Crocodile

The Daily: How would you describe your sound?

Derek Brown of Crocodile: Imagine if the crew of NASA took a DeLorean time machine back to 1985 to help Robert Smith record The Cure’s “The Head On The Door” and they came stocked with plenty of Cold Stone Creamery ice cream and Sparks energy drinks.

Why should we go see you at Norman Music Festival?

If it’s raining, you should come see us because we’ll be indoors. If it’s not raining, you should if the above description got you at all excited.

What makes your live show special?

The same things that make kittens and babies special.

How did you settle on the band name?

Testosterone is key in most decision making.

What plans do you have for the future?

We are finishing up a three-song single called “Head Over Heels.” After that’s finished, we’ll keep working on our first LP.

Who else will you personally be seeing at Norman Music Festival?

It will be great to finally see Early Beat. The puppet show over at the Kids Stage looks cool. We will pay respects to the Jagermeister stage since my marriage was founded partly on Jagermeister.

Are there any memorable concert or tour stories you want to tell us?

Being on the road is like going on vacation except you have to carry heavy stuff everywhere.

What is your favorite Norman restaurant?

We don’t get to eat in Norman much lately, so I’m going to go with a flashback food: the vegetarian tempura sandwiches the Opolis used to serve for lunch (prepared by Suzy of Forward Foods).

What was your favorite band as a kid?

As a pre-teen it was Def Leppard. As a teen, it was The Cure.

The Separation

The Daily: How would you describe your sound?

David Hoffner of The Separation: A Picnic For Your Ears.

Why should we go see you at Norman Music Festival?

It’s free! It’s outside during a very brief time of Oklahoma weather where it’s enjoyable to spend a day outdoors with your friends joyously drinking beer on Main Street.

On top of that there’s all types of music all around you. It’s a great opportunity to be exposed to new music and for all the underage kids around to check out the bands that they usually would have to stand outside a bar to listen to.

I also heard a rumor that David Boren was going bust out some percussion solos with Man Man.

What makes your live show special?

We all play atop magical unicorns.

How’d you settle on the band name?

Many centuries ago there was a band of five roaming minstrels that spread their joyous music to the masses.

They had been tragically separated while traveling through the ancient forest of Dosho and killed one by one by an evil wizard who was jealous of their soothing sounds, damning their souls to the lower heavens and were forced to ride on the edges of rainbows for many, many years.

This was their fate until the day that five magical unicorns saved the wandering souls and gloriously united them with our earthly bodies, proclaiming we should be called “The Separation” and to begin to spread joyous music to the masses once again.

What plans do you have for the future?

We will travel and play our music whenever and where ever our unicorns take us.

What other bands influence you the most?

Bauhaus and ELO or maybe Bill Joel and Quasi, depends on what mixture of drugs we’re on.

The Non

The Daily: What makes your live show special?

Wil Norton of the Non: We have a lot of energy, and we are pretty all over the stage considering we’re an “ambient” rock band. We are probably fun to watch if you enjoy studying music and structures as well.

What plans do you have for the future?

We’re moving into a house this summer in Norman and are going to finish writing and recording our next album. After that, we’re going to tour in August.

What other bands influence you the most?

We tend to be inspired by innovative music in general. Stuff that makes you think “how did anyone possibly come up with that?” is usually the kind of music that gets us really excited.

Who else will you personally be seeing at Norman Music Festival?

Man Man, because they terrify me and I think their music is nearly unbearable to listen to. That said, I think they will be great live for the same reasons.

Any memorable concert/tour stories/moments?

We had a tour with Ali Harter two summers ago that was fairly epic... as far as best memories, hmm. Probably staying with State Bird in Ohio.

This band let us stay in their house at a trailer park dealership and we rode on our bellies on longboards. Tom hit a spike in the road and flew off and scraped up his chin really bad. He had to sleep vertically all night for some reason.

What was the best moment in your band’s history?

Getting to play shows like DFest and playing in cities like Austin, Lawrence, and Chicago.

Favorite Norman restaurant?

I’m pretty partial to the Library. They have excellent pizza and the atmosphere is intellectual yet fun-loving and a little irreverent. Perfect for me.

The Uglysuit

The Daily: How would you describe your sound?

Colin Bray of The Uglysuit: Cerebral opti-rock seems fitting, or so we’ve heard.

Why should we go see you at Norman Music Festival?

Depending on who else is playing, I might not say you should. Otherwise, if you like “happy feel good” music, come. Be prepared to be compelled to shake what your momma gave you!

What makes your live show special?

Feeling. Energy. Emotion. Joy. First and foremost though, letting go, giving yourself to your eardrums, and the sounds surpassing them.

How’d you settle on the band name?

It’s a story still being lived out.

What plans do you have for the future?

To try and do whatever we can to keep playing music, we’re writing for a new album now. It’s exciting to be back in the process, which really the process is something that never ends. Also, we’re hoping for shows and tours to keep happening regularly. We’ll be working hard for that.

Any memorable concert/tour stories/moments?

There are so many. Probably either pulling into New York for the first time. I’m driving (our full size conversion van and trailer) mind you.

We pull into the Lincoln tunnel at like 4:58 p.m., on a weekday afternoon! The traffic was so bad.

Lanes went down from 7 to 2. We had to skip across 4 to make it. The dudes were all freaking out, we ended up making it, just a nice stressful happening in NYC. Quite funny, told them I had it.

Or our first show in Europe, Milan Italy to be exact. The people all totally shut up when as soon as we took the stage; we’re used to places here, not that its a bad thing, but people party, loudly.

Everyone there was focused on what was happening. We loved that very much.

The Pretty Black Chains

How would you describe your sound?

Kellen McCugan of Pretty Black Chains: Everything that rock n’ roll in Oklahoma is lacking: A drunken swagger, instantly catchy and infinitely clever hooks, loads of sweat and a live show that demands your attention! Quite simply put, the attitude with music to back it up!

Why should we go see you at Norman Music Festival?

We feel confident that once you see us play live, you will tell your friends how much fun you had seeing The Pretty Black Chains stick a fork in the socket of the Oklahoma music scene!

What makes your live show special?

One word: Energy. We’ve all been to far too many shows where artists get up on stage and try to be artists. That’s boring! We play rock n’ roll for people who like to have a great time. When we’re on stage it’s the most fun we all have collectively, and we like to give that back to our crowd. Every other excellent act in Oklahoma have been loading the gun and we really want to be the ones who pull the trigger.

How’d you settle on the band name?

Yikes. We thought about it for about two months, then just picked three words we all liked and smooshed them together, throwing a “The” on the front for good measure!

What plans do you have for the future?

Work, work, work! We’re booking our entire summer full of shows in Oklahoma as well as the surrounding Midwest. A day without doing business in our band is a day wasted!

What other bands influence you the most?

Where to start? The Libertines, The Raveonettes, Arctic Monkeys, Mando Diao, The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, King Khan and The Shrines, The Cribs, The Horrors, T-REX, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Blitz and generally anything nasty.

Who else will you personally be seeing at Norman Music Festival?

Of Montreal of course. Man Man is supposed to be sick. Basically, any and every Stillwater band possible. That town just has this knack to produce really creative and fun bands!

Any memorable concert/tour stories/moments?

We’ve only been together for four months, but we recently played a house party where we were asked to play a little quieter than normal. We agreed, and then turned up right before we started and went crazy, successfully shutting the party down in four songs. Zing!

Best moment in band history?

Writing eleven songs in two months and continuing to constantly write.

Favorite Norman restaurant?

Pepe’s, Blue and The Hideaway!

Mayola

Why should we go see you at Norman Music Festival?

Bryan from Mayola: I feel like Mayola operates best to loud, possibly drunk and obnoxious crowds. So hopefully by three in the afternoon everyone will be in the mood to go a little crazy and I don’t think there’s a better show going on at that time.

What makes your live show special?

I guess we just like to have a good time when we’re on stage and sometimes we really get into it and when we’re into it the crowd feels that and wants to have fun with us too. Its kind of a communal experience. I say its therapeutic to just scream at the top of your lungs and flail around.

How’d you settle on the band name?

Mayola is the singer Riley Jantzen’s grandmother’s name.

What plans do you have for the future?

Well, barring any illness or sudden life-altering complications, our main goal for the future is just to keep doing this for as long as we can.

What other bands influence you the most?

Each member of the band has their own influences but I guess all of our influences show up in really subtle ways. Riley is a fan of folk and Americana music and that is essentially where the structure and style of the songwriting comes from but the music itself gets a little crazy and we add elements of anything from punk rock to salsa music. I personally really dig Tom Waits.

Who else will you personally be seeing at Norman Music Festival?

I think I’m going start the day off with Here is There. Definitely going try to see Ali Harter, The Non, Jabee, Other Lives, The Uglysuit, all our friends really. Gentle Ghost is playing right before us and they’re fantastic.

I personally can’t wait to see Man Man. They’ve played in Norman so many times in the past few years and I’ve missed them each time so this should be fun.

Hush Hush, Commotion

Why should we go see you at Norman Music Festival?

Chris Lusk of Hush Hush, Commotion: Well, there are a lot of other great performances happening around the same time we’re playing — Stardeath, The Non, local comedian Cameron Buchholtz — but we feel like we put on a really entertaining live show and we have a lot to offer to festival goers. We are an upbeat and energetic band and we like to have fun with our audiences. Another reason to catch our set, we will be playing a bunch of unreleased songs that will be on our upcoming album!

What makes your live show special?

Playing shows is always so enjoyable for us, and I feel like that is noticeable in our stage presence. We’re always bouncing around like fools on stage and running into each other, but I think it makes the experience better for everyone. The more fun we have, the more fun everyone has.

How’d you settle on the band name?

There’s no crazy story behind this one. We just compiled a list of words and phrases and chose from that. We really liked the word “hush-hush” (which is actually in the dictionary), so we took that and found its pair in “commotion.”

What plans do you have for the future?

Right now, we’re working with recording master and our friend Trent Bell at Bell Labs on our sophomore album. It’s been a work in progress and it’s taken some time, but I don’t think we’ve ever been happier about the direction of our band before. Look for the to come out this year, followed by extensive touring.

What other bands influence you the most?

As far as the band as a collective unit: Kings of Leon, Limbeck, The Format, Everybody Else, Wilco, Cold War Kids. Those are some of the bands we’re all five pretty high on right now.

Who else will you personally be seeing at Norman Music Festival?

Well, there’s not enough time in the day to see everyone I want to catch! I’d say Man Man is peaking my interest the most right now. I’ve heard crazy things about their live show. Of course, I’m excited to see Of Montreal and Starlight Mints as well. And I want to try to catch some of my favorite local flavors: The Uglysuit, Mayola, El Paso Hot Button, The Separation, Gentle Ghost, Pretty Black Chains. I could go on and on.

Any memorable concert/tour stories/moments?

Oh man. I’m sure we have plenty of awesome tour stories, none of which can be printed. Some of our most found memories have been playing at another Oklahoma festival — DFEST. We love the concept of a music festival happening and organized right here in our home state. We can’t wait to add NMF to our list of memories.

Best moment in band history?

This sounds cheesy as hell, but my favorite moments are driving around the country with my best friends and getting into all sorts of trouble.

Favorite Norman restaurant?

Sweet Basil on Main Street. It’s the best Thai food I’ve had around here. It’s a little pricey, but I think it’s so worth it.

Favorite band as a kid?

Queen. And still is today, no questions asked. Those guys knew what they were doing. Freddie Mercury was a genius with an amazing voice, and he mastered nearly every style and genre. Classic stadium rock anthems, jazz, ballads, pop, rock & roll, blues, opera... the guy could do it all. And not to mention his stage presence. Mercury is one of the greatest front men of all time.

We’re really grateful to the Norman Music Festival committee for selecting us. It’s a great opportunity and we couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this.