University of San Diego Radio

2009 Proved to be a Year of Growth for Manchester Orchestra

The week of finals at USD last semester was welcomed with a series of holiday concerts hosted by local radio stations. Two of the most popular shows included acts that found success in 2009 as well as acts looking to once again see stardom in the new year. FM 94.9’s Holiday Hootenanny provided locals with indie staples from Phoenix, Spoon, Vampire Weekend, White Rabbits and a certain act that stormed onto commercial radio with their sophomore album Mean Everything to Nothing.
As a band, 2009 proved to be a year of growth for Manchester Orchestra. After 2006’s I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child had alternative news sources and underground bloggers going crazy, mainstream America didn’t really seem to catch on to the band (on this side of the pond) until after the album had begun to fade away. Yet the bar to their sophomore album was set high as more people discovered Manchester Orchestra and longed for new material.
In April of last year, the band’s new album was released to glowing reviews in notable news sources such as IGN and Alternative Press. Fans too seemed to love the album. It’s now easy to say that through solid music and a nonstop tour schedule, Manchester Orchestra is beginning to see the success they deserve after years of hard work.
Before their most recent show in San Diego, I had a chance to sit down with Chris Freeman, the keyboardist and percussionist of the band, and Jeremiah Edmond, the band’s drummer, to ask them some questions about their history and pathway toward this success.
One unique thing that Manchester Orchestra has done that is unique in the whole process is establishing its own record label. The band named this label Favorite
Gentlemen and subsequently released their EPs and first full length under this entity.
Lead singer Andy Hull and Jeremiah Edmond continue to run this label on a daily basis and after the band signed to Sony for their latest album, they worked out a distribution deal with and received money to sign other artists to this label. In fact, Favorite Gentlemen has grown so much recently that shortly after my interview, Jeremiah announced that he would be leaving the band to spend more time running the label. (Manchester Orchestra fans, don’t be worried at this news. Brand New’s drum tech Ben Homola and the Colour Revolt’s Len Clark are signed on to drum for the band’s next tour.)
With a show date already announced for March 7 at the House of Blues in San Diego, Manchester Orchestra will make their fourth visit to our city in less than a year. The band has been known to put on high energy, light and smoke-filled shows that leave the audience caught within the music. The aural experience is further deepened when Chris sets aside his keys to act as a second drummer for the band. The use of two percussion units is something that Jeremiah says came naturally for the band. Chris joined to play keys for the band but had a history playing drums. One of the band’s more famous songs, “Where Have You Been?,” actually has drums that were written by Chris. When recording the newest album, Chris’ drums were added at times to create a more full sound and to add variety.

Thrice remains a favorite in San Diego.

Very close friends of Manchester Orchestra are the guys from the Southern California band, Thrice. These two bands were noted in the alternative music scene to have highly anticipated albums, perhaps even the top two of the year. As Thrice was in town for 91X’s Wrex The Halls holiday show, I was also able to catch up with Eddie Breckenridge, the bassist from Thrice to talk about what 2009 meant to him.
As Thrice had just played with Manchester Orchestra back east at a special show organized by mutual friends Brand New, I made sure to get Breckenridge’s take on the whole thing. Breckenridge told me that although the show was a logistical nightmare, everyone had an amazing time.
It seems as though it isn’t well-crafted, driving, yet lyrical rock that you hear about when talking about Thrice, it’s the band’s overall passion for giving back. Up until their most recent album, a portion of each album’s sales were set aside to be donated to the band’s charity of choice. For this album, the guys in Thrice wanted to give back to charity in a different way. For all of the dates on their most recent tour, San Diego-based charity Invisible Children served as a guest of Thrice’s, spreading information and selling merchandise to the fans.
Thrice’s most recent release, Beggars, retains the sound of Thrice that fans love while having a more upbeat and raw sound. The album itself is filled with amazing imagery and songwriting, as seen in all the other Thrice albums. Vagrant Records worked with Thrice to help the band build their own recording studio in the guitarist Teppei’s garage. This allowed the band to record on their own schedule while being able to spend more time with their families. The final result of Beggars is a modern day masterpiece, as the album lives up to the hype while driving the genre back to the mature and well developed place where it used to be.

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Thrice’s Myspace

Beggars on 

Aired Audio Segment on Thrice:

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Manchester Orchestra’s Myspace

Mean Everything to Nothing on 

Aired Audio Segment on Manchester Orchestra:

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Tickets to Their Upcoming Show

(Please Note for Man Orch Interview- It was done backstage in what was a quiet area until the White Rabbits started their sound check and Vampire Weekend walked by deep in conversation. I’m truly sorry about the background noise.)

After Midnight Project @ HOB SD (Photo BC)

It’s without a doubt that one of the rising stars on the alternative rock scene this year has been Los Angeles based band, After Midnight Project. Their single “Take Me Home” has remained on Billboard’s Alt Top 40 for seventeen weeks and still remains toward close to its peak position. It easy to say that with the constant touring continued by the band and the increase in airplay, the song will remain on the charts well into the new year. The success found by this band is no small feat considering the fact that After Midnight Project is such a relatively young band. Not only have the guys been together for just a few years, but their August 11th release Let’s Build Something To Break is their first release on a major label.

Prior to their set opening for Papa Roach last week at The House of Blues, I had the chance to sit down with the band and talk about their experiences touring, their influences, and current musical interests as a group. Needless to say, the responses I received for all their questions didn’t seem like the responses I’d receive from a band who spent time opening for bands such as 30 Seconds to Mars, Breaking Benjamin, Trapt. For example, lead singer Jason Evigan describes the band’s sound as “Muse, Nine Inch Nails, Incubus, and Elliott Smith getting drunk at a wine taster. Elegant and raw.” I certainly understand the grouping of the first three, but the addition of Elliott Smith seems to contradict the other examples listed before. Surprisingly, the group pulls the sound off, mixing hostility and aggression with stripped down, heart-on-your-sleeve, anthemic rock.

This past summer, the band played a stint on the Vans Warped Tour, a rite of passage for many groups in the scene. I asked the guys what the experience was like for them traveling with so many like minded individuals and getting to play for thousands of fans. They described it as “exhausting fun” and an “overall very positive experience”. This should be come as no surprise from a band that seems to put interactions with fans as the foremost priority. From the beginning, this group made sure to always listen to what their fans have to say. Be it hanging out with fans after shows or communicating live with them on websites such as Myspace or Twitter, the AMP Army Street Team is group of diehard fans who really seem to help push the band’s success. The overall Warped Tour experience is something the band really enjoyed and they announced to me during the interview that they just signed on to do it again next summer.

The most interesting part of the interview came when I asked the group what music they’re listening to. Given the overall sound of the band, one would assume that they’d be really into some of the more aggressive, cutting edge rock bands on the circuit today. To my surprise, nearly every member of After Midnight Project mentioned bands that shocked me. Hidden beneath the Korn and Paramore were more obscure artists such as Bonobo and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, as well the equally unexpected John Mayer.

After the interview, I went back and listened to the bands music again. I certainly heard why the band was chosen to open that night for Papa Roach, but hidden beneath everything, I found Elliott Smith. On “Take Me Home” Jason’s pleading vocals and words convey recognition of a relationship that is falling apart yet he remains unable to cut the cord. Anyone familiar with Elliott Smith could listen to the song and think that he originally wrote the lyrics, as they match so flawlessly to Smith’s final year of life. It then occurred to me that this band really is unique. Their sound, though easily written off by some as being part of “that” genre, comes from artistic expression of multiple influences, and for that reason, the band will continue to succeed.

Audio Interview:

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Myspace

Eisley - HOB SD - Photo by BC

Undoubtedly, my favorite thing about being the music director for USD Student Radio is being able to spend time with the bands played on station while doing interviews. It allows me to ask them questions sent in by listeners and questions by those on our staff. I’ve hung out with a wide variety of bands, yet an interview I did last week with Eisley, seemed to really blow everything else away.

Before the band’s set opening for Say Anything at the House of Blues San Diego, I had a chance to sit down with the group for an interview. I knew ahead of time that Eisley is not like most bands around today. The band is truly a family affair, with siblings Chauntelle, Sherri, Stacy, and Weston, and their cousin Garron completing the five-piece. The tour with Say Anything has been something that our station has jokingly called “The Honeymoon Tour” since Sherri from Eisley and Max from Say Anything got married earlier this year. As if the touring family connection wasn’t strong enough, oldest sister Chauntelle’s fiancé, Todd, is the band’s guitar-tech and head luthier at LaRose guitars. Youngest sister Stacy brought her boyfriend Darren King of MuteMath to the concert and he swung by during the interview. At the helm of everything is their manager Boyd, the father and uncle of the band members. Although by now it seems slightly on the gossip side of everything, I’m simply writing this to stress the importance that family has for the group. It’s rooted in their culture and has become a way of life. It provides something that the band explains as a “steady base”, and something that keeps them close. Above all, family has become part of an arrangement that the group can’t image seeing in any other way.

This close-knit circle of creative minds seems to transcend into the band’s latest release Fire Kite. If this four song EP is a hint at the future of the band, it holds fair to say that long time Eisley fans and first time listeners are in for a treat. For those unfamiliar with the band, my best comparison is to say they’re some type of more mainstream, female-fronted Radiohead. Although short and bittersweet, the four songs on this tease from Eisley are emotion packed and reminiscent of quests for salvation. After the widely reported relationship splits that members in the band had before this EP was made (Adam Lazzara from Taking Back Sunday and Chad Gilbert from New Found Glory), it is easy to imagine that solace was found in the unity of the band as a family. These experiences leak into lyrics and the raw plea within vocals fit seamlessly with experiences in our own lives. The instrumental arrangement on the EP is varied, yet the sound remains unmistakably Eisley and ever-so unique.

One would think that a band signed to a major label and one that had toured the United States opening for Coldplay, could have a few arrogant members. Nothing could be further from the case. After the interview, Boyd asked me to hang around and I spent the rest of the show talking about music, standing on stage with the band, and meeting their friends and family. In the cutthroat world of music today, it’s reassuring to see that down to earth personalities and general love for fans, coupled with honest music, is able to reach the masses. We’ll continue to play the band on our station as long as they continue to make amazing records. I’ll tell you right now,  it’s a relationship that will exist as long as Eisley is making music.

AUDIO INTERVIEW (There’s A Little Cell Phone Crackle in The Beginning but I Swear It Goes Away):

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Fire Kite on iTunes:

Eisley’s Myspace

1.) February – The Appleseed Cast
2.) Save My Soul – The Whip
3.) We Started Nothing – The Ting Tings
4.) Hunting For Witches – Bloc Party
5.) Beyond Right Now – STS9
6.) Mr. Blue Sky – ELO
7.) Sound is Vibration – Atmosphere
8.) I Get Around – Dragonette
9.) Night on Fire – VHS or BETA

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Third Playlist

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1. Vicarious- Tool
2. Otherside- Red Hot Chili Peppers
3. Le Disko- Shiny Toy Guns
4. By The Way- Red Hot Chili Peppers
5. BYOB- System Of A Down
6. Can’t Stop- Red Hot Chili Peppers
7. The Kids Aren’t Alright- The Offspring
8. Right In Two- Tool
9. The Hand That Feeds- Nine Inch Nails
10. Bullet With Butterfly Wings- Smashing Pumpkins

“Lenin” Arcade Fire
“Hard To Find” The American Analog Set
“Innimer Synqur Vitteysingur” Sigur Ros
”Ageless Beauty” The Stars
“Far Far” Yael Naim
“Paris Is Burning” Ladyhawke
“I’m a Lady” Santigold
“To Be Myself Completely” Belle and Sebastian

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“Little Bit” Lykke Li
“Cello Song” The Books
“Killing for Love” Jose Gonzalez
“I Still Care for You” Ray LaMontagne
“7/4 Shoreline” Broken Social Scene
“Look At Her Face” The Coral Sea
“White Winter Hymnal” The Fleet Foxes
“Rangers” A Fine Frenzy
“Bottle Up And Explode!” Eliot Smith
“Futures and Folly” Blitzen Trapper

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