Staying For The Weekend

Fresh off a lively string of shows at SXSW, Staying For The Weekend are looking to share their signature energy through a new video. The Nashville quintet showcases their penchant for competition and hot peppers through “Hell No,” which we’re excited to premiere today on Highlark.

The band worked with director Erik Maynard to pair a song about the struggle of forming genuine personal connections with the need to conquer the almighty Carolina Reaper. “We try not to take ourselves to seriously, so we created a video that had the potential to be funny and light-hearted,” shares the band. “We wanted to do something fun and to actually enjoy the process of making a music video.

I think that since recording the EP, which has some darker lyricism and subject matter, we wanted to contrast that negativity with something a bit more positive.”

The song comes from the band’s latest EP, titled Growing Pains, which was released just last month. “The EP is about moving past and accepting certain aspects of getting older. It embraces the unpleasant characteristics of growing, hence the title ‘Growing Pains,’” they share.

“‘Hell No’ details the amusing but often confusing parts of trying to start a relationship. It fits the EP through describing another way in which growing can be a painful process.”

See how the band put it together below - HighLark Entertainment

HOMETOWN: Nashville, Tennessee (Kurt, Carson, Wade, Mac) Manassas, Virginia (Ryan)

CURRENT LOCATION: Nashville, Tennessee

AMBITIONS: To create music that we are passionate about for a living.

TURN-OFFS: Bad breath, that one guy at parties that can only play “Wonderwall,” people who show up to concerts for one band, phone tag, and group messages.

TURN-ONS: Dogs in costumes, air conditioning, new guitar strings, Will and Grace reruns on Lifetime, normal tag, and ladies.

DREAM GIG: Three-way tie: Being the first band to play a show on the moon, playing the coliseum in Pompeii, playing a private show for Kate Middleton.

FAVORITE LYRIC: “I’m addicted to you. Don’t you know that you’re toxic?”

SONG I WISH I WROTE: “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by The Rolling Stones

5 PEOPLE I’D MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH: The Most Interesting Man In The World, Stephen Colbert, Jeff Goldblum, Nels Cline, and Connan Mockasin.

MY FAVORITE CONCERT EXPERIENCE: Deer Tick at Mercy Lounge (John Mccauley pulled down his pants), fun. at 9:30 club after their first album (Kal Penn from Harold & Kumar was there), Meeting Two Gallants before their set at Bonnaroo 2013, Playing Bonnaroo 2013.

I WROTE THIS SONG BECAUSE… We needed a new song. - American Songwriter

FEBRUARY 13, 2014: MASTERS OF SOUND (FLY ON THE WALL PERSPECTIVE)

On Thursday, February 13, KEF America hosted an evening of discussion and music at MSR Studios in mid-town Manhattan. Our emcee for the evening was KEF Brand Ambassador Johan Coorg, and our featured guest was studio legend Ken Scott with special guests Staying for the Weekend, an indie rock outfit from Nashville.

We've been having a heck of winter in the Northeast, so true to form, Thursday morning dawned
Staying For the Weekend hits the deep freeze of Times Square. Courtesy SScola
with sub-freezing temperatures, near gale force winds and about ten inches of snow. Needless to say, there weren't a lot of other cars with us on the drive into Manhattan, but as the saying goes the show must go on.

One of the moving parts to the event was a recording session with Staying for the Weekend, which was produced by Ken Scott and co-produced and engineered by engineer Derik Lee. Spending any appreciable amount of time in a recording studio, you learn that recording sessions are often hours of sheer boredom punctuated with minutes of utter terror interspersed with a generally fun time, but watching musicians who know their way around a studio being led by the likes of Scott and Lee, you'd be led to believe that recording music is as much fun as we all hoped it is.

Basically, SFTW had about thirty minutes to record two songs in the afternoon and then one chance each to perform two songs that evening in front of a roomful of New York media. No pressure whatsoever. But, the rapport between Lee and the band was a great thing to witness. Here was a guy who has worked with the best of the best setting up a band that in spite of their recent experience and success, is about half populated with guys who can't get a legal drink. But to an outsider you would have thought this was a team that had worked together for years. Professionalism at that level is a joy to behold.

The best part for me about spending time with Ken Scott over the course of the event was that Ken's been a role model to me throughout my journey in the audio engineering world, but he's as regular and unconsumed by his own place in rock and roll history as a person could be. That being said, a highlight for me was a brief exchange he had with the band while they were recording their second track. It's pretty normal for musicians to hit a spot in a session where things just don't flow the way they would like them to.
Pre-production with Ken Scott (2nd from right) and Derik Lee (right).
After a couple of really good takes, the band was still not satisfied. Ken walked into the Control Room, hit the IFB (Intercom From Board), simply said "I'm here now, get it right," then turned and walked out of the room after giving a riotous smirk to those of us in the room with him. The tension in that entire part of mid-town Manhattan suddenly just lifted. Here was a guy who has worked with an amazing array of talent making gentle light of himself to remind everyone there to just have fun–if Ken Scott isn't going to take himself seriously, why should anyone else? By the way, the next take was killer.

Shortly after 7:00 PM, Coorg opened the evening with a quick introduction of KEF and the evening's agenda. This was a different kind of evening for everyone present, and Coorg's smooth and affable style lit the temperature in the room perfectly.

After a few minutes, Coorg handed the floor over to Scott who proceeded to take us on a journey of recording history that was an immense pleasure to witness firsthand. First up was a scratchy recording of Enrico Caruso–"we started here"–followed by Katy Perry's Roar–"and we ended up here." The look on the faces of the Katy Perry fans in the room was priceless, but the point was made when Scott then played Tomorrow Never Knows, a Beatles track he engineered–"and in between we had this." Music has come a long way, and all music is valid, but the listener deserves the very best writing, arranging, production and replay available, but most importantly, music fans deserve emotion and innovation.


Ken Scott and KEF Brand Ambassador Johan Coorg flanked by KEF Blade.
Scott co-produced (with Bowie) and engineered David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and the Rise and Fall of the Spiders From Mars album in 1972. The next track up was the anthemic Suffragette City: The first segment was compressed as if it were a modern recording, and the second segment was how it was originally mixed and mastered. Back-to-back the difference between the two is remarkable, but to ears that are used to modern musical dynamic compression the difference can at first be jarring. Scott played the comparison three times: The first time, most people preferred the compressed track as it was closer to what they are used to hearing, but by the third run through, everyone preferred the natural spaciousness, expanse and clarity of the uncompressed original far more than its "modern" counterpart. Dynamic compression (Loudness Wars: Where There Is No Quiet There Can Be No Loud, KEF Blog 1-24-2014) tends to squash the signal making it louder and smaller at the same time. Dynamic compression also adds clipping which is generally heard as noise (and yes, if you listen, it's there).

But the best was yet to come. After a few fascinating anecdotes that I lack the talent to translate to you properly (plus I was too busy listening to them to make proper mental notes), Scott played a specially prepared track of David Bowie singing the outro to Five Years, the opening track to Ziggy. Even the Katy Perry fans in the room were on the edge of their emotional seats after listening to an isolated vocal track of Bowie absolutely breaking down while singing the refrain to the song. The stark recording captured every nuance and tear streaming down Bowie's face as he took his vocals to a primal place that was astounding to behold. Listen to the track for yourself and listen to Bowie's raw emotion. After the 30 second track was complete, Scott simply said "Today a record label would reject this and tell us to run it through auto-tune and clean it up."

Boom.

Coorg then walked us through a sampling of music through a variety of speakers, with an accessible explanation to the assembled press of how we do what we do here at KEF. We heard our flagship Blade, then we heard a pair of inexpensive (cheap?) computer speakers that are commonly found on everyone's desk followed by the same track through a pair of our X300A digital audio speakers. Yes kids, there is a difference!

Next it was time to walk everyone through the live recording process. We split the assembled 40
Derik Lee at the board in MSR Studio A recording Staying For the Weekend.
members of the press in half–the first group stayed in the tracking room while the second group went into the Control Room. Staying for the Weekend's frontman Mitch Davis introduced the band, and suddenly Studio A at MSR went from being a recording studio doubling as an intimate lecture hall to a recording studio doubling as a very cool East Village club. In the Control Room, the guests listened to Scott and Derik Lee prepare the band to play and then the performance itself through the console and our LS50 mini-monitors. In the tracking room, the guests got to hear the raw energy of SFTW, without actually being able to hear Davis' vocals–the drums were live and the guitars were amplified, but to eliminate bleed and feedback and all of the other nasty things that can happen in a recording session, Davis was only audible to the crowd in the Control Room. Davis' unique and textured vocals without any amplification were no match against a band that plays delightfully loud. After SFTW's first song, the press groups switched locations and experiences. Being in a Control Room with Ken Scott and Derik Lee while listening to a band who may very well make your "gotta have it list" in the next few months was a musical experience and statement that was not lost on anyone.

After the performance, the crowd made its way back into the tracking room where Coorg played back the two songs on our Blades via a fresh burned CD. The cycle from inception, to preparation and production, to performance, to listener experience was complete.


Ken Scott discussing the production with Mac Gibbons and Carson Mays from Staying For the Weekend. Courtesy KSharkey.
Coorg, Scott, and the members of Staying for the Weekend then all took part in a Q&A session with the press which was followed by a casual after-show meet and greet. Scheduled to run until just before 9:00PM, the lights in the still-crowded room finally came up a little after 10:00–a sure sign a good time was had by all.

A great big thank you goes out to the staff at MSR Studios, especially Chief Engineer Brad Leigh who helped us navigate a few self-imposed technical issues and Studio Manager Matt Carter, who went above and beyond the call of duty, without us ever really noticing it, which is an awesome thing.

Derik Lee, who recently won a Grammy for his recording of the cast album for the Broadway hit Kinky Boots also went above and beyond the call of duty to get the best out of Staying for the Weekend and the event in general. It was a complicated, non-stop 10 hour day that with his help flowed as easily as any number of cliches I could hackishly impose upon you all right now.

Staying for the Weekend were an absolute joy to work with, and to put it bluntly, they kicked ass, and that's pretty much what it's all about. If you're in Nashville on March 21, I'd recommend you head over to Exit/In around 7:00 PM to catch them with supporting acts The Keeps and Astrochimps.

Most especially, we're grateful to Ken Scott for providing us an evening of amazing anecdotes, opinions and education, as well as an afternoon of invaluable production assistance as he shared his amazing knowledge and experience with us. Having read Scott's book Abbey Road to Ziggy Stardust: Off the Records with the Beatles, Bowie, Elton and so much more... and then having heard a few of the anecdotes in the book directly from Ken, I can heartily recommend it to you rock and roll fans out there. - Kef America

It’s probably no surprise that support and love for our local music scene is a huge motivator behind the work we put in here at No Country. In fact, few things make us happier than watching smaller local acts grow and cultivate their fanbase. You can imagine, then, how excited we were to hear that indie rockers Staying for the Weekend will be headlining the Exit/In on a Friday night (March 21). SFTW will be joined by fellow local acts Keeps and The Astrochimps, both of whom have been kicking up dirt around town with their infectious respective takes on traditional indie rock/pop.

Anyway, we’ve got more for you about all three of these skilled acts after the jump, but, in the meantime, we’d like to announce that we have a pair of tickets to give away for this event. That’s right, you could see this fantastic show for free. All you’ll need to do is follow us through the jump, scroll on down, and fill out the form at the bottom of this post. If you’re the selected winner, we’ll get back to you via e-mail on March 20th around noon, so be sure to check those inboxes.


STAYING FOR THE WEEKEND

Like we began to say in the intro, Staying for the Weekend have been a constant blip on the No Country radar for some time now. Their shining moment last year was undoubtedly their amazing Bonnaroo performance, but they’ve had a plethora of other great shows around the South over the past year that’ve kept them busy as well. In addition, the group released a new EP in late 2013, which has been embedded below for your listening pleasure (and trust us, it will be pleasurable). We’ve loved having a chance to watch this band grow, and we highly suggest that you hop aboard the SFTW train as soon as possible. - No Country For New Nashville

Energy is contagious.

The human ability to sense the energy of others is quite incredible, and when it comes to seeing live music, that sense is even keener.

When a band is passionate about their music, the audience can feel it. You can tell when you watch a band perform if they are simply going through the motions and lost in their own heads (possibly wondering what’s for lunch or checking out the hot girl in the front row) or if they are genuinely jamming out and completely in tune to one another and the sounds they are producing. When it came to seeing Staying for the Weekend at Bonnaroo, the latter could not have been more correct.

Staying for the Weekend, who debuted their upbeat indie meets alternative rock sound at Roo, is definitely a band to look out for.

I was able to sit down and chat with the up-and-coming Nashville musicians after their show.

How did you form?

Originally, it was a cover band, just four dudes. We met in high school and started playing, we took the same music classes together and it kind of took off from there. We’re all still in college, but we’re hoping it makes us take a semester off soon.



So, you guys are rock stars on the weekend and students during the week?

Yeah. We definitely don’t want to be going to school anymore. We have to realize that we’re 19 and 20. We’re still trying to figure it out…. I mean, what the hell are we doing with our lives? All we know is that we enjoy playing music.

Who are some of your musical inspirations?

Kings of Leon (their early stuff), The Strokes, The Wigs. Man, we listen to so much music.

Bonnaroo favorites this year?
We saw Foals over there, they were badass. Tallest Man on Earth, Two Gallants, Lord Huron, The Vaccines, Wilco and the Super Jams were so cool.

What has been the most exciting part about performing at Bonnaroo?

Open bar! Making new contacts and seeing our friends out in the crowd having a great time is awesome. It’s crazy to see how everything works after we’ve been coming here for so long as fans. It’s much better being on the other side for a change.

Your EP, Camp Empathy, was released last November. What are your plans for the future?

Keep writing and keep playing.

Where are you playing next?

Places all over Nashville and Warm Fest in Indianapolis. We really like to play parties, too. - College Fuse

Sometimes you just have to trust in the heady. For instance, if a group of dudes are camping a few tents away from you at Bonnaroo and they tell you that they are in a band and that they want to Jam in the Van, but you don’t have internet or cell service to check out if they’re actually worthy of jamming in the van. Because don’t get it twisted, we don’t have an “ask and receive” policy. You need to be up to snuff. Your music has to match the quality of the music that has been posted to our site since day one, and that quality is quite high…

So when these dudes approached us under that Manchester sun and asked us for a spin in The Van we were posed with a dilemna. You see, they were nice dudes, and Bonnaroo is a “yes” environment, where you want to make smiles, not frowns, so saying no to them would have been a bit of a dick move. Again though, we don’t just let anyone on board, and we had no way of knowing if these dudes were worthy, unless we demanded a tryout, which wasn’t the kindest proposition, so we didn’t.

Instead, we took it on faith and relied on the theory that if they look heady, and they act heady, well then they must sound heady too. So we trusted in our tell-tale phrase, and we were duly rewarded. So thanks for introducing yourselves to us, Staying for the Weekend. Our ears are awful glad you did…

Live video here-- http://youtu.be/t25d_MM6WYs - Jam In The Van

A few days ago, one of my friends introduced me to a local band here in Nashville named "Staying for the Weekend". Apparently, he attended high school with the band at Battle Ground Academy, and the band is now currently attending Belmont. They recently released a digital download of their new album, and the actual hard copy of their debut album "Camp Empathy" comes out around December 2nd. You can check them out at "http://stayingfortheweekend.bandcamp.com".
These guys have the "Indie Pop/Rock" kind of sound, but they make it their own. Think "Cage the Elephant" meets "Young the Giant". Young the Giant had two top 10 singles on the US Alternative Charts in 2011. Cage the Elephant has also had similar success. This is the kind of music that is seriously starting to sell in the marketplace, and is a great genre to invest in for the future.
When listening to "Camp Empathy", you can't help but hum along once you get a feel for each song. Their whole album is just so utterly catchy. The lyrics are simple and powerful; the music is genuine and memorable. The guitar riffs tattoo your mind and don't leave. Davis' vocals don't necessarily "drive" the songs, but they lead; he certainly makes a great frontman. Both Mays and Krafft are excellent guitarists, they compliment each other wonderfully. Occasionally, it even feels like they both play lead. The bass and drums on the album make a wonderful musical metronome that doesn't overpower any aspect of the songs. Their music is highly distinguished, it would seem like they have played long enough to find their niche. I hope this is the first of many EP's, and then eventually, LP's to come from these guys. I see some serious potential for success.
I would recommend this band for anyone who enjoys the new 21st century Alternative/ Pop-Rock; "Cage the Elephant", "Young the Giant", "The Strokes", "The Kooks", and "Walk the Moon" all come to mind.
By giving "Staying for the Weekend" a listen, you are not only supporting a great local band, but you are also helping yourself to one of the best new artists I've heard lately. Do everyone a favor and check them out. Happy Friday, and have a great weekend. - A&R: Amateur And Reconnoiter

So, one of the things on my bucket list is to one year go to the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival," and then, I get to talk to the band Staying for the Weekend, and find out not only have they GONE multiple times, they've actually PLAYED the festival back in 2013! How cool is that?!
Staying For The Weekend 1One of the things I love about this band is every song has an element of surprise. The new single, "Hold Tight," starts off very simple but keeps building to the end, and keeps you listening and wanting more. The video is very cool, and we've included the link for you to check it out and become a fan. Hope to have these guys in the studio this summer when they hit the east coast! - Magic 98.3 (iHeartRadio)

Local indie rock outfit Staying For The Weekend had our attention last year with their EP SFTW, and today, we are excited to premiere a new single, “Hold Tight,” ahead of its official release on Feb. 5. Produced by longtime collaborator Eddie Spear (Moon Taxi, The Delta Saints, Seasick Steve) and recorded at Vance Powell’s (Jack White, Raconteurs, The Dead Weather) studio, the new single sees the addition of a new frontman to the lineup, along with a more mature and polished approach.

The band says of the new single, “[It] showcases a new form of songwriting for us. A little slower and more patient. It takes the listener on a smooth and melodic ride from a pretty guitar vocal tune to a southern rock home, while maintaining a lyrical story about what happens when we close our eyes at night.”

Have a listen to “Hold Tight” below, and head out to catch Staying For The Weekend performing as part of the Modoc’s free album release show at The Basement East on Feb. 4. - No Country For New Nashville

You might ask: what separates Staying for the Weekend from thousands of other so-called indie bands? Well, what makes them stand apart is what I call a trademark sound, meaning infectious hooks that don’t turn into full-fledged choruses, remaining instead a hint, a tease to the ear. They have melodies that of all sudden swerves to a different direction, riffs that instead of exploding into the bombastic apex you’d expect, implode or morph into something else.

staying-for-the-weekend-350bTheir songs are simple and direct, yet imbued with an intensity of emotion not often found in modern music (or at least not as genuinely). “Hell No” is that culmination, a record of monumental emotional depth that also manages to genuinely rock.

While listening to the track, it’s apparent that Staying for the Weekend is breaking new ground, opening up their sound and exploring new territory with direct song-writing that packs an emotional punch. If you’re tired of the vacuous music populating today’s airwaves then give “Hell No” a spin.

You can never predict what’s going to be an ear worm. You’re unsuspecting and they sneak up on you. And then, before you know it, it’s taken over. After a few days of listening to “Hell No”, I’ve realized that it’s nearly possessed me.

staying-for-the-weekend-350It’s only when you realize you’re whistling a riff, or humming a vocal line whilst making a coffee, does it dawn on you that it has you in its grasp and there’s no escape. And this is what Staying for the Weekend achieves here, without even trying I think.

Why? Staying for the Weekend inhabit a world of blurred and mixed influences. Are they a rock band? Are they a pop band? Are they an indie band? The correct answer is…all three, again, without even trying. Their songs are driven by Ryan Morris vocals whilst the music is full of flourishes and oddities that are exhilarating and addictive, burrowing their way into your head.

The dirty guitar riffs, courtesy of Kurt Krafft and Carson Mays, the mud-slinging drums by Mac Gibbons and Wade Luplow’s rolling bass, all will entrance you. Yes, I know I already told you, but it’s true, all without even trying. They’re just so damn good. The question is what happens when Staying for the Weekend really starts trying! - Jamsphere