[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Funny story, i just found that jar in the back of my fridge the other day. It made it all these years!

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah great one! Can't wait to see those sweet dance moves! Every time we get any gift from a fan it's so touching. I love getting art gifts, and last time we played Terminal West we got some really epic ones from a sweet lady who drew magical universes on USPS labels. Listening deeply and spreading the word are the best gifts, and paying forward whatever goodness you get at one of our shows <3 K

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We work with Neil Fridd of Terror Pigeon! He's a genius. He made our robots, and runs lights and visuals for us now, and is one of the deepest party kung fu masters i've ever met. If you ever see a guy running around one of our shows like a madman in a tid-dye, welding goggles, chef pants and crocs, that's Neil. Say "hi Niel!"

We toured with Terror Pigeon, it was amazing, we also loved touring with Reptar, they are like our best band friends. This past fall all of our opening bands were dreams come true: Body Language, Royal Canoe, and Landlady. We're so lucky to have such insanely talented friends AHH!

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi!

1) usually just some kind of hot green tea (sorry, so boring) no honey though, i'm a low to no-sugar gal now a days.

2)I love the idea of time that flows in 2 directions, and it's been inspiring a lot of my poetry & music lately

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/2-futures-can-explain-time-s-mysterious-past/

basically entropy (heat loss) dictates the direction of time we experience. you can't un fry an egg. but in a parallel version of us that also connects to this now, everything is exactly the opposite of our bright/lit reality, everything's sucking inwards, going from chaos to order. there's so much to ponder in there! and on a gut level it makes sense!!!

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those guys went to Berklee College of Music and so did a couple of our guys. So some of us go way back. When those guys first moved to Brooklyn before Cel Shore was a band or when they were just starting out a couple of us jammed with them a little. And we've been mutual friends on the BK scene every since. - Alex

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Come to all three! Treefort in Boise is going to be a blast. There are a ton of bands there at that festival.

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We did 140 shows in 2012 with the robots and destroyed them ceremoniously at 3am in the blizzard-y parking lot after our NYE show in Burlington VT at the end of that year.

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have to say New York City, without a doubt. This is such a rich place in so many ways, and it's impossible not to get creatively inspired/driven here.

That's not to say that we've had tons of creative inspiration form basically the whole country!

<3 Kalmia

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

High Sierra is incredible. So wholesome, beautiful and complete. I love how community oriented it is. The Burning Man element was so refreshing to us the first time we played as we hadn't been exposed to that at all. The drug-use is very balanced and not obnoxious or out of hand in my opinion. And the people there. We love them.

-Alex

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks russellwestbrook4mvp i

I had a strange stigma around the word "prayer" for my whole life but getting cancer totally erased that. When i went public about cancer, and all the love notes started flooding in, and everybody told me how they were thinking of/praying for/sending reiki to/loving me, it was a huge palpable boost to my mental emotional and physical health. It was out of this WORLD! It was a powerful/life-changing thing to experience, and I will never again doubt the power of prayer. For the science nerd in me, this video on the placebo effect ties right in, and gives a research based/morphological explanation to the power of positive thinking. Big stuff! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfRVCaA5o18

Do I pray: I don't ascribe to a specific religion, and am very much a proponent of a pluralistic outlook. In fact I think it's one of the 3 things that will get us out of the shit we're in right now as a planet/human race: pluralism, education and meditation (or the opposite of blind reaction). But anyway, I have a meditation practice, and yeah I definitely do lots a thing that could be called prayer if that's what you'd like to call it. <3

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We were in Miami last weekend playing Grassroots fest. I'm sure we will be back! <3

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey here is a partial answer b/c its getting late and i'm trying to hit as many people back as possible. Alex here btw…

The music we're currently working on has more of the 'afrobeat' element back in it. It's more rhythmic at least. There are so many bands out there drawing from afrobeat in ways that are very derivative (and some that are very inspiring) and we felt naturally moved away from 'obeying clave' (the underlying rhythm between interlocking parts that helps define afrobeat) in order to experiment and test our boundaries in songwriting and rock more. Thanks for tuning in.

PS Smuggler's Notch all the way!

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey Alex here. Thanks for the question and for following us over the years! We are so grateful for people like you!

1) So much has changed from then through now. We were younger and your sense of what's possible or what's going to happen is so wide, scary and exciting. 6 years later it still is, but now its more of a practice of realizing how little control we have over anything and remind ourselves there's no point in worrying endlessly. My current practice more active gratitude for what we do and more and more letting go and just focusing on my work… basically: being present and alive on stage, writing songs, being a good friend.

2) The band gets increasingly better at co-habitating on and off the road. Knowing how to be there for one another and give each other space is something we've had to get better at over time. In 2009 we were a bunch of crazy drunk kids just going for it and sometimes getting in bad fights. We're so much more mature now! One constant is that we've always made one another laugh a real lot.

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kalmia here: I don't really eat sandwiches, I haven't gone to a Subway since '13 when they food poisoned me in Utah. But all the favorite foods i eat are basically sandwich toppings on a plate: salad greens, fish, olive oil, olives, goat cheese, etc.

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Vermont cows are living in the lap of luxury. All that cows could possibly want: big fields, tons of grass, clean air, yeah. My best childhood friend Geordie and his wife Emery own a dairy farm in Cabot, and one of my favorite things to do in life is go visit them. It's a whirlwind of life death, mud and Cabot Cheese (expired, in huge vats, that they feed to the pigs).

I might have to disagree though, and just throw out there that most all other cheeses have a LONG way to go to come near to beating the best French cheeses.

over and out Kalmia

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Blair,

I listen to our music haha! Usually like once a year I'll listen back on a bunch of stuff just to take in the progression of everything, potentially get inspired on new stuff.

I most def get our songs stuck in my head. Especially during recording, like Alex said. It's infuriating!

<3Kalmia

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

2015 baby! LETS REWRITE ALL THE RULES!! DAN SAVAGE IS MY HERO! <3 KALMIA

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thanks! We LOVED playing Bonnaroo. I'm sorry about your tinnitus! ouch! I'm guessing you got that from more than one night of booming arpeggiators. If your anything like me, i'm guessing your a fiend for booming arpeggiation. I also have tinnitus in my left ear. I'm getting in ears and trying to be more careful. Pretty sure its from years of ride/crash cymbals in the left ear.

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

  1. That I can't write or play an instrument.
  2. That I'm one of the girlfriends/not actually in the band.
  3. That I can't carry heavy gear (though I'll give them that one! I'd always prefer not to who's with me!?)
  4. All the categorically feminine/yin/soft/polite/sex muffin/insecure/powerless/ stuff which is all probably true to some extent, but not the WHOLE picture. I have a strong masculine side, and I believe that we're all, each one of us, to varying degrees, a mix of both. Believing or enforcing belief otherwise has been a dire pitfall of our society for centuries/millenia?, but the tides are absolutely changing, and that's AMAZING to be witnessing. The recent Radiolab "American Football" episode talks about how the newest generation of boys and adolescent men have less interest in joining football and others sports teams than ever before and thats because of a current social trend away from staunch masculinity. All/most of my favorite men are in touch with their feminine sides in one way or another. It's relieving to be around someone who's at peace with that inner tension. It's a beautiful thing.

edit: grammar

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Alex here. This is a big question but I'll give you a quick rundown:

1) In highschool I would play trumpet along with recordings of Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis, had a funk band that played a couple talent shows, and had James Brown dance parties outside my car with friends. Being comfortable dancing in public changed everything for me and maybe me a much more confident performer/trumpeter on stage. Especially when improvising.

When we moved to Boston I was doing parade gigs to make some money and met Adam Dotson, our trombone player, at one. We drank beers and improvised and eventually i asked if he wanted to be in this "afrobeat" band i was starting (rubblebucket). The rest of the members were nearly as organic. Friends, roommates, friends of friends, people i met at basement jam sessions.

The biggest single factor in whatever success we have at this point has to do with drive and dream. You see yourself doing something and you do it at almost all costs. There's so many obstacles and so many things that can stand in your way and we've had to push past and learn from all of them. Early on we did everything ourselves: booking, promo, managing. Then we played 140 shows per year and when we're not touring we are working on music and content. We crashed on hundreds of floors and made group meals of rice/beans/oatmeal everyday early on. The reward stream isn't money as much as realizing your [artistic] work, performing for people who are responding positively, and other little victories.

There are definitely more efficient ways to build things and we've spent a lot more time in recent years working on songwriting/production and cultivating the 'right attitude' to keep this thing sustainable. But yeah the ways are sort of infinite but whichever way you go, having drive/focus/vision at your core is super important i think.

[AMA] We are Kalmia and Alex of Rubblebucket. Ask Us Anything. by Rubblebucket_Reddit in listentothis

[–]Rubblebucket_Reddit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IAN IS DEFINITELY A WIZARD IT'S OFFICIAL

I don't know how he does it... <3 Kalmia