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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Reid Johnson of Schooner

schoonerDeparting from its lofi beginnings as a four-track project by lead singer/songwriter Reid Johnson, Schooner‘s music has blossomed since its 2003 debut.  Through their growth, the band (currently: Reid + Billy Alphin, Chris Badger, and Maria Albani) has ostentatiously dreamed up arrangements that alternately tap into a sort of swooning shoegaze Americana and a bratty thrash at the edges of modern college rock.  The lyrical compliment has remained equally as adventurous.  Languid one minute and ferociously sincere the next, tunes like “Trains and Parades” and “Pray for You to Die” are addictive as much as they are elusive.

On their newest EP, Duck Kee Sessions, the Schooner crew ups the ante once more, retaining the woozy vintage undertones but adding spooky pop vibe.  They’re also giving it all up, donating all the proceeds from their new tunes to the totally worthy cause of fighting cancer with CyTunes.org— a website built to honor their dear friend and local music fanatic, Cy Rawls.  Though Cy may have lost his battle with brain cancer, the music community has rallied around his memory to offer up exclusive downloads to raise money for cancer research.  The Duck Kee Sessions is the latest, but definitely not last, offering and it’s available for download right now. You can also join Schooner (+ The Popular Kids [comedy by the Rosebuds’ Kelly Crisp], VeeLee, and Erie Choir) for a release party on Feb 19th at the Pinhook.

Great music, a great cause, and now five greatly perplexing questions:

1. If your band were an incarnation of Madonna, which would it be?

Chronologically it would be “Like a Prayer” but “Borderline,” “Holiday,” and “Lucky Star” are my favorite songs, therefore I’d have to go with the original article “Madonna.”  Plus she was involved with Basquiat at the time for crying out loud.

theduckkeesessions2. What made you/when did you decide to release the newest Schooner music on CyTunes?

After having this EP recorded and sitting around waiting to be released, I felt like CyTunes would be the most meaningful place for it.  I was good buddies with Cy; we used to play basketball together and do sketch comedy in “The Popular Kids” comedy troupe that would perform at Kings Barcade.  Giving the music to a cause felt right, especially after working with a sweetheart like Jerry Kee on the recording.

3. Describe the last dream you can remember.

I keep having the same theme going on lately where instead of walking I’m able to jump and float/swim through the air.  I can hop up on a roof, over a tree, etc, but can’t seem to move terribly quickly.  Every time it happens I can’t decide if it’s a frustrating condition, or if it’s an amazing skill–all I know is that I’m the only one operating by these rules.  Analysis is appreciated.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

Not sure if these would necessarily surprise people, but I’m a Reggae fan, I dig on some Don Ho, and I like noise/anti-structured music, most notably when it is created by acoustic instrumentation.  Also, being an NC State fan is a big influence as it teaches you the meaning of loss and suffering.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)

reidminussoundWhen I was a kid I’m pretty sure I wanted to either be a professional baseball player or draw for a living.  When I was about 11 years old I got hit in the head by a wild pitch, therefore ending the “don’t think too much at the plate” era and thusly my amazingly promising baseball career (not sure if dry humor comes across in print).  I pursued the drawing thing some, taking some design classes at NCSU, but I was way too ADD to commit my life to such an immersive course of study.  However, I’ve been playing music forever and writing since I was a teenager, so I think I’ve got a pretty good thing going.

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Be sure to stop in round about this time next week because you never know who’ll be up next.  And if you make it out to the show on the 19th (and you really should) by all means give Reid a high five if you see him.