Image: Morrison Photography
Indie Rock has an interesting connotation to most people, and the term has different definitions depending on whom you talk to. If you talk to the three men behind Upright Man, you would probably get a different answer from each of them as well. Aidan Dolan (Guitar/Vox), Nick Katz (Bass/Vox), and Max Yassky (Percussion) have three very unique personalities that, instead of clashing, form to create the magic that is Upright Man. The three met at NYU while studying Classical Music and found they worked well together in the wide range of projects they linked up in. Naturally, they started writing and found out that worked too.
Their eponymous debut album features a myriad of styles wrapped up in wild time signatures and complex harmonies. Tracks like “Agoragnostic” highlight the voices of Aidan and Nick and showcase their ability to write and create incredible sounds and styles reminiscent of classic Prog Rock or Psychedelic styling. Then, only two songs later, their namesake brings you some powerful rock beats and a heavier sound. However, you can’t help but notice the technicality of their rhythms. Nick and Aidan both agree that their time studying Classical music has given them a different approach to song writing and a propensity to ignore the “rules.” This “punk rock” mentality allows for them to continue, “playing things that don’t…come naturally,” according to Nick. The traditional VERSE-CHORUS-BRIDGE is frequently used in their writing; however, Aidan reiterates in the interview with BackStage 360 “occasionally we take a more developmental approach to song forms.”
I would like to say that each member has a favorite song from this self-titled album; however, that would only be 2/3 correct since Max says, “I don’t want to play favorites and ruin the magic.” Nick and Aidan do have their favorites…”Animals” and “Ectasy” respectively. While Nick didn’t explain his answer, Aidan adds that “Animals” is “it’s own little sarcastic journey.” Apparently there’s a new video coming out for that song, and it’s “absurd” according to Aidan. With their interesting lyrics and far-out concepts for the storylines on this album, I have no doubt this video will shock and awe.
Image: Morrison Photography
Upright Man album pre-sale: Amazon:
Upright Man on Tour:
7/20 New York, NY @B.B. King Blues Club (w/ The Fabulous Thunderbirds)
7/22 Boston, MA @Cabot Theatre (w/ The Fabulous Thunderbirds)
8/17 Ocean City, MD @Fager’s Island
8/23 New York, NY @Bowery Electric
You can also follow Upright Man on Social Media:
http://uprightman.band/https://www.facebook.com/uprightmanbandhttps://twitter.com/uprightmanmusichttps://www.instagram.com/uprightmanband/
Big Jon / BackStage360
UPRIGHT MAN – Q & A (Interview)
Where do you draw most of your musical influences?
Max: Ancient Chinese stone music.
Nick: Mostly the music we listen to.
Aidan: The music I’ve been hearing recently is always a subconscious influence on writing. Sometimes I even hear music I don’t really like, but can still be influenced to write something I enjoy from hearing it.
Describe how and when music sunk its claws into you?
Nick: I don’t think it’s as beastly as all that…. I used to make my parents stop on the street and listen to every busker when i was a child, so as early as I can remember really.
Aidan: I always enjoyed music like any kid, but I was 12 years old when I picked up the guitar and started listening to and thinking about music that I still like. Anything I listened to before that age is probably embarrassing to admit.
Max: Infancy. They said I was lucky it wasn’t fatal.
Explain the development of Upright Man’s personal style.
Nick: It’s what happens when we all get together and argue until we make a decision.
Max: I disagree.
Aidan: The transition from thinking as composers to thinking as members of a band has definitely driven a lot of development in our songwriting and playing.
When you first met at NYU studying classical music composition, how did you know that the 3 of you had the magical combination together to form rock band Upright Man?
Nick: I’m glad you think we’re magical. We just try to write stuff we feel good playing.
Max: Good vibes is good vibes.
Aidan: We had known each other a while and knew we could grow together musically, so we just kept putting time into play and writing and became the band we are.
What did studying classical music bring to Upright Man’s music that sets you apart?
Max: It taught us what not to do. Actually a lot of what we draw from our influences is a long list of things to avoid. Mostly we write and arrange in the band with a sense of “less is more,” which classical music at its best is a champion of. It’s easy to figure out how to avoid overcrowding a simple piece of music but it’s hard to know when you’ve done too much to something that’s already above averagely complicated.
Nick: I think the biggest thing is our fluidity with time signatures – we all worked with a lot of 20th century music when we were in school. After Shoenberg all the conventions of the past few thousand years kind of got thrown out the window, so coming up in the plink-plonk environment of modern classical music meant we got good at playing things that don’t necessarily come naturally.
Aidan: The influence on our use of odd time signatures is a big one. Studying classical helped us think of song forms in a way that was very different from Verse, Chorus, Bridge, etc, even though we do use those terms sometimes. Occasionally we take a more developmental approach to song forms.
I read that you had previously recorded enough songs for an album before going back in the studio to record what is now Upright Man’s debut album due out August 18th. What differs from the earlier songs that didn’t make the cut to the final tracks on the album?
Max: We had tunes ranging from Hobbit Sagas to cryptic love poems. I’m glad we landed on “Animals” and absurdist tales of the Greek afterlife.
Nick: We were finding our sound. We wrote a lot of music very fast – some of it wound up sticking.
Aidan: After recording our first batch of 12 songs, we knew we had a lot of growing to do and that our music hadn’t really focused into a sound yet. We went into the studio one more time in the fall of 2016, recording 6 songs that all made the record. We only used 4 of the original twelve to form our first 10 track album.
If you had to pick your favorite song on the record, which would it be, and why is a standout track to you?
Max: They’ve all been cool to me; something righteous happened during the recording of each tune so I don’t want to play favorites and ruin the magic.
Nick: I like “Animals.”
Aidan: “Ecstasy” is definitely a personal favorite. It is it’s own little sarcastic journey. We just finished filming an absurd music video for it.
Upright Man is busy this summer hitting the road to promote your debut – mainly on the East Coast. What are your plans for after the album comes out? Any plans to also hit the West Coast?
Max: We don’t have west coast plans though we were offered a couple gigs in/around CA. The South has been a friend to us this early on. I’d be stoked to play Florida and more of Texas.
Nick: If people have gigs, we’ll take ’em.
Aidan: We will be keeping our runs of shows mostly on the East Coast until 2018, where we are talking about going for a long haul in the van. Stay tuned!
What 3 other current bands would be your dream lineup to tour with?
Nick: Radiohead. The Claypool Lennon Delerium. Dr. Dog.
Max: Queens Of The Stone Age whenever they tour to promote their new Mark-Ronson-produced album, then any other two bands.
Aidan: Tame Impala, TAUK, Mac Demarco
Where do you see Upright Man going after this album?
Nick: Onward and upward.
Max: A college tour and then a sabbatical to Hell to hone our chops.
Aidan: I see a lot of touring in our future. I look forward to transforming as a band on the road and bringing our album to the world. It’s inspirational to see and hear people’s reactions of both the live show and the album. Of course, another album after that.