Now Its
Over Head
Riding High In the Indie Rock Saddle
By Jon Wilkins
Imagine you’re on a cigarette boat, cutting
through the dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean with
several hundred pounds of yayo stashed underneath
and a Coast guard helicopter hot on your ass.
Well, now you can have the soundtrack to that little
fantasy as soon as you buy the new record from
Now It’s Overhead, the brainchild of Athens,
Georgia producer Andy LeMaster.
Signed to indie giant Saddle Creek Records (and
the first outside of Nebraska), NIO has produced an
amazing sonic landscape that induces flashbacks of
120-minutes faves The The, as well as the shoegaze
of Galaxie 500, and the sensitive indie whispers of
Red House Painters. But Andy didn’t forget to inject
a healthy does of electronic nostalgia. Several cc’s
of Depeche Mode-like drum loops and the shimmering
guitars of R.E.M. help set the music aside
from the rampant rock fetish of today’s Mtv2 alterna-
frat-rock.
To help make his fevered dream come true, Andy
enlisted the talented aid of Orenda Frank and Maria
Taylor of Azure Ray, along with childhood co-conspirator
Clay Leverett. Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes
and Michael Stipe of... well, you know... lend their
voices to this recording. Whoa! Wait a minute! How
did he get those guys to sing on his record? You
see, Andy isn’t just a songwriter, he’s also a
recordist and producer, and has worked with bands
like Miami’s Poulain, as well as the aforementioned
artists. Fall Back Open was recorded at Chase Park
Transduction in Athens, Georgia, a recording studio
owned by Andy, Dave Barbe (Sugar) and Andy
Baker (Glands). The meticulous attention to detail in
the many layered sounds of NIO are a product of
recording savvy and many late nights spent creating
a masterpiece of electronic beauty - “Fall Back
Open,” roots melancholy - “The Decision Made
Itself,” and big beat analog power - “Reverse.” The
record ends with the anthemic and hauntingly gorgeous
“A Little Consolation,” as if the album
weren’t prize enough. NIO is currently on a North
American tour with indie darlings Rilo Kiley, and
label mates Tilly and the Wall.
Your first single “Wait In Line” reminds
me of the
music Jan hammer did for Miami Vice, especially the
drum tracks. Are you a fan of 80s music like The Fixx,
Missing Persons, and Honeymoon Suite?
Yeah, that's when I grew up so a lot of 80s music is
permanently etched in my brain.
I also hear early industrial like Front 242, Nitzer Ebb,
and Ministry in some of the analog synth sounds.
Fair enough.
How about an obligatory road story, besides the usual
fireworks/condom machine/beef jerky incident.
Once, we needed to fit more people into a hotel room
and there was too much furniture so we just threw
some things out the second story window. Orenda had
the best line when she said, "hold my calls" and then
chucked the phone out over her shoulder.
Every band has at least one member with questionable
musical taste. Who is it this tour?
Clay's favorite singer of all time is George Jones.
That's pretty questionable.
Your latest record on Saddle Creek harkens back to the
heady days of alternative like The The, the shoegaze of
Galaxy 500 and Ride, and the indie rock of Polaris and
Red House Painters. Is it simply a case of subconscious
influence, or were you out to make a specific
sounding record?
Subconscious influence more than intentional borrowing
from any specific band(s). I did intentionally set out
to write and record the majority of this album in the
middle of the night. Sleep depravation and darkness
definitely influenced the presence of dreamy shoegaze
production elements. Bands that you mentioned were
part of the vocabulary that I considered appropriate for
this album.
Better ‘rock-n-role model’, Good Charlotte or Boz
Scaggs?
Uhh...
Surrender, another track from your record Fall Back
Open, approaches some of the sonic landscape from
Depeche Mode’s Violator especially the slide guitar and
big beat drums. Was that record important to your
musical growth?
I'm a fan of that album.
Why is it that many starting bands have their merch needs
in order before they’ve even written a song? Are there any
merch items you would never consider?
Weapons.
Are vibraphones to indie bands what pyrotechnics were to
‘hair metal’ bands?
That's a stretch.
Better pre-amp: API, NEVE, or PEAVEY?
API 312's and NEVE 1272's are my favorite mic pre's we
own so I can't possibly choose between the two for that
award.
Why is Michael Stipe pretending to like Dashboard
Confessional?
Uhh...
Are you a traditional songwriter, sitting in a room with a
guitar or piano hacking out a song, or do you record at the
same time you are writing, thinking of it as a whole production?
Equal parts both. But even when I have a song completely
worked out, I often change at least a small part of the
arrangement once the recording process begins.
Is “Company Man” your favorite Sugar song?
No... JC Auto.
Tell me a bit about your studio: When it started, how you
got involved, who you’ve recorded there.
I met Andy Baker in Athens when he and I had separate
studios in small spaces. We both wanted to expand so we
decided to merge resources and do it together. Shortly
after Dave Barbe contacted Andy Baker with the same
proposition so we all three decided to join forces. We
opened in May of 1997 and have been booked ever since.
I've worked on projects with Bright Eyes, Azure Ray,
Macha, R.E.M., The Glands, Drive By Truckers, Beep
Beep... just to name a few.
Do you have any advice for the youth of America?
Be proud of your bodies.
Now It’s Overhead recently played with Rilo Kiley
and Tilly
On The Wall at I/O Lounge.
Forget Sofas—
Modernage’s Dark
Postpunk is Plushier
Don’t hate them ‘cause
they’re indie.
By Natalia Real
When I attended my first Modernage show it wasn’t to see
the band—it was because a guy I liked was going to be there. It was at
I/O’s Poplife Saturdays downtown Miami last March. The multi-colored lights
swirled over a stage of black and shining instruments conspicuous amid the musicians’
dark outfits. The air was smoky and cool and the ambience melancholy. I got
sucked into the lightly distorted, ringing guitars, firm bass lines, solid drumbeats
and honey-thick vocals. I was damn impressed. At the end of the show I got a
copy of their demo (recorded live in January at Churchill’s Pub) and spent
my entire Sunday afternoon obsessing over its intense, sensual allure.
The men onstage, whose music regarded discord of an amorous nature and overall
despair, I later found out, were Mario Giancarlo on vocals, Xavier Alexander
on guitars, Sean Perscky on drums and Drago Strahija on bass.
The project was born in 2000 while Xavier, self-taught at guitar, was studying
film: “I met Pascal when I was shooting a movie and needed someone to
help do camera work…at that point I’d been recording a lot of demos…
We had discussions about how important the bass is and so we decided he’d
be the bassist. We started recording stuff. And I got serious about it and started
looking for people online… It almost felt like a silly hope. We had like
four songs recorded on my computer. That’s how we met Mario and our first
drummer. It was just funny that we met a drummer and a singer, so we decided
to try it out. That’s when we started—in March-April 2003.”
Since then they’ve been seducing crowds at numerous venues, like Purdy
Lounge, Lounge 16, Senor Frog’s Hard Rock Café, and the now-defunct
Diamond Lounge, and a few clubs in New York. Wherever they play, Mario’s
always sure to spark up the show with his dancing. “That’s something
only the lead singer of a band could get away with,” smiled 21-year-old
fan Matt Masdeu as he watched Mario perform at the Diamond Lounge in July.
They’ve also received plentiful praise. Tim O’Heir, producer of
Stellastarr*, Radio 4 and Madison Strays, said, “I think the band is cool,
reminiscent of Chameleons UK. It’s got an ‘80s vibe, but that’s
in nowadays, i.e. Interpol and The Stills.” Brandon Schmidt, manager of
Elefant and Interpol, picked Modernage to open for Elefant in February. In the
spring, they were interviewed on Radiate 88, Florida International University’s
88.1 FM station, played a few acoustic songs and answered listeners’ questions.
“I’d heard them before and they really sound good live. I’d
been wanting to get ‘em for a while. They did amazing,” said Andrews
Lorenzana a.k.a. DJ A.L.B. Rotten after Modernage played Spiderpussy at South
Beach’s Liquor Lounge in June.
Time is enabling Modernage to find their place in the postpunk/indie realm.
The simple arrangements persist, but while darkness prevailed in their demo,
their self-released EP (as yet untitled) coming this November packs songs perkier
in essence.
“I think our sound has changed. It’s a lot lighter now—we’re
not so moody. We’re not gonna sing about sunshine…but it’s
not as gloomy [either]. We’re going toward a lighter Smiths sound,”
reflects Xavier.
The new version of The Shore (whose lyrics speak of a man drowning himself)
conserves Xavier’s brisk picking, sporadically adding another guitar,
and blending drumbeats. “I try to mold around the underlying rhythm of
the music; find a niche between the bass and the guitar,” explains Sean.
“In The Shore, I’m trying to complement the bass and the guitar,
fill in the gaps—not contrast.”
In the fully danceable Headlights, Sean’s drumming gains vigor and melodious
tenacity. The bass and guitar riffs are energetic and choppy as Mario sings
dreamily about a liar in shambles: “Standing in a puddle with the rain
in your face / You can’t remember where you came from / Or how you were
caught in the headlights.”
Stabbing guitars (with a U2-esque tint in the bridge), smooth bass riffs and
Mario’s sweetest singing yet comprise Four Eleven. Xavier comments, “I
just love that goddamn song… I really describe how I feel, and I don’t
normally do that so explicitly. I used Mario’s melody, which was a cool
collaboration. And on the chorus, ‘And you never leave your bedroom /
You never talk to strangers / You always lose your patience / And you always
cut relations / You worship all those people / You live in such denial / You
never leave the bedroom’, I described stuff I don’t like about myself
and at the same time traits I’ve seen in other people; it’s like
an archetype, those kinds of people…be it musicians, film icons, or writers,
filmmakers. And I’ve met a lot of people like that. And at the same time
I love the music in that song… It’s really fun to play.”
Saturnine Disarm Me, also in the demo, however, may prove the exception with
its sepulchral atmospherics and disturbing lyrics: “Disarm me / I’m
dangerous / I’m bleeding / You’re aching / You’re wasting
your time with me / With me / And it’s crazy / But lately / I’m
daunted / I’m haunted / And you’re wasting your time with me / With
me.”
Mario insists: “We want to show our pop sensibilities…we’ve
been labeled dark and moody, but that’s not really how we are. We wanna
make sure we give you both ends.”
“If given the opportunity, I think a lot of people would identify with
(our music). I don’t think there are many bands doing what we’re
doing, at least not with as much honesty,” Mario assures.
“The music means something to us. The songs, each song …we feel
it. It’s for real,” exclaimed Xavier passionately.
Get their EP and find show dates at: www.modernagemusic.net, www.myspace.com/modernage and www.epoplife.com.