Get To Know Your Neighbor: A Blog On Blog Interview Series #2 Lee Levin of Knox Road

Well, I’ve been doing this blogging thing for more than a year now, and the difference between online friends and IRL friends no longer exists. The number of amazing people I have met in the indie music world that I am lucky enough to now call friends is uncanny. I wanted to show my appreciation for all of the awesome blogger/music writer folks that have helped me realize it’s ok to obsess over music 24/7 and made me feel like I’m a part of something bigger.

So welcome to the second installment of my bi-monthly series on GITNB, that is my way of saying thanks to those folks mentioned above, and a chance to give back to the community that I love so much. This was also an opportunity for me to give you, the reader, some insight into the blogs that have influenced me. Consider it my own personal take on #FF (Follow Fridays). The series will consist of a five question interview with a different blogger/writer each time, along with a few word associations and of course, a list of what you should be listening to. Hopefully you’ll discover a new blog or artist you haven’t heard of yet. You might even learn something new.

For my second interview I picked someone that has become a dear friend very quickly, Lee Levin of Knox Road. I have been reading Knox Road for years, following them on various social outlets, but really had no idea who ran the blog. Fast forward to CMJ 2011 and as creepy as it may sound, a mutual check-in on Foursquare, along with Lee’s friendly and genuine “the more the merrier” tweet telling me to come say hi, has lead to where we are now. Lee introduced me to a whole other world of music loving folks, this time on the East Coast, that I can’t thank him enough for.

When you think about the music blogging landscape, Knox Road is that blog that’s on everyone’s blogroll, and there’s a reason for it. Knox Road has and will always care passionately about whatever artist they are writing about, and for me personally, this is why Knox Road will always be a favorite. If you ever have the opportunity to meet Lee or anyone who writes for him, jump at the opportunity. He is one of kindest, insightful and interesting people in the music blogging world. I consider myself lucky to know him. So to quote everyone’s favorite Beverly Hills hippie, Travis in the movie Clueless, “Thanks for taking a chance on an unknown kid.” Much luv.

Read what Knox Road says you should be listening to, along with the interview after the jump!

So what’s going on Lee?

LL: Heyyyyy Andriana. I think we should put the entire recording on your blog.

AA: Nooooooooo. Haha.

AA: As you know, this is new bi-weekly segment for me, and since I’m in New York right now, I wanted to get to do a face to face interview with one of the bloggers that has been so cool to me.

LL: Well I’m honored to be the second guest

1.The first thing I want to talk about is blogging, and what it means to be a blogger. It can be anything from Chris Cantalini of Gorilla vs Bear, and bloggers who run sites and make a living off them, to someone who just posts mp3s on occasion. So I wanted to find out from you, how you would describe music blogging.

LL: I don’t ever anticipate myself doing this for a living. I like writing about the music. I like when I hear an artist I’m able to show their sound to someone that might be interested in it. To write about it and have people hear what I’m hearing, it sort of puts me on a different level with the readership of my blog I guess you can say. I also feel like, and I’ve told people this before, when I started blogging everyone was asking me for mixes of my favorite artists, ‘Just send me your shit.’ I’m not sure if I can curse on this thing.

AA: If you’ve ever read my blog, it’s totally fucked. Curse away.

LL: Exactly. They just wanted a piece of me. Haha. Everyone was asking me for stuff, so I thought why not put it online somewhere, and I’m sure that’s how a lot of the blogs started. We all have our passions. So I started posting about bands I liked. I didn’t know anything about the news, or what the buzzworthy scene was about.

As the blog grew a little bit, I started having a different feel for music blogging. It got a lot harder to differentiate between the things that I used to enjoy and things I was enjoying because they were becoming popular in the blogging world, or because a certain genre got popular. But I think as I’ve grown in music blogging so to speak, I have been able to actually know the music that I really like. I’m able to talk about it in a way that I’m fully behind everything that I post. I mean we (Knox Road) used to post three to four times a day, and now it’s rarely once a day. I mean it’s 20 times a month, or whatever it is. Now I know, the columns we write about mean something to people, and when that’s happening, it makes music blogging worth it. Music happens on an emotional, visceral level, and if I can bring that to people and have them connect and feel the same way, then that’s how music speaks to me.

AA: Wow. That was a great answer. I was just hoping for a couple words…haha. Just kidding.

LL: It’s hard to put into words. It’s a very vague concept, ‘What is music blogging?’ And I think that it can be. I don’t think one type of music blogging is better than another type, well, some I do, but what I mean is, they all work, in terms of them being different styles, and I think there is a need for them and that’s why they’re all there. It’s also the best way to be closer to the bands. The bands are providing your content, so be nice to them, and help them out back, so it’s a win win situation. Why post an illegal track, if you can work with someone who’s actually trying to give you something that’s good and legal?

2. So what is Knox Road all about?

At this point it has evolved. I think all of the readers and I agree in terms of how we view the blog. We put on Knox Road what we want to put on Knox Road. It sounds dumb to say, “Oh we just post what we want,” but really at this point, we do. We’re not going to post something we don’t care about. So in order to make that happen, I’ve tried to find people to do things that I don’t think I’m the best person for the job. So I’m trying to find the experienced people, maybe they are great story tellers, or a great photographer, that can match music and photography with their words, I think that’s impressive. We have Bari, who does that for our site. Then we have Abby, who does this column Abby’s Road, and another contributor who is able to talk about albums in a contextual sense, where they came from in the past and where it is now. One of our writers Jesse, just started a record label, Walk In Records. So it adds a lot of dimensions to the blog that I can’t do in my current state. I might focus on artist profiles more, but I’m very invested in the feature columns, and make sure I give them more time to really write, and think about what they want to put on the site. I think it adds a lot of flavor. I guess Knox Road is more of a magazine in that sense, but since it’s a blog it’s way more personal. I think a lot of the writers at Knox Road encourage the personal stories to come out. We want to know why something resonates. Put that on the site, go ahead and do it, and editing is minimal. I’m not trying to change their perspective. So that’s Knox Road now.

We used to do 2-3 albums reviews almost every week, when we had more time in our lives, ya know at the end of school. We would just post up when hot mp3s were out, that were legal. I think we have expanded on the notion that we want to write about lots of other things, and put it in different areas of focus, instead of just posting lots of mp3s. So quality over quantity, and quanity if possible. Haha.

I know I have told you this before, but you’re like the Godfather of music blogging. You know everyone, and about everything happening in the music blogging scene.

LL: Well first of all, thank you, it’s humbling and flattering…I also don’t think it’s accurate. Haha. Really! Because when I started it, we were the newbies, I mean I looked at Chromewaves, Largehearted Boy, Rawkblog and I Guess I’m Floating. I looked at them like they have been around for a couple years. We started in 08’ and these guys started in like 05’, and Chromewaves I think was 03. Fluxblog was all the way around, along with some other blogs, and I looked to them as the Godfather blogs, and I still see them as that, so it’s weird for people to come to me and say, “Oh Knox Road, Godfather of blogging.”

AA: Well I think that there are people coming to you and staying that because they weren’t reading the blogs you mentioned and probably still aren’t reading them. There are waves of blogs.

LL: Totally. I completely agree. It does come and go in waves, and I think that the newer blogs are more focused on blogs that became really popular in a certain stage when they started reading. Like when Knox Road became popular in 2009 or whenever it was, maybe Rawkblog was just doing his normal thing, and there wasn’t something huge happening, so Knox Road was something new and exciting. Now it’s tailed off, like we expected it to, and now people look at the new ones like Listenbeforeyoubuy, and other blogs that are posting all the time and putting out great material as well. Then there’s the biggies like Consequence of Sound, which for me is really weird to see how much they have grown. I mean I remember going to their site and saying, “Oh cool, they talk about festivals and like concerts.”

AA: Me too, all I remember was their Festival Outlook page.

LL: Now all of a sudden, Alex just moved out to Chicago to do this full time, and live in the scene. It’s crazy to see some of these things evolve like that. I still look up to Dave at Rawkblog, and Frank at Chromewaves, as the people who really helped me become the music writer I am today, and who I was then too. I think too, because of the proliferation of music blogs there has been lack of quality in the writing. Maybe not a lack, but if you look at the entire scene of music blogs, there are plenty of blogs that just don’t have good writing, and there are some great ones, but they’re much harder to find. In the beginning it was only writers, now it’s all music fans. And I try not to say that as a jaded music blogger, I try to say that as it is what it is. I actually see some positive in that, if people can find good music in that, then great. It used to be more about a lot of writing, and now it’s not so much. Things change. It happens.

AA: So how do you feel about those blogs that don’t write anything at all, and just post mp3s? I’m not going to mention any blogs specifically, but there are a lot that do that, so I’m curious what you think.

LL: It depends, I try to be PC in these interviews, but after we’re done I’m going to tell you about everything I’m actually thinking. No I’m just kidding. Haha.

AA: I mean this is a topic that the music community has been talking about quite a bit recently, and we’ve seen it on Twitter with music blogs actually getting into arguments over it.

It varies. I think if you do it in a certain light that’s different, and I forget what blog it was, they would post an mp3, and an image to go with it. And it was awesome. There didn’t need to be words, because the words came through in the image. Dave at Stadiums and Shrines is pulling off something really similar. In mixing the aesthetic of his site with photographs and images, and a lot of other blogs are doing the same thing pairing images with a song, he happens to also write about it.

AA: Think or Smile does a great job of that too.

Exactly, they are also good friends. But when it comes to just posting an mp3, I just think, “Why?” If you really just want to post an mp3, then make a site like mp3.com where you can post whatever you find? To me that’s not really a music blog, to me that’s just a site that has mp3s. It’s different, what does a music blog mean? In technical terms, it’s a log of your action on the website, it’s not just a list of links and urls. When you think about it, in any other medium, if people put that on Twitter, they would think of it as spam. Twitter would block it in a second. So to see that going on in the blogging scene, it’s like, “is this real? Should I pay attention to this?”

AA: It’s like, if you don’t have time, don’t do it. Posting a link to an mp3 and saying, “from my inbox,” is like what the fuck? That’s awesome you get sent all this great music, but if you don’t have time to talk about it, in any capacity, just stop. It’s lame.

LL: It’s also a timing thing. I think if you only post one song a week, and you don’t post any words, I think it’s kind of cool. This is the kind of mood you’re in this week, or this is what you are feeling right now, that’s actually kinda cool. If you’re posting three mp3s a day with no words, I mean anyone can post the hot mp3 of the day, try to make it different, it’s your space to do it.

AA: And a lot of people are doing it better than you. Haha.

3. Let’s take a break from music talk for a second, let’s talk about free time. Name three free time activities.

1. TV. I know people say TV is so stupid, but I love it. I’m really digging on Downton Abbey, Parenthood, because it’s the same people that did Friday Night Lights, and I love them as writers, the acting is also great, Arrested Development, Modern Family, loved the OC back in the day.

AA: I loved the music in that show more than the show itself. It was great.

LL: Exactly, I think that show actually changed a lot of the indie cultural scene we are seeing right now.

AA: I think Gossip Girl did that as well.

LL: Right, it’s the same people. I’ve always had a deep passion for it, so I’m always looking at who the writers and producers are, because I’m wondering who tells the best stories, who makes it sound the best, because when I’m watching something I like, it’s usually the same people involved. Breaking Bad is my favorite show on TV right now.

2. Meeting new people. Meeting people like you, new bloggers, even outside the music scene I find something new and unique in each person, and that’s something I wouldn’t have explored before. I cherish those 20 minute talks I have with someone at a bar or party, and I may never see them again. I might end up thinking about that for a few hours, it’s kind of weird in a way but I am interested in what all of these people have to offer.

3. Sports. I love playing and watching sports. Does that make me less artsy? I love playing basketball, I like playing soccer, I don’t go to the gym because I don’t give a shit about weight lifting, but I enjoy being active, playing sports on the weekends.

AA: You sound very well rounded Lee.

4. Ok, so what artists should I be listening to right now?

LL: Well I need to give props to Snowmine since we are going to see them tonight. They appeal to a lot people and they’re not just a weirdo band that has their obscurities, and their also really nice guys.

AA: And they sound great.

LL: They are unbelievable, and I think I blogged about one those guys, in a different band before he was in Snowmine, and so it’s cool how that works out.

Another band I have championed for so long, I know that you know them from LA, Hands. Really awesome band out there. We have become friendly online, and just in general, when we hung out at CMJ, and it was awesome. I think they have big things in store, I don’t know when, but it’s happening. They have a really nice experimental pop sound, and I remember finding them on Myspace! It’s cool to see their growth now because I don’t know if anyone ever looks at Myspace anymore. It was actually through the band Pepper Rabbit on Myspace. So I reached out to Hands, and they said they had never been talked to by a blog, and now I see them on a lot of other sites, and it’s great.

Both of those bands were also on my Ex.fm CMJ playlist, so I want to talk about something a little bit different now. Look, everyone talks about this band, but I don’t think it can be ignored because I think it was just a totally different album than what a lot of people have seen, and it touched people on a different level than a lot of other music has recently, and that’s Youth Lagoon. Simply because, (and I know there are extremes and people might dislike it) but they are able to create such a fragile sound, that actually still works. It is wholly encompassing, and puts you into that world. When I first heard about this album, from other blogs saying I had to check it out, when I finally listened, I remember wondering, ‘what the hell took me so long to check it out?’ I think I put it on repeat at least ten times that first time I heard it. I must have listened to it every night for like two weeks.

Another band I love is Gem Club. I saw them at CMJ. The mix of strings and keys is my favorite in the world cuz I’m a sap. They had a breath taking first album.

AA: I loved their Tiny Desk Concert on NPR. It was amazing.

LL: I have to give props to Dave at Stadiums and Shrines for telling me about them. I probably should have listened when he first told me about them.

5. 2012 Predictions? It can be anything, from who you think will be a break out artist at SXSW, to who you think will produce an amazing 2012 record. For example, I think Alabama Shakes are going to be THE act to see at SXSW this year.

Interesting. Well I’d like to say my friend is going to blow up, I don’t know if it will be this SX, but Doe Paoro, I think she has this unique soulful sound that she has definitely made clear in her aesthetic, and she has one of the best voices I’ve heard. She’s going to SX, and I hope more people see her there.

When it comes to bigger artists, I would agree with you about Alabama Shakes, they haven’t played a lot of shows, everybody’s really excited about them. While we’re talking about it, I just want to say that Zach at We Listen For You, was on top of that from the very beginning. They are one of those bands that I respect and people are saying great things about them, so I fully expect them to kill it at SX. If Hands plays shows I think they will be great too.

I think people need to see more of Letting Up Despite Great Faults. I know you’re a fan, and I think they’re great too. I’ve never actually seen them live either. We talked to them a few years ago about getting them on a bill for SX, and unfortunately we didn’t go as Knox Road, and I can’t go again this year because of work. I think they’re such a beautiful band, and they match visuals really well in their videos, and if more people listened to them I think they would break out. That’s my band for people to go see. They are great people, they have been here for a while, I think the first time I heard them was on another blog 3hive, one of the “Godfather” blogs.

AA: Yeah I don’t even know who that is.

LL: Yeah this blog posted their demos in like 2005, and I thought they were great, and stayed a fan and watched them get bigger and bigger. I hope they blow up.

AA: I do too. I love those guys.

Word Associations:

Buzz Bands
The idea of buzz bands is stupid (not the actual bands)

Odd Future
Interesting

Indie Music
Something that’s become really difficult to define

Facebook
It is what it is

Cassette Tapes
The aesthetic of cassette tapes is cool, I’m not sure how cool it actually is

CMJ
One of my favorite times of the year

Azelia Banks
What?

The last show I went to was…High Highs at Pianos with Eureka Birds, and Nightshining.

Closing Thoughts?

I don’t think I’ve met a single music blogger that is not a nice person. There are some certain quirks that I don’t necessarily enjoy, but I’ve come into this scene from Twitter and social media, and everyone I have met has been so friendly and outgoing. I think if you put yourself out there and meet the people behind the blogs that you’re reading, you’ll realize most of us aren’t that nerdy. What I mean is, we have things to talk about. We’re not just people behind a screen, (I guess that makes us nerdy), but we’re real people, and the bands you listen to are real people, and it’s great to hear from them. The more people that hang out and like the same stuff, the better.

You just summed up exactly why you are the man Lee. Thank you!