And are you a band or musician in the neighborhood interested in being featured in our Bands in the Neighborhood series? Let me know!
Tell us a bit about yourselves.
Megaphone Barons is C. Lew (vocals, guitar), Tim (drums) and Hannah (synths, backing vocals). They're celebrating the release of their second album with an album release party at DC9 this Saturday, August 24th.
You can snag a free promo copy of their new album, here.us.now., at www.megaphonebarons.com. If you feel like embedding our official music video for a new song, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtpQiV5U4iI Also, attached is a band photo (left to right: Tim (drums), C. Lew (vocals/guitar), Hannah (synths/backing vocals). Let us know if you have any further questions.
How did the band form?
C. Lew: Our first rehearsal ever was in an attic above a Chinese travel agency in Shaw. Most people that we were in a previous band with had moved away so we were up there in late fall of 2009 working on some song ideas that I wanted to record. In the beginning we only had drums, violin and acoustic guitar. Only one song--Soggy Ground-- that we played that night made its way to our first album, Menagerie.
How'd you get your name?
C. Lew: We made it up. Somewhere in the ether is a long band email chain with a lot of rambling, poetic pairings. One day I'm gonna print it out and perform it at slam poetry night at Busboys and Poets.
Whereabouts do your Columbia Heights bandmembers live?
Tim: I live on Sherman Ave near Meridian Pint.
Hannah: I moved to NE last year, but the first couple years I was in DC I lived at the very bottom of CH at 13th and Clifton, and the very top of CH at 14th and Perry Place. Twas the very best of times.
Do you practice in CH? How about play any gigs in the neighborhood?
C. Lew: Our previous band practiced in a basement on Holmead Street behind the Giant. It had low ceilings from the viewpoint of tall men. Nowadays, Tim lives in a rowhouse so narrow that my guitar can touch both walls so we mostly practice in Adams Morgan at a space run by the guys from the band More Humans. Our next show in Columbia Heights will be the Columbia Heights Day Festival on October 5th. We're super pumped about that.
What are your band's influences?
C.Lew: I think we're more influenced by the world than by any one band or genre in particular. We've all spent several years outside of the country during our 20s and have allowed that to influence our sound. Our first EP has mariachi, folk, and punk. This new EP is more psychadelic pop, chill wave and electronic. We like to call our current style California-grit.
Gone on any tours? Any crazy and terrible tour stories?
C. Lew: We've played a bunch of shows over the last few years. We're coming out of the studio after taking off some time to write and record this latest EP. In July we played a DIY show for the DC Bike Party that got shut down by the cops. We apparently incited a riot that blocked a road. I offered to play a song as the bikers rode away but that plan was nixed by a cop that yelled in my face. From a photo that was taken some have speculated that I was about to get tased.
What’s your take on the local music scene in Columbia Heights and DC?
C. Lew: The music community is definitely growing. The Paperhaus, Listen Local First and the facebook group DC DIY Shows are three concrete examples of how things are building. Also, a lot of new venues have opened since we've moved to town. Eventhough I still cry at night about Red Palace's closure. Overall, we've got a net gain.
And if you had to rename your band for something in Columbia Heights, what would it be?
C. Lew: Saturday night in Wonderland.
Hannah: The Red Derby. Obviously. It's already the perfect band name!
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