Interview w/ Reptar
Graham Ulicny’s hypnotic, carbonated, and electric vocals create a sort of kaleidoscopic dye spiral. As the singer of the buoyant live wire that is the Athens, Georgia-based band Reptar, Ulicny uses his staccato and whirlwind-like delivery to fingerpaint images of memories gone by. Before they hit the stage this Wednesday at the Soda Bar in San Diego, Cinema Spartan caught up with the band to discuss the loneliness of the...
Interview w/ Cactus Is
Werner Herzog or Errol Morris in Outer Space Interview by Robert D. Patrick The dewy, moon lacquered reverb of Indiana based group, Cactus Is, creates a hushed landscape of empyrean madness. Only a month away from our website being aesthetically overhauled, band members Bob Mathison and Noah East agreed, begrudgingly, to have their interview posted to the old, element rusted Cinema Spartan. In this exclusive exchange, Cactus Is...
Interview w/ Screaming Females
Marissa Paternoster On Social Media to Pitchfork Media Interview curated by Robert D. Patrick There’s no confusing Marissa Paternoster’s fine-tuned howls and propulsive guitar playing. Screaming Females, a three-piece band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, have been lauded by every publication from The A.V. Club to the Los Angeles Times for their electric stage presence and “triumphant” albums. Fresh off...
Interview w/ Surfer Blood
“People Can Really Rise to the Occasion in a Time of Crisis” Interview curated by Robert D. Patrick Ethereal guitar jangling and surfboard wax. The sun baked, saltwater ebb of Surfer Blood’s melodic ballads cascade over the band’s newest LP, 1000 Palms. Frontman John Paul Pitts emits haunting but carbonated sonnets, this time on the group’s third full-length endeavor. From playing well-respected...
From the Vault: Interview w/ Wolf Parade
Working as an editor of a small weekly in the aughts, I fought to perforate the innocuous milquetoast sheen of community articles by bringing in band interviews. The experiment didn’t last long, and pictures of pumpkin patches prevailed. I was in my early twenties, I was barking up the wrong tree. Though violently abridged, this was one of the articles that actually ran in the paper before my publisher gave the column the...
Interview w/ Chastity Belt
‘We Don’t Have to Hide Behind Anything Now’ The rowdy, carbonated, guitar tenderizing music of Chastity Belt hails from Walla Walla, Washington. Through a cocktail of venomous riffs and feet stomping snark that bruises amps, the band released one of the best records of 2013. Lead singer Julia Shapiro’s sonic, booming vocals soar over the proceedings in a powerful – sometimes ethereal – way...
From the Vault: The Fiery Furnaces Interview
In 2008, I interviewed the mercurial, outspoken, and often times wonky Matthew Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces for The East County Herald newspaper. Here, in its entirety, is the clunky, humorous, sometimes incendiary transcript of the exchange I had with Matthew. Known for their staccato production, esoteric lyrics, plunking pianos and rarely middling subject matter, The Chicago siblings have been both darlings and foes of...
Interview w/ Motopony
Motopony’s frontman, Daniel Blue, lulls out achingly barrel-aged vocals on the band’s self-titled record. The airy and yet splintered delivery of Blue is reminiscent of Neil Young’s rasp and Bon Iver’s maimed whispers. The salted-emotions of Blue and company aren’t epigenuous as they seem, and, by merit of their minimalist compositions, crawl and brood under the surface of the band’s warbling...
Interview w/ The Clientele
Haunting reverberations bob and slink, effortlessly bringing fourth frayed images of meandering uncertainty and fallen loves, each time The Clientele’s music is heard. This is how Alasdair MacLean utilizes his hushed, buoyant and atmospherically drenched vocal delivery as the band’s frontman.. MacLean’s voice, a ghostly pulley that lifts monochrome memories and fluttering echoes of despondency from his mind, is an abyss...
