Off the Record

Evie Dallmann 0:00
This is Evie from WKNC, and you're listening to an interview with Raleigh's poinsettia.

New Cure Playing

Vincent Whitehurst 2:38
and re practice them. And then I think this record some things, maybe it was just during COVID and what we were noodling on, but some things just came out pretty straightforward. And I think new cure and accident are those probably the highest examples. It's just kind of figuring out how you exist. Kind of, it's like, I figured out a new cure. It wasn't necessary. It could have been drugs for somebody. It could have been you could have been massage. It could have been a new world view, like a way of looking at a new a way of looking at life, of looking at the place you're in, and and so that, that is the intention of that song, like, it's like, Okay, I gotta, I've got a new cure, and I wish it was permanent, but it's not. It's, I know it's gonna erode on me, but, you know, I'm backsliding. That's some of the lyrics, you know. So because the new cure, you have to there's not a cure, a magic cure. You're the Cure,

Matt Griffith 3:31
new cure, to me, you said that accident was a sad song. I actually think new cure is a really dark song, because of what Vince was just saying, which is the kind of human condition of constantly seeking for the new little extension of happiness or or a cure, right? And how hard it is to find, how hard it is to maintain. I think one of my favorite lines in that song, I can't remember exactly how it goes, but it's like talking about, I have found a new cure, but it's taken all of my time. Like, yeah, like to, like, maintain the cure all my time. On the cure all my time. And then that gets you thinking, what's the point of life if I'm just like, here, you know, trying to maintain this cure and not actually doing anything other than making myself feel all right? You know, it's like, I mean, it's, it's a really dark song to me, but also so existentially on the mark with how I think most Americans in our current culture feel all the time. You know, like, what's the next thing that's gonna make me feel all right for a little while? You know, it's like, I mean, it's a it's kind of a big deal. The the song accident. I like that song. That's one of the most that's one of the songs, at least for me at my age, really taps into nostalgia or memory. I mean, like, how many of us know that person who had it all could do it all? But then it didn't work out. Yes, you know, most likely to succeed in your senior year in high school. Where is that person now you know, or most, most athletic, or whatever it might be. I mean, those things. Are so temporary, and there are no guarantees and how things turn out in life, right? And so that song, to me, is like, I have, you know, at least a half dozen people in my mind every time I play and hear that song, who I'm just like, I mean, that's just the way life is, right? I mean, you're and, and the crazy thing is, when there is that person in a in a community, whether it's a school or a group of friends or whatever it might be, everybody talks about them all the time, everybody's invested, everybody's excited, and then it's, it's like, ah, but it didn't work out, you know, like, I mean, it's totally live

Vincent Whitehurst 5:37
vicariously, right? It's like that person who went out to California to be an actor, that person who was, who was, they did something that you kind of wish you had done, like, oh, man, they went out there. They're skiing in Utah, you know, they're in, they're in the Olympics now, they're, you know, oh, but they got hurt. I got hurt, you know, or it didn't work out, or, you know, so it's, it's a universal story. I mean, Matt, Matt, once again, you say it better than I, then I could say it, but you're exactly right. It's that, it's, it's, and I think the lyrics are, everybody can relate, right? Everybody knows somebody that has done that, same that, but you talk about them, it's like they lift the room up. It's like, this is the person. You're still talking about those people. Yeah, I know people. We still, we got those friends and we still, we, when we get together, we're still talking about, man, so and so, man, they went out and they were, you know, they're still kind of a hero, even though it didn't work out.

Unknown Speaker 6:42
Accident Playing

Vincent Whitehurst 10:00
You know, I was one of these people when I was a kid. I remember there was, that was the 70s, and there were, there were cars that would get 50 miles per gallon at that time. And I was like, wow, progress. You know, by the time I'm, by the time I'm 30, they're gonna get 100 miles per gallon. You know, I thought everything was progress, like I thought my worldview was, like, everything just keeps humanity is about improvement, and all we're going to do is constantly make things better for Everybody. You

It well, there's, there's lots of little stories along the way, where you just kind of get your light, you get kind of smack in the face, like, wow. Cars now get less mileage than they did. They get 25 miles a gallon. And what happened? Well, I thought we were on where electric cars and where solar panels. We were talking about the solar panels in the 70s, and where solar panels, and so I guess, you know, all those, those things have been crumbling for a long time, but I think that was where it was just like, wow. And now I'm seeing an active like active policy and active, like societal shifts toward the opposite of what makes sense to me. So I think the first that robots record, not in in entirety, but the general theme of that is kind of A little dystopia, Right?

right, like these things that are like crumbling around. And then in particular, you know, there's a few environmental songs on there, green and then actually bright light, because this idea that, you know, this connection with nature, and you know, seeing these, the earth itself is going to survive, it's us that are going to be that are going to perish if we do anything, you know, in terms of environmentalism. It's not for we're not trying to save the Earth. We're trying to save us, right? You know, the Earth's gonna keep going and and so I both of those songs have a little bit of a viewpoint of Mother Nature Talking to us, or song Through mother's nature's perspective.

the dark forest, bright light came out of writing these songs during COVID. There was probably a good two years there that we or a year and a half at least, before we probably played another show, maybe two years, and then we've been working on those songs since so and then here we are. Here we are back at a new presidency, and I feel that it's just kind of went full circle on us.

Matt Griffith 27:10
that song. I'm a pretty hyped guy and I get really excited when I play the drums and it's that song has a one of the reasons it's a longer song, it is actually just. just a longer song. There's more to it. But one of the reasons the longer song is a very slow, very slow pace. And I will say the times we've played it live, it's that's the most difficult thing is, is like in the pace, keeping the pace like, and it's a real, I mean, it's real methodical, and the recording is good because we played to a click track. But I will say the of the four times We played it live, it's only gone well twice. You quiet, listen a private conversation. Won't Write it down. Dance, Speaking, singing, reassociation, you. Reception to my invitation, action to Time is wasting. No procrastination. We won't write it

Vincent Whitehurst 32:27
yeah, we worked on the we worked on that recording. And that's the other thing. Recording, it is a whole nother. The recording, that record, is just a whole nother process. Because the way you play live and the way you record live, you can get away with some things, and you can speed up the song, and who cares? You're having a good time when you record it and you every little thing. You notice everything. If he doesn't hit the drum right, if I hit the note wrong, you know, it's just like, oh, you can't have that in a recording. And trust me, there's still a whole bunch little things you could pick out in that recording that aren't perfect, but we had to get it to where it's not distracting. You can't have something in there, like, Whoa, what is that? So I think we pieced together. Like, Matt probably played that song four or five times, and then we, like, pieced it together, you know, like, had to take this part because he did really good here and really good here and really good here. And that's the same way across the board. It's like we when we're when we're putting those recordings together, it's just a whole nother process, recording and how you mix and put it together and then playing live, or just, it's like two different things. Well, the recordings are much less forgiving medium for the listener, because it like there's nothing else to distract you. Your friend's not standing next to you drinking a beer, screaming in your ear. You're not watching the people do it real time, up on the stage, right? I mean, it's like a an all, it's just you and the sound, and so the sound has to be dead on. And in that song in particular, that middle space where it's just me playing for a little while, is like the most terrifying drum land drum space that exists, right? Because it's a it's a fairly simple beat, but it's so easy to me. Time is wasting. No recevitation. We won't Write it down. Right? Yeah, it has that space that kind of things drop out and Matt's playing and, Up and it's just, I mean, You know, it's Like, Whatever

Matt Griffith 35:22
You I think music. I think music creates space. I really do like I think there. I think there are parts of our songs where, and I think all artists or musicians are this way, where we're wanting to create something that we want to create, and you're less interested in whether or not people like it or are in it. You know, in that moment, you just kind of do it anyways. And we certainly have some songs that are really brash in that way. But I do think that you know really good songs, and some of our better songs have really distinct parts to the song. And there are moments of more frenetic energy where you might feel a certain way. And then there are moments where there's just a lot of open space. Those are some of my favorite moments in our songs, when we had these kind of lighter, airier, open parts to the song. They're really beautiful, usually, and and I think that really creates space for people. So I mean, I think, I think just as for us as well, I'll speak for myself as a as a drummer, I think there are definitely moments where I care about the vibe, and like, bringing people in and letting them feel comfortable. And then there are other moments that want to feel a little prickly, or kind of, you know, push back, you know, where it's like, Ah, this is it like, you know, and I think that's really fun and music to think about,

Finley Lee 38:33
oh yeah, the bet, the best, the best, best songs almost always have a, you know, attention dynamic, you know, the contrast between this quiet parts and this fast parts, those loud parts, you know, they make you think about the change, and It makes it more more Engaging and emotionally affecting.

Vincent Whitehurst 42:35
that the i from the idea of recording songs that the experience of the way it sounds, and what the time you spend to try to get it okay? Like, there's some, you know, punk bands that are recorded in a way that sounds like pop there sounds like bubblegum pop, almost. It's like, wow, you've taken this really aggressive music and you've made it the way it's been packaged is not at all like a live show, not at all. Like, maybe even these guys intended, they just went to some producer that went to some recording. And I think part of like, when we're recording this, because we do it ourselves, part of it is like, how do we make this pull people in enough with the sounds that don't make them grading, but don't polish it in such a way that it's, I don't know, benign or something like, like, so the recording, to me, is, is exciting in that it's, I think the reason our systems probably sound like anybody is we did it ourselves. We didn't go to somebody who has a way of doing the thing and and trying to place it in there, somewhere in that space where it's, like, accessible enough, but not but, but kind of, it kind of has the integrity of what we're of the way we perform these songs, if that means anything, like it's, it's A true kind of like adaptation of our songs. You

Oh, go ahead, Vince. Oh, things that grow on you is, is the historically best things ever, right? You know, like I heard something and then I don't know, I don't know how I feel about that, and then, like, two weeks later, you find yourself, I gotta go listen to that again. You know, music hasn't done that to me in a long time, but there's definitely, I don't even know what the last record that did that to me on that level was, but you know, that thing that you heard something and you're like, I mean, actually probably one of the ones that I've grown my whole life on is this Athens band called Harvey Milk. It's the sludgiest, gnarliest, weirdest combination of, you know, song structure. Finley knows this band. MATT Maybe knows this band, but, yeah, first time I saw them live is almost repulsed me a little bit. And then even when I heard the recordings, they repulsed me a little bit. But then I just kept finding my finding ways back into it, literally, for 20 years, like I would just go and I'd hear, I like this song. Now, this one song. And then next thing you know, I'm like, I like this whole record. Now, how is this? How is this working on me like this, and now I'm probably one of their biggest fans out there, you know? And it's just like, there's something about when, maybe it's authenticity, maybe it's the intention, maybe it's these guys just love what they're doing, and it took, it takes you so long to come around to what they're doing and what they've been on for so long, and you find your way in it, and it's like, after that, it's like, wow, I found the key to this, and I'm in there now, and it's, I feel like these guys open my world. And I think music, the very best music, does that. There's so many things that I'll say, Yeah, that's good music, but it's good to the standards that we all already have established that it's a good now, it's got the good hook, it's got a good, cool, really cool guitar line, but the really special stuff is like, wow, that just opened the world for me. I just it's been a Long time since that's happened.

Matt Griffith 52:47
agree with everything you said there. And I've, I've also, just as a person, always been somebody who likes to, you know, push buttons and poke the bear and instigate and, you know, even, even just in like, interpersonal interactions. The band puts up that all the time, just kind of smack talking and keeping things riled up a little bit. I mean, I think that's really fun. I think any art, and especially music, has the capacity to do that. And sometimes it's more important for it to disarm people or make them a little uncomfortable or or something, than it is for people to like it. And I definitely prefer artists that evolve over their careers, like the in the music I like to listen to. One of my least favorite things is when you hear an artist and it's just kind of the same damn thing every time, and eventually they're putting out 40 song albums every six months, and you're like, what is happening here? I mean, it's just completely, completely wild, and there's no there's no growth. There's no growth. There's a lot of income, but no growth. Yeah, and so so that. I mean, that's a big one, one thing you said that I thought was really cool. You mentioned that band you heard where there was kind of a woman whispering with really heavy guitars in the background and reverb. To me, that's a really nice image of life. I mean, I think especially in a moment right now when you could argue the country is on fire. You know, very, very few of us have any control over that things that are happening at that scale. What we do have control over is what we're doing all day in our spaces and making beautiful architecture and making music and teaching people and, you know, raising my kids and all those sorts of things, that's the beautiful whispering against the backdrop of just complete chaos. And, you know, that's the stuff you control. And just you bringing that up, you know, made me realize that that that kind of image of a song is a real good analog for how I feel about life right now. It's like all the stuff that's on fire I have no control over, but I can do these things, and I can contribute these things, and I can make them as beautiful as I

You the more, just in the vein of something I saw recently that really expanded my view of what can be art and how people can connect with it. And it was really special because I was with my family, including my oldest son. He loves making music with found sounds and other things. We were in we went, he's studying abroad in Milan this year. We went to visit them last November, and we were in Bregenz, Austria, and at a really beautiful building by Peter zumfour called kunts house breggins. And they had a show there, and it was an artist, and I'll email you the name once I find it, who creates soundscapes. And this museum is perfect for this has three identical floors, and he did a different thing on each floor. He creates soundscapes using water and kinetic objects and musical instruments, usually percussive instruments and air, to kind of create these like Rube Goldberg devices that create these environments that sound like maybe being in a cave, or they sound like being at the seaside, and they're really wonderful, both at a macro scale, just being in the space and closing your eyes and listening to the sound, but then also at the micro scale, like walking over to each thing that's doing something a little different and trying to figure out how it's making the sound, how it contributes, if there's a pattern to any of it, right? I mean, it's just incredible. It just engaged us for hours. And was was really spectacular and sometimes beautiful. And my son recorded it each of the spaces we had to, we had to leave, so we had to get on the leave eventually, and has used it to in some of the music he's made the last two semesters in a really beautiful way. So just really cool, collaborative, innovative.

Vincent Whitehurst 1:00:21
You there's so much stuff that is free and around you, and every sometimes people think, Oh, I gotta spend money. I gotta go find this particular thing. It's there's so much music and art and just everyday things. You got to get out into the world. I mean, I think if anything, get out. I love what WKNC does. You know, they're introducing people to new music, new music. There's so much new music out there. There's so much and people, I wish we could do more to get people to open people's you know, look at the same old radio station still playing classic rock from the 1970s and 80s. Don't get me wrong, some of that music is great, but it's like, there's so much, there's so many people making music, doing really cool stuff, doing cool art. Get out there and go see it, you know.

Finley Lee 1:03:56
So I'm a really big fan of the swans, and so I've had this song screenshot in my head for like, the last month, and there, when Vince was talking about Harvey Milk, I had kind of the same experience with listening to them. I've listened to him on and off for years and years, but they're a band that was challenging to to get into, because they have a lot of, you know, really loud and really weird and really repetitive songs. But you know what? Having, you know, kind of had the experience of of getting into their music and learning about them and getting into it has been really rewarding. So

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