Archive for the Interviews Category

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The Moss ‘Stoked’ to Sprout Tour Tonight in Boise 

Posted in Interviews with tags on 01/25/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

At a time when so many bands are wrangling to gain a foothold after a brutal few years for artists, young rock band the Moss are staying humble and letting their music do the talking. Well, almost.

“We’re stoked to start our tour tonight in Boise,” Moss leader Tyke James recently told the Bad Penny. “There seems to be a lot more support for younger bands than most cities. We’re building support in new places this year.”

The singer/guitarist and his friend Addison Sharp, also on guitar, started playing together in Oahu, Hawaii, as teens. About four years ago, James and Sharp landed in the Salt Lake City area, where they formally started the Moss with drummer Willie Fowler and bassist Caiden Jackson.

Together, they channel a sound resembling West Coast faves like Waaves, Ty Segall, Cayucas and Best Coast. It’s a hearty blend of distorion-laden surf-rock, alt-rock and grunge.

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Hear Covert Stations’ Latest Reworking: Roxette’s ‘It Must Have Been Love’

Posted in Interviews, MP3s with tags , on 12/19/2022 by Kurt Orzeck

Covert Stations, Craig Cirinelli’s ambitious project that reimagines classic pop songs, is getting visible enough that the word “covert” is now something of a misnomer.

On Friday, Cirinelli and his latest crew of cohorts unveiled the fifth “borrowed” tune in the ongoing endeavor. (He prefers “borrowed” to “cover,” as Covert Stations drastically rework the original versions of the songs they select.)

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Exclusive: False Gods — Meet Metal’s Newest True Believers

Posted in Interviews on 12/05/2022 by Kurt Orzeck

Try this homework assignment:

1. Form a new band with six musicians from China and Canada.
2. Make sure they’re all well-versed in a wide array of heavy-metal genres.
3. Assemble the project during the pandemic.
4. Release an album before the lockdowns end.
5. Play a few shows around the time of the album release.

Somehow, music phenom Yuqiao Man managed to pull off that impossible-sounding feat over the past two years.

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Joshua Lewis, Multi-Instrumentalist Extraordinaire, Conveys a Sense of ‘Friction’

Posted in Interviews with tags , on 11/11/2022 by Kurt Orzeck

Most mystics and some musicians, when asked for advice, inevitably stress the importance of silence. One of the most healing aspects of retreats, hikes and the like is embracing the lack of noise and letting one’s mind go undisturbed. Miles Davis famously said, “It’s not the notes you play, it’s the notes you don’t play.” 

Through no fault of their own, musicians — who want to be at least heard, if not worshipped — have a tough time staying humble.

Cerebral multi-instrumentalist, producer and engineer Joshua Lewis doesn’t have that problem.

For the first 10 years of his career, the Boise-based artist played nary a note on a stage or in a studio. Instead, his primary trade was (and still is) engineering and producing music for other artists. Most recently, he helped record and mix the new album When the Wind Forgets Your Name by Boise’s best band of all time, Built to Spill.

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Cover Story: Zhu

Posted in Interview Transcripts, Interviews with tags on 11/05/2022 by Kurt Orzeck

Go here to read my latest cover story for Music Connection, spotlighting revered electronic-music artist Zhu.

Q&A with Zhu

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Orchestra GOLD Roll Out New Song, ‘Keleya’

Posted in Interviews, New Releases with tags on 10/19/2022 by Kurt Orzeck
Orchestra Gold

It’s been a minute since we caught up with our pals, African psychedelic-rock combo and Treefort Festival 2021 participants Orchestra GOLD. But it was a good time to do so recently, as the Oakland combo just unveiled a new song, “Keleya.” Check it out here:

https://orchestragold.bandcamp.com/track/keleya-2

“Back in 2019, we recorded at Tiny Telephone Studios in Oakland, CA and now we are finally getting Medicine out into the world,” frontman Erich Huffaker recently told The Bad Penny. “It was mixed by Chico Mann of Antibalas, Afrobeat Orchestra and Here Lies Man. We are super-thrilled with the sound.”

Huffaker further commented: “This song is about jealousy in the context of polygamy/polyamory. It illustrates how destructive it is when men pit women against each other for selfish reasons.”

The tune will appear on the group’s third album, Medicine, due January 20. Orchestra GOLD are self-releasing the effort, with a vinyl version to follow later.

A press statement issued with Wednesday’s release of “Keleya” reads: “This profoundly spiritual and dance-inducing ensemble continues their pursuit of spreading healing and community through the universal gift of music.”

Huffaker imparted to The Bad Penny that Orchestra GOLD will give two more early tastes of their new Medicine when they release new songs from it on December 7 and January 11.

For more on Orchestra Gold, read our in-depth interview with main members Erich Huffaker and Mariam Diakité right here:

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Hailey Haus: ‘I Went From 0 to 100!’

Posted in Interviews on 10/13/2022 by Kurt Orzeck

Pick up the latest issue of Music Connection — or check out the magazine’s website — for my feature article on pop-music newcomer Hailey Haus.

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The French Tips: Flipside Fest Pick of the Day

Posted in Interviews with tags on 09/25/2022 by Kurt Orzeck

Can you remember the best time in your life? Like, really remember it — the sensory experience, how it affected you emotionally, the “belly feeling” (as Wend’s Riley Johnson calls it). Is the part of your life so vivid in your mind that, closing your eyes, you can mentally transport yourself back in time to relive that experience again?

Right now, as you read this, tens or hundreds of thousands of people — or maybe millions (but probably not billions) — are enjoying not just the best time of their life so far, but maybe the best time they’ll ever have. It’s a good thing we humans can’t see into the future, because we’d obsess over the clock ticking down till the moment our life ends.

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Wend: Flipside Fest Pick of the Day

Posted in Interviews with tags , , on 09/24/2022 by Kurt Orzeck
Wend (photo credit: Lila Ray)

The must-see band today, the second day of the inaugural Flipside Fest in Garden City, is actually one of the first scheduled to play. In a city with many promising bands, Wend are one of the most ambitious — and riveting.

While early in the day, Wend’s Main Stage slotting speaks volumes about a band that hasn’t yet produced a full-length. Curious music nerds looking for a point of reference might consider Rachel’s, the chamber music band from Kentucky that rode the rise of underground post-rock popularity with Quarterstick Records bandmates June of 44 and Shipping News.

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L’Éclair: Flipside Fest Pick of the Day

Posted in Interviews with tags , , on 09/23/2022 by Kurt Orzeck

Treefort is, hands-down, Boise’s premiere music event. But once it’s over in the spring, a “long winter” of music inactivity ensues in the City of Trees. The biggest contributing factor is that Boise isn’t on the radar for most touring bands.

Enter Flipside Fest, a new three-day music event starting from today and ending Sunday in Garden City, which is next door to Boise. The team that runs Treefort Music Fest — which is trying to set up a new venue in downtown Boise — organized this shindig as well. 

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