Hi, everyone! Last week, I sat down for a chat with Spencer "Spenny" Morphy of the Edmonton-based psych rock group the Velveteins. After Morphy took a one-way trip to Australia in the early 2010s, he noticed the vibrant music scene the country/continent presented and took that knowledge back home to start his own group. Morphy, who performs vocals and plays guitar, met his songwriting partner Addison Hiller (drums) upon his return in 2014. The gang went for broke when writing their debut EP, A Hot Second with the Velveteins. The two scraped enough cash to travel to Nashville and secure a spot to record with former Cage the Elephant member Lincoln Parish. Since their first release back in 2015, the group has released a full length (Slow Wave in 2017) and a few singles along the way. I was really happy I could sit down with Spencer and learn more about his journey as a musician.
br: Which albums or artists inspired you to start a music career in the first place?
S.M.: I feel like when I was in my teens, I listened to a lot of 60s rock records. I thought that was cool, but once I graduated high school and could start going to bars to drink, I came to appreciate the local scene we had in my hometown of Edmonton. So many of the people in those bands were so devoted to their craft, even if they were doing it on the side.
br: I know you lived in a camper van out in Australia for a year or so, what prompted you to make that original decision to move there and come back to do music?
S.M.: Northern Canada’s winters are brutal. I wanted to go somewhere it was warm, so Australia was easily the best choice for that because of the climate they have during our winter season. I didn’t know what I was doing, I just bought a one way ticket there, bought a camper van and just figured s--t out as I went along. I lived in Melbourne for the majority of the time I was there, and the music scene when I was there was crazy. King Gizzard and Courtney Barnett were getting started at that time, and I also saw Pond play live in a few venues. Their live shows were spectacular, and I guess to expand on that influences question a bit more, I saw them and it made me want to consider having my own band. Going back to what I said about Edmonton’s local scene, I figured it was much easier to try and meet people through the scene their rather than live overseas full time.
br: How did you meet the other members of the band?
S.M.: I met Addison through the local scene, we just started hanging out and writing some songs. There’s so many venues here in Edmonton to the point where it encourages people to go out and meet so many different people.
br: What’s the significance behind the band’s name “The Velveteins”?
S.M.: I thought it was a cool name that could turn into a project with different members because I wasn’t on board with having a project under my name and have it only be me. It was a name that fit the music, I stuck with it and I haven’t really looked back at it.
br: I hear you guys are known for some awesome live shows, would you guys say that you prefer performing live rather than working in a studio?
S.M.: I think they’re both so different that I can’t compare them. Writing a song and playing live have two separate mindsets, and it’s important to keep them balanced because you should be able to work well in both atmospheres.
br: Can you describe the band’s process for making songs?
S.M.: It usually starts with me and Addison writing songs together. Once we feel like they could be going somewhere, we either try them out in our live sets or in rehearsals. We go from there and make sure it meets all the criteria we have for a song, to the point that it sounds good and then we can go to demo it. After demos, it’s ready to be recorded.
br: What’s more important to you- lyricism, or production value and instrumentation?
S.M.: That’s a good question. I tend to focus more on the instrumentation in songs, that’s just how my brain is wired. You need to have both aspects, though, it can’t just be one or the other. If one side isn’t working, you need to figure it out and find a way to have a good balance of both aspects.
br: What was it like getting to work with Lincoln Parish, formerly of Cage the Elephant on your record, A Second With The Velveteins?
S.M.: It was really amazing, he was just down to help us out. Addison and I flew to Nashville, and we were underage at that time staying in a janky-ass motel down the street from Lincoln’s house. We were there for about ten days and we’d roll over to his house every day and record our songs. It was a great experience overall. Although he’s no longer in the band, he was a super nice guy and helped us progress as musicians. Nashville seems super competitive though, there were a lot of different bands there looking to get a start and get ahead. It’s a lot different than some cities up in Canada. If you’re trying to get off your feet like we were, you gotta get your s--t together because there’s always so much going in these cities.
br: What songs are you most proud of in your discography?
S.M.: I really like the last two songs that we put out, “Love in a Modern Age” and “Last Night” because we just recorded them and they’re the most relevant.
br: Do you guys have anything else in the works right now?
S.M.: Yes, we have a full length in the works right now, but we can’t say much more about it at the moment.
br: What music goals do you have for the future?
S.M.: I really want to finish this new record, and I think touring across the states and in Europe would also be a lot of fun, too. We want to be able to meet a lot of new people and have our sound reach a new audience.
LIGHTNING ROUND:
Name one album you find as overrated and one you find as underrated?
Underrated- Any early record by the Kinks
Overrated- Pass
What artists are you listening to right now?
A lot Brian Eno's albums and Thom Yorke’s new project
What was the first album you ever bought?
Exile on Main Street by the Rolling Stones
Who was the first artist you saw live?
Green Day
If you could put together a band of any four musicians, living or dead, who would be in it?
Elton John (vocals), Dave Mustaine (guitars), Brian Eno (drums), and one of the guys from Steely Dan
I'd like to thank Spencer for giving me his time to interview, and I hope you guys go check out their music! They make some really awesome psych-rock bangers that sound a lot like Tame Impala's earlier stuff. In the meantime, thanks for supporting bazzreviews, and more awesome content is coming your way soon!
To hear more from the Velveteins, log on to https://thevelveteins.bandcamp.com/
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