To help you get ready to check out some new music at Shaky Knees this year we had a quick Q&A with one of our must-see bands of the festival, *repeat repeat.
Hailing from Nashville, TN, *repeat repeat (https://www.repeatrepeatmusic.com/) features the husband and wife team of Jared and Kristyn Corder who write and record some lovely 60s influenced indie-pop sounds that cover the sonic pallet from Laurel Canyon, L.A. inspired sounds like the Mama’s and Papas spiced up with surf rock, garage and Motown girl-groups harmonies and production sensibilities but updated with a modern sound. Their latest record, Floral Canyon is an infectious listen from start to finish and one of our current favorites.
Hey there, *repeat repeat! Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for Atlanta Music Guide.
AMG: 2017 saw the release of your excellent new record, Floral Canyon, and the single, Girlfriend getting a ton of spins on Spotify and other platforms. What was the writing process like for the album and for Girlfriend?
Jared Corder from *repeat repeat: The first album we recorded (“Bad Latitude”) was all about my relationship with Kristyn. I was writing it while we were dating and when we got engaged. With Floral Canyon, I wanted to touch on some other themes and thoughts and ideas. Every song on the record has a story behind it that represented a direct moment in my life. I could pinpoint what inspired any specific song, and the moment I thought to write it. With Girlfriend, I was just tinkering on my guitar in our music room and was staring at a tapestry hanging on the wall. I liked the idea of describing someone as “so beautiful you’d wanna hang an image of them on your wall, like a tapestry” and started writing Girlfriend. Also, everyone hates driving to the airport and I thought one of the biggest ways to show someone you love them is taking them willingly.
AMG: Floral Canyon has a great production that really seems to build and feature different sounds for each song. On “Girlfriend,” for example you’re pulling in drum machines mixed with references to 60’s girl group production and maybe even a little Weezer for good measure, whereas a song like “Everybody’s Falling in Love” is closer to straight up garage rock with a little surf guitar. What was the recording process like, and how did the songs evolve or change once you got into the studio?
Jared Corder: We recorded all the songs in 2 weeks. Front to back. It was grueling, but we wanted each song to take on its own life. Also, because we were recording, like, 2 songs a day there were a lot of moments where we came up with an idea and just kept it since we didn’t have a ton of time to change the idea. I liked the urgency of that method. Sometimes having all the options in the world and all the time in the world only makes me get in my own way. With Girlfriend, I found an old drum machine in the studio and we were like “let’s just press record and see what happens!” and a lot of times we just would record stuff and figure out how it would work in the song later. I wanted to open the album with “Everybody’s Falling in Love” to establish our surf-rock roots, and introduce the listener to the base of what our sound is.
AMG: For those that haven’t seen it, the video for the song, Girlfriend features and emotionally unavailable girl and the guy that’s trying to win her favor with a crazy twist at the end. Who came up with the storyline and what was the video like to work on? Who directed/produced it?
Youtube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH64_8_qAq4
Jared Corder: The video was directed by our friends Jason Lee Denton and Schuyler Howie from Solar Cabin Studios. We’ve been friends with them for years and have done other music videos with them too. I love working with them because I can come to them with a ridiculous idea like this one and they always are up for the challenge. One time we bought 3,000 ball pit balls and told them to just make something neat. We ended up with the music video for our song “Plugged In”. With Girlfriend, I have for years wanted to do a very stereotypical guy-girl rom-com-esque video that has a big twist at the end for almost no reason whatsoever. I actually had the idea of the video before I ever wrote Girlfriend. It was incredibly easy to shoot. We did 1 night of shoots with a crowd and confetti and lots of free booze, and Jason and Schuyler spent a day with the actors around Nashville shooting. It took about a week front-to-back and we are so incredibly proud of it.
AMG: I know you’ve played Forecastle, Firefly and SXSW the last few years. How do you like playing festivals instead of a long stream of club dates? What been some of your favorite shows to play or take part in? Do you get the chance to check out all the other bands playing?
Jared Corder: We don’t always get to see the other bands at festivals, typically because we are doing press or interviews, but at Shaky Knees, there are so many bands we’ve been dying to see that we are staying all weekend to catch all our favorite acts.
We love playing festivals and touring in different ways. Touring on a long run of dates can certainly be grueling, but it keeps you very busy and time flies by. At festivals you almost always play to big, excited crowds, and get treated amazingly as an artist, but sometimes it’s a lot of “hurry up and wait” when you’re waiting to play a 30 minute set on the third day of the fest.
AMG: Most people think of Nashville as a “county music” city, but it seems like there’s a great indie scene there with bands like yourself, Bully, Torres, and Rival Sons, and others, who are all playing Shaky Knees this year. Do you have any favorite locals you like to play with or go out and see when you’re in town?
Jared Corder: We play a lot of these festivals with a band called Sun Seeker. They’re out of Nashville too and are some of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. They are doing cool shit all over and it’s fun seeing them at all the festivals with us.
AMG: I see that you’ve been doing a podcast since 2015, how did you decide to start that and who have been some of your favorite people to talk with?
Jared Corder: Originally, we just wanted something to put out in between tours. Something that would connect us with our fans more than just the music. Back then we just plugged in microphones and started talking, and sometimes would play our favorite music. Our favorite interviews were with people that were good sports and were happy to play along with whatever stupid thing we were doing on the recording. We took part of this year off of the podcast and have reworked it to be something totally different and now it’s a format that we’re really excited about. We will be announcing the new podcast and releasing the first episode very soon.
AMG: Do you have a wishlist of people you’d love to talk to on the podcast? Who would they be?
Jared Corder: Any member of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Honestly that will make more sense when we announce the new podcast.
AMG: What’s in store for the band after wrapping up festival season with Bonnaroo and Sloss Music & Arts Fest? Have you started writing any new material or do you have any more touring scheduled?
Jared Corder: There is LOTS of new material underway. We actually are stepping into the studio the day we get back from Shaky Knees. After festival season, we hope to get back on the road and start hitting some club dates. We also want to move to The Netherlands one day, so after festival season we want to start learning Dutch.
AMG: For those people that are coming to the festival to check out some newer bands like yourself, tell us what they could expect from your set.
Jared Corder: Loudness, mild profanity, a lot of love, sweat, 1 cover song, alcohol, 60’s harmonies.
AMG: Where’s the best place for people to find you online and to listen to your music?
Find us on Twitter and Instagram (@repeatX2) and listen to us on Spotify and Apple Music!
*repeat repeat plays on Friday, May 4th from 12:30 pm until 1:00 pm on the Criminal Records stage.
By John McNicholas
