Behind the Lens: Angela Kendall

Feel free to geek out with me while reading this interview with the amazing Angela Kendall. She's the director behind those Tegan & Sara features we all love and an accomplished music video director. She's not any less amazing a photographer either. She has been crazy busy but took time out to answer a few questions!

How are you today? I can't see you so I just want to make sure you're in a good mood while answering these questions.

These questions are great and i am in a delightful mood (thank you for asking :)

So you just do it all: Photography, music videos, documentaries. Which do you find the most challenging?

Each have their own set of unique challenges. I would say I find music videos the most challenging because there are so many variables. First of all, you have to take someone's song and interpret it in such a way that you stay true to it while also creating something original and compelling. It's also getting increasingly difficult to be original because so many ideas have already been done. Directing the actual shoot is also very challenging. There's a lot of pressure to get the shots you want and you have to be able to think on your feet.

When you're editing footage how do you decide what to cut? For example, that teaser you made for Death Cab, it's about two minutes. You must've gotten quite a bit of behind the scenes/studio footage. How did you decide what to squeeze into the short clip?

It depends on what Im cutting. In that Death Cab Teaser I simply chose shots that I felt were my strongest, matched the mood of the song being used, and represented what you would see when you watched the full piece. In the general sense, you choose shots based on your criteria. For example, what music you're using, what story you want to tell, and what shots are your best. A lot of it, for me anyway, is instinctual; I just gravitate towards certain shots.

An Horse - Camp Out from An Horse on Vimeo.

In An Horse's video for "Camp Out", Kate falls down a few times, which is a literal interpretation of a lyric in that song. As were the phone cords in Tegan & Sara's video for "Call It Off". Is that more of an interesting concept to you; to play with the metaphors in that way?

I like to pull some meaning out of the song, something that I can expand upon to give the video some depth and purpose. I do like metaphors because they can be so creative, and its gets you away from a literal translation.

Jets Overhead - Addiction from Jets Overhead on Vimeo.

One of my favorite videos of all time is the one you guys made for "Addiction" by Jets Overhead. It's one of those "mirror to society" pieces we so desperately need more of. How was that made? That footage didn't strike me as easy to find.

I like the way that video turned out too. The footage was not easy to find, and we spent countless hours scouring public domain archives to get suitable shots.

I just want to switch gears for a minute and talk about your photography. The nature shots on your site are beautiful, some hauntingly so. Could you tell us where some of those were shot?

It's hard to take credit for pictures of nature :) All my shots were taken in and around Vancouver with the really scenic ones coming from an alpine hiking trip I took in Keremeos last summer.

I found the "Urban" photos really sad. Not sure if they were supposed to be. Were those taken in Vancouver?

I never intended for the urban photos to be sad, but that's interesting you felt that. I wanted to focus on structural composition, so there is a starkness that comes with that. Most of them were taken in east van, where I live, so I guess there's an inherent sadness to this neighborhood that might have come through as well.

For the first time in a long time on the "News" page on the Transmission 2 site, I scrolled all the way down. The earliest update being from February 2004 and was about you guys beginning the shooting of "The Making of So Jealous". You've been working with Tegan & Sara for a long time, as well as Jets Overhead. When you bring ideas to people you've been working with for a long time does that make you nervous, I mean is there more pressure there? Or is it all just natural because you guys know each other so well?

It's all very natural by this point. We've been working together for so many years, that I don't feel pressure to give ideas. Beyond a working relationship, we're all friends, so that makes things even easier.

Speaking of Tegan & Sara, you're directing two new videos for their songs "On Directing" and "Northshore". Tegan tweeted a few pictures from the set. They're known for having some pretty quirky videos. However, the shots Tegan tweeted seemed dark in a few ways, mostly in a literal way. Without giving too much away, can you just tell us if these videos will be a bit more intense or darker than their previous ones?

I will say that these videos will be a departure from the quirkiness we usually see from Tegan and Sara. We wanted to do a couple videos that were immediate and accessible to a wide variety of people.

Do you and Brian have any projects in the works you can tell us about?

Both of us are working on two separate pilot tv shows, and I'm starting up an art project with a friend, but I can't really talk about it yet. You'll just have to wait and see :)

Links!!!

http://angela-kendall.com

http://transmission2.com

Everything You Need to Know: St. Vincent

by Shireen June

Annie Clark is St. Vincent.

Not in the way that Stefani Germanotta is Lady Gaga or Alicia Augello Cook is Alicia Keys, because although all three carry pseudonyms, Annie Clark is a creator of technical harmonies, witty lyrics, and prodigious instrumentals carried out by ten other assisting players (just kidding, that only happened on Letterman).

Clark’s accompaniment, despite the elaborate Letterman performance, is never anything less than intricate. Having seen her perform twice in the past year, I’m always in awe every time a new instrument enters the stage. It’s when I witness her give a starting nod to the keyboardist-turned-violinist that I appreciate the talent of a frontman, or in this case frontwoman.

However in order to be an honest writer, I’ll admit to having first previewed Clark’s album after walking past a vinyl copy of her latest release “Actor” in a nearby record store exactly a year ago. To get to the point, it was the face.

It was a vinyl cover unlike any around it, and when I bought it days later I found that it was a beautiful record, unlike any I’d heard before.

I also saved an image the cover as the background on my cell phone. No regrets.

The songs initially sounded like a cross between my vivid memories of watching Disney movies as a kid, and my less-than apprehensible memories of listening to Led Zeppelin as an adolescent. I think it was the intriguing contrast between Clark’s soft voice and her intimidating ability to slay on a guitar.

It all adds to the charm.

Clark, who now resides in New York when off tour, has opened for artists like Grizzly Bear, Death Cab for Cutie, The National, Andrew Bird, and Arcade Fire. Her earlier career began soon after dropping out of Berklee’s School of Music when she became a member of Sufjan Stevens' touring band and The Polyphonic Spree. Most recently, she collaborated with Bon Iver in the heartbreakingly magnetic song “Roslyn,” which was composed for the soundtrack of the overwhelmingly popular film New Moon.

With some summer shows lined up, St. Vincent will make her way to your area in which case you should definitely attend. Don’t take a date, because you’ll find yourself more focused on the stage more than any show you’ve attended before (and perhaps slightly hypnotized).

Do not take St. Vincent with any other drugs or alcohol.

Symptoms may include rapid heartbeat, over stimulation of the eyes, uncontrollable smiles, and sonic joy bursting into your ears.

Between her two albums released under the moniker St. Vincent (“Marry Me” and “Actor”), here are some songs worth checking out:

1. Actor Out of Work

2. Paris is Burning

3. Jesus Saves, I Spend

4. The Party

5. Now Now

6. Marrow

7. Your Lips are Red

8. What Me Worry?

9. The Strangers

10. Marry Me

~ Shireen June (http://twitter.com/GiantJune)

Band: http://www.ilovestvincent.com/

Everything You Need to Know: Blood Red Shoes

by Sarah Bastin

November 2007. I am taking photos of the Festival Les Inrocks for Brain Magazine. It’s my first time at this Festival, and if I remember well, it’s the opening night. Cold War Kids is headlining this first day but 2 hours before, I was stoked by a duo, Blood Red Shoes.

A drumset and a guitar. Then I remember the blond hair of steve and his blue eyes. But mostly I remember Laura-Mary. How pale is her skin and how dark are her eyes. I instantly got a crush on her, him, them. She acts shy but she rocks hard. Steve looks like a tiny boy but his big eyes are all opened.

I try to do my best to take photos. It’s complicated. I am far from the stage. I am not in the front row. The band is awesome and I am struggling against the work I have to do and the sensations that I feel. Blood Red Shoes gave me sweet warm feelings that I needed. "I Wish I Was Someone Better" blew my mind. So did "It’s Getting Boring by the Sea". Short songs full of riffs suit to my present life. It’s punk rock with the pop that we need. After the show, I’ve spent two weeks listening non stop to their first album. Buying it online, looking for their vinyls in Paris.

(photo set Paris 2007 http://www.flickr.com/photos/redbookprojekt/sets/72157603172364331/)

A year later, in 2008, Blood Red Shoes played a new show in Paris. The same night as Motorhead. First row in a pit full of photographers. Again, nothing on the stage but a drum set and guitars. It’s empty and I already love it. Laura-Mary is wearing the exact same shoes. Black ones. I remembered them as high heels. They are not. "Say Something, Say Anything" is epic and the band offers 3 exclusive new songs.

(photo set Paris 2008 http://www.flickr.com/photos/redbookprojekt/sets/72157610200602485/)

I don’t remember their titles but they are probably part, today, of their new album, Fire like this. After 3 years of intense listening to their music, I saw Blood Red Shoes for the first time in 2 years, at their show in Paris. I am here to film their set for Le Hiboo and I am excited and anxious just like the beginning of term. The new record is a bit more pop but "Don’t Ask" is an amazing single. The show was sold out and I am happy for this band. They played festivals and they deserve to have their own public. I am a bit scared too. What if nothing has changed? What if they don’t give something new?

Don't Ask from bloodredshoes on Vimeo.

This time I am on the left side, right in front of Steve who is facing me. I admit that I don’t remember Laura-Mary’s shoes but she has replaced her dresses for a large Led Zep tee and a skinny jean. Again, she rarely looks at the crowd while she is mastering her guitar. They are both themselves. At least, the same duo from 2007. But 3 years later, they are offering us a show with much more nuances of the rock music. Discret electronic drum intros, slow and fast tempos in the same song. "When We Wake" makes me want to stop filming and enjoy the song. It’s something heavy, weak, sweet, sour, fragile and strong. It’s the perfect symbol of a complementary duo, of an (apparently) shy girl offering heavy riffs, of a tiny blond boy with a huge drum set.

Titles, in no specific order :

ADHD

Can’t Find the Door

Don’t Ask

I Wish I Was Someone Better

It’s getting Boring by the Sea

Say Something, Say Anything

You Bring Me Down

Light It Up

When We Wake

Follow the Lines

~ Sarah Bastin (http://twitter.com/SarahBastin)

photo by Sarah Bastin

Band: http://bloodredshoes.co.uk

Everything You Need to Know: Now, Now Every Children

by Maya Powell

I first heard Now, Now Every Children on a Monday. And a depressing one too. It was the beginning of October, which by Minnesota standards is the dead of winter. I wish I could remember who recommended them to me, but i’m stuck thinking it was some generous higher power. The first track I played was ‘We Know Martha Webber’, the third track off of their 2008 album Cars. Instantly entranced by lead singer Cacie Dalager’s soft yet potent voice and drummer Bradley’s delicate yet complex beats, I left my October-blues behind and executed an odd assortment of air-drumming, head banging, and jumping on my bedroom floor. I was, what many NNEC fans may admit to being, an instant super fan.

Almost as fast as the 2 minute 48 second song starts as a calm indie tune and escalades into a thunderous rush of synths, guitars, and cymbals, I entered the online world of NNEC. After tweeting, friending, and watching all the youtube videos I could get my paws on, I came to two very satisfying conclusions:

1. They are funny.

2. They are from Minnesota.

Funny is a very important part in liking a band for me. It’s a connection that a band creates that makes me want to buy the concert ticket just as much as the music does. I like watching 30-second videos of my favorite bands doing karaoke to 80’s hits in the van on their way to their next gig. And I appreciate the tweets that simply say “Shitballs.” NNEC, fully immersed in the interwebs via twitter, youtube, tumblr, stickam, and more, thoroughly filled my comedy quota. Complimentary to the humor is the fact that they are local. By default, I like bands a gazillion times more if they are local because I like to support the amazing music scene that has come through in Minneapolis. So to recap, crazy good music plus good humor with the fans plus local equals NNEC.

Now, Now Every Children - Friends With My Sister from Brandon Chesbro on Vimeo.

NNEC definitely has a ‘sound’, although I’m not sure that my mediocre vocabulary could find the words to do it just. Here’s my attempt: NNEC constructs synth based songs that start soft and escalade into full out guitar jams, then wind down into gentle outros that force you to click the repeat button. Cacie sings vocals that sound so frank and sincere you almost feel like you’re sitting in a room adjacent to her, listening to her write the song. Her slightly distorted guitar riffs make even the most casual listener wonder ‘why DON’T I play the guitar?’ Bradley creates intense, syncopated rhythms, clashing with the melody and chords to make a sound that is so powerful and different from rock music today. Touring band Britty, Christine, and Jess make their songs sound full and forceful live, compelling even the most apprehensive concertgoer to awkwardly sway with the person next to them. My favorite song, ‘Headlights’, off of Cars, is the kind of song that I listen to everywhere. I sit on my bed lip-synching to it. I get strange looks from people at lunch when I can’t help but shuffle my feet to it’s radiating beat. I get disapproving comments from my chiropractor when trying to explain that I strained my neck head banging to the half-time climax of the song.

The accumulation of all of these elements makes Now, Now Every Children my favorite band- The inspiring melodies, witty charm, and blatant hipster appearance are the grounds of my, and many other fans', tremendous love for Now, Now Every Children.

Playlist

1.Cars
2. We Know Martha Webber
3. Everyone You Know
4. Headlights
5. Have You Tried
6. Holiday, Birthday Funeral
7. Friends With My Sister
8. In My Chest
9. In The City
10. Little Brother

~ Maya Powell (http://twitter.com/Turtleturd6736)

Band: http://myspace.com/nownoweverychildren

Everything You Need to Know: Guster

by Melissa Coleman

About ten years ago, an album changed my life. My dad (who I obviously thought was super lame at the time,) played Lost and Gone Forever by Guster on the car stereo. I sat and listened, stunned. Three-part harmonies sang over the crashing of bongo drums and complex guitar arrangements. My Aaron Carter obsession disappeared instantly. This was what music was supposed to sound like.

Ryan Miller (vocals, various stringed instruments,) Adam Gardner (vocals, various stringed instruments,) Brian Rosenworcel (percussion) and Joe Pisapia (various stringed instruments and keyboard) hail from Massachussetts and comprise Guster.

Since their first album in 1995, they've released four more, gaining moderate mainstream success in the US. I have no idea why they aren't topping the charts. It's impossible for me to distinguish a favorite album between Lost and Gone Forever (1999) and Keep It Together (2003).

What makes Guster so amazing?

Maybe it's the instrumentation and arrangements. First, Rosenworcel plays drums without sticks... like with his bare hands. Besides that making him a beast, it gives an incredibly unique sound to the percussion (obvious on songs such as "Barrel of a Gun" and "Happier.") The other members also play an arsenal of unique instruments: lap steel, appalachian dulcimer and ukulele to name a few.

Maybe it's the unbelievably catchy harmonies. Miller and Gardner's voices together make my ears explode every time I listen (just barely an exaggeration.) Every song forces me to sing along. Even the lyrics are great, which is an added bonus.

Maybe it's their live shows. I got to see them in 2006 with my dad (who obviously was still super lame.) I saw their onstage banter firsthand, and I must say that it rivals Tegan and Sara's. They were so hilarious... and I got confusing crushes on all of them.

Amazingness aside, listening to Guster simply puts me in a good mood. Many of their songs (like "Amsterdam" and "Manifest Destiny") achieve the near-impossible: being optimistic without being cheesy. Other songs (like "Two Points for Honesty" and "Backyard") allow me to reflect and philosophize.. Every song engages me in every way, which is a feat since I get bored easily.

Oh, and once you're addicted to Guster, you'll have a reason to celebrate this fall. Their new untitled album drops in September. Get excited.

Essential Guster Playlist:

1. Barrel of a Gun (Lost and Gone Forever)

2. Backyard (Keep it Together)

3. Great Escape (Goldfly)

4. What You Wish For (Lost and Gone Forever)

5. The Captain (Ganging Up On the Sun)

6. Careful (Keep It Together)

7. I Spy (Lost and Gone Forever)

8. Amsterdam (Keep It Together)

9. Fa Fa (Lost and Gone Forever)

10. Jonah (Music For Relief for Haiti compilation album, 2010)

~ Melissa Coleman (http://twitter.com/Melimoz)

Band: http://guster.com