Over Spring Break, freshmen Ben Slone and Gabe Parker of the campus band Twin Films sat down with me at Carytown Burger's & Fries to discuss the band's origins, their transition to William and Mary, and their favorite girl scout cookies.
In the background are the sounds of clattering plates, conversing hipsters, and 2000s indie music
G: Hi, This is Gabe Parker.
B: Hi this is Ben Slone. You are listening to KCRW 90.1 Seattle FM-
G: 90.9 FM! You’re listening to WCWM! A completely college-run radio station-*
Is KEXP in Seattle also 90.9?
B: It’s 90.1 I think.
Okay, let’s get this thing started.
B: So I'm Ben. In the live show, I play guitar and Synth, but I do most of the behind the scenes stuff.
G: My name’s Gabe. I play guitar and synth in the live set, and I sing. I also write all the music.
B: (aloud) smh….
G: Nah, I’m just kidding. I don’t I don’t.
Well you have played some of your songs live haven’t you?
G: Yeah, but those are more of my thing. I mostly help with the transition from studio to live shows.
B: He really helps “beef the live stuff up.”
So you guys are both from Richmond, and Twin Films predates both of you coming to William and Mary. How long have y’all known each other?
B: We met in high school jazz band.
G: and through a mutual friend.
B: Yes, shoutout Joseph. An Absolute Legend.**
Ben, you were in a band before Twin Films called “Last Night’s Ghosts.” You mind telling us a little bit about that?
G: A Richmond Staple.
B: A staple in the RVA Post-Punk Scene.
G: The RVA Post-Hardcore Scene.
B: Post-Hardcore. Post-Punk. Post-Industrial. Post Art Rock.
G: Very Noisy.
You’ve been making music in Richmond for most of high school from what I’m hearing. How long before you started making music under Twin Films?
B: Let’s see… At the end sophomore year I started writing stuff, I started writing stuff independently, and at some point, started putting together a live show, which Gabe was a part of the initial iteration of that.
G: Yeah, then around October or November, we started rehearsing our music and trying to get our set together. Then on March 3rd in 2019, we played our first live show.
B: Yeah, because that was a few days after we released Serotonin.
While we’re on the topic of live performances, you guys have done a lot so far at William and Mary so far. Which one has been your favorite and why?
B: The house show.
G: Yeah, definitely the house show. We murdered at the house show.
B: It was definitely the show with the best energy, so far. The music is really meant to be played with the full five-piece live show.
Twin Films has gone through several changes since coming to William and Mary. What have been the biggest challenges that arise when dealing with the change?
B: So part of the challenge coming to school, with reference to Twin Films, was finding a group where playing the songs felt normal after being with a group that you’ve been with throughout high school. There’s a lot of people I’ve played with for a really long time, but the guys we’ve been playing with at William and Mary have all caught on to the songs really quickly and are all really good musicians.
Back in the Fall semester, you guys played two stripped-down shows at The Meridian, where it was just the two of you. Has there been a lot of tweaking the set to adapt for different amounts of band members?
G: We’ve been playing a pretty close set-list, at least of originals, since that first show in March, and it’s been pretty tight, especially with the guys from back in Richmond. When Ben and I split off, it took a lot of experimenting, but it was still rock solid because we’ve just had so much time with the material. Playing the first spring show at the Meridian as a new group was also a little harder to prepare because they weren’t as familiar with the stuff, but it was still really fun because there was a lot of energy there.
B: Yeah, and I think that’s why our most recent show at the house party was so good. Because it was a smaller space, and the vibe was more relaxed, we kind of all just let loose and had a great time.
G: Yeah, we just kind of destroyed everything, absolutely shredded, and really put our foot down and said, “Hey. We’re here. We’re ready to rock and roll.”
Absolutely, and I’ve said this already, but you guys are kind of taking the torch from Talk to Plants in the sense that you guys are this kind of Neo-Psychedelic Rock Band that comes on Freshman year and just blows it out the park.
G: We’re less Neo-Psychadelic and more Post-Indie, Post-Hardcore, Post-Vaporwaveesque-
B: (over Gabe) oh my God...
G: -Post-Everything.
So, if you guys could have one label, what would it be?
G: Post-Vaporwave because we make our own samples.***
B: Post-vaporwave, for sure.
You guys have covered quite the range of songs during your live sets. From Let’s Stay Together by Al Green during your duet meridian shows to EARFQUAKE as a full band.
G: and Car Seat Headrest, don’t forget Car Seat Headrest.
Well, I mean you’ve kind of have to at William & Mary, but what goes in to picking a cover?
B: Definitely popularity or our perceived popularity of a song is kind of the biggest thing. Because especially if the audience doesn't know your originals, and you play a well known cover, it allows them to enjoy the show easier.
Especially people who aren’t in Indie-Alt Spheres.
B: Right, and I think that’s the other purpose of a cover is to showcase to an audience music that you would like to be associated with. It gives them a context to understand Twin Films, in a way. I don’t know how Tyler, The Creator fits in with that, but it’s just a bump.
G: It’s also just about what works in the setlist energy-wise.
B: Yeah, I feel like we’ve done a bunch of covers that haven’t gone over well, not because they’re bad songs, but their placements in the setlist didn’t match the energy.
G: We basically want covers that can make people dance and shake. We used to have this thing at our high school called Patch’s Place where students would go up during lunch time and basically have their music, so you would have this thirty minute set whenever it was sunny and it was a nice day out. Some were good and some were bad, and I mean ours were always really kickass, but one time we did one where, essentially I was on lead vocals. I did a cover of Them Changes by Thunderchat, and it was. So. Bad. It definitely comes down to knowing yourself, what the group is comfortable playing.
So pretty much all of Twin Film’s most recent singles have been neurotransmitters, starting with Serotonin and now with Dopamine and of course Gestalt. Are you even a Psych major?
B: Absolutely not.
So what’s sort of driving this artistic motif if you will? Does it mean anything or is it just titles of songs? Is there an album coming up that follows this theme?
B: Oh God is Steve listening? Okay, so on one hand, Serotonin and Dopamine are just phonetically pleasing words, like… DO-PA-MEEEEENE.So on one hand, I don’t think the title of the song has to particularly relate to the subject of the song. In a sense, it does, but I’m not looking at it with Chemistry or Psychology in mind. It’s more about setting up the listener for what they’re about to hear. On one hand, a song title is kind of arbitrary because I thought it sounded good, but on the other hand, there’s more to it I don’t want to expose as of right now. Definitely expect more chemicals and neurotransmitters to come.
Oooooh. Can we expect a song titled GABA, not even like the abbreviation, just the entire name that you don’t have to memorize in AP Psych?
B: Yes, I can confirm that.
I have a question for just Gabe. One of the staples of the Twin Films live set has got to be your song, Love and Attention. When did you start writing it, and are there plans to record or put it out eventually?
G: Funny that you ask that. I actually wrote it one year ago some time this week. I don’t know when it was exactly, but I saw a Snapchat memory of me writing it during Spring Break of last year.
So what went into writing it? What was your inspiration?
B: (starting laughing hysterically)
G: Note. Ben breaks down laughing every time when asked about the inspiration. Anyways, I was just making chord progressions like I usually do and singing over it, and I kind of got that hook, “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?” That was just kind of luck, but I also do spend a lot of time making chord progressions that are easy to follow.
It is a really easy song to follow in the best way possible. A lot of people already know the words at the shows, which is really important, especially for smaller acts.
G: Absolutely, and we have recorded it and worked through a lot of it, but I haven’t put it out yet just because I want to be very intentional about the mixing and mastering. I do think it’s a really good song, and I really want to make sure it rips before I put it out on the airwaves.
B: Makes sure it really murders.
G: So this inspiration for this song comes from, and I hate making it sound like it comes from social media or whatever because it sounds cliche, but you spend so much time on social media and seeing other people in this light that is way better. It’s in the kind of way that you see people in the way that you see a crush that you don’t talk to or interact with. It’s kind of like that idea in Great Gatsby where you have this idea of someone that isn’t really there, and over time you just keep building up this idealization of someone who you don’t even have a relationship with. You just see them from far away, and so that’s where the hook comes from, is me kind of just begging for their love and attention, but also the verses are about finding out that the people you idealize aren’t what you’ve made them up to be.
Do you have a name for your project yet, or any other songs in the works.
G: I’ve recorded a bunch of stuff, but I’m not in any real rush to put it out yet.
B: Ask him about Lucy’s Drinking Water. That’s another Richmond STAPLE.
G: Oh Yeah, but it’s a song about my friend drinking water. Plain and Simple.
Before we close out, I have one more question as a bit of a cool down. Favorite Girl Scout Cookie?
B: Okay, let’s break it down. So we got those Lemon ones…
Ignat, Ben’s roommate who ate lunch with us: If you don’t say Thin Mints you’re wrong!
G: (to Ignat) Are you serious?
(To Ignat) Are you serious?
B: Thin Mints are good. I think they’re a little overrated. I prefer the shortbread crunch of a Trefoil. Final answer.
G: Of a tree-foil?
B: Of a Trefoil. You know those?
G: Are those the shortbread ones?
B: Yeah.
G: That is sooooo Goochland of you, but hands down it’s Samoas because this is the time in life where we need to cherish the sweet moments in life, and I’m not gonna bite into a cookie to taste some glorified bread, ya know?
[Long Pause]
G: What is this the Civil War? Am I eating hardtack? Yeah, no thank you. I would like something that’s sweet, chewy, crunchy, and has chocolate.
The Samoa.
G: The Samoa is the answer, and this is kind of a metaphor for life. We need to bite into something sweet. Something nice. Something a little crunchy. Something that challenges us and expands us and our taste buds a little bit while also making an homage to where we all come from.
You can Listen to Twin Films on Bandcamp and Spotify. Their newest single, Fire, feat. monk e and Ig-e is out soon.
*It should be noted that this interview was taken in Carytown Burgers & Fries in Richmond, VA and not in the WCWM Station.
**Joseph Kuhn isn’t a student at William & Mary, but he has a great project called Jos. He’s on Spotify, and his instagram is @jos.musicc
***Note: I didn’t realize that making your own samples literally just means writing your own music.
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