Jared Bowers's Profile

I had the opportunity to ask Jonathan a few questions about what he’s been up these past 18 months, what Lo Fi City is all about, and what it means to release a new album during a global pandemic.

“The more I’ve grown as an artist, the more I hold tight to the idea of exploring directions that don’t fit into boxes…”

Built from various pieces of his own musical identity, Mavis Guitar presents The Teardowns, what Travis Talbert is calling this particular Mavis Guitar Adjacent project, is an exercise in easy listening. And when I say, “easy listening,” I don’t mean in the “standing in an elevator, background music” kind of way. It’s music that is, quite simply, easy to listen to. Repeatedly.

The album itself features the juxtaposition of earnest and sincere lyricism that sometimes plays at odds with the more upbeat and noodly guitar rock, with vibrant percussion and keys rounding everything out.

For musicians, it’s been a struggle to survive, as venues have had to close - some permanently - and the touring industry has been brought to its knees. What’s a creator like Jess Lamb to do when the main source of sharing the music they make is taken away from them? Who do they lean on? Who do they turn to?

Right now, as it has been for most of the year, music continues to be a balm. Sonic comfort in an incredibly, increasingly uncomfortable world. One of the few bright spots if I’m being honest.

If nothing else, this quasi-isolation has led Travis Talbert down a path of rumination, a place where he’s sitting in the sublime and working through some shit. We should all be so lucky, to be honest.

Combining the on-paper-disparate elements of progressive hip-hop and psych-punk might not seem the most logical approach, but Huntorprey - with production by LA-by-way-of-Cincinnati’s own Ill Poetic - somehow make it work. It’s a brash, chaotic, emotional look into the very real, very present dangers of being a Black person in the United States.

It’s really impossible to know where the creative spark for any one thing might originate. For Travis Talbert, though, staying at home during this year’s pandemic, the time with his family has him finding new ways to tap into that creativity.

Let’s talk about what’s happened to live music, what’s happening now, and what needs to happen in the future, both in the short and long-term.

Local indie garage rockers Tooth Lures a Fang have collaborated on a brand new song with Sing Me a Story, a Nashville, TN based non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the "voices of children in need to the world - through music."

It’s a weird time to be a local band. Or any band. Or just a person, I guess. So, whatever better time to say hello to one of my new favorite local acts, Old Pictures / New Pictures, right?