BANGS! : Interview with Andrew Jadyn of The Old Storm

Sometimes all you need are the fundamentals to create that right feel, the right sound. Classic influences brought together in an element of soul, funk, blues, and rock. Today's infusions of yesterday's influences are tomorrow's classics of modern rock.

(The Hay Girls Show 5.2015)

20/05/2015- Song River

Song: The Old Storm... a band structured to be basic would you say?

Andrew: Absolutely, the setup and format of what we do is one hundred percent down to the raw basics. But the structure and changes of the music we make are quite complex ingredients for such a simple sound.

Song: What is it about music Andrew that has drawn you to the creation of two, to be enough to create what you want?

Photo Credit: CowGirlZen Photography

Andrew: It sort of happened by accident. A few years before we started playing as two, we used to have a full band with a bassist and lead guitarist. We played surf rock kind of music infused with jazz chords and quite folk based. But it was always hard to get everyone on the same schedule. We were all passionate about music, but not serious about it. We played so rarely and only ever played a handful of shows. It was more of a couple good friends just jamming when we felt like it. Then one day, I woke up with a more "old school" rock'n kind of riff. I brought it to my drummer and it went from there. We were so into the sounds and tone we were getting. It allowed more freedom for Andrew Hood on the drums and gave me more responsibility to cover sound with tone. Since then, we have tried to invite others to play with us temporarily. But Andrew Hood and I have such amazing chemistry that anyone else who jams with us seems to kind of throw us off.

Song: Musically old school classic rock with an overture of blues. Who do you identify with strongly? What influences have their been on your music style?

Andrew: Most influences come from listening to all genres of music. We don't really relate to other bands that we "sound like". Our influences more come from listening to cool part in a song and then kinda building from it. If anything, we absolutely love Bill Withers. We think that if you take away the fuzz in the guitar, it becomes very soul funk. I have a very "beachy" rhythm to my strumming and Andrew Hood is one hundred percent funk and on the back beat. The fuzz just covers it up and makes it "rock n roll"

Song: Are you from Arizona originally?

Andrew: I'm from Phoenix AZ. Lived here all my life and did not start diddling around with music until about seventeen years old. Took it more seriously in 2009 when I was playing more of the mellow acoustic stuff, and now I'm here doing rock n roll music.

Song: First EP was released? Talk a bit about its release, and the songs recorded on it. Where was it recorded and how can a copy be purchased?

Andrew: First off, I'd like to say that Jalipaz Nelson (recorded our first EP) and is an amazing guy. He really "gets it". We had not recorded anything at the time and we were looking for someone who could capture us live and raw, as we very much are. I found him through a recommendation and listened to what he had recorded and loved how organic his recordings were. We connected very well with him and knew what we wanted and how to capture that "in the moment" feel. I couldn't believe my ears when listening to the playbacks. It's a four song EP, each recording only had about 5 tracks of recording on it. We did our best to record as very little as possible on the songs, but making it sound as big as possible.

Photo Credit: CowGirlZen Photography

"Don't Wait" is a very fast, heavy but groove song. Very simple and straight to the point. "Chicago Woman" I would say is one of our best songs, as far as the crowds reaction go. That's a song that if you listen to the guitars rhythm strumming, it's very beachy. But again, fuzz, drums and tone changes and disguises that. It's one of my favorites to this day, very easy to listen to. "Lovin Man" has a great hook to it and has one of those half time changes that make our simple setup, complex. It's the heaviest of the four. But as of late, we have completely revamped that song entirely. Structure, drums, almost everything. We're excited to rerecord it someday.

As we grow and write more, we tend to update and upgrade older songs to be able "keep up" with newer songs. As it would seem to us, our songs keep getting better. So we don't leave older songs in the dust, we give them makeovers.

Finally, "Baddest Girl" is one of our best songs, musically speaking. The drums are difficult, the guitar has a lot of ground to cover, the breakdowns and transitions were always difficult for bass players that we've tried out. It's nothing technical or fast, but it's structure becomes difficult to keep up with for outsiders. It has a great hook as well. This is a another song, that if you take away the fuzz and listen to the drums its Bill Withers all day: extremely funky. We pretty much take in Withers and make it heavy with an old school Zeppelin vibe. That EP overall has a great raw and organic sound. It's extremely close to how we sound live. It's available for download at bandcamp.com/theoldstorm.

Song: You've release your second EP, Soul City. A capture to me that throws back to some old Beck, a bit of The White Stripes, a titch of The Black Keys and a fast beat of soul rock. Who did the song writing, what are some of the stories behind the songs? And where can it be purchased?

Andrew: When it came time to record again, we had a new batch of songs we were anxious to record. We went with Stem Records mainly because the producer Curtis Grippe is a drummer and his studio was practically built for optimal drum sound. We wanted to go bigger with this next EP. It took us about a week and a half and we did another three songs. I write and come up with all our music, but I then bring in ideas to Andrew Hood so I can hear what he brings to the table on drums and from there, we pick it apart and structure each song to their final form. Most of the time they sound quite different, and much better, after going through it together.

Photo Credit: CowGirlZen Photography

"On the Run" was my way of trying to do a more upbeat and somewhat modern feel to our sound, while maintaining our old school vibe. It's catchy, dancy and live it's even heavier. It's quite a workout for Hood on the drums. "Ain't got no Love" was me going back to what were doing before, with heavy riffs and catchy hooks. This song definitely screams Jack White and Jet. Those hard-hitting but catchy, hooky songs. It's a killer live! "Soul City" we often call "Tribal" because of its drumbeat. This song is up there with "Baddest Girl" musically and rhythmically speaking. I wanted a song that had a 70's New York street vibe to it. This song is one of our slowest but one of our heaviest; another complex thing to do, especially as a duo. We always either open or close with this song.

This EP is currently not for sale and will soon be taken down as we are unfortunately unhappy with this EP. We think Curtis Grippe and Stem Studio is a great place with amazing HQ audio. But felt that the sound that was captured was not "us". Not any studio can just record anybody. It simply just did not come out how we wanted, sadly.

Song: How often do you all perform, and where might be some of the places your fans can catch you?

Andrew: Currently and I'm excited to announce, we are the house band for PAZ Cantina on 3rd St and Roosevelt. These guys are awesome, they love art and music and are all about the people. They are great people. We play EVERY Friday anywhere from 7pm to 9pm. We are also booking weekly, other bands to help fill time and have a chance to play. PAZ always has a big crowd, every night. So we like to give the chance to others to come out and play and be apart of this new venue. It's only been open for about 5 months. They're new but they are kicking butt and consistently packed. Other than that, our shows are usually last minute stuff. Marquee, Crescent, Rogue, etc..

Song: When you have relaxation time and you aren't creating your own music, what genre of music do you listen to?

Andrew: I myself favor quite a bit of things from the 40's (Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman), 50's (Everly Bros, Elvis), and especially the 60's (Beatles, Sam Cooke, Jimi Hendrix, The Zombies). As much of a music person as I am, I am very unaware of modern day music. I'm so stuck in the old days. The class, the mood, everything about it is so genuine. Currently I'm hooked on Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.

Song: Where is home for you both? Growing up what were some of the musical influences surrounding you?

Andrew: I grew up with my parents playing a lot of the early 80's funk stuff like Gap Band, Isley Brothers, Kool and the Gang. I remember always thinking those bass riffs and smooth hooks were so cool. I didn't understand how it was made yet, nor did I tinker with music. On very rare occasions, there might be some kind of keyboard someone would have and I would replay music I had heard and replicate it. I didn't think anything of it at the time but I guess I had a thing for music but didn't realise it yet.

Song: As music changes, do you see Old Storm changing as well as it continues to develop itself?

Photo Credit: CowGirlZen Photography

Andrew: I don't see us changing with the current scene. I see us staying grounded with what we have and only developing in rhythm and structure. Every time we make a new song, it ups the last one. I see us developing and getting better with time. So much progress has happened in such short time.

Song: We just recently lost really the bones of the blues, BB King. As your musical style carries some of that original sound of blues within it, how do you see Old Storm into the future musically, touring, recording?

Andrew: I see us as a contributing band to bringing back the old school. Clearly it's 2015, but we have a great vibe to us that people are trying to get back into. Gary Clark Jr., Cage the Elephant, Greenhorns, Hanni El Khatib, etc. These guys are all doing what we are trying to do. We know this stuff isn't exactly radio friendly, but it's out there and these guys are doing great for themselves and our future that is not very far off. We do have a new 2 song EP coming out that we recorded with Studio at the Farm. Those guys did for us what Jalipaz did for us on the first EP. It's our best of the three and we are excited to release it very soon.

We will also be on tour in September with a band called Karma, who have been kind enough to invite us along. We have a lot of fun things planned this year and only hope for more. We love what we do because it's our passion and brings joy to others and ourselves.

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