VEGAS WITH RANDOLPH

with Eric Kern and John Ratts

1. PGH is all about helping artists highlight their most recent projects, so let us all know what
your new project is – and tell us about how it came into the world. What has the initial
feedback on it been like?

Vegas With Randolph is currently in the last several months of recording and mixing our third
album: “Rings Around The Sun”. We are aiming for a late summer 2013 release, and we are
quite excited about it!

Our most recent CD was 2011’s “Above The Blue” which got a really great response
everywhere (including on the Pop Geek Heaven site!), and we are pleased and humbled
by the response to that one. That CD contained some of the very best songs we had
written to date, so we knew there would be a challenge to follow it up with equally strong
material. We took almost a full year after it’s release writing new songs, creating demos,
and evaluating what would go onto the third CD.

In contrast to “Above The Blue” where we released many of the tracks as MP3’s while we
were recording them, we’ve held much of this new material close to our chest, so we’re very
excited to hear the feedback when we finally let the full album out this summer!

2. The Recording Process – there are so many interesting ways that music projects coming into
being these days compared with what artists encountered years ago. Take us on the creative
arc of how this project came into being and any wisdom that you learned along the way.
Also, what were some of the obstacles or struggles that you encountered when you were
working on the project?

As mentioned, we challenged ourselves to write new songs that would also have been
worthy of our “Above The Blue” album. In addition to a lot of new songwriting output by
John Ratts and Eric Kern, Dave Purol also kicked his songwriting production into high gear
for this album. By the time we decided we had to stop the flow, evaluate, and narrow things
down, between us we had nearly fifty new songs written and demo’d. So, there was wading
through a wealth of material and trying to make choices. On the up side though, we are well
suited for starting CD #4!

We are a fairly traditional “band” in the sense that we each have our areas of expertise,
and generally each play the same roles/instruments in the band (as opposed to multi-

instrumentalist artists who do the majority of the tracks themselves), but we do try to be
highly versatile when it comes to the musical styles and arrangements we will entertain. For
those who have heard “Above The Blue” I think you will notice that on this third CD we have
branched out just a bit stylistically. There’s still that core of 60’s inspired energetic guitar-
driven powerpop of course, but we have tracks that cover the gamut from a more Byrds-like
folk rock sound, a more late 70’s Joan Jett-inspired roar, and a bit of reggae/ska, as well as a
contemporary pop sound. It’s been fun. Those who have heard our debut CD “Vegas With
Randolph” won’t be surprised by the range; As John Ratts says: The “V in VWR stands for
variety”.

3. Are there any particular songs on this project that are special to you or communicate a
message that you’d like to share here?

Yes, many. Lyrics, and having a solid idea behind each track is hugely important to VWR.
The title track “Rings Around The Sun” is one of the more serious songs the band has
ever written, and tackles nothing less than the marvel of being, the sorrow of mortality,
existentialism and the supremacy of love (no, seriously!). It touches on four big themes and
hopefully will be a track that makes one think a little (we have a few like that). If all that
seems a little heavy for powerpop, no worries: there are plenty of songs about the beach,
girls, and a variety of fun topics as well. One other thing we’ve found ourselves doing on
this CD is riffing lyrically on some interesting topics and diving into places that even surprise
ourselves sometimes. For instance, just a few lyrical references (off the top of my head)
include Copernicus, the nuclear test site Atoll, and the Butthole Surfers.

4. On your last CD “Above The Blue”, you had several guest performers from the powerpop
community that contributed to some songs such as Maxi Dunn, Vinnie Zummo, and Wim
Oudijk. Will there be any guests on “Rings Around The Sun”, or is going to be explicitly a VWR
effort?

We had a tremendous experience working with the artists you mentioned, and cultivating
these friendships can be just as rewarding as experiencing the actual evolution of the songs
is. We did not necessarily set out to do it again, but as it turns out there will be several more
guests on “Rings”.

During the recording of this CD late last year, VWR contributed a song to the tribute
compilation “Drink A Toast To Innocence: A Tribute to Lite Rock.” In addition to the track
we covered (“Cool Change”) we had the opportunity to sing some background vocals on a
track by Brandon Schott, along with several other contributing artists on the project. When
it came to recording the title track for our CD, a similar “choir” sound seemed appropriate
and since we had just worked with this group on Brandon’s song, we invited a few members
of the ”choir” to make a repeat performance on our album. So, our song “Rings Around The
Sun” will also include vocals by David Myhr, Brandon Schott, and Andy Reed (An American
Underdog). The track will also feature some orchestration by Wim Oudijk. And David Myhr
did some glockenspiel for us as well!

Another guest on the album is Bob Wilson from A Band called Mithras. We were featured
on Bob’s radio interview series “The Mithraem” last fall and decided to work together on
a new song (that is still being recorded) which feels like a perfect track for a VWR/Mithras
collab. In addition, we have our guitarist Brock Harris’ brother Drake sitting in on 12 string
Rickenbacher on our track “Open Roads,” and have a local radio voice-over guy Michael
O’Brien doing the weather report section on our song “Snow Day”.

5. Both of your first two CD’s wrapped up the album with multi-song pop medleys: “Long Play”
and “Double Play”, with both of them weighing in at over 10 minutes of total length. These
were well received by reviewers, one even dubbing VWR as “the Masters of the Medley”
following “Double Play” from “Above The Blue”. Will we be seeing a “Triple Play” on CD #3?

These medleys were great fun to produce, and highly satisfying creatively. We were inclined
to do it yet again, but also decided we don’t want to become a cliché or too predictable, so
don’t hold your breath for this on “Rings”. But will another pop-suite appear on a future
VWR CD? It is certainly possible!

6. As we all know, the music industry has been devastated for many reasons over the past 10
years, what are you thoughts on these changes and are you finding some of them helpful to
you with getting more people to hear your music?

Well, we have been an indie band from the start, and since chasing large contracts, sign-on
bonuses, and the like has never been a primary goal of VWR, the profitability of large record
companies has not been a concern. It does seem that the generally availability of free music
has affected the revenue stream, as well as people’s perceptions of the value of music, and
this is unfortunate to both the artists and the industry as a whole.

On the positive side though, the opportunities for a musician these days are astounding. Our
DC-based band easily collaborates with musicians all over the world, from the UK to Holland
to Sweden to Michigan to LA to New York, and we have our songs mastered in Seattle
(much quicker in fact than when we did it down the street in Virginia). In addition, we have
relatively quickly developed a fan base and radio airplay on all continents – something that
would have taken years and vast record company distribution dollars just a few years ago.
As you know, this easy distribution benefits music fans as there is “suddenly” much greater
variety available no matter what styles you prefer. However, there is SO MUCH easily
available now that it is critical to have someone who filters this for people, which is where
sites like PopGeekHeaven are so important.

For VWR and many other indie bands today, the pros outweigh the cons, and we’re thrilled
to be making music in these times.

7. So many artists are wrestling with different ways to approach the recording process now – I
would love to hear what your plans on with your next project – Are you going to a full CD, an
EP or just release songs as you finish them. Release them digital only or combine physical
with the digital or what?

“Rings Around The Sun” will be a full CD, with fancy multi-flap artwork, a pull out, liner notes, and
lyrics. We put a lot of stock in producing a tangible product and love that “holding it in your hand”
thing – looking at the artwork and words while the music plays, or slamming the disc into your car
player as you drive (and turning it up!).

8.  Advance apologies: the ‘classic’ questions. What other artists and bands have influenced
your music and any particular reason why? Also, push come to shove: “Your Top 5 Albums Of All Time”? 

We seem to be most inspired by those artists/songwriters that have clever, interesting and
sometimes offbeat lyrics, particularly when they are combined with upbeat very catchy melodies

and some rock edge. A short list would have to include Fountains of Wayne, Paul Westerberg, Rhett
Miller, Soul Asylum, the entirety of 70’s pop and powerpop, the 90’s alternative & powerpop scene,
and the entire 60’s british invasion. Particular very early influences include The Beatles (of course)
and America. Ok, that’s not such a short list J. And there’s many more that should be on there.

9. We’re always trying to find new music discoveries here at PGH – what are some of your
favorite music releases of 2011 & 2012?

Lately, we’ve been gravitating to listening to mostly indie pop and powerpop, and the music of peer
artists we’ve been getting to know on a personal level. That is incredibly gratifying and adds another
dimension to the whole listening experience. So this is by no means a survey of latest releases all
around, but some albums that have been getting multiple spins in our CD players recently include
new ones by honeychain, Throwback Suburbia, David Myhr, Lannie Flowers, Three Hour Tour, and of
course Fountains of Wayne.

10. Okay, last question: Where can we learn more about your music and any other releases you
have?

The very best thing you can do is go to our website, www.vegaswithrandolph.com, and sign up on
our mailing list. We send very occasional (every couple months or so) emailed updates on when we
have new releases, new videos, free downloads, and the like. Our website also has links to a slew of
other stuff like videos, discography, a blog, and all the normal stuff you’d expect.

Or, if you’re in a hurry to just get yourself loaded up with some new VWR music now, you can head
here: http://www.vegaswithrandolph.bandcamp.com for everything we have available. And of
course the regular places like Kool Kat Musik, CDBaby, Amazon and iTunes work too.

Thanks to Bruce & Pop Geek Heaven for the interview and we look forward to talking more when the
new “Rings Around The Sun” CD release rolls around this summer!

LINKS FOR VEGAS WITH RANDOLPH

http://vegaswithrandolph.bandcamp.com/

http://www.vegaswithrandolph.com/