Anacortez – An Xperience Interview

Anacortez – An Xperience Interview – by Seth Casale

I sat down with Mike and Jessie from Anacortez and talked music and recording, including a sneak preview of their most ambitious original song yet. Spoiler alert—it’s great!

RRX: OK, thanks for joining me today, guys. So, Anacortez, where did that name come from?

ANA: I had this hoodie from when I did over-the-road trucking for a while, from this little town in Washington called Anacortes (spelled with an “S”). We originally spelled our band that way; I thought this would be such a cool band name. Mike and I were messing around playing music, locked in the house and stuff; this was Covid time. So I thought, “He’s always been in a bunch of bands, we should start a band and call it that.” I thought it sounded cool, almost like metal.

RRX: It does sound metal.

ANA: It looks cooler, visually, with the “Z” on there. Very appealing. He said, “Let’s do it.” And then Kevin—the drummer who he was already doing another band with called Grey Days. I went there with him once a week, when he was practicing with them, and then we told Kev, “Let’s make a band,” and then it was on. Then we changed it to the “Z” later when we went to upload the demo onto Spotify. When I checked to see if there was another band, I found another band from New York with the same name, same spelling, named after the same small town. I’d already had the artwork uploaded and was ready to go, so I said, “We’re gonna call the demo ‘Anacortes’.” We had done a professional recording with John Nada. Well, his real name is John Naclerio, but the studio is Nada Studio. We went down to Montgomery, near Poughkeepsie.

RRX: So you and Mike are married?

ANA: Yeah, we’ve been playing together since 2020, which I only know from Facebook memories (laughs). That’s a pretty good run for us. Mike and Kevin (the drummer) have been playing together since middle school, so like 30 years.

ANA: Honestly, like 30 years. We started jamming in middle school. Green Day, whatever was popular at the time.

RRX: What do you guys think about the local music scene here and a little wider view, regionally?

ANA: At least locally, I can’t speak to regionally, because we don’t go outside our little bubble. Locally, here I’d have to say I’m very blessed, #blessed. It offers a lot. I’m from a small town and I taught myself to play guitar—not very well—so I could sing and had something to sing over. But here, everyone I know is a musician. Last weekend, Mike played with Straight Jacket for a packed house at Empire Live. I’d say it’s thriving.

RRX: Mike, how did you get on that show?

ANA: I’m friends with Straight Jacket from back in the ‘90s. I went to high school with a couple of the guys, and their bass player and I were in a band together in the late ‘90s called Descent. They decided to do one more run, one more big show, and the original guitar player opted not to do it. So they knew that I was a friend and would be able to learn the songs. I’m in the area so it’s convenient for me. I got the call from Sean, and this was like 6 months ago. I wore my Anacortez hat on stage.

ANA: So Mike was able to play guitar with Straight Jacket and it got a lot of people to notice him. And maybe they will find us through him.

RRX: What are your guys’ personal influences in music?

ANA: I’ll let Mike talk a little bit.

ANA: I was like a hardcore kid kind of vibe, and all my friends were hardcore people one way or another. I don’t listen to a lot of newer, heavier music now. I don’t seek it out much. I listen to a lot of R&B and neo soul, more of the smooth-vocal-singer stuff like that, cuz I’m a vocal guy. I really enjoy a good singer, a good male vocal.

RRX: That’s interesting because that’s not heavy music.

ANA: I think it sort of balances me out because I’m inclined to write these sorts of songs with a lot of chugging heavy overtones to them, and it’s nice to have a soulful balance. So that’s how my songs usually sound kind of driving with a nice vocal to smooth it out.

RRX: And that’s you on the male part in “Shove It,” Mike?

ANA: Yeah.

RRX: And what about you, Jessie?

ANA: When I was really young, I was just really into singing. Like, I liked Disney movies. The first band song I liked was “American Pie.” I listened to the tape over and over again until the tape got eaten at the daycare I was at. And I was so sad, you know, because I was little, and little kids can’t handle their emotions.

RRX: And what a sad song; that’s so meta.

ANA: I was like 3 years old, I had this boombox, so it was like the day the music died for me. And then in my angsty teen years, I got into the alternative scene, like the Warped Tour scene. I got really into the Used, My Chemical Romance, Flyleaf, Blink-182—all of the things I could sing along to. And Avril Lavigne, who inspired me to play guitar.

RRX: What’s the date of your Plush show at Empire Live?

ANA: May the 4th … be with you, at Empire Live.

RRX: Speaking of shows, can you share one of your favorite show memories, or a crazy memory from a show?

ANA: I think my favorite memory was opening for this band with a female drummer and singer, and I took off my hat and was going to throw it into the crowd. There was a young girl there with her hands up, and a guy was standing in front of her, so I threw my hat and ended up hitting him right in the face. After the show I was like, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, you get a free hat.” He ended up getting the hat, and we signed both hats.

RRX: I have an admittedly nerdy question about the production sound on your cover of “Shove It.” The production of that is very different than that of your demo. How much of that production sound was overt to replicate or offer homage to the original production sound?

ANA: It was a marriage of accident and trying to have their sound … their tuning, it worked with my guitar. I use a Dimension C pedal, like Chino does, which gives a good, metal, shoegaze-y sound. So it was pretty faithful to their sound, and people responded to it when we played it live. Then my buddy Tyler at Pacemaker Audio who recorded it, he’s kind of a sound nerd and recording nerd, came up with some tweaks, and we wanted to touch on the harder side of our band.

RRX: Now it’s your time to talk about whatever you want or we forgot. I know you have the May 4 show with Plush.

ANA: Right, May the 4th with Plush at Empire Live. Also—August 17 in Lake George—the festival organized by Marshall VanBuren, we will be hopefully playing.

RRX: Thanks so much for spending some time with me this evening, and go see Anacortez with Plush at Empire Live!
Editor’s Note: The ADK-Phoric Festival is at Roaring Brook Ranch Resort in Lake George, on August 17, 2024.

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