Interview: Danielle Kolker of Out of System Transfer

I asked some questions of Danielle Kolker, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist of Out of System Transfer and Funkrust Brass Band, two bands also previously featured in album reviews on Musically Dependent. Coming out of New York City, Out of System Transfer has been steadily gaining influence in the folk punk community.

How long has Out of System Transfer been a thing, and what are some of the things you've achieved during that time? 

Jesse and I have been playing music together under various monikers (originally “Up Against the Wall String Band”) since 2008. The McKinley song is actually from around then, probably summer of 08. We’ve been playing under the name Out of System Transfer since about 2012. My proudest achievement has probably been booking a 2-month-long European tour last spring, as well as our two previous cross-country tours (third one happening this winter!). Opening for Mischief Brew a couple times was a really big deal for me, especially since we got to know Erik a little bit and he once tweeted about our Crass cover!

How would you describe your music to someone not familiar with it? 

I usually say “high-energy political punk-influenced folk music with trombone” to anyone who isn’t familiar with folk punk in general. To people who know what folk punk is, I usually use our tagline of “gonzo antifolk punk rock radical leftist hootenanny”. 

So you're getting ready to go on tour, starting January? Are there any upcoming shows you're particularly looking forward to? 

Really looking forward to playing a house show in Hillsborough NC with our friends Rent Strike and She/her/hers! Also stoked about returning to Seventh Circle in Denver, where we’ve had two really amazing shows in the past. We’re also playing 924 Gilman in Berkeley CA for the second time, which is an incredibly historic and cool place. 

Do you have any favorite places you've played in the past? 

Monkey Palace in Boston, where they have a great, welcoming scene and I always have a blast. Konvent Zero in Spain outside Barcelona, an old convent that’s now a huge INCREDIBLE art space (I have some good stories about that show). Wild at Heart in Berlin, our first European show - they had a great turnout and got us WASTED after our set! Also the Curly Cow in Witten, Germany, a vegan punk cafe run by a really sweet older man who totally hooked us up. Finix in Hasselt, Belgium, an amazing squat that’s been occupied for 10 years and had an awesome show for us complete with tasty Belgian beers.   

What about least favorite? 

York, UK, where we got SCREAMED at by an angry Brit for criticizing the police. Pascagoula, MS, where the bar regulars walked out during our set but we played to two very enthusiastic fans. Anywhere that doesn’t give free drinks to musicians.  

So you play the banjolele? What made you pick that instrument? 

I picked up the ukulele just to have something to play in big group jam sessions that wasn’t a guitar or banjo. I’ve always enjoyed old-time music and I really liked the snappy percussive sound of the banjolele - I often tell people that I play the chorded snare drum in our band! 

What about your role in Funkrust Brass Band? 

I’m a founding member (on alto sax) of Funkrust Brass Band, a 15-piece post-apocalyptic disco punk brass band. I definitely take way less of a leadership role in Funkrust because we have so many members and I’m so often on the road with OoST. However, I help book local and out-of-town gigs with Funkrust, and I’m helping organize our Spring trip down to Honk TX, a brass band festival in Austin. Many of the Funkrust members don’t come from a punk background, so I enjoy putting us on shows where people may be a little outside their comfort zone - but we always have a great time! 

What are some things you do outside of music? 

I love to cook and bake and I’m pretty good at both! If you're a musician on tour or visiting and I host you, I'll probably insist on cooking for you, and I try to cook at house shows etc if possible when we're on tour. I also like riding my bike around Brooklyn. When I can get outside the city, I enjoy hiking, bouldering, and kayaking. Jesse and I recently went on a 3-day backpacking trip where we summitted the highest peak in the Catskills! We are planning on buying a National Parks Pass (if they’re open…) during our upcoming winter tour so that we can visit some parks on our days off - right now we’re planning on hitting up Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, maybe Joshua Tree and Mojave.   

What projects are you working on right now? What should people look forward to? 

Just recorded 6 songs in the fall, going to release cassingle in January and prob full EP in March after our tour. We have a whole bunch of new songs that aren’t recorded yet, so people planning on seeing us this tour will probably hear a lot of unfamiliar songs. We’ve got more tours planned, including another summer Northeastern tour, getting out to the Midwest and the northern parts of the West Coast in the fall, and hopefully returning to Europe in 2020 or 2021. I’d really love to play shows in Mexico, Alaska, and Hawaii. 

Don't forget to catch Out of System Transfer on tour! Also, check out this interview with Matt Pless!

Interview: Matt Pless

I asked some questions of one of my favorite DIY musicians, Matt Pless, a person with a talent for spitfire lyricism that has made waves with hits such as "When The Frayed Wind Blows" and "Shots Fired".

Can you give a little bit about yourself and your background as a musician for people who don't know you?

My name is Matt Pless. I write songs that get stuck in your head. People say I'm an exceptional lyricist, and a guy in Indiana once said I was one of underground music's best kept secrets. I have probably played 2,000 shows in my lifetime in probably every type of venue imaginable. I love the diy scene more than i hate it and sometimes hate the fact that I love it, but i really just love playing with words and I think the Mountain Goats are overrated.

You were recently working with a label, but as I understand, parted ways because they were seeking to make unwanted changes to your material; do I have that correct? What's the official story on that that?

It wasn't a label. It was one of those shady hustler types trying to ride my train to pocket himself some dollars. He was managing me for a minute but started telling me to change my lyrics or remove some of them from my songs. He talked down to my fans and the diy scene in general as well and overall just wasn't very cool in how he treated me. i told him i didnt appreciate that and ditched his whole operation. Went back to handling things myself.

So you're just wrapping up a tour of Europe; how was that? What were some of the defining moments to you? 

I did the U.K as well and in Edinburgh, Scotland i walked into a 300 year old pub. A local group called The Auld Reekie String Band is jamming out songs.  There are people taking turns trading singing old Celtic folk tunes. I sit down with my guitar.  They ask me to play something. I played this unreleased song of mine called "Nero " and the string band starts playing with me. Picks it up easily.  Next thing I know, the whole drunken place is singing the chorus to my song that nobody had heard before. It was a really cool vibe and, for whatever reason, an emotionally heavy experience for me. They bought me like 6 beers and were super chill. Even after i got too drunk and accidentally broke a glass on the bar floor.
Finding out that there were people traveling as far as 5 hours to see me play overseas and had heard of my music before was mind blowing! There was at least 1 person who had heard of me thanks to the internet at every show.
Talking to people from other countries and learning about how they lived, their experiences, politics, and overall worldview was eye opening in many ways. People across the pond are so nice. Some of them got me hotels. Fed me food that you can't really acquire in the states, made sure I got paid, it was really amazing and I'm really grateful for the chance to have lived that dream. My friend Jak who runs a diy film group called Shibby Pictures booked and organized it all. I couldn't have done it without him so check out his stuff on YouTube if you're interested.
On a side note, seeing all the ancient castles just sitting, crumbling on hillsides made me think about how nothing lasts, no matter how powerful. Empires fall and ruins become overpriced tourist traps 800 year later.
The punk squats in Europe are a thing to experience. Huge warehouses covered in graffiti, walls adorned with political one liners scrawled in magic marker. Communities working together under one roof with over 6 floors worth of rooms. The shows at those spots were very memorable cause ' the USA just doesn't have those types of squats. At least none that I've seen
Rollin' in De Wallen, the red light district in Amsterdam was pretty cool too.

What about the new album you have coming out? 

It's the best record of 2019

When should we expect the new album?

It will be out probably around February or March. It's not "folk punk" whatever that term currently means. It has elements of folk and punk in the songs, as well as blues, some jazz. It's a mix of a bunch of styles.
The process was, I spent a year in relationship that wasn't healthy for me. I didn't see that at the time. I hardly wrote any music and kind of lost myself for a while. Once it ended, a flood of songs came to me that were inspired by the whole experience. I wrote most of the album in about a week over last summer. So its got a mix of relationship songs, social commentary songs, a song about a surrealist circus and a rap track along with some other things. I recorded it in long island new york. It's a mix of full band songs with electric guitar, solo acoustic songs and full band acoustic songs. There are 10 new tracks and 3 older solo songs re recorded with a full band. I'm pretty happy with it. My brother zac played drums and my friend Rob played bass, they are in a band called The Sharp Shadows from Brooklyn who you should Check out if you like garage pop rock n' roll.
It's gonna be a solid record .

I remember seeing something about you having a book in the works?

Yes, I've been working on a collection of what I think  are interesting stories about things that I've experienced  throughout my life, as well as some poetry and journal entries from touring and playing shows. I always wanted to write one, so i started putting it together 2 years ago. I dunno when its coming out. It should probably be released soon since its already up to 400 some pages long. I want it to inspire people to never be afraid to chase a cool story of their own and to never give up on something you love. I just need a good ending and I haven't made the cover of Rolling Stone or checked into an asylum yet.

Don't forget to check out Matt's music!
Also, see this interview with Skyler Husebye of Straight Line Arrival!

Interview: Skyler Husebye of Straight Line Arrival

Musically Dependent wanted a little insight into the world of up-and-coming folk punk musician, Skyler Husebye. Or, as this person is sometimes known as, Straight Line Arrival. SLA was featured in a previous post reviewing their album If No Place...

You had an album featured on Musically Dependent in If No Place... and have released two new albums since. What do these albums offer? 

SLA started out as a way for me to start getting clean four and a half years ago. I had never even played a show up until I turned 20 but had always been writing music but just never had a band materialiaze for me.
Straight Line Arrival became my therapist. I used this medium to cope with and try to understand my frustrations with the world around me. Two years in and "If No Place..." was my first album where I realized, hey I'm gonna start taking this project seriously. Its a short ep giving glimpses into various parts of my life from the ages 18 to 22. It really starts to expose my frustrations with the place I've called home for 20 plus years. And was recorded during the NODAPL protests which happened pretty much in my backyard. Glass Bones I wrote after breaking two bones back to back. It set me back a lot and there were a lot of challenges that came with it. And the fact that I couldn't be there in person to support Standing Rock killed me. I was angry with the world. I was angry with myself. I finally had something I felt like I could make a difference with and I could do nothing about it. Even with it practically in my backyard. I did a lot of reflecting during that time about the things that were eating me alive and the things I was scared of and put it into an album. Paper Skin was a giant continuation of the same themes except I really wanted to highlight the growth and willingness to move on from my traumas and do what it takes to finally leave this place.

You have often made comments on social media about the struggles of being progressive, and of being a folk punk musician in North Dakota. What has that experience been like for you? 
Bismarck, North Dakota is a strange anomoly. Last winter on new years day we were the coldest place in the world. Colder than both poles even if just for a while. This cold leads to severe isolation and in a lot of cases various drug abuses for a very good portion of the year. This place is the place Trump holds rallies when he wants to feel good about himself. Racism, transphobia, and homophobia is so ingrained here and socially acceptible that it blows my mind. The people that are trying to make a difference are few and far between. Our lawmakers refuse to repeal blue laws "because their wives spend enough of their money" and they wonder "whatever will happen to breakfast in bed". Our police tried murdering over a hundred people by spraying cold water on them outside in below freezing temperatures. Hardly anyone here bats an eye. The government around here definitely represents the majority here. It's sad. Every time someone tries to start out somethint great it is almowt immediately shut down. Its a very frustrating place. I used to see the appeal to the isolation when I was younger. But as I got out and travveled I realized the center of the continent was just a backwoods shithole.

What drew you to folk punk?
When I first got clean off the needle a friend left a guitar at my house. I started writing music and asked him what genre my music was. He said folk punk then showed me the front bottoms. From there I found Ramshackle Glory and I listened to Live the Dream everyday for a whole year until I hit my one year mark that Pat sang about in First Song part 2. The rest is really history. I got into it for the accesibility stayed in it for the community that inspired me to get clean and be a better person.

I saw where you were recently active in local politics by supporting a measure that would have allowed cannabis to be consumed in your state. Can you talk about that movement, and your feelings on the ultimate failure to garner the needed votes?
Measure 3 ultimately was doomed to fail. I severely underestimated how many of the old dying people here make it out of their nursing home to vote. There were critics saying the bill was poorly worded but everyone was biased against anything to do with legalization from the start. If people start smoking pot legally people might not want to buy meth off the crooked cops. I really did believe in it. For a few weeks there I really felt as if something good would happen here. I got good and hammered when it failed and am just happy that the voting power here will shift when the nursing homes finally empty. I wont be here. But I still want the best for my friends that will still he here.

What are some of your favorite hobbies outside of music?

I love playing bartender at parties. At every house show I try to have a few specialty drinks to make for everyone. I like painting even though I haven't painted in a while. I used to he quite great with watercolor pencils. I am also a very good cook and love making pastas and seafood. I guess other than that my main hobby is playing video games. I think I have at least a few thousand hours put into league of legends.

What projects are you working on right now? What should people expect of Straight Line Arrival in the future?
Right now I am working on an album called "The Greatest Arsonist" its an album exploring how everything changes as you grow up and desperately trying to keep hope and a sense of wonder. I will have a short two week tour going from Lousiana back to Bismarck sometime in the very near future. After that I am slowing down for a few months and moving to Minneapolis. I'm very excited to be in a new place with much more opprotunities. Where I live has held me back for much too long. And I can assure anyone that I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing even if I don't have my prison of a hometown to whine about anymore.

Don't forget to check out Straight Line Arrival on Bandcamp!

12-14-18 DIY Music News

It's been a hot minute since I've made any posts here, but I wanna get back into the swing of things by focusing on recent news in folk punk and other DIY music with weekly posts on Fridays. Among this week's news:

Tail Light Rebellion Wrapping Up Tour
Tail Light Rebellion has just two shows remaining of their tour, including tonight in Tupelo, MS at Thirsty Devil, and tomorrow at Sluggos in Chattanooga, TN.

Out of System Transfer Announce Tour

Out of System Transfer have recently announced a tour with Meredith Moon, which will kick off January 17 at Baltimore Free Farm in Baltimore, MD and run through early March.

Captain Chucke Releases New Music Video
I don't just blog about the music, I make it too! Check out my newest music video! I made this for "Closer To the Show" to celebrate Under the Overpass turning 1 year old earlier this month!

I want to hear about your recent news and include it on this blog!

-If you have just released a new album or music video in the last couple weeks, message me the info

-If you are announcing a tour, message me the schedule/tour poster if there is one

-If you are on tour, send me information on shows during the coming week, starting on Friday

c.e.whaley3@gmail.com