Blog Topic: Q&A

Homedrone: Win Tickets: Q&A with Kevn Kinney, Playing The World Famous Tonight

By Dan Mistich | January 9, 2014 12:20pm

Few musicians living outside of Athens have local ties that run as deep as Drivin' N Cryin' frontman Kevn Kinney. Flagpole pinned him down for a chat before his show this evening at the Melting Point The World Famous (ed. note: This show has been moved) with Chuck Mead and Angie Aparo.

We've got two pairs of tickets to this show to give away. To win, tell us why YOU deserve to go for free in the comments after the jump. We'll choose two winners at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

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Homedrone: Q&A With Father John Misty, Playing Georgia Theatre Saturday

By Austin L. Ray | October 23, 2013 11:15am

Photo Credit: Maximilla Lukacs

Father John Misty

Long before he rechristened and rejuvenated his creative spirit as Father John Misty, Josh Tillman was a busy musician. He released several full-length records under the J. Tillman moniker, and spent a few years playing drums for Fleet Foxes during the band's rise to indie-folk prominence.

But in May 2012, not even four months after playing his final show with the band, he released Father John Misty's Fear Fun, a refreshing, delightful, and occasionally hilarious record that does a jig in the face of typical "acoustic singer-songwriter" music. His fun-loving, dance-inducing, wise-cracking new take on the world was warmly received, and he's spent most of his time since touring, both in a headlining capacity and with other buzzy artists like The Walkmen, Youth Lagoon, and Wild Nothing.

Consider this the victory lap, then. Before getting to work on Fear Fun's follow-up, Tillman has announced a series of solo dates (supported by hilarious avant-comedian Kate Berlant) that will take him into November, and find him visiting the Georgia Theatre this Saturday, Oct. 26. In the name of journalistic integrity, your humble Flagpole correspondent spent 17 minutes and 34 seconds grilling Tillman with a series of very important questions and very deep thoughts. Thankfully, he gave them the attention they deserved.

Read on after the jump.

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Homedrone: Q&A With Angel Olsen, Playing Normaltown Hall Tuesday

By Gabe Vodicka | October 7, 2013 11:35am

Someone needs to get Angel Olsen's parents to kiss at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, and fast!

When Flagpole caught up with Olsen last week, she was wrapping up a rehearsal in Chicago with her new band, which will back her at her Normaltown Hall appearance Tuesday, Oct. 8. Talking over the traffic on Milwaukee Avenue, amidst professions of adoration for her adopted hometown and Esoteric Tapioca, she discussed her writing process and the unexpected freedom that comes with being a touring musician.

Interview after the jump.

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Homedrone: Drive-By Truckers' Patterson Hood Talks New Lineup, New Album

By Dan Mistich | August 21, 2013 11:06am

If you’re following his output closely, you might get the impression that Patterson Hood from Drive-By Truckers will sleep when he’s dead. In addition to writing reflective essays about how growing up in the South influenced the band’s Southern Rock Opera, playing solo shows around the country, writing songs to protect downtown Athens from a Walmart eye-sore, and blazing through recording sessions with fellow Athenian David Barbe at the helm, Hood stays awfully busy.

Hood might not have a lot of free time on his hands, but he and his band have managed to squeeze in their annual August appearances at the Georgia Theatre this weekend. They’ll be joined Friday by Tuscaloosa-based rockers the Dexateens and on Saturday by Fly Golden Eagle, stationed out of Nashville.

Although Hood is perhaps the most public and vocal member of the band, DBT has long functioned as a unit that extends beyond those who hold instruments during recording sessions and on tour. Hood is grateful for the contributions that have made the band a success, both in Athens and around the globe.

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Culture Briefs: Q&A With Spectacular Now Director James Ponsoldt

By Gabe Vodicka | August 2, 2013 6:21pm

James Ponsoldt

The Spectacular Now, which opens today in L.A. and New York, is not Athens native James Ponsoldt's first feature-length film (it's his third, following 2006's Off the Black and last year's Smashed) but it's by far his most personal. Set in Ponsoldt's hometown, and shot here last summer, the movie documents a budding high-school relationship. But it's no breezy teen rom-com, having already earned rave reviews from outlets like The New Yorker.

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Homedrone: Q&A With Local Grindcore Band Gripe, Playing Caledonia Lounge Thursday

By Ernie LoBue | June 19, 2013 12:58pm

Flagpole recently caught up with Brandon, DJ and Tom from local grindcore band Gripe to discuss the circumstances surrounding the group's upcoming "final album." Also: robots, alcohol, dystopia. Read on:

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Homedrone: Q&A With JoJo Glidewell of Modern Skirts

By Jodi Murphy | April 5, 2013 10:42am

After a final handful of shows, local pop heroes Modern Skirts will hang it up—for good, they say. Flagpole chatted with the band's guitarist and pianist JoJo Glidewell about what he'll take away from the band's 10-year run.

Flagpole: What’s first on the agenda now that you're done with Modern Skirts?

JoJo Glidewell: I’ve been working with of Montreal for about a year now… I’m guitar tech-ing, and then they dress me up, and I’ve been playing with them a little bit recently. So it’s this like kind of getting to do everything sort of job and they’re great to tour with, and I’ve been enjoying that a lot. Also, I’m in a cowboy choir that just started this week.

FP: Do you feel free from the responsibility of Modern Skirts?

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Homedrone: Q&A With Little Tybee, Playing Melting Point Tonight

By Sydney Slotkin | March 6, 2013 2:40pm

Flagpole: You've been billed before with Adron. How did you start playing with her, and what makes her a good fit for y'all?

Little Tybee: We have known Adron for a few years now. She was a guest vocalist on our second album, Humorous to Bees, and will sing harmonies live from time to time with Little Tybee. She is an amazingly talented songwriter. I think her sound and Little Tybee's sound complement each other well because both bands share some really great musicians who pay a lot of attention to the details. I also think that both bands don’t follow trends and popular peer pressure when crafting their sound. We are both trying to create something new and unique.

FP: Your new album, For Distant Viewing, comes out Apr. 9. Can you talk about the evolution since Humorous to Bees?

LT: For Distant Viewing represents a more realized version of Little Tybee. We have been playing together for a long time now, and we know exactly how each member writes parts and what they will bring to the writing process for the songs. At a certain point in playing with other musicians, you start to develop a language of your own, and I guess we have just become more and more fluent over the years together. With this album, all of the band members were more directly involved in writing the songs. Josh Martin wrote two of the instrumental tracks, "Fantastic Planet" and "Left Right." That is a new feature that hasn't happened in our previous albums. We were inspired to write together, as a cohesive unit, and I think that it marks a huge improvement and a fuller sound.

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Homedrone: Q&A With Lantern, Playing Farm 255 Tonight

By Dan Mistich | March 5, 2013 10:27am

Give a listen to Lantern’s latest release, Dream Mine, and you might wonder what planet the band is from. From the ambient-dance sounds of "Untitled" to "Out of Our Heads," which drips of garage rock goo, it’s clear that the band’s musical palate runs the gamut. Flagpole recently caught up with Lantern guitarist Zachary Fairbrother to discuss the relationship between gritty cities and rock and roll, the risks of defining punk, and what it’s like to be a lo-fi rocker with a background in music composition.

Flagpole: You mention on your Bandcamp page that Dream Mine is a “loose concept album” that is a “a tribute to '80s dystopic cyber punk.” Can you say something of the concepts running throughout the album?

Zachary Fairbrother: I wouldn't say there is an obvious narrative throughout the EP, because there isn't. The concept more came about while I was putting the tracks together for the release. When we were finished assembling it we were like, "Wow, this really sounds scary." It comes off very cold and bleak. The idea of it being a tribute to '80s dystopic-cyber punk came from the track, “Untitled,” which I composed as a project separate from Lantern all together. It was the theme for an imaginary cyber punk movie. I really love the look of those movies, the gritty noir, the '80s technology. The '80s definitely seemed to have a fear of technology unlike today. We, however, might want to ask ourselves some of these questions again, but that's another discussion.

Also, there are lots of industrial themes running through the EP as well, such as “Fool's Gold,” “Train Song,” “You Can't Deny Me (Revisited).” I sort imagined it as a future primitive. To compare it to a movie, it might be like Escape from New York or The Warriors. We are playing rock and roll—it's an old genre, but we want to present it in a new a fresh way, or it might be thought of how punks in the future [will] try to play punk from the past.

FP: Although you’re originally from Canada, you’re now based out of Philadelphia. Despite being the City of Brotherly Love, your new home has a reputation of being a pretty rough place. How does the environment of Philly influence your music?

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Homedrone: Shonna Tucker: The Flagpole Q&A

By Gabe Vodicka | December 5, 2012 6:00am

After a long stint as bassist for the Drive-By Truckers, Shonna Tucker left the band in late 2011 to take a break from the road and focus on her personal creative development. Now, armed with the help of a new band, Eye Candy, she is gearing up for the release of her debut solo record. In an email convo, Tucker chatted with Flagpole about music, food and sweet donkey love.

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