At Joyzine we love the music, we crave the things that bring (as our name suggests) joy. But it’s also great to take a peek behind the artist’s music, the whys and the wheres of how they can draw inspiration from their hometown. Our feature ‘There’s No Place Like Home’ gives artists a chance to not only share their music but to take our readers on a virtual trip around their home town. We’ve teamed up with the Audio Antihero record label to have some of their bands show us round where they live.
The first tour bus is ready to leave and our hosts are bedroom rockers The Noisy with their musical tour of Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the United States, home to the Philly Cheesesteak, more murals than any other US city, and the Liberty Bell (cast in 1752 in the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London).
- What makes Philadelphia a special place for music?
When I saw Mannequin Pussy live at Union Transfer (I want to say night 2 of 3) they said Philly is the music capital of the US and I just have to agree. Philly has grit, an amazing DIY and experimental music scene in West Philly, of course an incredible history of emo and hardcore music. I have loved being in a place where friends of different artistic backgrounds become a part of the project. My designer friends, photographer friends, writer friends, drag friends. It’s been extremely special, and I think feels indicative of Philly’s scrappiness that we’re all trying our hardest to be generous with each other, and come out to shows to support each other.
- Is there a scene or a sound that you’d describe as being specific or special to Philadelphia?
Everyone jokes about Philly shoegaze, and when I first moved here it felt like Sweet Pill was The Philly band. I love their music! I’d say I’m especially excited right now about bands that get more eclectic genre-wise. My bandmate Daniel Sohn is a big Alex G head and I like that his music is often playful in its scope and takes its own project seriously. I think Philly has a lot of scenes, and the music I’m excited about is the stuff that could belong on many kinds of bills.
- Give us a quick history lesson – who are some of your favourite bands and artists from Philadelphia?
It just so happens that all of my favorite bands came out of Philly—Japanese Breakfast, Hop Along, Mannequin Pussy, the Districts. I look to Michelle Zauner as sort of a North Star for the band, and I think her journey as a musician and writer has meant a lot in how I see myself as an artist.
- And who should we be looking out for right now & why?
I’m blessed because all of my friends are in wildly good bands. Daniel Sohn is going to be dropping music later this year, Kulfi Girls are absolutely slaying right now. I love the guys in Wax Jaw and got to model for the album cover! Bren has played in my band a bunch and their music is just too good. Sunday Evening Drive and Full Screen are both electronic / dance punk and those guys are all complete angels.
- What impact do you think living in Philadelphia has had on your sound and songwriting?
I’ve gotten to work with so many drag artists and designers that are local to Philly, and that’s shaped the visual world of the first album in a major way. Especially if you watch “Twos” and “Violet Lozenge,” those videos are inextricable from the Philly nightlife scene. I think my songwriting is a little more ambitious now, which has come with a couple years of consistent lessons and playing shows. I have friends fill in for live shows a lot, and in general my songs are pretty easy to learn, but as we get into LP2, the songs we’re writing have more unconventional structures, production choices, instruments. I’m trying to lean into strangeness, and my own weird little religion of music. I think being in Philly I’ve been so encouraged and supported that it seems like the best thing I can do is to keep working towards that truest songwriting.
- Where are your favourite local places to play or see live music and why?
Johnny Brenda’s is my favorite to see live music. I got to play Union Transfer once and that was a huge deal for us! We got pose with the “Is it hot? Are you proud to serve it?” sign. But one of my favorite shows was playing a house venue, Rug Club, in West Philly. It was three piece, two guitars and viola mostly. The room was so warm and attentive. It was a fundraiser for Gaza, and it was just a lot of good people.
- Aside from the bands, who are some of the local heroes working to keep music thriving in Philadelphia?
I worked at one of the last independent venues, World Cafe Live, until recently doing programming. It gave me a chance to understand the ecosystem better. I’m really grateful for the guys at WXPN especially John Vettesse and Mike Vasilikos who constantly uplift bands in the area and are literally always at local shows. Show producers who make sure artists actually get paid. Ofc sound guys who actually listen to your notes 🙂
- Please pick around 10 songs from/about the city for a playlist, along with a few words about each choice.
- ‘Undone’ by Bren
- Bren is the funniest person, a generous collaborator, and a wildly talented musician. The next Mannequin Pussy if you ask me 🙂
- ‘Violets’ by Twin Princess
- My manager also manages Twin Princess and we shared a bill at PhilaMoCA in May. I’m a huge fan of their music!!! Electronic and cowgirl and synthy and poppy.
- ‘I Found a Light’ by Terra Cotta
- I saw this band play at a variety show in West. There was clown and poetry and music, and when they played it felt like everything was right in the world. The frontperson Gabriel is also in River Full of Fruit, a project I really admire, and is friends with the Cradle, a band out of NYC, and I think you hear that influence especially in this band’s debut album.
- ‘Gotta Go’ by Cadre Noir
- I first saw this band at a basement show in South Philly and they blew me away, and have since played Philly Music Fest and other amazing venues / events around the city. Couldn’t be a bigger fan of what they are up to!
- ‘Wreckter‘ by Larlene
- When I first moved to Philly Kat was the first person who made me feel at home in this scene, the first person here to play in The Noisy, and just a dear friend. I love Kat more than I can say and their self-described castle doom metal is incredible!!!
- ‘Incinerator’ by Daniel Sohn
- I got to learn some of Daniel’s songs for a show he had in Providence, and “Incinerator” was our closer. To me, it’s Car Seat Headrest but better. Daniel is simply brilliant and I love his approach to music making, how many field recordings, strange sounds, unconventional instrumentation he brings to the process. That’s my friend!!!!
- ‘Vitamins’ by Glitterspitter
- My bassist Nate is also in this band, and the guitarist in Glitterspitter did the recording and mixing for the deluxe tracks for More Meat. I heard this song live at Johnny Brenda’s and was so taken with their music. Fog machine ambiance etc.
- ‘Red Light’ by Kulfi Girls
- I got to sing backup for their album release at Johnny Brenda’s and learning this song was my favorite!!! I love the energy of their live performances and front person Abi is just genuinely such a compelling performer and vocalist. I shared a bill with them on my first show in Philly (touring from Knoxville actually!) and the band had pretty recently formed then. Really cool to see them getting their flowers now!!
- ‘Posing in Bondage’ by Japanese Breakfast
- I was obsessed with Jubilee and studied it like I would study poetry (my other life is as a poet, my most recent chapbook I wrote while very much obsessed with Michelle Zauner’s writing.) and “Posing in Bondage” is so powerful lyrically, and my favorite song to hear live. I love the spareness and raw emotion, and the swelling at the end is just consuming in the best way. I also love the mirroring with the album’s closer, “Posing for Cars.”
- ‘Well-Dressed‘ by Hop Along
- I’ve loved this band since I was 17. My first favorite Philly band. “Well-Dressed” is my favorite song to hear Frances sing live, just incredibly moving.
- ‘Shadow People’ by Dr. Dog
- I used to listen to Dr. Dog in high school, and going to a Dr. Dog headlining show at the Mann was also the first time I saw Hop Along. A beloved Philly staple and long-time road dogs. I took a class with the frontperson through School of Song, and he talked about filling his CD of demos with rainbow sprinkles and giving it to My Morning Jacket. I love their weird brains!!
- ‘Barrie’ by Full Screen
- Me and my bandmate Daniel talked a lot about how incredible this song is. A real moment of transformation from the first verse into the rest of the song. I love Kirby’s mixing and production choices!!!
‘The Secret Ingredient Is Even More Meat’ is available via Audio Antihero:
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Huge thanks to The Noisy and Audio Antihero for taking us on such a fabulous trip through the music scene of Philadelphia.
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