The Young Veins interview

Ryan Ross and Jon Walker have joined together to form The Young Veins after both of them quit their former band, Panic at the Disco, in July of last year. Despite the fact that the new band features half of Panic’s old lineup, the music from The Young Veins has an entirely different feel.

Compared to the old days, both Ross and Walker now play lead guitar and sing lead vocals. The pair has become quite a well-oiled, songwriting machine as well. To the lineup, they have added Andy Soukal on bass, Nick White on keyboards, and Nick Murray on drums. You can hear for yourself just how this musical adventure sounds on June 8 when their album, “Take a Vacation!” is finally released. I had a lovely conversation with Jon Walker about why Panic really split up, what it’s like going back to square one, and why he and Ross have never been happier.

According to many interviews in late 2008 and early 2009, Panic! at the Disco’s third studio release was the most anticipated. The four of you seemed like you were excited to embrace new ideas and work together. Cue to summer 2009 and Panic was splitting up due to “creative differences.” Was that completely the issue or was there something that broke the camels back? I mean, you all seemed to be really good friends and were working well together.

We were, and really that is what it was. It was creative differences. To elaborate on it, me and Ryan were really excited to work on new stuff, and we were working on new stuff. The majority of the album was written while we were still in Panic touring with them. So, it was more along the lines of feeling like we were doing something that was ours and not having much motivation or contribution from the other side.

It was a really hard decision too because, you’re right, we were really close and we had a good thing going. [It was hard] having to walk away from Pretty. Odd. [Panic’s second album] which was the album I was part of (and even more so for Ryan with both of the albums, he had a big part in writing). With all that going on, I think at the end of it we just realized that our excitement kept growing between us, and it just felt like the right thing to do. It was a really daunting decision to leave all that behind because of such a silly concept as creative differences. It really was disabling for us as a band to continue doing anything that was organic and real.

I think the music speaks for itself here too. I mean, between the two singles that The Young Veins and Panic have out right now, it is pretty obvious that the musical directions have shifted.

That’s even going to be more so once both of us have albums out. The music really will speak for itself. And it is a weird situation because there isn’t really any animosity between us. We just haven’t really happened to talk. It was kind of a surprise to us that [Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith] would have continued as Panic! at the Disco considering the level of contribution that [Ryan and I] had to the band. I think that might have been the main reason for our break of communication.

It was a really confusing time that there were so many different things going on. On top of it all, me and Ryan had this fire underneath us that we just felt so extremely motivated. We were having fun more than anything, and we doing what we loved doing and we didn’t want to loose that. So, does that answer your question? It’s a pretty long answer.

You did and that’s fine. If nothing else, I’ve always wanted to know for myself what happened. It just felt like there was more going on with the whole situation. I’m betting the fans feel similarly…

A lot of people assume since we didn’t say much about it that we don’t really talk anymore and that there was a lot more going on than creative differences, but there really wasn’t. I mean, the creative differences just pushed us apart in opposite directions.

Well, let’s put it this way. I look at the breakup of Panic as your parents getting divorced. That sounds horrible, but really you’re split between two parties. Over the holidays, you’re going to go to two places and get more gifts and affection; but, at the end of the day, your parents are still divorced.

That is a great way to look at it especially for [fans] and for me too. Having to walk away from the stuff that we wrote was hard. Those songs mean a lot to us. Those guys meant a lot to us too, you know. We went through a lot together, and it was such an incredible time in our lives. I’m just looking forward to the future. I feel like time is on our side, and everything will work itself out. It all really feels like it was meant to be.

Any plans to do any songs from Panic’s second album, Pretty. Odd., on tour? Many of the songs sound similar to the theme of The Young Veins’ music.

We’ve never actually decided whether we would or not, but it wouldn’t seem right. It’s not really a big deal since it was such a huge part of our lives, and it was half of us that started this band. The fact that we were in Panic, it still does seem pretty relevant which is why it’s probably still so weird for us. The album isn’t even out yet, and the majority of people still haven’t really heard where we’re coming from or what we’re even doing. Or had a lot of time to give an honest reaction from it.

I’ve already seen you guys perform live once, and I definitely think The Young Veins is an amazing project. The small club you played at was great. It’s certainly a switch for you two being used to playing global arena tours.

That whole [Foxy Shazam] tour was amazing and playing in those small places was fun. The difference between each of the bands was really fun too. That’s something we haven’t really done. Most of the touring we’ve done, it’s been the same type of bands from the same genre.

Do you feel like you are kind of going backwards as a band? I mean, you start off as household names and now you’re playing these dive bars. You don’t have security anymore, and stuff like that.

If you stop to think about it, it does seem like we’re going backwards. We’ve never been more successful or more happy doing what we’re doing. It feels so right, and it feels real. When you’re having fun and you’re doing what you love you don’t really notice those kinds of things. It kind of works itself out—seriously. I do miss our security guard though; he was a friend of ours. Unfortunately, we can’t afford to pay him anymore.

Speaking of security, do you still have the obsessive fans coming up to you and hounding you like they used to?

Yeah, there’s always gonna be fans like that, and I think especially on this last tour we did. The majority of the people that came to see us were really die hard fans considering we only had a couple songs on the internet. It was really great and extremely refreshing to have that kind of support after being away and being really unsure about what to even expect from the first couple shows. It was a pleasant surprise.

Are you excited to get started on your new tour this summer with Rooney?

It’s going to be amazing. The record will be out. We’re touring with Black Gold which are the guys who played on the record, the drummer and the singer; the guy who plays keyboards. I actually toured with [Rooney] a long time ago when I was working for another band, [The Academy Is…]. The first tour I did with them was with Rooney. It’s going to be a nice little reunion.

The places we’re playing are a little bit larger. We just got done last week recording a few covers for B-sides for some random international releases. I think we’re going to be playing some covers on the tour. It’s just gonna be fun. I think that we worked out a lot of kinks on that first tour and now we’re even more ready to do it.

That being said, is the five member lineup of the band solidified yet?

Yeah, as of right now, we don’t really need any more people [laughs]. We’re bringing our old merch guy out on tour though—Dan, who was Panic’s first merch person for about three years. He’s coming out with us and selling merch, so it’s gonna be a lot of fun. [As a five piece,] we’ve been working on new material. Whenever me and Ryan hang out, we usually always end up by the end of the night playing guitar and writing something. That’s what we do for fun. It’s going to be great now that we have a solid band that is just as excited about the music as we are. We actually get a lot more done, and we’ll probably be recording by winter [for the next record]. I mean this record’s only 28 minutes long. We have more stuff to say, so it won’t be too long before we release something.

For those who have yet to see The Young Veins perform, you and Ryan are doing things a little differently than you used to with Panic. Ryan plays rhythm guitar, rather than lead guitar. You play lead guitar, rather than bass. You’re also doing some lead vocals now. Why the changes, and how do you feel about them?

I was a guitar player. I started playing guitar when I was ten years old. That’s always something that I wanted to do. But, when I joined Panic, their guitar player didn’t just quit [laughs]. It’s cool because I played bass on the [Young Veins] album, and Ryan played a lot of the lead—he’s a great guitar player as well. Alex Greenwald [singer of Phantom Planet] played some lead guitar as well. A lot of the parts, especially during the songs that Ryan is singing, it’s kind of hard for him to sing and play at the same time. We just kind of switch it up, and I love it. I love playing the guitar, and I love playing bass too. And singing, that’s something I’ve been waiting to do for a long time.

Well, you’re both very talented guys, that’s for sure.

Hey thanks! It’s really exciting to know that the possibilities are kind of limitless now as far as what we can do and what we want to do. We have a lot to accomplish now.

Back when you worked with The Academy Is…, you were behind the camera for the original TAI TVs, which were short videos that chronicled their lives on the road. Did you have any interest in picking that hobby back up?

You know, I do and I don’t. That was something that I started doing because I felt like I needed to do something creative. When I went on tour with The Academy, I did originally go out to be the film guy, but I wasn’t really that good and really didn’t have much a vision of what I wanted to do. Being the guitar tech, it just happened to work out because they needed someone to do it and I knew how to change guitar strings. Jack the Camera Guy [who currently creates TAI TV] is so much more talented than I could ever probably be. I don’t know if I would ever do something significant in video editing, but just put little stuff together here and there. And I probably will once we start touring and being busier as a band. I would just need a good concept to go with … TYV TV? How about that? [laughs]

That would make me a happy camper! Besides TYV TV, what is on the horizon for The Young Veins in 2010 and beyond?

Pretty much after the US tour with Rooney, we’ll be playing pretty much anywhere else that we can play. Wherever we can go, we’ll be going. Like I said, we’ll probably be utilizing our time off in the winter to be writing and hopefully start recording some more songs. What else are we gonna do?

Learn more at TheYoungVeins.com • iTunes • MySpace • Facebook • Twitter

Deccatree interview

Keeping a band together through troubling times is certainly not easy. When the band has a recording contract that gets severed prematurely, the likelihood of keeping the team together likely diminishes. Deccatree is no stranger to this sort of strife in the music industry. Natalia Bolanos on bass, Dicki Fliszar on drums, Chris Karn on guitar, and Jesse Nason on keyboards are all a part of the southern California rock band that have succeeded despite themselves. Their music has been featured on many popular television shows, including but not limited to Scrubs and How I Met Your Mother. I spoke briefly with songwriter Chris Karn, who is also the producer, about expressing faith through music, the Atlantic Records debacle, and why it may just be better to work by yourself.

For those who aren’t familiar with Deccatree, how would you describe your sound?

Friends jokingly call our music motivational speaking put to music. It makes me laugh, but there is some truth to that as I tend to want to lift people up more than bring them down and I tend to write songs that (if there is trouble) there is always a way out. So, I would describe Deccatree music as uplifting rock.

The music of Deccatree is described as “forward looking music” on the band’s Myspace page.  Can you explain what that means exactly?

We all own a lot of records, and it’s hard not to emulate music that influences you. We try to look forward and find a new sound that fits us. We are not an art band, not yet at least, but we do have the impulse to look forward beyond what is going on around us to carve our own path.

How does your faith impact the music you create?

Faith is a constant in my life, in my thoughts, in by battles and definitely in the music I create. It is something that is not intentional; I have just always been wired that way, even in my earlier bands. It was not until Deccatree that I finally felt free to express faith as an underlying theme in my music.

What happened with the Atlantic records fiasco?

Fiasco— that is the perfect word for it. I must say that I hold no ill will to the people at Atlantic and I actually have a great relationship with Craig Kallman [Atlantic Records chairman]. [Deccatree] made it through all of the roster cuts, which was unbelievable as there were some artists that we loved that were cut in the beginning. Once all of the cuts were done there was an awkward silence. I took that moment to go engineer a record with Joe Chicorelli (White Stripes, The Shins). This whole time I was getting calls from Kallman. Our conversations were very supportive and friendly, and he was working hard on our behalf. I owe him a lot. We never spoke of the politics of what was going on but I did hear from some staff some shocking claims. As far as what I’ve been told, take it with a grain of salt, there was a huge power struggle going on at the label, and Deccatree was lumped in with a few other artists that were part of one side and some other artists were part of another side. Long story short, one power won, and we were not on that side along with some other talented artists. It is a shame that business has to meet with art, as art will always suffer when it collides with commerce. All I can say is if it were not for the kindness and guidance of Craig Kallman, I would have lost all my rights and songs for [the album] Battle of Life. Craig made sure that did not happen. I believe he is the best and truest person I’ve ever met in the music business.

After what happened, do you think it’s better to be on a major label, an independent label, or unsigned, and why?

I don’t have a definite answer for that question, as every situation is different. I will say, however, that every experience I have had and artists that I have produced have had at major labels has been a mess. It is extremely rare for an artist to succeed on a major label. Don’t get me wrong, I love major labels, they have funded and brought us some amazing records and artists. I do know that you will end up in a better place both personally and successfully if you have success on your own pace and terms, that is why you see bands like Modest Mouse and Death Cab for Cutie having such full careers. They started off slowly and there was no gamble. There are two roads: the easy way and the hard way. In the end, the easy way is always the hardest on your life [and] soul.

Have you worked with any artists that have really taught you something valuable about the music business?

I have learned from everyone I have ever come into contact with. I am lucky to have such a varied group of musicians and friends that I interact with in life. One of the more recent lessons I was taught was from Daniel Lanois. Daniel was addressing a friend of mine and myself in a conversation about contract negotiations and the artists role when things go wrong. He said to keep your cool even if you know you are being wronged. Just say, “Oh, that’s not how I interpreted that and I will have to take a moment to think about it.” Go get council with someone who knows that part of business inside in out, get all your ducks in a row and then politely come back and make them aware of the error. “No one likes to work with a hot head, and reputations get around,” he said. That is great advice for sure.

What is coming up in 2010 for you guys?

More music, more working with friends, and more moving forward. These days are harder for us all, so I’ve found the best thing to do is keep your eyes forward push on, and enjoy the good stuff.

Why should people give your music a listen?

Just for the fact that they will hear something different, something that may surprise and hold a place in their life. Because, really, that is the only reason for doing this, connecting with a person. It could be only one and I’m fine, but that connection is so very important. That connection makes it is all worthwhile.

Learn more at Deccatree.com • iTunes • MySpace • Facebook • Twitter

Farewell Flight interview

Hockey interview

What’s so good about banana splits? You get three kinds of ice cream, nuts, and chocolate fudge, plus a banana. There’s so much deliciousness in there, who could not like a good banana split? Well, the up and coming Portland, Oregon, band “Hockey” are just like a musical banana split. You get all kinds of musical influences on one record. They may just be the best band you’ve never heard of. Though, I think Absolute Punk was right when they said Hockey “if your new favorite band.” The band has been on the up-and-up since the release of their debut album, “Mind Chaos,” in late August 2009. Their video for “Song Away” was the iTunes free video of the week last October. Also in October, they played a rooftop party for SPIN magazine. To see what is on Hockey’s plate for 2010, I chatted with the lead singer, Ben Grubin. The topics of life in Seattle, where the term, “Mind Chaos,” came from, and touring with Friendly Fires came up…

Growing up, how did you get into music?

I started taking music seriously when I was about 19. I was really into Radiohead and for some reason that made me listen to music. I became less social and disappeared into the music for a lot longer.

So, Radiohead is one of your influences?

Yeah, they’re not like a direct influence in terms of the music style, but just kind of a deep musical beginning force. Other than the fact that on some of their new records they go around and kind of try different things on different songs. It’s not a unified sound. I always had the idea that you can experiment from track to track within an album if you feel like it.

I think that method of thinking really shows through on how you guys put all your music together. The sound is so diverse and there are so many different things going on at one time. How would you classify your sound as a whole as far as Hockey goes?

I would need to think of a name for it! As far as stylistically, it’s like a melting pot kind of record. Almost every record is right now. I want our record to be a danceable record.

Do you find that your live shows are very energetic and do you get a good response from the crowd?

Yeah, sometimes it depends on the city and such, but we have a good response from the people. The energy in the room is usually really high and everyone’s kind of going crazy and sometimes not. Sometimes people are just kind of checking you out. It definitely has that possibility.

You guys are from Portland, Oregon. Being on a major label now, have you been on any major tours to get away from home and branch out?

We pretty much moved to Portland about three years ago. None of us are from Portland. We played 10 or 15 shows here and then kind of disappeared from the city. We’re totally not like a local band. There are definitely a few other bands that are embedded in the Portland scene a little deeper. But we’ve just haven’t been lined up to play a lot of shows here.

Do you think being signed has changed your outlook as a band on being supremely popular?

Our music and our album are exactly the same that it would have been pretty much and I think that’s the most important thing. I do think that being on a major label does changes things though because you know what their expectations are. You feel unsafe in a way because you need to get to this insane level to feel safe as a band because they don’t care as much about little bands. Like selling out the Mercury Lounge in New York City is nothing to a major label, but to us it was the most awesome thing. That has definitely been part of it because there are lofty goals. You can’t really force it though. You just make the music you make and do what you can do. The rest of it is how much it connects and how much people like it. You can’t do anything to make it catch on.

Is there any band that you have toured with that has taught you something valuable about the business?

Not really. You tour with a band that you’ve heard of before and you think they’re really cool. Then, you meet them and they’re just people and it’s cool. It’s like when we were on tour with Friendly Fires. It helps you to not worry so much about your own path like if you become huge or famous or your band gets successful. Because sometimes being in a band you get so stressed out about succeeding because you want it to continue. So, going on tour with other big bands kind of helps you to keep the human side of it and not worry about the popularity thing. When you get into your twenties, you stop caring about the popularity thing. It’s like you are still in high school though, and you still worry about those kinds of stupid things – unless you pay attention to not worrying about it.

Switching gears, I don’t know how you guys put your music together, but what do you draw from to write the music?

I basically write all the songs. We arrange the music together though, like write a solo or cut a verse. Some of the songs are very old, but most of them are from 2007.

Where did you come up with the title of “Mind Chaos?” That sounds like it could get pretty deep.

[Laughs] I think luckily it was an afterthought. It kind of reflects the fact that the album is a little bit all over the place. That wasn’t the original goal though. It’s funny when we made music we didn’t really realize how unusual it is to sound that way. It could also be harmful because people will say, well you don’t have a sound. Originally, it was a word that Jerm, our bass player, and I had for a long, long time back in college kind of to describe some sort of sociology word. Like, if you ask people a question about politics or anything really you’re almost always going to get a crazy answer, or a different answer. You know? A lot of the album is about surveying the world and looking at people’s opinions. You’re kind of being opinion-less like you’re the writer just looking at stuff. And you’re kind of being shocked at all the different ways people see things.

For those people out there who aren’t familiar with Hockey yet, why should they give your music a listen?

I don’t know, I mean some people wouldn’t want to listen to it. It just depends on what kind of music that they like—[maybe] if you like any kind of dance or electronic rock. The main thing to me that feels different than other dance music is the intention of the words or the time that was put into the lyrics. Most band lyrics are cool but just feel very hip and have that vacant hip vibe to it. It’s cool, but it is hip emptiness. This album is totally not that. The main thing that I can feel that’s different is the sound. I don’t know whose records right now sounds futuristically different as far as originality goes. Maybe some hip hop records are kind of on the cutting edge because they come up with new recording techniques.

I think you’re right on You’re very cutting edge in the way you’re taking on the lyrics thing and everything.

Nobody ever says that. Maybe I’m delusional. [Laughs]

What is on the horizon for Hockey in 2010?

We’re starting a really big tour at the end of January. We’re going to Australia and Europe, and them we’ll be coming to America for a tour too. We barely tour America at all. And we’re playing Coachella at the end of that tour. And then, I don’t know!

Learn more at HockeyBand.com

Kingsfoil interview

It was a cold November day when I decided to sit down with Jordan Davis to talk about his band.  We met in a local Starbucks, and as he walked in, there was no one screaming his name or acting like he was Brad Pitt. He was just an average guy that was in a local, unsigned band. He and his band, Kingsfoil, are based in York, Pennsylvania, and they have quite a fan base.  For having no record label to support them, it is remarkable how many people come out to support them. They are involved in the music because it is their passion.  Though the money would be nice, surely that is not their sole motivation. Comprised of Tristan Martin (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Joe Cipollini (drums), Tim Warren (bass), and Davis (vocals, guitar), Kingsfoil is a force to be reckoned with. As I talked with Davis, it became apparent that they are doing their thing in hopes that more people will find out about them. This is what he had to say about growing up, the music, and life being in a band.


Growing up, what inspired you to get into music? Like, was it always around you?

JD: It was always around. My dad’s a piano tuner, and my parents used to sing to us a lot to us in the car to me and my sister. I would always sing and annoy everyone else. I’d sing all the time and everyone kind of hated it. I would make up my own melodies and just sing to myself. When I was growing up, my parents played a lot of Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and The Beatles, so I really got into that. I love Bonnie Raitt. Also, I had a different growing up experience than most people do, and that affected my writing a little bit. I was home schooled so it was like I had so much time to be in my head like I think the music was different. My early songs kind of reflected that. There was a lot of trying to figure out who I was, but in a different light than someone that might have gone to high school. That’s not to say that I was a geek, well, maybe a little bit.

Fair enough! Who came up with the band name and where did it come from? I actually read this today, but I’ll let you answer it.

Ah yes, it’s from Lord of the Rings. Tristan actually came to me with it and he had found it in there-read it in there and kind of liked the sound of it you know, and I liked the sound of it. And that was before the movies came out a long time ago. I like the feeling that it gives when you say it.

How did the band start? That’s a loaded question, I think.

Tristan was actually in another band. I was in a band with two other guys called Essence, I think. Horrible band name. And that band broke up, and me and Tristan started doing stuff but he was still in this other band. It was actually with Chris Merritt. Tristan used to play drums for him. At that point, he was doing two bands and it was kind of rough for him, so finally, he quit Chris Merritt. Me and him just started playing a lot of acoustic shows, and then from then we added Joe and Darren, our old bass player. That was roughly 3 or 4 years ago. And then Darren left and we added Tim just less than 3 years ago. Something like that. You probably know this better than I do.

How did Joe come into the picture?

Joe was in a band called Squeeze Theorem that was out of Millersville and my sister went to Millersville so we used to play a lot of shows there. When that band broke up, we were like “let’s try it out” and at first didn’t want to play full band because we liked the acoustic thing. It was a really big step for us. It was horrible at first but then it got better.

How did Tim come to be the new bass player?

Tim found our “looking for a bass player” flyer in a music store near him and sent us an email. And he turned out to be the perfect fit. We’re super lucky.

How do you feel about being with a major label, and do you think that it changes bands for better or worse or not at all?

That’s actually a cool question. I think it can definitely change you for the worst if you’re not careful. A good example might be Death Cab for Cutie. They released a lot of CDs on their own label, a small label, and then they released their last CD on a major label and they still were able to keep their creativity and their freedom. So as long as you don’t sell out, or let them dictate how you’re gonna do it and how you’re gonna write, then it’s not a bad thing. But that happens so much and it definitely can affect you in a bad way.

You cater to a younger audience. What do you think the reason is?

I think it’s just Tim’s good looks (laughs). No, I think we’ve always written about stuff that’s accessible to younger crowds. A lot of relationship type stuff and we’ve always been sort of open with our fans and like you know we want to be able to talk to them and be friends with them. As much as they’re our fans they should be our friends. In that way, a lot of young people were kind of drawn to us. We also started out pretty young doing this and we were like 14 or 15 so you know there’s people that age that were there when we were that age. They’ve grown up with us but as we’ve grown we still get younger fans. It’s really awesome that our young fans from long ago are still coming to shows and there are new young fans thrown in there too.

How do you react then to “star struck fans”? Does it bother you when there are a lot of people asking for photos and signatures?

No, it doesn’t bother me at all. It’s flattering obviously and we never want to let it get to our heads. It’s something we’ve always said because there’s always somebody better than you. We just feel lucky that people do like our music, and we try to do whatever we can to help them and make them happy. Make them feel like we gave them some time. So it’s not annoying at all. And I don’t want us to ever come off like we’re too cool for school. We’re gonna try to cater to them because they spent the money and time to come out and appreciate us and listen to us, so the least we can do is talk to them and say thank you.

How far has the band traveled geographically? Who did you tour with?

As far as me and Tristan, we went to the west coast. That was our first tour as a duo. As a full band, though, we went to Florida and back. But the thing with us is that we’re in a good position location-wise with New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Baltimore all being so close. We can drive there on the weekend without spending a whole lot on gas, or hotels, or anything else.

You didn’t have a TV as a kid, right? How has that influenced you and your writing and musical ability?

It was just a different childhood. One of the main things is that I ended up reading a lot, I was read to a lot, and I liked reading a lot more than most so that had a big impact one me. I got to read a lot of books and learned a lot from it. You can’t really get that from television. I love television. I still don’t have one though. I think it made me a little more unique basically.

How would you describe the band’s sound?

We’ve always had trouble with that. It’s hard to compare us to people. There’ve been random comparisons like Coldplay. I think we’re just indie rock that likes melody. The melody is important to us. We play indie pop rock. The pop is the melody part, not the pop candy stuff. That’s what we want pop to mean-the melody that someone wants to sing, that we feel good singing.

Why should people give your music a listen?

Besides being awesome? No, it’s genuine and not at all put together or staged or coerced at all. We’re proud of our music and it’s exactly what we want. We don’t cater to anything, and we don’t copy anything. We just play what feels right and it shows. You can tell when bands aren’t being real, and people still listen to them. But, if you’re smart, you’re gonna know. Anyone’s gonna know. You don’t have to have some amazing musical taste to know. You just feel it. When it’s good it’s good and you don’t have to know anything about music. You just know if your heart, you’re like, “this is good.”