Category: Interview

We were thrilled to catch up with U.K. soul-pop artist Naëve and learn a little more about her latest single and new band!

• Naëve thank you for taking the time to talk with us today! Let’s start with the new single L.A.M.E. we hear a very personal experience there, where did this song come from? Self love. Sometimes, when we are in a relationship, we forget about how important it is to love ourselves before attempting to love someone else. It’s an empowering message.

• Your soul and jazz influences are obvious but the song also has a strong pop sensibility. How do you manage to fuse your influences and also create something so accessible? It all comes from instinct. For me it’s finding a smooth passage between genres, what ‘feels right at that moment’, underlining their points in common. Historically, we had several gradual transitions between Jazz and the following genres, until we reached pop music. It’s a natural succession, with the difference that today, we know every single transition, so we can use them without being limited to an historical progression. The aim is to attract today’s generation to genres that made the history of music, in a simpler way and to be easily metabolised as well.

• When did you start singing and how did this all start for you? Do you play other instruments too? All in all, I started singing before I could even speak properly, I was very young. Professionally, I started singing (and studying singing) at the age of 16. In time, I got curious about other instruments as well. So much so, that I received my first keyboard at the age of 3. I can also play accordion, guitar, a little bit of harmonica and bass (still learning).I am currently planning to start shortly with drums.

• We noticed you have some live stream events on your website. Do you have any upcoming events that our readers should check out? How about live in person dates? I am not really fond of live streams events, as the part that I love most of my job is to connect to my audience in person. Although, considering the situation, I will try and upload some originals and covers during the following months. For live dates, I hope to be able to plan something during the summer (as we had already had a few gigs canceled), it depends on when it will be actually safe again to have live audiences at our shows, hopefully very soon. Browsing music Festivals as well, let’s see what happens…

• We can hear the larger sound on the new single and also saw the photos on your website, can you tell us more about your new 10 piece band and the recording process for L.A.M.E? That is actually a little trick of ours. I play live with my incredibly talented Big Band (we are 11) but the songs are actually written only by my producer and I. I have been lucky enough to find someone that is on the same line, artistically speaking and that gets the ‘chaos’ going on in my head.The only one who can manage to put all that in order (artistically): Mr. Itay Kashti from Blue Room Studios. I’ve been lucky enough to find energetic young musicians that are blessed with the ‘play for your life’ kind of motivation.The line up, so far consists in Kash Funk on guitar, Alessandro Iannicelli (aka Alex) on drums, Kyle Lapsley on bass, Benji Bown on keys, Cerys Anderson, Phoebe Brooks and Dominique de Comarmond as bvs, Sam Loveless on trumpet, Mason O’Keefe on sax and Pau Hernandez on trombone.We managed to play only one gig (due to the lockdowns) but still, that very gig earned us to be shortlisted for the Yamaha London Boogie & Blues future stars competition finals, for a chance to open for Jools Holland at Mayfair so, all in all, so far, so good! 

• With such a wide array of sounds can you tell us what artists, or bands really influence you? My absolute muse is Aretha Franklin, I absolutely love her octave jumps (that I use very often). But also, Nina Simone, James Brown, Elvis, Amy Winehouse, Stevie Wonder, Janis Joplin, Benny Goodman and everything in between.I like to listen (and be influenced by) several apparently different genres from which I take my inspiration.I’ve been singing Opera and heavy metal as well so, is very much anything can happen.

• What’s next for you as an artist? Touring, Festivals. I love the connection you create with your audience on stage and I am starting to miss that very much. I will also release my debut album in the following months, we’ll see what the future may bring. I’m quite positive for the future of this project and I believe it will have a great and positive impact on people.

• What do you do when you’re NOT working on music? I get all crafty and artsy.I  am an artist at heart so, painting, drawing and anything creative.I love nature as well so, you can easily find me taking care of my garden, greenhouse (yes, I grow peppers) or my beloved Orchids (I believe to have 6 of them by now). I decided to take the plunge and take a leap of faith in avoiding having a side job (9 to 5), as I want to concentrate on music.

• Before we go, what do you want to say to fans of the music? Stop following the numbers, start following your heart. More and more, you ‘can buy’ your way to ‘success’ as an artist, not many people know what is hidden behind. So, discover and support your local bands, go to their gigs, buy their merch, follow them on social media. Create your  own trend in music taste, don’t let others ‘impose’ it on you. Pretend great music.Live it under your skin. See, I remember this quote from the day of my graduation (I believe she quoted it from somebody else’s) that still is pretty alive in my head and heart, it goes pretty much like this: “Today, on your graduation day, try and think that you didn’t graduate in music but as a Heart Surgeon. As a Heart Surgeon, you will have thousands of people coming into the room with any kind of condition. Someone will come with a broken heart, someone will be in love, someone will come there in anger, someone else in pain.Someone will need to be saved. No matter what condition their hearts will come to you, it’s your responsibility on how their hearts will come out from that room.” Music is a very powerful tool, use it wisely! 

We had the pleasure to catch up with Jersey Shore singer-songwriter Kathleen Elle to talk about her latest album and experience with streaming shows during covid lockdown.

• Okay let’s start with the Brainwaves album. We heare a real real rock vibe as well as the singer-songwriter sound that you weave together. Where did this album come from? Also who are some of your musical influences? Brainwaves is a collection of all the songs I had finished by the time I started recording! Somewhere ones that didn’t make the cut for my EP Helium that came out in 2015, and others were finished days before I was in the studio. I guess that’s why each song sounds so different. My early songs are heavily influenced by Sparks Fly/ Red era Taylor Swift, but as I grew my playlists to other artists, my songwriting varied. For instance, Ella Eyre inspired the song Love Bandit, Andy Grammer And Jason Mraz influenced Nowhere Without You, and I Always Knew was a mild look back on my punk rock Boys Like Girls, Panic, and Fall Out Boy loving days. I would say that overarching influences on the album would be Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Adele, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, and Colbie Caillat. I also just released a single in May of 2020 called Superheroes in Disguise. It’s a song that highlights and honors the selflessness and bravery of our essential workers during this pandemic. I have 5 healthcare workers in my family, so the stress for their safety was very real. My aunt, a Covid-19 ICU nurse, lives down the street from me and for the first time in her 30+ year career, I heard her need to vent and express how exhausting and scary it was in the hospital. The thing that struck me most was a comment she made in late April about how she felt so under appreciated by the public, like a veteran coming home from the Vietnam War, in that no one could ever understand what they’ve been through. If my aunt was feeling that, someone who is always so positive and never complains, I knew the feeling must be universal for essential workers and I wanted to let them know that they should be and are real life superheroes. So I wrote the song in about a day, recorded and produced it myself in my basement, and compiled pictures for the music video on YouTube from family members, local essential workers, and healthcare workers from all over the world who I got permission to use their image on social media. I played the final recorded song for my aunt on her birthday, which happened to be international nurses day!
  
• You have a strong voice is that how you got started in music? My family will tell you I was singing before I could talk, and my brother will tell you I never shut up! I started guitar at 10 years old, and then started voice lessons at 13. Music wasn’t something I took seriously though until high school. I took a songwriting course after school where I learned how to structure a song, what chords usually go together for pop songs, and how to design an effective catchy melody. My teachers in high school are really the reason that I started to believe in myself and my musical ability. They steered me to try out for the honors choir, take all music electives including theory and music technology, and gave me performance opportunities to showcase my original music. Even then, I struggled with choosing what I wanted to major in, especially coming from a family of engineers, computer scientists, lawyers, and doctors. I was planning on majoring in Chemistry until the very end of my junior year of high school. I applied to both music and chemistry programs at the colleges I applied to, and thankfully, was accepted into the music schools for a double major of Music Education and Music Composition.
  
• You have been playing a lot of live streams this year, what has that experience been like for you? At the start at the “14 Day Lockdown,” I decided to go live every night on my Facebook and Instagram, basically just to have something to do each day and check in on friends and family. 14 days turned into 100 days! We had themed nights like Disney Songs, Broadway, originals only, 40s for my 40th show, 50s for the 50th and so on. I was surprised how many people would tune in and hang out with me from all over the country and the world. It was such a unique experience that the entire world was looking to connect with others due to the same circumstances, and I’m glad that I thought to pick up my guitar to help people escape for an hour each night… I’m so happy I had their help and put in the time because Twitch has been awesome! In just a few months, I’ve really grown my regular audience and am now starting to see that translate to people streaming my music on Spotify! For anyone that wants to join in on the fun www.twitch.tv/kathleen_e11e
  
• Was your album “Brainwaves” recorded at home or a commercial studio and what’s next for you as an artist? Brainwaves was entirely recorded, mixed and mastered at Jankland Studios in Wall, NJ with the help of Steve Jankowski. I had worked with Steve at his studio for a song on my Helium EP and loved how chill, nice, and helpful he was, so I knew for this album, I’d be going back to work with Steve! Besides being an awesome person and sound engineer, Steve plays trumpet professionally with Nile Rodgers & CHIC. I’ve also gotta give a shout out to my friends who played on the album; Skyler Fortgang on drums, Tracey Miller on bass, Patrick Phillips on piano, Steve Jankowski on horns, and Tommy Aboussleman on electric guitar. Without their musicianship, Brainwaves would not be as good as it is!

• Before we go, what do you want to say to fans of the music? One thing I’d like to express to the fans of music is the hope that their playlists that they listen to are not just the Apple Music A List Pop etc. Some of my favorite artists and bands are not nominated for Grammy or on the radio bands, but that doesn’t mean that their art isn’t worthy of those accolades. Try to discover a new artist or song every week. One of my favorite things to do with friends is just trade playlists, back in high school we’d burn each other CDs. There is so much music out there, so many voices, so many viewpoints that are worth listening too. It’ll help open your mind and free your heart.

We wanted to learn a little bit more about this unique band and were lucky enough to catch up with band leader “Fern” from Foes of Fern.

• Let’s start with the band name, Foes of Fern. Where did that come from? 

So I had spent a lot of time In bands where a lot of great music was made but the band would end and then the music would die with it. I wanted to create a project that could live on as long as I wanted to keep pushing the project. I decided to go with my nickname Fern and then just brainstormed ideas around that. Fern and Friends just felt too flat so I flipped the idea and got “Foes of Fern”

• Can you tell us a little about the band members, like how did you meet or did the group evolve over time? 

This is such a loaded question for this band and I love it haha. Okay so everyone calls this my “solo project” and that is just so far from the truth. This band has had so many members in it throughout the years. My original Foe would be Joe Pomarico who I have been creating music with since 6th grade. At first the band was filled with other hometown friends that I had played music with throughout the years. Eventually Victoria Laurence joined with her Tuba, Jessie McCormick with their uke, and I joined forces with a ton of fantastic horn players, drummers, bassist, background singers, etc. Now it is at the  point where we have about 13 solid members of the band. We played a show yesterday in Asbury Park and had 3 of our drummers on stage, 4 horn players, and 3 background singers. All are fantastic musicians that I have met through the Asbury Park music scene. Check out our website for a full list of foes. 

• The new single “Time Management” is great and sonically it also has a very big sound. Can you talk about the production and also the arrangement of the tune?  

Yes! Our songs are definitely known for having a big sound / arrangements. We released our first album in August and we tracked an orchestra for some of the songs and had over 50 foes track on the record. We went to record Time Management with the hopes of packing as many foes on the track in as quickly a time as possible. We recorded the drums, bass, rhythm, guitar and vocals at once and then overdubbed the background harmonies and horn parts. Shout out to my horn players Steve Heimbuch (sax), Andrew Ludwig (Trombone) Kyle Thompson (Trumpet) Matt Honold (Trumpet) for rolling through and coming up with the horn parts on the fly. We tracked one instrument at a time and then would just keep building parts from the previous takes. This was one of the first times we did not score the parts out and just went into the studio to hit it. We also dug back into our hard drives and found takes of our old Tuba player Victoria playing Time Management on our old demo. We dropped her takes from last year into the session, adjusted the notes to fit the new tempo, and that’s how the full horn section came about. 

There’s a ton of little gems like that in the track. One that I love is the snore in the second verse. Our trombone player fell asleep in the session and I brought a mic out and recorded him snoring in real life. That along with all the chatter from the background singers, all the percussion from my three drummers (Andrew Oliva, Joshua Van Ness, and Owen Flanagan) and the production magic of Joe Pomarico and Zach Kornhauser, brings the party vibe of Time Management into existence.

• The Foes are known as an “Asbury Park Band” but where did this all start for you?  

It all started in Holmdel NJ on Telegraph Hill Road where me and Pom started our first band in 6th grade. Since then we have recorded and worked with so many fantastic Asbury Park musicians through our indie record label Telegraph Hill Records.

• Can you tell us a bit about “Telegraph Hill Records”? 

Telegraph is a label that myself and Joe Pomarico created back when we both graduated college. He got an MBA at William Patterson and I had just graduated from The Berklee College of Music. We wanted to use the knowledge and connections we both collected to help out the local musicians of Asbury Park that we both love. That was back in 2016. Since then the label has grown by adding great bands and fantastic team members that truly care about music. 

• What’s next artistically for the band? Will “Time Management” be on an upcoming album?

To quote our bassist Matt Raspanti, “How can we be a band without doing music” Matt has been building us a new patreon-ish website that we are calling “Only Foes” where you can subscribe for different Foes content. We are talking about podcasts, web series, short skits, and other fun non music content to broaden our fan base. 

As Matt and the team are working on that I will continue to write and also pick which songs will be coming out on the next album. Time Management for sure will be on it along with a few fan favorite songs like our tune “The Ocean”. We have a big collection of music to choose from for our second album. The current plan is to pick 7-10 songs that fit well together and help tell a cohesive story. 

• What do you do when you’re NOT working on music? 

Personally, I like to spend my time playing chess, enjoying nature, or just lounging on the couch and enjoying the little things from life. A nice cup of tea in the morning, afternoon or night time really goes a long way.

As for the other members of the band – Apparently most of them love Star Wars more than life itself. The last couple of band practices has me in the corner with a guitar as they very passionately debate the history of Mandalore or some other nerd shit. 

• What sort of non-musical influences do you have? 

My friends and the people in my life are huge influences on me. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by some really talented people that continue to inspire me to create,

• Before we go, what do you want to say to fans of the music? 

THANK YOU for sticking with us! We as a band are really just having a great time working on our music videos (currently we have 6 out on youtube) recordings, live shows, and other fun ideas. We love it when people get to know us and join in on that fun. I also hope that you can hear that joyful environment on “Time Management”.

• Thanks for taking the time to talk with us today. Let’s start with the latest single “Breathe”. Where did this song come from? This song was written on a mountain top in Nicaragua. I was helping the community with donations such as clothing, guitars, and music lessons. I was also surfing and songwriting.
• Will it be included on an upcoming album? The Breathe album has been in the works and should be forthcoming in 2021. It will include 10 tracks and I also have a bundle of additional singles to release over the coming year. 
• We hear some very strong pop sensibility in your songs but at the same time the instrumentation is rooted in acoustic instruments. How did you come up with that unique sound? I like to hear organic tones and my family played a variety of instruments so I was always around unique natural sounds. I’ve always liked beach music you can feel rhythmically combined with raw instrumentation. 
• You are known for playing the ukulele, where did that start for you? Do you have any ukulele influences? I started playing ukulele after learned in guitar and traveling to Hawaii for an extended time. I was really into folk music and was searching for a sound that was authentic, healing, and not completely stuck in a single genre. 
• When did you realize that you were a musician? How did you get started? I learned piano when I was younger from my mom which gave me some basic skills. I started to learn the guitar in my early teens and had a lot of influences thanks to my family. I learned the harmonica and the ukulele not too long after the guitar. Being able to play guitar and harmonica at the same time and take the ukulele anywhere you wanted was the best thing ever. Growing up in the south, I was around many types of music and cultures. Initially, I took guitar lessons and was fortunate to have a few great teachers. During my time in Oahu, learned ukulele tips and played traditional songs daily with the locals. 
• Where can people find out about your upcoming shows and releases? Everything is on the website www.samsimsmusic.com and the events page gives details on upcoming shows www.samsimsmusic.com/events . There is also a mailing list signup on the website homepage. You can sign up to get news on new music, shows, and special events. 
• What’s next for you as an artist? I am planning to release the Breathe album (10 tracks) and also rollout some singles over the next year. There’s a lot of new music so it’s really an exciting time! There are a few acoustic shows this spring, and the band plans to resume performances (conditions permitting) in the 2021 timeframe. As the pandemic subsides, I’m glad to have more time to be creative and finish recording new material. 
• What do you do when you’re NOT working on music? I fit a lot into everyday overall. Yoga, meditation, hang out with my family and my wife, go surfing, swimming, or paddle boarding, occasionally sell real estate, and work in IT. 
• What sort of non-musical influences do you have? Nature, love, life experiences, stories, friends, family, travel, and culture. 
• Before we go, what do you want to say to fans of the music? Thank you so much for listening and continuing to support the music!

We enjoyed Michael Jaskewicz’s new album so much we had to sit down and learn a little more about it.

• Okay let’s start with the album title “Crooked Tree” where did that come from? – Crooked Tree started with my own personal infatuation with trees, especially the crazy odd ones that take such strange shapes as their limbs continue to fight towards light, and how humans are affected in the same way. At the time I was writing the song a dear friend of mine, Big Ed, was suffering from terminal cancer and my thoughts of him started intersecting with the song that was beginning to form. Ed was extremely tall and honestly stood a little crooked as life and cancer was ravaging him, coupled with his huge personality when he walked into the room there was no doubt everyone looked his way. It was always like the record skipped, and he always made you feel like his entire day’s purpose was to see you. As I thought of his pain and suffering aligned with the intense light of a human being he was, he became the Crooked Tree in my mind and the words started flowing. I wanted to paint a picture of how beautiful he was, how life had taken its toll on him, and how in reality we are all Crooked Trees. Our flaws make us beautiful. We should not bear shame for the mental and physical scars we have from enduring life. We should revel in them, and revel in that beauty in others. Share in those flaws together and together we heal. It was no doubt in my mind the album should be named Crooked Tree in Ed’s honor, as well as the honor of all that see beauty within the tragedies of life.

• I hear some classic rock influence in there as well as some blues. What bands and artists actually influenced you?– I am a huge Grateful Dead fan. Jerry Garcia had a touch and emotion in his style that genuinely moved me the moment I first heard him. I am also a huge Allman Brothers fan as well as Warren Haynes, Government Mule, and Phish. But I also truly enjoy singer songwriters as well. Artists like Ray LaMontagne, Amos Lee, James Taylor, Nick Drake, Citizen Cope, Joni Mitchell, Jorma Koukenen, the list can go on and on. Lastly having come of age in the early 90’s, bands like Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, and Radiohead all had a massive influence on me as well.

• How did this all start for you? – In the process of writing songs I began creating demos for my band, Cosmic. In turn I realized I also have a different side of me musically that I wanted to express, so I began using the demos I created as a basis for an acoustic solo album.

• Are you playing any live shows? – Yes. All of my upcoming shows in all projects and collaborations can me found on my website www.michaeljaskewiczmusic.com/tour

• What kind of guitars do you play? Fav brand? – My electric guitar is a handbuilt custom Becker. The Becker brand has since dissolved but the builder, Ryan Martin, has moved on to form his own brand Magic Wand. Ryan has built guitars for multiple famous guitarists in bands such as Moe., Umphrey’s McGee, Disco Biscuits, and many more. He is currently building me a new guitar that I am hoping will be completed early next year and I couldn’t be more excited! My acoustics consist of both Martin and Breedlove guitars.

• What’s next for you as an artist? – such a tough question in the world of COVID. My passion is to write and play songs. I’m praying venues make it through to when things do finally open up, and I am praying to have a part in the music scene when it does. I can’t really ask for or plan for much more than that.

• What do you do when you’re NOT working on music? – When I am not playing music I try to spend every waking moment with my wife and kids. They sacrifice so much for my dream in music, and I am so blessed for their love and support.

• What sort of non-musical influences do you have? – Everyday people. I am fascinated by our differences, I am fascinated by the strange, and I try to take on life with a curious attitude. I especially take interest in people who live to serve and help others. To me those are the true stars in this world. In the second song on the album, Where Are The Angels, the “Angels” I am referring to are the social leaders I feel we are so badly lacking these days.
  
• Before we go, what do you want to say to fans of the music? – Be kind to each other. COVID has been the ultimate revealer of fragile minds and fragile relationships. I suffer greatly from depression and anxiety. Most of my life I have been ashamed of it. But the more I have been open and honest, the more I find people like me and I am inspired by their stories, and I truly hope I might inspire someone in kind. Take the time to realize that people are afraid and hurting right now, and a person in pain does not necessarily act in a logical way to a healthy mind. If you’re feeling happy and well balanced, reach out to others who may not be and try to be understanding of their mindset. And if you’re not feeling happy and well balanced, reach out to people. It’s ok to say you are not ok. You are not alone!