Radiolab [ Interview # 124]

1)      Is it difficult to be a duo, not having a tiebreaker when questions come up?

Meghan Redding:  Not really.  I think our strengths compliment each other's abilities where one is lacking creating a good balance.

Dane Di Pierro: I can't remember it ever being a problem.  Musically we usually try different things out until we have a result we're both happy with.

2)      You seem to have released new music every year since 2010.  Is this intentional?  Will there be a new album or EP in 2014?

MR: I think what our intention is , is to keep being creative and moving forward as much as possible.

DD: We didn't release anything in 2012 and I don't feel pressured to release something every year.  My other band Ghost Hotel is trying to put out another album next year so I don't know if I'll have time to do 2 records, but you never know.  I keep writing stuff and when it's ready we'll let everyone know.

3)      Is the Radiolab anything close to Dexter’s Lab?

MR: What?

DD: The cartoon Dexter? There's no secret entrance but I've got some cool gear that makes it look a little like a real lab.  I'm not afraid to tell my parents about it though. 

4)      I often find that when bands mix the male and female vocals together, they either do it correct or it ends up sounding terrible somehow.   Do you feel you have created a blueprint for other bands to use when trying to create such a similar sound?

MR: No

DD: I'm not a huge fan of my own singing which is why it's often buried in the mix or has effects on it.  One of my favorite bands Voyager One does this a lot and I think it compliments the songs well.  Not that they're bad at singing or anything. On "Existential" I just wanted more of a contrast in the refrain sections.

5)      If you have bands that are male vocals, female vocals and then both, shouldn’t there be a special name for the mixed vocals?   It seems like it should bi-vocals or something like that.  Do you know if something like that exists or could we create a label such as that?

MR:  umm...

DD:  I'm not sure.  I would say a duet, but that makes me think of Sonny and Cher.

6)      Frederick makes me think of a very historic town, in terms of the Civil War and what not.  What is it like living there and in terms of being a music community?

DD: There's a lot of Civil War history if you're into that thing, but there's a cool mix of historic buildings and a growing artist community.  Its the 2nd or 3rd largest city in Maryland so there's a diverse group of musicians and always good local music happening.

MR: It's a great place to live if you are into the live music scene, whether you're a listener or a musician.

7)      You are performing a live show called “Apocalyptical”.  What is that all about?

MR: We ARE??

DD:  haha! Not really.  New York City public radio does a podcast called Radio Lab.  It's not affiliated with us at all.  I wanted to hate them for coming up with a cool name before I did, but it's really a great podcast if you like science and mystery stories.  It's probably a going to be a good show.  We're mostly a studio project so there's no live shows planned for now. 

8)      Final thoughts, shout outs, tour requests, etc…??

MR: Shout out to the podcast with the same name!

DD: Yeah, thanks other Radiolab for driving traffic to our site.  Hopefully we've converted a few of them into fans. Our new album is available online at http://radiolab.bandcamp.com/ and all the usual online outlets.