Thought we would take some time and introduce to you a cool new Indie Band out of Brooklyn NYC. All Forces have a little of that old school indie touch, lots of sonic reverb, and very layered harmonies. Guitar licks are throughout , if you like a little alternative sonic blast as you head into your weekend you can rest assured your time listening to All Forces will be well spent….
Now Let’s Meet….All Forces
We are…
Johnnie Wang
Gizella Otterson
T. (Tiffany) Almy
Norman Vino (that’s me)
And our sound might be best described as….
Always such a difficult question to answer!!! Hmmm… we love layers, reverb, texture, harmony and tension. I like to think that while you may be able to say “oh hear a little bit of this or that” in our sound, that we still create a completely unique sonic vision.
We are originally from…..
Johnnie: From upstate NY via Holland
Gizella: Flaaarida
T. Almy: North Carolina
Norman Vino: New Jersey
The first time we met was…..
I first met Johnnie when up in New Paltz, NY when I was 18. I had barely been playing guitar at that point (mostly just Cure songs and whatever I picked up). Johnnie was a big fan of The Cure as well, and was way more astute on guitar then I was. After that year, I moved to NYC and placed a craigslist ad looking for musicians. I eventually met Gizella and we hit if off right away. After a couple of months of jamming on material, we placed another ad looking for a drummer and found T and formed Gold Streets. A couple of years later, I got back in touch with Johnnie, who had moved to Brooklyn during that time. Originally, the idea was to have him guest with us during live performances, but right off the bat we started writing this amazing new material and voila, All Forces was born.
We knew we were going to be a band when……
It was pretty instantaneous. Each one of us comes from a pretty unique place both influence-wise and how we approach our instruments, so sonically we complimented each other right off the bat. But it’s just as important that we also really love each other like family – or maybe more like a gang – and personality-wise, we compliment and challenge each other.
Before starting the band we were employed as…….
Gizella – Somali Pirate
Johnnie –Adjunct professor of linguistics and paper mache
T – Tight-rope walker
Norm – Kumquat famer
Our craziest gig ever was….
As a band, All Forces is still pretty new, so I wouldn’t say that we’ve had our “craziest” show ever, yet – though I’m eagerly looking forward to it.
The first song we wrote was…….
Hard to pinpoint what was our “first” song, but I will say that we have some songs off of our new record Sons and Daughters, that virtually wrote themselves. “We Have Arrived” comes to mind as a song that came together so quickly and organically.
It’s about……
I don’t think we ever start out knowing what our songs are about and even when the songs are done, we are usually hard pressed to say exactly what the “meaning” is. We write as a band, and though it may start as an individual idea, we each bring in our own individual sonics into the composition, so I’d say we each have our own unique interpretation of the song. “We Have Arrived” covers a lot of ideas from romantic obsession to sexual tension/release. It’s one of my favorite songs of ours to play.
What we are currently listening to….
Can’t say that I’ve been listening to a lot of new songs/bands. I dropped my iPhone into a cup of tea a few months ago and don’t really have that many things on my new phone right now. On Facebook, a friend tagged me in a thread inviting people to list 12 albums that never get old for you and I started mining some of those old records. A few that come to mind: Disintigration by the Cure, Selected Ambient Works Volume II by Aphex Twin, The Queen is Dead by the Smiths, Ready to Die by Notorious BIG, Funeral at the Movies by Shudder to Think, Ghost in the Machine by The Police and Blue Bell Knoll by the Cocteau Twins.
A few albums we could never part with….
Pick any of the ones I just mentioned.
For fun we like to…..
To be honest, for fun, there is nothing better for me than to be writing and playing music with Gizella, Johnnie and T… Also, we are definitely blessed to have an ever-growing circle of super creative and talented friends. So, get us together with a couple of bottles of scotch and some good beer, and we’re having a good time.
The one thing we want you to remember while you’re listening to us……
I would say that when listening to All Forces, you are listening to a band proper – each one of us is a pivotal aspect of the band in that we each bring a unique vision, sonic approach and flavor. You’re not listening to a bunch of hired guns backing a singer songwriter. All Forces is definitely a sum of its parts.
Expect from us in 2014….
Outside of our new record Sons and Daughters dropping on April 8th (release party at Rockwood Music Hall on April 11th in NYC), expect a ton of new songs in our LIVE set. We’ve been writing voraciously the last few months and can’t wait to share them with everyone. I’m also looking forward to being able to answer your earlier question about “the craziest show we’ve ever played.” I hope to have an answer for you that involves a violation of some international treaties, the Norwegian Woman’s Ski Team and tons of reverb.
