At first glance, Ari Vais from The Campbell Apartment seems like a very quiet and reserved person. It is fairly common for the creative types on this planet to have a sense of reservation when they are meeting new people, as was the case during our first introduction with one another, but all and any shyness immediately went out the window once we started to talk with one another. Ari is an extremely talented musician with a rich and diverse collection of influences that he has gathered through years of performing in groups across the country. Originally immigrating from the Soviet Union, he has lived everywhere from New York City to his current home of San Francisco and has taken on the life of a musician in full effect with his band, The Campbell Apartment. I was able to sit down to ask Ari a few questions about himself, the band, and how this musical life of his came to be. It gives me great pleasure to announce The Campbell Apartment as SF Solid Gold's Artist of the Week, enjoy!
What is your name?
"My Name is Ari Vais."
What is your band's name?
"The Campbell Apartment"
What role do you play in your band?
"Singer/songwriter/guitarist."
4) Where are you from/based out of?
"We started out in NYC, but moved to SF about 5 years ago."
5) How did the band get created? What did you hope to achieve by starting this project?
"I've fronted bands writing edgy, noisy, quirky, uber catchy pop rock songs since the late '80s. The Campbell Apartment is the latest vehicle for those songs. I hope to achieve validation in that I want these songs to be heard. They're too good not to be."
6) If you could describe your band in only one word, what word would you use?
"Live? Funloving! In the studio? Beatle-esque."
When did you start playing music?
"I immigrated to the States from the former Soviet Union in 1978, as a young boy. Before long I heard the Beatles, which of course changed my life forever. My parents bought me a starter acoustic guitar at Sears in Boston, and signed me up for classical lessons, which I really appreciate. To play rock n roll through an amp, you need a foundation. For example, before Picasso started painting what we think of when we think of Picassos, he was very good - maybe the best - at painting figurative things like a horse, or a boy on a horse. Classical music taught me the basis of pop music. After all, it was popular music at the time."
8) Who/what band has been your biggest musical influence? Are they still an influence in your playing today?
"Influences some, but I'm not sure they go. The Beatles were an initial influence, but then in the '90s, Nirvana really dictated how I wrote, especially after Kurt died. (I know, I know, it's a cliché to canonize somebody after they're gone) I also got heavily into old bands like the Kinks and the Who, but also new bands at the time like Guided by Voices, Pavement, Fountains of Wayne (who are close friends of mine) and early Weezer, before they stopped being good. I'm also a huge fan of the Strokes, and lately have been really loving Mac Demarco. I also dig a NYC movement known as Anti-Folk, the most famous band being the Moldy Peaches. Brilliant, innocent, raunchy, irreverent and mostly unlabored stuff. Their two halves, now working separately, Kimya Dawson and Adam Green, continue to amaze me. They make me want to focus more on my lyrics - especially Kimya."
What is your name?
"My Name is Ari Vais."
What is your band's name?
"The Campbell Apartment"
What role do you play in your band?
"Singer/songwriter/guitarist."
4) Where are you from/based out of?
"We started out in NYC, but moved to SF about 5 years ago."
5) How did the band get created? What did you hope to achieve by starting this project?
"I've fronted bands writing edgy, noisy, quirky, uber catchy pop rock songs since the late '80s. The Campbell Apartment is the latest vehicle for those songs. I hope to achieve validation in that I want these songs to be heard. They're too good not to be."
6) If you could describe your band in only one word, what word would you use?
"Live? Funloving! In the studio? Beatle-esque."
When did you start playing music?
"I immigrated to the States from the former Soviet Union in 1978, as a young boy. Before long I heard the Beatles, which of course changed my life forever. My parents bought me a starter acoustic guitar at Sears in Boston, and signed me up for classical lessons, which I really appreciate. To play rock n roll through an amp, you need a foundation. For example, before Picasso started painting what we think of when we think of Picassos, he was very good - maybe the best - at painting figurative things like a horse, or a boy on a horse. Classical music taught me the basis of pop music. After all, it was popular music at the time."
8) Who/what band has been your biggest musical influence? Are they still an influence in your playing today?
"Influences some, but I'm not sure they go. The Beatles were an initial influence, but then in the '90s, Nirvana really dictated how I wrote, especially after Kurt died. (I know, I know, it's a cliché to canonize somebody after they're gone) I also got heavily into old bands like the Kinks and the Who, but also new bands at the time like Guided by Voices, Pavement, Fountains of Wayne (who are close friends of mine) and early Weezer, before they stopped being good. I'm also a huge fan of the Strokes, and lately have been really loving Mac Demarco. I also dig a NYC movement known as Anti-Folk, the most famous band being the Moldy Peaches. Brilliant, innocent, raunchy, irreverent and mostly unlabored stuff. Their two halves, now working separately, Kimya Dawson and Adam Green, continue to amaze me. They make me want to focus more on my lyrics - especially Kimya."
What's your favorite song that you have written?
"Right now it's our current single, "Something In The Way", because it's the prettiest, catchiest, most classic song, without in any way being obvious. In fact, I can't say with any certainty what it's even about, other than a vibe that feels like change, healthy change, inevitable change - where something you've always seen the same way now feels different. As far as my old songs, I feel that "1992" by my first band, Humbert, has one of the most timeless melody lines ever. I also love "Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired" from the first album by The Campbell Apartment, "Insomniacs Almanac". It's really lonely and sad and pretty, without at all being depressing."
What's one album you could never get tired of listening to?
"Revolver by the Beatles is the first that jumps to mind, no bad songs. That's very unusual. "New York" by Lou Reed is also pretty much a perfect album."
If you could jam with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be?
"I don't really know because I don't "jam". I've played rock n roll for about 25-30 years now, and have only ever "jammed" with people a couple times. I believe in songs, which have parts, and I love working out the parts, arrangements, rehearsing them until they're super tight, and blowing people away with brilliant writing and passionate performances. I was once in the same guitar store in Brooklyn, when J Mascis from Dinosaur Jr. walked in. I've met him a bunch from my years of living in Western Massachusetts where he's from, but in this case he both had unplugged Gibson SG's in our hands at the same time (we were both just checking out the guitars) and were playing unplugged solos (my guitar solo is massively influenced by his), just noodling around, also at the same time, just a couple feel away from each other. That was an unforgettable life event for me. Thinking about it, I'd also really love to play with Jason Lytle from Grandaddy, on some scale. I think he's a living genius, and also a really nice person."
Favorite concert that you have attended:
"Pavement at the Greek Theater in Berkeley in 2011 was probably the best show I've ever seen. Live, they can be all over the place. I've heard them not so good, they're loose to begin with, but that all over the place penchant in your live show means occasionally the best gigs of all time. I was lucky enough to catch one of those in one of the most beautiful venues I've ever been to. Every time I've seen Badly Drawn Boy play live as well, he's owned it. He is an excellent songwriter and performer and, having met him, a much sweeter person than his stage persona would lead you to believe. I love it when it's the opposite like that, usually people are dicks in real life that come off as really caring in their public life, but he's the opposite, tough as nails onstage, a real gentleman off stage."
"Right now it's our current single, "Something In The Way", because it's the prettiest, catchiest, most classic song, without in any way being obvious. In fact, I can't say with any certainty what it's even about, other than a vibe that feels like change, healthy change, inevitable change - where something you've always seen the same way now feels different. As far as my old songs, I feel that "1992" by my first band, Humbert, has one of the most timeless melody lines ever. I also love "Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired" from the first album by The Campbell Apartment, "Insomniacs Almanac". It's really lonely and sad and pretty, without at all being depressing."
What's one album you could never get tired of listening to?
"Revolver by the Beatles is the first that jumps to mind, no bad songs. That's very unusual. "New York" by Lou Reed is also pretty much a perfect album."
If you could jam with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be?
"I don't really know because I don't "jam". I've played rock n roll for about 25-30 years now, and have only ever "jammed" with people a couple times. I believe in songs, which have parts, and I love working out the parts, arrangements, rehearsing them until they're super tight, and blowing people away with brilliant writing and passionate performances. I was once in the same guitar store in Brooklyn, when J Mascis from Dinosaur Jr. walked in. I've met him a bunch from my years of living in Western Massachusetts where he's from, but in this case he both had unplugged Gibson SG's in our hands at the same time (we were both just checking out the guitars) and were playing unplugged solos (my guitar solo is massively influenced by his), just noodling around, also at the same time, just a couple feel away from each other. That was an unforgettable life event for me. Thinking about it, I'd also really love to play with Jason Lytle from Grandaddy, on some scale. I think he's a living genius, and also a really nice person."
Favorite concert that you have attended:
"Pavement at the Greek Theater in Berkeley in 2011 was probably the best show I've ever seen. Live, they can be all over the place. I've heard them not so good, they're loose to begin with, but that all over the place penchant in your live show means occasionally the best gigs of all time. I was lucky enough to catch one of those in one of the most beautiful venues I've ever been to. Every time I've seen Badly Drawn Boy play live as well, he's owned it. He is an excellent songwriter and performer and, having met him, a much sweeter person than his stage persona would lead you to believe. I love it when it's the opposite like that, usually people are dicks in real life that come off as really caring in their public life, but he's the opposite, tough as nails onstage, a real gentleman off stage."
Best band moment, on or off stage:
"When The Campbell Apartment toured the UK in 2011, to support our previous record "In", we took a weekend jaunt to Liverpool to geek out and do all the Beatles stuff, party like legends, and generally have a fantastic, debauched and unforgettable time."
Have ever had an embarrassing moment on stage?
"No, but I have plenty of them off stage. I'm just fine on stage, I have off-stage-fright."
Where do you see yourself potentially 2 years from now, and where do you see yourself in 5 years?
"I never really look ahead or look back. I have less recorded material than most fans of mine, in terms of my own output. I just don't care to track what's happened, keep any record of it, and even less so to look forward. I can say in 5 years I see myself touring prolifically, but an anvil can fall on me tomorrow as I walk down 24th Street in San Francisco, and then I'd have this massive terrific head wound that I didn't plan on touring with so I just stay in the moment, as dull as the moment can be sometimes. It's all there is."
Who are some bands that you play around your area with?
"I like Hi Lo Ha, and we're good friends with Trip Wire. We play around together and both made our most recent records at the Complex in SF - for my money, the best recording studio in the Bay Area!"
Where can people go to follow your progress and find your music?
"We're all over the Internet, Spotify, Reverbnation and every other thing like it. We're also in local record stores in San Francisco, where you can pick up our new album, "Sundogs", on limited edition (there are 400 of them and will be none more) translucent gold 12" vinyl! Support local music shops! If you need an immediate fix, check us out on thecampbellapartment.bandcamp.com"
Anything else you would like to say before you go?
"Don't eat the yellow snow."
Last Question: If you could have written any song in history, which song would you choose and why?
"Probably "Street Hassle" by Lou Reed. It seems so stream of consciousness that it makes you forget all about writers block and that such a thing even exists. It's sexy, provocative, rude, pretty, and even has a random spoken word cameo by Bruce Springsteen, who happened to be recording in the next studio over from Lou. I love it because really good writing shouldn't be or feel labored. That's something I want to keep working on."
"When The Campbell Apartment toured the UK in 2011, to support our previous record "In", we took a weekend jaunt to Liverpool to geek out and do all the Beatles stuff, party like legends, and generally have a fantastic, debauched and unforgettable time."
Have ever had an embarrassing moment on stage?
"No, but I have plenty of them off stage. I'm just fine on stage, I have off-stage-fright."
Where do you see yourself potentially 2 years from now, and where do you see yourself in 5 years?
"I never really look ahead or look back. I have less recorded material than most fans of mine, in terms of my own output. I just don't care to track what's happened, keep any record of it, and even less so to look forward. I can say in 5 years I see myself touring prolifically, but an anvil can fall on me tomorrow as I walk down 24th Street in San Francisco, and then I'd have this massive terrific head wound that I didn't plan on touring with so I just stay in the moment, as dull as the moment can be sometimes. It's all there is."
Who are some bands that you play around your area with?
"I like Hi Lo Ha, and we're good friends with Trip Wire. We play around together and both made our most recent records at the Complex in SF - for my money, the best recording studio in the Bay Area!"
Where can people go to follow your progress and find your music?
"We're all over the Internet, Spotify, Reverbnation and every other thing like it. We're also in local record stores in San Francisco, where you can pick up our new album, "Sundogs", on limited edition (there are 400 of them and will be none more) translucent gold 12" vinyl! Support local music shops! If you need an immediate fix, check us out on thecampbellapartment.bandcamp.com"
Anything else you would like to say before you go?
"Don't eat the yellow snow."
Last Question: If you could have written any song in history, which song would you choose and why?
"Probably "Street Hassle" by Lou Reed. It seems so stream of consciousness that it makes you forget all about writers block and that such a thing even exists. It's sexy, provocative, rude, pretty, and even has a random spoken word cameo by Bruce Springsteen, who happened to be recording in the next studio over from Lou. I love it because really good writing shouldn't be or feel labored. That's something I want to keep working on."