This series of blogs is called IN PASSING, and in it I'll be interviewing bands/artists I love and trying to shed further light (in the small ways I can) on their music and give anyone who may come across this a reason to listen to them. I want to focus on smaller music that deserves more attention than it gets. All blogs in this series will include an unabridged (yet slightly edited) interview with the artists and a small write-up from me. As always, send music, shows, suggestions for artist interviews, and anything ever that you want to talk about or see covered to [ fosterhildingmusic@gmail.com ] or DM me on Instagram.
In February of 2024, Cheyenne and I got to interview our dear, talented, and multi-faceted friend Kiva Rasband for our radio show, The Local Shampoo.
Since Cheyenne and I both asked questions and made a few comments here and there--my lines will be left-justified and hers will be right-justified.
You're quite involved in the music scene in Arizona. You want to talk about what you do?
I play drums and do vocals for Washed, and I do some work for Dead Mothers Collective, and I played drums for Toothache.
What projects are you working on right now or excited to work on in the future?
Lately I am living and breathing Washed. Music is the biggest thing that I'm doing right now. I try to do some solo stuff when I can, but it usually doesn't matter even a little bit. Right now, Washed is my big thing. We're getting ready to do some crazy stuff that will be announced in the near future. It's my thing, man. Washed is my thing for real. We have a show in Flagstaff for the first time in a long time, and then Dead Mothers, we have a couple of shows coming up that we're going to go and record and interview and whatever. I'm really excited because we just recorded and interviewed Alex Kent, Sylvie Simmons, August Eliason, and Jonathan Atchley down in California, and that stuff is really cool and the recordings are going to be really cool. It's going to be different from what most people expect from Dead Mothers, so I'm excited for that.
What does your solo project look like for you and where do you see that going?
What's really funny about that is I have no idea. I don't know if I want it to be a collaborative thing or if I want it to be like, "I'm going to write all of these parts and I'm going to tell you to just do it." Everything is starting with bass and vocals, and then there might be some people that collaborate from projects that you are familiar with if you're in the Flag scene, but I have no idea. Honestly, there are like 12 songs that I've done that I just haven't done anything with. I don't know if I will.
What makes the constant uphill battle of DIY worth it?
I have really mixed feelings about the DIY music scene in general. I'm a really firm believer that you have to cut your teeth, no matter what you're doing--if you're a musician, producer, venue, journalist, like you have to DIY for so long and really prove that you care enough to be given a space. But, at the same time, I've had some really unfortunate experiences in the DIY scene with bands and venues and producers and at a certain point, DIY feels like a really easy scapegoat for people to just be the worst and be like, "We're DIY, we're just learning this as we go." So is everyone. It's just really easy to distinguish between the people that are actually doing it themselves because they care enough to do it without resources versus the people that do it themselves because they don't want checks and balances in place.
Overrated artists or bands?
I don't know about bands, but two areas that are making me want to pull out my hair are the shoegaze and emo revival that are going on in Arizona specifically. People are using those genres and the fact that there's a bunch of hype behind them right now to just get in and ride the wave. I've seen so many just mid as hell emo and shoegaze bands that I don't want to see. It's just funny because if you look in other genres like hip-hop, hardcore, indie, rock, like those bands haven't really had deaths and revivals the way that shoegaze and emo have--specifically I'm speaking about in my local scene. There've always been hardcore bands, there've always been hip-hop people, there've always been indie rock bands. All those bands that aren't part of these new waves, they're either big because they've been around for a really long time or because they're actually pretty good. But, there's a lot of emo and shoegaze bands that are big because they are emo or shoegaze. It's really infuriating because I'm a big fan of both those genres, but I'm also a huge hater of both of those genres for that particular reason because there's such a saturation right now in Arizona.
I think there is an enormous influx of those genres being blended. You look at Citizen or Title Fight or even Narrow Head and there's a lot of that. The TikTokification of both. There's a lot of that going on that contributes to so much of what we're seeing in our local scene right now. Since Vs Self blew up, it's like a new thing. We're starting a new movement of emo and a lot of followers come with that--just trying to not do anything new, but do the same thing.
I think you've got to give your flowers to Vs Self, Aren't We Amphibians, Cenöbite, Seahorse Choke because they have been doing it for longer and there is a reason that those are bigger bands. And, I'm talking about Cenöbite completely separate from journal. But, I go to a lot of shows, Flagstaff and Phoenix, where I see bands basically just be like, "Well, here's my Cenöbite cover. Here's my Seahorsechoke cover. Here's my Vs Self cover." It's just all rip-offs.
It makes everything feel so stagnant, even though it is such a fluid and moving scene at all times. The stuff on the surface, the stuff that gets so much credit and so much time on the stage is the same.
It makes it harder to listen to the original bands, too. I'm just sick of hearing this every time I go to a show in Arizona.
I think I was in a bit of an echo-chamber at that time where I was friends with a lot of people that were in hardcore and had been in hardcore for a really long time. I just happened to make friends in high school that had been in that scene forever, so in my perspective, hardcore has been around this entire time. They haven't been as popular, but they've been doing shows, in Arizona specifically.
Yeah, absolutely Nyle. Nyle has been, from the moment I met him, one of the most inspirational people in the world, and talk about witnessing people sucking in the DIY space and being just screwed over a billion times over and never really giving up and being the difference. When he sees something that he doesn't like about the scene, he changes it himself and he has been ridiculously influential for me. Even when Washed gets asked to play a show, I will literally run it by Nyle, not that I think that's a good thing to do. He's really taken me under his wing as far as sound engineering and recording goes and everything I know about that is because of Nyle.
We did this mini tour with Taciturn, tokillafly, and Seahorsechoke and played at the BCC in Tucson. That was a really awesome show just because the venue itself was really awesome, like everything right about DIY. Beyond that, after our last show in Phoenix, we played this, secret show under a bridge and very few people were there. We played very different songs, specifically this one song that we don't ever play live except for the most special occasions. We had a big fallout with the generator that we were supposed to run, and all these people saying that they were going to do all this stuff and then not doing it. Then all these random people came out of the woodwork, journal pulled through because we had a band fall out, and played and I couldn't think of anyone better. And this dude, Killian, just showed up with a generator immediately and was there to help us. We played some crazy stuff and it was just a really emotional set. My favorite thing about Washed is how heavy it is and how crazy we're able to go, but then completely shifting gears and being really emotional and vulnerable. No matter how heavy we are, it's always going to be a vulnerable thing, but completely stripping away the sound and the sonic space that I usually hide behind was really cool.
What is your favorite release or project that you have helped create?
Everything I was saying earlier about the things I don't like about the scene, about genres and whatever. A lot of those bands are kids and it's the first thing they've ever done. I think it's really cool to do anything. There are a lot of bands that might not be my favorite bands that people love. Some of the bands that I don't like, everyone unanimously likes them way more than anything that I've ever done musically, so I'm not the authority by any means. You should be out there, you should be making music. Anyone can do it. You don't have to be a musician to contribute to the scene, either. People that just go to shows and talk about music and work for venues and labels, home production. That stuff is all really, really important. Just because you're in a band doesn't mean you're better than someone who's not.
A lot of the tangentially music-related people don't give enough credit for what they do. Obviously Nyle's in music, but the stuff he's doing outside of that...
Even if he wasn't in Taciturn, he'd be such a keystone in the scene.
In February of 2024, Cheyenne and I got to interview our dear, talented, and multi-faceted friend Kiva Rasband for our radio show, The Local Shampoo.
Since Cheyenne and I both asked questions and made a few comments here and there--my lines will be left-justified and hers will be right-justified.
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| photos courtesy of Kiva. |
You're quite involved in the music scene in Arizona. You want to talk about what you do?
I play drums and do vocals for Washed, and I do some work for Dead Mothers Collective, and I played drums for Toothache.
What projects are you working on right now or excited to work on in the future?
Lately I am living and breathing Washed. Music is the biggest thing that I'm doing right now. I try to do some solo stuff when I can, but it usually doesn't matter even a little bit. Right now, Washed is my big thing. We're getting ready to do some crazy stuff that will be announced in the near future. It's my thing, man. Washed is my thing for real. We have a show in Flagstaff for the first time in a long time, and then Dead Mothers, we have a couple of shows coming up that we're going to go and record and interview and whatever. I'm really excited because we just recorded and interviewed Alex Kent, Sylvie Simmons, August Eliason, and Jonathan Atchley down in California, and that stuff is really cool and the recordings are going to be really cool. It's going to be different from what most people expect from Dead Mothers, so I'm excited for that.
What does your solo project look like for you and where do you see that going?
What's really funny about that is I have no idea. I don't know if I want it to be a collaborative thing or if I want it to be like, "I'm going to write all of these parts and I'm going to tell you to just do it." Everything is starting with bass and vocals, and then there might be some people that collaborate from projects that you are familiar with if you're in the Flag scene, but I have no idea. Honestly, there are like 12 songs that I've done that I just haven't done anything with. I don't know if I will.
I've never really taken solo stuff seriously. Primarily I play the drums and that is my primary instrument, but I started with guitar and it just was never anything. Then I was in Toothache and then I was in Washed and now I'm starting to do solo stuff on the bass... it's just completely unfamiliar territory for me. I have songs written on the acoustic guitar that are just horrific and don't matter, but now being someone that's been making music for some time... I don't know how to and I just pee my pants every day.
Toothache was really cool because it was collaborative the entire time, and I wasn't going around town posting like, "If anyone needs a drummer, let me know." You and Brighton were just looking for a drummer and so I played a tiny bit but never took it seriously, so whatever I'll learn. From the jump, everything I've been involved in has been super collaborative, which is really awesome. But, I think after having been doing it for some time, it's hard not to get your own vision of things. I would say that's one of the biggest challenges--working as a team, and in Washed, everyone has their own vision. Typically, I would say the drummer is the last person to have a vision for a song and to have that be important, but I have a lot of opinions and feelings all of the time. It's hard to point to one shift. I think it's just every single song with every single project is completely different and case by case. It's never not really uncomfortable.
How has your approach to music changed through the projects that you've been a part of?
Toothache was really cool because it was collaborative the entire time, and I wasn't going around town posting like, "If anyone needs a drummer, let me know." You and Brighton were just looking for a drummer and so I played a tiny bit but never took it seriously, so whatever I'll learn. From the jump, everything I've been involved in has been super collaborative, which is really awesome. But, I think after having been doing it for some time, it's hard not to get your own vision of things. I would say that's one of the biggest challenges--working as a team, and in Washed, everyone has their own vision. Typically, I would say the drummer is the last person to have a vision for a song and to have that be important, but I have a lot of opinions and feelings all of the time. It's hard to point to one shift. I think it's just every single song with every single project is completely different and case by case. It's never not really uncomfortable.
What makes the constant uphill battle of DIY worth it?
I have really mixed feelings about the DIY music scene in general. I'm a really firm believer that you have to cut your teeth, no matter what you're doing--if you're a musician, producer, venue, journalist, like you have to DIY for so long and really prove that you care enough to be given a space. But, at the same time, I've had some really unfortunate experiences in the DIY scene with bands and venues and producers and at a certain point, DIY feels like a really easy scapegoat for people to just be the worst and be like, "We're DIY, we're just learning this as we go." So is everyone. It's just really easy to distinguish between the people that are actually doing it themselves because they care enough to do it without resources versus the people that do it themselves because they don't want checks and balances in place.
I think that if you're going into the DIY music scene and you really have a passion for it, you have to be ready to go through some really unfortunate stuff and deal with some really unfortunate people. It's easy to get jaded and fussy about the whole thing, but, there are very few people that I'm friends with outside of this space. My whole life has just turned into music and DIY spaces, so I think it's worth it when you have enough people in your corner that you believe in personally, completely separate from whatever they offer to you. If I wasn't making music, I would still be the number one fan of Dead Mothers or tokillafly or Taciturn or any of these bands that have been trying for so long and doing this. It's worth it when you feel like you have enough people in your corner that, no matter how many times you get rocked by losers and freaks, you'll still be fine.
It's hard. Especially in the new age of music, it's so much harder to make a living doing this. There aren't fewer people doing it for the right reasons and want it for the right reasons. It's a bigger pool to pick from but it's so much harder to get there. I don't know, money will never not be weird because everyone is trying to get to a point where they can support themselves doing the thing they care most about. But, at the same time, venues that take crazy cuts, bands that demand crazy amounts of money or charge a lot for their merch... I think that's a really easy red flag for me, differentiating between who's in it for the right reasons and wrong and even people that are in it for the right reasons sometimes just need to ask for more financially because they're trying to do all this stuff. I don't know. I think it's not hard to pick up on people's intentions after spending time with them. It's very easy, actually.
What three albums would you take on a hike across the continent?
It's almost the same thing with any coworkers you have and stuff like that, except usually when you have coworkers, you guys are trying to do the same job and have some kind of professional incentive to at least treat each other well. You're getting paid. It just reflects the most unchecked personalities that are able to thrive in the scene because there's no fucking HR of DIY... just Instagram stories.
It's hard. Especially in the new age of music, it's so much harder to make a living doing this. There aren't fewer people doing it for the right reasons and want it for the right reasons. It's a bigger pool to pick from but it's so much harder to get there. I don't know, money will never not be weird because everyone is trying to get to a point where they can support themselves doing the thing they care most about. But, at the same time, venues that take crazy cuts, bands that demand crazy amounts of money or charge a lot for their merch... I think that's a really easy red flag for me, differentiating between who's in it for the right reasons and wrong and even people that are in it for the right reasons sometimes just need to ask for more financially because they're trying to do all this stuff. I don't know. I think it's not hard to pick up on people's intentions after spending time with them. It's very easy, actually.
What three albums would you take on a hike across the continent?
I was wondering when this was going to happen. The first Sprain mention of the interview. I was going to hold off as long as possible. The Lamb as Effigy by Sprain is the most influential album I've found in my entire life. Songs About Leaving by Carissa's Wierd is a really awesome album that I've been listening to a lot lately. I'm going to say Body War by Show Me The Body. That's what I'm rocking with.
Overrated artists or bands?
I don't know about bands, but two areas that are making me want to pull out my hair are the shoegaze and emo revival that are going on in Arizona specifically. People are using those genres and the fact that there's a bunch of hype behind them right now to just get in and ride the wave. I've seen so many just mid as hell emo and shoegaze bands that I don't want to see. It's just funny because if you look in other genres like hip-hop, hardcore, indie, rock, like those bands haven't really had deaths and revivals the way that shoegaze and emo have--specifically I'm speaking about in my local scene. There've always been hardcore bands, there've always been hip-hop people, there've always been indie rock bands. All those bands that aren't part of these new waves, they're either big because they've been around for a really long time or because they're actually pretty good. But, there's a lot of emo and shoegaze bands that are big because they are emo or shoegaze. It's really infuriating because I'm a big fan of both those genres, but I'm also a huge hater of both of those genres for that particular reason because there's such a saturation right now in Arizona.
I think there are some really good acts going around, but because they're part of this movement, they're kind of just whatever, and then the more popular ones that have more friends and rise to the top. Most metal bands are overrated. I think the vocalist in Knocked Loose is really overrated. Don't worry, I'm shielding myself. I know that I'm going to get sniped right now, but I don't like his style, I think the instrumentals are really cool. They just need to get a different vocalist.
I think there is an enormous influx of those genres being blended. You look at Citizen or Title Fight or even Narrow Head and there's a lot of that. The TikTokification of both. There's a lot of that going on that contributes to so much of what we're seeing in our local scene right now. Since Vs Self blew up, it's like a new thing. We're starting a new movement of emo and a lot of followers come with that--just trying to not do anything new, but do the same thing.
I think you've got to give your flowers to Vs Self, Aren't We Amphibians, Cenöbite, Seahorse Choke because they have been doing it for longer and there is a reason that those are bigger bands. And, I'm talking about Cenöbite completely separate from journal. But, I go to a lot of shows, Flagstaff and Phoenix, where I see bands basically just be like, "Well, here's my Cenöbite cover. Here's my Seahorsechoke cover. Here's my Vs Self cover." It's just all rip-offs.
It makes everything feel so stagnant, even though it is such a fluid and moving scene at all times. The stuff on the surface, the stuff that gets so much credit and so much time on the stage is the same.
It makes it harder to listen to the original bands, too. I'm just sick of hearing this every time I go to a show in Arizona.
There was a huge cultural shift that happened in 2020 with COVID. The way that TikTok short form content really blew up. I call it the Deftones epidemic. A lot of these bands that we are seeing in the past blow up like Slowdive and Cocteau Twins, my bloody valentine, they have had long standing fans and have been a part of a lot of people's coming of age, even in this generation and still being incorporated into people's lives. But, there was a certain point in 2020, when Deftones blew up on TikTok and that fully changed the entire music scene. Before COVID, every show that I went to was indie or folk punk... There definitely was hardcore going on before that, and we have stuff like Turnstile and Knocked Loose and a lot of those bands from that era. But, I think every show that I went to in Phoenix before 2020 was mostly experimental hip-hop, indie, folk rock, folk punk. There really was not a super heavy aspect to anything, especially in DIY scenes. There were smaller punk bands and smaller punk scenes, but that was really, like... before then, it was just collective, like an art show collective.
I think I was in a bit of an echo-chamber at that time where I was friends with a lot of people that were in hardcore and had been in hardcore for a really long time. I just happened to make friends in high school that had been in that scene forever, so in my perspective, hardcore has been around this entire time. They haven't been as popular, but they've been doing shows, in Arizona specifically.
I was watching this video documentary on exactly what you're talking about, the zoomer shoegaze revival. She basically went and polled her audience because she's been a day one emo gal, and she saw this resurgence of specifically shoegaze and had all these conversations with Gen Z fans of shoegaze. It turns out that the majority of them finding shoegaze was actually from Spotify's curated stuff. It wasn't from TikTok. It wasn't from social media. It was from Spotify themselves recommending this music. They had already had family that had listened to it, parents, older siblings, whatever. The surge of Spotify recommending it to people. Because everyone emotionally was looking for that in the pandemic, it just kind of blew up and they took it to TikTok. It's really interesting. I also want to make it clear that I don't think that it's lame to go with these waves and be excited about resurgences of these cool genres. Shoegaze is awesome. Emo is so cool. And I don't think there's anything wrong with being like, I didn't know this before TikTok. That's not embarrassing to say. I find so much music on social media. All of us do.
The hardcore scene is a little different between you and us because we grew up in Phoenix and you grew up in Flagstaff. Performing a lot right before the pandemic, it was all indie, and there were a few punk shows, but it was sparse.
I also think the Deftonesification of everything and the resurgence of that, I want to say it's moving in a good direction. The first instinct of the collective is to copy, but I think once we move past that, there's going to be a lot of really cool music coming out and really interesting stuff. Once we get past that period, we're going to be left with people who take parts of that and experiment with it and push it forward and do something interesting with it. I think it's a net positive because we're going to have a lot of really cool stuff coming out of it.
What about underrated bands?
I think people are not ready for this next Taciturn album, for sure. Toothache, Cenöbite, tokillafly, and Monette, we all kind of came up with Taciturn. It's just funny seeing the split in audience. I don't think that Taciturn is given their flowers properly. To be fair, it's also because they haven't released anything in a long time. They haven't been playing shows. I don't know, I just think that Taciturn should be one of the biggest bands in Arizona in my completely personal, very biased opinion. I think that they are super incredible and super exciting and super interesting. I also got the privilege of playing with this band from Inland Empire called Incari. They are incredible and one of the most exciting bands I've played with in a very long time. The only reason I get really excited about bands is if I feel like they are doing something different or a little more interesting. That's Incari. They are this crazy mix of hardcore, shoegaze influences, and some post-rock influences, some doom. They are incredible and they need to get on to releasing more music that way Arizona can fully get it. I love to see a trio and the drummer is also the vocalist. I love to see it.
I also feel like this period of time has shown in a lot of ways how Flagstaff and Phoenix are connected in a way that they never really were before. The scene has changed, it really has ushered a lot of people into it who have been in it for maybe two and a half, three years tops. We're seeing a lot of people come of age in the scene. I feel like a lot of these bands that we're seeing that maybe feel like cop-outs, that's a lot of people's first two or three years in the scene. They don't know exactly what they're doing. It's not like we have all the ideas in the world of what we're doing, you know? I feel like the majority of the people starting bands right now, they're going to be big in the next few months, or people who haven't even really picked up instruments before and are just excited to because of what they're seeing around them. I think there's a lot of exciting stuff to come. It's cool to see it blossoming in that way.
What about underrated bands?
I think people are not ready for this next Taciturn album, for sure. Toothache, Cenöbite, tokillafly, and Monette, we all kind of came up with Taciturn. It's just funny seeing the split in audience. I don't think that Taciturn is given their flowers properly. To be fair, it's also because they haven't released anything in a long time. They haven't been playing shows. I don't know, I just think that Taciturn should be one of the biggest bands in Arizona in my completely personal, very biased opinion. I think that they are super incredible and super exciting and super interesting. I also got the privilege of playing with this band from Inland Empire called Incari. They are incredible and one of the most exciting bands I've played with in a very long time. The only reason I get really excited about bands is if I feel like they are doing something different or a little more interesting. That's Incari. They are this crazy mix of hardcore, shoegaze influences, and some post-rock influences, some doom. They are incredible and they need to get on to releasing more music that way Arizona can fully get it. I love to see a trio and the drummer is also the vocalist. I love to see it.
Do you have any people in the scene who are particularly inspiring to you and helped you move along in your music?
Yeah, absolutely Nyle. Nyle has been, from the moment I met him, one of the most inspirational people in the world, and talk about witnessing people sucking in the DIY space and being just screwed over a billion times over and never really giving up and being the difference. When he sees something that he doesn't like about the scene, he changes it himself and he has been ridiculously influential for me. Even when Washed gets asked to play a show, I will literally run it by Nyle, not that I think that's a good thing to do. He's really taken me under his wing as far as sound engineering and recording goes and everything I know about that is because of Nyle.
I think Cheyenne is an incredibly inspirational person for me to be around because she doesn't let things get to her too much and she's grown up around the music scene and she's seen it for its good and its bad. At the end of the day, nothing is ever going to stop her from making music and doing what's really important. I have a hard time taking things really personally sometimes and Chey does a really good job at grounding me. I just think that she's incredibly talented. There aren't people that are more influential than my bandmates, Foster and Kaden. They are the most inspirational people that I've ever met in my entire life.
Recently, Washed has had the opportunity to go play California and meet this household of people that just care. It was the tiniest show you could ever possibly imagine. It was the bands and our friends that were there and the homeowners and their friends. That was it. No one showed out for this. It was in Santa Clarita, 45 minutes north of LA, no one's doing that. It was still just an awesome experience. I'm a little sick of Arizona, not because of the music, but I've been here my whole life, so I'm just a little sick of it. Every time I get a taste of the California bands and the scene out there and the people out there, I just get more and more excited. Also, a really formative musical experience was Toothache opening for Joyce Manor and that was huge, but also a lot of the people that were there for Joyce Manor couldn't have cared less about us. That was a good reminder of, even though the crowd responded well and it was a really successful show, no one's ever going to care as much as you do. I think that all of those experiences have just reminded me how much I need to pay attention to the people I surround myself with more than anything else.
It was awesome. Our local scene really showed out for us and I had friends there that left before Joyce Manor, but at the same time, that show only happened because one of my coworkers was like, "Hey, I know the people that are doing this, you should reach out and see if Joyce Manor needs an opener." I don't know if that would have happened if I hadn't reached out initially, but at the same time, I think it's important to look at things like that... Toothache is really great and I'm really proud of everything that Toothache ever did, but at the same time we got lucky because we were the biggest, most active band that would have drawn a crowd for Joyce Manor just in case they didn't draw enough of a crowd themselves. It wasn't like they were like, "Oh, we love you guys, we want you to open for us." That's not what happened.
Do you have any specific goals or projects you need to put out before you die?
I was talking to my co-worker about this the other day and she was like, "What's the end goal? Like what are you going to do?" No, I don't think so. I think right now I need the Washed album to come out really bad because I don't think that we're represented well with what's out right now. But, I have a feeling that's just going to keep going. As soon as we put this album out and start writing another one I'm going to be like, "I need this. I won't sleep until the next Washed album is out." I wouldn't say that there are these big goals that I have in mind, it's just the stuff that I'm working on at the moment, I hope sees the light of day.
Are there any projects or albums or artists that changed the way you thought about music?
I was raised in a really cool household. Musically, my dad was really into any and all types of rock and my mom was into full country and reggae, so I have heard everything from a very young age. When I started listening to music, I got really into hip-hop and rap and stuff. Sonic Youth, there's been enough Sonic Youth stroking on this show, so I'm not going to go any further. But, they really changed a lot for me. But, when I was younger, it was stuff like The Black Crowes and Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers, the way that he played the bass. The way that he approaches his instrument is different than anything I've ever seen. That's not me saying that I'm a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan. I want to make that very clear. They've got some bangers, sue me, I don't care. Take me to court. Anthony Kiedis will burn in hell. Unwound, Dystopia, those were really huge as far as pushing me to want to make music, and when I started making music, I think my entire world got flipped upside down when The Lamb as Effigy by Sprain came out. It's cool because every era of my life is just uprooted and turned around by something else. I'm sure that something new will come along that will make me rethink everything again.
What is a musical experience that you've had in the past year, good or bad, that has been extremely impactful to you and your musical career?
Recently, Washed has had the opportunity to go play California and meet this household of people that just care. It was the tiniest show you could ever possibly imagine. It was the bands and our friends that were there and the homeowners and their friends. That was it. No one showed out for this. It was in Santa Clarita, 45 minutes north of LA, no one's doing that. It was still just an awesome experience. I'm a little sick of Arizona, not because of the music, but I've been here my whole life, so I'm just a little sick of it. Every time I get a taste of the California bands and the scene out there and the people out there, I just get more and more excited. Also, a really formative musical experience was Toothache opening for Joyce Manor and that was huge, but also a lot of the people that were there for Joyce Manor couldn't have cared less about us. That was a good reminder of, even though the crowd responded well and it was a really successful show, no one's ever going to care as much as you do. I think that all of those experiences have just reminded me how much I need to pay attention to the people I surround myself with more than anything else.
Joyce Manor, that night was awesome, and I definitely felt very loved by all the people who came out to support and see us and the new people following the account or reaching out to us and saying that it was so awesome to see an all-female band opening up for such an influential band in a pretty male-dominated scene. While it was a very big thing for us at the same time, we couldn't really tell how big of a thing it was for us because it everyone's telling us it's a super big accomplishment. But, we're just well-liked in our small town and there are not many options for openers here. I think it's funny getting those opportunities and processing the feelings of if you're ready for it, if you deserve it.
It was awesome. Our local scene really showed out for us and I had friends there that left before Joyce Manor, but at the same time, that show only happened because one of my coworkers was like, "Hey, I know the people that are doing this, you should reach out and see if Joyce Manor needs an opener." I don't know if that would have happened if I hadn't reached out initially, but at the same time, I think it's important to look at things like that... Toothache is really great and I'm really proud of everything that Toothache ever did, but at the same time we got lucky because we were the biggest, most active band that would have drawn a crowd for Joyce Manor just in case they didn't draw enough of a crowd themselves. It wasn't like they were like, "Oh, we love you guys, we want you to open for us." That's not what happened.
Do you have any specific goals or projects you need to put out before you die?
I was talking to my co-worker about this the other day and she was like, "What's the end goal? Like what are you going to do?" No, I don't think so. I think right now I need the Washed album to come out really bad because I don't think that we're represented well with what's out right now. But, I have a feeling that's just going to keep going. As soon as we put this album out and start writing another one I'm going to be like, "I need this. I won't sleep until the next Washed album is out." I wouldn't say that there are these big goals that I have in mind, it's just the stuff that I'm working on at the moment, I hope sees the light of day.
Are there any projects or albums or artists that changed the way you thought about music?
I was raised in a really cool household. Musically, my dad was really into any and all types of rock and my mom was into full country and reggae, so I have heard everything from a very young age. When I started listening to music, I got really into hip-hop and rap and stuff. Sonic Youth, there's been enough Sonic Youth stroking on this show, so I'm not going to go any further. But, they really changed a lot for me. But, when I was younger, it was stuff like The Black Crowes and Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers, the way that he played the bass. The way that he approaches his instrument is different than anything I've ever seen. That's not me saying that I'm a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan. I want to make that very clear. They've got some bangers, sue me, I don't care. Take me to court. Anthony Kiedis will burn in hell. Unwound, Dystopia, those were really huge as far as pushing me to want to make music, and when I started making music, I think my entire world got flipped upside down when The Lamb as Effigy by Sprain came out. It's cool because every era of my life is just uprooted and turned around by something else. I'm sure that something new will come along that will make me rethink everything again.
There are two genres that are really important to me that I feel like don't get taken seriously by people. It's hard to say because I feel like, being in post-hardcore playing with math rock bands, there's this weird intellectualization of music that can leave a lot of people out that deserve to be included. The only reason I was ever involved in the Flag music scene was because of hardcore. It was because of bands like Blood Drive, which became Hernia, and stuff like that. I have a lot that I owe those people, and getting seriously into music, hardcore was insanely pivotal to me. There are the big bands like Sunami and stuff that I owe a lot to and also so much hip-hop and rap that people in the alt-rock space don't ever talk about it, but if you want to be a good drummer, specifically, and you have no exposure to hip-hop, you're just a big poser. The most well-rounded drummers I know have huge bases in both hardcore and hip-hop. I think that both of those genres are really important because, getting into the shoegaze scene, seeing the emo scene and the indie rock scene, I'm endlessly disappointed by drummers--not to say that I'm better than them because I'm not, but just the lack of personality and creativity... Hardcore drummers are always going to be crazy. Machine Gun Benny.
What is one of your favorite shows you've played?
We did this mini tour with Taciturn, tokillafly, and Seahorsechoke and played at the BCC in Tucson. That was a really awesome show just because the venue itself was really awesome, like everything right about DIY. Beyond that, after our last show in Phoenix, we played this, secret show under a bridge and very few people were there. We played very different songs, specifically this one song that we don't ever play live except for the most special occasions. We had a big fallout with the generator that we were supposed to run, and all these people saying that they were going to do all this stuff and then not doing it. Then all these random people came out of the woodwork, journal pulled through because we had a band fall out, and played and I couldn't think of anyone better. And this dude, Killian, just showed up with a generator immediately and was there to help us. We played some crazy stuff and it was just a really emotional set. My favorite thing about Washed is how heavy it is and how crazy we're able to go, but then completely shifting gears and being really emotional and vulnerable. No matter how heavy we are, it's always going to be a vulnerable thing, but completely stripping away the sound and the sonic space that I usually hide behind was really cool.
What is your favorite release or project that you have helped create?
I'm going to take out anything that I've ever musically been that part of. Honestly, I think there are two that are the coolest. The tokillafly EP (Bedlum) was really awesome and that was one of the most involved I've been in recordings. It was me and Nyle doing everything together. But, being the reason that people are going to be able to hear Big Brown Cow the way that we got to hear it is really special. I will say that the most impactful live set I've ever seen in my entire life. I've never been drawn to tears that way to music that I wasn't familiar with. There's only one other live video of Big Brown Cow that's recorded on an iPhone and the songs are different, the way he plays them are different. This is special, this is important, and people need to see it. Driving seven and a half hours, going to this venue, setting up all of this equipment, doing all of this stuff, making interview questions and, mixing and mastering afterwards, editing the video, everything that Dead Mothers is doing for that particularly... I'm just very happy that people will be able to experience it in somewhat of a similar way that we got to because that was a really big privilege. August, Sylvie, Johnny's sets, they were all incredible. I think that those are the best people ever. That whole night was full of special music played by really special people.
I'm really excited about what's going on in certain areas of the country. California. I'm also very excited to see what's bracking in the Pacific Northwest. I've always wanted to live in the Pacific Northwest and there are a lot of places up there that I really love. Also, though, crazy shoutout to Helsinki. I want to see what's good out there. Finland messes with Washed and tokillafly really heavy, which is so funny. Helsinki is Washed's second most stream city ever. Helsinki, Finland.
Are there any scenes outside of Arizona that you are excited about?
I'm really excited about what's going on in certain areas of the country. California. I'm also very excited to see what's bracking in the Pacific Northwest. I've always wanted to live in the Pacific Northwest and there are a lot of places up there that I really love. Also, though, crazy shoutout to Helsinki. I want to see what's good out there. Finland messes with Washed and tokillafly really heavy, which is so funny. Helsinki is Washed's second most stream city ever. Helsinki, Finland.
Do you have anything else you want to talk about?
Everything I was saying earlier about the things I don't like about the scene, about genres and whatever. A lot of those bands are kids and it's the first thing they've ever done. I think it's really cool to do anything. There are a lot of bands that might not be my favorite bands that people love. Some of the bands that I don't like, everyone unanimously likes them way more than anything that I've ever done musically, so I'm not the authority by any means. You should be out there, you should be making music. Anyone can do it. You don't have to be a musician to contribute to the scene, either. People that just go to shows and talk about music and work for venues and labels, home production. That stuff is all really, really important. Just because you're in a band doesn't mean you're better than someone who's not.
A lot of the tangentially music-related people don't give enough credit for what they do. Obviously Nyle's in music, but the stuff he's doing outside of that...
Even if he wasn't in Taciturn, he'd be such a keystone in the scene.
Brady with Laughing Man Records.
Vs Kyle. Also, just the people that go to shows all the time. No matter who it is. If you're in bands and local bands and you're not going to shows unless you're playing, I think that's lame. No one's better than anyone else. We're all playing music in Flagstaff, Arizona. None of us matter.
Thanks for reading, everyone. Keep going to shows and doing the thing.
-Foster
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