Off the Record

Tyler Farnes 0:00
This is WKNC 88.1 FM HD one Raleigh, I am your host The Loaf and this is off the record at interview podcast series here at the station where artists of all shapes, sizes, genres and backgrounds are interviewed. In this edition I had the pleasure of speaking with Flood District a synth pop band from Raleigh and see from the Raleigh NC area on the heels of their latest album release, Eden To Carry the song you just heard before that was wish you well offer that offer their latest album. How're you guys doing? Glad to have you here? You guys doing good?

Michael 0:30
We're doing well.

Matt 0:31
Yeah, I'm filled with misery.

Michael 0:33
We're mostly good. Well, no,

Matt 0:35
that's a good thing.

Tyler Farnes 0:37
So So introduce yourselves. You know your names. It was since you play no role in the band. If you have anything other than playing instruments, you know? What's up with it?

Michael 0:46
Hello, I'm Michael. I am the singer and the player kind of and sometimes other stuff too. Hello,

Kasey 0:57
my name is Canary Casey. I play guitar. And sometimes might sing if you're lucky.

Matt 1:04
We're all really lucky when Casey sings. I'm that I play guitar. And that's it.

Austin 1:12
Austin, I play bass. And our drummer John is unfortunately not with us.

Tyler Farnes 1:18
So are you guys all originally from the Raleigh area and served as like have you lived here your your entire lives? You're moved here like what's up with it?

Michael 1:27
It's a mixture me and Matt have been in and around Raleigh, most most or all of our lives. Casey is more from like, Greensboro seen. And we met a long time ago when I would in my old band play out there. And vice versa sometimes. And Austin, I think moved here a long time ago. But I don't think Austin has also doesn't have like roots in the local scene. This is this is Austin for me.

Austin 1:54
Yeah, I am from Northern Indiana and central Indiana. I moved down here in high school. So I've been in North Carolina for a good chunk of my life. And like I really got into the music scene around here. So like, my musical roots, kind of are here. Um, and I have some great great friends around here. present company included.

Tyler Farnes 2:16
Cool, thank neat. Matt.

Matt 2:21
Well, I'm from here, Michael said,

Tyler Farnes 2:23
Oh, I'm so awesome.

Matt 2:25
But also, I still live here. And I will never leave because that would let my enemies when

Michael 2:34
that disintegrates if he ever is taken out of ticket I can never leave.

Tyler Farnes 2:41
So. So today all we are pretty are like more like veterans of the industry. You guys have been around for a while you guys have been in a lot of a lot of groups. Is that sort of a good general feel or get to know Austin? Matt, you guys are in Duxton. Roy, Michael. Sorry, Mike. And Matt. Y'all from Jackson, Roy. And yeah, so,

Michael 3:01
um, I mean, I don't think of it that way. I we've just been we've just been playing since we were like 1415 like and have been around here the whole time. But, um, hello, what are you? What are you saying?

Matt 3:17
I mean, I think the fact that we met in the back room of the brewery probably makes us seem veterans on its own.

Austin 3:25
So this is actually my first band and I've been with Flood District for five years now. Right. Okay. Yeah. So I'm a veteran of Flood District and nothing else. No, I haven't. I haven't been bass for you know, since I was like, 14, so okay. I I've been around just not visual.

Michael 3:47
Yeah.

Matt 3:48
Two places

Austin 3:49
more states than Michael or Matt.

Tyler Farnes 3:53
Okay. More states more scenes, I guess.

Kasey 3:57
Not a Richard measuring contest. And this is Kasey, I, I'm from Greensboro and I've been in several bands in Greensboro. This is my first band in Raleigh, but I've found such a great community here. And for my solo musical project Canary complex. I've sort of decided to locate myself here in general. Yeah, because there's not exactly a scene for it and Greensboro.

Tyler Farnes 4:23
Nice nice. Um, so you guys kind of hinted at it. How long has for district this project or ban or how are you like to formulate a bid around that I know that you guys have had singles dating back from to like 2020 but obviously like with most bands like it's way before Yeah, singles or anything like that. So it's

Michael 4:46
so this band is weird in that regard. And I'll be brief. Yeah. The technical answer to how long has flood district existed is 10 years. Okay, when I was in college, in 2013, I was in a death metal band called Lorelai. And I wanted to play. I wanted to be in a band that wasn't a metal band also. And my tastes and music can be a bit peculiar. I guess not me, that sounds pretentious, but like, and I don't. And I didn't really find the specific thing I was looking for anywhere. So I came up with the name and I was like, that's the name like, it's just a vibe. It was just naming a vibe. Oh, yeah. The vibe that I was thinking of 10 years ago, is the exact vibe that's on you to carry. But I didn't know how to make it. So okay. I downloaded Ableton and spent years writing ideas and figuring out how to use DAW and figuring out to produce and getting better at singing. And in that time, like Lorelai, splits up. I tried various people involved in the group. At the time, I was in Wilmington at UNC w. And then I relocated back to Raleigh. I, once again trying to bring people in and then slowly starting with Matt, just start grabbing people. Yeah, over the years, starting in like 2013. So Matt and Austin came in around the same time. And

Matt 6:34
I'm pretty sure you had Austin, it was the other way around, asked me because I'm pretty sure you you had asked Austin, it's within a few weeks, you asked me to join this band at the Justin Roy EP really sure that is

Michael 6:47
true, I think, oh, outside after each other news be in my new band. And then Casey, I've known for years. And very specifically, remember, I've always wanted to be in a band with Casey because we've played together since 2012. Maybe in when he was in his band in Greensboro. And it just never worked out. And then case you heard like, something we had maybe it was like it used to be it was like, I really want to be in a band like this. And I was like, Well, maybe you should be at a band. Maybe you're lucky. Maybe this exactly. And, and yeah, and then our most recent person we've got was John who's not here a drummer who's also in the Prague, Prague death metal group worldwide with Ron who is excuse me, Greg. technically true, because he played in the Assassin's Creed soundtrack. But congratulations. Waffle, anyway.

Matt 7:58
Falafel about this.

Michael 8:01
But yeah, and he's been like, John me? Well, he's not, you're not on the record, because he joined after the record was done by like

Matt 8:08
the record, he's,

Tyler Farnes 8:10
he's off. Like,

Michael 8:11
he's like, he's like, one of the best drummers in the state, he has to be you has to be, like,

Austin 8:17
struggling with the songs that we wrote. And then John is like, yeah, I've got it down and adds more to it.

Tyler Farnes 8:23
Nice, nice,

Michael 8:24
really peculiar. I hope you can get all the stops, I can help you do that. already. I know. That's why yell.

Tyler Farnes 8:33
So this was definitely sort of a side project for you, Michael. And that is sort of like translated over to a sort of like a full fuller project with sort of everybody else,

Michael 8:45
I kind of always wanted it to be a main project. And, and then it just kind of has become one. It's just like, I didn't come up with like, any of the kind of like, like, normal background to do a band like this, or training for it. I mean, nor did any of us really, but like, it just took a really long time to be able to do the record. And I didn't even know what it was supposed to sound like I just know what is supposed to feel like. So once it started feeling like we could actually make it very quickly. It was like, this is the thing, this was the main thing.

Tyler Farnes 9:16
Okay. And, and as everybody else first, with demand sort of share that sort of same, I guess, vision or sort of just like tone like very closely with you. Michael was sort of like asking everybody like, do you all kind of like to sort of just like this noise in this tone that you've produced? And it's something we've all been searching for? Is it fair to say like, knowledge is

Kasey 9:36
challenged? I think we all sort of share Michael's vision from the get go. I mean, I'm speaking for the other bandmates, of course, maybe they can chime in. But for me, especially Michael and I shared this background in being really fond of visual K, which is a Japanese sub genre, like I should say, but it's much bigger than the term sub genre, but it's a style of rock music. That's all only popular in and of Japan. But we have been obsessed with some of the same bands. Like we grew up with we yeah, we we raised ourselves on it. And bands like lunacy because that those are the bands that inspired me to play the parts that I play. And I know that Michael gets a lot of his songwriting cues from that type of music as

Michael 10:20
well. Yeah, yeah, they're all there and all over the place. But I mean, what do you what do y'all think?

Matt 10:27
I just play hair metal like to go over all of our hair, metal and post rock. It's just what I'm doing over every strip do Yeah. So I think,

Austin 10:35
importantly, not just the music, but like, the people in this band are like, the kind of people I want to surround myself. Cool. Like Michael has curated a friend group, and picked out people specifically for this band, because of their talent. And because of their personality, we all gel really well together. Like, I consider this band, not just like a musical project, but like some of my closest friends. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. On top of that, I'm, like, we explore pop music in a very unique way to us, I think, in that we approach it from metal and rock in visual K. And we kind of are able to express pop in our own ways. Yeah, that to me, is what really sells me on this is that I can play, you know, a metal baseline, I can play a funk baseline, I can play a pop baseline, maybe on the same song. And like, get that feel of it. And I can express myself in ways that I wouldn't be able to in any other band, with this music

Tyler Farnes 11:41
or speaking, I guess to the music and sort of I guess how the tone is and how you define that is, is what you were saying? Awesome wishes for like very much make some sort of like, pop and served as like metal and just sort of just like a whole bunch. It seems like a whole cacophony of noise inspiration is that how is that how you would try to, I guess define your tone and your style, at least with the band? Or is it sure just like, do you have more sort of like, put down a tee? Or is it kind of like all over the place? Is this

Michael 12:11
the Austin specifically or broadly?

Tyler Farnes 12:12
This everybody? Sorry? Yeah, yeah.

Michael 12:14
Um, I mean, I feel like I can answer that decently well, um, I am from a songwriting perspective, like, I'm very interested in like, genre tropes, and like genre as like, an idea. But I am not interested in like, playing a genre. Like just like, just like, Oh, we're this period, right? Like, there is more of like, a shared aesthetic. It's a little nebulous, it's a little hard to, like, define. I feel like if you've, if you've listened to it through, you say like, oh, there's like some songs that are like synth pop songs and other songs that have like big, like, distorted guitars and like walls of like, almost like, like Deftones, like, style. I don't know, chorus guitars and stuff. And it's like, listening all right through it. They don't feel like different bands, or different styles or different vibes all in this shared feeling. It's more taking these all these things, exploring them to their fullest, and then saying, How does this fit into this kind of nebulous aesthetic that we all certainly feel and understand, um, don't necessarily know how to put in the work. That's hard to it's probably terrible. Podcast material. It is true.

Tyler Farnes 13:31
I mean, it definitely seems like that fun district is definitely more of an exploration into sort of, like more the sort of nebulous tones and aesthetics that that you've described, which, you know, I guess, moving on to aesthetics. I think that is one of the most important things of your band and things I definitely grabbed me a lot. I love how you guys were all black, how it was very disparate, like cynthy Pops were like more cyberpunk anarchist type field, which is what I got, personally. So yeah, so how important is aesthetic for for all of you collectively in this band, and sort of stuff in general, just outside of the music, and just sort of,

Austin 14:17
not at all. We don't have any aesthetic tastes at all.

Tyler Farnes 14:21
You either it's cool music videos with like those CRT TVs. I just like

Matt 14:25
I had nothing to do with any of those. I wear nothing but gym shorts and T shirts. I dress however Casey tells me.

Kasey 14:35
Yeah, I do feel like I'm sort of the I don't know the very demanding Mother of the band. It's true. Yeah, I will always call them the night before a photoshoot or a video shoot and say what are you wearing tomorrow? And I think that comes from Michael and I we have this shared interest in what I was speaking of earlier, the Japanese As you okay, they have a very specific aesthetic that really complements and flows really well with the music. And we're not copying that image, but we're trying to bring the spirit of that our group, we know that it's not exactly a popular thing in the area or in America in general. And so we feel like it can bring a different element to what we're putting out.

Tyler Farnes 15:24
Okay.

Michael 15:26
Yeah. Also, like, that's like a very genuine, that's like a very genuine expression for us. Like, it isn't just like, oh, this is a thing that's popular somewhere else. And does not that I think that's what it sounds like, either. But like, it's not just it's like, oh, this is the thing. It's private somewhere else is like, again, like this to us is like, stuff we've been listening since we were 13. It is both sound and a look at that stuff I've always been personally interested in, but felt really uncomfortable exploring in the past and my old pans, because I didn't feel like it was something I could do. Like a lot of people who make music like that look very pretty. And I did not think that was thing I could do. But doing this, it's kind of also like an exploration of like, like being like, the best version of this isn't only me, only speaking for myself being like the best version of myself under this very specific aesthetic, which is almost like, the version of myself I want to be and want to look like the music videos are kind of the same way. Like, like, there's, on one hand, like they're very straightforward. Performance videos. There's no grand on purpose. There's no grand concept. There's no narrative. There's no like, there's no message. It's just supposed to be a vibe, because I think the vibe of like bands playing and looking cool. It's cool. Like, that's all there. Yeah. So like, I mean it fully to just looking cool on purpose. You know, okay, as far as possible, okay, that's

Matt 16:59
the visual kinesthetic, is very androgynous in a really interesting way. And I remember the first time I ever saw Casey, back in your old band, that you were so hot. Casey, Casey, Casey, like 10 years ago, looked like an anime protagonist and still kind of does.

Tyler Farnes 17:24
I could see that. Yeah,

Kasey 17:25
thank you. Thank you.

Austin 17:26
I think also the, it gives me personally an outlet for wanting to look cool without having to, like, maintain an image all the time, like I practice, you'll see me in like, socks, sandals, and a fanny pack. And then on stage, you know, or

Matt 17:41
you're wearing sandals and no socks, right?

Tyler Farnes 17:45
Wheres your fanny pack.

Austin 17:49
The fanny pack today, but yeah. We're gonna be taking pictures. So I wanted to look, you know, at least presentable. I like, I think part of my aesthetic is like, I get to look like, you know, a tourist, you know, one day, and then you know, I'm punk rocker, the next. Okay, um, which like, I don't have to maintain it all the time. It's just when, specifically for the band, boom. Yeah, I look. I look amazing for one day. And that's it.

Matt 18:19
You look great every day. Oh, thank you.

Tyler Farnes 18:21
I definitely love that, that, that concept. And that, that note that, that sort of feeling of like cards, like flipping on and off a light switch? Oh, yeah. Where it's like, it's super easy, but it's also just something that you want to do sometimes, but not all the time. Because if you do it all the time, it takes a lot of energy or like a lot of work. But but but you know, doing it every once in a while. It's definitely seems like you know, it's it's it's very nice. I I personally relate to that a lot, especially with them with I guess my sort of radio presence in general. But yeah, so I guess now going more towards I guess, the music specifically and your new album, Eden to carry? It seems like this was a long time in the making, and it is definitely it definitely shows because it isn't very good album. Well, it's definitely better. It definitely Phil was I guess a lot of release fruit. For me personally, it's definitely sort of just like a sort of a base layer of just sort of like a synth and sort of rock in general. And then you sort of build onto it with many different things and layers and inspirations and sort of aesthetics and motivations in that music. Where it's definitely like each song is there different things about it that can make it almost completely different or just like it doesn't seem a coat, like is cohesive together. But it really is very cohesive because you always have that base layer of just sort of everything and sort of inspiration. And I enjoy that a lot. Especially with stuff like I'd rather feel nothing and she's like more city pop and sort of just like a lifetime because you die. It's more sort of like I guess more grounded. Um, how do you guys see the your album? Do you definitely see it more as that sort of cacophony of stuff and just sort of stuff in general or like, how do you feel about this album and sort of like how it transpires? Um, I'm sorry.

Michael 20:23
No, that's fine. Um, well, actually, no, that's a really great way to frame it, in my opinion, and to talk about it, because that is kind of how I think about it. Like, there's something like, like, you mentioned Lionheart, right? Like, I only like recently was able to, like, put that, like, listen to it and not hear it as just like a huge, like, cacophony of like, the 20 things I was trying to rip off. Yeah, over the course of time took me to write the song. And it also takes me part of that is because I, like we obviously were all a part of like, like, making the music but like, a lot of this stuff, kind of for this group. I do a lot of stuff on my own efforts, at least on this record on the future. It may not it probably won't go that way. But, um, so like, with life's hard It starts as like, Oh, I'm trying to rip off like, like, one Atrix point ever, and I'm putting in like, weird like synthesizers, and like the pianos and the vocals and then but I don't but I but my voice doesn't sound like that. So it comes out differently. And then I'm trying to rip off like, like killing joke and Buck Dick, and doesn't come out like that. And like, that's fine. And then it's back to the et cetera, et cetera. Then the middle of suppose sound like Cocteau, twins, right? Yeah. And it just, but when I then I'm like, so I'm hearing all this stuff. And then I like actually put it on recently, and I just heard it as a song. Not like all the things I was trying to do. Yeah. Oh, yes. The rock song. Yeah. No, it usually goes in the reverse. Like sleepyheads the same way literally started as like, me making like ambient synthesizer music with like, the vocal all of the vocals. And then I was like, I liked this vocal too much. Let's make it a rock. Okay, so that it's, it is really chaotic. But ideally, when it's done, it is not. There's just a lot of like me, neurotically on the computer. Yeah, until. And then, of course, like, passing over to y'all. That's just my interpretation. But I'm curious what y'all think.

Austin 22:15
So I think that we get a lot, a lot of influences, and we kind of like, put them into this melting pot. And then Michael has like this vision most of the time, and he's doing most of the writing and production, though, like, we've kind of like, as we were added to the fold of the band, we've been able to, like, put our identity into the songs. I'm, like, Michael, like, will have this idea, and then work nonstop until it fits and works. And then we'll collaborate. We're like, Oh, what about this? What about this? What about this, and we'll come together and we'll make it work. So it's like, it does start off as very chaotic thing. And then through like, sheer determination, failure is not an option, right? Yeah, like we must succeed, right. And we do and like, this is the end result and some of the songs we've recorded once before. And then we had a full band, and we rerecord them again, and like they're completely different, even though they're still the same song. And I think that shows our personal growth and our growth is abantu.

Matt 23:22
Yeah, one of the things that's really interesting about the way that Michael produces is he'll come up with like he was talking about like these really like ambient synth music things. And then he'll send them to us and be like, hey, just do like three or four things and send it back to us. None of back to me. And then I'm gonna try some stuff out. So you kind of treats us like human sample generators?

Tyler Farnes 23:48
Oh, no.

Matt 23:50
It's really cool because we'll send him stuff and then he'll get in the door and he'll like more things like, for instance, the the opening riff of used to be I never played that on guitar until we recorded it because Michael took a single note from a direct di track of my guitar and pitch shifted into that melody, and said to me, like what do you think of this? Literally turn turn by yourself like into a sale? That's awesome. Okay, and when we were recording it, I kept trying to get it to have that kind of inflection and nothing I did made it work that way. So that's what's on the record is that is that the and then we blended it with the performance of it to give it some naturalism but your your hearing sample the guitar that Michael did? I mean, your answer

Michael 24:38
your tone, but it is literally I'd read it put it I put the one note in Ableton sampler and I wanted to keep having the vocal melody. Like happen over and over again. So I was like, it'd be a guitar part. So I put off like the tone on it. And then I was like, man, it doesn't sound like my fake guitar.

Matt 24:54
We spent like, we spent like an hour so we tried to sound like that. I was like, can we just use the one You may.

Michael 25:01
Alternatively as songs continue to go like a song like Wish You Well, for example, that was written pretty much entirely by Casey as a demo, where Casey sent me literally all the riffs of the song, like, in like, in just like bait like with just the tones that you got off of, I guess, Errol or something and like, like some rough drums and the bass and like a bass line, which is similar to what's on the bass on the track. At the end. I was like, Do you think this was an idea? And I'm like, Yeah, that's an idea. Send me all the stems. Take it take all that. Arrange it into exactly what's on the record now? And then say, Okay, now like, Matt, do crazy ambient stuff, Austin, well, how do you want to change the base, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, like adding since but like, it's the same process there. Also, a lot of what's on the record for Wish You Well, is literally the demo guitar that he sent me because I was like, this. Sounds right. I need to use it.

Matt 26:00
Part of our process is when we do demos, by the time the demo is done, it needs to be releasable. Okay, we produce we produce to a point where we could release our demos and then we go do it all over again. In the studio.

Michael 26:14
Half the vocals are the demo vocal sleepyhead. I might not get right. It's the demo vocal that i i Just rather feel I think it's half demo vocal because I just couldn't get the tone right again, because usually I'll write it, immediately record it because I'll forget it. I don't like write it and think of because it my students in my house. So I literally write the lyrics down while I'm trying to figure out how what vocal to do. Write it down at five minutes after I wrote it down. While I'm thinking about the emotion as I'm writing it, I'm gonna record it. And then I'm gonna try to do it later and be like, I mean, sounds good. But like, it just doesn't feel right.

Tyler Farnes 26:47
It definitely seems like there's a lot of chaos and explosiveness that goes on, and just sort of like, you guys all sort of just hammer it down until it comes around.

Kasey 26:56
That's a really great way to put it.

Matt 26:57
We're all crazy people.

Tyler Farnes 26:59
I mean, it's great. I mean, you know, so

Matt 27:03
none of us ever stop doing. Yeah,

Kasey 27:07
we're kind of obsessive and compulsive with what we're creating all the time.

Austin 27:14
I don't less for me, like, for me, writing music is a collaborative and social thing. So I do best when I either have something to work with from what they've recorded, or I'm actually sitting in the room with Michael. And we're like, bouncing ideas off each other. It's like, play this note, play this note, like, and then I'll hum a melody to him and like, yeah, and then we'll figure it out. And then do it like that. So I do I do my best recording with other people. Instead of on my own obsessing over it. Yeah, but I think that I'm the exception of this band.

Matt 27:47
Yeah, Austin. Fans calming presence. Austin is our he keeps us grounded. Yeah,

Austin 27:56
like, let's not do a music video for every single song of this album.

Kasey 28:00
I Disagree.

Matt 28:02
Disagree. Disagree.

Michael 28:08
That's all that matters.

Tyler Farnes 28:11
I, I feel very chaotic, just thinking about all the ends I could talk about. It's great. It's definitely something where it's like I I like that sort of explosiveness and feeling that that sort of comes through with your production and through with your music as well. It's it definitely does seem like it's controlled chaos, which is why I also enjoy a lot with flexure I guess my music is definitely emotional sort of out there in your face, but still very composed. And still just very still, you know, demanding attention while also deserving it at the same time. Yes. Well, I can definitely hear that with with a lot of your songs. I, I enjoy. I'd Rather Feel Nothing. I'm sorry, I'm just super obsessed with the song because it's definitely something where I kind of feel where it's like definitely sort of just like, I can be in a sort of like beach setting, but also that beach setting like, like, like, it's it's like a beach setting, but it's also like golf, and it's just sort of like it's sort of just very, very dark and sort of recently really, it's definitely, I mean like it like

Michael 29:20
I mean, it's my favorite. It's my favorite on the album at this current change all the time. It's my current favorite.

Austin 29:25
I love the baseline and rather feel nothing. It's like super groovy, it's it gives me a way to like Express like a very, it's very simple, but also very complicated at the same time, which is like a metaphor in itself. Like the song it's like, the lyrical content of the song has no business being with that groovy danceable baseline.

Tyler Farnes 29:45
Yeah, yeah,

Michael 29:46
very common.

Tyler Farnes 29:47
I think it's it's certainly what that song is for, like I wear I love the bass and the drums a lot. Like it's definitely it's something that stood out to me. So,

Michael 29:57
I mean, for me, it's literally like all I was trying to do I was I was trying to make something that sounded like if any produced Michael Jackson like it's all like it's all like like Orinoco Flow like D 50s. And Juno's. And I don't know if she's over I'm but Oberheim stuff and it's all like the kinds of sounds you would hear on like classic Enya. But then like that like this really like, aggressive, fierce thing. But all I had at first was the chorus, music and the like, nothing, nothing that happens, which was the really nihilistic lyrics. That's all it was, right? It was just that and all of the lyrics are just an attempt to like, elaborate on like, what just that one thing was that like, chanted like nothing, nothing thing over and over again. And just making that into like a lyric but like, the meaning of the song was like, that's what the meaning of just that chant was. I just couldn't like figure it out for like two years. It was like I started writing two years ago, but it's the last one finished.

Matt 31:03
The The other element of that song is, like, you talked about like, and yeah, and Michael Jackson. And this, this plays into our like, just mashing up concepts and styles. The bridge of that song I'm just aping Devin Townsend is putting? Yeah, it was aiming deadhead by Devin Townsend.

Tyler Farnes 31:28
I'm personal not familiar with that. But

Matt 31:33
I the last the other interview that we did, we talked a little about your music tastes you'll love Devin. Okay, okay, so the weirdest, weirdest

Austin 31:42
another, another artists who's gone like the gamut of genre, while still staying completely metal, which is kind of crazy.

Kasey 31:53
I'm also unfamiliar with Devin Townsend so

Matt 31:55
we'll fix that.

Tyler Farnes 31:58
Thats cool.

Matt 32:03
he wasn't always bald. He wasn't bald, it was worse.

Michael 32:10
Though none of this has to be in the in the thing of course. On the real like his style of maximalist production is like very directly influential on my style of production on the outs.

Tyler Farnes 32:22
So you have three music videos, or like these three, I guess, I guess I would call it music videos quote, unquote, because there you have other stuff that's like lyrical videos, but I wish you well eating the carry and used to be tell me like the process of recording those, those those videos and getting your sort of tone aesthetic, visually,

Michael 32:45
the live in studio performance.

Tyler Farnes 32:46
Yes, it's alive and see which, which, which I call a music video because like, it's kind of just like, You guys are kinda like

Matt 32:55
there are other music videos that you can't find on the internet. Yeah, we we've done several and we decided when we were doing the record that we were going to pull down things because we were redoing some of those songs. We didn't want old versions out there with music videos when we were going down what we call plussing up things. Really improving and expanding on stuff.

Kasey 33:20
Yes. And before each of these videos, I personally called each member of this band and said, What are you wearing tomorrow? Yeah,

Canary 33:25
Ye

Matt 33:26
took me thrift shopping. Because I had no idea what to do.

Austin 33:31
I want to state for the record that Casey did not have to babysit me. And in fact, it's like Austin, I trust you. And that you will be I trust your aesthetic. So I didn't have to like check in with Casey,

Matt 33:44
I am entirely untrustworthy. I cannot dress myself.

Tyler Farnes 33:48
I love that. So

Kasey 33:49
Thats what mommy's here for

Austin 33:52
This is what I'm saying when like this band is some of my closest friends. Like, we're on that level with each other, right? Like we were all hanging out in my it wasn't for music, but we were hanging out at my house for one of our photoshoots I had baked the muffins and we were just all like, Yeah, well, they weren't that special

Michael 34:12
They were good.

Matt 34:13
They were filled with the most potent drug of all love.

Austin 34:16
Okay, okay, okay. I like to bake for my friends and then we're just chilling at my house and you know, being cool. Yeah.

Michael 34:26
Speaking on the videos, in specific in specifics, it's we including Garrett, who who worked on this day as well and helped us with the record. He's played drums plays drums on some of the tracks. He engineered a lot of what's on the record because at the time he was he was our drummer.

Austin 34:44
He was in the music video for us he's playing the

Michael 34:46
drums in used to be that was when he was

Tyler Farnes 34:48
in the group is used to be the one with the with a white background.

Michael 34:52
No, that's Wish You Well.

Tyler Farnes 34:53
Oh, shoot okay

Michael 34:54
So those are if I'm including Garrett like, we have like a very DIY approach to the band aid here it's a member and here it is basically Oh yeah, it basically is involved even though he's not like in the band in the band,

Austin 35:08
but also very close friend and incredible person.

Michael 35:11
Yes. But like, including that like everything like the record the videos all DIY like me and Garrett shot everything like me and Garrett edited every video we directed everything ourselves it all the set dressing all the lighting, etc. On the records like we all engineered everything to fix. Sorry.

Tyler Farnes 35:34
Yeah, no problem.

Michael 35:35
So it's been there's it has a sense of like, like a cohesive quality to it. It's literally just because like in the shared aesthetic between like visual music and everything. It's because the same very small group of people did literally everything like the album art, like the album art was like a Photoshop of like a bunch of photos Austin took like, everything.

Austin 35:56
Actually, that was like an accident. Or one of those photos. I was messing around with my camera while taking some sky photos on vacation. And like I had my headlamp on an accident hit the button. And like these lens flares are really cool. Michael, I want this to be something. And like we were, we were having such a hard time getting the album art. And then Michael did a mock up and we're like, that's it. That's the

Michael 36:19
Looks like Cocteau Twins. Okay.

Tyler Farnes 36:21
So it's, oh, it's, it's definitely seems like it's how do you get that service? Like, again, like what what least for me personally working at something, we're doing something creatively with like a group of people, it's very hard to everybody, for for everybody to agree on something to be happy about it, and just just like, get sort of vision out? Is that forever? Like, because you're describing it definitely does seem like it's sort of just like that, that sort of like everybody is like, super like into Instagram. Is there any like people like, I guess, you know, being like, oh, I want to do it this way or that way? Or is there any sort of stuff like that, or it's just all very much like, you guys are all like super on the same wavelength.

Austin 37:03
So my girlfriend describes being in a band as being in a relationship with like, four or five other people. Okay, and it's maybe I should be eerie, how accurate that is, right? So, like, with my girlfriend, I like we will have some differences. And like, we won't always get along Blake, like at the fundamental right, like we are right for each other. And again, like, Michael was searching for people that were the right fit for this band. And so we will have times when like, we disagree, like I am, like, we shouldn't be so hard on ourselves. And we shouldn't be like, so gung ho about doing, you know, time after time, like, you know, it's just breaking our own backs to get stuff out the door, we should, like, Be methodical, and focus on things and do things to the best of our ability. But we also need to take breaths and breathe in between, or it's like, I think that counterbalances some of the, you know, breathing, right? Like, I know that like Michael and Casey are very, like, they want to do everything to make this band succeed. And it shows and that kind of, like, gives me the energy to pursue that too. But like, there's also a time when like, they do push themselves too far. And I have to like, rein them back a little bit. And they'll be like, fighting me every step of the way to

Michael 38:19
Me and Matt we're literally talking about that in the car on the way here. Like that. I said, you have a very specific language that that will make me go like, Oh, dang, which I described as talking like Scott James, which only makes sense to Austin and Scott James. But I'm a big part of it. I think

Matt 38:37
you're not supposed to say any of those. On the list, I'm holding the words that we're not allowed to say on the radio, I'm gonna read these. So you guys know

Tyler Farnes 38:50
if you've chosen micro,

Michael 38:52
anyway, I have one. I'll put it this way. Me and Austin have already spent a long time on shipping much bigger projects with a lot more cooks in the kitchen, nationally. And this is relatively easy when it comes to that part of it. I'm a big thing for me is let everyone's let everyone talk. Let everyone get their thing out. Nobody has a wrong idea. If everybody's aligned aesthetically on what we're trying to do. Nobody's idea is wrong, right? It might not be the choice we end up using. But to just say no on its face would cause resentment. People would have a sort of like, build up of like, oh, I have this artistic idea and I can't even have the opportunity to express it and it just keeps wanting to be there right? So by just never saying no and just saying like oh you want to do like it's basically like let's let's just yes and everything. Yeah, it's very chaotic because when you get into the den, sifting through all of what you have on on you know We use lifestart earlier as an example on a song like that. Or as long as Cieply Sleepyhead, which is very much collaborative, from like how like, like everybody pretty much like wrote all their own parts like it was formed collaboratively. And instead of being like, oh, I want to play this kind of thing being like ads, not really what I was imagining. Okay, that's what you're hearing. Let me hear you do that. What am I now hearing now that you're doing that? And just never saying no to that unless it's definitely not the right. That's the I think the best way to get all of this out, without there being interpersonal issues.

Matt 40:37
Yeah, one of the things that I think works really well for us is that our end goal is always to do the best possible thing. So we're, everything we do is in service of that,

Michael 40:50
like not my best possible thing, but whatever. Like whatever it is collectively,

Matt 40:55
yes. Like, even beyond that, like our goal is to do the, the objectively best that yes, like, make the objectively best music. And you know, whether we succeeded at that or not, is up to the listener. But that's the end goal. So everything we do is in service of that. So everyone's ideas are worthwhile. And we're all you can leave ego at the door when you're trying to do something like that, because like, you, all you want to do is make the best possible thing. Nobody on their own can do the best possible. Yeah. You have to do it collectively. So you hear out all the ideas, pick the best bits of everyone and throw them in the blender and see what happens after

Michael 41:39
John John.

Matt 41:41
Yes, yeah. John, who is not here is the real mastermind. We're all just taking what currently we're all taking credit for all of

Tyler Farnes 41:49
the interview, To when he was here. Gosh, John was like the missing link,

Austin 41:53
John recorded all the baselines. But

Michael 41:55
John is a way for us to have like the two liturgy scenario. It's the John the John

Matt 42:02
I, at the end of the day, we're going to break up and become Queens Reich. And

Michael 42:08
it's the other band that I can't say the name of the liturgy. Forget all of that, while talking about black metal. And none of this matters.

Matt 42:15
I'm talking about hair metal, I don't know what you're talking about.

Austin 42:19
Kasey, do you have anything to add to the

Matt 42:22
black metal Hair Metal? discourse

Tyler Farnes 42:26
that's happening right now?

Austin 42:27
I want to say the original discourse of you know, taking our ideas and do we have any conflicts? Or are we all on the same page?

Kasey 42:34
Yeah, so Austin, is spot on with his description of that situation, or the scenario. It does feel kind of like will come to head at some times. But I do give Michael a lot of credit as like this really level headed leader and they can sort of field out the best ideas and make everyone feel heard and considered. And at the end of the day, Austin's often right, and if we had gone down a certain route, Michael and I or maybe all of us would be like, so overwhelmed that we would just probably call it a work and sleep for a week because we're I mean speaking for myself I get super depressed if I just go way too hard for way too long and then nights Yeah, even function anymore. And I haven't propensity for doing that. With the music.

Austin 43:20
I have I have the opposite propensity, word of the day propensity. Where

Matt 43:27
Can you use that in a sentence.

Austin 43:29
Casey said the word propensity to spell it. Anyway. often avoid things like I have an avoidant streak when I feel overwhelmed or stressed out, like I just want nothing to do with the negative emotion and like, oftentimes, like when I'm learning a song, it can be like very taxing for me to like, learn it. So I'll put off until the last minute. So the thing that really gets me out of that is expectations I put on myself, I can always like shrug off, but the expectations of this band and like knowing that I would let my friends down. If I were to show up to practice unprepared or show up to the show unprepared. Gives me the drive to be the musician that I actually want to be like, I need this band to have the energy to do what I want to do. Right, like I wanted to be a good and great bassist. And without flood district, I wouldn't have touched my instrument for probably 10 years. Right. So I think there's a good mix in this band. I think we bring out the best qualities of each other. And

Matt 44:48
there are several good mixes. They are the songs on the album.

Tyler Farnes 44:52
You guys have your your live show on the 10th which is going to which is going to be great. Have you guys performed live before? At least I haven't seen you on any like bills or tickets like, like, like, like previously is this is this like, is this like your first time performing live together? Or is it just something where you don't do often like what like with it,

Michael 45:13
As this is our, as this unit, this is our third time performing live together. As we were, as we were like operating, as I said, like it was me and then it was other people and it's slowly been like, put together into a full band. So for a while before the pandemic it was it was trio of me, Austin, Matt. And we were doing like, the drums were more like, kind of like New Wave and Tronic I mean, same music, but like, and so we would do some shows like that. Then, when the pandemic hit, obviously, we just had to stop. And in that time, that's when we brought in Casey Yan, et cetera.

Matt 45:49
And we brought in we brought in Garrett and Garrett played drums for us on the record, yeah, Garrett as well rehearsing together and then he ended up not being able to have time to do the project, but is still like, worked with us on lots of different elements of it.

Michael 46:00
Yeah. So when we brought in John, we were like, We're gonna like play live. Like, that was a five piece as a band for real. So we did last year's hopscotch Day party at Ruby. And then we just played with the belt. Like two weeks ago,I think

Austin 46:18
incredible, incredible experience air.

Unknown Speaker 46:21
Oh, god, that's so good. Not the point. Oh,

Austin 46:23
amazing people too.

Michael 46:26
So but this but this like, um, I guess album release show we have coming up is like our first show. That's like our show where we can kind of like, curate a little more and more. Secondly, it's a Ruby. Ruby. Okay. Yeah. Ruby Deluxe. Right. Ruby? Yes. Cool. Cool. Cool. June 10, Ruby Deluxe, and

Matt 46:45
best bar named Ruby and down.

Tyler Farnes 46:51
Have to check that up is it the only bar?

Michael 46:56
But we're super excited about because we haven't like, I love. I love performing live. It's my favorite, like doing wrong. I love being in the studio and making insane nonsense. But like, the actual performing at the end of it is like the big catharsis for me. Um, and just like playing with this group and being able to play music, like, I don't really think there is a scene for what we do specifically. Around here, though, finally getting presenting it to people is very nerve racking for me. But also, I'm really excited about it. Like, I'm really stoked to move forward doing a lot more shows, hopefully. And like, hopefully get on like, bills, where like, people are, I don't even know what this is. But I'm into it.

Austin 47:43
I think what's interesting, Michael was saying that there isn't really a scene for what we're doing. There. The flip side of that is, there are several scenes that were tangentle too, because we have this mix, like gos, we can play at prog we can play at sure, like rock we can play at and that, like, there isn't one scene which is, you know, there's a drawback to that. But then like being able to, like, spread out, that's another benefit to it. And to me also, like, being live music, like watching it amazing social setting, being on the other side of the stage, huge and like a different experience. But you still getting that other experience to have like being with other like watching man's life. And being a part of like that social gathering where you're all here to like, enjoy music, to the level that people who go out to see live shows are and that to me is like, like, I wanted that so bad. You know, the two or three years we were on hiatus, and like finally getting back to that breath of fresh air like oh, it's it's so good to be back.

Michael 48:48
Yes, absolutely. It's funny. You're like being like, Oh, we don't fit into this and that could be to your detriment. I feel like if you don't fit if you've made the choice to make music that does not fit into any local scene, like your only choice you have to try to be like, very good so that people are like I don't know what this is. Yeah, I want to I want to I want them to play your own. I just want every band to have that attitude. We're now rolling the dice. Please ask us to play with you so that I don't feel foolish

Tyler Farnes 49:18
All right, well, before before we wrap this up is there anything else that they guys want to say you know, again, social as you said, Ian shadow or where can people find you? yatta yatta yatta.

Michael 49:31
So you can follow us on like, you know, IG, Facebook, Spotify for sure. And wherever you Apple music wherever you listen to as aware everywhere everywhere. You probably are there for Tik Tok so far. We're also playing at our album release show. I'm on the 10th on Saturday at Ruby Delux. Nice. And also we're playing with wonderful, wonderful, very talented, local hip hop It is Kamus Leonardo and wonderful former pop punk band Pnltybx per their own description there's their self description and post post picks up post pop punk and then yeah, I guess check us out wherever also please checkout KC solo project Canary complex as well which I mixed the record for you it also has record out and it's very good.

Kasey 50:25
You did such an amazing job. Thank you Thank you.

Tyler Farnes 50:28
I will say if you do like it for like in this flood district sound you'll definitely enjoy a Canary Complex i i first got this interview through Canary Complex that turned flood district and I'm glad because they're both really great sounds so

Kasey 50:47
thank you

Tyler Farnes 50:49
all right, well, thank you again Flood District for coming out and talking to me about your latest album Eden to Carry again I wouldn't leave the audience off. Well, you guys audience off with Anniversary and I'd Rather Feel Nothing. Thank you all so much again for listening. Thank you flood to Shrek again for coming down and talking about your latest I will Eden to Carry this is WKNC 8.1 FM HD One Raleigh and I am and I have been your host The Loaf and this has been Flood District. Thank you all so much for listening. And thank you Flood District as well.

Austin 51:25
Thanks for having you.

Kasey 51:26
Thanks so much for having us.

Matt 51:27
You're welcome.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai