Revolution, I Love You

So besides reading lectures on Russian literature and geekin’ out in their apartment with carpeting covered walls, Revolution, I Love You has been busy putting the finishing touches on their fourth LP, We Chose To Go To The Moon. They’ve also managed to get a pretty sweet feature in Origivation Magazine (www.origivation.com).

Check out our recent interview with these self-proclaimed everything-nerds.

So how did you two meet?

Rob: We've known each other since high school. A friend introduced us, he said "Hey man, have you heard Jason play guitar? He's awesome!" Our friend had never actually heard J play though... luckily he was right.

Jason: Good old JC

It was meant to be.

Rob: It worked out very well, I think. We played together in another band for years, and then split off on our own in 2009.

How and when did music come into both of your lives?

Jason: Well, for me it started when I was about 16, my Dad had bought me a guitar that I didn't really do much with. Then I met my friend Ryan and he was a brilliant piano player so we started playing music together every day after school, and I started to actually know what I was doing after a bit, haha.

Rob: My first musical memory is a mix tape of Beatles and Beach Boys songs that my dad made in the late 80’s sometime. It started with ' I Want to Hold Your Hand". My mom played guitar, which got me interested, and they started me out on guitar lessons when I was 8.

What are you guys reading right now?

Jason: I'm reading Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. Before that I read Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut

Rob: I'm reading Dead Souls by Gogol, and Nabokov's lectures on Russian Lit

Where did you guys go to college?

Jason: I went to University of Delaware.

 Rob: Towson, in Baltimore.

Majors?

Jason: I majored in History

 Rob: Cultural Studies for me

Jason: And in loitering around campus with my guitar…

Only if that were a real major…

Jason: Oh it is. Independent study… Cultural Observation and Commentary 237

Haha, okay so your majors make sense. I read about your historical references behind the naming of RILY, and your second album in the Origivation feature. Are history and culture topics that interest or inspire you both in a creative way?

Rob: I think it's just that we both have an interest in art and books and philosophy, things beyond the realm of rock guitar and beer and Jameson.

Jason: Yeah I would say, it is more so our cultural interests. Though...beer and Jameson are not lost on us.

Rob: We're making pop music, but we bring a certain self-awareness to the process, something that comes from a lot of discussion of art history and books. Concept is pretty important to us.

Jason: We spend a lot of time discussing what we are doing: style, content, their relationship to each other etc.

Rob: We actually got to totally geek out this weekend, a friend of ours ran a panel at an MLA conference and we went to that.  We got to talk with really, really smart people about really, really smart people things. Like Baltic Theatre and Kundera

Well should we expect a new song on the MLA conference?

Rob: No no no

Jason: No

Rob: Hahaha

Rob: Well back to your question about how this all influences us. J and I agree that the difference between us and a lot of bands is that they're music-nerds, while we're everything-nerds.

Jason: That apply our nerd-ness to making music.

Rob: Discussion on the new record, We Choose to Go to the Moon, swings back and forth between Bruce Springsteen and "Has Modernism Failed?", or Interpol and Rauschenberg. Speaking of which, the new record is pretty cool, trust me.

Jason: And our word is our bond

I believe you. What can your fans expect as far as touring goes this summer?

Rob: Well, we have some shows already booked for Wilmington, Lancaster, and NYC over the coming months. We're doing our first show at Arlene's Grocery, which is cool. Once the record is released, we'll have CD release shows in DE and Philadelphia (we're from DE and a lot of our friends are down there), then we'll be playing up and down the mid-Atlantic, and we'll try to make it out to Chicago as well. Philly, NYC, DC, Baltimore, Chicago- those are the main targets

Tell us about the recording of your next album, having only the two of you what’s the recording process like?

Jason: I do everything while Rob lays on the floor. Wait no, I'm on the floor.

Rob: Hahaha, he naps.

You guys must get so much done that way!

Rob: But really, because we have all that programmed stuff, step one is program the beats and basslines. It gives us a foundation to build on then we record guitars, pianos, etc, and the vocals. Then we go back and endlessly toy with the beats until they're AWESOME.

Jason: We record everything ourselves here in Philly holed up in our room, with the walls and floor covered in green carpet padding. The windows are covered by two inch thick insulation boards.

Rob: The carpet padding mutes the reverberations that would otherwise happen on the flat drywall. It's kinda dark in there.

Jason: It's a little bizarre and disorienting at times

Rob: Not the ideal environment, actually. We should work on that.

Jason: yeah a little ambiance would go a long way in there

Do you have a date you'd like to have the album finished by?

Rob: It's almost done now, all recorded and mostly mixed so it should be out this summer.

Jason: Yup, just in time to blast it with the windows down!

Look out for RILY's upcoming album and stay tuned for tour dates!

Alexis Canary

Alexis@wearemonsterent.com

Clouds 4/26

CaseClosedNJ.BigCartel.com+WeAreMonsterEnt.com

Case Closed

Hey Monster fans,

I’d like to introduce myself as the newest blogger for Indie-Monster. I’m a student at Temple University from where I’ll be graduating waay too soon. I kind of stumbled upon Monster Entertainment but I’m really enjoying being part of the team so far.

If you haven’t heard already, Monster’s own Case Closed has just released a new single titled, “Breathe Slow” in anticipation for their upcoming album Clouds (April 26). Let me warn you, it’s the kind of song you can’t listen to just once- you’ve got to play it at least five times in a row while subtlety tapping your foot like it’s your guilty pleasure. If this is any indicator of Clouds, I think we’ve all got something fun to look forward to.

Case Closed is a self-described Pop/Indie/Rock band hailing from Glassboro, NJ. With Curt Beebe and Dave Schoettler’s vocals, the band is bringing an updated twist to that classic Pop-rock sound that was so prominent in the early 2000’s from bands like Taking Back Sunday and The Early November. The band and I had a chat a few days ago, and turns out they’re also pretty cool guys. Check out the interview below.

Also check out Case Closed at their album release shows, and download their new album Clouds on April 26 through WeAreMonsterEnt.com and CaseClosedNJ.BigCartel.com.

Friday, May 6, 5:00 PM | Wilmington, Delaware
Venue: Rockford Park | Address: Park Drive, Wilmington, DE, 19806
Details: CLOUDS record release show w/ The Ready Set & MORE!

Saturday, May 7, 7:00 PM | Vineland, NJ
Venue: Fuel House Coffee Co | Address: 636 E Landis Ave, Vineland, NJ, 08360
Details: CLOUDS record release show!

Tuesday, May 24, 8:00PM | Philadelphia, PA
Venue: Northstar Bar | Address: 2639 Poplar Street Philadelphia, PA 19130
Details: New Music Series!

What's everyone doing right now besides music?
Curt: Workin’, delivering mulch and pizza. Not at the same place obviously, Haha.
Phil: I go to school part time at Rowan University and I’m working part time.
Dan: I work at Sears Hardware.... Yerpppp
Dave: Workin’ like the rest of the dogs.

(Phil) What’s your major and what do you think the rest of you would major in?
Phil: I’m a business management major, Curt went to school for recording engineering but the other guys don’t go to school.

Tell me about the recording of your new single “Breathe Slow”. What’s the recording process like for you guys as a band?
Curt: The recording process is pretty awesome; we had so much fun up at Jesse Cannon’s studio in Union City. We slept on air mattresses in the live room for a week and really just got a great opportunity to sit down and focus wholly on music and putting out a great album.
Dan: Yeah and when you put the four of us together in a room for a week, let’s just say there’s never a dull moment.
Phil: You can say that again.

How was it working with Jesse?
Dave: He’s definitely a pretty interesting guy. He was so dedicated to the process he stayed at the studio with us and wore the same clothes all week. His assistant Mike Ottienger is great too. He did the majority of the guitar work on the album and his great work really shows through.

The release date is coming up right?
Phil: Yes it comes out on April 26th. We're so damn excited. We finished recording back in early January so we've just been patiently waiting for this moment to come.

What’s everyone’s dream music gig?
Phil: I think I can definitely speak for everybody that we'd all really want to play a big venue with Taking Back Sunday. Doesn’t matter where, although we REALLY want to play the Electric Factory one day… but we'd all definitely want to get on some shows with Manchester Orchestra and be a part of Bamboozle and Warped Tour.
Curt: Really the goal is just to play to as many people who want to listen to our music where ever or whenever that is. We’re just thankful to be making music for people who want to listen.

So did everybody meet in high school besides Dave?
Dan: Case Closed was actually our first band ever. We just formed to play a Battle of the Bands at our high school, but we liked what we had going and decided to keep playing together. The lineup we have now is the lineup we had originally. I guess you could say everything kind of fell right into place. We all graduated together in 2007, and although Dave wasn't playing with us the whole time we were still all best friends.

Who are your favorite unsung musicians? Like a local band or friend you guys think deserves some attention.
Phil: We just recently came into contact with a band from Vineland, NJ that we really dig, they're called Strange Seasons (facebook.com/strangeseasons). We also have our hometown buddies Class 6 (facebook.com/class6), they're a hip hop type of band with some 311 influence. They're really cool dudes and we all went to high school together as well. We're also fans of Man Overboard (facebook.com/manoverboardNJ) but obviously they’re getting all the attention they deserve.

Is there a story behind how you chose your band name?
Curt: I landed on that name as what I would name my band if I ever became part of a group and I kinda forced it on the boy’s haha. Luckily they dealt with it and we just got to be known as Case Closed. When we got older and decided maybe it was time for a switch we just couldn’t do it. It’s pretty funny to have a band name that nobody particularly likes but nobody really has the heart to put an end to the era if it. It works though and as long as the music is good who cares about the name anyway?

Agreed. What’s the deal with upcoming tour dates and summer plans?
Phil: We've got a whole lot of stuff in the works right now. I don’t have a whole lot of specifics at the moment but I can tell you that we'll be doing a LOT of east coast touring and we're hoping to start making our way west. Next month we've got a lot of regional stuff around the area in NYC, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and Ohio.
Curt: We'll be announcing more in the coming weeks!

Any final words?
Dave: Get money.
Dan: Life’s short party naked!
Curt: Tip your bartender and waitresses.


Alexis Canary
Alexis@wearemonsterent.com

Launch Music Festival 2011

2011 Performer Schedule

Pick up an Origivation Magazine and look for the QR code. Scan using QR Reader w/ your smart phone to get the schedule on the go.

Why Watch TV?

Monster Issue

April 2011's edition of Origivation Magazine is a special one for us at Monster Entertainment. Not only is this edition the official "LAUNCH Music Conference Guide," which is one of our favorite conferences, it also prominently features an article/interview on our boys Revolution, I Love You RILY FEATURE.

The article speaks briefly of the band's move from tax free Delaware to the magnetic city of Philadelphia. It then goes more in depth to create paragraphs like the one below.

Revolution, I Love You was a phrase made popular in France in 1968, when it was written on city walls, along with other Marxist writings. Lindgren admits, while sitting in a coffee shop with a book of essays on Russian Literature sitting on the table, that he and Reynolds "are kind of bookish." Lindgren's interest in philosophy partially drives his and Reynolds' vision of what they want their band to be. Revolution, I Love You is deconstructed pop music- a breakdown of the music of Costello and the Boss and Phil Spector sucked through a rusty filter of industrialized, hipster dance music. It is dirty purity- sweet, yet not at all simple. (Ryan O'Connell - Origivation Magazine)



Great description... for those who may not know, Ryan O'Connell is a valuable asset to the city of Philadelphia's independent music scene. Hey YOU! Yes, you "scene," cherish what you have and respect what's in your backyard! I've always wanted to scream at an entire scene.

By the way, thanks for the feature Origivation, and for the love Philly. It's all a precursor to the eventual release of RILY's upcoming album. "We Choose To Go To The Moon"



More? Why yes! Also, be on the look out for the Case Closed ad in this Monster Issue of Origivation Magazine. It should look something like this...



Case Closed's debut single "Breathe Slow" has been freely downloaded from every state except Alaska in the past month. I MAY be exaggerating a LITTLE bit, but not by much. Have you downloaded it yet? Why not? It's Free! Oh, you aren't sure if you have the time? I see, well, what if I were to put a link to it right HERE?

Origivation Magazine

Launch Music Conference

I-M