GRANT ATTICUS

Grant Atticus: his guitar playing abilities are amazing when you
consider the size of his right hand

Solo Missoulaian Grant Atticus is a long-time musical Montanan and a proud beagle owner. He stopped by Big Sky Sub Rosa (*PLUG* a local music podcast out of Billings *PLUG*) recently, and did his interview in audio form! He also played a song so you can preview what he'll be doing at the fest. His segment is the first 13 minutes or so, and the rest is some good tunes and bullshitting with the man, the myth, the legend: Billy Luetzen, formerly of Minot's Pangea House and Father, Son, and Holy Smokes! and currently of Pink Tower, if you feel like checking that out too. Follow the link to hear:


Big Sky Sub Rosa


Thanks for listening and...

SEE YOU AT DREYFEST!

BULL MARKET

If you followed last year's posts, you know that we regrettably did not have enough time to interview all the bands that played. We really don't want that to happen again, so this time we enlisted some help. This interview was conducted by my 16 year old cousin, Martin. He just got into punk, and he is REALLY excited about it. Like....uh.....REALLY excited.

BULL MARKET IS A BAND THAT'S REALLY FUCKING LOUD AND THEY PLAY SOME WEIRD TIMES SIGNATURES SO SOMETIMES IT SOUDNS FUCKED UP BUT LIKE A GOOD WAY OF FUCKED UP. I SENT THEM SOME QUESTIONS AND THEY SENT IT BACK TO ME FO R THE READERS TO ENJOY. THEY ARE FROM MISSOULA AND PLAY TRUE PUNK ROCK. 

BULL MARKET!!! WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU???

 We are three guys who like to play loud music—Phil Griffin (me), Dan Redinger, and Jordan Finn. We’re stupid assholes, especially Jordan. He’s like, smart, but really really mean. Phil and Dan are stupid though.

 WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND WHY ARE YOU EVEN A FUCKING BAND???

We’re all from Bill-ville. Dan and I now reside in Missoula. Jordan lives in his newspaper van on the Yellastone outside of Billings. We’re a band cuz we want you to aurally suffer. It all started when Jordan and I got into “noise rock” or whatever—METZ and Pissed Jeans, mainly. We love how heavy those dudes are, and wanted to do something similar. Dan joined us in the last several months, and it’s been great. Dan gives a solid HJ.

FUCK

riiiiiiighttt

WHO CARES??????

Well, I don’t know. I’m not sure that I care. Do you care? Maybe I care. Nah.

?!?!?!

Google it. Or maybe ask Jeeves. Remember Jeeves? Jeeves treats a fellow well, ya know. Gives a mean HJ, Dan likes that a lot.

ASK JEEVES???? MORE LIKE ASK ME TO FORGET THE EARLY 2000S MOTHERFUCKER!!!!

Dark times, man. Dark times.

No band picture provided

BUT SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE FUCK?

(What the fuck kind of interviewer are you, man??)

I think it has something to do with the beans. Have you checked the beans? May also be the paper—you got the Hammermill Fore Mp White Multipurpose 11x17, right? But seriously it’s probably just your shitty interviewing skills.

WHAT IS UP WITH YOUR SONGS?!?!?!?

They’re loud and stupid. We really try to make them smart, but they just come out stupid. Kind of like you, Mr. Interviewer.

DO YOU WANNA FIGHT!?!?

We have a fighter in the band, Joe. He’d love to fight you. Knock your block off, as they say. Don’t think you could handle it though

YOU ARE TOO LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A wise man once said, “If the music’s too loud, you’re too old.” So suck it, you jaded dinosaur

HOW ABOUT SOME FUCKING PIZZA, SHITBRAINS?!

I’ve already got some, thanks. I always keep a spare slice in my jawns, just in case. But fuck, I’ll take some ‘za.

FAVORITE PLANET: Pizza Planet. The journey’s totally worth it.

NO, REALLY THOUGH, NEPTUNE FUCKING RULES!!!

NEPTUNE’S NOT A PLANET AS OF LIKE 5 YEARS AGO. NASA SAYS SO. PIZZA PLANET.

WHAT THE FUCK CAN WE FUCKING EXPECT FROM YOU WHEN DREYFUCK HAPPENS???

Face-melting, gut-busting, ice-cream-cake-eating RAWK. Plus lots of chafing ;) Maybe some KY.

WHAT CAN WE FUCKING EXPECT FROM YOU IN FUCKING LIFE?!?!?

We hope to have fun. That’s about it. Any way to have fun, we’ll do it. Necrophilia? Why not. Freebasing pizza? You bet. Talk to Kelly La Croix? Well, I’ll try anything once. And then I’ll try it again, just to see. That last one probably sucks though. Maybe if he gives Dan an HJ we’ll talk…. I’M YER DAD.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

You. These questions suck

Ok, well, uh...thank you...Martin. And Bull Market. For uh...geez. Just uh...thanks. A lot. for that.

SEE YOU AT DREYFEST!

CAGED BIRD SONGS

Haiku about band

Caged Bird Songs for Dreyfest blog

sounds like this here stuff:

Scream like your lungs want 

out of your body to fall

to the floor bloody

Now relieved frame limp

and crumpled like leaf from tree

Caged Bird Songs set me free FUCK SIX FUCKING SYLLABLES I WILL NEVER MAKE THIS WORK WHO THE HELL TAKES POETRY AS A COLLEGE COURSE ANYWAY HOW MUCH DISPOSABLE INCOME COULD I POSSIBLY HAVE TO WASTE ITS NOT LIKE I'M GOING TO BECOME THE NATION'S LAUREATE OR ANYTHING I JUST WANTED AN EASY A BUT THIS IS PROVING TO BE WAY MORE DIFFICULT THAN I CAN HANDLE OR EVEN HAVE FUCKING TIME FOR SHIIIIIIIIIT!

NO GODS, NO MASTERS, NO CHAIRS.

Hey hey hey and welcome to the Dreyfest blog! Please introduce yourselves and say what your favorite color is for the class:

James: I'm James, my favorite color is red.

Adam: I’m Adam, my favorite color is blue.


How long have you been a band, and is this your first band??

James: We have been a band for almost two years. This is mine (James), Adam, and Nate’s first band. Kevin and Jake have been in a ton of really cool bands. Including stoic. and Out of Character.


I hope you guys are not tired of this question: are you named after a Maya Angelou poem/album?

James: Hahaha I don't think we've ever been asked this question actually but I’m sure a lot of people assume so. It is an amazing book but the name just kind of came as a metaphor for feeling trapped in a small town, and I just liked the redundancy of Hot Water Music’s name (before I learned that was after a book as well) so we added 'songs' to the end.

Adam: I actually just read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings a couple months ago, but we didn’t choose the name because of it. It is amazing though.


According to Facebook, you dudes are looking for a new drummer. [Read in a concerned mama tone:] "Will you be alright for Dreyfest?"

James: Oh we'll be fine. [Read in a comforted sons tone:] Adam is moving from guitar to drums, Nate is moving from bass to guitar and Andy from Old Sport is playing bass. It's really great playing with super talented people that know multiple instruments so when changes need to be made we don’t lose any momentum.

Adam: Yeah Dreyfest will actually be our first show with this new lineup. Andy is the best for helping us out in our hour of need.

Last December, the sales from your release Dead Pursuits were donated to the Ferguson public library and the St. Louis Food Bank. What moved you to do that? Have any of you been involved in charitable activities before?

Adam: Initially, the things that moved us to do that were the same things that just about everyone was feeling at that time. I felt really upset and disenfranchised after watching what happened in Ferguson and New York, but I wanted to contribute in a way that was more constructive than just saying “Fuck Police” on our Facebook page. When I saw that Driftwood Records was setting up a donation drive, I felt like it was the perfect opportunity to get involved.

In the past, CBS has tried to be involved in as much of this as we can. I organized a benefit show with Cole from stoic. and Niko from Medicine Bow last year for a local home for youths in the Laramie community, and that was really successful, and something we were all really proud of. Right now, CBS has a brand new song on a compilation aimed at raising money for the Women’s Foundation of Nepal, a group that is working closely on earthquake relief over there. As a group, we’d really like to do more of this in the future, and we’re lucky to be surrounded by so many talented people that care about making a difference.


You guys toured with stoic. last year. What's the relation between your bands and do you have any touring plans for the coming year?

James: Jake, our outgoing drummer, and Kevin are both in stoic. Sharing members with stoic. makes it logical for us to team up and share touring expenses but we also feel like it makes it harder to differentiate the two bands to each audience. That being said, I'm not too certain how many more tours we'll be doing together.

Adam: At one point we were planning to tour with them this summer, but now we’re going to stay home and get some writing done. Those guys are our best friends, and stoic. is an amazing band. We’re lucky to have been so intertwined with them.


Aside from your own band activities, what are you excited about for the near future?
James: Hahahaha

Adam: Well Kevin just graduated nursing school, so I bet he’s stoked on that. I’m about to start my last year of college. Band stuff is pretty much the most exciting thing in our lives.

What are some genres, or who are some specific artists, you listen to regularly, but have not informed your music?

James: I just listen to podcasts and Counting Crows.  

Adam: I listen to a lot of rap. The first NAS record is probably one of my favorite records ever, but that doesn’t really inform what we do at all, and I don’t think it’s something I would ever create.


If you were to commit a crime, what kind of crime do you think it would be?

James: Animal liberation.

Adam: Yeah that would be pretty cool.

If someone was interested in learning more about you guys, what would you suggest they do (good spot for plugs, if you want)?

Adam: Check out our bandcamp or Facebook, and definitely check out our new song at benefitfornepal.bandcamp.com. There are 50 bands on the comp and all the money goes to a great cause, so even if you hate us it’s still worthwhile!

They did not provide

the links to their resources

so here you go folks:

https://www.facebook.com/CagedBirdSongs

http://cagedbirdsongshc.bandcamp.com/

...I don't even know 

how to do a syllable 

count on those...links...there

I DID IT!!! World, say hello to Mister Doctor Richard Dreyfest, PhD!

SEE YOU AT DREYFEST!

WHITECATPINK

Folks, we have all kinds of great stuff falling into place for this year's festivities. Before we get into it, though, we'd like to announce the beginning of Dreyfest interview season! 

First up: a curious mammal got in touch with us about playing on the 2015 roster via email. The message was entirely in "meow"s. Not knowing what to make of it, we decided to message back, only to receive another meow-filled message. Signed with a paw print. Certainly this was a friend joking with us. ...As it turns out, no. We asked the...uh...person?...to Skype with us so we could communicate in a more fluid manner. What we got was as confounding and wondrous as anything that has ever happened to the Dreyfest organizers. ...And some of us have licked toads with a mouthful of  nutmeg, so you KNOW this was craaazy!

Here is our Q & A with WHITECATPINK!

Is this furreal?

Hello and welcome to the Dreyfest blog! Please tell us who you are and what it is you do.

I am the legendary WhiteCatPink, originally from the planet Saturn, and I am an audio-visual blend of Serge Gainsbourg, Brian Eno, Kraftwerk, and Ziggy Stardust.  I play drums and sing while running automations that I have created in Ableton Live.  I do this dressed as a 6'4" White Cat, and my lyrics are sung variously in English, French, and, more rarely, German and Russian.  I am pleased to be a part of Dreyfest, and I plan to bring the party.

In your bio, you say you've been White Cat in WHITECATPINK since 2007...can you tell us about any of the changes and development that have occurred since that year?

Since then, I have gone solo - I used to have a full band, but one of the founding members suggested that I try to work something up with Ableton, so I taught myself how to use it.  I have since developed and created the ability to be a self-contained unit, having fashioned an electronic box which houses a vocal processor, wireless microphone receiver, small mixing board, and the ability to run a PA if necessary.  In this way, I do not have to rely on anyone to create and process my work.  Much like Kling Klang studios in Düsseldorf, I work to develop new and exciting sounds for the world at large.  I have worked with various musicians since I have gone solo, but the way I want the music to sound and the way I have structured it is rather demanding, and I rehearse hard and do not like to jam and fool around.  I do not drink, smoke, or eat meat, so my channels to the Great I Am Supercomputer XIX are clear and open, and I do not like to have my time wasted.  Hence, it has proven easiest in this band to be solo.  My sound has also changed, as you can imagine, having developed greater proficiency in Ableton, and I have a bit more of a Krautrock feel (read: NEU!, Kraftwerk).  So, I am not just a spotty fellow dressed in a catsuit playing drums...

More on your bio: you list Serge Gainsbourg as a prime influence. Does WHITECATPINK have a Jane Birkin or Brigitte Bardot? A muse? An ingenue?

That's a tough question, because I have had many muses throughout the years, but I'd say my Jane Birkin was the blonde girl kitty in the indoor photo session with the white background, who has taken a place as the iconic 'three girl kitty' WhiteCatPink logo as seen in the cover photo of my FB band page.  My Brigitte Bardot was a Russian model who became a girl kitty for me a while back and was a subsequent lover for a brief period, after which, in classic nonchalance, she walked away, leaving me devastated, much like Serger when Bardot left him to reunite briefly with her ex-husband.  Nonetheless, it is better to have loved and lost rather than not to have loved at all, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

Have you been back to Saturn since you've been living in Denver, or are you stranded?

Fortunately,  I am able to travel quite easily with my telepathic half-binary spacecraft between Earth and Saturn, so I visit both places regularly.  One must be careful of the asteroid belt, though.  That can be a bit rough!!

In the mind of WHITECATPINK, what would your crowd ideally be doing while at your shows?

At my shows the crowd should be dancing and having the best time of their lives.  I strive to make connections with my audiences and to let them experience moments and have their lives altered in some positive way.  I want people to leave a WCP show thoroughly inspired.

Will this be your first time in Montana? Are you sightseeing at all- Yellowstone maybe? Or are you touring through or planning on hanging for the fest?

This will be my first time in Montana as WhiteCatPink, but I have visited your beautiful state in my human form many times.  I am planning on doing a short tour that will end with Dreyfest, and I plan to hang out and see all of the great music!

What are your feelings on dogs?

I surprisingly get along quite well with dogs. 

WHITECATPINK meets BLACKDOGBLUE

How can we learn more about you and your music?

You can learn more about me and my music at these websites:

www.whitecatpink.com

www.facebook.com/whitecatpink

whitecatpink.bandcamp.com

https://instagram.com/explore/tags/whitecatpink/

I look forward to participating in Dreyfest and thanks for the great questions!

Thanks for answering them, WCP! 

See you at Dreyfest!