In a Set It Off song, you’re as likely to find strings and woodwinds as crunching guitars and sugary pop harmonies. The band’s members have been perfecting their unique blend of orchestral pop-punk since 2008 and are about to embark on their biggest adventure yet: a European tour with Yellowcard this spring. We chatted with vocalist Cody Carson about his classical background, love of ’90s R&B, and what advice he would give to up-and-coming acts looking to make their mark.
OS: You guys recently donated over $5000 to the VH1 “Save The Music” Foundation and you mention the influence of music programs on the band when you were young. What music programs were you involved in when you were in school?
Cody Carson: I went to Tarpon Springs High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida. In second grade, I picked up a clarinet, and I kept playing and I got very heavily involved in classical music. The only reason I went to Tarpon Springs High School was because of their music program; it was incredible. It taught you a great deal of work ethic, and there was also a leadership program that was called Tarpon Springs High School Music and Leadership Conservatory. I learned a lot of valuable life lessons there. I played clarinet and was involved in marching band and wind ensemble and jazz band. Because of the leadership program there, at the end of every year there was always a political campaign and I would run for clarinet section leader and woodwind captain, and those were two positions I held. I met Dan Clermont, our guitarist, there. He was the trumpet player there and he was also trumpet section leader and field commander and stuff like that. The program was incredible to us. Continue reading ‘Exclusive Q and A: Set It Off Talk Orchestral Origins’
In a continuation of Vans’ partnership with Metallica, the California shoe company has just released four new custom shoes, each representing one member of the legendary metal act. To design the shoes, Vans encouraged the band members to take inspiration from music and action sports to create shoes that represented their own individual styles. The results are unique takes on four classic Vans shoes: the Sk8-Hi Deconstruct, Era Laceless, Slip-On, and Escuela.
Writing a sophomore album is a tricky prospect, especially when a band has received a massive amount of buzz and critical praise in relation to their relatively short lifespan. Groups crumble all the time under the weight of these expectations – whether from themselves or from the media – and often are unable to recapture the magic of their first major release: the one that they had their entire lives to conjure, instead of just a few months between tours and promotion. The rapid pace of the blogosphere has magnified the effect of this pressure, churning out new acts by the day that are effective sonic replacements for any formerly beloved group that has failed to pass muster on a new release. Add in the democratic and anonymous nature of the Internet, which emboldens the opinionated to release the type of caustic criticism that most would hide in person, and it is understandable why many bands today would have some trepidation regarding the release of new material.
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In 1991 the Gulf War was raging, the youth of America were draped in flannel, and Irish indie rockers My Bloody Valentine had just released their second studio album Loveless, setting the bar almost impossibly high for future shoegaze records. Now, more than 20 years later, the band has finally released a new studio album entitled mbv, only their third in nearly three decades of existence.
It’s not even worth asking if you remember “Party In The USA.” Of course you do. Miley’s 2009 hit was so infectious that it would have taken a blood transfusion to get rid of it that fall. But it wasn’t just Miley who created that monster hit. Aiming for total chart domination, she teamed up with mad pop genius Łukasz Gottwald a.k.a. Dr. Luke, the same man who masterminded hits like ”I Kissed a Girl,” “My Life Would Suck Without You,” “Tik Tok,” “We R Who We R,” “Teenage Dream,” “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” and practically every other chart-topping pop song that you’ve heard in the past half decade. The man is a pop music machine, and he’s not done with Miley yet. After inking a new deal with RCA records, Miley will once again be collaborating with Dr. Luke on her new album along with other big names like Tyler The Creator and Mary J. Blige. Prepare your ears for complete invasion.
After digging through cached images and code in The Strokes’ official website, one 
