Photo by Casey Sullivan
This is the latest in a series of spotlights on the bands and artists participating in the 2014 Boston & Beyond party at SXSW, a collaborative effort between Berklee College of Music and Vanyaland. The party is Thursday, March 13 at Brush Square Park (409 East 5th St.) in Austin, runs from noon to 6 p.m., and is free, all-ages, and open to the public. RSVP to sxswrsvp@berklee.edu for entry.
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Friendly People, 12:30 p.m. set time
This year’s winners of the Sonicbids contest to play the SXSW Boston and Beyond Showcase are jam-happy six-piece Friendly People. With a sound as wide-ranging as Boston’s own vibrant music scene, the Berklee grads combine heavier rock sounds, some elements of lower-dynamic experimental shoegaze, and a little indie-folk for good measure.
The chilled-out rockers are gigging behind their 2012 debut, Shake, and are bringing their feel-good vibes all the way from the snows of Boston to the streets of Austin. Their recent single “Hello Montana” keeps in tune with their summertime beats and sunny attitudes, with layered acoustic and electric guitars ping-ponging back and forth over a tight rhythm section and light keys.
We caught up with band ringleader Pat McCusker ahead of the band’s trip to SXSW to talk a little about their Berklee roots and plans to mess with Texas.
Adam Parshall: You guys have a pretty wide-ranging sound, and is pretty hard to pin down. What were some of the bands and records you were listening to when you got into music?
Pat McCusker: We definitely come from many different musical backgrounds and they naturally come together when we’re playing and writing with each other. We all love rock music. Some of our favorite bands are Modest Mouse, Built To Spill, My Morning Jacket and Here We Go Magic. On top of that, our individual inspirations come from all over — jazz, bluegrass, folk, etc.
How did Berklee help your development as musicians?
We ended up finding ourselves surrounded by a group of friends and musicians that are all incredibly inspiring and fuel us to be better musicians. A big part of how Friendly People came to be was through spending lots of time in the Berklee recording studios. A few of us were production and engineering majors there. That program really paved the way for how we think about making our records.
Is there something about Boston that you feel has contributed to the band in a way other than playing shows and getting to know people around town, in terms of influences, songwriting, etc.?
Most definitely. We really got our start at a songwriting circle hosted at the one and only All Asia Cafe (RIP). The atmosphere was so welcoming. It’s communities around Boston such as this that really allowed us to feel creative and try new things.
Have you played SXSW before? What are you looking forward to most about your time there?
Yep, we did a tour down there last year. It was a huge learning curve for us. We booked one (or 5) too many shows and really didn’t have the time to soak it all in. This time, we’re excited because we’re playing some great [parties], including the Berklee/Vanyaland show, and have organized it in a way that makes way more sense for us.
How important is it to the band to be playing the Berklee party and to be selected from all the Sonicbids artists that entered?
It’s definitely really special for us. Berklee has been an important part of our growth as a band and we’re really thankful that they selected us for the opportunity. It’s really an honor to be representing Boston with you guys down at SXSW!
Follow Friendly People on Twitter…
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Here’s the rest of the Boston & Beyond lineup…
Stream all the artists via the Berklee Bandcamp sampler…