Quicksand Swimclub; New Single

We caught up with Dan of Quicksand Swimclub, who was featured on the blog earlier this summer. The band is releasing their new single,"Better Days" this Monday, November 14th.

How's the band been since we last had you on the blog?
: The band has gone through tremendous changes since we last spoke early summer with member changes and direction of sound.  After touring the Midwest we decided to part ways with our former bassist to downsize to a three piece.  That worked for a few months until Nik (original bassist/guitarist) left the band for personal reasons.  Performing and meeting new people is the best part about being in a band so we are continuing as a two piece.  No, we don't sound like the white stripes but we are aiming our new sound towards the post-hardcore/pop punk genre while putting our "touch" to it.

Any cool shows or accomplishments since the last we spoke? Tell me a bit about this upcoming Fusion show.: Fusion Shows is a showcase company that is somewhat "prestigious" for local bands to play shows for.  They buy the best tour packages and give have locals opening slots.  This Saturdays show is a local show they are putting together to see what new upcoming acts are like that they haven't worked with yet.  Hopefully its a huge success, I'm excited to play with American Opera.

What's this 89x voting thing?: When I received the master file for "Better Days" I immediately sent it to 89x radio.com (new alternative rock station) thinking it was a shot in the dark and they would never give it the time of day.  It's a huge deal to be on the radio to any musician let alone the biggest one of your genre. Turns out I was wrong and we made it to the finals of their Sunday night show which is an awesome opportunity for us.  Even if we don't come out on top in the voting poll it's alright, at least they listened to us.

I see talk about a music video. Is that just talk? Or is that something the band is already working on getting done?: We are using shots from current performances (including this weekend) and shooting close ups November 25th.  We are about 80% done with plotting ideas and what not.

So tell me about this new song!: We worked with Bryan Beeler (Chiodos, Cinematic Sunrise, The Swellers, We Are The Union, Squid The Whale) in our home town Northville, MI. I've known Bryan since my very first show in 7th grade seven years ago. This song is inspired from a friend who died in a car crash leaving a girlfriend of three years.  The lyrics based from her point her point of view.  There is a facebook page where his friends post thoughts about him and it's very touching: http://www.facebook.com/groups/100122036740121/

What's it about and what kind of things does the song explore?: The lyrics explore what it is like to deal with death of a close one.  "Better Days" is a sampler genre wise of QSSC.  Melodic post-hardcore that halfway makes you wish there was screaming to a pop-punk verse and chorus drifting back into the melodic post-hardcore with a touch of rock and roll.  The guitar, bass, and drum work are dramatically better in this recording.  It's a step in the right direction.

What else can we expect from the band in the coming months?: We have exciting shows in Michigan scheduled throughout Fall and Winter.  In March we plan to take time off of shows to spend pre production for the new EP.  We are recording a three song EP at 37 Studios (I See Stars, Chiodos, These Hearts) due to release late spring/early summer.  Hopefully we will have exciting shows following the release.

Undesirable People

    Undesirable People, the punk rock band out of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, formed in the summer of 2010. The band name is the band's "refusal to let image or specific genre overtake our main focus, which is the tunes."
    The band came together with mutual distaste for "The man" and school. "Writing and playing music is something we're actually passionate about. We enlisted longtime friends and former band members to get UP started." Says the band. Since forming nothing too interesting has changed. "We lost a guitar player, picked up a lead singer and that's about it."

(Photo: Ethan Andrew Pollard)

    Several influences include Alkaline Trio, Bayside, The Police, Thrice, and Jimmy Eat World. These influences, along with the band's mix of blood, sweat, anger, & fear help shape the band's poppy punk rock sound.
    The band line-up consists of twin brothers, Jon(drums) and Mark(vocals/bass) Lebieki, Bobby Lesage(vocals), and Brian Fraser(guitar).
    The band shows a great distaste for genre labeling. "We feel giving ourselves a label could limit our capabilities to mature and progress as song writers and musicians. There really is no fun in making the same album over and over again. We would love to have something to offer for any listener, regardless of taste in music."

(Photo: Ethan Andrew Pollard)

    The band talked a bit about the upcoming self-titled EP, set to be released today on indie record label, South Division Records.

"Our self-titled EP will be out September 20th on South Division Records. It was recorded and produced with our good friend Mick Maslowski at Zoinga Studios last fall/winter. We released it on our own as a 4-track EP this past February. The South Division release will feature 6 songs and a reworked/acoustic version of "Resting As Ruins". It will also be released on a limited 7" vinyl.

The overall sound includes plenty of guitar licks and melodies to hopefully have your attention longer than 3 minutes. This is something we've wanted to create for so long and we're stoked to have anyone and everyone check it out."

(Photo: Ethan Andrew Pollard)

    When booking shows, the band isn't too picky about what type of bands they play with. "We've been very open to playing with any bands. Our shows have been great so far, lots of people have been feeling it and enjoying themselves, which makes it so much more fun for us." Says the group.
    When describing a typical performance, the band said it consisted of "25 minutes of emotion, sweat, energy, good vibes, bad vibes, you name it. It's all there. We like to call out our merch guy every night too."
    Check out the band's self titled EP, and like the band on Facebook!

Tall Tales

      The hardcore band, Tall Tales, despite the name, is a pretty honest group of guys. Once the interview was under way, they quickly admitted several funny facts. Some facts included the original plan to use a girl vocalist, in hopes of sounding a bit like Paramore. Another, they admit that the band name is really just that, a name. No double meaning or secret messages, just Tall Tales.

      "The name actually came from lyrics from a band called Burden Of A Day.  The song title is "Battle Of Hoth".  To us, it's just a name.  Usually in the hardcore/punk/metal world, most bands have "The ______" names, or some other name that makes them appear as if they are heavy or tough.  When we started writing all our songs, being heavy just wasn't a factor." Says the band.

      The young band, only about half a year old, comes from Grand Rapids, MI. Funny enough, they've been compared to the band that inspired the name, Burden of a Day as well as The Ghost Inside. "Even though we are a young band, all our members have been playing in bands for years.  Some longer than others, but all in all this is something that we still strive to do."

      The band started as a three-piece outfit. They didn't have a vocalist or a lead guitarist. "The mindset that we had at the time was that we we're going to do something completely different than everyone else at the time.  A lot of the bands right now are going for that real heavy sound" It was at this stage in the band's life that a lot of the basic groundwork was done. "We started writing and got the blue prints down for all the songs that we play right now, including the songs we have on our new demo"

      After several conversations about joining a band, Bryan Neterer AKA Brian #2 who was known to play deathcore, grind and other heavy genres joined the band, after he proved he could bring talent (and an incredibly ridiculous laugh) to the band.

      The band consists of  Bryan Stadick (vocals), Jake McCaffrey (bass), Nick Whittle (drums), Bryan Neterer (lead guitar), and David Cygan (rhythm gutiar).

      The band admits that they wouldn't consider themselves to be too unique, but are pretty confident they're bring something different to the Midwest music scene. "We aren't trying to be something that we aren't.  (We) admit that all of us are metal heads, plain and simple.  But we do like other kinds of music.  Everything from punk to indie and rock n' roll.  So we took all our influences and mashed them into one, and with the help of a great producer and recording engineer (Brian "Bone" Thorburn from Threshold Studios in Indianapolis, Indiana) we have the sound that we have."

      The band has very few shows to their name, but that have had the privelige to play with Hawthorne Heights in Michigan and played for a decent 100+ show in Chicago. The band openly talked about their wants and the work they put into shows. They had this to say:

 "We want to tour, 10 months out of the year if possible. Never being home, always on the road.  The shows we have managed to get or that are upcoming we booked ourselves.  No agents, or management, just a true DIY attitude. 

      We promote all our shows as much as we can.  Handing out filers, putting them on cars, up at gas stations, etc.  We even are throwing our own shows now too.  West Michigan used to have a great scene but a lot of venues and promoters have died out.  And most the venues that are still around expect pre sales and sometimes even money up front just to play. 

      To us, that just isn't going fly.  So we have somewhat assembled a team of people and plan to bring back real shows.  House shows, basement shows, community centers, vfw halls, etc.  Those are real shows to us"

      The band is currently in the process of writing songs for the new EP, after the self-proclaimed success of their free single, "We Are The World". "To be honest, we had no idea what the response was going to be to "We are the world".  Seeing as all of us have always been in metal bands, we didn't even know what to make of it.  But we are more than overwhelmed by the outcome as of late. "

      The band hopes to have 12 written and ready. Then, they want to pick the best ones to put on the EP and get over to indianapolis to record. "The new record is going to take our sound to a whole new place." Says the band. "We might be adding a few new elements such as clean vocals, synth/keys, or possibly even a new member.  Everything is up in the air right now.  I wouldn't say that we are going to changing completely, but it will be different from 'We are the world'."

      With work schedules and such, the band is limited to play Saturdays, but once the cooler seasons come around, they plan to travel a lot more. As far as long term goals go, the band hopes to have the EP out by early 2012 and hope to start a small tour called the "We're In It For The Money Tour". The tour will be composed of house shows and DIY venues booked exclusively through DIYUSA. The band hopes to continue writing and play the "What would you rather do?" game.

      What would you rather do?
A. Let a girl take a dump in your mouth?
B. Toss a guys salad?

      I'd have to go with A and hope it comes out clean. What?

Finding Eden

Finding Eden
(Did you take this photo? Let me know!)

      In less than a year, Marysville, the small Michigan town 45 minutes northeast of Detroit, home of Every Avenue, has revived it's music scene and is bigger than ever! One key component to the revival is the amazing support of the local music enthusiasts. Finding Eden, local post-hardcore band, is very glad to have helped rebuild the scene and says they couldn't ask for a better local fanbase.

      The band consists of Dave Kessler (vocals), Mike Obdziejewski (keyboard), Brendan Tunrbull (rhythm guitar), Erik Steele (lead guitar), Pat Ulrich (bass) and Brent Gates (drums).

      Finding Eden released their debut EP, Lies Lead To Heartache, on March 26, 2010 and have plans to release their next EP, Autonomy, next month. The band insists that their latest EP is far better than there first attempt. "Our new E.P. Autonomy is 10 times better in my opinion. We have grown so much as a band over the last year. I dont think one song on the Lies Lead to Heartache EP is half as good as our new songs." Says Brendan Turnbull, the band's rhythm guitarist.

      Most of the band has been friends for years. They all have much love for music and take pride in their 'outside-the box' sound. "We have a lot of faith in each other." Says the Band.

      A friend of the band introduced the band to online radio DJ, DJ Deadboy, who put them on regular rotation on his radio show and because of the band's buzz in Michigan, 89X Radio Detroit contacted the band and put them on regular rotation. Also, New York City based e-magazine, Rockhard Magazine, featured the band in the e-zine ln March 29th, 2010, a day after they released their first EP. Give the band great exposure. In the same month, the band won a contest hosted by AlternativeAddiction.com which the band won in a landslide. The same site also featured the band as the 'Spotlight Band' for that month. "It was pretty awesome we got a lot of new fans from all over the US, UK & Canada."

Finding Eden

      Apart from the long and impressive resume comes the band's stage performance, which is equally impressive. With close to 200-300 people showing up to local shows, The band must be doing something right. "We go all out, everytime we touch the stage. Always have, always will! We try to give the fans their money's worth. its important to us to make sure everyone has a great time." The band opened for Hawthorne Heights last summer in Mt. Clemens, MI at The Hayloft and the show was sold out. "The line seemed to go on for days. So after we loaded our equipment, we went out to meet and greet people. After all, we all know what its like standing outside trying to get into a show in the Summer!"

      Don't forget to like the band on Facebook and keep an eye out for their EP, Autonomy, which should be out next month! They will be booking shows out of state to try and boost their fanbase. Look for them around the Midwest! And of course, vote the band to play warped tour this summer!

~joeEFFINGmayo

Joemayo91@gmail.com

Finding Eden - "From Rags to Riches" - Autonomy EP

Quicksand Swimclub; Looking for shows in IL this summer!

Quicksand Swimclub

      To normal people, Quicksand Swimclub sounds like a failed YMCA group meeting, but to three guys and a girl in Michigan, it's the name of their indie progressive rock band. The band consists of Dan Amaro on guitar and vocals, Nik Cousin on guitar, Andrew Demercurtio on bass, and last, but certainly not least, Megan Chaaban on the drums!


      When it comes to lyrical content, the band tends to stick to themes revolving around life and progressing in life. Growing up, Dan had lots of passion for music, growing up in an up-and-coming music scene consisting of I See Stars and We Are The Union, to name a few. During the summer of 2010, Dan started recording some of his ideas in his basement. He turned to Nik to write some more guitar parts to his original melodies and from there, they formed a collaboration. With Andrew and Megan in the lineup, the band says they are ready and that great things are coming.


      With their EP set to be released on May 14th, the band is looking to play shows all around the Midwest! "(We want to) tour and play the Midwest this summer, get our name known for playing a  great show." Says the band, adding,"(We want to) make enough money to fully support our passion as musicians, join a management (company) to help add us on tours or MI shows, eventually become peoples favorite band!"

Quicksand Swimclub

      The band is no stranger to the stage, having played all over Michigan, and most recently, played in Bowling Green, Ohio and they are even having an EP release show in their hometown of Northville, MI on the 14th. They were finalists in the Hayloft's Battle of the Bands! They are even sponsored by the Freda Clothing Company.


      Quicksand SwimClub will be in Illinois during the cornerstone festival on the green lights production stage June 30-July 3rd in Bushel, Illinois. The band would really appreciate some shows that would schedule well with these dates! Contact them about playing shows vie email at quicksandswimclub@gmail.com!


      Like the band on Facebook and help them book some shows in the area this summer! The band also has a YouTube and Myspace! Help out our Midwest brothers (and sister)!

~joeEFFINGmayo

Joemayo91@gmail.com