Interview: The Guru/High Pop/Jake Shaker (12.28.11)
From left to right: Sean Posila, Daniel George, Jordan Caulfield, Jake Shaker, Kyle McEvoy, and yr host, Chris Cappello.
Five of Connecticut’s most hopeful young musicians stopped by my house on Wednesday night for an interview. Representing The Guru and High Pop, along with a number of other musical projects, solo acts, and other bands, these five gentlemen were kind enough to speak to me about their past and future music, their place in the Northeastern indie rock scene, and their collective plans for 2012 and beyond. Towards the end of the interview, they revealed some really big news, so please listen and read on to find out what’s in store for their fans.
A complete audio recording of the interview can be streamed below via Soundcloud. This recording will be aired tomorrow on my radio show Left of the Dial, which starts at 6 PM Eastern time on WNHU. For your reading pleasure, it has been transcribed below. Read on and enjoy.
The Guru Interview - 12.28.11 by Lewis and his BlogChris Cappello: So we’re here with five young individuals from Connecticut whom some, including myself have described as the future of the Connecticut music scene. With your separate bands and musical projects, particularly The Guru and High Pop, from which a certain number of members are represented here today, you have all contributed a lot to indie rock here in this state and beyond, and it’s a huge pleasure having you guys here for this interview.
So first off, let’s start with your names. Would you five please introduce yourself for everyone listening?
Kyle McEvoy: My name is Kyle McEvoy. I play guitar in The Guru and I play drums inMadson.
Jake Shaker: My name is Jake Shaker. I write my own acoustic music and I play guitar in Madson.
Jordan Caulfield: My name is Jordan Caulfield and I play drums in High Pop.
Daniel George: My name is Daniel George. I play bass in The Guru and I’m just starting to play guitar in High Pop.
Sean Posila: Hey I’m Sean Posila. I play guitar and vocals in High Pop and I’m the drummer for the new band The Hiya Dunes.
(background: Gotta say, you play a mean vocal, Sean)
CC: So, let’s start with some questions about The Guru. Dan and Kyle, since the last time I interviewed you guys back in April, The Guru has made some incredible strides playing at B.O.M.B. Fest in May, releasing a full length record in June, and touring throughout the Northeast in the subsequent months. What were those experiences like for you, going up through the summer with such momentum behind you?
KM: After we played B.O.M.B. Fest, we were kinda just curious what was gonna happen after that, you know what I mean? And if any bigger things were gonna happen… B.O.M.B. Fest was probably the biggest thing we’ve done to date but after that everything seemed to just get a lot easier… our name was already out there and just playing shows itself got easier.
DG: I feel like we’re very much the same dudes and stuff, but we’re more established now. We can act on our own now so all those experiences were I guess like a lot of hard work or whatever but they’ve been paying off recently and giving us more freedoms as a band and as people to have the liberties to choose shows and that sort of thing, so we’re really lucky to start going in that direction.
CC: Your new record Native Sun has been really well received by fans and regional critics alike, and it actually placed at number 28 on my Top Albums of 2011 list. Have you guys been surprised at the positive reception of the album and do you think it has played a big part in putting you guys on the map?
KM: Yeah, I mean, before we went to record it, we just went through this whole process of trying to figure out where we were gonna record it and how much money we were gonna put into it and we ended up just kinda going all out and going into a really nice studio. That whole time in the studio when we were getting the mixes back we were just really hoping that it was gonna come out the way we want. And then as soon as we released it, all the feedback that we got from it… I don’t know, I mean I guess you could say that it kinda got bigger than we thought it would be, but I’m just glad that we put all the time and effort and money into it.
CC: So two of you are absent today right? Not here? But all of you, for the most part, are still very young. But when school started back in September, the future of the band seemed kind of uncertain, at least for me. You know, the two members who aren’t here were going off to college — the singer and guitarist — and yet, from what I can tell, you always seemed pretty optimistic about the future. How has the band handled having its members more spread out and disparate over the past few months?
DG: It’s certainly different. I know, speaking personally, and probably for the other guys as well, that at the end of the summer, we really didn’t know what was going to happen. We were kinda in a funk where we couldn’t really write anything new. I mean, we tried to be outwardly optimistic but it was uncertain. But this new era of the band has granted us a sort of urgency with the band now, so when we’re home we always make a point of getting together, and we’ve been a lot more successful in writing and making full advantage of our time and doing that sort of thing. So it’s definitely a different phase for the band as a whole, but so far it’s been proven to be pretty productive.
KM: When we finished up Native Sun, like the last song on it, “Kodachrome Daydream,” Ed (Godin) wrote it from his perspective of just being a songwriter in high school and at the end it talks about the four years and everything. So I think that song was… I think even you wrote about it in your review… just like, if it was the last Guru song, then it would be a very fitting song, you know? And that’s kinda just how we wrote it. And I think that was almost the end of the old Guru. I mean, we’re still like exactly the same guys but just writing songs has just come so much easier and just the songs themselves, everything about them is just so much more… the way it comes together is just in a much more professional way.
CC: So you guys mentioned this “New Era of the Guru”. Would you guys say that you, for the most part, rallied from those difficulties that you faced?
DG: Short answer, Yes. It’s tough to say. We’ve got about four tracks that we feel comfortable putting towards a new release of some sort, so for me that feels pretty significant in terms of a rally, but it’s still a little bit early. But we’re all feeling pretty good. We’re all really happy with the direction that we’re moving in. We feel like it’s progressive and different and stuff, so that’s all good for us, I believe.
CC: Alright so all five of you guys are playing at a big show on Friday that The Guru is headlining. It’s actually going to be the first Guru show in Connecticut since the end of the summer, from what I’ve been told. So do you guys want to talk a little more about that show? Who’s playing it? What’s it going to be like? What can we expect going into that show?
SP: Well we have White Savages starting it off. Then Madson will be playing, and they’re a new band.
KM: I play drums in the band [Madson]. Jake Shaker plays guitar, Alexa Masi does vocals and Gunnar Wrinn plays keyboards. And Jake, you can talk about what Madson is.
JS: I don’t know, sound-wise… I always have described it as twinkly jazz punk. But yeah, it’s got influences from math rock, it has a little bit of jazz in it, it has some of that late 90s really raw sound. I don’t know. The lyrics are very ardent and evocative and I’m really excited about it. Kyle, how do you feel about playing something that’s so vastly different from The Guru?
KM: I think it helped us decide things about The Guru too, just because like Ed’s doing the Hiya Dunes, and I’m doing Madson, and Dan’s in High Pop. There’s just more of a family vibe, and there’s so many different music types that we listen to that now it’s just more exciting to get to play all of them, and I don’t know it’s just different.
DG: We need to get back on track. The show… The show. Friday. So the Hiya Dunes are up next. [Sean Posila] is the drummer in the Hiya Dunes. Do you have anything particular to say about The Hiya Dunes?
SP: Well, we all met at school, at Purchase College, and we kinda just jammed out, and we had a lot of time to make cool songs out there in New York. We kinda just did some stuff. I would say we’re kinda psych-y. We don’t really know what we sound like, but I think everyone’s gonna dig it, and it’s something you can really vibe out to, so that’ll be fun. And that’s new and fresh, and we’re working on recording stuff too. After that, High Pop will be playing as a four piece, which is kinda new and exciting. And we sound a lot fuzzier and fun. And then Lovers and Thieves, which is kind of an old favorite of all of ours.
DG: They’re a bunch of Wolcott/Watertown area kids from a band that broke up three years ago. They played our CD release show and stuff, and it’s always special for us because they mean something personal. Yeah, certainly they’re influential for a lot of us. That and then The Guru, who I’m sure you’re familiar with at this point, so no need to elucidate on that one, but we’ll be there.
CC: As I understand it, the scene that bands like The Guru and High Pop have helped establish here in Connecticut has always seemed kind of insular. It seems self-contained. But ever since the big show announcement about The Guru coming back to Connecticut, and all the other bands that have sort of come along with that, it seems to be sort of expanding. A lot of new side projects, new bands, you know… new stuff that bands are doing. What would you say led to this expansion? Do you guys sort of know what I’m getting at, and are you working to perpetuate that?
DG: I know what you’re getting at and it was something I was thinking about going into this interview. The Guru and High Pop and I guess all the tendrils coming out of those bands… I don’t know if we fit really neatly into some of the more established scenes in the state. You know, in the emo scene there’s some stronger bands. There’s some pop-punk/hardcore scene… There’s a scene built up around it, people that are into it and stuff. So for us it’s always kind of been a matter of what shows we fit onto most, rather than exact matches. So I don’t know if it’s try to solve that problem a little bit.
JS: I think that just the fact that we’ve all been playing music together as friends in some form or another in different arrangements… It doesn’t really seem like something that we actually thought of. It’s just, “these are all our friends, these our our new bands, these are our old bands. Let’s have a show together.” Because that’s how our old shows were. We would just book a venue some friday night and have all our friends’ bands play. And I don’t think there was ever one continuous sound within a set or in the larger scheme. It was just a very… again I’ll use the word… “Familial” vibe.
CC: So I actually do want to talk a little bit about some of those new bands and side projects and everything, because there are some really interesting sounds coming out of the scene that you guys established and coming out of sort of what that has led to in places like Purchase. Sean, you’re probably best known as the guitarist and frontman for the lo-fi group High Pop, but this year you started a solo project called boy crush. How did that come about?
SP: It was really wacky how that came out. Well I’ve always been making songs in my room, and that’s just kind of been something that I’ve always done. But then with High Pop, I started doing stuff with Jord (Caulfield), and we started working together. And even now as a four piece, it’s even kind of a larger project. So I always wanted to have just that place I could go in my room and just record stuff. So that’s sort of how boy crush came around. Not to mention I got to record in a haunted house, which is really true, and that was a lot of fun. It had a haunted theme to begin with, but we’ll see where it goes from there.
CC: That record Hauntr has a really fragile and, I would say, more mature sound than most of High Pop’s stuff. Where did that sort of change in style come from? Was it conscious or did it just sort of happen as a result—
SP: Yeah I mean I’m growing up. I’m just a little older now. I got High Pop, and we just like to be loud and have fun and make people dance, but with boy crush I kinda tore things apart a little bit, and kinda dissected things a little bit, and kinda thought of what I was planning and just did things a little differently, which was refreshing.
CC: So I would like to talk a little bit about High Pop as well. You and Jordan, the drummer, both went to separate colleges, as I understand. So did High Pop face similar difficulties to those that The Guru faced going into the school year and sort of separating a little bit?
SP: Yeah Jord, what do you think?
JC: Naturally it was tougher when Sean was in New York and I went to Boston for school. So it was tougher to get together to write songs, tougher to get shows, but we made it work. We did it. We’re working on New stuff now, so we fit it in.
CC: What sort of plans does High Pop have for the future? I mean, you guys said you’re expanding to more members, right?
SP: Yeah, we have some more members now, just for a fuller sound. But we’re in the writing process right now. We’re hoping to put something out this summer. That would be really cool.
CC: And Jord, you started your own solo project [Major Bummer] while you were in college as well, you wanna talk about that?
JC: Yeah, I mean I recorded a couple songs right at the end of the summer in my basement in Thomaston. I just wanted to make some really fuzzy tunes.
SP: I would say Jord always keeps it fuzzy and fun no matter what.
JC: That’s my rule.
CC: So, if I could turn the attention to Jake for a bit, I understand that you and Kyle formed a new band with some of your friends that you guys were talking about called Madson. As someone who has written and released music and played shows primarily as a solo artist for a while, what has it been like playing in a full band setting?
JS: Dude, I love it so much. It’s cool ‘cause I don’t have to sing at all and the attention’s not as me, so I get to keep focused and I’m in my own little bubble, and I don’t know if it’s like that for all the other non-frontmen out there, but it’s definitely a refreshing feeling. And it’s definitely cool to just have a full band, ‘cause I never have had that. I mean I’ve tried that with my own solo music, but it’s never felt right.
(background: It’s a different style)
Yeah, no, it’s different. Cause I was in a band called This, From Jacques with literally all the members that I’m sitting down with right now. And I’m sure they could expand on that experience and how it’s shaped their musical paths.
KM: Yeah, I mean Madson’s just really relaxing. It all started off… there was a great jazz piano player from my school, so after school I went to his house and we would kind of just jam on jazz music and just play little school functions and stuff. It was funny too because I played in The Guru and he was in this jam band, and we were kind of like rivaling bands, and like freshman year it was Battle of The Bands, and like, “Who’s gonna win?” And I mean now that we’re seniors we’re just like, “Let’s just try to make a band and see what happens?” It’s just like a more intelligent sound. Everything’s just a little more technical and the lyrics are just really raw.
CC: Yeah, I mean I’ve listened to the live demo and the songs are really fantastic. It’s definitely going to be interesting to hear what that sounds like with guitar as well. Anyway, you guys have all sort of posted on your respective facebook pages and blogs about big plans that you guys have for the new year. You know, [laughs] I was wondering, would you care to expand upon those big plans at all?
KM: Tomorrow night, or actually well, this is gonna be on you know… well…
(Background: We should do a thing where we all finish each other’s sentences. [laughs])
So we had an idea…
JS: …that we could all…
JC: …come together…
DG: …and make something truly unique.
SP: So we did.
KM: Sea Green Records.
JS: 2012.
KM: Yeah, we decided to make a record label. It just made sense, seeing that we all had different side projects now. Pretty much the idea happened from it ‘cause there was just a bunch of leftover money from Guru shows. I’m being completely honest! [laughs] What? Just from all the album sales of Native Sun and everything, just we had like tons of money saved up. The people want the truth! We just had tons of extra money saved up, and so we just decided that, why not put it into our friends’ records and put out CDs with it. We’ve never taken money personally from The Guru and we decided, why not put it into our friends’ bands? So now it’s just easier. We are on Sex Cave Records… and it was just kind of a hassle to drive up to Amherst, Massachusetts and pick up the CDs and do all that so now it’s just going to be easier ‘cause we can release anything on our own when we want.
JS: I think on the forthcoming records from all of our projects, you’re going to hear a lot more of each other on each others’ records. And it’s going to be very interconnected, and it’s gonna be a nice vibe.
CC: So what kinds of releases can we expect on this new label in 2012? What sorts of things are you guys planning?
DG: Well, our first planned release is going to be released on February 14th, 2012. It’s going to be titled Singles on Valentine’s Day, and it’s going to feature new tracks from The Guru, from High Pop, The Hiya Dunes, Madson, and possibly some of our solo projects like boy crush, Major Bummer, Jake Shaker… We’re still sorting that out, but that will be our first major release. Then after that, the next planned one is probably a Hiya Dunes casette. Then something from each of the bands thereafter.
CC: So does that mean we can expect a new Guru record in 2012?
DG: Yeah, certainly. We’re taking it as it comes. We’re still in the writing phase, so it’s a little early to say anything really really definite, but we’re aiming for the end of summer/beginning of fall. I’m thinking it’s doable at this point. But we’ll see, for sure.
CC: Alright well I guess we can wrap things up. The future is looking pretty bright for you guys, so to everyone out there listening, be sure to catch The Guru live at the Woodbury Town Hall this Friday with White Savages, Madson, The Hiya Dunes, High Pop, and Lovers and Thieves. And to the five of you guys, thanks for stopping by.
(collectively: Thank you Chris)
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Follow the brand new Sea Green Records website HERE. The Guru and High Pop are also on tumblr.
The Guru - “Arizona”
Later today, members of the Connecticut psych-rock group The Guru will stop by Lewis and his Blog HQ here in New Haven along with some of their friends for an interview with me. This will be my second interview with The Guru, as they took part in a live interview with me and performed an acoustic set on my radio show Left of the Dial back in April. Since then, the group has made huge strides in the Connecticut indie rock scene and beyond, and they have some big plans for 2012. All of that and more will be covered in detail in the interview, and I can’t wait to share it with you all! The interview will be uploaded to my Soundcloud page, transcribed, and posted here. The recording will also be aired on Left of the Dial on WNHU at 6 PM this Friday.
In the mean time, stream a track from their 2011 full length LP Native Sun, which placed at number 28 on my Top Albums of 2011 list. The song “Arizona” itself was rated my 15th favorite song of the year.
15 Great Connecticut Albums From 2011
I know I promised to do a top ten list of my favorite Connecticut albums from this year back when I made my original list schedule, but it was too hard to narrow the list down to just 10. I simply heard too many good albums from my home state this year to pick so few as my favorites. I also found it too difficult to order them properly, so I just put them in alphabetical order. So, with that having been said, here is the next installment in my list series: 15 great Connecticut albums from 2011! Bandcamp links to stream each album are available when applicable.
1. boy crush - hauntr
Indie Pop, Psychedelic Pop
The High Pop singer’s debut album from his solo project boy crush demonstrates an impressive level of maturity that I never expected. Hauntr is a brief but memorable collection of fragile, lo-fi pop songs about ghosts. Apparently it was recorded in a haunted house, which you may or may not believe after hearing it.
2. Bust It! - Hell Is Other People
Hardcore Punk
Seeing Bust It! live at The Mannor last month made me feel like it was 1983 and I was in Washington, D.C. Their EP Hell Is Other People, released back in March, isn’t entirely derivative of 80’s hardcore punk, but it does have that same level of raw aggression and recklessness. It’s also a lot of fun too, as evidenced by the dynamic opener “Intro/Empty Drawer,” which somehow fits three or four distinct movements into three minutes.
3. Co-Pilots - All My Friends Are Crutches, Because God Knows My Legs Are Broken
Indie Rock, Emo
You could look at Co-Pilots’ All My Friends Are Crutches EP in two ways. In one sense, it’s an album that has perhaps the most potential of any new band in the Fairfield county scene to lead to something truly great, with its inspired lyricism, very lengthy, epic tracks that never get boring, and song structures derived from post-rock. On the other hand, it’s probably the most crushingly frustrating record I’ve heard in a long time, as much of the album’s potential is stymied by its demo-quality production. Thankfully, the band has announced that they will be putting out a new EP this winter. Stay tuned for more information on that!
4. Fugue - YEARS
Post-Rock, Math Rock
In a year full of crushing breakups, Fugue’s disbandment was one of the saddest, especially for people in the Connecticut/Massachusetts scene. On their final EP YEARS, the band had just started to truly live up to their potential as a sweeping, dynamic, instrumental post-rock band. YEARS’ math rock inflections and subtle electronic influences set it apart from the pack of local post-rock groups, leaving listeners with a great last release to remember Fugue by.
5. Giles Corey - Giles Corey
Slowcore, Shoegaze, Ambient Folk
Seeing this record here is probably no surprise to anyone who read my Top 50 Albums of 2011 list, on which Giles Corey claimed the top spot. I’ve said a lot about this already, so I’ll keep it brief here. It’s interesting that despite consistently producing great music, Dan Barrett’s Enemies List Home Recordings doesn’t really feel like a part of the local scene at all. The New England identity of Giles Corey goes much deeper — Back to the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, from which Barrett’s solo project takes its name. Listening to these creepy, hollow sounding ghost folk songs in that context gives them even greater emotional power.
Purchase the album HERE.
6. The Guru - Native Sun
Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Psychedelic Pop
No other record defined my Connecticut summer this year more than The Guru’s debut LP Native Sun, a joyful, resonant, and deceptively funky indie pop gem about youth. I caught tons of Guru shows over the summer, which were consistently packed, and witnessed these songs being brought to life, but when the summer turned to fall and the kids went their separate ways (Two went off to college together), I still had Native Sun blasting through my speakers to remind me of those summer nights.
7. Heavy Breath - Ugly Americans
Sludge Metal, Post-Hardcore
A lot of great punk came out of Connecticut this year, but nothing was as heavy or as badass as this. Heavy Breath’s Ugly Americans EP is a brutal indictment of American politics, culture, and society, conveyed through scorching bass and guitar grooves and delivered by chord-shredding vocals. If you’re pissed off at America, or if you just want to feel pissed off, Ugly Americans is for you.
8. Jerkagram - We’ve Only Come To Leave
Math Rock, Post-Rock
Jerkagram is a pair of cerebral Connecticut musicians who, despite being well versed in art rock and angular math rock, really enjoy simply jamming together. Their debut record We’ve Only Come To Leave finds those two musical worlds colliding, with a stirring, semi-improvised mix of mathy guitar bursts and impressive percussive fills. Despite opening for artists like Kayo Dot and Marnie Stern, this album went under the radar, which is unfortunate. You should all check it out if this sounds like your thing.
9. M.T. Bearington - Love Buttons
Indie Rock, Indie Pop
The New Haven band M.T. Bearington have been working up to this release for quite a while, getting sponsored by the likes of Mates Of State and releasing a number of records since getting started around 2006. Love Buttons represents the apex of their vision: A smart, undeniably catchy indie pop record with just enough weirdness to stand out. I first saw the band live opening for Man Man back in October, and although I didn’t particularly understand the pairing at the time, it makes a lot of sense now.
10. Ovlov - What’s So Great About The City?
Indie Rock, Noise Rock, Shoegaze
Connecticut’s best 90’s indie rock revivalists put out an unmissable EP this year, entitled What’s So Great About The City? The album placed on my top 50 list, so I won’t go into detail, but suffice to say it’s an extremely catchy and memorable indie rock record with heavy shoegaze guitars. With just four tracks, you can sit through the record in just over 10 minutes, or replay this over and over again if you want.
11. Sinforiano Diaz - The Moosup Sessions
Indie Folk
Although Thomas Diaz, best known as the singer from The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, has been recording as Sinforiano Diaz for years, this is the first piece of recorded material from his solo project that I’ve been able to dig up. Although the four songs on The Moosup Sessions were not recorded this year, the album itself was made publicly available early in 2011. These songs — Fragile, delicate folk gems — give listeners a tremendous insight into the mind of one of the more enigmatic frontmen in the Connecticut scene right now.
Read more about Sinforiano Diaz / Download The Moosup Sessions HERE.
12. Suns - Be Good Boy
Indie Rock, Emo
Fairfield County trio Suns raised their stature earlier this year with their EP Be Good Boy, a record that brought an aggressive rawness to their indie rock product. The album’s not as consistent as I would have liked it to be, but it’s got a great sound and some singularly great songs. Fans of anthemic, angst-ridden indie rock bands like Titus Andronicus will definitely want to check this out.
13. Wess Meets West - Chevaliers
Post-Rock
This is another one that placed high on my year end albums list. Wess Meets West’s Chevaliers was one of the biggest and heaviest albums I heard all year, especially of the post-rock variety. With Fugue having disbanded, this decidedly smaller group now stands head and shoulders over their peers in the local post-rock scene, and this incredibly ambitious record solidifies their place.
14. The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - Are Here To Help You (split w/ Deer Leap)
Emo, Indie Rock, Post-Rock
Based on the amount of coverage that I gave it ever since its release, it should be pretty clear that The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die’s split with Deer Leap is one of my favorite records of the year. TWIABP’s side is the highlight, boasting four fantastic atmospheric emo songs that are easily my favorites from the band. Topshelf Records recently released the split as a 12”, and my copy came in the other day on white vinyl. It sounds fantastic, and I’m really glad I ordered it.
15. Year In Review - I’m Sorry Mario, But Our Princess Is In Another Castle
Pop-Punk, Indie Rock
The Fairfield County scene really cleaned up this year, as it turns out, with a number of great new bands sprouting up and releasing solid material. Year In Review is a pop-punk band from the area with indie rock credibility and none of the annoying cliches generally associated with that style of music. Their record I’m Sorry Mario, But Our Princess Is In Another Castle is an EP comprising five songs about growing older, approaching adulthood, and losing the innocence of youth. It’s pertinent, catchy, and interesting, and definitely worth a few listens.
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Check back here tomorrow for the final installment in my list series, my 10 favorite shows of 2011.
Video: The Guru - “Beach Monster”
Jeff Hoyt directs this clip for Connecticuts’s The Guru’s new song “Beach Monster” from their excellent summery album Native Sun. It’s a grainy, beachy trip, and it looks like the guys and their friends had a ton of fun making it.
Setlist from The Guru’s Native Sun CD Release Party at The Space in Hamden. This show was very fun, and The Guru killed it with this excellent set. Click through for a higher-resolution version.
Song of the Day Number 173
The Guru - “Kodachrome Daydream”
FROM THE NEW ALBUM NATIVE SUN
In case anyone still wants to hear my opinion on The Guru, the closing track from their new album Native Sun, which was released today on bandcamp, is absolutely my favorite song by them ever. The beautifully-titled “Kodachrome Daydream” is a hazy, psychedelic mid-tempo piece with stunning lush guitars washed over by a multitude of shoegazy effects. Ed Godin’s lyrics on this song are probably the best that he has ever crafted, and the song includes an erratic vocal breakdown that sounds straight out of Isaac Brock’s (of Modest Mouse) bag of tricks. I won’t go into any more detail, because I’d like this song to be as much of a surprise for anyone listening as it was for me, but let’s just say it’s incredible. Stream it above and download the new album HERE.
June 11th is here, and with that date having arrived, Connecticut’s favorite psychedelic pop band The Guru has finally released their long awaited official debut full-length album Native Sun (pictured above). The album is honestly one of the best I’ve heard all year so far (you can read my in-depth review HERE), and I’m excited that it can now be shared with everyone. Click the link above to head over to their bandcamp page, where you can download the 8-song album for $3 or more. It can also be streamed in low-quality 128 kbps for free, but I would recommend buying and downloading it to support them. In celebration of the album’s release, The Guru is headlining a very special show at The Space in Hamden, CT, where they will release the CD officially. More information about that show, which will also feature Fugue, High Pop, Pachangacha (including members of Chalk Talk), Black Churches, Slam Donahue, and a reunited Lovers and Thieves) can be found HERE. Come on out, have fun, and say hi! It’s going to be a party.
(Source: theguruband)
The Guru: “Native Sun” Release Party
Connecticut’s The Guru are officially releasing their excellent album Native Sun on June 11th, and it’s going to be a party. They’re having a special show at The Space in Hamden, CT that will start at 6 PM and will go until around 11. In total, 7 great bands are playing, including fellow Connecticut bands Fugue and High Pop, and a reunited Lovers and Thieves, who are being flown in from California for the show. The full lineup is below, complete with set times. There were 150 tickets onsale online back when this show was announced, but that number is quickly shrinking! Buy tickets HERE for 12 dollars. 50 tickets will also be available at the door. CDs and t-shirts will be onsale as well. If you still haven’t listened to The Guru, check them out on bandcamp HERE.
Lineup + Set times:
- Fugue (6:00 - 6:30)
- High Pop (6:45 - 7:15)
- Pachangacha (7:30 - 8:00)
- Black Churches (8:15 - 8:45)
- Slam Donahue (9:00 - 9:30)
- Lovers and Thieves (Reunion) (9:45 - 10:15)
- The Guru (10:30 - 11:00)
Come on out and support these great bands! Celebrate the release of one of the best albums of the year! Hang out with cool people!
(Source: theguruband)
Song of the Day Number 164
The Guru - “Barracuda Hands”
Although “Arizona” has been floating around the internet since February, Connecticut indie rockers The Guru have been somewhat conservative about releasing new music from their forthcoming album Native Sun, out June 11th on Sex Cave Records. That all changes today. Just in time for their slot in between Wavves and Titus Andronicus tomorrow on the B.O.M.B. Fest main stage, The Guru have finally released the latest taster of their new album to the public. That taster comes in the form of “Barracuda Hands”, a song that was originally released on last year’s In Stereo album and was eventually re-recorded for inclusion on Native Sun.
In my full review of Native Sun, which can be read HERE, I called the new version of “Barracuda Hands” one of the catchiest songs on the record, and noted the fantastic psychedelic guitar solo that Colin Sullivan expertly pulls off, as well as the delightful bassline and singer Eddie Godin’s maniacal vocals. Production-wise, this version blows the In Stereo version out of the water. I went on to name it as one of the album’s “Best tracks”.
I’m happy to announce that the song is now available, along with “Arizona”, for free download and streaming on their bandcamp page HERE. Click through to download the track, or stream it above!
In preparation for Connecticut’s premier music festival B.O.M.B. Fest this weekend, the Connecticut-focused culture website The Feast has been interviewing people associated with the festival, including Manic Productions mastermind Mark Nussbaum and official B.O.M.B. Fest MC Robbie DeRosa. Most recently, they sat down with Kyle McEvoy, a guitarist from The Guru, whose forthcoming record Native Sun is currently one of my favorite albums of 2011. In the interview, Kyle was kind enough to give a shoutout to this very blog!
At 16, Kyle is the youngest performer scheduled to play at the two-day music festival this weekend. When asked about other notable young figures in the Connecticut music scene, Kyle responded with the following:
We belong to the Connecticut Scene Collective, also known as AllAgesCT. It’s a group of kids that keeps everyone updated about shows via Facebook. That’s a great resource. A few months ago I contacted Chris Cappello, who works at the University of New Haven’s radio station, about doing an on-air performance. I was shocked to find out that he’s also only sixteen. He does a great radio show and has an excellent blog. He’s helped our friend’s bands get on the radio and is a real contributor to the Connecticut scene.
This is awesome! If anyone reading this post has discovered my blog through this interview, then I implore you to listen to The Guru’s music if you haven’t already. All four members are great musicians, and perhaps even better friends. To Kyle — Thanks a lot for mentioning me, and I can’t wait to see you tomorrow at B.O.M.B. Fest!
edit: I’m actually still fifteen though; however, I will turn sixteen within the month.
The Guru - Native Sun (2011)
You wouldn’t necessarily realize it from listening to their music, but The Guru are a remarkably young group of people. Of the band’s four members, three are still in high school (although not for long), while one is currently in college. Kyle McEvoy, who plays guitar, is only sixteen years old. And yet, for such young people, the four guys (Ed Godin, Dan George, Colin Sullivan, and Kyle McEvoy) seem to have a very strong sense of what life is about. When asked on their official tumblr page how it is that they are “always doing such crazy shit,” a member of the Connecticut-based indie rock band offered up the following response:
“There’s a certain way to live life, only few know it! It involves making quick decisions, trusting in other humans, trusting in yourself to make the best out of a situation and knowing that you’re only young for so long.”
Of course, the question was certainly justified. They are, after all, a self-described group of kids who like to have fun and enjoy themselves. The answer, however, demonstrates not only their shared youthful zeal and love of life, but also a clear understanding of the fleeting and precious nature of youth and the steps one must take to preserve it if he or she wishes to have a meaningful existence. As I have learned from personally getting to know the members themselves, this beautiful, positive life philosophy permeates all aspects of their lives. As kids, friends, skaters, artists, photographers, videographers, lovers, and musicians (along with everything else), this “certain way to live life” guides their decisions. Most importantly, it defines, and perhaps even stems from the music that they make together as The Guru.
After encountering The Guru’s music in three different settings — first when the band appeared on my radio show in April, then at a live show in Hamden, and finally on record — and having listened to their forthcoming album Native Sun nearly a dozen times since I got an advance copy of it the other day, it has become clear to me what The Guru’s mission is. If their goal is to spread that Guru philosophy to as many people as they can, as I suspect it to be, then Native Sun will be the tool with which this goal is achieved. Through this startlingly impressive, lyrically autobiographical, thematically universal, and musically brilliant album, I firmly believe that The Guru will leave listeners with tapping feet and changed lives.
The album begins with “Arizona”, a song which I previewed on this blog back in February to unexpected popularity. The song perfectly epitomizes Native Sun as a whole, wasting no time during the course of the song’s ~2 minute duration to deliver it’s message. Intertwining guitar and bass riffs harmonize over steady drum clicks before exploding into the song’s memorable chorus. “Arizona” alternates between the personal lyrical insights of singer/drummer Ed Godin in the verses and the explosive, group-sung gang vocals of the chorus, which express a sentiment that is key to the album’s central thesis. “I swear to grow old,” the band members shout, “but I can’t grow old.” While Godin’s lyrics are very much his own, the overall lyrical perspective seems to be that of the group itself. “We’re just some kids on the 84,” Godin sings on “Pirate’s Cove,” an older fan favorite that was re-recorded for the new album. Along with “Barracuda Hands” and “Ashram”, “Pirate’s Cove” originally appeared on the band’s self-recorded In Stereo album last year. While longtime fans may miss the scrappier sound and various eccentricities of the old recordings, the Native Sun versions of these three songs are undoubtedly superior, and speak not only to the band’s musical development in the time since In Stereo was released, but also to the stunning production on the new album.
Produced professionally in studio, Native Sun is clean and real-sounding, and captures the musical intensity and high sonic quality of a Guru live show. The gorgeous, shimmering guitars and palpably crisp sound of the drums compliment the sunny and colorful tone of the lyrics, helping songs such as “Reel It In”, the fantastic new version of “Ashram”, and the poppy “Beach Monster” sound as fit for a summer mix CD as they deserve to be.
That said, with all respect to the producer, this record is undoubtedly made great by the musicians themselves. It’s almost frightening how well these guys play their instruments on this record. Every one of the album’s eight songs features an incredibly catchy two-part guitar riff, played dexterously by McEvoy and the band’s other guitarist, Colin Sullivan. Multiple tracks also feature guitar solos — or rather, mind-expanding psychedelic explosions of guitar — also courtesy of Colin Sullivan. At the live show I saw, many of the attendees knelt down and did the Jimi Hendrix hand motions during each of Sullivan’s solos, and for good reason. On “Pirate’s Cove” in particular, Sullivan’s solo is absolutely staggering, completely reversing the feeling of the song before bringing it back to its center before the end. Dan George’s bass playing is also of note on Native Sun, particularly on “Barracuda Hands”, where the mantra-like focused state that he attains onstage is clearly conveyed through the consistency of the bass line.
As consistent as the album is, it’s not without its highlights. Aside from “Arizona”, which will probably become the band’s signature song in the coming months (if it hasn’t already), the record is supported by amazing one-two punch of “Pirate’s Cove” and “Barracuda Hands”, the latter of which is perhaps the catchiest song on the whole record. In addition to a great bass line and an earworm melody, “Barracuda Hands” features yet another fantastic psychedelic guitar solo, which reverberates beautifully through the mix as Godin maniacally shouts “I’m gonna miss her!” repeatedly. Other highlights include the deceptively funky “Disco Daughter”, which might boast the best guitar riff on the album, and the new version of “Ashram”, another one of the band’s signature songs that was cleaned up and improved for inclusion on Native Sun.
In addition to being a great sounding record full of wonderful songs, The Guru’s Native Sun also serves as a document of the band and the lives of its members themselves. The album is loaded with small inside jokes and pieces of Guru mythology, which, thanks to my relationship with the band, I have the privilege to understand. Despite the minor feelings of validation that I get from being clued in to such things, the details of what things and places like Pirate’s Cove and the Ashram actually are are not terribly significant factors in my enjoyment of the record. These lyrical allusions are there for the band members themselves, implanted in the music as a snapshot of their youth and as a postcard that they can send to each other at some point down the line. As I mentioned earlier in this review, The Guru are aware, perhaps painfully so, of the fleeting nature of their youth. With two members headed off to college next fall and one who’s already attending college, the long term future of The Guru is uncertain. Actually, although one of the album’s only detriments seems to be its unusually short length (just 24 minutes), this plays in nicely with that theme. As Godin sings on the album closer “Kodachrome Daydream”, “Four Years is a long time, but I know it’s not a lifetime.” Perhaps it’s fitting that, despite its high energy Modest Mouse-influenced middle section, “Kodachrome Daydream” is the slowest and most wistful song on the album. After seven successive onslaughts of youthful exuberance and life-affirming sentimentality, the band slows everything down for the longest and best moment on the album. “I want you to remember my name, to remember why I came to earth”, Godin sings. If this is the last great treasure that we will have to remember The Guru by, then the world will be a better place for it. If not, then we’ll be even better off.
8/10
Tracklist:
- 1. Arizona
- 2. Reel It In
- 3. Barracuda Hands
- 4. Pirate’s Cove
- 5. Beach Monster
- 6. Disco Daughter
- 7. Ashram
- 8. Kodachrome Daydream
Best tracks: “Arizona”, “Barracuda Hands”, “Pirate’s Cove”, “Ashram”, “Kodachrome Daydream”
Native Sun will be released on June 11th on Sex Cave Records. The Guru is having a CD release show at The Space in Hamden on that day, where they will be selling CDs and T-shirts. More information about the show can be found HERE.
**ALSO: The Guru is also playing the B.O.M.B. Fest main stage this Saturday in Hartford between Wavves and Titus Andronicus. Tickets for B.O.M.B. Fest are still available HERE.
The Guru have just unveiled the album artwork for their upcoming LP Native Sun, which they played in its entirety on my radio show back in April. The awesome, eccentric looking artwork is pictured above in all its glory. The album will be released on June 11th, about half a month after they play at B.O.M.B. Fest in Hartford on May 28th. The Guru have a very exciting couple months ahead of them!
(Source: theguruband)
Back in February, I posted an exclusive stream of a brand new track from Connecticut’s The Guru on this blog. I’m now happy to announce that the track I posted back then, an energetic gem called “Arizona”, is finally available for free download on their bandcamp. They’ve also announced a release date for their new album Native Sun, which they performed in its entirety on my radio show back on April 8th. That two-hour performance + interview can be downloaded HERE. The album will be released on June 11th, just in time to become a perfect soundtrack to the summer. Trust me, you’re going to want to hear this album.
As the founder of lewisandhisblog and the DJ who does the “Left of the Dial” show on WNHU every week, I’d like to issue a sincere thank you to the guys in The Guru. Not only are they an incredibly talented band that makes awesome music, but they are also some of the nicest and best dudes around. I loved hanging out with them and talking to the guys on air earlier, and I hope that those of you who listened enjoyed hearing us talk. It was also hugely awesome to have them play live on air, and I hope others will follow their example. Any other bands/artists in the area who would like to get some publicity should contact me here or on facebook, and I’ll be happy to check you out and look into having you on the show. Thanks to The Guru for coming out, and thanks to everyone for listening!
Help fund the post-production of The Guru’s Native Sun HERE
Check them out on facebook HERE
