Interview with Blue Vines

So for interview 19, Nick from Blue Vines took some time to tell me about the amazing band he is part of. I was super excited to learn more about Nick and Blue Vines and I'm so glad we were able to do this. Check it out.

trtlz: So tell me about Blue Vines. Who is Blue Vines? How would you describe your music?

Nick: Blue Vines is me (Nick) on guitar, drums, vocals, and Andrea, my bassist, who just so happens to also be my fiancée lol.

Nick: I would describe our music as noisy, messy rock. Probably mainly punk influenced but I try to sneak a lot of things in there

trtlz: Oh I love it! Andrea is your fiancée, that's awesome. Congratulations!

trtlz: And yeah it's always fun to try different things with music!

Nick: Haha thank you 😄😄

trtlz: How long has Blue Vines been around? What's the story on how it all began? Who does the lyric writing and music writing? Or is it both of you?

Nick: So we've been making music for a little less than a year. Originally, it was just a solo project of mine. I was writing all these bits and pieces of songs and complaining that I had no one to play with, and Ang was like "You don't need anyone, just play". And that was so validating, so I went to work writing and demoing in our apartment, and one day she asked to join in. Lucky me, on both counts

Nick: I do the bulk of the songwriting, but Ang is a great editor. If I get stuck, she'll let me know right away what works and what doesn't. She also has a single lyric writing credit, one of my favorite lines in our songs lol

trtlz: That's so cool she is so supportive and now you get to make music together! That probably makes it even more fun.

Nick: It really does!

trtlz: Of course it would work out that way haha the one lyric would end up being the favorite. But that's amazing haha

Nick: I'm trying to encourage her to write more lyrics on future songs but she is not a fan 😂

trtlz: How long have you each been playing music in general?

Nick: Ok so, I've been playing drums for 15 years, guitar maybe 10, and singing very unprofessionally my entire life lol. Ang played bass in high school and then stopped in college. She actually broke it out again specifically to play in Blue Vines

trtlz: Oh nice! And for singing "unprofessionally" you're pretty good! Haha. And that's very cool Blue Vines inspired Andrea to play bass again!

Nick: Well, thank you! 😅 I try.

trtlz: Who are some of your influences? 

Nick: Growing up, all the pop-punk/"emo" standards: blink, Taking Back Sunday, My Chem. These days it's in a similar vein, still. I love bands like Beach Slang and Cayetana, who have a really positive and human message in their lyrics and how they come across as performers.

Nick: Andrea's favorite band is The Killers, and we both really love this band called Rainbow Kitten Surprise.

trtlz: Yeah I can totally here some influence of some of these artists in your music.

Nick: As long as you don't hear Sara Bareilles in my music. Someone said we sound like her once

trtlz: Haha really? Hmm i don't hear that

Nick: Lmao really, really. Nothing against Sara Bareilles, but I need whoever reads this to know I am not above writing you a love song.

Nick: The collective "you", that is

trtlz: So you're currently based in New York, right? Of course the music scene there in general is pretty incredible. How do you feel being there has helped you musically? Is there anything about it you feel has made music for difficult?

Nick: Yes, we are! It's a double edged sword, I think. There are so many amazing bands to come out of the New York area, so I respect that immensely. I think, and I want to say this the right way, that we just havent found our people here. A lot of my favorite artists these days are coming out of Philly and Ohio. Grass is always greener, maybe?

trtlz: Yeah well that's true. New York is great, but there's some pretty impressive music in other spots as well for sure.

Nick: Oh yeah, I mean where would we be if not for bands like The Strokes and The Ramones, or the Long Island scene - amazing bands like TBS and Brand New. New York's not the worst haha

trtlz: You have an EP up called "Fever Dreamy". And it's really good! How was the writing and recording process for that?

Nick: Thank you!!! It's my baby, so that just made me so happy to hear you say that :)

trtlz: Yeah I hear a lot of music these days and a lot of it's really good. But I remember being like "oh! This is great" haha when I first heard it. And Oli from Radio TFSC recommended you guys!

Nick: Hmm...so I started writing parts of the songs last fall 2018. I demoed 3 of them earlier this year in the winter and threw them up on Bandcamp. We spent a few weeks researching local studios and found one, Cobra Sun, right near us. We recorded the EP over two weekends in June this summer

Nick: The first and last song I finished right as we were entering the studio. I like to work under pressure or to procrastinate a lot lol

trtlz: Haha I've actually heard that from a few artists. Procrastination can be the best motivation sometimes haha. Weird. 

Nick: It's crazy how that works. The drum fills and outro to Big Knife, I worked on the night before we were supposed to record. And I'm glad I didn't rush to finish it because that song might have sounded so much differently

Nick: Also, Oli is the best! He has been such a major supporter and done so much to get our music out to people this year.

trtlz: haha! Glad you brought up "Big Knife" cause that goes with my next question.

trtlz: I really like "Big Knife". I think it's my favorite from the EP. Can you tell me more about how that song came to be? What inspired it?

Nick: YESSSSSSSS haha that's both of our favorite, too.

Nick: So lyrically, I wanted to write about bad anxiety I was dealing with at the time. I felt isolated and was isolating on purpose and just really getting in my own head. There's a bit in there about Andrea, too. I felt like just as I was kind of nosediving she was coming off of a very hard year. The line at the end was kind of genuine question I was asking her and maybe just to anyone around me, "Do you ever get lonely, or do you only feel strong?"

Nick: And the music was a mix of stuff I was listening to at the time. There's a little Cayetana in there, a little Brand New. And the end was just supposed to feel awkward but still hopeful and positive

trtlz: Yeah that song is super relatable for me and part of why I love it so much. Thanks for sharing a little more about it! And the music is so catchy also. It's a great combination.

Nick: I'm so glad you were able to relate to it!

trtlz: You mentioned you primarily write the lyrics. And already got into "Big Knife" a bit. When writing, where does your source of creativity or inspiration usually come from? 

Nick:  I definitely focus more on lyric writing than music, which I'm hoping to change in future releases. I write a lot based on my own life, where I'm at at the time. My favorite thing is to hear a line or soundbyte of a conversation and feel like "This is an amazing lyric"

trtlz: Oh that's interesting I've never heard someone say it like that. That they hear conversations and stuff and turn it into a cool lyric!

Nick: And I should add, my best ideas usually come when I'm supposed to be doing something more important, like work haha

trtlz: Haha I completely understand having ideas when you're supposed to be working

Nick: Built in escapism! Lol

trtlz: What are some of your favorite lyrics you've written? Can you dive a little more into what they mean? 

Nick: Big Knife is tops, for sure. "Despite a focused regimen of mental calisthenics..." That was a proud moment. I think the little Fever Dreamy intro I'm also quite proud of. It was a succinct little "f*ck you" to two people who were making my life miserable at the time 😇

trtlz: Have you ever played live? How do you feel about it? What about tours? Have you ever done any touring?

Nick: So far, I guess we would be considered more of a studio project. I've played open mics and a few solo acoustic shows. Just because of a lot of personal stuff going on, we haven't been able to play full band like we've wanted to. Shows and touring are definitely on my mind for the future

trtlz: That's true playing both guitar and drums live is probably not easy either haha

Nick: Nah we'll def need a drummer for live stuff. We've spoken to a few cool drummers already about helping us out

trtlz: What do you envision in Blue Vines future? What are your dreams and goals?

Nick: I loved the experience of recording. I am dying to get back in the studio the potentially record a few more EPs, and ultimately, our first full length release. I want to play locally a lot next year, maybe do a small tour. My biggest goal is to open for the band Beach Slang. I am such a huge fan

trtlz: Are you currently working on any new music?

Nick: Yes! I had one completed song I wrote back in the spring that just didn't make the EP. It's acoustic and way different than what we've released so far. I tried it out live right away and people seemed to dig it. Since then, I've started 5 or 6 other songs in various stages of completion. I think I need to book studio time to give myself a deadline again

trtlz: Oh nice I'm excited to hear that!

trtlz: How do you feel about your progress from when you first started to where you're at today?

Nick: I feel like I've grown a lot as a musician just from putting my work out there for people to interact with. And other people's support has been so amazing. I feel confident to try new ideas and write songs that I'm proud of, maybe in a way I would have previously thought I wasn't able to

trtlz: What do you think about social media and streaming services for music? Do you feel this is really beneficial for artists or does it hurt ? Or both?

Nick: It's such an interesting question. Both have helped us and, I imagine, other relatively unknown musicians, in terms of gaining exposure and developing a fan base. I'm grateful for this era of music we're in that's largely digitally based for that reason. The flip side of that coin is the reality of how a lot of streaming services are not paying artists what they're due. If you're not on a major label, and even then, if you aren't some hugely recognizable act, there's not a ton of money to be made. So you do it because you love it

trtlz: That completely makes sense regarding how it can be both a great tool and also not so great sometimes.

trtlz: What do you love most about being in Blue Vines?

Nick: That it's something I get to do with my best friend that I can be really proud of

trtlz: I love that :)

trtlz: Well thanks so much for doing this interview with me . I was excited to finally learn a little more about you! Is there anything else at all you’d like to add?

Nick: First off, thank YOU so much for everything you do for musicians like us, and thanks for having me on here. And a big thanks to anyone who has taken a chance on our music this year! trtlz: Can't wait to hear what you have coming up in the future!

Nick: Haha stay tuned . Lots of goodness in 2020.

You can check out Blue Vines on Spotify here: https://tinyurl.com/raqrwf5