The band will be celebrating the release of the new EP this Saturday, July 30th at The Loving Touch. We have never had the chance to talk to the band in the past, so I reached out and asked them to introduce themselves to our readers. Read our short interview with Johanna Champagne, Steve Thoel, Angie Kaiser and Joe Sausser to learn more about the band and head up to the LT this Saturday to catch the band live!
HID-Why did you choose to book your EP Release party at the Loving Touch?
JS- "They have a great sound system, and we’re always happy with the way things get mixed there for other shows we’ve seen as well."
Jo C- "The Loving Touch has great energy. Some of our favorite shows that we have played have been there. We are pretty comfortable there, and we know what to expect, so it made sense for us to have our release show there."
HID- Why did you ask Tart, Belterra and Wuxia to play?
JS- "Tart & Belterra both put on exciting shows. We’ve played with Tart before and knew we wanted them to be a part of our release since then. We all saw Kelsey (Belterra) perform at the Hamtramck Music Festival, and loved the way his live show is performed with a mix of synths and guitar all on his own. It’s impressive. Wuxia is a new band formed from members of another band we’ve been hoping to play with for a while (Haunted House). We just heard the first official recordings from them, and it’s crazy good. Really looking forward to watching them."
Jo C- "Tart and Belterra are two of my favorite local bands. We know some of the members of Wuxia, and even though we hadn't heard them yet, we knew that they would be incredible. I just heard some of their stuff off bandcamp and my mind was blown. So, so good. We also wanted a bit of a theme for our show, so we were looking fordarker bands with an electronic feel."
AK- "We wanted to invite bands that have a similar sound to what we are doing. We are all big fans of each of the bands we invited to play our show."
HID- Where was the music video for "White Jacket" filmed?
JS- "We spent a weekend with the director (Dan DeMaggio) filming at a bunch of different spots. Some of it didn’t end up in the actual video so we’ve been using it for some other videos regarding the release show. The bulk of the White Jacket footage was actually shot in Dan’s attic space and
Jo’s house."
HID- Why did you choose this song to be the first song off the EP?
JS- "It was a tough choice. We didn’t agree on it for a while, but in the end we decided that this was the one that best encapsulated the mood of the whole EP."
Jo C- "I wanted to come out with a bang with one of our jumpier/dancier songs. This song is actually our newest one off the EP, and seems to be the direction we are heading with new material. I like aggressive music that you can dance to, and sometimes that is hard to find. So, I suppose, we are
writing what we want to listen to."
AK- "WJ is a great song with a lot of energy. Out of all of our songs, WJ just seemed like the one that should have a video associated with it. I also think it is a good representation of our overall sound."
ST- "White Jacket was the last song to be written for the EP. It's different in that we used more modern synth tones than we had used on some of the other songs. Those tones made the song much more aggressive. It took a while to balance the feel of the synths, guitars and live drums. But once it was finished, we realized that if we had to choose a song that represents what we are doing now, and the direction of new material, this is it."
HID- Where was the new EP recorded and who did you work with in the studio?
JS- "We recorded with Zach Shipps at his studio, Rancho Verde (RV audio lab). He’s seriously a master. Steve and I have recorded with him in two very different projects, and couldn’t be happier with the results we’ve gotten both times. He’s super helpful, accommodating, and patient as well as just being really good as both a sound engineer and producer."
ST- "Zach really helped us look at these songs under a different light. He kept reminding us that while we were making dancey, synth-based songs, we didn't have to be afraid of of adding some "dirt"."
HID- Where did the band name Siamese come from?
JS- "Hopefully Jo can answer this one. I joined the band after the name was chosen. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s about cats."
Jo C- "This band was formed originally from people who had worked together in other bands. So it seemed somewhat like a siamese twin band. Steve and I worked together in FUR, and Steve and Joe are also members of The Savage Seven. Lately, though, I have been thinking of the name to more mean two sides of the same person... Having opposing emotions/opinions about something."
HID-What local bands have you been listening to?
JS- "Aside from the bands playing our release, I listen to Against the Grain a lot. Those dudes rip. Arc Pelt just put out 3 songs that blew my mind. The new Fawnn record is great!"
Jo C- "Arc Pelt is incredible, they are brand new. I'm a huge huge huge fan of Alexis out of Grand Rapids... that has to be one of my favorite local-ish bands of all time. I also honestly love the bands playing our show, and I'm not just saying that - it's why we asked them."
AK- "Arc Pelt, Tart, The Messenger Birds."
ST- "Dear Darkness, Market, Wuxia's demo on repeat."
HID- What's next for the band?
Jo C- "We are looking to start playing more shows in the area, and putting together a small tour in the near future."
~S
AK- "We wanted to invite bands that have a similar sound to what we are doing. We are all big fans of each of the bands we invited to play our show."
HID- Where was the music video for "White Jacket" filmed?
JS- "We spent a weekend with the director (Dan DeMaggio) filming at a bunch of different spots. Some of it didn’t end up in the actual video so we’ve been using it for some other videos regarding the release show. The bulk of the White Jacket footage was actually shot in Dan’s attic space and
Jo’s house."
HID- Why did you choose this song to be the first song off the EP?
JS- "It was a tough choice. We didn’t agree on it for a while, but in the end we decided that this was the one that best encapsulated the mood of the whole EP."
Jo C- "I wanted to come out with a bang with one of our jumpier/dancier songs. This song is actually our newest one off the EP, and seems to be the direction we are heading with new material. I like aggressive music that you can dance to, and sometimes that is hard to find. So, I suppose, we are
writing what we want to listen to."
AK- "WJ is a great song with a lot of energy. Out of all of our songs, WJ just seemed like the one that should have a video associated with it. I also think it is a good representation of our overall sound."
ST- "White Jacket was the last song to be written for the EP. It's different in that we used more modern synth tones than we had used on some of the other songs. Those tones made the song much more aggressive. It took a while to balance the feel of the synths, guitars and live drums. But once it was finished, we realized that if we had to choose a song that represents what we are doing now, and the direction of new material, this is it."
HID- Where was the new EP recorded and who did you work with in the studio?
JS- "We recorded with Zach Shipps at his studio, Rancho Verde (RV audio lab). He’s seriously a master. Steve and I have recorded with him in two very different projects, and couldn’t be happier with the results we’ve gotten both times. He’s super helpful, accommodating, and patient as well as just being really good as both a sound engineer and producer."
ST- "Zach really helped us look at these songs under a different light. He kept reminding us that while we were making dancey, synth-based songs, we didn't have to be afraid of of adding some "dirt"."
HID- Where did the band name Siamese come from?
JS- "Hopefully Jo can answer this one. I joined the band after the name was chosen. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s about cats."
Jo C- "This band was formed originally from people who had worked together in other bands. So it seemed somewhat like a siamese twin band. Steve and I worked together in FUR, and Steve and Joe are also members of The Savage Seven. Lately, though, I have been thinking of the name to more mean two sides of the same person... Having opposing emotions/opinions about something."
HID-What local bands have you been listening to?
JS- "Aside from the bands playing our release, I listen to Against the Grain a lot. Those dudes rip. Arc Pelt just put out 3 songs that blew my mind. The new Fawnn record is great!"
Jo C- "Arc Pelt is incredible, they are brand new. I'm a huge huge huge fan of Alexis out of Grand Rapids... that has to be one of my favorite local-ish bands of all time. I also honestly love the bands playing our show, and I'm not just saying that - it's why we asked them."
AK- "Arc Pelt, Tart, The Messenger Birds."
ST- "Dear Darkness, Market, Wuxia's demo on repeat."
HID- What's next for the band?
Jo C- "We are looking to start playing more shows in the area, and putting together a small tour in the near future."
Doors for the show open at 8 p.m. this Saturday and cover is only $5 at the door. Put on your dancing shoes and support local music this weekend!
~S
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