Philadelphia – Page 4

Interview with Young Pilgrims (September 10, 2013)

By Jonathan Plotkin

Young Pilgrims are an indie punk revival band from Philadelphia. Earlier this summer, they released their debut album Kyoko and a Rocket to the Moon on their Bandcamp, have been playing places such as Don’t Tread On Me, Jolly’s, and North Star Bar, and were recently featured as artist of the month by The Deli Magazine. On September 10th, after their last show, I got the chance to sit down with the band and talk it out for a few minutes.

Jonathan: So you guys are Young Pilgrims, what are your names?

Sean: I’m Sean Brown.

Zack: I’m Zack.

Jonathan: And what instruments do you play?

Sean: I play the guitar and I sing.

Zack: I play the bass guitar and I sing sweet harmonies.

Jonathan: And is there a drummer in the band?

Sean: Nick Boonie. We have two drummers, actually.

Jonathan: Who did you record the album with?

Sean: Jesse Appel.

Jonathan: And they’re both not available right now.

Sean: That’s right, they both died in the accident.

Jonathan: Right, the accident. We’ll get back to that totally true and not made up story later. So how did you guys meet in order to form your band?

Zack: High school. A lot of people went away to college and their band broke up and we made a new band.

Sean: Can I… can I tell that better than you did?

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Interview with Ruin (August 28, 2013)

[bandcamp width=350 height=470 album=817281618 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 notracklist=true]

By Mike Eidel

Ruin, Philadelphia’s inimitable and legendary band came down to the station to hang out, spin some records and talk about their highly anticipated Union Transfer reunion show (Saturday 8/31!!) future releases, past shows, sparklers and much much more!

Ruin is more than music, or at least aspires to be more. Initially, it was a propaganda project. Students of the arts, philosophy and religion, doing lab work with music. Experimenting with ways of being human. Was, and still is . .

For more on Ruin Read this great article from City Paper.

Interview with Ted Nguyent (July 9, 2013)

By Nick Sukiennik

I went to Mad Dragon Studios to interview Travis Arterburn, vocalist and drummer for local punk outfit Ted Nguyent, about his newly formed record label and its first release, “Philadelphia Comp. 2013”

Nick Sukiennik: What is Self Help records?

Travis Arterburn: Basically at this point it’s just a name for something for me to release things under. I was working on a compilation for my senior project of 15 different Philly DIY bands. I wanted to put it on record but I didn’t have enough money. I decided that I’d put it on tape because I could duplicate it myself. Basically, I was going to release it so I figured [I should] put a name on it. I’m trying to use the money I make from that to do some other things, maybe put out some tapes for a couple other bands, and eventually put out a vinyl from Ted Nguyent. So, a small label, I guess.

NS: So where do you get your funding?

TA: So far the only funding I’ve needed was buying the 300 tapes, art and boxes and stuff, which wasn’t super cheap or super expensive. But it was just money I saved up from delivering sandwiches (laughs).

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Ladyfest Philly Brings Music and Activism Together

By Nick Sukiennik

At a time when inequality and discrimination are rejected by current societal standards, what is the real state of women’s rights in this country? Ladyfest Philly, a festival of music, arts, and activism, challenges the notion that equality is a reality for all individuals, and aims to take some of the necessary strides to make it so this weekend, Friday, June 7th, through Sunday, June 9th.

A primary issue in this fight for justice, and one that Ladyfest intends to vocalize, is the notion that women, in addition to other underrepresented groups, should have the right to choose what is best for themselves.

I asked Sara Sherr, who co-organized the event and was active in the public relations and booking committees, about this standpoint. She explained: “On paper we have more opportunities than we’ve ever had, but there are people trying to take away that freedom.” This relates to the issue of “reproductive rights”, one of the most controversial topics of the past decade.

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