motel void

MOTEL VOID: You’ve just released your new single, “High.” It’s your third song released this year. Will these tracks be part of your new album? Can you share more about the writing and recording process behind your recent songs?

MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME: Yeah this is actually our 4th single from a full length album that we’re working on. Historically I’ve been kind of a lone wolf when it comes to recording and playing the parts for my records, but this time around and with this group of guys it just felt right to go with a more collaborative approach to the songs. So for all 4 of these I’d bring the idea to the band and we’d flesh them out together, rearrange parts, and chew on different ideas until something cool came out. Then we’d go and record them in my basement. Our song “Blue Apollo” and this song “High” were both done live in my studio. We actually learned High the same day we recorded it and I think you can feel the excitement and spontaneity in the finished product. I love that about live recording.

MOTEL VOID: You’re from Nashville, Tennessee. How would you describe the current music scene there? Do you have any favorite venues? Can you recommend a few local artists?

MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME: Nashville is great! It has a reputation for being more of a country focused town, but there is this huge underground DIY scene happening right now that is absolutely amazing. There’s a great all ages DIY venue that I work at called DRKMTTR where everyone plays and kinds hones their set before taking it on the road. It’s been really cool to see the scene blossom here ever since the covid restrictions were lifted and everyone got to show off the crazy stuff they were working on in isolation during the pandemic. That’s actually how make yourself at home started!
There are so many local artists that I could recommend: Zook, Thomas Luminoso, Melaina Kol, Total Wife, Baby Wave, Celltower, Rig B, Brian Brown, Shell of a Shell, Third Face, Waxed, Snooper, Impediment. I could go on! Mostly every one of those bands are friends of mine and we all help each other make things happen. It’s really great.

MOTEL VOID: You run a DIY cassette label, Second Floor Recording. What got you interested in tapes? Do you have any favorite tape labels? And do you make the tapes yourself?

MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME: Second Floor Recording Co. really was initiated because of watching that Elephant 6 documentary that came out earlier this year. I saw that with my band and we were like, “We have all the things we need to make something like that happen, what the hell are we doing?” so I started buying tape decks to chain together and duplicate tapes for people. I really didn’t think it would take off like it has, but since the other major tape label in town Banana tapes moved to NY, there was a space that needed filled and I just happened to be there at the right place at the right time.

I got interested in tapes from being super into lo-fi bands like Guided By Voices, Woods, The Microphones etc. I just really wanted to get that sound and also to not be strapped to a computer screen the whole time I’m working on music. It’s been really helpful for the writing process for me.

I order the blank tapes from a duplication website and then dub them all at home. That way I can be in control of the whole process and make sure they turn out as good as they can. I also will do J Card art for some artists and I always print / cut / and assemble them myself. I really love the DIY approach to making music and if I can extend some of that character to other artists as well help them get their music in people’s hands that makes me happier than anything.

MOTEL VOID: Who is your biggest inspiration at the moment?

MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME: My biggest inspiration right now, musically at least, is either Spacemen 3 or Yo La Tengo. They’re both absolute giants of wisdom and art in my book. I love them

MOTEL VOID: What are your plans for the rest of the year, both for your label and your band?

MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME: Plans for the rest of the year are just to keep my nose to the grindstone with the label, keep making people tapes, keep recording people as much as they’ll allow me to, and to finish making the make yourself at home record. I’m hoping to have that done by October for maybe a fall release, but we’ll see, you never know how these things can go! We’re gonna set up a little weekend tour around then as well to get out on the road, we haven’t been doing much touring as we’ve been trying to really hone in on what we are, but I think we’re ready now to get out there and see what the rest of the country thinks!