Nottingham-based dream-rockers Amusement Parks on Fire have returned after an unexpected seven-year hiatus, and we were able to sit down with visionary Michael Feerick to tell us where he’s been, what happened, and what’s coming next for this great, underrated band.
“The biggest struggle for me still seems to be convincing the average sound engineer that we are a rock band, not a vocal ensemble.” – Courtney Gavin
“One thing I can’t stand is when people describe music made by women as a consequence of their presumably limited skill and not as the outcome of deliberate artistic choices.” – Sydney Koke
“For some reason it can’t be explained, how to write a melancholic song – but if you write one, there is always a certain beauty, a pureness in it and the listener knows and feels, there is something very true about it. Really, a beautiful song has to be melancholic in some way, like a beautiful story always feels nostalgic too, in some way.” – Markus Nikolaus
NYC-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Crozer took some time off between JAMC gigs to detail his active musical career.
“Many shoegaze blogs, magazines and radio stations started talking about us when our single. “Anyway” came out, and we have found out that the “shoegaze scene” is very like… brotherly, it’s like everybody knows everybody and supports everybody.”
Tim Kinsella talks about his writing process, the decisions that go into the latest iteration of Joan of Arc’s touring setlists, and how being in a band after 20 years is becoming increasingly more manageable.
Perfecta was the fifth album and unintentional swan-song by soulful alt-rock band Adam Again. The 1995 release has been long out of print, but is being prepared for high-end vinyl reissue by Lo-Fidelity Records. Guitarist Greg Lawless talks about why he believes Perfecta is even more essential than the Orange County, CA band’s avowed masterpiece Dig.
Australian master soundscaper Martin Kennedy details his long-standing Kilbey Kennedy collaboration Steve Kilbey (The Church), their fantastic new album Glow and Fade, and his highly regarded downtempo/ambient music project All India Radio.
Nate Jespersen of post-punk/darkwave Ultrviolence reveals details about the band’s resonant, restless, noir sound, his magnetic vocals and therapeutic creative process, and riveting upcoming EP.
Cristina Martinez of New York City garage/punk/blues rock legends Boss Hog (with husband Jon Spencer) reveals details about the creation of upcoming album Brood X and her NYC memories.
Dean Garcia, the musical mastermind behind Curve (with Toni Halliday on vocals) and SPC ECO (with his daughter Rose Berlin on vocals), chats candidly about his collaborative projects, the current political/cultural climate, and his creative mindset.
Izzy Baxter, the engaging frontwoman of UK indie rock band Black Honey, spills the latest details about the act’s ascendant trajectory.
Brooklyn-residing indie pop artist COTE brings her singer-songwriter chops and elegant, expressive vocals to her classic (circa 1970s) music.
I had the opportunity to chat with Syd Arthur’s Liam Magill a while back. Check out some Q&A!
David Gedge, the renowned British veteran musician/singer-songwriter and founder of the indie rock/post-punk band The Wedding Present, is still going strong with a new double album.
Amy Cooper and Jon Bennett of the UK-based indie/garage rock trio WTATDR dig into the details of their striking and seismic sound and upcoming second album.
“I used to think that my impulse to write songs matched the very same need to write poetry or stories when I was younger. A sort of longing to abstract and simplify the disorder of emotion I felt inside.” – Charlie Hilton
This past February, Austin’s Thousand Foot Whale Claw quietly released one of the best kosmische-laden albums of 2016. The BT spoke to Justin Goers (bass/synth/drum machine/guitar) and Adam Jones (synth/drum machine) through email about Austin, Holodeck Records and their newest album Cosmic Winds.
“We wanted to be like all our favourite bands but they were so diverse that ultimately you just end up sounding like yourself, which is how it should be.” – Gary Mundy
“More people have mistaken me for Adam Levine from Maroon 5 than they have recognized me as Eron from Hawthorne Heights.” Drummer Eron Bucciarelli takes a break from touring to discuss fame, the summer of 1994 and how his band sued Victory Records.
Trail-blazing independent music icon Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses, 50FootWave, solo) reveals details about her past, present, and future in an engaging and insightful interview.
Steve Moore and Jon Ireson of the atmospheric alternative rock/electronic/industrial music project Post Death Soundtrack enlighten with info about their musical history, recent album, genre-blending sound, and future plans.
Michael Weeks, one half of the electronic/post-rock duo Native Gold, spills details about working with musical partner and friend Lee Young, their atmospheric and restless sound, and accomplished debut EP.
“I’ll be damned if such a one-sided overly simplistic representation of music from this land is all the world comes to know.” – A.J. Haynes
Brett Sullivan, the founder of long-running anti-folk/punk band American Anymen, clarifies his stance against capitalism, the nature of art, and upcoming album Start My Center.
“The songs represent an inward reflection more so than an outward one. What it feels like to live in society but not an analysis of society itself.” – Andrew Kerr
I sat down with funk duo The Floozies at Bonnaroo earlier this June. Read all about what they had to say.
Preston Maddox reveals details about his nightmare dream-rock band Bloody Knives and slow-burning dystopian music project S T F U with Dean Garcia (Curve, SPC ECO).
“It’s interesting to me that as a woman in a male-dominated industry, we are congratulated when we show ‘masculine’ characteristics, but often chagrined for being ‘girly.’” – Esmé Patterson
I chatted with Steve Gunn, virtuosic guitarist and former member of Kurt Vile and the Violators. Read all about what he had to say.
“What we found is that Berlin is a city of chaos with an artistic infrastructure that is more than 100 years old. It is in a constant state of transition, and I think this enables artists to basically do whatever they want. There is no industry telling you what to listen to, and no standard for what art or music should be.” – Nic Barnes
I got to chat with Chicago garage-punk band, Twin Peaks. Read what they had to say.
“Writing songs has always been a cathartic experience for me. It’s a way of processing my life in a way that is not self-destructive.” – Zach Rogue
Noveller is the solo electric guitar project of Brooklyn composer/filmmaker, Sarah Lipstate. She’s responsible for Fantastic Planet, one of the finest albums of 2015 and has recently been the opening act for Iggy Pop on his latest tour.
“Sci-fi actually plays a big role in that, because I grew up on The Outer Limits, and I grew up on Twilight Zone and C.S. Lewis. But I didn’t tell anybody that, because I always associated it with…I don’t know, I didn’t want to tell anybody that, because it might ruin my Americana image.”
Complete interview with Carlotta Cosials of Hinds used for the short take in Big Takeover #77.
With her unique drums-and-guitar setup and already-massive repertoire of lo-fi pop gems (over 400!) 27-year-old Clarke Howell is one of the Western U.S. underground’s best-kept secrets, but with her first proper LP The Well-Rounded Clarke and the Himselfs out, another on the way and two tours with Built to Spill under her belt that ought to change soon.
Gustav Ejstes of Dungen is back in the US after a five year absence, with a new record and a short tour.
The Australian musician continues to step out from the shadow of The Go-Betweens on a new solo set, Songs to Play.
Scott Lucas talks about the new Local H record, then plays a show at Minneapolis’ Triple Rock.
“It’s [spaghetti western soundtracks] just breathtaking music regardless of the context it sits in or the film genre it’s associated with. And for that reason I thought it would be cool to see if I could mold a bit of its essence to something dance-y and opposite”.
Nerding out on music and writing with the Bitch Magnet guitarist and author of the new punk time capsule Your Band Sucks.
We have a conversation with The Pre New’s mastermind, Jamie Fry, and discuss his illustrious past and how it relates to his newest project.
“Sometimes people take what I say too seriously on social media, but I’d like to think this shows another side to Northern Star and the personality and train of thought behind it.”
