Archive for the Interviews Category

Treefort 2023 Profile: Brazil’s BIKE

Posted in Interviews with tags , on 03/04/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

This year’s Treefort Music Fest in Boise will feature more international acts than ever before during its five-day stretch starting March 22. But as the Bad Penny learned while creating this lengthy series profiling most of those non-U.S. artists, we also learned that many of them haven’t even touched American shores at all.

Take, for instance, BIKE. The tropicália-tinged psych band hails from São Paulo, Brazil, and already played throughout that country and in Europe too. Plus, many years have elapsed since the four-piece group released its debut album, 1943. (Just to clarify, none of BIKE’s members are senior citizens; the record dropped in July 2015.)

But the timing couldn’t be better for BIKE to finally pedal their way to the States for a concert performance. The Portuguese-speaking band — which counts Danger Mouse as a huge fan — just announced a new full-length, Arte Bruta, due May 5. Fans of Black Mountain and other forward-thinking fans of psychedelic rock, take note.

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Treefort 2023 Profile: Chile’s Sistemas Inestables

Posted in Interviews with tags , on 03/03/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

When Sistemas Inestables arrive in the U.S. for the first time ever later this month, they’ll be toting — and touting — a mellifluous blend of electronic-heavy post-rock — and some serious jet lag, presumably. Coming all the way from Santiago, Chile, the band is an extra-special component of this year’s Treefort Music Fest.

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Treefort 2023 Profile: Norway’s Orions Belte

Posted in Interviews with tags , on 03/02/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Orions Belte will play Boise’s Treefort Music Fest later this month in support of one of the more fascinating music releases in recent memory. In November, they put out a box set under the name of Orions Belte — and yet it contains no music by the indie-rock band, technically.

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Treefort 2023 Profile: British Columbia’s Mother Sun

Posted in Interviews with tags , on 03/01/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Mother Sun are much more than just a cleverly named psychedelic rock band. Hailing from British Columbia, the quartet are hometown heroes, having helped firm up the province’s indie-rock scene through their participation in various local bands. Expect a lot of smiles in the crowd when they play two sets of killer, off-kilter — but certainly not off-putting — music at this year’s Treefort Music Fest later this month.

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Treefort 2023: A Primer on This Year’s Profile Series

Posted in Interviews with tags , on 03/01/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Every March, Treefort Music Fest brings a boatload of surprises to music aficionados in Boise, Idaho, and beyond. Those surprises help shape the evolving identity of the ambitious festival from year to year. While the newest installment will feature about 500 bands, it’ll have a wider scope than ever before. Ahead of launching a series profiling the majority of international artists playing Treefort, the Bad Penny also recently caught up with Eric Gilbert, Treefort co-founder and festival director, to learn more about its increasing geographical reach.

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Jared Conrad: ‘I Didn’t Have Any Reservations’

Posted in Interviews with tags on 02/27/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Check out my latest Signing Story for Music Connection — this one on Nashville songwriter Jared Conrad — right here.

In Flames Guitarist Talks About Band’s Apocalyptic New LP, Foregone

Posted in Interviews with tags on 02/14/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

After recent conversations with Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates (soon to be published), I had the pleasure of speaking with the other band comprising Gothenburg, Sweden’s “Big Three”: In Flames. Guitarist Björn Gelotte — who joined the band in 1995, shortly after its inception — talked at length about the recently released Foregone (In Flames LP #14). Check out the piece on New Noise; a full transcript of our conversation is forthcoming.

All Souls Frontman Reflects on New LP, Tool Tour, LAPD Run-Ins

Posted in Interviews with tags , , , , , on 02/12/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

If you’re a fan of Totimoshi, desert rock, Tool, alt-rock, Queens of the Stone Age, Fatso Jetson, Alain Johannes, the Jesus Lizard or indie rock in general, you need to familiarize yourself with All Souls. My wide-ranging conversation with frontman and all-around-good-guy Antonio Aguilar is up on New Noise‘s website. Don’t miss it.

Black Anvil’s Most Definitive Interview Ever?

Posted in Interviews with tags on 02/11/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Make the determination yourself by checking out my epic, sprawling conversation with the New York black-metal band’s frontman. Published earlier this week on New Noise‘s website, Paul Delaney reveals why he almost had to step away from making music altogether, the most important person in his life and why he still enjoys living it — even if “the prognosis is quite negative” on Black Anvil’s latest album.

Yuvees to Exhibit Their ‘Quixotic’ Art-Rock at First Boise Gig Tonight

Posted in Interviews with tags , on 02/10/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Yuvees frontman Brendon Broome began developing a taste for great music before he was even born.

By way of explanation, his mom attended one of Nirvana’s final shows while she was pregnant with him.

“I was in utero for the In Utero tour,” he cracked to the Bad Penny earlier this week.

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