band review – KTEC 89.5 FM

From the Desk of KTEC:

Laundry: Washed & Folded, but still Funky

Laundry is more than just a weekend chore, to the people of Eugene, Oregon, Laundry is one of the up and coming bands in the independent music scene.

Photo by Jonathan Roensch

KTEC was able to interview them, in light of their upcoming album release and was given exclusive access to the album before its release and even before their single dropped on April 2! Their album is titled Affirmation and drops on April 20th 2019.

Laundry is comprised of Riley Somers on Guitar/Vocals, Kiki Paroissien-Arce on Guitar/Vocals, Nik Barber on Drums, Cal Fenner on Bass/Vocals who all come from the PNW. They manage to juggle a band with weekly live gigs and classes at the University of Oregon with majors ranging from Physics to Music. Laundry was also featured at the 2018 Oregon Tech Music Garden Festival and allowed Riley to visit his hometown of Klamath Falls. We’re happy to support them going forward and are patiently waiting to feature their new music on air!

The beginnings of Laundry are humble, “We met in the Spiller Residence Hall for Musicians at the University of Oregon in the Fall of 2017. We all met playing music in the dorm rooms. . .That same night, we migrated to the laundry room and played until 2:00 am. The four of us were the last people hanging out. We never thought of a better band name than Laundry, so we stuck with it” (Laundry 2019). However, their sound is anything but humble.

Their first EP, The Quandary (2018), was “. . .a very rushed process. We wanted to get something out there so that we could start getting shows. The way we cut it (8 tracks in 6 hours) made it less refined than Affirmation, which took us upwards of three days in the studio. Everytime we write a song we feel like it’s better than the last. Kiki had a lot more input this time around, and that helped us develop as a band” (Laundry, 2019). The Quandary has what they call a punk-funk feel, with lots of heavy guitar.

Affirmation takes a different approach, coming more into the dream-pop genre with Kiki on a lot of the vocals. Listening to this album, you can feel the excitement about each song that comes up. It keeps your interest the whole time and you don’t want it to end because there was just something so unique about each song. Their single Junkyard Robot really exemplifies that.

Overall, Laundry is deserving of high praise. They have such strong potential as a band and this album has the power to get them there. Keep up with them on various social media platforms below, read the full interview, and keep an eye out for their album release on April 20th!

Full Interview with KTEC

Classic Rock Coming Back

You hear a guitar riff and the iconic nasally high notes singing to you about a lady in the desert. A young man walks on stage in a tunic and with medallion hanging from his neck, curly hair and skin tight pants.

Your first thought was Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, wasn’t it? Nope, try Josh Kiszka of the renowned rock renaissance band, Greta Van Fleet.

The band has worked to make it clear that they are not trying to “copy” Led Zeppelin, but have expressed their respect for the band and the 70’s rock influences. One of many influences however, they draw from early blues and soul. The band is comprised of 3 brothers and their long time childhood friend. Twins, Josh and Jake Kiszka take on vocals and guitar and are joined by their brother Sam Kiszka on bass/keys, with friend Danny Wagner behind the drums. The guys started playing in their garage in a small town in Michigan, and struggling to be heard over the booming music was how Josh’s Zeppelin-esque scream was born.

Although the band sounds like they came from the past, they’re fairly new to the music scene. The band started to take off in 2017 and has been steadily gaining momentum. They’ve produced two EPs and a recent studio album (2018), they’ve been nominated for 4 Grammys, and are currently touring internationally.

What’s fascinating about this “rebirth” of rock n roll is that the younger generations (yes, those pesky millennials) are finally getting a taste of what our parents experienced: Big, bombastic drums and exploding guitar solos, a screaming shirtless frontman dripping with sweat, and music that’s filled with so much palpable passion and emotion. While doing some research on the band, a YouTube user’s comment stuck out – “Wow, I’m 54 and I feel like I’m 15 again”. The journey of music discovery is so important in a young teen’s life and has unfortunately been diminished by Top 40 radio hits, singles taking precedence over full length albums, and music with the same monotonous choruses. But Greta Van Fleet is providing this experience again for today’s generation. We’re sitting down, putting down the phone, and really listening to an album for everything that it’s worth.

People criticized Guns N Roses for being a little too “Led Zeppelin-ish”, they said Lady Gaga sounds a little too much like Madonna, and Christina Aguilera tried too hard to sound like Mariah Carey. Influences are everywhere and comparisons are inevitable, but the beauty of art is that it belongs to the artist. The men of Greta Van Fleet are creating something special and all their own, have a listen:

Sources: