Out the Other

Next Big Nashville - Meemaw

I have one more interview for you before I actually head out and enjoy what Friday's NBN has to offer - Meemaw.  This one's pretty short and sweet, but the band should definitely be a highlight in a pretty great Infinity Cat sponsored showcase tonight over at the End.  Reid & Wright, Cake Bake Betty, Royal Bangs, The Mattoid and JEFF the Brotherhood will round out this bill - but I'm guessing these kids will be the ones everyone is talking about - after all, they seem to be one of Nashville's biggest buzz bands on the local scene in 2008. 

"Blue In the Blacklight"

You guys are definitely one of the Nashville's big buzz bands this year - how long have you been playing together, and are you all originally from Nashville?

We met each other here. We've been a band since May 2007. We taught each other to play with each other. We figured out Cancer of Society the first day we met.

Please describe your music in five words or less.

BAD ASS ROCK AND ROLL

You recently finished your first album - what can you tell us about it?

We recorded it all ourselves, except Original Sin, which we did at Modernist Movement Studios with Brian Virtue in Hermitage. We drew doodles for the cover, Aaron Rayburn assembled them into a piece. It is $5, has a 7inch vinyl, a CD, 8 songs and liner notes, so you're not wasting money because we're not wasting time.

What do you think is the best thing about the Nashville music scene?

Not making divisive, angry, hyper-critical music about hating "The Government", faith struggles, or  voting for Ron Paul. It's too easy to keep your hands clean that way.

For the people out there who haven't see Meemaw live yet - what can we expect from your performance at Next Big Nashville?

Three different people playing music together.

What other bands would you recommend checking out at the festival?

Every band on Infinity Cat, and then go listen to MARJ!, Gnarwhal, Happy Box, Dewey Decibel, and Skunkape afterwards online.

Anything else you'd like to add?

We no longer sleep in the same bed.

Meemaw will be playing Next Big Nashville on Friday, September 12 at 11:15 p.m. at The End.  Visit http://nbn08.sched.org to view the full festival schedule, or create an account to plan and share your own schedule.

Check out more of Out the Other's Guide to Next Big Nashville 2008.

Next Big Nashville - Kindercastle

Kindercastle will be kicking things off at the Cannery tonight, and after finally getting to catch one of their shows at Mercy a few weeks ago, I can definitely recommend that you check them out if you haven't seen them yet.  There's a very good reason Drew over at Mercy has been booking them left and right - they put on a fantastic show.   Let's get to know Kindercastle a little better.

"Violet"

You guys seem to be one of the newer buzz bands in the Nashville area - how long have you been playing together, who is in the band, and are you all from the Nashville area originally?

Kindercastle is comprised of the writing efforts of Ross Wariner and Me (Cody Uhler).  Ross was born here and I moved here from Ohio when I was 5 years old; we have been making music together since 2002.  We were primarily studio artists because studio music doesn't require a performance made in one take.  We were able to build songs piece by piece.  However, we were eventually faced with the advent of performing the music live.  So we recruited Kiel Tyler, Dougie Keebler, Ole Smokey Joe, J.D. Cunningham and Austin Hoke.  We've only been playing with the live band since the end of last year. 

Please describe your music in five words or less.

Children's music with adult themes.

You recently finished (what I think is) your first album - what can you tell us about it?

Our debut record was actually a curious album titled Little Hill.  It was a great precursor to the ponderous quality of this album.  Whereas Little Hill may be muttering under our breath, this record is speaking loudly and clearly.

What is your favorite place to play in Nashville?

We've been frequenting the Mercy Lounge lately.  The people who run it are great and the sound technicians are always willing to put up with things that we want to try out.

What can we expect from your show at Next Big Nashville?

It will be like your grandparents' sofa.  Strange and comfortable.

Are there any other bands you would recommend checking out at the festival?

Jensen Sportag!  They are incredible.

Kindercastle will be playing Next Big Nashville on Friday, September 12 at 8:15 p.m. at The Cannery Ballroom.  Visit http://nbn08.sched.org to view the full festival schedule, or create an account to plan and share your own schedule.

Check out more of Out the Other's Guide to Next Big Nashville 2008.

Next Big Nashville - Tallest Trees

Tallest Trees is another band on the Next Big Nashville bill that I've been seeing on bills all over town - but still haven't managed to see.  The project is based around the talents of one Thomas Samuel, and based on what I've heard so far - well, let's just say I'm hoping to hear a lot more soon.  Tallest Trees play tonight at the Rutledge and Thomas was nice enough to answer a few questions for me.

"Round & Round"
"We've All Got the Demons"

Can you start us off with the Tallest Trees story? How long have you been playing, and if you're not originally from Nashville, what brought you here?

The Trees have been a long time coming.  I started playing rock n roll in Pensacola, FL with fellow band member Tommy Hans.  We had a little indie-pop band by the name of Arkitekt that drummed up enough attention that a few charming music industry types started smelling money.  Next thing you know, I quit school, moved my records and playstation 2 and found myself living with 4 guys in a two bedroom apartment in west Nashville.  We made some recordings that were never released, went on some ill-fated tours, and like clockwork broke up before we ever started.

The summer of the band's split, Tommy Hans and I decided to form a kind of pact.  We began writing separately, but always remained dedicated to one another's music.  Over the next year or so, both Tallest Trees and Tommy and the Whale emerged onto the Nashville scene.

Please describe your music in five words or less.

realistic minimalists with whiskey drinks

I understand you finished up an album earlier this year (or is it two albums?).  What can you tell us about it (or them)?

We Never Made a Sound is the first full-band recording of Tallest Trees music.  It should be out locally later this fall or early winter.  We recorded 9 songs in about 53 hours.  It was a whirlwind process made possible by the hard work of a man named Steve Martin, but not that Steve Martin.  The record is mostly a documentation of the songs we had been playing since the project became a band, mostly reactionary and dark stuff, angst-y lyrics about God and War.  I don't write love songs. I'm not any good at that sort of thing.

Everyone can hear a track or two on the myspace.  Hopefully we'll turn enough heads in the near future to find some help for a national release.

For those of us who haven't seen Tallest Trees live yet (me included), what can we expect from your performance at Next Big Nashville?

You'll see the Octopus.  There are two drummers, Dabney Morris (awesome song-writer) sits right-handed and Jaime Dick (awesome drummer) sits left-handed behind one big kit.  They basically just give everyone headaches banging around too loudly, but I wanted them both to play drums in the band and I just never got around to making a decision about who was gonna do it. 

Other than that, I'll sing and yell, Tommy will make crazy guitar noises, Nathan will pluck a banjo, Caryn will play flute, Kai will play trumpet... you know life changing type stuff.

What's your favorite venue in Nashville?

The 5 Spot because I basically live there and then the Basement. They feel like home turf.

What other bands would you recommend checking out at Next Big Nashville?

There are so many worth seeing.  The showcase we're playing is awesome (Happy B-day Amy, Heypenny, Umbrella Tree).  I'll be playing with Tommy and the Whale and Dabney Morris.  I wanna catch Oblio, Quiet Entertainer, Shoot the Mountain, Altered Statesman, Totally Snake.  It's gonna be a good weekend.

Tallest Trees will be playing Next Big Nashville on Friday, September 12 at 9:30 p.m. at The Rutledge.  Visit http://nbn08.sched.org to view the full festival schedule, or create an account to plan and share your own schedule.

Check out more of Out the Other's Guide to Next Big Nashville 2008.

Next Big Nashville - Hands Down Eugene

I did a mini-interview with one more band that's on Thursday's schedule - Hands Down Eugene.  Jeremy Ferguson of Battle Tapes Recording actually answered the questions I sent his way - he's the band's producer and received "authorization" to do the interview - and the result is "hands down" (that's awful of me, I know) the best set of answers I received while doing this project.  A lengthy read, for sure - but one that pretty much needs no further introduction.

"The Mountain" (from White Stone)
"Soft Speeches" (from Black Witch)

Can we kick things off with the Hands Down Eugene story?  How long has the band been around, how did you get started, and since I know the roster has shifted a bit - who's in the current lineup?

matt moody came to nashville under a few strange circumstances that the rest of the group has yet to wrestle out of him completely...  we know that he left a wealthy wife, heiress to some sort of Idaho industrial family, what came west after the rush of 1875. a strange time, but who's to say departure isn't someone's best move?  moody may not have had their blood but he understood it better than his wife ever could and so he grabbed their mexican witchdoctor, mandy, moved to nashville, and made her his bride. 

the whole experience found him selling off his guitar, picking up a bass, and forming a band "to sound like that irish black guy from thin lizzy... phil something..." lucky for him, andy willhite, andy snyder, betsy snyder, and brandes holcomb were drunk enough to try and "be sorta irish".  when they sobered up and matt gave up on the twin leads of fire, the band was broken down into pieces to record the hands down eugene debut masterpiece, "madison" (xoxo records).  but then the label dropped the ball (when does that ever happen?) and a few people in murfreesboro, alabama liked it but no one else even knew what a hands down eugene was.  how could they? the label dropped the ball!!

after madison went triple grande (10 records sold or given away), moody smashed the hands down machine into a million pieces, expelling onto the earth such a horrible breath that even the trees refused to turn it back into earth life.  it was really bad. people left the band, we all know that people left the band, and man, it was like that movie, mr mom, where dude's like playing the woman at home and making grilled cheeses with fucking irons and shit.  it was bad! but matt martin joined on drums, (andy and betsy had a baby and had to quit the group cos moody hates babies) and then those other carter admin dudes joined but man, what a bunch ofdicks!  it was all "hey, if this were OUR song, we'd put this real sweet blah blah".  it was bullshit.  FIIIRED.  andy became a double agent on all things C.A. and so we kept him on.  i (the author) would sometimes shake shit at shows or shake my ass.  it was a goddamn embarrassment for everyone.

sometime in there we did this thing, starting a new record... it was going to be a few different things but then we just said "SCREW THIS CRAP" and put it into 2 different ep's.  one was called white stone... it's most of the stuff done live after madison.  it sounds like that group of dudes playing the songs.  it's pretty hip, got some good tunes.  the other side is black witch.  it's a little more piano based or just a bit weirder with 3 or 4 songs being the last songs recorded for what we thought would be LP2.  then grand palace said "hey we want to put out your record!" and we said "cool".  they said "vinyl!" we said "each side; an ep." so, that will come out someday.  was supposed to come out in june but you know how that goes.  but you can download it for free on the internet if you google "free beards sexy hands down download" or "free".

then we started doing a new record and more changes and now it's MATT MOODY (vocals, bass), ANDY WILLHITE (organ, guitar, vocals), MATT MARTIN (drums, cymbals), JERRY CAMPBELL (guitar, vocals), JEREMY FERGUSON (percussion, beardless).

AND THEN WE ALL DIED.  in the future.?

Please describe your music in five words or less.

songs about smoking weed, man.

or

pretty cool r&b bass, moody.

or

holy shit, badass mother bleeep

You guys recently finished up a new album - what can you tell us about it?

oh shit, i said about that earlier...  can i please refer you to item 1 about the history of the group and also the problems with making records?

the new new album is almost done but the eps were done over a year ago.  those are pretty awesome.  better than madison, maybe.  the new new stuff is better than anything.  ever.  seriously.

What do you think is the greatest thing happening in Nashville right now (music-wise, of course)?

there are so many awesome bands and people, you know?  all the gossipy, petty bullshit aside, having this many people who can actually play and write songs together in such a small place with such access to make amazing records....  how can anyone dislike that?

nashville might be a country music city but country music started off as the strange hillbilly music and records like blonde on blonde were made here! this is a city for musical adventure, especially considering the talent.  some of the groups playing and making records now are hopefully showing that to everyone else.

What can we expect from your show at Next Big Nashville?

we're gonna be pretty damn awesome...  we have to be, look at the groups we're following!  we'll be playing some oldies from madison, a sampling of the white stone and black witch ep's, and a few new new songs that will make your neck twitch a little.  try closing your eyes and listening to the organ and the bass.  it'll be pretty sweet.  i'll have my eyes closed up there too.

What other bands would you recommend checking out at the festival?

well, outside of all the other groups playing the grand palace showcase, pretty much any local act you'd want to see will be playing somewhere.  there are too many favorites to name, really... it's cool cos i'm playing so i'll have this little pass but half the groups i want to see are playing the same times, opposite each other, or too close together, at two different venues, to go see both... so some hard decisions will have to be made.  the absolute definite show to see, at least for me, will be ours, cos i will be playing it, with my friends.

Hands Down Eugene will be playing Next Big Nashville on Thursday, September 11 at 11:45 p.m. at The End.  Visit http://nbn08.sched.org to view the full festival schedule, or create an account to plan and share your own schedule.

Check out more of Out the Other's Guide to Next Big Nashville 2008.

Next Big Nashville - Canon Blue

Despite the fact that Canon Blue is a Nashville artist, I heard about the project rather indirectly, via another music blog (and one that wasn't actually located in Nashville).  In fact, I didn't even realize that Daniel James (the man behind Canon Blue) was local until I had already fallen in love with his debut album, Colonies.  It's atmospheric, dreamy, electronic laptop pop - James actually dubs his music "electro-billy" in this interview - and it's strikingly different than most of what's coming out of Nashville right now. 

Canon Blue is on one of the most "experimental" bills of Next Big Nashville - tomorrow (Thursday) night at The Anchor along with Hollow Ox, Timbre and The Ascent of Everest.  Definitely a great example of some of the different styles NBN and Nashville have to offer.  Daniel agreed to answer a few questions so we can learn more about Canon Blue.

"Halcyon"
"Pilguin Pop"

Can you tell me a little bit about your background?  How long have you been performing, and if you're not originally from Nashville, how did you end up here?

I grew up in Virginia in between the James and York rivers.  My grandmother taught me how to play piano and then I taught myself guitar a few years later.  I started my first band in middle school (in Virginia) with Gavin Mcdonald, who now plays drums for Paper Route.  I ended up in Nashville, because I got tired of driving.

Please describe your music in five words or less.

Electro-billy

You released your (wonderful) debut album, Colonies, last year - are you already planning a follow-up?

Thanks.  I've started working on a few new ideas.  I'm trying to be a little more intentional this time as Colonies was more of a bedroom/laptop record, and was more about trying to turn sound experiments into songs.  Now I'm trying to start by writing songs first and then coloring them in later with more interesting tones and instruments.

What can we expect from your show at Next Big Nashville?

I have about 3 different versions of the show depending on who's around or in town.  So I probably won't know until the day before the show what's going to happen.  So it may be really good or it may be disaster, but hopefully it will be entertaining on some level.

I see you're heading to Sweden and Denmark just a week after the festival - what's taking you overseas, and what do you miss about Nashville when you're away?

My label, Rumraket, is based in Copenhagen, so this tour is with a bunch of Rumraket artists.  Most everyone else on the label lives in Denmark and Sweden so it makes more sense to play shows there than to get everyone to come to the US.  When I'm away from Nashville I mainly miss my friends and Baja Burrito.

Are there any albums you can't live without when you're out on the road?

It changes every time but Nick Cave is always around. Scott Walker, Cristian Vogel, Radiohead, et al. 

Canon Blue will be playing Next Big Nashville on Thursday, September 11 at 8:45 p.m. at The Anchor.  Daniel also has a DJ set at the festival on Friday, September 11 at 8:30 p.m. at 12th and Porter. Visit http://nbn08.sched.org to view the full festival schedule, or create an account to plan and share your own schedule.

Check out more of Out the Other's Guide to Next Big Nashville 2008.

Next Big Nashville - The Hannah Barbarians

Yup - I interviewed three bands playing the same showcase at Next Big Nashville - and I can't help it, because like I said a minute ago, it's one of the best bill's of the festival.  Tomorrow night's (Thursday) show at the Rutledge will kick off at 8 p.m. with The Hannah Barbarians, another band that you've probably noticed making the rounds around town lately.  But an entertaining name (I swear, I smile every time I see it) isn't all this band has to offer.  Let's get to know them.

"Black Hand"
"Major Bad"

Let's start things off with the Hannah Barbarians story - how long have you guys been playing together, and are you originally from Nashville?

Year and a half.  3 of us are from nashville, 2 are not.

Please describe your music in five words or less.

Barbaric. Artistic. Poppy.

You guys have been making the rounds in Nashville for a little while now - do you have plans to record and release an album any time soon?

We have a few songs recorded. We're recording a few more in a month or so.

For the people out there who haven't seen the Hannah Barbarians live yet - what can we expect from your show at Next Big Nashville?

Lots of energy and creativity.

What other bands would you recommend checking out at Next Big Nashville?

Eureka Gold, How I Became the Bomb, Caitlin Rose, And the Relatives, Oblio, The Tits, The Glib, Shoot the Mountain.

Cause of the name, I've gotta ask - what's your favorite cartoon?

Yogi Bear

The Hannah Barbarians will be playing Next Big Nashville on Thursday, September 11 at 8 p.m. at The Rutledge.  Visit http://nbn08.sched.org to view the full festival schedule, or create an account to plan and share your own schedule.

Check out more of Out the Other's Guide to Next Big Nashville 2008.

Next Big Nashville - Eastern Block

I first heard about Eastern Block via a game of cricket - I actually met guitar player Jon Shearer last summer while playing darts, and when I mentioned I was involved in the music scene, he told me he had recently started a band.  A while later I got an email directing me to their myspace page so I could hear a few demos, but after that I didn't hear a peep about Eastern Block until I noticed they started popping up on bills around town - and on the lineup for Next Big Nashville. 

With an EP out and a growing presence around town, Eastern Block is one of the newer bands you should definitely check out during this year's festival.  The fact that they're playing one of the best showcases of the festival - with Eureka Gold, And the Relatives, All We Seabees, The Hannah Barbarians and Altered Statesmen on Thursday at the Rutledge - doesn't hurt.  Let's get to know Eastern Block a little bit better.

"Espionage"
"The Woods"

Let's start with a little background on Eastern Block - who is in the band and how long have you been playing together?

Eastern Block is:
Aaron Ahlstrom- vocals/guitar
Jon Shearer- guitar
Sean Savacool- bass
Johnathan Williams- drums

Jon and I started the band last year and spent most of 2007 looking for the right guys for bass and drums. When we went into the studio to start recording the now available EP I called a friend of mine, Johnathan Williams,  to help us out on drums. We all had such a good time he joined the band soon after. About a month later Johnathan brought Sean out and after two practices he was in. In November we were "A Band" and in January of this year we played our first show.

Please describe your music in five words or less.

This has been really hard to answer. I guess:  "Morricone meets honest indie-rock."  You see?  That sounds ridiculous but it's too hard to answer that kind of stuff.

What's the significance of the name "Eastern Block"?

Jon and I had decided on another name in honor of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs but after sitting on it we went with Eastern Block.  We both enjoy reading history and especially cold war history and Eastern Block was very cold war-ish.  I would love to say there's a deeper origin but we just liked the name and added a "k". Eastern Bloc(k)

I understand you recently released your first EP - what can you tell us about it, and are you planning a full-length release?

Yeah we had our cd release at Mercy Lounge August 1st.  We're excited that it's available but mostly we are proud of the growing we did making it.  You can buy it direct or on our myspace; and on iTunes shortly.

Our first LP is due it out early next year!  We are VERY excited about this project.  It looks like it will be ten tracks (a majority of which we are playing at Next Big Nashville) and possibly 2 B-sides available online around the time of the album release.

For those of us who haven't seen you play live yet, what can we expect from your show at Next Big Nashville?

I think the general opinion of our live shows is that we are genuine which I assure you is NOT true; I mean Sean has a master's in douchery. Whatever the case, we aim to put on a good show whether it's an energetic set or singing through the rest of the night with a broken guitar (The Basement/ June 5th) and having a laugh.

What do you think is the best thing about the Nashville music scene?

The sheer number of great bands in this town.  That being said, I think the write up on Radiohead in the scene a while back was spot on... we (in Nashville) are spoiled with all of this good music. It's wonderful.

Eastern Block will be playing Next Big Nashville on Thursday, September 11 at 9:30 p.m. at The Rutledge.  Visit http://nbn08.sched.org to view the full festival schedule, or create an account to plan and share your own schedule.

Check out more of Out the Other's Guide to Next Big Nashville 2008.

Next Big Nashville - Eureka Gold

It seems like Eureka Gold have been playing more and more shows around town lately, and the more I see the band live, the more I've been enjoying them (and walking around whistling "Peter Oh" at least a few times a week).  The band originally met at Berklee College of Music up in Boston, but they've officially been a Nashville band for a few years now, and I'm pretty sure quite a few people outside of Nashville are going to be hearing about them soon.

(And since I wrote about The Non-Commissioned Officers yesterday and you might be lamenting the end of their performing career, I just want to point out that you can also enjoy Jordan Lehning's creative talents via Eureka Gold as well - he's also a member of this band.)

"Peter Oh"
"No Bricks"

Could you start us off with the Eureka Gold story?  How long have you guys been playing together, and how did you end up in Nashville?

We formed the band in Boston in late Feb. of '05.  We played our first show in April of '05 and recorded our first record in Nashville that summer, it was self-released in the Summer of '06.  One of our band members (Jordan Lehning) grew up in Nashville, and we had a great experience recording our first record here, so we decided to make it our home.

Please describe your music in five words or less.

Check. Us. Out. On. Myspace.

I heard a rumor that you guys are working on a new album - what can you tell us about it?

That is true.  We've been working on it for a few months now and we're about halfway through, give or take.  We're doing it it with Jordan's brother Jason (Lehning) and we're really excited about how
it's sounding so far.  We don't have a projected release date yet.  Most of the songs we're playing live these days are newer, although we do throw old songs into the set to mix it up.  Luckily we have enough
songs now to keep our set fresh, and to play different stuff for the people who come to multiple shows.

For the people out there who haven't seen Eureka Gold live yet - what can we expect from your show at Next Big Nashville?

I'm sure our NBN show will lean more towards our most rockin' songs.  We'll try and have a good balance of new and old.  Expect it to be loud and freewheelin'.  We don't usually do covers, but who knows, it's a festival, and that makes the unlikely more likely.  Since we've been both recording a lot lately, and playing out, we're pretty well oiled and I think that will translate at NBN, a show we're very excited about.

What do you think is the best thing about the Nashville music scene?

Right now the best thing about the scene is the solidarity amongst a lot of the people involved.   Each show you go to you'll see people from other bands, people like yourself who champion bands on the radio, people who put shows together, people who work to get bands in print etc...It's all very self-sufficient right now, and I see a lot of the people in the scene working to support it.  I think the next step will be to try and draw in more of an outside audience to consume what we're all working to put out, hopefully NBN will help facilitate that. 

It also can't be stressed enough, how big a role the venues take in making Nashville thrive.  The Mercy Lounge, The Basement, and The 5 Spot especially.  These clubs all understand how important it is to build bands up locally, and they make it easier for everyone.  They give us great stages to play on, they go out of their way to make it sound great, and work hard to make the shows feel like events.  I've lived in other cities where the clubs don't really take an interest in the bands beyond a bottom line, and that's not the case with a lot of the venues in this town.

What other bands would you recommend checking out at Next Big Nashville?

And The Relatives, Hannah Barbarians, The Glib, Shoot The Mountain, Tristen, Caitlin Rose, The Tits are all bands that immediately come to mind.

Eureka Gold will be playing Next Big Nashville on Thursday, September 11 at 11:45 p.m. at The Rutledge.  Visit http://nbn08.sched.org to view the full festival schedule, or create an account to plan and share your own schedule.

Check out more of Out the Other's Guide to Next Big Nashville 2008.

Next Big Nashville - The Non-Commissioned Officers

Everyone keeps asking me what the "must-see" shows at Next Big Nashville are this year, and to be perfectly honest, it's pretty tough to pick anything specific.  I'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of talent playing this year's festival - I love a lot of these artists and I'd love to check out even more of them - but at the same time I don't really feel a ton of pressure to SEE THIS NOW (like I do at something like SXSW), because I've seen many of these bands, and if I miss something excellent I will hopefully have another opportunity to see it again soon.

That said, I think there is one real "must-see" show at Next Big Nashville - The Non-Commissioned Officers.  And that's because (as I discovered through the process of doing this mini-interview) their show on Wednesday night at the Belcourt is their last show ever.

The story of The Non-Commissioned Officers is super closely tied to the story of Make Out With Violence, the film that is premiering at the Belcourt on Wednesday night as part of the festival.   It's actually probably best if you read about it there (just click on "soundtrack" when the site loads), but the basic story is that The Non-Coms evolved out of the soundtrack and score of the film, which was composed by Jordan and Eric Lehning.  In 2006 the "band" was actually formed to perform the soundtrack at shows, in order to raise money for the film.  I was fortunate enough to stumble upon them one night at the Basement back then, and was completely impressed.  I'm even more impressed by the phenomenal soundtrack, much of which you can stream on the MOWV website.

I highly, highly recommend you check out one of the two screenings of Make Out With Violence on Wednesday night - the film is showing at 6:30 and 8:45 p.m.  The Non-Commissioned Officers will play their last show at 11 p.m., following the second screening.  If you don't have a wristband or badge you can get into the screening and show for $7.

Eric Lehning (who also stars in the film) answered a few questions for me about the band, but first here are two tracks from the soundtrack:

"Sweet Eleanor"
"No Means No"

So I understand your band actually first formed to perform the soundtrack of Make Out With Violence - how long have you been playing together now, and how has your band evolved?

We've been playing together since June of 2006.  We play so infrequently and with such a diverse line up that it's hard to say how we've evolved.  There is a lot of information about the writing of the music on Makeoutwithviolence.com.  I highly recommend checking it out.  Our first two guitar players were Brad Sample of the Brad Sample Band, and Jeff Carney of Imagine Asians.  Then Jordan returned from Boston and took over for Brad, and Buddy Hughen of Eureka Gold took over for Jeff.  Since we last played, Matt Hungate (keyboards) joined De Novo Dahl, and our drummer, Craig Bond, was killed in a canoeing accident.  For me, Craig is an incalculable loss.  He was a dear friend and was swiftly becoming a brilliant drummer.  Currently Aaron Irons of All We Seabees is playing keys with us, and Adam Gold of Eureka Gold is on the drums. 

Please describe your music in five words or less.

Moody Enoesque Pop 

Now that Make Out With Violence is set to debut at Next Big Nashville, when can we expect your album (which is the soundtrack, right)?

Actually this is the last performance of the Non-Coms.  The soundtrack will be released when we can pay Jordan a ton of cash to work his 70+ cues into a solid double disc.

What can we expect from your performance at the festival?

Well, I gained about 20 lbs. but the performance is going to blow your mind.  We're playing some new material.  We plan on going out with a bang.

What do you think is the best thing about the Nashville music scene?

The constructive competition.

And finally, what are a few of your favorite movies?

Lawrence of Arabia, Badlands, A Woman Under the Influence, and I really like Coppola's latest: Youth Without Youth.


The Non-Commissioned Officers will be playing Next Big Nashville on Wednesday, September 10 at 11 p.m. at The Belcourt.  Visit http://nbn08.sched.org to view the full festival schedule, or create an account to plan and share your own schedule.

Check out more of Out the Other's Guide to Next Big Nashville 2008.

Bad Friend tonight @ The Basement! With a new EP! And an interview!

Tonight at the Basement, local five-piece Bad Friend will be celebrating the release of their new EP, Bad Friend Loves The Healthy Home (it's a split with The Healthy Home, from Dyersbug, TN).  This release is the band's second EP, following Live at the Trash Gulley, and it will serve to whet your appetite for Bad Friend's first full-length, which they've been hard at work on over at Battle Tapes and expect to finish up by January. 

I've actually known one of the gents in the band, Stuart von Stein, for a few years now (we used to be neighbors), but I'll be the first to admit I still know very little about Bad Friend.  So I thought I'd pester Stuart and bandmate John Adams via email so we can learn a bit about the band, the EP, tonight's show, and what they've been listening to lately.
 

First up, can we start with some background info on Bad Friend?

Stuart:  We've been playing together for 2 years this month, is that a long time?  The band has had a stable line-up for about a year and a half.  Joseph Garcia and I started the band to play songs the way we wanted since our current bands at the time didn't allow us to stretch our wings.  John Adams soon joined within a month on drums.  We really wanted John to have more of a lead role and he switched to guitar about 4 or 5 months later.  That's when Sean Collins joined, who I had known for a while and who was in another band with me at the time.  Then about two shows after that Evan Bailey joined on the drums and Sean switched to bass.

Please describe your music in five words or less.

Stuart:  I'll leave that to John, he's good with the catch phrases.

John:  5 words or less, huh?  Let's see - drunk sad dude fight songs.

Tonight's show is the release party for your new EP - what can you tell us about it?

John:  The EP has been a long time coming - we started recording last May I believe?  I'm excited that it's finally finished.  There's songs by everyone in the band that writes, in addition to material that's more collaborative.  It's a split EP with our friends in The Healthy Home - the best indie pop band in Dyersburg, TN.  They've been friends of ours for a long time, and it's cool to finally release something with them.  I think our groups have a lot in common.

Stuart:  It's our second release, a follow up to Live at the Trash Gulley (our first EP) and it's a taste of what's to come on our first album.

For those of us who haven't seen Bad Friend live yet - what can we expect from tonight's show?

Stuart:  You will be rocked, we don't play covers though we may surprise you.  Don't expect your attention to be grabbed, expect it to be commanded.  We love to play these songs and put a lot of thought into it so hopefully that comes off to the audience in attendance.

John:  Expect some winding guitar interplay a la a poor man's Television, and a sense of restraint with composition and arrangement.  We're a relatively simple band, in my opinion, and I think that simplicity helps us be pretty direct with what we're trying to do.

Stuart, you were making local recommendations for me before I knew anything about the Nashville scene.  What local stuff have you and John been listening to lately, and what would you recommend checking out?

Stuart:  I think you already know The Mattoid is always a good time, wink wink.  Though there are quite a few bands I hold close to my heart.  I recommend buying both of Lone Official's records and also seeing them whenever possible.  To name a few more:  Uptown Society, Deluxin', Kids Are Goats, And the Relatives, Hotpipes, Lylas, Hands Off Cuba, Country Music, Stone Jack Jones, Altered Statesmen, Las Personas, Teenage FBI, Yr Cut of the Trust, Tom House, Save Macaulay, Seth Moore, Dave Cloud and the Gospel of Power and last but not least Paris Street who will be performing with us October 17th at the Basement.

John:  Oooohhhh.  Local stuff I'm really into right now - Deluxin' (Black on White LP on Sebastian Speaks), German Castro (newer ambient recordings that should be coming out in another month, possibly on High Density Headache Records?), Lone Official (Tuckassee Take), Country Music (Ben Smythe, drummer for Stone Jack Jones and Spiritual Family Reunion, does the solo band thing), and Seafood Hotline (Murfreesboro duo that's rewriting the rules of what can or can't be done in a rock band).

Bad Friend is playing tonight at the Basement, with Paris Street (they're also celebrating an EP release) and The Saps.  The show kicks off at 9 p.m. and $5 will get you in the door - though I recommend paying the $10 cover which gets you in AND gets you a copy of both Bad Friend and Paris Street's new releases.  Like all shows at the Basement, this one is 21+.

Did you really think I wouldn't give you something to listen to?

"Taco"
"Monterrey"