MODERN MUSICIAN: A CONVERSATION WITH MODERN MOD'S ALIVIA KLEINFELDT-SIDE THREE

SIDE THREE: VISUAL AESTHETICS, PERFORMING LIVE 

AND GENDER POLITICS

There seems to be a strong visual component to the overall aesthetic of Modern Mod from music videos, photo shoots and the like. Was that intentional?

It’s pretty unintentional actually. We, for the longest time, had been going back and forth on finding a certain “look” and we struggled to figure out anything cohesive, so we just sort of had a general consensus on when we should look “nice” or just to wear whatever we want, and it sometimes wound up working pretty perfectly that we’d match. For the videos and shoots, we usually would bring a lot of clothes and decide what in our wardrobes would go well with everyone else’s, so there’s a little more planning in situations like that.

On the set of the "Papercuts" music video-November 2, 2014

What was it like to shoot your music video for “Papercuts”?

Shooting the music video was a ton of fun, but very, very cold. That happened with our “Monday Mornings” music video too; we never fail to choose the coldest days. But, it was a really cool experience, just messing around at the top of a parking ramp with some friends and making a video out of it.

The fun certainly translates! Now, how about that television commercial that premiered this summer? Very cool!!

The commercial was again, just making a video of us goofing around, so that was a lot of fun as well. The directors had some ideas planned for us to try out, but mostly just let us do our own thing. I’d always wanted our music to be in a commercial, so it was a plus that we were in it too! It was filmed for an eyewear event at a store in my hometown of Verona, so I was pretty famous around town for a while –haha!!

Returning to live performance for a bit, what is your favorite song to perform live and why?

It’s hard to choose since it changes pretty often, but I’d say as of right now I really enjoy playing “Papercuts” because it’s a fun, bouncy, upbeat song and it’s one of my favorite bass lines I wrote. It’s just a really easy one for me to get into when performing.

Outside of Madison, where has Modern Mod performed? Favorite show? Worst show? -We’ve played a few times in Milwaukee, Appleton, Eau Claire, and we’ve also played out of state in Minneapolis and Chicago. My favorite show was this past spring when we played the Rathskeller. It was one of our biggest crowds, and it was Emily’s sister’s birthday, so we invited her up to sing “Come Together” with us and everyone really got into it.

I’m not sure if I have a “worst” or least favorite show, but several times, my strap locks have failed and I’ve almost dropped my bass on stage, and at a recent show I snapped a bass string during our first song, but luckily someone lent me their bass.

What does it mean to you to be a working musician in Madison? Pros and cons?

Madison has been so supportive of us, especially since we started so young and weren’t old enough to be in most venues. We were given a ton of opportunities to grow and develop as musicians, and I feel like people really gave us a chance despite our age. It was really difficult to get our friends out to shows most of the time because we were playing in 18+ or 21+ venues, and even if it was an all-ages show, most kids didn’t go out on school nights. It was harder for me in particular because all my friends had to travel from Verona to Madison somehow since there are no venues in or around Verona.

Modern Mod performing live from WSUM-FM studios-Summer 2015

You have also had the opportunity to perform live on the radio. What is that experience like compared to a regular concert?

We’ve played a few times on the radio and you need a whole different kind of focus since it’s all about the music itself. No distracting from my mistakes! But, I think it’s a nice change of pace and we can just really focus on each other.

You literally brought the house down at the legendary First Avenue club in Minneapolis!! All kidding aside, I was stunned when I heard the news of the ceiling collapse the morning after Modern Mod had just performed there. What was that whole experience like for you?

It was crazy! First of all, the whole venue is historic. The walls are lined with the names of some of my all-time favorite musicians that played there, including Prince, who made the place pretty famous. We got to play at the smaller venue, 7th Street Entry, which kind of reminded me of a few really cool venues I’d seen in New York.

This was night one of two for us playing with the bands What Tyrants and Stereo Confession, both great bands out of the Twin Cities, and another band Brendan and I had been fans of for a while, Fury Things, opened the night. We played second and the crowd was very receptive of us for being an out of town band, which was so nice because you never know what you’re going to get in another place, but the Twin Cities has an amazing music scene that seems very supportive as well.

But, things got crazy after Stereo Confession started. Their set was cut short by the sound engineers and the venue’s security guards were telling everyone to evacuate the building immediately. I thought it was part of an act at first, but it turns out a water pipe broke in the ceiling at 1st Avenue and pieces of the ceiling collapsed. Luckily, only about three non-serious injuries occurred, but there were cop cars, firetrucks and ambulances lining the street, and it was very hectic. As we were leaving, a security guard ran after to me to assure me that this has never happened before and that he loved our set, so that was pretty sweet.

It’s pretty wild we got to be part of a night that made national news. Also, we went to a Perkins for breakfast at 1am, and the waitress kept sitting down at our table with us to hide from her boss, so it was the perfect cap to one of the strangest nights of my music career.

I should think so! I remember hearing the news the morning after and just thinking of you and the band having been there the night before, wondering if all of you were alright. I’m glad that you were all OK. With all of our talk about live performances, I feel compelled to ask you about some gender politics.

As a young woman who performs in a mixed gender band as opposed to the typical all male band, have you ever personally encountered any discriminatory oddities or treatments (either large or small) when performing live? Have you perceived any differences that you otherwise would not experience if Modern Mod was an all male band?

It’s definitely not the same to be a girl or woman in a band. We’ve experienced our share of unique treatments, from “compliments" about how surprised people are that we can actually play instruments so well, to uncomfortable sexual remarks, and flat out discrimination from people in the industry.

We entered a battle of the bands contest and were treated so poorly by a judge and the organizers, and from them, we received nothing but condescension, illegitimate criticisms, and an overall sense that we weren’t wanted in the competition.

What happened?

We were supposedly disqualified- although we were never officially informed of it- for a stunt we specifically cleared permission for, although a guy in the winning band also did the same thing. It left such a disgusting taste in our mouths to feel more than deserving of at least some sort of rank in the competition. But instead, we had to listen to a judge talk mostly about our appearance, how we basically are the band The Go-Go’s, and receive “You’re just not there; there’s just something that’s not there” as our only criticism. And as 14 and 15 year olds nonetheless. That was an extreme case of sexism we experienced, and sadly we aren’t the only ones who’ve gone through the same.

I feel like there’s a different set of expectations for a female musician, a lot having to do with appearance and attitude, but also more assumptions made on our capabilities, such as people assuming that it’s not actually us playing our instruments on our recordings. I could go on forever because this topic is incredibly important to me, I definitely focused more on the negative here since it’s still a prevalent issue. But I want to say that I absolutely love being woman in music. We’re overall in such a supportive community and I am very motivated from both the negative and positive aspects that my role comes with.

You know, taking the time to address the issues that you have been faced with personally I really think could go a long distance in creating a larger understanding of these specific issues within the music industry. Since this is your forum, is there any advice to other musicians (female and male) about how to persevere within the industry regarding the discriminatory treatment of female artists and musicians?

My best advice to everyone is to take a moment to really think about the comments you may make to or about a female musician, or any musician for that matter. Think about if they are appropriate and legitimate-meaning they’re not degrading the artist based on their physical appearance, and they’re not taking down a whole group of people to “compliment” just one person. “Chick bassists are so hot” and “Usually girl bands suck but you were actually really good” are both unwanted, generalizing comments I’ve received, and although they’re trying to be complimentary, they’re still offensive and/or uncomfortable to hear. The best thing to do is just to think about if your compliment to one person comes at the expense of another, and that it’s not likely going to make the person uncomfortable.

And as for the girls and women dealing with sexism in music, there are many ways you can handle these situations, it just depends on what makes you feel good and comfortable. You can try to confront anyone giving you a hard time, or try to help them understand what they’re doing that’s hurting you and/or any other women. But do what makes you feel better about the situation. Sometimes you just can’t win with certain people, but never, ever give up on your musical dream because there is such a strong support system out there, of men and women, working together to support female musicians.

 

Stay tuned for the fourth and final installment of this exclusive series as Alivia takes on the Synesthesia "Speed Round," addresses the future of Modern Mod, speaks about her new band Dash Hounds and shares some final thoughts.

MODERN MUSICIAN: A CONVERSATION WITH MODERN MOD'S ALIVIA KLEINFELDT-SIDE TWO

SIDE TWO: RECORDINGS, SUCCESSES 

AND THE EVOLUTION OF MODERN MOD

Now, we arrive with your debut album, “Tunnels.” Congratulations to you and the band for created such a finely crafted album!!! What was the experience of recording the album like for you?

Recording “Tunnels” was one of the most trying, yet exciting and rewarding things I’ve ever done. I learned how long and difficult a process making an album can be, but it was some of the most fun I’ve ever had. When we initially tracked all of our songs, we were at the Exchange studio in Milwaukee, where we saw a picture of David Bowie recording exactly where we stood, which was surreal. We stayed in Milwaukee for two nights, and on the second night, we slept in the basement of the studio, which ended up to be so cold and uncomfortable, but we all for some reason wanted to do that so it was just part of the learning experience.

What was the easiest song to record? The most difficult?

I don’t really remember what was the easiest song to record. They were all pretty difficult to me because I put too much pressure on myself to make each take perfect. I ended up psyching myself out, and I learned how unnecessary that was. I remember that recording “Papercuts” was a bit of a disaster because we had started and finished it about a week before we went into the studio, so it was barely rehearsed and the structure was confusing. That was the last song we recorded that night and we felt like giving it up, but I think we tried it again the next morning and then we were able to get it done and perfected.

I’m so glad that you stuck with it because it really is one of the highlights of the album. And it really did pay off in the end as “Tunnels” has received considerable attention and not just in Madison. What has it been like for you to know that there are people and fans as far away as California?

Yeah! Someone at Stanford’s radio station liked the album and wrote a really fun cat-themed review of it, rating each song with “MEOW’s” instead of stars. It’s very exciting to know people you’ve never met are enjoying your music. It’s a hopeful feeling.

And then, there are the two MAMA awards the band won this summer. Congratulations to that! What was that experience like for you?

The Madison Area Music Awards were great! We got to dress up and cheer on our fellow Madison musicians. We were pretty convinced we didn’t have a shot at winning, and were surprised to even be nominated in the first place. When we won the first award, we were sitting in the top balcony, and when they called our name, we immediately started sprinting down to the stage. It was a huge honor to receive awards for the something we took so long on, and I’ll always be proud to have contributed to an *award winning* album as a high schooler.

It feels as if the band is experiencing a certain momentum, especially with its current lineup. Would you agree or disagree?

Yeah for sure! I think especially with winning the MAMA awards and continuing to book shows and get radio airplay around Madison lately, that has all really helped us get some more local attention. The current lineup has gelled exceptionally well and we continue to write material that’s further and further away from the band’s origin, and I'm really excited about what our next EP is going to sound like.

Speaking to the current lineup of Modern Mod, how do you feel that the band has changed during all of the personnel comings and goings, if at all?

We definitely have gone through many stylistic changes. Mostly it has just expanded our musical variety because every new member we have has a different musical background and influences, so it’s always refreshing to write new songs with someone who has a fresh and unique approach to writing. Every member, past and present, has had such distinct styles and contributions.

Could you please spend some time telling me about the current lineup and how you feel they have all contributed to Modern Mod and how they compare and contrast with the original members?

Emily Massey (lead vocals, guitar): Emily’s voice is Modern Mod. She’s got this airy, innocent, but far from timid quality that complements, if not makes, every song of ours. No matter the lyrical content or song style, she can perfectly convey whatever she wants to say. She came into the band with our debut album completely written but not yet recorded, and did an amazing job at reinterpreting all of the songs and really putting a standout, natural personality into the album. She’s always been great at the onstage banter and working a crowd, and is purely fun to watch and perform with. When she joined, our live show became the most fun it’s ever been; I remember the first show she played with us, the rest of the band ended up watching her a good amount of time because she brought this live energy we had never experienced, which then pushed us to match that. Plus, she is the style queen and taught me practically everything I know about fashion.

Cal Pocernich (guitar): Cal introduced me to most of my favorite current music, for which I am eternally grateful. But, his playing and writing style are very 90’s alt rock which I absolutely love. He is one of the most creative musicians I’ve ever worked with; he can take a basic idea of mine and transform it to something I’d never think of, and I almost always end up liking what he comes up with so much more than my original idea. Cal has always pushed the rest of us to be less conventional, which took me until this year to realize how important that was/is, so he has been such a positive influence. He’s got such a serious, aloof persona and people are always drawn to him, but I can always get him smile at me on stage whenever he or I mess up, so that’s something to look forward to whenever I do something wrong, but I love it.

Brendan Manley (drums): Brendan had a really tough role to fill, because the new drummer slot was replacing the co-founding member, primary songwriter, and my best friend, so he or she had to be darn good. But, wow, is he incredible! He brought our energy level up a whole heck of a lot, and we’ve since gotten even more of an edge to our music, enabling our experimenting with more punk and heavy psych as of late. It took Cal, Emily, and I several months to find him, and before then we were struggling to write as a trio, but once Brendan joined, our creativity level was higher than it had ever been. We never, ever “jammed” as a band until he joined, and it was insanely fun to do that for the first time. We can always connect and come up with some really awesome stuff. Once he joined, we began writing songs collectively instead of one person writing a majority, so it was a huge change of pace but works perfectly for us four.

What is a “band” to you? There has been this consistent issue within rock music definitely, that if one member departs a band, then the “band” as it is known ceases to be. With all of the lineup changes in the band and since you are the sole original member remaining, has the concept of Modern Mod changed for you? What do you think is the identity of Modern Mod?

I think that a band can still be a band after a member change. It just marks a different stage in the music they create; it’s all part of its evolution. Even though Modern Mod has gone through 2 name changes and 6 or so lineup changes, I still consider it the same band because we still played the same songs. I think our identity is in our light-hearted, purely fun music and live show, and that has always been the underlying feel, and naturally too with every member's demeanor. Each new member brought a different energy and a whole new element to our writing process, but we’ve always been focused on having fun and enjoying what we do.

Stay tuned for Part Three as Alivia discusses making music videos, her adventures with live performances as well as a compelling look at her vantage point with gender politics within the music industry.

MODERN MUSICIAN: A CONVERSATION WITH MODERN MOD'S ALIVIA KLEINFELDT-SIDE ONE

SIDE ONE: BEGINNINGS

What is your earliest musical memory?

ALIVIA KLEINFELDT (Modern Mod bass guitar/vocals, age 19): I think my earliest musical memory would have to be watching “The Monkees” reruns on Sunday mornings as a little, little kid. It was my favorite show since before I could remember. I was probably 2 years old when I started watching the show and I worshiped them and had so many songs memorized, and recently, my Mom and I just discovered that they are once again playing reruns, so it’s been so much fun to revisit that and remember why they were my first favorite band!

That is amazing!! The Monkees were the very first band I was ever obsessed with as well. I think I was maybe 5 or 6 years old when I first saw the TV show. I just have to ask. Who is your favorite Monkee? When I was a kid, it was Mickey Dolenz. Now, I think it's Mike Nesmith.

It’s too hard to choose a favorite! But I’d probably have to go with Davy Jones because I’m good friends with someone who has toured multiple times as Davy’s bassist, and he actually gave me the bass he used to play on stage for him and had informed me that Davy had often times picked up this bass and had loved playing it! So, I feel a special connection to Davy. And also, because he was on an episode of “Spongebob Squarepants” and that used to be one of my favorite shows, haha!!

Aside from The Monkees, which artists were your first sources of inspiration?
I have an extremely wide array of musical influences now that it's pretty crazy for me to think about what it really started with. But, I'd definitely have to say that as far as what initially inspired me to start seriously listening to and appreciating music in general was Alice Cooper.  There's a pretty long backstory on him for me.

I’d love to hear it.

One night in eighth grade when I couldn't sleep, out of desperation to do something other than lie wide awake, I got out this little iPod-shaped radio that my Mom bought me and I never had interest in using until that moment, and I started scanning the stations. I came across a familiar voice: Alice Cooper. My brother and Dad were really into classic rock and whenever we were in the car, they would turn on his radio show, so I decided to listen for myself. I instantly was fascinated by him and the music he played, and I started listening to his show every night. I got really into bands like Van Halen, Guns N Roses, and Alice Cooper of course.

My interest in 80’s hair metal bands and the like faded pretty quickly but Alice's earlier work really stuck with me, as did the classic heavy metal and psychedelic bands like Black Sabbath, The Doors, The Animals, Arthur Brown, etc. But, I also got into The Beatles for the first time, who then in turn opened me up to stuff of all different genres and time periods, and the rest is history I guess!  

To list a few of my first sources of inspiration for writing my first few songs, I'd have to say the Beatles and The Monkees for sure, Alice Cooper, The Doors, The Who, and my favorite contemporary band at the time: The Strokes. Those were the bands that really influenced me to write and play music, and inspired what and how I wrote. Also, something I more recently realized, is my vocal style is largely inspired by listening to and admiring my Grandparents sing to themselves around the house when I would visit them as a kid. I have always loved their voices, and the way they sing- capturing the 1940's/50's style- is just beautiful to me and I've tried to recreate that myself.

So, I say that I owe my love of music to Alice Cooper and his radio show, and accredit him for my being a musician. I even went as Alice for Halloween! You know, there was a period of time, pretty much most of middle school, that I stopped listening to and playing music.

Really? Why is that?
I think I stopped playing because I was really big into sports. I was a big time basketball player and I even thought at one point that I'd be playing it throughout college. I was a bit aimless in middle school, which makes sense because I was only 12, ha ha! But, I never wanted to practice my guitar because practicing just seemed like a chore at the time. I was in orchestra and was a pretty good violinist all throughout middle school, but I didn't ever want to practice that either. I was also really shy and felt like I got even moreso at the time, so I didn't ever sing or play in front of people unless I had to at an orchestra concert. So I think I stopped music due to a combination of other interests, a lack of purpose and confidence, and a bit of laziness too, ha ha!!

Even with going through that piece of your life, do you remember when you realized that you even wanted to express yourself musically?

I think when I really realized that I wanted to be a musician, a bassist to be specific, was one night in 8th grade when I joined my parents in watching a special on The Beatles, and I instantly connected with their music and with Paul McCartney in particular. It was pretty mind-blowing to me at the time, to think that I had never truly listened to them in the way I had that night.

All the while, I was becoming really good friends with someone in my school, a drummer named Emma Witmer (ed note: original Modern Mod songwriter/drummer credited as "Ronnie Clarke"). After we realized we were both really into music, Emma and I started joking about making a band, how I'd take up bass and we'd make a 3-piece with a random Hot Topic employee. One day, though, one of us said "you and I should actually make a band," and we were both so on board that I bought a bass a week later and we were playing music together practically every day.

I had already been playing guitar for years, so instruments had come pretty naturally to me and I was confident on that right away. Singing was definitely more difficult for me to start because I had very little self-confidence, and singing in front of an audience was an extremely nerve wracking thought, especially since I never sang even to myself and I thought that I was a pretty bad singer. I was just kind of forced into doing backup vocals at the beginning of joining my first band, and I think being pushed to do it and practice it consistently in front of people was what helped me feel more confident in my own ability. And now, I absolutely love to sing!

And how many instruments are you able to play exactly?

It really started with a plastic green harmonica that I got in a gift bag from my 2nd grade best friend’s birthday party, that I decided that I wanted to play real instruments. So, I got a real harmonica and taught myself how to play that. Then, I picked up a guitar after I saw my sister learning, and I wanted to do the same. I took guitar lessons for a while, then I took that break from music altogether until middle school orchestra, that’s when I picked up the violin. When I picked up the bass guitar, I also switched to the double bass in orchestra. I was also in my school’s Secret Underground Ukulele Club for a year. I can also fake my way decently enough on the cello and piano. But, I’d say I can respectably claim to play harmonica, bass guitar, guitar, double bass, violin, and ukulele.

Emma Witmer and Alivia Kleinfeldt, circa 2014

How did you and your Modern Mod bandmates first meet?

So, I am actually the only original member of this band right now, but it started as my best friend Emma and I deciding we want to start a band in middle school, and we found a program called Rock Workshop at the Madison Music Foundry, where I learned to play bass. The program puts kids of all ages, skill levels, and musical tastes together to form bands where they learn to write and record a song together and perform at a showcase. That’s how the band started, and we went through a number of people after deciding to try to stick together. We met Cal Pocernich (Modern Mod guitarist) through his friend Dan who was the original guitarist, and we met Emily Massey (Modern Mod lead singer) through her sister because I went to camp with her. This was all spread out through several years, and we’ve gone through a few (embarrassing) band name changes.

What is the origin of the name “Modern Mod”?

The name Modern Mod came from our interest in the 1960’s mod music and culture.  We actually decided that Modern Mod would be a good name because it implied we were taking on a new, modern spin on the Mod music and fashion, although, and I could be wrong, but I don’t think our music ever ended up really sounding like any mod bands I’d think of. But, we also agreed the name had a nice ring to it.

Were your parents always supportive of your musical aspirations, as well as your role in Modern Mod?

Yes for sure, they were always very supportive of my interest in music, and had encouraged me to pursue it even when I had my doubts and considered going to college out of state and forgetting about music for a while. I remember when I first told them that I wanted to buy a bass they were a little skeptical, but that's probably because I was so impatient and was determined to purchase one basically a few days after deciding I wanted to play the instrument (which I ended up doing anyways.) But, they’ve always supported my dream and are just as passionate as I am about my music, and I’m incredibly grateful for that fact.

Modern Mod, circa 2014

Do you remember very your first gig? What was the response to your first Modern Mod performance?

Our first gig was at the High Noon Saloon, under a different name and with all different members, and with songs we never play anymore, so I guess it’s barely a Modern Mod gig but I’ll still count it (laughs)! It was in the middle of the day for the Rock Workshop showcase. We “headlined" because we were the only band to write not one, but three original songs, and play two covers. It was terrifying, to say the least. I was so incredibly nervous, but I remember thinking it went well despite that. Our parents loved it! But, I remember getting some good compliments, so I’d say our first show was a success.

I asked the members of Post Social this very same question and I’d love to get your feelings about this one. It is one thing to receive praise from your parents. How have you been received by your friends and peers? Was one set (adults or peers) easier or harder to get on your side?

A lot of my friends thought it was the coolest thing in the world that they knew someone who was in a band, so I felt a lot of support from my peers in the early days of the band. It was always difficult getting them to our shows though because of age restrictions and the fact that none of them could drive. I’ve been very lucky to receive almost nothing but support throughout my entire musical career from friends and family alike. Only a few times I received a disapproving remark about my not going to college immediately after high school, but I knew and my family knew that I was making the right choice because it’s what I wanted to do most, so those negative comments never affected me.

Have you ever surprised yourself with any piece of music that you have written?
I have written and worked on a fairly substantial amount of music for the amount of time I’ve been doing it, but I’ve really only completed a small handful of songs. So I was astounded when “Papercuts” won the alternative song of the year at the MAMA’s (Madison Area Music Association awards) this year, because that was only the second song I’d ever written. But, some of the newer songs I’ve written have been sort of amazing to me that I could come up with something of the sort. I think back to my early days of writing, and I love where I’ve been going and I know that I can only progress and keep pushing my creativity because I have so much I want to create and I am still trying to figure out how to do so. But, I think that one of my newest songs that I’ve written for myself has surprised me the most, because of its lyrical content. The lyrics are pretty simple, it’s plain English, yet the meaning behind them is so powerful to me that it takes me aback when I really think about them. The song is still in progress but I really cannot wait until I finish it and let everyone hear it.

Stay tuned for Part Two of my exclusive conversation with Alivia Kleinfeldt where she discusses the recording of Modern Mod's debut album "Tunnels" and its subsequent success, the MAMA awards and her bandmates! 

MODERN MUSICIAN: A CONVERSATION WITH MODERN MOD'S ALIVIA KLEINFELDT-INTRODUCTION

And now for something extremely special...

In the month of September, I was truly honored to present to you an exclusive, extensive interview I conducted with the members of the Madison, WI band Post Social. Within the experience of asking the members questions and receiving their thorough, thoughtful answers, I was constantly amazed with the depth and openness they offered to me and no matter how far that series reaches or how many people will actually read it, I am happy to have taken part in creating a document specifically for them detailing this specific period of their lives as musicians as well as friends.

At this time, I am equally excited to share with you another exclusive, extensive interview I was conducting during the same period and even a tad longer. For the entirety of this year, I have been extolling my extreme enthusiasm for the Madison, WI band Modern Mod, and their debut album "Tunnels" (released April 21, 2014), which I discovered immediately after I first heard Post Social and entirely due to the passionate recommendations by B-Side Records owner, my friend Steve Manley. 

My original intent was to possibly create some sort of interview project/open history of both bands as the members attended school together, compose and play music together and continue to remain friends. Certainly as they are all now recent high school graduates, and all involved heavily within their post-high school lives, it was not always an easy feat to have our equally busy schedules match up for any sort of interview process. While speaking with Post Social/Modern Mod drummer Brendan Manley, he suggested to me that perhaps I should find a way to speak with Modern Mod bassist/singer/songwriter Alivia Kleinfeldt, as she is not only the co-founder of the band, she is currently the only sole original member remaining, making what Manley referred to as the "heart and soul" of Modern Mod.

As with the members of Post Social, I reached out to Kleinfeldt through Facebook and very quickly, we began sending questions and answers back and forth, and again, I was deeply impressed with her thoughtfulness, her openness, her humor, her thoroughness and most of all, her immense kindness.

At the time of this writing, I have not met Alivia Kleinfeldt in person at all. I have not spoken with her on the phone. I have actually never even seen her in the flesh! And despite the lack of face-to-face contact, the conversations that I have had with her have been filled with nothing but pure warmth and graciousness. In fact, so easy-going has this process been with her that it actually has felt as if I had been speaking with her, ether on the phone or in person, all the while. That I believe is a testament to her immense charm, which I sincerely hope that you will be able to receive over the course of this new series which will be released over four installments.

I interviewed Alivia Kleinfeldlt off and on, and as her schedule and time permitted, between June and November of this year (in fact, as of this writing, we are still finishing it up) and the wealth of material she provided has made for what I feel is a wonderful document of her creative, artistic, and musical life which is indeed vibrant, exciting, infectious, engaging and fully captivating.

I hope that you will be as easily won over by her stories, her viewpoints, and her perspective of what is it to be a young, working, and serious musician in 2015. And honestly, if you cannot gather the amount of fun she has been having while creating, then you clearly have not read one word she said.

So, without further hesitation, I invite you to meet Modern Mod's Alivia Kleinfeldt. May you be as won over as I.

WSPC'S SESSION NOTES NOVEMBER 2015: DASH HOUNDS/POST SOCIAL LIVE AT BRIGHT RED STUDIOS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2015

FROM THE DJ's STUDIO DESK:

This may be a bit "Salinger-esque" as I must begin this month's activities with a very special evening I had a few nights ago and then, I must work backwards, thus bringing everything into its fullest and most complete circle.

Throughout this year, as I became introduced to the music of both Madison's Post Social and Modern Mod, and having met many of the band members, I would occasionally receive invitations through Facebook announcing a new concert date. On every single occurrence, I unfortunately had to politely decline their gracious invites as my teaching schedule and the time that I would have to awake each morning just did not coincide with the time they would hit the stage the night before. So, aside from their performance on Record Store Day this year, I have not seen Post Social perform live. And as for Modern Mod, I haven't seen then perform at all to date.

Thankfully, most everything changed a few nights ago. 

On the evening of Friday, October 30, 2015, and again thanks to an invitation delivered to me by Post Social's guitarist/vocalist Mitch Deitz, I attended a pop-up art gallery event organized by the ArtWrite Collective and held at Madison's Bright Red Studios. The night centered around the debut print run of "F-Zine," a self-described "womanist and feminist" zine of art and writing created and produce by a collective of local artists. In addition to the zine, the gallery also provided a showcase for a variety of artworks, from paintings to sculptures, including one created by Modern Mod's lead singer/guitarist Emily Massey and utilizing one of Post Social/Modern Mod drummer Brendan Manley's old drum heads. 

The soundtrack for the event was provided by three local bands, two of whom I knew that I had to make an effort to see, especially at this was indeed a Friday night and my early hours were non-existent for Saturday morning. At last, I was to see a full performance by Post Social and I am thrilled to say that the band did not disappoint in the least.

With a set that served as an incredibly enthusiastic push for their latest album, the raucous and addictive "Young Randolphs" (released October 3, 2015), Post Social performed the bulk of the album with supreme vigor, tight musicianship and tremendous energy. They truly made the very most out of the slightly cramped performance area, treating their patch of land as the greatest stage set. 

 

Mitch Deitz again proved that he is a rock star, the perfect frontman and whose enthusiasm is completely infectious as you just find yourself wanting to jump up and down with him, as waves of guitar heroics lift him aloft. 

Guitarist/Vocalist Shannon Connor made for a perfect counterpoint to Deitz with his more stationary physical presence, a certain stoicism that belied the guitar fireworks that blasted from his fingers, especially on songs like the exuberantly performed band favorite "Ohio," the soaring lead solo on "TV Row" and the shimmering textures he and Deitz created on "Days," and especially "Haunt Me" and "Green Screen," two tracks on which Connor took lead vocals.

Without any sense of hyperbole, and having just seen the man in action up close and personal, I have to say that Bassist Sam Galligan is easily Post Social's John Entwistle as every song is pushed to greater heights by his fluidly melodic and propulsive playing while he stands in a mostly stationary position, music flowing through his spirit to his fingers. 

And as for Drummer Brendan Manley, he continued to impress me tremendously, creating that perfect rhythm section with Galligan and bashing out crisp, punchy beats while often hunched over his drum kit. 

Post Social truly delivered the goods with a performance that exhibited many of the same hallmarks that made the recent Garbage concert such a smashing success as well. The pacing of the show, the placement of the songs and most importantly, the songs themselves! As it has been said in the past, and completely applies here, it was all killer and no filler. Post Social is unquestionably a force to be reckoned with.

But, now I have to explain about arriving full circle.

In addition to Post Social, I was also graced to witness the live debut performance of the new band Dash Hounds, a formation featuring Brendan Manley in full collaboration with Modern Mod Bassist Alivia Kleinfeldt, who also sings lead vocals. During the stretch of time as I was interviewing Post Social, I was also interviewing Kleinfeldt, who first informed me about her new band and how she and Manley would be writing and recording as a duo on all instruments and then augmenting with more players for live performers, in this instance featured Mitch Deitz and Drummer Teddy Mathews, which meant that Manley would be switching to the role of guitarist for the first time in his professional career. 

What made this piece of the evening that much more significant was the fact that during the entire time I have been interviewing Kleinfeldt, she and I had never met in person. And on this night, at last we met!!! While I'll never really know about her, I have to admit to being more than a little nervous as our conversations over the last several months, and entirely through Facebook, have been so easy-going and so natural that I hoped that nothing would feel awkward face-to-face. Thankfully, Kleinfeldt was as warm, friendly, loquacious and gracious as she was over the internet and I was honestly very humbled that she would have been so accepting of someone who she hadn't met in person, and over quite a considerable amount of time to boot. 

We spent much of the time before her performance simply chatting and I praised her boldness for debuting Dash Hounds so early in their existence as they have released only one song (entitled "Idee Fixe" and you can find it on their Soundcloud page), have a few more in the works and were only going to perform four songs total. I felt it to be a bold and brave move, demonstrating a confidence that I would not have myself if I happened to be in her position. By the time Dash Hounds took to the stage as the first band to perform this evening, my curiosity, already piqued, ultimately became filled with the anticipation for hearing more. 

Talk about confidence, Dash Hounds took to the stage and performed as if they had been a long established and seasoned act. If any of the band members were nervous, most of all Kleinfeldt and Manley, they never exhibited any signs whatsoever. Manley switched to guitar (and as I had been informed,a guitar he had built himself, no less) with seemingly effortless ease, therefore impressing me all the more with the extensiveness of his talent. Teddy Mathews handled the drums solidly and during the performance of "Idee Fixe," he even illustrated a certain Nick Mason feel that took the song into near Pink Floyd territory during its extended ending section. Deitz, while not downplaying his enthusiasm, easily slid into the more supportive role fluidly.

Modern Mod's Emily Massey even showed up to perform on one song, which I was told was a former MM selection, written by Kleinfeldt, yet never recorded by the band. So, in some ways, I (sort of) saw a Modern Mod performance with three fourths of the band present and accounted for.

Yet, the focal point of Dash Hounds was indeed Alivia Kleinfeldt, who exuded that aforementioned confidence with her rich, low voice and her command of her melodic, flowing bass playing combined with her strong stage presence. During all four songs, Dash Hounds displayed a diverse musical palate that stretched across the boundaries of pop, alt-rock, gently psychedelic and atmospheric, and the final song, which recalled The B-52's tinged with a taste of The Police, just left me hoping that Kleinfeldt perhaps had a fifth song tucked in her back pocket, ready to surprise us with its unveiling. 

And speaking of unveiling, this month upon Synesthesia, I am so, so excited to unveil the long-in-the-works interview project I have been conducting with Alivia Kleinfeldt. And believe me, I am certain that after you read everything that she has to say, you will see that she is indeed the real deal, a musician whose passion and enjoyment of music and her role within creating music is paramount.

I exited the night truly upon a high. It meant so much to me to not only see and meet some new, young writers and artists so proud and excited about their work and community and unafraid to express themselves in the spirit of feminism, a term that has sadly taken some strange, ugly spins over the years and especially now in 2015. 

To have Post Social align themselves with the ArtWrite Collective would have been special enough but to see Dash Hounds on the ground floor to wherever they will ultimately land was as warming as it was inspiring. And finally, meeting Alivia Kleinfeldt was truly the icing on the cake!

Stay tuned, the EXCLUSIVE Synesthesia interview with Alivia Kleinfeldt is about to be released! And for all the music that you listen to and create, remember to always...

....PLAY LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!