Ahead of their Shaky Knees performance, Chris Vos (guitar & lead vocals) had a quick chat with us..Vinyl Mag: A belated congratulations on your Grammy Nomination for Give It Back to You! Can you share what it was like when you guys found out for the first time that you had been nominated?Chris Vos: Thank you very much. It was very unexpected, none of us saw it coming. I live on the West Coast so the nominations came out really early, like 6:00AM. I was actually at home on a brief brake form the road. I was dead asleep and my wife was up and looking around online and saw we were nominated. She starting screaming and it woke me up. I thought the house was on fire or something. She says, ‘Chris you guys are nominated for a Grammy,’ to which I replied with silence because I really couldn’t absorb it. Then I called my Ma and Dad back in Wisconsin and told them the news.
VM: On the heels of your last album and many successes, you guys released the single “Baby I’m Broken” this past March. Where did inspiration come from for this single?
CV: When we wrote that song we just wanted to do something that had some space to it. A riff that had space and the melody kinda wove in and out. When we had the form of the song completed we felt there was something missing, so we added a harmonica part to round out the song. We felt it was done once that harmonica was on there.
VM: The song delivers a similar rawness and energy heard on Give It Back to You. Will we be hearing more new music from The Record Company in the upcoming months?
CV: We are currently on tour, but we have been writing the new album and every time we are home (which hasn’t been the often). We will be taking the end of the year off the road to finish the record.
VM: What does the behind the scenes creative process look like for The Record Company?
CV: We are a collaborative band. Everybody contributes. We split everything equally from work, to creativity, to money be it gain or loss.
VM: How would you describe the band’s chemistry?
CV: We are very close as friends. It’s not uncommon for us to get off the road and be hanging out on the back porch listening to records and having drinks the night after we get home. We enjoy each other as people as well as musicians. That comes in handy when times are tough or you have to make decisions together.
VM: The band’s onstage presence is absolutely captivating. How you would describe your live performances to someone who may be interested in seeing the band for the first time this weekend at Shaky Knees?
CV: We see every performance as one less time not one more time. So why not play your guts out? You only get so many times to do the things you love in this life so love it big and lay it out there is out motto.
VM: Are there any artists you are excited to see at Shaky Knees?
CV: LCD, Sylvan Esso, The Revivalists, FIDLAR, Shovels & Rope, Fantastic Negrito, and The Growlers.
It all started when a much younger Jackie dove into her parents’ record collection, grabbed that trippy Magical Mystery Tour album, and played “Strawberry Fields” over and over again until it was engrained into her soul. She grew up on the dreams and stories of Simon and Garfunkel, “Bleeker Street” being one of her favorites, the seduction of The Doors, Van Morrison, because “Brown Eyed Girl” is definitely her song, and the likes of Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Jimi Hendrix…you get the picture. It may not show on the outside, but Jackie has a hippie heart, and that reflects in her musical tastes today. While some of her favorites may or may not be jam bands, her taste in music feeds into many genres. From alternative, Brit, and indie rock - OK, maybe all rock - to pop, to rap, to electronic, she loves it all. As a northerner, she thought she would never understand country until she found herself on a Georgia farm in cowboy boots watching Luke Bryan shake it for her- yeah, she got that. She is a chronic wanderluster, she doesn't believe in guilty pleasures, enjoys a great Moscow Mule, and is an absolute music festival fanatic- you’ll find her wherever the music takes her.
1 thought on “Shaky Knees 2017: The Record Company x Vinyl Mag”