WYEP Music Blog

I was going to write a mini-bio to precede the John Vanderslice interview below, but I can’t really tell you anything that way that you couldn’t read somewhere else.I can tell you that I did once ride the subway with him.  I sat a few seats away with a friend while John talked to two kids on an otherwise empty Manhattan train.  He asked them how they liked CMJ so far, what bands they had seen, how their stay in New York was going.  He never mentioned that he was a musician himself.  Never mentioned that he was also attending CMJ.  Never mentioned that he had his own showcase in the halls of Lincoln Center.  He was simply talking to some kids from somewhere that was not New York City about how their week was going.

I have the feeling that if I had written John 100 questions, I might have gotten 100 responses (or maybe 97 - one question I asked about his appraisal of the Rick Ross scandal went unanswered).  John Vanderslice is one of those people who seem to fill every second of every day re-recording entire albums in a chicken coop or taking a photo of a trebuchet or concocting a video blog tour or running a recording studio or opening for Death Cab for Cutie, in between eating a bagel or reading the paper or talking to his mom on the telephone.  It’s like he takes all these stories and experiences we’re all exposed to everyday and scraps them into beautiful little snowglobes.

Below are my questions and John’s answers, traded over email.  All punctuation and text credited to John are his own.

-Dave, host of WYEP Afterhours: Monday

Read the rest of this entry »

ADD Surf Rock?  Jazzercise Punk? Joy-Thrash?  Baltimore’s Ponytail creates music that is hard to define but pure fun to experience.  The foursome constructs beautiful, churning waves of melody that simultaneously evoke the technical proficiency and experimental vocals of jazz, and the aggressive and independent spirit of punk. 

(Clockwise from top: Jeremy, Molly, Dustin, Ken)

Their new album, Ice Cream Spiritual, sees the band adding to its high-energy approach with new sounds and multiple-movement song structures.  The four members passed the phone as I spoke to them while they travelled to New York for a concert.  An excerpt of that discussion after the jump.

-Dave, host of WYEP Afterhours: Monday

Read the rest of this entry »

Good Night, States represents all the best qualities of Pittsburgh. They are innovative but humble, intelligent and hardworking, ambitious and independent. And also like the city of Pittsburgh, the rest of the world has yet to recognize all that they to offer. Recently though, with their debut album Short Films on Self-Control and a string of local shows, they’ve been making the turn from underground secret to source of local pride.

(left to right: Trevor, Megan, Steve, Dan and Joe)

Their music rings in your head for days after listening; it is aggressively melodic and includes influences of Glam, Americana, Rock and Pop. Even the melancholy songs somehow manage to shine.

The band certainly shown bright while opening this past WYEP Summer Music Festival in Schenley Park. I recently broke bread with the local contingent (Singer/Guitarist Steve Gretz and Guitarist Joe Tanner live in New Jersey) and discussed their Internet Singles Series, the reception of their work as a “Pittsburgh” band, and plans for the near future that may or may not include an accordion.

-Dave, host of WYEP Afterhours: Monday

Read the rest of this entry »