#slowmotioncommotion

In 2013, Shane Deaver and I were just a couple of young punks, dealing with immense grief, righteous and impotent anger, and a deep yet ineffable yearning. We would take those feelings and our guitars to a bench at Loose Park in the time between evening and morning, trying our best to bottle them into words and chords played at speeds fast enough to draw blood.

We didn’t know at that time the journey this would take us on. In the years to come, we would collaborate and become friends with some truly incredible people, we would play shows with some our favorite musicians, and most of all, we would get to be involved in and help build an amazing community. Some of the best memories of my life only had the chance to happen because we made the choice to share our music with the world. It is perhaps the thing in my life that I am most proud of doing. What we put out was raw, imperfect, but honest to ourselves and our feelings. All we could have wanted out of it was for one person, who was dealing with their own sorrow and rage and doubt, to hear it and to know that at least somebody out there has felt those things too. But we got so many more than one. Even now, after 5+ years of essentially being dormant, we still receive messages from people halfway across the country who have managed to stumble onto our music and just want to tell us how much it means to them. It is a surreal experience, and one that never fails to humble me.

There are so many people that supported us on our journey, to list all of them would be impossible. But I want to shout out just a few of them: Marion Merritt, Ann Stewart, Mark Manning, Nate Allen, Taylor Marie Gwin, Nate Knepper, John Hanson, Sarah Hanson, Joanie Flanagan, Christi Deaver, Ron Deaver, and so many many more. To anyone who ever took the time to listen to one of our songs or come out to one of our shows, know that you will always have a place in my heart and I can never thank you enough.

Live a life electric ⚡️ And stay rad, y’all.

do it it’s surprisingly easy.

SLOW MOTION COMMOTION Interview #20

Could you introduce yourself?

We're Slow Motion Commotion! We're made up of Ian, Shane, and Nathan. 

What’s the story behind the name?

I: We'd been trying to come up with a name for a while, then one night we were playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and somebody picked up that item that slows down time, and Shane says "it's like a slow motion commotion up in here" and we just kinda looked at each other wide-eyed and shouted "THAT'S IT" and then we just kinda yelled for a bit. 

What attracted you to music as your medium of choice, how did it all start?

S: I like music because I think it can convey more emotion than other mediums. Paintings are just like...paints. Y'know. As for how it started, Ian and I had both been playing music for a while and one night we went to a park at like 1 am and wanted to write a song. We wrote Ballad of Antonio (Pt. 1). 

I: Actually the first song we wrote was about a dude going to a grocery store to get Cosmic Brownies and threatening a woman's life when she almost takes the last box. That one didn't make the album though. And I like music just because it's one of the areas where what I can actually kinda reproduce what I hear in my head. I've tried other mediums but music just feels the most natural to me. 

N: I just think music is cool. 

Biggest influences?

Andrew Jackson Jihad, River City Extension, Lil' B (says Shane), Gregory Alan Isakov, Joe Pug, and others. We listen to a lot of music so we kinda pull from a lot. 

How have you grown since you started making music?

I: I've found that songwriting helps me process my emotions better, and the better I can do that, the more confident I feel in my songwriting. It's a nice cycle. 

N: Vertically. 

S: I like what Nathan said. 

Is there any genres you’d like to experiment with in the future?

Shoegaze, dream pop, drone, black metal, wall noise, power electronics, field recordings, ambient spacegaze, progressive dreamfunk, prog rock, noise rock, and hip hop in the vein of Waka Flocka Flame mixed with Why?. We plan on being very busy for a while.

Who are some of your favorite music artists?

We're lazy, so we're just gonna link you to our last.fm pages. 

Nathan, Shane, Ian

Also, see influences. 

How would you explain your style?

Sad angry folk played fast and aggressively (with a dash of self-deprecation)

How important is image to you?

You tell us. 

Any venues you’ll never forget playing at, your favorites, etc?

We once played a show in downtown KC that was literally all hip-hop except us, which went over about as well as you would expect. That was a fairly memorable night.

Could you give us a hint on what direction you plan to go with your music in 2014, any projects you have up and coming?

We are slowly but surely working on a new album, and we are also looking into possibly getting Nice Things Don't Happen to Assholes Like Us CD's made up. Other than that, we're just playing shows around KC, although we may be trying to get out to Indianapolis for a folk festival hosted by The Suburbanists in the summer. That's still in the works though. 

What makes you happy?

S: Lil' B. 

N: Bein' in the woods. 

I: When famous people talk to me on Twitter. 

Any closing comments?

S: This would have been a lot less productive if it hadn't been a written interview. 

I: Check out our Tumblr and drop us a line sometime! www.slowmotioncommotion.tumblr.com 

N: The end. 

__________

Interviewed by POI

Holy shit guys guess whaaaaaat

I finally got off my ass and made our t-shirts available to buy through our Bandcamp page! You can now rep your favorite folk punk band AND our beloved home state for only $15 (plus shipping)!