Interview: The Static Trees | Band | Nashville, TN

The Static Trees are a prominent example of Frederick, Maryland's growing music scene. Featuring Nikki Barber on vocals and Dylan Whitlow on guitar and vocals, The Static Trees have a unique genre comprised of blues, alternative rock and punk.

“We were just messing around with recording gear in a friend’s basement and thought: why not start a band?” said Whitlow, “There wasn’t one real defining moment. We were both always looking for a creative outlet, and music turned out to be it.”

The band’s early influences consisted of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Simon and Garfunkel. “We slowly crept our way into the blues,” Whitlow said. “Lightnin’ Hopkins, Howlin’ Wolf, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe were our favorites. We’ve always loved rock n’ roll acts like The Rolling Stones, The Sonics, and Chuck Berry as well.”

After the band was well developed, they wanted to get their songs out to the public. “All we wanted to do was record,” said Barber. “So that’s pretty much all we did. We set up a makeshift recording space in Dylan’s basement and basically locked ourselves down there. We put out four albums in our first year, all with fifteen or more songs on them.”

The band then went on to do a few mini tours further away from Frederick. “Going on tour is tricky,” Whitlow said. “We started playing with our friend’s bands in their hometowns and it grew from there. It’s a lot of work, but it’s well worth it,” When asked what their favorite experiences are from touring so far. Whitlow said, “The people you meet and the places you wind up. Every town has a mind of it’s own. It’s always rewarding when complete strangers really dig your music.”

After deciding on taking on music as a career, The Static Trees decided to move to Nashville. “We wanted a change,” Whitlow said. “We debated L.A., but we had just made a record down in Nashville and fell in love with the city. It’s packed full of music, but with a very hometown vibe. The music community in Nashville is one of the best we’ve been to. Frederick was a great place to start playing, but it doesn’t offer a huge chance of progression.”

The Static Trees are a duo at their core, but they go through many different touring lineups. “Lately we’ve been playing with the same people pretty consistently, but there is no telling how many band line  ups we’ll have as we progress down the line,” Barber said. “We like playing with different musicians because everyone brings something new to our songs.”

The Record Exchange in downtown Frederick is one of the band’s favorite spots to come back to when visiting. “We love it there,” Whitlow said, “Everyone who works there has been wonderful to us and they have such a great selection of music. We could spend hours in that store every time we visit. It was one of the first places we played as a full plugged in band, so it has a special place in our hearts.”The band hopes to keep striving and do their best. “We’re going to be putting out a 4 song EP we did down in Nashville within the next few months, and we want to start working on a full length album soon,” Whitlow said. “We also want to start touring down south as heavily as possible.”The Static Trees try to play homecoming shows in Frederick as often as they can. The band plans on coming back around Christmas or in the spring.”

When asked what advice they would give to young musicians, Whitlow said. “Write and play as much as possible, meet as many musicians as you can, and never stop. Most of all don’t let your age get in the way of playing out. It can be hard to find all age venues, but they are out there!”

72 Film Fest Highlights Local Filmmakers with Unique Ideas

FREDERICK, MD

The 8th annual 72 Hour Film Festival was held at the Weinberg Center last Friday and Saturday. This year’s theme was Science. Each group was given a scientific theory or law and challenged (although it was not mandatory) to incorporate it into a film that directly dealt with Science or Science Fiction.

“The festival allows you to create something on your own,” said host, Mikael Johnson. “In the arts you are always auditioning or getting hired to a written script. We started the 72 Hour Film Festival to separate ourselves from doing someone else’s work and create something unique that we could be satisfied with.”

Many have been participating since the festival’s beginning, like DC Cartho, who has judged as well as acted and directed in previous years. “The festival challenges your creativity, as well as the way you think,” said Cartho. “With no rehearsal and limited time to get a basic idea, you just have to figure it out as you go along,” He encourages people to get involved as he said, “It’s a really fun experience. It’s like an adventure with no map and any idea where you will end up.”

Groups come together just once a year for the festival, such as Pecos Bill and The Wranglers. “We all live far away from each other and never get to hang out much,” said Zach Christie, an actor and writer in Pecos Bill and the Wranglers. “We get together once a year and do what we love.”

The success of the festival was definitely evident this year. When I asked Mikael Johnson how he felt about it, he said, “I’m going to get choked up. I am extremely happy with the success. Seeing how the festival and artists evolve every year always makes me pleased to be a part of it.”

Breaking Bad Ends Glorious Six Year Run with Fantastic Final Episode

Breaking Bad came to an end Sunday night after five seasons and a total of 62 episodes. Many were very sad to see it go. The show had become a sensation over the last week where everyone seemed to be talking about it. The cast and crew were on Conan to wrap up the series, and countless shows such as Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Colbert Report talked about the show’s end.

The ending kept the tradition of Breaking Bad’s unpredictable twists and turns. Walter White has changed throughout the show, and the person you thought you once knew is completely different. Some still hang on to Walter and his ethics, while others now see him as a changed man.

The family that Walter wanted to keep together doesn’t seem to know him anymore. He wants to help them, and that was the reason he made the sacrifices he did in the first place. He wanted to provide for his family.

Walter and Jesse’s partnership breaks down after they can no longer trust each other. But the ending shows us that there is still a bond between them in some mysterious way. We will never be absolutely sure if Walter and Jesse ever made up.

Spoiler Alert:

Walter’s last words to Skyler are, “I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was really — I was alive.” These words show how Walter can’t stop his job. Very much like the movie, The Hurt Locker, Walter’s job has become his drug.

Many wonder what the creator of the show, Vince Gilligan, will do next, while others are wondering what’s in store for Breaking Bad. Many just started to watch the show, like Zach Coughlin, a junior who said, “I’m only halfway into season two. No spoilers.”

Interview: Pretty Gritty | Band | Portland, OR

Pretty Gritty is an alternative-country duo from Rockville, Maryland that has made a great impact on the Frederick area music scene.  The band consists of Sarah Wolff on guitar/vocals and Blaine Heinonen on guitar, vocals, and occasionally whistling and spoons. I did an in-depth interview with the band before they left on yet another North American tour.

Q. How did Pretty Gritty start?

Heinonen: We both played in separate bands years ago. Sarah played bass in a hard rock band. I played rhythm guitar in a metal band. Both bands use to book shows together. A few years later we both ended up band-less and starting to sing/play acoustic guitars. It all went from there!

Q. Who were some of your influences from the start?

Heinonen and Wolff: Miranda Lambert, Ray Lamontagne, Imelda May, Steeldrivers, Ryan Adams, John Mayer, and the list goes forever.

Q. After you formed and starting writing songs, what was your next step? Did you want to go straight into recording or play shows?

Wolff: We kind of did it backwards. We rehearsed like crazy at first. We had never played and sang so much before. Practice was needed for sure. We went into the studio to record a demo of our covers to get gigs and then started writing during studio time. We decided to just become a band with originals.

Q. How did you approach going on tour? Did you ever think you would tour when you first started?

Wolff: Neither of us had ever toured before except the occasional “out of town” gig. We made a pact to
quit our jobs and really make a jumping effort to give it our all. We don’t want to look back and wonder if we’d gotten farther if we made it full time and rolled out.

Q. What are some of your favorite experiences from touring so far?

Heinonen: Meeting some really nice and genuine people, now friends. Seeing places we didn’t even know existed. Traveling is something we love to do but never get a chance to do as much as we just did. We didn’t want to say we could always go to Montana or San Diego when we are like fifty. Never know if you’ll see fifty and that would be a bummer.

Q. How does it feel after coming home from a tour and playing to a home crowd in or around Frederick?

Wolff: It was as expected…awesome! Frederick will always be home and it’s nice to see family and friends, but we have the road warrior itch and desire to get back out there!

Q. My favorite song has to be ‘Cliché.’ How did you figure out that Blaine could play spoons and whistle so well?

Wolff: All on accident. One day I walked into the studio to hear ‘Cliché,’ and Blaine had already recorded whistles and spoons. I laughed my butt off and now that’s ‘Cliché.’

Q. What are the future plans for the band?

Wolff: To be in the tabloids and TMZ for misbehaving and spending more money than we will ever have! Just kidding, to finally be in a position where we can be comfortably doing what we love. Whether it’s a big label or small label and support from fans, we will keep recording music we are proud of.

Q. After touring and seeing many other cities, how does Frederick compare?

Heinonen: I like Frederick a lot. Maybe one day I’ll live there or have a place to stay when I visit, but we have seen a lot of places. No one of them is better or worse. We just have to end up where it makes the most sense for us.

Q. What advice would you give to young musicians?

Heinonen: I guess the advice we would give is to network and network again. You have to get out there and meet people, research everything, and attack every avenue possible. Be smart, make necessary sacrifices, and don’t be afraid to fail.

Check out their music at prettygrittymusic.com