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Spooky Cool, “Time Will Tell”

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We’re going to have to cop a bit of a latepass on this one, since it’s actually been out for a few weeks now, but really, is there ever a bad time to discover a new single by Richmond indie rockers Spooky Cool? “Time Will Tell” is their first new release since 2018’s Every Thing Ever EP, and is also the first single from their forthcoming LP, Existential Pie, coming in September. We’ve got the video on tap for you to enjoy, but first, let’s get a bit of background, shall we?

Speaking to Worm Brain World earlier this year, Spooky Cool frontperson, guitarist, and chief songwriter Zac Hryciak explained that “Time Will Tell” “is one of the few tracks on our upcoming LP which still has an aesthetic similar to our previous work. It feels a bit premature to speak on it, but the rest of the LP is kind of a hybrid between grimy pop rock and electronic pop songs, and the larger difference is how I was writing and removing limitations on what I could write and what instruments I could exploit. I was learning to use Ableton and writing as I was recording which allowed us to transition to a new sound and feel.”

This is sure to make fans of the group feel ambivalent; on one hand, “Time Will Tell” should be a pleasant listen for those who have enjoyed the band’s previous work. On the other hand, in terms of the album to come, its overall sound may constitute a bit of a feint. We’re sure to find out what else to expect from Existential Pie as more singles are released in the coming months. For now, this psychedelic slice of off-kilter, somewhat complex indie rock is a delightful listen, whether the band is completely new to you or you’re experienced in what Spooky Cool have to offer.

The video’s a lot of fun too. Directed by Hryciak and Spooky Cool drummer Lee Spratley, the clip moves between intense close-ups of Hryciak and vocalist Paula Lavalle singing the song, and some trippier instrumental bits in which lysergic emanations distort the visages of our two vocalists with wild colors and effects. At times, these moments resemble the warping effects of fifth-generation VHS dubs, and at others, they make those of us of a certain age think of what it looked like when you’d tune your cable box to the scrambled porn channel and try in vain to make out some sort of coherent image. Fortunately, there’s nothing pornographic here, just some sweet sounds from an excellent indie group based right here in RVA.

Watch the video for “Time Will Tell” below.

Spooky Cool’s first album, Existential Pie, is coming in September, and features production by Jacob Blizard and Collin Pastore. More advance singles should be forthcoming soon — keep an eye on the group’s Bandcamp page for those, and follow them on Instagram, if you so choose, @spookycoolmusic.

King Kaiju: Richmond’s King Of the Hip Hop Monsters

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With the major shift in music since the start of the pandemic, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all  the music coming out. Here in Richmond there is a very deep underground part of the city if you know how to find it. That’s where you’ll find King Kaiju.

King Kaiju is one of those people keeping Richmond hip hop on the map, as it should be. Originally hailing from Newport News, he’s been rapping here in Richmond for the past couple of years, sharing stages with rappers like Project Pat and Xavier Wulf, hardcore/metal groups like King Nine and Guerrilla Warfare, and at least one artist, Ghostemane, who lies somewhere inbetween. His most recent release, Cruis’n RVA, makes reference to riding on multiple tracks, and Kaiju is a member of the Broad Street Bullies, that crew of wheelie bike kids who’ve been doing street rides around Richmond on a regular basis over the last year or so.

King Kaiju is playing a show this Saturday at The Bike Shop with DuctTape Jesus, Ty Sorrell, and more. We’ll have more on that in a bit, but first, we caught up with King Kaiju to get the lowdown on what he’s been up to.

King Kaiju: I’m from Newport News, Virginia. When people ask me and they aren’t familiar with the state, I usually say Virginia Beach, because that’s just the easiest answer. But I’m from Newport News. Shipyard, Military area, all that type of stuff. There’s not really a creative scene down there. There’s a few people doing their thing, but it’s not really somewhere you can excel at anything outside of work.  

Zach Bazemore: True that. The whole 757, pretty much? 

KK: Yeah, pretty much [laughs]. I love all my people out there, but I encourage everybody that wants to do something fun and creative, and show who they actually are, there’s more places in VA to go, and you don’t even have to leave the state. Just branch out! Try some new places. 

ZB: What got you into music? 

KK: I’ve always been around music. My earliest memories are driving around in the car with my dad and he would be playing anything from Jimi Hendrix, Biggie, gospel music or jazz. I’m honestly grateful for that, because now I listen to everything pretty much except for country. Nothing against it, it’s just not my thing, really.  

ZB: Hell yeah. What’s your newest project? 

KK: Its called Cruis’n RVA. It’s six songs, something slight. Some songs I wrote over a couple months. I felt like they went together, and I’m pretty proud of it. I got couple singles from it on Spotify, but the whole thing is on SoundCloud and Bandcamp. It’s King Kaiju on pretty much everything… you might have to add a 757 to it.  

ZB: You have any shows coming up?

KK: I do! I have a show coming up at the bike shop, Powers [Bike Shop]. There’s gonna be an after party after this big SE and Broad Street Bullies rideout. It’s gonna be a good time.  

ZB: You have any videos coming out soon? 

KK: I’m hoping on it. I really wanna do a video, because I haven’t had one in a minute. It’s a really  important part of pushing the music, you gotta have something to see to go along with it. I also think it’s kind of a lost art. A lot of people don’t watch music videos, and that’s really important to  me. Because personally, I like music videos, and when I write songs I kinda have a little mini-movie going on in my head. What I’m visualizing is what I’m writing down. So I try my best to help you play that movie through my words, but if you have a little visual aid, that usually helps. When you see somebody have the full idea fleshed out on film, that makes it so much better. 

ZB: What would you say to someone that’s trying to get into the music scene in Richmond? What advice would you give them? 

KK: I don’t know if I have the same experience as a lot of people. But what I would say is just be yourself. Don’t try to fit into anyone else’s genre or aesthetic. Just be completely you. That’s the best way to get people to relate, because if you’re trying to be something else or somebody else and people do gravitate towards it, and they listen to your other music or meet you in person and see that’s not really you, it’s not a good thing. Not conducive to your work. You wanna put yourself out there, and if you just do your own thing and be true to yourself, then people are gonna relate, and people are gonna like it. 

ZB: Do you have a favorite artist from Richmond or that currently lives here, that you listen to? 

KK: Currently in Richmond, I would have to say, lyrics-wise, Nickelus F, Lil Ugly Mane, and Lil Percy.  Honestly. Producer wise, I got a list, man. Trashcat, Bmoneygeez, Ayosteee, so many people. There’s so much talent around this city. You know, if you get the opportunity and find out someone makes music, tap in with them. It’s doesn’t have to be a serious thing, but being around creativity is always a good thing, and it’s always fun.  

ZB: True, true. One last thing: if you could say something to the people, your fans, maybe even your friends, something you want them to see in the magazine. What would you say? 

KK: Honestly, I care about people a lot, so I’m gonna make a couple general statements. Drink water. Go outside. Whatever your creative outlet is, do that. We all have some days where we kinda don’t feel like doing anything or whatever, but if you’re in a bad mood, just go to whatever it is that you do. And sometimes your have to make yourself do whatever that is. Usually it’ll start off with you not wanting to do whatever that is, but once you’re in the process of it, it feels so good, and you’ll think to yourself why you didn’t do it sooner. You know, whatever it is that you love to do, go do it. Go outside, drink water. That’s the main thing.

Catch King Kaiju at The Bike Shop, located at 3119 Williamsburg Road, on Saturday, June 25 for the RVA Rideout After Party, also featuring DuctTape Jesus, Tso Ghostly, Ty Sorrell, Rielxriel, 10K Zuri, 5dollawatuh, and Lazy Raine. Doors open at 7 pm, admission is $10 at the door.

Pinot’s Got Next

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Joseph Calabrese, otherwise known as Pinot, is a newcomer on the Richmond rap scene, and he’s ready to make his mark. Born in Washington to a military family, he has lived across the globe in countries like Italy and Germany. Eventually, he settled down here in Richmond, where he has spent the past three years perfecting his craft.

I first discovered Pinot in 2019, when I saw him freestyling with a group of his friends. His effortless wordplay and flow make him difficult to look away from. He released his first single, “Fine Wine,” in 2021, but by that time, he’d already started his journey on Soundcloud. After tens of thousands of streams, he decided he wanted to launch his love for music into something larger.

What makes Pinot’s style so notable is his ability to weave hooks, melodies, and energy into his music. This is most strikingly seen in his songs “Astrogirl,” “Contraband,” and my personal favorite, “Hell is on Earth.” His music is unforgettable — seriously, it will be stuck in your head for days. His punchy, compressed vocals stand out, and his overall sound is one you can’t find anywhere else.

Since his first single, Pinot has released several other projects, including his most recent EP, Sincerely, PINOT.  His newest single “Overseas,” is a collaboration with Crash, and is available for streaming now. I took the opportunity to sit down with Pinot myself, and discover, on a deeper level, just what makes him tick.

Marilyn Pham: Tell me, who is Pinot, and where did the name originate from?

Pinot: Originally my name is Joseph, but I go by Pinot because I drink a lot of wine and I’m Italian. My mom’s last name is Martini. I was originally going to use the name Martini, but then I figured that was a little too close to my government. So I just wanted to switch it up. And eventually, Pinot stuck.

Marilyn: What inspired you to start creating?

Pinot: So one night I was drinking wine with my homie, Nate. He goes by RXYNE. He’s a producer and an engineer. He asked me to hop on something, and I had just gotten off work. I was working at 7-11 at the time, and I said “Screw it” and just started recording with them. And then eventually, I made my first song with Nick, who goes by Ntstar. We made “Take Take,” which is a song by Doped Losers, only on SoundCloud. And then from there, I kind of went in, and did “Clarity” with Marilyn, and that kind of took off. 

Marilyn: What was the driving force for you to take the next step into the industry?

Pinot: So I originally was just making music to have fun and stuff. Then after “Clarity” and the music video, I met Eddie, who’s from Kidz at Play. I saw him at a party one night, and he was like, “Yo, one of my friends is trying to get into throwing shows and whatnot.” So I hit up his boy, and he got me on my first show. After that, I kind of fell in love with performing, and really wanted to keep doing it. I can’t stop.

Marilyn: Can you describe the experience of that first show?

Pinot: It was interesting, it was running late for sure. Like most shows. You know, it’s showbiz. But I got on stage at The Camel, and performed with a bunch of people like Dre Person, and Little Sticks was there, as well as Jay Duhh and a couple other people who are pretty notable in the Richmond scene. We threw a pretty good show. There were about 200 people in attendance at my first show, so that was really cool. And it really set a nice landmark for me to continue performing, and continue getting booked.

Marilyn: And how has your music style changed these past few years? We’ve seen your music vary. Whereas when your career first took off, we were hearing more rap/pop, but now, it’s become more rap. Do you plan on staying in that genre? How would you describe the direction your music is taking?

Pinot: So right now I’m definitely working on a self-produced project. I don’t have a name for it yet, but it’s definitely more in the rap [genre]… I would say it has a little bit of gospel undertone, but I’m not a religious person. I would call it more of an anti-gospel, I guess. In this upcoming project, I’m going to talk a lot about my personal life, and my personal issues and thoughts, and all my mental health and whatever trauma stuff that I want to talk about. So definitely, I want to move more towards rap, but also, I don’t know, I’m aiming to just become more artistic with my craft, vs. before, I feel like I was just creating to have fun, and I wanted to make stuff that people could just throw on at a party or something.

Marilyn: Was there a certain project that influenced that sound?

Pinot: Definitely! The first time I experimented with that type of sound would definitely be on my one song “Sunbeams,” which I get a lot of compliments about. But it’s a song where I talked about my family my grind as an artist, and trying to make it, and the journey that comes with that. That song was definitely influenced a lot by my EP, An Eighth and a Half Ounce. That was my first project that I kind of created seriously. I had a project before that, but it was really just one of those things that I threw together and was just trying to do to have fun, versus this project, [which] I kind of took my time with and really tried to hone in on my craft. So definitely those two projects were the major influences for that.

Marilyn: What is it like reflecting on your music from 2019 to now?

Pinot: Looking back at my old stuff, I cringe a lot. My first song I ever put on all platforms. “Fine Wine,” is still one of my top songs. It’s a song that I always get asked to perform. But honestly, I don’t really love that song that much, and I’m trying to move past it, and move past that sound a lot. I’m trying to move away from the poppy stuff sometimes, and more into conscious, more thoughtful music.

Marilyn: Since “Fine Wine” was your first song, what was the story behind it?

Pinot: I actually freestyled that after the January 6th protest. I actually have another rhyme in that song that’s like, “Your baby girl fucking with the alt-right.” [Meaning] the major conservatives in our country who are trying to ruin shit and do a lot of fucked up shit to our people. Pretty much what I’m saying in that song is that, like, yeah, your girl is fucked up, but she’s still sucking my dick all night, and there’s nothing you can do about it. And I pretty much repeat that for about two and a half minutes. 

Marilyn: What is the biggest obstacle, if any, that you felt you’ve had to overcome when it comes to making music?

Pinot: A lot of people look for free work, free handouts, or just free performing. They think because you love it, you want to do it all the time, and that’s not always false, but I think a lot of the time you as an artist have to tell yourself that it’s not always gonna be like that. You have to say “no” a lot of times, even though you don’t really want to, because even though a project seems really cool, you don’t want to open the door for someone to just come in and take advantage of you.

Marilyn: Crowds are passionate for you, Pinot. We’ve seen them rage, dance, and overall be drawn to what you deliver from the stage. How do you describe this energy, and what you contribute to it?

Pinot: I think when I’m on stage I try my best to include the audience. I’ll jump in the crowd, I’ll go down and rap in someone’s face. I don’t care if someone’s not vibing with me, I’ll do my best to try and get them to vibe with me. And after about 20 seconds, if you’re not gonna vibe with me, you’re not gonna vibe with me. So I just focus on the people who are vibing with me, and try to hype them up. Honestly, I love it. I’m so thankful for all the people who come to my shows and go crazy with me. It’s one of my favorite things about performing, just the live reaction that you get to have.

Marilyn: Would you say you grew your sound organically, or did you have outside influence? What do you think it is about your voice and style that makes you so unique?

Pinot: I think I have a few key things that make me unique. Although Autotune is a very used thing in the industry right now, I think the way in which I mix my music and master is different from a lot of people. I tend to put my vocals more in the forefront, more at the focus, and make the beat a little bit quieter, as well as over-compress my vocals a lot of times. I try to just make my stuff sound really, really punchy, even when it’s not.

That as well as my production choices. I work with a producer who’s from the Netherlands, his name is Sapjer. I discovered him right before I created my An Eighth and a Half Ounce EP, and once I discovered him I think that really allowed me to flex the part of my voice and my music that I was trying to do before. But really, it wasn’t fitting before I found them. I think it’s the production choice, the way I mix my music, and I just try to always come with a different flow. My influences are definitely more poppy from the early 2000s. I have a lot of influences from, like, T-Pain, Sean Kingston, and a lot of [other] pop influences. I also try to bring in some R&B elements like Kehlani, and other things that you might not always hear. But they’re there somewhere, whether it’s in the flow or just some underlying tune, or a melody that I have in the background. It’s there.

Marilyn: So I see you do a lot of self-producing. Would you say that takes a large part in your art? Describe that experience of producing your own work when you could easily go to another mixer or another producer to do that for you.

Pinot: Recently I started producing my own stuff because I just wanted to take charge of the entirety of my music. Like I said before, I worked with Sapjer, and I used to work with RXYNE on some stuff. He used to produce for me, as well as mix for me. I just felt like I could achieve a sound that a lot of other engineers either don’t know how, or aren’t used to trying, to get. I’m a self-taught engineer, and because of the way that I learned, I feel like, at first, my stuff sounded really bad. Then, once I found the sound that I liked, I can recreate it and replicate it so easily that it’s just so much easier for me to do it myself, rather than trying to go to someone else and explain to them what I want.

Marilyn: How’d you start getting into that?

Pinot: I had Band Lab and this other site called Soundtrap, which is a free DAW [Digital Audio Workstation] that you can use, and I had a little blue Yeti microphone that I used to use for voiceovers for advertising. I pretty much started recording my demos there. Once I got a little more serious, I downloaded Splice, which is a loop thing. You can get free loops and stuff every month from it. They were offering Ableton Live for free back in December of 2020, I think, and I downloaded it. It was definitely a huge learning curve, but I slowly invested in waves, plugins, and other plugins, just tried out different stuff, and eventually found myself in that way.

Marilyn: What about Richmond ties you to this city? Do you think it’s having an effect on your music?

Pinot: Definitely. So I started creating here. I lived in Buffalo for about four years when I was in high school, and then I moved down to Fredericksburg with my parents. There I did a lot of filming stuff, I got into filmmaking. And after I graduated from community college, I transferred to VCU. I would say that when the pandemic hit, that was when I really found my roots in Richmond. I started working here; I stayed here throughout the whole pandemic. I know a lot of people who’ve left Richmond during the pandemic; I wasn’t one of those people. I stayed here. I was longboarding through the city. I don’t longboard as much anymore. But, literally, I would explore the entire city. Find new places to smoke, find different drinking spots, that type of thing. I just discovered the city, and found a huge love for it. I would say that creating music has only amplified that, and made me want to stay here more. It’s become a place I really can call home.

Marilyn: Where do you see yourself five years from now?

Pinot: I know I just said I call Richmond home, but I see myself not living in Richmond. I see myself branching off and trying to move to a bigger city, or just a new city. Since I grew up an army brat, I moved around a lot when I was younger. I lived in Italy, and then I moved to Buffalo, and then Virginia. I lived in Germany at one point. I think [I might] even possibly move internationally. In the next five years, I see myself still very much creating. I hope to be able to go on tour by then. I hope to be able to be producing for some bigger artists, and have a bigger network of people. But besides that, I really hope that I’m able to progress my career and just continue to grow as an artist and as a person.

Marilyn: For people who are just now hearing about you, what do you want them to recognize about Pinot?

Pinot: If you’re just now hearing about Pinot, honestly, the first thing I would say is please check out my SoundCloud. You could go to my Spotify, you can go to my Apple Music, there’s hits on there, there’s stuff; but if you really want to get to know what Pinot is all about, check out my SoundCloud. There’s a lot of exclusive projects on there, a lot of exclusive stuff. And honestly, I’m more than just an artist, you know? I’m a writer at heart, I have a lot of hobbies that I’m into. I play volleyball. I’m into collecting things like Pokemon cards. I play the switch. I play Smash. I play Halo. I love Halo, I grew up on that shit. I’m a smoker, and I love to chill.

You know, there’s a lot of things that I am outside of an artist, and I would encourage you to hopefully check out my Instagram and just follow up with me. I’m someone that, I feel like, you can always hit me up. I’ll talk to you. You know? I love engaging with people, whether you’re a fan or friend. I try not to think about my fans as fans, I try to think of them as like my friends, just people that I’m trying to get to know. I think that would be a big takeaway that I would want someone to know. If they’re just now getting into Pinot, you’re not just a fan in my book. You’re not just a head or a number. You’re someone that I care about. Even if we don’t hang out, or even if I don’t know you on that deep of a level, just know that you could ask me to hang out, and I would probably slide. I’m a chill dude and I’m always looking to connect with new people.

Marilyn: You did mention there’s new content that you talked about in your lyrics, talking about your trauma, stuff you’ve been through. How have your experiences shaped your music? How do you hope your music will impact people?

Pinot: My new project that I’m working on, I’m trying to talk a lot about my experiences that I’ve gone through. When I was younger, I was bullied a lot. And when I was even younger than that, I was sexually assaulted, sexually abused. So that’s something that I want to talk about on my next project in some way. I think that talking about those things is important. Especially as a man, it’s not talked about a lot when you are a victim of sexual assault or sexual abuse. I think it’s just important to talk about that kind of thing. I think it could help a lot of people who feel silenced, or feel like no one would listen to them. Even if no one does listen to it, I’m not really making it for people to listen and feel some type of way about it.  I guess it’s more of just a healthy release, and a healthy way to cope with that trauma and stuff. There’s just so many people who do go through those things and never get to tell their story, never get to talk about it. So, I want to end that cycle, in a way, and just talk about whatever I want to talk about.

Marilyn: That’s truly inspiring. Can you tell me a little more about your project coming up?

Pinot: Yeah. Currently, I have one song finished for my upcoming project. I would say [I’m] about 90% done with that one song. Like I said before, it’s all self-produced so, I don’t know, it could be done right now. But the more I listen to it, the more I want to add this one thing. I want to add this one harmony, or this one melody in the back, or this one ad-lib, or I want to change up this lyric a little bit so it sends a slightly different message, or has a slightly different tone. I’m really trying to take my time with this and perfect it and really send the right message. I don’t want to rush it and just put it out, this one I really want to take my time with.

I promised myself with this project that it’s going to be done when it’s done. Whenever I feel like it’s done is when I’ll put it out. I’m not going to give any set release date or anything like that. It’s just, it’s going to be truly my freshman project, I guess. My debut album. I’m aiming for roughly 12 songs. Maybe eight. Who knows? It might get cut down, or it might have more than that. When it’s done, it’s done for real.

Photo by Kaitlyn Burdette

Lost In The Supermarket

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Richmond instrumental quartet Dumb Waiter have never stayed within any easily defined genre limits, and that continues to be true for their forthcoming latest album, Gauche Gists. With the album’s release only a week and a half away, RVA Mag is pleased to present the premiere of an exclusive preview track from the album, “Experiencing Loss In A Grocery Store,” so that all of us can get a revealing glimpse into just what this quartet of unorthodox talents is up to this time around.

Gauche Gists is the fifth album for Dumb Waiter, a band that originally came together a decade ago primarily due to guitarist Nick Crider’s desire to play a show with noise-core legends Lightning Bolt. “Back then, I was the booking agent at non-profit venue space,” Crider explains. “I had booked Lightning Bolt and wanted to be a complete brat and play the show as well. So I asked [drummer] Nathaniel [Roseberry] to start a noise power violence band. After a few practices, Nath brought in more players (Tristan Brennis and Keith Paul), and Dumb Waiter was formed.”

The easy hook for writers talking about this band over the past decade has been to label them as math-rock, but the group chafes at that overly reductive label, and I personally have never felt that it reflected the truth about Dumb Waiter’s sound. An instrumental group in which Tristan Brennis’s saxophone takes a prominent role, Dumb Waiter has always seemed to me to be based first and foremost in a fusion approach to jazz, though prog-rock and epic metal influences are also undeniably present in their sound as well. You can hear all of this on the new track, “Experiencing Loss In A Grocery Store,” which manages to both retain an overall mood of pensive introspection and jump back and forth, moment to moment, between a variety of lighter and heavier extremes.

“I think about our music mirroring the chaos of life,” says Crider, by way of explanation. “Things overlap and clash, different tunes play simultaneously, but in that dissonance is a hidden harmony. What shouldn’t go together does, and different situations/feelings/ideas/problems/solutions all simultaneously exist in the chaos.”

To Crider, it’s no surprise that this potentially overwhelming musical experience will be heard at least slightly differently by everyone who comes into contact with it. “The experience of the listener mirrors that of the conscious being inundated with all of these elements,” he explains. “They actively decide what they want to pull out of the chaos, and how they’ll interpret that. Other aspects may get left disregarded, and we write our music in a way that leaves the listener with that choice. I think a good example of this is within the title, ‘Experiencing Loss in a Grocery Store,’ where two pallets clash and combine. The listener is presented with banality and despair, all masked with adult contemporary.”

Saxophonist Tristan Brennis picks up the thread. “Intentionally setting out to create lyricless instrumental music is one of the more irrational things you could do with your time. What is anyone supposed to interpret from some wordless sound in a jar?” he asks. “However, it is from this subjective nature of instrumental compositions that I find emotions can speak purely through the listener, with no bias towards the artist’s original intent.”

Reflecting post-modernist theories originally elaborated on by philosopher Roland Barthes in his essay “The Death Of The Author,” Brennis makes the point that what the members of Dumb Waiter mean to express in the music they play isn’t really the point. “Like random shoppers sifting through a Food Lion, each with their own internal monologues, their own crisis-of-the-day, their own personal regrets, aspirations, fears and triumphs — like a widow encountering her late husband’s favorite can of soup on the shelf; two college students fighting over the last bottle of calcium-enriched orange juice; a single dad finding a great price on peanut butter — each listener has their own internal subjective experience of the emotions present in the music,” he says, finally summing up by saying, “The narrative is a multiverse of interpretations.”

Check out Dumb Waiter’s “Experiencing Loss In A Grocery Store” below.

Gauche Gists was recorded at Baltimore’s Developing Nations studio by Kevin Bernsten, with technical help from Matt Redenbo, and will be released on June 24 by Ossein Records, who earlier this year released Ages’ debut album Must Be Nice — an album that also features the work of Tristan Brennis (on bass this time). Preorder Gauche Gists on vinyl, cassette, or mp3 formats at Dumb Waiter’s Bandcamp page.

To celebrate the album’s release, Fuzzy Cactus will be hosting a record release party featuring Dumb Waiter, along with guests Toxic Moxie and Blush Face, on Friday, June 24. Doors open at 9 pm, admission is $10 at the door.

Dumb Waiter Photos by Joey Wharton.

Lightning In a Smile: An Interview with Justin Golden

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Justin Golden has been a mainstay in the Richmond music scene for years now; his strong guitar chops and blues fundamentals made him RVA’s best-kept secret for quite a while. But his debut record, Hard Times And A Woman, is starting to make waves outside the city. Despite the fact that it’s his debut, it does not feel like a first project, but a portrait of an artist solidifying his songwriting craft and making his own way as part of an emerging new wave of blues musicians. Kelli Strawbridge talks to Justin about the conception of the record, how his influences led him there, and not being the lead guitar guy.

Kelli Strawbridge: Let’s see, where do we start? You know what, I’ll start with this question: how long have you been writing this new album?

Justin Golden: Since May of 2019. I went on a trip, and the goal of the trip was a few different things, but I had time for once to sit down and actually write songs. I was like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna do do this really cool.’ Basically the whole east coast — do some shows, go see some shows, have time to myself… I’m gonna have a coming-of-age story and write this freaking record, you know? So that’s when I started; I wrote “Can’t Get Right” on that trip. I basically wrote version one on the trip, with the hook and the little riff, and then that got rewritten at the very end. That was the last thing I finished for the record too. So, first and last thing I did. 

Kelli: Okay. That makes a ton of sense, because that record has that vibe of sounding like either the first record that you recorded or the last record. Because after listening to the rest of the record, I was like, “Oh he’s coming with this,” for this song. But you know, the rest of the record is not really in that vibe. I feel like it’s a definite statement. So you recorded that last?

Justin: Well, I wrote it first. Afterwards, I cut all the demos with Chip [Hale]. It was the last demo I brought to Chip, because I just didn’t feel like it was ready. I basically streamlined my technique, my process for how to write and how to record music, doing demos with Chip at his house a couple times a week. We started that in September of 2020, and then in December 2021, we finished that. I remember it was, like, a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. It was like two, three o’clock. I poured myself a whiskey and I rewrote “Can’t Get Right” from top to bottom, except for the hook. There were things I liked about it, but I was like, “This story is not driving with me anymore.” So I sat down and took me, like, three hours to get all the verses together. And I thought, “Man, I’m on one right now, I’m doing something.” [laughs]

Kelli: I feel like that’s the hardest thing, to sit down and just, as a project, go, “Okay, I need to finish this song.” It’s not something that comes easy to me. So does that come natural to you? To sit down and just go, I need to finish this?

Justin: I definitely work better with the deadline, but I need the idea to be there, and I need a spark. I had all the bones. I just had to plug in something that was better than what I had, and I worked and worked. I don’t know what happened that day. I guess it was really just the grind of this whole thing. It just came together. Having the focus. So the song, the reason I have it first is like, that song is literally Hard Times and a Woman. It is the album. Everything, top to bottom. The person in the song loses his girl, because he lost all his money, because he got drunk or whatever, you know? And a lot of it is not his fault. I don’t know, it just flowed out. Took three hours. I remember it was dark in my apartment by the time I finished, and I hadn’t turned on any lights, because I was just working.

Kelli: When you put out the artwork with that, I felt like it matched. When I saw the artwork and then I heard that song, I’m like, “This is a marriage.” You know? So what were the ideas behind the artwork? 

Justin: I wanted something that was really simple and bold, but also took classic blues iconography and turned it into something that was mine. And without it being super obvious. Like, all of those are different symbols of good luck and bad luck, you know? So a little bit of a balance. The empty frame is a sense of belonging, but I didn’t wanna just have it right in front of you, like a rabbit’s foot or something. That’s lame. It’s lame as fuck. [laughs] So I spent a lot of time. I actually took a while on that step, to get the graphic designer really dialed into what I was looking for. Because that is an actual photo that he did there. He set up that scene, then shot a photo and did some other stuff to it. 

Kelli: Okay, well that’s even cooler. What were your inspirations musically for this album?

Justin: That’s such a tough question. It’s such a long answer is what it is. [laughs] 

Kelli: I know! I mean, I made these questions myself, but I kind of hate these questions. [laughs] But again, I feel like you’re kind of making a statement with this record. I feel like, with your singles [“Arm’s Length” and “It Ain’t Much”] and EP [Idle Hands, all three released in 2021], you’ve really been building up. I was wondering what you were really shooting for musically, with this record. 

Justin: I think the answer is, like, two different tracks: one is the songs I was listening to, to come up with the music — the techniques and stuff. And then there’s also the actual sound and texture of the record. Those are two things I nitpicked really, really carefully. And I mean, as far as inspirations of other artists — like, Daniel Norgren, if you’re familiar with him at all. Swedish guy. Low-key blues and different types of folk. But for me, a lot of his his albums are hit or miss, but the ones that hit are just amazing. In 2019 he released a record which was just fantastic. It’s called Wooh Dang. The sound of it was really cool, and it was all live. I think they cut it all [as] live takes in one day. I’d already been listening to him — like, I learned finger-style, [and] that was one of my major influences, finger-style guitar playing to his YouTube videos ten years ago.

[Also,] early Black Keys, Hiss Golden Messenger, Phil Cook, the more contemporary ones. Then you got Taj Mahal, Howlin’ Wolf. I made a long playlist of things like Magic Sam, just really cool 60s-era blues. Because man, I heard the Taj Mahal album, his first one, with a lot of the hits that the Allman Brothers did, and stuff like that. I was like, “I haven’t heard a blues album like this, really, since that.” It was some groove stuff, you know? No one’s playing blues in those ways anymore. It’s always just smokey, dusty. I wanted something like that. I don’t think I quite got there with this [album], because the songs weren’t the same, but that was a major influence for me. 

Kelli: You’re hitting it right on the head. I felt that you’re cultivating a different, kind of a new blues thing. You’re dressing it up, but it’s not dressing it up. It’s just maybe making it dirtier and a little more real, back to the singer-songwriter thing. Because maybe the virtuosic thing, where it’s it’s about the guitar player and the guy’s got a singer, it’s not really about the singer-songwriter thing anymore. But it seems like you’re going back to that. Were you trying to go for a newer sound with this record?

Justin: When I started writing this record, I was watching an interview with one of my friends, Jontavious Willis, who’s a Grammy nominated Blues [musician], and I’ve known him for a number of years. He used to do these interviews with older bluesmen that are [still] around, because they’re basically unsung. In one of them, the guy states something like, “the blues ain’t nothing but bad times and a woman,” you know? And that specifically hit me, because I’m not the guitar-player blues person. I’m not the lead guy. And I don’t really wanna be, to be honest. Like, it’s cool to do that sometimes. But I like writing songs, you know? And I like learning songs. So it’s been tough to be in a blues box and not be a real lead player.

When I heard that statement, I was like, “Okay, so the blues can be more than just 12 bars. It can be whatever I want it to be, as long as the content is there.” It all is coming from the same place, and I wanted to honor the tradition. That’s why I have eight-bar blues up there. I have 12-bar blues. I have country blues. “Lightning When She Smiles” is a country blues song, at least the way that I wrote it originally. And it’s still played the same way, just with better production. So this record is me reconciling all those influences I have, trying to do a blues album in content, and then something modern at the same time. 

Kelli: Right. Right. It really hits those marks to me, for sure. What is the guitar that you mostly used on the record? Did you use the same guitar, or did you switch it up a lot? What was your axe of choice on the record? 

Justin: So anytime you hear me finger-picking, it’s probably my Airline, which is a Harmony Rocket reissue, with fixed strings on it. That’s a semi-hollow body, and it’s really thumping. That’s what you hear on “The Gator” and “Ain’t Just Luck,” stuff like that. Acoustic [guitar], it’s probably my Yamaha, but we also used a Martin. And then my resonator [guitar] is up there too. I have a Recording King resonator, which was unplugged.

Kelli: Can you talk about the musicians on the record? They, are they mostly your band, right?

Justin: For the most part, yeah. And I really wanted it to be mostly Richmond people. That was something I was really adamant about. And as many Black musicians as I could get too, but it was COVID, and it was very limited [due] to that. I wanted to keep the circle small. The main features — like getting Ben Hunter on fiddle from Seattle, who I’ve known for years — that was really significant for me. And getting Andrew Alli, who largely… I probably wouldn’t be who I am in Richmond, or even in the blues scene around, if it wasn’t for knowing Andrew. So, it was great to get them both on it. Otherwise it’s just people in my band, and then Tommy Booker [of Jackass Flats and The Southern Belles], who was a hired gun. And that was an awesome addition. I wanted keys all over this thing, and I was like, “I need a killer keys player that can just sit down and just rip this thing.” 

But for the band, we got Chip on bass, and he played a number of instruments; acoustic guitar on some stuff, lots of percussion and backing vocals. Tyler Meacham — I think another thing that really changes the sound on the record was having Tyler handle all the backing vocal arrangements. So anything that’s not just me singing, if you hear her voice on there, she arranged the backing vocals for that, after a short meeting with me. 

Kelli: It’s very nice. She pops up and I’m like, “This is probably Tyler.” She sounded perfect.

Justin: And it was new for me. I’ve never given that big of a job to someone else. Usually I would nitpick that, and say, “This is what I want.” And sometimes we had a meeting beforehand and I said, “This is what I want on specific songs, more or less what you do with it. I believe in you, because I know you’re good.” And then some songs like “Lightning,” I was like, “I don’t know what I want. If you feel something, you do it, and then we’ll listen back.” And that’s one of my favorite tracks on the record, because it’s got some moments. 

Kelli: I agree. I have to say, the lyrics on the record are just fantastic. I really feel like you hit it out of the park. Were there any specific lyrical inspirations for this record? Anyone in particular?

Justin: I don’t know. I listened to so much old pre-war blues, and I think that was the major inspiration for some of the lines. Like “lightning when she smiles” is an old blues line from a song a hundred years ago. I was like, “I’ve never heard anyone else use this in a song before.” And immediately — that was another one I basically wrote top to bottom in one go, using that [line] as a guide. And then it’s a lot of churchy language in there. Stuff like “Must Be Honey.” That’s sometimes what I go for, but I don’t think any one person [inspired that], other than maybe Taj Mahal, because he uses a lot of those lines too. But once I get the idea for the song, then I’m like, “Okay, it’d be cool to add something from a song, an obscure line from something else.” You know, if possible.

Kelli: Very cool. How about favorite songs or records right now in general? Is there anything that you’re really into right now, or anything that started your year off right? Other than your record.

Justin: Like I said, I kind of exist in two worlds, one foot in like the fifties and one foot in now. But…

Kelli: And postwar, anything postwar. [laughs] 

Justin: I’ve really been digging this group called Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno. Their record is out through Free Dirt Records, who is doing my promotion. I met Riley at a thing down in North Carolina last fall, and I’m really loving that record. They’re from kind of an old-time [style], but they’re also just killer songwriters and players. So that’s a really great one. I’ve been listening to a good amount of Allen Stone and Yola, who I really didn’t listen to too much until this past year. But Yola, that’s another Dan Auerbach joint. [Black Keys guitarist Auerbach produced Yola’s 2021 LP, Stand For Myself. -ed.]

Something else I really wanted to highlight, and you notice in a lot of the interviews, [was for me] to make sure people know that Chip was behind this [album], because he had a huge direction for the sounds. I definitely couldn’t have pulled it off the way that it sounds now without Chip’s directions. I was like, “This will hopefully put you on the map as a producer.” I’ve known Chip since college, so this is what he really wants to do. And I think it sounded great. 

Kelli: I could hear that you guys still worked pretty closely together [during COVID], and once you guys figured out how to do it, as far as recording through the pandemic, you were able to work it out, which is good. You don’t hear that [struggle] on the record, is what I’m saying. It sounds really fresh. 

Justin: Thanks, man. I felt like I leveled up at various stages through this thing. Like nailing takes to a metronome — I never really played to a metronome before, and finger-picking to a click track is not easy. [laughs] 

Kelli: I feel for anybody that has to do that. I feel for any guitar player when they do that, because it feels like you are definitely being put on the spot for that kind of shit. 

Justin: Bro. It’s so hard. Like, it’s incredibly hard.

Kelli: But I’m really excited for you. Thanks for taking the time out, man.

Justin: Man, I really appreciate you asking me. This has been a lot of fun to talk about this.

Justin Golden’s debut album, Hard Times And A Woman, is available on vinyl, CD, and mp3 format from Bandcamp, and can be found on all streaming websites.

A New Phase For Strawberry Moon

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Strawberry Moon has been a familiar band on the Richmond indie scene for a few years now, but with their brand new single, “Control” — the first off their upcoming LP, Habitual Creatures — the band has really come into their own, sporting a stronger, fuller sound than could be heard on their previous full-length release, 2018’s Dust Bath. It’s no wonder, really; as founder, lead vocalist, and chief songwriter Katie Bowles explains below, the current version of Strawberry Moon couldn’t have happened without the current lineup coming together.

Unfortunately for all involved, the current quartet came together around the end of 2019, and only had a few months to work together before the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns put the kibosh on any band activity for over a year. “Control” actually came out of that period; longtime followers of Strawberry Moon will remember the original version, released two years ago on a collection of Bowles’ solo demos entitled Quarantine Songs.

In the liner notes to Quarantine Songs, Bowles writes that “Control” was inspired by “feeling a big lack of control during a period of unemployment and solitude during COVID-19.” That’s certainly a relatable feeling for me; back when the pandemic began, I thought I’d really make the most of my time stuck inside the house. Instead, I quickly got to the point where anxiety made it difficult for me to get even the simplest of things accomplished. And of course, there’s also that tendency to blame oneself, to figure that if you can’t get off your ass and accomplish everything you want to do, it must be your own fault.

Bowles captures this feeling in “Control”‘s lyrics, singing, “Wish I could focus my energy on what’s right in front of me.” On the chorus, she admits, “I am beating myself up for things out of my control.” Musically, “Control”‘s sound captures the same feeling of pent-up anxiety that Bowles describes in the lyrics, with Liam McElroy’s lead guitar sketching a hesitant melody overtop of a rumbling rhythm section groove. It takes until after two full verses and choruses have gone by, but eventually the song’s tense feel explodes into a heavy, raging riff, over which Bowles finally declares that something must change. “Enough with the blame,” she sings. “There’s gotta be more than hating yourself ’til you die.”

Expanding on “Control”‘s lyrics, Bowles says, “It’s all about the concept of realizing your self worth; letting go of the things you can’t control, and embracing the things we can.” In this manner, the subject matter dealt with on “Control” reflects the subject matter of the album as a whole. “This album is largely about love, romantic and friendships and finding love in your community and in nature,” she explains. “This song in particular is about self-love.”

Here’s “Control,” the brand new single from Strawberry Moon. Listen now, and then scroll down for my interview with Katie Bowles.

Marilyn Drew Necci: To begin with: who is in the band as of right now? Is that the same lineup that recorded “Control”?

Katie Bowles: I sing and write the lyrics, Liam McElroy is playing guitar, TJ Meade is playing drums, and Gray Stephenson on bass! This is the same lineup on “Control,” as well as the rest of our upcoming record. 

Drew: The full-band take of “Control” feels to me like a strong, heavy rock song. Obviously, it has changed greatly from the solo demo version you released on bandcamp two years ago as part of the Quarantine Songs EP. Does the form it takes now reflect the way you always saw it, even back when you recorded that minimalist demo? Or did bringing it to the band cause it to change in ways you hadn’t expected?

Katie: We actually did updated versions of all three of those quarantine songs! At the time, we had just formed the full band the winter before the pandemic, and playing in a group for the first time felt so empowering and affirming; it felt like growth. It was hard to go back to not seeing each other or collaborating for six months. I tried to keep my creative momentum going by releasing some lo-fi demos.

The song it became with a full band definitely feels meant to be. Gray wrote a very groovy bass line and it feels dancey. [When] Liam came in with the crunchy guitar halfway through, this song really came into its own. Adding the louder rock element made it so I can really yell in the high parts and really put my all into it. We decided to release this song first because the crowd always super engaged with it during shows.

Drew: While Strawberry Moon has released a couple of lo-fi demos since Dust Bath in 2018, this new album will be the first one to show off a recorded version of the full-band sound you’ve been constructing over the past several years. How did Strawberry Moon evolve from its solo project roots five years ago into what it is now? Was bringing in a full band always the plan, or did it happen organically?

Katie: I started this project five years ago with one friend, then a different friend, then alone. Now I feel so thankful to have found these talented friends to collaborate with. Liam McElroy, the guitarist, is my partner; he supported so many of my solo shows, and eventually we started playing music together. It felt so sweet and emotional and special to work with this person I love.

Gray Stephenson is an amazing bassist in Deli Kings, LJ and the Sleaze, and Nightcreature. We supported each other in the scene for a long time before he expressed interest in helping me make this a full band, and I absolutely jumped at the chance. TJ Meade is a badass punk drummer in the local bands Sweeties and Haircut. He is so talented and I’m so happy to have him on board.

We are all able to bounce ideas off each other and all bring something different to the table. When I am writing songs by myself, it’s easy to get stuck in a pattern of similar songwriting styles, but with our band we are able to workshop my song skeletons and breathe new life into them. It’s the most satisfying feeling ever to show each other ideas and watch how everybody makes it their own. Our band now feels like a more mature version of what I started five years ago. Every practice, every song written, every show, feels easy and fun and meant to be. 

Photo by Savannah Elliott

Drew: I see that you are playing quite a bit less guitar, at least live, than you once did. Considering the band started with you singing and playing guitar, why’d you decide to pass off the guitar duties, to some extent? How is the experience of performing with Strawberry Moon different now that you spend some of the time strictly in the lead vocalist role?

Katie: I feel that with Liam on guitar, I am able to put my absolutely all into singing. Every performance we do, I am putting every ounce of my power into my voice. It feels second nature to sing, and that’s where the joy of performing comes from. Liam is also able to play guitar in a different, more effortlessly rock and roll way than me. He steers the songs into a wave of fuzz, or rips a guitar solo, in a way that I could not have done with my atmospheric loop pedal. He brings so much energy to these songs. It’s inspiring! 

Drew: Do you feel like the current version of Strawberry Moon is more of a “singer-songwriter with trusted backing band” type project, or has it evolved into a true collaborative band experience? 

Katie: It has definitely evolved. The four of us are in the band for the long haul, and are excited to promote our upcoming album and then get right back to work on our next one. We are a great team and work together so well. Even though I write the songs, and honestly identify with the moniker Strawberry Moon alone, it’s not my band! I could not have made this album without them. I’m so thankful to be creating with friends and supporting one another as a team. 

Photo by Savannah Elliott

Drew: What was the process of making Habitual Creatures? How did it differ from past recordings you’ve done? How do you feel about the finished product? Does it represent a new phase of Strawberry Moon, or is this more like arriving at a destination you were always aiming for?

Katie: We are so proud of this album!! It is the biggest release our band has ever put out; it’s twice the length of the last album and has a lot of love and work put into it. We recorded it with Levi Douthit, who really was able to capture our songs and encourage us to push ourselves. Levi recorded the drums and bass on analog tape, and the guitar and vocals digitally, and it was so cool to see this process. I absolutely feel like this is the arrival of our destiny. I feel like we have found a great sound and I can’t wait to make more of it. 

Drew: What are the plans for the release of the full album? Are you working with a label for the release? 

Katie: We have recently been talking to the local label Sockhead Records, run by the members of the band Destructo Disk, to make some cassettes of our record. They are new to Richmond and we are excited to work with them on putting out cassette tapes and planning some tours to support the release! We are hoping to release the album and cassettes in late summer/early fall. Album art is in the works by Richmond Angel Alexa Taveras, and we have a tiny regional tour already in the plans for July with the band Gnawing. Basically we just want to take our time with this release and give this project the room to make an impact, trying not to rush things! 

Drew: What does the rest of 2022 look like for the band? Are you planning on doing any touring for the album?

Katie: We are definitely planning some east cost touring this year, applying to festivals, and getting our foot in the door at some local venues that aren’t our usual haunts! We are so thankful for the pocket of community that Richmond has offered us. We feel so at home here, and we want to use whatever momentum we find from this release to channel back into our local scene and uplift all the talented folks around us as well. Mostly just want to keep playing music forever and ever with our buds.

Top Photo by Savannah Elliott