Vito & The One Eyed Jacks provide an eclectic mix of old-timey genres including bluegrass, country, blues, and rag time; dark themes accompanied by bright melodies and sad overtones. The band presents life from a perspective of the underdog either bound to lose or bound for glory.
In this interview feature, we chat with Vito about the band’s influences, their newest project, surviving in the digital era and much more
Q&A along with links and a stream of the video for Going Down below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnVPFWh5uNk
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.)
Vito-We are from Seattle, Washington. As far as the style of music we create, I would call it Alternative Americana. We touch with hints of bluegrass, country and ragtime with a little punk rock attitude. Dark content with bright and happy melody.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
Vito-Growing up with tragedy I need an outlet. People choose many different outlets and sometimes they’re not so healthy. I chose music and skateboarding when I was 14. Ultimately I did fall into negative outlets such as drug abuse and alcoholism and music is the one the to save my life in the multiple occasions I put it at risk. So my love and respect for music keeps me on this course.
Who or what are your biggest influences when it comes to your creativity?
Vito-Musically my biggest influences are Doc Watson and The Devil Makes Three. I could make a list for days but Id say those are two favorites for sure. Life, the good and the bad, is also my biggest influence as most of my writing come from first hand experience.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
Vito-Well we have 2 previous full lengths and each recording has a unique feel for sure. With this recording we are setting out to make it a little more traditional and stripped down. We are going fill traditional lineup of instruments. Guitar, Banjo, Fiddle, Upright Bass, and Dobro. Plus Male and Female harmonies throughout.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
Vito-Honestly everything being digital gives basically everyone a platform. So bands like ours who are completely independent can release our music ourselves. However with everyone able to do the same, the digital market place is saturated and being completely independent makes it hard to stand out. However without the digital age we wouldn’t be able to connect with awesome blogs such as MTM whilst being on our own halfway across the country!
How do you feel about streaming services? Any romantic attachments to the physical formats: vinyl, 8-track, cassettes, CDs?
Vito-I have mixed feelings. Like I was saying, it makes it easy for everyone to put stuff out but also makes it a lot harder to stand out. But honestly my biggest let down from digital downloading and streaming is now people miss out on the cover art side of the spectrum. For me as a musician I love to work with an artist to come up with a emotional feeling from the imagery. Sure you still get a cover on your computer or iPod screen but its completely different from physically having a piece of art with multiple sides of imagery.
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
Vito-Check us out @ https://vitoandtheoneeyedjacks.bandcamp.com , there you can listen to our full release for free and purchase what you like. We soon will have merchandise on that site as well. Also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Anything else before we sign off?
Vito-If you like what you hear and want to see us in your town, email us! We always respond to everyone. Thanks MTM for this opportunity!
