Voodoo Economics

I pulled into the Barrett Bar twenty minutes Late under the impression I was forty minutes early. As I stepped out of the car Shane O'Brien was walking to his, looking for his tuner. We recognized each other. He recognized me from description I gave on Facebook and I, him from the concert at Third Street Dive the previous month. I was working on an article for an up and coming Americana group, Luke and the Somethings. While waiting for the group to go on and enjoying a free Guinness (there’s another freebie, Guinness, how about a sponsorship deal, eh) from some new acquaintances I listened to quite a few talented groups, I enjoyed all of them quite a bit but it was one group in particular that made me set my beer down and silence my new friends. I heard the sound of a guitar that cut through the drown of a large Friday night crowed like a knife. I wasn’t the only one to shut up and take notice. Three young men were standing on a cramped stage, making it larger somehow. Their stage presence was phenomenal and the music they made wasn’t half bad either.

They pretty much shut up the whole bar and people began dropping their booze and commenced to dancing like that was the reason they all showed. They stole the night and gave away their albums for free. My mind went instantly to how I could be the first journalist to discover them. But where would these guys fit? RockRevolt? Mother Church Pew? Music Central? None of those seemed to be a good fit, but when they got to the end of their set, I had a pretty good idea where they belonged. Their last song, “Make Me Laugh” had a defiant Punk vibe. In fact it reminded me of an old Stooges song. I snapped my fingers (not real because no one in real life does that) and thought to myself, Punk Globe.

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A little bit later, I made contact with them and through Facebook. The trio were more than happy to meet for an interview. We set one up for their show at Barret Bar a few weeks down the road. We introduced ourselves and shortly after, we were sitting at a table on the bar’s patio of the band. The interview was peppered with people walking up to the table telling the trio how excited they were to see the band, but solid none the less.


I have some of the usual questions. Where did you guys meet, and how'd you start?

Well it started with me. Like 3 years ago. Two and a half years ago. I started playing with two different guys. We played a few shows, and it didn't really work out with the two other guys. I first replaced the drums with John, and me and him did a two piece thing for a little bit. Then I met Bailey Sommer through and friend of a friend, and he was freak on the bass. Then it kind of worked out. We've been playing, probably together, for about a year now. Just around town.

What were the first steps like in forming a band, and playing. That's why I like interviewing you guys is you're not big yet. You've got what it takes to be big, but once you get big, everyone's got an interview. What I like about this is, I'll be the first guy to get to hear what it's like being a new band. How do you go about getting shows?

It was a huge pain in the ass at first. Constantly just emailing venues and them not answering was how most of it was. Then we got a break from friends of ours that were in a bigger band. We asked to play with them, and then people liked us. Just started making connections through that. We got kind of lucky in our first few shows and got asked to play.

Literally our first show we got asked to play more shows. Some dude called us up and told us, "You guys are really good, I can get you another show" and we were like, "Great"

Yeah. It was a huge pain in the ass for a while, and there was like no shows ever, and occasionally ones, and then all of a sudden it started moving real quick. We're having to turn down shows like crazy now. We get a message like once every week or two on Facebook asking us to play a show, and we just can't even do it. We can't even all get off work.


Pretty much just repetition, hitting the venues again?

Yeah, we just kept hitting them. Now that we've played at all of them they know that we can bring out a crowd, they know we put on a good set. They know we're not assholes. Now when I message venues they are immediately like, "Yeah, we got you on that date."

What do you guys do when you're not playing music?

Work, and thinking about playing music.

Yeah.

Drink. Playing video games.

I wait tables, and write raps while I'm doing it.

So this is something you could see yourself doing for a living?

Yeah it's absolutely what I'm going to do for a living.

It's been a plan on for a while. Just being in music stuff. You see the ups and downs, the pros and cons of every side of it. So at some point you're just like, "Well this is what I ultimately want to do is play music all the time." So if you can force yourself to do it every fucking day, then eventually, you'll get to that point where ... I mean, that's how we started playing. I practiced with Shane O’Brian one day, for a show here, and I played acoustic with him. Just played bass, and learned like 12 songs in one day. After that we practiced for like a month or two straight, probably like four days a week, and then recorded an album. Just like 16 songs. The first album we did. Then it was the same thing for this next EP that we just recorded. We just practiced for like a month straight. At that point we'd heard the songs so many times, they're on our fingers so hard right at that point, when we get to the studio it's just smooth. It's seamless. We just put it down. There's nothing to it, and it's like ... That feeling is what I live for pretty much. To be able to put that out there is what I want to do forever.

So for you is music about making money, or is making money about being able to keep making music.

Making money is just the fact that you have to make money to survive in this world, and that's how it is right now. Bailey Sommer Making music is like, we genuinely love to make music, and there's nothing better than playing for people and seeing how people react to it. Because you can get people dancing anywhere you go. You gotta find that person, and call them out.

I'd much rather have a crowd that's super hyped about our show and our music than a little extra money in my wallet, any day of the week. It's the best feeling in the world when people love something that you created.


I know outside at Third Street Dive it took no time to get people dancing to your music. It's instantly. I almost was dancing.

We've got a lot of friends in town too that come out to shows, so that's always good.

Our friends are awesome.

They put on a good show for us while we're playing.

Yeah they're always good.

What's the writing process like for your music? Do you all pitch in or does someone do music, someone do lyrics?

Shane O’Brian is basically the song writer, mastermind, genius.

Yeah, I'm the lyric man. I really like writing lyrics, and slaving over lyrics, and perfecting every syllable, every rhyme, all the words for everything. I want it to flow perfectly. I'm not the greatest guitar player in the world, so in our last recording I gave some of the reins to Bailey Sommer. I wanted to bass to be more like the lead instrument, and I was just gonna do like rhythm stuff. He's definitely got the more music mind than me, and I've got the lyrics and the melodies and stuff like that. Me and him together contribute to the whole song writing thing.

Who would your influences be? If you could pick any bands?

Probably, I'll list a few. For this last album, that we just recorded, which we haven't released yet, which I can send to you so you can have it. I listed to a lot of Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement, and Neutral Milk Hotel, and stuff like that for this one. Lyric wise, I love Thom Yorke from Radiohead. I've read every single one of his lyrics and love them to death. Just from a lyrical standpoint that's a huge influence for me.

You were calling out, whenever I was playing a bass line for songs, you were just like, "That sounds like a Modest Mouse bass line. It sounds so good." And I was just like, "Okay". I've listened to them, but I didn't like totally recall it when I'm doing it.

Oh yeah. Definitely a Modest Mouse phase.

Yeah. Bass as an instrument is

And the lyrics too. Lyrically. You write so strong and it just reminds me of his like constant impressive push and pull with movements and words and lyrics and sounds and things. Modest Mouse is defiantly an influence.


Where'd you guys record your album?

We just recorded this last EP at LaLa Land. It's this guy named Kevin Raderman's place with his assistant Anne, and it was amazing. It's like one of the best studios in the city where like My Mourning Jacket and Ray Lamontange and stuff like that record. It was a hell of an experience. It was an amazing studio. I was pretty inspired, for real. Being in there makes me want to go back there, makes me want to work harder to get there.

We finished ... We had all the songs for the album, but then we pretty much finished it in the studio because we jammed something so much that we came up with the intro, and then other like song ideas and set ideas came from that, because we were just in the room playing together. That shit was great.

Who was someone you're into that you've been able to tour with?

We haven't really toured with anybody. The biggest band we've played with is Sun Club, probably. This band from Baltimore, and these guys from Boone North Carolina called The Nude Party that are pretty awesome. We really haven't played with anybody too big. We haven't toured at all really. We've played a few shows out of state over in Boone North Carolina. Down in Knoxville. Nothing serious.

What do you have coming up next?

That album we just recorded, I would like to have it released around fall would be the goal. We're not sure exact yet. We're sitting down with this local record label [Sonar Blast] here in the next week or so to talk about releasing it through them, which would be ...

What's the process of getting a producer, manager, all that stuff?

We don't really have one, but the first show we played, this guy came up to us, Zack Heart, he was like, "I really love your stuff. I'd like to sit down with y'all and talk about a game plan for y'all." He's been helping us out a little bit.

He manages two of the biggest bands in the city, and he's not officially our manager, but he gives us manager advice, and it's been really helpful. It sort of got us into LaLa Land.


Where can we find your music?

It's all for free for download on Bandcamp
https://voodooeconomicsband.bandcamp.com/releases. It's on Soundcloud, Overtrack, it's on YouTube. Everything's free. We want it to be free. You can download the whole album for free. It will always be that way. We're not here for the money. If someone wants to listen to our music, we don't want anything to get in the way of that.

Anything you want to add?

I dunno. Check us out.

I dunno. We're gonna keep playing.

Yeah, we're trying to do big things.

We're not trying to stop any time soon, so we'll get there.

Hopefully this is just the beginning.

You guys have some tour dates on your site?

Well we don't ... Well we have show dates. We don't have anything out of town right now, but you can find all of our show dates on our Facebook page. We have a website that's about to drop as well.

I think I've got all I need.

Cool.
After Shane left I had a good conversation with Bailey and John about the community and musicians in Louisville. It seemed like they all knew each other. Quiet Hollers, who I've been following for quite some time and who’s a singer I had the benefit of interviewing, it turns out they had worked with a few of their musicians. They also knew Mercy Academy, another group that I've been following for quite some time. And why not? They're tradesmen after all and tradesmen have conferences, meetings, discuss the changing businesses. That's something people don't really understand about musicians. Often, at this level, they don't think about them as people with professions. It's not until you're seeing them play at big places like the KFC Yum! Center or Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, that they're really thought of as people who do something for a living.


I was once told by another editor/producer that I shouldn't write anything negative about bands. But what he thought was negative were the hard times the new bands went through. I once wrote an article about an up and coming Americana group. I wrote about their struggles; about how hard it was to get your start into the music business. To him that was negative. To me it is anything but. People should really know how hard it is to get a start in this business. The relentless touring, playing dive bars, small clubs, fitting the entire band into one hotel room because they can't afford individual ones, the low pay, and they often have to work for free. So many venues like to use this, "Well, you should be happy, we’re paying you with experience." I tried that once on a mechanic. I said, "Well, gee Bill, I would certainly pay you sixteen hundred dollars for this new timing belt, but you should really be happy. I'm paying you with the experience." That got me nothing but a monkey wrench waved in my face and his hand on the phone to call the police. You see Bill the mechanic was a tradesman, providing a service. It was his livelihood and to not pay him under the guise of me giving him experience, well that’s enough to make anyone laugh. The same goes for all us artists, sculptors, painters, musicians, writers, punks and poets. There’s no shame in reality and there’s no shame in earning what you get. Being a musician, a real musician, doesn’t happen overnight. They don’t make biographies about musicians who have an easy go at it. Those stories aren’t worth writing. There aren’t any other options for musicians. Marc Maron once said being a comedian can only be achieved by someone who sees it as their only option, not a career, or a hobby. I believe that goes for all art forms. Being a musician is something that’s in your bones like being a cop or a fire fighter. Sure, there are those with limited ability and no drive and if they’re good looking enough the serpents in their suits will slither up their shoulder and whisper “don’t worry about the lyrics or the music, just move around and act like a full, we’ll handle the mainstream media, we’ll tell them you’re great and they’ll listen. We bought them a while ago.” Those “artists” may make the big bucks but they’ll never be able to move the masses in the way Voodoo Economics will because they will have the experience and the understanding of music and what it means to put your heart in it. They know that if you make money in order to keep making music rather than making music to make money, eventually you can have both. But that doesn’t even matter to them, they’ll always have the music. Music in places like these little bars and clubs provide such a community when in the right hands and it’s not something owned by anybody. Music is merely a way talented men and women capture this feeling and share it with their fans, their friends and their family. When you have good music, you’ll always have family somewhere.


As I’ve said before, if you can’t find religion. I immediately fell in love with the Barret Bar. It had that atmosphere that I liked; cold, dark neighborhood bar. Pool tables in the back and a wraparound bar that went from one room to the next. At the end of the bar was a grill. You could watch the chef perform his art and the aroma from the food he was cooking could make an Ebola patient hungry. I’ve worked plenty of the big venues, the Yum Center, Rupp Arena, Belltera. I even worked Louisville’s most prestigious Oaks Party. I was almost glad to have been thrown out of that one, rich playing for the rich while the real people sat peering from barricades for the big names, wearing their five thousand dollar derby outfits. The point I’m making is that there’s a lot more value in free gigs at your nationhood bar than in three hundred dollar seats at our local super center. You can also catch a better buzz with two cheap beers paired with good music in a cozy bar than you would with a full bottle of the finest Scotch at some exclusive event. I sat down at my table and I sipped my beer and tinkered with my camera. I had been used to using cheap disposable cameras you would buy at your local drug store, but I was grown now and playing with the big boys so I had my Canon Rebel T5 sitting on the table. I was messing with the light because the last place I was outside and now the only light we had was just a small lamp in front of the stage. The opening band, Mr. Saturday Night, took the stage. A drunk from the audience felt it necessary to yell out, "But hey man. It's Sunday night." The singer immediately responded, and cool, with, "Well, to all us third shifters it's not Sunday night until we've gone to bed, and none of us have been to bed since Saturday." That was a notion I knew too well. I took a few pictures of Mr. Saturday Night just to practice and make sure I was ready for the main event. I quite enjoy this band. They wouldn't make Punk Globe per se. They had a mixture of jazz and rock. The singer's voice was a combination, ironically, of smooth and raspy. It's what gave it that jazz feel. I enjoyed the songs they had written. They had some talent in that area, and they also paid good tribute to some other artists such as James Brown. It was a unique take on a song, the name of which escapes me. The singer even made his way out into the audience dancing. Another part of the bar I liked was there really wasn't a stage area, just a small corner where the band performed and, in the right mood, the entire bar would become the stage. Where else can you say you have a booth on the stage that the big band is performing on? After their set was over the singer came over to me while putting up his guitar and said, "Next band's surely a different kind of music." I didn't know if he was merely informing me or warning me. Did I appear to be some kind of square? I was wearing a Dropkick Murphys jacket, had long hair and a goatee, and the eyes of a Punk. I realized he was merely making conversation, as I was a punk. I said, "Don't you worry, Mr. Saturday Night is it? I've seen this band before and I know good and well what I'm getting into but I appreciate your warning." He chuckled, wished me well, went over, grabbed a beer and sat down. He too was looking forward to seeing the next set. These were his friends performing after him. They were a part of that great musical community.



Shane came over to me before they began and he informed me that he'd be playing the song I requested last, “Make You Laugh”, as he might not be able to sing after the song. And remembering that night at Third Street Dive, I understood. I imagined singing in that style would feel like knives carving up your throat at high speeds. I thanked him for informing me so I could make sure my tripod was ready so I could catch the video. I walked up to the bar to grab my second beer and, as I paid, I heard a sound, that immediately made me turn around and run for my camera. It wasn’t often heard a sound like that. It's a sound I've heard while listening to David Gilmour, Tom Morello, or Nils Lofgren. It was a sort of guitar that wasn't a guitar at all, one played fast but well and it talked and, as I realized he was just tuning his guitar, messing around and getting ready for the show, I turned around and grabbed the beer. As I walked over to the booth and I began chuckling, remembering what Shane had told me during the interview. He didn't think he was a good guitarist. They want the bass to be a lead instrument. I wondered if Nils Lofgren had once said this in an interview when he was young. It's interesting for someone not to know how good they are. I got my camera set about right and was ready to take some pictures. I moved to the center table as it had just opened up. I had a good view of the stage. The band took their positions and I noticed from this angle I had perfect lighting. It was still dark but the shadows behind them made them appear as giants, as if just saying, these are a few average sized gentlemen, but when they're playing music, when they're up there on that stage, they're larger than life. The opening song, “Wasting Time”, read like an angry love letter which, well, half of rock songs are just that. But it left you with the feeling that you were better off without her. This was a new band playing in a small venue but they had the professionalism and the sound quality and preparation of forty year veterans of thebusiness. They played a full set and not once did they stumble, stutter, get out of tune or make any mistake at all, for that matter. They played a long set. I was surprised to look at the clock when it was twelve o'clock later that evening. I can't get into detail about all of their songs, but I will tell you this. They're well written and well performed. Bailey played the bass as if he had taken lessons from Joe Gittleman. I could see why the bass was chosen as a lead instrument. John pounded on those drums like his life depended on it.




I knew he would soon become an iconic drummer. There aren't a lot, but he was certainly on his way being one of them. Shane's vocals, are something I can't exactly describe. Kind of punk yet almost bordered on hip hop. They were smooth and precise, had a feel good vibe and the lyrics? Well, I strongly advise you to listen to them or read them. They're masterpieces. The man is too young to be able to write like he did. Usually it takes people three or four decades to gain that kind of insight. A song such as “Jesus Got a Hotel Room” which, believe me, it's not as blasphemous as you might think, was an excellent social, perhaps even political, commentary that dealt with the real troubles of the times. He performed that one solo for the most part. Bailey and John left the stage. At the end of the song a gentleman I didn't have a chance interview, walked on the stage and he gave one hell of a harmonica solo. The man must have lungs made of pure brass. He sat down after that and I couldn't help but wonder, “what outfit is he with? Does he perform with Voodoo Economics often? I'd sure love to see him play another gig.” Voodoo Economics, like Mr. Saturday Night, made use of the whole venue as their stage. At one point, which I was lucky enough to have my tripod out at that moment taking video, Bailey ran back and forth with his bass like a madman. I surely felt like I was center stage. Probably the best moment of that evening was the song “Superman Kid”. When it got to the end of the song Shane turned to the side, almost like he was embarrassed for the audience to see his finger work but I knew he was working hard to channel all of his soul into his fingertips as he performed one of the greatest guitar solos I have ever heard. It went on, I'm sure, not more than a minute, but it felt like time had frozen. There was nothing at that moment but the sound of his guitar, and as I said, there are very few musicians who can make the sound he did. The entire audience froze, admiring his skill and, at that moment, I may have felt a little arrogant, patting myself on the back, saying to myself, "Well gee Ted, you've sure discovered a big hit. Maybe since you're one of the first writers to write about them they'll give you dibs on the biography when the time comes." And, as promised, at the end of the night, they performed “Make Me Laugh.” It was probably the strongest punk song they had in their catalog. It sounded like something out of the 70's, 60's even. It reminded me vaguely of a Stooges song. Shane’s voice transformed from smooth and laid back to rough and powerful was still kicking myself for missing that “Superman Kid” bit, but I figured at least I would have this. But things got rough as the audience began to dance. The floor became a borderline mosh pit and people were bumping into my camera. I remember thinking, "Gee, how in the hell will I be able to give this to Punk Globe?" Then I thought, "Well, maybe it captures the essence of punk." And in normal circumstances I would have punched a few people who knocked into my camera. It wasn't cheap and this was my craft. But I understood the energy this band was putting out. If I didn't have a bum leg I would probably be up dancing myself, forgetting all about my assignment and my camera. When the show was over Shane, Bailey and John walked up to me again and wished me well and shook my hand. They asked me what I was doing the rest of the evening and I said, "Well, probably going to pay my tab, get back, and do a bit of writing." I pulled Shane aside and said, "I want you to know that whole bit about you not being a good guitarist, it's a load of crap. I've heard forty year veterans play worse." I hoped it wouldn't go to his head, but I knew it wouldn't. These were humble men playing music for no other reason than they loved it. I wrote quite a bit about my love for the smaller venues but the truth is, I looked forward to the day I knew was coming, when Voodoo Economics played the Yum Center and every other stadium from here to Tokyo.


I sat in my car and was riding home and began to think about what Iggy Pop said recently in the press. He said the music was dead, and honestly, for many a year I believed him. I believed the real musicians were dying off and the mainstream media was the dreadful reality. But the truth was, new music wasn't dead. It had gone back to where it had started, in the bars and concert halls, and maybe that's where it belongs, a place where everyone can afford it, everyone knows your name and it's not just about money. It's not just about fame, women or fast cars. It is about that feeling that you get when you hear that band you love so much. It may be a band you grew up with, maybe a band some friend told you about, maybe you were just there buying a beer and a burger and then you fell in love with the band as soon as you heard them plug in their guitars and their basses. And as an answer to Iggy Pop's claim that music is dead and gone, remember Cameron Crowe's claim back in the 70's. The death rattle, yes, that's what it was referred to in the 70's, and we came out of that now didn't we? Well Mr. Pop, maybe next time you think that music is dead you can go to your local neighborhood bar, sit down, order a cheap drink, get a good slot next to the stage, and listen where real music still survives. You may think of music like a cornered animal at its most fearsome. I for one think of music like a bull in the stadium, about to gore that sadist thug with the red flag and mix it up a bit for all the onlookers, letting them now it’s taking it’s world back. Cheer up Iggy, I saw the face of the future that night and it’s not as grim as we once thought. Be sure to check out upcoming shows for Voodoo Economics. You can listen to their music on Youtube, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp where you can leave a donation. Remember, they are tradesmen and their music is a service.