Parachute Musical chose the 5 Spot as the venue to house the Nashville edition of their Kill It Cut It Down album release and they brought fellow Nashvillians, Eastern Block to open the show.

Like Parachute Musical, Eastern Block navigate their rock-based soundscape by alternating between keys and guitars, and their heavy guitars and full vocals had no problem filling the venue as fans passed a giant tip jar through the crowd like an indie rock collection plate.

Parachute Musical took the stage for their set a little after 11 pm, with all four band members dressed in white t-shirts, causing an audience member behind me to surrender to the urge of telling a “looks like everyone got the memo” joke regarding PM’s solidarity-chic attire.

With the exception of “You Could Take A Lot” and “Hometown,” Parachute Musical played every track from Kill It Cut It Down, including a sounds-just-as-good-live-as-you-hoped-it-would rendition of “Losing You.” Taking the place of the missing tracks were old jam “No Comfort” and new jam “All Systems Go.”

The band’s incessant touring throughout the country appears to be paying off– Parachute Musical’s live show is fun and energetic, each of the four members playing an obvious and integral role in the band’s architecture. Each member makes sure to put more sweat into their performance than even the sweatiest fan could put into dancing, and bassist Andrew Samples just might be the most photogenic member of any live act, ever. Even if Parachute Musical aren’t your favorite indie band, their live show will earn your respect.

If words and pictures aren’t enough, there’s also video because we live in the future.

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For more on Eastern Block, visit eastern-block.tumblr.com.
For everything on Parachute Musical, vist parachutemusical.com.

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 08.23.11
by Joshua Krage

This week is meaty. From stunning debuts by epic bands to expert returns from old favorites, there’s just a lot of good releases out today. If you find something you like, do tell me why, won’t you?

Active Child, You Are All I See – I had the distinct pleasure of catching this group last fall opening for School of Seven Bells in PDX. Making an impression before playing a note was the presence of a half-size harp onstage, one of many instruments which frontman Pat Grossi tackled over their set while synth-laden backing tracks provided dynamic propulsion. This album makes use of these hues and much more, creating a broad and diverse sonic and stylistic palette and capturing Grossi’s serene falsetto lilt in top form, like building a crystal cathedral atop a high-concept new wave garden. Bonus collaboration with How To Dress Well is a shifting surprise, but the real centerpiece here is Grossi’s voice, stunning and versatile at every turn. This album is a very strong statement from a new-breed band with all eyes on it; it does not disappoint.

The Annies
Average White Band – live Montreaux

Zee Avi, Ghostbird – second LP from jazzy-mellow chanteuse out of the Pacific Islands, expanding on her breezy pop sound here with some ace jazz textures and stellar a capella voca layering workout.

Dierks Bentley
Black Tide
Blue Highway
Canned Heat
Wyatt Cenac
David Coverdale

CSS, La Liberacion – dance rock is BACK and it’s back in STYLE, from the infectious bounce of lead single “Hits Me Like a Rock” to the multi-lingual barrage of the title track and beyond. You can feel lead vocalist/liberator Lovefoxxx bouncing around the vocal booth on every song here; the energy is palpable, and the interplay between the synths and electronic layers and the guitars, bass & drums give this that perfect mix between Brazilian jungle rhythm and technologic chic.

Decemberadio

Gabe Dixon, One Spark – bright, earnest keyboard rocker Dixon has kept a focus on adult/contemporary stylings thus far, and while there’s plenty of CW Network-worthy mid-tempo heart-tuggers here, his first true solo album ups the bar all over, from the moment lead-off track “Strike” sprints out the gate to collaborations with Starsailor’s James Walsh, Semisonic’s Dan Wilson and Snow Patrol’s Iain Archer, to a lush duet with Allison Krauss on “Even the Rain”. Produced by modern pop wizard Marshall Altman, this is not the safe, button-down Gabe Dixon of past albums, and the chances taken here really pay off in some solid songs.

400 Blows
The Game

Ganglians, Still Living – working in a dreamy, reverb-soaked atmospheric ethic throughout, this album by Sacramento’s most psychedelic indie band weaves surreal layers of light and shade around a swamp-solid backbeat. Kinda comes on like Wavves performing Fleet Foxes tunes in the Delta fog. Producer Robby Moncrieff (Dirty Projectors) really worked to their strengths here, eliciting a sound part acid trip, part beach party, and all echo for a great second album.

Ghost Brigade
Trevor Hall
Human League
The Jesus Lizard – live DVD

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Mirror Traffic – utilizing the suddenly ubiquitous-behind-the-boards Beck in the production chair, this follow-up to 2008’s Real Emotional Trash gets a bit raw sonically, and when it’s Malkmus, “raw” is always the chief ingredient; from the up-front dry vox down to every lyrical corner, let it never be said that Stephen Malkmus ever really holds back. They wait five tracks before unleashing any hint of Beck-level psychedelia, keeping the mix dry and punchy but bringing in some surprise tenderness on tracks like “Long Hard Book” and “No One Is (As I Are Be),” steel guitars and even a bit of reverb creeping in at the corners. Amazing backbeat by Janet Weiss again, and a reverently straightforward production from Beck, keeping focus on Malkmus’ wry wit and snappy sneer.

Stephen Merritt, Obscurities – expectedly sparse and varied B-sides/rarities collection from Magnetic Fields main man, only 14 tracks seems a bit light for an artist so prolific. Since this is for fans and not the uninitiated, newcomers might want to avoid, but for the baritoned soul-bearer’s followers there are a few relics here worth unearthing.

MxPx
OST – The Greatest Soundtrack Ever Sold

OST – Muppets: The Green Album – if you’ve been tracking the film, you should already know about this awesome assemblage of puppet-penned classics, performed here for the franchise reboot by a stellar assortment of artists ranging from Weezer + Hayley Williams (“Rainbow Connection”) to Andrew Bird (“Bein’ Green”) to OK Go (“Muppets Theme,” with killer video), My Morning Jacket, Airborne Toxic Event, and onward. Soundtrack closes with a spot-on tune from Rachael Yamagata. Can’t wait to see/hear these tunes onscreen.

OST – O Brother Where Art Thou? deluxe ed

OST – Our Idiot Brother – an interesting amalgamation of off-kilter feel-good fare for this off-kilter feel-good film, featuring a diverse array of artists (Fruit Bats, Mindy Smith, Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, more) and quirky cinema-savvy entries from score co-composers Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats) and Nathan Angelo.

Jordan Page

Parachute Musical, Kill It Cut It Down – this is a thick slice of power-pop with stop-on-a-dime dynamics and huge hooks at every turn, kinda like fun. or Steel Train with more focus and/or less pretentiousness. Propelled by frontman Josh Foster’s brightly sardonic tenor and ferocious keys, these tracks have a hoopty-trunk’s worth of bounce and some deceptively affecting lyricism. Check out our full review here.

Retox
Rockpile – live at Montreux 1980
Selah
Aaron Shust
Connie Smith
Patti Smith – best of

Sonic Youth, Hits Are For Squares – how do you make a “hits” collection for a band which eschews hits and was barely on the radio? Easy: Leave the task to a taste-making collection of writers, actors, musicians, and anybody else savvy enough to keep indie cred while maintaining notoriety. Strange birthing procedure aside, this ends up a pretty tasty sampling of alt/indie rock’s first true harbinger, a great entryway for anyone looking to up their catalog knowledge without wading into a sea of obscurities.

Dave Stewart
Barbra Streisand
Sunny Sweeney

We Are Augustines, Rise Ye Sunken Ships – I caught a free download of this Brooklyn trio’s anthemic “Headlong Into the Abyss” and was hooked ever since by their epic scope, cathartic delivery, and surgical use of tension/release dynamics. It’s like Springsteen through a Gloucester chapel, gritty and throaty but with a semi-serene atmosphere permeating every note, providing for immense build and unexpected release in these considerably meaty but expertly-restrained songs. Strong debut with some stunning lyrics for those with the patience to wait for them.

Pretty sure Beck is looking to produce albums for every indie rock statesman still living– my money is on him getting Black Francis into the studio next. In other news, how awesome is this week’s list? So, so many good albums. I’m off to buy many of them. Too many, really.

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

After a Kickstarter project (fueled and funded by their ardent and devoted fanbase) and months of free downloads, Nashville’s Parachute Musical will officially release their third full-length studio album, Kill It Cut It Down to the masses.

Kill It Cut It Down
Release Date: August 23rd, independent release

01. Back To Life
02. Reflection
03. Back To The Bottom
04. Stubborn Young Manhood
05. Kill It Cut It Down
06. Nothing Wrong
07. You Plus Me And All Your Friends
08. You Could Take A Lot
09. Hometown
10. On The Ground
11. Losing You

From the first note of “Back To Life,” the album’s opener, the tone and cadence of Kill It Cut It Down become immediately evident. The aggressive-but-bright pop-rock anthem begins with frontman Josh Foster pounding a rhythm into his piano keys, followed by a flood of lyrics that are generally grittier than the glossy and polished music accompanying them imply. The texture created by the seemingly-intentional contrast between melody and lyrics keeps the music smart, leaving room for versatility within each track. Despite the candid nature of Foster’s lyrics, Kill It Cut It Down is not at all transparent.

Produced by Jim Wirt (Fiona Apple, Incubus) in Cleveland, Ohio during the dead of winter, Parachute Musical further exemplify their proclivity to finding the harmony in contradictions. Describing their month in Cleveland as “the coldest month of our lives,” the final product sounds like a sunny and colorful summer album, untouched by freezing temperatures and Christmas carols. The music on Kill It Cut It Down subsides and escalates when you need it to, but the band reels it in during some of the crescendos, safeguarding the songs from falling victim to fist-pumping pop-rock melodrama.

The most impressive part of this album may be Josh Foster’s vocals. Powerful and melodic, it can sometimes be difficult to focus on what he’s saying because he makes it all sound so good. The band sounds solid during the loud moments, but the quieter moments of the songs shine a necessary spotlight on Foster’s lyrics and vocals, a trick best played on “Back To the Bottom,” when the music noticeably takes a backseat to each verse so the story of Foster’s past can momentarily steal the limelight.

“Losing You” is the album’s closer as well as its brightest diamond. A slow-build ballad about the beginning of the end of a relationship, the vocals and instruments on this song soar in a flourish of talent and heartbreak. The end of the album is the best place for this track because, as great as the rest of the album is, this one is difficult to get past.

Kill It Cut It Down asserts its solidity in finding perfect balance in the midst of contrast. Rather than creating a sloppy and contradictory album, Parachute Musical have found logic in the conflicting components of their music and created a lively and reflective album that will probably sound equally as fantastic when you hear it live.

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Get your own copy of Kill It Cut It Down at parachutemusical.spinshop.com.
For more on Parachute Musical and their music, go to parachutemusical.com.

Preview: “Back To Life”
First Impression: Colorful and energetic piano-heavy pop-rock with a catchy chorus and heavier lyrics than the initial, surface impression would imply.
Listen To: loudly. And on repeat.
»Save It: “Back To Life”

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For more on Parachute Musical and their music, go to parachutemusical.com.

No Comfort will release on January 8th, 2010 but the five dollar pre-orders start today. In celebration of the new EP, the band is holding an official contest for the fans. If you @ reply the band via Twitter a picture (no graphics, just a picture) with the colors red, yellow, blue, and green in it, then you have a chance to win the EP and other prizes. The contest starts today and runs until December 18th.

If you want to catch Parachute Musical live in concert, be sure to do so at any one of the following dates:

12.05.09 Murfreesboro, TN @ YEAH!
12.17.09 Nashville, TN @ Exit In
01.09.10 St. Louis, MO @ Cicero’s
01.11.10 Enid, OK @ The Underground
01.12.10 Oklahoma City, OK @ 51st Street Speakeasy
01.13.10 Ft. Worth, TX @ The Chattroom Pub
01.14.10 Denton, TX @ The Boiler Room
01.15.10 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
01.16.10 Lake Charles, LA @ AJ’s Bar
01.18.10 Pensacola, FL @ The Ready Room
01.20.10 Atlanta, GA @ The Drunken Unicorn
01.21.10 Carrollton, GA @ Alley Cat
01.22.10 Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern
01.23.10 Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm
01.24.10 Greenville, SC @ The Channel

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For more details on Parachute Musical and the contest they’re holding, visit parachutemusical.tumblr.com.

It’s always interesting to see a band’s routine when they’re in the studio. Well, for better or worse (we’ll soon find out), Parachute Musical are going to give you access to the recording process. They’ll be broadcasting live via Justin.tv. You can keep tabs on when they will be broadcasting by following their Twitter updates. If you miss anything, they’ll also be posting studio updates on their Tumblr blog. The new album should be ready sometime in January.

Here is some recent footage of Josh Foster and Tom Gilbert playing an Elliott Smith tribute show in Nashville:

In the meantime, they have a few more tour dates lined up for you:

11.14.09 Lawrenceburg, TN @ Cross Roads Coffee House
11.20.09 Nashville, TN @ 12th & Porter
12.05.09 Murfreesboro, TN @ YEAH! in the Boro
01.14.10 Denton, TX @ The Boiler Room
01.15.10 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
01.23.10 Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm

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For more information on Parachute Musical, visit parachutemusical.tumblr.com.

Here is a video of Josh Foster playing his latest song at MPMF (and also writing jingles for Taco Bell). The song is currently only played in acoustic form but may become a full-band song in the near future. The song’s title may (or may not) be called “Little Did You Know.”

After their next few shows, the band will be taking a short break to hit the studio to bring you a two-single release in November which will feature the tracks “New Love” and “Wasn’t Ready.” Parachute Musical will then continue to tour and work in the studio in order to complete a new EP or full-length album. Can we expect another Seasons Greetings from the band this year?

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For more information on Parachute Musical, visit parachutemusical.tumblr.com.

They have set up a daily road blog so you can be right in the middle of all the action. If you want to catch Parachute Musical on tour, you can do so on any one of the following dates:

08.25.09 Columbus, GA @ Soho
08.26.09 Pensacola, FL @ Bamboo Willie’s
06.27.09 Tallahassee, FL @ The Engine Room
08.28.09 Tampa, FL @ New World Brewery
08.29.09 Macon, GA @ The Refuge
09.06.09 Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley
09.10.09 Roanoke, VA @ Kirk Ave Music Hall
09.11.09 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
09.12.09 Boston, MA @ Cafe 939
09.13.09 Brooklyn, NY @ Public Assembly
09.14.09 Philadelphia, PA @ North Star Bar
09.15.09 Manhattan, NY @ Cross-Pollination at Pianos (Upstairs)
09.16.09 Chapel Hill, NC @ The Nightlight
09.17.09 Charlotte, NC @ The Evening Muse
09.18.09 Asheville, NC @ The Rocket Club
09.19.09 Nashville, TN @ 12th & Porter
09.23.09 Indianapolis, IN @ The Vollrath Tavern
09.24.09 Chicago, IL @ Reggies
09.26.09 Cincinnati, OH @ Midpoint Music Festival
10.16.09 Murfreesboro, TN @ 527 Main Street

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For more information on Parachute Musical, visit myspace.com/parachutemusical.

I love their style of music (so says my iPod) but have only had the experience through my own set of speakers, so I didn’t really know what to expect at the show. Let’s just say that if anyone left to go see Chevelle play upstairs at the venue’s other stage—well, they missed out in ways I can’t really put in to words.

I managed to get some footage from the show, but the quality wasn’t up to par with the band itself, so here’s a better video from an alternate show on their tour:

If that’s not enough, because I know it’s not, you can check them out on their remaining tour dates:

4.13.09 Pensacola, FL @ Sluggos
4.15.09 Orlando, FL @ The Backbooth
4.16.09 Charleston, SC @ The Oasis
4.17.09 Greenville, SC @ The Channel
5.01.09 Staunton, VA @ Kronos Art Gallery
5.09.09 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
5.15.09 D.C., Washington DC @ Rock n Roll Hotel
5.17.09 New York City, NY @ Pianos
5.19.09 Fayetteville, NC @ The Rock Shop
5.20.09 New Bern, NC @ Broad Street Music
6.06.09 Crossville, TN @ The Complex

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For more information on Parachute Musical, visit myspace.com/parachutemusical.

I didn’t mean to fall in love with this band in a day and a half. After listening to their free EP that I downloaded from their website, I kind of got invested. And by “invested”, I mean that I then proceeded to buy their latest album, Everything is Working Out Fine in Some Town, and easily weaved it into my day-to-day routine by having it constantly playing in the background and tricking my iPod into thinking that it was the only album I owned among the other 3,000 songs that were beginning to collect digital dust.

I’m not that efficient of a person at times but felt compelled to put 32 different things in my life on auto-pilot (minus hitting a gaggle of geese) in order to manage time to get this interview while the band was playing in Tennessee. I’m glad I did because it is refreshing to meet a group of young people (I’m not claiming to be old) whose personalities are just as genuine as their music. Comparing this band to a particular genre of music or musician in general is hard for me. It’s hard because I respect what they’re doing, and at times, it’s not easy to categorize music that you respect because there is always that fear that you’re not doing them the right justice. So, with that being said, it doesn’t matter if you can compare them to anyone else out there right now—because they’re the band that people wish to be compared to. They’re that good. There’s my justice.

Audioholic Media: You guys have a very unique style and seem to work well off of each other. Tell us about your process of collaboration. Is there a primary lyricist? Someone who specifically arranges the music?

Josh Foster: A song usually starts off with me either on a piano or guitar and coming up with some kind of lyric or melody and then it usually turns out into some kind of core structure with these guys and they make it…what you hear. They add their creative influence to it and make it listener friendly—opposed to me, I would write the same thing all the time—so it’s nice. That’s where the collaboration really comes in, is in the practice room where I come up to them with basically and essentially a demo. Then they add their parts to it or change the song and enhance it.

Tom Gilbert: I think we all have really strong voices—or unique voices on our instrument—so it’s like we’re putting our layer or our voice on his song.

AM: Your latest album as a whole seems extremely well put together and is what I like to consider polished work. Bands in your position often have to cut corners here and there for financial reasons—which don’t show at all in this album. Tell us about the latest recording process.

JF: It took a long time and I think that’s one of the main corners we cut—was in time. We weren’t able to get the record done in four months. A lot of that had to do with monetary reasons but it also had to do with us making the record that we needed to make. We also had really good people in our camp that wanted to help out however they could. Whether it be financially, or someone like Derek Garten [our producer] who stuck with us for a really long time during the recording process of this album, which took a little over a year. You know, he put into that album as much as, if not more, than we did. It was people like that who allowed us to put out the record that we did. We didn’t have to cut a lot of corners.

TG: You listen to it and it sounds like we didn’t cut a lot of corners but I think we made that album relatively cheaply and it was because Derek [Garten], the guy who produced it, is really good and efficient. He had a lot to do with how it sounded put together and really polished.

JF: At the same time though, we did have to cut some corners with players. We didn’t have the finances to get $2,000 worth of horn players for a day’s session. We ended up meeting people along our way through traveling. We met up with this one girl in Auburn, Alabama named Marie. She was part of the Tiger Band and essentially, by keeping in contact with her, got a band full of horn players who all came up from Auburn. They were all really stellar. We had charts written out that were semi-legible and she had the people come up, and we fed them and paid for gas. That was a big expense that we made affordable.

AM: The band’s first self-titled album was released in ’04—

[Band discussion on when it was actually released. Some say ’04, some say ’05, but everyone came to an agreement that it was a while ago]

–regardless, it seemed like a huge gap in between this last album. What went on in that time frame? There were some additions and subtractions of members in the band, right?

Ben Jacoby: In brief, we were a band in D.C. and kind of, temporarily, disbanded for personal reasons. Josh carried the torch on and kept going ahead of the Parachute and found new players and I think that was a good time of growth for Parachute because his writing was really growing, and the arrangements were growing, while the styles were changing, but I think Tom and I were two of the original guys—and kind of left our fingerprint in the band—and were kind of the right guys for the band. After a couple years, Josh, moving forward, reconvened and now we are the band we are today.

AM: Geographically speaking, you all are in, what I think to be, one of the most competitive areas for independent musicians. Even though you all are doing something innovative, how do you go about making a name for yourselves and keeping that up?

TG: We promote really hard for our shows around here.

JF: I, personally, just don’t expect anything. I don’t expect to walk in to a show that we’ve not promoted for—it’s really important in this town because it’s really competitive.

TG: We don’t really leave a stone unturned when it comes to promoting for a show. We flier everywhere—a lot of people, for some reason, don’t flier for their shows. Maybe they think it doesn’t work, or whatever, but that is one thing we do for every big headlining show that we have. We just do everything we possibly can to get people to come out. Surprisingly, a lot of bands who are trying to make their band successful, don’t do a lot of these things. To us, it’s kind of a no-brainer—if you’re trying to make this your job, then make it your job. We promote hard because of that. Like you said, it’s a really competitive area so we have to do these things to keep up with all these other bands.

BJ: Actually, this is my only form of employment.

TG: There you go—Ben has made it his career.

BJ: [jokingly] Yeah—I’m already there. I’m looking into getting myself health insurance.

AM: Well, congratulations.

BJ: Thank you.

AM: It’s all about getting your name out there. I totally know what you mean. Fliers never hurt. My partner and I have been doing the same thing for our website, in terms of throwing fliers wherever we can. Last summer we hit random places on the West Coast.

BJ: You have to start somewhere.

JF: There is always someone else doing more; I like to look at those people and be like, “Let’s do more than what they’re doing.”

AM: How important do you think it is for musicians to be categorized in a particular genre of music? Because when I try and describe your music to people I know—I’m in a way speechless—I can’t really place you guys in one particular spot. I’m sort of just like, “Here, listen to this,” and I play your music for them.

JF: To an extent, I think. I mean, if you’re trying to get someone out to a show, and we’re rock-based, and they like rock and roll then…to an extent.

TG: Personally, it makes me happy that you can’t describe us to someone—in a good way, I guess. I think that’s sweet.

Kyle Cornett: It’s good not to be labeled because people don’t come in with preconceived notions. If you hand them a CD and are like, “These guys sound exactly like such-and-such,” then they’re just not going to think of that the entire time.

JF: We do get that kind of stuff.

TG: We actually get grouped in to a lot of different people, which is why I’m excited to hear you say that you can’t describe us, because it doesn’t happen that much.

AM: This is going to sound weird, but will you guys give me your definition on pop music?

BJ: No.

[Group laughter]

TG: I’m sure we all have some definition.

JF: Taylor Swift? Music that my mom likes…and my brother likes?

BJ: I think that pop music is the most common genre for white people to make babies to.

TG: Slash, think about their feelings too.

BJ: White people don’t have feelings.

AM: Very true—I’m only asking that because people seem to be categorizing your music as “pop” in all the reviews and press releases that I’ve seen. Although, when I think about “pop”, I think about two things:

So, what I’m trying to ask is, where do you think the intent of classifying your music as “pop” comes from?

TG: I think they just hear it, and they hear hooks, and like you were saying, the recording is polished and it sounds good. While sometimes, there are song structures that are kind of left-of-center, or whatever, there are still hooks and stuff.

JF: Thank God for pop music. If pop music didn’t exist, not to get all philosophical or anything, but if the true essence of pop music did not exist, I don’t think bands like us or other indie bands would thrive because there reaches a point where the listener just gets tired and I think that we bridge the gap between very left of center and radio mainstream, and we’re right on the route of people who are tired of that and are kind of just looking for something else. I think that’s why we have a generally wide accepting audience. I think that’s what makes our general demographic quite large. So, thank God for pop music.

BJ: Without Michael Jackson I wouldn’t know how to dance.

AM: You can’t really help what people say about your music—

JF: [In a threatening tone] Yes, I can.

AM: You can’t really help what people say about your music but what is being said can affect a first-time listener’s perception. For example, I have read and heard people compare you guys to sounding “just like” Rufus Wainwright or Ben Folds Five, which, to me, doesn’t seem exactly right. I think to myself, “Not really, I mean, there is a piano in the band.”

TG: We have brown curly hair—

AM: Exactly—that’s the degree I’m talking about. Do you guys worry at all about people comparing you to different bands or musicians solely on the fact that you have a piano in your band?

JF: As long as we’re not compared to The fucking Fray. I’m sorry.

[Group laughter]

BJ: It’s basically unavoidable.

TG: Maybe someone who really likes Ben Folds will come out to the show and be like, “Oh, they’re like Ben Folds?” Then they’ll listen to us—and be a new fan, regardless.

JF: You know, a lot of this, too is much to our own fault. In the earlier interviews we did, we were grasping at something that we could compare ourselves to so we can find an audience that has similar likes—and I would pick Rufus—I like Rufus. There was a time period where our writing was influenced by Ben Folds, and I think it was a short time period right when I first moved down here. Then we went in a little bit of a different direction but a lot of that is to our own fault, and our own press releases, and stuff like that. You kind of have to list some similarities—and honestly, it doesn’t kill me to be compared to or say I’m influenced by Ben Folds—I respect a lot of what they’ve done.

AM: Definitely.

BJ: I think at the end of the day, we’re just accessible enough that anybody who likes any of those bands—if they took the time to listen—there’s a decent chance that they might like us and that’s all that really matters is that new people are listening. I don’t really care where they come from.

[A group consensus that equates to an “Amen”. Shortly after, a squealing sound is heard outside the building we’re in. Eyebrows rise. Shoulders shrug.]

AM: What was that?

JF: It was a screeching car about to crash into us.

BJ: Zombies. It was zombies. Zombies don’t like our music. I think we need to start a human-flesh-flier.

[Somehow we start talking about Phyllo dough. Don’t ask, just keep reading]

AM: The musical breaks, especially the ones in the songs I just mentioned, are very textured and compliment the style of that particular song. Does having a piano in your arsenal of instruments make it easier or harder to personalize or give identity to songs such as those?

JF: When it comes to this band, to my own fault, I think I play very similar style of the instrument. I do the [imitates a particular style and rhythm popular in their songs] that I try to get away from, then I do something else, and I try to latch on. I think the only thing that gets inhibited is the bass, you know. There is a lot of bottom end to this instrument. Kyle is an upbeat portion of the bottom end of the band. So it adds a lot of low end—when you’re in that low end, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for various between the two low-end instruments because it gets muddy. Either I’m following him or he’s following me for most of the time. Does that answer your question?

AM: Yeah, I guess it does. Basically, what I’m getting at is that your music is different as it is. Like I said, I can’t really describe you guys to people when recommending the album, so with those already unique arrangements how do you go about making those “different” songs different?

BJ: Instruments are vehicles. You can drive them wherever you want them. I don’t think there’s a conscious decision to make a song different or similar. No decent musician that I know of is going to want to play the same song every day of their life. You just naturally write new things; it’s all about growing. Any instrument or art is about progressing and going forward—that’s what art is.

JF: I guess that’s kind of what I was getting into but more on the technical side of things. I get into a style of playing that I vibe with for a little while and then it becomes monotonous and I want to do something else. Like Ben is saying, it’s all about growth and doing new things.

TG: In “Dear Jacksonville” there is that whole Latin part at the end, and in “College Degree” there is like, that whole jazz thing in the middle of it—it’s not like we were like, “We’re going to write this song today and there needs to be Latin groove in it.” When he was writing the beginning parts of that song, that’s what he felt—or that’s what we were jamming on. You know what I mean? It’s like that’s an influence shining through.

AM: The record business is in a pretty weird spot—do think that because it’s so shifty right now that it has offered musicians such as yourselves more creative opportunity and freedom?

BJ: Absolutely.

TG: I think now more than any time, a band can make their own way and be creative, as far as promoting their name and getting their music out there.

JF: At the same time though, a band is a business and a business needs capital. I guess it’s a kind of blunt way to look at it, but if you’re making it your career, your band is essentially your business. Fortunately there are a lot of ways of growing and getting capital and touring is one of our main ones. It helps a lot to do the types of things that independent bands do without any support. It’s kind of magical to me, it’s what makes people starry-eyed; it’s a phenomenal thing. I think it’s awesome that [independent artists] have that opportunity and jumped on whatever they could to be able to do the types of things that they do.

AM: You guys just got finished touring in the Midwest. How do you go about finding venues or areas that your music would do well across the board?

TG: A lot of our touring is finding a band in a city that we’ve never even been to. Right now we’re touring with this band called Oh So Close, who are in Texas. Our music meshes well and hooking up with them is an opportunity to play in cities they’ve played in before and to play for their crowd. That’s really our main way of getting a lot of different audiences is just by show trading with other bands.

JF: We do have a lot of help from other people and our manager— what is that screeching?

[The mysterious screeching sound returns]

KC: We talk to other bands, too and figure out where the good venues are to play at.

JF: I think a lot of it is also trial and error. You’re going to go out and find a lot of places—

[More screeching]

—that you do not belong at.

[Everyone looks around for zombies]

AM: I guess that wraps it all up. Anything else you guys want to add?

JF: Are we signed now?

AM: Yes, that’s exactly what this whole interview was actually for.

BJ: Thank you, but we’d like to decline now.

[Group laughter…and more screeching]

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Visit Parachute Musical on MySpace at myspace.com/parachutemusical.
Their album, Everything is Working Out Fine in Some Town, is currently available on iTunes.