The Greeting Committee: Live in Concert

February 18, 2022

The Greeting Committee, Kansas-City natives, brought greetings of love and light to New York City, for a show that won’t be soon forgotten. The effervescent group’s lead singer, Addie, smoothly serenaded the crowd while instrumentalists Brandon and Pierce shredded away and made it look easy. It’s safe to say that by the time the first song concluded, they had already won over the crowd.

The Greeting Committee’s Brooklyn show was one of the many stops on the alternative, experimental groups headline tour, in which they are promoting their sophomore album, Dandelion. The album meditates upon many chronicled scenarios, from tough breakups to the day-to-day emotions that one experiences as they are coming of age and coming into the self. But the band’s relatable lyrics are given an entirely new meaning when performed live, as it is their chemistry and compatibility with each other that truly instilled the night with vivacity.

Interview by Kayla Curtis-Evans
Photo Courtesy of Universal Music Group

After the exhilarating show, office stepped backstage to speak to lead singer Addie about the group’s journey and their headline tour thus far. Continue reading for the full interview.

How was tonight’s show for you guys?

Tonight was amazing. It was our biggest headline show outside of our hometown. So a very monumental night for us. There were a lot of really good hometown friends here so it's like a big, fun reunion. In our green room right now, it's just everybody catching up from our hometown.

What is your favorite song to perform, the song that's the most fun for you guys?

I'm really surprised by the reaction that 'Can I leave Me Too' gets, like the sort of dance energy that comes out of it is fun to see. So we shifted into using that as our opening song. That bassline is so recognizable to our fans, so I really love that. I'm starting to get a lot more comfortable with playing 'Float Away' live and how to use that to interact with the crowd. So that one's creeping up to the top as well.

And I know this is a big moment for you guys too because the past couple years, you couldn't tour and you weren't doing live performances. So what's the thing you missed most about doing this?

Probably just being able to connect with people. I think it's really hard to be an artist right now because at least for me, so much of my validation comes from the crowd. And I try to manage that in a healthy way, but it's hard. I felt like I was kind of releasing music and shouting into the void. So to have shows again feels like, 'Oh my God, duh, this is why I do what I do.' So that I can connect with people because that's always been my goal. That reaction helps me to understand what makes an impact, and that matters to more than just me and my bandmates.

You guys have been together as a band for a long time, right?

Since we were 15 and 16. Which is crazy. Now we're 23 and 24.

I read that you guys started off doing open mic nights and small things like that. In what ways since then have you grown, personally, but then also musically?

I think we have a really unique situation because of the fact that our growth and our progress in our music has been documented since the beginning of us being a band. Our first EP 'It's Not All That Bad’ was released in 2015. And then to have a body of work be released now, it can be kind of embarrassing. I mean that isn't the right word because I'm proud of us and I like revisiting old music, but it was such a different time. Our most popular song, 'Hands Down,' sometimes plays when I'm out in public and people will ask, 'How do you feel about that?' And it's like — that girl's 15. I don't even recognize that voice as much. And I don't think my voice has changed a ton, but I'm 23 now. So eight years of a difference. Then as far as personally, it's hard to grow up as teenagers together and then into young adults. I mean, it's like a marriage. We go to band therapy to try to work through stuff and to try to just be the best we can be to one another. And I think that that just speaks volumes to the effort we're willing to put into one another.

But that real relationship, it shows on stage — that closeness you guys have and how much time you have spent together. It's a good thing for the crowd to see too because we can feel it.

It's a weird chemistry that we have because we weren't friends before the band. Really? How did you guys get together? It's just funny because in interviews people will ask, 'What's it like to tour with your best friends?' And back when we were 16, I was like, 'Those are not my best friends.' But now we're obviously very close. We got together because our guitar player, Brandon, his mom and my stepmom were like, 'You guys should date each other!' And we did talk for a month and then I figured out, 'Oh, I like girls.' And Brandon is not a girl. But from there we did find that we really enjoy playing music with one another and enjoy the friendship that we have. So it turned out better than a relationship for sure. Something more special.

I know, like we talked about, obviously this answer has probably changed with time — but what inspires your music?

I think overall relationships are the most common theme, whether that's a romantic relationship or friendship or my parents. I just love love and hate and grief and every emotion that there is. I think the human experience, in general, gives so much to write about.

Can you tell me a little bit about the new single “Sort of Stranger” coming out at midnight? The theme seems to be something pretty relatable for a lot of people — where did the lyrics and concept stem from?

So 'Sort of Stranger' was supposed to come out on the Dandelion record, and then we decided last-second to cut it, to make the record feel more cohesive. And my argument with that was 'Okay, but it has to come out for a deluxe then or something.' Because I really love this song. And I'm really glad we waited on it because waiting on it allowed us to have Briston Maroney be a part of it. He's a good friend and I knew that his voice would be perfect for it and that his lyrics would be perfect for it. So I cut out a verse to make room for him and I just adore what he did and how much soul his voice has, and how willing he is to connect. Even if it was over FaceTime and text message, he did what he could to make it happen. He's the absolute sweetest guy in the world. But the original idea for it, I was listening to Phoebe Bridgers on my way to our bass player's house to write. And the chorus line popped in my head — 'If you're gone, who gets the toothbrush ready?' Because when my girlfriend and I broke up, which is the biggest inspiration for the Dandelion record, we had this annoying couple thing of she would get my toothbrush ready in the morning before she went to work. It was just this little symbol of an 'I love you.' So when we parted and got back together, that was just something that kept recurring. I couldn't get over the fact that when she was gone, my toothbrush wasn't ready. So from there Pierce really took action with me and we wrote that together.

You guys are starting off the year with your headline tour, which is amazing and such a big way to kick it off. What are some other goals that you guys have or what do you hope is to come from the rest of this year?

There is definitely a remix of a Dandelion song coming in the future and then possibly a fan-favorite cover that we want to do. That should be really fun. And then I honestly hope to do even more collaborations. The Briston collab was our first one. I think I was really against them as a teenager — I don't know whether it was my ego or just trying to pave my own way. But now, I think I'm so lucky to be friends with so many talented people and so to get to work with them would be really fun. And then hopefully, another co-headline tour in the fall with friends of ours would be really fun. I think broadening our horizons as much as possible would be really great. Just being more open.

Music

Jesse Jo Stark Is in a Genre of Her Own

April 19, 2024

In the midst of a total solar eclipse, I got the chance to talk about music and style with Jesse Jo Stark.

As I’m on the phone with her from New York, Stark is on a tour bus with The Veronicas, driving through the Colorado mountains to enjoy some time off in between shows. The Veronicas have just started their Gothic Summer North American Tour, and Stark is opening the show. What’s special about this tour for the lifelong music obsessive is the sense of powerful feminine energy encapsulating the tour. “We just started [tour], but it’s been really lovely. I’m obsessed with the fact that we’re all women — it feels like a very powerful crew. The Veronicas are lovely, the crowds have been so fun, and the venues are beautiful. It’s gonna be a good month.”

Photography Sophia-Liv Maguire
Styling Marc Eram
Interview Angelina Hazzouri
Talent Jesse Jo Stark
Hair Antoine Martinez with PARADIS using Roz Hair
Makeup Sydney Szramowski
Photo Assistants Mia O’Neal, Rashaun Richardson
BTS Ms Josephine
Creative Producer Olivia Roper-Caldbeck

This is Stark’s second time touring since the release of her full-length debut album DOOMED in late 2022, which was very well received and led to Stark’s first sold-out international headlining tour on behalf of the album. Previous to her solo tour, she’s opened for various notable acts, such as Guns N’ Roses and Jane’s Addiction. I asked Stark, who’s been writing and playing music since age 11, what it was like to prepare for her first sold-out headlining tour. Unsurprisingly, before any tour, Stark goes into what she describes as “bootcamp mode” — dancing every day, vocal training, rehearsing with her band, and of course, working on her outfits. “That’s the sort of homework I love,” she says, smiling. (Even though we’re on the phone, I can tell she’s smiling when she talks about the outfit part. I’d smile too if I had her tour closet.)

What’s unique about Stark as a musician is that she has ultimately created her own universe by embracing every aspect of her creative upbringing, her raw talent, her fascinating influences, and her unwavering beliefs in not needing to fit into a certain box when it comes to her art. She creative-directs and styles all her own looks, referencing an ever-evolving list of influences that range from Vegas showgirls to Halloween to old films to her parents in the 90s. “I think when I was younger, I had this rebellion against what I was made from,” she tells me, “but now it’s just my blood. I constantly reflect on my childhood and everything I was taught and everything I saw. My brother and sister and I are constantly pulling influences from our parents from the past. I think, more than ever, I’m heavily influenced by them.”

Stark, the daughter of founders and owners of the self-made American fashion brand Chrome Hearts, and now its creative director and designer, is someone who always knew what she liked, but as she describes it, had to ‘go through the motions’ that come with growing up and knowing one’s identity. Today, her self-efficacy is palpable — and it’s inspiring.

...when I was younger, I had this rebellion against what I was made from, but now it’s just my blood.

When she’s on tour, Stark is growing with herself and with her art — she’s not afraid to take life as it comes and learn through the process. With every show, regardless of whether it was on her DOOMED tour or this tour with The Veronicas, Stark understands the importance of human connection through music. Seeing faces of music lovers like herself, meeting those who have traveled to see her, and visiting familiar and unfamiliar cities has reminded her that she loves being on the road. “The growth that happens on tour is so important to me as an artist.” Sometimes we have to leave behind what’s familiar in order to rediscover what’s important, and Stark is a proponent of this growth mindset.

Growth doesn’t just happen on tour with Stark — this evolution of herself happens within genre as well, and for Stark there’s no such thing. Since her first release Driftwood in 2017, the artist’s sound has shifted year after year, but in a harmonious way that still feels central to her gothic Americana roots. When asked if she’ll experiment with genre in the future, Stark confidently answers, “I think I’ve only experimented with genre. I don’t think anyone knows what genre I am.” (She calls herself a “horrific hillbilly” — a perfect descriptor.) Steadfast in her belief that we as humans can constantly evolve in our work, Stark thinks it’s antiquated to fit yourself into a certain box and focus on one specific trade in order to succeed. “If you look at us as people, we’re seasoned. We change all the time. I want to experience different things.”

Since Driftwood, a two-song EP rooted in rock and country, Stark has experimented with more robust beats and 808s on DOOMED, and her most recent single “skeleton” features a softer, grungier punk sound. Without fitting into a specific genre, Stark’s music is undoubtedly and wholeheartedly her own, transcending the boundaries of what many artists struggle with when finding their sound. “I don’t think we should have to label ourselves in any way, shape, or form; so I’m not going to. I will continue to make all types of different music.” Fuck yeah.

If you look at us as people, we’re seasoned. We change all the time.

This goes beyond just music — in terms of her personal style, the same mentality applies. We discuss the idea that clothing and dressing is a sort of playground, and personal style comes from within. Stark isn’t about following trends, but rather, she thinks it’s important to tap into different stylistic elements that amplify who we are at our cores. On her DOOMED tour, Stark wore a lot of leather and stuck to a fairly dark color palette. Right now, she’s into more bourgeois satin and lace, experimenting with different textures and wearing things that feel slightly daintier and more delicate. On this current tour with the Veronicas, Stark is making it more of a point to take everything in — absorbing inspiration from every city, writing songs on the road, recording video on a friend’s super 8 camera, styling and wearing new outfits, learning and performing new covers — ultimately growing through the whole experience.

It’s endearing and inspiring how well Stark knows herself. A Los Angeles native, she proudly tells me that the tour finishes on May 5 in her hometown, a show that she’s especially excited for. While we can’t predict what thoughtfully-curated outfit she’ll wear or what songs will be performed, with new music already underway, one thing is clear: Jesse Jo Stark is just getting started.

Music

9lives' Latest Single Continues to Push Sigilkore

April 19, 2024

The versatile artist, producer, and pioneer of the sigilkore genre, 9lives, has recently unveiled his latest single "CANADA" featuring jnhygs. In less than two years since his emergence onto the music scene, 9lives has carved out an impressive niche for himself as a prominent figure within the digitally-driven sigilkore movement. "CANADA" sees him teaming up once again with experimental dance artist jnhygs, following their successful collaboration on "XTAYALIVE".

With aspirations to establish himself within the mainstream arena of experimental music production and artistry, 9lives is blending his distinct dark production style with collaborations with a diverse array of influential artists who trust him to create innovative sonic landscapes. "CANADA" marks his second release of 2024, as 9lives continues to champion the burgeoning sigilkore movement, pushing the boundaries of genre, evolving into a multifaceted artist, and solidifying his status as a rising star with an expanding audience.

Image by Connor Pritchard

Reflecting on their latest project, 9lives shares, “In early 2023 jnhygs found my music and we started chatting through TikTok, releasing our first song together called "XTAYALIVE"." He adds, We’ve been friends since this song had a viral moment, and fans have been heavily requesting for us to work together again all over our videos.” Describing their creative process, he explains, “I sent a bunch of new ideas to jnhygs via Discord and she sent back vocals to “CANADA”, which I then used to create melodic layers and extra percussion to complete the song.

Music

Eclipsed at Vampire Weekend

April 16, 2024

It had been about a week since the goosebump-inducing communal howls at the moon, as it covered the sun through a cloudy Austin, Texas sky, left me needing to take a seat—suspended in awe of the totality of the event and the synergistic break from routine. I overheard someone say, “I mean, it feels like we’re all going to die, but in a way that’s okay, you know?" under the shadow of the eclipse's peak, ceremoniously brought in as the band performed “Jonathan Low,” (in Vampire Weekend's familiar ironic hue) a track they wrote for the third movie in the Twilight series, Eclipse.

It had been five years since the band had released an album. In celebration of their latest album, "Only God Was Above Us," ticket holders wrapped the streets in blocks outside the venue for the band’s first Stateside show in about two years. Event managers searched to replenish the venue’s stock of eclipse glasses, while the band prepped a show reminiscent of 'getting the boys back together again'.

Words and photography by Rianne Akindele

In between newly released songs like “Classical” and “Capricorn”, the boys filled the almost two-hour-long show with old favorites like “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, “Diane Young” and a genre evolved rendition of “Sunflower” as the crowd danced barefoot feeling the Earth’s energy intertwined with their own and the vibrations from the amps on stage. People stole glances at the imminently darkening sky, artists doodled, friends grabbed onto each other to scream the lyrics in each other’s faces, and onlookers from the highest level of the parking garage across the street cheered on in a symphony of nostalgia and anticipation.

Adding to the layers of the celestial afternoon, the band invited to the stage the likes of Thomas Mars from Phoenix, Dave 1 from Chromeo, and guitarist Brian Robert Jones, inducing further levels of indie revival euphoria.

As the show drew to its close, and the zydeco/country-rock “Cocaine Cowboys” medley fiddled through the air, a conversation could be picked up between two sisters in search of their Lyft driver through closed-off streets,

“I wish this happened more often.”
“Eclipses or shows like this?”
“Both.”

It’s moments like these that remind us of our shared humanity and the power of collective experiences; a gathering of souls under the same sky, sharing the joy of music and a wonder of the stars above. Perhaps it’s the rarity that allowed such transcendence, reverence, and gratitude to be felt. Either way, what a beautiful moment in time it was.

Here are a few shots from the Monday afternoon: