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What do you like about Kansas City as a music town?
KC has its ups and downs as a music town. At times, the scene seems to be very segregated and limited, but there are several good venues to play and people willing to listen. So we can't really see any good reason to pack up and go.
Shy Boys
What's new?
Nothin'. You? We did go out and see the new Batman movie last night. Pretty good. We've been talking about settling in and recording now for a couple of months. We just don't seem to be in too much of a hurry to drop cash on a CD, you know? We're just a baby band, so most of the effort has been put into building a set.
In a perfect world, how would music critics describe your band?
In a dream review, the author would spend the bulk of the article waxing poetic about how good-looking we are. If they got around to talking about the music, maybe they'd talk about tight, dreamy key bumps of pop music beneath thick harmonies and jangling guitars.
What are some other nominated acts you're a fan of?
I'm a big ACBs fan. Not just because of our incestuous origins — the other two Shy Boys are in the ACBs — but because they've got incredible pop hooks. Ghosty put out my favorite record of 2012, local or not.
What's your favorite KC music venue?
Uhhhhh ... the Brick has good bar food.
What keeps you in Kansas City? What do you like about Kansas City as a music town?
Poverty keeps us in KC. As a music town, KC hasn't been the same since Pendergast got put in jail.
EXPERIMENTAL
Umberto
What's new?
I recently played at the I'll Be Your Mirror festival in London. There's going to be a new album out in the fall on Not Not Fun, and a soundtrack for the 1982 film Pieces that I performed at the Glasgow Music and Film Festival on Rock Action.
In a perfect world, how would music critics describe your band?
Horror disco, electronic ... not experimental.
Who are some other nominated acts you're a fan of?
Soft Reeds.
What keeps you in KC rather than moving to a bigger music city?
Nothing, really ... I wanna leave.
Expo '70
What's new?
We were just a part of a four-way double-split LP that came out on Immune Records. [We've] played the Norman Music Festival, KC Psychfest, and in August will perform at the Cataracts Music Festival in Indianapolis. Justin [Wright] will be touring solo this fall in Europe, playing in 10 countries.
Any recent releases or anything on the horizon?
The full band will record again this August for a release with a Brazilian label called Essence Music that will produce a gatefold CD with a pop-up along with a limited handmade box set. Immune Recordings in Chicago will release a vinyl version. A live recording of the full band from the weekend before the KC Psychfest this past May will be released on a new label in the U.K. called Junk Orange, called Virtually From the Unknown.
Who are some other nominated acts you're a fan of?
Umberto, Scammers and Monta At Odds because they are supporters of my music and the venues that we associate with.
What's your favorite KC venue, and why?
FOKL. It's run by artists and supports underground music and artists from all over the United States.
What keeps you in KC rather than moving to a bigger music city?
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