Well, Silas Durocher of The Get Right Band has convinced me that before I move back west, I must head down to Asheville, NC for the food. That’s because when it comes to the new album, ‘iTopia,’ it compares to one specific eatery their frontman thought long and hard about. To find out where and why, continue reading on. You’ll also uncover thoughts – good and bad – on social media, tour plans, and more about the new album that drops on April 7th. 

Kendra: So you’re out in Asheville, NC – a place I’ve yet to visit that’s on my list. Is that where y’all are originally from or did you feel the creative spirit there was reason enough to move there?

Silas Durocher: None of us are from Asheville originally, but we all love calling it home. The music scene and creative spirit of the city were a big pull for all of us. Also the natural beauty. We all love hiking, exploring waterfalls, and taking boats out on the lakes. Asheville is the perfect place for that. 

Kendra: I know your April 7th release, ‘iTopia,’ dives a lot into various aspects of social media – which we’ll get to – but I wanted to know if you had to compare the overall vibe of ‘iTopia’ to a local eatery in Asheville, what place would that be and why?

Silas Durocher: Ok, I’ve been thinking about this question for days. As a lot of people know, Asheville is an incredible restaurant town; it’s amazing for the taste buds, and trouble for the bank account. I’m going to compare the vibe of ‘iTopia’ to one of my favorite restaurants in Asheville, Nine Mile. 

They fuse several different cuisines into something totally unique, and despite some of the cuisines seeming kind of disparate, it all blends together cohesively. My hope is that we do a similar thing with genres, blending psychedelia, indie rock, synth-pop, funk, punk, and a few other things into a sound that can only be described as “The Get Right Band.” 

One place Nine Mile really shines is its sauces. Nobody makes better sauces, and every dish is drenched in them. To stretch this metaphor as far as it can possibly go, I’m comparing the finishing touches of a sauce to the finishing touches of production, ear candy, and soundscapes. We worked so hard to make iTopia sound incredible.. inviting, dreamy, and fresh. 

Kendra: Now way back when in 2009 I did my senior thesis on social media, so you can imagine how dated that paper would be today as we’ve gotten so many more platforms since. I mainly focused on MySpace and YouTube (which was still very young at the time). For this record, was there any one platform that stood out to you as being the most impactful; for better or worse?

Silas Durocher: I don’t use TikTok myself, but I know that’s obviously incredibly big with the younger generation. For me personally, YouTube and Instagram probably have the biggest impact on my life, and I think that’s true for a lot of people. I don’t know about “better or worse.” I think it’s all about how you use them and how much you’re using an app with intentionality versus letting the app’s algorithm lead you around. 

YouTube is so amazing for learning how to do literally anything and for endless entertainment, but it’s also one of the most dangerous algorithms for radicalizing people. The algorithm gradually recommends more and more extreme perspectives to viewers to keep them hooked and it’s had some disastrous results. 

Kendra: You also mention the “anti-social” side of social media which I had never thought of but it’s true. We get sort of too sucked up in the constant scroll that we start to lose how to interact once we look up. How do you think the world would react if we woke up tomorrow and suddenly the internet was gone?

Silas Durocher: You use the phrase “look up” and I wrote a poem called “Look Up” that we decided not to put on the regular album, but it’s on the double vinyl release we’re putting out. It gets into some of the issues you’re talking about. 

If the internet just disappeared, I think we’d all be really lost and confused. We wouldn’t know how to do a lot of basic things like get places, find out when things are happening, and keep in touch with friends. And most of us would, to varying degrees, be like junkies without our fix. Over time, I think we would find a lot of healthier places to put our energy…time with friends (in person), connecting with nature, reading books, playing games, being alone with your thoughts (that’s something a lot of people don’t do anymore). 

But I don’t believe — and our album doesn’t suggest — that the internet is all bad, by any means. It’s done truly incredible things for us. As we say on the record, it’s a miracle and a mess. We have to work individually and collectively on our relationship with it to try to mitigate the dangerous parts. 

Kendra: On the flip side though, in “Hell Yes Refresh” there’s a line about “finding my tribe.” This is something I think is good about the internet and social media, especially in the past few years when we were in the thick of yet another historical moment. People really found solace in online communities and whatnot. Do you think that’s one of the few silver linings about being connected on this grand scale?

Silas Durocher: Absolutely. There are a lot of silver linings. One of the big ones that always comes to mind for me is social movements. There’s no question that progressive social movements have blossomed over the last decade because of our ability to communicate on a grand scale. And it’s wonderful that people can find love, friendship, people to play games with, etc. through the internet. I love seeing other parts of the world that I might not get a chance to travel to. And videos of unlikely animal friendships! Who doesn’t love those?

Kendra: Time for a side note – So Easter is my favorite holiday. Don’t ask me what the holiday is actually about because it’s only my favorite. After all, I love Spring and the candy is top-notch. With that, if you were to receive an Easter basket, what sweet treat and album on vinyl would you hope was in said basket?

Silas Durocher: What a great question, and happy Easter to you. My favorite thing about the Easter season is Cadbury mini eggs. So my Easter basket definitely needs to come with piles of those. And I’d love to pair those mini eggs with a vinyl copy of the album ‘Zaba’ by Glass Animals. That record has a groovy, psychedelic jungle vibe that feels like a good companion with all the plant life blooming this time of year. 

Kendra: Lastly, with ‘iTopia’ out April 7th, what else can people expect as we continue on into Spring and soon into Summer?

Silas Durocher: On April 7th, we’re playing an album release show in our hometown of Asheville, and then we hit the road through the spring and summer for the ‘iTopia’ Album Release Tour. We’ve been working on these songs for so long. It’s so exciting to be putting the album out into the world, but we’re also really looking forward to playing these songs live. It’s been fun and challenging and creatively engaging to translate these lush, psychedelic, layered tunes into something we can pull off live. I think people are going to really dig the experience of the live shows this Spring and Summer. 

The post Refreshing Times with The Get Right Band appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: You two met in and around the local music scene in North Carolina, but what initially sparked the friendship that’d eventually lead to making a record together? 

Casey Livingston: It was really organic. I had always really liked Chris—you know when you just have refreshing, great conversations with someone, though short and in-between band sets? I’ve always had that with Chris. Years ago, he set up a musician’s collective and asked my bandmates in No Me Toques if we were interested. It didn’t work out at the time, but I always thought about it in the back of my mind.  

Finally, I found the courage to reach out to Chris about it; I didn’t even have his number, so I went through his wife Megan. This was Christmastime 2000. The following May 2021, Chris asked if I could sing backup for a song he’d written. Then, he gave me a blank composition to write lyrics/vocal melodies. I had never done that before. That became “Radiant Moment.”  

While working on it, I ended up hearing additional melodies that turned into “Casey’s Song.” It’s called that because it’s the first part I heard in my head that I shared and made a full song out of. Chris was like, “Yeah…that doesn’t go with ‘Radiant Moment,’ but let’s make that song!” 

From there, we trade off: Sometimes I hear and record vocal parts, and Chris writes the music around them, and sometimes he gives me blank compositions to write over. 

Kendra: Last month I talked to another duo from your neck of the woods. Must be something in the water there – producing so many musical pairs. For you two, what’s the most rewarding thing about being able to bounce ideas off of just one other person? 

Casey Livingston: I’d say just that: only having to coordinate two opinions and two schedules. Chris and I have great respect for and trust in each other if either has a problem with a decision or a specific musical part. Even if we don’t hear the same issues, we trust that the other knows what they’re talking about and try our best to work it out. 

Kendra: Since we noted North Carolina a bit already, I wanted to know – if you had to compare ‘Silver Lining Breakdown’ to a local eatery in NC, which would you choose and why? Also, what dish from there would you say would be the best opening track? 

Casey Livingston: As we worked on this project, we kept finding ourselves at Intermezzo Pizzeria and Café in Charlotte. From the dim lighting to the wooden ceiling beams and cozy alcoves, I hope our album creates a similar vibe: a little dreamy, eclectic, and intimate. Intermezzo is a locally owned café, and you can feel the comfortable, family vibe. However, home and family aren’t always the smoothest, so there is certainly friction on some tracks.  

And if you are what you eat, Chris and I are the chicken pesto pizza. In that case, a shared beet salad would be the opener: fresh, perfectly cooked with oranges and the slightest kick of fennel. We might be a new band, but we each have a lot of experience and, just as with finding the right flavor, we pay attention to nuances and subtleties in the music we’re creating.

When I asked my friend Deborah Greene, who took our band photo, what dish Silver Lining Breakdown was, she responded, “Mussels and white wine at The Artisan’s Palate in Charlotte: clean, classy, innocent with a hint of exotic.” We’ll take that! 

Kendra: Let’s talk about “Veronica Ruse.” It’s a song about betrayal but in a friendship. We’re so used to songs about romantic ships but rarely do we set sail on a friendship in song. Do you think that every broken friendship can ultimately be mended? 

Casey Livingston: My first instinct is to say, “No, not all friendships can be mended.” But I guess it depends on how you define “mended” and “friendships.” If someone is a true friend, the love is unconditional. So, you always forgive—you always do your best to “mend.” That’s not to say the relationship doesn’t change. After something is broken, it can never return to its original condition. Hopefully, new chapters are possible, if you really love this person, but the friendship cannot return to what it once was.  

Kendra: The video for “Veronica Ruse” utilizes AI artwork. I have seen many pictures of people on Twitter and Facebook but this is the first time I’ve seen it used for something like this. What drew you to this art form for this song? And will you likely do this again for future videos from this record? 

Casey Livingston: The local filmmaker Joe Cornelius, who helped us make the video for the 2nd single “Tongue Shred” actually turned Chris on to the Dall-E website/AI thing. They both were very interested in the technology and thought we might have a chance to put out one of the 1st videos utilizing it! So, they went for it. It’s really cool because the video uses images the AI created in the style of four famous artists interpreting concepts and lyrics from the song. It also went to some really wild areas on its own that we didn’t expect. I think Chris might be utilizing the process for a video for 1 more track from the LP –“Radiant Moment”- that I mentioned before…

Kendra: Time for a side note – We’d love to know when you perform, do you have any sort of lucky charms you take with you on stage, or do you have any sort of pre-show traditions you do to ensure you have a great show? 

Casey Livingston: I usually drink “Throat Coat” tea and use this terrible throat spray that’s like 10 years old. It’s these herbs that taste disgusting, even before they expired. Chris always makes sure that he carries a screwdriver and extra batteries to every show because his pedals/pick-ups always seem to lose power whenever he doesn’t! 

Kendra: Lastly, with ‘Silver Lining Breakdown’ out on March 24th, what else can the world expect as we focus on spring and soon enough, summer? 

Casey Livingston: We’re writing our second record that will hopefully be ready in the fall and working towards playing live shows. We don’t have a full live band put together yet, and that is something we are excited about trying because it will mean working with other musicians again!

The post The Silver Lining of Bed Signs appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: The past couple of years seemed to have unlocked this creative drive in many whether it meant starting podcasts or getting into music. How long had you two been toying around with the idea of Jubilee? 

Dawn Hayes: We had been contemplating the idea of forming a music act for years, with all the experience we both have in music, we have always wanted to do something together, but it wasn’t until early 2021 that we decided to take the leap and go for it. So far it has been a phenomenal experience. With doing around 200 shows since we started, we never expected this to get to this point.

Kendra: When you started, it was just you and your husband, Waylon. My guy and I each have our own podcasts and even helping one another with those can cause some marital tiffs, but it’s also allowed us to help one another grow. Has there been anything your partner has brought out in you that’s surprised you?

Dawn: My husband has definitely brought out the will to have more ambition. I teach for a living and I am constantly telling my students to strive and reach for their goals and dreams. It’s hard to do that for yourself when you’re constantly pouring out into the lives of so many children every day. 

The tendency for me is to get home at the end of the day and just let the weight of the day pass me by and I settle for a nap and a hot coffee. Waylon is constantly pushing me very much like I push my students. I never knew I needed so much encouragement until it came down to going above and beyond while doing something I love so much. At the end of the day, I’ve already given so much that I can’t always give for myself. Waylon has helped me to see that I can’t stop with others, and I have to be able to push to make my dreams/goals/plans come to life. That’s what a marriage is for. And I’m glad he’s allowed our experience as a duo to help build our marriage. 

Kendra: You’ve noted that since starting you’ve rounded out the group with some other members. Who are these lovely new members, and how did you all connect? 

Dawn: We have been primarily a duo since we started. Now, with us recording our album, we felt we needed to perform these songs and give them justice by being able to perform them with a full group. Being I’m not from this area, I really don’t know many people, but Waylon grew up here and knows a lot of musicians. He had been in talks with some of his best friends and they agreed to form the full group and see where it goes. 

We brought in drummer Robert Wagner. He’s been mainly a metal drummer but loves all music and is really excited to throw down on those skins with us! We also brought in one of Waylon’s long-time friends Nicholas Gore on rhythm guitar. Waylon and Nick have been performing together in different forms since high school. And last but not least we brought in another one of Waylon’s long-time friends Daniel Faulk on lead guitar. Daniel has his degree in music and also has been performing with Waylon in groups since high school. Daniel is also the producer for the album. They were in a local group called Pyromatic that performed in the southeast US for over 10 years. 

I truly believe that with this group of amazing musicians, we can take Jubilee to heights we never dreamed of. The full band will be debuting at Jubilee’s album release party at The Hard Rock Cafe on May 20th, 2023.

Kendra: Your debut single, “Wild Canary,” is out now. How long after the band became more than an idea did this song come to fruition?

Dawn: I actually wrote “Wild Canary” over four years ago. I have always been writing music way before we decided to put together Jubilee. But “Wild Canary” really didn’t come to life until last year when we decided we wanted to try and do our own original music rather than be a straight-cover group. I never really had an audience to play the song for other than myself or Waylon. But when we formed the group and built our following we knew that the world needed to hear this song. And since then, the response for the song has been phenomenal!

Kendra: And it’ll be on your debut album that’s set for May 2023. Does the album have a name yet? Also, what overall vibe do you see it shaping up to have as you continue to work on it and make the final touches?

Dawn: We have been playing around with several ideas for the album title but nothing has been solidified just yet. The overall vibe of the album will be uplifting and positive while dealing with the depths of disappointments that come with life. The overall goal of the album is to take you on a journey from the mind of the wanderer, the romantic, the lost, and the found. Life is a struggle, and we have all found ourselves longing for something in this life. The whole album is a reflection of what we all go through on our road to being free in who we are and finding our saving grace in the end. 

Kendra: Also, being that it’s a new year, have you set any sort of music resolutions for yourself?

Dawn: Our biggest resolution for us is to have a successful release of the new album. We also really want to keep pushing forward and keep performing for as many people as we can, as a duo or the full band.

Kendra: Lastly, with the debut album set for a May 2023 release, what else lies ahead for you?
Dawn: We are hoping to branch out eventually and play further off in other places other than mainly the Myrtle Beach area. Along with that, we will continue to write and record and hopefully have new music coming out even after this upcoming album’s release.

The post Flying Free with Jubilee  appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: When did your dreams of being a rapper start, was it before or after the move to North Carolina as a kid? 

Kay Roze: My dreams of being a rapper started when I was about 17, which was after my move to North Carolina.

Kendra: From a dream to a reality, you dropped your debut, ‘The Prelude,’ back in 2017 exclusively on Soundcloud. Looking back at that record and comparing it to ‘The Postlude,’ how do you think you’ve grown as a lyricist? 

Kay Roze: I’ve matured lyrically as an artist. Life gave me so many trials and tribulations, but it helped sharpen my lyricism and the way I see life. ‘The Postlude’ was a statement on how I grew as an artist, not just a rapper or lyricist.

Kendra: Also, going back to the Soundcloud aspect. We always hear about Soundcloud rappers, but what do you think their biggest contribution to hip-hop has been? 

Kay Roze: Soundcloud rappers are an influence on the industry. They inspire many upcoming artists by showing them since they can make it off of Soundcloud, other people can as well.

Kendra: Now let’s focus on your latest single, “Drought,” which is a song that will move many as it’s about that hurling life, and staying focused. That’s something we really had to all do these past few years. What inspired this song for you though? Was it a culmination of things, or one particular instance? 

Kay Roze: “Drought” was a period where survival was really put to the test for me. When I heard the beat, it made me tap into that hunger aspect in myself and I felt that people need to feel that hunger to push them to want to do more. I know some people will listen to the song and get motivated. Then there will be some that listen and talk down upon me but I think the main perspective should be to get you amped for whatever challenge you’re about to face.

Kendra: I gravitated toward “Not a Regular Artist” which closed out ‘The Prelude.’ It showcased another side of your artistry to me and felt more like something we’d hear on a Common record. When you were starting out, was there anything you remember doing or telling yourself to do to make you stand out from the crowd? 

Kay Roze: “Not A Regular Artist” was a statement to differentiate myself from other artists that make music just to get on/blow up. I actually make music for impact and legacy; from how I formed the structure to the content of my lyrics.

Kendra: Now with the holidays right around the corner, I’d love to know if you could be gifted with tickets to see any artist, living or not, live in concert – who would it be and why? 

Kay Roze: Jay-Z because of his impact on the culture and my life. He was a huge inspiration to me growing up so as a student of the game, it would be an honor.

Kendra: Lastly, with ‘The Prelude’ out now, what are your plans heading into the new year?

Kay Roze: Definitely more music and more motion! More videos, more interviews, new businesses and brands coming soon. 2023 should be a big year.

The post Kay Roze is No Regular Artist appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: Asheville is notorious for being a creative mecca of sorts. Do you often feel that vibe when it comes to what you all do in Secret Shame?

Matthew: I think Asheville is big enough to sustain a solid music scene but small enough for a lot of cross-pollination between milieus/genres in a way that helps people feed off one another. 

Kendra: When it comes to genre, you’re not alone in not wanting to limit yourself and be inside of a box. I feel like that’s something very much the norm with today’s artists. Do you think that has anything in part to do with the sort of downfall of physical record stores? You know, losing those visible genre sections? 

Lena: I think in part, yeah it has to do with record stores not being as prominent. The internet has made it much easier now for people in general–and specifically artists–to find things that inspire them, and styles they want to emulate. But I think what it mostly has to do with is boredom, both in artists and listeners. 

A lot of people think they’ve heard it all at this point, and it’s hard to convince them otherwise. Like, say you’re in a classic rock band–what’s setting your band aside from all the other classic rock bands on earth? You could record an incredible album and people say, “Oh great, a Led Zeppelin rip-off. Don’t care.” But if your band is classic rock and your influences include Xiu Xiu, Rihanna, and Sturgill Simpson, it’s probably going to attract people because it’s more fun and interesting for you and it shows. I think more artists are pushing themselves to defy the limits of music and just do whatever makes them feel good instead of whatever’s “marketable.” It’s honestly great. 

Matthew: As soon as a genre gets defined it’s essentially dead. Maybe people need to label themselves as “we’re A or we’re B” to market it but thinking too much about genre creates limits and leads to a lot of boring gate-keepy conversations. 

Kendra: Now it’s time to talk more about your sophomore album, ‘Autonomy,’ out on October 28th. It’s been a few years since ‘Dark Synthetics,’ and a lot has gone on on both a micro and macro level. What do you feel inspired this new record more – your personal lives or the collective trauma we sort of all have been in together for the past couple of years? 

Lena: It’s a personal album for sure. I don’t discount that collective trauma had a role to play; I did write most of the lyrics during lockdown. But ‘Autonomy’ is more about specific moments that people I love and I have experienced, and also about my personal struggles with mental illness.

Kendra: When I read “Luxury Bitch” I think, this is possibly a rap song or some new pop song. Instead, it’s this deep alternative rock track that captures a common fear and that’s losing the one we find the most sort of solace in. For you, other than writing about it – how did you get over that loss? 

Lena: Well I wrote the lyrics to “Luxury” in 2020, and at that time it was just a big fear. It wasn’t until a few months ago that it actually happened. I would say it’s still very much a fresh wound, and I’m not over it, but it gets easier as time passes. I also want to clarify that this person I’m talking about is still very close to me, is not dead or anything and we have a great friendship. I’m just melodramatic and I got dumped and it sucked. 

“Luxury Bitch” is the song I wrote when I was feeling insecure about how crazy I am and figured nobody would stick around for it. I named it “Luxury Bitch” because I was making fun of myself for perpetuating my own problems and in turn pushing people away. Who knows, maybe I spent so much time dwelling on it that I made it happen!! 

Kendra: This record also dives into something I battle with and that’s body dysmorphia, so thank you for that. We get all of these self-love songs and whatnot but rarely do we hear artists talking about the actual reasons we need that self-love. Has there ever been a record or artist that’s given you that sort of feeling like, damn – maybe I’m not alone in what I’m feeling whether it be physical or mentally?

Lena: I’m glad and also sorry to hear that it’s relatable to you, and I hope this record reaches you in a way that helps.  

I tend to listen to music that makes me think, “wow, these people are crazy.” My favorite band growing up was the Pixies, and I loved how Frank Black and Kim Deal would like, whisper and laugh, and scream in layered vocal tracks behind some catchy chorus melody. I get so excited about artists who are strange and unafraid. And I’ve always more or less leaned towards music with lyrics that felt relatable to me. 

But it was when I heard “Ugly” and “Please Eat” by Nicole Dollenganger for the first time that music had ever hit me like that. It was like ohhh, she’s saying exactly what I’m going through, but it’s not even about me, it’s her experience and she’s not holding back at all and millions of people are hearing it. She’s not sugarcoating anything with metaphors. That’s fucking vulnerable. And inspiring. I couldn’t even tell my friends what I was going through at that time, let alone the world. I can’t listen to those songs often, but I’m thankful they exist. 

Kendra: Lastly, with ‘Autonomy’ out on October 28th, do you have plans in the works for 2023 as far as touring is concerned? 

Lena: Definitely.

The post From Autonomy to Luxury with Secret Shame  appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: You started dropping singles a couple of years ago. What led you to say, hey…I think it’s time the world heard what I have to say?

Tristen Davies: Well I’ve been writing raps since I was 10 years old back in 2012, I didn’t end up recording anything until 2018. I just grew tired of being afraid of what people thought and I was tired of telling everybody I rapped with no songs.

Kendra: Because you came out of the gate full force with “Amerikkka” with a line like “…my Blackness is scarin’ ya.” Obviously, America’s history and present are plagued with racism, but was sort of the last straw for you and caused you to pen this song?

Tristen Davies: At the time I wrote that song it was summer 2019, I’ve always been rebellious and prideful of my race. I can’t say there was anything in particular that happened at the time for me to write the song, I wrote it in less than 10 minutes and didn’t change any lines, but it was a damn good foreshadowing to what would happen a year later in summer 2020 with the George Floyd riots.

Kendra: Another song from early in your career is “The Therapist.” A song that highlights your own therapy session, and you don’t hold back. Do you feel music like this, that showcases not only Black people taking their mental health seriously – but a Black man doing so – will help urge others in the Black community to continue to be more open about therapy?

Tristen Davies: Absolutely. I still get so many compliments from that song from people thanking me for how vulnerable I was. I was actually wrapping up my first semester of college on campus, very confused on how I wanted to direct my life. I was watching the movie ‘Good Will Hunting’ with Robin Williams and I relate so deeply with Matt Damon’s character. 

But it is sad Black men aren’t as balanced with their emotions in music without trying to portray a tough image, especially in rap it’s almost obsolete. As a 19-year-old doing it, I’d hope it makes it more easier or rather heartfelt for my peers to hear and understand that it’s okay not to be okay. Express whatever you are going through as long as you’re comfortable and it’s not soft to ask or call for help, we’re merely human.

Kendra; As for what you presently have going on, you dropped ‘eve’ this year. Your second LP, correct? How do you feel this release compares to your first?

Tristen Davies: ‘Eve’ was my second LP, and every album reflects what’s going on in my life. ‘Prodigy’ was a collection of songs recorded in my room from May 2021 to October 2021 just relaying my thoughts while showing improvement lyrically and subject matter-wise. I traveled to my second home, Liberia for my 20th birthday. I really didn’t feel like making any songs so eve was a collection of songs I had intended to release as an album anyway with a very funky, high-vibe production sound that I just wanted to give to my fans to listen to. They are very different sonically but I talk about the same things just with slower flows, and melodies and I honestly had more fun with ‘eve’ as far as experimenting my sound from lyrical miracle boom-bap.

Kendra: Another new song you’ve got is “robin williams.” Was he someone you grew up idolizing?

Tristen Davies: Well, he is a person I get a lot of inspiration from but most definitely is a part of my childhood from ‘Aladdin,’ ‘Dead Poets Society,’ and ‘Good Will Hunting,’ I mentioned that inspired my song the therapist. He represents the balance of male and feminine qualities in me and what I mean by feminine is the fact that I’m able to vent my emotions out without feeling shame or softness. When he passed it was a definite shocker to me, I wouldn’t fathom someone with the love and fame and millions he had wanting to die but you know you grow older and understand more.

Kendra: Time for a side note – with it being summer, I’d love to know your go-to summer anthem? Like what song must you listen to when the weather is perfect and the sun is out?

Tristen Davies: See, I’m weird because I am out of tune with the new music just because so much is saturated now; more quantity over quality. So any song I hear, old or new, becomes the one jam for me until the next, but honestly, my favorite summer song and overall song of all time is probably “Stereo Hearts” by Gym Class Heroes. It brings me back to the summer of 2011, 3rd grade sitting in the back of my aunt’s green ‘93 Honda Accord; happy times for me. So you’ll catch that on my phone, especially in the summer.

Kendra: Lastly, with ‘eve’ out now, what are your plans moving forward? Is there a possible tour in the works?
Tristen Davies: I have an album coming very soon called “oneonefour.” It’s done now, I made 30 songs for the album but want to cut it to 15. I have a collab album with my bro, Brandon, called “unrevised” who I went to high school with. It was five tracks. He’s the producer and I’m rapping. I have a collaboration tape coming with producer momoward who made the beat for my song “tomorrow.” I have some music coming with my homegirl, Nissy, she has the voice of an angel, and I really wanna push her to pursue music full time. As far as tours and performances you can always stay in tune with me on my Instagram!

The post The Therapeutic Response of Tristen Davies  appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: You’re a seasoned songwriter, but can you pinpoint the moment you knew you were going to make something out of it?

Katie Sachs: Whew, in many ways, I feel like I’m still waiting to “make something out of it.” The music business is HARD! I would say that over the last 10 years since I started recording there have been various stepping stones and breakthroughs that have felt important. Recording and releasing my very first EP ‘Places Not on Maps’ back in 2012 was a big first step in declaring to the world that I had something to say musically.

Though by no means my masterpiece, it was the first time I had ever invested hard money, time, and energy into my craft. Another pivotal moment was when I decided to blow up my life in Massachusetts and move to Austin, TX to pursue music full-time. This turned out not to be a viable career path for me, but I learned so much about music and songwriting and really cut my teeth being around some top-notch artists.

Releasing this album now also feels like a big achievement – in many ways it represents the culmination of all of these milestones and hard work. It is the first time I have ever worked with a publicist, which I’m learning is almost more important than actually making the thing if you want to have anyone listen to it. I guess what I’m saying is… it’s all been a journey.

Kendra: Speaking of, how do you think your songwriting has grown since 2015’s ‘The Giantness of Little Things’ to 2021’s ‘The Factory of Almosts?’

Katie Sachs: First off, thanks for going into the “deep cuts” and listening to more of my catalogue! When I started to write ‘Giantness’ it was the beginning of me fully understanding myself as someone with the identity of “musician” and I was just beginning to get my feet wet in the business.

My time in Austin, where I wrote most of the 2015 album, and actually about half of this new album, felt a lot like being in music school. I was surrounded by brilliant musicians who I got to play with and be inspired by – some of whom have actually become quite famous now! I remember hanging out around song-circle campfires with a then-unknown Adrianne Lenker and other members of Big Thief. Pure magic. I took a pretty big break from songwriting from about 2016 – 2019, but then started dating a musician and the tunes just started to flow again.

When the pandemic hit, I went through my “COVID break up” and like so many others, had the time, space, and material to create. A few songs on this new record actually came to me in a dream which had never happened before! I think another thing that has helped my songwriting develop is just doing it for a long time…at this point, I’ve been writing for over 20 years. And the older I get, the more life experience I acquire, and the more I seem to have to say about it.

Kendra: One of the songs off ‘The Factory of Almosts’ that caught my attention was “Ethel’s Garage Sale.” With that, if you had to compare the overall tone of this record to a common item found at a garage sale, what would it be and why?

Katie Sachs: Yes!! This is actually my favorite song on the album, so thank you for noticing it. Gosh, wow, what a great question that I don’t know how to answer! Maybe a can opener because it opens things up. It’s also a little rusty and sharp, but also is helpful and makes nourishment available. (Getting a little deep… a little metaphorical…) That’s what first came to mind, so I’ll go with it.

Kendra: Another song that stood out for me was “Trees” because it just took me back to being a kid and being upset I couldn’t go to Lilith Fair. It has those vibes about it. Do you think it’s time we brought it back, and would you be down to be a part of the lineup if it ever happens?

Katie Sachs: Haha, oh wow… I mean… I definitely used to love me some Sarah McLachlan! Sure! Why not! If she asked me…hell yeah. Of course.

Kendra: Listening to you and noting some of your inspirations, I was pleasantly surprised by the makeup of your “Katie’s Pandemic Dance Party in Your Home” playlist on Spotify. So many amazing hip-hop and pop hits from the ‘90s and ‘00s. Now, if we had to twist your arm and have you cover one of these delights, which would you toss on your setlist?

Katie Sachs: So glad you enjoyed it! Yes, I came of age during that time period so those songs are always what I want to listen to for nostalgia and when I want to shake my booty! They are programmed into my DNA at this point or something, lol. So much great music from that era. So much.

As for your second question, covers are kinda my jam, so no arm twisting needed! I would say it could be fun to try a version of TLC “Creep”…I LOVE TLC!

Kendra: I’d hope that cover would be in the encore and then “Tell Me I’m Good” would be the closer because it closes the record and man, does it hold you until the very last note. It’s so good and I love the idea behind it because it is one many can relate to and that is this air of self-doubt we carry around. Was writing this in any way therapeutic?

Katie Sachs: Awww, thank you so much! Yeah, I agree – validation and self-love are so, so important and we all need to feel like we are good. Like we are “enough.” No matter who we are or “what we’ve done.” I wrote this song after a special night with someone I had had a big crush on for a while and he said to me “you’re good” and then it unlocked something in me and I cried for literally like six months straight, lol. So yes, I think it was definitely part of some kind of healing process for me. I stand firmly by the message behind it. YOU ARE GOOD! I AM GOOD! WE ARE ALL GOOD!

Kendra: The album is out in September, but what’s to come after that? Do you have any dates you’re working on?

Katie Sachs: I feel like given the subject matter of the album the word “dates” could be a double entendre. I just started playing with a three-piece garage rock band here in Asheville which has been SUPER fun, and I hope to continue to do that and book some shows here and there.

I also hope the record does well and people hear it. Other than that, unless this album somehow blows up and becomes a number one hit somewhere, I just keep living my regular life! My days of national touring or trying to make money playing music are pretty much over. I don’t think folks realize how hard it is for musicians to support themselves these days. People have been trained to think that music is free, but the truth of it is that it’s really not…There are fewer and fewer ways for indie artists to earn income from their craft. Even bands with a certain level of success I imagine still have a hard time making ends meet.

I have found that the best way for me to enjoy making music is to do it when it comes easily, feels fun and I can afford to put something out, but not to put any other kind of pressure. That’s where I’m at for now, but of course, things can always change!

The post Dance Parties & Almosts with Katie Sachs appeared first on ZO Magazine.

The inside of my grandma’s home was a place I never saw. We just didn’t travel much as a family, so the only time I saw where she lived was when she’d come in her RV or when she had to spend some of her last years in the trailer where I grew up. So when Christopher Paul Stelling talked about getting to set up shop in his grandmother’s home, and recording ‘Forgiving It All,’ I thought, how freaking beautiful is that? I also got kind of sad that grandma’s fail to last forever. So here’s not only to all the grandma’s out there but to Christopher Paul Stelling. A musician who, like many, was forced to focus off the road last year. From that came a record that’s out September 25th, pitbulls, and more – which we explored below.

Kendra: Being that this is your sixth LP in nearly a decade, are you able to listen back to 2021’s ‘Forgiving It All’ and sort of hear how you’ve grown as a songwriter in between this record and your last?

Christopher Paul Stelling: Absolutely, I can hear a huge difference between all of these records. I’m, sometimes, grateful for my lack of commercial “success” only because I’ve just been able to put my head down and work.

Every single time I feel as if the current record was informed directly by its predecessor — 2020’s ‘Best Of Luck’ taught me everything I needed to know to make ‘Forgiving It All.’ They’re very different records of course in that ‘Best Of Luck’ is a fully “produced” album and ‘Forgiving It All’ is bare-bones (just guitar and I). But depending on who you ask, a stripped-down record absent of any adornments might be at times more difficult to make.

When I told Ben Harper (producer of ‘Best Of Luck’) I was planning on following up with a stripped-down album, he understood as he had just himself made an instrumental album. I would never have had the confidence to make ‘Forgiving It All’ had I not just made ‘Best Of Luck.’

Kendra: In many ways, this album is a tribute to your late grandmother, Emma. Which, you recorded this album in her home. Were there any of her trinkets around that you sort of looked to as inspiration while working on the album?

Christopher Paul Stelling: Of course, I mean the house itself is a monumental symbol of my family. She raised three very young children herself after her husband (my grandfather) died tragically in an automobile accident when my father was four. My father as a young adult bought the house next door where I grew up. He worked the same job as his father (a pressman for a local newspaper, the Daytona Beach Newsjournal) his whole life. In a lot of ways that house symbolizes a lot of pain but also a tremendous amount of joy, and so to see it empty and set up my recording gear and be there through the night alone for two weeks was very comforting, almost seance-like.

Kendra: What about “Cutting Loose,” where did the inspiration behind this anthemic track come from? Was it the COVID fatigue?

Christopher Paul Stelling: Well, partially…every song has multiple meanings to me, some don’t reveal themselves for years and some reinvent their meanings, which is why I like to keep them relatively vague if only to keep them alive and accessible, but this one I think at the moment has a lot to do with my letting go of my “career” and expectations, the disappointment of losing so much touring and opportunities from the previous album, an ego death, but in a joyful way.

I feel like it’s more of a letting go song…ya know my previous album was also the last one on my contract with Anti- records, so I knew I’d be losing that support and community there and I’d have to carry on on my own, so that played its role in the song.

Kendra: I want to talk about a line from “Die To Know” in which you sing, “When I blindly trusted all of this/Before I learned to fear.” We’re of an age where we got to have innocence in our childhood, got to live with childish nativity. Today, it’s hard to believe kids have that same opportunity due to the internet and social media. With that, how do you think future generations are going to handle trust and fear?

Christopher Paul Stelling: How many more might there be? Hopefully. I’m fortunate to have a partner with a large family, and I’m glad to report that the kids are doing great. Maybe it’s more about the parents…ya know as long as we were home by dark it seemed like we had free reign, and I think looking back a lot of us are frightened by how free we were? Ya know?

Parenting in our generation seems a lot tighter than our parents were with us. Maybe we know more, maybe it’s us who’ve lost that naivety…the kids are ok. They still dream and imagine…maybe for less time.

The Internet, I’m sad to say, might be a troubling presence. Maybe it’s just the fruiting body of the mycelia of human experience, or maybe when we are done here it’ll be uploaded by the mothership as a record, but I don’t know we’d be proud of it…

Kendra: After thinking about that, I turned to “Wildfire” and got lost in it. It was so calm, it almost took a meditative turn. Have you found writing and creating music to be therapeutic over the years?

Christopher Paul Stelling: It’s the only therapy I’ve ever had access to, shit — I haven’t even had insurance in 16 years. So yeah, it’s an escape. Songs are something to conjure when I’m lucky enough to stand in front of a crowd. There’s always a counterpoint. In my limited way, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to create some of the most calming, anxiety-driven, angry, and sad songs I could imagine, and so they’re vessels for these feelings…

There’s a line in Wildfire, the first line…“It seems all of your fears were dead on arrival, that’s the difference between art and a means of survival.” I can watch that line turn over and morph and change in front of my eyes. I’m always looking for something that’ll prove me wrong and reassure me simultaneously.

Kendra: I bet some meditation of writing helped ease you a bit last year when touring pretty much became non-existent. As someone who spent a lot of time on the road, how did you go about wrapping your head around a pretty bare calendar last year?

Christopher Paul Stelling: Well, making this album helped and there’s a lot more that I haven’t been able to wrangle. I have two beautiful pitbulls I’ve rescued (Opelika and Ida Mae) with my partner, so we take a lot of walks. I miss the road but I was a bit masochistic when it came to touring…my body needed this time off, and I wouldn’t have taken it for myself…

Kendra: Now you have some dates lined up for this fall and well into next year. Do you think the time away from performing will push artists’ live shows more moving forward?

Christopher Paul Stelling: I just did a short run up the east coast, and after a couple of bumps I feel more connected and present than ever. 3.5 years sober helps that too. My shows involve a good amount of monologue and “improvised discourse” and possibly humor (though not in song). And so when it’s working it can be an emotional connection that I’m looking for with the audience. I think everyone is ready for that, let’s hope.

Kendra: You’ve got the album out in late September and dates already on the books, but what else can people expect from your direction this fall?

Christopher Paul Stelling: I think that’s about all I can manage. I forgot how much work self-releasing was. I hope I’ll have another album out in ’22, and I hope it’ll surprise me. I’m just grateful to be able to keep circling what it means to be a songwriter.

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