Krystle Rangel (Where My Bones Rest Easy - bass)
1. What are your top five albums that were released in 2015? (In order 1-5)
- Cloakroom - Further Out
- Reservoir - Cicurina Vol. 1
- Lithuania - Hardcore Friends
- Superheaven - Ours is Chrome
- Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith
2. What band did you discover in 2015 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?
Cloakroom! I had heard them before this year, but didn’t really delve into them until 2015. I also saw them for the first time this year and was absolutely blown away. Their tone across the board is great and it led me (and our singer/guitarist) to begin the process of switching to Janice Cabs.
3. How will you remember 2015? (In terms of music)
It was a year full of excellent shows and tours! Seeing Failure, Hum with Mineral, Cursive with Beach Slang, The Get Up Kids with Hotelier, and Hop Along with Lithuania are among the most memorable of the year for me.
4. What can we look forward to from you in 2016?
Well, we are in the process of solidifying and narrowing down the songs we want on our first LP as we gear up to record next year. We also have some pretty great tour plans in the works. We will be going on another West Coast tour with our label-mates Slow Code in March along with a possible US tour later in the year.
5. What records are you looking forward to most in 2016?
I’m really looking forward to see what Dead Soft has planned as well as Sneeze. Both are due for new releases and hopefully more touring (particularly to the PNW so I can see them)!
6. How relevant is the physical format record/cd/tape in 2015 and going into 2016? What do you see changing in terms of physical vs. digital discussions?
Vinyl has, and will continue, to remain a relevant format; there is just something about it that can’t be replaced. The only thing that sucks about vinyl is the turn around time; they take so long to press. Tapes have grown considerably popular this year (which makes sense as they are quick and cheap to make) and this will most definitely continue into 2016. CDs on the other hand are basically obsolete (at least to me).
I feel that both physical and digital formats are important and needed and a balance between the two seems to be coming. It will always be harder to monitor music in a digital format, but I think people are becoming more aware of the negative affect that illegal downloading has on bands, independent labels, and record shops and, as a result, they are more apt to support them by buying their music. Hopefully this way of thinking spreads and continues to grow; it has to if we want small bands to keep making music and independent labels and record shops to stay in business.
