Recharged and reloaded with more firepower than ever, The Upset Victory are proving yet again they are the up and coming champs of the Cincinnati indie music scene. In the past few months, they have celebrated their 7 year anniversary, released their 3rd music video, and their 7th studio album, Wall Street dropped.
The video, “Fake This” was filmed and produced by local CCM grads and their production company, Nuance Media. The video was filmed in OTR and features the Cincinnati skyline. The Upset Victory have shared the stage with the likes of Strung Out, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, MxPx, Story of the Year, Bayside, Molly Hatchet and Cartel. We sat down with Stephen in anticipation of their upcoming show at Bunbury Music Festival!
CincyMusic.com: How did you get involved in the Cincinnati Music Scene?
Stephen Campbell: All the members of TUV have been heavily involved in the Cincinnati music scene for a decade now. We all came out of the ashes of previous bands. The desire to create and be involved in something larger than ourselves is what drew us to music in the first place. We're no strangers to the venues, bands, and "scene" that drives this city and we couldn't be happier to be involved in it.
CM: What was the inspiration for your latest project, Wall Street?
SC: Wall Street is an actual street in downtown Orlando, Florida. When we had off days in the studio, which were rare, we'd head to Wall Street to "unwind" so to speak. Our first day in Orlando we actually stumbled on to a Cinco de Mayo street festival being held on Wall Street. The last song on the release "In Our Hands" references Wall Street in both a literal and metaphorical sense and we found it to be the perfect title for the release; it encompassed the theme of the album as well as the recording process as a whole. Jason, our singer, wrote the lyrics to this particular release and we're extremely proud of it. We were fortunate enough to work with Brock Berryhill and Evan Coffman of Starlight Studios and they really brought the best out of the songs and us as individual musicians. We experimented this time around with a more organic approach to production and song-writing. We even utilized vintage gear as well as different types of instrumentation such as ukulele and mandolin.
CM: What do you want or expect your fans to take away from this project?
SC: Like any good artist we hope to evolve and progress. We hope people keep an open mind and listen to the songs with no pre-convenienced notions about what the TUV "sound" should be. Every release we've put out has been unique in and of itself and represents a certain chapter in our career. That's honestly what I love about our recording process. Until the recording is completely finished I don't know what to fully expect but I do know that when the five of us get into a room together to create I'm always extremely proud of the end result. I think fans can expect to hear us in a new light and hopefully will welcome the opportunity to usher in a new chapter with us. We're very much the same TUV - big choruses, rich production, guitar riffs - we've just elaborated and improved upon our sound more.
CM: What's the one thing an out of towner should do, or place they should go, when they visit Cincinnati?
SC: There are so many great establishments that have opened as of late in the surrounding downtown area it's hard to name just a few. Two of our music videos have been shot in Over-the-Rhine and highlight the city so well it was an obvious location choice. The ideal Cincinnati day for me would be a trip to Shake It Records, lunch at Bakersfield for some tacos and beers, catching a Reds game, followed by a show at The Madison, and hitting up some local taverns such as MOTR and Neon's. Again, way too many great places to list so an out of towner definitely should make a weekend trip.
CM: What's been you biggest moment so far? The time when you felt like this is why I do this?
SC: Honestly anytime we hit the stage and see people singing along is the reason why I do this. Hearing a song grow from a basic acoustic guitar idea to a full blown full band song being played on stage that people are feeding off of is amazing. It's simple but the truth. I can tell you we're very excited to be playing Bunbury Music Festival this year. It's great to see a music festival on such a massive scale be so successful in our city.
CM: What's one thing our audience can do this week to engage in and help build up the Cincinnati Music Scene?
SC: Go to shows. I cannot stress that enough. Often times people make excuses in their head that they'll catch a band's show next time or check their music out tomorrow, etc. but honestly you don't know when/if that band will still be afloat long enough for the next show or next album. Supporting local musicians on any level helps. From purchasing a .99 cent song, to buying a t-shirt, or simply posting on social media about a band you dig. Support on any level is key for growth and in order for growth in the music scene we have to support one another first so it expands organically. There's so many amazing musicians in this city and it's a shame not more people are aware of them.
The Upset Victory
Bunbury Music Festival
Sunday July 14th
Amphitheater Stage
2:45p
