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8-bit Revival

Published: March 16, 2010 12:29 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA
(Juniorscave.com)

New Music Spotlight
March 2010 Edition

8-bit Revival

Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series

Welcome to another cool interview with an Indie band that is creating a nice buzz within the music industry. In this spotlight, our Webzine speaks with Tim Krug of 8-bit Revival about the band’s music, their major influences, and what is their take on the Indie music scene. Here is what formulated from this online meeting.

Isaac:I just listened to one of your songs off your new EP/CD. What was the inspiration for making your new album?

8-bit Revival: We just kept writing new songs and thought we should share! The title, "You've Been Believed" is kind of a jab at our past naivety. We've had some bad runs with a few different indie labels and booking agents where things were offered and then taken away or just didn't turn out as expected. Now we're just doing everything on our own. We wanted to make an album we could be really proud of,something that really incorporates our disparate influences into something cohesive.

Pictured: Alan Baker (Bass, Vocals)
Photo by: Kelly Murphy

Isaac:Who were your influences?

8-bit Revival: All sorts of stuff, it's kind of the "impossible question." I don't expect all these bands would be obvious by listening to our albums, but it's in there somewhere. Everything from early 90's shoegaze bands to mid 90s Chicago-style indie/emo or whatever. My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver, Sonic Youth, Braid,the Wrens. Brainiac left a huge impression on us too, as well as a lot of other Dayton bands from the past and present. Somewhere in there is some older actual classics like the Beatles, Talking Heads, and Elvis Costello.

Isaac:What do you consider to have been the highlight(s) and lowpoint(s) of your career to date?

8-bit Revival: There's this sandwich factory in Chicago that makes great submarines. If you order one, they just throw it in a nondescript brown paper bag with literally a thousand loose French Fries. They are so delicious, but eventually the grease eats through the bottom and you loose the sandwich. That pretty much sums up both ends of the spectrum.

Seriously though, the first Dayton Music Fest back in 2005 was a great night. So many great local and former Daytonians gathered to play a bunch of venues downtown. We got to play with our friends Enon in this kind of small club with WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE in it and saw a lot of great bands that night. Or another high point, was releasing our last album, Under the Fairweather. The release show was a total party and we had a lot of fun touring and playing those songs for everyone. One low point, however,could have been a few months after that album came out. We found out via a friend who saw a MySpace bulletin that the label who released it was closing up. That was kind of disheartening. A really weird way to find something like that out. Oh, or this one time we drove all the way to West Virginia to play some house show. No one was home, so we got some tacos and biscuits and headed back to Dayton. Those were some delicious tacos and biscuits though. If you ever see a Taco Bell KFC, check it out. Mashed potatoes and chalupas are also a great combo. We try to stay positive when at all possible!

Pictured: Jayson Hartings (Drums)
Photo by: Kelly Murphy

Isaac:Brief history about your background plus the style of music you play

8-bit Revival: We got together in 2001, wrote some songs and quickly went to work recording an EP. In2002 we released Up & Atom and started touring. Over the next few years we kept playing as many shows as we could and started writing new material that would eventually end up on our first full length, Under the Fairweather. Somewhere in there, we lost our bass player to the magnetic pull of love and a proper education, but were lucky in finding a replacement.Alan had already done some time in the van on the road with us and actually lived in our house back then. He pretty much already knew the songs and everyone's temperaments so it was an easy fit. We released Under the Fairweather and did some more touring before taking a little time offto write and record You've Been Believed, which comes out April 1st.From the beginning, we've been influenced by the early/mid nineties indie/alt/shoegaze stuff. Some people have called us emo, while others peg us into the more noisy aggressive end of the spectrum or even shoegazey. It's all in there I guess.

Isaac: How easy is it to gets gigs for you as an artist? What is the live music scene like in your area?

8-bit Revival: Dayton's music scene is great. There are always tons of talented and interesting bands here. Everyone's really supportive and we get to play a lot of shows around here with friends. Touring is another story. There are some cities where we have better connections than others. It can be kind of hit and miss. That goes for booking the shows as well as how the shows go when we arrive. Keeps it interesting.

Isaac:What do you think of the state of Indie music at the moment? Do you listen to radio much at all? Has the Internet helped music grow or hindered it in your opinion?

8-bit Revival: Jay has 'satellite radio' and he seems to enjoy that a lot. The rest of us, not so much.Some NPR here and there. I know the RIAA and the major labels are all up in fits about the internet, but for independent artists, it has to be the greatest thing ever, right? I have an emusic.com account and have found so many amazing bands on there that I never would have heard of otherwise.

People are still trying to figure out how to monetize free music, with varying results, but for now this is just the reality. People are going to 'steal' your music off the internet. Then, if it's good, they'll tell their friends about it and then they tell their friends and so on. They probably wouldn't have just gone out to the store and bought your album because it looked cool. And if you're really an independent band,your CD/LP probably isn't at the store to begin with. In the 'indie' world it's always been about word of mouth, and now that 'talk' just extends so much further.

Isaac:If you could create a fantasy band - what would be the line-up and why?

8-bit Revival: Alright, here goes: The main character of Gummo, Nick Testa (nightbeast), R Kelly, Zach Galifinakis, Dave Grohl, and Christopher Walken. Why? Do you really have ask why? I mean, can you imagine the archives of insanity put to tape and the hilarity that would end up being VH1's Behind the Music on "Automatic Rambo"? Yeah, our fantasy band has a name, and that name is"Automatic Rambo."

Pictured: Shane Weber (Guitars, Vocals) & Tim Krug (Guitars, Vocals, Keyboards)

Photo by: Kelly Murphy

Isaac:What CD's do you currently have available and where can they be purchased from?

8-bit Revival: Up & Atom EP is available for order from our website along with Under the Fairweather, which can also be had through the magic of internet at iTunes, eMusic, and Amazon.com

Our new album, "You've Been Believed" will be available April 1st through all of those same places. Mostly, we'd love itif you'd just come see us at a show and hang out. We have boxes of them in the van.

Isaac:Where can fans access your music, videos, blogs, and anything else about you online?

Isaac:Message to your fans?

8-bit Revival: THANK YOU!