The Stripdown

DJ Ocean Spray
Hello everyone, this is DJ Ocean Spray, and I'm here to give you an Off The Record interview. You're listening to WKNC 88.1 HD one Raleigh. We're a radio station at NC State University. I am here today with the lead singer from the Durham bass band sluice. So Justin, where are you from? And what do you do?

Justin
I'm from Winston Salem, and I live in Durham now with with my bandmates. And I play in the band sluice.

DJ Ocean Spray
I read that you are also an engineer, which I think is audio engineering. Yeah, but can you tell me a little bit about it?

Justin
Totally. Yeah, I went to college for that. I went to UNC Asheville and studied audio engineering. And yeah, like studio recording and live sound and that kind of thing. And so yeah, I record and and I have a little studio at my house, that kind of thing.

DJ Ocean Spray
And what's the story behind the name sluice?

Justin
sluice, I think primarily is just a word that I thought was cool. And the more that I thought about it, I thought that the meaning actually was was fitting and felt applicable. But the first time I was exposed to it was on a historical marker like a roadside historical marker. On the way my family used to go up to Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. We'd rent a house there every year. And yeah, just playing the water and stuff. But yeah, there was always a historical marker on the side of the road. Advertising slink Shoal sluice, which is like a particular sluice. But I just thought that was the funniest combinations of words that was really hard to say. So that just kind of stuck in my head for a while, but I didn't really think anything of it. And then yeah, I was looking for a way to release music without just using my own name, and thought that the word sluice was was fitting as like a, like a pressure release.

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah. That's very cool. And how exactly did the band start?

Justin
Yes, like I said, I had just written some songs by myself and was working on recording them, and met up with my good friend, Avery Sullivan, who drums in the band. Now. We're living together in New York. And we were living in a apartment with a really sketchy landlord, and all of our apartment mates, people that lived in the other units of the building moved out, because they're upset with the treatment, which is completely reasonable. And we just decided, you know, we're just going to roll the dice and try to stick around for a little bit. So there was a multiple month period where we had access to a full apartment and could make noise in it. So we just put some equipment in the basement of the building. And that's where we made the first record, just being Avery down in the band in our apartment, which was fun. So yeah, just started out as like a recording project. And then after I came back down to Durham, like I said, I'm from North Carolina, but yeah, it came back down. And yeah, we we figured out a live band. And that was right before COVID. So we had a bit of a false start. But yeah, now I've been able to play more shows together and out in the world, which is really nice.

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah. So when did your personal journey with music start? Like have you always enjoyed listening or creating music?

Justin
I think so. I could maybe ask my parents. Yeah, I've always been big into music. There's some like fun little photos or like home videos of my my mom's brother, my uncle Jimmy, who actually went to state go pack is a great guitar player. And we always play guitar and sing John Prine songs and things like that at occasions. And there's a great photo of me as a baby just like totally transfixed watching him play guitar, which is very sweet. Yeah, I think I think I was always drawn to music and probably got started singing in like church choir growing up and then took some lessons. I took piano lessons and took guitar lessons. And yeah, just really enjoyed it and kept up with it.

DJ Ocean Spray
And who is your like, greatest musical inspiration?

Justin
That's a hard question. I don't know. It changes a lot. I feel like I go through big periods of like really worshiping people. And then they still stay with me, but they're not always like, oh, this person is the one. Like recently I've been really into Dan Riggins from friendship. I think he's such a great writer. And I've really enjoyed hearing his music. And I've gotten to meet him a couple times. And he's a really sweet guy. There's it's a small world, like, indie music scene. Yeah, I love his writing.

DJ Ocean Spray
And I heard that you really like Bruce Springsteen? And I thought that was really interesting, considering his music is very different from yours. Like as a child Did you like enjoy things that you know were more similar to like, you know, sluices kind of funky sound. Or did you like things that were more like Bruce Springsteen like kind of different from the

Justin
Yeah, I feel like the stuff I've been making now definitely isn't what I've always listened to. And Bruce, my dad's a huge Bruce fan. He took us to see Bruce in 2002 I think that was my first concert when I was maybe nine. All right. And yeah, so I was just totally raised on that music and had a funny arc of really loving it as a kid and then being a teenager and getting into slightly more experimental music or getting into folk music and being like, Oh, I don't like this, like arena rock. I don't need this. And now fully come back around to being like, Oh, he's a total genius. I love his music. Yeah.

DJ Ocean Spray
Oh, okay. And so like more about your own music. So this is music personally reminds me of like, running around my family's Mountain House like the summertime with all my cousins. And it's like so nostalgic, and like, not in a corny way, but

it feels like it's like filled with like, love kind of, like, what do you want to portray with looses music? Or like, what are you trying to tell through it?

Justin
I would love to tell that. That sounds really beautiful. I wasn't picturing your family's mountain. I'm glad that was your experience. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's, I mean, maybe all music is about personal relationships. But yeah, like personal relationships and intimacy and nature are definitely big themes that I've written about a lot.

DJ Ocean Spray
Is there a specific place that has kind of inspired your music?

Justin
I think going into college in the mountains was really big for me. Just I didn't grow up doing a ton of camping or like frolicking. I guess I didn't do a lot of frolicking in Winston Salem as a kid, just standard kid stuff. But that really got me into backpacking and spending extensive time outside and just like learning more about ecology and things like that just in college. So yeah, I think like western North Carolina was a big inspiration to me. But when I moved to New York, I was only there for a little bit. And I really didn't like being in a big city up north. I really got Carolina, I feel like it was pretty formative just to being like, Oh, I really miss home. And living in the triangle, which I hadn't done before. I've been really struck by how beautiful central North Carolina is that you know, river features pretty prominently on the last lease record, just in places that songs were written. And yeah, I love the Piedmont it's a beautiful part of this. Yeah,

DJ Ocean Spray
I think it's very beautiful. Um, people don't really talk about it that often. Yeah, I think it's like really looked over. Totally. Um, so what genre would you like puts loosen?

Justin
Um, I think I think it's an indie rock project that yeah, has a lot of folk influences and has some, like ambient music influences. But yeah, I think it's primarily, I don't know, singer, songwriter, indie rock, that kind of thing.

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah. And so you've toured and opened for a lot of musicians? Would you ever, like want to work with people outside of sluice, like a feature or something? Or would you want to keep it contained?

Justin
Oh, yeah, I think that'd be great. I feel like a big breakthrough with this last record radio gate that we put out is there's so many people on the record. The first one was really just me and Avery, which was great and fun to work like that. But this one fully just opened it up to all of my friends that I thought could do cool things on it. So yeah, I would love to continue that. And if there was somebody that wanted to collaborate, it would be great to

DJ Ocean Spray
and what musician alive or dead would you want to collaborate with? Like, if you could choose any body?

Justin
Well. I mean, I feel like all my favorite ones, I would feel nervous. Maybe I wouldn't want to but somebody like Arthur Russell would be incredible to play with. His voice is so amazing. I would love to, like seeing behind would feel really nice. Somebody like that would be amazing.

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah. And I've noticed a lot of your band members are part of several other bands. But you kind of like form like a little community together. Like it's all intertwined. And it seems like a very fun and supportive community. Like how did it form?

Justin
Thanks. I'm glad it feels like that. Yeah, it's really fun to to have that be recognized a little bit because yeah, I feel like me and all my friends have worked really hard on playing music and supporting each other. Just been getting really excited about people's Bandcamp records that you put up and not a lot of people listened to but your those become some of your favorite songs. And yeah, we all play in each other's bands and record each other's music and it's it's it's very sweet. What was your question with that? How did that happen?

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah, like how did it begin? Well,

Justin
I feel like I've I've known a lot of these people for a long time. Like Aaron Doughty. I play in the band fast, which is his project. He is as much of an inspiration to me as any as Bruce Springsteen, for sure. He's such an incredible writer and a great guy to hang out with and to play music with. But yeah, I think just having sustained friendships and really enjoying being around people and we've all sort of shaped each other's tastes just by being around. And I also think we've gotten lucky of people caring starting to care about the music in a way that allows us to it's kind of lit a fire I feel like like, oh, we should really try this, like, Oh, should we buy a van? Let's let's make it happen. So, I'm excited about where it all goes. And I hope we can keep that same sort of familial type relationship with each other creatively.

DJ Ocean Spray
And are the projects that everyone has with other bands would you say that they're similar to like sluice or like are they cohesive or are they like very different

Justin
I think it makes sense they all sort of exist in the same universe in my in my understanding of it, but they are all different projects. I think if they were all right on the nose there would be maybe more competition feeling with each other. But yeah, the first project is like an off on country project. I don't know if Aaron would describe it that way. But that feels different than sluice. My friend Oliver. Child planning that plays in sluice as well, we have a project together called Weird that's like, experimental, traditional folk project that feels very different than sluice, but still in the same world. And yeah, like Avery Selvin plays an indigo to Sousa band, and that's very different music, but still, you know, in the umbrella of indie rock or something like that. So I feel like it's all comfortably in different corners of the same universe.

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah, definitely. And you played at hopscotch. Um, were you able to see any other artists play there?

Justin
Yeah, I was doing a lot of running around. So I also was just resting for some of it, too. I saw Florrie a couple times, which was amazing. I love Florrie. They're on dear life records, which first is as well. I got to see Whitmer Thomas play. I really love what more Thomas. I'm a big fan of his comedy. He had like a musical project play, which was really fun. I caught a little bit of Japanese breakfast, which was amazing. Yeah, I'd never seen them before. But that was just astounding to see the mainstage it really was. Yeah, you were there. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. That was an awesome Gong. Yeah, that was so amazing.

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah, her stuff. It was like so intricate. Everything she had like, what was your theme? And like, it was just so cohesive. It was very cool.

Justin
Yeah, they're completely killing it and seem like they totally deserve it is exciting to see.

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah. And so I know you released radial gate this year. But do you have any other like projects that you started or you're thinking about? I saw that you guys were recording something recently and chickens were somehow involved?

Justin
Yeah, definitely. Yeah. That was the new weirs record that folk project. Okay, with all of your child landing. Yeah, we were recording that. I think maybe two weekends ago. He has a family farm and a really old farmhouse. It's been in his family for I think hundreds of years. Like they've at least track the history back to a land grant from King George. Oh my god. I might be missing some of the history here. But yeah, Wild Wild amount of history and that old farmhouse. But yeah, we went up there for a weekend and took some gear and had maybe eight or nine people on it and did a lot of playing we it's it's a it's an old dairy farm that's now being leased out to other places, but there's an old silo for all the grain to feed the cows. And we climbed into a little hole in the silo and we did a couple of songs there. Oh, it's so reverberant. Yeah, it was really fun to sing in there with like eight or nine second reverb tail it just sounds like a cathedral but it's this kind of creepy Carcosa Oh, Isla yeah so that was really fun

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah, we're gonna take a quick break to play since you're on by sluice We will be right back

Unknown Speaker
I'm Roman cutting hair cuts my skin and his neighborhood

Unknown Speaker
My Mom where are my sister? Where's my father? Hey

Unknown Speaker
Baby fun Roman like that night

Justin
by the creek

Unknown Speaker
so sweet for our for our

Justin
got it got it back and it feels so good to burn in

Unknown Speaker
scalding water

Unknown Speaker
circling

Unknown Speaker
to see you

DJ Ocean Spray
so the first time I saw sluice perform was opening for Indigo to suicide, Asheville, have most of your shows like been in the southeast region? Or have you played in other parts of America?

Justin
Yeah, the sleeves project most of our stuff until that Indigo opening tour had really just been in Durham, I think we had maybe played three or four shows something like that. Because yeah, we put out the self titled record just on Bandcamp and then played one show in Durham at Arcana, a bar downtown. And then I think that was early March 2020. So we just kind of like, we're not playing any shows, like everybody else. But yeah, with that, with that tour, we you know, we went all the way up to Canada. We started in Madison, Wisconsin, so that was, yeah, it went from a tiny area to a really big area. And I played a little bit before in New York and played in some other bands that did some northeast touring, but nothing that extensive before.

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah. Do you have any pre or post show rituals?

Justin
It's a good question. I've been meaning to try to solidify that, because I feel like that could be helpful. Yeah. Because I haven't played enough shows that I really feel like it. Maybe I'll never know this, but I never. But I don't know how to like guarantee a good show. Probably no one can guarantee a good show. But the idea of solidifying a ritual sounds really nice. But yeah, with those with those Indigo shows, I feel like me and Adrian Oliver would always just try to find each other side stage or something and kind of Huddle up and I don't know, center ourselves and then go off into it. And it feels really nice to be grounded by just being with your friends when you walk onto big stage. Yes, I definitely. Definitely.

DJ Ocean Spray
And is your like friendship with Avery how you were able to like meet Indigo? And like start touring with her and stuff, or yeah, that

Justin
definitely. Definitely was a big piece in it. Indigo and my younger sister were really good friends for a long time. And I went to school in Nashville, and it's a small town. So yeah, Indigos manager is one of my best friends from college and yeah, it's all just very intertwined. That's crazy. So yeah, so I think it was it was Indigo specifically that invited us which was really kind

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah, so she knew you guys Yeah. Oh my gosh, this is that's such a small world. Like I wouldn't expect that. Yeah. Oh, wow. Um, also so what is at the top of your writer. So it's like, for those listening, if you don't know what a writer is, it's like a list of demands. Sometimes artists will make. Do you have one or very newly

Justin
we had one we were sort of goaded as the wrong word. But I'm used to not being treated with any sort of, like evenness. I don't know if that's a word. And so yeah, a couple days into the Indigo tour, their tour manager was like, Guys, there's money leftover in the hospitality budget, you guys should, you know, put some stuff down. And I was like, oh, tortilla chips. Light beer. Is that okay? So, yeah, it's all pretty, pretty minimal. And the most of the times the shows that we're playing are not paying us so much money. They can spend a lot of money on us. But maybe my dream writer would be like, No, Gingerbread can Bucha is yeah, nice coffee. Nice cheese and crackers, things like that. But for now, I'll take what we can get. Sounds like a good list.

DJ Ocean Spray
Potential good. Um, and what is the crowd you usually like at your shows?

Justin
Um, I'm, I've been really impressed with the shows that we've played, especially a lot of the opening slots of crowds largely being really attentive, which I was nervous about, just because a lot of these songs have a lot of space in them and aren't always very loud and are emotionally precious to me. So it feels really nice when people are quiet and pay attention. And we've gotten a really warm reception from playing those for people that hadn't seen us before. Which is Oh, great. So lit. Yeah, we haven't played enough to really be like, Oh, our audiences always acts. But largely, I've been really impressed and really, really happy to hear that people enjoy it.

DJ Ocean Spray
I mean, I feel like your music is so atmospheric that it kind of draws everyone's attention in and it's hard not to pay attention. But I I've never really noticed people like talking through your set. Um, and also so all of her plays an instrument that looks like a pedal attached to an accordion. Can you tell me a little bit about this? Totally.

Justin
Yeah, this like really locked in our sound. I feel like it's also I love that you are asking about this because I love to talk about it. But truly every show someone comes up to him and it's like, oh, yeah, it's an instrument called a Shruti. Box. I think it's spelled sh ru TI. And it's from like Indian drone music tradition. And yeah, like you said, it's, it's similar to an accordion, it has bellows and it folds in on itself. And it's a read instrument. But instead of an active keyboard that you play with your hand, the keyboard is on the face of the instrument, and it has little toggles. So you like toggle out the key that you want, and then it just stays on. So it's, it's like a sustained drone. So instead of having to press a key and then depress it, it just always stays. So Hill, plug in the notes of a chord that relate to the key of the song that we're playing. And then he has a pedal that uses a I think it uses a like the same kind of tubing with a wire through it that you'd use for like a bicycle gear switch. And so he pumps it with his feet, which then compresses the bellows and then plays the drone through that so it like it's blowing air through reads.

DJ Ocean Spray
And this is something you didn't make yourself. You like bought this.

Justin
Yeah, he bought it online. I think he bought it from India. Oh, wow. Like sent out for it online and got it shipped. Yeah, it's a beautiful instrument and really fills in a lot of space.

DJ Ocean Spray
It does. Yeah, I've been trying to figure out what it was. Um, okay. And so you said, I'm in college, you were able to play some music? Like, what was the music scene? Like, um, when you were in college,

Justin
it was great. Yeah, I learned so much and met so many people playing music in college, I was in a band called ANSYS. With a just a bunch of friends that that lived together. We're good pals. And there's a venue called the MA flight that was really, really welcoming. And we played a ton of shows there. Okay. And yeah, I feel like that was really where I learned how to be in a band, just from playing those shows and how equipment works and how to soundtrack and how to do all that stuff. But yeah, even outside of that, too, there was a pretty vibrant house show scene. I lived in a house that had a lot of house shows. I don't think I can say the name of the house on the air. Very goofy place. But a lot of fun memories there. And yeah, just a ton of creative people in a ton of good bands there.

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah. Okay, and so did you grow up in a musical family like Did your parents like play music or and play or enjoy it? You know,

Justin
definitely Muse Big fans. My dad would tell you that he's not musical at all, but he actually is very musical. He grew up playing guitar very casually he had a he had a friend in the neighborhood that taught him how to play some like Rush and some like fun 80s electric guitar stuff fairly simple. And then he my mum as well, but he's, he's been super supportive of me getting into music. And when I was maybe 12 to 15 or so I was taking guitar lessons and he took guitar lessons also alongside like from the same teacher so we'd be able to play together and stuff which was really sweet. And he still plays guitar hill like pull up like John Prine live on YouTube and strum along to it. But he wouldn't be embarrassed. I think it's great.

DJ Ocean Spray
Yeah. And so there's very little information about you and sluice on the internet. Is that intentional?

Justin
not intentional. Okay. We just haven't really been like, any amount of notable very long. Okay, I was just brought to it was just brought to my attention that there's a sluice Wikipedia page, which is

DJ Ocean Spray
well, I've seen like the pitchfork article and stuff. Yeah. And I thought that was crazy. Like, considering sluice doesn't have like a huge following. I mean, the review was really good. And it was a pretty good rating. So I thought that was really cool.

Justin
Yeah, I was, I was super flattered to get that I was not expecting it.

DJ Ocean Spray
And do you have any hobbies other than music? Yeah.

Justin
Hobbies other than music, I like backpacking. I'm about to go on a trip in the Smokies. And about a week and a half, which I'm pretty excited about. My work that I do regularly is carpentry. So I enjoy woodworking and working with my hands and just kind of like tinkering and figuring out how things work. That's really fun. It's like walking. Yes, normal stuff.

DJ Ocean Spray
And so do you not work as an audio engineer anymore? No, I

Justin
haven't really pursued that recently as like a main primary source of income. I've really enjoyed doing it for fun. I've had a lot of like, personal inner turmoil of like, should I be following my dreams of XOR. Why? Just because I feel like with art, and music and all that stuff, like, putting money on it complicates it. And I've definitely gone through periods of feeling burned out in working specifically in music, that I didn't want to be creative outside of my job. And so I feel like pretty intentionally I've been trying to separate that part of my life. But I've been really excited about being able to tour and get to play more. So that's something I've been picking off of, like yesterday, you're doing that more because it's feeling good right now? Or is that good to keep a, you know, a divide and have my day job that I do? And then I take time off and go do the thing that I that makes my heart happy or whatever.

DJ Ocean Spray
I mean, I guess that knowledge can only really help you when creating your own music and stuff. For sure. Um, do you enjoy touring? Like, has it been a good experience? I mean, I guess it probably isn't super luxurious. But like, what is it like for

Justin
you? Yeah, um, these last couple legs have been really fun, and really exciting and great to do it with people that I really love. I think doing it outside of that context can get really hairy. Because yeah, it's not it's not glamorous or my experience of it. At this point. It's not been very glamorous, it's a lot of not sleeping and not making much money at all and driving long distances. But yeah, it's felt really validating to play for people and to have people be excited about stuff and to get to travel that way. It's a funny way to travel because you really don't get to see much of a city. Yeah, it's it's really brief and contained. But now it's it's it's definitely an honor to be able to do it. If people are interested. I would I plan on keeping it up.

DJ Ocean Spray
And so is there anything else you would like to talk about or mention?

Justin
Yeah, I guess. Yeah, I told you about the weird recording. We are working on the new sluice record, which I'm excited about. Don't have much more to say other than that. It's coming together. Okay. But yeah, we're about to go on tour supporting superchunk for a couple of days. Three shows actually, in Asheville, Charlotte, and then a little homecoming show in Durham, and that's the Sunday should be fun.

DJ Ocean Spray
And where can people find your social media?

Justin
We have an Instagram account. That's sluiced.ig Is the handle. We have a Bandcamp slew stop bandcamp.com You And email assets loose llc@gmail.com I think that's the end of my, my internet access.

DJ Ocean Spray
Okay, um, and you also have an upcoming event in the background with a cat's cradle.

Justin
Yeah, so yeah, this upcoming couple of runs we're doing with super drunk and then I'm doing a solo tour opening for a savage parquet courts and yeah, we'll be at the backroom. We can insert the date I don't remember off the top of my head November 7 November so November 7, thank you. I'll be at the back end of November 7 Okay.

DJ Ocean Spray
Um Okay, so I am DJ Ocean Spray on off the record with Justin from sluice on WKNC 88.1 FM HD one Raleigh thank you so much for listening to this interview. You can find more interviews at wknc.org/podcasts Thank you so much for being with me here today Justin. I will send the listeners off with one less song by sluice squirrel thank you so much for listening

Unknown Speaker
I've been known to ramble count town

Unknown Speaker
run and fans tread through the brambles and fallen down

Speaker 3
baby feels good sticking around

Speaker 3
10 months two months time so come round again against the mill to slow down the drain

Speaker 3
to trickle down and take the city maybe stop the train from Scream hee hee hee chin so loud goodbye

Speaker 3
Wheaton with this haggard crew in a town where I've no Kinahan to work good job to drive the rent to feed myself to sing the song about not knowing what the hell to do but I love my friends and they love me and I wouldn't know where to be

Speaker 3
trying to be more like a squirrel in the park breeding war fun and good things to eat in the muck

Unknown Speaker
man Rambo

Unknown Speaker
Browning Fastrac grandma

Unknown Speaker
sticking around

Unknown Speaker
baby sticking

Transcribed by https://otter.ai