Scissors For Lefty pop quiz 2.0 interview

Welcome to the LAST EVER popolio pop quiz interview at THE REAL popolio.  It was nice synergy that the way the September pop quiz scheduling happened there were actually 3 and not the usual 2.  Nice synergy because we’re closing our doors at 3 years and as an aside, I feel 3 (and multiples of) is my lucky number.

That said, I’m very excited that it features San Francisco-based band, Scissors For Lefty, because they were there at the very beginning.  Made up of two sets of brothers and an uncle (that’s 2, 2, and 1), it’s all in the family for SFL, for what’s a fun and interesting indie pop outfit delivering the unexpected.

They were the first band (and second overall artist) to be featured with pop quizzes in the 3 year history of popolio.  popolio debuted in September 2008 and SFL were featured the very next month in October.

In fact, October 2008 was officially Scissors For Lefty Month at popolio with each member of the 5-member band featured with an individual pop quiz interview every Friday of that month.  It was a formula I hoped to exploit with other bands and groups, but I only ended up doing it with these guys.

Since I basically went back to the Year 1 pop quiz format for Year 3, I had the whole group do the Year 2 format that I called the 2.0 version.  Since they had already been there, done that; no need to beat a dead horse.

Two of the original Year 1 SFL pop quizzes made MY TOP 30: Year 1 Posts of  ALL-TIME! based on overall hits per post.  Vocalist, Bryan Garza, got the Number 24 spot and his just married (about a week or so ago to be more exact) bassist brother, Steve Garza, showed up at Number 17.  Nice extra treat — the first featured pic is from the wedding!

Congrats to Steve for his recent nuptials and a HUGE shout out SFL, collectively, for doing this!  I appreciate you being there at the hopeful beginning and popping back up for the bitter ending.  (I jest.  I jest.  I’m not bitter.  Okay, maybe I am, but that’s not what I mean.)  Seriously, guys, I won’t forget this!   Enjoy their collective Year 3 pop quiz 2.0 interview below.

See the original Year 1 SFL pop quizzes:

Bryan Garza (vocals) pop quiz
Steve Garza (bass) pop quiz
Robby Garza (guitar) pop quiz
James Krimmel (drums) pop quiz
Peter Krimmel (piano) pop quiz

September 30, 2011

Name:   Scissors For Lefty
Genre:  Alternative/Pop
Forthcoming Release:  Drugstore Perfume (TBD)
Release Date:  Early 2012

This, That, or the Other
1.Straight-Up Funk or Down-and-Dirty Punk? Hmmm, more like 1983 for Rough Trade Records?  Down-and-Purdy Punk?
2. Lyrics or Beats? Lyrics and Melodies
3. Fan-Favorite or Critics’ Darling? A Homemade Fan-Favorite
4. Closed Fist or Open Hand? It’ll slap you around on a few tracks…but, only, of course, if you’re into that kind of thing.
5. Wall Flower, Life of the Party, or Dancing Your @$$ off?  Life of the Party with a Few Easter Eggs

Fill in the Blank
6. Music keeps me close to my pals.
7. If I wasn’t a musical artist I’d be a good-natured transient.
8.  My favorite all-time music videos are “I Feel It All” by Feist and “Lust For Life” by Girls.
9. If I could have a super power it would be Band Van Transformer because apartment rent would magically appear in the band’s wallets each month.
10. Peace, Love, and Happiness should change to Get, A, and Job.

Short Answer
11. Musicianship means:  On tour, it means connecting with people, whether it be against the stage, at the hotel or at the truck stop.  Off tour, it means keeping vision for the darndest of rough ideas and seeing them through…
12. If I could convey one perfect thought or sentiment through one perfect song it would be:  Naked Mario Party to the Death, Bring It!!!
13. If I could change one thing about myself it would be:  My fear of letting other people drive the band van.
14. Wild Card!  You get me all bothered, cool, then, hot, then, hotter, I’m gonna’ blow midnight screening dollars cuz it’s empty in the back row of your movie adaptation…
15. The most important thing to me RIGHT NOW is:  Finishing the album and singing an Elvis cover song with my mom for my brother’s wedding.

Scissors For Lefty’s favorite all-time videos!

Since SFL is still currently working on their forthcoming release, they have no new stuff to share.  They did share these, though! Not one, but two, unreleased B-Sides, “Hard Times” and “‘Lil Airplane,” to tide you over until then.  Listen below and click on the pic to get to their recently created Facebook Page and ‘like’ it!

Music Video: Anjulie “Brand New Bitch”

NSFW!

MY TOP 30: Year 3 Posts of ALL-TIME! 15. Boy + Kite 101X Win

MY TOP 30: Year 3 Posts of ALL-TIME!

15. Boy + Kite 101X Win

The Year 3 Number 15 spot goes to a post that just went live last month on Thursday, August 18, 2011.  It was an informational post recounting a press release I received regarding ATX band, Boy + Kite.  They won a contest hosted by local radio station, 101X.  They won a spot on the Toadies’ Dia De Los Toadies fest and paid-for production for 3 new songs by the Toadies’ record label, Kirtland Records.  I also included a stream of their song, “Think in Stereo.”  We congratulated them on their win.

Now that we are at the half-way point with both countdowns, I want to reiterate that these are not MY personal TOP 30 posts; they are based on the internal WordPress stats for both site locations.   In other words, rankings are based on how many hits each post received.  So, that’s not about me.  That’s about how many visitors a post got.  Candidly speaking, it’s also about how aggressive an artist and/or their reps were about cross-promoting and cross-linking their particular interview or story.

I also want to say that I’m very excited that so many El Paso and Austin artists have made a showing on both countdowns.  I do pride myself on being a national and international site, but it does mean a little more when they are from Texas.  El Paso is my hometown and I do live in Austin, after all.

You can see the original post here — Boy + Kite Win 101X’s “Your Shot to Rock,” Slot in Dia Del Los Toadies Festival & More! — ATX.

Music Video: The Rescues “Can’t Stand the Rain”

MY TOP 30: Year 3 Posts of ALL-TIME! 22. TsuShiMaMiRe 10Q & Elephant Sky pop quiz

MY TOP 30: Year 3 Posts of ALL-TIME!

22. TsuShiMaMiRe 10Q & Elephant Sky pop quiz
This is our second Year 3 tie.  See the first here.  The Number 22 spot is shared by Japanese punk band, TsuShiMaMiRe, and Brooklyn-based folk pop artist, Elephant Sky.

This is the first Questions for post on the countdown not written by myself.  It was written by one-time freelance contributor, Deanna Fierro.  At the time, she was based in El Paso and TsuShiMaMiRe had a gig scheduled there.

She interviewed them the night of that show and even got a photographer to take pictures.  So, there is also a show pic-olio associated with this interview.  See the TsuShiMaMiRe pic-olio shot by Refractive Elements Studio here.  Deanna also reviewed the show here.

My thought with taking on Deanna was that, being from El Paso myself, I wanted to try to feature more El Paso Artists and happenings in the Sun City.  In this case, it worked.

Elephant Sky was the focus of my second June 2011 pop quiz interview.  It posted on Friday, June 24, 2011.  The focus of the first was Kaydean on Friday, June 10, 2011.  That pop quiz interview already made an appearance on this countdown at the Year 3 Number 25 spot.  Perhaps, mentioning Elephant Sky’s pop quiz in that post helped her climb to this spot.

At some point, Brooklyn-based artists became common here at THE REAL popolio.  Not sure why or how that is exactly.  Don’t know if there is just a lot of musical talent in that particular New York borough or if it’s just coincidence.

In some cases, the artists I feature are connected to one another.  I kind of work on referrals sometimes or I refer myself to a related artist.  Or they see what’s come before and they find me.  Either way, I ended up covering Austin, the rest of Texas, Boston a little bit (because I have an affinity for it), and Brooklyn through the years.

See the original Thursday, December 2, 2010 TsuShiMaMiRe post here — EXCLUSIVE 10 Questions for TsuShiMaMiRe — EP.

See all 17 Year 3 Questions for interviews here.

See the original Elephant Sky post here — Elephant Sky pop quiz interview.  It includes her song, “Good Lie,” and Monsters of Folk’s video for “Temazcal.”

See all 28 Year 3 pop quiz interviews here.

Music Video: Red Hot Chili Peppers “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie”

NOT directed by Kreayshawn as previously reported by various media outlets.  Flea had this to say on his Twitter account on Monday regarding the Marc Klasfeld-directed video that debuted instead on MTV yesterday.  “For those asking, the Kreayshawn vid just didn’t work out,  that happens sometimes, I think Kreayshawn is awesome and a great artist.”

Boy + Kite Win 101X’s “Your Shot To Rock,” Slot in Dia De Los Toadies Festival & More! – ATX

Congrats to Boy + Kite from THE REAL popolio!

This in!

Listen to Boy + Kite’s “Think in Stereo.”

Austin’s Boy + Kite has emerged as the winner of the “Your Shot To Rock” contest sponsored by local rock radio station 101X.  The day before the band released its debut album, Go Fly, Boy + Kite was hand-picked by fellow rock band, the Toadies (best known for the hit song, “Possum Kingdom”), as the winners over 60 other acts.

As part of the prize package, Boy + Kite has earned a featured slot on the Toadies yearly (and fourth annual) Dia De Los Toadies festival taking place next Friday and Saturday, August 26th and 27th, at the Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels, Texas.  This year’s event will also feature (in addition to the Toadies) appearances by the Sword, the Black Angels, and other Texas favorites.
 
Boy + Kite will also cut three new songs with all expenses paid by The Toadies label, Kirtland Records. Todd Lewis of The Toadies has already expressed interest in producing these sessions himself.  Boy + Kite’s debut album, Go Fly, and its lead single, “Think In Stereo,” are both out now.  Boy + Kite brings back the essential eras of Sonic Youth and the Pixies in a way that is totally refreshing, but still evokes enough nostalgia to be timeless.

10Q for Bird Call Before Her 8/17/11 Show@The Hole in the Wall – ATX

I first posted Bird Call’s (aka Chiara Angelicola) video for her award-winning song, “Waltz in the Snow,” a few weeks back.  As I stated in that post, and will restate here, she will be playing the Hole in the Wall THIS WEDNESDAY, August 17, 2011, with Johanna and the Dusty Floor. 

Before then, get to know a little bit about this intriguing up-and-coming Brooklyn-based artist with our EXCLUSIVE 10Q interview.

Listen to Bird Call’s version of Beck’s “Lost Cause.”

Click the first pic to go to Bird Call’s official site and second, at the end of the interview, to get to her Facebook Page.

***

by Gretchen Robinette

1. You probably get this question all the time, but how did you come up with the Bird Call moniker?  What does it mean?  Quite honestly I am not quite sure if I experienced a specific moment when Bird Call came to me.  I think it was more of a culmination of experiences that led to a moment where I just intuited the name and that was that. 

I got my first two tattoos of these two sparrow-style birds on my forearms a few years ago, after that I started subconsciously paying more attention to birds, in general, their morning songs, bird paraphernalia, etc.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to be a crazy bird woman when I’m old and gray.

2. Congrats on winning the Performance Category in this year’s International Songwriters Competition with “Waltz in the Snow!”  I don’t think many up-and-coming artists even know about it.  How did you hear about it?  How does it feel to have won?  I heard about ISC through several different mediums including Folk Alliance, Sonic Bids, and newsletters.  It’s one of those things that I didn’t really pay much attention to the first few years.  Once I released my first record I submitted my song, “Momentum,” and never heard back.  The second year I submitted “Waltz in the Snow” and I didn’t think much of it.  When I got the word that I was a finalist, I just flipped out and was like I don’t care if I win because I was just so stoked to have made the finals.  When I received notice that I won, I was pumped that these greats like Tom Waits and Peter Gabriel acknowledged my songwriting.  Manifested dream.

3. Diggin’ the look on the cover of your latest EP, Other Creatures, with the rainbow braid and feathers.  Very bird-y, of course.  What was the inspiration?  Do you ever perform in a look like this or would you appear in a video that way?  As far as photos, I always like exploring different ideas that pop in my head when I’m dreaming, working out, or in the shower.  I like creating stories in my head and then bringing them to life.

The cover for the EP was more of an exploration and art piece that I did with my fantastic photographer and close friend, Gretchen Robinette.  I usually don’t dress too crazy on stage but I can never say no to glitter. 

4. The reason I ask about videos is because you look like a totally different person in the “Waltz in the Snow” video.  Not only do you look younger and more innocent, but very classic, ‘50s, I think (if I’m getting my eras right), but definitely old school.  Tell me about this persona and the video.  Which is more you?  I’m a chameleon.  I like exploring different parts of my personalities. When I write, I take on the role of the story-teller of that song.  “Waltz in the Snow” is very much about an innocent girl experiencing Brooklyn for the first time.  We tried to emulate that in the video. It’s all based on the story.

5. What about “Waltz in the Snow?”  Why did you decide to write a song like this both lyrically and sonically?  It is your ode to Brooklyn, correct?  I wrote it when I first moved to Brooklyn during the daunting cold of my first real east coast winter.  When I write it seems to come from some place outside of me and deep within me at the same time.  I cannot try to manipulate what comes out too much.  It felt right at the time.  I can say that I intended the 3 count time as I have always wanted to write a waltz.

6. Use this question to wax poetic about Brooklyn and tell us all, especially us Austinites, why Brooklyn is so exquisite.  I feel that when artists move to New York they move with a drive and intention to build something great.  Brooklyn carries this energy constantly from day into night.  You feel it around you, and it is what keeps me motivated, creating, being inspired, and challenging myself. 

7. How did the co-headlining tour with Johanna and the Dusty Floor come together?  Why not tour solo?  Johanna and I both released our records on May 24^th and we had both been talking about touring our music out.  It seemed logical to split costs and combine efforts to tour the country together since our music is so compatible as well.  We’re really stoked about it all and having a lot of fun.

8. Have you been to Austin before?  What can we expect from your Austin stop at the Hole in the Wall?  It will be my first time in Austin.  I’ve never been.  I’m bringing my California-native-via-Brooklyn vibes and hope everyone likes.  I have heard nothing but great things about the Austin music scene.  Really excited and looking forward to playing this fun spot with some great local acts as well.

9.  Tell us one salacious rumor that you’ve heard about the ATX.  I hear that when you walk into any bar you get your first couple of drinks on the house.

10. You’re a new bird species.  What are you called, what do you look like, and what does your bird call sound like?  Describe.  I am the Pantheonicus Horned Pegagasius Owl.  I try to balance my life with innocence and a healthy challenge on a daily basis.  I also watch B-side horror films and do yoga.  Hooty Hoo.

by Gretchen Robinette

Music Video: Dexter’s Kin “Spill Out The Lies”

Music Video: Twin Atlantic “Time For You To Stand Up”