Page 19 of 27
I will never move, ever. I was raised in Kansas City and have lived in Lawrence for most of my life. I've been out there on the road. I've seen the other fancy-schmancy towns. They're not all that great — nice to visit, don't want to live there. KC has a great artistic community, great history (don't even get me started on the history) and amazing people. I couldn't imagine trying to do this anywhere else. The diversity and raw talent in this part of the country is truly staggering sometimes. I think it also helps that Wrath and Ruin isn't looking for tours, record deals, radio play or to sell our brand to AP subscribers — we're really just in it to turn up the volume and exorcise some demons.
Also nominated: Mansion, Sicadis
POP
Fourth of July
What's new?
Still working on our new album with Chris Crisci (Appleseed Cast, Old Canes). When we are done, we will be shopping it around to labels. We are also putting together some old material for a Bandcamp-only release.
In a perfect world, how would critics describe your music and band?
Real.
Who are some other nominated acts you're a fan of?
The ACBs, Ghosty, the Roseline ... because they all write really amazing songs.
What's your favorite KC venue?
We love playing in KC! Our last couple of shows at the Brick have been off the chain. We also love RecordBar.
What do you like about KC as a music town?
We are in Lawrence, but KC gets better and better every time we play there. The music and art scenes are as good as any big city, not to mention Gates, Bryant's, the Nelson and the WWI museum!
Ghosty
What's new?
Our third full-length album came out in April on vinyl and digital formats, available at ghostysounds.com. New Ghosty music is being written all the time.
In a perfect world, how would music critics describe your band?
I'd like for them to say nice things about the band, but describing us as "wildly popular" and "wildly successful" would be pretty cool, too.
Who are some other nominated acts you're a fan of?
There really aren't any lemons in the Pop category. The ACBs and Fourth of July are our pals, and we're always impressed by their new music. They're constantly striving to top themselves with their new albums. I think the new ACBs album is going to be really good, but I'm probably biased because I'm in the band.
What's your favorite KC venue, and why?
Probably RecordBar. They run a tight ship. It's a very music-oriented place but still a fun hangout.
What keeps you in KC rather than moving to a bigger music city? What do you like about KC as a music town?
I'm not sure we'll be here forever, but we've got our roots down pretty deep in KC at this point. The music scene has been really supportive to us over the years, and we are definitely in a comfort zone of sorts. It has been inspiring to witness all the cultural developments lately, with the new performing-arts center, etc. It seems that people really want to tout the culinary and creative merits of the town, which can only be good for artists and musicians. It's also nice living in KC as a musician because it's less of a pressure situation monetarily than a lot of bigger cities, and there's a lot of inspiration to be found if you look past your own navel.
Showing 1-2 of 2
