Glazed Curtains, Hidden Gemz

0:11HostWelcome to Interceptor Beyond Podcast. My name is Artur and today we have two local bands. Glazed Curtains and Hidden Gems. Nice people and really good musicians. Recorded at Flex with the help of Tape, Capital, Music, just before the gigs. Some new exciting announcement regarding the podcast is coming up soon, so stay tuned. Follow on Instagram at Interceptor Beyond. Don't forget to follow this podcast on Spotify or any platform, of course, if you dig it. And rate this show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, of course, if you dig it. And once again, follow this podcast on Instagram at Interceptor Beyond. Alright, let's talk to Glazed Curtains.

0:54KonstantinHello, my name is Konstantin and I'm the singer and the guitar player. Hey, I'm Matt, Matej, I play bass. I'm Max, I'm the drummer. I'm Jay and I'm the second guitar player.

1:04HostFirst of all, congrats on the release of the new album. Today we're standing outside next to Flex and you're going to play a show today. Today's album release show, right? Exactly, yeah. We need to do some background, you know, so we know each other since 2019. We met at the church.

1:26HostWell, it's funny to see, like, because I was paying attention to how you're developing as a band, you know, how it's going. And it's going pretty well, you know. You've been... Did you play at Ziggyt? No.

1:43HostYeah, okay, okay, okay, okay. But you're playing at Nova Rocket on the 8th of June, so this is like local.

1:48KonstantinYes, sir. It's going to be awesome, man. It's a child of a dream come true, you know.

1:53HostSo you're freaking excited, I guess. How do you feel about it? Tell me.

2:10HostYeah. Any expectations, like, did you ask people what they think, how to prepare for the festival, to bring, bring, bring stuff?

2:23KonstantinYeah, we're actually, we're ready for the bands, definitely. Like, we want to meet the bands. That's what we want to do. Who do you want to meet? Maybe they will hear this interview.

3:01HostYeah, but tickets are okay. It's not, like, super expensive. I checked the prices, because, actually, I mean, I was checking it for different reasons to interview some bands there, but.

3:10KonstantinIt's good, it's good research, man. You do good research, then, yeah.

3:14HostYeah, so, all right, let's do, there's not much info about your band, especially in English, so we need to do the boring shit. We need to write your Wikipedia page a little bit. How did you, like, start? I know that with a new lineup, it's from 2019, right? The band exists around 2018. Yeah, yeah. And the first album that I have as a CD, Hey You.

3:55HostRage, of Rage, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. We discussed about the music video, but the life happened, and everything happened. It was completely different thing. But, yeah, I was a fan, I'm still a fan of them. I have, I think, Rage on my Spotify playlist, like, like, like, like, like, one of the, like, the ones that they put all the time.

4:11KonstantinYeah, awesome, awesome. No, but, but the way we, I think the way we came together is, like, is we, there's a classic story of two best friends meeting two other best friends that love to do rock music and are into this world that we are now in. And, yeah, so, Max, and you want to tell, you want to tell your side of the story, Max and Consti, that those are... Like, Consti and I met when we were, like, 10 in school. We instantly got together because of the music, you know, it was, like, that shit combined us, and then we started playing, and we just saw it as a hobby. Like, I saw it as a hobby, and then after we finished school, we, like, jammed the whole summer through. Like, we don't, we didn't have anything to do, we didn't have anything else to do, so we just, we just played the whole summer, and then we noticed, man, it's actually good, good music that we're doing. And so we played our first gig, and then we were, like, yeah, man, it's what we want to do for the rest of our, of our freaking lives, you know, and... Fuck him.

5:03KonstantinSay it again. Fuck him, sorry. Edit this, I'm not, I'm gonna...

5:16KonstantinAnd then I met Matei in, like, audio school, audio engineering school, and he joined us as a bass player because we had other guitarists before Jay, and then... Yeah, that's, I mean, so, like, the same thing he said, Jay and I was, we're always playing in bands in school, always having fun, jamming around, and then, like, when I joined, when I met Max and joined the, the curtains, I was super happy that there was a place for, for my best friend to join in as well, you know?

6:21Host100 shows, we could have played 100 shows. That's a good start. It feels like we played all the venues in Vienna, kind of. That's how it feels like. Well, today at Flex, it's the first time you play.

6:38HostWell, fair. You played Gasometer, right? You were open at Gasometer. Yeah, we did, we did play that. So maybe there are, maybe there are a few left, left, but still.

6:45KonstantinLike, the small, we got the small ones done. I guess, like, the small ones on Gürtel, for example, like, we all already hit, like, every, every bar. They're the classic, the classic bars.

6:59HostThe god of Gürtel, because there's no, like, one thing for the whole Gürtel. It's like, actually, we need to explain, like, explain what, for the non-Austrian people, non-Vienna, what is Gürtel is.

7:09KonstantinWell, Gürtel is a spot, a place in Vienna, a street, where all the venues are at. Or every venue, or, like, most of the venues you can play as an independent band in Vienna are on Gürtel. So it's like a whole...

7:40HostYou play shitloads of shows, like, a lot of shows, which is, like, actually, like, when you said 50, like, 80, that's the minimal standard that you start with, that you should be doing every year. Not in the same city. No, you're right.

7:54KonstantinYeah, you're right. You're totally right, man. That's why we're really vibing now with Tape Capital Music. Shout out to Tape Capital. He's really helping us out with our booking side of things. Manager, right?

8:15HostI have a term for that, because when I was doing a little bit of management, I was not a proper manager, but I was a conciliere. So, like, a negocio.

8:27HostSo, Tape Capital, conciliere. Shout out.

8:30KonstantinShout out to him. Honestly, he changed our whole, like, vibe. Game. Game. Yeah, game vibe.

8:36HostYeah, yeah. If we compare the first EP with this EP, there's definite change in look. Yeah.

8:52HostYeah, it changed. Yes, it does. It does.

8:54KonstantinYeah, it's still the same spirit, actually, but it did change in a way, but in a good way, actually. Like, we, I don't know, we got our shit together and we're just doing it.

9:03HostLike, was there idea behind the album of what you don't want, for example? Like, it's easy to say, it's harder to say what you want. It's easier to say what you didn't want, you know, in the album. Like, if you compare it, especially if you compare it to the previous EP.

9:18KonstantinI think we didn't, we didn't, I don't, I don't know, sorry. We didn't know too much about it. Like, these days we're more into the whole thing. Like, we know how to sound. We know which way we want to go, like, musically. Yeah, I don't know. Maybe you want to know. We also changed, like, the steps to get there, you know. Like, when we did the first EP, we just jammed together in the rehearsal room and then we took those songs and then we took them to the studio, recorded it, then it was done. And this time it was, like, more production kind of work, you know. Like, we sat together, we played the songs in the rehearsal room, then we figured it out on the computer, on the DAW. And I think that this process is much, like, it's more cleaner. It's cleaner, it's a cleaner sound. It's, like, not that raw energy. We still get the same energy, like Constance said. But it's, like, a little bit more formed, a little bit more...

10:08HostI saw that it's tighter. It's tighter in a way that, I think, even that, like, the song structure and the song duration became a little less than if you compare it to the previous one. It's, like, kicking in sooner, maybe. I don't know.

10:23KonstantinYeah, we did have this, like, debating about how pop it should sound, how mainstream we want to go with it. And, yeah, I think we found a nice balance between, like, making it so that people that don't necessarily like rock only, that they will just listen to some sort of radio or, like, that they enjoy it as well as some fans who, like, just, like, the rock and, like, the whole banging, banging stuff.

10:48HostYeah, because in the beginning it was, like, a more, I don't want to say, not stone rock, but more in direction of, like, hard rock.

10:54KonstantinYeah, it was more, like, like, raw kind of thing, like, garage rock was kind of dirty shit. But also, we got into producing ourselves much more these days. So, like, especially Max is doing producing, Matthias is also doing producing. I don't know, we definitely got more into that as well. So, I think that's a, that's a, that's an important part.

11:11HostYeah, I checked, like, on Spotify you can see the producers of each song, for example. Yeah, and I could see that each song was produced, like, like, together. They're in the band.

11:21?Yeah, the producers are in the band as well. Yeah, Max is a fucking genius on the, on the logic. It really turned into a machine these past couple of years or a year. And so, yeah, it's just a blast to write songs and fucking record them in ourselves and then figure out the songs or the sound as we go along. The, the main thing is that the song sounds good, I guess, right? That's, that's the most important.

11:42HostWhat's the name, the main themes of lyrics in songs? Because you, like, you write in your description and stuff, right?

11:54KonstantinI like to write about, like, all the love stuff and whatever.

12:00?I'm into that.

12:08HostI wanted to say something romantic and the pussy came in.

12:12HostI'm not cutting it out.

12:23KonstantinIt's, I don't know, the lyrics went more in, in the, it's more like a modern lyric writing for me. I don't know, like, I, it's about myself, friends and, I don't know, like, it's from, from yourself perspective, pretty much.

12:36HostAnd about pussy, yeah.

12:41HostNo, no, no, no, no, no. It, it was a joke. So, so everybody shouldn't be offended or anything. Yeah, very much. So, so it's all good, you know, but.

12:50KonstantinYeah. Everything else, whatever you want. Everything, yeah, because that's what we do, man. That's what we write. No, but the, the lyrics, I, as a, like, as a, as a, as a watcher and listener, like, I, it, it did start, it, it, it always, there's always an element of love in the lyrics. But then, especially this past album, like, it turns into also, like, as, as you said, constantly, like, being concerned with how you are, like, being concerned, being, like, asking yourself, am I happy with myself? Am I doing shit right? Am I, am I, am I fucking up life? Or am I doing it right? And that, I love that element of the lyrics of, on this album. For sure.

13:25HostOkay, so, today is an album release, right? So, what's your plan in the near future, except the Nova Rocket on the 8th of June? By the, oh, wait, by the way, I wanted to ask you this, because it's the first thing I checked out. So, what's up with you and NFTs?

13:41KonstantinThat's a good question. I'll pass it on to someone else. Like, we're in a label, and they're selling, like, royalties of a song.

13:48HostWhat's the name of the label?

14:06HostOn the front page of the, when you go on the website of Global Rockstar, you're there.

14:34HostI mean, it's a good vehicle for promotion. It's just, I haven't seen any bands, local bands that are, I mean, in a rock sphere. When you check out their website, you can see there are other artists, but I'm not in that scene, for example. So, for me, like, it's the first time I could ask something about this.

15:04HostOkay, if you want some rock NFT of these curtains, you can, you can, I don't know, do you buy NFT?

15:09KonstantinYeah, you can buy, you can buy Global Rockstar website. Check it out. You can invest in the website. Yeah, it's fun. So, you buy one person, for example, and then, I don't know, like, five years, you're fucking rich.

15:20HostAll right, I got it. Okay, okay, okay. Okay, so, album release, 8th of June, Global Rock. When, when, what's your next plan? Tour? Vienna, Vienna, Vienna hardcore tour? No.

15:39KonstantinWe have our first Austrian tour outside of Vienna, believe it or not. Thanks to Tape Capital Music, like, as I said before.

15:45HostDo you already have the dates or not yet?

15:50KonstantinYeah, we're playing, uh, 11th of May, we're playing at Svettl.

15:55KonstantinYeah. Okay, what's the first date? 11th, that's, uh, in Svettl. Uh-huh. That's the first show. Then there's, uh, the day after, Linz. Then the day after Salzburg.

16:09KonstantinFor the near future, check out our fucking Instagram for the tour dates. We have them all written down there. We don't have them in our heads right now. Sorry. Interceptor Beyond listeners. I'm really sorry for that.

16:19HostOur manager is doing that. Now, I was about to say, like, you don't... Now you have a manager, you don't give a shit. Now we do know. Shit! Now you're super relaxed. It's actually on Instagram where I get my information. Where I should have...

17:00KonstantinThere's Donauinselfest. We're playing there as well.

17:04HostYeah, that's cool. That's cool.

17:15HostAll right. Great. Headlining is a good ending.

17:21HostYeah. So time for a song.

20:07HostThank you, Glaze Curtains. And now let's talk to Hidden Gems.

20:17?My name is David.

20:21HostPerfect. All right. So we got to know you, right? There's no online music, right? There's only music from the rooftop, right? Yeah. Yeah. And I checked it out and I really dig your sound. I really like the sound of it. Same. I think you're a really good musician. Did you study it professionally or some, I mean, like, musical education? No, nobody?

21:09HostPlayed in a band before? Or solo musicians? Or you just started with, this is the fresh band?

21:15?Yeah, like, a few of us, like, played music for themselves or just played in a few bands only just to try out and only small concerts. But then, that's why when we got experience and then started to, then we formed this band, like, Hidden Gems, and most of our experience comes from this group, actually, so, yeah.

21:34HostYeah, we need to mention that you're super young. Usually I ask this question and because there's, like, a lot of history behind it, but you're, like, something like 18, right? Yeah, right now it's, yeah, from 18 to 21?

21:47?Yeah, 18.

21:48HostYeah, yeah, 18 to 21. So, of course, you don't have much experience regarding the, I mean, depends, depends. Are you Gen Z people?

22:00HostFrom a cultural aspect or how do you feel about, I mean, do you feel Gen Z? Do you have TikToks? I know you have TikTok as a band.

22:08?Yeah.

22:13HostYeah, yeah, professional.

22:16HostAll right, so, okay, you don't, Gen Zs don't know if they're Gen Zs. It's a so Gen Z thing that it's embarrassing. No, I'm joking. Yeah, no, no. All right, so, there's a recording on the rooftop. So, how would you describe the music that you play?

22:58HostYeah, actually, like, when I listen to your music, the main thing that I really liked, not the main thing, but what I really liked is the groove, you know, like, really groove, there's, like, a nice rhythm there, like, live, I mean, it sounds really cool live, you know, I haven't, I mean, there's no recording music, right, but live, what I could see, it's, like, there's really cool stuff.

23:40HostSo, do you have already material that is ready for some recording, or?

23:51HostDo you have any label? Are you independent? Is somebody helping you? Because, I mean, you're super fresh, so I'm, I'm asking, like, super basic questions, because there's not, I don't know anything.

24:08HostIt's not official yet, so you can't say.

24:14HostThat's good today, congrats, I mean, maybe I even know those people, I'm not sure, yeah. It's a small city, we... Everybody knows everybody. Everybody knows everybody. All right, so, what are you going to play tonight? Is it, like, your new, new stuff? Are you going to play new, new, new, new stuff, or are you going to play, like, stuff that I heard?

24:53HostIs it, like, the new stuff that will end up on the album, or are you planning the album, or are you planning your EP? What are you planning, actually?

25:03HostBig things. So, multi-platinum album deals with tours worldwide.

25:12HostWhat do you know about the music industry? How much do you know about it? Because, have you heard that it's, like, not easy?

25:48HostWell, yeah, yeah. You say the right things. I hope you actually will do this, you know? Because once, once, once you become popular and stuff, you know, you start to, like, ah, you don't have time for that. I don't want to do that. I don't want to read a contract. I don't want to, like, because I know it's important.

26:32HostYeah, exactly. I mean, you are, you know nothing. You know nothing. And it's better, in a way, it's better not to know a little bit, you know, but still understand that it's not that easy. But for you not to be, not to get depressed, no, it's all good, you know, you just need to surround yourself with good people. That's really important. If you can. If you can.

27:05HostI also learned that you shouldn't work with your family members in the music industry because they don't know shit.

27:23HostJackson 5, it's a little bit different, right? What I mean is, like, we have a band and then your uncle says, yeah, I can manage your band. I know, I've been working in construction and I know what to do. I know how to negotiate. And then the first contract that he signs all your rights to somebody and it's like, the guy was really, like, legit, you know. But no, you fucked it up, man. No, something like that. Yeah.

27:49?Yeah.

27:49HostSo, what are you going to, what's your plan now? So, a label in three months, a tour in Austria?

28:03HostIs there, like, a festival that you would like to play at? Like, you're, like, for now, like, a dream one, but not to, like, something realistic, but that can be...

28:14HostFrequency, yeah. Frequency.

28:16?Yeah, I would agree.

28:17HostYeah. Is it, well, it's probably too late for the frequency? Right now?

28:22?Yeah.

28:28HostAll right, I wanted to ask about the, I don't like this question, but in your case, it's important. The influences, right? Because you're, like, super fresh, and you have the hip-hop, you have all these kinds of elements. What are the main ones?

28:51HostWhich kind of hip-hop? There's, like, there's different kinds of hip-hop.

29:23HostYeah, but what are the, what do you mean when you say old? Because I'm thinking old, like, early hip-hop 70s, right? Maybe for you, old is, like, 90s. I have no idea.

29:37HostAh, that's what I mean, you know? I'm thinking, like, 70s hip-hop, you know, like, only the beginning, right?

29:57HostFor example, yeah, like, like, like, 70s.

30:10Hostyeah yeah we all respect 50 cents yeah surviving all those bullets you have to

30:36Hosthow do i feel when i when i said the groove you know i really like a fan of funk you know music right and that was like spot on are you fans of funkadelic band did you think nobody of us

31:06Hostyoung spirits because you're so freaking young because if you interview bento they're like already 50 or something that's yeah also they're like uh by the way the like uh uh uh advice from the old guys try to be independent develop your advice right now no it's a problem and from them okay to you to you i'm just remembering just like maybe just i'm cutting all the bullshit i'm just saying yeah develop your own voice try to be as independent as possible without any labels so that you can keep the money in and yeah surround yourself with good people yeah right yeah all right guys uh uh so the thing is in the end i always ask could you please me give me a song that's a good introduction to your band uh not easy right yeah for us for us it's not easy yes but uh which song from the rooftop sessions should i put in miss monroe

34:18Hostthank you hidden gems and thank you the listener you you you personally you for staying to the end don't forget to follow this podcast right now just hit that follow button man if you dig it man more stuff to come definitely more stuff to come until next time next time will happen definitely take care and bye goodbye ciao