WHITE NOISE ZINE - ISSUE 10

Issue 10 // oct 2016

I HATE HEROES KICKING IT INTO OVERDRIVE

+ Will Wood and the Tapeworms + LIONS BESIDE US

White Noise (noun) - A steady, unobtrusive sound, as an electronically produced drone or the sound of rain, used to mask or obliterate unwanted sounds.

S TA F F / / O C TO B E R

Co-Founder - Art Director Crisanne Glasser Co-Founder - Features Editor Danielle Gittleman Contributing Writers Casey Wolfe, Gianluca D’Elia, Danielle Gittleman, Ryan Pugh, Emily Klingman, Rebecca Panico, Nicole Cortese Contributing Photographers Sheri Berman, Alyssa Kromelis, Crisanne Glasser, Sam Polonsky, Ryan Pugh, Dominique Benedict, Dani Sacco We are currently looking to expand our team. If you would like to become a contributor to WHITE NOISE ZINE, please contact either crissy@whitenoisezine. com or danielle@whitenoisezine.com

Issue number 10 is finally here! I feel like I say this every time we release an issue but I can’t believe how far we’ve come. We have one more issue coming up in November, and that will be the last one for us this year.

In this issue you’ll find features on I Hate Heroes, Will Wood and the Tapeworms, and Lions Beside Us. A big thank you to all of those guys for taking the time to chat with us. Check them out and see what they’re up to!

As always we’re constantly working on bigger and better things here at White Noise Zine, so keep your eyes peeled. We’ll see you in November!

CONTENTS Will Wood and the Tapeworms

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I Hate Heroes

8

Lions Beside Us

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Album Reviews

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WILL WOOD AND THE TAPEWORMS eccentric rock n’ roll Words by Rebecca Panico // Photos Courtesy of Behind the Curtains Media

WILL WOOD

and the Tapeworms’ front man blasted out nightmarish cabaret punk tunes on his piano before it finally fell apart, he said, during the making of the band’s second album, Self-ish.

“I spent much of the recording process smashing my own paintings in the studio parking lot, praying for a sign that everything was going to come out okay, and then David Bowie died,” Wood said.

“So fans can expect the angst-filled, acid-fried babbling of an unraveling borderliner who’s about to come out of the closet, covered in body paint, carrying a dented trombone and wielding a paisley death wish made of inconsistent memories and inaccurate poems.”

All this destruction, however, resulted in an album that sounds like Vaudeville on mushrooms or Rocky Horror Picture Show on steroids.

The Tapeworms hailed in their new album with a music video for “2012” in early August.

The video, directed by Jesse Lazarus, looks like

something straight out of William S. Burroughs’ “Naked Lunch” and showcases the eccentric styles of Wood.

Self-ish, released August 23, features several collaborations with other artists, including Kevin Antreassian of Dillinger Escape Plan, Frnkiero and the Cellabration’s Matt Olsson, and Alex Nauth from Foxy Shazam who recorded trumpet parts in Ohio for the album.

Wood acknowledged that all were “incredibly friendly, accommodating, and willing to try anything,” for the production of the album, which is genre-bending to say the least.

“I’ve never understood genre. I don’t see how someone could pick a sound they like best and just stick to that for the rest of their career, it makes no sense to me,” Wood said. “When you feel something you’ve never felt before, why express it in the same context you expressed your last emotional turmoil? I don’t know how to describe my music because I haven’t written all of my music yet.”

Self-described as anti-folk, this budding

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band from New Jersey is reminiscent of World/ Inferno Friendship Society, channeling the same energy of Rusted Root’s “Ecstasy” in each song.

“I suppose I could tell you it’s dramatic, it’s theatrical,” Wood said of his music. “Listen to it, it’s got marimbas and saxophones and organs and hollering and what more could you want than honesty in the face of utter psychological instability?”

If you’re a fan World/Inferno shows – which are notorious for fierce mosh pits that can quickly turn into ballroom dancing – then look no further than the Tapeworms.

“Concussions have occurred as a result of onstage violence, countless instruments have been smashed beyond repair, and you will never see a better-dressed band,” Wood said. “Let’s be real- concerts are boring. That’s why we don’t play concerts. We put on shows. Things break, venues threaten legal action, everyone makes out with everyone, and nobody wants to leave until we do.”

Wood sometimes dons a third eye painted above his forehead on stage and looks like a cross between Iggy Pop and Bowie’s alter-ego, Aladdin Sane. Sweaty and blaring out humorous, self-deprecating tunes, he’s achieved what few have before him: making the keyboard look cool.

Will Wood and the Tapeworms are sure to put on a unique and entertaining show for their fans. Wood knows how much they support the band and they support them, too.

“Not to be all shitty and preachy like frontmen of local bands tend to do, but how about this: you’re not alone. No matter how dark or insurmountable and desperate your situation may be,” he said. “No matter how permanently broken or sick or fundamentally flawed or ruined you may feel or even be. You are not alone. I can personally promise you that. And you deserve all the love that the world has to offer. No matter what.

Just don’t follow me to the diner after the show, I just don’t have the energy.”

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I HATE HEROES It’s Now or Never Words by Danielle Gittleman // Photos Courtesy of Carry the 4

Post-hardcore

rockers I Hate Heroes have been taking some time away from the spotlight to sit down and make a record that they’re not only proud of, but one that their fans will enjoy, too. The band, made up of Ephraim Francis (vocals), Jimmy Snyder (vocals), Ricky Nachurski (guitar), Michael Mavretic (guitar), Matt Cellini (bass), and Nicholas Nachurski (drums) have recently released a new single, “Now or Never,” for fans, and they’re loving it.

“[The reception] has been great,” said Ricky. “We have tried to stay true to what our listeners expect from IHH, and I think they noticed. We have been getting nothing but love and for that I thank all of our supporters!”

The new single is just a taste of what the guys of I Hate Heroes have been working on. They’ve been tucked away working on their very first LP and the band can assure fan that it’s unlike anything they’ve ever released. “As our first LP, this album is a special milestone to all of us, so we’ve really been focusing on every detail of the album and reshaping instrumentals and vocals until we feel like the parts are perfect.

Lyrically, the album covers a variety of topics, some of which are themes common to IHH that I have expanded upon for our LP. Some of these include thinking for yourself, overcoming adversity, standing up for yourself, accepting change, coping with betrayal and heartbreak, and seeing tragedy in a positive light,” explained Ricky. “Lately, I’ve also been exploring new topics like self-reflection, fighting depression, and even the music writing and touring processes. I like to give listeners something they can relate to as well as an insight into my own mind and experiences. We have been pouring our hearts into every song and we hope everyone likes it as much as we do.”

Writing and recording this LP hasn’t been any different compared to their previous releases. The band likes to work together and throw all of their ideas together until they can build off of something. “Once we have an idea that we agree on, we build a song around that idea which usually gets changed a lot, sometimes sounding completely different from the original idea,” said Ricky. Once we have a

song structurally put together we start fine tuning different aspects of the song. We like to have as much demoed out as possible even down to string arrangements before going into the studio.”

This time around, however, producing the album has been a bit different than in the past.

“We have worked with a few different producers in the past, but this time around has been a lot of fun. The flow of ideas in the studio is smooth and the atmosphere is professional.

We’ve actually been working with a team of two producers and an intern and they all play their own parts in the album process, which is the main difference as we’ve usually only worked with a single producer. I think recording and revising our new music has never been easier, especially since everyone in the band and on our studio team has an equal hand in the process,” explained Ricky.

The band promises that their music has really matured since their last release, and they’re really proud of how far they’ve come and the new music. “We are all more focused on hearing the song as a whole, versus worrying about each person getting ‘their moment’ in the song. The new songs really encapsulate a lot of different elements that we like to have in the songs, without crossing that line and going overboard to where it sounds messy,” said Ricky.

“With such a solid team on our side, we’re free to add a lot of different dynamics on each track and put them in at just the right time. We still have the variety of sound that we’re known for, but we have included some new elements that we think will set the course for the future of the band.”

Although the guys have really been occupied with making the album, fans can expect the band to hit the road. I Hate Heroes are a huge fan of touring, and promise a good live show. “Our live show has always been a priority for us,” said Ricky. “We always try to bring a ton of energy to the stage and share that energy with crowd.

We want our fans to feel our music and have the same connection to it that we feel while playing it.

You’ll also often find us interacting with the crowd many times during the set and getting everyone involved with the songs. Even some of those who have never heard our name end up singing along towards the end.”

The guys of I Hate Heroes have recorded

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and released a few covers, including “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift, and “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark by Fall Out Boy. When it comes to choosing what songs to cover, they make sure they can translate the song into their style and what their fans would like before they make a decision. “When we narrow it down to a couple, we start hashing out ideas for each one, and usually by that point in time we can generally tell which song we’d prefer to cover based off of the direction the instrumentals start going,” said Ricky. “I’m sure in the future we’ll release more, it’s a great way to reach out to new audiences and a lot of fun to both record and play live.

Although we have no official plans yet due to focusing on the album, I would love to do another cover in the near future.”

There’s a lot in store for the band in the upcoming months and they definitely want to keep the momentum going. Once the LP is done, the band plans to keep on writing as often as they can, both on and off the road. “After recording [the LP], the future is touring. We want to focus

on hitting as many cities as we can with the new music and older stuff alike. When we’re not on the road, we’ll probably continue to write stuff here and there as the writing process never really stops. There’s a lot of times the guys will just have a jam session after practicing our set and might come up with a riff or two that can be used so we record it and save it to build off of,” said Ricky. “We want to continue to build as we are as well as continue to interact with and meet new fans from different areas. Anyone that knows us knows we will talk to anyone and everyone that wants to talk to us.”

Ricky explained that fans should keep an eye on their social media to see what the band is up to next as they finish up their album. Exciting things are ahead for I Hate Heroes.

“Thank you all for bearing with us. We know have been quiet for a while working on the LP, but we have full confidence in the album and in the team that keeps the band going. You guys are what makes us want to persevere even when it gets hard. We love you all!”

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LIONS BeSIDE US Going Nowhere but Up Words by Emily Klingman // Photos Courtesy of Lions Beside Us

After

finally coming down we’re debating on saving them for an upcoming from their EP No One LP.” Will Find Your Bones, Lions Beside Us has had a The band shares a lot of influences pretty good year — and with the future plans they between themselves, which in turn are the have things are building up to another good one. ones that most clearly show within their music.

Fan reactions from last year’s EP can According to Underwood, the top three bands are only be described by bassist Jordan Osborn as Norma Jean, Every Time I Die and The Chariot. “stellar.” “We’ve had people from all over the

“We also have some subtler influences world reach out to us to tell us how much they that don’t necessarily come through in the enjoyed it,” said Osborn. “That part is always a music, but in songwriting and dynamics,” said little humbling. It’s easy for us to get too familiar Underwood. “Bands like August Burns Red have with these songs when you’ve spent months been huge in that regard for us. Individually, we and months practicing and playing them, but it’s all have a wide range of influences that translate always really special to hear what they mean to into the ideas we each bring in. Those include someone else.” bands like Iron Maiden, Tool, Mastodon, We

Osborn describes working together to Came as Romans, Fear Before the March of create music as an interesting process. Because Flames, ’68, Dance Gavin Dance, and even they all have different musical backgrounds, it some decidedly ‘non-metal’ acts like Circa becomes a very collaborative dynamic — though Survive and Shakey Graves.” it always has its ups and downs. Drummer

Fans can expect to see Lions Beside Us Landon Gregorian explained that someone with later in September at the Big Dipper in Spokane an idea will come to the band’s practices, and with A Cryptic Ending, Altaira, and Fed to the the other members will learn the idea and play Flames. Shaffer said their live shows are fun and around with it for a while. full of “a lot of energy.”

“A lot of times someone will say, ‘That’s

“Playing live is what gets our blood flowing a great riff idea, and I think it will go really well the most, so there’s a lot of excitement when we with this part I have here,’” Gregorian said. play. We pride ourselves on that,” said Shaffer.

“Other times we’ll noodle around a bit and build “We treat each show like a party, so we fully something completely new on the spot.” expect people to come rage with us before,

Lions Beside Us is currently writing new after, and during our set. Mostly though, you can material, and they are particularly hoping to bring expect something different. We’re in a scene their sound to new areas. that’s inundated with a lot of similar sounding “We’re really focusing on making connections so bands that are following the trends. We try to be we can start playing shows in new cities,” said honest to ourselves in our music, and aim to have vocalist Kyle Shaffer. that come across live.”

The plan is to release a full album next,

In the last few months of 2016, Lions which would fit with the way the band has been Beside Us wants to record for their album. In writing new music lately. “We’ve been writing general though, the band mostly wants to expand some really cohesive material and we’d love their reach to more and more people. to dive deeper into some recurring musical

“Nothing makes you feel quite as good as motifs and lyrical themes,” said guitarist Cam when someone thousands of miles away reaches Christensen. “An LP feels like to best way to out to tell you that what you’re doing is affecting explore some of those broader ideas.” them in a positive way,” said Osborn.

Their work paid off with the band’s

Shaffer added that the people listening to newest single, “Alter Ego.” “It was a hit with the their music are the most important to the band. crowd from the first time we played it live which “Without people out there actually listening, we was a great feeling, and it really influenced wouldn’t be much at all,” he said. “It’s humbling, our songwriting moving forward,” said guitarist and seeing everyone out there partying when Wilhelm Underwood. “There are a couple tunes we play live makes us happier than you could that we’d absolutely love to record right now, but believe.”

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L B

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FAMOUS LAST WORDS The Incubus

U M

Words by Emily Klingman

R

In their newest album, Famous Last Words haunted house escape that is both encouraging took inspiration from the Twilight Zone to make and desperate, like in the lyrics, “don’t be afraid a concept album titled The Incubus. The band of the world, go make your mark and live another takes classic TV show’s anthology format and tells day.” Lastly the track, “How the Mighty Mock The different kinds of stories within each of the songs.

Weak” was the one slowed down song off the Fusing melodies to metal sounds, the album’s 12 album, giving a nice break towards the end of The tracks each have solid, fast-paced beats.

Incubus. It was equally as cathartic to listen to as

The opening track, “Trophy Wife” has a the others off the album were, and it had some snappy, almost jazzy kind of instrumental start to really good lyrics that stood out from the rest in it before adding the heavy drums and guitars. An telling its story of what could be an angel who interesting aspect to this song is that the metal tricked and cast the singer/main character out beats mimic the opening jazzy tempo, and it from grace. “You thought it worked out all so well, creates a really unique sound for kicking off the you thought you sent me down to hell. But I’m not album. “The Dark You Fear in The Night” was one dead yet.” of the most melodic sounding tracks off the album, Overall I really enjoyed The Incubus. The with a strong mix of melodic vocals over the fastsound was a nice balance of melodic vocals and paced beat of it. heavy instrumentals. The way each track told

Two of the tracks stood out from the others its story through the lyrics with another layer of because of the storytelling aspects within them. storytelling with the instrumentals really hooked In “Debilitated,” the track opens with an electronic me in. It was a bonus that the entire thing was beat and robotic vocals, giving a futuristic feel to inspired by The Twilight Zone, giving all the songs the song before rolling into the heavy chorus. At their haunted horror themes. certain points the beats sound like the beats of a hospital monitor, creating the feel of a hospital horror setting. Lyrics like “and I will try because I must survive,” and “I will try to send off the fear I feel inside,” add to the effect of someone fighting to stay alive in a hospital. The track “Your Escape,” has a creepy, lullaby-esque intro, and it slowly builds both in pace and creepiness by layering with steady beats. Between the lyrics and the eeriness to the track, it’s possibly my favorite off the album. The story it tells places the track in a 16 http://whitenoisezine.com

E V I E W S

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ALBERT BEVIA

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You

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Words by Casey Wolfe

R E V I E W S

Indie rock musician Albert Bevia is set to release his debut EP, You on October 15. The seven track EP flashes back to the era of 197080’s pop music, with obvious influence from artists such as Morrissey, The Cure and U2.

The first track on the EP, “I’m Falling Down,” uses some of the effects that were popular in the ‘70s. The song has a strong electronic beat and uses echoed vocals that were also a trademark of that era of music.

Another track, “Ms. Pickles,” is similar in style as far as the pop beat and echoing effects.

The song, however, is more serious than its title. For example, “The way I feel inside, it’s a pain I can’t describe, can you feel it too?” negates the lighthearted title. Layered vocals give the track some depth that as well.

“Don’t Ever Rest” begins in a deeper tone but quickly brings back the familiar 70’s machine-made sound. Although Bevia’s voice is a slightly higher pitch, this track is definitely reminiscent of Billy Idol’s sound during his prime. This track reinforces Bevia’s established style, making the EP consistent throughout.

Last on the EP is “His Kingdom Will Rise.” While this track still carries the mellow electronic sound Bevia created, it has a more up-tempo beat and more layers of vocals in the chorus. It wraps up the EP quite nicely, as it sounds like the track movie viewers might hear as the final credits roll.

With classic electronic elements fused with new age alternative music, Bevia makes his mark in alternative music. His deep voice mixes with lightly crafted music to create a mellow mood EP with just enough dissonance to keep listeners interested. While he is on the lighter side of alternative music, Albert Bevia is just different enough to pull it off.

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THE GILLS

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EP - 2

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Words by Danielle Gittleman

R E V I E W S

The Gills, a punk band hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, are set to release a brand new EP, EP - 2 on October 14. The EP features five tracks, including, “Aria,” the band’s most recent single.

The EP kicks off with “Lend Me Control,” a track that I absolutely loved. It started off mellow, but really turned into a song that you could really groove to. The track was also reminiscent of The Arctic Monkeys. The band really gives off that vibe, and I really think it works for them. The song is catchy, and I loved it right from the beginning.

“Aria,” is the band’s most recent single, and I can see why. The constant calling of “Aria,” throughout the song makes it even more catchy and stuck in your head long after the song has ended. I love the vocals and the effects that change them throughout the song.

The guitars also stood out to me on this track — they’re absolutely fantastic and definitely carry the song along. I definitely think this was a good song to pick as a single for this EP.

Following up with an awesome guitar intro is “La Di Da.” This song is one of those songs that you listen to in your room on fullvolume and can’t wait to hear it be played live.

I can honestly hear the crowd singing back, “la di da di da,” over and over again. Yet another catchy track on the EP, The Gills definitely don’t disappoint.

“Jamaica,” has my favorite intro on the whole EP. The song just starts and you know it’s going to be a good one. I really enjoyed the vocals on this track. To me, they felt more raw and powerful. This song reminded me a lot of Wolfmother, specifically “ Joker and the Thief,” and I really dug the vibe this song gave off too.

Finally, “April Fools” is the last song on the EP. It is the slowest track on the EP by far, and I really loved the fact that the band could show off their slower and softer side as well. I think this track makes the album diverse and shows all sides of the band.

Overall, I really enjoyed this EP from start to finish. The Gills remind me a lot of Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes, and I really dig the music that they create. If you’re a fan of any of those bands, I would definitely check The Gills out. I’m really excited to see what’s next for this band!

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