Everything but the everything
Bay Area music veteran Izzy The Gent has come a long way from playing at his Monterey middle school talent show (performing "Scrape Me" their PG version of Nirvana's "Rape Me") to producing alternative new wave post punk out of East Oakland.
His current project Everything But The Everything has gone from a one man band to a collaborative. Top tier collaborations from guest vocalists keep the music fresh and the contributions from Moog specialist Andrew Gomez (NRVS LVRS) and drummer Landon Cisneros (Spirit Mother, Zodiac Death Valley) elevate the music's simple propensities. All of the music is recorded and mixed by studio producer Rex Shelverton (Bella Vista, Vue) who gives the project its unique sound.
His latest release features singer/songwriter/producer Sophia Prise. Sophia and Izzy have recorded two prior singles "Just" and "The Story". This is their third collaboration and we have to say: "WOW, what a Post Punk/Dark Wave banger!"
Everything but the everything are/is back and that means, in my opinion, great musicians create an amazing atmosphere for an impressive singer, how do you select the singer or does the song choose the right one by itself and what's the story behind "Never Said"?
Izzy: I've been trying to give the songs to the singers at an earlier stage. While I may have thought I was good at choosing songs for the vocalist, on the last go around I had to swap tracks for two of the singers so I guess I got lucky the first couple of times and it's really the song that chooses. Sophia dug the bassline that became "Never Said" and once I got the guitar figured out, it came together quickly. That guitar line did take me a while though.
How was it to work with Sophia this time?
Izzy: Sophia is great to work with. Super easy going and with her experience her input makes the music better. What's been really great now that we're playing shows, Sophia and Tobias Hawkins (who sings on Denials, Can't Allow) have been singing backup vocals for one another and become good friends. The band hanging out after rehearsals is kind of an extension of rehearsals where we talk about music and direction for our project.
I have read about the first two shows, how was it to be live on stage and when can we expect the next one(s)?
Izzy: We have another show booked for Nov. 18th in SF with Matt Jaffe and Strange Cities. Getting on stage has been great and I feel extremely lucky to have a group of musicians come on board to make it happen.
Our drummer Chad Roxxit who primarily plays with The Hot Takes has been holding it down for us. My friend from high school Ian Dowd who's also a lifelong musician is taken on guitar duties. Recently however, we added a very talented lead guitarist with Capitan Walas who fit right in. Sophia said when Walas showed up for the first time, "I hear the wall of sound you're building and I like it!" My favorite memory to date was for our first show at rehearsals having the four singers meet each other for the first time and being a supportive audience to one another as we worked out the kinks.
2022 is almost over, what were your highlights this year?
Izzy: I'm enjoying the continued growth. With every release we get a few more plays and reach a few more people. It's all I ever wanted.
The last big turning point in music history was ....?
Izzy: Recording technology becoming cheaper and with greater quality has leveled the playing field as far as anyone being able to put out quality material. Sure there's a difference between a $3000 studio recording or an expensive music video to something recorded on an Iphone but that gap is as small as it's ever been
One of your main influences is Depeche Mode, what's your favorite Album of them and why?
Izzy: It's Violator for me. I love the synth work on the album and how they use Sparingly use distorted guitars, making them really pop. The single "Precious" is my favorite song of theirs and the one that plays in my mind a lot.
... and as always, what's next?
Izzy: More music, more shows, more collaborations!! I'm thinking maybe two EP's as opposed to a stream of singles but we'll see how things play out.
