FRIDAY DEC 16, 2016
529 Presents:
Irrelevant Music Presents:
The Head
Hank and Cupcakes
Man Up, Yancey | Rad-Isaurus Rex
The Head
If the Head’s dreams of becoming Atlanta’s next breakthrough act come true, it won't be an overnight success story. Instead, calculated moves dating back nearly a decade will be the catalyst for the band’s emergence in the national indie rock spotlight. The Atlanta trio’s nine-year history spanned high school and college for twins Mike (vocals, bass) and Jack (drums) Shaw and childhood friend Jacob Morrell (guitar). All three members quit their day jobs last year, diving headfirst into full-time touring. “As soon as we realized we’d saved up enough to hit the road, we said, ‘Let’s make a run for it now’,” Jack says.
Audible fruits of the group’s newfound focus include last November’s MillipedesEP. The release marked a shift in sonic direction from early aughts power pop to a more mature approach that’s been likened to early R.E.M. and other staples from college radio’s golden era. The band sees its current sound as an evolution brought on by shared life experiences. “It wasn’t a deliberate change,“ Jack says. “We just started writing music as we got older that resonated with people differently.”
The new jangle pop sound is also an extension of the band’s willingness to stop emulating heroes, opting instead to craft its own unique blend of influences. “The sound we are doing now comes a lot more naturally than the power pop did,” Mike adds. “The old sound was us paying homage to our favorite acts, while what we do now is more organic.”
Baby steps toward a life on the road culminate next month with the launch of an 80-plus date spring tour. Additional plans for 2016 include the group’s first international dates in Canada. “Our main goal is to continue exploring new cities and reach a broad fan base,” Jack says. “Each time we hit the road, we try to expand more westward and further north.”
Despite the band’s lofty career aspirations, the Head remains a DIY project. Jack handles the herculean task of booking shows locally and out of town, while Mike handles the merchandise. Morrell tends to the band's finances. Only publicity is outsourced, with the Head holding a spot on local firm Baby Robot Media’s growing roster. Band duties have been juggled in recent weeks with studio time — a full-length is currently being recorded at Madison Studios in Chamblee.
During its scant time at home, the band faces at least one frustration that’s all too familiar to their Atlanta peers. “In the past year and a half, we’ve been in three different rehearsal spaces,” Mike says. “One of them, Avatar, got closed down.”
Constant touring and an album that furthers the grown-up sound of Millipedesmay propel the Head closer to its rock ’n’ roll dream. According to the Shaw twins, there’s no backup plan in case the next hurdle is too high to clear. “We don’t know what we’d do if the band wasn’t in the cards,” Mike explains. “Yeah we graduated from college, but it doesn’t mean our hearts are not in the band.”
If the Head’s dreams of becoming Atlanta’s next breakthrough act come true, it won't be an overnight success story. Instead, calculated moves dating back nearly a decade will be the catalyst for the band’s emergence in the national indie rock spotlight. The Atlanta trio’s nine-year history spanned high school and college for twins Mike (vocals, bass) and Jack (drums) Shaw and childhood friend Jacob Morrell (guitar). All three members quit their day jobs last year, diving headfirst into full-time touring. “As soon as we realized we’d saved up enough to hit the road, we said, ‘Let’s make a run for it now’,” Jack says.
Audible fruits of the group’s newfound focus include last November’s MillipedesEP. The release marked a shift in sonic direction from early aughts power pop to a more mature approach that’s been likened to early R.E.M. and other staples from college radio’s golden era. The band sees its current sound as an evolution brought on by shared life experiences. “It wasn’t a deliberate change,“ Jack says. “We just started writing music as we got older that resonated with people differently.”
The new jangle pop sound is also an extension of the band’s willingness to stop emulating heroes, opting instead to craft its own unique blend of influences. “The sound we are doing now comes a lot more naturally than the power pop did,” Mike adds. “The old sound was us paying homage to our favorite acts, while what we do now is more organic.”
Baby steps toward a life on the road culminate next month with the launch of an 80-plus date spring tour. Additional plans for 2016 include the group’s first international dates in Canada. “Our main goal is to continue exploring new cities and reach a broad fan base,” Jack says. “Each time we hit the road, we try to expand more westward and further north.”
Despite the band’s lofty career aspirations, the Head remains a DIY project. Jack handles the herculean task of booking shows locally and out of town, while Mike handles the merchandise. Morrell tends to the band's finances. Only publicity is outsourced, with the Head holding a spot on local firm Baby Robot Media’s growing roster. Band duties have been juggled in recent weeks with studio time — a full-length is currently being recorded at Madison Studios in Chamblee.
During its scant time at home, the band faces at least one frustration that’s all too familiar to their Atlanta peers. “In the past year and a half, we’ve been in three different rehearsal spaces,” Mike says. “One of them, Avatar, got closed down.”
Constant touring and an album that furthers the grown-up sound of Millipedesmay propel the Head closer to its rock ’n’ roll dream. According to the Shaw twins, there’s no backup plan in case the next hurdle is too high to clear. “We don’t know what we’d do if the band wasn’t in the cards,” Mike explains. “Yeah we graduated from college, but it doesn’t mean our hearts are not in the band.”
Hank and Cupcakes
Cheap Thrill brings the raw energy of Hank & Cupcakes’ live shows off the stage and onto your home stereo, with a grungier edgier record than ever before while holding onto their fierce signature off-the-walls infectious sound.
Seeing Hank & Cupcakes live, and hearing their latest album, Cheap Thrill, is like watching two of your best friends fall in love. The record truly captures the band’s sound: sensual, powerful, and highly energetic. There’s no careful choreography here, no proliferation of autotune to mold the songs into something palatable to the sterile chewed up standards of today’s Top 40 culture. The raw, unfiltered, uncensored reality of Hank & Cupcakes is what Cheap Thrill is built on. It’s a sonic revolution and it’s calling you to join in and rock out.
Hank & Cupcakes are Aliens of Extraordinary Ability… At least according to the US immigration services. Hailing from Tel Aviv to New York City in late 08’, the duo, consisting of powerhouse vocalist/drummer Cupcakes and bassist extraordinaire Hank were quickly dubbed a “must see” live act on the local scene. Attracting praise from MTV and New York Post, the buzzworthy band were signed to BMG with whom they released their 2012 ‘Aint No Love’ EP. When faced with the choice of creative compromise vs. artistic freedom, Hank & Cupcakes chose the latter, walking away from the deal to self release their debut LP ‘Naked’ in 2013, followed by ‘Cash 4 Gold’ in 2014. The two are known for their explosive live performance which has finally met it’s match in the form of the band’s forthcoming record, Cheap Thrill.
The album was recorded in a custom setup in the duo’s new Atlanta home where Brooklyn producer Van Goose, who spent a week down south, joined them, immersed in the project. Microphones were set up in & out of the house infrastructure including heating shafts, closets and different rooms all intended to create an array of sonic chambers & an ambient live record.
The striking cover art for Cheap Thrill is the fruit of a collaboration with internationally acclaimed Mexican artist Claudio Limon. Like their music, Hank & Cupcakes’ cover image comes across at first as pure energetic art but Shir explains that there’s more to it than meets the eye: “The on the album cover is deliberately gender-blurry and set in a religious-looking environment. The idea came to us while working on the record when many “religious freedom” bills discriminating against LGBT community & bills curbing women’s reproductive rights were (and still are) brought up constantly. We strongly object to this and wanted to comment on the absurdity and misuse of religion as a tool of discrimination and oppression and on the lack of equality we still see in our society.
Cheap Thrill brings the raw energy of Hank & Cupcakes’ live shows off the stage and onto your home stereo, with a grungier edgier record than ever before while holding onto their fierce signature off-the-walls infectious sound.
Seeing Hank & Cupcakes live, and hearing their latest album, Cheap Thrill, is like watching two of your best friends fall in love. The record truly captures the band’s sound: sensual, powerful, and highly energetic. There’s no careful choreography here, no proliferation of autotune to mold the songs into something palatable to the sterile chewed up standards of today’s Top 40 culture. The raw, unfiltered, uncensored reality of Hank & Cupcakes is what Cheap Thrill is built on. It’s a sonic revolution and it’s calling you to join in and rock out.
Hank & Cupcakes are Aliens of Extraordinary Ability… At least according to the US immigration services. Hailing from Tel Aviv to New York City in late 08’, the duo, consisting of powerhouse vocalist/drummer Cupcakes and bassist extraordinaire Hank were quickly dubbed a “must see” live act on the local scene. Attracting praise from MTV and New York Post, the buzzworthy band were signed to BMG with whom they released their 2012 ‘Aint No Love’ EP. When faced with the choice of creative compromise vs. artistic freedom, Hank & Cupcakes chose the latter, walking away from the deal to self release their debut LP ‘Naked’ in 2013, followed by ‘Cash 4 Gold’ in 2014. The two are known for their explosive live performance which has finally met it’s match in the form of the band’s forthcoming record, Cheap Thrill.
The album was recorded in a custom setup in the duo’s new Atlanta home where Brooklyn producer Van Goose, who spent a week down south, joined them, immersed in the project. Microphones were set up in & out of the house infrastructure including heating shafts, closets and different rooms all intended to create an array of sonic chambers & an ambient live record.
The striking cover art for Cheap Thrill is the fruit of a collaboration with internationally acclaimed Mexican artist Claudio Limon. Like their music, Hank & Cupcakes’ cover image comes across at first as pure energetic art but Shir explains that there’s more to it than meets the eye: “The on the album cover is deliberately gender-blurry and set in a religious-looking environment. The idea came to us while working on the record when many “religious freedom” bills discriminating against LGBT community & bills curbing women’s reproductive rights were (and still are) brought up constantly. We strongly object to this and wanted to comment on the absurdity and misuse of religion as a tool of discrimination and oppression and on the lack of equality we still see in our society.
Man Up, Yancey
"Over the past year, Man Up, Yancey has rode a wave of changes: More shared songwriting between singer Yancey Ballard with guitarist John Pierce and bassist Grahm Naylor, a rotation of drummers (currently Ryan York), ‘90s damaged heartbreak ditched for a queer cruxed post-punk style. Not to say queer narratives weren’t always present, however, Yancey Ballard’s journey beginning Hormone Replacement Therapy has altered the band’s path fairly dramatically. “I feel like this video is like a sweet kiss goodbye to my voice," Ballard says. "[It] made us have to write all new songs because my voice changed so quickly, changing the style I sing in because it is constantly getting lower. I’m not able to hold a note most of the time so I do more spoken word now. I feel like it's affected how I think and write as well but I don't even know how to articulate that.” “Oversensitive” is a portrait of post break-up anxiety, the most yearnful number on last year’s Blue Fuzz EP. The earlier “Opinion” video explored the dissonance of self-perception, both directed by Decatur native Cory Ferreira and assisted by Dorian McNall and Ari Fouriezos. Mica Levine’s performance in “Oversensitive” switches between femme rage and sultry complacency, Ferreira noting: "The psychotic break references two ideas of self, and that’s not to exclude the implication of another character, especially through the dual layout of the video.” Man Up, Yancey is one of a few bands upping queer visibility in Atlanta's local music community that for has long been cis-led, often male and often straight. With a fresh set of songs to be released later in the spring, the band’s newly developed sound contributes to a long history of Southeast jangle pop (cue Pylon and the 1980s Athens post-punk sound). As these older tracks are no longer performed, “Oversensitive” is a last documentation into the Atlanta band’s past, their fruitful beginnings now clearing way for future developments." -Creative Loafing Atlanta
"Over the past year, Man Up, Yancey has rode a wave of changes: More shared songwriting between singer Yancey Ballard with guitarist John Pierce and bassist Grahm Naylor, a rotation of drummers (currently Ryan York), ‘90s damaged heartbreak ditched for a queer cruxed post-punk style. Not to say queer narratives weren’t always present, however, Yancey Ballard’s journey beginning Hormone Replacement Therapy has altered the band’s path fairly dramatically. “I feel like this video is like a sweet kiss goodbye to my voice," Ballard says. "[It] made us have to write all new songs because my voice changed so quickly, changing the style I sing in because it is constantly getting lower. I’m not able to hold a note most of the time so I do more spoken word now. I feel like it's affected how I think and write as well but I don't even know how to articulate that.” “Oversensitive” is a portrait of post break-up anxiety, the most yearnful number on last year’s Blue Fuzz EP. The earlier “Opinion” video explored the dissonance of self-perception, both directed by Decatur native Cory Ferreira and assisted by Dorian McNall and Ari Fouriezos. Mica Levine’s performance in “Oversensitive” switches between femme rage and sultry complacency, Ferreira noting: "The psychotic break references two ideas of self, and that’s not to exclude the implication of another character, especially through the dual layout of the video.” Man Up, Yancey is one of a few bands upping queer visibility in Atlanta's local music community that for has long been cis-led, often male and often straight. With a fresh set of songs to be released later in the spring, the band’s newly developed sound contributes to a long history of Southeast jangle pop (cue Pylon and the 1980s Athens post-punk sound). As these older tracks are no longer performed, “Oversensitive” is a last documentation into the Atlanta band’s past, their fruitful beginnings now clearing way for future developments." -Creative Loafing Atlanta