Hello, and welcome back to season four of The Fresh Finds Podcast, the show about discovering new music with good people. I'm Ryan, and this month I'm joined by Jeffrey of the Indy Rock Band, Western Jaguar. How are you doing, dude? I am fantastic. Thank you for having me today. Of course. This is another one that's been a long time in the making. We've been talking about doing this for probably almost a year now at this point, and I'm glad that we were able to make this kind of coincide with the release of your new upcoming album. Before we get into that, do you want to take some time to introduce yourself and kind of familiarize people with the project a little bit? Yeah, sure. So, if you don't know me, I'm Jeff, and musically I go by Western Jaguar. Project kind of started about, God, like almost 11 years ago now, just as something to do, you know, like I was at a very crossroadsy type in my life, type of time in my life where I just wasn't really sure like what I wanted to do, and you know, like we get out of high school and we're kind of lost, and that's kind of where I was. I was going to university, but I didn't really want to go. I was kind of just going for my parents and like all this type of thing. So I ended up just making the first Western Jaguar album, which was called Glacier at the time, and I made it just to make it. I released it, people liked it, people wanted to play in my band, and I'm like, I guess this is a band now, and I'll be hold 11 years later. Here I am with like releasing another album, still doing this, like, so it's kind of crazy how it all started just kind of out of this time in my life where I wasn't really sure like what I wanted or what I wanted to do, and it was kind of like a gift that kept me going. So, yeah. Yeah, for sure. And like you said, 11 years later, like that's kind of kind of crazy, like a lot of the time, like, especially independent projects don't last that long. No. So it's really cool to see that, I mean, especially at the beginning of the year you released the Ranges album, which was kind of like a compilation of what you felt like where you were, was it what you felt like were your best songs from those first 10 years, or like the most popular songs from those first 10 years? Well, it was interesting with that specifically. There was a few songs that had been released that had just never been on an album before. That were just singles. Oh, okay. So I wanted to include those. And then, yeah, the rest are just kind of ones that I think were like, those like heavy hit or western Jaguar songs from those 10 years that people really connected with. And yeah, just ones that were well received, and we played a lot at live shows and things like that. Yeah, for sure. So you mentioned that like people wanted to to join your band after like releasing the first album. Was that something where you like reached out to people and were like, Hey, I'm kind of interested in like playing some shows now that I've got some music written or was it something where it was like, you had people that you kind of knew, they knew that you were doing this thing. And then it just kind of like came together very naturally in that way. It was a very natural thing. I, like I said, I put out the album and the idea was it was just kind of a pro, a recording project, you know, like I had no intention of playing. I'd played live in bands like in high school, you know, and it was all right. But I was like, I wanted to kind of do my own thing. And I just felt like I enjoyed the process of recording. But after the album came out, of course, like you know people, like the music scene is very tight in it. Community, like people know. Oh, yeah. For sure. And people were like, when are you going to play live? I'm like, I'm not. And people were like, why? I'm like, well, I, why not? I'm like, I don't know. Like, I don't, these songs are so calm. There's so many parts, like who's going to do it with me? And people just would like hit me up and be like, if you need a guitar player, if you need a bass player, I remember my first bass player, Brent Webb. I was playing with backing tracks at a bar. And he just came up to me. He's like, I'm going to play bass for you. And I was like, okay. And like we had barely known each other really up until that point. So it was cool in that way. It's like, it wasn't forced at the beginning. It wasn't like I meant to really turn this into what it became. It just kind of has all happened naturally over time, which is kind of cool that the music itself has kind of been what's driven people to be involved. I think it's always awesome when it's like, you know, always very natural, you know, nothing feels forced. I've seen that happen a couple of times at like open mics and stuff like that that I've gone to where it's like, somebody walks up within acoustic guitar and they're like, oh, this is kind of like a strip back version of like what I would normally do. And then somebody else is like, I'm a drummer. You want me to just like sit in and they're like, yeah, sure. What the hell? Why not? And I think that like the music community is very cool in that way because like a lot of people are just interested in doing it for the love of the game, you know? So it's like, yeah, these things can come across very easily. Yeah. And that's really what happened. Like I had friends I knew played in other bands and they were still like, yeah, we want to do this. I'm like, but how are you going to have time? Like, we don't care. Like we want to do it. And it's like stuff like that. That was really cool that like people like the music enough to want to be involved. Oh, yeah. 100%. Yeah. And I think it's cool seeing that, you know, as things have evolved, you know, you've been able to kind of play with your sound a little bit and not always do the exact same thing. And there's always something about what you bring to it that always feels very engaging. Yeah. And I think that's something that's kind of been in a band or a project that is really ebbed and flows. You've talked at the beginning, like you first mentioned, like a lot of indie projects don't last for 11 years. And the reality is this project has changed probably six, seven times in terms of members and how the band is operating and things like that. The only constant has been like me in it. And that has also led to all these different musical kind of experimentations you could say, because depending on who's in the band at what time they bring their own style, their own influence to the songs that I'm writing, right? So I think that's kind of neat about it as well as I can tell kind of if you put on one of my songs, I can know exactly what period it is based on who was in the band at that time, which is kind of cool. Yeah. And kind of how they were influencing stuff. When you were, because right now it is just a solo project again, correct? 10. It's cool. Yeah. Kind of. Yes, it really is. But even, I mean, I'll give you, do you want to like a free scoop, a free scoop? All right. Yeah. I'm working on putting together like some people to do recording for next year, like drummers, like saxophone players, even things like that, which they may be willing to play live with me as well. So again, it could be shifting again, but that's just kind of how this band has always been. It's always been just ever evolving thing, which I think is really interesting. I also think that it's cool that at least from what I'm getting from it, it sounds like you've always been the primary songwriter and you've had people come in and out of like being in the band and kind of like playing with you live and stuff like that. But it sounds like they've also had a hand in the writing of some of the songs from each era that they were involved in in a way. And so everybody's kind of got their fingerprint on the songs that they were on, as opposed to like a lot of people who are the primary member of a band and everybody else kind of rotates out. Generally, it's one person does pretty much everything and then they get joined live. I think that that's cool that you've got all these different collaborators and people that bring new stuff to the table. Yeah. And a lot of it is like, I'm, if I'm playing everything, I'm having gaps in certain things. Like I know I'm not as good a drummer as whomever, right? And it's like being, I guess, aware enough to be like, you're more skilled at this than I am. How do you think you could make this the best it can be? And it's almost like pushing what you think is best for the song aside and like collectively saying like, these people are also involved. They have their ideas, their ideas are valid too. My first instinct isn't always right. And a lot of like some of my favorite Western Jaguar songs back in the day are completely different than the demos I wrote because of the influence of the guys I was playing with at the time. So it is cool in that sense. It starts with me, but yeah, like you said, where it goes really depends on so many different factors, which is again, makes everything kind of interesting and unique. Yeah. And I think that the other, it's cool because everything is unique, but there's also like that through line, like when you listen to the range is album, which I think is if people aren't familiar with your music, the best way to kind of like get a crash course into what Western Jaguar is, there's still a through line. Everything feels cohesive still, even though there's very clearly like, oh, we kind of went off in this direction for this project, this direction for that project. Yeah. And that through line is like my voice, really, I guess you could say. Like everything, no matter where, like, especially I would agree that ranges out, I was kind of the idea of it because after oblivion, which was the album prior, I got a lot of new people who found my music through that project. And I was like, what's an easier way to introduce people to like this huge back catalog of like nine years of songs prior? And that ranges out is a really good way to kind of get the hits of what those songs were in the past. And it just also happened to line up with the 10 year anniversary too. No one like it. Like, kind of perfect. So like, there and dip of this is how it worked out. But yeah, like on that range.
you got like songs like disappear. It's like really poppy. And then the next song is like in passing, which is super emotional and like shoe gazing, right? And it's, but again, like you're right. Like the constant is, I guess my lyricism and my song writing, right, which is kind of grounds it all. - Yeah, for sure. So you've got this new project coming up, vacation land, which when does that come out? - It's 13th. - It's 13th. - 13th, I'm sorry. Yeah, so do you want to give a little bit of background on kind of how that project came to be, like what it's inspired by anything like that? - Yeah, so vacation land, when I started it, it kind of was, it's kind of started as a challenge to myself to be honest, because throughout the years, again, talking about the back catalog, a lot of it I've got mixed by other people because I just didn't feel like that was something I was capable of. And with this project, I really wanted to take charge of more than I had in the past, which is interesting, 'cause we talked about how like a lot of the old albums, that collaboration piece was so huge. But for this one, I really wanted to see like what I could accomplish by myself. And the reality is I still had other people involved, but it kind of started like that. And I guess in terms of like the songs themselves, the theme I guess is just this theme of growing up and being kind of, again, unsure of where to go next or what to do next, or it's kind of like the mid-adult crisis, kind of record you could say. So where, again, I love everything that's going on in my life. I love my family, my wife, my job, everything. But there's still always parts of you that deal with still anxiety, depression, things like that. And it's like coming to grips with almost the fact that no matter where you are in your life, these things can still pop up and still be present. And it's about how do we kind of work through those in a more honest and safe way, I guess. - Yeah, I get a lot of, especially with the imagery and the name vacation land. I get a lot of kind of escapism, kind of stuff, and ways that you can cope with these different things that might happen in your life. And like you said, doing it in a more healthy way as opposed to self-destructive. - Yeah, and a lot of the songs, like Lierklee are stories. Like each one is kind of a story of somebody who's going through some sort of situation. Like baby come back as like losing somebody to like, somebody you hate, but like now this person you love is with them, like repossess is about like trying to regain like that childhood joy, like help me repossess like everything I've lost, right? And again, for the name vacation land, like the cover, the artwork, like I wanted something derelict and like industrial to show like our ideas of like, like as a kid, like vacation is like exciting. Like yeah, let's get away like Disneyland. But like this is like my getaway now. I'm trying to like escape myself, but it's like just like derelict. Like I just don't know where I can go, where I can escape my mind, right? And that's kind of where that idea kind of came from. It's almost like, like the title is supposed to kind of throw you off because it's vacation land. You're like, oh, that could be like exciting and fun. But like you said, it's kind of hinting at something darker. - Yeah, no, I like that a lot. I also do really love that cover art. I think it looks so cool, like the lighting, to me, it almost looks like a model or something. It like like, you know, like a dire model building. So I like, yeah, with like a like a model train set or something like that. That's kind of like what it reminds me of. - Well, that's something I like really love as a musician. I love making artwork. I get so much, I spend so much time like crafting like artwork for things because it's something, like I really enjoy and that's like six different images that I've like contrasted together and mess with the lighting just to get it looking how I want. So yeah, I'm really glad I know how it came out, yeah. - That was something that Super Destroyer and I talked about on the last episode that I put out was kind of like how you come up with so many different like seemingly unrelated skills being an independent like musician. You're like, oh, well now I either have to commission somebody and spend a bunch of money to make like my album artwork or I have to learn graphic design and like how to do all this and it's really cool seeing when people like find neat, unique like ways to wrap that into the project. - Yeah, and I also have like in the past like Memorial, which is an EP released in 2017, that artwork is actually from a local artist who I purchased that used to use his art as the artwork 'cause I thought it was so cool. So like I have done things like that in the past as well. But yeah, it's DIY, it's like you gotta find ways to bring your cost down where you can. But I would love I'm thinking again about trying to connect with somebody local for like things going forward just to do more artwork again because it's cool to integrate somebody who's in like your local art scene into the theme for the album covers and things like that. - 100% that's something that I've really liked with the last couple of projects that I've worked on is I've had the same artist who did, the changes EP cover also did the cover for the But Rock compilation that I put out a few months ago. - 'Cause there's similarities in the art style, right? - Yeah, and I really love, especially when you look at it like on streaming or on band camp or something like that, I really love how it looks cohesive. Like the art style is like a little bit strange because it's like very like pencil drawn thin lines and stuff like that. And a lot of stuff tends to be either more realistic or more cartoony whereas this is very sketchy style. But having them together I think is really cool 'cause it creates that cohesion. - Well, it also gives kind of you an artistic identity, which again, it's just something I'm very aware of. I want each like record that I put out to have like an art style or a feel to it. Again, that's why with the singles I put out, I tried to make the artwork cohesive. And all the artwork has elements from the actual album cover. The official album cover mixed in in random places. So that could be a fun Easter egg if you got to try it. If you want to go through. - I do like that too. I was noticing that they're all like, it's variations on the theme, which I think is really really cool. How they're all like, yeah, again, that cohesion, that is super cool. - So you had mentioned that this project was kind of like your way of like trying to see how much you could do yourself. - Yeah. - So in the past, have you worked in like, I know that you've said that you've had other people like mix and master stuff before. Have you done much in the way of like recording in studios or has it largely still been like home studio like recording production for the majority of the project? - Yeah, so majority has been home studio for the first record it was all at home. First record was all recorded on like a USB microphone. I didn't even have an interface. I didn't even know what an audio interface was. Like, I went to like my local music store and I was like, I want to record, but I want to, I'm like 19, I don't have any money. And there's a used Apex USB microphone for like 30 bucks. And I recorded the whole album on that. - I feel like that's a very common thing. Especially with young people just starting to get into like recording music, they're like, all right, I'll just buy a microphone and I'll be all set. And then you're like, well, actually, so you need a digital audio workstation and you need an audio interface and you need the cables to connect everything. And this mic is only really gonna work for this type of thing. And like you don't realize how much goes into like all this stuff. - No. - I think it's really funny. - Well, and I recorded that whole album in Audacity. - Wow. - Which really, which again, it's just like wild to think about. USB, $30 USB microphone and Audacity. And again, like that, I might paid someone to mix. So I sent it out. The next album, a friend of mine was doing a music production, like he was at music production school. So he was, he used my music as like his project to kind of practice and present. So a lot of it was recorded with him at the school, whereas someone's recorded at home. Memorial, again, we all recorded together. That was when the band was kind of at its biggest. We all recorded it together in Brent at the time. - Like live in a room, type of deal. - Well, we recorded it at Brent, he had a farm and we recorded it at his farm, but bit by bit, like how you normally do drums and then bass and things like that. - Who share, share. - Yeah, yeah. - So they've all been kind of different. Like some we've done live off the floor, like disappear in passing, those songs were alive off the floor. And then Oblivion was just kind of a mishmosh of everything 'cause it was recorded all through like COVID and stuff like that. So I guess the idea for me doing it when I say air quotes, it was more about the mixing part. Because I've always recorded at home and things like that. But, sure, I've never felt confident in. in mixing a record. And after having done it, I don't know why that was. I don't know why that was. - Well, that's one of the things that I've learned going through my progression as an audio engineer and stuff like that, is that when you first get into it, people put a lot of pressure on the mixing process. That's what everybody's interested in when they get into like audio engineer and they're like, oh, I want to learn how to mix. I want to learn how to buy all these fancy plugins and how to use all the stuff and, you know, whatever. And as you advance through all that, you realize that mixing should be a very simple process for the most part because so much of it comes down to how good the recordings are. If you have good based recordings, you don't have to do a whole lot to it to make it sound good. Whereas most people think that mixing is so much of a big thing because they're recording stuff and they don't know how to record properly. And so all of their tracks sound like shit and they have to try and polish everything. - And that is what my biggest takeaway was because in doing this, I became so much better at recording instruments because like you said, before I would just record stuff, send it out and it would come back and I'd be like, this doesn't sound that great, like what's the problem? But now having done it, I'm like, oh, like this sounds bad because like I didn't take the time to actually make sure I recorded it correctly. Or like this sounds bad because like I didn't treat my room correctly when I record vocals and I was recording a condenser in a tiny closet. Like of course that sounds bad, like this makes sense. - Of course it sounds boxy because you're recording it in this tiny little room and picks up every single reflection. - And like it took me a while to learn that. Like when I first started, one of the songs on there is called Alpine Meadow. And the first recording I did for it, I recorded the vocals like that and I spent a week, I'm not even joking. It was a week where I was EQ-ing, Melodyne-ing, auto-tuning, like pitch correcting. And I'm like, why does this sound like trash? Like I don't understand, like I'm doing all the things. I'm like side-chain compressing it. Like all these things, I'm like, I'm doing all the things and it still sounds bad. And that's when I'm still, and I've talked to other people about it and they're like, well, what's the recording sound like by itself? I'm like, well, it doesn't sound good, but that's why we mix it. And like, they're like, no, like you are so wrong. - And they, (laughing) - Well, I think there's kind of two things going on with that too, at least in my opinion, because you've been recording music for a long enough that you're probably used to how you're singing voice sounds, but when you are mixing your own voice, I feel like there's something, even if you're so used to hearing your own voice, talking, you know, whatever. You hear that and you go, these are the tiny little things that I don't like about my voice. I know how my voice sounds, but these are the things I don't like about it. And so you try and fix all of that, and that's not doing anything. It's objectively making it worse. It doesn't sound like your voice anymore. And I feel like a lot of people get into over mixing vocals just because they don't like how their voice sounds. - And a hundred percent that happened to me. Like, if I showed you probably some of the effects chains I have on some of my vocal tracks, you would probably laugh, because (laughing) I would just like keep stacking, stacking, stacking. And I'm like, God, it still sounds like me. Like, yeah. - Melody Dyn, you know what I don't, compression. - More auto tune. - I think on one vocal thing, I had like four compressors. And I'm like, why am I doing this? Like, it does make sense. So like, yeah, it's about being, I learned so much about, yeah, A, recording, how to record better, so you don't have to deal with all that. And two, yeah, accepting that, I sound like me. And no amount of plugins or like doubling or like, you have to be happy with how your voice sounds. And you have to embrace that because like, you don't sound like anybody else, right? And I think lots of people, and I've done it too, I get hung up, it's like, oh, I love this band. I want to sound like this band. And then like, they get caught chasing, like being exactly like that. But I think like being open to being yourself is like such a huge advantage in terms of like, expanding your horizons and being more comfortable making music, right? And it takes me so long to do that. Yeah, I feel like that's a pitfall that guitarists fall into a lot too, is that you try and buy all the gear that your favorite bands use because you want to sound like them. So you go, oh, well, they have this overdrive. I've got a different overdrive. So I got to buy this overdrive if I want to sound like them. And it's like, no, it's literally all about technique and how you play because they will sound like them if they play through your rig. You will not sound exactly like them playing through the exact same rig that they sound like. There's so many little things like that in music for every instrument that I think people fall into. Well, and like, I used to be so bad with that, especially like my pedal board. So like, it was a joke in the band when I had the band together because every band practice every week, I would have a new pedal. It's like, well, I saw a premier guitar rig rundown with this and they had this and blah, blah. And now the board I have, I have not changed a pedal for three years and it's the best I've ever felt about a pedal board I own because I know how everything works. Like I know how to get the sounds I want to get, right? And it's almost like knowing the gear you have is so much better than just trying to get a sound by buying and buying and buying and buying. 100% and I think that that's the thing that this project is kind of, if you as a listener take anything away from this project is that like gear acquisition syndrome is very much a thing. And for the most part, you probably have the tools that you need unless you're recording with a shitty USB microphone into audacity, you can do it. You probably have everything that you need to make these types of recordings that you need. And the biggest thing is just learning how to use them as opposed to thinking, oh, if I spend more money then it'll just be better. - And that's what I tried to tell people because I was so hesitant like in high school and things to do my own recording because I'm like, it's gonna sound bad. But like you gotta, like the first recording I ever did, I bought a microphone at the dollar store. It was like a little like lav mic knockoff thing and I'll bet you the noise flora on it was like negative like 20 dBs, like a white noise. It was insane. - It's like those little ones that they sell on like tick tock or whatever. - And I like recorded a whole, I recorded a whole album through that which I got rid of because I was so embarrassed at how bad it sounded. But like why, like you can show your progression, like I 100% agree, like you just need to start. And then once you start, like then you learn what you need. It's like, oh, I recorded this. I would really love blah, blah, blah, blah. Then you realize exactly what suits you best, right? - And that's the thing is everybody goes on this journey because like even you can hear the two of us talking about like, oh, just learn to use the stuff that you have. You'll still fall into the pitfall of, oh, I need to buy everything on the waves plug-in sale or whatever, you know. - I go and reverb every day. - So it's the natural progression. - Exactly, it's the natural progression of things. And you just kind of have to figure that out for yourself, I think. - Yeah, but I definitely have gotten better, I would say, over the years of just, A, getting better at knowing what I actually need and what is more just like vanity, right? - Yeah. - And like, again, like another prime example, it's like I was really into folds. Well, I'm still into folds, folds are a fantastic band. And Yannis plays a Travis being guitar. One of my friends bought a Travis being guitar and I was like, can I borrow this to do some recording? Because like, I want to sound like folds. Like this was like six, seven years ago. And I got it, I played it. And I'm like, this doesn't sound anything like folds. Like what? I'm using the exact same guitar, like through the exact same gear. And like that was, again, one of those like, aha moments. Like wow, like I have this like $7,000 aluminum guitar that's like perfectly spec'd exactly the same. And it just like doesn't sound anything like these records, right? And it's like you said. - Yeah. - And it's more important to find gear that works for you than find gear that works for other people. And again, like if like, I don't know, a $50 SD one is like the best sounding overdrive to your ears, then use it. Like, like who cares, if there's like a stigma of using, oh, it's a cheap SD one, like who cares? Like, if it works, it works, right? - I've also heard professional engineers, I forget where I heard this story from. But it was somebody who was talking about, they were working with a younger client, like probably, you know, 1920 something like that. And they were trying every sort of mic and just couldn't find one that they liked on their voice. And this guy had brought like an AT2020 or something like that. Super cheap, like audio, technical mic. And they kept saying like, hey, let's use this. Hey, let's use this. And the guy was like, well, I've got so many better mics. Why would we use that? And then they ended up using that on the final recording because just the way that their voice sounds that
was like the mic that best complimented their vocal range. And so I think that stuff like that is super interesting. - And yeah, and especially for vocals, the mic thing is so interesting. 'Cause I've gone through so many mics for like recording vocals and again, like some that are like expensive that people suggest. Again, you get into the trap, you see somebody say, "Oh, I use this mic to record and you go try it." And it's like, this sounds horrible. Like you really need to find again, like what is best for you? And it's hard sometimes to accept that, you're like, but this is great. Like everyone loves like a Noim in U87. Why can't I record with this? It's like, well, maybe it's not the best for you, like. - My voice is very sibilant. So I really like darker sounding mics, even though like typically like the ones that are like held in the high regard have like this really nice high end. I'm like that don't work for me. - I was too sibilant for that. - I am very sibilant, heavy. It was a running joke when we would record. Like they would purposely cut out all my weird sibilance things and make like, distracts about them. (laughing) - So we were talking about like the very like DIY self-production type of thing. But you also have worked with, I believe a friend of yours that has their own band and also has a studio for a little bit of this too, correct? - Yeah, so Davis, well Davis, he's like, he's a little bit of an every man. He does a little bit of everything. - Okay. - He's like, you know, we all have that one friend who like just seems to like have like a million different jobs and like is always doing new things, always like traveling all over the place. Like you text him one day, it's like, oh, I'm in Thailand right now. It's like, what the heck, like, who, what didn't that happen? - He's your I know a guy. - Yeah. - He's my I know exactly, he's my I know a guy guy. Cause he's one of those people who's just good at everything he does and like doesn't even like realize it. So he started with the band that was around 2017 because we had recorded Memorial. He wasn't in the band at that time and we were really struggling with the mixes and he was a friend of AJ who is our drummer at the time and he's like, I have this friend Davis and we should just give the tracks to him. Like he's super cheap because he's a friend, like he'll mix it. And we were so done at that point. I was like, yeah, sure, just give it to him whatever. Like I don't even care. And I remember it was like two days later and this was like a six song EP, like two days later. He's like, it's all done. Like you want to come listen to it? And I was like, how did you mix a whole, cause again, like I'm just so unaware and we got there and it was perfect. Like the final mixes, the songs that are up are the first mixes that Davis did for that. And I was like, nice. I was like, how did you understand like the vibe and the feel and so from that point on, he's been somebody that worked with very closely just cause I feel like he understands like the vibe of what I am. He's like one of those things where he understands me. Yeah. Just as well as like I understand me or more so in sometimes. And he's always been someone who's like pushed my song writing. And I think that's important with music is you don't want to be with people who just are like, yes, like this is great. This is great. This is great. Cause then you never really grow in a way. Oh yeah, 100%. Whereas with Davis, like I'll bring songs to him and he'll be like, no, I'm not recording this. And I'm like, what, this is a great song. And he's like, no, like you're not going to like it in a week. And then I'll come back and be like, yeah, you're right. Like that was not a great song. But like I was so hyped on it at the time. And like a song like Victim, that's on vacation land. My wife was in school last year and she went to school. The university was right near where Davis's studio was. So I would drop her off and then go spend the day with him. And I showed up that day. I had, it was the same kind of thing. I had a song I wanted to record for vacation land. And he's like, no, we're not doing that. And I was like, well, why am I here? Like, he's like, we're going to write something and we're going to finish it today. And I was like, that's not how I work. And he's like, I don't care. That's what we're going to do. And it's how we're doing it today. And Victim, the final version, all that was recorded in one day. Like all that was recorded. Just in that session. And I'm like, I don't even know what to play. He's like, just play something. And that was like the first thing I played. And I'm like, I don't know if this is an idea. He's like, it is now. Like we're going to turn into a song. So like, he's just, yeah. He's always just been somebody who like gets it, but also knows when to call me out on my BS. So. - Okay. - And I feel like he's a good person just to have around, even going forward. Like with wherever this project ends up going, I feel like Davis will have a role in it just because he's kind of the great mediator of my own wild craziness, yeah. - Well, and also that kind of speaks on like the old thing of like restrictions can help with creativity. Where if you've got a blank slate, then you know, you can do anything with it, which can be kind of daunting. But if you give yourself a restriction, even if it's just like, oh, well, I'm just going to record or write and record a song in a day or whatever. Stuff like that forces you to make decisions that you might not normally do just because like, oh, well, I don't really like that. I'm just going to sit on it all, come back to it later as opposed to, no, I have to finish this and complete it. - Well, and he's like so good at like pushing me into do things that I would never do. Like there's a song on vacation land, which is not going to be on streaming. It's only on the album version. I call it, I just want to know. And it's like very heavily auto tuned, like Pugs Malone style almost. And again, we were. That was one that stood out to me when I was listening to it. I really like that tune a lot. - And we were recording that. And I'm like, this is not a Western Jaguar song, Davis. Like, and he's like, it is. It's like, 'cause it's you. And I'm like, but like what, like no. And he's like, I don't care what you say. Like this needs this much auto tune. And again, like I've been listening to it now for six months in the run up to getting the album ready. And I'm like, god damn, like he was right again. Like he's just right all the time. It's getting annoying. I hope he actually doesn't listen to this 'cause that's gonna inflate as you go even more. (laughing) - And you've got one more exclusive song that's only going to be on a band camp and whatever physical is correct. - Yes, yeah. And which is the original demo for repossess. But it's like almost a completely different song. - Oh, it's totally different. - Yeah, so that was almost, yeah. - Yeah, that was recorded during COVID. And yeah, it was, it's completely different. So. - It's like an R&B song basically. - Almost. And that's kind of where that started. And it's interesting 'cause I started doing that song recording it that way. And then I was like, I got to a point where I'm like, no, this isn't good. And I just stopped. (laughing) And then like two years later, I picked it up again. And it was weird. It came out of a voice memo. I was driving home from work. And I was just, for some reason, like my music player wasn't connecting or something. So I'm like, I'm just gonna listen to my voice memos 'cause I'm a weirdo like that. And I hit, I heard that guitar that arpeggiated. The, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da. And I'm like, what song is this? Like when did I record this? And I started singing and it was the lyrics from that original demo over just that guitar part. And I was like, God, this is the key. And I went home and I recorded that evening. I recorded most of it that evening, right? But yeah, it started as like this R&B little pop tune and grew from there. - And then I think the last thing that I specifically wanted to mention before we move on to the next part of the episode, because we have been going for almost 45 minutes already, which is crazy 'cause it feels like it's been no time at all. No, that's great. I love when I have people on the podcast that are willing to just keep talking and going on tanges. I mean, there's sometimes when, you know, you'll have somebody and they just don't really talk that way. And it can make it a little bit harder. So I love this, I think it's great. But I did mention physicals. And so I think the last thing that I specifically wanted to mention is the fact that you also have this coming out on cassette via start track records. - Yeah. - So how did that come about? - Yeah, interesting. This again goes back to oblivion. - So I released oblivion. - It all goes back to oblivion. - Really like honestly, so much of what's happening now with this project and the massive amount of love and support I feel for it as came out of oblivion and came out of like Twitter. I refused to call it the other thing. It's still Twitter to me. And that album, I kind of put it out. I started promoting it first on Instagram and whatever things like that. And it wasn't really getting any traction. So then I re-activated my Twitter account and I started posting about it. And it just kind of grew and grew and grew. And then I found like DIY Twitter and like it changed my life forever. Like and so part of that was Philip at start track. And he posted something, I can't remember what it was. It was like just a random tweet. He was like, oh, I need someone to help me master like a compilation album. And like I never talked to him before. But I sent him, I was up. I remember it was early morning. It was like 6 a.m. and I couldn't sleep. And I mess it back. Like I'll do it right now. And that's kind of how it started. Like I just, I mastered this compilation record for him. Sent it back. And then like a month later he hit me up again. He's like, I have another compilation. Like can you help me out again? I was like sure. And then like a month after that, he's like, wait, you make music? Like why didn't you tell me? (laughing) Oh my god.
I don't know what I was just helping you out. I didn't even know about the compilation mastering part of that. - Yeah, so I would highly suggest you check out the compilations on the Star Trek site. They're pretty cool. And I found somebody good bands doing that. That's an aside, anyway. So he wanted to put Oblivion out on cassette, actually, first. And I was-- - Oh, okay. - Yeah, and that was in-- - When was that? That was like November of last year. And I was like, look, I'm making-- I'm in the middle of finishing this new album. And I think it would be cool if we did the new album instead. So I kind of had to convince him to take a chance on the new album. [LAUGHS] But thankfully, he was willing to do that. So it's been in the works probably since November of last year to make this happen. - Nice. - Yeah, so it's cool. I've never had anything on cassette before. I've always done CDs. Like, I love having physical copies of the stuff I've made. Because I think eventually-- - There's something about just like having the tangible thing and being like, I made this. This is my project as opposed to like-- - You put it up on streaming and then it's easy to forget about it. Because it's just digital files that live in a hard drive somewhere. - I mean, I'm a loser. Like, I have the ball right here, you know? But it's so cool to have physical copies of all these things you've made, right? And I think, ideally, eventually, I want to make something for the wall. As you can see, there's nothing on the walls in here. Like, something where I can put the kind of all up just to be like, yeah, I've done this, right? So that would be sweet, yeah. So that's kind of-- I know like a lot of people don't. Like, CDs are not really a thing anymore. I remember, I played a show earlier this summer, and I mentioned while I was playing. I'm like, oh, just in case you're interested, I have some CDs at my merch table. And you should have heard the laughter from the audience. It was, I was like, oh my God. I was like, believe it or not, like, people still buy them. - Well, again, this is another thing that, again, we've talked about like, you know, on past podcasts. So I'm not going to harp on it a whole bunch. But it is interesting because CDs are kind of the-- really the last version of physical media that we've had for music for the most part. And it's seen as old now, but it's not old enough to be retro. - Retro, yeah. - Like, cassettes are to the point where they're old enough to be retro. And people are like, oh, this is cool. Cause, you know, it was like, you know, back in the day. And now it's like, we just barely moved on from cassettes like a decade ago, or from CDs like a decade ago. And so people are still like, ew, that's old technology. I don't want that. - It's like, yeah, it's gross. But like, I grew up with CDs. Like, I remember going to the mall and going to like, what was it called? In Canada, it was called A and B sound. That's what the store was called. And they had all the CDs up. I don't know if there was A and B sound in the States too. I still remember the first CD ever bought. - There was a mall in Canada that I used to go to cause I lived right on the Canadian border. - Oh yeah, okay. But I still remember going in there, first CD ever bought. Some 41, all killer, no filler. And like, it was, and I remember it had the like, the parental advisory sticker on it. And I had to like hide it from my parents like, oh, good time. Like stuff like that, you can't do anymore. Now you just go on Spotify, play it like. There's something so, when there's also like tangible about going the liner notes and stuff like that too. - I don't remember. So another like I bought the next some 41 album, which was, does this look infected? And the cover art is like a guy with like skin peeling off. And my parents made me throw out the booklet because they thought it was too grotesque. Like no, I need the lyrics. - That's hilarious actually. And that is like, I mean, fairly early internet as far as that goes. So it's not like you knew for sure that you could just like look up the lyrics and that they'd be there. Now for the most part, like any song that you want, you can look up the lyrics for and probably find it somewhere. But back in the day, that was not the case. - No, but yeah, I think that's why I have such an affinity for like the CDs. It brings me back to that time, you know? When you're just like, you go to the store and you didn't know, like you would go to a section for like rock and you'd see like a cool cover and you'd be like, what does this sound like? I gotta buy it and see. Like, and I think maybe that's where my cover, I don't know what word to use fetish comes in. - Obsession. - Obsession. Because like, I picked so many CDs when I was a kid just based on like, oh, this is an interesting cover. Like I want to check that out, right? So. - Yeah, 100%. - Well, and also these cassettes that you did too, you've also got two variants. - Yes. - Or is the one sold out? - No, I think there was one that was like a limited one. - Yeah, there's a limited like gold sparkle one that's limited to only 20, only 20. And then there is the 80 cassette run, which is more just the standard ones. And then I also do CDs 'cause I like, we just talked about high love CDs. But those are only limited to 52. So everything's limited. Yeah, everything's limited. - Get it while you can, invest in Western check. - Yeah, well, that's in Western check. Or the new Bitcoin. - I'm just gonna put in the stonks meme. (laughing) - All right, so is there anything else that you specifically want to mention about the album before we move on to the next part of the episode? - Oh, no, I like, I feel like if you've listened to my music before, like this record will make sense to you. Like it's got like some upbeat. It's got some like really dark, like more mellow, lyrical stuff. It's got a few times me taking risks, trying some new things. So it's, I think it's a classic, dare I say, a classic Western Jaguar record. Know it fits well with-- - An instant classic. - I think it's a great encapsulation of everything I've done so far put into one package. Like I think it captures all the kind of variance of the past into one thing. And I almost dare I say, I feel like this is kind of like a capstone on an era. If we want to get into like Swift, Taylor Swiftisms. Like I think, I'm gonna be really trying to do something different for the next one because I feel like this is like the best it's been for like what I've done up until this point, which I'm very excited about. - Okay, yeah. - And it comes out on September 13th. So by the time this episode comes out, it will be out and you can listen to it. - Exact same day as phones with cords, the speed of time. - Yeah. - Just so you know. - That's gonna be a big day. - That's gonna be a big one. You know what's hilarious, right? - Last year, phones with cords and I released our albums the same day too. - Did you really? - Two years in a row. - That's hilarious. - One of the chances. - Wait, was that the, was that the solo album or was that the one with. - That was the solo one. - Okay. - Right on. - Yeah. - All right. So moving on to the next part of the episode, we're gonna share some new tunes, some fresh finds, if you will. So I'm gonna have the first selection. We're gonna go back and forth, which is gonna give you the closer. - Perfect. - My first song is by a Wisconsin band from Green Bay. They're called The Sinner and The Saint. They are an Emo pop kind of project. I think the Emo honestly largely comes from just everybody in the scene kind of like claiming Emo and DIY kind of being a similar thing. 'Cause I don't really get the Emo thing quite as much from their music. Anyway, that was kind of just in a side. But they actually sent this to me early and I was meaning to feature it on an episode but it didn't end up working out. So now we're doing it, this episode. But this project came out on July 5th and this song that I'm gonna feature is called What's So Great about Domo California? (rock music) ♪ Another Midwest is glad we're colder ♪ ♪ All my old friends are gotten so much older ♪ ♪ I know it's not worth it for you to stay ♪ ♪ I don't know what's left to say or what should I say ♪ ♪ What should I say? ♪ ♪ Please don't move to California ♪ ♪ Please don't leave me here to rot ♪ ♪ Please don't move to California ♪ ♪ I'm begging you ♪ ♪ It's your the only fucking person that I got ♪ ♪ That I got ♪ ♪ I'm not begging you to stay ♪ ♪ For sure is how the one you believe ♪ ♪ I'm scared you'll forget almost all about me ♪ ♪ I'm scared you'll forget almost everything ♪ ♪ Everything when you move ♪
♪ Move to California ♪ ♪ Please don't leave me here to rock ♪ ♪ Please don't move to California ♪ ♪ I'm begging you ♪ ♪ 'Cause you're the only fucking person that I got ♪ ♪ That I got ♪ (upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ Please don't move to California ♪ ♪ Please don't leave me here to rock ♪ ♪ Please don't move to California ♪ ♪ I'm begging you ♪ ♪ 'Cause you're the only fucking person that I got ♪ ♪ That I got ♪ (upbeat music) All right, we're back. (laughing) Man, I love that song. It's just so poppy and fun to listen to. It's so good. What really stuck out to me like that log guitar in like the second verse, like that was so refreshing. And the little like the falsetto, like all bad. Yeah, that was my poor attempt to try to do it. But yeah, that's so much fun. Yeah, like there's just these little flourishes and things that they add, especially in that second verse. I really like how the verse structure evolves. Yeah, it felt so different than the first verse. I love songs that like you can sense every part is kind of its own thing. There's no like copy paste, you know? Yeah, the other thing that I think is kind of interesting structurally about this song is the fact that it kind of doesn't really have a chorus in the traditional sense. Interesting. Because it has the like, "Please don't move to California." Not like that whole bit, but structurally, it feels like a pre-chorus. Yeah. With the way that it like drills. It doesn't feel like a traditional chorus. And then like the main hook is all instrumental. I was gonna say that instrumental part, da, da, da, da, da, da, like that's kind of the hook, right? Yeah. Exactly. So I think that structurally it's very interesting in that way that like it kind of goes verse pre-chorus and then just goes like straight to like the post-chorus. So it's not really like a full chorus. It's just that instrumental hook, which I think is super cool. Is this like a normal thing for Midwest people to not want people to go to California? Could you answer that? I mean, I would never move to California. I'll tell you that. I believe in like the California of Canada, so I can't really say much. I think that the big thing is, you know, you may have whatever ties you have to a specific place, and when somebody important to you wants to move away, it kind of feels like a part of you is leaving as well. That's not- I can't- I can't say anything better than that. Let's move on. All right. Yeah, so what's our next tune gonna be? So I went super like local to me, and I went kind of with people I've collaborated with in the past who are also making cool music. So the first band I got is they're called The Sylvia Platters, and they've been around probably just as long as I have been, and fronted by- I think, yeah, go ahead. No, I was just gonna say, I think that they're the only like local, you know, Vancouver area band that I know, simply because you've talked about them time and time again. Yeah, so like two brothers on Nick and Tim Ubells, they've kind of been like the solid, again, similar like they're the me of that band, and they've had other people involved. And just like, for me, it's like just quintessential, like Shougay's stuff. Like it's- Okay. But it also has like kind of a poppy twist to it. When the first record they put out, it was very much like a power pop kind of sound, but it's kind of evolved more into like this Shougay'sy sound, mixing with that power pop kind of feel. So this- That's an interesting combination. I like the sound of that a lot. And I did play in this band for like six months when they were- They had a gap where they needed a guitar player. So I filled in for a while. Oh, okay. That was a long one. It didn't do any recording or anything with them, just helped them with a few live shows that had booked, but it counts. Yeah, right on. But this song is called "Kool-Aid Blue," and it's the first single off there, album they released this year called "Vivian Elixir," and it's available on cassettes, speaking of cassettes. So- Everything's available on cassettes now. But I just love the vibe of this song. I think it perfectly encapsulates their style. (upbeat music) ♪ ♪ Living in secret ♪ ♪ Gets a little uneven ♪ ♪ Spin in a fixture ♪ ♪ But it's a stone ♪ ♪ To the occasion ♪ ♪ Tracking the care decision ♪ ♪ Read in the leaves that all needed me ♪ ♪ To miss you ♪ ♪ I'm just the evil ♪ ♪ I'm here to thank you ♪ ♪ It's just a face you can't escape ♪ ♪ Say can't be there ♪ ♪ Have a lot of time I feel ♪ ♪ But that's saying can't be there ♪ ♪ Will this all be Kool-Aid Blue? ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ A motion sickness ♪ ♪ Wasted in spaces ♪ ♪ Another draft being its own ♪ ♪ The pre-sheets to the wind ♪ ♪ Follow the flow ♪ ♪ See, grim see, then ♪ ♪ In the dark, a clearer view ♪ ♪ That's saying can't be there ♪ ♪ Will this all be Kool-Aid Blue? ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ That's saying can't be there ♪ ♪ Will this all be Kool-Aid Blue? ♪ ♪ Kool-Aid Blue? ♪ ♪ It's all Kool-Aid Blue? ♪ ♪ Kool-Aid Blue? ♪ - I am into that, hell yeah. - I'm so jealous of their guitar tones. Like, they're just so good. - Dude, I love stuff that has the really crispy top end and like the super fuzzed out tone, but also like doesn't get muddy. - No. - Because I feel like there's so much, especially when you go for that really like kind of fuzzed out tone, it's so easy for, especially again, if you're like doubling guitars or doing anything like that, it's so easy for it to get muddy and like unintelligible, and this is like clear as day. - I don't know how they do it. Like, it sounds so massive, but it's still like so crisp and clear. You know, like they really like, if you listen, and again, I'll plug up, if you go listen through there like Spotify or whatever you use, listen to music, and go through their discography, you'll see it slowly growing to this point. It's very cool to hear like the progression of how they've gotten to this. - So this is only their second full-length album it looks like, okay?
Yeah, so a lot of the stuff they put out they go what they tend to do is they go to Like a studio when they record just for a week and whatever songs come out of that like that's what they put out So most often they're like you just yeah, so the place they normally go is there's a place called the noise the noise floor Which is kind of near us and they go it's on an island kind of out in the just off the coast of Vancouver there And that's where they kind of cool and that's where they've been going kind of just to retreat and like make these records So and Jordan the guy who who works there he did the mastering for oblivion and that's how I got in contact with him was through The silver platters so and we're supposed we're supposed to play if you show us together the summer and just things just never worked out So hopefully that's all for that will be happening at some point Yeah, I love the way that they mix the kind of like wall of noise like like a shoe gaze type of thing with more I mean, I'm always a sucker for power pop anybody who listens to to the podcast even once probably knows that but like I feel like that This is pretty good at shoe gaze power pop like it really is. No, it totally is I think I think it's great and I think I think a big thing for me is that when I was in college a lot of the bands that were in that local scene were kind of like Power pop adjacent type stuff and so I think that there's also like a very nostalgic thing About that for me as well. Yeah, a hundred percent like listening to their stuff and I see why they do cassettes because like I feel like their music Lends itself so well to that nostalgic cassette like I I still need one of their cassettes because I want to hear it on tape because it probably sounds so good with like the saturate little bit of Extra saturation, you know, yeah, so this is yeah Their album came out in April And you said that this was the first single from that project this was the first single from that album Yeah, but I honestly I highly recommend the whole record is like I think it's their best work personally like I really enjoy it great jumping in point Yeah great jumping in point. I also noticed I'm curious about this when they released the single they've got cool a blue Sugar-free, which is the same length. Yeah released is like a B side. Yeah, so is that like a remix reimagining Like like what is that so when this came out? I in my like you know you get your release radar right with like new music on Spotify for Spotify If you're not on Spotify like good for you like honestly, but I come to say but for the release rare It came up the cool a blue sugar free, and I played it and it's it's instrumental. It's an instrumental version. Oh Okay, I messaged Nick because I didn't see anything else I just thought this is a new song like why is there no lyrics? And he's like yeah, he's like we we meant to make it a B side But act for some reason like it's promoting the sugar-free one and not the actual song Spotify already had the D side and he's like I'm so stressed like so it was this whole But yeah, it's just an instrument instrumental version. He's like I thought this would just be fun to put as a B side But now it's like ruining my life So I think I think the idea was to do that for all of the singles But you'll notice for all the other singles. They released for the album. There's no B side Got scared off of the prospect a little bit. Yeah, but yeah No, I definitely want to go and check out that whole project because I love to that There's a comparison that I like it tickles a part of my brain where it like reminds me of somebody else Especially kind of like the power pop with like a little bit of like a lower vocal range as opposed to like a lot of the time That's kind of like more of like a like a medium-to-high kind of kind of vocal range for that style Reminds me of somebody and I can't think of who it is right now. I'll be like wake up at like 3 a.m Do not be like that's who it was just send me a message what you know. Well, I didn't post right here We'll add where what the band is Fix it in post yeah, we'll fix it in post right here Yeah, look at this box There we go All right, so my next song is another one that was a direct submission I actually I'm thinking about this I think that this might be the first episode I've ever done where every single song was submitted directly to me Either through a DM or through email slide and really slide in this guy's DMs everybody slide in his DM or Or send me an email at fresh finds
[email protected]. This could be this could be you could be it's funny I've been mentioning that a lot more recently like every time somebody submits a song I I always try to mention that and the inbox has been hidden lately people have been sending some really cool stuff So that's always really fun. It makes me feel special So anyway, this is by a band called Haunter. They are I would call them a heavy pop rock band I like their their little bio blurb thing that they sent me kind of explains it a little bit better a bunch of emo kids and One metalhead that ditched the loud guitars for big hooks and pop sensibilities. I'm all in. Let's go Yeah, right exactly. So they sent this to me. This is their Most recent single which came out on August 23rd and this song is called City Boys and Pretty Girls Stretchin' for it all the time Losing our peace of mind We never find a reason why we sell ourselves to feel alive Hey, oh it's not how you know you take what you can I won't let it go. You're lying on yourself. You might lose control. Chase St. Glater. Never call City boys and pretty girls around the world Yeah, this is not serious. Only doing things that you can say to yourself See where's everybody else. You think you've got it bad. You don't know what you're up City boys and pretty girls around the world. Yeah, this is not serious. Another night alone again Looking for the new chance Another party won't make friends but they won't be here in the end Not only pretend to be Chen you and Nancy and me White lights, but we still don't see you rotting. It's number three City boys and pretty girls around the world Yeah, this is not serious. You don't know what you're up City boys and pretty girls around the world Yeah, this is not serious. It's not how you know you take what you can't I won't let it go. Chase St. Glater. City boys and pretty girls around the world Yeah, this is not serious Tight two minutes 40 seconds. Nice. That is a tight ride. Yeah, I love like the mix I will never get over like the mix of like pop like really hard pop synths and like heavy guitars Like they just go together so well. It's a match made in heaven like for real I love it so much and there's kind of like a new wave of like this type of stuff kind of coming out where it's like People who used to be in like metal bands or like heavier bands who are like I kind of want to just make some pop music But like they keep that influence around. Yeah, and I think it's so sick. No, it is and like it's interesting how like like pop music Really lends itself well to like those heavier elements and moments like really especially like because modern pop has so much like Distortion in it like and people don't realize that but like there's this natural like there's a bridge there that can be crossed tons of like saturation and stuff like that and especially if you listen to like you know modern metal core type of stuff too Like that is kind of leaning more in the pop direction now for sure and so I feel like that crossover has been in the making for so long Yeah, there's a bridge. There's a bridge there and Haunter. They're on that bridge Absolutely, I think it's really cool. They sent me like a little bit of background on like You know the the history of the song and stuff like that when they submitted it and they said that this is specifically Kind of their version of a disc track against all of the like industry phonies in like Hollywood They they said that this was based off of a or inspired by a party that they went to in the Hollywood Hills
where everybody seemed to be more interested in how many followers you had on Instagram, than actually getting to know who you were. And so this was their response to that, which I think is really cool. - That almost lends, too, to the modern music take of all like, you have less than 10,000 monthly listeners, your music must be horrible. - And people have those takes, it's unbelievable. - You see it all the time, 'cause that's what I do. I talk about independent, up-and-coming, smaller artists and bands and stuff like that. And I get so much stuff, especially on TikTok, it's really bad, where people will be talking about this and they'll be like, well, I've never heard of 'em, so they can't be back, and it's like, what? It's like the weirdest take I've ever heard. It's like, your favorite band you would never heard of at one point, that doesn't mean that they weren't good before that. - Or it's like, yeah, my algorithm. There's no more good music, because everything that I'm getting suggested sucks, it's like, well, maybe you gotta look for more music. - Yeah, exactly. - It takes so much good music. - That is exactly why I do this, is to make it a little bit easier for you to find that, you know? - Like, Prime Exit, I will shout somebody out. Their ad on Twitter is Letters of V, and the project's called Hit the Swim, and the album's called Noise Land, and they sent it to me, seven monthly listeners, and I listened to that all the time, and I cannot believe there's seven monthly listeners. Like, I'm proud to be at that seven. And it's like stuff like that, that's like so cool. Like, this is great music. - No, 100%. - Like, yeah, so shout out. - Also going, yeah. Also going to like the musical elements of this track, again, I love that bit where it's like really filtered before the final chorus, and then it comes back in. Like, that's such a good production element that I think a lot of people maybe don't think about quite as much as they should, is like just the little bit of dynamics, like, all right, so we're gonna bring it down a little bit. Even just for like a bar or two, just makes that final chorus just feel so much more impactful. I love it. It's so good. - I've kind of fallen in love with the filtering and the things like that recently. You know, we go through phases, and like that's definitely a phase I'm in as real, 'cause it has so much impact on the song itself. Like you said, it's like really interesting. How even in the other song we listen to by the sinner and the saint, like the beginning kind of starts kind of more smaller, and then it kind of builds and builds and builds, and like that really just drives you in. - I'm glad you said that, because that was something I meant to mention too, and I just like, you forgot about it over the course. - Yeah, 'cause it starts as it so glad that you thought of that. - It's filtered at the beginning too, wasn't it? I, if I remember correctly. It was at the beginning, and then I think, I think like just before the final chorus, again, it was kind of that same sort of deal. Well, and the other thing too, this is for all you who are just getting into mixing and mastering and that sort of deal, is that doing these sorts of things is a way to keep an arrangement feeling dynamic without having to keep dynamics in the song, as far as like being able to hit the master harder, and the song's still feeling dynamic instead of just everything feeling squished all the time, because this is a very heavily compressed song that still feels really dynamic. - Dynamic, yeah, no for sure. - All right, so what do we have up next? - All right, this is gonna be a big change of pace from the last one. - All right, I've been to it. - We got my guy Ted. - Whiplash. - My guy Ted. So Ted Kim, Ted Kim is just like local legend, local legend here in my town here. So Ted plays in a whole bunch of bands. He does mixing, he does mastering. Again, another one of those guys, he just kind of does it all. He hosts open mics. - Nice. - And he actually played drums on repossess on the new album, and also drums on another song on the new album called "Do You See Me Now?" And he just released his first record a few days ago. So June, or August 28th, he dropped it. - Super fresh. - Super fresh. - It is a fresh fine. And I've been listening to it nonstop, because he's a super talented dude. And it's very kind of like acoustic guitar-driven stuff, but it's all done by him. Very much like he did all the mixing, all the mastering. And it's taken him a long time, he said, to get it to a point where he felt comfortable enough to release it. But I think it's really well done this album. So this song's called "Again," and it's Ted Kim. (upbeat music) ♪ I did it again ♪ ♪ I let myself down ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Why is it so easy ♪ ♪ To give up ♪ ♪ With more on my feet ♪ ♪ They're coming undone ♪ ♪ And feeling so overwhelmed ♪ ♪ I am not my savior ♪ ♪ But I know that I'm better than this ♪ ♪ And how could I be ♪ ♪ Anything but be ♪ ♪ Exception of me ♪ ♪ And how could I know of this monster in me ♪ ♪ He crept up inside ♪ ♪ And I think I know why ♪ ♪ If I could be different ♪ ♪ Would it be ♪ ♪ If I could be different ♪ ♪ Would it be ♪ ♪ He ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ But I know that I'm better than this ♪ ♪ And how could I be ♪ ♪ Anything but be ♪ ♪ Exception of me ♪ ♪ And how could I know of this monster in me ♪ ♪ He crept up inside ♪ ♪ And it darkets plus deep ♪ ♪ If I could be different ♪ ♪ Would it be ♪ ♪ If I could be different ♪ ♪ Would it be ♪ (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Yeah, I really liked that a lot. The first thing that I noticed just as soon as that guitar came in, is that it sounds so close and intimate. It almost feels like you're like inside it. - Yeah. - Which is something that sometimes I don't love, but like I liked it in this case. - I had the same reaction. Like I felt like it works really well with dead style. It's like very an intimate experience. Like a lot of his songs. And I feel like he's very good at like writing like very openly about things that are on his mind and he's struggling with. And then the record he just put out I would say is definitely worth a listen if you like kind of, that's a very good example of what the record is. It's a lot of like very personal stuff. But also there's is some more upbeat songs with like drums and things like that. But yeah. That was what I was going to ask because this is like a fairly stripped back type of production where it basically just kind of had the guitar, the main vocal, like a shaker or a tambourine or something like that. And then it's a mix of the backing vocals. - Yeah, it's like a mix of things like that. This is one that just really has stood out to me from my first few listens through the album.
and Ted and I are actually playing together in December. So if anyone is near Vancouver, BC, you wanna come watch Western Jaguar and Ted Kim. That's happening. - That would be sweet. - Yeah, no, I think, especially, you said that this was his first release. - He, so he's played in a bunch of other bands and released other things. And he actually had a solo project for under a different name, but he's just kind of rebranded to just his name. And so this is the first release under that new band or that he started. - Okay, gotcha, gotcha. Yeah, because I was like, you would mention that he had been like putting in quite a bit of time to like make sure that this sounded the way that he wanted before releasing it. And you can hear that a lot because everything sounds extremely clean. Like I, like we were mentioning earlier in the episode, these are very good sounding bass recording. Like I feel like you don't have to do a whole lot to mix them to make them sound good. - No one, I really don't feel like you did. - Yeah, I feel like it was just taking all the time an effort to make sure that they were recorded properly. Which again, is ultimately like the biggest thing to making massive impact on how good your song is going to sound. - Oh yeah, 100%. So yeah, he's just the greatest dude too. So like, feel nice. - Like I would highly suggest you all like check out Ted 'cause he's just a fantastic guy. And someone who's helped me out a lot on more recent Western Jaguar stuff. - That's always one of my favorites is when you've got somebody who makes great music and then it's also just a great person. - Yeah, it's like. - He's the best. - He's like our local like town hero. Like if there's a music event in town, you know you're gonna run into Ted Kim, like you know. - Nice. Hell yeah. - All right, so my next song that I'm featuring is actually from the new phones with chords album that comes out on the same date as your project. So we are listening to it a little bit early. - I have not heard this yet. I'm excited about this. - Yeah, it's really cool 'cause he's had a very, very mixed sound. Like I always kind of thought of his music 'cause I listened to his album that came out last year. - Yep. - And then the phones with Ben. - Phones with Ben. - Project that also came out. And both of those are a lot more like stripped back kind of slower type of music. - Yeah. - And so when I heard the first single of this, I got super excited because this is not that I don't like the other stuff, but this is way more up my alley of what I tend to listen to. It's very garage rocky. - Yeah. - Which I absolutely love. - So this is from the new album The Speed of Time. This song is called Poor Progress. (rock music) ♪ Every star is a fake fire ♪ ♪ Every day is a funeral party ♪ ♪ 'Cause in traffic you could feel the light ♪ ♪ We just felt just been all of fun ♪ ♪ This two steps forward and 20 back ♪ ♪ Two steps forward and 20 back ♪ ♪ Two steps forward and 20 back ♪ ♪ If you find the passes are hard to take ♪ (rock music) ♪ I feel my passion double-feet ♪ ♪ One last shake, I've got a small twist here ♪ ♪ You pass in a belly walk in the road ♪ ♪ Don't want you like to miss you ♪ ♪ 'Cause two steps forward and 20 back ♪ ♪ Two steps forward and 20 back ♪ ♪ Two steps forward and 20 back ♪ ♪ If you find the passes are hard to take ♪ (rock music) ♪ Progress with the dark ♪ ♪ Progress heading from the sun ♪ ♪ Progress running at a time ♪ ♪ Progress stressing up the bike ♪ ♪ Progress coming up with ♪ ♪ Progress heading on the sun ♪ ♪ They progress well to silver light ♪ ♪ Your features like you must ♪ ♪ Bye ♪ (rock music) (rock music) ♪ Two steps forward and 20 back ♪ ♪ Two steps forward and 20 back ♪ ♪ Just two steps forward and 20 back ♪ ♪ If you find the passes are hard to take ♪ ♪ Just two steps forward and 20 back ♪ ♪ Just two steps forward and 20 back ♪ ♪ Just two steps forward and 20 back ♪ ♪ If you find the passes are hard to take ♪ - Woo! - My God. (laughs) - That shit is really lentil. - Oh my. - It's like, I love it. - I, I don't know how to react. It's kind of like unreal. - You see what I mean when I said it's so different than like those last two projects? Like there's the complete 180. - Like I heard the single. - I heard the single, but I'm like, I thought, yeah, like you never know, right? But like, God, I, I don't know what to say. Like that's so good. - Honestly, I think the lack of words says more than you ever did. Like I just, I, I don't, yeah, I can't, I don't know what to say. I wanna listen to it again. - It really, yeah. It really gives me like, like Queens of the Stone Age, like Desert Rock quote unquote type of vibes. Like there's just that relentless drumming and just the fucking fuzzed out to all hell. - Look at Tars, so good. Like, I'm sorry. Like normally I can, I've been talking to this all time. I don't know what to say. That just blew me away. - No, I'm so articulate. Like you've rendered me, that just blew the doors off me. - My God. - Yeah, man, God. - Well, and so this was also speaking of kind of a place with a place for owls and like the Ben Sui thing. This project was also produced mixed and mastered by Nick Weber of a place for owls and also of Nick Weber. - Webber Nick Weber, yeah. - Well, I'd be curious to hear how much influence Nick had on like the sounds itself or like, I wanna know more about this album. Like that's what I really want. - Yeah, so on band camp, reading the little blurb about like who all, you know, did what on everything. So Nick Weber, he played the bass on a couple tracks, but not this one. The big thing that they said is that he added interesting synth parts and ear candy to several songs. - Interesting. - And then also like mixed and mastered it. I don't think that he actually played any instruments on this particular song. - Hmm, interesting. - But yeah, I am so stoked on the way that this project sounds with this like really fuzzed out like desert rock, garage rock kind of sound. - Yeah, it's so, it feels so fresh. - I was literally gonna say the same thing, but it's like something that's been kind of done. Like Queens of the Stone, like things like that. But it does feel very fresh. Like a very new kind of take on it. I just, I can't wait to listen to this album when it's out. And I also, one thing is the plan here to collaborate with every member of a place for owls. Is that the phones with chords plan here? Like we got bad and we got bad. - He's collecting 'em like, hold on. - Like, are you collecting the owls? Like, is it gonna be like, I'm curious, like. - I don't know man, but I do know that the entire project is insanely good. I am really looking forward to, to win that releases as well as another record that's coming out on cassette. (laughing) I'm just gonna keep mentioning 'em. Every time we talk about a band that has a cassette up because I think that that's really funny. - Yeah. No, and again, like I can hear that record on cassette. Like, that just makes so much sense to me. Like. - It does. I think it's great. - Like, I'm honestly speechless.
Like, I cannot wait. I'm like a kid right now that I got to hear that now. Like, I feel so lucky that I kind of like a sneak peak. - Well, and again, I think that being rendered speechless by something is almost greater praised than anything you could say, so. - Well, I think it's so cool. And what I love about it, I think the most as like an artist myself is that she's gone and done something so different from before. Yeah, people are so stoked on it. And like, so into it still. And that like, almost makes me feel so much more comfortable being like, I'm gonna take some rest too. Because like, it shows like good stuff is good. Like, and it's okay. You don't have to make the same thing every time, right? - It's interesting. I feel like you get a lot more freedom to experiment in how you sound and like what genre, what I'm quote, you do and stuff like that when you are an independent, like, you know, DIY type of artist. Because like, when you get such a massive following. - Yeah. - Because, you know, you think about like, huge artists on major labels, stuff like that. A lot of them run into issues where they try a new sound and everybody hates it and they hate the band now and they, you know, blah, blah, blah. And I think that there's sort of a freedom where only people who truly just enjoy music are going to be, you know, fans of your stuff. When you're like, kind of at that like independent DIY level like that. And it gives you a lot more freedom because as somebody who's just a fan of music and not just a fan of, you know, we'll say pop punk, for example. - Yeah. - If you want to go and make this other thing that's completely different because I'm a fan of music in general, I will enjoy it as opposed to people who type or fixate and, you know, like that kind of stuff. - I think also part of it too is like, with DIY, like I feel like, like phones with chords, like someone I always see on Twitter connect with, things like that. Like when you have like that personal connection in a way to somebody, like it feels like you're more willing, you're just like listening to them. Like they're like, somebody you know, right? - I just want to see what you do. - Yeah, I just want to see what you do, right? It's not really about like, oh, it's this project and I like this project. It's like, no, I like this person and I like the music that they create. And I think that having that connection, especially in DIY is something so awesome. Is that like you can tweet at somebody in like the DIY world of music and like have a conversation with them. And like that builds like, it's not about the music, it's about like the people. And like that's what it, there's a part of that that feels so nice and refreshing in terms of like, not just like this big major label, conglomerate, you're supporting, like no, you're supporting like people and like people's passion and artistic vision, which is so refreshing and cool. And like, this is a prime example of that. Like this is a new vision and like, I'm on board. Like, sign me up. - Gosh, I don't know how to call that. - I don't know how to call that. - I feel bad for my man, A.J. now. - That should have been the closing of A.J. - So next up, so I mentioned A.J. before the interview portion. A.J., he played drums in Western Jaguar, probably from about 2016 till COVID. And then during COVID, he moved away. But he was very much a big part of like the production and sound of the band. 'Cause he was kind of our, before Davis got involved, he was kind of spearheading like the recordings and things like that. And he's like been so versatile, like we've, we've lost guitar players and he switched to guitar. And then like we've lost drummers again and then he's moved back to drums. Like he knew like all the parts, for all the different instruments, for all the songs, and like just a super talented human being. So, - Swiss army knife of a man. - He's Swiss army knife. So the song I have of his, he's released a bunch of singles and things like that. This is a song called Waste My Time. And it's very much, I will just say, it's very much in the vein of like talking heads. Feel it like talking heads. So this is kind of a new wave type issue. - Yeah, and it's like just a super fun tune. - I think it really encapsulates like AJ as a person. Like the song really encapsulates his style and who he is. - Nice. - So, this is Waste My Time by Eradonis. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ Watching you on TV always wondering about the meaning ♪ ♪ Hard to guarantee the will I can know ♪ ♪ And I'm just dreaming who's gonna be grieving ♪ ♪ When I found a list of all my breathing ♪ ♪ Every moment's played a life's a journey ♪ ♪ So don't stop believing ♪ (upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ I wanna waste my time much better than anybody else ♪ (upbeat music) - That dude is a group, he's a group bad. Like anything that you hear, that's Ruby and Western Jaguar back in the day, it's Mr. Airdonus. (laughing) - This is one of those songs that you hear it and it's just, you can't help. The smile just comes over you. - I love all the overdobs of hip talk, right? - The overdobs of hip talk, you guys just go sucks, man. This guy sucks, yeah. I thought that that was hilarious. I also, I don't know why. I'm a sucker for the little at the beginning of like a vocal take when it's the instrumental thing and then there's like a little like cough or a little like, you know, somebody says some quip and then they leave it in. I don't know why, but I'm just such a big sucker for that. It humanizes it in a way, like it's like, oh yeah, this is somebody who's in the studio having fun, you know, doing, doing shit. - No, and that's why I love about that song, but there's so much fun injected to it. Like even all the like the progressive elements and things like that, like. - The cowbell ring. - The cowbell ring. - I can just like, I can imagine A.J. like making this song, like, like just like bopping around, like having a good time. And I think it's interesting 'cause it's like such a upbeat song, but like, lyrically and like storytelling, it's kind of just like about like, am I wasting my time, you know, like doing all this. And like, I think that's why all those like little things like, oh, this guy sucks, that guitar is in right below. Like, it's him like, going through all these like, oh my gosh, am I good enough? Or am I just wasting my time, right? - To me, what I get almost out of it is like, you know, you always have that thought in the back of your mind of like, am I wasting my time? And what I get from this is, it doesn't matter if you're wasting your time when you're having a good time. - You're having a good time. - You know, that's true. But that's, yeah, just like a fun song. - I also notice, like 99% sure, there's like a little Mario sample of like, when Mario goes into the pipe, I think that there's a sample of that, like in the right channel. - There has to be like a transition or something like that. I was like, oh, I think I noticed that. It's just like a little sample that's hidden in the background. - Well, if you notice, like, one of his more popular songs, it's called "Princess." It's like an NES game cover kind of thing. So I wouldn't be surprised if there's like some Mario,
candy in there. That's right there. So dude I have to check out more of this. This is I mean and the thing is like his stuff is all very different. Like there's like really slow songs. There's more like poppy stuff like this. Like the dude just covers it all. Sign me up man. I'm so in. Music that makes you want to strut your stuff. Yeah exactly. All right. So my next song. Very much a departure from that although it was one that again a direct submission that I thought was perfect for this episode because I really thought that you would you would like it a lot. So this is by an artist called Jay Johnson and featuring the OTC collective which I guess is his other band but this is all stuff that he has written separately and is putting out as himself at least that's how I understand it. Yeah. And this is from their EP called Love Rock and Roll part one which was released back in June and it's a concept EP inspired by 60s rock and roll. Oh I'm basically at least as far as I understand it this is going to act as side A to a companion EP that will be coming out. I believe next year that I think is likely going to be in the same vein but I'm not sure maybe they're going to do like a completely opposite thing and so they're going to do like 60s and then they're going to do like modern. This is interesting because I was I was thinking of doing something exactly like this. Jay Johnson, you beat me to it. So this song is called My Ava by Jay Johnson. I think you'll really dig it.
, I'm at it in the sun. All of my will here love song. Cool breeze through my head. I get my dream. She's to them. (upbeat music) ♪ The left area is my freedom ♪ So fear is fair and wise, A lie is too beautiful, so it is my life. My life, my life, my life, My life, my life, my life, my life, my life. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. As I lay on the beach and dream, Time slowly passes me by, as she stands as in my dream. I want to buy my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind. My mind, my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind. My mind, my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind. My mind, my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind, my mind. That's about it. God, that's so good. I'm going to have that hook stuck in my head for a week. My mind. It's so like simple, but so good. It's so good. The first thing that I want to say, they absolutely nailed what they were going for as far as like the like that is throwback 60s, like psychedelia to a team, dude. No, they nailed what they were going for for sure. Like all the tones specifically are like just so spot on. Yeah. Like none of it sounds like modern at all, which is perfect for what they're doing. Like even like I was noticing like the bass to the bass even sounds like old. Like I don't even know how to describe it. But like it just sounds it's got that old like just like the bass lines and everything. Like that. Yeah. Like they nailed it. Nailed it. A small little production thing that I noticed that I absolutely love is back in like the 60s, the kind of like early like, you know, stereo recording days. They were a lot more liberal with the panning than we tend to be now. Some stuff was really weird, especially like some early Beatles stuff. It's like all the drums are just on the left side or whatever. You know, weird shit. But one of the things that they did here that kind of harkens back to that, that I kind of want to play with a little bit at some point I think maybe, is that the entire time there's doubled vocals. But neither of them are straight up the center. One's left and one's right. And so there's like this cool like very wide stereo. And like a lot of people in modern production try to have wide lead vocals. But they do like stereo widening and like, you know, all this weird stuff. And like back, you know, you can just do that. You can just do doubles. Pan them. Not a ton. Just a little bit. And like you kind of get that effect. And it's really cool, especially for like this throwback style. Yeah. And I think the vocal thing you mentioned is interesting. Because I've really been experimenting with trying to find like different ways to do vocals rather than it's down the middle. And I got like harmonies on the sides, right? Yeah. Or like just stacking layers and things like that. And I think that's super cool as having like one kind of in each ear. Because it still feels like it's here. Even though it's. It feels center. Yeah. Even though it's balanced on either side. And I think there are. But there's a little thing. Yeah. There are people who do that. Like I think. I'm trying to think. Like there's a band called Laney. I don't know if you know Laney. Yeah. They do something similar where it's like kind of on both sides. But it feels in the middle. Interesting. Yeah. I never noticed that in their music before. I need to listen to that. I need to listen for that the next time I check them out. Yeah. But yeah, because it does sound basically up the center. But you kind of get like this little thing where it like tickles your brain a little bit. Then it's like, oh, one starts like a little bit sooner than the other or whatever. The doubles are such like a huge thing that I never realized. Like speaking of like recording things. Like recording. Yeah. Having doubles of everything in case you want that sound. It just makes things sound. It's crazy how two of something sounds so much bigger than one of something like. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. Well, because it's not necessarily because you could turn one thing up. Yeah. But that's not the same as having having two of them ads like complexity.
to it. And, you know, I could get into like fucking physics shit. I'm not going to do that right now. This is already as nerdy as it needs to be. We don't need to be bringing fucking physics equations into this shit. But yeah, and also the organ at the beginning of this, I am such a sucker for like, I think that sounds like a Rhodes or something like that. And I am such a sucker for that type of that type of like keyboard part. I am like super into that sound right now. Do with that what you will. So yeah, this came out back in June. It sounds like they have the follow up to that, the companion EP, as it were, is slated to come out early next year in 2025. So if you enjoyed this, check out that EP and keep an eye out. I love that idea of like an EP and an EP kind of coming together as one. Yeah. Kind of doing a little bit of background info. Kind of doing that for the Void Cavalier EP's. That was kind of the plan for that is to essentially have the first EP and the next EP whenever that ends up coming to fruition, kind of acting as like a side A inside. Side B have something. That's kind of what I'm thinking for next year. But no commitment from Western Jaguar. This is an unofficial statement. You didn't hear that. Do not hold Western Jaguar. Do not hold the accountable. Somebody flash the event. Don't hold me. All right. What do we have up next? Oh, next we got one of my best friends in the entire world. Mr. Louer case dream. So he was the, he was at my, my wife and I got married during COVID. So there's only 12 people at our wedding. Like very small. And he made the cut for those 12 people. Nice. Okay. So like we go way back playing in bands together. He was actually friends with my brother in high school, weirdly enough. But him and I have become better friends over time. And just a guy who's always played, he was one of the first people he played in Western Jaguar. One of those first people who are like, you got to play this live. And like I'm willing to help you to do that. Nice day one support. Yeah. And he's been in and out of the band throughout the entire history of Western Jaguar, depending on how busy he's been because he's had other projects and jobs and things like that. As, as we all know, like with life. Yeah. But on like oblivion, he did all the guitar work on like daydreaming, for example. And like some of those older songs, like Lake Placid, like Bank With All Love story, like he wrote all the guitar parts for those, like just super talented. Another just super talented person who I've somehow been so lucky to like work with in my life. So this song is from his project called Louer case dream, which is kind of more like he has like a rock band project that's called casinos, but they're not really active anymore. This is his kind of project he's working on now, which is kind of more like R&B inspired. And oh cool. And again, just because he's so talented, he can do anything. And again, just like Ted's song, just like Eradonna's song, this is all like him, like mixing, mastering, doing everything himself. So this song is called Don't Hold So Tight, and it's by Louercase Dream. Oh, they'll all end up in three jobs. When you go, they'll get re-honed, weathered like a storm. Love again, you know. Never needed that much of anything. Don't hold their hand. So tight, when they've gotta live, people need their own, too, too sick. Doesn't mean I do it. Wasn't it sweet they'll find you home? Said they like the snow. Love you so much, you know. Said the bowscarf from Ontario. So look at your time's roll, and cry when they go. That's our humans, too, you know. So today I'll sit beside you. I love that synth. I like that a lot too. That synth part in the middle just gets me every time. Yeah, I also really love the like very, very like understated kind of like a little digital percussion. Yeah, as well. That comes in. It's like just a little, just like those little hits. Like again, you know, kind of the like tickles your brain a little bit, the little like ear candy. The Nick Weber ear candy patent pending. No, I'm like, yeah, here's like his songwriting is just so interesting to me. Like again, I feel like when I write songs in a very direct, it's like I have these three chords. I'm going to ride these three chords for four minutes, but like the stuff that he comes up with, like the chord progressions and like again, like go listen to the other stuff in the lowercase stream, it is insane. Like I'm like, how does your brain work? Like where you can like play like seven chords and like a 10 second span and it's actually sounds good. Like it's just crazy. I also love how dynamically like things come in and out and stuff like that. Like there's one thing that I really like latched on to as soon as it happened, but it's like there's the bass that's playing. And then there's like a little bass synth that's even lower than the bass. And it like comes in just for one little section. And it's like it just makes that like section feel so deep and like big. And that's what I mean about like the variation. Like it's just I feel like when he sends me a song, I never know where it's going to go. You know, like sometimes you can listen to a song and you're like, oh yeah, I know how this is going to feel in the course or whatever, but like I challenge anyone to like predict where, like pick any song and make predictions as you go through. You won't be able to tell where it's going. I feel like I go back and forth between that when I write. So like sometimes I'll have like a very straightforward like, oh yeah, this is clearly just like, you know, fairly standard rock song. So it's got two guitars, bass, drums, vocals, you know, maybe something else. Yeah. And then other times I'll, you know, just go hog wild and, you know, put as many little layers and small little details and shit as I can. And I am a sucker for like maximalist production, especially like this where it's it's almost understated, but still kind of maximalist in like how many like layers there are. Yeah. No, for sure. Like you wouldn't know how much stuff is there unless you're actually like like the double bass thing is a perfect example, like unless you're trying to really notice that, I don't think you would pick up on it, right? Yeah, I think that it's something where if you were listening to it not with a critical ear, because like, you know, when I'm listening to stuff while I'm doing the podcast, I'm trying to think of like, oh, here's what I could say about this. This is interesting. You know, whatever. But I feel like if you were just like vibing with it, like you wouldn't, it's a whole lot of subtle stuff that you would miss it if it were gone, but you don't notice it in the moment. No. And again, like I don't understand, man, like lower case seven monthly listeners. I'm looking at it right now. How is this possible? Help my guy out. Like, yeah, another just wonderful human being that again helped me so much in my songwriting and like being more comfortable and being myself like I have a lot, I owe a lot to Mr. Lowercase Dream there. All right. So moving on to
my final selection for the afternoon evening, depending on which coast you're on, I suppose. We're mid-afternoon here. Yeah, this is past six o'clock at this point now. But anyway, so my final tune is going to be from a band called Year Twins. They are on, we're trying records, putting out a new album this month, next month isn't recording this, but you know, we're trying where the new phones with chords record is, too, isn't it? Am I correct? No. No. No. New phones with chords is on a totally real record. That's what it is. I mean, we're trying also did 95 choral. That's what I'm thinking of. Yeah. I knew it was a record that I would have been listening to or excited about. That 95 choral record. And they also do the sad jams playlist every week, too. Yeah. I don't know if I know about the sad jams playlist. Oh, it's great. It's on Spotify. They updated every week with like new like pop punk emo, like alternative rock type of stuff. I want me to get on that. And I've found a lot of a lot of really cool stuff on that, even before I, you know, was kind of hip to the record label and stuff like that. It was just something that like would pop up from time to time. No, I will definitely be checking that out. Yeah, no, it is a great weekly weekly updated playlist. But anyway, so their new album is called Leveled and it is coming out on September 27th. I believe it was. 26. Yeah. Yeah. 26. Is that right? Yeah. Okay. Anyway, so that is going to be going to be coming out at the end of the month here. And we're actually going to be premiering a song a couple days early, a couple days early for it for this for this project. This song is called Poor Evans by Year Twins. [Music] I watched your father's eyes go to the floor. Read the lines on his face. They were begging for comfort. The honest dreaming was wishful and sterile. It should have been careful. How could we have predicted? He'd be part of the cracks in the pavement. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Now that's much more overtly maximalist. That song is like a journey, holy smokes. It's crazy. It got like very flamenco in the middle for a second there. That's the thing. It's very interesting in a weird way for this kind of Midwest emo type of thing. It kind of gets into a little bit of screamo for a little bit. It kind of gets into some other stuff. It plays with a lot of time signature and that sort of deal. In the middle, you've got almost like a clave river almost. Yeah, like our bossa nova kind of thing. Yeah, and like a bass solo. It's very wild. I think that this is definitely not an approachable song by them. I think that if you like what they do, I think that you'll enjoy this. But I do think that it's kind of a difficult cell if you've never listened to the band before. But also in a way, it's almost like a great example of all the territory. Here's like all the territory we cover. This is it. That's specifically why they wanted to feature this song. I was asking them because I was like, "Do you have a specific song that you would want featured on the episode?" I said this one because it hits every single thing that they do throughout the entire record. I think that that makes a lot of sense because it is such a journey and does so many different things. It's like a mini record in itself. Like you get like that first section is a song like the middle section, the bossa nova clave thing. Then there's like the more screamo song at the end. It's like three songs in a while. I think it makes for a great closer because of that. It's kind of like, all right. Let's do this all one more time. No, and I think it's position as the closer for their upcoming album makes a lot of sense to me for there. This is a new name to me. I've not heard of year twins before. But definitely we'll be checking on more because I feel like I understand them now. This was like a crash course in year twins. And I'm ready to sign up for like 102. They put out a few singles from this previously. Yeah, I was looking that up for the last thing. And I think that those are a lot more approachable if you're just into like a midwest emo type of thing. But yeah, I think that this whole project is going to be great.
project is really neat. It's definitely like that kind of, you know, Matthew, Midwest emo type of thing. They go all over the place. It's kind of like, it takes effort to listen to. This isn't something that I would like put on in the background, just to, it's something that I need to be like, all right, I'm paying attention. This is, you know, take me to class. - When you're right to it, like it had like those big like tapy guitars, right in the middle. And then it goes to like the big wall of sound almost, like both sides of your ear, yeah. So like, yeah, like it covers like a lot of tearing, but it also shows like a lot of ability to be able to cover all those sounds and still have it sound like cohesive. Like that song still made sense to me. It didn't feel like they're jamming three different ideas into one. - I think that that's the big thing is like figuring out how to transition these ideas and things like that and make it feel cohesive like that, yeah. - Yeah, which they definitely accomplished. So kudos on that one. - All right, so what do we have for the final song? - The final song of the episode. - The last song, hold on, I'll go back here. I was looking up your toys. - That'd be a good one. - Okay, well we talked a lot about Davis earlier. So I got a song that Davis produced. So keen, keen-eyed people will have noticed the last single, a release for vacation land, it's called Victim. And it was featuring the coyotes. And if you look up the coyotes on streaming or whatever, you'll find there is a band with like one monthly listener. And that monthly listener is me. (laughing) But this is, Davis, he does make music, but he doesn't promote it. He doesn't really promote it. So I'm here, I'm promoting it for him because I think people will enjoy this music. So it's kind of like a punk project, but it's all themed, it's dog themed. So he got to follow me on this one. All the songs are like dog themed. So like the one we're gonna listen to is called Good Boy. There's a song called Howell about dogs howling. There's a song called Like a Flea about like when you get fleas. Like, it's like a concept project. But like, again, it really, I feel like when we listen to it, you'll be able to hear like the similarities between victims specifically because it's like Davis's production style to a tee. So like they'll be some similarities there. But like when we were talking about victim, when we finished it in that day, I was like, let's do this as a co-release 'cause like, I would love to have your name on it. 'Cause it felt like it was leaning into this kind of direction of this coyotes project. So. (upbeat music) ♪ I'm a big boy, I'm a good boy too ♪ ♪ I can tell you how big it's up for you ♪ ♪ Out of action, out of action ♪ ♪ Out of action ♪ ♪ Then, then, then, then, another day ♪ ♪ What you think of getting when you're trying to tell ♪ ♪ All my victims have when you can't stop ♪ ♪ So after they come fly ♪ ♪ I feel so full ♪ ♪ I just wanna be a good boy ♪ (upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ I'm a big boy, I'm a good boy ♪ ♪ I don't make it true ♪ ♪ No matter what, I save still my day, yeah ♪ ♪ I'm not even mad, yeah, that's right, I'm mad ♪ ♪ So if you think of bad ♪ ♪ It's too big ♪ ♪ It's too big ♪ ♪ And on the passing of the subway ♪ ♪ One whole day had passed ♪ ♪ And the day was good ♪ ♪ Set the great dog in the sky ♪ ♪ What, the untold creatures ♪ ♪ And they trembled ♪ ♪ But there's where the parts of the land ♪ ♪ And the land was good ♪ ♪ And the dog was good ♪ ♪ And the boy ♪ ♪ Was a good boy, boy, boy ♪ (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - All right, I like that a lot. - Oh yeah, that's, that's just as Davis too. - It's very, very like post punk to me. - What's almost got like some like reggae to it in a way as well. - Yeah, well that's kind of like, to me, like the post punk thing is kind of like, you take the basis of punk and then you kind of add like a little bit more of like, you know, these other external influences. - Yeah. - And so that's kind of like why I get, especially like also the like more like, like down tempo kind of section. - Yeah, like the big section in the middle. - Like all the dogs were good for it. - Yeah. (laughing) Take me to church, baby. But that's like, like again, like, and again, I go with really solid like song structures and Davis brings like the interesting bits. And like, that's a perfect example of like, that's something I would never think to do in a song, but it totally like fits in a way. Like, this is like brain work so interesting. I'm like, that's a prime example of how his brain works. - Yeah, for sure. Another thing that I find very amusing is like this has the dog theme, and you said that all of his music kind of does that. - They're all dog. - That bit, okay, I like that a lot. So there's a band from Florida. They're called Pangolin. And they have a song on their 2019 album called Song for Dogs. And I'm trying to find the lyrics for it because it's hilarious. - I would have to pass that along to Davis 'cause he would cover it. - Nice. Okay, here we go. Here's all the lyrics. You're such a good boy, good boy, good boy, good boy. Please get off the couch. That's the entire song. - Same vein. - Same vein, man. - It's like a 22nd like punk song. It's really funny. - Yeah, this is taking it to a max. - Yeah. - No, I do really like this though. And especially that kind of like post punk thing where especially like the Tom's kind of deal with the drums and all that too. - Well, and you can see that drum style is what's in victim 'cause like Davis did the drums, right? - Yeah. - For sure. - No, I definitely can feel where that influence is coming from now. I think that that's super cool. - Yeah, that's why victim is very much, it's a Davis song like as much as it is my song. - All right, so is there anything else that you specifically want to mention about the album before we kind of sign off for the episode one more time? - I don't know. I feel like we covered as much as we can. I just encourage people to like on September 13th, give it a listen, like tag me, like I love when people tag me. Like tag me, tell me what you think. Even if like you have like beef with how I mixed it, please tag me. I would love to know. Like it'll may help. - Tell me all of the production mistakes. - Tell me everything. - You find all the production mistakes and things like that. No, but like if you haven't listened to Western Jaguar, like I would be stoked if you gave it a chance. And if it's not for you, it's not for you. Like that's totally fine. Like that's, there's so much, as we've learned today going through all this, there's so much good music out there. And like it is insane what there is. So like, and again, I try to do like playlists and things like that to try to spread the word for some of the community. - Help the community try to spread the word for some of these people too. So like, even if you're not following me for my music, you could follow up for the playlist of other people. And like, yeah, I try to stoke those people up as much as possible. That's my piece. - All right. - Like I'm, thank you for having me on. I'm so stoked to have been here. - Of course it's been great. It's been great having you. It's interesting because I think that this is the first time that we've ever actually talked to each other. - No, I did. This is the case for a lot of times when people will come on on the podcast. I feel like I know them so well 'cause of message back and forth. And like we've interacted on Twitter and stuff like that. But it is interesting that, you know, only actually speaking to each other for the first time. It's very interesting. - It's very weird because like, it was not weird from the beginning. Like it feels like this is not the first time we've talked to each other like in person. - Exactly. - It feels like we've known each other forever. - Back in the old, I can't name a Detroit high school. Sorry. I failed you. (laughing) - I can't do there because I didn't go to high school. - Oh, oh, oh, oh. - Well, like I said, I, well, I guess Detroit is on the Canadian border. But I grew up up north on the Canadian border. - The Upper Peninsula.
in any Michigan. Yeah, yeah, wait. Yeah. That's all I know. This has been, well, you got it right. This has been The Fresh Finds Podcast, the show about discovering new music with good people. Fresh. Live in on a cold mind. I can't seem to unwind. Run in circles in my mind. Looking through the dawn frame. The world behind the woodcrain. I'm watching strangers. Live the lives. Remember when I used to feel the way that you moved. But now a dream of getting by. I should have screamed all in. I should have said stay with me. But you're gone in. I'm wasting time. I just want to know. I can't take it slow. I just want to know. When am I going? The sun is setting slowly. I miss you in the morning. Why can't we just rectify? The shit is tearing me up. You didn't care enough to call it say goodbye. I just want to know. I've got to take it slow. I just want to know. When am I going? When am I going? When am I going?
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