“No point to making plans/the wild life is human nature”
With that lyric and some amazing tropical beats, Vacationer caught my ear with their heavenly 2014 sophomore album Relief. Everything about this Philly/NYC based ‘Nu-Hula’ band is chill – from their name to their lyrics to their sound. My plan to survive the 2015 Chicago winter is to just close my blinds, crank up the heat to 80, put their albums on repeat and envision palm trees.
Lead singer Kenny Vasoli was kind enough to respond to some questions I emailed his way:
You told EO8 that you enjoy touring because you like to see how people on the road react to your songs – that it provides inspiration for new material. How does the crowd’s reaction influence your future songs?
I once heard James Murphy say in an interview (and I’m paraphrasing here) that he likes making dance music because he can see people visibly enjoy it. Like a chef making food that people devour. I identify with that mindset. I’m not aiming to read minds, I really have minimal insight on what the masses want to hear. So it always come from a place of wanting to make music that I want to exist. Seeing how well a crowd reacts to something only strengthens my instincts. I don’t overanalyze it, though I definitely want our music to be a key component to an enjoyable experience.
You have an EP of remixes from other bands of your song “Good as New.” How did that project come about and how did you decide which bands to collaborate with? Do you have a favorite remix? (Also I understand that the song was inspired by your dog – that’s awesome that your dog had an entire album created around him. Most people will never be able to claim the same).
We love to remix other artists and we had a chance to pick some artists who we’re fans of to rework our tunes. It’s a fresh excitement hearing how those will turn out. My favorite is definitely Geographer’s mix. I’ve been a fan of them for a while and I really dig what they did with our song.Good as New is indeed about my dog, Ollie. It blows my mind how sweet he is. He’s my first dog. I wrote that song within the first month of adopting him. I love him so much.
How has it been touring with St. Lucia? Any funny stories from the road?
We’ve only had two shows with them so far and just had a proper hang with the members for the first time last night in Calgary. They are totally sweet people who have only been friendly and welcoming to us. As far as funny stories, we in the band are always barreled over with laughter cracking each other up. It’s hard to pinpoint or retell what makes us lose it, we are such tight friends it’s usually absurd nonsense. For example one morning we were just having fun switching out one word in common questions. Such as: “How do you think you are??” or “Where is the matter with you??”
You all are based out of Philly and NYC – do you find that the city influences your music at all? Do you have a favorite venue in either city to play?
Most definitely. Growing up in the Philadelphia area made discovering music very easy, and I was always searching. We made our bones playing in NYC when we first formed. We also record up there. I find that it’s a terrific place to create music. The frequency of creativity around there is operating at such a high level that I can noticeably feel it.I love Underground Arts and Union Transfer in Philly. Music Hall of Williamsburg and Brooklyn Bowl are my favorites in NY.
Does being based in two different cities make it at all difficult to collaborate on writing and recording?
Not really. We only run into rehearsal issues once in a while. For recording, it’s nice to head up there to work with Matt and Grant. Since I’m making a bit of trip, we waste no time. Also with the technology today, we can pass each other ideas from virtually anywhere and we often do.
One of the first songs I really got into was “The Wild Life” off your 2014 album Relief. The chorus of that song is “No point to making plans/the wild life is human nature” which I love, although I think I’m probably the antithesis of it. Is that pretty true to form for your lives? Or is that more an idealized representation? The music video for the song is also lovely and looks like it was a lot of fun to make – where was it filmed?
I really believe in that lyric, it’s nearly a mantra for myself. It’s been a breakthrough in my life learning how to be present-minded. It’s just in stints at this point, but I love it when I’m dialed into the moment. Planning is a tendency that is not unique to humans and is often unavoidable. I definitely try to avoid them any chance I get. I want life to take me on a ride and I’m exhausted at the thought of trying to completely control it. Over-planning is just projecting a future, and that has been a surefire recipe for disappointment in my experience. Living primarily from moment to moment has been a much better fit for me. My outlook is filled with considerably more wonder and ease these days. It’s been a welcome change in my life.We got to shoot the video in Nosara, Costa Rica. A remarkably beautiful village. It was exactly as much fun as it looks.
Obviously relaxing and de-stressing and vacations are a big part of the ethos of the band, from the tropical sound to the band name to the song names to the lyrics – was there a specific vacation that inspired the band’s ethos? What have been some of your favorite vacations?
I did have a week long vacation in Amsterdam during the making for the first record. It was an enlightening and cathartic trip for me to take. I explored myself and the city during that time and I returned with so much inspiration that had fueled the songs. Now we seem to be in perpetual vacation, we keep getting sent to amazing places. Since we’ve started touring we’ve gotten to play in Iceland. That was a goal I never expected to reach. We were there for 5 days and played one show. We had so much free time to explore and experience the land. I love that we are afforded those opportunities. I want to keep this adventure going.
Vacationer is on tour right now with St. Lucia and they’re playing Chicago this week! Dates below:
Nov 10 – Metro, Chicago, IL
Nov 11 – Metro, Chicago, IL
Nov 12 – The Crofoot, Pontiac, MI
Nov 14th – Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, Canada
Nov 15th – The Hollow, Albany, NY
Nov 16th – Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA
Nov 17th – The Sinclair, Boston, MA
Nov 26th – Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA