Featured IPO CD Artists: Glowbox, Blaine Campbell, Underwater Sunshine
Featured IPO CD Artist: Glowbox
IPO Vol. 23 CD Song: “Test Of Time”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
We picked the song “Test of Time” from our most recent album, Your Call Is Very Important To Us, because we felt it was one of the most inherently “power pop” sounding tunes on there. It seems to go over well with people when we play it live — it’s catchy and has a decidedly retro feel, without sounding like something else…or at least I hope it doesn’t!
2. Please describe that pivotal moment when you first realized you wanted to create music or become a band.
I literally can’t remember a time before wanting to be in a band, playing music. Practically by the time I learned to walk, I was already figuring out how to operate my parents’ turntable and liberating albums from their collection and claiming them as my own. I was writing (admittedly terrible) songs and recording them on a portable cassette player when I was no more than five or six, and knew zero chords. Now I know at least…four.
3. Which other artists (living or dead) do you admire most and why?
It might seem cliché, but how do I answer this without mentioning The Beatles? It’s impossible to overstate their greatness and their importance. What they accomplished is staggering. There are so many other artists I admire for one reason or another, but anyone who knows me knows I am a nerd for The Beatles, The Monkees, and KISS. Hendrix blows my mind, not only as a guitarist but as a songwriter and arranger. Big Star I adore because they made three of the most underappreciated albums of all time. Maybe not underappreciated anymore, but — I can’t think of many records that were THAT good and ignored THAT much in the moment.
4. How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact you and your music?
We had to cancel a lot of plans for 2020, unfortunately. We were gaining some momentum and played some fantastic shows in the early months of the year. We’d also just brought Sean Sullivan aboard — a total life saver if there ever was one. We’d all but completely broken up after losing our original bass player, but Sean breathed a lot of new life into the band just before Covid hit. Come March, it was like the brakes got slammed on pretty hard. We did manage to figure out how to record remotely, though, and we cut a version of “Band on the Run”, and shot footage of ourselves recording — that came out great and it got some attention. We used the rest of the year to write and record full band demos from our individual homes — and those demos were all songs that ended up on Your Call Is Very Important To Us.
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with The IPO Festival/CD?
What’s not to love? There’s an awesome community of musicians and music lovers who support what we do. We love seeing the other acts that get out there and do this. We’ve yet to be disappointed by any of them.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music and/or find out when and where you’re playing?
We’re active on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter. You can usually count on us to promote our shows on Facebook — but our Bandcamp page is probably the best place to go and sample and purchase stuff if you like what you hear.
www.glowbox.bandcamp.com
Featured IPO CD Artist: Blaine Campbell
IPO Vol. 23 CD Song: “Happy Faces”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
The song “Happy Faces” is a good example of what this band does musically. We love to explore all kinds of styles of music and deliver them to the listener in a California sound pop format.
2. Please describe that pivotal moment when you first realized you wanted to create music or become a band.
When I was 12 years old and I heard Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles for the first time. That album took me to a place I had never been and at that moment I knew I wanted to learn how to play an instrument.
3. Which other artists (living or dead) do you admire most and why?
Brian Wilson: He may be a genius, I don’t know. But he sure did work harder than anyone in his era to make the greatest pop albums. His hard work and commitment to what he made is inspiring.
The Beatles: They set the standards for great pop music. Lennon and McCartney are my favorite songwriting team of all time. They wrote the soundtrack to the 1960s.
Burt Bacharach: He created his own sound that dated the era he made his hits in (1960s and 70s). The textures he created were awesome and he is a master songwriter.
Elliott Smith: He was a master songwriter/instrumentalist of my generation. He didn’t half ass anything when making music. His songs were sometimes dark and always beautiful.
Marvin Gaye: an amazing songwriter and performer who showed R&B and Motown that you could explore new ideas musically and make amazing music.
4. How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact you and your music?
I got some songs written that I’m very happy with. And Blaine Campbell and the California Sound managed to put out a single called “While You Sit At Home and Cry/Turn Back the Universe” that came out to our liking. Amidst vaccinations and occasionally low transmission numbers, we were able to get in the studio and make the single. I wrote the 2 songs with Endless Summer Quarterly editor and Beach Boys afficionado, David Beard.
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with The IPO Festival/CD?
I’m glad this festival gave me an opportunity to connect with David Bash years ago. He’s a great guy and does a lot for local music in the LA area. It’s also a great vehicle to learn about good local bands.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music and/or find out when and where you’re playing?
Bandcamp: www.blainecampbell.bandcamp.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/blainecampbellmusic
Featured IPO CD Artist: Underwater Sunshine
IPO Vol. 23 CD Song: “Verse 2”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
It was typically the opening song at our shows. It was a song I wrote about my yearning to be in the top of that scene that so many of our power pop rock heroes were in, and perhaps the frustration of being so close, yet so far from actually being there. Also, it is David Bash’s favorite song off SUCKERTREE!
2. Please describe that pivotal moment when you first realized you wanted to create music or become a band.
I can’t speak for the other members of the band, but for me, it was simply wanting to be part of all the exciting sounds and feels that came from listening to and being introduced to classic rock. I was 14 years old and had been taking classical music lessons for a few years. The energy that came from that music that was new to me at the time, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, The Who, etc., evoked a deep desire to replicate it and eventually perform it.
3. Which other artists (living or dead) do you admire most and why?
In no particular order, The Grapes of Wrath, The Posies, Big Star, Jean-Michel Jarre, Dave Grohl, Redd Kross, Gene Krupa.
4. How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact you and your music?
The temporary slowdown in my life gave me the spare time needed to finally mix the album we recorded in 1996/1997. It also gave me the time to refamiliarize myself with my instruments and rekindle the love I had lost, but always had deep inside for playing them.
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with The IPO Festival/CD?
That so many power pop fans that would normally not have had access or exposure to our music can experience what we created back in that magical mid-90’s era of power pop.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music and/or find out when and where you’re playing?
Facebook: @underwatersunshine
Instagram: @suckertree
https://futuremanrecords.bandcamp.com/album/suckertree