| Spooky Folk Session | |
| Violitionist Sessions |
Session Date: January 21, 2012
Posting Date: March 5, 2012
Artist Hometown: Denton, TX
Links: Facebook, Bandcamp,
Recorded by: Michael Briggs
3 QUESTIONS
ONE: What do you think is driving the culture in Denton? Where do you think that will go in the future?
Kaleo Kaualoku: We have the music scene and community that we have now, which is very diverse, and cyclical as well, but it just happened because we happen to be in a pretty big music school town— not that a lot of those kids from the music school tend to participate…
Jesse Perry: Not a lot of jazz musicians rocking out these days.
Kaleo: No. Or classical kids, either.
Scarlett Wright: We have two universities, and we’re just north of DFW.
Jesse: Well, it’s smaller, and there’s a more concentrated amount of musicians so that it…it’s interesting. It’s a lot of things, but I think that it’s the size of Denton that makes it more concentrated…
Kaleo: Which is interesting to think about…since Denton is getting bigger, how is that going to affect the town?
DJ: With the town expanding, and things like 35 Denton, more people may start paying attention to Denton. Do you think that will affect the scene here?
Kaleo: I would hope so, but I know that Denton has also gotten attention historically, even before any of us lived here.
Petra Kelly: Yeah, even before I knew about the local music scene, when I was living here I would talk to people who had been gigging in this town for decades, and they would say that they moved to Denton specifically to join a band and play music, so, it’s not like a new thing.
Chris Brown: It comes in waves, I think. Now it’s resurging back with 35 Denton, and I think every time it does, it changes the city and the music that comes here.
Kaleo: For the better, too. And even though Denton is sort of on the map, but it’s not on the same level as what some people consider to be music Meccas like Brooklyn or Portland or Austin or whatever.
Jesse: There’s no show called Dentonlandia, is there?
Kaleo: No, not yet.
Petra: There was a Homeless in Denton, though.
Jesse: One homeless person??
Scarlett: There’s a homeless person that lives here. That’s the same as Portlandia, right?
Petra: No, it was a show in NTTV.
Kaleo: But, I think that it will, initially…It’s just, at some point, when you keep…If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Chris: That’s beautiful. New lyrics?
Jesse: It’s on a poster in his room.
Scarlett: It’s got a horse on it, galloping.
Kaleo: I look at it every day before I write a song…and then I don’t write a song.
Jesse Perry: Not a lot of jazz musicians rocking out these days.
Kaleo: No. Or classical kids, either.
Scarlett Wright: We have two universities, and we’re just north of DFW.
Jesse: Well, it’s smaller, and there’s a more concentrated amount of musicians so that it…it’s interesting. It’s a lot of things, but I think that it’s the size of Denton that makes it more concentrated…
Kaleo: Which is interesting to think about…since Denton is getting bigger, how is that going to affect the town?
DJ: With the town expanding, and things like 35 Denton, more people may start paying attention to Denton. Do you think that will affect the scene here?
Kaleo: I would hope so, but I know that Denton has also gotten attention historically, even before any of us lived here.
Petra Kelly: Yeah, even before I knew about the local music scene, when I was living here I would talk to people who had been gigging in this town for decades, and they would say that they moved to Denton specifically to join a band and play music, so, it’s not like a new thing.
Chris Brown: It comes in waves, I think. Now it’s resurging back with 35 Denton, and I think every time it does, it changes the city and the music that comes here.
Kaleo: For the better, too. And even though Denton is sort of on the map, but it’s not on the same level as what some people consider to be music Meccas like Brooklyn or Portland or Austin or whatever.
Jesse: There’s no show called Dentonlandia, is there?
Kaleo: No, not yet.
Petra: There was a Homeless in Denton, though.
Jesse: One homeless person??
Scarlett: There’s a homeless person that lives here. That’s the same as Portlandia, right?
Petra: No, it was a show in NTTV.
Kaleo: But, I think that it will, initially…It’s just, at some point, when you keep…If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Chris: That’s beautiful. New lyrics?
Jesse: It’s on a poster in his room.
Scarlett: It’s got a horse on it, galloping.
Kaleo: I look at it every day before I write a song…and then I don’t write a song.
TWO: What do you think Spooky Folk will be doing in two years?
Chris: Well, Hollywood, right guys?
Jesse: No, that’s for movies.
Kaleo: Nah, man, Bollywood!!
Petra: We’re all going to be addicted to heroin by 2014.
Jesse: Well, Petra’s going to be 27, so she’s going to die.
Petra: I’ll be dead by then. This is my year.
Jesse: I’ll probably be a janitor somewhere.
Scarlett: Probably at an elementary school.
Petra: They will not let him near an elementary school! Be realistic!
Scarlett: At a hospital.
Kaleo: Or a hospice.
Jesse: I don’t know. We could be touring hopefully, playing a lot, and writing a lot…
Scarlett: Maybe a new album in two years?
Kaleo: Maybe have a new album under our belt. That’s a goal.
Chris: In two years, yeah, we’d better have another album.
Scarlett: Within two years, we hope to have two new songs.
Petra: Personally, I hope to be playing in Denton a lot more by then.
Jesse: Smartass…
DJ: When you do play out of town, how does the reception differ from playing in Denton, if at all?
Kaleo: I’ve experienced that, any time we’ve played— and granted, this has only been a few times, and obviously most of it has still been in the DFW area, but people…there’s always someone who comes up to me or somebody in the band afterwards and is very kind and says that they like what we did.
Petra: I think that as long as there are ears to hear it, it’s usually well received everywhere we’ve gone.
Kaleo: At least to the people who come up to us and say that.
Jesse: Either they love it, or they just….or they love it!!!
Petra: Or they just feel really intimidated.
Jesse: Yeah. It’s your fault.
Petra: Yes, it’s totally my fault.
Scarlett: So, people like it. When we go out of town, some people like it.
Jesse: To summarize.
Scarlett: Just like when we play in Denton, some people like it and some don’t.
Jesse: No, that’s for movies.
Kaleo: Nah, man, Bollywood!!
Petra: We’re all going to be addicted to heroin by 2014.
Jesse: Well, Petra’s going to be 27, so she’s going to die.
Petra: I’ll be dead by then. This is my year.
Jesse: I’ll probably be a janitor somewhere.
Scarlett: Probably at an elementary school.
Petra: They will not let him near an elementary school! Be realistic!
Scarlett: At a hospital.
Kaleo: Or a hospice.
Jesse: I don’t know. We could be touring hopefully, playing a lot, and writing a lot…
Scarlett: Maybe a new album in two years?
Kaleo: Maybe have a new album under our belt. That’s a goal.
Chris: In two years, yeah, we’d better have another album.
Scarlett: Within two years, we hope to have two new songs.
Petra: Personally, I hope to be playing in Denton a lot more by then.
Jesse: Smartass…
DJ: When you do play out of town, how does the reception differ from playing in Denton, if at all?
Kaleo: I’ve experienced that, any time we’ve played— and granted, this has only been a few times, and obviously most of it has still been in the DFW area, but people…there’s always someone who comes up to me or somebody in the band afterwards and is very kind and says that they like what we did.
Petra: I think that as long as there are ears to hear it, it’s usually well received everywhere we’ve gone.
Kaleo: At least to the people who come up to us and say that.
Jesse: Either they love it, or they just….or they love it!!!
Petra: Or they just feel really intimidated.
Jesse: Yeah. It’s your fault.
Petra: Yes, it’s totally my fault.
Scarlett: So, people like it. When we go out of town, some people like it.
Jesse: To summarize.
Scarlett: Just like when we play in Denton, some people like it and some don’t.
THREE: What can we expect from a new Spooky Folk album? Will it have a different sound than the last one?
Kaleo: Yes. Hopefully, it’s going to be heavier. One thing that might carry over from the first record is that it may end up being sort of diverse, like in the song styles, but also going against what I just said, it will hopefully also feel like it’s a cohesive thing and not just a bunch of random ideas. Yeah, so the next record will hopefully be heavier, and…
Scarlett: Diverse and cohesive.
Kaleo: Yeah.
Chris: I can’t wait for this. [Laughs]
Scarlett: It’s going to be good.
Kaleo: Does anyone else have any thoughts on it?
Chris: No, you pretty much covered everything. That’s it.
Petra: Another thing that will carry over is that we’re going to be on it.
Kaleo: We’re still going to be on it. I don’t know. Jesse, what do you think?
Jesse: I think that our live sound took shape after we released our first album, and that’s what people want to hear, or that’s what people like to hear— our live presence. So, I think that we’re going to work really hard to make sure that the next album captures that. The energy…and the smiles.
Scarlett: Diverse and cohesive.
Kaleo: Yeah.
Chris: I can’t wait for this. [Laughs]
Scarlett: It’s going to be good.
Kaleo: Does anyone else have any thoughts on it?
Chris: No, you pretty much covered everything. That’s it.
Petra: Another thing that will carry over is that we’re going to be on it.
Kaleo: We’re still going to be on it. I don’t know. Jesse, what do you think?
Jesse: I think that our live sound took shape after we released our first album, and that’s what people want to hear, or that’s what people like to hear— our live presence. So, I think that we’re going to work really hard to make sure that the next album captures that. The energy…and the smiles.
– Interview and transcription by Dale Jones