Tag: pop

Interview With:: Plaid Brixx

We recently interviewed Plaid Brixx to discuss where the band name came from, their upcoming EP and their ideal dream tour. The electro-pop/rock band out of Columbus, Ohio will be releasing their EP on July 8th!
First off, please introduce yourself and tell us what you do in the band.
I’m Chris Duggan, nice to meet you. I’m the main songwriter and producer for the band and I play lead guitar and sing lead vocals..

You guys have only been a band for about a year. How did you guys form and where did the name Plaid Brixx come from?
We used to play together in high school before any of us were really very good. We were basically children writing dumb songs about Tibetan yetis. It’s nice playing with Mark, Cole and Andrew because they are amazing musicians and great guys to be around. Mark’s drumming is ridiculously fun to watch, Cole walks around the scales because he loves funky grooves even though we play pop rock, and Andrew is one of the best keyboard players I have ever had the pleasure of hearing, let alone jamming with daily.

The name came from a weird idea I got one day. I thought it would be very cool to see a brick wall made out of plaid bricks, then everyone thought that plaid bricks sounded cool, so we went with a variation of that as the band name.

You guys just put out your new single “Chemistry” this week and will be releasing your debut EP next month. What kind of experience are you hoping fans walk away with after listening to the EP?
We are of course hoping people connect with our music and love listening to it. We hope they walk away feeling great about finding a new band that they like and want to hear more.

For those that aren’t familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?
Pop with a razor’s edge of rock and an aftershave of punk.

Which song off your debut EP are you most excited for fans to hear and why?
We are most excited about the title track “Chemistry” because we feel it represents our music well, but “Heartbreaker” is a pretty addicting “dancey” track.

If Plaid Brixx could create a dream tour, who would be on it and what would it be called?
Our dream tour would be with Blink-182 and Green Day. I actually saw them play together when I was in 5th grade and it blew my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I would love to be opening for them one day. I guess that dream never went away. I think it would be called the Dirty Mouth tour. Have you ever heard their stage banter?

What can we expect next from Plaid Brixx, other than the EP release?
We are going to continue performing locally in Columbus, OH and we are in the early stages of booking some regional shows. We also have some opportunities to perform in NYC and LA in the near future. We are also polishing up more material for a full-length album to be released in early 2015.

Thanks for your time! Anything else you’d like to add?
We are hard-working fellas trying to get heard by as many people as possible because we are pretty confident people will like our music if they give it a chance to hear it! Thanks to all of our fans so far, and thanks for your interest and support, Lucy!

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For more on Plaid Brixx: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Show Review:: Tauk 4/11

Tauk & Mr. F
Red Square – Albany, NY
Friday, April 11th 2014

Capturing an audience’s attention can be a difficult task, especially for an opener. Because it’s usually a safe bet to say that the crowd isn’t there for you, and you’re standing in between them and the band they came to see. When you combine this with a small stage in the back of a bar and a late show, it could be a potential disaster. Potential.

Or, for Tauk, it could be a wild success, and another notch in their growing popularity.

Opening for Mr. F, who were releasing their newest record that night, Tauk set the pace of the night wonderfully. Whether those in attendance had heard of the group before or not (or were aware of their lack of vocals or not), it didn’t take long for them to become fans. The small-capacity room became steadily packed, nearly filling up by their set’s halfway point.

Like I said before, sometimes it can be hard to gather a room’s attention. But if you have some catchy lyrics that can be learned quickly, the crowd can join in on a chorus or two. However, as an instrumental band, the guys in Tauk don’t have that luxury.

Then again, based on crowd reactions and the feel of the room, the New York quartet didn’t seem too concerned. During their forty minutes on stage, the group rumbled through a near-endless set, picking up steam the entire way and coming to a close on the receiving end of roars of applause.

Friday’s show was one that I nearly had to miss due to a scheduling conflict. But, when some things fell through, my night opened up. And with that, I was lucky enough to watch a band that is doing some seriously great things. With their unique blend of pop, jazz, funk, and old rock n’ roll, Tauk has created their own brand of musical fusion that shouldn’t be missed.

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Photos and written by Eric Riley