As Tall As Lions

As Tall As Lions are an indie rock band from Long Island, New York. Forming in 2001, they worked together for 10 years with three record releases and a number of tours on their belt. This interview took place on their last ever Australian tour with the lead singer, Dan Nigro.

By Hayleigh Sipek

As Tall As Lions were formed in late 2001, how does it feel like to be at the end of a decade of music together?

It feels good for me, it’s different for each of us so I speak for myself and myself only on this I’m just at a different point in my life right now and I wasn’t enjoying being on the road constantly and I didn’t feel like I was actually becoming the creative person that I wanted to be. I felt really stagnant, stale and confused with my creative process – I never wanted to be somebody who kept on doing something when they weren’t sure of what they were doing.

 

Would you say it’s a moving-on point as well?

Yes, it’s a different time in my life. I will admit that there are a lot of regrets that I have, everything is a learning experience and there are times when I think that everything’s meant to happen for a reason.

What would you suggest for other musician, would you say, “go ahead and do 10 years as a band”?

When you’re young and you start touring and doing the band… like for us we got signed when we were 20, we were still in college and we didn’t really listen to anybody which I think is the ethic when you’re a couple of young dudes in a band and you’re like “we don’t give a fuck what anybody says and we’re just gonna do whatever we feel” and you get advice from people who actually know what they’re talking about but you almost want to do the exact opposite because you don’t want to do what someone is telling you to do and you want to be defiant of it and there’s definitely been a few times, looking back where we should have just listened to some people who were telling us what the right things to do were. I definitely would say if bands are looking to try and make it that to find people that you trust ie a manager, a record label who have a good head on their shoulders and have your best interest and to be able to take their advice… not all of the time but not to be so guarded by their mind and their ideas for what a band should be.

I guess managers aren’t meant to be the producers the band as well?
There’s definitely a tough line in what a manager is supposed to do and what they’re not and what a record label is supposed to do and not supposed to do. You need to be able to work in that harmony, it’s a really big thing in the making of a band that can have longevity.

 ‘You Can’t Take it With You’, the last album- what was the creative space for that?

The creative space was weird for that record because we had come off of three years straight of writing and touring off of the self-titled. We spent the better part of a year writing and recording the record and then as soon as we were done recording it we went on tour for all of 2006, 2007, just non-stop touring and it was a really weird time for all of us because we were starting to see the first taste of success and people really genuinely caring about the band and people coming out to shows for us and being really passionate about what we were doing and so that kind of was feeding our confidence and egos but also draining us of a lot of energy and we came off of two years of being on the road. For me personally the last thing that I wanted to do, and I remember getting really anxious and not feeling like I wanted to go back into the studio, but feeling the pressure of getting back in the studio and that created a really negative tone. I think everyone was feeling really jaded and tired and wanted to take a break because even though we needed to go back into the studio and make another record we had just spent years and years doing one thing. We just went into the studio and started arguing and didn’t have a clear vision and I think the end product, ‘You Can’t Take it With You’ has a few good songs on it but overall it wasn’t a very cohesive record, there were more weak points than strong.

Alternative Press rated it pretty highly, what is your relationship with them?
Yeah they were nice to us, they’re good people over there. We built a really good relationship with them and I think they really wanted to see us succeed and they tried and did all they could to help us out in that sense which was nice of them.

You came twice to the annual Soundwave Festival in Australia, how did you find that experience?

Nothing would beat our first experience of coming to Australia, we came in 2007 and for us we were obviously all pretty young, this was four years ago, just the fact that you come from a small town and all of a sudden you’re in a different continent getting paid really good money to play shows. That was definitely one of the highlights of being in a band, was being in Australia and playing on a massive stage to thousands of people. The first day we were in Brisbane I remember we took the city cat and we went to the Kangaroo Hotel and we took the city cat to North Quay and we walked up and down the little strip. We went to a little restaurant and we didn’t realize that you’re not supposed to tip and we were trying to tip the waiter, and he wouldn’t accept the tip and we were like ‘nah take the money’ and he was weirded out that we were trying to give him ten bucks. I have a lot of good memories of Australia, which is nice.

Do you have a favourite place in Australia?
I’ve had a lot of really great experiences, we had a few days off in Sydney that first time and we spent a day just going to the aquarium and we went to the botanical gardens and they have those crazy bats there. The second time Julio and I came together and we had three days off in Melbourne and found this really great Chinese restaurant and we ate there like every night. We had some good times for sure.

Do you have any plans in particular for this time?
 I’m still trying to figure it out, because we’ve been here twice and I still haven’t been to New Zealand and I kind of fell like if I’m over on this side of the world and it might be the last time I’m over here, you never know, I think that probably I’m going to take a few days and go to New Zealand.

So you played last night at The Hive, how was that?
It was definitely a weird transition because we just did the American farewell tour and we were playing these gorgeous venues all throughout the states to go to playing a teen centre to 45 kids in Brisbane. You never feel like you’re above it because you’re not and it was fun but there’s definitely a weird way that it transpires in your head to go from playing massive shows to a tiny show were maybe 25 people really care.

Are you used to an all ages crowd?
It’s different in America because it’s either all ages or 21 and over so it’s a little bit different because obviously the main demographic of people that go to shows are probably between the ages of 18 and 25 so when that’s split in half by the drinking age most shows for bands unless they’re an older crowd band specifically are going to be playing all ages shows because a lot of their fans are teenagers or in their 20’s and wouldn’t be able to get a show.

What do you think of Elliot the Bull?
They’re great, it was honestly the first time I saw them play (last night). They’re amazing people and they’re really tight, it was cool.

After the tour do you have any projects are you just going to chill out?

I’m in the middle of working on a solo record right now so I’m doing that and I’ve got a couple of other things going, I started getting into writing songs for other artists and that’s what I spend a lot of my time doing now. I just signed with a publishing company a few months ago so I’m just building up a catalogue of songs for other artists.

Anything you have to say to the fans?

Check out the solo record, the project is called ‘Blocks’ check it out!

Bamboozle Day One

Two weeks ago, I made the journey up to the Meadowlands outside New York City for the annual Bamboozle Festival. My second year in attendance, I knew that the only thing you can expect from the 'Boozle is a non-sensical, yet brilliant band lineup, teenage boys who still think 'Free Hugs' signs are clever, and over-priced food. This year the festival area was expanded with extra rides and two new stages, making for even more difficult time management decisions. The above photo was taken at the top of the ferris wheel before doors opened, aka the calm before the storm.

The first band to play on Saturday were pop-punkers We Are the In Crowd, who I will admit to knowing nothing about, but enjoyed regardless. They've just been revealed as one of the acts for the new Soundwave Revolution Festival, which come to think of it, is basically the Australian equivalent of Bamboozle.

The best stumbled upon band of the day was Brooklyn via Israel married duo Hank & Cupcakes. It's hard not to stop when you walk by a woman standing on drums in a Lady Gaga-esque outfit throwing lipstick into the crowd. Judging from the audience size at the end of their set compared to the beginning, others were clearly drawn in as I had been. Making unique, upbeat indie dance music is difficult enough, but for only two members to do the work of four and pull off a great live show is even more impressive.

Forever the Sickest Kids singer Jonathan Cook climbing the stage scaffolding during their hit, 'She's a Lady.' Several seconds after this was taken, he accidentally dropped the microphone into the sea of people below. Fortunately, the two teenage fans who caught the mic returned it to the stage and were personally given free merch by the band as a thank you. Aw!

"I take it this is the first time many of you have seen us," laughs Tokyo Police Club singer Dave Monks after instructing the crowd to sing along and receiving a quieter than expected response. One of the hazards of playing a festival like Bamboozle is that you honestly don't know what percentage of an audience are there for another band and Tokyo Police Club handled the waiting Thrice fans with grace. Actually my first time seeing them (after years of failed attempts), I was glad the indie pop Canucks lived up to their recorded work and filled their short but sweet set with hand claps, bright clear vocals, and happy keyboard dances.

Just a man and his guitar, the always amazing Frank Turner took the stage sans band for Bamboozle. He enlisted the help of the audience to be the harmonica (he forgot his) in 'Dan's Song' and when some were hesitant, he went for his usual banter, "If you're the type of person who's too cool to do air harmonica at a fucking festival in the middle of the afternoon, you're too cool to be here anyway, you hipster motherfuckers!" Doing a perfect mix of old and new tunes (including my personal favourite 'Photosynthesis'), Frank promised a major US tour in the future to support his upcoming release England Keeps My Bones.

Due to a HUGE crowd at a tiny stage, I surpassed a much buzzed about The Movielife reunion show and instead wandered over to the area usually reserved for comedians. There I watched the legendary Marky Ramone do a 'cooking show' to promote his new line of pasta sauce. Yes, I'm serious. It smelled delicious and 80% of the people present were waiting for comedian Bo Burnham and had no idea who Marky Ramone is. As you can see, Marky also chugged an entire jar of the pasta sauce. This is not even in the top ten weirdest things I saw at Bamboozle, if that gives you an idea what that weekend was like.

It was especially exciting to see Pennsylvania locals Tigers Jaw (who I once saw at a gig in my friend's garage with five other people, a dog, and someones Mom) play to a large crowd. Even the band themselves didn't believe it, "Why are you guys watching us? Don't you know New Found Glory and Das Racist are on now?!" The die-hard crowd screamed along with every word, some yelling at pauses that they came from the Midwest just to see this band. If by any chance we have any Midwest or Southern US readers, I suggest you check out Krazy Fest in Kentucky, which has a fantastic lineup consisting mostly of all the good PA/NJ bands us East Coasters tend to selfishly hog.

As the day goes on, the names get bigger and it becomes more difficult to get photos. Sorry Dashboard Confessional, Gaslight Anthem, and Taking Back Sunday fans, I assure you their sets were fantastic, but I have no photos or notes because by this point I just wanted to sit and listen to them play from far away. You would too if you'd been standing in the sun for ten hours straight. Here's a photo of a midget wrestler dressed as a chicken in the new Bamboozle Luchador Ring to make you feel better. The only thing that made this sight even more ridiculous is that Miley Cyrus' brother and the chick from Gossip Girl were standing next to me cheering them on. Yes, that's in the top ten weird moments.

Oh Bamboozle, you so crazy! More on Day Two coming soon!

New Single from Prayers for Atheists!

The second album from Prayers for Atheists, "New Hymns for an old War" has just been released. Check out the single 'Guns Up'!

The Beginning, The Struggle and The Reward - Steve Towson

 

There is something about songs of protest and revolution that I just can not go past.  Whether it is the political point which is being conveyed, the traditional aspect which speaks of an infamous historical event or just the pure romanticism of it all, I love protest songs. 

The latest release from Queensland’s own, Steve Towson, “The Beginning, The Struggle and The Reward” is a five tracks of hardship, struggle and workers rights.  All except for one of the songs are covers selected from a wide range of artists including Joe Hill and John Lennon.  This release differs greatly from what we’re used to with Towson, it’s incredibly stripped back and raw which highlights the intense passion in his voice.  “The Beginning, The Struggle, The Reward” does not sound like an album of covers, the strength and passion in Towson’s voice makes each song his own and indicative of his desire for change.  This short but soulful release is well worth a listen.  I was fortunate enough to catch Steve playing tracks of his new album at the May Day Workers Concert recently held in Toowoomba on the first day of his tour to launch “The Beginning, The Struggle, The Reward”.  Accompanied by his guitar, a cello and a flute, the songs truly came to life and a raw, emotive energy was inescapable for everyone in the audience.

-Words and Photography: Angie Hurlock

The tour to launch “The Beginning, The Struggle, The Reward” has just kicked off, so go and catch Steve at one of the following dates.

Steve Towson "The Beginning, The Struggle, and The Reward" tour

6 May:  Mt Morgan, House Concert (41 Byrnes Parade)

13 May:  Townsville, at The Cot.

14 May:  Cairns, at Mofo (70 McLeod St), with Babylon 420 and Meat Bikini.

27 May:  Brisbane, at the Jubilee Hotel, with Wheat Paste, The Great Shame and Paddy McHugh & The Goldminers.

4 June:  Brisbane, at Fat Louies, with The Young Liberals and Fever Pitch.

29 June:  Toowoomba, at Smells Like Zines store (Shop 4/203 Margaret St).

The Amity Affliction in Philadelphia

I trudge through a mixture of snow and rain towards First Unitarian Church. Entering the basement, I notice a teacher chasing an escaped preschooler from down the hall amongst confused looking musicians trying to load in their equipment. “When we got here there was a wrestling meet finishing up, now it’s a kid on the loose. Is this place always so weird or am I part of an April Fools Day joke?” mutters a nearby merch guy. Unnatural weather aside, it’s just the wonder of playing a show at Philly’s favourite all-ages, no barrier venue. An hour before doors open, there’s already a line of over one hundred young fans snaking around the block. A sign reading “Tonight’s show is totally sold out…Sorry folks. Totes Magotes!” sends away even more disheartened teens. I ask the first girl in line if she knows anything about The Amity Affliction. “Ooh, that’s a horror movie, right?”

While it’s clear few audience members have heard of The Amity Affliction before tonight, the crowd quickly began to jump around during ‘I Hate Hartley’ and sing along with the chorus of 'Youngbloods.’ A cheer went up when lead vocalist Joel Birch declared his love of the US and more importantly, the Phillies. Throughout the unfortunately short twenty minute set, keyboardist Trad Nathan vaulted off his Nord Wave synth, Joel matched his growls with bass player Ahren Stringer’s clean vocals, drummer Ryan Burt smashed cymbals, and Clint Splattering (also of The Getaway Plan) swung his guitar around nearly hitting me in the face several times. Joel dedicated ‘Stairway to Hell’ to the church with a sly grin and by 'Anchors,' the audience was converted. “I can’t believe that was the first opening band! They just set the bar crazy high for everyone else!” squealed a girl behind me.

Outside by their van, Trad happily eats a well deserved post-set vegan cheesesteak. “I’ve wanted to try one of these since I saw it on ‘Man v. Food,” he says in between bites. We discuss a number of Philadelphia area music greats such as Ink & Dagger, Thursday, Balance & Composure, and of course, Will Smith. “Philly’s a really cool town. Especially coming from a place like Baltimore last night!” he laughs. We both glance at Ahren, who is wearing a Baltimore Orioles hat. “Hey, I just like cheering on the underdogs!” Ahren defends. I inquire whether anyone on their travels so far has treated them differently because of their nationality. “These dudes came up to me a few nights ago asking if I had a pet dingo and if Australia is a third world country!...There’s obviously a lot of uneducated fucks in this world,” stated Trad. Ahren disagrees, “Everyone seems to treat me like I’m American, we aren’t much different anyway… Although, we see a squirrel and lose our shit, while you guys shoot them with BB guns!” “My main problem,” explains Clint, “is that people hear I have an accent, see my red hair, and automatically assume I’m Irish.”

Several minutes later, as if on cue, resident homeless man Jimmy walks up to Clint and asks him if he’s Irish. Once corrected, Jimmy rambles on about the Outback and koalas. Trad watches amused, “this guy is a full on legend!” Jimmy has been around for at least the ten years I’ve attended shows at FU Church, always talking to everyone from fans in line to the biggest names in rock music. “You should interview this guy instead!” jokes Helmet, a friend of the band serving as photographer/crew/merch on tour. I shift the topic back to the current tour and what it’s like being an opener again when you draw a crowd of thousands at home. “It works both ways,” says Ahren, “[headliners Of Mice & Men] are giving us big crowds to play to and we’re doing the same for them in Australia. You get what you give!...We’re pretty stoked with the responses we’ve gotten so far.” Joel has now been roped into Jimmy’s monologue as well, exchanging uncomfortable glances with Clint. “So the mama kangaroo punches ya in the face, then the baby pops out and throws ya an uppercut!” Jimmy wheezes. Jimmy leaves for a minute, then returns with a coffin shaped cigarette case, handing the gift to Clint. As he shuffles away, I’m struck by the irony of such an object.

“We will be [working on a new album], after the Australian tour in May we’ve got a whole bunch of time off to write. We don’t know where we’ll record though,” Ahren reveals. He also mentions they’re wrapping up the video for ‘Youngbloods,’ which should be out in a few weeks. From videos to merch, The Amity Affliction are heavily involved in every aspect of their band. Ahren designs their products himself because “we kept getting shitty merch design, so I took matters into my own hands and drew what we wanted… Some of the t-shirts bands put out these days are disgusting.” There’s a commotion outside the van and we exit to investigate. Several members of various other bands on tour are yelling at a drunken dudebro whose friend keeps insisting “He’s had a bad day, guys!” Woe, is Me bassist Cory Ferris informs me this man spat at their singer, then went on to cause more damage including punching a girl next to him in the face for no reason. I remark to Ryan how this situation is reminiscent of the SXSW incident involving Ben Weasel. The members of Woe, is Me aren’t looking for a fight, but they want an apology and clearly aren’t going to get one from this long gone fellow. Two of the men managing the door come out to handle the situation. “Whoa! Those guys are from Paint It Black!” exclaims Trad at the sight of punk rock icons kicking the drunk hooligan and his friend off church grounds.

With the amount of touring they do, members of The Amity Affliction have met many other musicians, but admit to still feeling star-shocked when it occurs. “Soundwave was insane, walking around backstage you got to see all your childhood heroes,” Ahren said excitedly, “I met Toby Morse from H2O!” Helmet laughs and eggs Joel on to tell me about his hero encounter. “I blew it. I met Chad Gilbert. He was cool and I wasn’t,” he states quietly. The mention of Warped Tour brings Joel’s spirits back up. “I would fucking love to play Warped Tour!” “Hopefully we will,” adds Ahren, “but we have to wait until we get a chance. It would be a dream come true.” Any possibility of seeing a tour from Lovecats, Ahren and Trad’s electro collaboration or Joel’s other band The Author? “Oh God, our side projects aren’t going anywhere. We’re too busy. They’re done!” declares Joel.

The show ends and the crowd swarms out, several boys stopping to tell Trad and Joel how much they enjoyed their set. Someone mentions we should go to a bar, perhaps Paddy’s Pub (from ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,’ which is sadly not a real place). The band eventually come to a consensus that they’re too broke and low on energy to venture around Philly. I decide to leave them to their rest for the next day’s big show in New York City, where they spent two months recording ‘Youngbloods.’ We exchange goodbyes and I walk past Jimmy cocooned in his sleeping bag. “Go Phillies! And kangaroos! Unbeatable team!” he yells at me. I quite agree, Jimmy.

Chicago Irish & The Cultural Infusion

About a month ago, Terry, Andrew, and Darryl of The Pogues stepped into the guitar shop I work in for a look around before their show. These men hardly look like the type to incite rowdy shows, long past their heyday, all baby boomers. Yet, these are just the men who were pioneers in sparking a trend in punk that still burns bright today. Irish rock, Celtic punk, whatever you like to call it, it’s one of those formulas that simply works well. Faster-paced, politically charged music mixed with danceable Irish-inspired instrumentation. Even covers of some of the oldest folk songs just get better with wear.

Yes, it’s been going on for 30 years now. One would think it’s getting old at this point, but take it from a Chicagoan: we still love it. The United States has over nine times the Irish than Ireland itself, and I’ve often heard that Chicago itself has more Irish than Dublin. I would be surprised if this wasn’t true. Irish punk naturally speaks to this city, its heavy immigrant roots, rough and tough heritage, bringing pride back into a heavy Irish population. It’s only natural that Flogging Molly has spent numerous St. Patrick’s shows right here. I can’t keep track of Dropkick Murphys fans and we have our own Tossers, home-grown from the south side.

“So”, you might say, “that’s all fine and dandy about your clover-loving, Guinness-drinking city, but I’m not Irish. Why should I care?” or simply, “I’m Irish and I don’t care.” Well, you don’t have to have particular blood to enjoy the music, the music that these artists create truly speak to a wide audience, while broadcasting a cultural flavor. More importantly, the entire genre has opened the doors for even more ethnic infusions of punk. Exhibit B: Gogol Bordello, a gypsy punk band (wait, what?). Infusing Romani culture with political punk party music (pun intended), you can bet it’s at the very least intriguing if not down-right infectious.

Some people may find it arrogant, infusing personal cultural backgrounds into music. But rather than an over-zealous sense of ethnic pride, I feel it’s more often a voice, a color, a lens to speak from and share. Reaching out to an audience, regardless of their heritage, with your own stories from your own background can be a truly beautiful thing.

The Pogues start their European tour in July. The Dropkick Murphys are currently touring Europe, coming to the US this summer, then back to Europe. The Tossers aren't straying far from home, but they're out there too. Gogol Bordello is currently on tour in the US and will be in Europe this summer. Check em' out!

Closure in Moscow interview

Before listening to the above interview, please read the introduction, otherwise you will be rather confused!

When researching Closure in Moscow, I discovered the band is notorious for their sense of humour, especially during interviews. I prepared myself for the onslaught of silly, but was still caught off guard when lead singer Chris DeCinque decided to answer all my questions by whispering into his friend's ear, who then talked for him. Fortunately, guitarist Manny Zennelli was not feeling shy and joined the interview as well. It's a long interview (23 minutes!) but worth the listen because it's comedy gold. At one point I mention a site they don't believe is real, it so is: http://brospony.ingbros.com/

Here's a list of the people present to help you distinguish voices:

*Myself- The girl whose voice makes me sound like I'm 12.

*Manny Zennelli- The Australian fellow who actually talks.

*Chris DeCinque- Present, but silent. Speaks with the help of Jersey Guy.

*Jersey Guy- The American speaking on behalf of Chris. He also contributes his own opinion, the best way to tell if he's speaking for Chris or himself is whether or not there's a long pause before he speaks. (I feel terrible for forgetting his name, but you can see him on the right holding a camera in the first photo.)

*Camera guy- There was also another entourage member there either filming or taking pictures during our interview. He's mostly silent, but talks at a few points when we're discussing eagles.

*"Mary"- A girl walking by at an inopportune moment. She ran away, haha.

*Warped tour worker- A guy who asks me for a pen and handed it back with the cap off, getting ink on my hand. That's what lead to the awkward pen comment.