Candystore is an eclectic and diverse group of rock musicians from Minneapolis, MN. Each member is an established song writer and multi-instrumentalist in their own right. The end result is genre-bending rock that fuses and contrasts musical styles, reaching beyond base influences to incorporate various modalities and instrumentation. Described as Everclear meets the Pixies, Candystore is not afraid to draw upon influences from across the decades to create a fresh and modern sound.
Candystore includes the creative talents of Kent Weis (Lead Vocals), Matt Platt ( Lead/Rythm Guitar, Piano, Keys/Synth), Londo Masterman (Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals), Shannon Souza (Drums, Percussion) and Joseph Souza (Engineering/Mixing, Backing Vocals).
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Candystore about their latest music, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Oh…and the music RAWKS!
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
Kent Weis (Lead Singer, Founding Member): We’re from Minneapolis, Minnesota and we say that proudly in the middle of one of our long winter cold snaps. It takes a special kind of person to live in Minnesota. When it’s this cold out, there’s a bit of pride that carries you as you gnash your teeth and push through it.
I think the style of music we create can be generally classified as “rock”, but we’re really creating the type of music we want to hear. There is no specific formula to our song writing and it’s very collaborative.
Matt Platt (Guitars, Piano/Synth, Founding Member):A song like our most recent single ‘Face’ (off of our upcoming album ‘Feels Like It Should’) may be considered ‘heavy’ by certain standards, while ‘Touched’ is straight up rock and a song like ‘When You Leave’ incorporates different instrumentation (such as piano, strings, synth) and would be considered more on the mellow side by many. We try not to have boundaries or stylistic limitations when creating music as a band. There are countless influences we all pull from, many with roots in Minnesota (i.e. Bob Mould/Sugar, Martin Zellar/Gear Daddies, Lifter Puller, Semisonic, etc.) but also national acts such as Everclear, The Pixies, Muse and many others. At the end of the day, we are a rock band at our core.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
Kent: I saw Soul Asylum in a tent in Minneapolis way back in my youth. This was before anyone outside of Minnesota knew who Soul Asylum was. Before that I’d seen a bunch of concerts, but they were all big arena-style productions. At this Soul Asylum show it was them in a tent with maybe 300 people. It was the first mosh pit I’d ever been in. I was close enough to the stage where Dave Pirner’s spittle would rain down on you as he sang. The pit was rough, but everyone helped each other up. It was a community. We all became family as we shared our sweat, blood and spit. At that time in my life, it was magical. I dug into indie music from that point forward. I think that was the point in my life where I thought it was possible to be a part of that community and be on the stage. Before that music was cool, but it never felt attainable until that night in that tent.
Matt: We keep playing and creating music because every time life leads us all on some detour or another we always seem to find our way back…whether it’s a live show or in this case a new album. There has always been a unique energy that transpires when this band plays together and we try to channel that energy and not get in the way! At their core, each individual in this band loves playing and creating music and that is motivation enough for us to keep going.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
Both: Our previous full-length release was a big, polished production and ended up sounding a bit flat. We’re a bit gritty and rough around the edges. That didn’t come through on “This Is How Things Work”. We were trying to capture a little more grit on this record. We’ve always been known for our high energy live shows, so we were trying to capture a little bit of that live energy on this album. We recorded in our friend Joseph Souza’s intimate home studio space. He did all the engineering and mixing for this album. He’s been around us long enough to know and understand what we’re about and I think he did a great job of capturing our essence on these new tracks. He added a lot of his own creative ideas and that was our intent. We wanted him to put his own spin on our tracks. Beyond that, we were just trying to make a rock record that people actually want to listen to…as those seem to be becoming a thing of the past!
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Kent: OH BOY! The music industry has moved so fast over the last 20 years. It’s so much different than it was when we were kids. It was so much harder to make music 20 years ago. You almost had to go to a studio with tons of expensive gear to get a decent sounding product. Distribution was so much harder. Artists had to mail CD’s all over the place to try to get a spin on a college radio station. But people made money selling music back then. Indie artists would sell CD’s out of their van. Artists who survived those 20 years are in an entirely different game today.
Everyone is on a more level playing field now. You can make records in your basement. You can get your music distributed to hundreds of streaming sites for less than a hundred bucks. You can make music videos on your phone. Technology has helped us a ton and it’s continuously evolving, so it also introduces a ton of challenges. The music is no longer a money-making product. You have to find different avenues to generate income.
What was the last song you listened to?
Kent: That’s a really good question. It would be cool if I could remember, but I don’t. I was listening to the radio today and I’m not that into what I hear on the radio. I’m pretty excited about The Hold Steady’s new record, though. Craig Finn has always been a big influence.
Matt: I was just listening to ‘Hysteria’ by Muse. They are pretty mainstream at this point, but they do a great job of melding different styles while still maintaining an edgy rock vibe. That kick-ass distorted bass line in the intro of that song reminds me of some the stuff Londo (our bass player) plays when we’re just warming up at practice!
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Kent: Why didn’t you ask if I preferred cassette tapes? What’s wrong with Dolby Noise Reduction? I miss holding the music in my hand with Vinyl, CDs and Cassette Tapes, but I can’t deny what a feat of technology jamming every song you own into a phone is. I’ve been in a rock band for a while so my hearing is not the best and I like being able to carry a giant music catalog in the palm of my hand. It’s MP3s for me. I’m sorry if that’s not indie. It’s very convenient.
Matt: I still miss the days of browsing the local record store for hours and blowing my (admittedly small) paycheck on music I’d never heard before…I discovered so many great bands that way! However, I can’t deny the convenience of digital/streaming etc. from a consumer’s standpoint…and if you don’t change and adapt with the times you get left behind!
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Kent: I think from a band/musician perspective Bandcamp is great. I think you at least have a shot at making a few bucks on Bandcamp. From a music consumer perspective, Spotify is a very solid platform.
Matt: Spotify has been pretty good for us…seems to be the platform many fans are using right now. I do like the concept behind Bandcamp. Ultimately we’d like to expand our burgeoning Candystore ecosystem and set up our own shop connected to our webpage…
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
All of our new and older releases are on all streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, You Tube, etc.). Our website (www.candystorerocks.com) has links to all of the platforms plus access to other videos, photos, etc. You can always hit us up on Facebook or Instagram for the latest information on what we’re up to!
Anything else before we sign off?
Kent: I really appreciated the opportunity to chat with you. Thanks for having us.
Matt: We appreciate the time. Our new single ‘Face’ is available now…keep your eye out for more new music very soon!
