April 26, 2011
Ever since we heard Balkans, the new class of grade-A garage talent from Atlanta, Georgia, we’ve been completely enamoured with them. Everything from their Georgeanne 7″, to the Edita V 7″ and video, and their debut LP (out on May 10th via Double Phantom) is 100% butt-cutter… Which is why we were pretty excited to get some of our questions into the band prior to the release of their album. Check out their thoughts on Atlanta’s new scene of amazing bands, Dior and the best last meal (last one is questionable); and then download ‘Troubled & Done‘ and ‘Edita V‘ below:
Do you want to introduce yourselves and say how old you are? I heard y’all are jailbait.
My name’s Stanley I’m 19. Hello, I’m Brett Miller, 20 years old. HI! I’m Woody I play bass guitar in the Balkans and I’m 20. I’m Frankie Broyles, I sing and play guitar and just turned 21. Sure.
We heard about you guys through the great Double Phantom Records. How did you guys start working with them?
We have been with Double Phantom for almost as long as we have been a band, it’s been great. The label and us have kind of matured and progressed together. This will be a big year for Double Phantom, they got a lot of new bands coming out, along with our first album.
So you’ve put out 3 7″s now… and you’re prepping your debut album release for May. How excited are you?
We are very excited; we have been working on this for years. Hopefully the whole world likes it!
When and where did you guys record it? Can you tell us any kind of weird and/or funny anecdote from recording?
We recorded with engineer Kris Sampson (B-52’s, Coathangers, etc.). He didn’t have a studio so we set up in different locations, like our living room and our friend Johnny’s Basement. There was a physical altercation one night while we were recording between Kris and Brett, Kris got pushed down the stairs and busted his head open.
What do y’all think of people saying your music is a mix of English/American sounds? Do you agree?
That’s accidental I guess, we are southern.
A lot of the Atlanta bands (I think you know who were talking about) are older and more established, but there’s definitely a new wave of really good bands coming out of Georgia. (We’re thinking of you guys and Carnivores, among others) Do you think there’s a lot of cool shit coming out of ATL right now?
Yes. We came of age just as the Black Lips and Deerhunter were getting big. So by the time we started trying to make things happen in Atlanta they were off on tour most of the time. Those guys are awesome and have been really helpful but we all kind of had to create our own thing here. Double Phantom started doing the 7inches and we ran DIY shows in basements and arcades. Seems like this new crop of bands is starting to get the attention we all deserve.
I read Stanley and Woody met in shop class in school. What’s the best thing any of you made in shop class? Have you used your shop class skills in the real world yet?
I don’t know where that came from, it was actually health class. The best part of health class was… cartoon sex? Or live birth!
This one’s for Stanley. We read Dior is your favorite designer. How much Dior do you own? What’s your dream Dior item?
I only have three items (sigh…). The bumblebee necklace.
How many of y’all are in school? How much of a problem does that impose on like touring and recording?
We’re all in school right now, it’s pretty rough. Last week we had to fly back from our New York shows so we could make class on Monday. But school’s almost out for the summer!!!
What’s coming up for Balkans for the rest of 2011?
Try to make it to as many cities as we can. Maybe CMJ? I don’t know, play the Balkan Peninsula so people think we’re legit.
What’s your dream tour vehicle? Describe in as much detail as necessary.
The Aeroscraft! It’s kind of like a blimp but called a lighter than air transporter. Hasn’t been made yet, but a scaled-down prototype was made a couple years ago, check it out! It’s the future. Super-aerodynamics dude.
If you were headed to the electric chair, what would be your last meal?
Top Ramen
mp3: Balkans – Edita V
mp3: Balkans – Troubled and Done
Posted by Brianna in Conversations, Mp3 Tags: balkans
