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Closing out the week with an interview featuring Boone, NC based collective The Nude Party. You may have caught my post about them last week promoting their show at Atwood's Tavern this past Sunday that I was lucky enough to be in attendance in as the guys played an eclectic mix of tunes that elicits audience involvement and a bevy of catchy choruses that you can't help but to sing along to. Frontman Patton Magee was rad enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to do a little interview as we get to know the guys a little better, their creative process, the shooting of their music vid for "Water on Mars", and their penchant for sometimes performing in the nude (no joke!) Here is the transcript from our chat:
Give us your names and roles in the band?
The band is:
"The Mullet" Don Merrill (keys)
"Triple Play" Austin Brose (percussion)
"Texas Pete" Alec Castillo (bass)
"Steam Williams" Shaun Couture (lead guitar, vox)
Connor Mikita (drums)
Patton Magee (lead vox, guitar)
We're all 22 or 23 years old. Shaun is the tribe elder at 24.
Take us behind the formation of the group and how you guys all met?
We formed our sophomore year at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Most of us had gone to high school together in Lake Norman, NC. Brose and Patton met the others in the dorms freshman year.
Describe the sound of your band to those who aren't familiar with you?
Directly from that influence, we've pioneered our own genre that we call "RockaBilly Ocean." Its rock'n roll, blues-based music mixed with the passionate emotional sensibilities of Dominican-born 80's pop icon Billy Ocean.
What are some of your musical influences that helped define you and the shape of the group as well?
Our biggest inspiration and influence is unanimously Billy Ocean, author and singer of the hit love songs "Caribbean Queen", "Get Into My Car", and "When the Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going)."
How vibrant is the NC music scene right now and what are some cool up and coming acts based out of there that you're digging?
Our favorite bands coming out of NC right now are Wahya's, White Woolly, Nest Egg.. there's a lot of rad bands. Some bigger names too, like Angel Olsen out of Asheville. Boone actually has a pretty cool music scene, not a lot of big names come through but the kids always like to go out to shows and have themselves a good ole time. When we've brought touring bands through like Birdcloud (Nashville), Savants (NYC), Las Pinas (Spain)... I think they're generally surprised at how much fun they have.
Give us an idea of your typical creative process when it comes to writing songs and how you mostly compose them?
A lot of our songs start as just a groovy rhythm or riff, then build from there. Some songs are written by one person then fleshed out and finished in the music chamber. It's generally a very collaborative thing.
Take us behind the shooting of the 'Water on Mars" video and what was it like to put that all together?
The Water on Mars video was shot by our friends Summit Collective out of Raleigh. Really killer, passionate dudes. They provided the expertise, the organization, and all the professionalism--we put on make-up and told em what to shoot basically. The main character of the video, our good friend Cat, was the star of the production. Positive attitude, stellar dance moves... she jumped into a freezing cold mountain pool in 35 degree weather. Cat's the queen.
How much does nudity play a role in your live performances and what have been some memorable shows so far?
We only play naked when we're in basements now, since most venues serve food and there's some kind of health code violation for being nakey where food is served. I think it has to do with pubes.
Besides music, what do you like to do for fun in your spare time?
We all have our own hobbies when we're home from tour. Alec shoots lifestyle photography. Don and Patton compete in a country club doubles tennis league. Connor volunteers on a hog farm outside Wilkesboro, Austin gardens and pickles vegetables. Shaun keeps a fleet of broken down cars in the backyard and says he's gonna fix them up someday.
Lastly, what do you have planned for the rest of the year and any more shows back in Boston sometime soon?
For the time being, we're just driving around playing music every night. We'll record a new album when we get home from South By South West in March. It's gonna be the best thing we've ever made, we're all very confident about that. In the summer, we may move up to a country home in upstate New York, to really hone in on our music and gardening skills. When that happens, I'm sure we'll be in Boston a lot more often.
Thanks once again to Patton for taking some time out of their busy schedules to do this interview. The guys have a super laid back vibe to them and their spirit is downright infectious when you see them live. Their music has an uninhibited, free wheeling sensibility that is noticeably absent from music today, but the fellas are bringing it back in full force with great enthusiasm. For more on The Nude Party, please 'Like' them on Facebook over here and follow their adventures on Twitter at this spot here.