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| Banditos by Nicole Mago |
Fine Fine Days & Fun All Night
By Matt Chrystal
Y’all better get ready because Banditos are releasing their sophomore album, Visionland, on Bloodshot Records today.
Banditos, a seven-piece band out of Nashville by way of Birmingham, boast three vocalists and a tight sound that has been emboldened by close friendships and battle-tested during years of relentless touring. The band's sound is often lumped into the category of "alt-country," but the new album proves that this gang is too big to be confined to any one classification.
Visionland comes out of the gate swinging with a blast of full-tilt-boogie in the form of the lead off track, "Fine Fine Day" and continues on to kick the listener's ass with shit-kicking rock n roll throughout the record. There are touches of soul, some blues, a little psychedelia, and -- oh yeah -- some pretty killer riffs sprinkled in for good measure.
I was able to catch up with singer/guitarist, Corey Parsons, via telephone while he was on break from recording background vocals for The Reputations' new record that is currently being produced by Big Star's Jody Stephens at Arden Studios in Memphis, TN.
We chat about the inspiration behind Visionland's title, the band's crazy tour schedule, the possibility of dabbling in "mom-rock," and about the best places and people to party with in a country that may be "fucking doomed."
CoolMattyC: The title of your new record, Visonland, is a reference to the failed amusement park of the same name in your home state of Alabama. Can you tell us some background on that and why you chose that title?
Corey Parsons: Visionland opened up near Birmingham around 1998 when I was about eleven years old. It was a really cool thing when you are eleven years old to have a huge theme park open up in your home town. Me and my friends would go out there a lot. The place was cool, but it was like a disaster from the beginning as the rides were always malfunctioning and there was always fights breaking out there and people were getting robbed. This part of town that we grew up in was pretty sketchy, and Visionland was a pretty sketchy place to hang out at. Our bass player (Danny Vines) worked at Visionland as a custodian when he was a teenager. He quit when they told him to clean human shit out of the photobooth.
So, yeah, it was a strange place and we named the album Visionland 'cause it just seemed to relate to everything that is going on these days.
CMC: The Banditos' sound has often been categorized as "alt-country," but Visionland comes out the gate with a blast of full-tilt-boogie on "Fine Fine Day" and continues rock hard throughout. This record also seems a quite a bit tighter than your self-titled debut. Did you set out with a specific vison for Visionland (lame pun intended), or did it all just pour out like that?
CP: I don't think we had a specific vision for the album. This album is definitely more cohesive than our last album. We just know our sound by now. We made the first album like three years ago, and it was recorded during two separate sessions. This time we spent two weeks in the middle of nowhere in the Hill Country of Texas and secluded ourselves from everything and submerged ourselves in the writing process for this album.
CMC: Speaking of the writing process, I am curious as to what the writing and recording process looks like for a six-piece (sometimes seven-piece) band that has three vocalists. Does one member write the bulk of the lyrics? And are parts assigned or does it come together organically in the studio?
CP: If I am singing the song, then I wrote the lyrics. If Steve (Pierce) is singing, then he wrote the lyrics; and if Mary (Beth Richardson) is singing the song, then she wrote the lyrics. There are some exceptions to that; but, for the most part, that's the way it is. And yeah it all does come together pretty organically with us. I'll write a song on the guitar then share it with the band and it usually winds up coming out as something completely different.
CMC: Legend has it that, after forming in 2010, all six members of the band moved in together in Alabama then all moved together to Nashville. Since then, you have racked up over 600 performances together in just the last three years. I am sure all of that factors into the tightness in the band's sound… but, seriously, that is a lot of time to spend together. Aren't you all sick of each other by now?
CP: We were definitely, definitely sick of each other while we were all living together. But now we have had a couple years living in our own spots, and it's made for a lot healthier relationships among us. We still hang out all the time. We are a bunch of weirdos who do not fit in with anybody else, so when we go out, we go out with each other.
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| Photo: Nicole Mago |
CMC: Speaking of extensive touring, just this week you are embarking on a massive tour that stretches out into October. The band has merely a couple days off during that entire stretch. Have you all gone crazy to embark on such an ambitious venture?
CP: No, we are used to it. It is actually crazy that we have been off the road for almost five months now. These five months off have been the longest break we have ever had since we started. We took this break because we were touring behind our first album for two years straight, but now we are all losing our shit a little bit and getting stir crazy.
I am not sure if it was anyone's idea to go on such an extensive tour. It is just the way it is. And the dates that are announced up to October are just the first piece of it. We will take about a week off after that and then head out to the West Coast. We will probably be on tour for the next couple of years.
CMC: The tour doesn't make its way to our area in Asbury Park, NJ until September 18th, so that allows for plenty of time for folks to soak up the new album in preparation for that show at the Wonder Bar…
CP: Hell yeah! We want to go back to that pinball museum (SilverBall) on the boardwalk! That place is awesome!
We played near there a ways back [at 10th Ave Burrito in Belmar, NJ], and it was a fun spot.
CMC: The first leg of the tour has you on the road with Lucero. Do you have a relationship with those guys? Is there an automatic kinship with them because you all have Southern roots?
CP: I'm not sure how this came together. I think they reached out to us actually and that is pretty awesome because when we were younger we would go see them all the time when they played around Birmingham. I love Lucero, and I am really excited about starting the tour with them. Their shows are always rowdy and our shows are always rowdy too, so this should just be like extra rowdy!
CMC: You mentioned listening to Lucero when you were younger. Who do you find yourself listening to these days?
CP: It's constantly changing as we all have pretty varied tastes in music. Lately, I have been listening to some pretty funky shit like Parliament Funkadelic. We were listening to a lot of Rod Stewart yesterday, like his 80s shit. That is just some smooth mom-rock.
That's our new thing. We are actually trying to appeal to all the moms out there and our next album will be super smooth mom-rock!
CMC: Nice! Music for mini-vans! A soundtrack for soccer-moms! [CoolDad Note: Minivans rule!]
CP: Hell yeah! You know what I am talking about!
CMC: To promote the new album, Banditos just released a trippy video for "Fine Fine Day" and a fun summer video for "Healing Slow" that features band rocking out in an empty pool. From watching these videos and from following along with the band's adventures on social media, it seems you all have a blast wherever you go. So with all that said, I was wondering what some of your favorite places to party are and who are some of your favorite people to party with?
CP: The Reputations! We are in the studio with them as we speak. They are from Austin, TX. They are family; so, anytime we are in Austin, we party hard with those guys and gals. We have homies in New Orleans, and we party hard there too. When we are back home in Alabama, we hang with Clear Plastic Masks, those dudes really know how to party. They are a great band. You should check them out. Their new album [Nazi Hologram] is great!
Matt Menold, the guitar player from Clear Plastic Masks has actually been playing keys with us for the last few months.
CMC: We talked about touring and partying around the country, so in closing, I was wondering if you'd be willing to share your thoughts on the current political climate in the US and what are your hopes for the future?
CP: Hmmm. I don't know. It differs every day. Right now, I am feeling kind of pessimistic about everything. I really do not want to go into too much detail but I think I can sum it up by giving my honest opinion that we are fucking doomed! But, hey, that could change tomorrow. Maybe I'll feel more optimistic tomorrow. Maybe I will see somebody do a good deed out in the street later today and it will change my whole perspective on things.
Visionland is out now on Bloodshot Records.
Banditos are currently on tour and will be playing the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ on September 18th and at the Mercury Lounge in NYC on October 3rd.
For more info and the rest of their tour dates go to www.banditosband.com.
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