Alternative rock duo Peter Anthony and Madelynn Elyse known simply as Polaris Rose have released their sophomore EP "The Moon and it's Secrets", making a name for themselves as it were, by doing so they have gone on to play shows and have written material for several full-length albums plus so much more. The duo caught up to discuss the EP and future activity.
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Polaris Rose, and how long the band has been together.
Our names are Peter Anthony and Madelynn Elyse. Peter is the songwriter and plays guitar/sings. Madelynn (or Maddie, for short) sings and plays bass.
2. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We are based out of Los Angeles and there are a lot of great bands out here. Lately, we've been hanging out with the guys from Tijuana Tears and Handsome as Sin. Both great bands to check out.
3. Tell us the brief history of your band.
We met in Boston. Both of us were out there, running around the city at night and playing in our own bands. We met one night at a now-gone venue called Harper’s Ferry where we bonded over a mutual love for ‘Rock with You’ by Michael Jackson. We started writing songs together and started a band out there. Eventually we decided to shoot across the country and start making music in Los Angeles.
4. How did you guys come up with your band name?
We were working on an idea for an album and one of the songs was Polaris. At the same time we were hunting around for a band name and that song title popped into Peter’s head one day with the word ‘rose’ attached. It fit the aesthetic of what we were going for.
5. What type of band are you?
We consider ourselves Alternative Rock.
6. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
We have a lot of motifs that we like to sprinkle throughout the songs. Mostly, we try to write music that is visual. Our favorite songs are the type of songs that have so much character that it paints an image in your head.
7. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
Peter writes a lot of material that we are always sifting through. If there’s a song that we feel we need to release, we start rehearsing and sculpting the tune together.
8. Who are your musical influences?
Peter loves the Smashing Pumpkins, Failure, and Steely Dan. Maddie is into Alanis Morrisette, Foo Fighters, and the Chili Peppers.
9. Can you tell me about the video and song for "Dreamers”?"Dreamers" is our second music video. The song itself is about living your life for the right reasons and about being creative. For the music video, we knew we wanted to show who the band is and what we do, so we decided on a performance video.
10. That song comes off your EP "The Moon and It's Secrets”. Is this a concept release?
Yes and No. We like like to keep certain motifs running throughout our songs, so there are certain ideas/metaphors that you can catch in any of our recordings.
11. Is there any story or concept behind the "The Moon and It's Secrets" title?
We reference the moon a lot in our songs and - in our songs - we use the moon as a metaphor for desire. You can desire the moon, but you can never capture it.
12. Who produced "The Moon and It's Secrets" and what was it like working with them?
We produced the record ourselves. Along the way, we enlisted some amazing talents to help out. Kiel Feher plays drums on the EP and we recorded at his studio. When it came time to do vocals, we enlisted the help of Yan Perchuk, who is a terrific producer in his own right. We were the ones overseeing the entire project, however.
13. Who did the cover art for "The Moon and It's Secrets" and how much input did you have on it?
The artwork was done by a friend of Peter’s. Her name is Shelby Fitting. Shelby created the moon artwork on her own. One day Peter stumbled across it and instantly thought, that is perfect for the EP. It was a lucky find.
14. Select two songs from "The Moon and It's Secrets" and what inspired the lyrics.
Both ‘Chartreuse’ and ‘Dreamers’ were written with Los Angeles in mind. We had been living here for just over a year and we wanted to sum up our feelings about the city and where we were at in our lives. ‘Oceana Sleeping’ is a song for anyone who has ever tried to ‘fix’ someone they love, only to become broken themselves.
15. Where are you in the process of a full-length release?
We have a couple full-length albums planned and written, but we've decided to take a different approach. We are going to be releasing two songs this spring. We are already in the recording process and we are very excited about them.
16. What are the upcoming plans for playing shows and touring?
We are performing November 24th at the Virgil (Silverlake, CA). We will be sharing the stage with some great bands. There are a couple other shows in the works, but nothing confirmed yet.
17. What can the fans expect to see from you in the future?We want to keep releasing new material consistently. So you can expect new songs and new videos and more shows.
18. Anything else you'd like to say or want to add?
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. And please visit www.PolarisRose.com
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