The Baker's Basement
The tale of the Baker’s Basement can’t be told without a bucket, flipped upside down and rendered rhythmic. The Cleveland indie folk-hop duo holds close the idea that anything can produce sound & any sound can be made musical.
Since their start in 2012, when everything was basements and busking, the duo has carried a spirit of inventiveness. And their journey soon led them to the “Tempeh Kit” — their homemade percussion concoction built using an array of paint buckets matched with more traditional drum elements. This is the duo’s swingin’ heartbeat: the curious rhythmic foundation that drives their personable & playful sound, most often featuring guitar and their two singing voices.
Who are the people/the artists behind "The Baker's Basement"?
Kate Dedinsky - sings, plays the drums, percussion, programming sounds, producing
Adam Grindler (that’s me) - sings, plays guitar, programming sounds, producing
Do you remember your first steps in music?
For me, it began with words before anything else. At a young age I began journaling, writing short stories, and playing with rhymes. My first instrument was violin. That was 4th grade. Spent some years playing in school orchestras and then started strumming in 8th grade when my older brother bought a guitar.
We shared that guitar for some time until I finally got my own. Writing songs was always a thing from the beginning.
For Kate, it began with pots and pans or anything she could tap on. We sometimes laugh about how that make-shift spirit has always been there, right up to this band that involves these buckets as percussion. Kate’s homemade kits eventually led to a full kit, involvement in school jazz band, and a variety of other band projects.
She also took some guitar lessons in her early teens. As far as songwriting, she was doing that as early as age 9 when she kept a notebook hidden underneath the TV in her parents' room where she thought they'd never find it (and they didn't).
What's the story behind your latest release "Wild Wild Sheep"?
Wild Wild Sheep is an album of adventure, as the title track makes clear. These sheep, the type you might count to help you fall asleep, are set loose once their sleepy counter dozes off. They explore many a fantastical place, be it by way of flight or foot or swimming. They are set free, and they take full advantage. We feel that whimsical spirit is a common thread throughout this collection of songs, many of which involve other-worldly destinations, colorful and nostalgic recollections, and curious wonderment. It's a playful album, and very much a tribute to our creative spirit and our belief in painting lyrics in a sensory and tangible manner.
What was/is in your opinion the last "Turning point" in music history?
Napster feels like the beginning of the big turn. And social media as a whole. Music has become accessible from all angles. You can make an album on par with big studio artists from your home. You can distribute from your home. And it doesn’t feel quite as much about mega stars these days—interests are fractured in so many different directions because of how accessible everything is.
People don’t look for music in just one or two places, and it’s being consumed in so many different ways. The digital space really changed everything.
Your first ever self written song was about …?
Adam… One of the first that I matched with a guitar was called “Disperse.” Hard to say what it was about, but the title sticks out for some reason.. Along with the phrase "Watch my fingers disperse."
Kate… One of her earliest memories of writing was a song called "Four Walls." But earlier than that were really fun and silly tunes with lyrics like "Hey riddle diddle, zig zag to the middle" -- variations on nursery rhymes and such.
Funny thing is, we still do little bit of kid song/story variations these days (we do a play off of "Who Stole the Cookie" on stage sometimes)
Nowadays, you have to be active on social media ... is it more a necessary evil or fun?
Both of us love to create, and we’d prefer the lion share of our time be spent crafting a song or some other form of art. But there’s no way around it: if these songs are going to be heard, we have to figure out how to share them. For a while we called it a necessary evil, but we’re realizing a change in perspective is needed to reach a wider audience. And so we’re trying to now approach the act of sharing on the socials as a pure extension of our creative work. For example: instead of doing what we’ve often done.. Simply saying “New song out! Enjoy!” We’re making more of a point to look at it as a creative writing task. Really telling the story and painting the process. Reflecting on the inspirations that led to a song’s creation. Enjoying the act of framing photos that capture our creative world.
Regarding the act of posting less as a matter of factory producing “content” and more a matter of making more art. After all these years of regarding social media as a world to avoid, we’ve decided the best way is to look at it is as a creative act in and of itself. I heard an interview recently where the guy spoke on the need to create supplemental works to help show people your music (videos and such); he pointed out that for some folks, that video on TikTok or Youtube is the primary art form for them.
We both grew up loving albums and songs—listening intently in headphones. And while we’d love for people to consume our music in a similar way, that’s just not the lay of the land for many these days. Long story short, we want our music to be a reflection of who we are as creators, regardless of where and how someone chooses to receive it. So we’re striving for fun from all corners.
How would you describe the indie scene in Cleveland?
Honestly—we’re just making a return to the scene from what feels like a hiatus. The work has always happened, but before the pandemic, we were doing a lot of bar gigs and cover type gigs: working musician type shows that pay better but don’t necessarily put you in front of music lovers or captive audiences.
At the tail end of 2019, we were intent on turning the ship so we could put our artfulness front and center. And then we all know what happened. 2022 feels like the pick up from the end of 2019. We’re back to more of the clubs and DIY spaces.
There’s a great open mic out here called the 10x3 that serves as a certain magnet for Cleveland creatives. We’ve been crossing paths with bands from the folk punk scene, and playing some house shows. We love those more intimate spaces. We crave the audience that gives the band the time of day. It really changes everything in how an artist performs.
What’s next for you?
A music video featuring a bunch of wind up toys for our song Wild Wild Sheep (we've come to refer to them as the Wild Wild Wind Ups). And then! The “Skeleton Party”!! October is going to be an eerie month of music and video for us. Come mid October, you’ll be seeing us transformed into skeletons singing about skeletons. Happy fall by the way!
Photo credits:
Adam Grindler
