popwreckoning

At a recent show in their hometown, It’s True announced they would soon be breaking up.

The band was playing Slowdown Jr. in Omaha, Neb. when they announced that was their third to last show. Their last show will be July 24 at the Maha Festival alongside The Faint and Spoon.

The band made a stunning debut into the music scene just barely a year ago. In the late Spring/early Summer, they released a 7″ Split with Lawrence’s Cowboy Indian Bear.

PopWreckoning got to see them in action a few times and while the smooth vocal harmonies and the walls of guitar fuzz impressed us, the band’s excessive drinking habits were less than exhilarating (You might recall the Sailor Sequence fiasco). That being said, the early break up is sad, but not too surprising.

Forget what the Bible says about seven deadly sins. There’s really only one deadly sin and that’s not knowing who is Brad Hoshaw. Brad Hoshaw is the front man for Omaha’s indie folk rock group Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies, a group that recent won the title of Omaha’s Artist of the Year as well as earning Album of the Year when up against fellow local act Cursive.

Brad recently spoke with PopWreckoning about his group and life in Omaha. You can read the full interview below:

Bethany, PopWreckoning: How are you?
Brad Hoshaw, Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies: I’m good. How are you?
PW: Good. Just enjoying the warm weather the Midwest is finally good.
BH: Absolutely. Are you in Kansas?
PW: Yeah. Lawrence.
BH: So you’re getting the warm weather, too.
PW: Yep. I lived in Omaha, too, for four years, so I know that it’s usually about the same.
BH: Cool. This weather has been hell. It reminds me of the winters in Minneapolis where it just lasts for way too long.
PW: Did you live there or do you just know that from touring?
BH: I lived up there for three and a half years. Yeah.

PW: Cool. I know you’ve been making music for a long time. How did you get started and decide to pursue a career in music?
BH: It was kind of an assured feeling for me when I was 18. I had been playing since I was 16 and when it came to decide where to go to college, it was just like, “Well, I need to do what I need to do in order to support my love of music.” It wasn’t really a tough decision or anything really to wrestle over. I just knew what I needed to do to pursue whatever would support that.

Photo by John Shartrand

PW: You went to college for three years or that’s when you came to Omaha?
BH: No, I went to Lincoln for a semester in music, but then I realized that wasn’t really teaching me anything that I felt was useful towards my musical direction. They focused a lot on marching and classical music. I was more interested in the composition and the songwriting and lyrical aspects of music, which they didn’t have anything to encourage me that way, so I left after a semester and started doing it on my own.

PW: Eventually you switched from solo artist and you filled out with a band – the Seven Deadlies. How did you come up with the name and were there at one point seven other people in the band with you?
BH: Ha. Yeah. The name is…a lot of people have different ideas about what the name really means. It started out where I had put the band together for a one show only performance and there were nine of us total. I was thinking of something that I could buy each of the band members to commemorate the event and remember what a good time we had. I was thinking about gifts that come in eight or nine and I was doing a lot of research from that. Seven deadly sins kept popping up as some sort of a theme that I could use. I had also read an article on CNN about how the Catholic Church had cleared a new list of seven deadly sins, which was about the same time I was processing this band show. This new list of seven deadly sins was a little more specific to modern things like hurting the environment and causing poverty and things like that. It just all came together. We played our first show just as Brad Hoshaw band and then we decided to play some more. I threw out name ideas and they liked the idea of the Seven Deadly Sins, but didn’t want it to be that dark and broody, so Seven Deadlies was what we kind of settled on.

PW: Having this initial start with more people in the band, is that how you got…on a lot of your songs, I’m hearing female harmonies. Are those guest spots or was there a female in the band at some point. Yeah, there was a female at some point named Eliza Webb. She and Adam Hawkins, who is the lead singer of a band called It’s True, were my background singers. I had two people that just did background vocals live in concert. Then I had mandolin, keyboards and trumpet and a few other people that would just play on certain songs, but didn’t play every song. It was just about six, eight months ago that I scaled it down to a four-piece. The harmonies are done by the drummer and bass player. The key parts are covered by different people. It’s easier to tour that way and make everybody happy.
PW: Definitely. I know there’s another Omaha band, Midwest Dilemma, and they have so many people, it seems like anytime they go on tour they’re billed as Midwest Dilemma – in some form.
BH: Haha. Yeah. I can’t imagine trying to make everybody happy in that band. There are so many different personalities in that band. It’s an impossible feat to keep everybody together on the road.

PW: I know recently you were honored with three awards at the Omaha Entertainment Awards including Artist of the Year and Album of the Year. What was your reaction like to be picked as the best of the best in Omaha when up against artists like Cursive?
BH: Oh man. Cursive is one of my favorite bands ever. That was really cool. It was kind of a little weight off my shoulders. I did put a lot of work in that year and to be able to have somebody say, yeah, we recognize that and your work, your effort was well spent, and what you did actually maters and people noticed…that was the biggest compliment. Not necessarily that people can compare music and say that one song was better than another, that doesn’t matter to me, but that people recognize all the hard work that I put in.

PW: Great. I also read somewhere that on this last particular album, the one that won you Album of the Year, a lot of reviews said you broke out of the “Omaha sound.” Is there something you’d call the Omaha sound and is it something you’re conscious of while songwriting?
BH: It’s definitely been stated by people outside of Omaha that there’s a distinct Omaha sound, but being in the midst of it, I’d say that’s it’s hard to think that way. I know so many musicians and the diversity of the bands is pretty extreme. I can play with Midwest Dilemma and Cursive and Bright Eyes all on the same stage, but our music is all very different from each other. We’re all about the same age and all in the same city, but saying there’s an Omaha sound or that we all sound alike, it’s…I don’t know, it’s kind of ridiculous to me. There’s definitely a lot of people that think that we sound like a bunch of farm boys making indie rock music. I don’t know. At some point, I’m conscious of what other people think, but as I get older it’s just me making music, regardless of what other people think. I don’t worry too much about how I’ll be labeled.

PW: Ok, a few fun things for the last few questions. If you could put together a dream tour, living or dead, who would be on the billing with you?
BH: Oh man. My favorite parts of touring are just hearing the other people perform. I would love to be able to tour with Johnny Cash and Jeff Buckley. I think those two—aside from their performances—I think that there’d be some good conversations and good hangs before and after the shows.

PW: Great answer. Now, if somebody were visiting Omaha, aside from catching you in a hometown show, what would you recommend that they do there?
BH: Man, I think my favorite thing to do is the diners and the thrift stores. Hit those and you’ll find a lot of the character of the city.
PW: What are your favorite diners? Like Leavenworth or Dixie Quicks.
BH: My favorite right now is Leo’s Diner. It’s right in Benson where all the music venues are. That’s a good diner. Then the Radial. Lisa’s Radial Café is a good one.

PW: It is. I’ve been there. Finally, is there anything that you want people to know about your band, while you have this forum to share?
BH: I think the band is pretty transparent and if anybody thinks that we’re trying to be anything, that’s the one thing they need to know. We’re just going to write the songs that we know and perform them the way that we feel at that time and just hopefully we’ll be a relevant, genuine band for many years to come, regardless of what genres we’ve been looped into or the subject matters we’re singing about. We’ll just keep doing everything that we’re doing from our hearts and hopefully people will connect with that.
PW: Sounds great. That’s all I have. Thanks so much.
BH: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me.

The more you listen to music (and listen with a certain attentive ear), the less music will surprise you. Whether it’s formulaic radio-friendly rap or world-beat-indie-electro-dance-core, one can usually hear the next chord progression, breakdown, or interlude before it’s even been played. In this regard, it’s always a pleasure to be wrong. Go to iTunes and buy the new 7” split from Cowboy Indian Bear and It’s True!, and prepare to be wrong. A lot.

Each band on this EP presents us with one tune; first comes Cowboy Indian Bear with their song “Foolish.” The opening guitar riff, a simple and clean little picking part, will have many listeners scrambling to their instruments to learn how to play it. Backed by busy percussion and a beautifully simple singing melody, the song moves quickly through a verse-chorus-verse progression. What’s so surprising about all of this, you ask? The band doesn’t get carried away; the song comes in at a succinct 3:45, avoiding meandering instrumental bridges and yawn-inducing ambient noise experimentation that have infiltrated much of the current landscape of indie rock. Cowboy Indian Bear lets the strength of their songwriting speak for itself. The opening riff turns out to be the glue for this track, bringing the listener back each time after briefly leading them astray during a more urgent chorus. The vocals are mostly understated (with the lower notes being nearly whispered), perfectly suiting the musical needs of the song while jumping out front when they are needed to peak the intensity and emotion of the chorus. “Foolish” was clearly crafted with care and intention and succeeds in all aspects.

It’s True! and their track “The Bridge” make up the other half of this EP. If songs were psychological conditions, “The Bridge” would be Attention Deficit Disorder, and this is not a slight by any means. The verses begin with a steady bass which is eventually joined by a jangly guitar. Without warning, the vocals stop and a fun synthesizer line fills in for four measures before segueing back into the verse progression. The song then shifts again as it crescendos quickly into an exuberant jam with dynamic start-stops and head-nodding guitar work. The tune then comes to an abrupt and ambiguous end, leaving the listener scratching their head but ready to play the song again. The consistency of the vocals holds these disparate pieces together in a loose framework. The various components of “The Bridge” are thus cohesive enough to maintain solidarity, yet spontaneous and erratic as hell.

As a pair, the two bands seem to share a kindred musical spirit reminiscent of Brand New and Manchester Orchestra circa 2007. Though you’d never mistake one band for the other, both songs transition nicely into one another without the listener missing a beat. Don’t be surprised to see these two groups touring together in the near future, and be sure to check them out if that’s the case.

Speechless. That’s what I was after the local show I caught recently  at Kansas City’s Davey’s Uptown. I wish I could say that the performance was so spectacular that the music left me speechless. Unfortunately, it was a weird chain of events that led to my loss for words.

Before I explain the strange events, I must say that the music was in fact, quite good. The more local shows I go to, the more respect I have for Kansas City’s local scene (There’s a lot more here than the Get Up Kids!)

The young O’Giant Man opened. These guys have shifted their line up around recently, so this was one of the first (if not the first) performance for the latest and hopefully final lineup. The group has a lot of potential if they can stay solid and practice defining their sound. They do some great harmonies and nice instrumental solos, but they had a tendency to test out too many ideas in a single song. This is a problem that many young and eager bands have, but it is something easy to grow out of it. I look forward to seeing them again when they’ve had a chance to refine their sound.

The lone out of town band It’s True was next on the bill. They easily could have been remembered as the best band there had the singer non-gone and fucked things up later in the show. The Omaha indie pop group had a solid sound and harmonies to rival the Fleet Foxes. Considering they’re an Omaha group where warbly vocals are popular (Conor Oberst, Tim Kasher), they’re a refreshing sound for that scene. Graceful keys provided the perfect compliment to their tunes. Aside from the incident that happens later (I’m getting there! Just wait), my only other criticism is that they got to be a little predictable. Sing, then keys, then instrumental breakdown where the singer sits in plays into the monitor. It was cool the first time, but come up with a new movement or song structure. It loses its charm with time.

Lawrence three-piece Cowboy Indian Bear continued the impressive with their full sound (hard to believe there were only three of them!).  All three contributed to vocals and percussion. A recent trend in Kansas City area music is filling out your sound with some pre-recorded electronic beats and effects (see Republic Tigers), which CIB has embraced. I’ve noticed many groups tend to over-endulge in their use of the computer, but CIB was tasteful. They were joined by a friend for their final number titled “Colour Music,” I think, but not to be confused with their “Mathematicians/Colours” played directly before it. They said was this their largest KC audience, which kind of surprised me. With their Postal Service instrumental vibe and smooth vocals, I feel it won’t be long before they gain a large following. They just released an EP. Go check them out.

Sailor Sequence has been described to me as the best band in Kansas City on more than occasion. The trio reminded me a lot of Snow Patrol from the Final Straw era. Perhaps a cover of “Run” is in their future. The difference between them and Snow Patrol is that the Snow Patrol guys have a more pop tendency, while Sailor Sequence leans toward shoegaze without fully embracing that sound.

Now while I’m not sthe full Sailor Sequence converts that my friends are, I do agree that they are quite good. They just lacked in the stage presence category, which might hurt them getting bigger past KC. It just felt distant.

Now I told you that this show left me speechless and I’m finally ready to explain why.

Toward the end of the Sailor Sequence’s set, a guy in a hat walked up to the front of a stage and started drinking a random beer pitcher left on the edge. Weird, but just the sort of weird that you chuckle and roll your eyes at and forget about. But when he put the pitcher down, he proceeded to climb on the stage, stumble over to the microphone by the keyboard and then sang an “Oooh” bit into the microphone when the band was in a big instrumental breakdown.

“Omaha!” yelled someone from the back. I looked again. Sure enough, this was the Omaha band’s lead singer Adam Hawkins.

The audience was confused. Was this part of the act?

The answer: no. Sailor Sequence tried to laugh it off, but when they started another song and Hawkins tried adding notes on the keyboard, the guys in Sailor Sequence just quit and stormed off the stage, incredulous that some drunk opener would ruin your set.

Hawkins wasn’t done there. He fell on the floor in the room by the main bar and attempted getting in a fight. A strange ending to what could have been a perfect night.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say he ruined the Sailor Sequence’s set. For what they did play, they sounded great. But Hawkins did ruin my opinion of his band. Like I said, they could have been remembered as the best band of that night, but that bit at the end was just rude.

O’Giant Man: myspace
It’s True: myspace
Cowboy Indian Bear: myspace
Sailor Sequence: myspace