(Hop and Crash of RMVBM)
EXCERPT 1
Interview / with up & coming music superstars
RMVBM + Captain Kudzu
The Republic is proud to congratulate three of Auburn's very own musical acts invited to attend this year's SECRET STAGES in Birmingham July 31-August 1st: RMVBM, Captain Kudzu, and the Acrostics. We recently had a chance to sit down for a quick cup of java at artist's central, Mama Mochas in downtown Auburn with Jackson Gafford of Captain Kudzu, and Crash and Hop of RMVBM for a little chat about musical influences, the power of silence, and stealing your first golfcart. Excerpts of the interview below.
RMVBM =
Crash (vocals, production, drawing)
Hop (Vocals, production, mix engineering)
Captain Kudzu =
Jackson Gafford (guitar, keys, everything)
Shannon Wren (bass)
Abby Anderson (drums)
(Jackson Gafford of Captain Kudzu)
The Republic: Let’s talk a little bit about your getting your start as musicians, your general background, etc.
Hop: I started rapping when I was 11, started making beats when I was 15. My first mixtape was in college. I've recorded a lot of different projects with a lot of different people in Auburn. And now, a part of RMVBM. So I've been playing for about 10 years now. As far as my background goes, I went to school in Auburn; I’m from Atlanta.
Crash: I’ve always been around music, for most of my life. So - at some point pretty early on I realized - this is exactly what I love – this is what I want to do. (Nodding at Hop): I met this guy (later info revealing Crash being originally from Brooklyn) when I came to Georgia. I want to say I was 12 or 13. He got me actually writing rhymes, and a lot of this stuff. I’d always listened to hip-hop, but – I can honestly say he and a lot of the people we were around at that time got me into writing, and all that stuff. As far as what initially inspired me – I try to get my hands on as much stuff as I can. I can't say I listen to all music, cause that’s impossible – but – I try to listen to anything that might influence a particular sound I’m trying to get. I started making beats from the first time I came down here. And the first thing I started making beats on was an “FL Studio." And from there – it’s history.
Jackson: I wasn’t super into music, but I was really bad at sports. And that’s kindof where I got my inspiration right there – was being horrible at sports and not fitting in. And then randomly, while watching TV this time, as a kid, this program came on entitled “The 100 best Rock Groups of All Time” and – I was just sitting there watching, and it just suddenly all clicked: I was like – I wanta play guitar. Like, really, really bad. So I just like slaved away at it for like, 2 or 3 years - like from 12-15. I was really just getting a grasp of what I was doing, and then around like towards the end of highschool I started composing – I got a moog pedal, and that just like opened up what I was able to do – I started listening to a lot of different kinds of music, started getting more into jazz, more into hip-hop, and let it influence the rock stuff that I was coming from. So from 17-20 – I’m 20 now, I’ve been composing and writing all my own stuff. But I can’t ever write just guitar parts – I usually write out everything – but that’s kindof how I got my start. And yeah - that's where the many layers of composing comes in. Hence the many megabytes.
The Republic (to RMVBM; both of whom perform in masks): So when did the masks and theatricality become a part of the act?
Hop: Well, before it was RMVBM I was a solo artist, and Crash was a solo artist, and – me and him started working on an album together – and – I figured by the time we release this album people are going to start looking at us as a group, not two different solo acts who did something together, so I said, like, OK, lets become a group. So then we asked – okay – How can we give people something to look at – without giving them too much to look at? We were also thinking all these weird thoughts like – how can we preserve a normal life outside of our lives as performers, and so we were like – ok, we can wear masks. Just a random idea, really. I was just up reading one night, and it came to me. So I called Crash. I figured he’d be awake - told him about everything, and he was down with it.
The Republic: On that note, how long have you two actually been together as a band?
Hop: We formed in July of 2013, so - we are very young as a band. We put out our debut album this past January – worked on that about 2 years – Rocket Man vs Better Man by RMVBM, a little repetitive!
The Republic: And Jackson, how 'bout you. Are you are working on an album?
Jackson: Working on an album. I started in about May. I have a studio now, it’s my grandmother’s old screenprinting shop, and the back of it is completely cleared out, and carpeted. It's really changed the way I'm working now. It was such a luxury to be like – Oh, I’m not really feeling this, so I’ll just lay around until I do. But now that I’ve actually got this dedicated space, its more like – oh well I got there, and now I’ve got to get this DONE, and so I'm taking it a lot more seriously. I’ve been working on it, and I'm sortof having this album be sortof a concept thing. I have a lot of material. But…I really wanted this first one to begin with where I came from, which was psychedelic rock-n-roll. But – it varies a lot – the whole thing is kindof a narrative (laughs). It would take me a whole time to sortof explain all of that.
The Republic: Jackson, tell us a little bit about your collaborators.
Jackson: Captain Kudzu is sortof like an ever-changing band. Abby (Jackson's drummer) hopefully will be with me for a while, she’s a really solid drummer. Shannon (his current bass player) is moving to Huntsville right after she finishes. The Secret Stages gig is gonna be our last show. So, Captain Kudzu is like this ever changing thing. I’ve been really influenced by acts like the Gorillas, Beck. I know that sounds kindof random - because they don’t necessarily reflect my music so much, but I like the setup: you never know who they’re playing with next – it could be a completely different band. It could be just a trio –or it could be like 8 different people. Or it could be this completely huge thing. And that’s kindof where I am going. The last track on this album is going to have horns, and violins. I want to expand it.
The Republic: And Abby and Shannon are on the recording?
Jackson: The way we went about it recording this one was – we had everyone set up in different rooms. Or at least, me and Shannon were technically in the same room, but my amp was in another room, and then – Shannon was in the room with me with her amp, and then we had Abby in another room, playing drums. So the basis of everything was that every track is essentially a live recording. Not essentially – it is a live recording. And then everything that we put on top of it is just the vocals, and the overdubs and what not. But it stems from a live place. I’ve been doing loops for so long – so I wanted the first one to not be that, so much, so I that I can put some out later doing the loop stuff.
The Republic: For all three of you - who would you cite as your primary current Influences/inspirations?
Hop: Musically I say Jay-Z, Nas, Wu Tang Clan. So many influences. I’m so hip hop, but there’s all those other guys – Jay-Z, Miles Davis. I’d say one of my favorite albums is Thelonious Monk and Jerry Mulligan. So – the influences definately go everywhere really.
Crash: If it sounds good, I try to incorporate it into what I do. Every time.
The Republic: Who do you listen to when you’re wanting to listen to that person who sounds nothing like what you do, but you know they are going to influence you, in some way, anyhow?
Crash: This may sound like a really cheesy answer, but it’s honestly just how I feel at that time. Different artists just give me a different feeling. Like I can’t just listen to Daft Punk and just get down - you just cant do that. But if I want to listen to something for their beats then, I’ll be like – I should listen to Daft Punk. I wouldn’t say I go look for a certain situation, its just more about like - I try to incorporate as much as I can with the music. Nothing is necessarily right or wrong.
Hop: Yeah, That’s how I am – I’ll binge listen to an album over and over without skipping, without listening to anything else, until I’m just sick of hearing that person’s voice. I listen to all kinds of music, but I don’t listen to a LOT of music. I listen to music in DEPTH. Because I like to listen to it from a writer’s point of view, and from a producers point of view, and then from a sound-recording point of view. So I listen to a lot of stuff in depth. I listen to one piece alot - but don’t listen to too much.
Jackson: I go through the same kind of thing – like – I’ll find an album, and it will just be like, my album for a while. And then sometimes I’ll just be completely the opposite of that. I’m just like – I’m going to go through a clusterfuck, because – I’ve been listening to too much early Pink Floyd. So – I’ll binge on something like that. And then I’ll be like, okay, I’m listening to too much of this - I’m gonna listen to Blind Lotus, I’m gonna find a really cool jazz band, I’m gonna listen to some bluegrass, and I’m gonna listen to some – I dunno, like WORLD music or something.
I'll binge listen to something for a while, but then – I take a lot of influence from people like Beck, or like – David Byrne. I know it sounds pretentious, or stupid, but - they’ll talk about how they don’t listen to music. And I’ll go through a period of time where I will not. I mean I won’t like not listen to music at all. But I’ll just listen to music that is there. I’ll listen to music that I find on the radio, I might just leave it on NPR. I might just leave it on random, kindof sappy – whatever. And then I’ll just not listen to music for a little bit, because eventually I’ll notice that I’m channeling this particular sound, or I’m trying to mesh these sounds, and I’m trying too hard, so I’ll just kindof have to cut it out, to just get into your own head, for a time. You can’t stay there. But – yeah: get into your head for a little bit, and just not listen to anything.
Hop: Yeah– I just crawled out of that point. Like I was in my car, and I was like – man, I have listened to all the CDs I want to listen to. I don’t want to hear anything on the radio. So... I’m just gonna ride around in silence...I'm just gonna ride with that. It’s like – at home, it’s gonna be the same thing in my car on i-tunes. So – I’m not gonna listen to that. I’m just gonna - Sit in Silence.
The Republic: More than understood. So are there any recent developments you want to mention? More on recordings, or going on tour?
Hop: We just did a tour with Space Kadet that was a 3 day run across the Southeast. We started the first day with at Zydeco, in Birmingham, Friday we were in Jackson, Mississippi, then Saturday we finished it off here in Auburn.
The Republic: How was that, for you?
Hop: It was a learning experience – to say the LEAST! It was a lot of firsts for me - my first time playing in Birmingham, my first time playing Mississippi - first time eating Whataburger, first time stealing a golf cart –
The Republic: Sounds awesome. Did you bring (the golf-cart) home?
Hop: Nahhhhh, it was just at the hotel we were at – we took it to Whataburger.
The Republic: Nice!
Hop: We just took one first (taking a vehicle) for the second first, which was getting a Whataburger.
The Republic: All part of Rock-n-Roll...
Hop: Definitely. But definitely a lot of learning. Just learning how things work, as far as sound checks, load in time, load out time, you know. I didn’t know what an L.D. was, before the trip. Now I know it’s a “light designer.” Yeah, right. I didn’t know that kindof thing was necessary – I thought you just got on stage and did your stuff. But yeah, you know there’s a lot of learning involved.
The Republic: That's great though. Because now when you goto Secret Stages, you’ve already been through a certain kindof process. So that part will be more familiar now.
Hop: It was really good networking – you know, now – me and Crash never played at these places. But now it's like - we can go back nearly anytime, let’s say there’s an available date. Always good.
The Republic: Absolutely. And Jackson – you’re recording, you’ve got Secret Stages. Anything else going on we should know about?
Jackson: I’m recording, I’m trying to get a fourth member, for the group – because the way I’ve been recording lately, there really aren’t any trio songs that come from that place. Almost every song I’m playing a touch of keyboard, I’m playing second guitars. So- I’m trying to find a fourth member, at some point.
Hop: Hopefully, honestly, we wanna do like A3C in Atlanta in October, so we’re gonna try and get on that lineup – but Secret Stages is big with us – and it’s cool that we’re going up there, not just on a great stage, but with great people that we (nods at Jackson) play with, and interact with on a regular basis. It really shows the depth of our community here.
Jackson: I really want to learn a lot about recording, maybe get my foot in the door about producing, I definitely in the next year want to plan a tour in fall or winter – hopefully (nodding to Crash and Hop) bring these guys along. I want to release another album, I already have material for another album, and release an album of beats – for these guys, as well as just for myself-
Crash: Hmmm - next year – I don’t know. I’m living kindof in the now right now. I’m working on my craft right now, as an artist. And I’m pretty good at it, right about now. I don’t want to really give any details about what's coming - I’m gonna just say – you’ll see us. That’s all I’ve got to say. You’ll see us.
Hop: That’s kindof my thing. I’m in the NOW, you know. Because – everything we plan doesn't quite work out. But then, you know, we turn around and get into a tour, two days before its time to take off. So we can never really say what we have planned. Because it always turns out something better.
RMVBM's first release "Rocket Man vs Better Man"
available for order at www.rmvbm.com/the-music.html
available for order at www.rmvbm.com/the-music.html
