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FEATURE FRIDAY – ODIST, interview and more…

 Feature Monday is now Feature Friday, for obvious reasons and no other. It is just a segment that I’ll be doing every Friday where I feature a band from our band section. Most of the time I’ll have an interview to share and otherwise its just a chance to highlight a band that I think is cool or a band that is gaining ground in Atlanta.

ODIST

Jason Craig (bass, samples, keyboard)
Sarah Wilson (drums, keyboard, electronic drums)
Parker Newell (guitar, on hiatus)

Odist formed in Dec 2007 and played their first show June 2008.

Next Friday beatlanta presents Odist, Laeartes and Hurricanes of Love LIVE at the Under the Couch. Below you’ll find some videos and a pre-interview (interview to be finished at Under the Couch) as well as some videos to get you hyped for the show next Friday. I first heard of Odist from another local band in an interview when I asked them what local bands they would recommend. Odist’s name, along with Jungol, comes up more than any. It just so happens that those two bands are good friends; Sarah Wilson from Odist describes them as “besties” in an answer below. What that means to me is not only does Odist play a unique and fresh brand of music, but they fucking rock at doing it. Odist blends innovation and talent, style and originality. They create music for philosophical minds and for people who are open minded; not afraid of pushing boundaries or crossing lines.  Sarah describes their music perfectly in the answer to question 5 below. Odist takes listeners on a journey of emotions and feelings. Euphoria then contemplation; contentment then nostalgia; and they always portray a true sense of imagination and unconventionality.  Their unique blend of different styles and concepts come together to form sounds that you can see and sounds that you can ride; sounds that take you to other places. This video really says it all…I suggest you listen to it all the way through…and let it take you wherever it may..Odist – Experimental Prog Rock Visionaries…

Here are a few questions that Sarah Wilson was so kind to answer on behalf of the band.  

1. You label yourselves “experimental” on your myspace page…what does the “experimental” mean to you in terms of making music?

Experimental means writing songs w/ out any limitations. It includes any and many genres so you cant really put a set label on what the band is doing musically. Its very soulful, very artistic.

-What do you think are some key elements of being “experimental”?

You HAVE to make noise at some point in your songs, haha. Some key elements are definately being as liberal as possible when writing music, having an avant-garde state of mind when writing and performing. 

2. What is your take of the atmosphere around the Atlanta music scene?

I love Atlanta in general and the scene here is great. Its pretty sporadic, there are mutiple scenes w/ in the “scene”, but there is definitely a crowd for each one. Atlanta is a great music city, very receptive to all styles of music.

-You have found a good amount of success in a short period, do you find Atlanta is a good city for talented new bands?

Atlanta is a great city for bands in general. There are SO many talented musicians w/in one city, I’m so proud to be able to call Atlanta my home.

3. You have a Halloween show with Jungol coming up…which I think will be absolutely amazing. Do you know the guys in Jungol?

We know Jungol very well, we went on an east coast tour together in March and had a blast! We’re besties for sure, haha

-Odist and Jungol come up a lot in my interviews with bands when I ask them “what local acts they would recommend to their fans”; What do you think about having Odist in that mix?

I think thats really awesome, we know alot of great bands so its an honor that think so highly of us.

-What local acts would you recommend to fans of Odist and fans of local music?

Jungol, Stokeswood, the Sunglasses, and Reptar are definately my favorite local bands right now. They’re all very different from each other but they make fantastic music and perform so well. Other really good ATL bands are Miles From Pangea, Today the Moon Tomorrow the Sun, 13 day Mission, Quench, Judi Chicago, Noot d Noot, and Whores.

4.  You just got done recording your first full length, correct?

Actually we just finished recording our new EP coming out Oct 3rd, we decided to release another EP and wait on the full-length until next year in March or April.

-Where did you record, who produced it?

Jason (bassist) has his own studio so we record everything ourselves, we produce all of our own material.

-What is the name of the album?

The name of the EP is ‘Idle’, its named after one of our favorite new songs. 

-How was the recording experience?

It was a completely new approach for us because we recently became a 2 piece for the time being (its a really long story), so we had to come up w/ an all new sound. It was very exciting; we added alot of loops, electronic drums, more samples, and we both play keyboard in our songs, it was very refreshing.

-How long did it take?

It honestly took about 2 weeks to finish the EP, we record everything live so it doesnt take as long to record a song as it does w/ separate tracking.

-Wow, just two weeks, and live, thats amazing. Do you have any previous recordings?

Our previous recording was our first self-titled EP that came out last year, it was received very well but we definately wanted to do things alot differently w/ this new EP, our new sound is a little more emotional I think. 

5. I can’t wait to hear it, tell me a little bit about one or more of your favorite songs from the new album?

My favorite song on the EP is “Idle”. Its the 2nd song we wrote for the EP and its very eclectic. It starts out kinda haunting, then its funky, then pretty, then rockin, than haunting again. We tend to do that  a lot in our songs, we go from one extreme to the other and some how make it all blend in together. I play keyboard and drums in the song so thats exciting to me because I’ve never played anything other than drums in every band I’ve been in. Its our longest song on the EP too, its 8 minutes of experimental bliss 🙂 

-Is there one you’re excited for everyone to hear most at the show on Friday?

I’m excited for everyone to hear all of our news songs!

6. Have you played Under the Couch before? If so, what did you think.

We have not played Under the Couch before but we cant wait!

Odist’s new album comes out Oct 3 – BUY IT. You can see Odist at Under the Couch next Friday. Music starts at 8. It is an amazing lineup with Hurricanes of Love and Laertes rockin the stage as well. Come see Odist. Their new EP drops this week. Please buy it, I definitely will be – I actually can’t fucking wait to get it and when I do I’m sure I’ll be writing a kick ass review.  They have an upcoming tour in support of the new stuff and need our support. See Odist on MySpAce for full tour dates…AND DON’T MISS ODIST LIVE NEXT FRIDAY AT UNDER THE COUCH. You will not be disappointed. MUSIC AT 8. If you have seen Odist live or heard their music please post a comment with your experiences or thoughts by clicking post a comment at the bottom of this entry.

Here is what some others have said about Odist…

“Don’t let the Mickey Mouse vest fool you, this is some serious shit. Mouths are agape before the band starts playing at the black chick who takes her seat behind what the announcer claims to be “the coolest drum kit we’ve seen all fuckin’ day.” Prepared with their own dry erase board announcing their band, this three piece holds it down. Prog rock sound, flawless transitions, banging breaks. Odist plays with dynamics, transitioning from rim riding to unison rocking!“--haveyouheard.net, june 28th, 2008

“ODIST sounds a bit spooky and pretty cool…”—www.bhamweekly.com

“This Athens trio makes prog-rock for the Radiohead generation with FX-heavy guitar mood pieces that evolve into psychedelic workouts, utilizing purposeful, consistent drumming and occasional vocals within expansive epic rock compositions.“—‘the weeks 12 most promising concerts’, www.charlotteobserver.com

“For the uninitiated, you’ll find rumbling toms and double bass-drum drives, effusive cymbal precision and capable automatic weapon beats augmented by a flurry of synthetic swishes, swoons and blips. Add subdued, nearly inaudible vocals, sure-handed bass lines and dense, lurid guitar work. For fans of My Bloody Valentine and Coheed and Cambria searching for progressive, shoegaze jams peppered in metal shavings, Odist comes recommended.”—http://flagpole.com/Weekly/CalendarPick/Odist.23Feb09

Odist’s bio from MySpAcE

ODIST has a very impressive line-up of musicians, making a three piece band sound much bigger. Formed in December 2007, ODIST has accomplished much in the short year and half that they’ve been together. They played their first show at Corndogorama, a famous Atlanta festival, in June 2008 and blew their audience away. Haveyouheard.net stated the next day “…this three piece holds it down…Prog rock sound, flawless transitions, banging breaks..” and that was the first show! Since September 2008, they have toured all around the east coast in support of their self-titled debut EP, and have even broken records for most views on independent internet show Dirty South TV (www.dirtysouthtv.tv). Parker Newell (guitar), Jason Craig (bass), and Sarah Wilson (drums) all make up the extraordinary band ODIST, a band with new refreshing ideas on rock music today.