Solo Solo is an indie rock, sibling duo. They live in Austin. They wrote, recorded, and mixed their first songs during quarantine in a storage unit. It was really hot in there. Greg’s the big brother. He got hit by a car and only has one-and-a-half legs now. Jon’s the little brother. He’s normal af. Their genre is technically indie rock, but it’s really “Early Tarantino.” They only speak in movie quotes and they both think they’re the lovable anti-hero.
Get ready to rock!
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Solo Solo about the music, dream collabs, memories and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
What’s something you’d like readers to know about your latest project?
Our first song, No Sleep, is aptly titled. We were recording inside a storage unit at a facility in east Austin where a few bands practice all hours of the day, all hours of the night. The only time there was enough silence to record was 6a-8a. So, I started waking up at 4:45a everyday, overdoing it on coffee, and getting straight to work. We set out to write, compose, record, and get a rough mix on one (1) track per week. “No Sleep” was written and recorded in the middle of a 20 song run and the title reflects the state we were in at the time. 4:45a every morning, no matter what.. There’s more than a little sleep deprivation baked into the price of this track. Hence, the title/lyrics. But we’ve always struggled with having snippets of songs, four or five lines written, a random chorus melody, a really exciting intro… and then we’d never finish the song. So the lyric “I never finish anything but I can’t stop starting” is painfully autobiographical. So we just buckled down, woke up early to get the vocals and drums recorded before the noise started, kept at it, and the answer to the chorus is that the song is finished. The song being in E, we ended the track with a hard stop on Gmaj to give it an unfinished feeling. But it is finished.
How does this project compare with your other release(s)? Was there anything specific you were trying to accomplish?
This project is our first release. We set out to make original music. Neither one of us listened to pop, indie, rock, name it… for about a year leading up to the writing process. We only got music from classical 89.5 in Austin and movie scores. We just wanted a fresh approach and to make sure our music wouldn’t be oversaturated with influence from any one or two artists. Being a duo, a sibling duo in particular, we both know all the same music anyways and it’s so easy to go back to what you know. But, in taking a break from consuming old data, we were able to create new sounds working with the raw materials around us. Guitars. Pedals. Drums. Vintage mics. Stomps. Claps. No Samples (Not against sampling, for this project we were all about DIY noise, though). We went down some rabbit holes with poorly marked exits… but we got where we were going.
What motivates you to create music?
It’s how we communicate. There’s never no tapping. There’s never no whistling, never no humming melodies around us. The fact that we’ve both been musicians since we were kids (I started guitar at 5, Jon started drums at 6) influenced us to a certain extent. But, I’d say happiness. Creating music, plain and simple, makes us happy. That, and we’re both seemingly boiling over with it, constantly.
What’s one of your first or most powerful music memories? Did that play any role in driving you to create?
In Middle School and High School, Jon and I were in a band together that played cover music. Top 40, mostly… Couple classics. We played to the college crowd in Charlottesville, VA and had our fair share of keg ice dumped on us by the time we were both 16. But my favorite memories from that time in our lives were when we’d sneak one of our songs in with the covers. Seeing that we could write music that elicited the same reaction as Weezer, or RHCP, or whoever… that was addicting. Since then, I’ve never stopped writing songs and Jon kept playing. Now we’re just putting the pieces together.
If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out.
Aretha. Her voice is the “why” for us. That raw emotion, to be on those dusty recordings from Muscle Shoals as her backing band… throwing it out there… to write a song with Aretha and hear the Queen of Soul sing it.
What was the last song you listened to? And who is one of your favorite all-time bands/artists?
The last song I listened to was Dear God 2.0 by The Roots. All time favorite bands/artists… let’s say Billie Holiday and Sigur Ros. Toss up. But Billie would probably win.
Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/solosoloband
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
Good questions! Let’s do this again.
