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MllVh ATi! HU
ocal band Manray has a reputation for putting on
a rowdy live show, blazing through visceral sets of
mathy punk flooded with sweat and raw power. With
its first full-length album, Tournament, members
Jordan Olivera (guitar, vocals), Ryan Olivera (bass, vocals),
Derek Olivera (drums) and Gene Woolfolk (guitar, vocals)
endeavor to replicate sonically the wild atmospheric dis
turbance that occurs wherever Manray plugs in. But beyond
unfettered energy, what is Manray really all about? Ryan took a
break from the wild side to fill us in.
or pumped about music. We are all very like-minded in the
band room. When somebody says this part does/doesn’t work,
everybody usually hears the same thing and we work to make
things the best possible. Our idea of what great songs should
sound like is very sympathetic, though, so we work fast.
FP: Would you soy that Manray has something to scy," as in
a message, theme or ideal?
RO Manray's message changes with whoever is answering
the question... I will leave that one alone.
Flagpole How did Manray get started?
Ryan Olivera Oerek and Jordan and I are all broth
ers. so that part was easy, but we met Gene through Aaron
Stephenson, who used to play bass in A. Armada.
FP: What are the origins of Tournament, and how have you
been getting the word out?
RO We are all set to release the record on Dec. 10 here at
the Caledonia, but as far as promotion goes, we are kicking it
on the school bus. taking [Athens/Atunta metal band) Lazer/
Wulf on the road with us to Florida from Dec. 1-9. The new
album was a fucking blast! We had some really tight allies
in the Hello Sir camp who were clutch in making the record
happen. Joel Hatstat and Mike Albanese recorded the album,
and we mixed it all at Joel's studio in Normaltown. Bryant
Williamson, who runs the Hello Sir label, provided the majority
of the financial support and lent his ear on the mixes. We are
really happy with how it all came together.
FP Who are some of the band's strongest musical influences?
RO The influence question is gettinq more obtuse these
days for us because we are all drawing from different places
post Tournament. When we went into the studio, we were all
crushing very similar bands like Drive Like Jehu. Mastodon,
The Bronzed Chorus, Faraquet, or Colour Revolt's first IP. or
Anathallo's most recent record... tough songs or tunes with
interesting structures. More and more, now that the record is
finished, we are alt retreating to our personal listening spaces,
and I am consistently surprised by some of the artists that I
catch on the rest of the band's playlists.
FP Do you consider yourselves to be primarily instrumental
ists or songwriters *
RO 1 th ink we are songwriters. We value musicianship and
technical ability as far as they allow us to set ourselves apart
from other people who have great ideas, but may not make
them as intricate or detailed Musicianship is a tool for us to
make songs even more expressive. On the other side, there
are certainly other, more talented technical players out there,
especially in this town, but we try to focus on writing killer
songs and not jump off into the world of musical masturbation
where the only dudes getting off are the ones on stage. More
than anything else, we try to wnte and execute the songs that
we would want to hear on the radio, stuff that gets us excited
FP: What can Athenians expect to experience at a Manray
show?
RO Our shows are notoriously upbeat, and we bring energy
to shows. We love it when people get carried away with them
selves, when they stop trying so hzrd to identify your gear or
stare at their shoes. When people get pumped and throw up
their hands and spill beer and laugh about it and get really
close to each other, we have the most fun, and I take all those
things as signs that everyone else is having fun, too. There is a
picture Mike White took of Gene and me grinning like madmen
at the 40 Watt for AthFest last year (with 'Powers and Pride
Parade and Cinemechanica). It was the most raucous, lose-
your-shit show we have played to date. Mike called the picture
'Smiles Inc.,' and I think we were so visibly stoked because
everyone else was also visibly stoked to have us playing for
them. That is the type of show we hope to bring everywhere.
FP How did you translate the energy of your live show to the
new album?
RO It's hard to box up everything we try to do with music
and still have as much punch and emotion as the live show,
but the live show has the strict advantage of us being physi
cally there. With the record we are trying to come through your
speakers or headphones with as much gusto as us live, so we
spent a lot of time witn our tone, tweaking knobs and plug
ging in many amps. The bass amping session, for example, had
something ungodly, like seven mics tracking, and so many of
the moves on the album were decisions between which mics
to use for certain tracks or parts... There is a level of control
there that isn't available live. We did want to showcase some
of the stuff we like to do live, so we changed parts on the fly.
made up lyrics on the spot, and asked (Lazer/Wutfs) Bryan
Aiken to play guitar on a couple songs. If you enjoy us live,
then I think you will be pumped on the album, too.
Kevin Crtig
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