Veelee by the numbers is a thing of beauty and stunning brevity. Twenty-nine minutes is all it takes to listen to Veelee’s debut full length, 2010’s The Future Sight. Seven minutes is all it took for them introduce themselves on their EP, 2009’s Three Sides. Two is the totality of their band membership.
Playing together since 2008, Carrboro couple Matt Park and Ginger Wagg have quickly aligned to create catchy and capricious pop. The two charm their way through all manner of arrangements with punchy guitars, coed harmonies, playful hooks, and sidelining melodies. That’s not to say there’s any lack of ambition or intricacy here. Their music hits its stride when it finds the interplay between jubilation and complexity, whether that means with a seven-minute build (as on “Animal Dreamsâ€) or in energetic bursts (“When You Gonna Come Home?â€). Whatever the tune, these kids are one the move and you can catch them at The Pinhook next Thursday, November 4th where they’ll be playing as a part of Troika 2010.
And now check out how they tackle the furious five:
1. If your band were a dance move, what would it be?
It would be our own invented dance move called the Ginger Snap. The Ginger Snap can also be a wrestling move.
2. When was the moment you realized there was something to this musical partnership that needed to be shared?
We never thought about not sharing the music we were creating. As performers, sharing what we do comes naturally.
3. Describe the last time you felt totally at home.
Matt – To me home is an abstraction. That feeling comes and goes. I could feel totally uncomfortable inside my own house or completely at ease in some strange city. It all depends on what’s going on in the environment around me. We just played in Athens and everyone was so nice to us that, even though we had never been there before, it felt kinda like home.
Ginger – I agree, somehow it can sometimes be easier to feel a deep sense of belonging in a place that you’ve never been before. I know I feel at home when I don’t want to leave. In September we went swimming in Wilmington, NC with Maria and Reid of Schooner. The water was the most perfect temperature and I could have just stayed in that ocean.
4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that would really surprise people?
Matt – I’m not sure anyone would be surprised by any inspirations we may have had. Tons of Artists–musicians, filmmakers, writers, and visual artists–from so many eras and places have made their way into what we do. Things like nature, humanity, and technology have also been a major inspiration. Influences keep growing; they are endless.
Ginger – Crochet artist Agata Olek, Brahms, The BodyCartography Project, letting my vision be blocked so that my perspective is skewed/framing, repetition. The generosity of others.
5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)
Ginger – I think I was just dreaming about the next day. I always enjoyed what I was into at the time. Now I’m the same way, dreaming of all the things that I’d like to do tomorrow – eat delicious food, play music, laugh a lot, dance a little, see new places.
Matt – I remember wanting to work at an ice cream place. I think it was specifically the notion of working at a Friendly’s. Also, according to my sister I used to want to be a barber but I would pronounce it Barbra. Turned out that I still love ice cream, and I’ve been cutting my own hair for years now.
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Ginger snap your way over to The Pinhook next Thursday, November 4th to hear Veelee in action. And, by all means, give Matt and Ginger a high five when you see them!