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A “Press Restart” Concert Experience
January 17th, 2018- After the success of their record-breaking hit, “Shut Up and Dance,” off of their 2014 album TALKING IS HARD, Cincinnati, Ohio based band, Walk the Moon, seemed to disappear from the music scene all together. Nicholas Petricca, lead singer and piano player, lost his father, a heartbreak that would nearly tear the band apart.
But, after a long three-year hiatus for both the band members and their self-titled fan base, known as “Walkers,” Walk the Moon announced the release of their new 2017 album titled, What if Nothing, which would be accompanied by a nation-wide tour, fittingly called, “Press Restart.”
I have had the privilege of seeing Walk the Moon on tour not once, but three times. My first WTM concert was during their 2014 tour for TALKING IS HARD. I, like many others, also waited in high anticipation for this new tour. Once the tickets were released, I was beyond ready to commit to two shows that would occur within the same week.
Although Walk the Moon performed at many unique and different venues during this tour, their ability to connect with every new crowd made each concert stand out from rest. My first January, 2018 performance occurred at the prestigious Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. The next concert, was not so flashy, occurring at a bar/petite venue, near my hometown in Albany, NY. Despite the dramatic shift from a well-known venue to a near dive bar, Walk the Moon made the most of Upstate Concert Hall (which could not fit their entire lighting rig), through crowd surfing, performances full of drums, electric guitars, and of course, dancing.
While their most recent songs still contain the same spunk and fun energy best associated with their 2014 tour, there is a new depth to the music that reflects the bands near breakup and subsequent struggle to return to the music scene. One of the most noticeable differences between their 2014 and 2018 live performances, is that Walk the Moon has a newfound confidence that allows them to take command of the stage. Songs such as: “All I Want” and “Kamikaze,” delve into Nick’s passionate search for his own identity. And when those songs are performed live, we all get a sense that we can find a bit of who we are if we allow ourselves to let go and dance.
Walk the Moon has by far given me the best concert experiences thus far. Their devotion to providing a safe space for their fans allows everyone to let loose in the face of hardship in order to enjoy songs that resonate with the deepest, fun-loving and exploratory parts of ourselves. Therefore, if you missed the opportunity to see them live, give them a listen. I promise you will not be disappointed. In fact, you most likely will want to get up and dance.
Walk the Moon will be resuming their United States tour with Thirty Seconds to Mars during Summer 2018. Make sure to connect with Walk the Moon (@walkthemoonband) on Instagram and Twitter.
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In A Foreign Room with Sure Sure
February 17th, 2018 – I used to believe all green rooms had to be green. The one I sat in with Sure Sure last Saturday afternoon was bright banana yellow, an appropriate color for the Los Angeles band, and a nice break from the muted grays of the rainy NYC afternoon outside. Sure Sure’s stop at Brooklyn Steel marked one of many on their Jan./Feb. cross-country trek supporting Hippo Campus. The whirlwind tour followed the release of the band’s self-titled debut album, a record that is as sunny and catchy as it is wistful and transporting. It will either make you want to dance, ponder life, or do both at the same time.
Before Sure Sure played to 1,800 smiling faces down the hall, I had the privilege of chatting with Chris (vocals/keys/synth), Charlie (vocals/guitar), Mike (bass/producer), and Kevin (drums/percussion) over tea and pita chips about the new album, eating well on tour, and performing live. Spoiler alert: They’re all Guy Fieri.
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Hope: When I listen to Sure Sure, it almost feels like I’m flipping through a photo album. Each song has a distinct feeling or memory that goes along with it. What was the writing process for the album like? Did you go into it with a certain vision in mind?
Charlie: It happens pretty randomly. [On “Koreatown”] Chris and I had a late night out in LA which involved a card game of Euchre in a friend’s apartment in Koreatown. The next night we wrote that song. I started playing those chords in that time signature almost immediately, and then the lyrics just kind of happened.
Kevin: [On “Hands Up Head Down”] I made a drum loop half as a joke… as more of a “hey, this would be a cool idea” and then we just ran with it. Every song is different.
Chris: I definitely associate the songs with memories. With “Hands Up Head Down,” we were checking out this band called Superet in LA and we wanted to make something spooky and similar to their music style. I envision spooky sets at the Echo when I hear that song. With “Giants” I envision driving on the 210. There was a lot of stuff happening in my life at the time that I associate with the songs.
Kevin: That’s the transportative quality of music. It was Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes) that was saying that sort of thing, right? For him it was Kid A (Radiohead) or something. That’s how I feel too. I listen to a certain album and I think about being in the backseat of my parents’ car as a child driving up to somewhere for family vacation.
** “Hearing this record for the first time was like hearing about dinosaurs for the first time when you’re four years old.” – Robin Pecknold on Kid A
Hope: Sure Sure was recorded in your house with Mike as the producer/engineer. Was there an intentional decision to keep the process (literally) in-house?
Kevin: Versus paying to go into a studio? We consciously avoided that. If you can seize the means of production, you’re going to have a better time. The flip case is you pay and then you’re on the clock. That’s not how making music should work. Or really any art. Why would there be a time crunch?
Mike: Recording in studios is amazingly fun, but I think there’s something that comes from recording in the space that you’re living in too… when you’re really existing inside of a record for a little while. It blurs the lines between living and working in a way that I think for creative stuff can be really helpful.
Kevin: Also, we’re all very hands-on. I can’t imagine going into the studio and just not having that sort of control. We know how we want things to sound or we want to figure it out for ourselves.
Mike: That’s so important to us.
Charlie: We definitely dream of doing mobile recording. Going to secluded places and recording in the future would be really cool.
Hope: What does performing live mean to you?
Charlie: It means connecting to a lot of people at one time. It’s a pretty surreal experience. It’s a chance to escape your body too… you’re almost not the same person. Not that I want to escape myself, but maybe I do? [Laughter] It’s interesting how all of your bodily needs disappear and you’re just doing a set for 45 minutes.
Kevin: That’s true. I’ve been sick for the better part of this tour, and I feel great anytime we’re playing.
Chris: For me, I like to think about connectedness to the audience and then also hopefully making people feel the way we feel. That’s one aspect of it.
Kevin: Also, sometimes I’ll get nervous in the middle of a song and it’s like a safe haven. I’ll just look at Charlie or Mike or Chris and it’s like “Okay, it’s just us playing.” They look at me and smile or laugh or something and it’s safe.
[On the tribulations of tour]:
Kevin: It’s physically very demanding. It’s mentally very demanding. It’s also just a bizarre way to exist. You can never fully understand what it’s like to tour on your body and on your mind until you actually do it.
Mike: If you do your planning and you know what you’re doing, you know where you’re going… put a good tour book together… plan where you’re going to eat…
Kevin: We will go out of our way to eat well. It’s been fun… like in Kansas we ate at this delicious sandwich shop. If you try, you’ll find that there’s good food everywhere.
Chris: It’s like food tour of America if you do it right.
Kevin: Yeah! We’re all Guy Fieri is what I’m saying.
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Sure Sure will be in Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East (Upstairs) on April 17, 2018. Buy tickets HERE. Connect with Sure Sure @suresuremusic on Twitter and Instagram. Thanks to Chris, Charlie, Mike, Kevin, Austin, Mira, and Brooklyn Steel.
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