Interview with Like Pioneers

Bobby Gallivan, Matt Holland, Janie Porche, Dan Radzicki and Jesse Woghin are Like Pioneers.

Rachel Angres doesn't work at saki, but we're lucky to call her a friend. Rachel caught up with Like Pioneers while on tour to ask them a few questions before they stop at saki for an Epitonic saki Session this weekend! With little spare time and spotty wi-fi access, she managed to squeeze some crucial information out of this Chicago based five-piece...

Who would you tour with if you had to choose between Bowie, Prince, T Rex?

We had a pretty lengthy discussion about this in the van. Based on that one episode of the Chapelle show, we know that Prince can make killer pancakes and has a silky jumpshot. We’re a little worried that David Bowie would be a jerk, and/or try to touch us in our downs-there.

Why “Oh, Magic?” Anything magical happen to inspire the album?

“If 'Piecemeal' was technically our first album, then 'Oh, Magic' should be considered our first album as a band. It is the document of a year spent collectively dirtying a clean slate”

Tell 'Em, Ghost from Liz Parrott Radzicki on Vimeo.

What makes you want to wake up every morning?
Our resident neuroscientist suggests that it’s circadian rhythms. Also cheesy breakfast skillets.

Who would do the soundtrack of your bio-pic?
Van Gelous did the Blade Runner soundtrack, but we would also go for a series of John Williams smashups.

What are some rituals, mantras or exercises you do to prepare for a show?
If there’s one thing we all do right before a show, it’s empty our pockets. Matt does some stretches and Dan checks the batteries. Bobby usually writes the set list and then Janie loses hers. We drink a lot of orange Gatorade; no one runs any suicide sprints.

What is more important, music or plumbing?
 
I mean, the only answer is plumbing. A few years ago this was proven true when we played a SXSW show in a puddle of raw sewage.

What is coming up for Like Pioneers?

Literally right this second, the Ohio border is coming up for Like Pioneers. But we’re planning our next shows - the Saki in-store performance in July, and September shows for Tom’s Shoes and the Ravenswood Art Festival. Writing, writing, writing. Practicing our Twitter.

Catch Like Pioneers Epitonic saki Session on July 21!

Megan Reilly in Interview Magazine

Interview Magazine caught up with Megan Reilly and they discussed songwriting, motherhood, Memphis and more.

Megan Reilly's voice and spirit are immediately captivating. She brings warmth to even the darkest of topics—a few of which are covered on her new album, The Well. From breakups to death, the material can be maudlin, but Reilly is a skilled songstress: she beautifies what she touches.

Handsome Family Interview To Kick Off UK Shows

Outline Online interviews the Handsome Family at the start of their slew of shows in the UK. Rennie promises to "try and hear the echoes of every clapping audience that has sat inside and even the ants that have crawled beneath it and paused in their work to remark on the rise of a beautiful harmony" while playing the Spiegeltent at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival on May 26th.

Read the full interview HERE.

Interview with Mark Robinson (TeenBeat Records, Unrest, Cotton Candy)

We had a little chat with TeenBeat head honcho, Mark Robinson concerning his band Unrest's 7" box set reissue of their classic album "Perfect Teeth," cassette tapes, running an indie label & of course, Record Store Day! Check it out and make sure you pick up the "Perfect Teeth" 7" box on RSD at saki! We'll have the Unrest coffee mug "reissues" too!

You’ve been performing as a musician and running an independent label since the early 80’s. What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the music industry in that time, specifically with the culture of independent shops?

The world seemed a lot smaller back then, less people and yet there were a lot more record stores. There's definitely been a lot of great new shops opening in the past few years which is great to see.

Your label, TeenBeat is releasing a limited 7” box set of your band, Unrest’s classic album Perfect Teeth for Record Store Day 2012. This is the first RSD release for TeenBeat, right? Why did you decide to do something this year, and why did you choose Perfect Teeth?

All the credit for our participation goes to Adam Reach who works at our distributor CTD in Chicago. I don't think it would have occurred to me. It just happened that the release date happened to be near Record Store Day.

Carrot Top Artists on WBEZ

Over the last couple months, two of our favorite CT artists were featured on Chicago's own WBEZ 91.5! Listen to interviews with The Bitter Tears and Tara Key's Antietam here:

Althea Legaspi interviews Rick Rizzo and Tara Key and Liz Bustamante talks with The Bitter Tears.

Brian Eno Interviewed

Ooooh, cheeky!

Click Here

The Handsome Family on BBC

For the next couple days, you can hear the Handsome Family's interview with Marc Riley on BBC6 Music!



They stopped by the visit Marc on their town around the UK. The link will expire soon, so make sure to listen HERE now!

5-10-15-20

What was your favorite song at age 5? I'm not sure I had one, but I do remember having a plastic toy guitar and singing "Blue Suede Shoes" for anyone who would listen. My musical taste hasn't strayed very far since, but it's always fun to think about what sounds made the biggest impact on you and when. You probably do it all the time at the bar with friends when a song you haven't heard in a long time comes on the jukebox. 

Well, it turns out Pitchfork's been doing it as well. Only instead of your socially lubricated buddy ranting about how much he used to LOVE that Korn record, they ask a heap of notable musicians, producers, etc. to pick their brains about what songs and albums they remember best at 5 year intervals. 5-10-15-20 has featured Kurt Vile, Moby, RZA, Mount Eerie, and Ted Leo most recently, just to name a few.

I'm not a devoted Pitchfork reader, but I think the feature puts an interesting spin on a typical interview query. It also makes me think of Link Wray's "Five and Ten". Win, win.

Interview with the Bitter Tears! Who knew?

Every once in a while, something happens that only happens once in a while. This is one of those while's that only comes once here and once there. I have had the fortunate opportunity to ask the band The Bitter Tears a few questions that have been burning a hole in my bag of questions for some time now. And fortunate for you, I was able to get the rights to distribute that interview on this very blog. So with much ado above, but none to come, here is that short conversation of key points of interest:

Please note the time before you begin answering these questions.

Hey, guys, how are you?

(This question was added after the interview was over, as a means of making the conversation seem more alive and personal, thus there is no official response.)

If Jesus had a twin brother, also named Jesus, and they were very similar in style and ideas, would you not be bothered if they traded off being the “Lord and Saviour,“ as sometimes happens in movies about twins?

I would follow Jesus' example and I would twin myself, laughing into the bird bath in my backyard

If there were 12, what would 3 be?

That would be James, son of Zebedee.

As a band, you make music. Is this something you intend to do, or is it something that just keeps happening?

Catholic questions, please! What song was St. Cecilia singing to her executioners as they sawed her head off? (Note to the reader from the Interviewer: I can't remember the title of the song, but as I recall it, there was some mention of a merry-go-round.)

I was given two email addresses when I was assigned this task (One for a man named Mike , and another for a man called Alan). I asked the other guy if he was tired and he said that you were the tired one. What did he mean and is it true that it is you?

Lili von Schtupp: “ tired. tired of playing the game. ain't it a crying shame. Let's face it... everything below the waist is kaput.”

The first time I heard “Jam Tarts in the Jakehouse“ I liked it, but the second time and the third time seemed more like I enjoyed it. By the fourth time, I liked it again and on five I thought it was “really good.“ Was that intentional? Because I felt like it was intentional.

It might take a while, but everyday we get closer to writing a masterpiece like Henson Cargill's “Skip A Rope”.

Note the time again. Exactly how much time of yours have I wasted with this absurd interview?

If our record sales are any indication, we're wasting (censored)'s time.

(Note to the reader from the Interviewer: The editor felt that this comment represented the band poorly. We have too much respect for the band to allow it to be published.)

Thanks for your time. Good luck with your upcoming projects.

(This was also mentioned outside of the presence of the band and has no response.)

The Bitter Tears' score: 6 of 6, or 100% Well done, some of those were trick questions.

Speck Mountain on BTR

Listen now to the Speck Mountain Interview on Break Through Radio!




Or come see them live TONIGHT at Schubas Tavern. They go on at 9PM.

A Bitter Tears Interview in French!

Listen to this hilarious interview of The Bitter Tears, while they were on tour in France. It has even been translated into French.

The interview lasts for the first 22 minutes of the download. Go here and click on the link that says: Télécharger ce fichier.

Check out their tour blog if you want to find out what else they have been doing in Europe.