Welcome back…
Last week, I was going to bring you a story, and it was supposed to be a review and an interview with a band from Portland… I ended up writing about how album reviews are somewhat of a destructive art form.
This week? I bring you that interview. I bring you that band.
It’s my pleasure to introduce Twenty Shades of Red. A lot of people don’t know this, but in 2005, Portland had a music scene that seemed as if it was going to explode at any moment. The Paris theatre was home to many metal shows every week, and there was a close-knit group of bands that were always headlining. You were able to go and meet up with the same group of music fans and enjoy the chaos that would ensue. We took care of each other… buying a friend some Voodoo and sharing smokes was nothing but another weekend. Now a days, everything has changed. Music as whole industry has changed. Portland still has a great music scene, but the Paris is now a place to go watch XXX rated movies and most of those bands are no longer around. Kids in mosh pits want to hurt each other and do weird “hardcore dancing”. Call me nostalgic, but I miss those days.
Luckily, there were some survivors.
The 4 people that make up Twenty Shades are former members of bands that everyone in the “scene” knew back in the day, but–unlike most musicians–didn’t give up after their first band didn’t go platinum. These guys joined forces and I am glad that they did. I highly recommend checking out their indabamusic page, as their IPS remix is a frequent listen for me. I had a chance to catch up with Twenty shades and ask questions about past, present and future.
FoS: Would you introduce yourselves and also tell us what your role in the band is please?
(Author’s note: Ben Charles does vocals for Twenty Shades and unfortunately was unable to participate in this interview)
Brad- I play bass, keyboards, and program drums. I also do a lot of the mixing and deal with tech-related headaches.
Kaelyn- I play guitar, but also throw in vocals, bass, and keys on occasion.
Adam Brown – I play primarily guitar and keyboards. If it’s a remix project involving someone else’s material, then my role shifts to more of an engineer. We’re a two part idea. Half band, half producer/mixer/jack of all trades.
Did you feel like having fans from previous projects made it hard to separate the past from the present?
Brad – You know, it’s hard to say. Ben and I previously played together in a metal band called SYX, and when we started this band we did want to make it very clear that this isn’t SYX part 2 or SYX lite. This is a much different arrangement and philosophy for us. I don’t think that fans of one band wouldn’t enjoy the other, but that’s certainly possible.
Adam – Yes and no. We definitely took our time from stepping away from our previous sounds and attempted to create something new, and I think we’ve achieved that. On the other hand I feel that we have been secretly “maturing” our sound behind closed doors without anyone really knowing what we’re up to. Our friends or “fans” have been very patient with us, considering we released the 5 song ep some time ago and have since peppered the internet with a few remixes here and there. We really want this project to be represented to its maximum potential, so we’ve really taken an extended period of time making sure that when we remove the training wheels we don’t fall flat on our face when we finally roll this thing out!
I have heard some of your guys covers/mixes, and that IPS mix is probably one of the dopest things I’ve heard in a while… any plans to do anymore remixes and production? Or more focused on the band as a whole?
Brad – Over the last 2 years or so, Adam and I have really fallen in love with remixing. With no disrespect towards Ben; it’s very fun and refreshing to work with vocal tracks from other singers, especially if it’s someone we’re fans of. Recently, remixing and production has kinda been our primary focus, but we are starting to shift our energy back to the “band” part of this band. Definitely count on more of both in the future though.
Adam – I speak on behalf of me, myself and I that I feel all our efforts are shifting towards bringing this project to the live realm very soon. I’m bored with staring at computer screens and long nights with headphones and caffeine. I’m ready to start making a ton of noise!
Tell us about the contest you recently entered:
Brad – There’s a really cool online community of DJ’s and electronic musicians at www.indabamusic.com. They frequently have remix contests on the site and Adam and I recently did one for Innerpartysystem’s track Not Getting Any Better. We came in 31st out of 350 in the nation, which doesn’t sound super impressive, but I’m really proud of how it turned out.
Adam – They’ve been highly influential to everyone in Twenty Shades of Red and it’s really inspiring to witness how much these guys pull off in the live situation. These days a lot more musicians are more welcoming of DJ related gear and VST’s than any time before. Just about every show I go to these days, someone’s always rocking a macbook and some midi device.
What can we expect from you guys in the future?
Brad – More remixes, probably another EP in the nearish future, and FINALLY some kind of live show. Twenty Shades of Red has always been a studio-based project, but I swear we will take this
thing to the stage soon.
Adam – . If all goes according to plan, we’d like to be doing live shows by the end of summer. The sooner the better! I can’t wait for that part. That’s what all musicians are truly in it for in the first place. I’m putting together a You Tube page over the next couple of weeks. We plan to put up some short videos of us working at our headquarters and maybe post a few demo songs that we’re working on. To be continued! We’ve also been working up a handful of new tracks that we could potentially release over the next couple of months.
Best experience thus far as a musician?
Brad – In 2004, SYX played KUFO’s Rockfest and we got to hang out backstage with Slipknot. I idolized those guys in my teens/early twenties, so that was absolutely incredible from a fanboy perspective.
Kaelyn – The shows are definitely fun, but my favorite part about being in a band is writing the music.. it is the best outlet for any kind of shit situation you may be in. Watching myself evolve as a musician has been fun as well.
Adam – Well at the moment, I’d say right now. We’re all somewhat tech savvy these days. Simply meaning, we all have some sort of recording gear and software with us at our own homes and studios. So the writing/recording process is ongoing from one studio to another. If one person records something that poses as a potential new song, we’ll just email the parts back and forth, and sometimes we end up writing new songs without ever being in the same room. I love technology!
Favorite Venues?
TSoR: Hawthorne Theatre, Wonder Ballroom, Crystal Ballroom
Biggest inspirations?
Brad – Nine Inch Nails has been my favorite band since high school, and it’s really cool to see Trent Reznor recently transition in to film scoring. The Crystal Method was one of the first electronic acts that I really connected with and I still enjoy their stuff immensely. From a production standpoint, BT’s albums are mind-blowing.
Kaelyn – Bad days and life changes.
Adam – I’ll just mention the absolute top ones, because there’s too many honestly. Here we go: Trent Reznor, Mike Patton, Maynard James Keenan, Dieselboy, Spor, Innerpartysystem, Skinny Puppy, Pendulum, The Cure, Deadmau5, Suicide Silence, Devil Wears Prada, Periphery, Atticus Ross, Depeche Mode, Danny Lohner, Wes Borland, Deftones…you get the idea..
Where can our readers find out more about you?
TSoR: Brad – We’ve got a Facebook page and a profile on Indaba music.
Adam – All of the obvious places. Facebook, Reverbnation, Soundcloud, itunes, cdbaby.com, indabamusic.com, um….google?
There you have it. Thank you to Twenty shades for taking the time to let us interview them and we look forward to hearing and seeing more of these guys. And thank you for checking out this week’s installment. As always, you stay classy Salem.