Category Archives: Interviews

Interview With J2k of Flosstradamus

Posted on June 19, 2009 by | 4 comments

MP3:Matt & Kim-Yea Yeah (Flosstradamus Remix Final)

flosstradamus

Flosstradamus are playing at the Venue(Club Karma/Redzone) Saturday, June 20th along with DJ Detox, and CJ Townsend..

Flosstradamus are a deejay/remix duo from Chicago that has been doing it big for couple years now. They exist in the weird hybrid Electro/Juke whatever the fuck you call it world that has you playing Lollapalooza one day, and a small club date the next.

I spoke to half of them, J2k aka Young Josh aka Kid Sister’s brother on the phone when I was hanging out at the MilkBar a couple days ago. (J2K is the one with the Slingshot) J2k talked about their worst show, working with De La Soul, the backpack vs. hipster dynamic, and his love for midwest crowd.

what’s good with you?

J2K:Just played Los Angeles last night.

How was it ?

It was cool. The crowd was like 1200 people. It was a blast. It was fun.

Is that your usual turn-out on the West Coast?

It varies. We are playing at a club that holds 600 people in San Diego tonight.

What was your wackest deejay experience?

I wouldn’t say it was the wackest…We were at DJ AM’s club LAX. The people were not into it at all. It was a jiggy crowd. After about Ten minutes some girl told us we sucked. We got booted off the tables. Everyone hated us.

Did you still get paid?

Yeah. Of course. We went back 6 months later and killed it.

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Interview: Vegetative State

Posted on June 12, 2009 by | 6 comments

(Duffy note: We’re really happy to have Aleks Shaulov, known to many as the guitarist for The Feelers, writing for donewaiting.com. Expect lots more punk rock coverage, obviously.)

veg1

MP3: Laguna Beach Rules
MP3: Bolder Than

I heard Vegetative State for the first time a few years ago, when they befriended my old band on Myspace. Immediately my cohorts and I thought that we’ve stumbled on to something awesome. Here were real teenagers, playing real teenage angst driven honest to gawd punk rock with no extra flab, kick, catch, or whatever else you could think of to make it “fresh” or “current”. Soon after, we asked them to play a show with us. A little bit later the label that my friends JG, Mindy and I were running put out their 1st EP. But before we did that, we had to have a meeting with some of their parents at the White Castle, to which we showed up hung over as fuck!!! They were around sixteen at the time and it was understood that parents know best. Since then they’ve smashed more guitars, shocked more innocent bystanders, broken up and re-started again more times then Ol’ Man Hank Rollins got laid.

The band is celebrating the release of their new album tonight at Carabar. Sick Thrills and Necropolis are also playing. Here’s all of the dirt and more as I sit down with the lead singer of VS, Andrew Wagner.

Where does the name come from?

AW: Originally we were called Kamikaze Motor Cult. I came up with that. I thought it was really cool, but we were really young at the time and we kind of thought it was stupid, because nobody liked us at the time, because we were playing at the wrong bars. So, then we changed our name to The Problems. We all knew it was a temporary name. This was all around the time the Terry Schaivo controversy was going on and so I had the bright idea that we’d name the band Vegetative State and have the whole “duuuuuuuh ” (drool) thing be the gag…that and abortion. Continue reading →

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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit in Columbus – March 6 (and SXSW)

Posted on March 5, 2009 by | 2 comments

jasonisbell

Show info: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit / Deer Tick perform at the Rumba Cafe on Friday, March 6. Tickets are $10 (advance) / $12 (at the door) and the show is 18 and over (under 21 pays a $2 surcharge).

(Jason is also playing SXSW)

Ex-Drive-By Trucker guitarist Jason Isbell and his band – The 400 Unit – released their self-titled album in mid-February . It’s Isbell’s second post-DBT release but the first where he’s put a name to the guys backing him up. And it’s with good reason that he gives credit where credit is due – the 400 Unit brings a consistency to Isbell’s sound, a consistency that was lacking (a bit) on his 2007 debut, Sirens of the Ditch. Don’t get me wrong, I loved that album and went so far as to call it one of 2007’s most “outstanding country-influenced rock albums” but it sounded exactly like what it was – a culmination of years worth of songs that had been brewing in Isbell’s head.

With less time to write, and more input and influence from his band, Isbell’s latest sounds like the fully realized vision of an accomplished Southern songwriter and contains some of Isbell’s strongest compositions to date (“Sunstroke,” “Good,” “No Choice in the Matter” and “The Last Song I Will Ever Write” are personal favorites).

MP3: Sunstroke

I sent Isbell some questions via his publicist a few weeks ago. Read the interview after the jump.

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The Damnwells: new CD, interview, SXSW plans

Posted on February 10, 2009 by | 4 comments

thedamnwells_onelastcenturyIt’s a big day for The Damnwells. At 9 a.m., the band will release it’s third full-length CD, One Last Century, exclusively through Paste Magazine’s website. Fans of the band’s first two releases will want to download the new CD for tracks like “55 Pictures”, “Bastards of Midnight” and “Down with the Ship” while those who just recently discovered the band due to their inclusion on the Chaos Theory soundtrack will undoubtedly fall in love with “Jesus Could Be Right”, “Closer”, and “WWXII”.

My personal favorite is “Like It Is”, which Alex first debuted in a YouTube video accompanied by his wife Angela on backing vocals. As you listen to it, just imagine the Dixie Chicks providing backing vocals, banjo, and violin.

MP3: “Like It Is”

On the eve of the virtual release, I gave Alex a call at his (temporary) home in Iowa where he is attending The University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop. The following is our close-to-40-minute conversation.

MP3: Interview with Alex Dezen

And in SXSW news, Alex revealed that The Damnwells will play an unofficial day party hosted by September Gurl, Organic Entertainment, and Ripple Entertainment on March 18 at Threadgills (South Store).  More info as we get it.

Now get to downloading One Last Century. (available after 9 a.m.)

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O.J. Da Juiceman Interview

Posted on February 6, 2009 by | 13 comments

 oj-da-juiceman

When ex-Dipset member Chubby Baby left the C-O,  the rotound alleged drug kingpin left a large void in the hearts of Columbus.  Don’t get me wrong. People still fuck with the Dips. (Really looking forward to Cam’ron next video, “I Used to Get it in Ohio)

 But the Dipset presence was partially diminished by not  having a local lieutinant. This absence was soon filled by Atlanta Trap-star Gucci Mane. Gucci didn’t live in Columbus. But he came here so often it seemed like he did. Then, oops,Gucci Mane got locked up again. Gucci’s penchant for incarceration put the sentiment of our cities’  tall tee, fresh fade and  J’s crowd with his So Icey-bff Atlanta’s O.J. Da Juiceman.

I talked to O.J. on the phone yesterday about various things. We chopped it up about his new album the Other Side of the Trap, him getting shot 8 times, hustling with Gucci Mane, and Souljah Boy biting his adlibs.

Columbus loves you. Why do you think we fuck with you so hard. People love the Cuilinary Arts Mixtapes?

They see me working the skreets. I did 16 mixtapes. Skreet shit.  I did this independent. I’m from the skreets. The skreets feel my struggle.

So What’s the Other Side of the Trap?

It’s a skreet album. Before I was doing mixtapes. But this is me. 100 percent. I was in the skreets before. Now I am making rap money. The Other Side is rap money. This is letting them get to know me. I got another album in June.

Do you worry that now you are on a Major people are gonna get mad?

No cause the skreets saw me build this success. This is just a distribution deal. I been doing this in skreets since 1999. 16 Mixtapes. They happy to see me shine.

Is the album better than the mixtapes?

I had more time. I am a quick writer. More time made the album better.

You have a song the on the album called Batman. After you got shot 8 times in April, you compared yourself to Wolverine…

I was fucked up. They asked for a comment right after I got shot. So I made a joke about ‘I’m like Wolverine’. Shot on Sunday. Out the hospital on Wednesday. Show on Sunday.I just get stronger. It was a joke. I got shot on Sunday. Got out the hospital on Wednesday. Did a show on Saturday in Cincinnati.

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Road trippin’ with Two Cow Garage

Posted on November 14, 2008 by | Comments Off on Road trippin’ with Two Cow Garage

Two Cow Garage

No use in reinventing the wheel. Two Cow Garage has gotten as much love on Donewaiting as just about any band short of Miranda Sound or Ted Leo so I’m not going to waste my time with a historical background or even a song-by-song analysis of the new record, Speaking in Cursive, the band’s first for what has quickly become one of my favorite labels, Suburban Home. What I will say – in way of an intro – is that just as with previous Two Cow CDs, it took me a few listens to really get into the songs, probably (no, not probably, DEFINITELY) because I have yet to hear these songs played live.  But after a few spins, the CD has really, really grown on me.

The Two Cow live experience – all the blood, sweat and tears – is as fine better than 99.9% of the other bands out there trying to make it by relentless touring. Even despite some potential line-up setbacks (read Deville’s cover story in the Alive), Two Cow soldiers on without letting it effect what they give back to the audience, regardless of size, hundreds of nights a year.

MP3: Brass Ring
MP3: Your Humble Narrator

Having just wrapped up a few weeks of tour dates, Two Cow Garage returns home for Saturday night’s Skully’s 7th Anniversary blowout where they’ll hit the stage at 9:20 (this show also serves as an official CD release party for Speaking in Cursive). Somewhere between Austin, Texas and Columbus, the fellas (Micah Schnabel, Shane Sweeney, Chris Flint, Andy Schell, and Cody Smith) answered questions I sent them via email about life on the road.

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Envelope is Not A Homophobe

Posted on November 13, 2008 by | 5 comments

Last time I wrote about Columbus rapper Envelope was a review of his release party. I put something out there that that might have sullied his image as the most likeable person in Columbus because it seemed more interesting than me repeating the press release SO..i figured he could answer any misconceptions that I may have created herre. I mean I never want to see a rapper take a dive like Greg Loughanis on my account. Just trying to keep it right. Continue reading →

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Sebastian Bach on tour with Poison

Posted on July 15, 2008 by | 2 comments

Baz and Rob DeLuca

My birthday was yesterday. I didn’t celebrate. My real present came Sunday night courtesy of Rob DeLuca, bassist for Sebastian Bach‘s band, who hooked me up with killer seats for the Poison/Dokken/Sebastian Bach show at The Schott in Columbus. I’ve been a fan(atic) of DeLuca’s since his days slinging bass for Spread Eagle and though the band never blew up the way they should have, I still tell people about driving DeLuca and singer Ray West to a party in Akron after a Spread Eagle show at the Akron Agora in ’90 or ’91.

If you thinking about checking out one of the upcoming shows – there are still a month and a half of dates left – do yourself a HUGE favor and get your ass to the arena early to check out Baz and his band tear things up (here’s my review of the Columbus show).

After the jump … Rob DeLuca answers some questions I sent him via email on an off day on the tour.

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Terrastock 7 Preview: A Quick Chat with Wooden Shjips

Posted on May 28, 2008 by | 3 comments


photo courtesy Holy Mountain Records

San Francisco’s Wooden Shjips are the quintessential Terrastock band. Fuzzy, loose around the edges and classically Psychedelic, their unique brand of head music draws equal inspiration from Japanese rock, Kraut, modern minimalism and their lysergic fathers from the American West. To put it simply, their discography is essential listening for anyone even remotely interested in the Psychedelic with a capital “P”. I caught up with mainman Ripley Johnson in anticipation of the first of what will hopefully be many Terrastock slots. This is my top festival pick.

After a flurry of releases in 2007, we’ve had about seven straight months with zero Shjips material. What gives?

We’ve been putting more energy into playing live, which is what we did in the first half of 2007 as well. We have a split 7″ with The Heads coming out, which will be available on our July tour with them in Europe. We’re also finishing up our 2nd LP for Holy Mountain, which will be available in the fall. And our early vinyl releases have been compiled as “Vol 1″, and is out on Holy Mountain in June. There should be another 7” or two out this year.

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Countdown to Terrastock: Interview with Oneida

Posted on May 23, 2008 by | 3 comments

I’m pretty psyched to see Oneida. I’ve loved this band since I first laid my ears upon Come On Everybody Let’s Rock. Within there’s a song about cocaine that’s “profound.” But that was a while ago, and in the past decade Oneida has flown under the underground, doing exactly what they feel like doing. And doing Terrastock is something they should’ve been doing a long time ago. That decade has produced albums like the monolithic double LP Each One Teach One and their opus, The Wedding (a record made with industrial-sized, player-piano cylinders). To say they’ve been underappreciated is premature, just wait until your kids get a hold of these albums. Needless to say, the main attraction of Terrastock, besides a Simply Saucer reunion, is getting to finally see four of my head heroes in action (though they swear they played Bernies at one point). I caught up with Fat Bobby before some very prestigious shows in NYC.

Do you ever feel like you’ve reached a threshold of “epicness”? Like it’s getting harder and harder to top what you did last time?

Your question assumes a certain level of premeditation that just is not there in the creation of our music.

I remember a time when you were searching for a real harpsichord. Did you ever find it? What are you looking for these days?

Ha! You have an excellent memory. We did NOT find the harpsichord we wanted at the time we wanted it….and then, lo and behold, we stopped stressing, moved on, and recently an electric harpsichord (in terrible shape) has come into our lives. A classic example of chilling the fuck out and letting the universe have its way with you.

Not to dwell on Oneida’s past, but how did you get the idea to record The Wedding with giant music box cylinders? Did the process ever overshadow the recording of the songs? Were you happy with the results? Are we ever going to hear the raw tape from those sessions, the once promised “dub” version? Continue reading →

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