Interiors Minutes

...with summer knocking on the door, it seems appears as if yr showgoing options in Dayton are only gonna improve in the coming months. Here's the lowdown on a nice pair tonight...


...over at Blind Bob's, The Buddha Den Presents series returns with The Interiors (Chicago; pictured), along with The Seedy Seeds (Cincinnati) and one of our local faves, The Turkish Delights...

MP3: The Interiors "I'm So Happy"
MP3: The Turkish Delights "Lite-Brite"
MP3: The Seedy Seeds "Drive Me to the Center"


...out at The Fusion Chamber, you've got a heavy bill featuring Corpus Christi, Imbroglio, Ambush, Minutes, By Way of Sunstorm, and Hester Prynne...

...whatever yr choice, we'll see you out tonight....

PROFILE: The Interiors

...admittedly, we've been laying a bit lower lately than even we're totally comfortable with. For that, we apologize. Rest assured that we are still very much here and still very much tuning in to find new stuff all the time...

...this Friday The Buddha Den Presents series returns with a great band from Chicago, The Interiors. The band's excellent debut came out last year on the 54' 40 or Fight imprint and the band quickly started making some inroads with incessant touring. We took a minute to speak with guitarist Chase Duncan and here's what he had to say...

The Buddha Den: For those who aren't familiar with The Interiors' backstory, how about a little rewind first? How/when did you all come together? What other bands were you involved in previously? What brought the three of you together?

Chase Duncan: In early '04. [Interiors' drummer] Brian [Lubinsky] and I had been playing together for a bit with different bass players but none of them worked out. [Bassist] Collin [Jordan] came in after seeing an ad we were running in the Reader where we name checked Desmond Dekker as an influence. He was really into that as he had not yet heard American music.

Brian played in a handful of bands in Cincinnati and Chicago but he had yet to find his "shining star" until he met me.

Collin had something to do with some kind of free-jazz rock thing that involved copious amounts of drugs and a warehouse. Although no one bothered to document those events, we're confident that they must have sounded glorious.

TBD: Your self-titled debut quickly caught some big attention, i.e. you performed for a Rolling Stone magazine showcase in Chicago last summer. How has the reception of your album compared to your expectations? What has been the general response in performance?

CD: We had no expectations, in all honesty, but we've been very happy.

People love our show. It's hard not to, really.


TBD: Although you're from Chicago, your sound doesn't necessarily fit in with the classic perception of the "Chicago sound". Has that had any consequences for you at home and on tour?

CD: Not really but we do close every show with "Johnny B. Goode" so that everyone knows we're keeping it real.


TBD: We understand you are currently at work on a full-length follow up to your debut. How soon do you expect that to hit the streets? What can we expect from the record? Any sonic surprises?

CD: Not much to say in terms of the 'how' 'where' and 'when'. As far as the 'what' goes, I think it will be a stronger synthesis of our ideas than the first record which was written over a number of years and experiments. This will be over a much more concentrated period of time and, therefore, more focused, streamlined and themed both sonically and lyrically.

Going on the road makes you a better musician in a way that nothing I've ever experienced can. We're way better musicians individually and a much stronger band as a result.

There will be many sonic surprises. I intend to introduce the concept of the 'fade-in' whereby a song is ended by gradually increasing the volume of our 'jam out' until you are forced to turn it off before damage is done to your person and/or stereo.


TBD: How do you see 2009 shaping up for The Interiors? What does the remainder of the year have in store for you?

CD: Writing writing writing


TBD: Is there anything else you would like The Buddha Den readers to know about The Interiors?

CD: We love you!

...tune in to The Interiors now and we'll see you Friday night at Blind Bob's with special guests The Seedy Seeds and The Turkish Delights...

MP3: The Interiors "I'm So Happy"
MP3: The Interiors "Powerlines"
MP3: The Interiors "You Should Have Known"

The Buddha Den Presents: The Interiors/Hospital Garden/Mountain Screamer-Tonight @ Pearl 9.25.08

...with a small, but enthusiastic crowd on hand at Pearl last night, we were very excited to present two of Dayton's finest young bands and a great band out on tour from Chicago last night. Opening the evening were the duo Mountain Screamer. Despite numerous PA issues and some early guitar mishaps, the band plowed through a relentless set of bluesy punk numbers without fail. With heavy leanings toward John Spencer Blues Explosion, the snarling guitar and frenetic-yet-solid-drumming signal a solid outfit. Keep an eye out for Mountain Screamer-the duo could very well make a mark on the Dayton scene in the coming months...




...with fresh copies of the debut EP in tow, Hospital Garden hit the stage with their trademark fury and soul-engraving tunes. While guitarist Lucas has a way of delivering heart-wrenching vocals, on her sole turn at the mic, bassist Sarah seems to have the passion, but perhaps not the delivery as yet to match his intensity. The band, however, have been on a roll lately and their throwback indie recalls such heavyweights as Pavement and GBV, all the while firmly holding to their own interpretation. Be sure to grab the new disc while you can...




...out on tour from Chicago, The Interiors won over the late night crowd last night. Although starting out somewhat pensive, the band finally settled in and with their engaging banter drew the crowd in. Performing much of the material from their debut album, the intricacies and nuances were delivered with stunning precision. Guitarist Chase Duncan melded his sparse guitar lines seamlessly into his wide-ranging vocal delivery, effortlessly dancing over the meticulous rhythm section of Brian Lubinsky (drums) and Collin Jordan (bass). We're hoping for a return visit very soon...




For more photos from the evening, go here.

The Buddha Den Presents: The Interiors/Hospital Garden/Mountain Screamer-Tonight @ Pearl

...The Buddha Den is very pleased to present another great evening of some of the finest from Dayton and beyond. Headlining this evening at Pearl will be The Interiors (from Chicago), whose debut on 54-40 or Fight Records we reviewed a while back and who have since performed in their hometown for a Rolling Stone magazine showcase. The band are currently out on a fall tour in feverish support of said debut album. Also on the bill are two of our newer local faves, the throwback indie of Hospital Garden and the raunchy punk/blues of Mountain Screamer. If you need added incentive, Hospital Garden will be making the debut offering of their debut EP, which we highly recommend picking up. We'll see you there....

The Interiors-s/t

With current indie trends steering perilously toward vintage synth abuse and neon revival, it's suddenly more difficult to find a band that simply writes good rock songs. In the case of Chicago's The Interiors, you will find little in the way of unnecessary artifice. The trio embraces the spartan ethos of a trio to great effect on their debut disc The Interiors (54-40 Or Fight Records).

Although the band may only be three (guitarist/vocalist Chase Duncan, bassist Collin Jordan, and drummer Brian Lubinsky), the group's ability to delicately manage the space yields incredibly complex arrangements while still retaining an impeccable gift of melody and songcraft. From the opening guitar stabs of "I'm So Happy", The Interiors effortlessly fuse an earthy soul into a post-punk mathy-ness that recalls R.E.M., Fugazi, Kings of Leon, and even traces of Afrobeat while never losing their own identity.

Throughout the disc, Duncan's ability to trace his vocal melodies with his spiky, sonorous guitar lines largely defines the band's sound. While Lubinsky pounds out extended geometric equations, Jordan's bass lines run a go-between as he intermittently punctuates the tracks with deftly placed melodic runs. Taken together, these seemingly disparate elements unify into a stunningly minimalist construct. See tracks like "The Bug" and the chilling tension of "A Crooked Line" for further evidence of this. On the frantic indie gem "Ghosts", doses of Peter Buck's IRS-era guitar work propel the song. Perhaps the only misstep on the disc is the country-fried rave-up of "Shooting Off", which simply comes off as mere pastiche.

One of The Interiors' greatest strengths lies in their ability to reside in quiet spaces with confidence. The band does not embrace the "loud-quiet-loud" notion, preferring instead to hold songs at bay for their duration, the resultant effect of unsettled tension, as on album closer "All The Cities", surely being the desired end. Duncan & co. are just as effective on the anthemic "Powerlines" which may very well be the best track on the album.

What The Interiors lack in hipster cache, they more than make up for with instantly classic songs. In a musical climate that seems to move through trends like ADD-lightning, The Interiors have created a sonic palette which may very well endure such trifling tastes.