The following interview by Tommy Anderson originally appeared in the December 1, 2011 issue of seveneightfive magazine. With the upcoming International Blues Festival, held January 31 through February 4 in Memphis, we wanted to share this with you and encourage you to root for Two Blue, who will perform in the solo/duo category.

Two Blue, a side project of “Josh Vowell & the Rumble” is comprised of frontman Josh Vowell and harp extraordinaire Justin Shelton. The duo joined together to perform in the Topeka Blues Society competition, where the finalists compete at the International Blues Competition in Memphis. Josh and Justin will travel there in February.

1Q: If you could add any musician to your duo, who would it be?
Justin: Go online and look up the most ridiculously crazy Cajun box drummer, and that’s who I would add.
Josh: Cool sexy chick singer with a good defined voice like Samantha Fish, Bessie Smith, or Aretha Franklin.

2Q: What makes your band unique?
Josh: We were able to grow up with our generation’s music and take it back to the blues. We’ve combined the new-aged ideology of our generation with the blues ideology of the late 19th century.
Justin: We both have back grounds in heavy metal and I think that brings a lot, rhythmically, to the table.

3Q: What are the advantages/disadvantages of being a duo as opposed to a full-sized band?
Josh: There’s no rhythm section so it requires us to be on our toes but you don’t have to set up all the chords, drums, and extra instruments.
Justin: A duo doesn’t have the variety that a full sized band would have but it’s still fresh and produces a butterfly effect on the stomach.

4Q: What is the most palm-head-worthy moment of the duo’s musical career?
Justin: Showing up in Kansas City to perform and realizing all of the harmonicas have been left at home.

5Q: What bands or musicians have inspired or influenced your music?
Justin: John Nemeth, Sonny Boy Williamson, Sean Costello, and Tab Benoit.
Josh: Son House, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Sean Costello.

Bonus question: What is your biggest message to the public?
Two Blue: Get out and support live music. There are too many forms of entertainment that are taking away from the majesty that is music.

[ story by Tommy Anderson| photo by Colin McMillan | Nathan Ham Photography ]

Implementing the time-honored, stripped down, guitar-bass-drums format made popular by such greats as Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Cream, the Police and the John Mayer Trio, Chris Aytes and the Good Ambition play passionate no-frills Rock and Roll music from the heart.

Josh Hartranft [bass/vocals] • Renelle Aytes [drums] • Chris Aytes [guitar/vocals]

1Q: What genre of music do you consider your music to be?
Chris: Rock and Roll! I love the history of rock and roll and we play stuff that sounds just like Buddy Holly, the Beatles, Tommy James and the Shondells, the Who, Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, the Ramones, it all mixes in for us. So we are Rock and Roll.

2Q: Where is your hometown?
Chris: We all live in Topeka now, but Renelle and I are originally from Great Bend, Kansas. Before that I lived in Concordia, and before that she lived . . .
Renelle: . . . in Oberlin, Kansas, way out northwest.
Josh: I came here from Springfield, Missouri. My quote, unquote hometown, is Poplar Bluffs, Missouri, but we moved there from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when I was 11.
Chris: But we’re now in Topeka. I’m really starting to enjoy it and finding it a good place to start a band. Not a whole lot of people making music similar to what we’re making, so we can stick it out and not be just another fish in the pond. And it’s not too big of a music scene so there’s no pressure. We can have some time to kind of germinate. It’s a good incubating town so far, it has been good to us.

3Q: What influences you most: Literature or Music?
Chris: Music.
Renelle: Music.
Josh: Music has this way of taking over your entire soul . . . just takes you off somewhere. You have to actually sit down and put yourself into something, get into reading something in order for what you’re reading to take you somewhere . . . with music as soon as it’s on you’re in a world of greatness.
Chris: I do read, but it’s usually a biography of John Lennon or somebody like that . . . most of my reading has to do with music, which inspires me in the first place. Most of the films I watch have to do with music.

4Q: What is your favorite movie?
Josh: “The Jungle Book”
Chris: I’m a huge fan of “That Thing You Do.” It’s great, it really kind of captures a time period of music and what the industry was like at the time, what it was like to have a band with a hit record. I adore the film “Stranger Than Fiction” . . . “High Fidelity” and “The Shawshank Redemption.” We watched this old film from like the 30s, a young Jimmy Stewart was in it . . . “You Can’t Take It With You.” After we got through watching this movie with some friends, I said, if anyone asks me what my favorite film is, this is my favorite film, and Renelle just reminded me of that.
Renelle: When I think of favorite movies, I think of the “Bourne Trilogy,” but then I think about movies that really tie a lot of meaning to them, and that speak to my life; I can think of tons of others.

5Q: What’s the ultimate direction for your band?
Renelle: Making a living off of our music. People always say, find something you love, and get paid to do it. Well, we love doing this, and so we want to be able to support our families doing this, and hopefully other people’s families that will be on board with us.
Josh: It will be very nice to not be living on a minimum wage all my life, but still be playing music. I decided with myself a few years ago, especially after high school, even if I have a crappy run-down car and I just live in a one room apartment by myself, if I continue to play music and that’s what I do regularly, my life would be fulfilled.

[ story by Robin Cremer | photos by Ryan Bishop | GIZMO Pictures]

Formed around the middle of the last decade, Topeka based Beans & Cornbread is a big ol’ brass band that lays down some serious funkiness, that you can sit, listen, and enjoy; but after hearing a few of their upbeat horn driven funky-licous, tunes, you can’t help but get up, get down and shake, shake, shake your booty.

Building a repertoire from artists representing a wide variety of musical genres spanning a multitude of decades; B & C cover songs by the likes of: Tupac Shakur, the Gap Band, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley and Bill Withers, not to mention that great New Awlins funk they cut their teeth on.

An eight piece band (five horn players, guitarist, bassist and drummer, most sing) with members “spreadin’ out so far and wide,” it’s hard enough getting them together to do a gig much less talk to the “kooky” music writer of seveneightfive, but we managed to pull three of ‘em together long enough to talk about their funked up band and the remarkable music they perform.

You guys play mostly covers. How do you choose the ones you play?

Alan Eisman; Funky Bass Player: Our main goal when we’re choosing music, are people going to dance to it, that’s our main goal. And are we going to be able to do it well. We’re not going to do a song if we can’t do it well. We’ve tried songs that are great songs but they just didn’t work out for our orchestration, and didn’t work out for the crowd. We tried a bunch of different songs and the end result is get people to dance.

Eric Padilla; Funky Vocals and Trumpet: And 90 percent of the suggestions that come to the band we don’t do. Alan is the one who pretty much decides, cause he’s the one who arranges everything. We’re all musicians but these two (Eric and Robert) know how to write out music. So, if it’s a fun song and they think they can arrange it.

Robert Kilpatrick; Funky Vocals and Trombone: Because we have so many horns, we have to actually write the music out, you can’t just wing it.

What’s been the most unusual cover for you to perform?

Eric: Christina Aquilera, Ain’t No Other Man. We played it two or three times, but the vocals were just too high for me.

Robert: That and Down, that was pretty unusual. Jay Sean, it’s sort of modern hip hop.

The most popular?

Eric: The 70s style and when we do our cover of California Love (Tupac), everybody just loves that. Everybody loved our old Stevie song and we got rid of that one and added a different one so we didn’t have to play the same one over and over.

Alan: A few years ago, there’s a guy who was holding a Bocce Ball tournament, and had us play. He was a big reggae guy; he wanted us to learn a bunch of reggae and we kept some of it.

What are your day jobs?

Alan: Air Traffic Control.

Robert: I work for the Kansas National Guard.

Eric: I’m an advisor with Farm Bureau Insurance.

(Lance Quilling on Funky Trombone and Funky Saxophonist Aaron Graverson are high school band directors. Mike Hurla who plays Funky Trumpet is assistant manager of Dairy Queen, while Funky Drummer Lucas Whippo and Funky Guitarist Ross Williams are students at Washburn.)

What’s the most unusual place you’ve played at?

Alan: That Bocce Ball tournament was one. We’ve done weddings in Illinois, we’re about to do a wedding in Central Kansas.

Eric: We played for Washburn. The first years of the band we were a lot more brassy, that New Orleans funk style. And they had a Mardi Gras luncheon and they paid us to come play at lunch and four faculty came in and ate. We were supposed to play two hours. We got paid to rehearse.

Alan: We got paid pretty good on that.

Robert: We got paid really good on that. (laughing)

[Robin Cremer • photo by Colin MacMillan, Nathan Ham Photogrpahy | published September 1 - October 15, 2011]

(from left to right): Roger Ortega (bass/vocals), Ray Ayala (trumpet/keys), Ray Ortega (guitar/lead vocals), Arthur Ortega (drums/vocals), Steve Ortega (trumpet/keys/guitar/vocals) and Tony Vargas (percussion/vocals).

Performing the music from their youth, Tejano band Paradize is celebrating 35 years of music-making this year.

Growing up in the Oakland neighborhood, with a career older than most of the upstarts usually featured in the pages of seveneightfive, the members of Paradize can keep you entertained for hours with stories from the road. Featuring vocational highlights (and lowlights) that include performing at the Surf Ballroom (the last venue Richie Valens played before his death), to watching their tour van go up in flames on the way home from a gig, these guerreros de camino just may be one of the last practitioners of the unique and wonderful style of Mexican music known as Tejano.

Join me as the six members of Paradize share a snap shot view of the last three decades in the life of Topeka’s own venda del Tejano. And so it begins.

What bands or musicians have influenced you?
Roger Ortega (bass/vocals): I would say Little Joe y La Familia. He’s the guy who started it all. He’s like the godfather of Tejano music.
Ray Ortega (guitar/lead vocals): The four brothers Arthur, Roger, Steve and myself, we all grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, so we incorporate a lot of Motown and a lot of rock music . . .but Roger is right, Little Joe is the first one who brought Tejano music to the forefront, with horns and keyboards and drums and percussion. Prior to that, it wasn’t that advanced. That’s where we picked it up.
Ray Ayala (trumpet/keys): For me, Little Joe definitely, but Maynard Ferguson was a big influence.

You recently released your new CD, Past Due. How is that being received?
Steve Ortega (trumpet/keys/guitar/vocals): We almost sold out of our first batch (375) and that was really by word of mouth . . . and we have 10 or 11 left.
Roger: They have a top ten on Picante radio stations and we were number five on the top ten, which is fantastic.
Arthur Ortega (drums/vocals): Some of the people down in Lubbock TX; they couldn’t believe it was a band out of Kansas, everybody thought it was a band out of Texas, ‘cause that’s the kind of music that grows down there.

What are some of American bands that you cover?
All: Garth Brooks, Kool and the Gang, Earth Wind and Fire, Bryan Adams, Loverboy, Blues Brothers.
Roger: I think that the big diversity is we’ve been together for so long, and we first started playing for weddings. It was more Mexican weddings, and we played Mexican music. As time went on, interracial marriages made us change our style. If a girl is marrying a white guy and he likes country, of course we provide country. DJs weren’t big back then, so we had to learn country.

Are there any performances that particularly stand out in your memory?
Arthur: We played the Wichita Cotillion, we were outside, in the stadium, and we played for about 5000 people.
Roger: Even here in Topeka, I think we’re the only Mexican band in Kansas that’s ever played at Landon Arena . . . we played for a wedding there.

Do you see any younger players coming up to replace you in this type of music?
Roger: We were the ones to carry on the tradition when they left . . . but we’re at an age and there’s nobody left.
Tony Vargas (percussionist/vocals): Kids growing up today, they got the interest in it, then all of a sudden, when they hear the new style of music, that catches their ears and they just lose interest in it.
Arthur: Our dad had a group when we were little. He would come home and had some guys from Fort Riley that he knew. They’d come down to the house, and my dad would wake us up like at 10 or 11 o’ clock. And we were kids and we’d have our equipment set up downstairs, he’d wake us up, come on I want these guys to hear you play. And we actually started playing in bars with my dad when we’re like thirteen, fourteen.
Steve: Our dad was a big influence on us four brothers, he’s the one that got us all started when we were young.
Arthur: Whether we wanted to or not, through osmosis, we just absorbed it.

[published June 1, 2011 | Robin Cremer | photos by Lydia Barnhart]

Getting their name from an unusual source, Monk’s Wine populate their upbeat, lyric driven, piano based songs with an unusual assortment of characters. Within the wonderful world of Monk’s Wine, you’ll meet the “Moustache Man,” “the Hobo and the Stockbroker” and the short term memory challenged “Average Super Hero” – all moving about to a groovy, jazz inspired soundtrack.

With influences as diverse as John Scofield, Oscar Peterson, Mudvayne and John Mayer, Monk’s Wine are carving out a much needed niche in Topeka’s predominately hard rock music scene, recently releasing a five track CD, recorded at Rundown Studios.

I had a chance to meet with the members of Monk’s Wine awhile back and encountered a serious, sullen and almost sad group of individuals . . . NOT!

Where did the name ‘Monk’s Wine’ come from?

Jarrud Guth, guitar/vocals: Ashley and I, we said, ‘We gotta get a name for this band,’ and being that I was a former bartender and Ashley is a former drinker, we looked in this book and we’re just reading off. What we did not expect . . . is somebody asking ‘Why’d you name it after a pig? What’s a Monk Swine?’

Ashley Reynolds, piano/vocals: We were excited one night, when we found the domain name was still available for Monk’s Wine, and it just fit.

Jarrud: Like two things that maybe don’t mix together, like people aren’t supposed to be as good looking as us and have that much talent.

Ashley: For the record, the book we got the name out of was ‘The Playboy’s Bartender’s Guide.’

When I listen to your music, I hear splashes of Ben Folds and Barenaked Ladies. Do you credit them as influences or is this just a coincidence?

Ashley: Yeah, my biggest influence is definitely Ben Folds, so it’s flattering that you hear that element in there. I wouldn’t say I try to copy or really even emulate his music, but he certainly does have a place in there.

Jarrud: I think what’s nice is you may hear those elements, but I actually didn’t hear that much Ben Folds before I met Ashley . . . but each of us kind of bring a different influence.

Aaron Leonard, bass/vocals: Ashley might write a part to a song, and he’ll let me come in and think of a bass part, and if he likes it, great, but he might tell me to change something, and he can tell me exactly what to do, and I can follow it, we all work like that . . . we communicate really well about what we want to hear, or if we like it or not, and help each other out like that.

Jarrud: And at the same time, we have confidence in each other that we’re all going to come up with good parts. Everybody kind of plays their own parts and it’s nice because it just works. I don’t know how many people actually feel that; well, at least fifty, we sold some CDs.

Where’s your favorite venue to perform?

Sam: The Granada was the biggest venue to date that I’ve played at. It was a blast cause, it’s Lawrence, A, and B, it’s kinda cool to be the band to throw everything off. I think people were expecting that we were like metal or something.

Aaron: The Granada was great, there were a few sound issues, naturally, because we were the band throwing everything off.

Ashley: I would agree with the Granada being a pretty good venue thus far. We got a really good reception from that crowd, even the folks that were there to see the other heavier bands were pretty receptive to us . . . and it kind of surprised me. Like Sam said, we were the ones kind of throwing everything off.

What’s been playing on your stereo lately?

Jarrud: I’m into a lot of artists that aren’t super well known. Peter Mulvey . . . he’s a poet and plays fantastic guitar. I always have some of Andy’s (McKee) music in the player. John Scofield, Eric Johnson is always up there. I love Guster, I have all their albums.

Aaron: I listen to a lot of Muse, Radiohead, Cake. Oscar Peterson is one of my all time favorites. John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery. I listen to a lot of heavy rock still – I grew up on that.

Ashley: Jamie Cullem, I mean ,that cat . . . he’s got a real strong jazz background, but then puts it to pop lyrics, but still incorporates jazz solos in the middle of his songs. Brad Mehldau, a phenomenal piano player, I really like his solos, Joey Calderazzo, John Mayer. Of course, Ben Folds.

Sam: If it’s a good song, I don’t care about the artist, I’ll just go with it, maybe explore that artist. Lately, Mudvayne, Tool, U2, Chris Cornell, Audioslave, Ryan Farish, Zero 7, Sarah McLaughlin, James Taylor, I really dig one of his ‘Covers’ CDs.

What was your experience like working at Rundown Studios?

Sam: Well, that’s the first time I actually recorded with a band in a studio. The first thing I noticed is the guy running this, Paul, turns out, great guy, really knows his stuff. We pretty much did our thing, everything was set up professionally, and we just made a day of it.

Aaron: It was above and beyond my expectations. I’ve been in recording studios before, and when I go into a studio, I expect the person doing their job to know their job. And Paul did an amazing job.

Jarrud: I’d like to add that I hate Paul (laughter). From when he first started doing the recording thing and everything from there till now has been a step for him, and what he did with our CD, I was amazed at!

Ashley: Paul is what really makes it a very pleasant place to be. He’s not overbearing, he doesn’t try to control everything you’re doing, He let us come in there, and pretty much do our thing, and he did the work on his end of it.

[ Robin Cremer | photos contributed | republished from March - April print issue seveneightfive ]

seveneightfive thought this would be a good opportunity to spread the word about Spoken Thought, DKU and N.O.C.C. and the stellar hip-hop they’re producing right here in our hometown. We want to hear it on the car stereo speakers this summer, so make sure to go and download the mix tape at the link above. In the meantime, reacquaint yourself with Top City’s talent powerhouse, Dream Killer University, with this 5 Questions interview from our January 2011 print issue.

by Robin Cremer | photo by Adam Koger

Dream Killer University wants to change the world, “one crowd at a time!” With their newest CD release, Bad Luck and Break a Leg, DKU, inspired in part by the late 90s golden era of hip hop, i.e. after the Gangsta and before the Bling, have produced a stunning example of lyrical and musical creativity that will have your speakers begging for more. Their live shows have been gaining legendary status among people in the know, and Anthemous, Spoken Thought, and Nitemare, with drummer Shiflett and DJ One Man Army, show no sign of stopping and every sign of moving ahead.

Who came up with the name, Dream Killer University and what does it mean to you guys?

Spoken Thought:  This cat right here.

Anthemous:  It’s Kansas, this place, if you’re in hip hop, this place could destroy you, and it has destroyed me already, since I was six. I ran a record label and dead end, after dead end, after dead end. And I lost a lot hair and I lost a lot of money, I lost a lot of my coolness . . .  so in effect that dream of mine had died, but the university? It’s a school of thought. A college isn’t just a building . . . it has nothing to do with tuition, nothing to do with student bodies, nothing to do with faculty; it has to do with the lesson learned. You go through your whole life as a university student, always learning, the college of life.

How did you come up with your stage names?

Anthemous:  To be honest, I didn’t want to be Young Little Gangsta Drive by! (laughter)

Spoken Thought: I was chillin’ out in class in college . . . and this cat . . . and we’d go to the back when there was nothing else going on and we started trading ideas about hip hop . . . and it was you rap, okay, you rap, cool, cool . . . and he heard me rap . . . I just started streaming thought and was just like, running, he was like, dude, you gotta slow down, you’re going all over the place. I said well now, I’m just speaking up here, and he says yeah I know, I call you spoken thought because of that. You on a different level of talking, you know, sometimes it don’t even make any sense.  And I said, I’ll tell you what, I’ll get better at this hip hop thing, I was sort of new to it . . . I didn’t really understand you could keep on subject a lot and this cat really helped me out this way. He started calling me ‘Thought’ but it just came back to the class when I was Spoken Thought.

Nitemare:  Mine came from high school . . . they had this place in Topeka High . . . and we’d all be down there beating on the pop machines and stuff, rapping . . . this one dude who told me, every time I started spitting especially when I’m really into it, it’s a completely different tone . .  . I was the youngest one in the group, so everybody was still trying to be hood and everything, but when I came I came a little differently you it was kind of dark, but I said this one line a long time ago about killing you in your dreams, something like that, with my lyrics . . . there was this one upper class dude . . . he named me Nitemare and every since then that’s what I’ve been known as.

Do you think being a multi-cultural group you have a better chance of being accepted in the hip-hop community?

Anthemous:  I think it lends us something, rather then presenting challenges . . . people are just so intrigued . . . we come out looking the way we do with as many different styles, as many different looks as we have, we always perplex people by the beginning of the show and by the end of the show they want to see the next show. So, I think if anything that captivates people. Before they hear our lyrics, we have to depend on something visual and we work just fine.

Nitemare: And if you go into the lyrics aspect . . . what I love about us, is that like, when we spit, I kind most definitely tell that’s Anthemous, I can most definitely tell that’s Spoken Thought, I can most definitely tell that’s Nite . . . we dress different, we sound different, just everything, we even write different.

Spoken Thought: To go back to the question about how that lends us. Here in Topeka especially, there are a lot of cats that come through with their clique and if they rap . . . they all dress the same and . . . if you dress the same you start rapping the same . . .

Anthemous: You think the same.

Being a hip hop band, have you had difficulty finding venues to play in Topeka, and if so what has DKU done to change the perspective of how people in Topeka think about hip-hop?

Anthemous: You know, again, the proof’s in the pudding. We have a Reverb Nation page . . . and on that site it allows us to send press kits to venues which we wish to play for. And when we send them out a lot of them aren’t opened immediately some of these places either opened up an account, and never looked back or too busy . . . these venues that actually get to our press kit, and open it up and read through the bio and see what we’ve done and see our stats and listen to the music, they’re like, wow this is really good and we haven’t had anybody who hasn’t liked it.

Spoken Thought:  And a lot of the owners around here . . . they’re older and if they . . . listen to even a little bit of hip hop, they seem to be the ones who alright, we’ll give you maybe a chance. But a lot of times the owners here when they think about hip hop first thing that come’s to mind. They skip all the Run D.M.C. and they skip all the old school stuff, and they go directly to gangsta rap. They just have that solidified in their minds that is what hip hop is.

Nitemare: Most people, hip hop, rap, and gangsta rap is in the same category . . . and you have the true fan who knows what the difference is.

When is your album officially out and what would compel me to purchase it?

Anthemous: December 7, 2010 . . . and we’re not going to tell you we got a song for your up times and your down times, but we got an album that you’ll wanna pop in if you’re going somewhere . . .

Dream Killer University performs at the Celtic Fox May 28 | 9 p.m.

[ Dec. 1 - Jan 15 2011 seveneightfive | Robin Cremer | Adam Koger | photo at top from N.O.C.C. reverb nation page ]

Their D.I.Y. attitude and tough-as-nails approach to rock and roll is a refreshing change of pace. Standing out in a city dominated by an army of cover bands, they are one of the few hard rock bands willing to go out on a limb and perform music of their own creation. Arming themselves with a set list of powerful hard rocking original songs covering a range of subject matter from child abuse, phoniness, to just plain “getting nailed,” the members of Sixteen Penny collectively bring an expertise gained from over 20 years of professional performances. Their commitment to “kick ass” musicianship and an exciting stage presence are bringing them to the top of a short list of local original music acts. Join us now for an installment of Five questions with Sixteen Penny.

Who came up with the name Sixteen Penny?

Justin Langham (vocals): I did . . . working construction. I thought it was cool name. We had a list of names . . .

Chris Locke (guitar): We had a whole list. We were sitting around one night. We were tired of picking names and we go, “How about that one?”

What are the advantages/disadvantages of playing original music?

Justin: The advantage is, if you wrote it nobody can say you messed up on it. If someone says, “That sucks,” you can say, “No, that’s the way I wrote it.” The disadvantage is … this is a cover town.

Chris: We have to sell it – we have our own music – we got to sell it to the audience, and they got to dig it. Being an original band, we can play from the heart, play what we want to play . . . we can sound like ourselves and not sound like everybody else out there.

What’s the songwriting process like for 16p?

Chris: We just start groovin’ on something and if it feels right, we go with it.

Justin: Sometimes I’ll come up with something lyric-wise and these guys come around it . . . like “The Weight,” I had the lyrics and I had the melody. I just sang it the way I wrote it and they wrote the music behind it. It varies. Like tonight, his idea was the start of it.

Todd: But I’ve never written with you guys before today.

Justin: See what happens! (Laughs)

If your house was on fire and you had time to grab one CD from your collection, which one would it be?

Brad: “Echoes,” by Pink Floyd.

Chris: Jimi Hendrix, “Are you Experienced.”

Todd: “The Story of the Ghost,” Phish

Jeff: Metallica, “Master of Puppets.”

Justin: Shinedown, “Leave a Whisper.”

How does one know they’ve “gotten nailed” at a Sixteen Penny show?

Justin: You’re humming a tune and you don’t even know the words, you’re humming the melody or a guitar riff. The next morning you wake up and you’re still humming the tune of a Sixteen Penny song, that’s when you got nailed.

[ seveneightfive September 1 - October 15 | Robin Cremer | photo by EJ Drake ]

Lead singer/guitarist: Austin Naverud | Lead guitarist/background vocalist: Chase Farrant | Drummer: Robbie Richmond| Interim bassist: Joel Bland, filling in for Devin Mangus, who went strangely missing  at the beginning of summer (internship).

The guys divide their time between college and jobs, and writing, arranging, recording and performing an energetic hook-laden style of pop/punk that is, all at once, smart, introspective, heartfelt and captivating. Check them out on their Facebook or Myspace pages to listen their songs or catch them at the Topeka Farmers Market this Saturday performing for Music at the Market, 9-11 a.m.

I spent some time with the boys from Catch Amy and found them to be a down-to-earth, hardworking group of guys with a hilarious sense of humor. We had a great time talking about, music, songwriting, the future and the mysterious young lady named Amy.

Where did you come up with the name Catch Amy?

Austin: We started off with . . . ’5 Man Riot,’ and realized we weren’t a riot and we really didn’t have five men, then to ‘Streamline,’ then ‘Nuns with Gunz’ . . . one of our good friends mentioned the name Catch Amy and we pushed it aside, and then it was brought back up. There’s not really much of a story behind it, other than it’s good and original. Now it’s kind of evolved into . . . Amy is that girl you want to catch, she’s the perfect girl.

What’s going to happen if Amy is caught?

Robbie: Like in Grumpy Old Men, when they catch that big fish and they had to put it back . . . we’re grumpy old men and Amy is our big fish. (Everybody laughs)

Are your songs written from personal experiences or hypothetical situations?

Austin: Almost all the songs are real situations that came from real life. There might have been something that happened, and we wrote a song kind of hypothetically about it, but it’s all inspired by real stuff. People can relate to it because it’s happened to them too.

What do you feel sets you apart from other bands?

Chase: I would say originality, mentality, the drive for it and the music itself.

Joel: I like our band because we’re not setting out to prove something in particular; we’re just putting our music together and having a good time.

Robbie: Yeah.

Chase: Yeah.

Austin: Yeah!

What’s playing on your CD player, iPod, iPhone, etc. right now?

Chase: Right now, I’m listening to a lot of Muse, Ben Folds, Radiohead . . . I like Offspring . . . Oasis.

Robbie: I am a Blink 182 fanatic, it’s really disgusting. I know more about them than probably they do. I also listen to Sugarcult and Sum 41.

Austin: I was listening to the All American Rejects today. I think our music is very similar to theirs.

Joel: I tend to get into a little heavier rock than these guys, but lately I’ve been really liking Alkaline Trio.

What’s your ultimate direction for the band?

Austin: If we’re lucky enough, our goal is to go in the direction where we can make it writing music. As we grow older, our music would change  . . . you mature, you start seeing life in a different way.

Robbie: My dream is to be able to do this and make a living off it . . . playing my drums for a living, that sounds like a dream, I’d be pleased.  I might actually get good at it. (Everybody laughs)

Joel: As of this point, I’m only planning on playing for the summer, which would include the Warped Tour, which is awesome and more than I ever hoped for.

Austin: In the end we want to be successful, but the journey along the way, we could look back and say, ‘I spent all this time with my best friends, traveling around, seeing the entire country, maybe other countries.’

[ seveneightfive July 15 - August 31 | Robin Cremer | photo contributed ]

Q:  Which of you works harder?

Rod:  On stage?  Well, I do, ‘cause its easier for him.  I have to, to keep up!  It’s not a matter of working harder.  I couldn’t do what he does, and he couldn’t do what I do.  We respect what each other can do.

Q:  You’re going to play at the Farmers’ Market.  Are you morning people?

Greg:  Absolutely, ‘cause I am up at the break of dawn.

Rod:  I’m up at five every day.

Greg:  Oh.  Well, I’m a business owner, so I’m up early…

Rod:  You’re just laying there worried!

Greg:  Why, is the Farmers’ Market morning or something?

Rod:  Yeah, it’s like nine to…

Greg:  Oh God, that’s nothing!  We’re not sleep to noon guys.  …Not anymore.

Q:  Are you going to play your usual style, or are you going to change anything about the tone for the morning outdoor Farmers’ Market scene?

Greg:  I really don’t see it.  All the traditional stuff.  Absolutely the same.

 Q:  What’s your favorite thing to eat?

Rod:  Barbecue, without a doubt. 

Greg:  I dig it, too.  And I like fish, that kind of thing.

Rod:  Right now, I’m smoking a bacon explosion, which is five pounds of sausage, bacon and cheese all rolled into one, and it’s sitting in my smoker!

Greg:  (salivating)

Q:  What happens if you get up in the morning and you don’t have the blues?

Rod:  I don’t have the blues, I’m a pretty happy guy!

Greg:  Yeah, I’m pretty happy, too, but I’ve experienced stuff like that, and we all have.  It’s an American form of music.  We all have stories, and we all have struggles, and they named it the blues.

Rod:  Blues can be happy music.  So many people think of the blues and they think of Robert Johnson on that old guitar, screeching and cracking.  Blues is a huge variety of styles.  Everybody has problems, and they can be fodder for song.  But the good times can be, too.

[Cale Herreman | Photo by EJ Drake]