I find a great sense of validation when a band or artist I interviewed goes on to bigger success. I started my art and music blog for fun and to expose people to the things that I love. When artists then go on to show at bigger galleries (Kevin Petterson now represented by Thinkspace Gallery) or play huge festivals (White Arrows at Coachella), it’s like seeing a child go off to college. My heart swells with pride, not that I had anything to do with that success, but I’m excited for them and I give myself a gold star for good taste.

This morning I read Car Seat Headrest as been signed to Matador Records and will be releasing his first studio album. YAY!!!! I interviewed this dude back in 2013 and wanted to share it on the main blog. Also, just a scroll of his Facebook page will show a growing interest on the internet from NPR to Stereogum…eeeps!

Published on My Favorite MAOI – June 16, 2013 

Name: Will Toledo
Nickname: No regularly-used ones, though I think it’s cool when people call me ‘Car Seat Headrest’.
Sign: right at the tail-end of Virgo

Favorite:
Cookie: any kind that is provided specifically for me that I don’t have to pay for.
Color: Colors work best in interplay with each other, I refuse to choose! Better to be surprised by vision.
Time of Day: 9 AMish, when I’m getting up. The day is all bright potential, which I usually choose to waste.

MAOI: Do you believe in horoscopes and zodiac signs?

CSHR: You know, in a rational sense I do – humans are more reducible to a formula than we’d like to believe, so anyone with a decent grasp of the species can make pretty accurate predictions! I don’t think our fates are dictated by the stars, but I do think it’s pretty telling that over the past few millennia we’ve kept connecting the dots in the same way.

MAOI: Most wild and crazy thing you have done thus far in your life?

CSHR: Taking a 30-hour bus ride to spend a week with a romantic interest about 900 miles away from where my parents believed I was.

MAOI: If you could morph into any animal what would it be?

CSHR: A human. Say no to body dysphoria!

MAOI: Biggest Pet Peeve?

CSHR: People throwing away recyclable stuff or blatantly wasting water/limited resources. Not conserving is kind of the worst crime imaginable, as you’re screwing over literally everyone born after you.


MAOI: Best show you have ever been to?

CSHR: Jeff Mangum was pretty good, but I kept coughing. R.E.M. was excellent, but I went with my dad, so that doesn’t count.

MAOI: Whats the most interesting thing you found lying on the street/sidewalk/ground/random place?

CSHR: This one is unfortunately stumping me; it seems foreign objects don’t usually enter into my atmosphere. I will say I was surprised to find myself lying on the floor of my dorm’s bathroom at the end of a particularly hard-hitting night a couple weeks ago.

MAOI: Did you have an imaginary friend as a kid, what was their name?

CSHR: There was someone named John Russel, but it’s not like we were ‘friends’. He was just some dude that was in The Beatles and then The Who and then The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and who made wry comments about everything.

MAOI: If you could go anywhere in time where would it be and why?

CSHR: Now is pretty good, but I’d be interested in living in an era where it wasn’t the social norm to be depressed. I think I’d function pretty well under a more repressive regime.

MAOI: Do you have a lucky charm?

CSHR: There’s a scrap of paper that says “FREEDOM” on it that I’ve been keeping around for the past few months. I need to be reminded.

MAOI: Do you have a phobia? Or what is your most irrational fear?

CSHR: Probably the fear of fear. I dread having nightmares – being trapped in my own head, unable to escape my attacking emotions. Usually my nightmares never get to anything specific, I just drop into an abyss of fear as soon as I realize the limitless potential of terror ahead of me.

I’ve been holding on to this interview with Will of Car Seat Head Rest since February. And as I am listening to the music again to do my mini review I see how timing can be everything. The warm noise pop of Car Seat Head Rest with an underbelly of shoegaze fits the lazy days of your summer playlist better than the cold months of winter. With dreamy reverbed vocals that blend with the music as another interesting layer add to the songs instead of drive them. A purposeful lo-fi quality which shapes the sound, I can’t help imagine the music of Car Seat Head Rest being created in a dorm room between classes.

(above was written before below music video was discovered)

from original post

fancy car seat headrest music video 

Find out more about Car Seat Headrest being signed to Matador Records blog  and his upcoming release.