The Lady Vanishes
“Karen, Don’t Stop Him”

Even though this blog is far from the most popular music joynt on the block, I receive an ever-increasing number of e-mail inqueries from artists looking to get their work mentioned on these pages. This is great, especially when I think back to the early days when the only kids who visited were my roommates — and that was merely out of obligation. Unfortunately a lot of what I do receive either isn’t particularly good (at least to my untrained ears), finds me at a busy time, or simply isn’t the right fit here.

But every once in awhile, I come across something in my mailbox that I wish I had found on my own. And while it certainly helped that the latest instance was concise and engaging, and, most importantly, unnecessarily praising of me, it’s really the music that stood out this weekend when, prompted by his e-mail, I visited the webspace of a young Georgian by the fame name of the The Lady Vanishes.

It’s a list that is constantly evolving, but my mental block of favorite songs of the year to-date now includes his “Karen, Don’t Stop Him.” Being that there’s very little out there — yet — about the Lady Vanishes or the musician behind the moniker, Andy DeLoach, I replied to his note with a few questions to help fill some white space here. 

After checking out a few of your songs on MySpace, I must say that “Karen, Don’t Stop Him” is one of my favorites of the year so far — I’ve “spun” it, so to speak, several times today. Can you share a little information about yourself?
Thank you so much, Jon, I really appreciate the help. One of the best of the year so far? I’m honored, hopefully I’ll live up to the claims.

Who are you?
My name is Andy DeLoach. I’m a 21-year-old-journalism-major-drop-out (because I dropped out, I can use all those hyphens) and directionless, of course. I’ve been playing around Atlanta and metro-Atlanta since I was 14, so I know the city quite well. Atlanta is going through a major change right now, and it’s really exciting. It’s refreshing to actually have culture in a city once known simply as the capitol of the South. Up until recently Atlanta’s musical world was lifeless due to the lack of clubs and the fact that most artists were either rap or painfully white singer/songwriter (no thanks to John Mayer!) [EDITOR’S NOTE: The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Jonk Music. John Mayer is encouraged to e-mail me, too]. Being a singer/songwriter, I finally have the opportunity to separate myself from the failing state of the genre and experiment with the sounds I like. Not that I couldn’t do that before, but now there’s an audience for it! I’m really excited about that, Jon! Come to Atlanta! The food’s pretty good, too.

You saw this blog and I visited your MySpace page. Now that it seems the Internet isn’t a fad, what are your thoughts on the power of the web in relation to helping or hurting an artist?
I’m a former journalism major and Pitchfork contributer, so I’m going to geek out on you. I think the most important thing to realize is not just the rise of the Internet, but the fall of conventional media as we know it. Radio is all but obsolete and print media is already being buried as we speak. For some that’s a depressing thought, but to me, this is really exciting. Big Music Labels are quickly finding out that where most of their money is going to market isn’t working which is leaving this gaping hole for smaller, more forward thinking artists to have a chance. I think the rise of popularity in a lot of the mainstream “indie” music (Feist, Andrew Bird, Regina Spektor) can be attributed to that. But the con of this whole transition is the lack of authority in music criticism. I used to think Pitchfork did a good job until I realized that writing for them is as easy as a quick e-mail to their head and the publicity agent of whatever act you want to interview. The poor guys in the Clientele had to sit through a very awkward interview with me because I was simply inexperienced in the world of music journalism [ED: Not unlike poor Andy DeLoach dealing with my lack of interview skills]. Not to say Pitchfork isn’t a good site, it has quality content; unfortunately most of that quality content is sitting next to some fairly poor writing. Also, I think MySpace is a terrible website but is absolutely necessary in the modern music world… but isn’t that obvious?

Could you describe the recording process of your work?
This new EP, which will find a release date once I find the right label, is actually my fourth studio effort. I’ve been fortunate enough to bump into the right people with the right ears. I much prefer the studio to the stage — I won’t lie to you and tell you I get some sort of natural high playing a show to an eager crowd. I much prefer the safe, controlled environment of the studio. Ultimately, I hope my songs make enough of an impression that others will want use them as their own… but I suppose, that’s what every songwriter should want.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great talent, most of them need to be discovered more so than me. For one, my friend Troy Stains from right here in Atlanta. There’s this band called the Explorers Club that he works with pretty extensively. They have an album coming out at the end of the month via Dead Oceans (BUY IT!), and the stuff he contributed to that is better than I’ll ever be. He knows the ’60s pop sound more than most mid-tier British invasion bands ever did. The other person I must mention is my friend Mike Odmark from Nashville. He recorded my last EP up there in the Music City, and I firmly believe he is the only one in that city that is capable of making something that isn’t confined to “the Nashville sound.”

Are there any current bands or records or sites that you enjoy and would recommend people seek out?
The Explorers Club from Charleston, SC. Their first album, Freedom Wind, comes out May 20th, I think. They have the Beach Boys sound down to perfection… but don’t let that description fool you, the songs are some of the best pop songs I’ve heard in this decade. Brian Wilson called them up himself and congratulated them, do we need to challenge a pop genius like Mr. Wilson?

This blog called the Rising Storm is fantastic [ED: Incidentally, the Rising Storm is also a favorite of mine — they linked to me a few weeks ago]. The writing is quality but the choices for uncovering ’60s pop gems will make you not want to listen to any other musical decade.

Odessey and Oracle by the Zombies because it is vital to every person’s collection.

Parting words?
Just thanks again, Jon. I very much appreciate it. If you find yourself in Atlanta and need a host, I’m your guy!