Rob Drabkin

Photo Credit Steve Rosenfield

Check out my interview with Rob Drabkin to see how his infectious personality comes through in his music.

How would you describe your genre or style of music?

Rob Drabkin: It's kind of this mix of rock and folk and singer/songwriter and I put in jam-band also. I mean, all those genres kind of have their own little, you know, immediate assumptions, but [the music] does have a lot of each of those elements.

What got you interested in all those different genres?

Hmm, well, I think that's more of like what just seems to come out. It seems like it's more of a natural thing than trying to, you know, go for one style or another. There's certainly influences in all of those realms;  there's just music I love in all of those genres and they all seem to come out in one way or another. It's not like I sit down and I'm like "I'm gonna make this a blend of folk/rock and improvisation and singer/songwriter all in one" so it's just kind of the music I love. If I'm writing music I love I think it will probably have some of those elements in there.

So your approach to songwriting is just sort of organic?

It is. It's usually the music that comes first, opposed to lyrics and, you know, I mean it's usually something that I'm having a fun time playing. It's like a little riff I stumbled upon or a chord progression and you kind of have to love that element of the music first and that's kind of what drives me to write the songs; there's some idea that I'm really excited about and I wanna bring it into a complete form. That's kind of my approach but, yeah, I guess it's like one percent for free and then I have to work to get ninety-nine percent of the song.

Little Steps was released in 2013; do you have plans for another album?

We're going to put out a live album probably in October. It's already been recorded and it was actually this past January that we did a nice recording of it and then, yes, we will go right back to the studio and start just dishing them out. It's just been a crazy promotion for this past year with Little Steps; it came out - it might have actually been exactly a year ago, I think, from the second it was released on iTunes - but we never actually really started to promote it and really push it out there until 2014. We've been kind of going strong on that; it still feels new, it still feels fresh to me it's just, in this day and age, you just have to keep one thing after another; there's not much of a rest time. I don't get to have three years before I put out another album, it's kinda got to be right away.

We'll do the live one; I love the doing the live ones cause it's just, I don't know, we put out a live album in 2012 and it did better than all my prior studio albums - this new album has done better than the live one - but it's just a nice treat and people seem to dig it. It definitely showcases the improv sections and the improv side of the band and I love it; I love live albums.

What's your favorite part about the album making process?

I think it is, when you, as soon as you finish a day in the studio or you finish a song or you've got kind of the basic structure and you go back and listen to it and you're really proud of how it sounds and it sounds new and it sounds fresh, that's the most fun to me. I mean, that's the gratifying part of it, when you're the first one to hear it, the first one to take it to your headphones and, when you're excited about it then I think that is, you know, you feel like you have something. It's cool in that it works. It's a bit of a scary process: you go in to the studio cause you don't know what it's going to sound like and you don't know how it's going to turn out - if we record it right or we're prepared to go in there - and then, when you get it back and you listen to it, I think that's my favorite part of the studio.

Do you have a least favorite part?

Um, a least favorite part.. There really isn't a least favorite part of it. I mean, I like being involved in every part from getting the sounds on the drums to, you know, recording all the parts that have nothing to do with me are totally the ones that I'm still involved with, you know. So I mean, I'm hands-on with every element of every beat and rhythm that is played: there really isn't a least favorite part. Sometimes singing can be the least favorite part. Sometimes there are songs that we get in one take or two takes and then there's song that I probably sang twenty times before we picked out the right part. I would say singing; I don't know why that is. I mean, I still love it too, but that can be a bit of a gruesome part - but not my least favorite in any way.  

Were there any tracks that were cut from this last album that you hope to bring back?

You know, no, actually. The way we did this album we recorded this one song at a time over the course of maybe eight or nine months and that was kind of unintentional; like, we go and record a new song, we go and record a new song, you know I wasn't about to record a song and then not use it. There were certainly ideas, things that we kind of started to record and just didn't go with it, but we never did a full on production and then just put these songs in the holding pen. That was a cool thing too; you sing one song at a time and it was really hands-on with my fans, as well; I would always release that version for friends on social media and whatnot and it was a good way to kind of keep your name out there and keep buzz going and building, doing it that way, it's harder to hold a track back once you're already kind of put it out there.

There actually is one song, there's a song called "Don't Worry About Me" on the album and that one actually appeared on an earlier album so, the exact opposite. It was a song that, you know, I had this kind of intention and it kind of insisted on being a solo kind of haunting, electric track with nothing else. Then, my bass player, he works with a lot of the folks at the symphony here in Colorado, and he just wrote this gorgeous string arrangement for it and it just had to be redone. I'm so glad we did it; I go back and to the older versions now and that was the only one we did twice.

What prompted that track?

You know, that was a guitar that I actually wrote in college and I used to play that lead guitar line but like ten times as fast. It was kind of a really upbeat jam-y acoustic track and I could never sing over it; I could sing over it, but it just wasn't coming across, it just wasn't quite feeling the way it needed to feel and so I think, one day while practicing - it was at these practice rooms at the University of Denver; I would always go there and record stuff there and write stuff and practice there - and I think I just started to slow it down and then I wrote the lyrics in a log cabin in the mountains, as cliché as that sounds, I totally did. When I go back and listen to that song, it does have that little bit of a haunting, lonely vibe to it and I wonder if I didn't do it in a log cabin in the middle of the woods in winter it would have a little different feel but it does have that. It's a bit dark and a bit haunting; it has those elements but also it's a happy song, as well. It does have that element in there and I always wondered if that came from me deciding to sing it and write the lyrics for it in the middle of nowhere. That was kind of unintentional but that element seems to be throughout the track.

I'm  sure a lot of people ask about "Don't Worry About Me" specifically, so are there any others from the album that you want to shine the spotlight on?

Yeah, well, what's funny: that song is kind of like, it's the outlier of the album in that it is the slowest and the quietest song on the whole album and there's a bunch of raging - well, not 'raging' raging - but there's definitely a lot of up-tempo rock songs on there. The video for ["Don't Worry About Me"] was directed by Dillon Novak who I've known for a long time and that was a song that he just really felt connected with and thought he could do a great video to so we just decided to do that. We have three more videos coming out for some of the more head-bobbing, rock in your face songs but, yeah, there's a song called "Little Steps" and "Down To Fate"; those are the two singles that we've been doing for radio and those are both, you know, "Down To Fate" is a bit of a more introspective song and then "Little Steps" is an upbeat, party song, I guess, is a way to put it.

Any new releases from other artists you can't stop listening to or feel inspired by?

I have this little Spotify playlist that is just like new songs I like. Um, trying to think what I have in there right now... You know, I just discovered - I think I found this band through Shazam, everyone else knows the band - there's a band called Beach House that I had never heard of before and there's a song called "Zebra" that I have kind of on repeat and it's just a beautiful song. It's got this amazing melody and I have no idea, I don't even know what the lyrics are in the entire song - I can't understand a word he's singing - but I love it. I think I'm going to need like another dozen listens before I try to pick apart the lyrics.

And then, another song I've been liking these days, hmm, I think I should go back and look at that playlist. You know, I just saw the band Lake Street Dive - I like them a lot - but I looked on their new discovery list and there was a band called Lake Street Dive and there was a band called London Grammar I like a lot. And then I like this performance by the band Bahamas.

"A Bird Lost" might be favorite off the album; what was the inspiration behind that track?

You know, that one started with a guitar riff and then it started with.. I kept envisioning this photograph. I can't find this dang photo anymore - it was on my old computer - but, it was this black and white photo of, just from the legs down, of this kind of wandering woman through a field and it was one of those things. I kept that picture in the back of my mind and there was nothing about the photo that evoked a bird, in any which way, but, you know, that photograph was in my mind the entire time; I need to go back and find that picture. I mean, I know exactly what it looks like but it was just this beautiful black and white photo and it was just the legs of this woman were clearly wandering, but with such a presence, such a force, and then it was just in this field where the winds were blowing and it certainly inspired me and certainly I definitely kept that image in the back of my head while I was foraging through lyrics. Yeah, I think that's where it came from, and when I think of the chorus I think that that photograph still resonate. It was one of those few photos that really just stopped me in my tracks. I think I just took a screenshot of it, that's all I had of it, and then one day I spilled some juice on my laptop and I lost my computer but it's still, like, I still have the drive so I think I can still check it out. I remember telling this photographer how much I loved this photograph but then she took the photograph away and I don't know where it went! I think it was just on Facebook, like in this Facebook photo album, but, yeah, at least for the chorus, that is certainly where that photo just still resonates.

What do you want listeners to take away from your music?

I hope people take away that there's definitely a lot of joy in it. It is certainly like a journey if you listen to the album from songs one through nine all the way through. It kind of starts in this dark place and then there's moments of joy and it feels like it's a very circular album; it always kind of comes back to a joyous place. It ends with the song "Feeling Good Again" and that was just a good way to kind of end the album; it just felt very circular. For listening to it, you know, I say dark, but really every song does have kind of an inherent joy to it and all the songs are so much fun to play live. I don't want people to take away the sad bastard songwriter thing from it, that's, you know, when people ask the genre I'm always like "it's upbeat! It's upbeat and it's happy and it's exciting". It's certainly joyous and that's what I hope people take away. 

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Erisa Rei

See what Erisa Rei had to say about her music, inspirations, and debut album, Black Ball.

What first motivated you to begin making your own music?

Erisa Rei: I first started out doing Christian music in 2004. Back then I was doing it because I felt like it was something I was supposed to do. Obviously I loved music back then too, but after the official genre switch in 2011, my goals became a bit different than before.

And you do have an interesting mix of genres: you have the strong lyrics of great female singer/songwriters but the Americana/Roots sound that's usually not associated with that type of artist; what led to this mixture of genres?

Well, I feel my music is true to who I am as a person. I am a soulful, rootsy person who also happens to be a deep thinker. I grew up in the country, as well as live in the country now; because of this, I feel that rural sound is somewhat present in my music. The gospel influence comes from growing up in church. The blues and soul sound is just innate.

What are you most passionate about/tend to keep in mind when writing a new song?

I am a very intuitive person. Oftentimes my songs come to me in bits and pieces. I have a hard time sitting down and writing a song, for the sake of just writing a song. I mean, I CAN, but it ends up being one that I really don't like that much or [will] use when I go out to perform, let alone put on an album.

The "bits and pieces" usually come when I am doing mundane things, like cooking or driving on the road. Sometimes I'll have a conversation with someone and a phrase will stick out. I'll just file that phrase or idea away for another time in order to ponder it. I think about the ideas for awhile before I actually sit down to write it out into a song.

Are there any recent releases or new artists whose music you've found to be inspiring?

I'm sort of playing catch-up on life, as I didn't listen to a wide variety of music growing up. I recently watched the Muscle Shoals documentary and have been listening to Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved A Man The Way I Loved You", and Etta James' "Tell Mama". I also love Bettye Lavette's album, Thankful N' Thoughtful, Lake Street Dive's "Bad Self Portraits" and Ray LaMontagne's "Supernova". Lindi Ortega's "Tin Star" is fantastic too.

Speaking of you playing catch-up, how do you balance your role as wife and mother with that of songwriter and performer?

With four imaginary arms spinning plates! Really, I have an amazing husband that watches the kids while I'm gigging. If it is a longer string of tour dates, his mom or my mom comes down to help. It is difficult to keep up with other artists who are single that can go out and tour 200 dates a year. I don't have that luxury. I think that the most I've made it out is 65 dates in one year. Usually, I can squeeze in around 40 or 50. I hope with my next release I'll be able to get in at least 100, but we'll see. I homeschool the kids so I don't feel so guilty about leaving them while on the road.

That's great. So, have you already begun working on some tracks for the next album?

For the past two years, I've been writing. I've learned a few tricks from my producer, Paul Buono, about simplifying a bit, in order to show off my voice. So, I've been trying to find that little niche in the music world that belongs to me. My label, producer and I want to make sure that I am giving the public a really great album this next time. Since March, I've really been able to find a groove. Right now, I'm in the process of demoing the songs. The label will get to hear them after I'm done with that. We'll see if they like them. If they do, then I'll start recording. If they don't, back to the drawing board.

One of the demos available on your SoundCloud page, "Your Kind Of Love", is brilliant; what prompted the track?

Thank you! I'm glad that you like it. That is a song I demoed in March 2012, but it is one that didn't make the cut for the next album, mostly because the "feel" of it doesn't fit. (The other ones are even better, I promise!)

"Your Kind of Love" was prompted from when a particular group of people were expecting me to live up to their life standards (that they didn't keep themselves). When I failed to meet their ridiculous requirements in order to "fit in", I was ultimately rejected by them. I am the type of person that is honest about how I feel, but I don't expect other people to live according to my standards. Just be respectful of me, live the life you want, and I'm cool. However, if someone is disrespectful, hypocritical and then puts me down for not living according their own version of morality ("do as I say and not as I do"), then I stand up for myself and keep walking out my life the way that I see fit.

Do you have any tracks that you think sort of stand out from the rest or that you really enjoy performing live?

I've been trying out my new songs at local writer's nights. They are getting a lot of EXCELLENT response. That makes me feel pretty good about them.

As far as the tracks from previous albums go, "Black Ball", "News To See", "Like Dominoes", "I Still Need You", and "Be Gone, Winter Long" seem to be crowd and fan favorites. My very favorite song is actually one that I don't play out very often, because I always seem to not perform it as well as I love it, is "Sojourn Band" from the album Black Ball.

Going along with the response these new tracks have been receiving, are there any fun stories from the road/performances that you'd like to share?

Well, the main thing is where I have been playing them. It is this cajun restaurant/bar called Kimbro's in Franklin, TN. Every Tuesday night they have a deconstructed writer's night where many of the bands and listeners in the community drop by to play their music and support each other. It has such an amazing feel of community there. We're all there to support each other, not compete. To me, that is what music artists should do with each other. Anytime a music artist feels the need to tear down someone else's music, they either are bitter or not confident enough in themselves. This is something that I had to learn myself, so I'm not condemning anyone. It's just an observation.

Is there anything I didn't ask you about that you'd like to add or anything that you want to say to your fans?

I can't think of anything to add to the interview. As for my fans, sincere thanks for all of your support! I love you all. :)

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Alisha Zalkin

Had the chance to talk with Alisha Zalkin about her newly released On This Road EP and how she uses yoga and meditation in creating her music.

Which artists or albums have inspired you, musically or otherwise?

Alisha Zalkin: I would say the biggest album and artist that has inspired me is Carole King and her album Tapestry. It's one of my all time favorite records: I literally know every song. Her musical style, everything she writes about - well, like, her co-writers, but she wrote as well - just, her songs were so influential at that time and they made a difference for women and it's just an incredible record and she's just my idol. The first track off the record is a Carole King cover.  

"Fearless" is so powerful; what was the meaning or inspiration behind it?

The inspiration behind that song was.. a friend of mine, a childhood friend, was diagnosed with cancer and it was the first person who was my age I knew who was diagnosed with cancer. It just really just hit me hard and I couldn't help but think about, you know, when we were all in kindergarten, if we had known one of us was going to get cancer in our twenties, how would we have lived our lives differently? So I walked into a writing session with a friend of mine, my co-writer, Mary Ruth Schuler, and we were talking for hours, sharing stories about people that we know who've had cancer and, sort of, how we would live our lives; what would we do differently, that kind of thing. We just thought, why do we wait for that point to really live fearlessly? It really should be something that we do every day, all day, because there's no difference between someone who is suffering from a disease and someone who isn't. Tomorrow isn't a promise for anybody.

You've put out two EPs now, are there any plans for a full length album?

Yeah, that's the goal, the next step. This one just came out so I'll probably be performing for a bit but, all the while, writing and creating a full length.

Which track from On This Road means the most to you? Which of the tracks can you not stop listening to?

Definitely "Fearless". That was just an emotional song, for so many different reasons, and it forced me to take risks, as an artist, and be totally authentic and honest with myself; it's been a big game changer for me. That's one where it's just so meaningful and, you know, everyone knows someone who has been ill with cancer and so every time I perform it I can feel, just, that attention I have from the audience and it's a really special song. I love doing that one live.

What do you mean when you say it forced you to take risks, exactly?

I just meant, like, all around. As an artist, I'm putting out this song that's, hopefully, inspiring people to be fearless and it kind of holds me accountable for being fearless too. It's kind of like 'practice what you preach' in a way, even though I don't want to say that I'm preaching it, it's.. I can't authentically perform that song, in the studio or for an audience, unless that's the way that I am constantly living my life and challenging myself to live that way.

Where do you see your music going in the future?

I really hope to do a tour. I would really love to tour the states, tour out of the states, and just constantly create music that empowers and inspires people; I really just feel like that's the point of music, so I wanna give back in that way. I feel like I've been given music for a reason and I want to make sure that I get to people.

Other than music, what most interests you; were you not pursuing music, what would you be doing?

I am very into yoga and meditation and I do transcendental meditation twice a day: I practice yoga regularly; I actually did get my $500 yoga certification. If I weren't doing music I'd probably do something in that realm of meditation/yoga/ayurvedic medicine, something along those lines.

If you could see one artist/band in concert this summer, who would it be?

Ooh, that's a really hard question.. There's so many.. You know, one I've really been wanting to see live is Jason Mraz. I would definitely want to see Jason Mraz live but I've also been wanting to see Allen Stone live; I don't know if he's on tour but, if we were talking concerts, I would definitely go with Jason Mraz.

Are there any concerts/festivals you aspire to play at?

Hmm, I would love to do Bonnaroo, Outside Lands.. I would love to do yoga festivals; they often have music so that would be cool. Lightning in a Bottle is also a very, like, conscious space music festival.

What do you want listeners to take away from your music?

I just want them to feel empowered by the music and I want them to feel, sort of, rejuvenated. I want them to feel as though whatever stress they're dealing with or whatever, whatever's in their way of just fully accepting themselves and being truly authentic, I hope that the music inspires them to be that way, to let go of whatever's holding them back.

How do you transpose your love of yoga and meditation and, all of that, and put it into your tracks?

Well, you know, yoga and meditation are all about self discovery and it's really like being truthful with yourself and honest with yourself; making the choice to live with integrity. So, I try to write about my own experiences with that and I happen to work with an incredible producer named Steve Greenwell who does not let a beat go by that isn't truly authentic. He doesn't allow any music in there that is just there for the sake of being there. I mean, it was all so honest and pure so that really supported the lyrics and the melody and the message of the songs. I think, you know, I think that really [helps to] translate the stuff that I learn while I do yoga and meditation into my music. I tell people I did my $500 yoga certification but yoga isn't just the physical practice and I teach yoga through my music so, yeah, I think that's how I see the two co-exist for me.

Is there anything you want to say to your fans?

Just to spread the word. If they love it, share it with their friends and just, listen to the music. 

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Okapi Sun

Check the interview to see what Leo and Dallas of Okapi Sun had to say about making their debut album.

Techno Prisoners is your debut album?

Dallas: Yeah, this is our very first album. We just started the band in 2013, so this has been going on for pretty much a year and a half now so, yeah, it's the debut album of Okapi Sun. It was exciting; it was a long process but it's cool to have all the music out there finally. It kind of starts to free you up to write new music too because we've just been focusing on all the songs we wrote at the beginning of the project and then you obviously want to record the album so you're just concentrating on those songs and it's nice to have that done so we can actually start thinking of new songs. 

How did you two meet? When did you decide you wanted to form a band together?

Leo: We just met in the club in Europe and I saw her there and then we started talking and we became friends. Then I was going over her and I called her up and was like "I'm coming over!" and that's pretty much how we met.

Dallas: I don't think that we ever - well, I don't know; maybe we were like "we should start a band" - I can't remember, but I do remember us just kind of.. I think we said "let's get together and just kind of play some music" and that was really the situation so we got to a room together and we brought all the instruments that either of us knew how to play and we just kind of started experimenting and messing around. Then, when we actually started writing songs we were like "oh, okay, this doesn't sound too bad" so then that's kind of when we started to think 'maybe we should develop this more and turn it into a real band'. That was in October of 2012 so from October to December we were just kind of messing around and meeting up and playing music for fun and then, by January, we actually had some real songs and we started playing shows and we really took it seriously.

Leo: Yeah, I think mostly we just really wanted something as an outlet. We were working at the same job and I remember thinking like "oh, yeah, that's something fun after work" and we would just get together and play music.

How did you come up with the name 'Okapi Sun'?

Dallas: Okapi is one of my favorite animals: my favorite animal, growing up, was the zebra and then when I saw an okapi, which was probably in high school or something, that became my new favorite animal - even though I still liked the zebra. So, yeah, it's an animal and, when we were thinking of band names, I was like "oh, what do you think about 'Okapi'?" and she was like "oh, what's that?" and so I told her it was an animal and we looked it up and she thought it looked really cool -which it does - and so we were like 'okay, well let's think about it for a few days' and then a couple days later she came to me and she said "well, what do you think about 'Okapi Sun'?" and I was like "ooh, I kind of like that" so that's pretty much how the name came about.

Leo: Yeah, I thought that it was really cool that it was an okapi and it's like a spiritual animal, for one: I thought that it would really stick with who we are and what we represent, kind of like a mixture of all different cultures, you know? 'Cause, obviously, we don't look the same, so I thought it was really cool to have this weird animal representing us that looks like a horse, a zebra, and a giraffe in one.

How would you describe your style of music to someone who had never heard it before?

Dallas: Usually when we're talking to people and we're like, "oh, we're in a band," and they ask us that question, like "what does it sound like," the first thing that I usually say is that it's kinda like electronic/pop/dance music and, every now and then, we throw in some words like tribal/disco dance music. I mean, those are the words that we use to describe it. Just fun; easygoing; pure; like, four to the floor dance music, but it has a little pop flair because we try and do a lot of melody driven songs versus just reverb, you know, straightforward electronic, like EDM style of music. We kind of are a little different from that because we have more actual melodies for the songs but, yeah, I mean, it's pretty much just fun dance music... Do you want to add anything to that Leo?

Leo: You actually summed it up... It's cool; this is only us two, but I think we bring a really full sound to the table for our audiences. I think that it's pretty cool that we're playing all these instruments: I mean, one person plays synthesizers, guitar, and drums and we sing and then we have our tracks and I actually think it's really cool just to see. So, that's my two cents.

What part of the album making process was your favorite?

Dallas: I think I would say, probably for the both of us, one of the funnest parts was being able to work with Neal Pogue. We were able to fly out to Atlanta, Georgia which, I'd never been there, but it was just a really exciting experience. It was just exciting for us to be able to work with him and then when we got [to Atlanta] and we just had a lot of fun and we got to watch his process and kind of see him take a little, you know, put his flair on our music and so that was really a fun experience. 

Leo: Yeah, I think that was definitely one of the highlights. For me, the whole process was really exciting because, ever since we'd started this we'd just been playing with our instruments and had like the beginnings of the songs; we just had like these little bits and pieces and then later we got together and we were like "oh, this sounds cool and this sounds cool" and from there we just started layering all the instruments and developing all of our songs and it was really exciting to see the whole process of seeing the songs coming from like that instant idea to.. We write something together and then, having it sort of come to life, as a full work of art: that is just exciting to me.

And the most challenging part about making the album?

Leo: Pretty much, just putting what you have in your head out there and trying to get as close as it gets because, obviously, we both have a vision of how it's supposed to sound and then, actually, in the end, having it sound how we really meant it. It's always hard trying to talk when you're working with other people because we don't have the technical aspects of it so we had to compromise, but I think it came really close to how we had it in our head and I think that we did a really good job of bringing what we thought it should sound like to life, but that was definitely a challenge. What do you think Dallas?

Dallas: I agree; I totally agree with that.

How did the album writing process work? Did you collaborate on everything, or write on your own before coming together?

Dallas: Oh, no, we collaborate on everything we do so, pretty much, the writing process is just: we'll just go into our practice space and sit down and go through the beats that we have in our system or we'll search for new ones online or if we can't find anything that fits our mood at the moment then we'll just write something that we like. Then, after we have a beat that kind of inspires us a little, we'll turn the lights off and start jamming to it and there's really no rules to it. If both of us start playing the synthesizer, we both start playing the synthesizer; if somebody stops and decides to pick up the guitar then they pick up the guitar; if we both start singing.. We just kind of let whatever comes out come out and then as, I mean, a song is like three or four minutes, but usually we'll jam on it for ten or fifteen minutes; you just kind of play and sometimes you might hear a melody that works that might be played on guitar but then you might start singing it; you might be singing it and someone might start playing it on something else. We just kinda keep messing around with it until we start hearing something that we like and then we might stop and talk about it like "oh, that was cool; let's try it again". Then we'll mess around with it again and it starts taking an actual shape; we'll start seeing parts that we like for verses and hearing parts that we like for choruses or whatever and then we'll usually spin off one more time and kind of verbally say "well, let's play that part here and let's play that part there" and then we'll turn on the recorder and just play through it once or twice, kind of letting it come out however it comes out with the little structure we've put on it. Then we let it go and we'll move on to the next thing and do that maybe five or six times in a sitting, just that whole process, and then we'll listen back to the recording over the next couple of days. Obviously, some songs we'll be like "okay, that one was weird; drop it" but then other songs you're like "oh yeah, that kind of sounds cool" and then you kind of start messing around with it from there and actually shaping it to a real song: forming the choruses and adding words and adding layers and adding instruments; developing a song.

Leo: That was really good. I think that's it is really cool when two people actually get together like that and really are in that moment and whatever comes out, comes out. It's a really cool feeling because you're creating something from however you feel in that moment and that's kind of a nice part of making music, in general, because that's like the joy of creating music, for me. You know, some people have that idea of how it should sound on paper and that's pretty much how it's supposed to sound but, however it comes out, we'll take it and we'll mold it into a song later and that's kind of the Okapi sound.

Is there a track you really love performing live?

Dallas: That's a hard question; I like all of them. Really, there's not like a song that we play that is like "oh my gosh, okay, let's try and get through it to get to the next one". They're all fun and they're all different, in and of themselves, so it's just like, you know, some songs have drums and you get excited to perform that because you get to jump on drums and other songs, like, I might sing a lead in one song, she might sing the lead in another song and there's a lot of stuff going on so I don't think any one song ever gets boring and, you know, not exciting. It's just like one long..

Leo: Dance party.

Dallas: Yeah, one long dance party.

Leo: Yeah, I think it's fun because every song has different aspects and, in the end, we wanted to create something that we would want to listen to, if we had gone to a show; like, "oh, you know, this must be cool to watch, so I would want to see that song and dance". It's kind of fun; we always play a lot of instruments in the songs so it's like I'll be looking forward to the next song because there's drums and then the next song comes up and you're on guitar so it never gets boring with that.

What song can you not stop listening to right now?

Dallas: Ooh, Fame Riot. The Fame Riot and Ishi. Those are two bands that we play with; we played with Ishi before and we just played a show with The Fame Riot this past weekend in Seattle and we're going to play with them again down here in San Diego but those are two CDs that we always have in the car and we can't get the songs out of our head once we listen to them.

Leo: Yeah, [The Fame Riot] is from Seattle and Ishi is from Dallas, Texas.

Anything you want to add that I haven't covered?

Leo: We're excited to go on our first national tour coming up in a couple weeks so we're pretty much packing right now and getting that ready.

Is there anything you want to say to your fans?

Leo: We just want them to have a good time.

Dallas: Yeah!

Leo: We want it to be like a big dance party and everybody can just come and have some fun and there's no, like, you don't have to be cool or dress cool or whatever, it's just like, everybody comes together and has a good time and parties and that's pretty much what we're trying to do through music: bring everybody together and celebrate life.

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