Tag: Los Angeles

BGS 5+5: Field Medic

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Field Medic
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Latest album: fade into the dawn

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

One of the first big shows I ever played was at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. One of my friends was joking with me the night before, saying that I should ask everyone to put their phone lights on and sway them back and forth at the show. Apparently he had told our other band friends to try this, but no one wanted to because it’s kind of a ridiculous thing to do. Since I was the opener and didn’t really have anything to lose… and I suppose also because I’m kind of a ridiculous person, I asked the crowd to do it during my song “Do a Little Dope” and the whole room lit up. The show was sold out so there was a lot of lights and it felt so cool and surreal, especially being one of my first experiences playing to a room that big. There’s a video taken from side stage of that moment and you can hear my friend screaming while laughing, “It’s a good bit!!! It’s a good bit!!”

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?

Reading informs a lot of my music. I love to read novels and poetry. I find that reading every day brings me general peace of mind while also filling my head with words and metaphors and symbols which tend to come out subconsciously later on when I’m writing a song.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

When I had no room & was crashing between my girlfriend’s place in San Francisco and my friend’s house in LA in between tours, songwriting became quite difficult because I was never alone.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

In the studio I like to track a song exactly three times without listening in between takes. Sometimes I’ll move the microphone around for each take as well. After I track, I like to step away and maybe smoke a cigarette or go for a walk and just get on with my life. Then hours later I’ll listen back and choose which take to use. it’s usually the first or the second.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

Conscious, not precious.

Photo credit: Stephen Beebout

BGS 5+5: Luke Sital-Singh

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Artist name: Luke Sital-Singh
Hometown: Los Angeles, California (via Brighton, UK)
Latest album: A Golden State

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

The second time I played Glastonbury Festival I was opening one of the major stages and I was pretty nervous about it. I think I feared that no one would bother leaving their tents that early in the morning to come to the stage. And sure enough as I began to play there was only a small huddle of people and to top it off it started raining so I knew no one would come out. I just sighed, closed my eyes and got on with it. After a few songs I dared look up to see if anyone else has turned up and was so startled to find the crowd had grown as far as the eye could see! I was nearly thrown back by the shock of it. It was such a great feeling I don’t think I’ll ever forget that moment.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

I don’t really like rituals in that way. Especially when touring. For me each day can be so much like the last that I find it more exciting to try and find differences between each gig. I’m not sure if I intentionally do this but I definitely don’t like to do exactly the same thing each night before I go on. I’m just not a routine kind of person.

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I’d have to say David Bazan is my biggest influence and has had the biggest impact on me as a songwriter, especially lyrically. He manages to write so wisely and honestly about some big subjects, like having faith, losing faith, what it means to be human, about politics, etc., and also the smaller, everyday stuff like marriage, having kids, etc., and most masterfully of all, he writes in a way that shows you that all those subjects are intertwined and interconnected. I hope to write songs that are as wise and open as his are.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?

I’m a big poetry fan. I steal all my best ideas from poems. Especially Billy Collins. I wish to write songs like he writes poems. Accessible, insightful, human. I also love the frame of mind poetry puts me in. They slow me down. There’s no point reading in a poem quickly whilst doing something else. For me it’s like a meditative position. I write my music with that in mind. I’m sure people have my music on in the background and whatever. but I hope my songs help you slow down.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

Now technically I was already a musician at this point but I played a school concert when I was 15 or so and that was the first time I knew I wanted to pursue music as a career for the rest of my life. I was playing solo. A cover of a Damien Rice song and Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah.” At that point in my musical journey I knew I was pretty good but I still hadn’t done that many shows. This performance was the first time I really experience the silence. It’s a very specific silence, a noise that only an audience of people can make. When they are all tuned into the same thing. It’s an intoxicating feeling when you know you’ve got them in the palm of your hand. I got addicted to it that night and I have remained so ever since.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2PtdpFWTZBTG4NZgS1mobc?si=pWzZUCkhTuSrNdB0vWCO9Q

Photo credit: Hattie Ellis

LISTEN: Smith Allen, “Waitin’ For My Wheels”

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Artist: Smith Allen
Hometown: Los Angeles, California (by way of Ohio)
Song: “Waitin’ For My Wheels”
Album: Smith Allen
Release Date: April 26, 2019

In Their Words: “‘Waitin’ For My Wheels’ was written during a moment of uncertainty and self-reflection. It’s a reminder to keep aiming for the life you desire, even when it may seem far out of reach. It’s sort of a pep talk to my old self, using some of my fears to drive the point home and gain much needed motivation. Producer Jason Soda brought some cookin’ guitars to the mix, adding a tasteful touch of color and twang. ‘Time moves slower on the West Coast,’ when the sun’s always shining and the nights are long. The wheels are finally turning and I’m thrilled to premiere this track through BGS!” — Smith Allen

Photo credit: Samantha Stenson

LISTEN: Ted Russell Kamp, “Heart Under Pressure”

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Artist: Ted Russell Kamp
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Heart Under Pressure”
Album: Walkin’ Shoes
Release Date: March 15, 2019
Label: PoMo Records

In Their Words: “‘Heart Under Pressure’ is an anti-Dear John letter about being there for a friend who is hurting and in need. I read an article about longevity and eating right to have a healthy heart, which got me thinking about the heart literally being a muscle. In music, we often talk about heartbreak as an end-of-the-world kind of feeling and I wanted to write a song about the heart as an actual muscle that can outlast any emotional pain and survive anything we might be going through. I wanted to let the heart and its continual beating be a metaphor for our ability to endure and outlast whatever struggle comes our way.

“I co-wrote this song with an old friend and great singer/songwriter, Mark Webb from Greenville, South Carolina. A few years ago, he originally contacted me and sent me what were the beginnings of a new song of his called ‘Heart Under Pressure.’ I told him about my ‘heart as a muscle’ idea and we then combined them and worked on the lyrics to have them come from the perspective of a friend comforting another friend in need. The world is a pretty overwhelming and confusing place right now and I feel we all need to be reminded that we can make it through the hard times–and that our hearts under pressure really can lead the way and pull us through it all.

“I recorded it at my home studio, The Den, in L.A. with Danny Echevarria (the Countrysiders) on guitar and Aaron Goodrich (Nikki Lane) on drums. Then I played the acoustic guitar, Wurlitzer, Hammond and a little more electric guitar. Then another good friend of mine, Jaime Wyatt, sang harmony on the recording.” — Ted Russell Kamp

Photo Credit: Stacie Huckaba