Hello Rockstars! Todays’s Artist of the Week is Metal Band Annelida!
Here’s their story in their own words, Enjoy! 🙂
All Photos By: Fred Morledge.
VMS:
“When did you start writing and performing your music.
What’s your backstory and current lineup.”
Annelida:
“I’m Kevin, I play guitar and sing. I’ve been playing music my whole life it seems but never as a singer and guitarist at the same time. I’ve actually never played guitar in a band. Annelida started as my quarantine project. Just something that sounded like me making as much sound I could with my two buddies during lockup. Once things started getting safer for bands to get on stage again is when I started working with Charlie on drums and Tony on guitars. Pretty shortly after we got Jacob on Bass. We started playing outside markets and anywhere that would book us right away.”
VMS:
“What artist or bands inspire you and your sound.”
Annelida:
“For me I feel like I find more inspiration outside of metal and hardcore for Annelida. The feeling heavy music often portrays falls somewhere in the “I’ll overcome this”, uplifting feeling. While I try to reach for a “I’m losing my fucking mind” relentless, anxiety driven feeling in my music. So when I’m in my writing mode, I tend to avoid most traditional heavy music and pull inspiration from artists like Swans, Mclusty or even the last we got from Leonard Cohen. Something that can feel heavy without necessarily being downtuned and screaming, but just a heavy feeling.”
VMS:
“What’s your writing process and inspiration for your lyrics.”
Annelida:
“Depends on the moment. I try to put a lot of humor in my lyrics while not making them a joke. So sometimes something funny will be said with friends or I’ll think of a good hook one liner and i’ll text it to myself. One line will turn into a full page of lyrics when I sit down with a song. Sometimes I’ll go in with a page full of lyrics. Sometimes I will have nothing. I still feel like I’m figuring this thing out though, like I said earlier, I’m pretty new at the guitarist/frontman game so I’m always finding new ways to get to the final goal.”
VMS:
“I love your songs “Mutiny”, “Flawing” and “Black Friday”. What is the inspiration or story behind these songs.”
Annelida:
“Thank you!
Well “Mutiny” came together from our drummer Charlie. He probably won’t take it but I’m giving him full credit on this one. He had sent me the opening drum fill he made on his phone, it was like a 15 or 20 second drum fill right up until the first break and I LOVED it. So I took it to the studio and made it all midi and built more drum beats that fit with it and put the song together and sent it back to him. It was one of those times where we took very little and made a lot out of it.
Check out “Mutiny” on Spotify:
“Flawing” is one of my favorites. I wrote the lyrics first and had the music hit when the lyrics hit. I wrote each verse to represent every perspective of addiction that I know.
Check out “Flawing” on Spotify:
“Black Friday” was one we put together very early in the writing of this album, Charlie and I spent hours figuring out the weird bridge with all that mathy drum fill. Also this song has a great example of where my lyrics come from. One time my guitarist and I were at a concert as the house music blasted “long live rock n roll” and I leaned over and said “nobody writes songs about rock n roll anymore” and it got a laugh from Tony. So I texted it to myself, then when it came down to it. The lyrics became this question of Christianity. Like if he died for our sins, then we should fucking sin right? Almost like Christians need sinners for their whole purpose. With that “nobody writes songs about rock and roll anymore, let them sin” being the ending line. I’d like to also say that the chorus of this song is me saying “I’m an idiot and I have zero answers” so there’s that.”
Check out “Black Friday” on Spotify:
VMS:
“Tell me about your Debut Album: “Garage Honey and the Bar Fly Mutiny”. What was the inspiration and process of writing it.”
Annelida:
“Well earlier in the interview I said that the Lord Leech EP was written and recorded during covid. So I had zero reference of what made us stand out from other bands at shows or what turned people’s heads and what didn’t. We did about a year and a half of touring half the country and I got an idea of what made us stand out. So when we got into the writing process, we started really leaning into our relentless “controlled chaos” as our drummer loves to put it. I knew going in what I wanted. Saying things to my band mates like “I want the inside of your skull to itch”, whatever that means.
Check out Annelida’s new Album: “Garage Honey and the Bar Fly Mutiny” on Spotify:
VMS:
“Which local artist would you like to work with and why.”
Annelida:
“I love playing shows with Body of Filth. Not only are they awesome dudes we connect well with, But they also have a complete “mood shift” when they are on the bill. Something Annelida always tries to do every time we play a show. Something I personally look for in ALL bands at every show I go too. They do it very well, but on the complete opposite end of us. While we try to shift the mood to an anxiety driven musical mental breakdown. They shift the mood to be a fun, wild, drunken party complete with pool noodles and mosh pit games. I really enjoy the balance between us and them, it takes the audience for a ride. We’ve played with them both locally and out of town and even though we play different types of metal. That mood shift between the two bands is something special.”
VMS:
“What’s your overall theme or message of your music.”
Annelida:
“It’s really hard to say what the overall message really is. This album just came out but has been finished for over a year. So my mind is already on writing new music and what that message is while im currently playing what I had to say a few years ago. But I think it all has to come down to that “mood shift” I mentioned. Overall, I always try to reach this uneasy, something terrible is going to happen feeling, while also trying to give a bit of insight and point out the beauty within. Which I guess if I had to give it a message it would be “everything is shit if you allow it to be”.”
VMS:
“Do you have a favorite song that you like to perform.”
Annelida:
“Definitely “Flawing”. It opened so many doors for me as a frontman with a guitar on. It also always turns heads when people hear and see that chorus live.”
VMS:
“Do you have any crazy or interesting stories from working in the music scene.”
Annelida:
“Between all of the members of Annelida, we have an abundance of stories about this business. Everyone in this band has their hand somewhere in music behind the scenes as a job outside of Annelida. So between the band and our jobs, there’s alot. Most of my personal CRAZY stories are from working production in Chicago. Simply rubbing elbows with punk legends and childhood heros of mine and watching a lot of amazing bands from the side of the stage. The boys often find themselves in similar situations working in the live audio world. So between all of us, there are so many.”
VMS:
“What does the future hold for Annelida.”
Annelida:
“We have put together a live video recording. Recorded in an “undisclosed” location. We had 27 mics, 9 cameras, moving lights, LED wall, a full live production that’s being mixed. We did an 8 song set, half Lord Leech and half Garage Honey. We are going to be selling it as a “Name your price” download at AnnelidaMusic.com.
So everyone out there can see what we are about in a live setting. A much higher production than we normally do live but that’s the fun of it. It’s called “Undisclosed” and will be out in late October or november.*
You can head over to AnnelidaMusic.com now and see a bit of the making of it.”
(*Interview Questions were answered on September 28th, 2024.)
VMS:
“What do you want your audience to feel and experience at one of your live shows.”
Annelida:
“I strive for that mood shift I’ve mentioned so many times. I want people to feel like something different just happened after we are done. I know we are not crazy mosh heavy music, we have our moments but for us it’s less about “getting the crowd moving” and all about holding their attention while they witness the musical equivalent to a mental breakdown.”
Vegas Music Scene Thoughts:
What I love about Annelida is how infectious their music and message is to me. They look at life with multiple different perspectives, bringing that self awareness into incredibly complex and interesting music. With songs about addiction, religion, and to always think outside the norm, I find their music incredibly insightful, and I always find myself revisiting songs like “Flawing”, which is about addiction, an incredibly powerful and standout track for me, what kills me is them going straight into another amazing track with “Black Friday” right after, is just, a chef’s kiss for me (lol), definitely my favorite moment on the album. Musicianship Wise, they bring a huge magnetic energy to their songs and their instruments, they have such a beautiful intensity to what they do, the best way to truly experience it is live and in person. I encourage you to check out their “Undisclosed” set on their website. It’s a perfect introduction into the world of Annelida.
I know they said they are relatively new to all of this, which I feel everything they have done so far is a wonderful step in the right direction, and I’m excited to see the next evolution of their sound, message and where they will take us as the listener next. I’m proud to call this powerful balls to the walls band my Artist of the Week. Please never change that beautifully tragic complexity in your music. 🙂
For more information please check out their website. 🙂
—-VMS.
c5tgtl
8vupmo