Interview With Skylar

Up next in the Monday morning interviews is one of my best friends and favorite people to make music with, Skylar. Skylar is not just a total joy to be around 24/7, but he's one of the most motivated and unique song writers in Cleveland. I had to pleasure to recently record his new band, Orefice Roth. We tracked one song a few weeks ago, and we start the next big batch of songs the middle of February! 

 

Here's a quick little nterview with the guy pictured below. 

 - What's the first band that made you pick up a guitar and start playing? 

Uhhhh general classic rock that I heard in a crate of records that my dad/uncle gave me

- What's missing in the local music scene? 

I don't know.

- How do you know when a song is finished writing? 

To me a song never has to stop changing, but if we’re defining finished as when I’m comfortable with playing it in a live setting or make an official recording of it ... it’s when it feels balanced and it feels like it does it’s job. Whatever that is for you

 

- What comes first in your song writing process? 

 It starts so many different ways

- Do you have any specific rooms, lighting, or rituals you gravitate towards when you're writing? 

Drink coffee, smoke some weed, and just float around the house in your pajamas strumming on a guitar. Have instruments everywhere. Always have one by you when you’re sitting on the couch watching tv.

Watch the Obese Studios instagram account for updates on when new material from this human will be available for you to hear!

Interview With Brain Cave!

Brain Cave

  Up next are the boys from Brain Cave. What started off as a simple recording session a few years back has turned into a solid team of creative friends supporting each other both musically and personally. These guys continue to challenge both themselves and my studio techniques each time they book a new session. 

I tossed a few questions over to drummer and Tiny God records founder Matt Ducey. Here are the words he said in reply to mine.

- When was your first practice and how did it go?

Mike and I got together for the first time in November of 2017. We had been working together and talking music for awhile and it seemed like a good fit. 

- How did you get hooked up with Jonathan Nuñez mixing your last release? 

We were lucky to open for those guys in the summer of 2019. Jon was excited about what we were doing and we knew he understood the vibe we were trying to achieve, so it was a no-brainer to have him work on the album.

- How does the song writing process typically go? 

Someone brings a riff, usually josh or mike and we just jam it out and see what it turns into. Sometimes I’ll get lucky and sneak one of my goofy riffs into the mix. We usually record everything in the practice room so we can spend the time away from practice listening to the new stuff and hearing new ideas, Usually by the second practice we’ll have a working version of the song that we can fine tune.

- How important are lyrics in this band? 

I love Mike’s viewpoint, i think our narrative is very strong in vision but open ended enough to allow people to take what they want from it. We all share some dynamic and powerful views of the world and the human condition and i think that comes across in a unique way.

- What's missing in the Cleveland music scene? 

Right now? Haha, probably shows but that’s unavoidable.

- What sets you apart from other local bands?  

I think we can play with anybody and leave an impression. We can be the heavier band on the more melodic bill. Or the weird band on the hardcore show. I think we prefer the latter. I think we’ve got some pretty tough parts under all of our catchy melodies, haha.
 

- Is there a hidden or deep meaning to the name Brain Cave? 

I guess it could mean skull? And skulls are always cool right? But originally i don’t think so. I vaguely remember us having a list of random words and we just made combinations until one felt right.


- Any plans for music videos? 

We have one, for “Trash United.”  Mike’s life long friend Nolan made it for us a few summers ago. He works under the name, Polygon. Check him out, he’s out in LA doing really cool shit. Would love to do more in the future.

- What's a snack the whole band agrees on? 

I think we’re definitely a chips and dip band. Hummus, salsa, anything handheld really.


- What's the next step for you guys?

Keep grinding, all things considered we’ve had pretty productive year. I think we’re writing cool songs and look forward to keeping it going.

Saturday, January 30th Brain Cave enters my studio, Obese Studios, to start recording their next release! Give them some love if you don't already on Instagram and keep your eyes in your balls for more cool shit by these dudes. 

Interview With Mullins!

Hello Hello Hello Hello 

     In a few days, it will be two solid years since I've posted an interview on here. Something has got me itching to get into all of your brains again, so we're starting a new phase! At this point, I'm deciding to keep all the questions music related, but that may change depending on how these all go.

First up, Brandon Mullins!

 

- What's the last show you went to before the shut down? 

I believe the last show I went to was Snowed in fest, most notably State Champs played. This was 12/19.  

- What's a band that progressively got better and better over time? 

Very hard to answer in a simple way, many bands have moved me over time. I could give one answer tonight and a totally different one tomorrow. Simple answer; the Deftones. I have consistently found that I’ve enjoyed what they have released in new material

  

- Do you have a certain genre of music you listen to on long drives?  

Music I listen to on long trips varies wildly but I can recall fond memories of pop punk road trips and also drum and bass heavy road trips.

- Do you own many vinyl records?  

I don’t own very many vinyl records

- What's a band that looking back you don't understand how you were so into? 

I was around for the rise of nu metal, and I do love me some nostalgic listens. I just don’t see how I got so deep into nu metal when a lot of it I would be mostly turned off by in this day and age. 

Now hang in there if you can until next Monday for the next interview!