Lithuania: The Long-Term Side Jawn.
Text by Tyler Horst. Images by Michael Bucher.
Eric Slick is opening for his own band. It’s the night of Lithuania’s record release show at Boot & Saddle and Slick is performing double duty as the bassist for Anomie, another Philly act who takes the stage first. It might seem like a strange choice to volunteer for an earlier set on such a big night for your band but Slick has been putting other projects before Lithuania for a long time.
“Are you guys excited for Lithuania?” Anomie frontwoman Rachel Browne asks the audience. “Tonight they’re celebrating the release of their new record.”
The crowd cheers.
“Ten years,” Slick says to himself, just off-mic. “Ten years…”
On a weekday afternoon, at a table in Reanimator Coffee in Olde Kensington, Slick starts to get excited as he talks. He’s a very mild-mannered guy, so his energy comes out through hand gestures rather than raising the volume of his voice. Today, Slick is discussing Lithuania and that’s something that he doesn’t normally get to talk about.
Seated around the table are his friends and Lithuania bandmates Dominic Angelella and Ricardo Lagomasino but these three are also all bandmates in other projects. At another point in time, this could just as easily have been a meeting for DRGN King or Hop Along. Today, though, it’s all about Lithuania. And it’s about time.
“Lithuania was the cool, almost joke-y thing we would talk about and occasionally write songs and play shows,” says Angelella, whose uber mellow demeanor contrasts Slick’s nervous energy. “But it was like a secret. It wasn’t a real band yet.”
The guys in Lithuania have been making music for a long time, just not always as Lithuania. Collectively, they’re a sort of underground force in the Philadelphia music scene, appearing as key players in bands that ended up gaining more notoriety than Lithuania.
It’s sort of funny then – but not surprising – that when they started getting things rolling in earnest within the past two years that a lot of the press about Lithuania referred to the band as, “Eric Slick of Dr. Dog’s new side project.”
But “side project” is a difficult term to use for a band that started 10 years ago, pre-dating any of the projects that its members are known for. Lithuania was originally a two-piece recording project that started when Slick and Angelella met in a music theory class at University of the Arts.
Angelella, a Baltimore native, got the feeling even before meeting Slick that he was different from the other squares in their class.
“He had the hair that I have now,” says Angelella, gesturing with a fistful of his shoulder-length locks. “I looked across the room at him and said to myself, ‘That dude looks like a freak.’”
They started talking bands, each sizing up the other’s tastes, and immediately bonded over a mutual adoration of bands like Hüsker Dü and Lightning Bolt. They started making music together in the same raw, crunchy vein as those bands, but their musical curiosity led them in many different directions and to many other projects, sometimes with the same people.
“For both of them, in their professional working lives, [Lithuania] was their escape,” says Brendan Mulvihill, who has written and performed music with Angelella in DRGN King and with Slick in Norwegian Arms.
Mulvihill says that even while the guys could put their all into a certain project, they still always had more left over that they needed to pour into another outlet. When Mulvihill learned that Slick and Angelella were going all in with Lithuania, he knew only good things would come.
“[Lithuania] puts them in a situation where they allow themselves to push their boundaries and experiment,” says Mulvihill. “It’s really beautiful to see two friends come together and persevere on a project that’s really just a celebration of their ability to work together in such a beautiful way.”
Any sense of urgency about the band has disappeared in Slick and Angelella’s 10 solid years as musicians They’ve learned that slow and steady is an okay way to go.
“[Lithuania] has been the focus for so long, it just exists,” says Angelella, referring to a three-year period in which the project lay completely dormant. “We’ve already been a band that does nothing.”
After letting their shared ideas marinate for so long, Slick and Angelella decided to get cooking. When they made the move to cut a record in 2014, they had a deep history of ideas and friendship to draw from. The result was the aptly titled Hardcore Friends, recorded in a four-day blast at The Headroom studio in East Kensington.
Lithuania played its last show as a two-piece at Kung Fu Necktie, in the middle of recording their LP. The economy of playing as a duo gave way to its limitations, and after a set beleaguered by technical malfunctions, Slick and Angelella decided it was time to bring another member on to help things run more smoothly.
Luckily, Lagomasino was right there in the crowd.
“I thought it was an awesome show,” Lagomasino says with a laugh.
After Slick and Angelella’s time in the studio was completed, Lagomasino took his place behind the drum kit and Slick transitioned to guitar, where he could be a more traditional frontman. With the aid of some technical wizardry, Slick does double duty as guitar and bass. He plays through a splitter that sends a signal from his guitar to both a bass and guitar amplifier.
“I’m trying to invent a new way of playing for myself,” Slick says.
Being able to do more with less is something of a core value for the group at this point. It’s what’s allowed them to remain invested in the project for so long, and also what lets them keep going even in the face of what for other bands can be a crippling disaster.
While on the road with mewithoutYou, Lithuania and their touring buddies in the band Foxing had a trailer full of gear stolen the day before the tour’s final show. Foxing had to drop out of the last performance but Lithuania was able to soldier on with gear borrowed from mewithoutYou.
It was heartbreaking to lose so much so quickly but also a reminder of how their high-energy approach can defy technical limitations.
“I write songs based on knowing strings could break at any moment,” says Angelella.
“We’ve got to be able to just plug in and play wherever we are,” Slick agrees.
Fortunately, nothing breaks during their performance for the release of Hardcore Friends. Slick and Angelella haven’t stopped smiling all night. When they take breaks between songs, it’s only to thank the crowd for being there to support what they’ve been preparing for a decade to share.
With a record under their belts and a solid three-piece lineup, Lithuania is ready for phase two, only 10 years later. Slick says they’re looking forward to writing new material with Lagomasino, and dedicating more time, energy and focus to the project.
“In the back of our minds we have always been like, Lithuania is our band,” Slick says. “It’s not a side project. It’s what was born out of our friendship.”
Happy Hannukkah From The Guys in ILL DOOTS (Day 4).
To celebrate Hannukkah, the guys from the Philly hip-hop collective ILL DOOTS are releasing a brand new track every day during the holiday.
“All I know” is the fourth track of eight, all of which feature the varied talents of the collective’s producers and MCs.
Learn more about the crew in our story that ran in the winter issue last year.
Happy Hannukkah From The Guys in ILL DOOTS (Day 3).
To celebrate Hannukkah, the guys from the Philly hip-hop collective ILL DOOTS are releasing a brand new track every day during the holiday.
“Wingsz” is the third track of eight, all of which feature the varied talents of the collective’s producers and MCs.
Learn more about the crew in our story that ran in the winter issue last year.
The 1975 @ The Fillmore with Swim Deep.
Text and images by McCall Cox.
The 1975, accompanied by Swim Deep, performed on Saturday at The Fillmore.
UK Indie pop band Swim Deep, consisting of Austin Williams on vocals, Tom Higgins on guitar, Zachary Robinson on drums, Cavan McCarthy on bass guitar and James Balmont on keys and percussion, opened the show. They performed songs such as “King City” and “The Sea.”
“Thanks to everyone who knows our songs, that really means a lot,” Williams said. “Thanks to The 1975 for bringing us out. Great band, great crew.”
After their set, the lights gradually dimmed and smoke filled the stage. The 1975 walked out to the screams and cries of their audience. The alternative, pop-rock band launched right into their new single, “Love Me,” with a pink lighting scheme to match the band’s new aesthetic (which had been notoriously black and white prior). The band followed with two songs, “Heart Out” and “Settle Down,” from their first, self-titled album.
The 1975 features Matthew Healy on vocals and guitar, Ross MacDonald on bass guitar and keyboard, Adam Hann on guitar and George Daniel on drums. The band has also recently added John Waugh on saxophone. The band hails from Manchester, England.
“It’s so fucking good to be back in Philly,” said Healy.“We love it here.”
The 1975 played songs from a couple of their older EPs, such as “So Far (It’s Alright)” and “You.” Before “Menswear,” Waugh performed a brief saxophone solo to lead into the ambient beginning of the track.
“Philadelphia! Look at me,” Healy ordered before jumping into single “The City.”
“All of you, look at me. You’ve got to look after one another. You’ve got to stop pushing and starting kissing and hugging. Less pushing, alright?”
Following the track, Healy said, “We’re back! We’re back on tour. We’re doing it again. Thank you for coming. We’ve done an album in the time that we’ve been away and it’s due out in February. And we wanted to do a tour where we could fill it with our proper fans so you could hear it before everybody else.”
The band then supported this by playing new song, “Change of Heart.”
“This next song is called ‘She’s American,’” said Healy. “Okay, let’s do it.”
The band previewed the new track from the upcoming album. The 1975 also performed other unreleased songs, including “Somebody Else.”
The band took a break in order to thank the crew and other personnel touring with the band.
“Give it up for Swim Deep!” Healy encouraged the audience. “We’re so lucky to be with some great people.”
“How’s everybody doing?” Healy continued, pointing to sections of the audience and individual fans. “How are you, love?”
The singer later discussed the detriment of living through technology—a theory Healy has mentioned in the past.
“I just fear if we leave so introspectively and try to document everything, you might miss what’s actually happening,” Healy said. “Do you know what I mean? Not to be a grandpa but – I‘ll tell you what. Ten minutes right? Ten minutes—us and you and no phones. No more people. Don’t experience this thinking about showing it to somebody else. This is for you. So I mean one or two people, you’re going to keep your phones out ‘cause you’re an asshole but the majority of us, let’s have 10 minutes where we fucking experience just what this is. Cheers!”
The band then performed “Me.”
“This song is about me,” Healy said.
Following the song, Healy asked the audience, “Don’t you feel a bit better?”
Healy responded to the cheers of fans by saying, “This song is about you.” The band then launched into the slow ballad, “Fallingforyou.”
“This next song—you don’t know it. You don’t know this next song but just go mental for this next song so I don’t look like a wanker. You ready?” Healy introduced The 1975’s new song, “The Sound.”
The frontman prefaced the performance of the next song, the hit single “Robbers,” by saying, “Alright Philly, let’s get emo.”
Following “Girls,” The 1975 ended their performance and left the stage. As the crowd cheered and chanted “We want sex!” the band resumed their positions on stage to play a three song encore, including “Medicate.”
“Right! We have two songs left. Do you still have some energy?” Healy asked the audience as The 1975 performed their hit single “Chocolate.”
“Philadelphia, we can’t thank you enough for coming out to our show tonight,” he said. “I know it’s hard to get tickets. This really means a lot to us, so thank you very much. So this is it. Now we’ve got a new album. We’re going to be on tour for fucking ever. So we’ll see you around. Until then… you know.”
The band started the single “Sex.”
As the band members came to the front of the stage to bow, Healy left the audience with a simple, “Goodnight Philadelphia!”
Happy Hannukkah From The Guys in ILL DOOTS (Day 2).
To celebrate Hannukkah, the guys from the Philly hip-hop collective ILL DOOTS are releasing a brand new track every day during the holiday.
“Heist” is the second track of eight, all of which feature the varied talents of the collective’s producers and MCs.
Learn more about the crew in our story that ran in the winter issue last year.
Happy Hannukkah From The Guys in ILL DOOTS (Day 1).
To celebrate Hannukkah, the guys from the Philly hip-hop collective ILL DOOTS are releasing a brand new track every day during the holiday.
“Take you away” is the first track of eight, all of which feature the varied talents of the collective’s producers and MCs.
Learn more about the crew in our story that ran in the winter issue last year.
WIN FREE TICKETS: See Tory Lanez @ Coda on Friday.
Tory Lanez, who has worked with famed Philly producers like Noah Breakfast and Pop Wansel, will perform at Coda on Friday and we have tickets to the show.
Like us on facebook and email us at FreeJumpStuff@gmail.com to enter to win a pair of tickets (give us your name and put “Tory” in the subject line).
If you want to play it safe and get your own tickets, find details for the show here.
Mike Pays Heat: Of Failed Relationships, Communication, Learning to Live With Yourself and Remembering to Hope.
The guys from Mike Pays Heat will drop their debut album on January 15th via Dead Medium Records and we’re premiering the video from the first track here.
We talked to the guys about the band and their new music.
Mike Pays Heat? What’s up with the name?
Ian Hunter: No Comment.
Wil Schade: College, man.
Dan Siper: Honestly, the only time we’ve ever given a straight answer to this question was on Temple University’s WHIP radio station. But to give you another answer, it was my Uncle Randy’s mechanic who would always tell him that Mike paid the heat.
How did you guys come together?
Ian: Have you seen How I Met Your Mother? Sorta like that.
Wil: Took us 9 seasons, but here we are.
Dan: I just remember 40s being involved.
Tell us about the upcoming album. Got any stories about the writing, arranging or recording processes?
Ian: Lyrically, it’s a whole hodgepodge of ideas that are ultimately pretty insignificant but that seemed really important at the time. It’s about failed relationships, communication, learning to live with yourself and remembering to hope. All that good stuff.
Dan: I’m not normally too involved with the writing being a drummer, but with this record, the drums were written as the songs progressed, so they really fit the songs well. Every song is completely different for me. I tried not to reuse any drum beat in any songs. As far as the production, our friend Martin Black engineered and mixed the record and he’s incredibly abstract and a super hands-on producer. It led to some great moments in this record that would not have been possible without him. There are tons of little screams and instruments and vocals that are super low in the mix you’ll probably never hear but are there.
Wil: The recording process seemed to last forever. Being our first LP, we had a concept going into it, but most of it took shape once we started. We did basic tracks for the entire record in one session with the help of Ian Farmer (of Modern Baseball). It ended up lasting 24 hours. Tons of ideas were born in the studio. We redid, took out and added parts. We promised each other that we’d never put out anything we weren’t 100 percent proud of and I think we got it. The record is called Tape 1 Play.
What’s the story behind “Circuits?”
Ian: “Circuits” is one of those “remembering to hope” tracks I mentioned earlier. When you spend a lot of time in your own head, you get caught in this self-centered cycle (hey alliteration!) that doesn’t give you any space to think about the people in your life. I guess Circuits is about getting yourself back into the world around you.
Dan: The idea for the video was to be visually stimulating without distracting too much from the song itself. This is my personal favorite song so I wanted that to be the focal point. The video was done by Bad Dad Music Productions, a production company I’m working to start up.
How do you plan to celebrate the January release?
Wil: We don’t want to give everything away but there’ll be a killer release show at a DIY venue called Mantua Yacht Club on January 15th with some bands we think you’ll really dig and probably already do.
Dan: And 40s. Definitely 40s.
Ian: I’ll probably go dancing.
Other future plans for the band?
Ian: Go dancing.
Wil: We’re heading out on tour this spring to support the album. I guess just keep playing and meeting new people. We’ve got big hopes for this record.
Dan: Hit the road, get big, sell out, quit, rinse, repeat.
Upcoming Show: Rebirth Brass Band @ Underground Arts 12/5.
The Rebirth Brass Band are no strangers to Philadelphia. We picked the band from New Orleans’ French Quarter as one of the shows to catch on New Year’s Eve weekend in 2012 at The Blockley (R.I.P.) and the band has played everywhere locally from Union Transfer to Ardmore Music Hall and the Philadelphia Folk Festival.
This weekend they return to the city, playing Underground Arts on Saturday, December 5, with shows at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Receiving press from The New York Times, appearing in Treme, being a “must see” when in New Orleans according to Anthony Bourdain, this nine-piece outfit puts on a loud, lively, high-energy show and is sure to blow away the crowd at UA.
Oh, and this guy co-signs:
just saw THE REBIRTH BRASS BAND, unbelievable. hard as hell, free as a ray of light, there is not a band on earth that is better. stunning.
— Flea (@flea333) May 23, 2012
Hearing this big sound in a small room like Underground Arts will only amplify the sound. And energy.
Check them out.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 