Littlest Sounds Tour
Ghosts of the Kodiak
Commerce, Big White Clouds, Amory Siverston
Thursday June 9, 2011
Facebook Event
Ghosts of the Kodiak-Honesty
1) Describe your music for those who aren’t familiar.
Our music would probably fall under indie rock, with a strong post-rock influence. It’s rock, but with an emphasis on texture. Lots of layers, lots of reverb and delay. The music is very dynamic, going from soft and slow, and crescendoing to big climaxes. I’d say there is a cinematic quality to a lot of the songs in that regard.
2) Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
We’re really influenced on the indie rock side by local heroes like Manchester Orchestra and All Get Out. Also, we draw a lot from O’Brother and mewithoutYou. On the post-rock side, a lot of Explosions in the Sky. Those guys play some of the best instrumental stuff out there. Also, we’re heavily influenced by Sigur Ros as well. That’s where a lot of the textural, layering stuff is drawn from.
3) What are some of your favorite parts about the music scene that you come out of? What are some things that you wish you could change about the music scene?
My favorite part about the Columbia scene is just the camaraderie I’ve seen between a lot of the musicians. It’s never competitive and everyone helps each other out. Even beyond the music, there are great guys like Jack Beasley, Pat Wall, and this site, just to name a few, that do a lot to support the local scene. Also, the quality of music is fantastic! There’s a reason Toro Y Moi and Washed Out are on the music industry’s radar; it’s because they’ve got some serious talent. And Columbia still has more to offer. As far as things I’d like to see change, I’d like to see more people at shows. We had 2,500 people at Jillians a couple weeks ago to see Manchester Orchestra and Cage the Elephant, now lets get a fraction of that number to see everything else Columbia has to offer.
4) How did your band get started?
We started from nothing. We were just four guys who decided to start a band, even though we knew practically nothing about music. In Sumter, there isn’t much to do when you’re in high school, so it seemed like playing music or playing video games, I guess. We’ve gone through numerous members, names, and styles of music, but the core members has always stayed. We’ve tried to stop playing music with each other, we just can’t. We’ve grown and matured a lot over the past five years and I hope our music reflects that positive progression.
5) What are you most excited about for the future of your band?
Right now we’re working on our first full length album. We’re actually leaving as soon as the show is over Thursday to drive overnight to Nashville, TN to start recording drums the following morning. We’re working with South Carolina native Taylor Bray, who’s produced some work for Nick Bays, Mike Mewborne, and Steven Fiore, along with many more local acts. We’ve worked with him before, and I can’t say enough good things about him. In fact, he produced Honesty. Beyond the album, we’re looking forward to playing more shows this summer, and hopefully doing some touring at some point. We’re trying to finally bring the band to be more than a hobby, so we’re excited about the future.
6) If you could change one thing about the music industry what would it be?
I would really like to see more recognition given to the people who deserve it. It’s hard to break through with the number of bands out there right now, and furthermore, the guys who really do put in the hard work, have great stuff, and do deserve a break, rarely get it. It’s tiring seeing the Justin Beiber’s of the world keep making it while the guys like All Get Out, who put everything into their music, see very little come back their way. It’s depressing.
7) Who are some of your favorite South Carolina or Regional bands to play with? What band do you think your fans should check out?
Campbell the Band is my reflex response to this question. Beyond being one of the best bands in the South East, they’re also some of the most genuine people I’ve ever met. We’ve really enjoyed playing with Austin Crane’s band, who are now Valley Maker. While we’ve never played with The Restoration, Daniel Machado is a really down to earth dude, and he and his band deserve way more than they’ve been given. Also, gotta give a shout out to Pan. Our good friend Jack Beasley (who is doing some stuff for our upcoming EP) did a great job on their EP, “Post-Rock is not Dead.” And of course, while we’ve never played with them either, All Get Out is a huge influence on us, so check them out as well.
