Part 1 of 5: XO
Atlanta, Georgia natives Jake and Jeff Turner are musicians in the most classic sense of the word. The brothers have been in four bands in their time; XO, the brothers' personal project, Say Anything, where both brothers play lead and rhythm guitar, Parkside View, the now-defunct indie rock band that broke up in 2005, and Safety in Numbers, where the brothers played guitar and drums (respectively).
But I'm here to talk about XO. Like I said above, the band is the brothers' personal project, and it definitely shows. They self-released an EP recently, and started selling it on the Warped Tour where their other band, Say Anything, is headlining. The EP is named "Some Day," and contains six songs. All six of these songs sound incredibly personal, as if you pulled back the curtain on these brothers' lives. I definitely reccomend picking it up if you can.
I was able to e-interview Jeff about XO's new EP, the Warped Tour, and the future of both bands.
How exactly was XO formed? I know you two are twins(obviously), but what made you decide to sit down and make a band together?
well actually XO started before we joined say anything. i was writing songs in my room and learning the guitar after our first band broke up (parkside view). i didnt have much to pass the time with since i had just dropped out of college and i had just broken up with my girlfriend so guitar filled in the time nicely. i wrote some songs, jake and i recorded them in his room and that was the first thing we ever did by ourselves. then, a couple months later we joined say anything so that put a hold on this project for a while. we finally got settled enough on tour and this life style where i could start writing songs again and thats where the songs from the ep came from. that seems to be the story so far.
You started selling your EP at the Warped Tour. Will there be any way for other fans to get it soon?
yes, we are in talks with some people about putting it up on itunes and for retail purchase online by means of an online store.
How has the fans' reaction to the EP been?
nothing but good! it kinda blows my mind that kids seem to really like it. i mean i like it, but who knew other people would.
What is the weirdest thing that has happened to you on the Warped Tour so far?
thats a hard question because lots of weird things have happened. i think finding out that a shit load of people on warped tour love soccer like i do is pretty weird. also, watching some of the bands on warped is really weird, and not in a good way. so many bands i walk by every day sound literally exactly the same. it's really a shame.
What is your favorite city to perform in?
Atlanta. its my home town and i always get emotional playing there.
Can we expect a tour with Say Anything, maybe a super-tour with Two Tongues and Saves the Day too? That would be epic, but stressful. Any plans for a tour (or potential tourmates) yet?
tour with say anything, probably not. two tongues is a possibility and i would love tour with saves the day, as always. we do have plans to tour in september or october when say anything has time off but that's still be discussed right now so if i find anything out i'll let you know.
What is your personal favorite XO song? Say Anything song?
xo song is love. say anything song is probably shiksa. its kinda hard though because im attached to all of them.
You seem to write and record songs pretty quickly. Have you even considered self-releasing a full-length album yet?
i have indeed thought of that, but i may wait to see what other interest people have in XO. i have gotten a lot of messages from people that i really respect and i guess i just want the best for my band. if i can self release a full length record and have it reach as many kids as doing it with a label then so be it. we'll see i suppose.
Click here a free download of XO's song "Race Car." Enjoy.
At the end of the week, I'll be compiling one MP3 from each band into a sampler for you all. The songs will be in the order of the bands when they appeared on this blog.
Thanks to Kate for the neat banner headliner thing, and Josie for clearing some shit up.
No comments:
Post a Comment