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Interviews, News, Shows, Video Interviews, Videos

Video: The Material talks keeping rock alive on new album

April 30, 2013 Stephanie Amadeus 2 Comments

the material the indie sd san diego soda bar paramore kyle black colleen dagostino — The Material’s lead singer Colleen gives it her all each time she’s on stage.

In a sea of rock bands that are constantly pushing the line closer to pop, The Material prove that they’re here to stay in the alternative game. Being an independent band hasn’t stopped these San Diego locals from performing with the likes of Jimmy Eat World and My American Heart, and as I can tell from the interview we had at their CD release show earlier this month, it’s obvious that there’s even more rocking moments in store for them. They discussed everything about their new album, the interesting process of going into the studio and almost rewriting all of their songs, and what we can expect from them later on this year.

The entire band sat down with me at Soda Bar in San Diego and after comfortably taking up a whole booth, it was easy to see that this group of musicians has little to no problems working together. Colleen D’Agostino, the searing female vocals behind the Material’s music, had just the same edge as her male band mates, holding her own next to the guys as they discussed some of their experiences in the studio.

Guitarist John started off first, being very open and bright-eyed when he discussed some of the song writing and production processes of their latest album, Everything I Want to Say.

the material indie rock pop rock san diego soda bar the indie sd — Guitarist Roy performing at Soda Bar

“Our previous producer, [Brian Grider], was San Diego based, … and we did our first few records with him.” John was referring to the Material’s freshman and sophomore releases, Tomorrow and full-length What We Are, respectively. “He’s super meticulous, super talented, and it was very production heavy, … adding strings, adding synths, adding electric drums.” But anyone who compares the album What We Are with the latest release can probably pick up on a braver approach to their rock sound. John continues to say, “This record [Everything I Want to Say] we did with our friend Kyle Black, … and he came in to do pre-production with us which was the first time we’d ever done that. We had all these songs we thought were done and he came in and started switching everything up.”

It was a process that attempted to throw the five musicians for a loop, but paid off in the end with what could easily be described as a well-rounded, energetic, and rock-heavy album that offers versatility in each song. The Material succeeded in avoiding the dreaded “rock riff” curse of creating a handful of songs that all sound like one another — instead, they were able to do re-writes that gave each song a unique and palatable sound to the ear.

Lead singer Colleen explains that it wasn’t necessarily an easy task. “We just spent six months perfecting this song, we’re not changing it. But ultimately we realized [producer Kyle Black] wants the song to be just as good as we do. Thinking back we’re definitely really happy we listened to him.”

The group was in good hands, since Kyle Black has previously worked with Paramore, All Time Low, and Neon Trees, with most of those groups coming back for more. I asked the band if they planned to continue on the Road to Rock, or veer into the pop sound that many artists have defaulted to in this age, and John notes once again that their powerful rock sound is here to stay.

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“With Dave Grohl putting out the Sound City documentary, it’s super inspiring to be like, ‘let’s just go and sound like five people playing in a room together.'” John says, after the group saw the lead singer of the Foo Fighters speak at his conference at South by Southwest.

Related: There goes my hero…He’s kind of a rock god.

Colleen adds that even though she came from a pop background, it’s inspiring to have a concrete sound and direction for the group. “Every album that we’ve done until now has been kind of straddling the rock and the pop thing.” She adds that her electronic side project, With Beating Hearts, gives her the opportunity to taste the best of both musical worlds. “I’m kind of channeling the pop/electronic stuff in that direction so I can allow myself to just focus on rock in [the Material].”

The Material is more focused than ever, and they rounded up a rambunctious group of fans and followers at their Soda Bar CD release show earlier this month. The crowd eagerly head-banged along with Colleen and the band as they played songs from their new album. The energetic force of a band this size is just a heavy reminder not to underestimate the power of the indie band. As Colleen told me that night, “We’re all on board to do something big and different and amazing.” And amazing it shall be!

More Videos: Carolina Liar at the Griffin

Keep checking the Material’s main site and Facebook page for an upcoming music video for their latest release, Everything I Want to Say! The album is available now on CD and iTunes.

Video by Roman Arriola for SnowGlobe Studios. Follow Snowglobe Studios on Instagram, Vimeo, and Twitter.

News, Reviews, Shows

There goes my hero…He’s kind of a rock god.

October 18, 2011 Stephanie Amadeus 4 Comments

It’s been a long time coming…

Concert — The Viejas was nearly sold out for The Foo Fighters. 10/17/11

But this Foo Fighters fan has finally attended one of their shows. Last night the Foo Fighters rocked the Viejas Arena, and pretty much dissolved any doubt that rock ‘n roll is ‘dead’. Dead? Rock ‘n roll is alive and it’s kicking ass and taking names. It’s stealing hearts and kissing your girlfriends (but then apologizing about it later because it really is a nice guy.) All of the highlights of last night’s show can be expressed in a long string of play-by-play that lead up to the ultimate grand finale.

The best part of this entire performance was “Monkey Wrench” and here’s why. If the mini pit that broke out on the floor wasn’t enough to get your hearts kicking – elbow in the face anyone? That’s what a rock show is all about, for some – or if it wasn’t the always impressive showmanship of Taylor Hawkins’ drum solos, then maybe this would have done the trick: Like previous Foo fashion, the band dimmed the lights in the entire arena and spoke sweet nothings to the audience as rockers all over the floors and seats whipped out their lighters. Not iPhones or Blackberries, lighters. I couldn’t have been more proud of San Diego. I think I might have cried. (But I didn’t).

I almost want to call “Monkey Wrench” the climax of the night, but that was not the case. Dave Grohl was just getting started. Everything before then was a dinner and maybe a movie, because the Foo Fighters are kind of polite like that. When he dimmed those lights and started yelling the lines “One last thing before I quit”, he had us locked in. From then on out, their set was a vigorous exhibition of foreplay, getting us completely riled up and in the mood, ready for the real climax, the real ending. The entire stage painted a red backdrop and “All My Life” began roaring out of the speakers at an intensity and energy that you just can’t get from a recording, and Dave and his naughty band mates had had their way with us. By this point we were legs spread eagle, ready to be rocked for a finale that already asked for an encore before it even ended.

I have to love the cockiness of Dave Grohl, because when the music went quiet and the people yelled, nay begged for an encore, Dave wasn’t simply content with that. He definitely wanted to make us scream their names one last time, and we did. With a venue like Viejas, nestled on a college campus, they tend to have curfews for the events that are held there. Dave knew that this would be an all-nighter, and the curfew was lifted for the performance, probably for the lengthy encore that the band had in mind for their fans. Even during the encore, which was a four song set, the band still had surprises up its sleeve, and you have to really thank a band that isn’t simply content on walking out and saying “alright one more”, playing a song, and leaving. Yeah, maybe that’s how the regular guys do it, but with the Foo, they still needed the electronically raised stage. They still needed the stage lights that made the entire set look like a scene from Guitar Hero. They still needed the screens displaying every sweat drop that fell from their hair. They still had to rock you out of your seats.

“Times Like These” performed during the encore set.

And sometime during all of that, he found a moment to raise the house lights and speak to the audience. We already felt like we really knew the Foo Fighters up to that point. But now, by the end of the show, you felt like you were a part of the family.