2012 Artist Feature: Sybris

It's Roast Week! Yes, the 2012 Rock and Roll Pig Roast is THIS SATURDAY the 25th, and what better way to start things off than with an artist feature with Chicago's own Sybris?

Sybris was one of the first local bands I started to follow in Chicago after coming back from college and playing with Bully in the Hallway. Their albums and 10 years of live shows were always a huge inspiration and equally as memorable to myself and many others. We're lucky to have them join the Rock and Roll Pig Roast, fresh out of recording their newest album, "Gold on Hold." Check out the interview with guitarist Phil below and the song "Quiet, My Stories Are On" a deep cut from their self released EP 'A Time For Hollerin' circa 2003!!

Based on what you've told me, the Rock and Roll Pig Roast might be your first gig fresh out of the studio from recording your new album. Can you share any details about the album? Songs? Title? Direction?

Yeah, the pig roast will be our first show out of the studio. You can't turn down getting paid in delicious pork cheek.  We're calling the record "Gold on Hold".  It is, in a nutshell, about the end of the world. A kind of chaotic haze that ends up leaving a fine film around the edge of your brain.  We've definitely stretched our song writing more than in the past

Your bio says it best - you've "been around," including US tours, opening for big acts, the works... which is part of what has made Sybris so special to see and listen to over the years. With the new record coming out, are you planning to hit the road again? Or are you just making music? Do you feel obliged, or inspired to do anything in particular?

We have some plans but they're top secret.  I can say I think we've stopped trying to 'do it' and really embraced doing it for us.  The only obligation we feel anymore is to ourselves.  If we're making Sybris happy then everyone on syb island will be happy too.

I saw on your Facebook page you recently asked your fans to comment on their favorite Sybris shows and memories. What did you think of the answers? Any laughs? Did you come up with any on your own?

What stuck me about that is the passion and volume of responses, it's really heart warming.  We've been around for almost 10 years now, so there's been allot of adventures, miss-steps and hilarity so it would be hard to pick just one.  It was a trip down memory lane in the nicest sense, especially before going to record.

Sybris - Quiet, My Stories Are On by RockPigRoastChi

2012 ARTWORK

2012 Artist Feature - Velocicopter

The best way I can describe and/or prepare someone to see Velocicopter is "Watch the fuck out!" This band does not mess around. I've now played two shows with them, each one getting heavier and gnarlier than the last.

We're really excited to have them join the pig roast and heat up the afternoon. Oh, don't forget to check out their BRAND NEW song "Drag" below and on our 2012 Rock and Roll Pig Roast Mixtape!

How long have you been playing together, and how did you form?

We’ve had the pleasure of sharing two scolding hot summers in two different rehearsal spaces with no air conditioning together… so about 2 years, maybe a little over. The sweat stain patterns that emerged from those sessions were priceless – inverted crosses, pentagrams and even one time a stain that slightly resembled the face of John Ritter.

David (guitar/vox) was in a band called Sweet Polly that my old band The Groodies played with several times back in the day. I was immediately impressed by his song writing and vocal style (90’s grunge throwback, reminded me a lot of Nirvana and Local H). We respected each other’s writing styles and decided to get together and see if we could create something. I knew Haywood (drummer) through mutual friends and knew he was a beast on the skins, so we all got together and just started writing without a definite “sound” in mind, just with the intention of creating songs that were heavy and hooky, with male/female vocal harmonies. Haywood and I had both been in bands previously with Brett (bass) and knew he was the last piece of the puzzle. No other bass player could compare. All of the members are definitely irreplaceable that’s for sure. Everyone is a master of their craft.

I think even the world's most boring person would get a laugh out of the artwork for your album, and also some of the posters I've seen associated with VCOP shows. I know (guitarist/ singer) Meghan is an artist, does she do art for the band?

I do! A lot of my band related art is “last minute” so it ends up being real tongue and cheeky, usually drawing reference from favorite childhood movies. When there’s extra time though I try to hand draw the posters and color them in photoshop (punk rock, man).  I figure if people don’t want to come to the show, at least they can get a chuckle or feel nostalgic about a certain image.

 I have to say, after seeing you for the first time I was pretty excited to hear a band that (in my view, at least) fully embraces the riff. Is riff-creating an active part of songwriting for you? Are you working on new material?

Major RIFF-age man. We do enjoy a good riff with a groove. I don't think we ever intentionally set out to be super RIFF based, it just kind of worked out that way.  I think the culmination of everyone playing together just brought that out. We are always trying to write new material; When we do, usually the core RIFF  is brought to the table, then we tweak a few things, find a solid groove, and run with it. Riff doesn't even seem like a word anymore.

Velocicopter - Drag by RockPigRoastChi

CHECK OUT THE MIXTAPE HERE!

2012 Artist Profie - Treasurer

Who is Treasurer? I caught wind of Chicago's Treasurer through some friends and Pig Roast Alumni, and was immediately intrigued. Consisting of bass, drums and synth (dubbed "basement synth" in the below interview), Treasurer's sound is spacious, heavy, mysterious and experimental all at once. We're happy to have them share their first show with us at the pig roast!

Check out an interview with Maya Nash (synth/vocals) below, as she shares background on the band's history, style and goals. You can also check out their song, "The Country Is Behind Me!"

You guys are a new band, and the pig roast might be one of your first shows. How did you form? Have you played in other groups before? Where did the name come from?
Maya Nash: We have all known each other for over seven years. I’ve always wanted to start or contribute to some kind of music project but my background is in architecture and that field, especially while in school, is pretty all consuming. So after I graduated the guys were looking to start a new project for whatever reason and asked me to be part of it. In a way, I felt that I needed to reacclimate to the world outside studio and school. I thought the band would be a great way to apply myself creatively in a different format than what I was used to which is much more visual.

No [Editor: Maya hasn't played in other groups]. We kicked around a few ideas before settling on Treasurer. Did you know that every combination of noun, verb, and adjective is already a band name? I like it because I am obsessed with money. I would like to have some someday. I have not yet figured out how to make this happen except to name my band Treasurer. It’s an “if you build it” situation.

I know it may be a standard question, but since you're newer I wanted to ask also what your influences are. Your Bandcamp lists a genre as 'basement' and 'synth' - can you elaborate?
I play an analog synthesizer. We used to live in the basement of our building while I was in grad school. It was not that great, we were robbed and flooded. It will definitely influence my decision not to live in another basement in my life. I think maybe Henry was referring to a less polished, more immediate aesthetic to the music. I appreciate an atmosphere of obsessive tinkering, maybe that’s what the “basement” part refers to.

You've got two tracks on Bandcamp already. Can you tell me about them? Are you working on an album or an EP? If so, can you share any details?
 I can tell you a little about the process at this point. Hank and Robby work out a basic song structure and I concern myself with the overall idea of the song. I say things like, “this one is all about winning” or “its a party that is sad like a middle school dance” but I don’t know if that really helps anyone besides me.

We are in the process of recording a couple of demos on our own. I was really hoping you would ask me if I had ever been to a pig roast before. I would have told you that I used to work at a barbeque restaurant for over 6 years but I was a vegetarian the entire time. I’ve handled so much pulled pork, it’s ironic and disturbing.

Treasurer - The Country Is Behind Me by RockPigRoastChi