Conquer & Divide Progress on "The Let Live EP" and Talk Shows, Drop-G, and Ex-Girlfriends

     

     If you have negative, pre existing notions about how Metal bands think or act, allow local outfit Conquer & Divide to change your mind. Emphasizing a positive outlook for the Memphis scene, Conquer values supporting the acts that play with them no matter what the genre.

     The band has currently released two tracks from their upcoming EP over Facebook. "The Let Live EP" is scheduled for a February release and is being recorded with the assistance of local musician Cody Landers who plays in two different local bands; Prophasis and Vera .

     “Music is our culture in Memphis,” said vocalist John Patrick, “We want to encourage more people to come out to shows and make them feel comfortable.”

     Patrick stressed that the band’s goal is not to drive people away, or insinuate that they should fight at shows; but rather to encourage the use of them as an outlet. If there’s one thing that’s obvious it’s that Conquer & Divide are no strangers to Memphis’ local concerts and the social scenes surrounding them. 

     In 2010 Patrick confronted guitarist Ian Ingrhram, who happened to be broadcasting popular hardcore band, The Devil Wears Prada, through the halls of their high school; and shortly the two were hanging out and playing music together. Patrick then declared their new aspiration after Ingrhram played through one infamously cheeky-titled “Prada” tune on his 6-string.

     “He saw that I could play ‘Dogs Can Grow Beards All Over’ and he said that’s it, we’re in a band,” said Ingrham. The two formed “Buried West” in 2011 but after experimenting with the scene decided toward applying a different approach. Struggling to find a consistent bass player, Ingrham enlisted his sister’s bearded boyfriend Aaron Brown to fill the full-time role. The songs released on Conquer & Divide's  upcoming four-track EP were recorded by drummer Jacob Feld but time commitments led to local skinsman David Raffanti filling the group’s drum stool as of early Oct. 2013. Conquer & Divide’s members cited different sources for their music’s inspiration.

     “August Burns Red straight up,” said Raffanti with a grin, but other acts like Sworn In, Have Heart, Defeater, and Bring Me the Horizon were mentioned and met with nods from the collective group. However, despite the influence of world-traveling musicians it seems that some are still perplexed by Conquer & Divide’s style.

    “When I go to music stores trying to buy stuff and they ask ‘What kinda music do you play?” said bassist Brown, “All I can say is we play drop G.”

     Tuning to “drop G” for a lower frequency effect is certainly a commitment, but members of the band would like Memphians to be aware of the common misconceptions that go right along with playing local metal music.   

     “A lot of people think that metal, lyric-wise, is like ‘Oh I’m gonna cut your head off, stomp it into the ground, dig your grave,” said Ingrhram, “but a lot of metal is not like that.” John Patrick explained a few social catalysts that led him to write lyrics to such songs as “Strife” and “Malice”.

     “People have told me that playing music in Memphis is an unrealistic goal,” said Patrick, “I don’t really get it. I like the scene, I like the atmosphere.” Patrick currently writes 100% of the lyrics that he screams onstage but his band mates understand the stories behind them. Guitarist Ingrhram was strikingly aware of details surrounding Patrick's  writing for track “Lost Cause”.

       “You sink your teeth into my neck, you bleed me dry there’s nothing left- that point in his life was not good.” said Ingrham sharing, with Patrick, stories of the singer’s ex-girlfriends. Drummer Raffanti put it a little more lightly.

     “You’re the Taylor Swift of Metal.” said Raffanti, comfortably lying back on the rehearsal room futon.

    

     My evening with Conquer & Divide was very relaxed, rewarding, and just fun. Familiar elements of band-humor and great guy-talk were shared in the slinder suburban attic they call their rehearsal space in Bartlett. They've got a good dynamic; Patrick the relatable artist whose been through some s#i%, Ingrhram his partner in crime, a suavely sick deathcore riff-wizard, Brown the loveable band comedian/beard, and Raffanti, the eccentric new blood. with a cool last name. He's a wild card for now...Even more informative on a biographical level for the band was their tech assistant and friend who shared stories of the group "freestyle rapping" to deal with personal disagreements and openly praising Patrick for his lyrical and story telling creativity.

     If you haven't seen Conquer & Divide perform than your missing out on a head-bobbing delightfully brutal experience. Ingrham's solid low tone cuts through the crowd with "Alligator riffs" surely reminiscent of Bring Me the Horizon. Brown stomps across the stage like a bass-wielding Viking and Patrick yell-screams electrify the room with angst and personal woe while floating back down to Earth to tell us a little bit about the upcoming tune. The band is a clean, talented, and precise addition to the Memphis metal scene. After catching their set at The New Daisy last summer I approached bassist Brown and told him how much I enjoyed their sound. He responded by telling me to bring it in, hugging and telling me...

    "Your one of the good ones!"

     In my interview I asked the group who the "bad ones" must be and after an uproar of chuckles Patrick responded by saying anyone who bashes smaller bands.

     "I try to be a person that's there for bands just starting out," he said, "When I was in Buried West I didn't like how some people treated me."

     Personally I feel that if you don't dig Conquer, you must not like Metal. They play some pretty seasoned Metal for their age. And even if, the band is a great gateway to the heavier mindset. Just ask their techman Joeseph Al-nemer who, according to him, did not listen to heavy music or have gauges a year prior to meeting the bunch.

     If your one who doesn't think the idea of Metal appeals to you (don't worry you don't have to get gauges) because of social reasons or you don't think your friends would think it would be cool to, there's almost no hope. But if your a music conoisseur and your interested in discovering new stuff at local shows Patrick has some final advice:

     "It's a really good way for people to get out of their musical shells."

     That it is. Why not be one of the good ones? As I walked down Beale Street after that hug with Aaron Brown I yelled back..

     "No no, you guys are one of the good ones!"  

     You should join us sometime. Support local hardcore, support local music!

     

Check out some Conquer here...

and prepare your ears for "The Let Live EP" soon!

"MGMT brings ballsy album to Orpheum [advance story]" and the story behind it.

 The Daily Helmsman article:
http://www.dailyhelmsman.com/news/mgmt-brings-ballsy-album-to-orpheum-1.3123335
 
     Knowing old drumline friends has benefits. 
     When pressed for an "advance event story" in my media writing class I, of course, wanted to write about a concert. After checking Pollstar.com I decided MGMT playing at the Orpheum theatre would be pretty sweet to write about. During class as we were, one-by-one, sharing what event we were to cover I smugly stated, "Well...MGMT is playing the Orpheum", to which many oohs and "Really!?"s ping-ponged across the table. Gus had found something interesting! Gus felt like a badass swiveling in that fun little computer chair. Boom. I just dropped an awesome bomb.
     The only problem was that I needed a "super source" and getting to talk to anyone close to MGMT would be difficult. I felt like I had a trump card- I knew Andrew VanWyngarden's step-brother Roman from my years on White Station DRUMLINE and so I figured while I politely asked if there was any humanly possible way he could connect me to the band or someone near them I called the venue. However, the best quote I was able to get out of Orpheum......management...was basically
      "It's going to be a good show!" :/
     Which I guess worked for the rough draft... but then it suddenly hit me(with the help of my professor Mrs.Denney)- instead of  trying to get in touch with rock stars on the move why not USE THE VALUABLE SOURCE I ALREADY HAD. Roman's an awesome like-minded dude and musician. It'd be great to catch up and have him help me.
     So I ventured towards Mid-town, not a stone's throw from my girlfriend's house, and chatted with Roman for a good while. After I interviewed him he turned to me and said,
     "Wanna jam?" To which of course I wanted to jam and we headed to his attic so I could slam some drums to Jimi Hendrix covers and the chords to "The Girl From Ipanema" to name a few. It was a tiring jam as my roommate/guitarplayer buddy had been out of town for a month and my drum-stamina was down, but a rad one at that. Lotta how-many-different-ways-can-I-hit-this-cymbal-to-get-weird-sounds moments. Super fun.
     Anyway, as we retired the jam sesh and my old drumline friend escorted me downstairs for much-needed water (running your mouth interviewing and playing drums for a good hour makes you really , really parched), who should come home but Bruce VanWyngarden, Andrew from MGMT's dad. So. Roman appropriately put me on the spot (very glad he did that..) and mentioned I could interview Mr.Bruce VanWyngarden. Which was...intimidating!
     Not only was this someone who I looked up to musically's father but...The freaking editor to the Memphis Flyer, and here I am this derpy little maybe-journalist maybe-english major I don't know asking him questions I hadn't prepared!
     Luckily he was personable and Roman's uncle, a self-proclaimed former cartoonist to the Helmsman(U of M's student-paper), kept the tone super light; as uncles have this magic important ability to do. I had cake(!) and drove home sweaty; half from jamming and half from nervousness (and half from being in college and having to skip showers sometimes to do homework). I had this overwhelming feeling that something important and awesome happened but also that I did not deserve it. What follows is (basically) the printed story, FROM THE HELMSMAN, that I procrastinated and felt uber-pressure to finish for weeks. A great weight has been lifted, and I feel super accomplished:    

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MGMT is now auspiciously close to joining the assorted list of popular artists who have graced the stage of the Orpheum Theatre Memphis.

    The indie rockers, featuring Memphis hometowner Andrew VanWynGarden, play the Orpheum this Saturday, Nov.23 with like-minded band Kuroma.

    Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are still available and range in price from $34 to $45.

    “The price of The Orpheum and the fact that it’s a seated venue will attract people who actually want to hear the music,” said Bruce VanWyngarden, father to MGMT frontman Andrew Van Wyngarden, and editor of the Memphis Flyer. “At a music festival the first 10 to 15 rows are really into it, but there’s always those guys with their hats turned backwards; drinking in the back, waiting to hear Kids.”

    “Kids,” refers to MGMT’s breakout single to 2008’s Oracular Spectacular, that reached #9 on the Billboard charts at its peak, and launched the band’s popular music career. In April 2010, they released Congratulations, a far less-poppy, more instrumentally driven, psychedelic-rock project.

    For the current tour the group is a little more focused on promoting their new material; their self-titled junior album that was released in September, according to Roman Darker, Andrew VanWyngarden’s step-brother and fellow Memphian musician.

    “I think it’s a really ballsy album,” Darker says, “I don’t think it sounds like anything else out there.” VanWyngarden Sr. agreed about the record’s 10 new tracks.

   “You can’t expect to pop it in and start dancing around,” he said, “You have to let the lyrics emerge and give it a chance.”

    Which means that the MGMT release and the concert setting are expected to compliment each other tremendously.   

    “The Orpheum is a venue where everyone has to sit and pay attention,” VanWyngarden said. “The new album is music you have to pay attention to.”

    Bruce VanWyngarden has certainly paid close attention to his son’s career and knew exactly how to describe the individuals MGMT chose to open for them on this tour.

    “Kuroma is basically MGMT-lite,” he said. “It has four members of MGMT in it.”

     Darker also shed light on Kuroma, including why precisely guitarist Hank Sullivant filled in VanWyngarden’s live instrumental parts during the aftermath of a kitty-caused shoulder dislocation.

    “Andrew had trained his new cat to climb up on his shoulders, and while he was playing with it; he sneezed, frightened the thing, and it wound up dislocating his shoulder,” Darker said. “Instead of cancelling the tour, Hank played guitar for MGMT on Jimmy Fallon and all those late night talk shows.”

    For the upcoming performance Andrew Van Wyngarden will have completely recovered from his catastrophic dislocation and, axe in hand, is sure to awe the Orpheum audience in true psychedelic MGMT-fashion. This will be the band’s first performance in Memphis since 2011’s Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival.

For tickets:

http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/events/detail/mgmt

MGMT's Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/mgmt  

Kuroma: 

https://www.facebook.com/RealKuroma

Avenue Coffee Benefit FEATURING: Taller Than Giants and MORE [event story]

    Whether the audience was bobbing their head to one of the female-fronted Metalcore acts (Avenging Angels or Eleutheria), tapping their feet to the tambourine-driven Acoustic performance of Sam Massey, chuckling warmly to Jacqueline Simmers’ mellow cover of “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley, silently enjoying Timid Monster’s screening of short indie-film “Avarice”, or dancing wildly to eccentrically talented hometown heroes Taller Than Giants, attendees at Oct. 11’s Avenue Coffee Benefit show provided the artistically diverse atmosphere the developing coffee hub seeks to provide upon their future opening.

     The local showcase was held at The Abbey, Midtown’s main spot for up and coming indie-rock, and admission cost $5 to what most called a “great cause”. Avenue Coffee will be located on the corner of Echels Street and Douglass Avenue, south of University campus.

     “We’re trying to incorporate ourselves with the music scene, and with film and photographers to create a community of creative people” said Jaron Weidner, co-founder of Avenue Coffee and local show promoter.

    Weidner and students of Mid South Christian College including Yet. guitarist Nicolas Griffin, began the project with a simple vision and have since funded through an indiegogo.com video campaign. It was Weidner’s notion to start booking a benefit concert.

    “Jaron’s been booking shows for years and he came up with the idea while we were pursuing a lot of fundraising activities,” said Griffin, “We really want the shop to be a place that fosters creativity in Memphis through music and art in every form.” From mosh pits to iced coffee sips, the musical forms changed during the night from each electric bands’ set to the lounge room where mostly unplugged acts carried tunes to the commotion of equipment-changes on the distant main stage. Such a feat was appreciated by concert-goers and the musicians alike.

    “I like hearing anything from Parable which is a lot heavier to Alex Inman who just played; I love country music,” said James Lott, guitarist/lead singer of another solid act that played the benefit, “J is for James is a more alternative rock group; we have pop elements but we’re kind of trying to shy away from that”.  Despite any hidden reluctant-pop attributes, Lott’s band delivered a great mix of easy-listening-in-a-good-way with appropriate on-stage dialogue that came across genuinely.

    “And I actually play for Whispers of Kings too, it’s kinda like indie-rock” said Lott with a welcoming invitation to check out his bass playing in what turned out to be a very melodic 3-piece group set-up in the lounge area before Taller Than Giants’ performance in the adjacent room. Not only did Lott express the view of a local musician, but also that of a PR major at the University of Memphis.

    “University students. Coffee shops. It’s a good thing!” Lott said with enthusiasm, “I’m hoping it’ll be a venue students can go to that’s not far from campus”.  Co-founders Weidner and Griffin hope to unite Memphians with one important element.

    “It’s really good coffee” Weidner said with warmth.

The Abbey

Avenue Coffee

Bands:

Taller Than Giants

Chiral Theory

Parable

Eleutheria

J Is For James

Avenging Angels

Alex Inman

Whispers of Kings

Sam Massey 
Jacqueline Simmers 
Wyatt Braden 
Timid Monster Productions 

Cultural Immersion: A night of "Creed" [Show Review/Personal Essay]

 My father has drummed in bands since the 1960’s and while he currently resides his talents in a soul group (The Distraxshuns) that often changes attire and attitude to play more lively “gigs” as the energetic and entertaining “Funk De Ville”, I’ve often wondered what happened to all the local musicians in the now classic “rock n’ roll scene” of the 60's and 70's that performed in and around Memphis, Tennessee. It is no secret nor surprise that like the icons that inspired these players to pick up instruments in the first place; Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, Dennis Elliot etc, these performers have aged. While this is a delicate subject for many, especially middle-aged men, this statement is not meant to be taken offensively. This is the mere state of things, as the craftsmen of culture and local music changes and ages so does the scene, and a great majority of it’s followers. The real question is, does the scene die out? I have been to the smokey, Sunday-afternoon forefront of this particular scene and observed it somewhat less intensively on separate occasions. My theory is that it has not “died’ but rather changed and adapted to fit the desires of those who really pay attention to it, and the “craftsmen” of sound I mentioned earlier have adapted to that.
    On that Sunday-afternoon-forefront, September 23rd 2012, I rode with my dad to a benefit show Funk De Ville was performing at. “Is it cool if we stay past 11, the band I’m really interested in seeing  plays then, it’s not gonna mess you up homework-wise is it?” If my father had said the name of such band I would of given him a questionable look, but it was not until I read the name of the last act performing upon the bill that my father would explain to me the history of Creed. As it were I rode oblivious to the slight confusion I would experience in deciphering why a Post-grunge 90's group, equally infamous as they are famous, would be playing at a rock n’ roll bar full of middle-aged attendees. Every scene needs one or two forefronts and between local chain Huey’s and the bar I would be very soon scoping out, Neil’s, the classic rock/hard rock etc Memphis “barband” scene, as I like to say, fulfilled that requirement.
    As I stood within sight of the possible rock n’ roll mommies and daddies outside of Neil’s, I couldn’t help but feel slightly awkward. The unspoken presence and notion that “This is our place” lightly and unintentionally  hovered above my thoughts and I internally braced myself for the possibility of quips like “Charley, you brought your kid? Now we have to behave!” followed by a red-faced chuckle and polite half-forced laughter from myself. I don’t recall such quips happening that night, nor do they really bother me, but it is something I’ve come to expect. They do erase some awkwardness between the obvious age-gap of myself to middle-aged musicians; men with more life experience than myself that I may relate to but never naturally pal around with on a regular basis. This would be to the exception of my godfather, Gary, who was standing and chatting next to a trailer to the back of the club my father and I strolled around to where he and other performers were conversing. His band “Work Release” performed shortly before we arrived.  
    What followed was the casual greeting of musicians to musicians; smiles and nods between laughter and the smell of the nearby club. One thing I have noticed among these subjects, middle-aged men, is that they value the handshake greatly. When my father would say “Oh, this ‘my son, Gus” I’d stick out my right hand, tilt my head slightly to the side with a warm grin, and say “Nice to meet ya”, or “Very nice to meet you too” depending on who initiated the greeting. Some of them I knew, members and ex-members of Funk De Ville, but some were new faces or faces of names I had heard my father speak of. That was their main topic of conversation it seemed; catching up on the lives of other local musicians by secondhand accounts and speaking of them either warmly or comically.
    I wouldn’t call it gossip but the subjects had a way of standing and talking; inflecting hand movements and other actions that conveyed stories and laughable ideas to their musical peers that entertained their senses until they could play some music. “Oh wheres” -so and so-”why isn’t he here?”, “I don’t know man probably strung out on something” a chuckle emitted then after dying down, “No really though, Bob’s doin’ fine.” Solemn yet upbeat nodding followed. As words like “Groovy”, terminology originating from the 60's, were colorfully splashed about, the musicians talked about their instruments as well. Fleetus, a trombonist that plays along side my daddy, explained his bands method of turning laptops to the side to use as sheet music for the other horn players and how they once tried to use “foot-triggers” to turn the page. Yes, rock n’ roll, even to the “grown-ups” has gotten technological aspect of the live show. My Dad explained the use of the electronic “Wave-drum” to a tall, deep-voiced and long-white haired drummer who raised his eyebrow, snarled, and replied that all he needed was two sticks to bang on stuff with, to which the three of us laughed.
    I’d like to take a moment to elaborate on the history of the musical group this man performed with. In 1978, Southern Creed released a self-titled album featuring the hit song “Firecracker” and followed it with an EP sometime later after changing their name to just “Creed”. Some years after the group split ways that floridian Pearl Jam-rip-off band must have thought it was a good name too and sources indicate that Memphis’ Creed was not happy about this. Nowadays “the original” Creed re-unites and plays once or twice a year, usually around Christmas-time, and benefits like the one for Pat Taylor at Neil’s that night. This is the history of the original, Memphis-based, Creed.
    I could not tell if it was the slight sleep deprivation, or if they actually opened a gateway through time with their music, but watching Creed that night I believed in one simple truth; Creed was the center of the universe. I have never felt so much like I was in the 70s than watching the four members of Creed perform. Apart from their own material they played about two and a half Led Zeppelin songs off-the-cuff, as well as other notable rock n’ roll classics that emitted “WOO”s and general appreciation from what I saw as the “followers of the scene” in the bar. Although the members of the group seemed unprepared between songs, “Well...what do we play now?” , “Thanks for coming to Creed’s rehearsal before the Christmas show!” when they started a song with a thumping bass sound, a rhythmic definitely-70's-style-percussion-inspired fill, or a celestial tasty guitar chord and the creamy American classic rock Boston-style vocals kicked in, there was nothing else in the world except for the corner of Neil’s and Creed on that stage. It could have been 1978 or 2012. I wasn’t quite sure.
    During Creed’s set my Dad’s friend Leo pulled us aside to listen to a Blues record he had played bass on with a group that they just released. I noticed I was more interested in the music he was showing us than I usually would have been. It was another corner of this “scene”, evidence of another child of the 70's still making music and producing it for an audience, somewhere. My theory is that although rock bands of this time period, or the members of them, don’t all tour and play in front of youthful audiences anymore, they have adapted to fit the needs or desires of the folks most likely to listen to them; Grown men and women in bars. The “barband” scene may exist because the rebellious teenagers of the 60's and 70's have settled down, become leaders in their own rights and have the option to re-engage in the sounds they first heard decades ago. If it’s in your heart it’s relevant, and whether one is part of a group of guys taking the time to load equipment in order play a benefit gig so that your old friend’s wife has a better shot at fighting cancer or one is sitting silently in a dark bar witnessing a cultural event that causes one to think and feel about what one is hearing; we cannot deny that music changes us. We change the scene. A leader of the scene recognizes this and changes for it, and that’s what these musical middle-aged men have done. There’s no shame in being part of a “barband” scene. There’s an audience out there, one whose been around and will keep coming back. Still more, there’s an entirely different one to inspire.

Show: Benefit for Pat Taylor Part 1 with Creed, John Kilzer, Funk De Ville and more @ Neil's on September 23rd, 2012.