Interview with KSU's the Peak writer Wes Alvis
Sam, Athieno, Laura, and Laurie did an interview with Wes Alvis of KSU's the Peak in June 2023. See Laura's interview on the Peak's website, we thought it'd be cool to put the other interviews here.
Wes: How would you classify your music?
Sam : I think my bandmates call it “emo bubble grunge”? I’d probably just say “alt/indie rock” because I don’t know much about genres haha
Athieno: Sad indie grunge, with a hint of sexy and a pinch of pool party.
Laurie: We make emo adjacent indie music, kind of like if Phoebe Bridgers and Death Cab for Cutie had a baby.
How long have you guys been playing together?
Sam: I’ve been playing with Laurie and Josh since the summer of 2021, Athieno joined that fall I think and then Laura joined toward the end of 2022.
Athieno: Laurie and I were originally in a band together in middle school and did various music projects together for some time. I joined Equal Creatures in the fall of 2021.
Laurie: Josh and I starting writing together in March 2021. We clicked in this freakish way. I would drive from Powder Springs to Covington just to write with him once a week. 100 mile round trip. I spent so much on gas but I didn’t care. I was hooked. Then Sam joined and another freakish click happened. And then Athieno who I’ve known my whole musical life and as of January this year we are a band of 5 members with Laura Wilson as our newest addition.
Who are your guys? What are some non-musical influences on your work?
Sam : Outside of EC, I’m a PhD candidate in the chemistry program at Emory, so science is probably the biggest “non-musical influence” on how I play drums. Put simply, I wouldn’t play drums the same way I do if I wasn’t a chemist, and I don’t think I’d be the same kind of chemist that I am if I didn’t play drums. Chemistry and music are both physical manifestations of multidimensional mathematical patterns. Symbolic representations of abstract ideas are essential to both - tones, rhythms and dynamics in music and elements and physical properties in chemistry. I even read a scientific article once about “molecular sonification”, where these scientists developed a system that relates the key and melody of a composition to chemical properties of a molecule to allow people to “hear” molecular structure as music. HOW COOL is that. (for shits and giggles if you want- https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2023/dd/d3dd00008g)
Athieno: My biggest influences outside of music right now are the people in and out of the band that I surround myself with. I have so many amazing, smart, and creative people in my life that inspire me to let my creative wings fly and push me to new heights.
Laurie: Filmmakers like Wong Kar Wai (an expert on desire and longing) and David Lynch (the weird, the wonderful, the disturbing, the absurd, the surreal), writer Thich Nhat Hanh (No Mud, No Lotus which should be required reading for life). Thinkers like bell hooks. Social movements like Defend the Atlanta Forest.
What’s your favorite song to perform live?
Sam: Definitely “Neverland”. It’s such a crowd pleaser. And when I’m feeling naughty, I’ll push the tempo quite a bit at the beginning after the “drop” and Josh and Athieno will look back at me with like excited terror like “how much faster are we gonna ramp this up bro 😅” and it’s such a power trip. (Listen to Neverland here)
Athieno: My favorite right now has to be “Waylon” from our upcoming LP 👀 It’s such a groovy bop that took a long time to finish and come together so being able to play it with ease now and feel right in the pocket gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Laurie: “Prey Animal” because it’s so cathartic, I get to scream!
What’s it like on the worst and the best nights?
Sam: Every night that we have a show feels like the best night honestly. Finding people who you have real chemistry with musically is so rare, and finding even a small group of other people who appreciate that chemistry and actually want to listen to you is even rarer. I don’t really care whether there’s 3 people there or 300, if we sound like dog shit or if we sound amazing, if the crowd is dancing and singing along or if they’re all on their phones the whole time. Leaving lab after a shitty day where nothing worked and feeling like a failure and then getting to get up on stage and just give myself over to my body and my senses and remembering that I’m more than the results of my experiments… I just feel so lucky, all of those nights are the best. If I really had to pick something though, I guess the worst parts of it are usually associated with implicit bias/sexism… like sound guys assuming I’m the drummer’s girlfriend/roadie, people coming up to me and acting all astonished like “YOU’RE the drummer?”, comments about me needing to hit harder or compliments with the undertone of “...for a girl” like when people say shit like I’m one of the “best female drummers” they’ve seen or stuff like that sometimes does momentarily take the wind out of my sails a bit.
Athieno: The best nights are the ones where we are all so connected to each other on stage, able to really know what we are all thinking and completely in sync musically. Things can happen at a show that could’ve gone better or misogyny pops its ugly head out sometimes but it’s really hard to have a worst night when I’m doing what I love with people that I love.
Laurie: The best nights are when a stranger understands themselves through your songs or when someone tells me how much the music meant to them. I’m a really socially anxious person most of the time but I’ve had really special connections with people who relate to the deeply personal stuff I’ve written that pull me out of that fear— it’s the feeling of being apart of something bigger that pulls me out of that kind of self-centered space of fear. The best nights are about connection.
The worst nights are when you work your ass off, you open your metaphorical rib cage to the audience to show them your metaphorical pulsating heart and they don’t get it. They aren’t moved, they stare blankly at you and you start imagining all the ways they must be judging you and your experience of the world as well as your expression. It can feel deeply isolating when a crowd is dead or not able to connect with you for whatever reason.
What makes local music special?
Sam: Its intimacy and authenticity. That’s so important in this age of arena concerts. Like no shade to Taylor Swift, because I’m sure seeing her live is an amazing experience, but you go there expecting a breathtaking show that’s gonna invigorate your senses from a god-like celebrity with the funds and clout to do it. When you go to see some local band, you’re seeing someone just like you bare their heart in an intimate setting. You’re trusting this person—who probably doesn’t have the backing of a multimillion dollar record label and a team of show designers behind them—to entertain you and make you feel things, and they’re trusting you to listen to them. It’s such a special space to be in.
Athieno: There’s a sense of camaraderie that can’t be beat. It mostly feels like we are all on the same team, cheering each other on to accomplish our goals together and create a non-toxic creative environment.
Laurie: The community and spirit of generosity, in feb someone broke into one of our bandmates car after a show and stole music equipment right before we had an important TN gig. We made an Instagram post asking for help to raise money to replace the gear and we were overwhelmed by a literal tsunami of donations from folks in our community. We made all the money we needed within 24 hours, folks showed up at gigs after that offering their pedals and love and condolences. It was overwhelming.
Is there a sense of community in a scene?
Sam: 100%, that’s the reason it’s so easy to get drawn into a scene. Like I said, a local music scene feels like one of the most intimate and genuine environments you can be a part of. Most of the people who are drawn to that kind of thing are seeking out a warm and inviting and fun kind of connection, and so they themselves are generally pretty warm and inviting and fun too. And it’s crazyyy how close knit the Atlanta community is, I’ve never been a part of a scene where people are so supportive.
Athieno: Most definitely, I make new friends every show and feel a genuine sense of kindness from the scene that’s hard to find in general.
Laurie: Absolutely. When I first started playing out in high school, I played in a very different scene. The songwriter/Americana scene. There’s so much more tension and brutal self interest at play in that scene than whatever I’m apart of now, it’s not a coherent scene, just like the label DIY isn’t necessarily a coherent genre of gigs or music or whatever, it’s just this wonderful conglomeration of misfits trying to make art.
How do you get into local music?
Sam: Finding small local venues and going to shows/jam nights or whatever. I think it’s an “if-you-build-it-they-will-come” kind of a deal. I’ve lived in several different cities for brief periods of time, and I’ve never had any problems finding the local music scene just by going out and seeing music locally.
Athieno: East Atlanta Village has a lot of smaller venues that house really amazing local artists all of the time, once you find one local artist, going to their socials often leads you down a rabbit hole of all the local shows and artists in the area
Laurie: Make music with your friends or make friends to make music with, go to house shows or host them, hang out at Underground Atlanta’s No Tomorrow and Inner Space Gallery.
What are your favorite venues to play and to see shows?
Sam : We all love playing 529, the sound guy there is so nice and talented! We played in Purgatory at Masquerade which was also super fun. The Bon House and Railroad Earth are probably my favorite venues that are more on the true DIY side of things.
Athieno: I love 529 for their sound and location, The Bon House is amazing, and getting to play at The Masquerade was a dream come true.
Laurie: I love playing Bon House, 529, Railroad Earth. I love seeing shows at Variety Playhouse.
What are some local ATL bands to check out?
Sam: My bandmates will probably cringe at this because I never shut up about this band but SOLAR PLEXUS SUPER PUNCH! Like I said, I am bad at genres but they’re like neo-soul/jazz/funk/psych fusion? Think like Lianne La Havas, Hiatus Kaiyote, Crumb. They’re also such nice people and they’re all sooo talented, and I think at least one of them is a chemical engineer (which does not bias me at all, nope not even a little, what do you mean?? I hate science). They have this one song “Horsey” and it is a WHOLE. BOP. I first met them because they were playing a show with my boyfriend’s band Gritters, who I obviously also recommend checking out! I asked him to describe their sound and he said “Over the Hedge soundtrack, Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind and Arthur, the TV Show” so take from that what you will. He also has released some solo stuff under the name Fun At Camp, including a concept album about a young lizard coming of age. Great stuff.
Athieno: Swellshark, Buice, Gritters, and Cascadent.
Laurie: Mom Friend, blurry, World’s Greatest Dad, Mallbangs, Smoke Detector, Ladrones!!
Any advice, or other words about starting a band?
Sam: Don’t take yourself too seriously, even if you’re serious about music. I’m a pathological perfectionist in all areas of my life, but music’s always been the place where I can let go of being any type of way and just be in the moment, where “right” and “wrong” don’t exist, and it’s all just preferences and different emotional responses. Music can be very intellectual, but in my experience, the best musicians are not necessarily the ones who have the deepest grasp of theory, just like, even though there’s a lot of chemistry in cooking, that doesn’t mean chemists are automatically the best cooks. The musicians who are really fun to be in bands with (like my bandmates <3) are the ones who know how to listen and respond, who aren’t afraid to try stuff just to see how it sounds, who know how to just play and let their emotions lead them. So don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re less-than just because you get tripped up by mixed meter time signatures or you don’t know how to play all 7 musical modes in every key backwards and forwards. Meet yourself where you’re at and find people who will do the same. The technical knowledge will come when it needs to.
Athieno: Find out how you can incorporate everyone’s individual styles. I find that when everyone is able to bring their creativity to the front and we all feel 100% about what we’re producing, it creates something truly magical and unique. Don’t be afraid to switch things up, because there is no messing up when it comes to artistic expression, only the journey to what you are producing. Also giant whiteboards are a must! Record everything you can when you are first starting on something, and listen back to what you recorded; you never know what gems are hiding during a jam session.
Laurie: Communicate, give grace to each other, compromise, be patient, don’t go to bed angry, don’t let your ego get in the way of your shared goal — kind of all the things people tell newlyweds. Being in a band maybe is kind of like a marriage, I’ve never been married so I’m not sure if it’s the best comparison but I feel like there might be some major overlap.
Be authentic. Music is always better from a place of authenticity even if it’s coming from a character or a persona, even fiction writing is about writing what you know, right?
Thank you so much to Wes for this interview, read the interview with Laura Wilson here!