Clownfacee // Lessons from Cloudcorner

Unless your dad is Sting, it takes more than just good songs to progress in the music industry. This feature offers a short interview with the winner of 'Cloudcorner' - a feature that shortlists our favourite songs submitted via Soundcloud. ‘Lessons from Cloudcorner’ offers to do just as it says: offering unique advice and insight from an unsigned band. This third edition profiles the oddly named, NYC band Clownfacee. Behind the mask of Clownfacee lies Michael Quigley and his unique brand of experiential, electronic folk music. Tell us a little about yourself and your influences? I first started writing my own stuff in 2008, but didn't really take it seriously until sometime last Spring. I moved to New York City to be exposed to more kinds of people, art and music, etc. so I guess writing sort of resulted as a response to that. The band sort of fluctuates around which friends I can get to help out. It's a little weird since a lot of the tunes were written without taking live performance into consideration, but lately I've had three good friends helping with the live set up. If they aren't around then it's usually a stripped down solo type of thing. Lately I've been listening to a lot of the Beach Boys, but I'd say my influences vary. Bands like GY!BE and Bibio have been on repeat for a while. What's the best and worst part of being in a band? Arranging field recordings and software instruments for a 4 piece rock band can be a little difficult, but other than that I can't complain. Playing new places and meeting people is pretty fun. We went to Philadelphia recently, it was my first time going there. That was really fun, the people were rad. What advice would you offer a band starting out? We haven't been playing around for long, so I don't know how qualified I am to offer advice, but I guess just to be grateful for the people who take an interest in your music and to support the bands you take an interest in. These are the people that will support you every step of the way. You can't appreciate them enough. How do you feel the current music climate can either hinder or help up and coming bands? The industry is in a really interesting position right now. The record companies are either not willing to invest in unknown musicians, or they're haphazardly throwing money at the newest band BNM'd on Pitchfork. The market is so saturated that it can be really difficult to stand out from the next band, but at the same time the internet provides resources that can help a band publish their own work for a price they choose, digitally and physically, and resources that can help spread the word about upcoming shows/tours. Overall I think the current climate is conducive to fostering new music, especially in a DIY sense, but as with many other fields there is an over-saturation that makes it difficult to stand out. Where would you like to see Clownfacee in a year? Playing around a lot more and working on a full length would be ideal. And working out a way to orchestrate field recordings and electronic sounds generated with software into the live performance. I'd be really happy with that.
You can check the band out at http://clownfacee.bandcamp.com/ Send us your sounds