Music Interview: Yard Of Blondes
- James Shipsides
- Oct 16, 2020
- 6 min read
Band: Yard Of Blondes
Genre/s: Alternative Rock/ Indie Rock/ Neo-Grunge/ Rock
Based in: Los Angeles, California
Today on Theresa’s Sound World, I speak to Vincent Walter of Alternative Rock band Yard Of Blondes, about the band’s incoming album, lockdown, working with
Billy Graziadei of Biohazard (amongst others), inspirations and reviving the spirit of the true Sunset Strip.
At the end of the interview are links to Yard of Blondes’ social media platforms. Also there’s Spotify and ITunes links to their latest single ‘Do You Need More?’ and links to their Bandcamp and YouTube Platforms. Plus, I’ve added a link at the very end to my #TrackOfTheDay review of Yard Of Blondes’ song ‘Lowland’, which I reviewed earlier this year.
Here we go...
1. Hi, Yard Of Blondes from Theresa’s Sound World, hope you are all well and have coped with Lockdown and the seemingly endless consequences of the Pandemic. How has COVID 19 impacted on you as a band?
Hi James and thanks for having us on Theresa’s sound world! The pandemic has forced Forrest, our drummer, to go back to Northern California because he has a job over there and couldn’t work in LA anymore. But anyway, we couldn’t play even he was here so it’s very frustrating. At the beginning of the pandemic, we tried to make the most of it by recording a special performance called ‘Close to home’. Every member of the band recorded their part Live at home and then we put it together. It’s now out on every platform and we even released a video here that everyone can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwBmcgVX5Gg
Now we are preparing the release of our album and we hope to get it out in February or March. Hopefully, things will be better then.
2. Your album ‘Feed The Moon’ is set for release in February 2021. Has the pandemic hindered the creative process of putting the album together, has it meant more space and time to add the finishing touches, or was it already ‘in the can’?
This album feels like cursed to us. We have started writing it and producing it in 2013…
A lot of things have happened (financial struggles, line up changes, health issues, …) that have constantly pushed the production, then mixing, and now the release, back. It has been ready for over a year now and we just can’t wait to release it at this point. 7 years have passed and I really hope the next one will be out very fast after that! We were ready to launch it when the pandemic happened and we decided with our label Die Laughing Records to push it back. We’re still using the time we have to make most of it and we are preparing music videos.
3. Were there any particular influences or inspirations (musical or otherwise) on this album?
We always joke we are trying to be a crossover between Black Sabbath and the Beatles but I think it’s very the best way to describe our direction. We wanted to do something heavy and yet melodic, without losing the power of our harmonies. I guess we also listened to a lot of our teenage inspirations during the process. Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Silverchair are definitely bands that have influenced our direction. Regarding the visual approach, we are big fans of David Lynch and we really try to emulate his approach to art. Being DIY allows you to try things you would never do if you were a big act. So we decided to start doing our artworks and music videos ourselves. We try to express ourselves with what we have and the results can be surprising. We’re preparing a very DIY animation video for ‘Do you need more?’. This is turning to be very interesting. Working like that, we discovered we didn’t need to master the skills of every art to create something interesting. Creativity will do the job most of the time!
4. In terms of songwriting, is it that you as a band bring separate established ideas to an album, such as complete songs? Or are ideas for tunes ‘jammed out’ in band practice and in the studio? Or is it a combination of both?
For this album, it was special as we had a lot of line-up changes during the process. Fanny and I ended up working on the songs with Billy Graziadei, our producer, mainly. I would come up with a song and then we would rearrange it together in the studio.
5. In recording any song, is the Yard Of Blondes in-studio approach to capture the essence of a live performance, in the way a band such as Sonic Youth might have done back in the day? Or is there a more distilled, recording one instrument/vocal at a time method?
For this particular record, it was definitely the latter. We would record an instrument at a time and experiment with different things until it clicks. It really was like a puzzle and it was a great way to craft something carefully. I guess it was easier to do it this way because we were still forging « our » sound. But because it took us so long that I think I wanna do the opposite for the next album. We’ll definitely record it live!
6. Can you describe the experience of working/collaborating with such luminaries as Billy Graziadei of Biohazard, Mike Patterson and Maor Applebaum in producing, mixing and mastering your album?
It was a delight to work with Billy. We became great friends during the process. He’s really our mentor now and we keep seeing him very often. He brought us the heaviness we were looking for without altering our melodic focus. He likes different types of music and he’s classically trained and that was really a surprise since we had a stereotyped image of him being this Hardcore guy. He’s definitely a legend of the hardcore movement but he’s also a great producer with tones of ideas. Highly recommended!
Michael Patterson is a great mixing engineer, his resume speaks for him (Nine Inch Nails, Beck, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club,.)… He did a great job mixing our record even though it took more than a year. He was working a lot at this time and we were on a budget. It took the time it took but in the end, it’s better than what we expected!
Maor Applebaum (Faith No More), is an adorable guy! He works very fast and he’s very good. We had a blast discovering the last touch to our record with him.
7. You’ve released a handful of tracks from your incoming album, ‘Feed The Moon’, so listeners can get a hint of what it will ultimately sound like. How though, would you describe your album as an entire work?
I think it’s an album of the night. It’s filled with anxiety, anger but also peaceful introspection. You and I and I and Lowland are very good examples of what you’ll find on the record, oscillating between heaviness and catchiness, hopefully!
There's also a poppier song in French called "Soleil D'or" and an acoustic ballad to close the record.
8. In 2021, if music venues are hopefully back to ‘business-as-normal’ and live music returns to a level of ‘normality’, have you any plans to play live shows/ tour/ take your new album on the road?
We don’t have concrete plans right now but we’re hopeful our album will send us on the road when it’s appropriate!
9. Any other plans for 2021?
We are launching Hanging On Sunset, a podcast aimed at building a community in the LA rock scene. We want to start a conversation with fans of Rock music, not just bands, and see what we can do if we unite. Maybe we could revive the spirit of the true Sunset Strip? Maybe we could help save rock n’ roll? Who Knows? www.instagram.com/hangingonsunset
We will also start writing new material.
10. Finally back to 2020. The recent lockdown meant that many musical people had time on their hands to indulge in their creative passions. There are many bands forming and ‘starting out’ as a result. Faced with an infinity of other acts to contend with and having to think outside the box in terms of online and offline promotion, can you think of any advice or guidance for bands ‘cutting their teeth’ in the modern music industry?
We’ve been on the scene for 10 years and we are still trying to understand the mysteries of how to make it. I guess at first we felt overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do but we certainly understood along the way that you can’t just wait for things to happen in this industry, you need to be proactive and cover all the areas around the music. You need to be your own PR, your own label, your own graphic designer, etc… And actually, that’s very cool in the end because you are crafting not only your sound but also your image and you understand better about the business of being a musician. I would give this advice: don’t wait on anybody to help you. Do everything you can, release any song you have and you’ll get better every time. Eventually, somebody will be interested in your music and you might end up living the dream. Fanny is launching her own PR firm to help new bands saving some years of struggle. She literally offers all the knowledge we gathered during those formative years. Check it! https://theundercoverband.blogspot.com/
Thank you!
Vincent
🎼Listen to Yard of Blondes latest single ‘Do You Need More?’ on:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2qJrLu9r96jcjPgfpUtQ65?si=9z3po3YIQHq6VicnzHh9vA
Itunes: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/do-you-need-more/1532440030?i=1532440304
🎼📽: Other Yard of Blondes music links:
Bandcamp: https://yardofblondes.bandcamp.com/album/je-veux-danser-tout-l-t
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrJaDc_ZSkIaR4wdAXFOlw
🌍Yard of Blondes Social Media links:
Website: http://www.yardofblondes.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/YOBmusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/yardofblondes
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yardofblondes
📚Read my Theresa’s Sound World review of Yard Of Blondes’ tune ‘Lowland’ from earlier this year: https://www.facebook.com/116279076583978/posts/171312841080601/?extid=0&d=n
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