Interview with Larry and his Flask´s Jamin Marshall

Interview for WoNo Magazine and WoNoBloG by Wout de Natris

The mix of musical styles of the band is, perhaps not unique, but quite radical. What are the main influences on the band’s music?

Our influences range all the way from Johnny Cash to The Beastie Boys. From Doc Watson to Rage Against the Machine. From 2 PAC to Django  Reinhardt. We are Music lovers, we listen to just about every style of music.

The approach of music is very ecstatic and filled with loud playing and singing. How do you keep the balance, as it is a thin line between perfect and too full.

I think over time we just got used to all the chaos and learned how to incorporate all the instruments without it sounding too full. We got better at backing off at times and letting someone else fill in the space.

The ending to ‘Manifest destiny’ and ‘Ebb and flow’ are surprising. The first the most of course. Where did the idea come from to come up with such a radical change to the songs?

We do like to change up the sound and tempo of our songs quite a bit. We just like to keep people on their toes.        

According to the website the band is around for nine years. What caused the change that made the band expand, change musical direction and lastly reach out to the world?

Our original drummer left the band and we were forced to step out of our comfort zone and play new music and then bring in new players. The change in sound just kind of happened naturally. It wasn't premeditated. And it continues to change and grow. As far as reaching out to the world goes, that is also a natural process of a never ending tour schedule. It was something we always wanted to do and now our dreams are coming true.

What came first, the idea to expand or the concept to change the musical direction?

To tell you the truth, since the very begging of the band we have been trying to expand. By that I mean, we started touring before we even knew how to play our instruments very well. We always just wanted to go go go. By doing so we eventually learned how to sing and play. Its an ongoing process. We were always out there on the road searching for like minded people to show our music to.

The band is from central Oregon. In how far is this in influence on the band? Is there a “Larry and his Flask scene”?

I think that where you come from always has an influence on you as an artist even if its not obvious right up front. Bend and Redmond aren't big cities and our music scene when we were growing up was small but tight nit. So we got to be good friends with the promoters and bands and got to see first hand how it was done and what not to do. I think that helped us to think "Hey, we can do this!" 

As far as a "Larry and his flask scene" goes, we do have a great group of fans and supporters that come out to every show and party with us.

The artwork for ‘All that we know’ is an eye-catcher. What can you tell us about (your connection to) the painter, Randi Hobbs?

Actually, I have known Randi since High School. We have been friends for many years now. And she has been dating our lead singer Ian Cook for years. In the past three years or so she has been our merch girl and has been helping us out with art work for our albums and what not. She also did the art for our new EP which is coming out in September.

“Is life and death still all that we know?” Is this meant to make people remember the time in between?

I think so. Ian wrote that but I think he wants us all to ponder our lives and make sure that we take advantage of every moment. 

Some lyrics point to a fight or fighting someone or something. In how far is this a theme for the band?

I would say that it mostly represents an internal battle. We all have everyday problems and fights that we must overcome in order to become better people.

Most songs are sung by Ian, two by Andrew. Does this say anything on who wrote the lyrics? Who is responsible for songwriting in general?

Yes. Most of the time the person that sings the song also wrote it. However there are some songs that Jesse  and I wrote a long time ago that Ian now sings. Most of the time Ian or Andrew will write a song and then bring it to practice and we will all add parts and complete it as a whole.

Is there a chance to see the band again over in Europe in the near future?

Yes indeed. We are making plans to come back as soon as possible, hopefully within the next 6 months or so. We had a great time over there and will be sure to make it a yearly trip.

During the show in Leiden you announced a new EP. When can we expect new music?

Our new EP will be called "Hobo's Lament" and will be released some time next month. (September 2012, Wo.)       

To finish up. Who’s Larry and what about his flask?

Larry is the wild party animal locked inside of each one of us that just wants to dance and drink and have a good time at a show. And the Flask is what gives him his magic powers!

Thanks for taking your time to answer the questions and looking forward to meet again.

You are very welcome. The pleasure was all mine. See you soon.

Jamin Richard Marshall

You can order 'All that we know' and other goodies here.

II. Sunday Sun (EP)

Only a few weeks after my discovery of Sunday Sun's first EP, I, II is available. I truly surprised me in a very pleasant way with a nice five piece selection of pop songs. Read more on I here. So where does II take me?

The first thing that sticks out like a shining sun is the harmonies. This band loves singing, but my bet is that they also like the math behind harmonies. Singing harmonies takes concentration, the ability to hear and "ignore" your singing partners at the same time. Simply hearing the options at hand helps. It is something else to look beyond the obvious harmonies. Sunday Sun appears to enter this intricate ballgame with pleasure. The delicate way that the band sings on 'Ready' shows that they work hard at their harmonies, with different melody lines topping one another. A joy to listen to.

The second impression is that II goes beyond the joyful pop songs and dives deeper musically and emotionally. This only means that there's more for the listener to get acquainted with. The Racoon-like 'You' is a quiet point on the EP. A very bare love song that is adorned with some horns. 'Take a left' is louder, but also a bit of a strange mix of different styles. Hard riffing, upbeat harmonies, an acoustic intermezzo and almost Earth, Wind and Fire like singing at the end. It's going off in very different directions and several times, like there are several songs put into one. At very end though the band had me where it wanted me to be, with 'Take a left' singing around within my head.

The third impression is that the band is able to come up with very different songs and handle several influences. Like when I reviewed I, it makes me wonder what the band wants to be, but at this stage I'm not complaining. The variety Sunday Sun offers is pleasant, the great singing holds the songs together as a unit and it is not as if the songs go from Abba to free jazz to thrash metal, is it? A band that does come to mind is Kaiser Chiefs, another band that likes enthusiastic singing. Again I'll mention The Beach Boys as Sunday Sun comes fairly close to 'Surf's up' with the intro of 'Ready'.

My fourth impression is that I am being taken on an adventure trip. Sunday Sun is exploring its influences, songwriting and arranging skills, while using it to come up with a gem like 'Now is now. The 'Sunday Sun train drove on up and I've hooked up my compartment to see where it will take me. It's not long before I will learn more about the adventure with the release of III in October.

II shows that Sunday Sun is a band that loves pop music and clearly strives towards writing and performing the perfect pop song. Give these guys a chance to convince you too. They offer II for free for a short time on their website. So take your chance here and check it out! (From 5 till 19 September 2012.)

Wo.

You can order I and II here.

Bergen Zo Hoog Als De Diepte Van De Afgrond

Als de schrijver eenzaam op zijn racefiets de zoveelste berg beklimt en zich steeds beroerder voelt komt hij tot scherpere inzichten. Waar hij is weet hij gedurende de rit niet meer. Alleen dat de finish eindigt bij zijn pas aangeschafte woning. Een oud houten huis met alleen aan de onderste laag stenen tot ongeveer anderhalve meter. Uit voorzorg altijd naast zijn bank een fles sterke drank. Hij zwoegt en ploegt net als de vele eerste stappen aan een verhaal of liever gezegd verslag van het leven. Nog 17 kilometer ziet hij door zijn beslagen bril. De mist doet zijn zicht dempen. Na een korte afdaling houdt hij de pedalen stil en zoekt naar zuurstof. Om daarna de laatste beklimming aan te gaan. In zijn hoofd speelt muziek waarbij niet vastgesteld kan worden welk genre. Echter klinkt het harmonisch in zijn nu raadselachtige stemming. Wat meer weg heeft van een bijna dood ervaring. Een tunnel met lichtgevende mist.
 
In zijn huis niets van moderne technologie. Als hij iets van de buitenwereld wil opvangen rest hem niets anders dan een raam open te schuiven. Er vallen enige regels bij hem te binnen…
 
Een eenzaam heelal zo groot en wijds en maar uitdijt.
Hier op aarde zijn de menselijke motieven vaak zo bekrompen en uit op winst op korte termijn.
Een natuur in samenzang van alles wat groeit, kleurt en geurt.
De aarde moest uitsluitend een tuin zijn om van te genieten totdat je volledig de mist in gaat.
 
Zijn gedachten waren nogal wispelturig, maar goed van aard.
 
Bij zijn domicilie aangekomen, moe, en vrijwel uitgeput verlaat hij zijn fiets tegen de gevel. Sleutelt het slot los en valt op de bank. Onheilspellend weer sluipt naderbij. De hemel is als inkt, bliksem, regen en de donder klinkt als van een boze demon die in zware bassen zijn vernietigende slagen laat horen. Hij komt langzaam tot leven.  Liggend op de bank pakt hij een fles sterke drank, zet het aan zijn mond en drinkt, drinkt zoveel dat het bijna als koolzuur zijn neus weer wil verlaten. Terwijl het natuurgeweld zijn weerga niet kent, richt hij zich op. Gaat aan zijn schrijftafel zitten. En dan, ja dan…vloeit uit zijn pen het verhaal dat hij nooit aan één enkele sterveling op aarde heeft durven te vertellen.
 
Marcel R. van der Kwaak

Heaven. The Walkmen

You can listen to 'Heaven' here.

The Walkmen are around for as long as this century and although I have its previous two recordings, the band just didn't stick with me. All this changes with the seventh album of the band. The clean sound and beautiful, quiet singing of Hamilton Leithauser struck an instant note with me.

The Walkmen is a five piece band with its origins in Washington DC, but since the start of the band the members reside in NYC. From there the world was conquered album by album. Heaven should be the album that lands the band in the album charts around the world. However, this is not an ABC. The band decided to offer fairly bare songs, several are stripped to the almost bare minimum as in 'Line by line'. Like Elbow without the pumped-up production. While other songs bring a combination of The Velvet Underground with The Strokes. Clear guitar notes grace 'Song for Leigh', which is an outstanding song by all accounts. When the organ kicks in, we are definitely in the sixties. The Walkmen have the pop side of Lou Reed down perfectly.

Producer Phil Ek, who worked with the likes of Build to Spill, The Shins and Fleet Foxes, created a clear sound in which the guitar, mostly high end sounding and the voice are the focal point of the album. There are some embellishments, but sparse and serving. The cover graces the music fittingly: bare but very graceful and a little odd. Ek makes The Walkmen sound like it is playing at somebody's home. Where all haste and stress is abandoned for the laziness of a Sunday afternoon. Even when the tempo goes up in 'The love you love', the singing and the leads leave a space and time, till the refrain is reached. Not that the music is not taken seriously. To the contrary. It clearly is. If anything, the album sounds warm, connected and reaches out to the listener to become involved.

As Heaven is speeding towards the final tracks I realise that I'm truly enjoying the album. There is a lot to discover and a richness in song writing and melody. Where I'm glad to find out that when a band plays slower, it doesn't have to be like Snow Patrol. Although 'No one ever sleeps' comes dangerously close. The dip of the record as far as I'm concerned. For me Heaven works. Maybe it's time that you tried a piece of it too?

Wo.

You can order Heaven here


or here

Rooms filled with lights. Fanfarlo

You can listen to 'Shiny things' here.

Any one claiming that Fanfarlo is to be classified under Arcade Fire influenced is more or less right. The sound of the band has similarities to the Canadian band. At the same time I notice enough differences that makes its latest effort Rooms filled with lights stand out as an album in its own right. To be honest the album reminds me of another band much more.

Fanfarlo is steeped deep in new wave and UK bands that came to the fore around 2004 and most of all what Dogs Die In Hot Cars could have evolved into, had it not left the scene after one utterly brilliant album, 'Please describe yourself'. Singer Simon Balthazar definitely sounds like Craig McIntosh. He has the same slightly lilting quality to his voice and phrasing as if he's singing just behind the song. A reason to prick up my ears: What's happening here? It stops there as Fanfarlo mainly plays songs in the mid-tempo range and allows instruments beyond guitar and keyboard to take precedence in a song and actively uses the space between the different instruments almost as a non-existing instrument. 'Tunguska' is a great example of this approach. A fairly bare song with great accents made by horns and keyboards over which an interesting, but slow melody is sung by Balthazar and Cathy Lucas. Hey, some songs are just stripped bare and rebuilt almost in 'Eleanor Rigby' fashion.

And so the Arcade Fire connotations are more or less left behind by Fanfarlo. The bombastic sounds on the last two cds of Arcade Fire are nowhere in sight on Rooms filled with lights. Fanfarlo excels in subtleties in most numbers. On 'Tightrope' the tempo goes up, bringing DDIHC into mind again, bit still the light version because of the fairly unique instrumentation as there does not seem to be a limit to instruments that can be used on the album. All sorts of (melodic) percussion instruments, a violin, mandolin, different keyboards, etc., all adding to the variety Fanfarlo offers on this album.

All in all the sixties garage rock like organ sound (not rhythms) and the new wave like approach to some of the songs should be to the liking of Joe Jackson Band and perhaps even Talking Heads fans. The same goes for those that enjoyed Django Django's first album, where the quality of the songs is concerned as they could have sounded like this. And as 'Bones' brings some songs of The XX in mind, because of the very spacious guitar notes, it is slowly revealed that everyone  loving mid-tempo adventurous songs will find something to his or her liking on this album.

So finishing up I find that I've listened to an album that is not breathtakingly provocative or new, but to an album that is pleasantly traditional and well crafted. Rooms filled with light hardly wavers from a constant quality, not up nor down and that is where we come to the only flaw: it does all seem to pass in one line when not listening attentively, which is not always possible. For the rest well done and very enjoyable.

Wo.


You can order Rooms filled with light here


or here