DIY (Do-it-yourself) indie pop is the kind of music that could either sound so schlocky and suck so bad leaving a bad taste in your mouth, or, can explode into millions of beautiful pieces into your ears leaving you wanting more. The two college guys from Nashville that approached ISR to check out their tunes recently fell into the latter category. Oh Stereo, made up of two college roommates, put together a gargantuan sound that is one part Passion Pit, one part Freelance Whales. ISR recently spoke with cocreator Scott Marquart about Oh Stereo's future plans for indie stardom.
Their debut album, Oh Stereo, is currently available for download. Also, check out their song "Waiting for the Sun" off of ISR's Spaghetti Legs Mix.
ISR: So you guys met at school. Which school do you guys go to? And what are your majors?
Scott: Yeah we became roommates freshman year though we had never met. We go to Vanderbilt in Nashville, Mason's a civil engineering major and I (Scott) am studying human development, English, and history.
ISR: Have you guys been playing on campus at all?
Scott: We've had the chance to play for a few events the school has put on, but there are two venues basically right behind our school called Exit/In and The End that we get to play and that's close enough that the kids from our school can just walk over.
ISR: How did the band name come about? What were the second and third choices for names?
Scott: It's hard to really say where the name came from, it seemed like we were just playing with words to find what sounded right, coincidentally I'm always pretty aggressive with hard stereo panning in my mixes, but I don't know if that influenced or was influenced by the band name or not.
ISR: You guys have a really big sound and yet, it's just the two of you. It's a combination of Freelance Whales and Passion Pit; kind of a DIY plug-in pop.
Scott: Any thoughts of adding more members for touring purposes (if you plan on touring)?
Yeah I went through a really obsessive Brian Wilson period and I always loved the way he layered his sounds with the orchestra he had and so my emulation with that plus Mason's and I fighting our different melodies for the lead in the mix makes for a pretty big sound. There's nothing subtle about it but it's what comes out of our collaboration. We've thought about adding people but it's tough to say; it would depend on us meeting the right person or people.
ISR: Which bands would you want to tour with?
Scott: Well that would be a lot of seeing one band live so it would have to be a band I really enjoyed watching myself. I can only really speak for the bands I've gotten to see live lately, and the best of those has been Deerhunter, The Love Language, Of Montreal/Janelle Monae, and Evan P. Donohue. It's hard to say what would agree with our genre, but the shows I've seen from that bunch would be great to see every night.
ISR: What's the inspiration behind the song "Waiting for the Sun"?
Scott: Well Mason came to me with those verses and chorus and I was thinking of how it would fit into the theme of the album, which is sort of an apocalyptic chaos into redemption model of story, and this song sits right in the middle, talking about that feeling at the end of a really trying night, not able to sleep but wanting the next day to come as soon as possible.
ISR: Who are your biggest influences musically?
Scott: It's always tough to point out a few because there seem to be so many, but if I were to make a list of what influences what I do in Oh Stereo, David Byrne would definitely be on there alongside My Bloody Valentine, Depeche Mode, and Brian Wilson. The great thing about music these days is that there are so many bands coming out with new material all the time and its hard not to be influenced almost as much by all the music coming out around you as you are by musicians from past decades, but that can be a good thing as well.
ISR: What will you guys do if the whole music thing doesn't work out?
Scott: I'll probably try to work something out in the music business, maybe with a small label or as a producer or engineer at a studio, and if that doesn't work I'll see if any law schools will take me and go with that. I know Mason would pursue civil engineering or nuclear engineering in grad school, which I think is pretty damn cool.
ISR: What's your ideal daily exercise workout?
Scott: For me the best workout is just eating healthy and staying active. Its always hard for me to get into 'working out' in the purest sense, but playing basketball or something constructive like that can achieve the same ends while also being fun, so if there was one for me it'd be just playing sports for fun.
ISR: If you could be any musical instrument what would it be and why?
Scott: Well I've never really thought about that.. I think I would be a harmonica, that way people could always carry me around with them and just use me whenever is convenient for them. The double entendres associated with this answer make me want to just leave it at that.
ISR: Your debut album drops on December 2nd. Any plans to tour to support the album?
Scott: Yeah we just played a release show last night here in Nashville and it was a great time. We would really like to reach out and get to play in some other cities, but we're figuring out the logistics at the moment. As long as there are people out there who want to music though, we will find a way to get it to them one way or another.
ISR: Best of luck, guys. Looking forward to your listening to your debut!
Scott: Thanks again for everything!
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