Waxahatchee Interview
by Ryan Pangilinan

It goes without saying, that Waxahatchee’s “American Weekend” is one of my favorite records in the last few years. It made the top of my list for favorite albums for our sister site, Redefine, and it continues to amaze me with every spin. We at Totally Crushed Out champion Waxahatchee’s singular band member, Katie Crutchfield (PS Eliot, Bad Banana, The Ackleys), chiefly because her songs are gut wrenchingly honest, relatable, and, quite frankly, catchy.

“American Weekend” comes out today through Don Giovanni Records and Crutchfield sat down with us to discuss all things Waxahatchee (with a little Guided by Voices).

Totally Crushed Out: What was the impetus of Waxahatchee? At the time of the cassette release, both Bad Banana and PS Eliot were active. Did you feel like the songs that would become for Waxahatchee didn’t fit anywhere with those two bands?
  
Katie Crutchfield: It really grew out of an urge to make acoustic music again. I sort of ‘started’ on an acoustic guitar and I played under the moniker ‘King Everything’ when I was in high school. The birth of Waxahatchee really just started out of a desire to make music like that again while simultaneously wanting to disassociate from the cheesy music I wrote when I was younger
 
American Weekend originally saw release through your imprint, Delta Queen. How did its release via Don Giovanni come about?

American Weekend has had many different phases of ideas for release. I wrote and recorded it in a week in my room at my parent’s house and I was pretty damn sure that no one was ever going to hear it, much less release it. Allison (my sister) really encouraged me to release it properly and in good time and that’s where Delta Queen came from. We were particularly broke at this time and while we were trying to facilitate the release I was approached about doing a Waxahatchee record by Don Giovanni. It seemed like a smarter idea to let an awesome, established label properly release this particular record. It’s a personal milestone and I was afraid I’d screw it up. I trust DG more than I trust myself with the endeavor.  
 
Upon this wider release for American Weekend, you’re also embarking on an extensive US tour. What sort of things are you anticipating for this run, specifically as a solo artist?
 
Playing music alone for lots of people is a lot harder than with a band. The screw-up stakes are higher. In PS Eliot, I had a whole lot of other sounds going on to cover up my nerves and mistakes. I guess I’m just expecting to be more nervous. This is also the first time in years that I’ve been on tour for this long. I’m really excited though. Leaving your life behind for multiple months is always so bizarre and hard but I’m looking forward to it.

Personally, I really enjoyed the lo-fi aesthetic of the album and split cassette. One of things that we talked about last time when discussing PS Eliot, was the difference between Bike Wreck and Introverted Romance. For all intents and purposes, do you think that Waxahatchee will remain a lo-fi solo project or do you see it growing further, whether you implement past recording techniques or have a backing band?

Its really funny you ask that, it’s been on my mind a lot lately. I’m in the middle of demoing for the next record and planning to record it right when I get home from the tour. As of right now my plan is to record it at our house on Waxahatchee creek, myself, just the way I did AW, the only real difference being that there will be more instrumentation. After 9 weeks of tour, that idea could change. As for long-term plans, I’m not sure. The real difference between this project and my other projects is that I have no one else influencing or actively participating in any creative decision. It’ll really just depend on my own development with the songs I write in the future.
 
One of the things I liked about American Weekend is how relentlessly raw it is. In a way, it reminds me a bit of Songs From a Blue Guitar by Red House Painters. And again, personally speaking, I found it to be particularly poignant and meaningful when I was going through the end of a long-term relationship. Whether the songs are steeped in real life or have a fictive nature, are there moments when reflecting on American Weekend where you feel like you’ve put too much of yourself out there, or do you think that it would be moot since people, myself included, will relate to the album and its content in their own way?
 
All of the lyrics for Waxahatchee are a lot more organic and true and explicit than my other lyrics. I realize that it means I’m wearing my heart on my sleeve and at times even (more so in newer songs) airing some dirty laundry. Truthfully, it’s just more satisfying for me to write that way.
 
Following the US tour, what other plans do you have in store for Waxahatchee?
 
Making a new record in the spring to hopefully be released in the fall. I’m also planning another tour in the summer, probably in July!
 
In addition to American Weekend, what other records or bands do you think the kids should check out?

Well, I’m going to take this opportunity to plug my sister’s new band Swearin’ from Brooklyn. They just made a demo and it’s so awesome. I hear Sourpatch have a new record coming out also. I’m doing a few shows with them on this tour.

Lastly, how good is that Guided by Voices reunion album?

I really like it!!

Waxahatchee’s American Weekend is out now on Don Giovanni and catch her on a full US tour. Dates can be found on the Facebooks.

Smashing Mountains, not Mouths: By Surprise talks to Totally Crushed Out
by Ryan Pangilinan

New Jersey’s By Surprise is made up of the kind of individuals that you would hang out with. Bold statement, yes, but this is contingent on the idea that you like to read, listen to 90s indie rock and, generally, enjoy nerding out. This is the impression that I gathered when I listened to their debut full-length, “Mountain Smashers” (Topshelf).

We got in touch with the band for a brief chat and with the answers they gave to our questions, I have very little doubt that I would hang out with these guys and maybe let them crash in my living room, so long as they don’t mess with my carefully organized collection of Calvin and Hobbes anthologies.

Totally Crushed Out: How did the band form?

Rob Wilcox (guitars, vocals): We all shared the same optometrist, simply put.

Actually. I was in a ska band for a handful of years and Pat, Dan and Devin always went to our shows. I knew Devin from high school and we always got along really well. After my run with that band ended, it was a no-brainer for me to start jamming with Devin, and Dan pretty much fell into place as the perfect option for a bassist. Pat and I would always go to Less Than Jake shows together and we shared a common interest in a lot of music. The band essentially formed through Pat and myself writing a handful of songs together in December of 2005. When the time came to try playing shows, I asked my “jamming buddies”, Devin and Dan to lend a hand, and everything kinda fell into place.

When I first got the album, I noticed that there was a song called “Daggermouth is Playing at My House,” which sonically has more in common with K-Rec era Built to Spill, but it’s definitely the first one that I listened to. However, its lyrical content is very much in the tradition of pop-punk/hardcore bands. Was this a conscious Jedi Mind Trick?

Pat Gartland (vocals, guitars): I don’t think the lyrics are as much pop-punk as they are about a pop punk band.  Maybe the gang vocals are a little pop-punk/hardcore.  The lyrics came from a sorta concept album I was going to write about my year living in North Jersey with my roommates.  There were no elaborate plans involving Star Wars occupations.  Sometimes, in retrospect, some things just seem to come together like that.  I think very few things have some grand elaborate plan where everything comes together in the end… except maybe Arrested Development.  I don’t know how they planned all these minute references to things that would happen two seasons later.  Who knows maybe they didn’t plan it all and somehow it just worked out.  Somehow I don’t think that’s how it happened though.

Now that that ridiculous question is out of the way, the album starts off with “Books by Thoreau” and the whole album itself works as a fluid narrative, not unlike a piece of literature. Was this a concept that you guys had from the beginning of the writing process, or was it something that naturally happened?

PG: We put a lot of thought into the final tracklisting.  Going into the studio, we pretty much knew the order of the songs.  Tracks three and four (“Mostly Harmless” and “Last Chance to See”) were recorded together and then split into separate tracks after the fact.  Just being huge fans of music and knowing what has worked on albums we already love, we tried to put the songs in an order that would come off like [a] mixtape.  We never went into it trying to make it like a book.  All of the book references happened mostly because, at the time we were writing the album, we were reading and discussing a lot of books.  There wasn’t much more that went into it: lyrics about books, putting the songs in an order so they played well off each other.  We also planned the tracklisting knowing that it was going to be an LP, so each kinda has its own flow knowing there is a kind of intermission between “Fountain Splashers” and “$600 Exorcism.”

And as a sort of post-script from the last question, generally speaking, “Mountain Smashers” carries a very bittersweet weight to it, both lyrically and musically, which is somewhat refreshing when most records that are coming out seem to come from a very vapid place. What were the influences behind this album?

PG: Lyrically, the most of my songs were written during a time when I was either unemployed or working a pretty awful job.  I was reading a lot of books that led me to believe there was some amazing life I was missing out on.  Initially, each song was going to be some sort of formal complaint about life and the structures established that humans just follow because it’s so easy to.  Most of the songs are about really specific things that are so specific that you might never know what they are about.

By Surprise definitely takes cues from 90s indie rock, but what are some of the contemporary bands that you guys are into at the moment?

PG: Ages are awesome.  That is Dave Downham’s newish band.  I only say newish because they’ve been around for the better part of a decade now but only just released their first album, “Made in the Trade.”  The music is just weird pop but extremely catchy and innovative.  Dave Dunn of Up Up Down Down and Moon Women plays drums.  I think we’ll always have the Up Up Down Down influence.  I also really like Teenage Cool Kids right now.  My other band, Party the Hut just played a show with this band called Eww Yaboo and they were phenomenal.  It was like garage-y surf punk with lots of reverb.  They threw in some cool three-part harmonies every once in a while too.  It was great.  I think they were from Scranton.

RW: I’ve been listening a lot to Washed Out, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Trouble Books, The Library, and TS & The Past Haunts. Yuck is pretty fun. I also love Ages. Diarrhea Planet is my newest find this week. Check them out; they’re so weird.

What plans do you have for the rest of the year, whether it would be touring or additional recordings?

PG: I really want to start writing and recording again.  Most of these songs were written between 2008 and 2009.  We even finished recording the record last summer so it’s just been a while since we’ve done some writing.  Our tastes and changed/matured a lot since that time and I’m curious to see what will come out of it.  I’d like to do some small releases like maybe a single or two, or a cassette.

Touring would be cool but it’s just really hard to do because of jobs and such.  I don’t think we play enough Philly shows, so I’d rather focus on that instead of trying to set up a tour for our nonexistent fan base.

Anything else you’d like to add?

PG: Write more letters. Mail is so out dated it’s become hip again.

RW: We support USPS. It’s an issue we take seriously.

Check out By Surprise on Bandcamp and add them on the Facebooks. Their LP, “Mountain Smashers,” is out now on Topshelf Records.

Stormy Weather: Storms Talks with Totally Crushed Out
by Ryan Pangilinan

With one full-length album to their collective credit, NY/Spain-based duo Storms has already put in more legwork for their debut record than most bands do on their fourth release. Of course, Storms is helmed by Eva Puyuelo of Savath and Savalas and Lori Scacco of Seely, so perhaps it’s no surprise that their professionalism, art and songwriting savvy are all equal parts of a greater sum.

Storms’ debut LP, “Lay Your Sea Coat Aside,” (Plancha) is gentle and sparse narrative that is aesthetically pleasing and conceptually tight. Recently, Puyuelo and Scacco talked to Totally Crushed Out about the writing process for Storms and other dream collaborators they would have, provided a time machine and acts of God were possible.

Totally Crushed Out: In short, how did Storms come together?

Eva Puyuelo:  I was in NY recording with Savath y Savalas and Lori asked me to collaborate on a song for the new Scacco solo record. We liked the result and how we worked together and we decided we couldn’t stop there. So finally we planned a way to meet again in NY (I live in Barcelona) and try to make a whole record in a month, as we didn’t have much more time.

It seems that technology does lend itself for collaborations such as yours, given that there’s distance between you two. Though the songs were shaped while you two were together, have ideas been bounced back and forth using email or by sharing files?

Lori Scacco:  There was definitely a lot of that towards the end. Except for the first song we ever did together, Eva didn’t actually hear any of the instrumental sketches until she got to NY to make the record. I wanted the songs to evolve mutually and organically, so I didn’t want to present or lead anything beforehand. But yes we nailed down the structures and the vocal layers while we were together, and then most of the production and the treatments were done long distance. I’m grateful for the ability to do that, but nothing beats the energy of collaborating in person.

EP:  Yes, we tried to work as much as we can together when we both were in NY but the process always takes longer and the songs were evolving when we were apart, so we were emailing with the production changes back and forth until the songs were finally mixed.

The overall aesthetic of Storms is different from Seely and Savath and Salavas, particularly in a way where it’s a lot gentler. Did you ever think that people who are fans of your previous endeavors will find this latest output surprising?

EP: Well, it’s pretty difficult to know what people expect from oneself when one is so many different things at the same time. Particularly I don’t see so much difference between Savath and Storms. Maybe the biggest are that Storms sings in English and that it’s more naked sounding, but I don’t think that could be defined as really surprising.

LS:  This is something that Eva and I were just talking about the other day- the concept of identity and whether there needs to be a perceivable continuum from one work to the next, the multiple moniker thing as a way to work in different “genres”… Ultimately anything we do is an exploration of where we are at that moment and what we ourselves want to hear. But to answer your question, Seely was the collective result of four minds — we were a fully democratic outfit — so it makes sense that whatever I do outside of that might be different. I experienced this for the first time when my solo record “Circles” came out a few years ago. It was all instrumental, very quiet and sparse, and after its release I read a couple of blog posts to the effect of “We love Seely but this is boring as hell.” So I don’t know; I guess Storms might be surprising to people who know me only as a member of Seely.

Your bio cites that you collaborated with Ann Stephenson for “Lay Your Sea Coat Aside.” What was that experience like?

EP:  It was definitely a very easy and comfortable one. Ann was open to whatever we proposed to her and so were we. It’s the easiest experience I had in terms of flow and openness. I couldn’t like it more.

LS:  Yeah, our working together very much reflected the overall process of the entire project. Ann had listened to our rough sketches early on and began writing as we simultaneously developed the songs. After a while, she presented us with a collection of poems, and it was exciting because we were weirdly in sync at times, where her words would fit perfectly into the music and Eva’s melodic phrasing without any need for manipulation.  

At other times we would collage multiple pieces of hers to create one song, or we would call her and say “this is what we’ve got so far - we need two 6-word lines to complete this verse.”  So it was amazing to have this lyrical contribution that was fully-realized, yet, just as fluid as any other element.

And if there was another figure who you two could collaborate on to flesh out a concept for a future project, who would be the dream person?

EP: If we are dreaming I would say, Ennio Morricone, Dick Annergarn, Brigitte Fontaine, Enric Casasses, Rubinho and Mario Assumpçao, Steve Reich, The Books, Delia Derbyshire, Diamanda Galas and Antonio Machin.

LS:  Nice list, Señorita Puyuelo! I’d add Kate Bush, Arthur Verocai, Kevin Shields, Bridget St. John.

We kind of touched on “Sea Coat” being a concept; was it ever stifling during the writing process, or did you find that you had a lot more room to breathe than if you were working on standalone singles or pop-type songs?

LS:  I usually think in terms of the album as a whole, so the process wasn’t stifling at all. I get into formalism and method as a directive. It begins with process-as-concept vs. any over-arching thematic approach, though the latter is definitely there in the lyrical narrative. The main idea going in was that each element would remain malleable and subject to change as another was introduced- it was never a case of “this is the structure- sing on top of it.” So that, to me, was really freeing.

What are some of the future plans you have for Storms?

EP:  We would love to tour the record but it seems an impossible thing to do now as we can’t practice together, and I have a baby so I can’t travel as I used to. But something we can do for sure is another record. That we’ll do.

LS:  Amen, sister. More records, more Sea Coat videos, and I’m hoping that there will be vinyl in our future.

Storms :: Sweet Cup from S T O R M S on Vimeo.

You can listen to samples of “Lay Your Sea Coat Aside” and check out additional info on Storms’ official website. Their album and remix EP are available now.

A Crowning Achievement: Totally Crushed Out chats with Liz Prince
by Ryan Pangilinan

Without fail, internet comics are a dime a dozen, however, finding GOOD comics and artists online is a different beast altogether. Chances are, you’ve seen Liz Prince’s comics online and might have not even known whose work you were reading, but her illustrated life and tales about punk rock, relationships and cats is something that permeates barriers and finds something that we can all understand, and her enthralling wit makes her less Cathy and more Sergio Aragones. Recently, TCO had an awesome opportunity to do a little ol’ Q&A with Prince about things that we all love: comics, pizza, Saves the Day and cats.

Totally Crushed Out: What got you started into writing and drawing comics? Was there a singular inspiration where you were like “I’m totally going to do this and rock the hell out of it”?

Liz Prince: My first earth-shattering disappointment when I was a young child was when it was explained to me that cartoon characters aren’t REAL: my whole life plan up to that point, until I was about 4 or 5 years old, was to BE a cartoon character when I grew up.  And so I decided that I would become an animator, and until around 3rd grade that was my life goal until I realized what a pain in the ass it is to draw basically the same thing over and over again.  At around this time was when I got my first comic book.  I distinctly remember that it was an Olympic tie-in issue of Uncle Scrooge, and that was it, I knew then and there that I wanted to draw comics because it was a little less work than being an animator (and yes, that was my logic at the age of 9: BORN LAZY). 

I first became aware of the Liz Prince phenomenon via Livejournal (I know, I know) a few years ago. Given how vast the internet really is, do you think it’s difficult to start and maintain a presence online?

I would say that it’s extremely difficult to start and maintain an online presence, mostly because you have to keep a very rigorous posting schedule or else people lose interest very quickly.  It wasn’t until I quit my job to draw comics full time that I was really able to start posting comics to my website two or three times a week, and that has really made all the difference.  It’s kind of funny to look at my comic archive, which is indexed by date, and see how few comics I posted for the years 2007-2009.  That being said, I’ve been posting comics online for a long time, since about 2000, and luckily, most of that old stuff is really hard to find, but it’s been over 10 years and I’m still not really pulling great stats on my website, so it’s a labor of love.  And with things like Tumblr, it’s really hard to make sure that you get credit for your work; my comic about the Saves the Day song “Sell My Old Clothes I’m Off To Heaven” has been floating around on there uncredited for awhile, and it’s really frustrating; but it’s also my own fault, because when I first posted that comic in 2007 it was just on MY website, and so I didn’t even bother writing my name on it (because I actually hate writing my name on my work, but that’s another issue altogether), and now in 2011 you can see it on other people’s websites, with the follow up question “who drew this?”.  GRRRR.  So yeah, like I said before, it’s a labor of love.  You hear that!?  I’m doing this because I love each and every single one of you, therefore you should give me money. 

…please give me money…

You know, you brought up something that happens often, especially on tumblr, which is that comics, and art in general, are often posted without credit. Personally, I try to to attribute credit, even if I get it from a source like Comics Alliance. Do you ever want to reply to someone who reblogs your stuff and be like, “Hey this is mine!!! AND THANKS FOR POSTING IT I GUESS”?

Hmm, I suppose that was part of the idea of starting my own Tumblr (fuckyoulizprince.tumblr.com is my personal site, fuckyeahlizprince.tumblr.com is a fan site), that I could comment on links like that and be like “Oh Hi, yeah, I drew that. I know, I’m super fucking kewl”, but I have yet to do so.  I mean, I really don’t mind that people are posting my work on Tumblr at all, I just wish that for the comics that don’t expressly have my name written on them, that someone would be like “Oh, P.S. Liz Prince drew this.  It’s, like, the only funny thing she’s ever done.”

And in relation to the previous question, though your comics have been printed, your work is still primarily seen online. Do you think that there will be a point where you’ll want to do more comics that go through the traditional publishing rigor-moral?

This is an interesting question, because I don’t consider myself a “web cartoonist”, and everything that I draw is intended for print at some point: y’know, like, I expect that there will someday be THE ESSENTIAL LIZ PRINCE READER, which will have all of my comics in it.  In a fancy hardbound edition, with a slipcase, and gold leaf printing.  Of course, when this happens, I’ll probably have been dead for a long time, because that’s when my genius will really be understood; when I’m no longer alive to put my foot in my mouth. But that being said, I am actually working on a longer narrative, that is print only, which I have been self publishing as issues: it’s called I Swallowed the Key To My Heart and it’s totally emo, but there’s some sex in it, so if you want to see my boobs, that’s probably the only chance you’ll get.  You can buy the first 2 issues in my webstore, and I will continue to serialize it until the story is completed, at which point hopefully someone else will want to publish it as a “graphic novel”. 

Like a lot of other punk rock comic artists, the bulk of your art is centered around your personal life. Has anyone ever approached you after the fact with their own criticism, or are most people/cats generally happy with how they’re portrayed?

Shockingly, the only complaints I’ve gotten so far are from friends of mine who HAVEN’T been in a comic.  I guess I’ve been lucky enough to surround myself with people who are as exhibitionist in nature as I am? 

One of my favorite comics is “Cuddle Party,” in which you express the thought to pee during a cuddle fest, but then your plans are squashed by another cat joining in. Since this comic, have you discovered a way to interrupt cuddling without causing too much of a disturbance?

Since that comic, my opportunities to cuddle have been severely limited, thus I have to assume I’m just as ungraceful as I’ve always been.  Thanks for bringing that up, because now I’m depressed. 

I remember watching this interview with Will Eisner and he talked about listening to a lot of jazz records when he was writing and drawing the Spirit. What are some of the records that you like to jam out to when you’re drawing?

Well, since your last question depressed me, I decided to put on a Morrissey record.  I’m kidding, I was already listening to Morrissey!  But, honestly, I’m always listening to music, so it changes from day to day, and there doesn’t seem to be any one album that I find particularly inspiring.  Lately I will listen to the entire Mean Jeans discography to get me psyched, because it’s hard not be psyched when you’re listening to the Mean Jeans.  Marked Men is a favorite, as are the Descendents, Mr. T Experience, and Alkaline Trio.  I would say I listen to those bands more regularly than any others. 

Also, I listen to Morrissey as well and can place myself in the army of sadsack dudes who have Morrissey-related tattoos. What if someone got a Liz Prince tattoo (either of you or your comics)? Would that be flattering or creepy?

Here is the part of the interview where I admit that I have kissed several boys who have Morrissey/Smiths related tattoos.  I have never kissed someone who has a Liz Prince tattoo, but I know that there are some out there.  It is totally flattering, but at the same time I’m like “whoa, you really want my ugly mug on your body for the rest of your life?!  AWESOME!!!”.  So I guess what I’m saying is: get a Liz Prince tattoo and I will kiss you, but I reserve the right to decide where and if there is any tongue. 

Going back to the Saves the Day/Take My Clothes I’m Off to Heaven comic, I think everyone who loves that band, particularly their first three albums, sings their songs like how you drew it out because of how epic Chris Conley’s voice used to be. Have you ever heard any reactions from him?

Oh man, I would go into a bliss induced coma if I knew Chris Conley even SAW any of my Saves the Day comics, but as far as I know, he’s never looked at them, and probably never will.  I do know that Stephen Egerton of Descendents/ALL saw the comic I drew about Fun Fun Fun Fest, and that made my mind melt for a good few days.  And Joe Ayoub of Marked Men wrote me on Facebook to let me know that he liked my comic where I try to start a conversation with a guy who’s wearing a Marked Men shirt.  Oh, and Dr. Frank from MTX blogged my “Who Needs Happiness” comic where I’m singing to my cat.  I guess I’ve had some pretty great interactions with some of my punk rock idols due to my comics, and I didn’t even realize it until I listed them here!  Nevermind, I’m not depressed about your previous question anymore. 

On a personal note, I’ve never had a pet in my life, save a turtle and fish. I was thinking of adopting a cat for my upcoming birthday, though I also considered a guinea pig and a rabbit. Do you think I could cuddle more with a cat than the other two?

Ok, well, I’m going to be really biased here, because I think cats are the ultimate pets; very little work, very big reward.  My roommate got Gerbils as a gift once, and I hated those little fuckers.  All they did was stink up the place.  Sorry, Claire.  And Rabbits are cute, but I’ve heard they’re not especially cuddly.  So, y’know, if you want to get a B List pet, then by all means, it’s your funeral, but you should probably just go all the way to awesometown and get a cat.  My two cents.

Are there any upcoming books or projects that our readers should look out for?

I think that most of the books that I’ve contributed comics to have come out already:

• Turnstile Comix #1 by Mitch Clem featuring a 7” by the Slow Death
• Papercutter #16 featuring Joey Alison Sayers and Alexis Frederick-Frost
• This Isn’t Working, Comics about Ex-Boyfriends published by Paper Rocket
• Not My Small Diary #16: the transportation issue

I was really busy at the beginning of the year drawing short comics for all of those books, now I’m trying to switch gears to write and draw the 3rd issue of I Swallowed the Key to My Heart.  I’ve also been doing some art for bands, including a 7” for the awesome band Parasite Diet, but I don’t know when that will be out. 

You mentioned Turnstyle Comix, which kind of opens up the idea that there are several artists like Mitch Clem and Ben Snakepit that bridge that gap between punk and comic strips. Are there any other artists of the niche that you think people should check out?

Liz Baillie draws some great punk related comics http://lizbaillie.com/

as does Nate Doyle http://ndcrookedteeth.blogspot.com/

and pretty much everyone who also draws comics for If You Make It is great, although not necessarily “punk”: http://www.ifyoumakeit.com/category/comics

And seriously, how much more awesome would this interview have been if pizza were involved?

So much.

See a ton more of Liz Prince’s art and order a shirt or a comic via her website, Liz Prince Power.

(Dave) Hause Party

by Ryan Pangilinan

For many people, Dave Hause is largely known as the frontman of Fat Wreck’s punk-by-way-of-Americana band The Loved Ones. But for anyone who has seen Kid Dynamite’s documentary, “Four Years in One Gulp,” Hause is also one hell of a storyteller, so it’s no wonder why his last few releases have been particularly fleshed out with lush narratives. This is true of his debut solo album, “Resolutions” (Paper + Plastick). Hause’s weathered voice unites each track on the album, which recalls a myriad of American pop music influences such as blues, folk, gospel and old fashioned rock & roll.

Upon arriving back from an Australian tour, Hause took time out to talk shop with Totally Crushed Out about his solo work and why he’s okay with being the funny frontman.

Totally Crushed Out: Dave, I’ve heard some of your solo material and I feel that they’re a little bit more than just “The Loved Ones acoustic.” They are certainly steeped in blues, which is something that you don’t hear often from people who’ve come out of the punk/hardcore scene. Did you want to forge an independent identity as Dave Hause the solo artist vs. Dave Hause of the Loved Ones?

Dave Hause: It’s not that premeditated.  I think the nature of a band is such that you can make broader statements, communicate bigger ideas and almost reach more people if it’s done right.  That’s what I’d like to do with the next Loved Ones record. As far as playing solo, it’s a more intimate affair, I can use that medium to write and play songs that resonate on a much more person to person level.

I know you did some dates on one of the last Revival tours, but you also opened for AFI. How was the reception for the latter?

It was actually amazing. I got a call from them to come play some shows and they offered me a lot of money to do so, which was really generous.  They’re old friends, and so I was pretty fired up to get paid to play and to hang out with them for a few days.  As I started to walk up on stage to play I suddenly realized “You idiot!! You’re about to play to 2,000 AFI fans with an acoustic guitar!” and almost panicked.  Their fans were so great, really into it and I had some great, weird shows.  

You recently released the 7” on Paper + Plastick, are you going to follow that up with another solo recording or will you be diving into a new Loved Ones record?

My debut full-length record, “Resolutions,” comes out today, February 1st, on Paper + Plastick. I’m almost done writing the new Loved Ones record and we’ll track it in the spring.

One of the last times I saw you, was when The Loved Ones toured with Gaslight Anthem and you were chiding the Seattle crowd and cracking wise. In many ways, it seems that humor in punk rock is all but lost these days. What keeps a smile on your face?

My attitude is to not take myself or other people too seriously, especially at a rock and roll show.  It’s supposed to be fun, and while we are doing something that is important to us and to the crowd, we aren’t removing rubble off of crushed folks in Haiti or curing cancer. We’re making up songs, singing them and having a good time.

You’ve also completed a tour of Australia and New Zealand. What was that experience like?

Incredible.  The Bouncing Souls and Hot Water Music are some of my best friends and favorite people, so to go down there and open for them in paradise was one of the best touring experiences of my life.  I loved it.  

The Loved Ones has been around for a while now and certainly you, as an individual performer, have been around the block. Do you feel like you’re at a point now where you’re comfortable enough to tour when you want to and not out of necessity, as many bands are apt to do when they are starting out?

We’re making it up as we go. Once the Loved Ones record is done, we’ll tour the world on it because we love to.  When it gets stale, we’ll take time off.  My record comes out today and I’m planning on touring a ton on it, then jumping into Loved Ones mode. The dumbest thing for a band to do is break up because they’re burnt out.  Just rest, regroup, reassess, and come back to the thing that works instead of torching the whole thing.

“Resolutions” is out now on Paper + Plastick. Dave Hause’s tour dates can be found on his Myspace page.

Yoga Flame: Totally Crushed Out v. Open Fire
By Ryan Pangilinan

While most people recognize bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Gatsby’s American Dream or Acceptance as representative of what Seattle has offered in the post-90s years, they clearly haven’t kept their eyes on the South End, a collective of Seattle suburbs (Auburn, Kent, et. al) and Tacoma. From this largely insular scene, bands like Owen Hart, Sojourner, and Open Fire! have been able to forge their own identity apart from Seattle’s cocaine and hipster-friendly aesthetic. Unlike some of their other local counterparts, Open Fire’s! sound rests on a style that is simultaneously melodic and hard. While talking to their vocalist, Steve, it’s clear that you’re more likely to find him talking about the Foo Fighters or Jimmy Eat World than Anal Cunt. Maybe. 

Totally Crushed Out: How did Open Fire form?

Steve: Open Fire! started in the tail end of 2005. I was friends with Kenny and Rick, who were in a band called Forget the Grey. They were looking for a second guitarist so I learned their songs, but we never got a show together before the other members wanted to call it quits (other than the last FTG show/second OF! show). So, we decided to form a new band. I had been demoing some melodic metalcore-esque songs under the moniker Escaping the Tide, trying to get band members together but having no luck. I showed them the material, and although they liked it they wanted something aggressively heavy and as pissed as possible. We decided to try and meld the two ideas together, and writing songs just took off. every song had different elements, so it was a very weird mix of melodic and heavy. I wouldn’t call it good, but I am happy with what we tried to do. The result of the next couple years (and a lot of bullshit) was Built to Abandon, our first release.

Kenny and Rick eventually departed for real life, and after several member changes, I was left with writing duties solely. So, I went with what I knew best - the material I started out with in 2004/2005. Some of the most recent Open Fire! songs including shit that’s on the new record are revamped versions of demos of songs I wrote back then. Its crazy seeing them come to fruition now, but I believe that the songs are in their best form under the OF! flag and I’m proud of what OF! has shaped into.
 
The band’s sound is a lot more melodic than what is usually associated with South End bands. What are some of the band’s primary influences?

Well, for one, I always like referencing the night we decided to do keep it a bit melodic - Kenny, Rick and I were at the Trial reunion show in October 2005 (a common influence) and decided then and there that we wanted to keep a melodic tone. But we loved bands like Most Precious Blood, Poison the Well, Blood Has Been Shed, Misery Signals, 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Converge, Shai Hulud, Killing the Dream, Hatebreed, etc. Those were bands we always found common ground with. I myself have always identified with a lot more ethereal and melodic bands, like Glassjaw, Beloved, Thrice, anything Anthony Green touches, This Day Forward, Hopesfall, Pelican, Isis, Deftones… in the recent years I’ve found myself really loving some oddball things. I listen to lots of Frank Sinatra. I love this relatively new band called Harvard – they’re insanely talented.

Fisch and Chug and I all connect on lots of different pages, we all love lots of the same hardcore, metal, death & black metal bands. And we all mostly have a disdain for the average/run of the mill pop punk band. Haha…thats certainly driven us to where we are. Also - the NW scene has always influenced me, and helped shape my views on music. Left With Nothing and then into Lahar, some of the best heavy music around. Seeing The Great Disappointment and then them becoming one of the best bands out today known as Owen Hart. Even newer bands like Circle of Defeat and Wreck make me smack my forehead and go “holy shit! this is fucking great, why didn’t I ever think of that or approach shit in that way?” I just like a fuckload of music, and get inspired pretty easily.

Now you guys just finished a new record. Have you decided on whether you want to take that to a label or whether you’re going to put it out yourselves?

We haven’t quite fleshed out every idea or avenue with that yet. None of us are made of money and it’d be great to have some support, but we dont hold our breath nor do we want anyone else controlling what really happens with our music. So we dont know just yet. Its being sent to labels, and we’ll see what they say, if anything. If they say nothing, then so be it. We’d end up releasing it ourselves. Digitally first, probably. Maybe some home-made special CD’s. Then if it generated enough interest, maybe we’d put it out on vinyl. I dont know if we can though, the album is an hour long! 
 
Where and who did you guys record with?

We recorded it in Tacoma, WA at RandleRawk Studios. RandleRawk did relocate in the middle of the recording process though, so it was done in two different spots in Tacoma. We tracked all the music with Ahren Lanfor, and the vocals with Randy Wheeler. Ahren has done previous OF! recordings, as well as our other band Oblivion, and tons of other fantastic locals. Randy did “What Means the Most” by us a few years ago, and has been a friend of mine for a few years. Notorious for recording nearly every single metal, hardcore, punk and pop band out of the South end, because he’s that damn good.
 
Once the record does come out, do you have any plans to tour it, regionally or otherwise?

We certainly WANT to - but all of us are hitting our mid 20’s and that’s when real life starts to take shape - we have jobs, apartments or homes, girlfriends, kids, bills, etc. All of which take serious time and money and dedication to keep strong. And then the band itself usually takes equal amounts of time, money, and attention, sometimes even more. If we get snagged up by a label and hit the road that way we definitely will. Otherwise, we’re looking into doing some small tours, a few days here, a couple weeks there, over the summer and second half of the year.

You can check out some of Open Fire’s! previous recordings on their Bandcamp page.

Sects-y Times: Totally Crushed Out vs. Joel Heng Hartse
By Ryan Pangilinan

Joel Heng Hartse is a musician turned blogger turned Ph.D student turned author, but unlike people who have been given book deals on the popularity of their Twitter accounts, he also has years of experience under his belt writing for actual printed publications in addition to his personal musings, The Un-scene. For his first book, Heng Hartse has written “Sects, Love and Rock and Roll: My Life on Record” (Wipf and Stock Publishers), a collection of essays that oversee his history with popular music.

Totally Crushed Out: For as long as I’ve known of your writing, you’ve found a way to openly (and unabashedly) write about both Christian and secular music without boundaries. Was that the impetus behind “Sects, Love and Rock and Roll?”

I’m glad to hear that’s how you see it. That kind of was the point, I think. Basically, when I first got into pop music, I was in a time and place where I got super-obsessed with Christian rock. I just loved it. Then I got a little bit older and started to feel like if I loved pop music so much, it was insane to limit myself to listening to whatever a few “Christian” entertainment companies were selling, so I just started listening to everything. But I kept listening to that stuff I first fell in love with – to this day, Sixpence None the Richer is my all-time favorite band, and I will defend them to the death. So when I started writing about music I wanted to just write about stuff I really liked, whatever it was. My first two music-writing gigs were Paste magazine, which is sort of this pseudo-Christiany thing that doesn’t really cover Christian music, so that was a great fit for me, and at the same time Tablet, which was a really low-budget Seattle paper that was run by basically irreligious punks, as far as I could tell. I guess I’ve just wanted to write about stuff that is awesome, for whoever will publish or read it. Lately I’ve been focusing on more Christian or religious outlets, just because I’ve wanted to help push things forward in that realm, writing about more obscure bands that aren’t associated with any kind of religiously-themed moneymaking industry.

Now you are one of the few Christians I know who’ve been successful at maintaining a balance of faith and a semblance of (what society would deem as) normality. Do you think that the book will break down any preconceived notions about people of faith?

Well, I think all people are normal. Most people now and in the entirety of human history have been religious, so I don’t have a lot of patience for like “oh, Christian fundamentalists are psychotic and irrational” (even when they are), because we’re all just people trying to live. I guess on kind of a superficial subcultural level, it would be great if somebody who wasn’t an Evangelical Christian read the book and was like “hey, Christians aren’t psychotic,” but that’s not really the point. I told one of my friends that the reason I didn’t think it was self-indulgent to write this book is that the kind of stuff I wrote about is a common experience that tons of people have had.

I find the Facebook page for “Sects” pretty interesting because the bands whose videos and songs you’ve been posting are a mixed bag, some aren’t as expected as others. Have you gotten any responses from people who’ve looked at the page and were surprised that maybe they weren’t the only ones who would remember an obscure band like The Cootees?

I haven’t gotten a whole lot of responses. My goal with the songs I’m posting is just to turn people on to stuff that I think is really good and it usually has some kind of resonance with faith or religion or just the Evangelical subculture. I was bummed that nobody commented on the live version of “Holy Are You” by the Electric Prunes with Richard Aschcroft singing, but I was really happy that people had a positive reaction to “Goldie’s Last Day” by PFR. Greatest pop song about a dog ever.

In the last few years, I feel like there’s been a surge of bands that have either started in Christian rock or have songs about God that have entered the mainstream consciousness and are rather popular (Manchester Orchestra, Eisley, Brand New and Paramore come to mind). Typically, indie rock culture has shied away from these kinds of bands. What do you think has changed in the last five to ten years?

I don’t know much about those bands, but I do think that Christian rock culture has kind of disappeared, or at least it’s not the same as it used to be. I can’t think of a Christian indie label that has started up in the last 5 years, because there’s just no money in it anymore. I’m glad though, because hopefully that means fewer people are drawing lines in the sand about what kids can or can’t listen to. Although if you’re a teenager who still isn’t allowed to listen to ‘secular’ music, you have a lot fewer options now, it looks like.

As a kid who listened to Tooth and Nail bands, I always thought it was funny that many of those specialized labels pushed the Christian version of a popular band. With that in mind (and in a tongue in cheek sort of way), would you say that you’re the Christian version of Chuck Klosterman?

Even though it goes against everything I believe about music and art and religion, I would have to say yes, if it will help me sell more books. Actually, hopefully no one will call me that, because there are swears in my book, so according to the gatekeepers of that culture, it could not possibly be a Christian book. Thank God!

Joel Heng Hartse will be embarking on a tour promoting “Sects, Love and Rock and Roll.” Details can be found at his blog, The Un-Scene and the book’s Facebook page.

The Boiling Room: Daytrader vs. Totally Crushed Out
By Ryan Pangilinan

In many ways, Daytrader is still your typical New York melodic band: they have a DIY demo that many people have latched on to, they play regional shows with some great bands, and they are in control of their own direction at this point. But unlike many upstarts, Daytrader is somewhat of an indie superband, consisting of members of Latterman, Bridge and Tunnel, Crime in Stereo, The Motorcycle Industry and Divider.

Recently, the band’s self-released EP was made available as a digital download through their Bandcamp page, while a physical 7” version will be released through Run For Cover Records.

Guitarist Gary Cioni chatted with us about what to expect from the Daytrader posse and their eventual takeover of the universe.

How and when did Daytrader get together? It seems for a lot of people who aren’t directly in NY hardcore, the band was ready to go when Alex Dunne’s statement about Crime in Stereo was released.

Pat Schramm (drums) and I has starting writing for Daytrader in July of 2010, about a month before I found out that Crime in Stereo was breaking up.  By the time the CIS statement had been made we had already written a fairly large pool of songs and recruited the other members.  The break up just put Daytrader in the front seat as opposed to being a side project.

Based on the three songs that have been released, the band is steeped in more of a melodic style, which lends itself to have a little bit more breathing room than your typical post-hardcore band. Was this a conscious decision during the songwriting process?

I wouldn’t say that it was a conscious decision, I just wanted to write stuff that I like and want to play. 

You’ve announced that the first seven-inch will be out Run for Cover, is there a longer EP or a full-length in the works also?

At the moment we are focusing on things one release at a time.  After we record this 7”/EP it’s safe to say our next [project] would be to do a full length.

Many of the bands that Daytrader has stemmed from have been built of the traditional DIY-punk rock method of building up a regional support prior to branching out to the rest of the US. With the interest that people have in the band now, do you think that this will be the way Daytrader operates?

Well our first couple of shows are all regional to the northeast, we are only planning a few more shows for 2010 which will also be in the northeast.  In 2011, we plan on being a much more active band; we have plans to start touring in January.  

Check out their Bandcamp page, where you can download their self-titled EP.

Giving up the Ghost: Totally Crushed Out vs. Seahaven
By Ryan Pangilinan

Southern California’s Seahaven is a relatively new band that has garnered a lot of attention in a short amount of time with their debut EP, “Ghost” (Creator-Destructor). Not to say that it’s unwarranted. Seahaven’s dark-tinged brand of post-hardcore recalls the best parts of bands like Brand New, Hot Water Music and Thursday.

Unlike some of their peers, Seahaven isn’t beginning their journey with an awkward growing period, but instead have offered a cohesive and well thought out ideas for their record.

Recently, vocalist/guitarist, Kyle Soto, sat down with Totally Crushed Out to discuss the finer points of being a new indie rock sensation. 

In brief, how did Seahaven form?

My friend I hadn’t seen in years (Michael) and I had met up one day to catch up on life and we ended up finishing a song. We then got my good friend Eric involved on bass and the narc at our high school on drums (James Ex-Final Fight). Everything progressed fairly quickly from there.

“Ghost” has a consistent thematic narrative, which you don’t really hear in many debut recordings. Was this something that was conscious when you were writing songs?

It wasn’t a conscious decision at all. It all just fell into place. When you write a group of songs during a certain period of time, it all just finds a way to come together cohesively.

You guys are on Creator-Destructor, which has primarily been the home for metal bands. How did you decide on working with Ben Murray?

While in the studio for ‘Ghost’ we got an email from Ben saying he wanted to put out our stuff. Which was quite coincidental because two days prior we had seen our now friends/labelmates Troubled Coast’s ‘100 Miles from Home’ at Amoeba in Berkley. We had talked about how cool it would be if we could work with Ben/Creator-Destructor for our debut release. So all worked out well.

When I got the press material for “Ghost,” I was reading a lot of reviews that compares you guys to Manchester Orchestra, Brand New, and Crime In Stereo, but I hear a lot more of latter-era Hot Water Music and bands of that ilk. From your perspective as the band, what bands/media has influenced your songwriting?

Honestly it’s all across the board. All of us come from pretty diverse musical backgrounds, so it all just kind of meshed together.

The dates for your West Coast tour have just been announced; do you have any additional touring plans that you can allude to?

For now we have a “Creator-Destructor Weekend” planned Oct.15-17 (SF, Sac, Fresno). Other than that this winter we will hopefully be embarking on our first full U.S. tour, until then we’ll have sporadic weekend trips here and there.

Are there any plans to follow up “Ghost” soon?

Hopefully we’ll get into the studio around March/April and hopefully have an LP ready for Summer.

Sehaven’s debut, “Ghost” is available on Creator-Destructor Records. More info on the band can be found at their Myspace.

The Not-So Secret History
By Ryan Pangilinan (interview by Ryan and Michelle)

Tagline of the year: an epic epic of epicness. It’s currently for a popular film that’s out right now, but it can also be used to describe New York-based indie pop outfit, The Secret History. The brainchild of songwriter Michael Grace, Jr., the band’s debut album, “The World that Was Never” (Le Grand Magestry) is a dark narrative that is complimented with singer Lisa Ronson’s angelic vocals and the varied talents of vocalist Erin Dermody, bassist Gil Abad, guitarist Darrin Amadlo, keyboardist Kurt Brondo, and drummer Tod Karaslk.

Recently, Grace and Ronson sat down with Totally Crushed Out to discuss how the band was fashioned and how they stay so fashionable themselves.

Totally Crushed Out: In short, how did you get together?

Grace: The guys in this band have been playing together for a while, at the turn of the century. And when that band ran its course, we knew we wanted to do something again and do something different. I always wanted a female singer and the way that I write, I wanted to have that duality and be able to tell different stories with different voices…. Eventually we were blessed by Ms. Ronson’s presence and it came together quite nicely.

The album is interesting because it’s a pop-rock record, but I can hear a lot of Stereolab and Portishead as influences.

G: I think it’s more that we have a similar interest in what those bands were doing also. I know those artists and I like them, particularly Stereolab. I think there’s some older, kind of surf and dub stuff that we listen to that went into the production.

I listened to it and I heard a poppy Joy Division-meets-David Bowie…. A lot of the songs come from the male perspective or the female perspective and I kinda got that vibe.

G: Bowie was a guy who was comfortable changing styles and sounds frequently. [He] created a sense that the songs were going to have a point of view, but you weren’t sure from where. There’s a lot of bands now that are doing it – over and over again – but that’s something that we didn’t want to do.

There’s a lot of consistency throughout the album that I noticed. Is there an overall narrative or was there a collection of songs that fit together?

G: At the end of the previous band, I had this grotesque, grandiose idea to do a pulp record about vampires, zombies and dead creatures. This is going back four or five years, so there wasn’t the current interest that teenagers have in vampires. I had that idea and a lot of sketches. I did want “The World that Never Was” to be this hallucination of this twilight – oh wait, I can’t use that word anymore!

I did want to a kind of surreal record where the characters were vaguely here or not. And make a metaphor with the famous monsters of film land, versus a person living in a city feeling a bit monstrous. But the next record we’re going to make is going to be realistic.

Do you and Lisa collaborate on the lyrics?

G: No. Well, yeah. We do. Listen, they say that Frank Sinatra was the greatest reader of a lyric – the greatest interpreter of a lyric ever – but obviously, never wrote a lyric. Lisa and I collaborate in the sense of ‘Yeah, I wrote these words,’ but how to interpret them, how to voice them, the lyrics don’t exist until the singer sings them. She does a good job in giving it life.

Is it fun to try and sing something crazy to what I write?

Ronson: Absolutely. Your lyrics are decorative and can be interpreted in many different ways, so they never get old.

Another thing I find interesting about your band is that you guys have a stylistic aesthetic, which a lot of bands do, but you still look like you came off the street. There’s still a raw feel to it.

G: I’ve been torn between two worlds for a long time. My previous band came from a DIY pop scene, but I grew up in Long Island, which is known for hardcore punk. Even though I was listening to the Smiths and Joy Division as a teenager, the places that I was going to hang out really influenced me. I always want to be a bit rough.

I want it to be beautiful, but a little off-putting, a little dangerous.

So the record came out in March and you’re already planning the next record…

G: You gotta keep writing. We play one new song a night. We’ve been playing shows all year, and that’s great, but at some point, you have to invest some time into new songs and get your head wrapped around a new direction. In September, we’re going to try and do that.

You’re wrapping up a tour right now, but do you have anything planned for the rest of the year?

G: We have a show in New York at the end of the summer, in August, and we might try to do some New England shows, too.

You guys are a very fashionable band…how do you end up in a band and try and be fashionable and look good?

G: My brother gave me a suitcase that unzips and becomes like a hanger.

R: I found this dress at a Chelsea flea market and I can literally roll it up in a bag, stuff it for two days and it comes out like this.

G: You get a shower and run it really hot. No one really notices that you’re not looking as good as you think you do. If you look really closely, you’re barely keeping it together.

The Secret History’s album “The World that Was Never” is out now. Keep abreast of their plans on their website.

“God Save the Runaways”