DJ LSD: Hello everyone, I’m here with Scott from Boyscott, this is DJ LSD, interviewing Scott for WKDU 91.7 fm Drexel university’s free format non-commercial radio station. Scott, how are you?
Scott: I am doing well, technically, I am very good.
DJ LSD: That’s good! That’s good to hear, so I wanted to get your formal apology for eight years of us waiting for this album. Do you have any form of an apology for that?
Scott: I just, I am an anxious person and it took me a long time to write these songs and uhh let me tell you, I was well aware it was taking so long.
This is WKDU interviewing glaive, aldn, and midwxst at The Foundry. Thank you for having us.
Max: How are you guys today?
glaive (Ash): Cold.
aldn (Alden): Good.
midwxst (Edgar): Cold as f*ck.
Max: Have you guys eaten today?
Ash: I ate a little bit but not much.
Alden: I drank coffee.
Edgar: I ate a slice of pizza.
Ryce: So is this your first time in Philly?
Alden: Second time.
Ash: First time.
Edgar: Second time.
Ryce: Did you guys do any sightseeing?
Alden: No, sadly.
Ash: No.
Edgar: None, at all.
Alden, Ash, Edgar: *laughs*
Ryce: Have you guys tried any authentic Philly cheesesteaks while you were here?
Alden: I wish.
Ash: We had Starbucks.
Edgar: I had a burger.
Ryce: Well if you guys do, my personal favorite is Steve’s. It’s in Center City.
Ash: Oh, we’re here tomorrow!
Alden: Yeah, we are.
Ryce: Oh! Okay, so there’s two locations. There’s one in Center City but there’s also one in Northeast Philly. If you guys are willing to drive that far, you should check it out.
Ash: We’ll just get an Uber regardless.
Max: D’Alessandro’s is also fire.
Ryce [to Max]: But I’m from Philly, you’re not. (I’m sorry Max *crying emoji*)
Max: Do you guys have any pre-show rituals?
Alden: Um, we hum.
Ash: I get so nervous I almost throw up every time.
Alden: We fight each other.
Edgar: We fight each other to the death.
Ash: We fight each other and then sometimes on rare occasions, we kiss.
*Laughter*
Alden: Butt-naked.
Edgar: And we cuddle.
Ash: Yup!
Edgar: A lot.
Max: So how has the tour been so far?
Edgar: It’s been good.
Ash: Dope!
Alden: So fun.
Edgar: Very fun.
Alden: I don’t wanna go home.
Ash: Yeah, I have to go home after this. It’s gonna be very depressing.
Ryce: What has been your favorite city? Are there any cities you guys are looking forward to playing?
Alden: Boston, because I know people there.
Ash: I’m really excited to go back to Chicago. I think it’s, like, a good city. It’s gonna be fun.
Alden: I’ve never been there.
Edgar: I’m excited for Detroit and Chicago. Both because I’m from the midwest so those are both states that I have like- my sister goes to school in Michigan so it’s gonna be fun.
Max: You guys have been together for the past month or so. How has working with each other and essentially living with each other been?
Edgar: Chaos.
Ash: Fun. It’s been really fun. *laughs*
Alden: Fun. Really fun, yeah.
Ash: We’ve had some good times.
Edgar: I’ve had some very good times.
Alden: I feel like most of the time it’s Ash and I because Edgar has a different bus-
Edgar: Yeah, I have my own travel-
Alden: -But we are together most of the time
Edgar: But we are together a lot.
Alden: Yeah, and we have a lot of fun.
Ash: *laughs*
Ryce: I know you guys are really young, so in high school, during Covid times, did you feel outcasted? Like did you feel like you missed out on being a normal teenager? Not just with Covid getting in the way of making those social connections but also blowing up at such a young age and going on tour?
Alden: I feel like that’s more for Ash.
Edgar: Ash, and me.
Ash: I haven’t been to in-person school since freshman year so I don’t really know. I went for a few months and it was really weird but right now I just do online school. So I can’t really say tbh.
Edgar: I was in physical school and then it went online like junior year and it was kinda like a rough patch for me because junior and senior year were both supposed to be like “the best years of high school” for me and I didn’t get to experience them fully and I had to wear masks inside. It kinda sucked but it was decent because I was able to pass my classes.
Alden: Yeah, I mean, I feel like when school went online I just cheated so I kinda liked it.
*Laughter*
Ryce: *Laughs* I think we all did.
Edgar: Real as f*ck. I think we all did.
Alden and Ryce: Yeah.
Alden: And then I dropped out.
Max: It’s hard not to.
Ash: Amazing!
Max: I know you guys have done some work with Overcast. I work with Tom The Mailman (@tomthemailman), if you know him.
Ash: Yeah, I f*ck with him
Edgar: Shout out Tom.
Do you guys have any strong connections over there at Overcast?
Edgar: Tommy (@fixedfortommy) is on my team for my label. And also this man right here, Hasan, he’s been filming everything on tour.
Alden: Tommy is also on my team.
Ash: Yeah, we all love Tommy.
Edgar: Yeah, we all love Tommy. We all love them.
Alden: And we f*ck with Hasan.
Ash: We f*ck with Hasan more than life itself.
Edgar: We f*ck with Hasan more than life.
(Editorial Note: Tom the Mail Man is an artist affiliated with Overcast, and @fixedfortommy or Tommy Bauer is with Overcast Arizona)
Max: Why should people pay attention to you?
Edgar: Because we’re ourselves. Like we know who we are, we have an identity, and we make good music at the end of the day.
Ash: There’s literally no reason. It literally doesn’t matter. If you like my music, listen to it but if you don’t I literally don’t care.
Alden: Yeah, I don’t care but I produce all my own stuff so I work a lot on my sh*t. So thank you.
Check out glaive’s old dog, new tricks if you haven’t already! You can catch glaive, aldn, and midwxst on all streaming platforms <3
As the Philadelphia lockdown carries on, so does the music and skate scene here in the city. At the epicenter of both those arenas, I was introduced to QThree. I got in contact with him to go in depth about who he is, what he comes from, and how it feels to be one of the most talented producers working out of the 215.
What’s up man what have you been doing and how have you been keeping sane during this quarantine?
I’m alive bro I can’t complain. I say that a lot because I know no one wants to hear it. This pandemic has been a 50/50 for me. Really eye-opening, reconnecting me to my spiritual side. Also making me regain focus on my mental health, as well as my physical health. It’s been stressful but very growth-filled.
You grew up in Philly, right? What was the first kind of music you got exposed to, and who was it that was putting you on?
The first kind of music I can remember being exposed to was classical and Jazz music. My grandfather would play it in the morning driving me to school and at night if we went out on 90.1 on the radio station. I was also exposed to soul music of course. Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Etta James, Patti Labelle. My mother would clean the house and play a lot of Sade, Jill Scott, and Anita Baker. My mom played me my first hip-hop album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It wasn’t the first hip hop song I can remember, but it was my first experience with an album.
Were there any specific scenes that you grew up around that influenced what you listened to?
I grew up in the church. I used to sit in my mother’s choir rehearsal, I was also in the children’s choir. By the age of 12, I was engineering the live sound in my church and handling the manufacturing of the recorded services. I’m also from the hood, there was no avoiding hip hop and the contents of the lyrics.
When/what did you first hear that made you want to start making beats? How many years have you been doing it now? Still D.R.E. was the instrumental that made me want to make beats. I made my first official beat in the 9th grade. At the end of the year, my teacher had a competition in computer class and we were instructed to use the apple loops in GarageBand to make a composition. I had the best beat, so my first beat was lowkey from a beat battle [laughs]. I didn’t start taking producing seriously until Freshman year of college when I was 18. It’s been on ever since. I’ll be 28 this July.
Were you always rapping too?
Back in grade school, we were really influenced by the Rap DVD era in Philly. I wasn’t always as nice at rapping as my peers. In 6th grade, I was the beatbox guy they would tell to “hit the beat” when my associates had rap battles. I was always the best at it in the class, despite being an outcast in those early years, music was a way I could connect with everyone. I also used to bring in my radio and we would dub tapes of us rapping on it in music class. I got into hip hop by rapping and making beats.
That’s sick, If you had to pick an all-time favorite producer who would it be? The RZA. He is the perfect example of orchestrated chaos. When I hear RZA I get a representation of art, I can hear human mistakes, as well as borderline perfection. He was also the first to sample a high-pitched soul sample. That inspired so much of hip hop, and it’s still an element that can connect the most even through modern rap and the new generation of listeners. Wu-Tang Clan’s production is my all-time favorite. The C.R.E.A.M instrumental revolutionized hip hop production.
What was the first cosign that really meant something to you?
I wouldn’t consider myself as receiving a “cosign” yet because usually when you get those, your career “jumps off” and you “blow up over-night” when Alchemist and Evidence first started publicly saluting me on twitter it was definitely a special moment for me. They even supported my projects.
How was being able to work with Evidence?
Genuine. Everything is organic with Ev. When I first started tweeting that I was moving to LA he never hesitated to reach out and make sure I connected with him. He still to this day will check in with me on a personal level. I’ve learned and am still learning a lot about life from him aside from music. Me rapping to one of his beats just happened naturally.
What’s the worst misconception people have about producers, or what’s your biggest pet peeve in working with rappers?
I’m not sure what kind of misconceptions people have about producers, but I do know a lot of people fail to give a producer credit for a song. The lyricist always gets the recognition for a beat and it just doesn’t make sense to me. Working with rappers is always a different experience. My pet peeve in working with anyone is bad communication. Waiting too long to hear back about a beat, if they’re going to use it or if they want a different vibe. It’s like pulling teeth. I work best with any artist who knows how to communicate outside of their ego.
What kind of hardware do you usually work with? What are you working with right now?
I use an MPC, an SP 404sx and an SP303 altogether. I also own a Po-33.
What role does music play in your life right now?
Therapy. The support is a plus, and I’m eternally grateful for it.
You do all your own cover art, right? Where did the inspiration for that come from?
Yes, I do. I drew my first picture when I was 3 years old. Art has always been a part of me. Audio Is just another medium I create with. I can’t even finish a project without staring at the artwork. Music for me is scoring my visual art with its own soundtrack. Besides graphic novels and anime, the inspiration for my visual art comes from somewhere beyond explanation. Most likely God and my ancestors.
What is your music creation process like?
It depends on my mood and where I am. If I’m not at home, I’m over at Krouse Quality studios, If I’m not there I’m at sadhu’s making beats with him. I make most of my own solo work on my own in solitary. I produce, record and engineer, so everything gets done on my time, when and how I want it to be. I hate studios. I’d rather be in comfort in order to express myself appropriately.
Tell me a little about Baked (Life) Recordings
Baked life is a brotherhood established in 2011. We were brothers for years before then, bonding through the skateboarding lifestyle in Philadelphia. Under the organization of one of our founder’s Mark Ryan, we formed together as a rap group: “The Bakery Boys” and we fully embody the representation of “Brotherly Love.” We were the first rap group of our generation to bring “being yourself” into the music scene in Philadelphia. I would be nothing without Baked Life. The “recordings” aspect is our independent label imprint. Consisting of members: QThree aka EAR.DRUM, Mark Ryan, Drip, TJ ATOMS, Atar’e Godspeed, Veeay, Mr. Joe Cool, Reef Raw, Dook, Cousin Ab, Davey Denairo, and KiDZER0.
You just dropped a compilation tape on Bandcamp called Deaf Tricks, with stuff you worked on for skate videos with Thrasher, Sabotage, DGK, and DC, how does it feel to have something like that under your belt?
If it wasn’t for skateboarding, I wouldn’t even have baked life or anything. Big thanks to Brian Panebianco for calling me to his crib one night in need of an instrumental for Dylan Sourbeer’s Sabotage 4 part. As the Sabotage brand started to grow, Thrasher reached out to clear music from me for their exclusive premieres. I feel blessed to belong to skateboarding in my own way because I damn sure ain’t nice enough at it to go pro. [laughs]
If someone reading this is unfamiliar, what would you recommend they listen to?
Everything. not even just mine. Get familiar with the family.
You had a beat battle with Sadhugold recently, how did that go and give me a little insight into your relationship?
I’ve known him for over a decade. We started making beats at the same time, we bonded first through trading vintage clothing and through Pokémon. Battling was in our nature. We always tend to challenge each other just like Ash and Gary, Red and Blue, etc. It definitely helped with my growth as an artist as well. The battle was awesome. It was actually the first Instagram live-battle in history, for those who are not aware. He put up a great fight, but I won. [laughs]
You said you have another tape dropping in the near future, anything in regards to that you can expound on right now?
I have an instrumental album set to drop in June. It will be one of the best instrumental albums you will hear in 2020.
To wrap up, tell me about how important Philly is to you, and the impact it has on the music you make? Obviously, this city has a lot to it, but what are the aspects that not everyone understands? -Do you ever see yourself living elsewhere?
Philadelphia is the greatest city in the universe. There is a code of realness I have never experienced anywhere else. Everyone here is actually aware that they are a human being, I’m grateful for how humbling it is here. I lived In LA for 2018-2019 and when I moved back home, I nearly kissed the ground. It’s so much love here. I don’t know if I could find it anywhere else, and I feel great about it.
Any shout-outs or last words?
Shout out to God, my mom, My grandad, my entire immediate family, Brax, Jay Sun, Plain, Matt Ford, Miles Comasky, Tony Maserati, Ev and Enzo, The entire Baked Life brotherhood, my Armory East Skateshop family, Infamous Love Plaza, Anthony Trivelli, Joe Piff, Brian Douglas, Heather, Tracy Gorman, Seme, Ajua, Akasha, Bianca, Chris Mulhern, Marq Spekt, Kermit, Mike Gov, Bobby Tenderloins, EBN, Wiles Martyr, Krouse Quality, Karas Lamb, BIOE, Tayyib Ali, Sherm, Mongo, My therapist, Sleaz, My nan reef (dirty fresh), Daniel Amalak, Shamsiddin, The whole “M-Block” from Lincoln University class of 2014, Mr. Green, Jimmy Gorecki, Sagan Lockhart, Andrew Gilbert, My SOH family, Kareem Idris, AA RASHID, Jamil and Kozel, DooF, Shamus, Foozy, My cuzin Jewshism, 8ballMal, Geremiah, Tat the destroyer, Julian Robinson, Daria, Brewery town beats, Creep Records, Ben, Zev, Beemon, Ayoub, and my lawyer. I know that was extra but I don’t care. Last words: who cares.
With the drop of Sadist Pink’s debut album Dolorem Ipsum, I got a chance to do a little Q&A with him about what it’s like to be making and releasing music while the world continues to cave in on itself.
Firstly how are you and what have you been spending your time doing amidst this pandemic shit?
I’ve been doing good, thanks. Most of the time I’m catching up on schoolwork and just generally worrying about the state of the world or being misanthropic, so nothing too far from the usual, I guess. In my free time, I’m going into work alone at the local community garden and reading a bunch. Aside from being far from friends, I’m very appreciative of how lucky and safe I’ve been.
How do you feel about dropping a project right now?
There’s a little guilt about the timing…it’s a wild feeling to be promoting my work at a time like this. But simultaneously, this album is all about the ‘end of the world’ ideas and emotions that I’m usually dealing with, so it also feels like there’s no better time to release these songs.
Where are you from originally/where do you live now?
I’m from Trenton, New Jersey and that’s where I’m at right now.
What kind of music scene did you get introduced to early on? And who put you on?
I started just going to Philly noise and DIY shows a while back in high school, but I haven’t been deep into that recently, I guess. It’s a long-ish drive from Trenton. I guess I just stumbled into it.
When did you start making music?
I’ve been making my own music since around 2013-ish, but I’ve been playing instruments since I was young.
What did your first stuff sound like? How much has it changed since then and how so?
My earlier stuff was definitely way less put together. I was working off GarageBand and just fucking around with an amphead and a looper pedal in my room. It was all very glitchy and slow and dark, so I guess my stuff’s gotten more formal and less repetitive, but I’ve really been down for the same general vibe.
What is your creative process like?
It sometimes starts on the piano in my house or a guitar, where I might come up with a melody, but usually, it just gets going on my laptop. I usually just post up in Logic software for a couple hours on the porch and just work on a beat and vocals. I come up with something I like and then let it sit for months on my computer before I ever re-record vocals on my microphone upstairs. It’s a long process with no guarantee of success. I’ve got way too much music just sitting on hard drives. Maybe I’m just lazy.
Tell me about your name.
I just liked the sound of the two words together. It’s jarring but pretty.
When people listen to Dolorem Ipsum, what kind of environment do you suggest they be in?
Hmm… I think being on public transit on a rainy day makes this project sound 10 times better but I suggest they dodge that fare tho.
Was there a conceptual bottom line going into this new project?
Going into this project I was thinking a lot about how I feel very chaotic inside most days and I almost always see that chaos mirrored by the outside world. It’s such a struggle to see beauty in the world’s violence. I’m always wondering what finding peace looks like in a broken world and if that peace will always just be escapism or ignorance. And how do we justify finding that peace? Imma stop myself before I start a philosophical monologue.
Do you feel like you achieved it?
Very much so.
How long did this project take?
It’s been a while. At least a year or so now.
What role does music play in your life right now?
Music is and has always been a great place for me to process what I feel and think. It gives me ways to dissect myself and the world around me that I think are crucially important. Only recently have I been thinking about how others relate to my music, which is weird because it’s always been such a personal experience for me.
Who are you inspired / who do you listen to at the moment?
My mom was always bumping Sade when I was young so I think she’s my biggest influence for sure, and then there were Bjork and Toro y Moi too. These days I’ve been listening to lots of Yves Tumor, Ecco2k, Jessica Pratt, and Oneohtrix Point Never.
Who did the cover art? I’m a fan
Thanks, it’s just something I threw together.
Do you have a favorite track on it?
I think ‘Esc’ sums the project up the best.
Where can people listen/stream when it drops?
The album’s up on Spotify and Apple Music but there’s also a music video for ‘Of Desire’ up on YouTube.
Can we look forward to any shows or live performances when things calm down?
Ahhh, I’ll give that a maybe. That shit makes me mad anxious, but we’ll see.
Any shout outs or last words?
Shoutout to my friends for their love, and Noam Chomsky. Plus shoutout to you for this interview, right?
Nate Kinsella, Matt Kinsella, Steve Lamos, and “the mysterious” Steve Homes, all poured themselves a glass of red wine in the lounges of the Union Transfer. Their band, American Football, was reuniting after a much anticipated comeback. Here is what they had to say about touring, writing, and getting the band back together.
American Football had played last in Philly at the UT two years ago, “give or take.” Although the band enjoys touring on the east coast, they said they “enjoy anywhere they’ll have us.”
They decided to do a deluxe release of their self-titled album after proclaiming “huh people wanna hear us.” This came as an exciting announcement, as the original album, first released in 1999, has been revered as a breakthrough for midwest emo music.
Their first record seems to be a timeless token of late 90s alternative. The band described how it just keeps getting passed on and on in every decade since its release. At every show, 60- 70 percent of their audience are in their 20s or younger and they are still surprised, but enthused by how relevant their music is today.
“it just seems like it keeps getting passed from generation to generation, it’s neat to be that for someone… even though they should be listening to different bands,” they said.
The revamp of the band is credited to Steve Lamos, who was rummaging through an old box of cassettes in his dad’s home, where he found old recordings of American Football. This rediscovery sparked an interest in playing together again, which led to their reuniting in after years of breaking off and starting families, new jobs, and adulthood. From this, came the American Football LP3 which was released in 2019 and was followed by the tour. Featured on this LP is none other than the queen of alternative herself, Hayley Williams. She lends her outstanding vocals on the song “Uncomfortably Numb.” Nate recalled this only took her three takes to nail.
In high school, the bandmates were in the homegrown punk scene. From there, this lifestyle extended further in college, when there were clusters of shows popping up in Champaign, Illinois. There were opportunities for people to play wherever they were allowed to be loud, so this usually happened in basements and garages. This idea of having DIY shows started to spread, and even if there is no end goal, the band said how they were enjoying their time in the basement regardless of the future of their music. Through the scene, their band got more and more popular and through “dumb luck,” as described by the band members, American Football caught on.
Fast forward to now, American Football still pulls loyal audiences to every show they have played on their reunion tour. The deluxe release of their self titled album has, without a doubt, inspired an even greater appreciation for midwest emo music.
It wasn’t too long ago Beach Goons (made up of Pablo Cervantez, David Orcozo, and Chris Moran) was playing house shows in the “surf punk scene” of San Diego, California and using equipment from the public library. These past few months was only their second tour, despite the large and incredibly engaged crowd. The band has been gaining more and more popularity with the release of their new album hoodratscumbags. Singer and guitarist, Pablo Cervantez, explained from behind his tiny merch table at Theatre of Living Arts, that this album is his “little baby,” and has been working on it for 2 years. He went through the process of writing in his room, in the studio, and wiping out 8 songs before he was ready to release it.
With influences from Balance and Composure, Chalino Sanchez, The Cure, and Marvin Gaye it is obvious how Cervantez’s vast music taste contributes to the perfect creation of a surf punk album.
Cervantez went into depth about how important it was that he includes his Mexican heritage in this album specifically. The listener can quite literally hear this in the several verses he belts out in Spanish (such as in the song A.M.) , an inclusion that is greater on hoodratscumbags than any other album Beach Goons has released before. He explained that growing up in San Diego as a first gen was difficult because of ridicule from greater society. He referred to the area as “the ghetto,” something that he made known he is not ashamed of. Cervantez even recalls being pushed to speak english in public by his parents, fearing that he will be looked down upon for his heritage.
With his background influencing his recent album, Cervantez explained how he is no longer ashamed of his heritage. He is simply proud and he wants his parents to be proud.
After hoodratscumbags was released, Beach Goons had the opportunity to have an Audiotree Livesession in Chicago, something Cervantez grew up watching and listening to. The coordinators were very welcoming and the overall experience was amazing. Check out their session on Spotify or Youtube to hear the extremely authentic and vocally dynamic recording.
Cervantez closed in on the interview with some insightful advice for kids growing up in less fortunate areas who are told they cannot accomplish anything:
“It’s all Bull Shit!”
Cervantez recommended a documentary about the area he grew up in called Chicano Park:
Josh Wink gives an interview on club vs. home life ahead of hometown Halloween gig.
Ovum’s Very Own, Josh Wink
It’s a brisk fall afternoon when I meet up with Josh Wink at Northern Liberties record store Profond Music N Art. Josh has just arrived back from finishing an acclaimed summer residency in Ibiza and is helping organize his son’s birthday party before heading out to Amsterdam the next night.
“My son is four, so I’m still new to being a parent, and there’s all these things I try to balance: being a father and a partner to my wife, being ‘just Josh’ to the people I know from the neighborhood and community gardens, and then being Josh Wink the artist. Finding time to do other things is difficult, but there’s something nice and humble about being here in Philly. I like riding my bike places, I don’t have a car.”
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Josh’s game-changing anthem “Higher State of Consciousness”, the first instrumental record to ever enter the UK’s top 15 national chart twice in one year. The track burst him onto the international scene and became heavily engrained with the first wave of pre-EDM stadium-packing electronic music that took the US and Europe by storm in the ‘90s.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/228654155″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=’450′ iframe=”true” /] Josh co-hosted a show on WKDU in the 90s called Rave FM, so you know we had to get him to do a station ID for us!
