THE SKY DROPS' INTERVIEWS

Caffeine Headache - 17 July 2006

First of all, when and how did you come together as a band?
Rob – Let's see…initially I was only familiar with Monika's solo Bullette recordings; her songs and vocals are top-shelf. Sometime later, when I had decided to form a duo, I saw Monika play drums for Licorice Roots. After that performance, I knew straight away she was the one, period. So I asked, she consented, and we starting playing together Fall of 2005. Without her, The Sky Drops would still be the greatest concept that never happened.

Monika – I have admired Rob's songs for a long time. It was an opportunity I would have been foolish to have turned down.

You probably get a lot of those ‘duo-as-a-gimmick' theories? How do usually respond to that?
R – Since when are vocals, guitar and drums a gimmick?

I love the kind of music you make--the droning guitar and the psychedelic touches--but for some unknown reason, this kind of music always seems like a tough sell. Does commercial viability ever cross your minds?
R—No, writing great songs with a melodic and sonic twist is the intention.

What sort of musical backgrounds did you come from (you were both in previous bands, right)?
R – I was fortunate enough to be exposed to and be a part of a lot of revolutionary music when it was being made -- particularly the idea of heavy melodic and/or dissonant noise guitar in the context of a pop song. Maybe The Sky Drops will be that bridge that was never quite made between shoegaze and grunge.

M – Music and the Arts were an integral part of my upbringing and I'm either listening or playing. My most recent project before joining The Sky Drops was a solo studio album – it's great to be playing live again in a band.

How would you define your sound?
R – Gaze-grunge Mamas & The Papas.

With only two of you, do you find it difficult to replicate your sound when you perform live?
R -- Not at all. Our recordings reflect what we sound like live.

M – It's funny that we have had to defend ourselves more than once regarding this question. We recorded the ep as we perform. Guitar, Drums, and vocals -  w e performed the songs together live to tape and then worked from there with minimal overdubs.

Both of the songs on your double A-side are great, they almost sound like they could be two different bands. Are these songs an indication of how the rest of your album is going to be?
R -- We strive to make every song unique, so as far as the double A-side songs are concern, it's not a complete picture.  A snap-shot, if you will.

What or who are some of your biggest influences?
R—Non-conventional guitar bands of the late eighties – namely Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr. and My Bloody Valentine.

M – The Cure, Nick Cave, Sun Records, Einsturzende Neubauten, 16 Horsepower – are the first amongst many that come to mind.

I see you guys have some UK dates in your tour itinerary, it seems like there's a long running tradition of bands from the US going to the UK and having success, and then coming back to generate more of a buzz. Do you think there is a cultural difference in musical tastes? How else could you explain it?
M – The Internet has equalized many cultural differences – I think there is always a rabid audience of music seekers. There is also an increasing Internet trend of “the backlash before the success” that I hope that the quality of The Sky Drops' songs will overcome. But to answer your question – I think it's a case of overlooking what is at your feet. Another person stumbles on it, thinks it's great, and then you look down and say “yeah!, you're right!”.

Delaware's Sky Drops surpasses duo-as-gimmick band theory - 2 June 2006

By Dennis Fallon, for the Centre Daily Times

Using only a guitar and a drumset, the Sky Drops creates a sonic maelstrom of distortion and thunder. With a sound somewhere between bluesy garage rock and sweet and simple indie-pop, this Wilmington, Del., duo has whipped up a sound that is positively, well, electric.

Formed last fall, the Sky Drops -- guitarist Rob Montejo and drummer Monika Bullette -- calls itself a "superforce" of guitar, drums and vocals. You can call the group anything you want, just don't compare the musicians to that other famous rock duo, The White Stripes.

"People might think, 'Oh, it's a duo and male and female. What a gimmick,' " Bullette said. "It is not a gimmick at all, it is what works for us. It's not some calculated move. It is not to follow some formula. We each have our own pasts, and together we are better."

Before forming The Sky Drops, Montejo was in the rockingly hypnotic band Smashing Oranges and Bullette released her own, Internet-only album, "The Secrets," which was given the "Best Album You Can Get for Free" award by the Philadelphia Enquirer.

For Montejo, the positives of being in a duo far outweigh the negatives of performing with a full rock band.

"There are less people to deal with. We travel light. Decisions are made rather quickly. There is more room on the stage. We haven't found a negative yet," he said.

So how does a simple duo create the full sound necessary for live music? The low-end rumble of the bass? The thick walls of electric guitars?

"I think Rob covers that in the way he molds his sound using the guitar amps," Bullette said. "You get these times when you can hear the lower end and you can hear the kick drum and it makes you think you are hearing a bass."

"I utilize two amps," Montejo explained, "and not the same thing is coming out of each amp, each one is doing something unique, so it sounds, more or less, like two guitars and a keyboard at times. It is a pretty wide sound."

The Sky Drops recently released a free, Internet-only single, and the band has been playing songs from its forthcoming debut. It has been touring the Northeast regularly and will embark on a mini tour of the UK in the fall.

The Sky Drops will perform at one of State College's few remaining independent musical outposts, the hipster cornucopia known as Roustabout! For a self-sufficient and truly independent band like The Sky Drops, Happy Valley's Roustabout! is a veritable thunderstorm during a drought, a perfect place to perform its music.

"There are so many bands now," Bullette said. "It is pretty competitive. It is hard to break through and get some of these gigs. We were looking for places like Roustabout. It is pointless to play state fairs or places where the audiences aren't receptive.

"We thought this was a special night for fans of indie rock and alternative music."