Varsity - Interview with Pat Stanton, 7/17/18.

Look at those cute hipsters.

This is the raw email interview I conducted with Chicago indie band Varsity last week. Varsity plays a show at Milwaukee's Cactus Club on the 25th and their sound is really mellow. They're not really something I would listen to, but I think getting in touch with any artist no matter what they make is a good thing.

I was originally supposed to do a phone interview with the band but missed it over work. Luckily, they were able to respond to my questions in text. Answers were written by Pat Stanton, the band's guitarist.

First, tell me a little about yourselves. Full names, where you grew up, how you got into music. Indulge me.
Stef Smith - Lead vox / keys
Dylan Weschler - Guitar / vox
Pat Stanton - Guitar
Paul Stolz - Bass
Jake Stolz - Drums

We all pretty much grew up in the Chicagoland area except for Dylan who is from Detroit. Stef and Pat met in college and became good friends with Dylan who went to Columbia College in Chicago. Jake and Paul are brothers from Oak Park and went to the same high school as Stef. As we started playing more seriously the members changed a couple times but we’ve been playing as this lineup since about 2015. All of us grew up playing music, some more seriously than others, but studied something else in college. The band came together post-college when we were all back in Chicago.

What influences your band? Were there local acts in your hometown that impacted the band's music? How long have you all played together?

We all have different influences which is part of what makes writing a fun process! By now we’ve pretty much shared our favorite music with each other, but initially we all came from different musical backgrounds listening to different stuff. Before we made Parallel Person we compiled a playlist of songs that we were really into at the time and songs where we liked how certain things sounded. It’s pretty much the ultimate Varsity influence compilation playlist. Some of the artists on there include Spoon, Frankie Cosmos, Fleetwood Mac, Andy Shauf, Land of Talk, Chris Cohen, Cate Le Bon, and The Beach Boys. Our favorite local Chicago bands are Pool Holograph, Clearance, Divino Nino, and NE-HI.

How long have you been signed to Babe City Records? Do the members feel that the band has changed since being signed?

We’ve only worked with Babe City for our latest release, Parallel Person. I don’t think it’s affected the band or the creative process at all. It’s not really like how big record labels can sometimes have creative control over their artists, this is more of a partnership. We wrote and recorded the record before discussions even began with Babe City so there was really no outside influence on the record.

What is the band’s primary method of spreading its music to people? What’s the hardest part about promoting a band?

The internet is the best way to get our music out there. Ever since we started as a band we’ve put all our music online for free. We also try to get it on every possible media platform available. There are so many different ways that people discover music now, you got to make sure you’re everywhere. YouTube especially has brought us recognition and followers. The hardest part of promoting our music is putting together a tour or hopping on a support tour for a band we really like. Touring is probably the second best way we build up our following, plus it makes us better musicians and let’s us build relationships with listeners face-to-face.

Who would you say your music is ‘for’? What kind of people do your shows attract? What do you identify your own music as, in your own words?

I would say our music isn’t specifically “for” anyone. I often hear many different reasons as to why people like our music. There are a lot of people who relate to Stef’s vocals and lyrics, there are people who are really into guitar and like watching and listening to both the guitar lines, and there are other people who like to groove out to the rhythm section. We don’t write music to please a specific group of people, for us that would be disingenuous. It’s more like we write for ourselves and are always pleasantly surprised when other people like it too.

Are you selling merch at the show? What kind? Can I get a picture?

We have our music on CDs, Cassettes, Vinyl, and we also have some new enamel pins and T Shirts! One of our T Shirts has the art from our Cult of Personality / So Sad, So Sad single and the other has the art from our new record. All of our album art and t-shirts designs were done by the super talented artist Clare Byrne and I’m so happy with how everything has turned out. You can check them out on our bandcamp or come get one at the show!

Are there any other acts accompanying you for the show? Who are they?

We’re playing with All Tiny Creatures and Moon Ruin!


As some extra notes, I'm pretty sure Stanton mixed up his opening bands. Checking the event on Facebook, their opening acts were actually a band from Toronto named Tallies and a Milwaukee band called Northern Haunts. I cleaned that up in the article and so far I've had no complaints.

After the Longest Time, An Update.

It's been two years since I made my last post on this blog, and there was no shortage of chaos in between. My life since entering college feels like a bowl of soup, with random ingredients being dropped in and mixed without any prior warning or plans.

Looking at my earlier posts makes me cringe but also brings me back to a time in my life where I felt a lot of excitement and very little responsibility. 2015-2016 was a time clouded with good memories and dumb decisions, where I started going to shows and making friends with people in the scene. Unfortunately, I've neglected to record most of it, but maybe with this blog I can stay back on track.

During college I made sure to keep an open mind and keep frequenting shows - my highlights for last year was seeing KISS and Rob Zombie at Chicago Open Air last year and got a chance to interview Nick Woods from my favorite Milwaukee band, Direct Hit!, this year. My challenge has been staying consistent and staying in the habit of keeping in touch with the scene and going to shows.

This blog should not be mistaken as a professional endeavor. The purpose of my blog is to practice writing and make sure to stay in the habit. Music is a passion for me and news writing is an interest I hold dear, so I want to use this blog to keep the two alive in my life.

I will keep posting reviews on old and new albums, write about shows I go to and try to upload interviews I have with musicians and artists. Also on this day, I'm finally 21 so I can go to all the shows now.

I've also had the chance to write for my university newspaper and a small time publication in Milwaukee. To give you an idea of what I've been up to, here are some samples.

Preview for Chicago indie act 'Varsity'

Preview for a band named 'Hop Along'

My proudest achievement, a review on Direct Hit's St. Patrick's Day show with an interview with Nick Woods.

Dead Kennedys - 6/15/2016

    I have to say, WOW. It's been a long time since I've written on this blog. Well, if you're looking for more album recommendations, I will have those and hopefully more. This isn't meant to be a serious blog, but if I want to have a serious career as a journalist then I must start practicing. Or else.
   I'll try and write more on this blog, maybe about music, shows, or just general bitching and whining. If you're an actual regular reader or just someone who stumbled across this, bear with me here.

    The Dead Kennedys played tonight at Turner Hall in Milwaukee, starting their tour across the midwest to parts of the east coast and Canada. A lot of people will probably rip on them for not having Jello and selling out to the crowd. Though this may be true (I don't know enough about the subject to say anything, honestly), one thing is for sure. Musicians entertain for a living, so entertaining people is what they're here for.
    It's very ironic for a band like them to be this punk circus act, after writing so much music about telling politicians and rockstars to stuff it. But although they may seem like a circus act, it doesn't stop the crowd from going wild and people throwing themselves off the stage onto other people. Especially on me. But I think that's an important aspect of any musical event you see. The crowd gets into it and it's not about just watching the band. You become a part of the show.
    I had a great time seeing the Dead Kennedys. They had all the original members; East Bay Ray on guitar, Flouride on bass, DH Peligro on the drums. The only change here is they have a Ron "Skip McSkipster" Greer as their vocalist. Skip does a pretty decent job replacing Jello. He's very theatrical with his performance, has the high voice and manages to integrate his own humor into the set. My only complaint, which isn't a real complaint but is an observation, is that DK's playing was very show off-like tonight. Maybe not to show off, but they know that most people will clap and appreciate their music anyway, so they would take liberties dragging out certain parts of their songs.
    Of course, they were other acts, but when you're an opening band to a big band like the Dead Kennedys, you tend to get glazed over. Hopefully I can cover these opening bands with as much respect as the Dead Kennedys. But I doubt it. The first up was Deathwish, a local band from Milwaukee. I don't know a lot about the local bands out here but they were a solid, standard 4-chord street punk band. Listening to their stuff reminds me of Discharge and GBH. They have a heavy D-Beat style, but I can see places in their songs where backup vocals or some skate punk-style vocalization would be cool. For an opening band, they were pretty good.
   Next was Burning Sons, straight out of Bay View, in Milwaukee. I'm honestly surprised a band like this could emerge from a place like Bay View, because to me Bay View is scene kid central. I'm kind of glad they broke out of there. It was a classic hardcore punk band with a screaming female singer (who was pretty damn hot). I think the fact that she could pull off such looks was what got her in the band, since I couldn't understand what she was growling most of the time. But despite that, I found myself into it halfway through. They get my approval.
   The last band before the big DK was The Crosses. I didn't know a lot about them and their music was just as confusing. Their singer sounded like he was in Iron Maiden, the tempo would increase and decrease rapidly like some sort of grindcore band. Now that I think of it, it was probably just some sort of powerviolence band. They played a cover of Cows and Beer by Die Kreuzen, the legendary Milwaukee punk band, and they did a good job of it too. They got the circle pit going and I got in. Maybe it was just the covers, but despite being such an awkward sounding band they managed to get people moving and going. I can say I was into it too.

So, that concludes my little report on tonight. Dead Kennedys, they may not have the same credibility anymore but they can still put on a show. I think when you're in the shoes of a musician, you have to make these types of choices sometimes otherwise you won't eat. I think the best thing to do, at least as an observer, is to enjoy the situation for what it is. I'm beat as fuck from the pit and from stage diving, and you can say what you will about DK now, but I had a good time. Having a good time is what mattered the most to me about this show, and it should matter the most at any show.

Some Albums I Liked, Part 3

Okay, so apparently I have to include a video clip in here for this to be a grade. Luckily, I was at a show not so long ago and took some footage of a few bands. This one's called Morrigan, a new hardcore band out in Milwaukee. I hope you enjoy this.

And now it's time for some albums.

Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains - Love Songs For The Apocalypse

(I guess the original cover was inappropriate so I changed it to this)
Whenever I get really sad, I like to turn on Johnny Hobo and wish I was hitchhiking or throwing a brick through a window. That's what most of their songs are about, incidentally. Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains is a folk/ska(?) punk band featuring a bunch of smelly kids armed with a guitar, a harmonica, a horn and a bicycle. Their songs are about homelessness and abusing substances. And I think that's pretty cool, because it shows you a different, fascinating lifestyle. Living on the edge, not having a home and playing music. Pat "The Bunny" Schweenis, the band's guitar player/vocalist recently got out of rehab and started Ramshackle Glory, another folk punk band with some other smelly kids.
Go look up their stuff and illegally download this album!

To NEW MEXICO!

Antimaniax - We're Tryin'

First, I have to say, I really love Antimaniax. They're a perfect mix of ska and hardcore punk rock, with occasional pop-punk and metal elements mixed into their songs. It was really hard choosing an album to put here, so I decided to start with the first one, "We're Tryin'". A lot of their songs cross into each other with different sound effects, and have a lot of sweet riffs and funky ska riffs. Most of their lyrics are about the government, corporations, and veganism, "As long as people think animals don't feel, they have to feel that people don't think."
It's just a whole lot of energy out of one little album.


bandcamp

Daycare Swindlers - New and Tasty

Pure late 90's ska-core. One way to describe it is funky, with all its crazy basslines and song structures. I really like this album, but I don't have much to say about it. It's New and Tasty, which it certainly is, because it's very new (to me) and it sounds tasty. They're more on the Suicide Machines/Operation Ivy branch of ska punk, more than the crustier Choking Victim side. Choking Victim's first and only LP, No Gods No Managers came out in 1999, along with this album. Got a crusty story about New York ska punk? Please write to us!

Also, their hit song is about crystal meth.

Sick Design

Lagwagon - Duh

Behold, the skate punk kings known as Lagwagon, straight out of Santa Barbara, California. Lagwagon has been playing since the early 90's now and their music has gone a long way, with 8 full length albums. But like most music, the earlier stuff is better. This is their debut album, probably their most aggressive one too. There's a lot of ripping and shredding, like "Tragic Vision", "Noble End" and one of their most popular songs, "Bury the Hatchet", and also some of those funnier spinoffs and covers (Of course there are, it's a punk rock album) like "Inspector Gadget" and "Bad Moon Rising". It's a good album, definitely.


Bury the Hatchet

Gnarwolves - Fun Club

Gnarwolves is a fun mix of emo and punk, with a lot of songs about  partying and skateboarding. You'd think they'd be another South-Cali band about skating bowls, but they're not, they're from the UK! They're also "funemployed", which means they don't work, they just skate and play music. It sounds like a good life to me, but I'm just some dumb 17-year-old that doesn't know any better. Nonetheless, it's a good album and I feel it's worth sharing. They also play a few covers of Converge,  Green Day, Black Flag, and even AFI. They're only in a certain version of the album so look out for which copy you download/buy/shoplift.

gnarwolves

Some Albums I Liked, Part 2

And now we're back

It's over a month since I've made a post on this blog and it's good to be back. How was your time while I was gone? Crappy? Cool, me too!

Time for our annual passing of albums out to the masses.

The Suicide Machines - Destruction by Definition

A couple of genres that crossbred with punk were reggae and ska, ska-punk music becoming popular during the 1990's. So where do you go to find ska? Reel Big Fish? Heck no, you go to Detroit's own Suicide Machines, with their debut album, Destruction by Definition. This skacore album is filled with funky ska beats and shredding punk riffs. This album has some of their most popular songs like "Hey", "New Girl", and a song featuring their favorite shoes, "Vans Song". This album is great for parties, you'll be skanking the night away.


Listen to this album here

Guttermouth - Musical Monkey

Deciding to put this band up was a little risky for me because of the content of this album, but it's one of my favorites nonetheless. Their style is great; sweet riffs, energetic, and very sarcastic and outrageous.  One time the band played Warped Tour and called out all the crappy emo bands like MCR for worrying more about their looks than the quality of music. They got kicked out, but I think they made a great point. Anyway, this album has some of their main set songs, and some of my favorites like "Do The Hustle", a song about annoying rollerbladers, "Baker's Dozen", a satirical look at the branches and elitism of punk, and their hit "Lipstick", a song about verbally abusing your mom and having her sent to jail. Check out this album!

                                                      Listen to "Baker's Dozen" here

The Germs - GI

The Germs were originally formed in 1976 with Jean Paul Beahm and his friend Georg Rothenberg, who later became known as Darby Crash and Pat Smear. They became on of the most influential bands in the L.A. hardcore scene of the early 80's, all of their shows very chaotic. Whatever they lacked in musical talent they made up in showmanship, or at least tried to, if you can call breaking bottles and starting riots showmanship. This album on the other hand is played pretty decently and has a lot of their wonderful songs. It's definitely an old school album worth checking out. 

RIP Darby Crash

Album here

Dead Kennedys - Plastic Surgery Disasters & In God We Trust Inc.

This was the album that got Jello Biafra in trouble with the PMRC and had him defending himself on Oprah. This album has some of your classics like "Halloween", "Winnebego Warrior", and "Forest Fire". One thing I like about the Dead Kennedys is that despite their music was released in the early 80's, it still talks about a lot of problems we face today. Rednecks, bad politicians, cops. You could take "We've Got A Bigger Problem Now" and replace Reagan's name with any other crappy politician and you'd have a perfect song. I guess we just haven't made a lot of progress.

Album here

F.Y.P. - Dance My Dunce

Another stupid, snotty punk band in my favorites list. F.Y.P.'s Dance My Dunce is sort of like taking you back to your child hood, that is if you hated everything as a child, or you just still do. It's like when you're being sent to bible camp ("Vacation Bible School"), and the dorky kid sits next to you on the bus ("I Don't Want To Sit Next To You") but you discover your first childhood love ("Toss My Cookies"). See what I mean when punk music can match your lifestyle?

Listen to "Toss My Cookies" here

The Stupid Stupid Henchmen - Charmingly Demonic

Now, I love the Stupid Henchmen. Local ska-punk outfit from the slums of New York City, inspired by your other crack rock favorites like No Cash and Leftover Crack. The Henchmen have invented their own style of music with sweet ska riffs, hip hop beats and verses and growling. Listening to it makes you feel pretty gangster. Talking about this more instead of listening to it would just dishonor it, so click the link below and see why.

Listen to them Here

(Also contains link to download the album for free [:)

That brings this week's post to an end. But before I end it, I want to talk about the attitude behind punk, but for that to happen you have to apply it to your own life in some way, so I'll start with mine. It's sort of an anthem for me, not because of the violence or deliberate offensiveness of the music, but the viewpoint behind the sarcasm. If you've met me before you might think I'm kind of a naysayer to most things. I don't like all that popular, top-40 music, I don't like politics, football, corporations, cops, right wing idiots, left wing idiots, and mostly everything about Western civilization. It's not because I'm anti-social or just want to act cool or act unique; it's because I've had my own reasons to not like these things and I find most of the music I listen to is on par with my own thoughts. It taught me that a lot of other people won't agree with what you should say, but you should be able to speak your mind in some way. It becomes a lifestyle, from what you wear to what you want to do in life.

It's not all about me, it's just my take on everything, which is precisely what punk is - is showing your own individual thoughts, whether it's with a piece of clothing or a song. It's not about self interest, it's about self sufficiency.

Anyway. that's enough of this. Thanks for reading.

Some Albums I Liked, Part 1

   Welcome to the start up of my new DIY collective (angsty blog)! In an Orwellian time like this, it's hard to listen to most music without realizing that it just sounds awful. So I decided to spread the joy of my own music, and the disputably alive culture with it.

Noise Complaint - Parasite

This little ska-core band from Chino, California released its first EP in 2013, and released this full length album this year. Noise Complaint brings you a buzzing guitar, verses between regular hardcore vocals and screeching, and some of the sweetest bass lines you'll ever hear. Switches between the cutting guitars and rage-fueled vocals of "Narcissism" and the smooth ska rhythms of "Self Division". You'd be doing a dis-service to yourself if you didn't listen to this.

Check out the album, and the rest of NC's stuff on Bandcamp: http://noise-complaint.bandcamp.com/


Agent Orange - Living In Darkness

Known as one of the first skate punk albums. Agent Orange's surf influence is obvious, with its covers of "Pipeline", and "Mr. Moto", but also provides some great punk rock songs, "Too Young To Die", "The Last Goodbye" and AG's most popular hit, "Bloodstains". Still a great listen today after about 30 years. You know what's funny? The song "Bored of You" is played on Grand Theft Auto 5. Kind of funny how things come back around.


Listen to the album here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isNJ_lRzav8

Black Flag - Damaged

What's that? Don't like ska or surf punk? Just like hardcore? Don't even know what hardcore even is? Here's an album for you. Black Flag's Damaged was a controversial album in the early So-Cal scene at first, since if was the fourth time the band changed its singer within two years. This is the beginning of the story about a young man from Washington D.C. named Henry joins a band and sees the world for what it truly is. Damaged is brutal, hard and fast, like a mugger's fist in a dark alley. (Fun fact: Black Flag's roadie at the time was named "Mugger") Features all your favorite songs from previous albums, like "Police Story" and "Depression", and some newer ones like "Rise Above" and "TV Party", which turned out to be equally important songs.

Watch an MTV music video on TV Party here, since I'm too lame to upload a full album this time. Don't worry, it's G-Rated mostly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6otjCKg594

Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
This isn't even a punk album, but after listening to all those albums, your ears might start to bleed. In that case, rest your ears with the soothing sounds of Mac DeMarco, in his album Salad Days, featuring his gap-toothed mug right on the cover. Our Canadian five-paneled friend produces laid back indie rock known as "Jangle pop". What the heck is jangle pop exactly? Apparently it has to do with chiming guitars and 60's melodies. But who cares about that, just listen to the music! Mac brings us his classic style in "Salad Days" and "Blue Boy" but also incorporates some more 80's pop-ish sounding melody in "Brother". Nevertheless, another album worth looking at. Good for lazy days.

Listen to this album here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HQqXllXpfQ

Wastoids - Self Titled

Blasting out of Toronto, the Wastoids self-titled album from 2013 is like a burst of gunfire. This only has 5 songs but they go along way, from the building stomp of "Red Meat", the energetic Oi!-fueled attack of "My Toronto" and the slower-than-most-punk, but still attitude-filled "Brown Sugar, Brown Liquor". Like I said before, this album is short but still packs a punch, like a brick through a window. There's a lot of stereotyping about Canadians being passive people, but don't let that fool you. The Wastoids are pissed.


Wastoids in live concert here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlGNwhVD6zQ

Propagandhi - How To Clean Everything

Another Canadian punk hit, Propagandhi's How To Clean Everything is exactly what its first song, "Anti Manifesto" (Which despite being a punk album, is a song about the bad aspects of punk itself) is, a backlash to all government systems, militancy and religion. Featuring melodic guitar riffs and smooth but still powerful vocals, Propagandhi sounds like a skate-punk album about anarchy. "Head? Chest? Or Foot?", a call to action against mass media, and even a backlash to the ska revival, "Ska Sucks". This album is an anti-manifesto indeed.


Listen to the album here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MEuY4ObLU