After this, I am never bringing up Will Yates again.*

I needed to get this over with. Will Yates: I mention him in about 2/3rd of my blog posts. Enough is enough. I decided it was time to just do an interview with him, so in the future, I won't have to mention him anymore because everything you need to know about him will be in this entry. *Unless he decides to start another band, or join another band, or writes a musical or something.

I caught him on Gchat and asked if wouldn't mind doing an interview. He agreed, but he had just thought of a song idea and needed to record it real quick. Damn. Of course he has a song idea. And of course he is just going to record it real quick. So, here is everything you need to know about Will Yates, sort of.

Will: ok here i am
Elle: hah! I will be right back, and have to take a call. It was my mom.
Elle: Sorry about that.
Will: no prob

Elle: So, what was the first instrument you picked up?
Will: Piano. I was banging on the family piano from a young age, and started lessons when I was 5.
Elle: How many other instruments would you say you are proficient at playing now?
Will: I would say I'm also proficient at the guitar and bass guitar.
Elle: I'd have to agree with that.
Will: heh
Elle: Although, I think I would say you are little more than just proficient at it.

Elle: Do you think you could estimate how many different bands you have been in/toured with/guested on albums for/etc?
Will: I've been a full-time member of 4 bands. My high-school band was called Superautomatic. Then I was in the Singles for about 4 years. Now I'm in the Pop Project and Zoos of Berlin.
Will: I'm playing guest keyboards in Javelins these days. I've done tours (longer than one or two dates) with The Singles and Javelins.
Will: I've guested on maybe 6 albums, only within the last year or two.
Elle: Impressive.
Will: As far as I can remember.
Elle: Hah!
Will: Ha, I'm not trying to show off.
Elle: I didn't think you were! Riiiiiiiiiight.

Elle: I must admit, one of my favorite songs off "Stars of Stage and Screen" is "Never Got the Breaks." You are a good songwriter. What are your influences?
Elle: Or "who" rather...
Will: Well, early on, the two big albums for me were Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream and Radiohead's OK Computer. Those heavily informed the first few years of my songwriting. But then I got into Sloan. Between the Bridges and Navy Blues had a huge effect on my songwriting; I started writing songs in that style. SRSLY? Smashing Pumpkins?
Will: When I joined The Pop Project in 2003, I was still heavy into Sloan, and I was very excited to be joining a band that had a sound similar to what I was writing and that would let me contribute some songs.
Will: The music for "Never Got The Breaks" was written in 2003 or 2004 and the lyrics were written in 2005. I haven't written something that sounds like that in a while.
Elle: How does the songwriting process work with a band like The Pop Project? Do you come in with a completed song, or just the main parts, and then go from there?
Will: There are three of us writing songs in The Pop Project. We pretty much bring in completed songs and teach them to the rest of the band. There's some editing that goes on; we might try new countermelodies, or a new tempo, or something like that. Of the three, I'd say that I try the hardest to get the band to play the song like it sounds in my head and not change anything. When I write songs in the future for the band, I'm going to try to leave more wiggle room, so it becomes more of a band effort.
Elle: But you are the best songwriter ever. They will just mess shit up. Kidding, dudes, you are awesome too.
Will: You seem to be taking a page from fivethreedialtone's interview style. ; )
Elle: Oh no you di'nt!
Elle: hah, yeah, actually he is my hero.
I was apparently drunk when I wrote this.
Will: No, they won't mess shit up. Everyone in The Pop Project is phenomenally talented, and from the point of view of the average listener, they'd probably rather listen to a song that everyone in the band had some input on. I think those songs end up being more interesting.
Will: There's always the danger of writing by committee, but I think that everyone in The Pop Project is zany enough, and we're generally on the same page about things, that we don't ever compromise ourselves into making boring choices for our songs.

Elle: What else do you do besides write amazing songs and play in awesome bands?
Will: I recently got a job booking the Elbow Room in Ypsilanti, as you know.
Elle: How is that going for you? It seems like a lucrative gig. I'm not trying to be smarmy, I really love the Elbow Room.
Will: Beyond spending a few hours a day on that, I try to focus all my time on advancing my career in music. The Elbow Room job is going well. I've never booked a venue before, so there's a steep learning curve. I feel like I'm still learning something important every day, and hopefully getting better at it. I would not call it an incredibly lucrative pursuit. It's helping me maintain my current lifestyle, but it's not enough to move out of my parents' house. Of course, to be fair, it shouldn't be, because it's not a full-time job.

Elle: Do you have any favorite local bands at the moment that you are not involved in?
Will: Well, I would say that Great Lakes Myth Society is probably my favorite. Their two albums, especially the first one, are pretty much the best albums I'm aware of from local musicians (other than the ones I had a hand in, of course, heh heh).
Elle: Niiiice.
Will: Come to think of it, I have a minor backing vocal part on the second GLMS album. Damn.
Elle: So that doesn't count. You have to think of another band that you like.
Will: Damn. HAHA
Elle: Come on! It can't be that hard!
Will: Haha, I'm trying to think of who my favorite is though.
Elle: Take your time.
I could have sworn ten minutes went by. He was probably trying to figure out which band he hasn't been in.
Will: I guess I'll have to say Deastro. One of his songs, though I don't know what it's called, is constantly stuck in my head. I really like The Word Play. I don't if that counts since we're on the same label and we're friends. I didn't play a note on their album though.
Oh, The Wordplay, *droooool*
Elle: It kind of counts.

Elle: How did the tour with Javelins go?
Will: I've done two tours with Javelins in the last few months. Those have been a lot of fun; they're basically vacations. I really like the Javelins dudes a lot personally, and I think the fact that I'm not in a band full-time with them means that I always can enjoy hanging out with them without worrying about business or feeling like we're spending too much time together.
Elle: That sounds like fun.
Will: The last tour we did was with the band Colour Revolt, so that was like double the fun hanging out with that many awesome dudes.
Elle: I am going to find a way to tour with them.
Will: You may have to bring your own car.
Elle: haha.
Will: The van's generally pretty full when we're riding in it.
Javelins are apparently fatties.


Elle: How did you feel about the photo comparison I did of you and Ian Curtis?
Will: A few people have noticed that before.
Elle: Oh, well then.
Elle: I am sure they didn't go as far as doing a photo comparison on their blog.
Elle: Or has that been done already too?
Will: One time, I thought up the word "guitarded", and I thought I was so clever, but now you can see that there are 63,400 Google hits for the word "guitarded".
Way to not answer my last question!
Elle: That's sad. You should have copyrighted that.
Will: Trademarked.
Will: Correcting people, something I do.
Elle: Damnit. DAMNIT!
Will: But don't necessarily feel good about.
Elle: It's ok, I do that as well. It's always refreshing to get corrected by someone else. I need to be taken down a peg or two sometimes.
Will: Haha, but you're the writer.
Elle: Whatevs. I am just a blogger. According to Deep Cutz Charlie, there is a HUGE difference. *shakes fist at Deep Cutz' "blog"
Will: Hmm. Maybe blogspot should make people read "The Elements of Style" before they can have an account.
Elle: That's probably a good idea.

Elle: What are your favorite pizza toppings? Hard-hitting journalism!
Will: pepperoni, onions and pineapple are my top three. If a pizza has one of those, it's off to a good start.
Elle: I am not a fan of pineapple on pizza. But I can respect your choice. NOT! that's sick.
Will: You know, I didn't used to think I was, and then (to get all scene for a second) Eric Stollsteimer gave me a slice of ham and pineapple at the Lager House once, and I was like "Whoa! This is good!"
Elle: Name dropping! Awesome! BONUS SCENE POINTS FOR NAMING A STOLLSTEIMER!
Will: Ha, the makings of a good blog post.

Elle: Where did you go to school? Did you go to college?
Will: I went to the Detroit Waldorf School for grade school, Cranbrook for high school and U of M for college.
Elle: What did you get your degree in?
Will: Philosophy!
Elle: Wow! I took some philosophy classes. We should talk sometime. About philosophy stuff.
Will: Oof.
That can't be good
Elle: I will probably just sit there and stare at you like I am confused, though.
Will: I was never very good at becoming an expert on any philosophers. I just think about right and wrong a lot.
Elle: How so? Examples?
Will: Well, in the news there are all kinds of stories about people hurting and killing each other. I think a lot about whether there are steps that can be taken to get people to cut this out, and what those steps might be.
Elle: I spend quite a bit of time thinking about that too.
Will: Hm, maybe everyone does.
Way to make me not feel stupid about saying something so completely obvious.
Elle: Probably.
Will: The thing about philosophy is that you keep ending up back at the most basic questions.
Elle: So true. *staring blankly at computer screen*
Will: But if you take the scientific approach, you have to give up being able to say that people "should" do this or "shouldn't" do that.
Will: The other option is religion, but I am not religious.
Elle: Would you consider yourself an atheist then?
Will: I say I'm an agnostic, because I don't spend any time advocating against the idea of a God. I think the universe is so insane and incomprehensible that even our concept of there being a "God" doesn't begin to explain it.
Elle: That's deep, sir. Whoa.
Will: Thanks.
Elle: You're welcome.
Will: A few years ago I read "The Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene, which is about the current state of how physics views the universe, and I came away thinking that a true understanding of the universe and why it's here and all that is way, way beyond our current grasp.
Elle: I think I've been a little too nice to you in this interview.
Elle: That's definitely not fivethreedialtone style.
Will: I did an interview with fivethreedialtone a while back; I don't recall him being particularly mean.
Elle: He is mean to me. Maybe it's just me, though.
Will: He does do leading questions to try to get you say bad things about others, though.
Duh, he's a blogger. And he is from Detroit.
Will: I'm sorry if he's mean to you.
Elle: It's ok... I'll be fine. *sobbing quietly*

Elle: What are your top three favorite albums of all-time? What about at the moment?
Will: I'd say for all time it's the albums I mentioned having an effect on my songwriting: Siamese Dream, OK Computer, and Between the Bridges. I got obsessed with each of those and they had a big effect on me. For the last few years, I'd say my favorites are Brian Wilson's Smile (the recent version), Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker ballet, and a Beatles album (let's say Sgt. Pepper's).

Elle: What do you love about Michigan?
Will: Well, I probably love Michigan because I grew up here, I'm used to the lifestyle, and a lot of my friends and some family are here. I enjoy going up north; much of the state is very pretty. I'm proud of the musical heritage here, and I hope to keep that going in some small way.

Elle: What do you hate about Michigan?
Will: I don't really hate anything about Michigan, but I wish that the state had more opportunities for the creative class. Economically, I think that should be part of the replacement for the decline of manufacturing, and I think it's a reason why several of my friends have left the state. I'm sorry that the national perception of Michigan is probably a negative one, with Michigan's poor economy and with Detroit's various troubles. I think that more boosting up needs to be done of schools like Wayne State and CCS, to make Detroit more of a viable option for young creative class types. Right now it's cool to move to Chicago or New York, and it's not very cool to move to Detroit, and I think an answer to that problem is part of the solution for bringing Michigan back. Also, the winters are a little long here.

Indeed, they are...

Everybodys Moving Out Of Michigan - Will Yates

Oh. My. God.

Javelins were amazing last night. But I don't need to tell you that because I am pretty sure you were all there. If you weren't, it was awesome and Will Yates played with them. Everything is better with a little Will Yates. I think Kevin Bayson played on stage as well. I just assumed it was him. I did no actual research. That could be a total lie.

I didn't take pictures because this guy's brother did, and I wanted to dance.

Today, I did something I never thought I would do: wear white leggings and white teeshirt in public. And I didn't wear any makeup.

Why, oh why, did I something so out of character? For Mason Proper. They were filming a music video for a single off their new album, Olly Oxen Free, at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit.



Refused, "New Noise." The video for "Safe For the Time Being" will kind of be like that. Mason Proper is a hardcore band now, btw.


I was told to wear light colored clothes for the shoot, and I think I was the only one there in light colored clothes. Note to self: other Mason Proper fans are not as smart as me.* These two people were friends of directors**:


Rachel and Dave and some pizza.
Dave is a huge fan of pizza. He is also the bass player for Empty Orchestra for their upcoming tour. His friend, Rachel, is really funny and has some amazing dance moves. She also loves pizza.


Scary mask. Jonathan from MP even said he was afraid of the masks at first.



The new Mason Proper CD comes out September 23rd. I will be reviewing it! Maybe I will convince them to do an interview. I tried to talk to Zac Fineberg in the hallway, but his mouth was full of pizza.

That's really all I want to say about the video shoot. It's going to be an amazing video. These folks are pros.

I wish I could find someone in the Detroit area who I could do a photo comparison to Dennis Lyxzén with. Anyone? Anyone?

*In case you didn't know, I am joking. Sort of.
**Hott Garbage, who also made the EO vid for "It Gets Better" and the Mason Proper vid for "Friendship."

Brief blogging hiatus.

I will be in the wonderous town of Memphis* for the next two days. Although my parents finally have the Internetz, I will be avoiding computers altogether. But I will come back with a couple of articles/blogs that I will handwrite and then post as such. I am warning you, my handwriting is atrocious. My sincerest apologies. Not.

As you may or may not have heard, this upcoming weekend is a CD/7" Release Extravaganza! Your best bets: The Hentchmen's new release comes with bubblegum and trading cards. Way to go, Bellyache. Also, there is the new full-length by Javelins. But I've already talked them up enough to say anymore.

In other news, Detroit Summer Smash is back and better than ever!** For a good cause. I love causes. Has anyone seen the dude that won't use pillows for 31 days? He is a cutie. Who also loves causes. Anyway, check out their myspace to see the line-ups. It's at the CAID. Woooo!


*Michigan
**I am not just saying that because I am playing it.

Brutally Heavy Meadows.

It's hard being a blogger in Detroit. By the time you get the newest releases (even before they are out), five other people have already written about it. Don't cry for me though, because then I still end up with a bunch of music I didn't previously have. For the most part, it is good. Sometimes, it is real bad.

In the case of Javelins new record, Heavy Meadows, I did not know what to expect. Their first LP, No Plants Just Animals, was OK. Nothing new, nothing exciting, nothing to "write home about," if you will. It was just... OK. Before popping in their newest effort, I jotted down a list of musicians that I thought might make appearances on the album. The list is as follows:
* Zach Curd (Pop Project)
* Will Yates (Pop Project)
* Christian Doble (Child Bite/Kiddo)
* Kaylan Mitchell (Canada*)

I think I was right about Zach and Kaylan. Win!

And now for the review:
[insert the longest run-on sentence possible with the most pretentious words you could possibly find in a dictionary/thesaurus]

OK, here is the real review:

If the Blood Brothers and Interpol did some 'shrooms and smoked a bunch of weed together and jammed, they might sound like Javelins. Or if The Get Up Kids decided to bro down with Tim Kasher, and record an album, it might sound like Heavy Meadows.

OK, no seriously, real real review time:

A fan of malapropisms, I was hoping Heavy Meadows was a play on words for Heavy Metal, but I was sorely disappointed. Instead, I got softly caressed on the face (as opposed to being punched in the face) by soothing stringed instruments (as opposed to brutal, sweeping guitar parts run through two full stacks in a bar the size of my office).

The opening track of the album, Flowers, teeters on pretty and dissonant to the point where you are lulled into (and then jacked out of) a mid-summer's nap in a hammock on your parents' backporch in the 'burbs. Lyrically heartbreaking, compounded by a heartwrenching vocal melody. Could be an emo song. But it's not. Maybe it is. I don't know. I just like describing things as "emo" as much as possible.

The strings at the beginning of The Pounding were unexpected. After doing a little research (ie, stalking other blogs and Flickr accounts and Myspace pages), it turns out not only Mitchell was involved but so was Cassandra Verras. Awesome.

Personally, the stand out tracks on the album are El Dorado, Pickup Lines, and Out On the Sand. Out On the Sand is more The Stills than it is Interpol, but it's so well executed with perfectly chosen guitar effects, punctuated synths, awkward vocals, and dancey drum beats that you completely forget that you just compared it to The Stills and Interpol on the first listen. Pickup Lines boasts some memorable lyrics like, "memories are something that you can't afford." Deep. El Dorado is just good. Plain and simple. Good. Not that the song is plain nor simple.

Shit, I told Matt Rickles that I was going to tear this CD apart. I just can't, though.

Anyway, they are doing some record release show or something next weekend, the 26th, to be exact, at my favourite bar ever, The Belmont. They are playing with this totally awesome band called Nouns. I love that band. I will probably be at the show. Bring money and buy the record/album/CD/LP/whatever.

*And because she is on just about EVERY record ever made in Michigan. She's awesome at what she does. It's no joke.

Oh, Detroit...

And the haterdom continues! This time about another band (and subsequent festival). I will agree with a few points made in the comments... The fest is very one-sided*, Ryan Allen will make two (maybe even more?) appearances (but I wouldn't go as far as saying it's Ryan Allen's Fest**), and unicorns DO exist***.

Enough about Detour... Let's talk about the idea of someone starting shit with a semi-popular local group so that other people would then talk about their band and they would get some attention (and it's something that I didn't even think of---GENIUS!). Seriously, the thought never crossed my mind. But that is such a good idea! I need to be more devious and mean and cutthroat with this blog. Or I am never going to get mentioned in Metro Times.

Someone asked me today what I have been listening to in my car recently. The following CDs have been in heavy rotation (I do not have an iPod, don't hate on me for it):
1. Midnight Boom, The Kills
2. This Gift, Sons and Daughters
3. a mix CD with cocorosie, Rainer Maria, Mando Diao, and Jarvis Cocker, among others
4. Pleasure Mountain, Champions of Breakfast

Why isn't your band's CD listed? Because I am broke. But if you want to give me a CD for free, I'll review it here. That is to say it might not be a good review. I might talk some shit, depending on how cool your band is.

I want attention. That's why I started this blog, right? RIGHT?!?!


*I'm not hatin' here, I'm just saying it is obvious
**bitter much?
***what a cool "genetic flaw!" I want one!