes well!

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CONTEST Win a two-song exclusive preview of Emily and her band’s upcoming album, as well as a signed 8” x 10” portrait of emily.

HOW To enter, go like our Facebook status as well as Emily’s Facebook page and we’ll randomly pick a winner and announce the winner in our January issue.

Deadline is January 15.

You will get the music as soon as you give us your email address, and we’ll send out a print ASAP.

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THIRD EYE BLIND

PHOTOS BY: SHANA MYERS symphonymagazine.net 54

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PHOTOS BY: SHANA MYERS symphonymagazine.net 57

STANDOUT STORY photo by: shana myers

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THE STORY SO FAR

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FALL OUT BOY

PHOTO BY: PRITEN VORA

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