Photo Credit: Drew Reynolds
Last week, I posted part one of my extensive interview with Chicago art-rock duo My Gold Mask in which we focus on their latest EP, A Thousand Voices.

In part two, guitarist Jack Armondo, vocalist and percussionist Gretta Rochelle and I talk a variety of topics including the fact their songs have been remixed by both The Hood Internet and T-Minus 321, what I found to be a slight 1980’s stylistic inclination in their music, their amazing “Violet Eyes” music video, non-musical personal heroes and the future of the band.

So, once again, grab some popcorn, sit back, relax and enjoy the conclusion of my conversation with My Gold Mask.

LLP: You’ve been remixed twice by two different artists. How does it feel to be remixed?

Jack: It’s fun.

Gretta: It is fun because you get to hear that person’s take on the song, and what they can do with it. It’s just interesting to hear the melody put to a different beat.

Jack: It’s fun because it’s obviously not what we would have done with the song. That’s what’s fun about a remix. I think it’s cool to hear another perspective on it, and that’s really what it is. It’s kind of just fun. I can see us doing it more.

LLP: Did they just take your song and you found out about it? Or did they ask you?

Jack: Oh no. They asked. In both cases, we’ve talked about it before hand. They have to get the files from us and all that stuff. I think you can do it to where you have the files floating around. Some people do that, but we don’t really have our files just floating around out there where anyone can use them. Although, we might not be against that. At some point that might be a fun thing to do. I mean I like the idea that you have your version of a song, and I like the idea of other people taking that and going somewhere else with it. Like “Violet Eyes,” for example. We gave it away as a free download, a free MP3. It’s kind of fun for people to be able to take the song and make it their own too. It makes it less like it’s only yours, and I think that’s more inclusive for people listening to your music. Some people might not like the remix. Some people might like the remix better, and that’s okay. Because we have our version, which is our art – this is what we did. But to have someone else contribute to that or put a different spin on it, I think that’s cool.

LLP: I noticed your first album was released on cassette tape. Then on A Thousand Voices track “All Up In the Air” Gretta does an – and I don’t know if it’s deliberate -- ‘80s pop vocal delivery in terms of the style, and you covered Betty Davis eyes. Do you like the ‘80s? Did that era inspire you specifically?

Gretta: I wouldn’t say that the ‘80s inspired me. What part are you talking about on “All Up In the Air”? Is it that (sings “Na na na na na”) part?

LLP: Yeah, that part exactly.

Jack: Our engineer thought it sounded like C+C music factory. (laughs)

LLP: Early ‘90s, I guess. I was close.

Jack: As far as a specific era, there’s not. I mean there’s good music from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s. Our method is to soak these styles in and forget about them. So, sometimes these things will subconsciously pop out, and maybe it reminds people of the ‘80s. But you know, someone else could listen and say this songs reminds me of the ‘70s or ‘90s or of the ‘60s. Obviously “Betty Davis Eyes” is an ‘80s song, so of course that’s going to have a very heavy ‘80s connotation. Then we went a little further in Betty Davis eyes and put the claps in there, which we were on the fence about, but we did it. But in any case, people tend to pull out what they hear as what they like, which is cool. It’s all in there. Obviously, we listen to music. Anyone that hears our music knows we listen to music. But it’s not a conscious thing. Sure, we like the ‘80s, but we also like the ‘90s, ‘70s, ’60 and even the ‘30s and ‘40s. We listen to music from every era and even music before they had real phonographs.

LLP: How did you think about doing a video for “Violet Eyes,” and where did the concept for the video come from?

Gretta: We actually went in to do photos with Jim Newberry for the Chicago Reader. When we were there, he asked us if we were interested in doing a video.

Jack: We said absolutely because he’s an amazing photographer.

Gretta: So, he showed us some cameras he had. One in particular we fell in love with was that pixelvision 2000 – that Fisher Price camera from the ‘80s. (Laughs)

Jack: Is that one from the ‘80s?

Gretta: Yeah, it’s from the ‘80s. So, he had showed us some stuff that he had done of himself, and we were like that’s it. That feels like the song already.

Jack: He wanted to do some HD stuff too, so we mixed it together.

Gretta: The video developed organically as well – kind of like how the song did. We just started shooting some stuff…

Jack: Then we just sort of went with it. Almost improvisationally coming up with ideas on the spot. We all kind of did that together with him too. Then he did some shots on his own as well and would incorporate them in. So, it happened totally organically because once again, we didn’t have a story board. We had an idea, but it was more like what we wanted it to feel like.

Gretta: It needed a mood more than anything. And the camera, I think, really helped with that.

Jack: We had this blindfold laying around. So [Gretta] put on the blindfold, and it just seemed to match the tone and the lyrics in a great way. That was the most important thing because so many people like “Violet Eyes”, and because “Violet Eyes” became our baby – all of your songs become your babies -- but this song was special to us for a lot of reasons. We wanted to make sure the video matched the song in a tonal way, so that at the end when we watch it, it didn’t ruin our internal imagery of the song. When you do a video, you get an internal image. A video can be a cool thing that adds to your enjoyment of a song or it can detract away from it. Some people might like the images in their head are better than the video, and that’s okay too. We didn’t want to offend ourselves with it, and we’re really happy with it. Jim [Newberry] is brilliant. He’s really got a great eye, and he just did such a great job.

Gretta: He’s also very comfortable to work with, and I think that’s important. You work so closely with one another for a compact amount of time.

Jack: Yeah, and someones got a camera on you. You have to trust them. It’s your art. You can’t just entrust your art to anyone. It has to be someone that you feel a connection with. They have to understand what you’re doing, and you have to be able to can get along with them. Like I said, Jim is great, and we’re happy with how it came out.

LLP: Now, I know Gretta’s favorite band is the Cure.

Gretta: (laughs) One of them, yeah. I’m a pretty big Cure fan.

LLP: I also know [Jack] doesn’t like to talk about his musical influences.

Jack: (laughs) Where did you get all this information?

LLP: From the Chicagoist interview. So anyway, for both of you -- who are your non-musical personal heroes and why?

Jack: My mom. Because she’s the kind of person that has been through a lot of stuff in her life, and the kind of person that no matter what happens she adapts. She is able to grow from the experience, get stronger from it, move on, pick herself up and keep going. I just have a respect for that. That quality is something that I think is important to have, and not everyone has that.

Gretta: I’m going to have to stick with family too. I don’t think I can choose just one. My family has been so supportive when it comes to any choice I’ve ever made whether it was frivolous or not. They’re just behind me 200% all the time. In this business, everyone I’ve ever come in contact with, you get this “When I was a kid, my family blah blah blah” and wouldn’t be supportive of music. That hasn’t been the case with me. My Dad is just like so proud of everything I’ve ever done.

Jack: Not every family is like that.

Gretta: Yeah, he’s a cool guy.

LLP: What’s the future for My Gold Mask? What are your goals?

Gretta: Future for the band? Keep writing songs.

Jack: Right. The first and foremost is to keep writing music.

Gretta: We have another little batch of song we’re brewing right now that we’re pretty excited about.

Jack: Yeah, we’re working on some songs right now

LLP: Did you guys want to release something shorter in this new release because the last one was a full length? I’m curious because the delivery method for music has changed so much these days.

Jack: It’s like if we get songs, and they’re done and ready to go, then it’s like lets just put them out instead of just waiting until we have 10 of them or whatever.

Gretta: When you release them like that too, you’re still very excited about the song. There hasn’t been this long lag of time. It can get to the point where you write a song, but you aren’t releasing it until a year later.

Jack: The first album was nine songs, and this one was five – well four and a half because the last one was an outro. So, the next one might only be two songs. It might be a single and a B-side, or it could be 10 songs. It’s really how many songs we feel like are ready at that time, and we release them when they’re ready. We’d like to do a vinyl, so that would be fun to do next. As far as plans, we do want to travel. We want to get out on the road, and we want to travel.

LLP: You’re playing SXSW right?

Jack: We are. We’re going to play a couple of showcases that we can’t even say what they are yet because they haven’t announced them*. I can tell you that they’ll be parties that some supportive blogs are throwing and some great bands will be playing. So, we’re excited to be playing with awesome bands and to just be down there with all that energy and surrounded by so many cool musicians.

Gretta: We’re really eager to get on the road for a little bit longer period of time than what we’ve done so far.

Jack: All of the internet stuff has been great, and we appreciate it. But at the same time, there is nothing that replaces connecting with people from on stage, or when they see you in person. When people connect with your music that way, it’s a much more. Not to get too metaphysical on you, but it’s a more spiritual type of relationship or connection because it’s in the room and it’s right there.

Gretta: They’re feeding you this energy, and you’re feeding it back. It’s this weird AC/DC…

Jack: Not the band AC/DC (laughs), but it becomes this battery type thing. And you can’t replicate it online. That’s we really why we want to go out there and meet people in person.

Gretta: I think with all the blog support so far too, it’s a good time to head out.

Jack: There are people out there who haven’t seen us yet who like the music. They’ve talked about the music, they’ve contacted us and expressed to us that they like it. That’s really flattering. I’d love to be able to meet up with these people in person and play a show and connect with them on that level. It’s like the difference between talking to someone all the time on Facebook and talking to them in person. It’s the same thing with music, so we’re looking forward to that.

My Gold Mask -- “Violet Eyes” -- Official Music Video

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Be sure to catch My Gold Mask at the Empty Bottle on Monday, March 15. The show begins at 9:00 p.m., is 21+ and FREE!!!

*My Gold Mask will also be performing at South By Southwest’s Shake Some Action presented by: Weekly Tape Deck @ Karibu Ethiopian Restaurant in Austin, TX on March 19. They go on at 2:40 p.m. and tickets are FREE!!!
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