Here at Impact 89FM, our staff has the opportunity to interview a lot of bands, artists and other musicians. We're excited to be highlighting those conversations and exclusive live performances.
Live from the East Lansing Underground, this is 88 9 bringing you The Basement, and I am your host, Liv.
Griffin:And I am Griffin.
Ana:And I am Ana. You do not know who I am. So for context, I am also known as DJ Wagon Train. I am one of the hosts of the Hours of Power, which is the show that comes on right after The Basement. It deals with everything, hardcore and metal.
Ana:It goes until 2 AM. I'm so tired, but I'm so excited to be here on the basement because we have the wonderful, illustrious drop rate here with us.
Griffin:Would you guys take a
Liv:second to introduce yourselves for the listeners tonight?
Jacob Weston:Yeah. For sure. My name is Jacob Weston.
Luke Lafontaine:My name is Luke Lafontaine. I'm Nathan Iverson. Joshua Fitzgerald.
Liv:Wonderful. Well, thank you guys so much for coming in the studio. I think there is no explanation but to listen. So can we hear Recalibrate? Sure.
Griffin:Once again, you're listening to Drop Right, and that song was recalibrate. Where are you from, Drop Right?
Jacob Weston:From Lansing.
Griffin:Lansing? Yeah.
Jacob Weston:Yeah.
Griffin:All of you are? Yep. Welcome home.
Jacob Weston:Gotta be here.
Liv:I think that's actually something super notable about this show tonight. So, obviously, the basement is dedicated to Michigan local music and trying to bring recognition to the bands that are in the places we live, which is awesome when we can get as close to home as Lansing. But we're particularly lucky because Lansing has an amazing, amazing hardcore scene right now, but it's not always been the case. We were talking about this earlier as you guys were loading in. For a long time, you guys were the only hardcore band in the area.
Luke Lafontaine:Well, not us, but, like, bands are the only ones.
Liv:Okay.
Griffin:You
Luke Lafontaine:know, like, 20 years ago, there there was nothing. You know? 15 years ago, 10 years ago, 5 years ago,
Jacob Weston:nothing. These
Nathan Iverson:guys have been around the block a little bit. So
Griffin:Oh, yeah. Well, I
Liv:think if it's helpful to our listeners because while Impact really tries to be a platform for maybe music that's a little bit off the beaten path outside the top 40, we've got plenty of hardcore listeners if you're a fan of the hours, but it's probably also new to a bunch of people. So, Anna, would you mind kinda, like, laying the groundwork, give me some context on the world of hardcore and where drop rate fits into that?
Ana:I'll I'll try my best. And if I, like, mischaracterize your band in any way, shape, or form, feel free to say, like, you're wrong. But, essentially, this would
Luke Lafontaine:be fun.
Ana:Essentially, hardcore is, like it stems from punk, but it's just, like, more overtly aggressive. I feel like that's the best way to put it. And, like, a lot of different genres kind of derive from hardcore. So if you've heard the suffix core on a genre before, that's means that it's in some way influenced by hardcore. So for example, like metalcore or what have you.
Ana:But, I think the best, like, way to describe drop rate, like, in particular, if we're getting super specific, is melodic hardcore. Facts, fact, or cap.
Luke Lafontaine:Interesting. We'll take it. I'll take I'll take it, but interesting.
Ana:What would you say?
Luke Lafontaine:Nondescriptor. Yeah.
Nathan Iverson:What do we say? Yeah.
Jacob Weston:I don't even know what we say. It's just yeah. I mean, it's definitely melodic leaning. I there you can split hairs a lot when you start, you know Absolutely. Putting in those.
Jacob Weston:But, yeah, hardcore, melodic, hardcore. We'll take it.
Luke Lafontaine:I think I think we're very punk influenced instead of, like, the more metal, you know, side of things for sure.
Ana:I guess that kind of goes into them. Like, who are your influences then? Like, who do you, like, take from even, like, I guess, hardcore and metal and then outside of those as well, if there are any.
Jacob Weston:So, yeah, the initial, like, concept of this project was to kinda just make fun hardcore that, like, we wanted to play and have fun with, you know, and not try to be too self serious. Snapcase is a big one for, I think, most of us. And then, you know, things like Bane, Comeback Kid, TUI
Luke Lafontaine:Quicksand.
Jacob Weston:Quicksand. Yeah. Anything Walter Stifle has been a part of, Grilla Biscuits, all that stuff is a big big influence on what we do.
Ana:I can definitely hear Snap Case in your music. Yeah. Not to
Jacob Weston:Intentionally. No. Yeah. For sure.
Griffin:Like, in a plagiarism way.
Liv:Yeah. Oh, that's lovely.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. No. And that's definitely, like, you know, what we were trying to do is something along those lines, which they're probably Mulatto Carcores. So yeah. But yeah.
Jacob Weston:And then, like, turn style, obviously, they're undeniable what they do. And yeah. And then Friends bands, you know, across Michigan just always taking influence from from Friends. You know?
Griffin:Anna, I wanted to ask, is it possible for a band, like, drop rate to be too hardcore? Is there no line that could be passed when it comes to, this genre?
Ana:I think it really depends on the person. I think, like, hardcore is one of those tricky things because it's like not just the music, but also the culture in and of itself. And I think there's kind of an interesting phenomenon happening in music right now, where some bands are getting like to the point where they're kind of like reaching out into mainstream metal but then you have people who aren't exactly like adjusted to like the hardcore culture finding these bands and there's kind of a line of like do we invite these people in almost? Like, is there such a thing as too hardcore? I think it's a question of, like, who considers something too hardcore, and if those people are hardcore, and should we accept
Griffin:them? Because
Liv:Is this talking about, like, bands, fans, behaviors in general?
Ana:Yeah. Like, societies.
Luke Lafontaine:Bunch of normies showing up and, like, seeing people beating the hell out of each other. Right. But not understanding it, not going too far kid. Yeah. And not understanding the ethics and whatnot and, like, hey.
Luke Lafontaine:Someone fell down. Pick them up.
Ana:Yeah. Yeah.
Luke Lafontaine:We're not trying to, like, you know, beat each other. Like
Liv:actually, that's a great
Luke Lafontaine:Beat each other. Like, it's it's fun. You know? And, like, you know, someone coming in from, like, the outside, quote, unquote, seeing that and being like, oh, you can just, like, mess people up. And it's like
Ana:I That's not
Luke Lafontaine:what it is.
Ana:I phrased it as, like, there's a level of, like, informed consent when it comes to moshing and just the violence at heart.
Luke Lafontaine:It's a That's a great
Griffin:way to put that.
Ana:It's like you kind of accept the risk going into it, but I feel like maybe some people aren't fully aware of the risk. Or, again, there's, like, a lot of social connotations. But, like, I don't know. I just always think of the question, like, how do you, like, let new people in while also, like, preserving the culture at the same time.
Jacob Weston:Right. Yeah. It's definitely a very cultural thing. Right? Like, you get it.
Jacob Weston:The more you go, you understand it, and it starts to click and make sense. You know, like, the first time you start, you see it, it's like these kids are just swinging, and it's crazy. But it's really not, you know, it's pretty controlled most of the time. And yeah.
Liv:Yeah. I feel like that's something that is actually really good to touch on in this context, because we have listeners that are maybe outside of those who would normally come across Right. Something like hardcore. And I do think it's very confusing to watch from the outside,
Luke Lafontaine:you know. Like I would imagine. Yeah.
Jacob Weston:For sure.
Liv:Why why is it okay to just, like, punch people in this context, which isn't what it is. Right.
Jacob Weston:If you don't understand the dancing and the intricacies of what's going on, it looks like you're just swinging and hitting people. Right?
Liv:Yeah. Absolutely. But how would you guys characterize, like, what is at the core of this kind of collective of folks who come together and are like, okay. We're gonna be aggressive. We're gonna let stuff out, but dot.
Liv:Dot. Like, what is the hardcore
Luke Lafontaine:It's therapy.
Liv:Culture.
Luke Lafontaine:Like, if this is, like, you know, this is a place for people that don't feel, a part of things. And they've come and find these other people, you know, misfits and losers and whatnot, and it just makes sense to everybody. And you're there on the same page, and you can just let your frustrations out with each other, not on each other, with each other. And
Griffin:at the end
Luke Lafontaine:of the night, everyone kind of has that release, and it's like it's it's healthy, I think. But from the outsider, they just see violence, perhaps.
Griffin:Yeah. Mhmm. Now can I ask something? Sure. As an outsider Right.
Griffin:Where where do I go, in this community in Lansing to maybe, get my feet wet to warm up to this culture? You know, where do I start?
Jacob Weston:Right now, we have the Dalai Lama on the south side. It's the house. Okay. We played there once. We've only played a handful of shows.
Jacob Weston:So, you know but, and then Monty House right up the street here Oh, yeah. Does a lot of hardcore as well. I'm sure there's some others. I think the Goblin Zone does some, you know, heavier leaning stuff. I think it mostly leans on, like, emo and that kind of stuff.
Jacob Weston:But those shows, like, the the DIY the DIY community kind of all works together and, you know
Griffin:Yeah.
Luke Lafontaine:I think a house show is, like, the best way to get introduced to the culture. Yeah. Because those people will be, like, already close knit. Mhmm. And they'll recognize that you're not, like, a regular, and you'll probably be, like, approached and, like, welcomed in.
Joshua Fitzgerald:Okay.
Luke Lafontaine:And, like, instead of going to see, like, a larger band, a huge venue, and you're just, like, a drop in the ocean. You know? Right.
Griffin:I I
Luke Lafontaine:would recommend a house show.
Griffin:Well, thank you.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. And I would like, I've been going to shows forever, and I would still rather go to a house show than go see someone at, like, a large venue. Like Yeah. It's just better.
Griffin:Well, I'm glad to know that there are a lot of places I can go within the community, just like your song.
Luke Lafontaine:Good segue.
Griffin:A place to go. I wanna know before we get into the song, what's the meaning of this title?
Jacob Weston:It's exactly that. It's about spaces. Perfect. Like, hardcore and, you know, DIY music. And and, like, specifically, like, places like Edgemond and Reware and, like, businesses that open up their place, you know, for stuff like this to happen because it takes a lot of risk to, like, open up your business to let music just happen and people random people come in.
Jacob Weston:So it's just kind of appreciation song and, like, it meant a lot to me growing up. So it's, like, important, you you know, it's important to the culture and important to everything. So
Griffin:Well, thank you. Once again, this is Drop Right.
Liv:That guitar was so good. Oh my gosh. It was, what do you call that technique?
Luke Lafontaine:Strumming. No. I I use I use a a phase shifter for, like, the swooshy stuff. Mhmm.
Griffin:We
Luke Lafontaine:got we got into some textures a little bit, so I I picked up a a phase pedal, and I I grabbed a a super chorus also. So we just I don't know. It just adds it elevates certain parts.
Ana:Mhmm.
Luke Lafontaine:So, yeah. It was a we did it on the demo for that song Maybe. In post, and we're like, well, that's so that was, like, part of the song now, so I had to go buy a pedal. Yeah. Basically.
Liv:I like that, but now there's a whole new world that's unlocked.
Luke Lafontaine:That's another palette to paint with musically, and I I use it quite a bit even even on stuff that originally we didn't record with it. Like now, like a lot of choruses, I'll throw it on, or like, more like interlude sections that move from one to, you know, the next. So, yeah, it's fun.
Liv:Yeah. I love the the phrasing that you use there, another palette to paint with.
Luke Lafontaine:I Yeah. Like, that's all I think about.
Griffin:Pretty much very specifically. Yeah.
Liv:I do wanna ask, have any of you tried to play, like, other kinds of music? Are you all hardcore through and through? Or are there other bands that you've been in, other projects that maybe add some unexpected influence in?
Joshua Fitzgerald:I'm traditionally in pop punk bands and punk bands and that kind of stuff. But, like, I just translate that straight into hardcore. Just go a little harder.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. Like, Josh comes from, like, a little bit different of a setup. And, like, he doesn't use, like, the traditional, like, drumming tropes that a lot of hardcore bands use. Like, he doesn't speak that language necessarily, and he comes up with these, like, cool, like, jazzy little things instead that I really like a lot. Yeah.
Jacob Weston:It kinda helps inform our sound, just him coming from outside of that.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty sweet. Josh is like he carries a lot of weight in the band for sure.
Jacob Weston:Yep. And then I I play guitar and sing in a band called Soaktail. So and we play around here every once in a while. And that's, like, more, like, alt rock, shoegaze y, influence stuff. So
Nathan Iverson:I've played in, like, pop punk type bands, the emo bands. I'm not really sure what you'd call certain one of some of some of them, but I've also, you know, played with bands who have done shoegazy stuff. I've done stuff who stuff with bands who've played more like folk music, you know, all sorts of stuff. So
Liv:So, yeah, a good bit of range
Jacob Weston:there.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I've done, like, some crossover thrash type stuff and, like, some we didn't know it was called post hardcore back then, but it was it was we called it, like, emo metal. We were just trying to rip off Converge in, like, the late nineties.
Ana:Pre post hardcore.
Luke Lafontaine:Right. We didn't you know, the term didn't exist quite, you know, so predominantly, but, yeah, like, stuff like that. I I guess all over the place. Yeah. Always independent, like, genres, though.
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. I would actually say that, like, none of us are, like, hardcore through and through. Like, it's not it's not our, you know, one thing in life. You know?
Luke Lafontaine:I actually like power pop, like, most. Yeah. Like, no joke. Fountain of Wayne is one of my favorite bands.
Griffin:Yeah. Power pop? Yeah. Elaborate. Tell me about it.
Luke Lafontaine:It's like high energy, like rock and roll. It's, like, super poppy, like, influenced probably, like, by the Beatles and, like, the Byrds, but, like, jacked up with electricity and stuff.
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. I imagine, like, Beatles with, like, distortion or something.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. You know, like, Matthew Sweet is, like, one of my favorites. He was, like, really big in the nineties, but for his for his audience, he was big in the nineties, but, like, he's still playing and stuff. So I don't know.
Nathan Iverson:I agree. I think we still need to start that power pop band.
Luke Lafontaine:You are totally right.
Jacob Weston:So for contracts, like, Fountains of Wayne did the song Stacy's Mom.
Luke Lafontaine:That's their worst it's their worst song. Yeah. And it's a it's a it's a perfect pop song, but it's their worst song. And, like, they just go up from there. Like, I'm serious.
Luke Lafontaine:Check them out. They're they're underappreciated.
Liv:Unlocking some real secrets tonight.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. Check out the song Denise, and it's probably the one of the most well written songs ever. Yeah.
Ana:Is that Stacy's mom? Is her name Denise?
Luke Lafontaine:It might be. I don't know.
Ana:Well, speaking of art, we did talk a little bit about the album art for your EP, Recalibrate, and just how like weirdly it connects with my world for context. I'm from Wisconsin. The person who did the art is named Landon He's also from Wisconsin, but he also like has lived in Lansing and is big in the Lansing scene But it's like this globe made of bricks, and the continents are explosions coming out of the bricks, but they're still continent shaped. I just wanna know, like, what does that represent?
Jacob Weston:Frustration with the world, I guess. I just saw, like, Landon's design, and I was like, yo. Can we use that? And because, like, I grew up just, you know, watching his bands around here and then just becoming friends with him and stuff. So, I was just like, hey.
Jacob Weston:And he's like, yeah. I don't care. You know? And then I just put the layout together with, you know, his art.
Luke Lafontaine:It just seems like it fits with the whole recalibrate concept, though. Like, it's it's more of, like, serendipitous than anything. It wasn't really intentional, I don't think.
Griffin:Yeah. Like, the
Jacob Weston:It just felt right when I saw it, and then I pitched it to them. And they're like, yeah.
Griffin:Yeah.
Ana:You know? Like, the ultimate reset.
Jacob Weston:When it most. Right? Together, not easy.
Griffin:Like Yeah.
Jacob Weston:But, yeah, if it comes together easy, you just don't fight it. You just don't happen.
Luke Lafontaine:And That's how the band operates. Like, we the path of, like, least resistance. We just don't fight about things, and, like, we just, like we'll see if it works. Okay. It works.
Luke Lafontaine:It's fine.
Ana:Wouldn't that be beautiful if the, like, the world in general worked that way?
Jacob Weston:It would
Griffin:be nice.
Jacob Weston:It would.
Luke Lafontaine:There's a lot of, like, leaving the egos at the door, and I think people have a hard time with that. Like, within this group, it seems to be really easy. So
Ana:Yeah. That's good.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. Well, going back
Griffin:to art, and within your group, who is the artist? And, specifically for your graphic designs, you guys have really cool merch of that. I think what is it? Like a witch or the
Jacob Weston:The hooded Mosher. Yeah.
Griffin:Yeah. The hooded Mosher. Yeah.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. It's got a lot of different yeah. I drew that.
Griffin:That's sick.
Jacob Weston:I did, like, the layout for the EP, but, like, Landon did the globe, and then I just did the, you know, put the words around it and stuff. And then, the shirt, same thing. Just took the cover art and kind of made it into a shirt. So it's mostly me and then that little piece from Landon. But, yeah, so far.
Jacob Weston:And then we have some new stuff, new designs that haven't come out yet that have been by, like, friends and and other people from around here. So Cool.
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. We got some, some shorts that were, designed made by my friend Chris, Chris. Yeah. Those should be out soon.
Luke Lafontaine:The mimic?
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. The the mimic is like a boom box with with, like, teeth and stuff. And, yeah, but we we posted it earlier as, like, a poster, today, but, we're gonna have it on some merch soon.
Luke Lafontaine:So we got them on stickers too. Right?
Nathan Iverson:Oh, yeah. We got stickers too. Yeah.
Griffin:Yeah. Sick. You guys really know how to create this world and a brand for your band. It's it's on it's like the like a little cheap fantasy.
Jacob Weston:Really sewed that together.
Ana:So that that was bad. Every night, you just gag me with those, like, transitions. It's crazy.
Griffin:That was Thank you, Anna.
Ana:I'm like on the score all the time.
Luke Lafontaine:Thank you.
Griffin:Try to keep this as smooth as possible.
Luke Lafontaine:That's you. That's me. Right?
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. That's you.
Luke Lafontaine:They're all short. Like, they're all they're all they're all they're all just real short. So
Liv:But they're power packed. It's a lot to take in in in a minute 30. So we gotta take it by by the spoonful.
Nathan Iverson:Did I come in on a minute 30?
Liv:I was not clocking it. But to
Griffin:say that's that might be a little that might be a little fast for us.
Liv:Alright. Very important question for you guys. Very pertinent. Okay? Are you ready?
Liv:If you had to perform as a band at a coronation ceremony, what song would you play?
Luke Lafontaine:Oh. Of ours or any song? Like, I I
Liv:I'm gonna say it has to be in your style, at least. It can be a cover, but it has to, like, sound like the drop rate sound.
Jacob Weston:That's a that's Luke's that's
Griffin:why why would that be my question?
Jacob Weston:That looks department.
Nathan Iverson:I'm looking through our set list now to see, like, what what would that be.
Liv:What's appropriate for the occasion?
Jacob Weston:Pain of Generation.
Griffin:Yeah. Admittedly, I think I would I would be thinking, like,
Nathan Iverson:I'd be thinking, like, a little bit, like, satirical and go with, like, Pain of Generations, which is a song we'll play later, but, that would be kinda my my idea or my pitch. I'm wondering if there's other things.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah.
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. That that that's my instinct, and, again, you know, don't fight the flow in this band. You know?
Liv:Yeah. Do you see this in your guys' future?
Jacob Weston:Yeah. Yes?
Luke Lafontaine:For sure. It's it's been put there. Yeah.
Griffin:It's been awesome.
Nathan Iverson:Now that the idea is in the air, it's, like, where it's gonna be hard to avoid that. You know?
Liv:Yeah. Of course, we have to work up to the coronation point.
Jacob Weston:Yeah.
Liv:Yeah. But, do you guys have any other what's the most interesting occasion or, like, location that you've played a show?
Jacob Weston:So the most interesting location that I feel like has a story or I don't even know if it's real, but, like, an old band on tour played at, place in Cleveland that's supposedly the Chinese restaurant from A Christmas Story, but it's, like, turned into, like, a punk commune or at least, like, close by that. And so, like, the lore was that it was the that restaurant. You know? But didn't look like it at all. But yeah.
Ana:Were you catfished?
Jacob Weston:Potentially. I didn't find out that it was the place till it was there. You know what I mean? Like, I didn't know that that's and then they're like, oh, yeah. That's what this is.
Jacob Weston:And I was like, oh, pretty cool.
Griffin:I watched that.
Ana:Speaking of shows, if I everything water bottle in the water bottle world okay?
Jacob Weston:Yeah. Yeah.
Ana:Okay.
Luke Lafontaine:Goshly hydrated.
Ana:If I Try it. Did my research correctly, I saw that drop rates for a show was opening for life's question. Is that fact or cap?
Jacob Weston:So our first show
Ana:was like a
Jacob Weston:It was with Coyo, One Step Closer, Anxious, and, Stateside Oh, yeah. Edgemont.
Ana:Something like that.
Jacob Weston:Life's question may have been on that tour, but not on that date.
Ana:But still, to be, that's a lot of bands that I personally am a big fan of. Bands that are considerably popular. I think that's a pretty big first show to play.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. Yeah.
Ana:How was that for you guys?
Griffin:It was cool.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. It was definitely, like, unexpected. I it came together, like, 2 weeks prior. I think we put out the EP, like, a month prior to that. And then 2 weeks later, I was at a show at Edgemont.
Jacob Weston:And Curtis and Jimmy, who put that together, were just, like, you guys wanna do it? And I was, like, I don't know. Maybe. Probably not. And then because it was, like, 2 weeks away on a Wednesday night, and then just sent out some text, and we made it work.
Jacob Weston:And it was it was cool. It was really fun.
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. We were kinda like, we got it. We got to do that. Like, that's hard to, hard to pass up.
Jacob Weston:I think, initially, our thought was we would play, like, the Dalai Lama or a house show or something smaller first, you know. And Edgemond's a big room, and there was you know, we'd feel comfortable playing there, like, a smaller lineup. Like, maybe that would have been the opportunity. But, yeah, it was a it was a great time. It was cool.
Jacob Weston:We couldn't, yeah, couldn't pass it up.
Ana:Can you explain Edgemond to the listeners who have no idea what you're talking about when you
Jacob Weston:say Yeah.
Griffin:I do. But, like Yeah.
Jacob Weston:It's a
Ana:odds but not.
Jacob Weston:It's a screen printing and embroidery factory that kinda, like, after hours pushes the machinery away, and it's just a big warehouse with a PA on the ground. So it's like the meme of the office where, like, there's, like, flat floor, and they're like, this is my favorite venue. I don't know if you've seen that, but it's like that. But it's great. You know?
Jacob Weston:The community is there. It feels like home for me, so I go there probably more than anywhere else.
Nathan Iverson:It's a it's in, the Detroit area, by the way. Yep.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. Clinton Township, technically.
Griffin:Yeah. I noticed you've, been booked, in this wonderful month of September, at at Job Stoppers and Pyramid Scheme.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. We're we unfortunately all got sick and had to drop both of those. Oh. Yeah. Yeah.
Jacob Weston:I
Luke Lafontaine:I didn't get sick.
Jacob Weston:Nate didn't get sick. Okay.
Nathan Iverson:He got sick a month before us. So before. Gotta wait.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. Like, that week, the 3 of us we I think we practiced and just, like, spread it to
Luke Lafontaine:each other. You guys brought it to practice.
Jacob Weston:Yeah.
Griffin:Yeah. I
Nathan Iverson:think it was the the Monday we did a practice, and I think that Saturday and following Wednesday were gonna be the days of the shows. And, yeah, that just completely put us all down, and it was it was not great. It didn't feel good to, you know, have to drop, but, you know Yeah. Because happen, and then you gotta keep people safe. Yeah.
Luke Lafontaine:Those are 2 shows we really, really wanted to play, and we waited till, like, the last minute. And, like, the the book the booking people even, like, waited with us kinda, like, to, you know, find out
Jacob Weston:The gatekeeper.
Luke Lafontaine:Like, the morning of, like, yeah, we can't make it. You know? And they had they had fill ins and stuff. So
Griffin:Well, you know, everything happens for a
Jacob Weston:reason. Right.
Griffin:Yeah. So Yeah.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. Maybe But yeah. No. Hopefully, we'll get to Grand Rapids soon. That's been on the list.
Jacob Weston:You know, free space shows out there has asked us a few times, and that was the one time it finally panned out. And then it didn't pan out. And then Detroit, you know, we'll get out there.
Griffin:And what was this factory or embroidery embroidery? Edgmon?
Jacob Weston:Edgmon? Edgmon Screen Printing and Embroidery.
Griffin:Yeah. Is this They
Jacob Weston:they do all of our shirts and stuff too.
Griffin:Oh, yeah.
Luke Lafontaine:Like, they Kind of
Liv:cool connection.
Luke Lafontaine:Like, if you ever see a hardcore punk rock shirt, there's a good chance they printed it if it's, like, in a Midwest band
Griffin:Okay. Or
Luke Lafontaine:even further out, honestly. Like, they do a lot of big stuff.
Griffin:Yeah. Yeah. Have you 2 been there?
Ana:I haven't. I personally have not. I really do wanna go.
Liv:That sounds like a cool spot.
Luke Lafontaine:It is fun.
Ana:Extra contextualization. Edgemond is in reference to straight edge, which is, kind of, I guess, a subculture of hardcore, if you will, where people do not, do drugs or drink or sometimes other things, but that's generally
Jacob Weston:It's just CI. It's usually just drugs and alcohol. Yeah.
Luke Lafontaine:And then They remain sober.
Jacob Weston:Yes. It's the the vegan part of it that comes in sometimes too, but that's not
Liv:Yeah. Yeah. Actually, that's a cool part of hardcore culture people might not know about, because like we were talking about earlier, it is sort of like a catharsis. It's a therapeutic, way to let off your emotions, but a lot of people in that community, not everyone, consider themselves straight edge. So this is their outlet, and they don't, like, pursue that release in other ways through substances.
Liv:So it's a really, really welcoming community in that sense.
Griffin:It should be. Yes. Yeah. If it's
Luke Lafontaine:not, there's something wrong with your local scene.
Jacob Weston:Yeah.
Luke Lafontaine:Like yeah.
Jacob Weston:And Edgemont has done a really great job of fostering community there based around just, like, it's a positive environment. You go there. You feel welcome. It's cool.
Liv:That's awesome. Yeah. I do wanna
Jacob Weston:It's a lights on room. You know? So it's like
Liv:Fully lights on for the shows.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. It's weird at first, but it's it's it works.
Liv:Alright. I do wanna ask though if you guys, like, have had mentors in this scene who have, like, taught you a lot through the years and really kind of helped you to get where you are, who, you know, you met through this hardcore community.
Griffin:Yeah.
Jacob Weston:100%. Tons of them. First one that comes to mind from Lansing is Cale Slaughter. Plays in cavalcade. He used to do he used to Bermuda Mohawk Productions, which booked a lot of stuff at Mac's when I was growing up.
Jacob Weston:Kinda taught me the whole ethics around house shows and, you know, how to book and do things, quote, unquote, right way. You know? Or it's, like, taking care of each other, doing things, you know, in a positive positive, way. You know? Aside of that, yeah, just like other bands and things in the area, you know, just friends and stuff and booking and just kind of, like, you know I don't know.
Jacob Weston:Yeah.
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. It's not uncommon to have somebody who, like, does kinda hold your hand and is acts like a mentor, but I would say, like, at least speaking for myself and maybe for the others, there's you know, it's kind of a community thing. You go and you kind of observe and you, you know, see things, and you, you know, say, like, oh, yeah. I do like how this is operating, or I think that this is great that these opportunities are being offered to young bands, and then they get into a room, and then people go off for it, and everybody's kind of on the same page, and it's always like really inspiring to be in those spaces and to contribute in those spaces on different levels, whether it be actually playing the shows or just going off for your friend's band or, you know, booking shows or doing any number of things, and you you sort of learn through the community or at least, you know, some people do.
Luke Lafontaine:Like, see if you see a need, like, and you wanna meet it, just meet it.
Griffin:Yeah.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. Like, if there's a hole, fill it. You know?
Nathan Iverson:I think the whole, like, DIY kind of ethos that are that is built into so much independent music, a lot of that does stem from hardcore, and just people being like, let's just play a show. Let's just put it on ourselves. Let's make sure our friends come by printing posters and getting the word out, and, then, you know, enough people show up and like it and throw themselves around and have a good time, and then those people go on and start bands.
Luke Lafontaine:Pretty much. Yeah. Yeah.
Liv:So if you were to take on this mentor role for someone else and, like, bring them under your wing, what would be the most important things for them to know about, like, life or music or just anything that you you feel like you have some guidance you can offer?
Jacob Weston:Yeah. I don't know. I mean, thinking back, it's it just create, like, a positive atmosphere. Like, try to, like, not like, let the ego go aside, you know. There's, like, like you said, it's, like, there's, like, borderline of, like, gatekeeping, you know, a little bit with hardcore, like, what you should do.
Jacob Weston:And it's, like, I kinda kick myself for just kinda being rude when I was younger because I thought I was cooler or, like, listened to something more niche than somebody else. You know? And it kinda, like, made it so things weren't as big as they could be or, like, as welcoming as they could be and, like, which is the environment that I create or try to create now. You know? So I think just kinda, like, setting that aside and just trying to be, like yeah.
Jacob Weston:Like, everybody here is just trying to do something and trying to make it, you know, fun and have a good time, you know, and it doesn't matter if you're, quote, unquote, cool or, you know, it's just yeah.
Griffin:Well, yeah. It's never, quote, unquote, to, you know, be that way, I guess. Yeah. But I'm glad, you know, everyone grows, you know. Yeah.
Griffin:Sometimes I fall victim to being that way. You always wanna gatekeep the smaller artist that you love, you know. Right. Or any musician Right.
Jacob Weston:But it's, like, it's not
Luke Lafontaine:Exactly.
Jacob Weston:And it's it's better if other people like it too because then you have a community, you know. It's like if it's just yours, then you're just at your house by yourself listening to it, which can be great. But
Griffin:for your for your next song, though, Never Good?
Jacob Weston:Yeah.
Griffin:What song? What's Never Good?
Luke Lafontaine:Is it
Jacob Weston:It kinda falls into, like, that same exact yeah. You're tying these together, like, just with song titles. Yeah. No. It's definitely just about people who try to hate on things no matter what.
Jacob Weston:You know? It's like it's never good enough. You know? And I've been there. I know it's, you know, kinda sucks.
Jacob Weston:You know? But
Griffin:Well, thank you. Once again, this is drop rate.
Ana:Once again, that was drop rate here on the basement on Impact 89 FM. And, we talked a little bit about your influences before, and you referenced Trapped Under Ice. Yep. And, there's, something that has been said. I don't know if it's been said by many, but it's essentially that Trapped Under Ice killed melodic hardcore
Jacob Weston:A 100%. Win.
Ana:For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about. Essentially, Trapped Under Ice was, like, the melodic hardcore band to the point where, essentially, every band after them was just doing stuff that they already, like, had revolutionized it, like, faster.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. They, like, took, like, what everybody was doing and kind of made it heavier, made it more beat down leaning, I guess. And, it just really, like, shook up the scene, you know, that I was going to shows during that time. And, it was, I mean, a noticeable moment where you're like, oh, this is different. They're on a lot of tours with these other bands that are, like, more traditional, like, Malada hardcore bands, like, you know, half heart or Bane or, like, those bands.
Jacob Weston:And, they just kinda, yeah, shook it up, made it heavier, made it more, like, rappy and cool, you know, instead of soft and wimpy and melodic. You know?
Ana:Yeah. But I would argue that there's kind of, like, a second wave coming on of melodicarcor. Yeah. How do you feel about that?
Jacob Weston:I'm for it. Like I like, when I was in high school, like, that was what I was going to shows to see most of the time. Like, Have Heart and Verse, like, those bands were touring nonstop. You know, Bane, anytime I could go see them, it was like I had to be there. You know?
Jacob Weston:And just like that whole like, bridge 9 was, like, the big label at the time. So it's like a lot of those bands. We had True Love here in Michigan. Few other bands with those same members, you know, or adjacent friend group. Yeah.
Jacob Weston:But that was just kinda like so I'm here for it, you know. I'm here for that sound to come back as long as it feels right, you know. There's a lot of it. Like, I heard some new bands where I'm just like, they're doing the thing, but it's not for me still. Like, I'm not feeling it yet.
Jacob Weston:But then there's other ones, you know, that I am, you know. So
Ana:You guys are doing the thing for me.
Griffin:Oh,
Jacob Weston:thank you so much.
Griffin:And, Josh and Luke, I know you mentioned you both have an interest in pop punk. So does that, taste in your music, influence the melodic side in your band? And if so, like, what artist, that aren't hardcore do you inspire both of you and, kind of reflects drop rate?
Joshua Fitzgerald:I mean, I grew up on, like, Green Day, anywhere from, like, Green Day to, like, Bruce Springsteen, like, anything that my dad was listening to. So, like, all the early punk stuff, pop punk, all that stuff, I'm, like, really into. AFI. Rise Against was my favorite band for a really long time. So, like, that kind of stuff is what influenced me into, like, getting into playing drums.
Joshua Fitzgerald:So Okay. Cool.
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. Yeah. One of my favorite bands, like, of all time is Jimmy Eat World. They might lean a little bit more on, like, the emo side or even just, like, pop pop rock music side, but, like, that band is kind of, like, one of my, like, everything bands, and, yeah, I think, like, some of the bands that I played in before kinda stolen some influence from them and or borrowed some influence depending on how you feel about it, from that band and bands like them. I also you know, during my time, I liked, bands like, the early November.
Nathan Iverson:Those were really inspirational. I'm not really, you know, too up to date with current pop punk artists, but, you know, it definitely was part of how I kind of stepped into playing music, and, you know, it leads me to kind of where I am today and how I feel just with this thing around my neck, you
Griffin:know. Sick.
Liv:I guess that leads us to a very important question, being, are you guys melody listeners or lyric listeners? When you find an artist that you really love. Like Drums. Drums.
Jacob Weston:To be honest, yeah. Drum production.
Luke Lafontaine:If the drum production's crap, I won't listen to it. Like and I will and I shouldn't say I won't listen to it. I'll probably turn it off if it's not if the drums don't sound good.
Jacob Weston:If I'm watching a band, I'm watching the drums, listening. I was a big, like, lyrics person growing up. You know? I was like, the lyrics gotta matter, and lately, I've been more vibe, you know, music. But lyrics still matter, you know, at the end of the day.
Nathan Iverson:I used to think I used to, like, almost pride myself on being a lyrics guy, but then something clicked, like, in college when I was just like, you know what? That that lyric needs to have a hook to get stuck in my head. I need earworm music more than I need just poetry all the time, and don't get me wrong. I like, you know, great words and great poetry, but I think pairing it with a really good melody that can just get stuck in your head and can rattle around in there is, like, kinda huge for me. So, like, as far as, like, my more pop leaning musical taste, I'm always looking out for the hooks.
Liv:Yeah. And Josh?
Joshua Fitzgerald:Sorry. I agree with everything that they said. I used to, like, be big, huge in the lyrics. Like, when I would go buy CDs, back when CDs were a thing, I would just, like, play it all the way through, read all the lyrics. It was super important to me.
Joshua Fitzgerald:But, yeah, like, as I've gotten older, it's more about, like, the vibe and, like, the energy of music rather than the words. But yeah.
Griffin:Mhmm. You
Jacob Weston:can yeah. You can have some really bad words and have the song hit really well for you. You know what I mean? So
Liv:Sometimes it's irredeemable, though. Like, it can be a catchy song.
Jacob Weston:There's moments.
Liv:Lyrics are just Yeah.
Jacob Weston:So Oh, trust
Griffin:me. So bad. But you're so they're always self
Luke Lafontaine:decide. They're unaware of themselves or how bad they are.
Jacob Weston:And it's like I turned stuff off because of that plenty. But Yeah. Then I let a lot
Ana:slide now. So Nate Yeah. Drums. Do You listen to the drums?
Luke Lafontaine:If there's drums in the music, that's what I'm focusing on at first.
Ana:What Saint Anger by Metallica. Thoughts?
Nathan Iverson:He's also the producer, so, like, he's he's listening when
Griffin:he's doing the things.
Luke Lafontaine:You know exactly what you're doing. It's the worst snare drum
Griffin:ever. You
Luke Lafontaine:trolling me
Griffin:right here.
Ana:If you feel so inclined, Saint Anger by Metallica is an interesting album, to say the least.
Luke Lafontaine:A departure from form, if you will.
Ana:Feel free to listen to the drums on that album.
Nathan Iverson:Or not. Yeah. Feel free to skip that one.
Luke Lafontaine:Feel free to listen to Master of Puppets and feel good about yourself. But yeah.
Liv:For those who don't know, aren't super in the loop with with these specific elements of production, what makes great sounding drums and what doesn't? And how does it change the way that the music hits, the way that it sounds?
Luke Lafontaine:It's it's for me, it's more the the performance. I can I can get behind a a subpar recording if the drummer is, like, just hitting it, like, just nailing everything? You know? So it's got it's gotta be an expressive performance. It's a it's a problem I have with a lot of newer heavier genres is everything's so homogenized on the tones that they use, and everything has to be, like, dead on to the click track, and everything has to sound like everything within the it has to be genre appropriate.
Luke Lafontaine:Otherwise, they won't, like, make it. And, like, older death metal especially had, like you could feel the drummer's expression because everything wasn't just the same hit over and over again. Like, you listen to old death records and, like, they're almost like almost like jazz albums, but it's really heavy. But, like, it's thought out really well. It's a very expressive form of music, but it's also just, like, crushing at the same time, and I feel like a lot of new heavy music lacks that.
Luke Lafontaine:It it lacks nuance. I think one of the last bands that really pulled it off well recently would have been Dillinger Escape Plan. Yeah. That's how I feel about it.
Liv:Is that emotionally crushing or, like, the sound is crushing?
Luke Lafontaine:All of it. And when when when it when they're doing it right, it sounds crushing, but, like, you can like, something happens, and you you can respond to it. Like, you almost physically. Like
Liv:Mhmm.
Luke Lafontaine:Like, music for me is my emotional outlet. I'm a very, like, stoic person, but I process emotions through music. And, like so if something can, like, give me goosebumps and music gives me goosebumps a lot. Mhmm. If it doesn't, I probably won't listen to it again.
Luke Lafontaine:That that kinda thing.
Liv:Wow. That's a that's a high bar of a litmus test, I'd say.
Luke Lafontaine:But it's all it's not like an elitist thing. Like, it's all over the place. Like, I don't I don't think of myself as, like, some sort of, like, music snob. Mhmm. I bet other people probably do, but, like, I'm not trying to, like, gatekeep and, like, judge other people's tastes.
Liv:Oh, not at all. No. I'm just thinking about, like, how often I get goosebumps when I listen to music, and I think I'd have, like, maybe 3 albums I could listen to.
Luke Lafontaine:Like, I get the same feeling when I listen to Jane Doe from Converge, like, the whole album front to back. I could listen to Weezer's Blue album and get almost the same feeling.
Ana:It like That's so funny. Like, the comparison
Luke Lafontaine:between the two They're both perfect records in such different ways, but they're both perfect records.
Nathan Iverson:They both trigger Nate's, goosebumps.
Luke Lafontaine:I got goosebumps just thinking about it right now. Look at that.
Griffin:Like, I
Luke Lafontaine:It's cute. Surf wax USA. Like, it is such a good song. Like, the just the hooks. Luke Luke knows the hooks, man.
Nathan Iverson:The hooks. That is that might be my favorite song on that record.
Luke Lafontaine:That's a good song. Right? Dude.
Griffin:Nate, can you is it possible for you to get goosebumps twice off the same record?
Luke Lafontaine:Every time.
Griffin:Oh. Yeah. Every time.
Liv:This is like, we're turning to just like a fat fascinating biological study at this point.
Griffin:Like Yeah. I might put my case in.
Luke Lafontaine:Work. I also see color, like, in sound.
Jacob Weston:Like See,
Ana:I was just
Luke Lafontaine:Like, one of those
Griffin:I'm one
Luke Lafontaine:of those weirdos. Do you? Yeah. It's Okay. You know, like I'm learning something.
Luke Lafontaine:Give me give me an album. I'll tell you what color it is if I know it. The drop rate EP. It's like, it's like a grayish red.
Liv:Grayish red?
Jacob Weston:The album
Griffin:cover. Like, the the
Luke Lafontaine:sonically, it's like a a grayish red. It's actually very close to, the same color that the gray race by Bad Religion is.
Nathan Iverson:Okay.
Luke Lafontaine:I don't make the rules. It's just what happens in my head.
Griffin:Yeah. I
Ana:just I'm really curious about
Griffin:what do you mean?
Ana:Like, is
Griffin:it just, like, the tone and the mood that
Luke Lafontaine:It's it's it's, like, textures of, like, the instruments. For me, a lot of times, it's the relationship between the bass guitar and the guitars, like, the rhythm guitars, especially if there's, like, some grit to the bass. And, like, certain albums will nail this balance where you almost can't differentiate between, like, your left and right guitars, and then your bass up the middle doesn't feel like there's any separation there almost, but but in a good way. And, like, that will, like, inform the color kind of for me a lot. And then, like, the vocals and how how wet or dry they are will, like, add more to that texture and color, I guess.
Luke Lafontaine:And drums, oddly enough, don't usually play a factor into it for me for some reason. It's almost always the harmonic elements So I I don't know. It's just What my what I see inside my head when I listen to stuff. It's weird
Griffin:very interesting
Liv:Yeah, I'd love to know like something very broadly known. Like, what would, what would what's a really famous Beatles song? Hey Jude. Yeah. What color is Hey Jude?
Luke Lafontaine:Like, mauve.
Griffin:Interesting. Okay.
Jacob Weston:I'll accept that instantly. So hard to argue.
Luke Lafontaine:I'm trying to like, listening to it in my head back, it's I think that's about the right color. Yeah?
Griffin:So when drop rate creates a record and you're making the cover and it's not the right color that you envisioned
Luke Lafontaine:Oh, no. That's fine. It's not related to the artwork.
Griffin:Oh, okay. No. Like the But you should probably incorporate it in the artwork down there.
Ana:Like, when you see the color, it's, like, adds to the color palette.
Luke Lafontaine:I mean, I'll let Jake know.
Liv:Like, when you read them
Luke Lafontaine:But we've already kinda discussed actors
Jacob Weston:I didn't even know you did that. So that's reference.
Nathan Iverson:This is news to all of us. Like, I don't talk about it
Luke Lafontaine:a lot. Like, I'm a I'm a reserved person. I'm so like I said, I I process emotions through listening to music. So, I keep a lot in. This is very this is like an expose or something.
Luke Lafontaine:Like, I feel
Ana:After this, we need, like, the Nate's Brain album.
Griffin:You don't want you don't want that.
Jacob Weston:He has it on his hard drive.
Liv:Alright. One last prying question on your synesthesia. Altif, our next song. Yeah. What color is that?
Luke Lafontaine:Like mustard. Like, not not yellow mustard, though. Like, good mustard, like the stone ground test.
Ana:Oh, yeah.
Luke Lafontaine:More grayer than that.
Liv:Okay. Like a Dijon?
Luke Lafontaine:Like a Dijon. Yes. Exactly. Yeah. With, like, flecks of black.
Griffin:Oh, yeah. Oh, okay.
Ana:I love a grainy mustard.
Luke Lafontaine:It's the best. Right?
Ana:Shout out to grainy mustard.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. Raised mustard in in, Maine. Check it out, dude. It's the best.
Griffin:Oh.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. You you are welcome to check it out.
Nathan Iverson:This, this next song is our Granny Mustard song.
Luke Lafontaine:It's Granny Mustard. Alright.
Griffin:Well, thank you, Nate.
Liv:Can't wait to hear it.
Griffin:Hey, drop rate. Do, all of you have your teeth. Right?
Jacob Weston:I think so. We haven't talked about it.
Liv:Maybe we're learning more about
Griffin:each other today. Brown.
Luke Lafontaine:It's like a half
Griffin:tooth. Cool.
Luke Lafontaine:Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Joshua Fitzgerald:I'm missing a couple.
Luke Lafontaine:Well I
Joshua Fitzgerald:had a canine that never came down.
Griffin:Well, have any of you lost teeth, at, you know, at a show? Yeah.
Jacob Weston:Actually, you get this one? Really? Chipped tooth. Yeah. At a Bane show when I was in high school.
Jacob Weston:Somebody landed on my head, and I just spit down. And then I didn't even, like, realize what happened till later. You know what I mean? Like, I kinda felt like something break off, and then it's just little, like, crescent shape.
Griffin:And and you're just like and you just keep going? You're like, well What else am I
Jacob Weston:gonna do? I I don't know if I It's been there. Experience at the time.
Griffin:Is there a point where you're like, okay. I'm gonna take a step back. Like, my tooth is gone.
Jacob Weston:I did no. I didn't even feel it. Like, that's what I'm saying. Like, it it gets part of the tooth where it's like it didn't hit anything where, like, I felt it really. I just felt like kind of like a hard piece in my mouth all of a sudden, and then I kinda spit it out.
Jacob Weston:And then it was I mean, this was like 15 years ago. Like, I don't you know? So I'm like, but, like, yeah. It yeah. That happened.
Luke Lafontaine:Cool.
Jacob Weston:Spit down.
Liv:But, otherwise, we're all intact. Everyone has their teeth.
Luke Lafontaine:I don't have spleen, but
Liv:Oh, okay. That's an interesting side quest story.
Nathan Iverson:That's what triggered his synesthesia. That's Oh, yep.
Liv:This spleen is what inhibits us.
Griffin:Moved her. There's a must have.
Ana:Start seeing sound. Is there, like, a worst hardcore show injury? Mhmm. Oh.
Jacob Weston:I've never really been hurt too bad because these egos
Griffin:or witnessed.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. I saw someone get their 2 front teeth knocked out. They were they were doing,
Griffin:Oh my
Luke Lafontaine:This was in Lansing at this place called the Lansing Underground a long time ago. It was an all ages venue. I ran a sound at it for a couple years, but we were doing, like, a big, like, pile on type thing. And and then, like, someone would just jump off the stage and, like, almost like bowling pins, but vertical. You know?
Liv:Oh, like like a cheerleader
Luke Lafontaine:Basically. Tower of
Liv:people that you
Luke Lafontaine:Someone would be, like, stage dive and cannonball into them and knock them down. And this one dude, really big fella did, and someone on the bottom slammed their face on the ground, and it took their 2 front teeth out completely, like, clean. They didn't break. Like, they all came all the way out. And the the, guy that helped that ran the place basically got some milk, put them in the milk, and then drove them across the street to Sparrow because this was, like, right downtown, basically kitty corner to Sparrow.
Luke Lafontaine:And they got his teeth back in, and he still has them.
Liv:Holy crap.
Ana:Oh my gosh. Wow. What a beautiful story.
Griffin:But it was like yeah. This is
Luke Lafontaine:a long time ago, but it was crazy. Like, the whole room, like like, 70 people just stopped moving immediately, and the band stopped playing and everything. You know, it was, like, one of those weird surreal things. But
Ana:I didn't know you could put teeth in milk.
Luke Lafontaine:I don't know why, but he but yeah. He was, like, put them in milk.
Liv:And then, like, throw them in milk.
Griffin:Milk at this venue? I think
Luke Lafontaine:it maybe it has something to do with the calcium or something. I don't really know. I don't know what that was all about.
Griffin:But And you guys were in a pyramid or just somewhat somebody was? Like Yeah.
Luke Lafontaine:Like like And someone
Griffin:jumps off of
Luke Lafontaine:12 or so people in a pyramid, and then someone jumps off a stage and cannonballs into them.
Ana:What? I know we were talking about, like, there's, like, levels to, like, the catharsis, but, like, how does one get to the point where they feel the need to stack themselves in a pyramid and just see what happens?
Luke Lafontaine:There are there are, like, mosh pit, like, trends that come and go, and I feel like that was one of the weird ones.
Ana:Like the rowing?
Luke Lafontaine:And, like, the yeah. Like, this is, like, the late nineties. This has been, like, 99, maybe 2,000. Mhmm. So I think that was just kinda going around back then.
Luke Lafontaine:Like, the wall of death was really, really big right around then.
Joshua Fitzgerald:Mhmm.
Luke Lafontaine:I think that that's come back a couple times probably, but, I don't I've never seen the pyramid thing kinda stick around.
Liv:Maybe too many people had milk experiences,
Ana:and they're like
Liv:Yeah. We'll let this
Ana:one die. Didn't have milk. Didn't
Liv:have milk at their venues.
Nathan Iverson:We either gonna stop doing
Liv:the milk. Takeaway here. If you're a venue owner, provide milk.
Ana:Milk campaign.
Luke Lafontaine:Like, there were people with, like, work leather work gloves that were exed up, you know, back then. Like, there was that it was that era. Oh, yeah. You know? Like, gas masks in the pit and stuff.
Luke Lafontaine:Like, what is going on?
Ana:It's just kind of pivoting back to, like, the media that we're, like, consuming. Do you have any, like, guilty pleasure pieces of media? Like, songs or, like, like, it doesn't even need to be music.
Liv:Maybe you're really into the Barbie movie.
Ana:Yeah. Yeah.
Luke Lafontaine:Love Actually is one of my favorite films. I watch it yearly at Christmas time.
Liv:Which is your favorite pairing?
Luke Lafontaine:I love the pop star, the washed out pop star Love Actually.
Liv:What's the actor on that?
Luke Lafontaine:Bill Nighy. Bill Nighy? Not not Bill Nye. Bill Nye. The other one.
Ana:I would I so wish it
Liv:was him.
Luke Lafontaine:He was Sean's dead in Shaun of the Dead. Oh. Oh. Okay.
Nathan Iverson:Does that
Luke Lafontaine:make sense? Does that does that do anything? No? Am I am I that old?
Griffin:It's crickets. I've seen that. I've got this in a row, but
Luke Lafontaine:him. But, yeah,
Griffin:he's like this They're not firing for me either.
Luke Lafontaine:Washed up British pop star that's kind of like a, a stab at, like, almost like a, like, a Billy Idol.
Liv:Oh, I remember this. Okay. And his, like, best friend is his manager that
Luke Lafontaine:he's been for. Yeah. And, like, they're at it's Christmas, and they're alone. And he just got his first hit in, like, 5 years or something like that with, like, a really awful Christmas cover. And he's, like, it's just me and my manager, the guy I I take for granted, and you're the most important person in my life.
Luke Lafontaine:You know? And it's like, I like that. I don't know.
Griffin:Yeah. If you'd shown me, am I am I yeah.
Liv:I bet, yeah, I bet you would recognize him.
Griffin:Yeah. Do you
Liv:have any other guilty pleasure pieces of media?
Nathan Iverson:I get into short little spurts of watching, like, really horrible dating reality shows. It's it's like a good comfort just to watch people kinda be dummies. You know? And, you know, people are just shoving cameras in people's faces, and they gotta kinda pretend to fall in love with somebody.
Luke Lafontaine:And Like, I'm a mess, but I'm not that much of a mess?
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It it does kinda help the ego a little bit if you're, like, really, really down. So sometimes I go in, like, little spurts of that.
Nathan Iverson:It's been a while, but, yeah, that's that's always funny. And I know I'm always, like, really embarrassed whenever somebody comes over and, like, you know, Love Island or, like, Too Hot to Handles on the TV, and I'm like, oh, oh, yep. I was actually watching, sports.
Luke Lafontaine:Joni jumped on the couch and hit the remote, and then Yeah.
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. My my dog, hit the Apple TV remote and turned on Love Island. Sorry. Oops.
Griffin:And did you sit and watch it?
Nathan Iverson:For days? Yeah. Yeah.
Jacob Weston:Clicks came up and said, are you still watching?
Nathan Iverson:And then Jodie hit it again.
Liv:That dog
Ana:is just so smart.
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. Just keeps on moving it to new shows too. I don't know how
Griffin:she does
Liv:it. Serious.
Ana:Anyone else?
Joshua Fitzgerald:I don't I don't really have very many guilty pleasures. I kind of unabashedly love, like, musicals, and I also love reality TV. Anyone watch Below Deck? Anyone Below Deck?
Griffin:My professor does,
Joshua Fitzgerald:but It's so fantastic. I highly recommend. But, yeah, I really like musicals are really big for me, and I don't really care who knows.
Luke Lafontaine:And doesn't care what anybody thinks.
Joshua Fitzgerald:Josh, what musical? Well, when, like, Hamilton came out, obviously, that was really big, and that was a lot of fun. My sister took me to go see it here. And, yeah, we saw the Jagged Little Pill musical. That was really good.
Joshua Fitzgerald:The Alanis Morissette one. That was really cool. Disney movies, etcetera. Mhmm. I'm about all that stuff.
Joshua Fitzgerald:I like musical theater.
Liv:Hamilton, that, like, that sticks with you.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah.
Liv:That was many years back. I think that was middle school, high school for me. Yep. And, still, if you play that
Griffin:Mhmm.
Liv:Every lyric
Joshua Fitzgerald:Every single word.
Ana:Every lyric Yeah.
Griffin:100%.
Liv:Were there until the rest of
Griffin:Yep.
Liv:The playlist runs out.
Griffin:Yep. Well, I noticed you've collaborated with other bands in the community, such as a band that came on our show last semester in the spring, Self Absorbed. Yeah. What's
Nathan Iverson:what's what's up with you
Griffin:and self self absorbed? What's happening?
Jacob Weston:Dee, does a guest spot on painted generations. And when I when we were writing that song and that part came up, it just felt like we needed somebody on there. And, I had recently gotten, like, introduced to self absorbed through my friend, Chaz, and I was, like, just kinda, like, saw them a few times. I was kinda, like, really impressed with what they do and and just the energy that they bring.
Liv:They're very cool.
Jacob Weston:And Dee just fit perfectly with, like, the concept of what I was hoping would be there. Reached out. She was down. They came over, and they added a lot to that song that was, like, not there initially. And it just was it it felt great.
Jacob Weston:You know? Yeah. She's just so
Luke Lafontaine:Like, one take.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. One take. Real real estate.
Griffin:A couple of warm ups,
Luke Lafontaine:but then she just plowed through. That was one performance that's on there. That's not edited and comped together.
Jacob Weston:Yeah.
Griffin:Oh, yeah. A lot of artists come to the show, and Dee is one of them that sticks with me.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. She's unapologetically herself, and it just no matter what anybody thinks, she's doing what she feels is right and what she's doing, and and it's really inspiring. And it fit perfectly with that song. So, yeah, we had to and like like Nate said, like, there's not always a lot of bands in Lansing. So, like, we kinda felt like being a hardcore band in Lansing, like, we wanted to put on for more things happening here.
Jacob Weston:You know? Like, they work with the, like, the Mid Michigan Hardcore Collective. They're a part of that and kind of are trying to build up everything that's happening between Monty and Dalai Lama and Goblin Zone and all that stuff. And it's just really important to be, like, you know, put on for people doing things that are cool here and, you know, celebrate that.
Joshua Fitzgerald:They also bring just the best energy. Yeah. Like They do.
Jacob Weston:Their live set is Yeah.
Luke Lafontaine:A lot
Jacob Weston:of fun. Yeah. It's great.
Griffin:And this was for the song Pain of Generations?
Jacob Weston:Yeah. So the one after this one that we're about to do I mean, we could flop them if if if it makes more sense.
Luke Lafontaine:Does it work for your segue? The segue. No. No. No.
Luke Lafontaine:No. No. No. No. We can do it.
Griffin:Just asking the question. From your debut EP, recalibrate?
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah.
Griffin:Yes. February 16th this year?
Jacob Weston:Yes. Yep. That came out.
Nathan Iverson:Cool. Well, what's next?
Jacob Weston:What's next for us?
Liv:Yes.
Jacob Weston:We have 4 songs that we're playing tonight that are on a new EP. That hopefully will be out by the end of the year. I mean, that's a goal. It's, like, 95% done, like, tracking.
Luke Lafontaine:Yeah. We got, like, some guest vocal stuff and, like, gang vocals to record. But
Jacob Weston:Yeah.
Luke Lafontaine:I'm in the mixing phase already of of it. So, yeah, within a few weeks, it'll be finished.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. And then it's just a matter of lining things up, getting art ready, and all that stuff to go. And so I could I mean, it could be out early next year just depending on timing of things and stuff. But Sick. Yeah.
Griffin:For your next song, Grand Dream
Jacob Weston:Yep.
Griffin:Is this off your new album?
Jacob Weston:Yep. That'll be on. It's the opener of the new EP. Yep.
Griffin:And not too many people have heard this. Right?
Jacob Weston:This is the one that yeah. Not very few people have heard this. We've this is the one that we've played at shows out of all the new ones. So the other 3 so cheap fantasy, never good, and trouble at home, we've never played that before until this. Yeah.
Jacob Weston:So
Luke Lafontaine:Okay.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. But yeah. So it's brand new for most people.
Griffin:Well, once again, this song is grand dream, and you're listening to drop right.
Liv:So are you guys when you go through your writing process, do you start with lyrics? Do you start with music? What does this look like for you guys?
Jacob Weston:So the first EP was a lot of, like, full skeletons that I had written during, like, lock down just to be like, can I put together some hardcore songs by myself? And then I kinda pitched it to Nate and Luke, and we started putting it together and collaborating more because I can't play drums. Nate can play drums. And it was kind of, like, the idea we're just gonna make a recording thing and not really do anything with it. Just wanted to get them out because I kept picking up the guitar and playing the riffs.
Jacob Weston:And, then we were talking to Josh 1 night at the Avenue, and he's interested. He said his band at the time Foxgraves. Yeah. He was, not really doing as much as he had hoped. So we were, like, alright.
Jacob Weston:Nate was eager to get off the drums because
Luke Lafontaine:That's exhausting. Yeah. Like, it's really tiring. And so
Jacob Weston:and so
Luke Lafontaine:I have to exercise a lot more.
Jacob Weston:So we just kinda, like, we started jamming with Josh and then kind of, like, restructured everything or, like, kind of reworked things within, like, Josh's kind of, you know, vision. You know what he thought would go with there. Most of it was, like, 90% there, and then he threw in some things that were, like, really cool change ups.
Luke Lafontaine:A lot of the breakdowns got, like, more flavor.
Jacob Weston:Yeah. A lot more flair, like jazziness. Them up. Yeah. Yeah.
Nathan Iverson:There's a handful of things that I also think that once all 4 of us got into a room, we were like, okay. This works. This part maybe doesn't work. And then so there was a lot of, like, like, group editing after that.
Jacob Weston:Collaboration. And yeah. So, like, the new songs was, like, the first full set of songs where we were, like, all writing from scratch together. Yeah. So Nate brought a few skeletons, you know, just, like, set of riffs that kinda, like, flow together.
Luke Lafontaine:That last song was the first one I brought to them on my like, from my end, I guess. Yeah.
Jacob Weston:Yep. And then
Luke Lafontaine:The opening riff was, like, basically, we built on that. Mhmm. Yeah.
Liv:It was the start of the grand dream. Yeah. The grand dream of drop. I had to.
Jacob Weston:And then, Luke pitched some riffs that we kind of, turned into. I think it was Cheap Fantasy. And Yeah. Yeah. I I think all of us started pitching in a little bit more.
Jacob Weston:And I just write words while they're, like, structuring and then adjust them as they change until, like, we're all feeling good. That way, like, vocals can still inform, like, a musical decision because they hear what I'm trying, and they can adjust. You know? But, yeah, it's usually, like, guitar then add everything else in.
Liv:What are the things that make it hard to write? Like, I don't know if you experienced writer's block, but when you get in the spot where it's just not clicking, what usually is behind it?
Jacob Weston:So for me, when it's happened in the past, it's just overthinking. Right? Like, with this band specifically, I kinda just, like, let riffs happen and record them, like, a video of them with my phone, you know, and then I just pitch it. And if it clicks with them, then I'm like, okay. Cool.
Jacob Weston:And if not, then just drop it. It's probably not great. You know? And sometimes it comes back later, and we're like, oh, that works here, and it's perfect. You know?
Jacob Weston:Whereas, like so, yeah, like, overthinking things and just being, like, I don't know what to do next. It's just, like, usually, I just, like, bring it to them, and then they're like, oh, we could go here. We could go here, and we kinda make a decision as a group. Mhmm. Kinda helps push through.
Nathan Iverson:One thing that I that for me as far as, like, pitching ideas, it can be hard, especially within hardcore, to, like, write something completely brand new. It seems like sometimes you, like, sit down with your guitar, and you're like, every riff has been done, every single one of them. And it's obviously not true because new music is always coming out, and there's always new things, but sometimes you just you kinda get in your head a little bit, and you you start to think, yeah. I know where I'm taking this from, and and I I can't.
Luke Lafontaine:I can't get it. Expired, or is it a rip off?
Nathan Iverson:Yeah. Exactly. And you start to play that game in your head, and then you start overthinking, and then you just throw your hands up, and you're like, I'll wait