The Pistola Press

Maps & Atlases broke on to the music scene last fall when they toured with Ra Ra Riot. They signed to Barsuk Records(Death Cab For Cutie, Ra Ra Riot, more) shortly after that. The Chicago band spent most of the winter recording their debut record, Perch Patchwork, that will be released on June 29th.. They’re currently on tour with Frightened Rabbit, which makes a stop at the First Unitarian Church tonight. Unfortunately, the show has been sold out for over a month now. Erin Elders phoned in last week to give us a little insight about the band and the new record. Interview below.

The Pistola: From what I understand, you guys met in school. What school did you go to?

Erin Elders: We all went to Columbia College in Chicago.

The Pistola: What the musical environment like there?

EE: It’s kind of weird. When we were all going to school, none of us studied music. Chris(Hainey)and I studied film, Dave (Davison) was going to school for cultural studies and Shiraz (Dada) was going for recording engineering. None of us were really playing music right when we started.

You know, Chicago always had a really great music community and it was definitely exciting when we first started playing shows to be a part of that.

The Pistola: I guess you guys were just friends then started playing music together…

EE: Well, Chris and I grew up together and went to the same college. After a couple semesters, we decided to start playing music together. Then we found Dave and Shiraz through mutual friends at school. I had a class with Dave and we started talking about music and just started playing together. We made a decision to kind of start playing music together but we didn’t really know what we were doing. So it was definitely interesting cause we just stumbled upon ideas.

The Pistola: Last October, I saw you play with Ra Ra Riot at the Trocadero and I noticed you had a very intricate style of guitar and drums. What’s your musical background like?

EE: We all took lessons or studied music a little bit. Everyone, at one point or another, studied a little bit of jazz and a little bit of everything. I guess we don’t really have a definitive background in anything. When we first started playing music, we were into a lot of 70’s music and prog stuff, at least guitar wise. Since then we have tried to shape that into enjoyable pop songs. So that’s where that kind of sound came from.

The Pistola: When I did see you guys, you weren’t on Barsuk Records at the time. How did come to be? Getting signed by them?

EE: It happened from that tour. We met the Ra Ra Riot guys and did that full tour. We met the Barsuk people through them. Some of them came out to see us play a show in Chicago and we just started talking to them. They were always a label we respected and we’re really excited to be working with them.

The Pistola: When you recorded your new record that comes out in June, since you were signed to a label, was the recording process any different from when you recorded your previous EPs and self-released stuff?

EE: The process was definitely very different. With the EPs, we worked on the songs and played them live. After having played them for a little bit, we recorded them as they were.

With this record, we went in to the studio with a mix. Some of the songs were complete ideas and others were just sketches. Also, working with Jason Cupp, who produced the record, made us explore lots of different sounds. There’s strings and horns; instrumentation we never really tried before. It was really exciting to expand the songs that way.

The Pistola: When you wrote the songs, did you write them with the strings in mind? Or did they come in the studio?

EE: We had all the song ideas we wanted record for the record and then we went through each song and brainstormed what would sound really cool for different parts. It was as if we dissected the songs part by part. We were like, “This part would sound really cool with the clarinet” and “It would be cool to have a cello mirror the vocals” and stuff like that.  We’ve never done that before and it wasn’t until we got into the studio with the horn and string players that those ideas came to be.

The Pistola: On this tour, will you be playing new material or older stuff?

EE: We’re going to try and play some new stuff. When we put together the sets for this tour, it was very exciting. We only have like 45 minutes to play so lets try and make the ultimate set. All the upbeat songs from the old stuff and the new record. It’s going to be a good mix of both. Oldies and goodies.

The Pistola: Since record store day just passed, did partake in purchasing anything?

EE: We actually played a show on record store day. We’re on this really awesome compilation that was for this music store Landlocked in Bloomington, Indiana. They put out a really cool 12 inch with us, Bonnie Prince Billy, and a bunch of great bands. So we didn’t get to do too much since we were busy but it was exciting to be able to put something out and be a part of record store day.

The Pistola: If you had to name three essential records, what would you say?

EE: Oh man, I don’t know. That’s a tough one.

The Pistola: Maybe three recent records. I don’t want to make you think too hard.

EE: We listen to a lot class rock in the van, but it’s kind of all over the place. As a band, we really like that new Yeasayer record(Odd Blood). Also, we’ve been listening to our friend’s record, Phantogram. They just played Chicago last night. I can’t think of a third(laughs).

The Pistola: I understand. Whenever I get put on the spot, I can never think of anything.  So once you get done touring with Frightened Rabbit, what are your plans? If you have any..

EE: We do the Frightened Rabbit tour and our record comes out June 29^th. Then we’ll be doing our headlining/record release tour pretty much all summer, July and August. It’s going to be a lot touring for us this year.

Interpol just released a new song called “Lights”. You can download it for free in exchange for your email. That can be done HERE. The band will open for U2 this summer at Lincoln Financial Field. There’s no new information on an upcoming record from Interpol, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated on whenever there is new info.

Remember the band Cake? The band who made catchy songs with some pretty ridiculous lyrics. Well, they just announced a string of US tour dates. One of which will be at the Mann Center of Performing Arts on Wednesday, September 15th. Tickets for the show go on sale this Friday(4/30) and you’ll be able to find them HERE.

In other Cake news, they have new record coming this fall. Not too many details about it have been released yet except that it will be recorded using 100% solar energy. Pretty cool, right? Check out their blog. They update it pretty much every day with current/environmental issues.

M.I.A released a video yesterday for her new song, ‘Born Free’. It’s off her new record, which is set to be released this June. The album does not have a name yet, but she is taking suggestions via her Twitter. She also revealed the track list yesterday when she took over Pitchfork’s Twitter. You can see it HERE.

As for the video, it’s pretty bad ass. Very graphic and violent. It was directed by Romain Gavras. Check it out below. (Youtube had originally banned the video, but it seems like that has changed.)

Regina Spektor covered by “No Surprises” by Radiohead to raise money for the recent natural disasters in Haiti and Chile. Her take on the song is very beautiful and moving. There’s really no better way for an artist to bring attention to a cause than to cover Radiohead. Check the song out yourself by streaming the song HERE for free or you can be ever so kind and buy the song for $1.29 HERE via iTunes. All the proceeds go to charity.

“Hi! On Tuesday April 27th, iTunes will release a cover i did of a Radiohead (i LOVE them, and thank them for donating their proceeds too!!! they are the best!) song “No Surprises”. The proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders Emergency Relief Fund. The show at Irving Plaza(NYC) raised a lot of money but this gives a chance for more people to participate and donate to victims of earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.”
-via Regina’s Facebook page

Well, it’s not really a “road trip” since the festival is right across the river, but yeah. This year’s Xponential Music Festival, sponsored by local radio station WXPN, has a pretty sweet line-up: The Walkmen, Blood Feathers, Dawes, and more. The complete line up can be found HERE. The festival will be the same weekend as the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago–July 16th-18th at Wiggins Park in Camden, New Jersey. So if you can’t make it to Chi-town, the Xponential is the perfect alternative. Tickets for the festival can be found HERE.

Looking for something to do tonight? The New Pornographers will be having a listening party for their new record, Together, tonight at Kung Fu Necktie. The album drops on May 4th via Matador. Details on the listening party are above and below. Send an email to gettogetherphilly(at)gmail(dot)com if you’re interested in participating. It’s FREE.

“To sweeten the pot we’ve got free booze (while the getting is good), fun contests with great prizes (New Ps summer tour tickets, vinyl giveaways, etc), and a lucky few will receive an exclusive numbered spring Get Together Mix that Carl Newman told us he put together specifically for these parties (available nowhere else).” via Matador Records

In related news, the band will play at the Trocadero Theatre on Monday, June 21st. Opening the show will be San Fran band, The Dodos, and The Duke & The Dutchess. Tickets for the show can be found HERE.

Caribou

Download: Toro Y Moi – Blessa

Caribou‘s new album, Swim, came out today via Merge Records. The record is full of slow, eletro dance beats from Dan Snaith, the man behind it all. You can stream the record in it’s entirety HERE. There’s also a remix contest for the song, ‘Sun’ off Swim. More details can be found HERE.

Aside from a new record and competition, Caribou will be on tour for the next couple of months. His performance will aim to be musically/visually pleasing by having visuals that respond to the music. He’ll play a show at the First Unitarian Church on Sunday, May 9th.

Opening the show will be Toro Y Moi, who put out a pretty sweet electro/experimental album in January(grab an MP3 from the record above). Toro Y Moi is the work of one young guy, Chazwick Bundick, but on tour he’ll have a full band with him. It should be a great show especially if you’re looking to dance. Tickets for the show can be found HERE.

As we had reported last month, Gangstarr legendary rapper Guru was not doing so well after suffering a heart attack that left him in a brief coma. Yesterday he passed away after a long battle with cancer. He apparently knew that he was dying and wrote a letter(you can read that below). There’s some debate going on about whether or not Guru actually wrote the letter. Head over to Hiphop DX for more details. RIP Guru.

“I, Guru, am writing this letter to my fans, friends and loved ones around the world. I have had a long battle with cancer and have succumbed to the disease. I have suffered with this illness for over a year. I have exhausted all medical options.

I have a non-profit organization called Each One Counts dedicated to carrying on my charitable work on behalf of abused and disadvantaged children from around the world and also to educate and research a cure for this terrible disease that took my life. I write this with tears in my eyes, not of sorrow but of joy for what a wonderful life I have enjoyed and how many great people I have had the pleasure of meeting.

My loyal best friend, partner and brother, Solar, has been at my side through it all and has been made my health proxy by myself on all matters relating to myself. He has been with me by my side on my many hospital stays, operations, doctors visits and stayed with me at my home and cared for me when I could not care for myself. Solar and his family is my family and I love them dearly and I expect my family, friends, and fans to respect that, regardless to anybody’s feelings on the matter. It is my wish that counts. This being said I am survived by the love of my life, my sun KC, who I trust will be looked after by Solar and his family as their own. Any awards or tributes should be accepted, organized approved by Solar on behalf myself and my son until he is of age to except on his own.

I do not wish my ex-DJ to have anything to do with my name likeness, events tributes etc. connected in anyway to my situation including any use of my name or circumstance for any reason and I have instructed my lawyers to enforce this. I had nothing to do with him in life for over 7 years and want nothing to do with him in death. Solar has my life story and is well informed on my family situation, as well as the real reason for separating from my ex-DJ. As the sole founder of GangStarr, I am very proud of what GangStarr has meant to the music world and fans. I equally am proud of my Jazzmatazz series and as the father of Hip-Hop/Jazz. I am most proud of my leadership and pioneering efforts on Jazzmatazz 4 for reinvigorating the Hip-Hop/Jazz genre in a time when music quality has reached an all time low. Solar and I have toured in places that I have never been before with GangStarr or Jazzmatatazz and we gained a reputation for being the best on the planet at Hip-Hop/Jazz, as well as the biggest and most influential Hip-Hop/Jazz record with Jazzmatazz 4 of the decade to now. The work I have done with Solar represents a legacy far beyond its time. And we as a team were not afraid to push the envelope. To me this is what true artists do! As men of honor we stood tall in the face of small mindedness, greed, and ignorance. As we fought for music and integrity at the cost of not earning millions and for this I will always be happy and proud, and would like to thank the million fans who have seen us perform over the years from all over the world. The work I have done with Solar represents a legacy far beyond its time and is my most creative and experimental to date. I hope that our music will receive the attention it deserves as it is some of the best work I have done and represents some of the best years of my life.”

Before I got to talk to Meg Baird, I saw Kurt Vile wandering around AKA Records, sifting through vinyl, singing along to The Kinks tunes playing overhead.  Honestly, I was a bit hesitant to approach the guy who put out an amazing record in Childish Prodigy. Great records sometimes create bigger ideas of artists, but luckily for The Pistola, he was actually very receptive and kind about the interview request.

Following a very loud set with the Violators at a jam-packed Beautiful World Syndicate in South Philadelphia, Kurt made sure he said his ‘goodbyes’ and finished off his Yuengling, and we got to talking.

Words by Chris Zakorchemny and photo by Tiffany Yoon

The Pistola: Did you ever own any bad records, or like bands that haven’t exactly stood the test of time?

Kurt Vile: Well, if you’re talking about vinyl; when I was a kid, I did have some vinyl. I used my mom’s record player when I started realizing bands put out seven-inches – like Beck or Pavement. But before then I was listening to Pennywise. That’s kind of bad. I was listening to that new-school punk that’s not new-school any more. I don’t really know what you mean by bad…

The Pistola: Well, stuff you wouldn’t readily play now, or might be hesitant to play in front of certain people.

KV: I definitely wouldn’t put on Pennywise CDs. I would probably put on Rancid for old time’s sake. I probably wouldn’t put on NOFX. Or, I would, for memories. I think the worst are bad alternative bands, like this band The Candyskins that were real bad. I remember listening to them in junior high.

The Pistola: How did you hear about these bands?

KV: Listening to the radio in Lansdowne – WDRE. They’re actually not that bad. That’s where I first heard about Beck and Pavement, but they played the Goo Goo Dolls and everything, too. There were just certain bad alternative bands I had CDs by from a local CD store – CR CDs in Lansdowne.

The Pistola: When did you first feel like you had a connection to a record store?

KV: Once I got into vinyl I went into the city all the time. The Philadelphia Record Exchange was probably the first place I went. I used to go there and still go there. I went to Noise Pollution and all those South Street stores. I went to (Sound of Market) Jazsound.

The Pistola: Did you meet people who were able to recommend things you felt you should have already been listening to?

KV: Not really, until I moved up to Boston, when everyone was going to college and I wasn’t. I was 20 or 21. Everyone was listening to John Fahey and Brian Eno and all that cooler stuff like Richard Hell and the Voidoids. The punk stuff didn’t hit me ‘til later, and maybe at that time I wouldn’t admit I listened to this or that, but now I really don’t care.

The Pistola: Yeah, it’s all relevant to how you listen to things.

KV: I was into the Spin Doctors. I don’t like them anymore. One of my first concerts was Counting Crows. I remember the day I went to that concert. I got Beck’s “Loser” single and then I went to that concert. I still like the Counting Crows, though. Thankfully, they have weirder stuff. I don’t know if it’s weird but some find it passé. I’m real nostalgic about Beck, still.

The Pistola: I saw you at AKA and you performed here earlier, so you’ve been supporting RSD throughout the day. How do you feel about using exclusives and live performances to promote records for one day?

KV: This is the first time I’ve played Record Store Day and the second year I even knew about Record Store Day. I’m glad to do it. It was nice to come to Beautiful World Syndicate, because I come here and I never met (owner) Jon (Yates) before. And I’m friendly with places like AKA, the Record Exchange and Tequila Sunrise – it’s nice to know the people at these record stores. And also, you go in, and you know they’re people who love music.

The Pistola: Its great having that relationship with the people who work at record stores, not just so you can go to get what you want, but they eventually learn what you want, too.

KV: Record stores are funny too, like, once you get at the stage I’m at where I’ve been going forever and you’re friendly with the people who work there…once you’re trying to make it, you realize you have to go to record stores all the time to see who’s coming out. You make friends with the record guys, and once you’re in there, even if you can’t find what you want, you still have to leave with a few records.

The Pistola: Yeah! I can’t go to a record store and not buy something.

KV: Yeah, because you want to give them business. I definitely sympathize, even now that I have records out. I’m not trying to be like ‘Help out the record industry so I can make a living! It’s not fair! Fuck Napster!’ because even with downloads and how sales aren’t what they used to be, it helps.

The Pistola: Can you recommend one album you think everyone should have?

KV: There’s so many, but I’ll say right now one of my favorite records is Nick Drake’s Bryter Layter. I love Joni Mitchell, too. I’m still obsessed with her. But I have her stuff and now I’m finding Bryter Layter.