Posted
2 years ago
Post by Emma Norman
Bandsintown had the pleasure of asking Hays Holladay, former guitarist and vocalist for the Washington, DC based electro-pop band The Epochs, five questions about concerts. We talked about the perks of playing in Seattle, his most memorable shows, and the anomaly that is the NYC music industry, among other things. With achievements such as winning multiple major music contests, playing with bands from The Walkmen to Spank Rock, and embarking on their new project Bluebrain here in DC (see show notes below), we foresee an epic future for the Holladay brothers.
BIT: With your growing success, what was it like to transition from playing in front of crowds of mostly familiar faces to a more public audience?
HAYS: It’s cool because you sort of get your first honest reaction and sometimes that can be negative. But mostly it’s positive and I feel like when you play with a bigger band (like The Walkmen or any band that’s nationally recognized) I think people go to those shows wanting to hear the opening band whereas if you go to a smaller show, people are there to see the band they came to see. It’s almost like a sort of instant respect for you. Then after the shows, people wanting to get on your mailing list, it feels very rewarding, like it’s all paid off a little bit.
BIT: You have moved throughout the music scenes of Washington DC, Seattle, and Brooklyn. Was there one city that you prefer to play live in, and why?
HAYS: Seattle has a very good music scene. I think people seek out things they haven’t heard. It’s less of a blog culture, not in a negative way, but I think in New York people are just inundated with music and they need somebody or something to point them in a direction of what to check out. I think in Seattle there’s more of a culture of “let’s go to this place because they usually have good bands.” And so a lot of times people would come and say “we’ve never even heard you but that was cool, I’m glad I got to see you.” And the venues are very cool there. But that being said, New York has some awesome places like Bowery Ballroom, great sound and really cool people. Also smaller places like Silent Barn.
BIT: Bandsintown has an interest in deconstructing the music industry and doing away with the negative aspects (like unnecessarily high ticket prices) while uplifting the good. How you think that your preference for playing in Seattle reflects the local music industry?
HAYS: I think out there there’s more of a connection between bands and fans. Because I guess there aren’t too many labels out there, whereas New York is sort of the de facto hub for pretty much any label in the U.S. but also fraud. I guess nobody’s “from” New York and as such I think there aren’t many bands that people really take pride in as being a local band. I think places like DC and Seattle, you know they’re smaller so if there is a local band people really get behind it. But there are so many bands (including ourselves) that sort of transplant to New York and as such you can’t really say you’re a local band, but more like a band that plays locally. New York is so diverse in terms of it’s got DIY stuff but also a lot of major label-type showcases, so it’s an anomaly in a lot of ways.
BIT: Is there a certain persona that you adopt during your shows in order to create the energy that you wish to achieve, or are your performances more based on spontaneous expression?
HAYS: I think we try to set up the variables. Ryan (Hays’ brother and keyboardist/ vocalist in The Epochs) has always been a big proponent of playing to your strengths. We just try to set up the show in a way that we feel comfortable and can really let loose, and from there we’re just sort of spontaneous and try to feel the energy of the crowd and music. But we always try to make sure it’s high energy and engaging. (The performance) stems from the music you make, and when you’re making that music, it’s still you but it’s not too many degrees removed from acting in that you’re playing a side of yourself. Usually we tend to move towards a persona that’s almost like a public speaker- we use podiums when we play live, someone that rallies the crowd, somebody very captivating is what we try to aspire towards as opposed to a more shoegaze approach.
BIT: And lastly, is there one show that stands out in your mind, whether it was your own or one that you were in the audience for?
HAYS: I would say one recent show that really impacted me and changed my view on live music was when I saw The Knife. They were just a duo as well and it was less about seeing somebody play a guitar solo or rock out as it was a multimedia experience. We use visuals as well, and that show broadened my boundaries of what I interpreted as a great live show. But then I also remember seeing Elvis Costello at Wolftrap, a solo show when I was in high school, and there was a point where they just turned off the whole sound system and it was just him singing with no microphone. Incredible; he was just filling up the whole place. Yeah so there are two ends of the spectrum, both of which Ryan and I are interested in doing. But I like that you can have multiple takes on what live music is and it doesn’t just have to be this intimate experience or a multimedia extravaganza.
***
It was a dark and stormy night last Saturday when the Holladay brothers packed the back room of Comet Ping Pong in Northwest D.C. making one of their first public appearances as Bluebrain. Formerly of the band The Epochs, the brothers have returned to their native city bringing an exciting multimedia project home with them.
After an opening set by Wilson Kemp, Ryan and Hays took their traditional positions at podiums on either side of a screen. As soon as the room went black, things got loud. The layered tones of Bluebrain’s music could be felt from the inside out as the screen became a canvas for projected images that ranged from morphing faces to helicopter footage tumbling toward a landscape. The images complimented the dynamic aural mix- a frenetic but totally danceable wave of beats, samples, and vocals that encompassed Comet like a tsunami. Over-stimulated by the visuals and crowd, the lightning through the shabby skylight in the ceiling, and the Holladay brothers twiddling at their twin podiums, it was like being involved in an experiment that went very very right. There’s something wild in the works, and any time you get a chance to dive into a Bluebrain show, go for it- you’ll love the sensation.
Their album entitled Soft Power will be out this fall on Lujo Records. In the meantime, listen here to singles from their EP Ten By Ten, available now on iTunes.
For other coverage of Bluebrain check out:
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