Co-written by Tyler Burkett and Max Bryan<\/p>\n
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Last week, local Lawrence band Seal of Approval slid on into the KJHK station and answered some sweet and epic questions about vibes, musical genres, and Lightning McQueen crocs. Check out the highlights down below and just remember: keep. it. locked!<\/p>\n
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Tyler: What kind of music do you make and who do you make it for?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: Idk how to categorize it but we make it for ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: I guess we wanna make music that may resonate with somebody, in whatever way. We want folks to be movin\u2019 and groovin\u2019 with it, if we can, but the dream is that the intent of our songs reaches people. We have a lot of sad songs. I think I would describe us a cathartic funk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: Just add neo\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: neo-post-modern-funk\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gentry: I don\u2019t even know if funk is always the right adjective.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: That\u2019s why we add neo- if you add neo then anything goes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gentry: Lawrencian neo-funk.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: I just don\u2019t think you can write music with anyone else in mind because then you\u2019re separating the music from yourself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: Right. I guess that\u2019s not the intent when writing, but definitely when performing. I guess the idea that every single line has to be original has been SUCH a block for me\u2026 I think it\u2019s just important to write freely and express yourself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tyler: Imagine one of your three missing bandmates and answer this question as if you\u2019re them.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gentry: I\u2019ll be Sean.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: I\u2019ll be Connor.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: I\u2019ll be Zack.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tyler: What non-musical attributes do you bring to your songwriting and music? We\u2019ll start with you zack. Lots of drummers have said \u201cI\u2019m just the drummer\u201d what do you bring?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli\/Zack: Well that\u2019s fundamentally a lie. Even if you seem like what you\u2019re doing is boring compared to everything else but that just makes it more important because if you don\u2019t do the boring right then everything else will sound like shit. What Zack does really well is he\u2019ll take what the band is trying to do and make it sound good. I can do the worst thing i\u2019ve ever played but as long as i\u2019m hooking up with zack it sounds good.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia and Gentry: AYOO?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: He would never say that, he would say like \u201cI provide the grounding,\u00a0<\/span>I provide the foundation for others to improvise over\u201d and we\u2019re like no you need to go ham.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: Maybe the other drummers say they play drums because they\u2019re a drum machine but he\u2019s on level grounding with everyone else.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tyler: Connor and Sean, what do you bring?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gentry\/Sean: I bring toys. <\/span>Lightning McQueen crocs. Transformers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia\/Connor: Connor, Sean, and Zack bring HUGE HUGE HUGE vibes. <\/span>Stage presence.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: I forgot non-musical.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: Oh yeah\u2026 Zack brings grounding. For Connor, Sean, and Zack, they have never allowed me a moment to be anxious on stage because of the presence they bring. It comes with how they carry themselves, knowing that no matter what we\u2019re doing they know we\u2019re there to play music. No matter what we\u2019re doing, we know we\u2019re being accurate to ourselves, not putting fronts up over ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: Sean, talk about yourself more.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gentry\/Sean: Not only do I bring toys\u2026 and a love for hello kitty\u2026. *long pause*<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: I would say they ground us.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tyler: Back to you guys. So if the backline is bringing the vibes.. What are yall bringing?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: Unrivaled mental chaos.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tyler: Expand on that!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: How do you describe something that is indescribably non-repetitive and constantly evolving?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gentry: What\u2019s a word for that? Capricious.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n T: So they provide a good vibe so you three can do whatever you want?<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: Yeah we can just get more melodic with things and convey emotions. Only Connor is chordal so it\u2019s like building textures. We\u2019re like\u2026 less busy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: Our rhythm section can sound good on anything so our writing stays pretty simple. Me and Gentry are the ones that inject a little bit of \u201cwhat the fuck just happened\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: Making things unique and interesting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gentry: I feel like I bring things like comedic relief, not just in Zombies, but the way I act on stage\u2026 when I mouth the lyrics along with Olivia.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: I feel like we build on each other the most.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gentry: Eli\u2019s always reminding me what the lines are because I\u2019m always forgetting them.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: We\u2019re the ones that have to build the most, add the passion, convey the most. My job is the lyrical component and the emotional component, ensuring that the stuff I write fits well with these guys.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gentry: I feel like our music is like an extension of our personalities. The music we bring aligns with us on a personal level.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: You can\u2019t separate them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Max: So you would say you cannot separate the artist from the art?<\/b><\/p>\n <\/b> <\/p>\n Eli: I feel like I can do that as a listener but not with the music I make.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: Seal Of Approval is like the most accurate version of ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: This is kind of why we don\u2019t stick to a super strict genre, we make what we want.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: It\u2019s kind of like thinking how can I use my classical and jazz training to imitate an Olivia Rodrigo song.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tyler. One last question: What\u2019s the meaning of life? Tap into your alter egos for this one as well.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: Connor would say- Connor has this saying where he pretends he\u2019s a white suburban mom talking to a child misbehaving \u201cyou get one toy, one candy, and one fidget\u201d. I can\u2019t say that\u2026 but It\u2019s getting my mind rolling. Connor would say to play music and be yourself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tyler: And also one toy\u2026 one candy\u2026 one fidget.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: For me, i just like to think of keeping the sewage line that is my creativity open to the public because there\u2019s definitely someone out there that likes what i\u2019m doing even if I don\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: As Olivia.. I would say it\u2019s to be the most honest representation and version of yourself as possible and be kind to others while doing so.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gentry: Sean would say sharing the interesting things you love with the people you love.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivia: And he would say \u201cand to be funky\u201d at the end. Zack would say something similar. I think he would say to keep it real and be yourself. We still need a Gentry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tyler: top us all off.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gentry: I don\u2019t know.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tyler. That’s it. I don\u2019t know?<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli: life is just a constant relay of stimulations being sent to our neurons to the fat blob of flesh in our heads.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tyler: Life is like a basketball.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gentry: Exactly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Get ready to rock out and rock on with Seal of Approval and the other bands this Friday, April 26th at Liberty Hall! Doors are @7pm and music starts @8pm! Get there between 7pm and 8pm to receive a voting wristband. Stay the entire time to vote for your top 4 favorite acts to advance to the Finals, which are Saturday, April 27th!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Co-written by Tyler Burkett and Max Bryan Last week, local Lawrence band Seal of Approval slid on into the KJHK station and answered some sweet and epic questions about vibes, musical genres, and Lightning McQueen crocs. Check out the highlights down below and just remember: keep. it. locked! Tyler: What kind of music do you make and who do you make it for?\u00a0 Eli: Idk how to categorize it but we make it for ourselves. 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\n<\/span>Olivia: Yeah. I firmly believe that. I feel like whatever music you\u2019re putting out should align with yourself. If you\u2019re having to do that, there\u2019s a problem.<\/span><\/p>\n