Antennas Up - The Interview
Nerds, 93-Year-Old Ladies, NASA, and more
Every day people fight stereotypes and nicknames. We’ve been fighting them since high school. And when you take that into music, you’re fighting genre labeling. Imagine how refreshing it would be to find a group of individuals (a band perhaps), that’s so secure with themselves, that they embrace the stereotype, the nicknames, and the labels.
Kansas natives Antennas Up have recently been embracing the press-deemed title of “nerd-trio,” which stems from the buzz going around on their debut self-titled release. As the album climbs the charts of CMJ, it has also managed to make a presence on radio stations nationwide. But where does the “nerd” come from? It’s three-fold really: 1 – the electronic, Tetris-style elements that are cleverly placed throughout the album; 2 – the onstage “costumes” that consist of: ties, suspenders, dress pants and freshly pressed white shirts; and 3 – the members themselves: Bo McCall, Kyle Akers, and The Ryanist. To pick apart the levels of this hot new band, I rallied them together for a brief interview a mere week before the CD release Party (with a capital P).
Antennas Up CD Release Party
With Ha Ha Tonka and Tim York
May 9th, 2009, 9:30 PM at Record Bar, 21+, $8 cover
Antennas Up introduces a thrilling sound on their self-titled debut that combines Yaz-era power pop, hook-filled synth, and skittery guitar with urgent vocals. Using their imagination, hormonally-driven messages, and tight, layered beats and rhythms, this trio makes nerdiness look, feel, and sound like a sexy adventure. Tracks like "Don't Wait Up" will stimulate libidos and ears, prompting fans onto the dance floor to work out their urges. Tracks like "5P4C35H1P" and "On the Line" are hyper-sexy romps that sound like the result of cross-pollinating the lyrical prowess and hottt moves of Flight of the Conchords with the pop-electronica of CSS. It's fun, unselfconscious, and hedonistic. ––Pete Dulin
Present: With new press that’s been coming out for the album, you’re being deemed “nerd trio” – a welcome title?
Akers: I say I welcome it, because I’m a nerd at heart for sure. Now it’s kinda playing into who we come across as, for me to express some of my nerdy side.
Ryanist: How many sides do you have?
Akers: I have at least three sides, three nerdy sides. And then some regular sides.
Present: Do you think you’re main demographic will be nerds? Who do you think it might appeal to?
Ryanist: 93-year-old ladies.
McCall: Nerdy 93-year-old ladies.
Akers: College students, high school students, post-grads, med students, doctors, lawyers, anybody…Jedi’s.
Present: All right, so you’re “nerds by night.” What are you by day?
Akers: I’m a nerd by day too. I just spent all day writing code for testing website applications.
Ryanist: And I aspire to do exactly what Kyle is doing. Hopefully, make some iPhone apps that are killer.
McCall: I don’t know if I really fit into the whole nerd thing. At least the traditionally nerdy.
Akers: You’re a different kind of nerd. We say Bo is kind of a travel nerd and a book nerd too. He reads a lot.
Present: With the fairly big change from your previous incarnation as Distance To Empty, do you think you’ll keep any DTE fans around?
Akers: I think so. I don’t know if we lost anybody.
Ryanist: I think I actually found Jesus; he was buried upside down in a pot on the porch. So we didn’t lose anything, we actually gained something.
McCall: We made one guy mad in Wichita; that was the one email we got. So we did make one fan mad.
Akers: But we traded that fan for Jesus.
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