Mysto & Pizzi Interview!!!

Alright, so before I put it up here, I have to let everyone know, this is not the entire interview. If you would like the entire interview, then please sign up for our magazine at www.audioscopemag.com. I have to admit, it was a really fun interview to be a part of and it was awesome going to Queens to meet the guys. It was a really entertaining and informative interview, it’s totally worth signing up, especially since the magazine is free! Really, what do you have to lose?!!?

Without further ado…

Have you ever heard a song that after it was completed, you HAD to hear it again? A song where you only got to hear a snippet of it and were on a mission to figure out what it was to hear it again? A song you know is going to be a hit, but you are too impatient to wait for it to get major radio play or be released as a single? All too often, I wind up finding myself in this position, looking for a way to satisfy my obsession and compulsion for new, unheralded music. Most of the time, I’ll end up over playing the songs and get sick of them, never to find them again on my iPod. In the rare instance, you find one that becomes a classic, one that changes your appreciation of music, one that flips what you thought you liked and knew about music for a complete loop.
This happened to me the first time I heard the song “Who’s Watching Me” from the new Geico ad campaign. It stopped me dead in my tracks. I literally had to use DVR to rewind the commercial to hear the song again. I was hooked on the song, everything about it. I had to get it. I went through various methods of trying to find the song, like song ID on my cell phone and searching through every remix of the original version on iTunes, but to no avail. I thought I was at the end of the line. Finally it dawned on me, why not search google it? It’s always worked for me in the past. That led me directly to the Geico website, where I was able to download a copy of the song. Awesome, mission accomplished.
Now that could be the end of the story right there, but it’s not. It turned out to be just the beginning. On the Geico site, there was a biography of the producers of the song. A brief one, but a biography none the less, just enough to get the name of the creative minds behind this song that had hijacked about 30 minutes of my day to hunt down (an eternity in today’s instant-internet-gratification based world).
The name of the group? Mysto & Pizzi, ages 21 and 22 respectively.
It’s difficult to use musical references to make my point here, so I’m going to cross over in sports to make it. Have you ever seen an athlete in high school so thoroughly dominate that you instantly know they will be able to continue their success on the next level and beyond? That’s the feeling I experienced when listening to these guys.
Continuing with the story, I found myself going through their website (http://www.mystoandpizzi.com) and finding downloads of other songs they had created, each one becoming more and more impressive in my mind. Along with their downloads, the site also featured a ton of YouTube videos that gave an in depth look into their lives as well as how they go about making beats and the like. It was at that point I knew we needed to get an interview with them, as these are clearly two producers poised and ready to take over the game.
I got in touch with their manager and it was settled, we would be heading to Queens, New York to score an exclusive interview with Mysto and Pizzi. Here is what transpired.

Audioscope Magazine: So how did you guys meet?
Mysto & Pizzi: We met in 2003, in High School, we both liked music and it was just a hobby, Things started to get pretty serious in 2006 so we decided to take it to the next level. We literally sat there and made hundreds of beats to show our skill set to people.
AS: How did you go about doing that?
M&P: Well, we met with Ryan Leslie, of NextSelection, and he really liked our stuff. He taught us about the difference between making beats and making songs. That would help us out in terms of landing placements with artists and whatnot. He wanted to sign us, but in the end it just didn’t work out…

AS: You guys started a YouTube channel (which just got its 11 millionth viewer), how did that help with you guys starting off your career?
M&P: Well at first we would put up beats, and the videos were doing really well. We got a ton of fans through it, but it didn’t necessarily lead to any placements on songs. Finally we got a meeting with Wayne, an A&R for R. Kelly. He wanted us to remix a song for a group called Deep Side on a track called “Let’s Make Love.” The song literally blew up on YouTube and people started calling the label asking how they could get their hands on it. Unfortunately it got leaked and didn’t make the album, but it landed us a couple more meetings with Wayne, and it eventually led to our placement with R. Kelly.

Interview by Dylan Walter email Dylan at Dylanw@audioscopemag.com

The Fleecing of American Parents…

So Britney Spears is performing in my area this weekend, which means naturally all the newspapers are going to fill their weekend sections with articles about that. Now clearly, Britney is a huge draw where ever she goes mostly because teenage girls love her music, but also because people want to see what I call, the “Train Wreck Factor.” Anyway, all of that aside, I saw the prices that tickets were going for. The cheapest tickets into the arena were $89 bucks a pop… ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! I know it has nothing to do with the arena, but it has everything to do with the promotion companies trying to swindle every last dollar out of parents pockets to appease their daughters… Did I mention that the next level tickets were $149 and the highest were $189??? Are you kidding me? To go to a concert, where, already Britney has mentioned that her “P***y is hanging out” and she was caught on film with a tampon string hanging out??? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a 25 year old guy who loves music. But seriously, if you’re a parent, how do you even consider taking your daughter to this? I’m not going to even mention about it from the economic standpoint, because I don’t have enough knowledge on the subject to make a legitimate argument about people wasting money on something like this. Britney Spears has pretty much priced herself into the arena of such infamous acts as The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and a handful of other acts who have been performing for longer than Britney has been alive. I understand the concept of trying to make a quick buck while you still have the ability to, but honestly, those ticket prices are pretty outrageous. Would you honestly pay close to $200 to see Britney Spears perform? Seriously, you could go to bar and get the same feel as her singing for a lot less than that, since it’s pretty much lip synched. So really you’re just paying to see her change her outfits and dance… great decision… Anyway, would you spend that kind of money to see Britney Freakin Spears? Let us know in the comments below, be sure to sign up to get the new issue coming out tomorrow!!! HERE!!!

Saturday Astrology Talks To Audioscope!

This interview is with a band, that at the time of publication, was fighting to win one of the biggest battle of the bands series in New York City, M.E.A.N.Y. Fest. Ryan O’Donnell of Saturday Astrology, took some time out of his hectic practice schedule to talk to Audioscope about what it takes to make it in NYC and win this contest. By Dylan Walter…

“Before I get started on the interview, I have to make a confession. I’ve actually known Ryan O’Donnell for years, as we went to high school together. We’ve both had been involved in music in our town for a while and I was pretty familiar with a lot of his early work. So when he IM’ed me one day and said he was starting a new band in New York City, I figured it was a no-brainer to get an interview with these guys before they take off and start “big-timing” certain online publications like Audioscope. As you’ll see later on in the article, Saturday Astrology is well on their way to flying amongst the stars.

AS: “So you guys are playing in the finals of the M.E.A.N.Y. fest, what exactly is it and what does it mean to your band?”
R.O.: “First off, M.E.A.N.Y. fest is an annual competition in NYC that showcases area rock bands. It’s a couple of months long competition where you take place in a series of battle of the bands type concerts. The audience decides the winner by voting at the end of the show. There is no online voting or anything like that, you have to be at the show to vote. It’s cool that way, because it shows the event organizers what kind of impression you have on the crowd and what they thought of you, and it’s very difficult to rig the voting, ha-ha.”

AS: “You guys are in the finals, coming up on December 30th. How are you guys feeling, what emotions are going through you guys as the concert arrives?”
R.O.: “Well when we set out to enter the competition, our main goal was just to make it to the finals. We knew we could gain a lot of exposure from making it that far. We’ve had an awesome experience so far with our previous three shows. As you keep performing and building up a rapport with people, more and more opportunities become gradually available, but you have to take it step by step and just keep moving up that ladder. As far as our emotions, we’re really excited slash anxious for the show. We think we have a really good shot at winning the whole thing, and that’s what we’re really focusing on right now.”

AS: “Let’s switch gears a little bit here. How did the band start?”
R.O.: “It’s funny really. Alec (Lead Guitarist) and I met through our girlfriends, who were roommates two years ago. We started hanging out and jamming a little bit, and really thought we were on to something. Alec was already in a band, called The Cliffs. We played a couple of shows, and we decided to branch out on our own, just making music. We actually found our bassist through of all place, my mom. A woman she knows had a son who plays bass, and my mom kept giving this woman my number to have her son call me. So weeks went by, and finally I got a call from Pete, and as they say, the rest is history, he became our bass player, and he’s been an awesome addition to the band. We had added a buddy of mine, RJ, from Penn State to be our rhythm guitar player, and Jim as our do it all guy, He can play anything, keyboards, trombone, flute, and guitar as well. Whatever we need, he can play it. But before we knew it, we were a five-piece band with no singer, so we turned our search to the internet slash Craigslist. We went through an audition process, saw some crazies, saw some normal guys. Finally we found Daryl and he has just been an awesome addition to our band and our sound.”

AS: “So how did you guys come up with the name Saturday Astrology?”
R.O.: “Well, to be honest, we used a random word generator from the internet. You can input all these variables you want, like a adverb followed by a noun. The thing spit out about three pages worth of names, including some of the craziest things ever, some not really suitable to mention. Finally, we settled on Saturday Astrology because it was the first one we all didn’t object too. It also works in musical terms because it’s part of the title of a Talking Heads song.”

AS: “ Getting to your music, you said you and Alec started out as two guys just jamming. Has any of that turned into songs that you still play?”
R.O.: ‘Actually yeah, some of the scratch tracks that Alec and I put down originally, we have turned into some songs, like “R.A.S. Syndrome,” “Colored Me In,” and “So Selfish.” Pretty much when we get to practicing or making a new song, someone will put down a line and we all just feed off of each other. It’s kind of weird, everything just kind of falls into place, it never really happens like that, especially in every other band I’ve been in.”

AS: “Any crazy things happen since you guys have been performing?”
R.O.: “Yeah, actually we had our first roadie at one of our previous shows! It was pretty funny, because this guy totally fit the bill of being a roadie, cut off sleeves, really long hair… just crazy. We couldn’t have done it without him. If you Google image searched for a roadie, you would find this guy’s picture.”

AS: “That’s pretty cool! It sounds like you guys are on a journey kind of like in the video game Rock Band, where you unlock things and play bigger venues as you go on.”
R.O.: “It’s funny you say that, I’ve actually never played the game, I’m going to this weekend. Yeah, it is pretty incredible how fast these things have happened to us, especially after playing only three concerts.”

AS: “So what’s it like playing in a band in NYC? I always imagined it being kind of difficult, having to move stuff around and whatnot.”
R.O.: “Well, it’s really not too difficult. We have a friend who is able to hook us up with some practice space on the 10th floor of a building in midtown. We go up there and the stuff on the wall looks like you dropped 10 tabs of acid before you got in the elevator. But they have a drum set there; they have amps and a mixing board. It’s actually pretty easy. Our guitarists just bring their guitars and pedals, I just bring a snare drum and what cymbals I want to use, it’s really not that difficult at all. And when we gigs, it’s pretty much set up the same way, all the venues have their own equipment, so we are able to travel lightly.”

AS: “Okay, last question, tell me about the judging for the finals of the M.E.A.N.Y. fest.”
R.O.: “For the finals, it’s going to be a panel of judges. No more crowd votes, this one comes down to professionals. There are a couple of execs from major record labels, a bunch of New York radio station personalities, and a writer from The Village Voice, one of the biggest independent magazine/newspaper in the city. It’s a really good opportunity for us to gain A LOT of exposure right here in the city.”

AS; “Sounds pretty good, Ry, thanks a lot and good luck!”
R.O.: “No problem man, thanks.”

You can find more information about Saturday Astrology on their myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/saturdayastrology

To learn more about the M.E.A.N.Y. Fest, go to http://www.meanyfest.com”

Want to learn more about Saturday Astrology? Meany Fest? Then sign up for Audioscope Magazine at www.audioscopemag.com