The University News: Is this your first time at ACL?

Gryffin: Yeah. It is.

UN: How are you feeling?

G: It’s awesome. I always kind knew that ACL was a dope festival but until I got here I didn’t realize how big it is and how awesome the vibe is. So, I’m super happy to be here.

UN: Have you performed in Austin before?

G: Yeah I played at SXSW and came again and did the Empire Garage, so the outdoor venue. This is my third time here.

UN: Has it been any different each time?

G: Yeah this time it’s even crazier and SXSW is cool festival but it’s super spread out, so this is 100,000 people in one space so it’s crazier. Everytime I come back to Austin I feel more energy and more fans of my music and it’s really cool because it’s one up the last time. This most recent time has been amazing.

UN: That’s awesome! Okay, so can you clarify what EDM is? I know there are couple of people who just clump it into one sound, so can you tell me the different types of EDM sounds within the genre?

G: There are so subgenres of EDM but if you are trying to classify it as a whole, it is kind of like just the name—Electronic Dance Music. Like fundamentally dance so it makes you want to move and it uses a lot of synthesized digital sound and synthesized drum kits. Within that there are so many different types, but if you want to classify it all together it’s music that’s mad half from the computer so it’s electronic and it makes you move.

UN: So, can you explain a couple of the subgenres? What do you think your type of sound is?

G: Yeah, I think I’m definitely more in the melodic version of it and I do two different types of music. I do melodic house music and I also do what they call future bass.

UN: What is that?

G: Future bass is heavy on synth and subs and it’s usually anywhere between 100-150 beats per minute. It’s more on the vibier side of music instead of being super loud and aggressive. I try to make my music very melodic and beautiful. You can make it super aggressive and hard like dubstep, but I try to make my music more emotional and melodic.

UN: I know you personally from listening to “Desire”, which was in that Zac Efron movie, so I was wondering how do you choose who to remix.

G: It depends. In the beginning, I was doing any remix of a song that just spoke to me on an emotional level and the vocal resonated with me along with the voice. Also it depended on what sounds I could find online. I would look for a capella songs online.

UN: Really? When was that?

G: It was during the end of 2014 beginning of 2015. I was putting music out for free on soundcloud and then record labels started messaging me saying “Hey, will you remix our artists.” That was when I got to remix Tove Lo, Maroon 5 and Years and Years. At that point I was able to be a little more selective, but it terms of what songs I want to remix, if the lyrics speak to me on an emotional level or if I really appreciate what the artist is doing in their career at the moment it makes me more excited and want to remix them. We made the record and weirdly was not even going to put that song out and I actually made the remix and didn’t know if it was good enough or if people will like it and Max Joseph who ended up directing and producing “We Are Your Friends” heard the record at a meeting with Interscope since they were curating the music for that movie and he said, “This is the song. This is the song I want to be the single off of the movie. I know exactly what part of the movie I want to put it in.” They then contacted me and Max told me that he loved the song and asked if he could put it in the movie. At that I was thinking to myself, “well I guess I’ll release the record.” It took off from there and he invited me to the premiere for the movie and I got to meet Zac Efron and Emily Ratajkowski and hang out with all those guys and the song took off so it was a really cool experience.

UN: That’s really cool. So, when it comes to remixing music, when do you think you’re done? Also, what are the limitations of it?

G: When do I think I’m done with a specific remix? Or just a general when am I done with remixes?

UN: Like, when you take up a song and decide that you’re going to remix this song, when do you feel like this is it?

G: It’s honestly hard to say. With music it weird, because with any sort of art form, you can work on it forever and never feel like it’s 100 percent there. At a certain point you have to feel like you’re kind of proud of it and you just have to put it out in the world. I can’t really say exactly when I feel like it’s totally there, but I get a good enough idea when everything melodically fits together and I’m personally connected to it. Once it gets to that level, I’m ready to release it to the world and see what the world thinks. But, it’s always a different process to get to that state of mind.

UN: When you create music versus remix music do you feel like there are limitations with either? Or do you feel like remixes are more limiting because you’re taking work already made?

G: That’s a good question. I do think remixes are limiting in that regard. I think if you crush a remix that can honestly sometimes be better than the original in a weird way. I’m not saying that I’m doing that. I don’t want to put that out there. Sometimes a remix can be a really good fresh take on songs and outdo the original, but I feel like there are limitation though because it isn’t your specific piece of work and what you are known for as an artist. That’s sort of why I have been wanting to move a little bit away from the remixes. I love doing them and I still enjoy and still will do them, but nowadays I am a little bit more focused on my own artist project and translating the sound from my remix days into original music and when I make it, think about what do I want to say on this piece of work today and what I want this original piece to be talking about and how do I want to show it to the world.

UN: Did that help you open up and go through the process differently?

G: It’s definitely different. Yeah. For the remix, you are reimagining a record that was already written and are almost starting at a certain point in the song already as it’s been kinda created from a certain point and you’re just kinda picking it up and taking it to a new world. With an original song, it’s literally like a blank sheet of paper so we think, what do we want the song to be about? It starts from way earlier on. So for the original studd, when people really enjoy it, it means more to me personally because I created this baby from thin air.

UN: Where do you draw from?

G: Everywhere. With songwriters, maybe they have something they want to say and it’s about getting it out of the songwriter and sometimes I’ll come to the session. Maybe something happened in my personal life or an idea of a song comes to me and I think that would be cool to make a song about that. It’s the matter of writing it and getting the lyrics down and getting the message out on paper and lyrically and melodically and then prodicing it out. It kind of comes from everywhere though—my own life, other people’s lives, songwriters lives. It’s just about being open to listening to other people and listening to my own voice and emotions and head.

Wow its’ going crazy at BROCKHAMPTON right now.

UN: It’s something else.

G: It’s lit out there! Sorry, go ahead.

UN: So I’m from Saint Louis University, and I actually didn’t listen to English music until I went to college and then it was a whole new experience in terms of music. When did your music experiences start?

G: I’ve been into music my whole life. I played piano classically when I was a kid and in high school I played the guitar in my jam band. But when I got to college, I fell in love with dance music. It was Swedish House Mafia, Deadmau5, Skrillex, and they were all coming out with music that I had never heard before, so that I point I thought the music and the sounds were crazy. I decided that I wanted to see and try to make that on my own and see what it’s like just for fun. When I was studying, I would be in the library and taking a break from studying and working on music.

UN: What was your major?

G: I was Electric Engineering.

UN: What? I’m an engineering major.

G: Nice! Very cool. Yeah I was nerding out hardcore in college and as an escape from my four hour lab I wanted to do something else. That’s where I would make music and when I was a junior, senior in college, that’s when I started putting out remixes on soundcloud and it started to take off and labels started hitting me up and basically I was like maybe I can do this as a career. I love music my whole life, so I ended up walking away from the engineering path and pursuing music and I couldn’t be happier.

UN: That’s really cool! So, coming back to performing, when you’re on stage, what excites you?

G: Nothing is more exciting than seeing the smiles on people’s faces singing the records that I’ve made and worked on and feeling the energy from the crowd. That gives me so much energy. 100 percent. There’s no cooler feeling than being out on stage and feeling that rush of energy and you wanting to give it back to them and it’s a ping-pong thing of feeding off of each other and it build throughout the set. That’s like my favorite part of performing.

UN: Do you prefer one—performing in front of others versus writing your own music? Is that a bad question?

G: No, not at all. My favorite part about music is making music. It definitely is. I enjoy the live stuff 100 percent. But I got in the industry and started getting into the music by making the music, because that’s my favorite part—being in the studio, creating melodies, then music. The touring part is an amazing perk of it. But, nothing makes me happier than the creation of music.

UN: Where is it going from here?

G: I’m about to announce putting out an album. We’re working really hard on that in between all these shows and I’m really excited for how it’s turning out.

UN: That’s awesome. Well thanks for being here!

Tie Me Down by Gryffin ft. Elley Duhé came out on Aug. 2 and he performs next at the Hakkasan Vegas Nightclub in Las Vegas on Oct. 20.

We got the chance to sit down with a couple of band members with the Vibe opening band, After Wednesday, a three-piece punk rock band previously named Casper. These St. Louis natives described their approach to music as technical and passionate. Along with their happy-go-lucky attitude, Pat and Jack expressed how they are honing their sound (which is seen in their newest single, Tattoo) a change emphasized by the change of their band name.

What high school did you go to? How did you meet?

Pat:  We went to Chaminade, which is in Creve Coeur. Funny story…Jack and I never really hung out until senior year of high school. [But] we had band class together [and] we were always bored in church so we played music at church together. I had noticed that Jack was wearing Vans, and I had just started skateboarding again. I was thinking to myself, “wow, this guy is such a poser just wearing Vans”. They I asked him if he skateboarded and then we started to skate for about six months at Webster Grove State Park. I had been thinking about playing music for a while, but it was really hard because it was hard to find people in high school who like common music. I asked [Jack] if we could jam sometime and we [did that] it in the basement with a small drum set that faced the wall.

Jack: We needed a bass player, and I was like, “Pat! I got the perfect guy! He’s really good at bass [and] he’s a good time.” So I introduced [Pat] to Bennett and sparks flew.

Pat: [When we brought Bennett in] and he asked if it [was] something we would like to play live. Yeah, ideally we would like to play live. Some covers we played were a Tool song, Blink-182, and some Red Hot Chili Peppers. Our first show was not good. We had a guy who was too scared to sing and a guy who kept on dropping his sticks.

Jack: Yeah, [my drumstick ended up] flying across the stage. I put a drumstick on my bass drum, so I grab it when I drop it. But the vibrations made it fall off so I had to reach underneath while playing with the other hand. It was sloppy.

Jack:  [Soon we honed our sound] and what we sound like is the closest in between of what we all listen to. So when we first started out, we were listening to all kinds of music.

Pat:  A cool part of it is that all three of us write. That doesn’t happen too much in other bands.

Can you describe your music?

Pat: A little pop-punk and a little rock. I’d say experimental pop punk alternative rock n’ roll hard rock. People called us Green Day at first, which is fine. We sound like alternative rock with a hint of 2000s rock. Maybe a little progressive.

Jack: Yeah, when I mess up on the drums sometimes, I would say it is a little progressive. It’s on the alternative side. We kind of sound like a step up from a talent show band [laughs].

How did you feel about performing live at Delmar Hall and the Duck Room?

Jack: We’ve played at the Delmar Hall twice. The first time we played at Delmar Hall we were in disbelief because we were playing these Utopia and Fubar shows, The Crack -Fox. Those venues are just for starting out and we were doing that for a while. Luckily, Bennett [and I] had a friend from Mizzou who is from a bigger band and we [ended up opening] up at a Christmas Show. We opened up for Tidal Volume and they helped us out.

Pat: We are thankful for those shows. Our first headlining show was at the Duck Room. The first time we played at Delmar Hall I drank six cups of coffee before then. We were really nervous. Blueberry Hill to this day is my favorite venue. It’s more of a restaurant and gets a lot a people off the street in the Loop. It is one of the bigger smaller clubs.

Talk about your experiences filming the video for Tattoo.

Pat: We did it on the spot and didn’t think about it enough. We’re very “do-it-yourself.”

Jack: Especially right now, because we don’t have money.

Pat: We also had a fear of wasting money on something that may not come out good.

Jack: We asked Bennett’s cousin who has a great camera and did journalism in high school and asked him, “hey do you mind filming this?” Pretty much all we wanted to do was eat cereal in front of the camera and maybe do some improv things. We are not actors, so that didn’t go really well.

Pat: After 20 minutes in, I almost puked after eating that much cereal. [Two nights before shooting] we paint[ed] everything [including our shirts]. We didn’t think it through, because when the shirts dried they were crusty. It was the first music video we’d done. We can kind of either do it yourself, or wait for a record label to want you.

Jack: But, we kind of wanted to make a home video. Which is probably giving it too much credit.  But yeah. we each had a box of cereal almost.

What kind of cereal was it?

Jack: I don’t know if we are going to get copyrighted but it was Lucky Charms, Cookie Crisp and Cap’n Crunch.

What are your favorite bands and the influences for your sound?

Pat: My influences personally are Blink-182, Sum 41, Angels and Airwaves, newer Sum 41, Agent Orange, [The] Dead Kennedys and The Cure. Favorite band: Angels and Airwaves and The Cure. We don’t dislike mainstream. Our whole band is driven by pop punk to punk to hard rock. Jack and I also like a lot of The 1975.

Jack: Tool, because Danny Carey is a God. And Muse, too. [Jokingly] Nick Jonas is our main inspiration. We really get our sound from his essence. Bennett likes Dream Theater, Deftones, Leprous, Blink-182, and Green Day. He likes a lot of rap, too. I don’t know where I get my influence.

After Wednesday will be the opener for Vibe on Saturday (doors open at 5 and show starts at 6:30) and will play again at Delmar Hall on May 11th.

Lady Gaga released her most personal album to date last year, “Joanne,” and just got around to touring a couple of weeks ago at Scottrade after a daring performance at the last Super Bowl. One thing’s for sure: Only she can make such a huge venue seem like an intimate setting with her poise and her powerful music.

The album dived into the reality of Lady Gaga: her chronic pain that is expanded visually with the Netflix documentary “Gaga: Five Foot Two,” which she explained delved into the moments that she wasn’t comfortable in exposing, but agreed that the makers portrayed flawlessly. The album is named after her aunt “Joanne” who died before Gaga was born. The sold-out show already seemed like a hit when the audience members waited outside the venue for 45 minutes before the show started, but their excitement levels never died down.

Lady Gaga finally appeared on stage after no opening act, simply a DJ, to a setting that had tremendous amounts of lighting, platforms by the viewers down in general admission, and a large amount of the audience in crazy costumes from her music videos. Gaga opened with beat-heavy “Diamond Heart,” the first song of her newest album, bringing out a large army of dancers onto a moving stage with fire and smoke all around her, highlighting the jewels on her statement-wear for the concert: her glittering pink cowboy hat.

The concert kept getting bigger and bolder with other moving parts like the turning stages that descended from above, the main stage that tilted as the dancers danced—and needless to say—the flashy costumes. The sets continued with ramps that also functioned as screens, lasers that illuminated the venue, and snippets of her music videos from songs that weren’t performed. Gaga kept the audience engaged by unapologetically demanding that they stay standing throughout the concert because it’s only polite.

Gaga treated her audience to a night filled with twenty songs, all the back-to-back hits, like “Poker Face,” “Applause,” “Born This Way,” “Alejandro,” “Telephone” and “Paparazzi.” The dancers kept up with her energy with their sharp choreography and eccentric costumes, consisting of sunflower leotards, cowboy boots in “John Wayne,” and bright red leather in “Dancin’ in Circles,” a song that Gaga said brought out the her sexual side.

The ones that she sang from “Joanne” emphasized the need for inclusion, love and support. Gaga took her time when singing through “The Edge of Glory,” which was written for her best friend who died of cancer, a song which stripped her down to tears as she performed it. She said that it is during times like these that one needs to know that they’re not alone. The performance was raw, and it exposed her voice and her piano, as she took time away from her five-piece pop band. She fought and came back strong with her fearless “Born This Way,” where she sang and rocked her head back and forth directly into the camera, giving her audience a sense of perseverance.

Lady Gaga’s “Joanne” world tour was her message to the world that she is reaching out to support her fans who are going through struggles in their lives right now. Through her music she sincerely assures that she will be there for them as seen in her song “Come to Mama,” signifying her support to the LGBTQ community.

Throughout the concert, she singled out audience members who wore bling on their pink jackets and the pink cowboy hat from her album cover and repeatedly pointed and said “I love that” and “I see you.” Audience members left Scottrade ardently emotional with a resounding sound of her powerful music.

Miles Teller as Adam Schumann returns home from war in Iraq to his wife Saskia Schumann, who is played by Haley Bennet.

In the era of war films being popular, Jason Hall comes out with his directorial debut, “Thank You for Your Service” that stands out as a war film that intensifies the emotional aftermath of a soldier who had just come back from the Iraq war and juggles with the struggles of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The audience is always going to root for war films as they did for “Dunkirk,” “American Sniper” and “Hacksaw Ridge,” and Hall took that response and brought his characters back home. “Thank You for Your Service” is a war film that mainly explores how these soldiers transition, if they do, back into the civilian life. a film that explores this subject after the last film did, “The Best Years of Our Lives,” back in 1946.

Hall conveys sincere authenticity in his directorial debut as he casts Miles Teller and Beluah Koale as Sergeant Adam Schumann and Tausolo Aieti respectively. Hall spills his knowledge and experience from his work as a writer on the war film “American Sniper” while working with director Clint Eastwood. Similar to how “American Sniper” was based on the book of the same name by Chris Kyle, Hall transforms the book of the same name by David Finkel into this film where he chooses to truthfully convey the psychological struggles of these soldiers.

Sergeant Adam Schumann returns home to his loving and loyal wife Saskia Schumann (Haley Bennett) with guilt of skipping both the birth of his boy and the move-in into the new house, along with guilt from the death and injuries of his fellow soldiers back in Iraq in which he believed he was accountable. He is reminded of this guilt as soon as he is confronted by Amanda Doster (Amy Schumer) who pries Schumann to see if she can figure out if he was a witness to her husband’s death, a story that unfolds tactfully throughout because of Hall’s craftsmanship.

Hall treats this film in a unique way through his characterization and differences of the soldiers. A fairly strong man, Schumann, attempts to almost live in denial and acts as if the transition into civilian life is smooth. As he continues to live through the guilt from war, Schumann pries his layers of denial away as he understands the importance of seeking help for what he discovers is PTSD. As this force who believes that life moves on after tragedy at war, Schumann encourages his buddy Aieti to seek help as well, after he (Hall) explores the characters as they seek treatment. This involves intense questionnaires and confrontations that the characters would rather avoid. These characters contrast with another character who is handicapped but is still grateful for his life, who contrasts with Dante (Omar Dorsey) who chooses to be a drug smuggler.

The cast isn’t filled with the biggest names (except for Teller) and some characters are surprisingly cast (namely Schumer), but each actor fits their role perfectly. Teller currently is in a phase of choosing films that bring real people to the big screen starting from “War Dogs,” “Bleed for This,” and his latest “Only the Brave.” Teller seems to be flawless as Sergeant Adam Schumann as he has carved a routine for himself to fit these inspirational roles. Schumer refreshingly brings on a new dimension into her role as Amanda Doster, who ultimately portrays how she was widowed. The audience may be left confused as to why— or even how—she landed this role, which has a small screen space, but may not be surprised if she continues to take up such roles. Koale as Tausalo Aieti, a Samoan soldier, was rightly cast considering the substance of his previous work in two shorts and an independent feature who also comes from the same background as the character he plays. Ultimately, Hall exceptionally hand-picks his cast who translates his goal to convey the truth of the characters on-screen.

Hall emphasizes the aftermath of the Iraq war, for which he handles meticulously making the treatment after this war a distinct when compared to the Vietnam War. Instead of playing out the Department of Veteran Affairs as a villain for the film, Hall instead brings depth to the characters of the soldiers turned civilians and society as a whole. Hall, through “Thank You for Your Service,” emphasizes the role that the Veterans Affairs plays for these soldiers, but also asks society to also be more aware of the struggles and experiences that these soldiers face in war.

Filmmaker Jason Hall takes on the reigns this time for his directorial debut for the film “Thank You for Your Service.” Hall who previously acted in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” as Devon MacLeish takes on a more wholehearted role as director after his previous work as the writer in “American Sniper” under the guidance of director Clint Eastwood. Hall took what he learned from that film, which was loosely based on the memoir “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History” and worked on his debut, which was also based on a book, “Thank You for Your Service” by David Finkel.

Hall gives his most sincere project to date as he explores his characters Sergeant Adam Schumann (Miles Teller) and Tausolo Aieti (Beulah Koale). Hall portrays the lives of these men during their physical suffering at war and their emotional suffering at home. The film maintains a serious tone as the characters experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and have a difficult time adjusting to a civilian life after their time in Iraq.

The University News recently got an opportunity to sit down during a round table with director Jason Hall and really learn what this experience meant to him and how he was affected by the subject matter.

Q: How was the screening last night?

A: It was great. It was really impactful for people. It’s great when a veteran continues to work with other veterans because it immediately cuts through that trust barrier. They know who they’re taking to and immediately opens up to them.

Q: Do you think that working on “American Sniper” kind of helped prepare you to make some relationships with guys and clear up some trust issues with these veterans, which helped the shoot go smoothly?

A: Yeah. I think it helped them, trust me. But what I thought was “oh it’s going to be a snap and I’ll walk right in here and know who these guys are and the language,” and that wasn’t true. These guys fought in a different war and came from different places and have different backgrounds and most had different types of training. Chris and the training that Navy Seals have— they’re put through such rigorous training and so many of them are eliminated so you get the best and the brightest and mentally the sharpest minds that are going to be able to endure the most. You’re taking some guys who have faced some challenges in their life and you’re putting them into a home. When you start adding trauma and a brain injury to those challenges, then you’re looking at some consequences.

Q: Why did you choose to not show some of the treatment that the soldiers went under?

A: There is such a hurdle to getting that treatment— which is very esoteric— [and it] is an entirely different thing to begin with, and would have probably taken a whole different route to go through that treatment. But I definitely explored that [when] taking that into the script, but once you write the script, many times you have to write the story that it isn’t rather than the story that it is. Initially the story was written for the character who is only on the phone throughout the film and you only hear his voice. That character was going to the protagonist in the first draft.

Q: Are soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan damaged mentally in a distinct way as compared to other wars?

A: The majority of these soldiers come home and they are not damaged and these guys are assets. 1 out of 5 soldiers come home and have some form of PTSD. Between this and say Vietnam, the differences are the blast waves. Once you start dealing with IEDs [implosive explosive device] and the way that that affects the brain and trauma, it’s closer to World War I. With all the shelling and the concussive nature of that than it is to anything before that. It’s not the explosion that does the most damage, it was the blast wave. It’s the wave that comes and hits you like a brick wall.

Q: How does this movie compare to other films that are pro-war where you can get some veterans to come and support the war? This is more about the PTSD and coming back and the mental issues. Do you get worried that your audience is not necessarily veterans because they won’t want to relate to this? Have you noticed any resistance to the film?

A: The only resistance we have had are from combat veterans, who immediately think that I’ve lived that war, and why would I want to go through that again. But when they do come they realize, “wow this is my story.” We get the veterans to believe that this isn’t some Hollywood-ized version of the story, but we went to some extreme places to make sure that this is very realistic and authentic of what these guys have been through for a reason. That reason is that as a society we can understand what they went through so that we can have a conversation with them.

Q: Every character was very authentic and I know that they’re based on real people, so how hard was that to capture those soldiers?

A: It was challenging in just the regard that you have to reach out and you almost feel like you’re preaching… and Hollywood comes up and they usually mess things up really good and you’re reaching out to these people — I have the benefit of having done “Sniper” and [I] have the benefit of having Steven Spielberg behind this project, but these people were all aware. So it was a challenge to get the people to be invested, to get them to trust me, and to get them to trust the actor who is going to play them. Many of them were unknown actors and in every case they go to know their people and involve them in the process.

Q: Regarding the original work by David Finkel, he gets into the psychology of those things. What is it specifically about his work and his reporting that spoke to you?

A: Well it’s the fact that he dedicated himself enough and went over with them and spent 10 months with them, and riding around with them. He then came home and documented it in a way that I had never ever seen before. He also articulated the cyclical nature of trauma thought. It always circles back to the excessive thought he had. I loved the nature in which he wrote and affected the story.

Q: What did you learn from working with Clint?

A: Clint is a personality and I was the first writer he let stick around and was very generous with me. What I learned from him is to be flexible, and if he has an instinct he turns the scene on its head and takes it in a different direction. What I learned from Clint too is truth. He is trying to put truth up on the screen. That difference from Spielberg in the sense [is] that he is trying to figure what is that we want the audience to feel from this scene.

Q: Miles Teller has brought a few true stories onto the screen, did that make it easier to cast him in this one?

A: My favorite performance of Miles is in “Rabbithole.” He brings in such a sense of truth and authenticity even when he’s being a wiseacre in some of these comedies he’s done; there’s a truth to him. He’s got an ability to disappear into these roles. ***