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TWIN STEPS: the lost interview

Quick background: Twin Steps are a four piece band from Oakland,CA. Their music can be described as; difficult punk, r&b, romantic shred soul violence (according to their bandcamp tags) (it's a pretty spot on description though). They released one ep on a green 10" colored vinyl with Cola Bruin (SF,Ca) in April of 2012. One 7" record featuring two songs with 1-2-3-4 Go! Records( a kick-ass independent record store/label in Oakland) in August of 2013. There's also one demo on their bandcamp that will dig an earworm all up in your brain with it's unforgettable guitar riff. I was lucky enough to catch them at the smell on February 28th of 2014. I mustered up the courage to introduce myself and thank them for their performance after the set which resulted in this interview. Now see, this is a very important interview to me, I had been recently inspired and decided to start a collective music zine. Twin Steps was the first band that I had ever interviewed and being given this chance was new to me. If i remember correctly Devv's response was,"Yeah that sounds great! We'll be in LA a few days-we can all meet up, grab some tacos and chat with you."

So, here it is my first ever interview, enjoy!

Sasha:What/Who are your major influences? Twin Steps: Campy horror/exploitation films, the apocalypse/post apocalypse, good candy, Charles Manson, Michael Jackson, and girls (love & heartbreak; everything before, after, and in-between). S:What is the first record/CD/Tape you ever bought? Jonathan: tape De La Soul - Three Feet High & Rising, which my older brother had shown me / cd Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary, which i bought with the first paycheck i ever got. Drew: Queen's Greatest Hits, because it had the mighty ducks song on it. Nick: Space Jam Soundtrack. I bought Willenium for a girl haha.. Devvin: Will Smith - Big Willie Style. S:Any album that you can throw on during a terrible day and it just totally changes your mood immediately? J: Whitney Houston - Whitney DP: The Roots of Chicha N: Andrew WK - I Get Wet DT: Nick Drake - Bryter Layter S:Who are some of your favorite bands/artists right now? J: Each Other (from Montreal) DP: Drake N: Jamaican Queens DT: Yvette, Nitzer Ebb. I've been digging the newest Ponytail album a lot recently too, the song "music tunes" is soooo good. S:What are some of your goals as a band right now? TS:To be the first band to transform completely into a mobile app. Also, to get wet and make people happy, to dip. S:When you're at your show up on stage and you look out into the crowd what's favorite thing to see? DP: sweat. N: swimming pools, candy kids lol. DT: I like it when people climb on stuff, lots of movement. S:(on Drew's dance moves during the set)Do you lose yourself in the moment or are u definitely inspired by flash dance? DP: I definitely lose myself in the moment. I've never seen Flashdance, but sometimes I practice in the mirror. S:I LOVE YOUR USE OF SAMPLES. One thing that instantly attracted me to your band was the sample of Etta James on the track, Pinkie Promise. What about a song makes you decide, "I want to sample this."? Is there a process? J: There are so many lost and looked over sounds from the past that stand out to us as these hidden gems of sorts, long since forgotten.. The general idea is to take something old, cut it up, warp it, effect it, distort it, and then repurpose it similar to a musical collage to create something new. For instance, take that one amazing measure in the beginning of some obscure soul or girl group song from the 60's, maybe it's an intro or a bridge.. It's not the main theme of the song and probably doesn't even get repeated in the composition, but we will capture it and use that find as a background for us to build a new song around. The first step in us writing songs is always listening to/sharing records & old music. We are all avid music collectors/appreciators and i don't think there is really any one thing that stands out as a specific requirement for a song to be sampled by us. We just do what feels right...

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R.I.P. Twin Steps

http://www.OutOfFocus.TV presents a mini documentary on Oakland darlings Twin Steps. "like a band from the past got time-warped to the present and had, like, three years to catch up on contemporary music." It's an interesting way of accounting for the way Twin Steps seamlessly mash together syrupy '60s pop melodies, trippy production flourishes, a bit of "sample-delia," and just the right amount of raw-throated ferocity." - The Stranger "Pinky Promise," is a love ballad that devolves into sonic mush — babies laughing, birds, gurgling, and a crackle of feedback, all of it held together by Reddick's rumbly guitar. Listen to it on Twin Steps' Bandcamp page, and you'll get a sense of how each piece fits together; listen to it executed live, and you'll think the band is intentionally disorienting its audience. - East Bay Express Twin Steps: http://twinsteps.bandcamp.com/ THE FANCLUB featuring Drew Pearson ~ http://youtu.be/yOIIPBxTkGQ Check out http://www.OutOfFocus.TV for more live videos, music videos, and web series. To see live performances of Twin Steps and more episodes of American Music, check out the archives: http://www.outoffocus.tv/archives.htm