The influence of the Beatles on SomeKindaWonderful’s sound makes them hard to define into one genre.
The band known as Somekindawonderful, or SKW for short, sat down with National Rock Review for a few minutes and answered questions on their way to St. Louis for that night’s gig. The interview will follow after the review of their self titled debut album. SKW is Jordy Towers (vocals/lyrics), Matt Gibson (guitar), Ben Schigel (drums), Justin Andres (bass/keys) and Sarah Dryer (vocals/percussion).
A self-professed Angeleno, Towers felt the need to get away from L.A. in order to get some issues worked out. It was during a trip to see family in Olmstead Falls, Ohio that a fateful visit to a local bar occured. There he met Matt and Ben. The band that was looking for someone to handle vocal duties ran into Towers and found a lead singer looking for a home. Their first single was written that night and the entire album was finished in a week after that. Downtown Records/White Clover Records signed them and released their first LP in July of 2014.
The official video for the first single, “Reverse”.
This album is spectacular in its diversity of sounds. With “Shine On Me,” the piano, the superb choir feel, and the inspirational lyrics isn’t so much dealing with any certain religion as it is uplifting by way of the human spirit’s perseverance.
“Burn” is perfect for any meeting of lovers in the French Quarter or where ever a drink may be needed to go for that first kiss.
In a very White Stripesesque style, “Cornbread” starts off the album on a great pace.
Without going into detail each of the twelve tracks on this offering, they are uniquely different but have a strangely familiar feel like that of an old friend. It’s the kind of album you listen to when you need a good change of pace in an adult way, but don’t want to sacrifice the quality of the music either. If you are looking for a musical change of pace, Somekindawonderful is the perfect choice for you, .
NRR: What do you think it is that makes the Cleveland music scene so special?
Jordy Towers: You know, we kinda stay out of the scene. We’re not really in the Cleveland music scene. We are friends with MGK, Machine Gun Kelly. You know, I’m from L.A. and I went out to Cleveland on like a soul searching mission and found these guys. So we’re more universal then just a Cleveland band, I’d say. But we do love our city, we do love Cleveland. We represent Cleveland because that’s where we found our sound. …I’m an L.A. artist myself, from L.A. born and raised. But, I did find my soul in Cleveland, Ohio.
NRR: I have to ask, what bar were you and the guys at that you met originally?
Jordy Towers: It’s called Ace’s Depot.
NRR: Who bought the first round?
Jordy Towers: Oh, man! I don’t… That is a great question. I think Ben, I think Ben bought the first round.
NRR: [Would] you explain to somebody that may have heard about you but not really heard your latest cd, just kind of describe your sound for [them]?
Jordy Towers: Sure, I would say it’s grunge soul. It’s kind of a new genre. I would say it’s got this raw quality about. At the end of the day we are a genre bending band, so, you never really know what you’re going to get with us. The concept behind our band is, is it’s all rock and roll. I’m not comparing us to the Beatles, but like the Beatles who are our favorite band, who are our biggest influence, um, you never knew what you’re going to get on a Beatles album.
The one constant, is the big drum. The amazing guitar sound always [with] my voice. And then everything else is pretty much up in the air. …What we strive for is to be a modern day Beatles where you can’t really put us in any genre we’re just, we just are Somekindawonderful, ya know?
NRR: If there was one thing about the album that you would want to get out there one way or the other, is there one thing that comes to mind?
Jordy Towers: Well, the album as a whole, is a journey and a story from track one to track twelve. It’s a story of coming of age, dealing with temptation, coming to grips with self-realization, and then trials at the end. You know, we set out to make a complete body of work that a music lover could go through and enjoy. We believe that’s how music should be. I truly don’t think that people should put themselves in a box or limit themselves to just one sound.
NRR: I have to ask is there meaning behind picking the butterfly?
Jordy Towers: There’s also a lot of stuff online about our past. …But you look back, all that stuff was our cocoon stages. I wouldn’t take it down and I’m not ashamed of it. We were building something. We hadn’t bloomed yet. And this album, this music, Somekindawonderful, is our butterfly. This is what we were meant to do. That’s what it means.
NRR: What’s the dynamic between you and the fan base, the Butterfly Militia? Do you do a lot of interacting with them?
Jordy Towers: We’re close to our fans. We speak to our fans, we meet with our fans, we take pictures with our fans. We give free bandanas, we give them free shirts. We want them to understand, we want them to grow. We want them to not be afraid to be themselves. That’s what the Butterfly Militia is about, is being who you’re supposed to be.
NRR: The newest release from you guys is starting to get to that point where people are going to ask if you guys are in the process of [writing] new material. Will you share a secret with a couple hundred thousand of your closest friends, or are you guys not to that stage yet?
Jordy Towers: Well, we just put out a free download of a song called, “Rhinestone Melodies”. It was actually the second song we wrote but it didn’t make the album. Don’t ask why, it’s a great song. We just put that out to show people that we’re still going to be releasing music. We’re going to be dropping another single off the original album. It’s called “Burn”, the new single. It’ll be hitting radio probably Jan or Feb. And we’re really excited about “Burn”. 2015 is going to be a big year for us.
NRR: Is there a band, that if their manager called you tomorrow and said they want you on tour, you’d drop everything to see it happen?
Jordy Towers: Red Hot Chili Peppers!
Somekindawonderful:
Website | Facebook | Twitter
New Politics:
Website | Facebook | Twitter
Bad Suns:
Website | Facebook | Twitter
A few of the tour’s next stops with New Politics and Bad Suns:
Sat 11/15 Indianapolis, IN Deluxe at Old National Centre
Sun 11/16 Chicago, IL House of Blues
Tue 11/18 Cincinnati, OH Bogart’s
Wed 11/19 Louisville, KY Mercury Ballroom
Thu 11/20 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
Photo credit: Jade Ehlers
