Category > Interviews
Since starting their tour in March, The Dodos have made several appearances at festivals throughout the country, including Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco, NXNE in Toronto, and, most recently, MidPoint Music Festival in Cincinnati. On their way to Hopscotch Festival in Raleigh, NC, percussionist Logan Kroeber took a few moments to check in with Smile Politely and talk about Pygmalion, the band's new live lineup, and some musical gems hidden away on the internets. Smile Politely: How often do …
Ivan and Alyosha are a four piece folk rock band hailing from the Pacific Northwest. Their music is similar to many of the great folk bands to come out of that area in recent years, but they also incorporate lush harmonies and solid hooks to create a more poppy brand of folk than other acts. Though the band is named after characters in the Dostoyevsky novel Brothers Karamazov, the group creates music that is much more sunny than the topics …
Ever since their highly touted album In Ghost Colours put them on the map back in 2008, the Australian electro dance-rock band, Cut Copy, has developed quite the following by churning out one synth-laden pop single after another. Their latest album Zonoscope (a made up word pronounced Zuh-naw-scope) is steeped in a similar style that defined their last album: catchy and straightforward pop melodies backed by strong beats and whimsical synth pads. The band has been on tour promoting Zonoscope …
Pygmalion has developed something of a reputation for finding obscure, on the rise bands and bringing them to Champaign. Bands like Yeasayer, Surfer Blood and Japandroids each rocked C-U before playing much larger venues. This year one band that could go on to greater things is Unknown Mortal Orchestra. A three-piece group out of Portland, UMO took the Cults route to success with just a single on their Bandcamp page back in 2010. This year the band has hit the …
John Isberg, Evil Tents SP: How many Pygmalions have you been to in the past, either as a performer or fan? John: I was supposed to play Pygmalion (I think in 2008) as International Theater of War — kind of a new wave electro version of my older band Reds — but a few things fell through and had to cancel. I was pretty disappointed about that, so I'm (we're) really excited to be a part of this year's festival. Unfortunately, I've either …
In the fifteen years that Polyvinyl has been a record label, it's fair to say that everything has changed. The record industry of the 1990s was an ever-expanding, money-making behemoth that pushed its latest self-selected band through the media grinder and hoped for a hit. Alternatively, independent artists could slowly build buzz for themselves through touring and word of mouth, eventually catching on with a mid-sized label. In today's world of instant access, the buzz usually comes first, and then …
Smile Politely: The music of all the different groups and artists you've worked with, as well as your solo stuff, are all pretty notably different. But the main similarity between them seems to stem from a desire to experiment. Do you make it a point to try and do something different and if so, what makes you want to do that? Or do you just go for it and use what comes out? Sarah Lipstate: I was never really part …
If the electric guitar is the dominant instrument and visual symbol of rock and roll, where does that leave keyboard players who want to rock? In an attempt to find out, I emailed Elsinore keyboard player Mark Woolwine some questions.
Start talking music in Champaign-Urbana, and it's inevitable that Hum will eventually come up. After all, they are inarguably the best known group to come out of the area in the last several decades. As they've been anything but active in the past ten years, issuing no new material and only playing sporadic live shows, any news coming from the band is good news. 2011 will see a relative glut of performances, with the band playing festival shows in Chicago …
I have a hard time quantifying what exactly the punk scene is. I was reminded of this especially strongly when a friend came to a show to do research for an ethnography on local punk, and the question of "what is punk?" quickly snaked up a good hour of discussion. Ultimately, we settled on a shared identity by autonomy — people drawn together by a shared sense of not really giving a fuck. That's not to say punk is nihilistic or destructive …
Most Recent Music Comments
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
*slow. clap.* Still offering no threat of intelligence…. I know I said I thought you should just write this whole column yourself next year, Isaac, but now that you’ve gone and taken a “part deux” run at it, I’d like to modify my request: Best Music 2013,…
Actually, it’s kind of nice, the quiet. John Heoffleur’s engaging commentary/dialogue is sorely missed, however. In lieu of someone intelligent saying something, I’ve compiled a list of Honourable Mentions: BEST ROCK BAND: Take Care ::these gentlemen have four completely different sets at their disposal right now (which…
What? Echo! (Echo!) Where’s the dischord and dissent?
That article almost looks like something out of The Onion
Thanks! I’m looking forward to writing even more….
Yay! Love this! Welcome to the family!
that last photo’s a doozie, Chris. good work.
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Most Recent Comments
Did the Crave Truck get a permit to park in city metered spots and city right of way? Or did they just get a permit? The city clerk’s office seems to be a suspect here, but it’s not clear they did anything wrong. Did the Crave Truck…
High-profile whining. AKA Lobbying.
it’s quite choice. looking forward to seeing how it and its patronage grow and develop over the course of the year. could be a neat little ecosystem.
“It was at this point, before he started his business, that working with city employees should’ve raised red flags…” But they didn’t because: 1) The City Clerk’s office originally mis-interpreted the rules, or are indeed re-interpreting them. 2) Champaign’s brick-n-mortar merchants hadn’t yet started whining about The Crave Truck.
Super cool! Excellent track, Excellent band.
Looking forward to trying this place!
I’m in the middle (or the beginning or end, depending on how you look at it) of re-reading Slaughterhouse Five. What a great companion column.
Get yours early. The Rave’s CD will be available at Exile and at The C-U Flea on Saturday. C-U Flea details here: http://www.smilepolitely.com/news/sp_radio_podcast_c-u_flea_arrives/
I don’t know about Gerard and a random police sargeant. My (mild) outrage is based on this: “...he worked closely with Champaign City Clerk Marilyn Banks to make sure he was licensed properly as a transient food peddler, filling out the necessary paperwork and paying a $225…
Local Yocal pretty much nails it here. I suspect there will be merchants who oppose food trucks because they arguably don’t pay their fair share to locate their trucks in high traffic (high rent) areas. The food trucks take away business from rent payers, park in city…
Oh nice! I’d totally vote for Matt Campbell!
“Smile Politely sports writer announces candidacy for city government.”
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
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Get yours early. The Rave’s CD will be available at Exile and at The C-U Flea on Saturday. C-U Flea details here: http://www.smilepolitely.com/news/sp_radio_podcast_c-u_flea_arrives/