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Lantern interview with Emily Robb and Zachary Devereux Fairbrother

November 11, 2013

Lantern interview with Emily Robb and Zachary Devereux Fairbrother

 I could spend a ton
of time trying to explain the intricacies of Lantern’s sound or listing their
impressive collection of releases from the past few years.  Instead I will simply say that this is some
good old fashioned psychedelic rock’n’roll. 
Distorted and fuzzy, loud and aggressive but still relying on the merits
of hooks and actual songwriting rather than a wall of deafening noise or the
like, Lantern are burning the candle bright and loud at both ends to bring you
a relentless onslaught of mind bendingly amazing, and often, equally limited
releases.  While keeping up with Lantern
might be a full time job, figuring out where they come from, where they’ve
been, what they’ve been up to, and even what they’ve put out proves to be
another matter altogether.  Don’t worry
though fearless readers, your prayers have been answered!  Founding Lantern members Emily Robb and
Zachary Devereux Fairbroter took plenty of time to shine light on the band’s
early beginnings, evolution and their prolific collection of distorted and
limited releases in another marathon interview with yours truly!  Integrating the best parts of 60’s garage
rock, punk, noise and psychedelic music, Lantern have created a wholly unique
and intriguing sound all their own, recently refined and seemingly perfected
for the band’s Rock’n’Roll Rorschach album. 
So kick back, relax, listen to some music and enjoy the fuzzy inferno
that is Lantern!
-Listen while you read: http://lantern.bandcamp.com/   
What’s the band’s
current lineup?  Is this your original
lineup or have there been some changes over time?
Emily:  We have
Christian Simmons on drums, Zach and I switch around between the guitar, bass,
and vocals and sometimes David Fishkin joins us on baritone and tenor sax.  We used to play with a different drummer,
Sophie White.  That’s been pretty much
the only lineup change.  Sometimes our
friend Chris Wilson fills in for a local show in Philly when Christian can’t
make it down for the gig; he lives in Montreal.
Are any of you in
any other bands?  Have you released any
music with anyone else?  If so can you
tell us about it?
Zach:  Lantern is the
only project I really have on the go right now. 
I used to have a band called Omon Ra with my friend Dan Miller.  He went on to form Omma Cobba and I formed
Omon Ra II which Emily eventually joined. 
Recently, I played on the B-Side of Crosss’ recent record (Obsidian
Spectre).  Occasionally I’ll play solo or
improvise with others doing noise/drone stuff.
Emily:  I just started
playing in my friend’s new project called Myrrias.  It’s totally different from anything I’ve
ever been involved with so it’s exciting to feel like I have no clue what I’m
doing, stretching myself into new territories. 
I also used to be in Zach’s old band Omon Ra II.  Our friend Chris D’eon (his solo project is
called D’eon) was in the band too… 
He’s a real talent and sometimes he’d get on keys and just set off on a
hurricane of a groove.
Where are you
originally from?
Zach:  I am from Nova
Scotia, Canada.
Emily:  I was born on
Mount Desert Island in Maine where Acadia National Park is.  It’s a beautiful place.  You may have heard of Bar Harbor, the major
tourist attraction.  That’s where I spent
my youth.  Then I moved to rural
Connecticut when I was ten.
Was your home
musical growing up?  Were your parents or
any of your relatives musicians or extremely interested/involved with music?
Zach:  There wasn’t a
lot of music growing up in my house, though my parents were very open and
supportive of my musical interests.  I
have a lot of visual artists in my family as well as some aunts, uncles and
cousins that play and love music.
Emily:  I wouldn’t say
my immediate family was particularly musical, though I do have a couple of
musically inclined aunts, uncles, second cousins, grandmothers, great uncles,
etcetera.  My dad knew how to play two
songs on the guitar.  One of them was
“I’ve Just Seen A Face” by the Beatles and my sisters and I would ask him to
play it over and over and over.  Also,
there was always music playing at my house. 
Typical baby-boomer classics, like playing “Money” by Pink Floyd after
“Satisfaction” by the Stones, followed by “Fields of Gold” by Sting and then
“Chain of Fools” by Aretha and K.D. Lang in there somewhere.  It helped me develop my tastes and weed out
all the songs I can’t stand.
What was your
first real exposure to music?  When did
you decide that you wanted to start writing and making your own music?
Zach:  My sister’s
ex-boyfriend used to play Hendrix and the Stones for me when I was six or
seven.  I loved “Foxey Lady” and
“Satisfaction”.  My mom bought me a
boombox equipped with a Queen tape when I was nine and I loved it.  After that I started playing clarinet in my
school band, which I picked up quickly. 
When I was fourteen I got a guitar because my friends all played.  From the beginning I was improvising and
making weird noises like scraping the strings with pennies.  I didn’t know chords at first but I figured
out ways to make sounds I liked. 
Eventually my parents got me lessons and soon I formed a metal band and
the fantasy of becoming a rock star was born, ha-ha.
Emily:  I was always
exposed to music and loved it.  I didn’t
really think I could do it seriously until I realized that that’s all I really
wanted to do.  First I started reading a
lot about music and taking various music history classes in school, then I
started working as a receptionist at a music school and snagging free guitar
and piano lessons when teachers had nothing better to do.  All the while I was teaching myself everyone
else’s songs.  Eventually I joined Zach’s
band and then we started Lantern together.
When and how did
you all meet?
Zach:  Basically music
is how we all met.  Emily and I met in a
modern music class at school and we both met Christian just from hanging around
the music scene in Montreal and Halifax.
What led you to
form Lantern?
Zach:  It started as a
solo project of mine.  I felt creatively
exhausted with Omon Ra II and wanted to try something new.
Emily:  Zach started
writing for a new project one summer after we disbanded Omon Ra II.  I was living apart from him for a month or
two and he would send me his demos.  When
we moved to Philly that fall, Sophie joined us on drums and Lantern became a
real band.
What does the name
Lantern mean or refer to?
Zach:  A Lantern is a
light in the dark.
Where’s the band
currently located?
Emily:  Zach and I
live in Philadelphia.  Christian is
always traveling…  I supposed Montreal
and Quebec City are his home bases.
How would you
describe the local music scene there?
Zach:  Lots of
different musical styles are appreciated here and the rock scene specifically
is thriving.  There are some great labels
based in Philly too, including Siltbreeze, Richie Records, Paradise of
Bachelors, Badmaster, Evil Weevil, Folk Evaluation, and more.  It feels like a renaissance.
Emily:  I agree about
the Renaissance thing.  When I first
moved back to Philly, after leaving for a year to go to Montreal, it was a
little frustrating because lots of the DIY spots were getting shut down.  But now there are lots of new venues opening
and South and West Philly are keeping the house show scene alive.  Also, it’s a very supportive community.  You can go to a local show and see at least
half your friends there.  
Are you very
involved in the local scene?

 © Ryan Collerd
Emily:  I would say
it’s almost impossible to not be a part of the scene.  Though I like being home working, there are
good shows happening all the time.  I’m
always running into people around town and I work at a local record
store/coffee shop where lots of my musician friends stop by.  Additionally, we have lots of friends from out
of town that ask for help booking shows and we’re of course going to go to
their shows too.
 © Ryan Collerd
Has it played a
large role in the history, sound or evolution of Lantern?
Emily:  Yeah, I think
everything influences my music.  That
question may be easier to answer in more detail when I have greater retrospect.
I hate to label
and classify music!  How would you
describe your sound to our readers who haven’t heard you yet?
Zach:  To keep things
simple, lately we just tell people that we are a Rock ‘N’ Roll band.
There are some
pretty obvious influences in your music but the more of it I listen to the more
hidden sounds and tricks I hear planted in the tunes.  Can you tell us who some of your major
musical influences are?  What about the
band as a whole rather than individually?
Emily:  We don’t try
necessarily to have hidden tricks really, they just work themselves in their
naturally.   The three of us like a lot
of the same music.  Zach and I are always
playing music for each other when we find a new band we like or some
inspirational material.  I like letting
Christian take control of the stereo when we’re on tour so I can hear some of
his latest interests.  We all enjoy the
classics like the Stones, The Beach Boys, The Kinks, The Beatles, Zeppelin, The
Who, etcetera.  We also love old soul and
pop like Motown, The Tammy’s, Spector, Ike and Tina, etcetera.  Then there’s the weird psych rock, folk
tracks, and prog from the 60’s and 70’s like Yes, Syd Barrett, Serge
Gainsbourg, Nico, Tomorrow.  Also, so
much Neil Young gets played in the car.
Let’s talk a
little bit about Lantern’s songwriting process. 
Is there a lot of jamming and ideas bouncing around at practice that get
refined into a song after a lot of exploration and experimentation or does
someone approach the rest of the band with a riff or more finalized version of
a song to work out with the rest of you?
Emily:  Usually either
Zach or I write a song on our own and bring it to the group.  We really don’t get to jam much with
Christian because when we’re with him, we’re either recording or touring, come
to think of it, maybe that’s why we jammed a lot live during our last
tour.  Sometimes Zach and I help each
other finish songs or one of us writes the lyrics and the other writes the
music.  For the most part, though, we
prefer privacy while writing.
While I think all
musicians enjoy the end product holding the music in your hand knowing it’s
yours and you made it, recording can be nerve wracking to say the least.  Do you all enjoy recording?  How is it in the studio with you all?
Emily:  I love
recording.  I think it’s really fun and
sometimes what I hear in the playback is totally different from how I felt we
played during the recording.  It just
goes to show that your conscience is always imposing itself.  I also like recording because I like
arranging and we do a lot of arranging in the studio.  For Rock ‘N’ Roll Rorschach in particular, it
was like the sessions were on speed!  We
only had four days booked in the studio to get it done so we really didn’t have
much time to play around with things. 
But there was something really cool about that too.  We couldn’t lose focus and we were in the
zone the whole time.
Does Lantern do a
lot of preparatory work before entering the studio or do you play it more
organically off of the cuff?
Emily:  It’s a mixture
of both.  Sometimes I’m finishing lyrics
during the session, which I’m not proud of, but I think I work best under
pressure.  “She’s A Rebel” and “The
Conjurer” were largely improvised on the spot. 
We had the chords and the lyrics but not much more, so we just went ahead
did a few takes.  I think we used the
second take of “She’s A Rebel” and the first take of “The Conjurer”; though I
could be wrong on those details. 
What are your
memories of recording your 2010 cassette EP Deliver Me From Nowhere… ?  When was that material recorded?  Who recorded it?  Where was it recorded?  What kind of equipment was used?
Zach:  It’s what would
become the first Lantern EP.  I was
adventuring into new territories.  I was
listening to a lot of weird blues at the time and I think that came out in my
music.  Most tracks were recorded by
myself on a 4-track with a SM57 and whatever guitar I had lying around.  There was one moment in the last song on the
tape which features a Beethoven quartet that I slowed down on tape.  Emily joined me on a couple of tracks on bass
and drums, but for the most part it was a solo venture as Emily was living in
the states at the time and I was still in Montreal.
Who released
Deliver Me From Nowhere…?  Was that
release limited?
Zach:  Deliver Me From
Nowhere was released on Electric Voice Records. 
I think it was a limited run of 100 tapes.  Sadly, I sold my artist copy so if you see
one lying on the floor in some record store or thrift shop, please buy it and
give it to me.                               
You followed
Deliver Me From Nowhere… with 2011’s 2-track EP American Razorwire cassette
on Craft Singles.  How did that release
come about?  Was the recording of those
tracks much different than the session work for Deliver Me From Nowhere…?
Zach:  Yes, those
tracks were recorded very differently than Deliver Me From Nowhere.  They were recorded by my friend Andy March of
Crosss and our current drummer Christian. 
Not to be confusing, Andy actually played drums on the two tracks.  Also, Alex Zhang Hyungtai played bass.  We did it in an afternoon, it was all very
improvised.  For “Devils Rope Revisited”
I just told Andy and Alex to hold their breath and expel it while playing as
fast and as loud as possible.  That led
into the song riff and I improvised the lyrics. 
Everything was live off the floor.
Was American
Razorwire limited?  Is that still in
print?  What does American Razorwire
mean?
Zach:  It was a
limited release of 100 on cassette. 
American Razorwire was inspired by all the razorwire I saw when driving
around the states.  It stood out to me
because there isn’t much razorwire in Canada. 
Also, Emily told me about a barbed wire museum somewhere in Texas called
the Devil’s Rope Museum that she had recently visited.
From what I understand
2011’s Stranger I Come. Stranger I Leave was the first album to feature the
current full lineup of the band.  How did
you approach songwriting for Stranger I Come compared to the earlier
recordings?  Was it very different than
the early recordings or was writing with the band just kind of a natural
progression?
Emily:  It was
definitely a natural progression.  The
full band was together, this was when Sophie was in the band, and we recorded
it live in our studio.  We used a 4-track
and maybe a couple of mics that we borrowed from our neighbor.  Basically it was the template for the next
couple of releases we did.
Who released
Stranger I Come. Stranger I Leave?  Was
that release limited?  What does the
album title refer to?
Zach:  Night People released
it.  Again, it was limited to 100
copies.  I was reading a biography on Lee
Scratch Perry and I misinterpreted a song title and liked the way it sounded in
my head, so I went with it for the EP title.
Lantern Summer EP
2011 supposed to be released as part of a split with The Ether on Electric
Voice, I know the material is available on your Bandcamp page but was that
material ever physically released?
Emily:  It was
released physically as a cassette on Electric Voice Records as a split with our
friends The Ether.  We also made a few
CD’s of our tracks to sell on tour; that’s what we called the Summer EP.
Can you tell us
about the recording of the material for that Lantern Summer EP 2011?
Emiliy:  It was
basically the same process as Stranger I Come Stranger I Leave.  But it was springtime so it wasn’t as
freezing cold in our studio.  Maybe
that’s why it has a lighter vibe.
Later in 2011 you
released your first 7” single, I Don’t Know. 
Can you tell us about the recording of that material?  When was it recorded?  Who recorded it?  Where was it recorded?  What kind of equipment was used?
Emily:  We recorded
that in our studio ourselves in the spring of 2011.  We really didn’t have any tools except a
couple of SM-57’s a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder and again, maybe a couple
of borrowed mics.  Our studio was just a
big open room.  We overdubbed the
vocals.  Everything’s bleeding into
everything else and is totally blown out. 
It was the sound of that era of Lantern.
I know that I Don’t Know single was limited, how many
pieces was it limited to and who put it out?
Emily:  It was put out
on Mammoth Cave Records as a run of 300. 
I think they still have some.
In 2012 you
followed up the I Don’t Know 7” with your first compilation, a collection of
unreleased music recorded between 2009 and 2011 entitled Burned Youth,
originally issued as a tour only cassette. 
Do you have a lot of unreleased music in the proverbial “vaults” that
hasn’t seen the light of day yet?  How
did you go about selecting the tracks for Burned Youth?  Can you give us some background on where
those tracks came from and were recorded?
Zach:  We have a few
things.  We are working on finishing up
an EP that is largely made up of extra cuts from the Rock ‘N’ Roll Rorschach
sessions.  Some of the tracks are from my
first band Omon Ra and were recorded in Nova Scotia.  Some were recorded in Montreal and intended
for our band Omon Ra II and still others were recorded in the early years of
Lantern.  It’s funny, we’ve never played
any of the Burned Youth material live, yet it’s our best-selling release.  We’ve never desired to play those songs
because we feel like we’ve moved on.
Who released the
Burned Youth tape?  I know it was a
limited release, how many cassettes were made?
Zach:  Originally we
dubbed a few copies on tape to sell while on tour.  Shawn of Night People Records heard the tape
and liked it so he released a run of 100 cassettes.
After taking a few
months off 2012 saw your “loose concept” EP, Dream Mine.  Can you tell us a little bit about the “loose
concept” of Dream Mine?
Zach:  I realized when
I began assembling the tracks for Dream Mine, that the collection of songs was
very dark.  I had also recorded a theme
for an imaginary cyber-punk movie that, originally, wasn’t intended for the
EP.  But as the EP materialized, I
thought the cyber-punk theme really suited it. 
So I included the theme song and created the stark vibe of the EP around
it.
How was the
recording of that material handled?  Was
it much different than your earlier cassette tape or single releases?
Zach:  The cyber-punk
theme was composed on Ableton.  It was
really just a musical doodle that I thought sounded cool.  “Fool’s Gold” and “Devil’s Rope Revisited” are
both sound collages.  I manipulated tape
recordings of Lantern jams, slowed them down, sped them up, reversed them,
etcetera.  The remaining songs were
recorded raw as hell with a 4-track cassette machine.  
Who released Dream
Mine?  Was that release limited?  Is it still in print?
Emily:  Bathetic
Records released Dream Mine.  Jon Hency
has since become a good friend of ours and his label is doing really well.  The tapes sold out pretty quickly, I think he
did 100.
You released your
second 7” earlier this year with one of my absolutely favorite, and I think one
of the last real, independent labels out there, Goodbye Boozy.  I’ve talked with him several times and not
only does he have impeccable taste in music but Gabriele seems like a super
cool guy.  How did you get hooked up with
Goodbye Boozy?  How was working with
Gabriele?
Emily:  Working with
Gabrielle was great.  He just e-mailed us
one day asking if we’d like for Goodbye Boozy to release a 7”.  We were in the process of recording our
full-length and he said he liked the sound of those songs so we recorded a
couple more and sent them over.  I’m not
sure how he heard of us, but I’m glad he did!
Was the material
for your Goodbye Boozy single, Mr. Mars b/w Rock ‘N’ Roll Music recorded in a
similar fashion to your previous releases or did you try anything different?
Zach:  I think of
those songs as part of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Rorschach sessions.  They were both recorded with Jeff Zeigler at
Uniform Recording and the B-Side was originally going to be on the LP.  It featured a couple of different instruments
like sax and piano that we hadn’t used much in previous recordings.  Also, this was when Emily started writing for
the band, so the songwriting was more of a collaborative effort.
After seven
cassette tape releases and two singles you released your debut album earlier
this year (2013), Rock ‘N’ Roll Rorschach. 
Being your first album on vinyl, did you go about the recording or
writing of this album any differently? 
When was it recorded?  Where was
it recorded?  Who recorded it?  What kind of equipment was used?
Emily:  It marked a
new direction for us.  It was basically
our first time working in a studio with an engineer.  Also, we had a new drummer coming onto the
project.  Going into the sessions, we
knew we had limited time; four days, and Christian would only be with us for
three.  Lantern usually works on the spot
and improvises a lot, but we felt that we needed to be prepared for the
sessions so we recorded demos beforehand; that was a first.  As for the equipment, the bed tracks were
recorded to a 16-track tape machine.  We
mostly used our Strat, though Jeff gave me a Kay and a Hagstrom hollowbody for
“She’s a Rebel” and “The Conjurer” respectively.  We used a Vox AC30 and a Bassman for guitar
amps.  I think we used an Ampeg B-15
(like Motown) for the bass amp all the way through.
Who released Rock
‘N’ Roll Rorschach?  I know it’s limited,
how many copies are there?
Zach:  Sophomore
Lounge released 500 copies in the USA. 
Cardinal Fuzz is releasing it this week (October 14th) in the UK.  They’re pressing 500 vinyl, some are gold,
and 200 CD’s which feature bonus tracks.
On your Bandcamp
page there’s a recording from Glasslands in 2011 with members of both Dirty
Beaches and Lantern playing together. 
How did that collaboration come about? 
It was originally released as a tour only cassette but has been long
since out of print.  Are there any plans
for this material other than offering it digitally online?
Zach:  We don’t have
plans to release it again.  I’ve known
Alex since Omon Ra, we both put out records on the Montreal label Fixture.  Alex has collaborated with many different
artists and we jumped at the opportunity when he asked us to work with
him.  We joined him for one show at
Glasslands.
Emily:  It was mostly
improvised.  We got together the night
before and came up with some riffs and just went with the vibe when we were
onstage.  Alex and Zach opened it with an
eight-minute long Maggot-Brain inspired jam and then Sophie and I joined in
with a really dancy, driving rhythm.  The
rest is hard to remember.  It’s safe to
say we were all pretty drunk.
Has Lantern released
any music that we haven’t talked about?
Emily:  No.  This has been very, thorough…
Are there any
plans for any other releases, maybe a single or some other morsel to follow-up
the album?  What about re-releasing or
making any of the material from your numerous out of print cassette releases
available?
Zach:  Yes!  We are currently finishing up some recordings
to be released as an EP.  The tracks are
largely made up of extras from the Rock ‘N’ Roll Rorschach sessions.
Where’s the best
place for US readers to pick up copies of your music?
Zach:  Order it online
from Sophomore Lounge or ask for it at your local record store.  Digitally, you can order it from our website
(www.lantern.bandcamp.com) or from any major digital distributor.
With the recent
international postage rate increase what about international and overseas
readers?
Zach:  Order it from
Cardinal Fuzz!
Where’s the best
place for our readers to keep up with the latest news like upcoming album
releases and shows at from Lantern?
Zach:  Our blog
http://www.lntrn.tumblr.com, our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/lanternusa) or
our twitter page @lanternusa.  We also
have a mailing list, if you want to be on it just email us at
lanternusa@gmail.com.
What do you have
planned as far as touring goes for the rest of the year?
Emily:  No plans yet,
just tentative ideas.  We’ve toured a lot
in the last year and we want to take a little break from touring to focus on
writing for our next record.
You have played
with some awesome bands, who are some of your personal favorites that you’ve
had a chance to share a bill with?
Emily:  We’ve played
with tons of awesome bands, it’s impossible to name them all.  Going back to our first tour we played with
Night Beats in Seattle.  That was really
fun.  We also played with Cave on that
same tour.  More recently we’ve played
with a strange and intense band called Guilt from Halifax and an awesomely
weird band called Rabbit Rabbit from Northampton.  Thee Open Sex is another.  Pissed Jeans was a highlight; we played their
record release show in Philly.  We played
a Philly show with White Fence and Woods a while back while back as well.  The list goes on. 
Who are you on
tour with in your dreams?
Zach:  Since we are
talking dreams, it would be awesome to have toured with the likes of say, The
Jimi Hendrix Experience, Sly And The Family Stone, Funkadelic, or Fela Kuti on
their heyday.  It would be amazing to see
that sort of energy night after night.
Emily:  Patti Smith.
Do you have any
funny or interesting stories from live shows or performances that you’d like to
share with our readers?
Zach:  We really love
playing this small town in North Carolina called Boone.  We’ve played there three times in the last
year at a burrito joint, turned rock venue at night.  This real nice guy Devon Tuttle books a lot
of the shows down there.  On this
particular night the PA was giving us a lot of trouble and all our gear was
going to shit.  Fortunately, the sound
there sucks so it didn’t matter anyway. 
The set disintegrated.  We were no
longer strumming our guitars or playing a discernible rhythm.  The set turned into a game of dodgeball but
instead of rubber balls it was beer cans. 
At our first show in Boone there was a fight, someone puked on the floor
and somebody else rolled in it; never a dull time in that quaint mountain town.   
With all of the
various mediums to release music available to musicians today I’m always
curious why artists choose the specific ones that they do.  You have released several cassettes at this
point ha- ha, along with several slabs of vinyl.  Why cassettes?  They seem to be making a comeback these
days.  Do you have a preferred medium
when releasing your music?  What about
when you are purchasing music?
Emily:  I always
choose vinyl first because you can hold it in your hands, look at the art and
read the liner notes.  It’s more special
than a MP3 that gets lost on your computer. 
I prefer releasing music on vinyl because it sounds so good.  Tapes are just simple, they don’t sound that
good but they’re less annoying to handle than CD’s as they don’t get scratched.
Do you have a
music collection at all?  If so can you
tell us about it?
Emily:  Yes, we have a
modest vinyl collection and a few tapes and CD’s full of good stuff.  Lots of rock ‘n’ roll in its various
incarnations.  Plus we have lots of
current music that we get through trades or labels, etcetera.  I’m excited to look back on our collection
when I’m older and rediscover all the bands of the twenty-teens that were on
the scene at the same time as Lantern. 
I’m sure some will have faded into obscurity and hopefully some will
have “made it”, whatever that means. 
I am a sucker for
a good record, or a single, or a tape, or a DVD.  Hell if it’s got good music on it I probably
have a way to play it sitting somewhere in my living room!  It’s kind of an obsession of mine.  Having something to hold in your hands, liner
notes and artwork to look at, they all make for a more complete listening
experience; a glimpse inside the mind of the artists who released it, at least
for me.  Do you have any such connection
with physical releases?
Zach:  Yes.  I love reading in depth liner notes
especially when they have detailed descriptions about who played on the tracks
and what was involved with making the record. 
I believe that good records are a sum of their parts and almost all the
records I like have good artwork.
Like I said I love
my music collection.  I have tapes, CDs,
7”s, 10”s and 12”s all around the house with some DVDs, VHS and yes some
laserdisc stuff that I’ve picked up over the years, but I can’t take them on
the go with me.  Digital music has
revolutionized the music industry for better or worse and things are changing
constantly and quickly.  As an artist in
the reign of the digital era how do you feel about digital music and
distribution?
Zach:  I think digital
music is great.  Artists have the
potential to reach the whole world as an audience.  It’s also a very inexpensive way to
distribute music.  Websites such as
Bandcamp allow artists to connect directly with their fans.  And while we (Lantern) haven’t made a fortune
off of our website, it has allowed us to make a little extra cash.
Emily:  I agree.  And the music industry today certainly isn’t
what it used to be.  There isn’t much
money backing smaller independent acts. 
MP3’s make it possible for these artists to get their music out into the
world without it costing a fortune.
I try to keep up
with as much music as I can and there’s nowhere better to get good
recommendations on who you should be listening to than from artists that you
already like.  I find that I share a lot
of tastes in common with people and they recommend me to some of the best and
different music that I listen to in fact. 
So, who should I be listening to from your local scene or area that I
might not have heard of before?
Zach:  Proexibitors
are really cool.  They sound like a Joy
Division meets ESG kind of thing.
Emily:  Amanda X and
Spacin’ are both awesome shows to see.
What about
nationally and internationally?
Emily:  The Promised
Land Sound is a band from Nashville that just released a record on the Philly
label Paradise of Bachelors.  I recently
listened to them for the first time and have really been loving their
music.  Also I think Angel Olsen is an
amazing artist and I like Goat too!
Zach:  The Hills from
Sweden are really cool, they just released a record on Cardinal Fuzz.  And Offset Spectacles from China put out a
really great self-titled record, though I think the band may be retired.  I really like Guilt and Ultrathin too,
they’re some friends of ours from Canada.
Thanks so much for
taking part in the interview I know it was extensive to say the least,
ha-ha!  Is there anything that I missed
or that you’d just like to talk about?
Emily:  Thanks to you
too!  I think my brain is fried 😉
Zach:  Ditto.        
DISCOGRAPHY
(2010)  Lantern –
Deliver Me From Nowhere… – EP – Cassette – Electric Voice
(2011)  Lantern –
American Razor Wire – Cassette – Craft Singles
(2011)  Lantern –
Stranger I Come. Stranger I Leave. – Cassette – Night-People
(2011)  Lantern – I
Don’t Know – 7″ – Mammoth Cave Recording Company
(2011)  Lantern –
Lantern Summer EP – CD-R – Self-Released – Mean Streets (also released as a
side of a split with The Ether on Electric Voice Records)
(2011)  Live at
Glasslands w/ Dirty Beaches – Mean Streets (Alex also self-released this as a
CD-R)
(2012) (2011)  Lantern – Dream Mine
– Cassette – Bathetic
(2012)  Lantern –
Burned Youth (Unreleased Songs 2009-2011) – Cassette – Mean Streets as a tour
tape in 2011 and then re-released by Night-People in 2012 (Not really Lantern
but came out as such)
(2013)  Lantern – Rock
‘N’ Roll Rorschach – 12” – (US) Sophomore Lounge (UK) Cardinal Fuzz (Cardinal
Fuzz Edition of 350 black vinyl and 150 on black vinyl + CD Version with bonus
tracks)
© Matt Marlin
Interview made by Roman Rathert/2013
© Copyright http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2013
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