As promised, the second half of Live At The Middle East. With bonus video footage! Yay internets!
The Help Live at The Middle East Pt. II
Will Cady's Ego
Musician, Artist, Writer
Tagged with boston …
The Help Live at The Middle East Pt. I
This winter, The Help will be expanding it’s music catalog on all major online music retailers. Included in this release are 2008′s In A Stunning Display of Athleticism and 2009′s Live At The Middle East.
The tracks below are from the latter album, which was taken from a live show at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA. This show was…a blast. We had some old friends in the crowd that brought such a fun energy to the night. Listen carefully and you’ll hear them heckling.
If you like the tunes, let me know and I’ll hook you up with the studio versions.
Before The Year Ends by willcady
In Love With Everyone by willcady
Exeter by willcady
The Spider by willcady
On Hold by willcady
Check back later for the second half!
Photoblog: Twin F@#%ing Donuts
sausage egg and cheese with tomato on plain bagel please!
The Help: Animals
So my band, The Help recently moved into a new home where we set up a recording space in our “dining room”. We bought a spankin’ new microphone and one week into the new lease year, we’ve got a demo on our hands! It feels great because we’ve been writing for the better part of a year and not producing recordings at all really.
During that time, we were on a semi-regular show schedule that was just periodic enough that we kept performing our old material. It was pretty frustrating to be hitting the stage with old songs while we were expanding our musical minds, identities and what-have-you off the stage. It began to feel like we were misrepresenting ourselves every night we played. So now that we’ve moved into this new home, we’ve used it as a catalyst to get on the recording aspect and through that, begin to share where we are as people and musicians.
This song, ‘Animals’ has a lot of meaning for me personally as I feel it captures the frustration and isolation we all began to feel independently and collectively. There were times when I really was not sure if The Help was going to make it through the dark period and I know I’m not the only one in the band who felt that way. The fact that we’ve gotten to the other side and we’re releasing material again is a HUGE sigh of relief for me. By all means, let me know what you think!
Listen to and download our new song ‘Animals’ at the following link:
Photoblog: Saxman
dude is the man
Higher and Higher: An Interview with Nate Donmoyer of Passion Pit
Passion Pit (l-r): Ian Hultquisk, Ayad Al Adhamy, Nate Donmoyer, Michael Angelakos and Jeff Apruzzese
Recently, I checked in with Nate Donmoyer, drummer of Passion Pit, as he took a break from their current tour through Europe. Since the release of their album Manners, Passion Pit has seen rising numbers at each of their shows both in Boston (nearly swept the Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll) and nationwide. For more information and for music, check out their website at: http://www.passionpitmusic.com
WC: Let’s ease into this by telling the story of your musicianship and your perspective on the genesis of Passion Pit.
ND: Well it’s funny because I’ve seen both sides of the band, from helping booking them play one of their first shows at Basstown at the Great Scott (which i was a DJ at) and interviewing them for my blog to a few months later being asked to join the band. Who knows Will, maybe you will be playing bass in Passion Pit before the New Year.
WC: Who would you pin as the primary musical influences for yourself? For Passion Pit?
ND: Personally, any and everything influences me, from music I completely copy to artists I listen to in order to learn what not to do. Right now though, I’m obsessed with dance music and most of it comes from Europe. The band is more heavily influenced by all things “Pop”, while there’s a heavy synth based element really, we are aiming for The Beatles and Beach Boys and all other pop that has stood the test of time.
WC: What is the writing process for Passion Pit?
ND: Michael is the songwriter of the crew, and he brings it to us to flesh out in the full band live setting. In the studio, him and I work in a little bit [of a] risky way by not really having finished songs walking into the session, like say a rock band would do. It’s expensive but we got a pattern down with Chris Zane, the producer, and Alex Aldi, the engineer, where we built the album like a Lego building. Each song is a room and we built every piece of furniture one Lego piece at a time. While one of us was grouting the tile in the bathroom another was picking out the matching bath towel set.
WC: How has your approach to writing and drumming evolved in a band that employs a lot of electronic textures in it’s sound?
ND: It’s kind of a dream come true for me to be in a band setting that allows [me] to program and sequence a lot and still get to play behind the kit. I always practice to either a click or dance music so doing it on stage is actually more comfortable to me then playing click-less. It’s kind of a crutch actually, where I start getting paranoid about speeding up or slowing down, all I have to do is wait for the next click.
WC: I find that your music lends itself well to hip-hop. Can we expect any cross-genre collaborations in the future?
ND: Actually, there [are] quite a few projects in the works. Maybe not all as Passion Pit, but there are a few MCs we are getting in the studio with very soon…but I don’t like to jinx things, so we’ll see.
WC: Through your experiences with Passion Pit and The Peasantry, what tips can you give for generating buzz?
ND: Oh man, those experiences have been so different, we worked really, really hard to just scrape by in The Peasantry. We put tons of our own money and time into that. Which [is] why I can appreciate how lucky we have been in Passion Pit. While I can’t explain why the experience was so different, in both cases we found it most beneficial to not shove it down everyone’s throats that we are in a band and have an EP, but to make friends, honest genuine friends. And they are the ones that spread the word, if it is good music, which is the most important factor.
WC: How has the rapid rise to fame affected your ability to hone a successful live show?
ND: I would not say we are famous, haha, but we have been thrown into situations way over our head, and with a lot of luck and a lot of anxiety we somehow have risen to the occasion. It’s crazy how long you will hole yourself up in a rehearsal space when you know you have to headline the first night of Bonnaroo in a few weeks. We still take time out on tour to rehearse in different cities and work out new versions of songs and tweak instrumentation, even though we play with each other two hours a day including sound check.
WC: In past interviews, Michael Angelakos has mentioned his falsetto style of vocal performance as the most divisive element of the band’s sound. Passion Pit had to cancel a show in July in the Netherlands after he lost his voice. Is this style of singing a struggle to maintain night to night? Is he sticking with this signature sound or contemplating a change of style for the next album?
ND: I think his voice is one of the most defining elements of the band, however he has been messing with using his chest voice again, there are a few radio sessions floating around where I don’t think he uses his falsetto once. In the end, the band’s goal is good songs, so it shouldn’t matter how you sing it.
WC: How have you been received in Europe? How does that differ from how you are received in America?
ND: It’s surprisingly similar somehow. American crowds do dance more as a whole, but while we have played cities two or three times stateside, we just played Holland, Belgium, and Spain for the first time and when we look out in the crowd, it’s impossible to tell where you are, save for the occasional euro-mullet. Oddly enough, Ireland by far brings out our best crowd. I got strangely emotional watching the crowd react to ‘Sleepyhead’ (there is a Gaelic sample in it) at Oxegen Festival. My middle name is Patrick, to give a hint, so it was this bizarre overwhelming feeling of acceptance, almost like coming home for me, which is completely absurd seeing as no one in my family has lived in Ireland for 30+ years and I’m 22…
WC: Passion Pit has been hailed as one of the most successful bands out of Boston in recent memory. How do you represent the city and its music?
ND: While we love Boston, Mike is the only one who still heads back there on days off. I’ve moved home with my parents in Maryland, and the rest of the guys have scattered; but there is no city I feel more comfortable in than Boston. Honestly, I feel as though Boston can be found in the dance element of our sound. While the common believe is that Europe is the dance Mecca, and for the most part this is true, there is no scene in the world like Boston’s Dance/DJ scene. I feel it’s because there is so much heart put into every event, and nights like Make It New, and Heartthrob, Thunderdome, and Bassic are full of people who genuinely love the music that’s being blasted there. And one more important detail, the DJs are really good…like massive in Europe and Japan but play Middlesex Lounge good. One day I hope I can afford to move back.
WC: Would you say Passion Pit is part of a greater musical movement? If so, what does that movement represent? What does Passion Pit represent?
ND: This is a big question I don’t know if I can answer alone or so lucidly. I think our generation as a whole has embraced simultaneity. You can get whatever you want from where ever you want all the time. The deciding factor in choices is no longer what scene or genre but whether something is good or bad. I think our album reflects that in that we go through a wide range of styles and influences so hopefully there is something in it for everyone. That movement is Pop.
It’s the little things….
If you are getting ready for a move in Boston, then get excited for the complete utter pandemonium of “Moving Day”. Mattresses and couches dropped on every street corner. Uhauls slamming into the overpasses on Storrow Drive. Sweaty parents and bitchy daughters. People with high blood pressure laying on their horns behind double parked cars. It’s beautiful, really. I get teary eyed just thinking about it.
As a Bostonian for the past 5 years, I have had the distinct honor of participating in this amazing race to nowhere many times. I can say with complete honesty that it has contributed to some of the foulest moods I have ever been in in my entire life. This year, however, was quite different for me. Allow me to tell you the story of my move.
Two years ago this August 31st, my band, The Help, prepared for our move into our very own house in Allston. We were tingling with excitement over the prospect of having a practice space in our basement. We were ready to push ourselves into a personal renaissance of musical genius. 24 hours later, covered in sweat and without sleep, I struggled to keep myself awake and alive as I raced up I-93 with the windows down and the radio blaring to return our Uhaul in time to not be screwed even further by life, which I thoroughly hated.
See, when we arrived at our new abode at Gordon Street, we were greeted by room after room full of trash, a basement floor soggy from water damage, windows rotting out of the frame, an overgrown backyard adjoining a rusty garage and a landlord who simply didn’t want to do a thing about any of it. Our first meeting was a hostile one, as he screeched into our driveway ready to yell at us for anything he could. As we waited outside, he “inspected” the house and informed us that we needed to unpack all of our belongings which we had just brought in and leave them under threatening skies so he could clear the property and document the damage. There was enough that he took the entirety of the former tenants security deposits. He spent it on nothing. We refloored the basement, we scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom, we removed the trash from the living room, we were miserable for two years.
This year, we smartened up. We moved to Brighton on an August 15th lease. Our landlords-to-be visited us at our places of work to get to know us before the move. They gave each of us a set of keys with bottle opener key chains the week before the move. They created a little sign with our names on it and a music clef on our entryway. They held doors for us as we moved in to our immaculately clean and fully prepared new home. The front yard was manicured and full of flowers. They showed us our own personal washer and dryer in the basement. The backyard looked like Hawaii. They introduced us to the neighborhood. It was shocking going from an absentee landlord to landlords full of love to give. It’s important to know that things can be this good. We had no idea, and because of that we got walked all over. Here are some other tips:
-Don’t rent from Alpha Management
-Yes, you have to get your stuff out of your place by August 31st. No, the place you are moving into will not be empty on September 1st. It doesn’t make sense. Don’t stress about it, your stuff will be fine.
-Set an alarm on your watch/phone every half hour to remind you to check in with yourself and ask “Am I acting like a psycho right now?”
-Pack heavy things in small boxes.
-For the love of God, if you have a Uhaul don’t go on Storrow Drive.
-Just don’t take Storrow Drive, because some idiot with a Uhual just crashed.
-If you are moving into an apartment building, be the first to help someone else and you will create a sense of camaraderie that will make everyone’s move quicker.
-Take drawers out of your dresser before moving it.
-Always lift instead of drag, it’s surprising how easily floors can scratch.
-Standard payment for friend help is pizza and beer. Go for steak if you want to go above and beyond.
-When you unpack, don’t store your things on surfaces (like table tops, dressers, etc.) as that will create a cluttered environment almost immediately.
-Have a trash can for every room.
-If you finish your move early, it is definitely worth making a run around the city to look for free stuff thrown on the curb. Two years ago I snagged an arcade basketball machine. Wrap your mind around THAT.
-Don’t hint at anything related to Beirut/Beer Pong to your landlord.
-Eat a big, big breakfast.
-Parking rules are anarchy. Chances are, you’ll be forced at some point to park like a jerk. Keep someone with the keys next to the truck at all times so you can move.
-Don’t leave ANYTHING in your old place. It costs landlords about $300 of your security deposit to remove that lamp you thought the new tenant “would probably want to keep anyway”.
-Don’t tell your landlord the problems that need to be fixed. Chances are, they have a billion things to deal with. Write them down and give that to him. The easier you make it for them, the better your relationship will be.
-If you don’t get to know your neighbors in the first month, chances are you won’t at all.
By the way, that old landlord of ours? He’s currently trying to rent our rooms out and letting people move in before our lease ends on September 1st.
