7eventytwo: A MUSIC BLOG

We’ve had a pretty wild year

Firstly we MOVED! We are now at 41 White Street, but the place feels just the same! Check out photos from our Welcome Home show in May.

We had a final show just before our move in the old space. Was it righteous? Of course it was. Smagg this link and see the righteousness.

In addition to our musical endeavors we have been trying to follow the lead of all the humans coming into our space and stepping up even harder to the activism bat. This year we offered our artistic services to Integrate NYC, a youth-led organization that stands for integration and equity in New York City schools. We helped in designing some of their materials from this year and lending our photographic services to some of their events, get involved with them and the amazing work they do today!

We asked some of the bands that play 7eventytwo some questions. These are those questions.

How long have you been a band? Where do you rehearse?  Do you believe in love at first sight?

The Sectionals

We’ve been playing together for nearly 5 years. I believe in lust at first sight. - Sofia

We either practice at my house or at a studio, and no, I don’t believe in love at first sight. - Mick

I don’t believe in love at first sight. - Cyan

Tell us briefly about a new-ish song and when/how did you write it. What’s it about?

We have a new song called NASA which is pretty good. I’m looking forward to jamming on it. It’s a fun song to play – Mick

It’s one of only couple of songs we have that was born out of a fun jam; I think, whether or not they're the best songs, those ones are the most fun for us to play - Cyan NASA is just me being bitter towards a guy I like. There’s no reason behind the bitterness on his part, I’m just sarcastic as hell to avoid him from seeing the real me. – Sofia

If you could work with any producer on your next album, alive or dead, who would it be?

I’m just gonna say I wanna work with DJ Khaled, he seems fun. - Mick

I’d love to work with George Daniel of The 1975, he creates the most unique soundscapes. I also would kill to work with Brian Wilson… He hears the unheard. – Sofia

I would love to work with Blake Mills as a producer. He's a genius with complicated sounds, and he's still very much alive so it's not impossible. – Cyan

Whats been a favorite new album of 2017 and what's shaping up to be a major summer jam for you?

I JUST listened to Lorde’s ‘Melodrama’ and it is such a great pop record. Also Blaenavon’s ‘That’s Your Lot’ and Jay Som’s ‘Everybody Works.’ My summer jam as of now is “Saw You in a Dream” by The Japanese House.  - Sofia

my favorite album of 2017 so far would have to be No Shape by Perfume Genius. But honestly i haven't listened to enough of this years albums because I'm still catching on last years! A really underrated album from last year was Beyond the Fleeting Gales by Crying; if that one could carry over into 2017 I'd choose that. Also this is an old-ish song but cash machine by dram is a bop if I’ve ever heard one, and I've been listening to it on repeat for the past few days. - Cyan

Lil Yachty's newest album and the single "bring it back" is my new hot summer jam. Joking. – Mick

If a few years from now you were to come back to be a celebrity judge at a 72 battle of the bands, what would you look for in the battle winner?

I’d look for charisma. I want a band that I can sense is deeply connected and tight in playing together, and can communicate a cool vibe to the crowd. - Sofia

If I were a judge I'd look for something new but paying respects to the old but not corny. – Mick

It’s really cool when you can see artists who are really imaginative, and can still be creative within a certain tradition. - Cyan

Blu Ray Poppin’

How long have you been a band? Where do you rehearse?  Do you believe in love at first sight?

We have been a band for about two and a half years. We have band practice at our guitarists place in SoHo. Interestingly enough, we are firm believers in the whole "love at first sight" concept. Alejandro (guitar) and Kabir (Drum set, Marimba, Xylophone, Timpani, Vibraphone, congas, egg shaker, and castanets) met on the first day of high school and instigated the concept of creating a musical union between the two of them.  Soon after, Rafail (Keys) was invited to join the band. So yes. We believe in love at first sight.

Tell us briefly about a new-ish song and when/how did you write it. What’s it about?

A new song that we enjoy playing is a tune called "Fake News". We wrote it early 2017. At the time, Alejandro showed Kabir a cool guitar melody that could potentially turn into a song idea. Later that day, Rafail showed Kabir a really groovy bass line, and so at band practice later that day, Kabir had the idea to combine the two.  Since the tune was written in January, it obviously had some influence from the inauguration of our most recent Commander in Chief. The melody of the tune has an impish, pseudo-satirical tone that is meant to replicate the the bipartisan media frenzy that swept America by storm earlier this year. And that's how "Fake News" was written.

If you could work with any producer on your next album, alive or dead, who would it be?

If we could work with any producer, it would be Flying Lotus. His influence on modern music today cannot be ignored. He's worked with so many of our favorite artists like Kendrick Lamar and Thundercat. He's helped artists achieve their full potential in a studio, a task that sounds easy on paper, but that can take a lifetime to achieve.

Whats been a favorite new album of 2017 and what's shaping up to be a major summer jam for you?

So far in 2017, our favorite album has been More Life by Drake. We really love how he combines Trap and R n' B to create a melting pot of intricate, yet quaint musical resonance. A summer jam that we are currently vibing to is 'Hudson', a modern jazz album written by John Scofield, John Madeski, Larry Grenadier, and Jack Dejohonette. It's great to see jazz evolve into such a seamless linchpin of ideas and the album has certainly influenced us.

If a few years from now you were to come back to be a celebrity judge at a 72 battle of the bands, what would you look for in the battle winner?

Talking with MIKE from [sLUms] after an incredible performance at 7eventytwo’s first show of the 5-borough tour at Silent Barn in Brooklyn.

Hey Mike, you and the whole [sLUms] family are natural born performers. How do you personally get in the mindset to perform? Do you psyche yourself up or just take the energy available at the given moment?  

It's always weird getting in front of people and performing live, I get these really weird butterflies in my stomach. It's a really nasty ass feeling. I perform best when I got my friends and family with me, they help me calm down a lot. Before I perform I always try to just remember who i'm doing it for and put my heart in it and from there i just get lost in it you know.

When you’re lost in it, are you still the same Mike you woke up as, or have you become a different persona on stage called MIKE?

Mike and MIKE are the same people, just like I'm really shy when i’m not on stage or if I’m not rapping so like being on stage or recording always gives me my time to be confident and I want people to feel how I feel for once you know?

For sure. The other thing about your live performances that has always interested us is the way you all feed off each other.  On Valentines day you were in the front row rocking out to 6press and his incredibly emotional / charismatic performance. You knew you were going to have to follow that up and to top it off have Jazz Jodi coming up right after you with a killer set of his own. On some level that must be difficult. It’s clear you guys have such a positive supportive vibe with each other. It makes everyone on the outside really get behind you, but I’m still wondering if you also feel competitive with each other. Is there an aspect of one-upmanship to your group performances?

Sixpress did like the most beautiful performance I ever seen him do and it’s because it came from his heart and his true intentions you know. It was really heart-felt, and i don't think its ever about someone doing better than the other. We do group sets to show that this is for all of us. To show people what [sLUms] is even though we represent it as individuals. I think it's okay to say that we all feel different things but we have a gift when it comes to how we say it and our spirits are just aligned. It's definitely a more feeding off each other type of thing then competitive. Like when bad energy is there, I always do a crappy set just cause it throws me off terribly. Also, Sixpress, Booliemane, Jazz Jodi, King Carter and DJ Masoon are like my brothers. We've gone through some embarrassing ass moments, super struggling moments and mad good ones. We all been through a lot together. We became brothers beyond music, like we genuinely got love for each other.

You’ve been getting some attention lately in the mainstream music press. We saw you in the New Yorker and Pitchfork in the same month.  Has that changed anything for you?

Yeah, it definitely changed a lot. Really quick. Attention is cool but sometimes it can be overwhelming, especially when it’s not asked for or expected. I appreciate it though, I can definitely see my life changing for the better. People change all the time so it really doesn't mean anything to me, I just didn't like when people were acting like I was doing something new. Like, I been working this hard, been putting in this much from the start. People like to act as if they didn't know, but it’s whatever. Shoutouts to the writer who fucked with me heavy though, I appreciate it a lot man.

I know we were thrilled to see you get some recognition that you clearly deserve.  It was cool for us to learn more about Silent Barn at the last 7eventytwo show, they are a collectivist venue without bosses and so their decision-making process was pretty fascinating.  What about [sLUms]? You guys are a collective too, right?  How do you make group decisions?

We don't really have a position of powers, the whole idea is to be collaborative. We're like brothers besides music. We probably spend more time bonding than we do making music, but it all counts at the end. We bond and the music gets better, you know? We go through disagreements but we believe in each other and everybody's insight so we've never really taken a loss when it comes to that. We have deep discussions a lot about how we wanna go about things.

In the [sLUms] documentary you said it takes a village to raise a boy, and [sLUms] is your village, but it seems like when it comes to [sLUms] its more like it takes a village to raise a village. What do you think?

Yeah it’s definitely like that, or it’s just like building a house. You gotta start with a foundation and the different pieces of the houses have to connect in order to be strong. We all learn from each-other and use each others resources to grow.

Are [sLUms] are growing in number? How would you decide to take in another member?  

Nah, [sLUms] isn't growing in numbers. People who book shows and write about us always try and add extra people into the group. It's me, SIXPRESS, KING CARTER, BOOLIEMANE, DJ MASOON, JAZZ JODI. I doubt we're gonna have any new members.  

How did you guys come together in the first place?

We all just met through each other like one by one. I met Ade on Soundcloud and we found we live like one street away from each other and just started kicking it from there. King and Boolie I went to High-School with and we was doing music shit during school a-lot, so I just had them by my sides all the time. King was like my big homie and Booliemane was like my other big homie when King left outta school. Me and Booliemane was listening to all the same shit but he was always ahead of the game when it came to music. Sixpress had introduced me to Jazz Jodi at this basketball park in Chelsea and then he started spitting and I was like damn this nigga nice. He was really just barring out in the park like it was nothing and you kinda tell he never really made a song before but just made verses and shit. Then Jazz Jodi introduced me to Mason because we was looking towards starting to do live shows and shit and none of us knew how to DJ. Mason had been DJ'ing for a while, his pops was a pretty big DJ back in the day.

After you guys won the 7eventytwo battle of the bands last spring, with a truly legendary finals performance, you guys got the chance to do some recording at Brickhaus studios with engineer Daniel Lynas. What was that experience like? Has anything from that session been released yet?  

Daniel Lynas is a super cool dude yo. He made the recording experience super relaxed and whenever we went to record with him it was always a good time you know. We actually recorded the whole Friends Of Ours tape with him.

You recently started making your own beats too, what has that experience been like for you?  

I've been working with beats since like last September/Late August. Beginning was really stressful because I expected the program I use to do everything for me but I learned I had to do some work myself. I've definitely gotten a lot better from my old pieces. It's very cool making your own stuff because it feels mad good when you make something that truly reflects you.

Do you read the newspaper or news sites or anything? How do you stay informed? Are you freaked out by America right now? What kind of politics do [sLUms] advocate?

I don't really read newspapers or go on news-sites but I learn a lot about whats going on by listening to friends, discussions, just interacting with people. I prefer judging society based on interactions with the society instead of reading newspapers or watching the news. I mean, I highkey been freaked out about America before Trump. Black people overall been freaked out by this country. Donald Trump just represent the type of people we try to pretend are not alive. I mean like, 5/6 of Slums are literally political beings. My existence is a part of politics today though, you know? So it's not really advocacy but its fighting our lives and the lives of our brothers and sisters.

Has anything changed for you since Trump has taken office?

Not really, I still live the same life I use to. I always compare it to like when the Great Depression happened, like ain't nothing happen to black people accustomed to America's bullshit so, yeah. I mean like now, it's harder to do basement and house functions cause these conservatives been out here snitching ever since that Oakland thang.

Fresh off their debut performance at 7eventytwo last Friday in which they slayed like seasoned veterans, we caught up with Rickey, Eden, and Carlos of Comatides before and after the show to see what they’re all about.

Where are you guys from, and where did you meet?

We all grew up in different parts of Queens, but we're based in Astoria. We met at LIC High School.

How’d you come up with the name Comatides?

(Rickey): It just came off the top of my head. Eden and I were throwing band names around and this one sounded the least stale.  I like having the name personally, because I've heard many interesting different interpretations from friends.

How does being from Queens affect your sound as a band or the kind of songs you write?

Queens is just a melting pot of urban culture... if that's what you'd call it. The shit you see in the streets, online, in your schools will definitely leave you inspired in some sort of profound or absurd way.

Any insider tips on good bites to eat in Queens?  Asking for a friend...

(Rickey): Definitely Mama's Empanadas on Steinway in Astoria.

Whats your favorite venue in NYC at the moment?

We've seen some crazy shows at Baby's All Right, House of Vans, and Shea Stadium. We're also opening up for Stuyedeyed and The Parrots at Shea in March.

Whats the biggest show you saw this year?

(Eden): GWAR at House of Vans.

(Rickey): DIIV at House of Vans.

(Carlos): Probably Thee Oh Sees at Warsaw.

Favorite album of 2016?

(Carlos): The Mystery Lights - self-titled

(Eden): Daughter - Not to Disappear

(Rickey): DIIV - Is The Is Are

Throughout your set, Eden and Rickey pass the bass and guitar back and forth.  Why the switch?

(Eden): We believe that it adds a bit of variety to our music.  We each have our own individual approaches and playing styles; Our different influences result in interesting and different songs.

How do you write songs as a band?

We usually just present our ideas to the band and add parts to construct magical anthems. The music we make together is different from what we could ever do on our own.

How did you feel about the show at 7eventytwo last Friday?  I thought you killed it. You played with a lot of raw emotion and charisma, you could see sweat pouring off your faces.  

Definitely the most fun and energetic show we've played so far. We had a blast and hope the people liked what they heard from us. More music and shows are to come in 2017. You will see more Comatides.

What are your songs about?

Girls, the election, staying humble, and erectile dysfunction (laughs).

Tell me about the election song.

(Eden):  It’s called Recycling Bin.  It's about having the beliefs of others forced onto you. People refer to freedom of religion as a value that we have in America, but if you try and tell someone that you're a Satanist (for example), everyone will ostracize you and treat you like a freak.

…are you a Satanist?

Eden: (laughs) Not really... I actually believe in Omnism, which is the recognition and respect of all religions.

Very cool. But what would you actually do if you saw Donald Trump walking down the street later tonight?

First of all, I really like your most recent EP. To me it recalls post hardcore/90s indie bands like Slint and Fugazi. But it definitely has some Pink Floyd too. If I had to place it in the contemporary music landscape I’d put it in the company of the Parquet Courts. How’d I do? 

What are some of your biggest influences for this record?  Which band would you most want to open for on a national tour?

I'd definitely want to open for The Yellow River Boys. We're into Pink Floyd and Fugazi, but more directly influenced by Lightning Bolt, Jay Reatard, Pusswhip Bangang, Neil Young, Screaming Females and the Flaming Lips.

Henry Nye said he thinks Bowie's Low album was the biggest influence on this one.

How does this differ from last years Down To Clown? That record was you and Henry doing everything. This one seems to have involved more people. What was the thought process there and how did it affect the final product? How did the recording process evolve between the two?

The last one we recorded in Henry Nye's basement a couple hours a week over a long period, because we basically had to build the whole studio every time. This one we did at the band Yabadum's practice space over two days. Henry Nye wrote, sang, and played bass on the last song for the first time in this band. We also had max Beirne Shafer as a member on this one. Way more synths.

Plus we had the honor of featuring the legendary Max Rebo and the signature Nalargon sound, on his custom Red Ball Jett Keyboard. It's this crazy circular organ that he sits in the middle of. He came up leading the house band at Jabba's Palace. Everyone should check him out.

3 Simple Tips was recorded in two days, is that right?  It’s definitely got a live raw feel to it.  Did you record the basic tracks live?  Did you use a click-track ever? How’d you do the vocals? Were there punch-ins?  Were you limited in how much overdubbing you did?

We did all the basic tracks live, I don't know how to set up a click track. 8 tracks on the board so that was the extent of the instrumental overdubs. 4 drum mics, 1 guitar, 1 bass, so there's room for two extra things per song, besides vocals which we did in Logic later. We basically get everything done, kind of forget about it for a few months and rush the rest. We basically did all the vocals and mixing in the past two weeks.

Did you use any software or plug-ins or is all the sound from real instruments? What kind of synths did you use? You’re good at the Mbira.

We mainly used my Arturia Microbrute, and Charlie from Yabadum's Sequential Circuits Six Trak, a little Casiotone and this electric thumb piano device I found. Jerry Natter used some compressors and delays when mixing it, but thats it.

Similar follow-up questions, you recorded to tape with your tascam 388’ but did you also use a computer? If so, how? How’d you mix it? On the tape machine or did you upload the files and use a program? Did you get it mastered?

It was mixed in Logic, not mastered.

How’d you decide on “3 Simple Tips” for the album title? What are the three tips?

We uploaded the album and didn't have a title and saw one of those ads. I love those ads. Don't read into any of this too much.

Where does the album art come from? It’s really beautiful and bizarre.

Same story, had songs done day of the release and realized we didn't have a cover. Henry sent me that pic he took on a mountain in the clouds in Sicily, I sent to Max and He added his drawing in the middle.

Tell me about covering that unreleased Beatles instrumental track. Where’d you get the idea to do that?

We liked the song. It’s not actually unreleased, it’s on Magical Mystery Tour.

I love the energy and the feel of Splinter of the Mind’s Eye. It’s my favorite track on the record. When did you write it and how did it evolve? What is it about?

Got the title from the first Star Wars Expanded Universe book. It’s not the best book but I liked the name. Wrote the music a month before recording, wrote lyrics when we were recording vocals.

Any plans for the record? If and how you’re going to promote it? Did you look into pressing it— what are you thoughts on cds vs vinyl vs tape vs digital only? Did you approach any labels? Are you going to make a music video?

I'll dub some tapes probably.

Is there a record release show happening?  When and where? I’d love to come.

Fresh off their victory in our first Battle Of The Bands show of 2016 we caught up with Sixpress from the group sLUms. On the heels of one of the most electrifying performances in recent memory at 7eventytwo we hoped to learn a little more about where he came from and whats driving him forward. 

Whats your name?  Where do you live?  What school do you go to?

my name is 6poppa, I live in the sewers and I graduated from the streets.

How long have you been rapping?  How long have you been making beats?

When i was 15 I would write my little raps thinking I was bodying them. I did notice that I was getting better, but the beats I had weren't hitting me (they were DOO DOO).

Everybody wants to steal beats off of YOUTUBE but nobody wants to make it themselves, so that same year, late 2013 I also started producing.

If you’re writing a song from scratch, do you start with a rhyme or a hook in your head and then create a beat or backing track?  Do you start with a beat and start rapping from there? Whats your process like?  

When the time is right, songs just like to create themselves.

How did Slums come together?  It’s kind of a super group.  Can you tell me more about how you formed and what the internal dynamic is like?  How often do you guys all get together, and where do you get together when you do?

Sixpress, Booliemane, Jazz Jodi, King Carter, DJ Mason, & MIKE. We were just a group of struggling ass niggas who started to struggle together. as one. We were little kids with early curfew trying to be a part of a grown man sport.  [sLUms].

Rap is notoriously hard to perform live, but you guys excelled in the live environment.  Why is that?  

Thank you! I always view slums as a band without a gimmick. We are ugly people, we're not that pretty to look at (or a potential boy band for the industry). but the stage is where we find our comfort zone. The chemisrty that we've built for our team is solid, and we just spread the love when the music gets performed.

Can you describe what the experience was like playing at 7eventytwo last Friday at the Battle Of The Bands show that you guys won?  To me, there were a lot of very talented and good bands playing before you guys, but then you started and just brought the energy to a whole other level.  It was incredible to watch.  How did it feel while it was happening?  How did it feel to be performing to a room full of teenagers, many of whom you’d never met before and had never heard of you.  

The other bands were dope man! Badmouth was cool. Them and the rest of the bands had also moved the crowd in so many ways. i was able to let loose while they played, resulting to me dancing with a few friends. It was definitely a humbling experience man, thank you. i was speaking to fellow slum man MIKE about how good it felt to win our first *something* as a group. Our good friends at 72 provided us that opportunity and we made the best of it.

What’s your experience been like at other shows you’ve played compared to the last two at 7eventytwo?

Not every spot has a reliable sound system man, we've learned that the hard way. If the sound is shitty, the crowd is going to be shitty, look shitty and feel shiity, but 72 got dat crispy crisp sound for you to enjoy yourself.

Favorite album of the last year?

Kenrdrick Lamar - TPAB

Is there a Slums album in the works?

:)

What about a six press solo album?

The album starts off with one of the best songs, “Ultralight Beam” with a killer feature from Chance the Rapper, The-Dream & Kelly Price. Kanye said that this album was “a gospel album with a whole lot of cursing on it,” and he really delivered with this first track. It opens slowly with Kanye singing very nicely over some pretty synths and it is beautiful. An amazing choir adds another layer and it really gave me chills. Price sings outstandingly, then Chance comes in and really makes this track wonderful. This song is optimism, happiness and beauty in one. It is the perfect way to open the album. It carries into the two part song “Father Stretch My Hands.”

Part one opens with building synths, and then Kanye drops an amazing Young Metro plug. Right at the end of this plug the song drops. Kid Cudi sings over the track, sounding like he used to before the grunge album. Kanye sings and raps autotuned over this track as well. This song fits well with the first song and makes sense in the album. Part 2 also feels right, but is a total mood switch. This song goes so hard...it’s awesome. The synths with clapping builds this great pulse that Kanye raps over in the intro verse, but in the middle of it he changes his word placement and it sounds like the synths are on the offbeats. It’s a really cool way of playing with the sound and it really helps to build into the drop. At the end of Kanye’s intro verse he uses up and comer Desiigner’s song Panda.

This song goes so hard. These first couple songs are some of the best songs on the album. It’s crazy how much the sound changes throughout the album.

“Famous” ft. Rihanna is a pretty good song but it doesn’t seem to fit with the previous songs. This track has a simple beat with a great sample at the end but it feels off. Kanye has no autotune and sounds a lot more like “old Kanye.” Rihanna has a good feature. This song is a really good song, but I don’t understand where it fits on this album.

Feedback is pretty cool. It has a cool feedback sounding melody and murky / distorted bass and drums. It sounds like it was a “Yeezus” reject. It’s a pretty good song, it just doesn’t seem to fit at all.

“Low Lights” actually works really well as a great intro track for “Highlights.” An uncredited woman speaks really emotionally over a piano and some synths. Even though it’s not a real song I really like it. It’s a really cool artistic choice.

“Highlights” ft. Young Thug really goes back to the sound we heard on the beginning of this album with a lot of cool autotune and some witty lyrics from Kanye. I don’t understand why Young Thug didn’t get to have a verse on this. I’m pretty disappointed he only sang with Kanye on the intro.

“Freestyle 4” is a crazy and funny song. I don’t think it really has a ton of meaning on this album but I like it solely for the craziness in it.

“I Love Kanye” is an acapella freestyle-like song. In addition to being funny it takes a good look at how the media and people view Kanye. Out of the final nine songs(excluding the interludes), only three or four of them are standout songs. The few songs in the later portion of the album I think are great are “FML” ft. The Weeknd, “Wolves” ft. Sia and Vic Mensa, “Frank’s Track” by Frank Ocean, and “Fade” ft. Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign, but “Frank’s Track” is less than one minute! The amount of time given to decent songs should not be greater than the amount given to great songs!

“FML” ft. The Weeknd is a really introspective song where Kanye talks about his struggles staying faithful to Kim, but also how he deals with the people who have always doubted him. The song in itself is very slow in the beginning, but it builds into a killer feature by The Weeknd. He sings in such a strong, beautiful yet chilling voice. I got chills when he came in. One of the best parts of this song is how Kanye sings on the end. It is autotuned, but his voice is scratchy and rough, maybe like he is conveying crying because I feel this deep emotion in his voice. This may be the best song on the album.

“Wolves” ft. Sia and Vic Mensa is a really chill song. The vocals are very good, the beat develops and goes somewhere unlike with “Waves.” Kanye has an awesome sound with his distorted autotune, Vic Mensa doesn’t have a huge part, but he does do well with what he is given. I wish he rapped on this, because I think it might’ve made for a better song. I don’t know how to feel about Sia’s part. She has an interesting voice and her part is good, up until she starts repeating “I was too wild.” That part makes me cringe and I can’t stand about half of her feature. This song is still really cool and it stands out from the others.

“Frank’s Track” is so beautiful!!!!!!! There isn’t a to say about this track as it is under a minute long, but it has a very raw sound, and Frank Ocean sings beautifully. I am so happy because, FRANK OCEAN IS ALIVE!!! There may be an album soon...possibly.

On March 18th, The Vindicators made their 7eventytwo debut and they really blew us away.  We caught up with them later to ask a few questions and get to know them a little better.  We'll have our eyes on these guys going forward, we suggest you do too.

First of all, some basics: What are your names? How old are you? What school do you go to?

Our names are Alec and Chris we are both 14 and Alec goes to Bard and Chris goes to Laguardia.

How long have you been playing with each other? How’d you meet?

We’ve been playing with each other since we were about 11, and we met through our mutual friend, Charlie.

Cool. Besides your two full members, you guys have a third member, he’s a part time drummer/full time manager, is that right?  Can you explain more about what that role consists of?

His name is Isaac. We just recently got him into music and we wanted him in the band somehow but he can’t play any instruments. So we just got him to manage our band and now he comes to every practice and books us gigs. His role is to not only to book us gigs but also he keeps everything organized and helps us with equipment, he also helps out in practices and jam sessions, giving advice and recording.

That’s really awesome. So at the show you guys were both playing Dan Electros, It was a cool look and had a distinct sound.  Whats the story with those guitars?

They sound great and they look badass.

On some songs one of you switches back and forth from drums to guitar. What's the rule of thumb for switching between one or the other?  Are you going to add another member sometime?

What instruments we play on which song really depend on what vibe we want. We are not going to add another member because another member just adds more stress and just makes practicing and creative vision in general much more complicated.

Who are your biggest influences?

Our biggest influences are Brian Eno, Gram Parsons, Iggy Pop, The Kinks, and definitely the Velvet Underground.

I thought you guys had a real Jonathan Richman sound and you guys responded that he still sounds like he's a teenager.  I thought that was on point, especially coming from you guys.  Are you more into the Modern Lovers or his solo career?

Although we love Jonathan Richman’s solo stuff, we think the Modern Lovers debut album is the best album he ever released.  Of course, “Roadrunner” is a great song, but “Hospital” is strikingly beautiful and actually one of the songs that got Isaac into music.

What do you think about Blackstar by Bowie?  

We think it’s a really intense album but a good way to go out.  The way in which it explores death in such a clear and intense way is unbelievably powerful and a great seal on Bowie’s illustrious career.

Well put. Do you guys have any recordings of your own or any in the works?

We have some recordings but they’re all on our phones. There are no future plans so far as we are really waiting until we are completely confident and want to record something professionally.

In the meantime, where else besides 7eventytwo have you played shows and what's your experience been like trying to find venues?

We played one show at this place called the Rock n’ Shop. It was this flea market in the middle of the day, no one really came but it was fun. Our experience has been really hard finding venues, most of the time venues don’t even respond to us.

With that in mind, what are your feelings about your 7eventytwo debut?

It was really fun. We had never performed in an environment like that, everything was much more personal. It was also far more legitimate as a show compared to what we had done before, it felt like we were playing something real.  

Well it was a pleasure to have you. Before you go, what's the best way to discover new music? Asking for a friend...

Research artists that you’re interested in and see what projects they were involved in. You can find really interesting stuff that way.  Another great way is through word of mouth if a friend is really into a song and they get you into it, that’s wonderful.  

One final question. What scares you most about your future?