Heroes and House Shows: The Velveteers Tell-All
Interview via Kenzie Gay and Annsley “AJ” Jennings - @kenzwrites & @annsleymedia
“There’s definitely plans for new music in the future, that’s all we can really say for now” says Demi Demitro of The Velveteers, a musical trio from Boulder, Colorado. The band’s unique lineup has set them apart from competition both in Colorado and elsewhere, as they are composed of Demitro on the guitar and vocals along with dual drummers Baby Pottersmith and Johnny Fig. Over the last three years, the band has seen exponential growth from their collaboration with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys on their debut album, Nightmare Daydream, to their opportunities as opening acts for large artists such as The Smashing Pumpkins. With their very first big headlining tour in full swing, we sat down with all three members to talk about inspirations, style, and their journey over the years.
Demi Demitro via Aimee Giese, Baby Pottersmith / Johnny Fig via Jackilyn Cooper, The Velveteers via AJ Wilane
KG: You recently announced a headlining tour, your first big tour, what are your thoughts on it? Expectations? Anxieties? Excitements?
Demi: We’re literally on the road in the van right now but I’m feeling pretty excited because it’s been a little bit since we’ve done a headlining tour so it’s gonna be really fun to see everyone again and I feel like our fans really bring the energy so that’s also exciting.
AJ: How do you approach writing music for different emotions or themes? Do you have a specific process?
Demi: I wouldn’t say I have a specific process, I just kind of sit down and write. I feel like usually whatever emotions are flowing through me at the time will naturally come into the music. I try not to force emotions too much in songs, I feel like some of the best things that I write are authentic if that makes sense.
KG: There is a lot of debate as to what exactly your genre is. Some say rock, some say alternative, some say something new altogether. What is your take on this?
Johnny: I would say that when we make music, we really aren’t thinking about the genre too much. It’s rock but, I don’t know…
Demi: Yeah, we don’t tie ourselves down to be like one specific genre because we actually have a lot of softer songs that many haven’t heard. Our attitude in which we do everything is definitely rock n roll, though, which kind of encompasses the whole project.
AJ: What is your favorite venue or show that you have played so far? Why was it your favorite?
Baby: My favorite shows we’ve always played have been in someone’s basement just like packed with people, it’s not a proper venue. We haven’t done one of those in awhile but we’re trying to do those more often to have a lot of fun playing shows for free at people’s houses when we can. Those always feel the most exciting.
Demi: I would add to that, we opened for The Smashing Pumpkins once in Texas and that was a pretty surreal experience.
KG: The last few years have been pretty pivotal to the band. You toured with Greta Van Fleet TWICE, you’ve worked with Dan from The Black Keys, you toured with The Blue Stones, the list goes on. How was it to work with these industry powerhouses?
Demi: Oh, definitely. It’s been amazing and really cool. Especially touring with Greta. That was a really cool experience because their fans are so passionate about music so that was an honor to get to do that. And working with Dan was also pretty crazy to us. All of us knew of The Black Keys our entire lives growing up so we never would’ve thought in a million years that that would be the person who’d want to sign us and produce for us.
The Velveteers with Greta Van Fleet via Anna Lee Media
AJ: What inspired you to incorporate two drummers into your set up?
Johnny: It was more Demi’s idea than anything else. I came into the band and obviously there was already a dual drummer thing going on.
Baby: Me and Demi were a two piece when we started and people kept on telling us we needed a bass player. Eventually, Demi thought it would be funny if we added another drummer to our duo and so we did that for a bit. It kind of started as something that was visually interesting and it helped us stand out and then the longer we did it the more it felt natural and it ultimately shaped our music in ways that it otherwise wouldn’t have.
KG: Being a small artist in the grand scheme of things, what are the pros and cons of it? Are there any aspects of band life that outsiders would be surprised to hear of?
Demi: With the aspects of being a smaller band, there’s a lot of good things but there’s also a lot of things that make it really hard. Budget is a big one. It’s hard to make a living doing this and it’s a constant grind. We’re working ten hours a day without getting paid or anything. I think that’s a common theme in a lot of small artists where you’re just pouring everything into what your doing because you just love doing it. So, yeah, the cons are definitely money related. As for pros, the gigs. It’s really fun to be that close to fans in a club setting. We’ve played a lot of venues like stadiums and arenas, it’s really fun going from one to the other because you learn to appreciate the different experiences.
AJ: On stage, your approach with wardrobe and outfits are pretty impressive, who or what is your style inspiration?
Demi: I would say I’ve always been really inspired by sparkly things, things that are really flashy. What originally got me into the glam kind of style was like T. Rex and David Bowie but ever since then, it’s basically been whatever we find at thrift stores that feels cool. That’s where we get most of our clothes. Recently, we’ve been getting outfits that we like and then we add stuff like feathers, studs, and sequins. It’s a lot of fun to be involved with making the outfits.
Baby: Demi puts a lot of thought into how all of our outfits go together. I’ll go in her room to ask her a question or something and she’ll be in there and every wall is covered in fragments of outfits that she’s sewing or been working on.
KG: What role do visual aesthetics play in your music? Do you have a specific approach to album art, music videos, etc.?
Demi: It’s a huge role of this band. It’s always been an original passion of ours. We’ve made almost all of our own music videos and we do a lot of things like DIY as far as the visual aspects. To me, it’s always been another form of artistic expression for the band that goes in hand with the music.
AJ: (Demi) your style on guitar is extremely unique, do you have any specific inspirations as a guitarist that helped shape your approach to playing?
Demi: When i first started on guitar I was really into garage rock bands like The White Stripes. They were a really really big inspiration to me. Jamie Hince from The Kills is also a cool guitar player. He does a lot of playing where he’s playing bass notes at the same time when he’s doing lead stuff, so just the way he approaches it really influenced me. I’m also a huge fan of St. Vincent, she’s got some really cool riffs.
KG: Are there any plans for new music in the future?
Demi: There’s definitely plans for new music in the future, that’s all we can really say for now.
After this insightful interview with Baby, Johnny, and Demi, The Velveteers are set to make even more waves as they travel the country on their headlining Kiss The Future Tour with Alex Vile as the opening act. Cities on this tour run include Philadelphia, New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, and several more. Though neither of us (AJ and Kenzie, hi, hello) are personally able to attend a show this time around, we encourage you to do so if you have the luck of living close to one of the tour’s stops.
