INTERVIEW: The Velveteins — Music Musings & Such

INTERVIEW:

The Velveteins

___________

SPENCER of The Velveteins…

has been speaking with me about the band's new single, All Night Baby, and what its roots are. I ask about the song’s animated video and whether there will be any more material coming along; whether the group all share music tastes; if we might see some tour dates come through – he tells me how they got together and started playing.

I ask Spencer which new acts we should watch out for; how important it is being on stage and getting the music to the people; the advice for artists emerging – he reveal what they hope to achieve before the end of this year.

____________

Hi. How are you? How has your week been?

Very chill and relaxing. Mid-summer mojo is making everything feel good.

For those new to your music; can you introduce yourselves, please?

We are a band. We play songs we like. Addison (the drummer) and myself (Spencer, the singer/guitarist) write most of the music. We like old '60s Pop bands and newer rippin’ Psych bands and combine that in a way that sounds good to us.

All Night Baby is your new song. How did it come to be? What inspired the track?

We wrote it in mid-winter in 2016. It came together quick and easy. Kind of inspired by the fruitless nights of being young and watching young drunk people stumble around in the dark.

I like the video and its animation style. Can you explain how it was shot?

We shot it ourselves on this old Japanese 3-D film camera. Then, I stitched it all together and animated over top in ways that I thought were interesting.

How did The Velveteins form? When did you all meet one another?

I (Spencer) formed the band when I returned from living in Australia in 2014. We were all somewhat familiar with each other from brief encounters in the Edmonton music scene but I got the word out and asked Addison to be a part of the group. Dean (bassist) came along a little later.

Might we see more material from you in the coming months? Are you working on other stuff?

Certainly. We’re working diligently on new tasty things. Not sure about timeline yet, though.

Do you all have similar musical tastes? What sort of stuff are you all into?

We all have vaguely similar tastes: older '60s Pop and Soul. Newer Indie bands too.

What do you hope to achieve before the end of 2018?

Going on tour again in the fall and perhaps have some new songs out for sure.

Do you think there will be touring dates? Can we catch you on tour?

Yes indeed tour dates. Not to be announced yet but mostly Canada and the U.S.

How important is it being on stage and delivering your music? Is that the best part of making music?

Being on stage is certainly a big part of it, but not the entire picture. Making a record is a whole different experience. One is introspective and the other one just raw extroverted energy. It takes two different minds to do each one. I like making records because it has unlimited potential unbounded by any sort of restraint.

Have you got a favourite memory from your time in music – the one that sticks in the mind?

We got to work with Lincoln Parish who played with Cage the Elephant on our first E.P. That was pretty insane because I grew up loving that band and suddenly here we were using all the same gear they used on Thank You, Happy Birthday. It blew my mind a little bit. Plus, I was only nineteen and couldn’t even go out and drink, so we had to get Lincoln to boot beers for us while we were hanging.