The new solution
New Bravado returns Friday to the New Vintage, where their new single will be free to those paying to get in. Singer/guitarist Ben Lally explains.
LEO: Please explain to anyone under 30 why you’re utilizing the “Cassingle” format.
Ben Lally: Cassettes are fun with their cool packaging, and also more akin to vinyl in that they have a certain warmth to their sound, and aren’t strictly digital like CDs, and have a certain nostalgia for those of us who remember having them as kids. They’re like cheap toys for adults who like music. Oh yeah, and they’re cheap to make and buy. And even if you don’t have a tape deck around, most cassettes, including ours, now come with a free digital download.
LEO: Please explain to my mom what “psych rock” is.
BL: The short, simple explanation … it’s a type of music, popularized in the 1960s, associated with mind-altering/opening drugs and the culture and attitudes surrounding that. (In our music), you can hear the elements — delay/verbed vocals and guitars, fuzzed guitars, strange chord progressions, heady lyrics and arrangement, especially on (our) new material. But at the end of the day, we write songs — songs with verses, hooks, bridges and choruses … We get heavy, and we sing pretty sometimes.
LEO: People used to hype full-length album release shows. Now the trend is to throw a party for one or two songs. Do people today really have such a short atten ... what was I talking about? Instagram?
BL: I’m sorry, what was that? I was liking a picture of my great-second-step-aunt’s dog on Facebook ... I think it’s good to release singles along the way while completing the full-length, which we’ll definitely have a show dedicated to in the next few months. I definitely think you can bombard your fans with media, music and information. I don’t think we’re doing that, because we spend a lot of time on the quality of songs and their production. We couldn’t bombard people if we tried with our current way of doing things.
Like them and their relatives at facebook.com/NewBravado.
