Meet Hodera, a rock band from northern New Jersey and the newest addition to your summer playlist. The group consists of lead vocalist Matt Smith, lead guitarist Matt Caponegro, bassist Nick Vandermaas, and drummer Nick Baughman. Formed in January of this year, Hodera has toured throughout the Midwest and East Coast, in addition to landing a handful of showcases at SXSW in Austin, Texas. They will be playing a house show in Philadelphia on July 12th. The promoter hasn’t confirmed the location yet, but you can find their tour dates on Facebook.com/HoderaBand or Hodera.net. Hodera’s debut EP, “Reset to Default,” came out this past Tuesday through Pink House Collective. Street got a chance to talk with, Matt Smith, the creator of Hodera, prior to the band’s EP release.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0OhiRWF6n8Street: How did you come up with the band’s name?
MS: Hodera (pronounced ho-de-ra) is kind of a made up word. “Hedera” means Ivy, but I didn’t like how it sounded so I changed the “e” to an “o.” We were originally called Epilogues. We got two new members in the last six months and recorded a new EP, so we just decided to re-name the band before our release.
Street: How would you categorize your style of music?
MS: Alternative/Indie Rock is the short version of how I describe our sound. I was originally a solo folk artist, so there are some deep traces of folk in our music, but it’s a lot heavier now. My roots in folk music still highly affect my writing, and the DIY basement scene has really inspired me as well. Our songs are mostly sad though, very emo. I say our music appeals to sad college kids.
Street: What was the first gig Hodera played? How did it go?
MS: Our first show as Hodera was at the William Paterson University radio station in New Jersey, this past March. It was the last day of our month tour to SXSW. It was really cool. There were some really great local bands and a band from Brazil that played. There were around 140 people packed in the studio. It was a great time.
Street: What’s the inspiration behind your debut EP, "Reset to Default"?
MS: I’ve had a really hard time letting go of my childhood town; I moved seven years ago. And so “Reset To Default” is a simile for what I wish I could do, but know will never happen. The album cover is a picture that I took of the forest where I spent most of my childhood. All my childhood friends grew up and moved away. They remodeled my old house. That forest is one of the last places I can go that’s remained the same since I was a kid. And even that’s temporary. They’re slowly cutting it down to build roads.
Street: What would you say is your favorite song on the EP? Why?
MS: The title track is my favorite. I like the lyrics, I like the driving beat, and I like the time change at the end of the song.
Street: How has your experience been with getting your music out there?
MS: Instagram and Twitter have been a great tool. We have a pretty good following on both. We’re still a baby band, though, so progress is slow. Once we’ve released our first EP and do our summer and fall tour, we’ll hopefully have some more success.
Street: Can you talk a little bit about your personal musical background?
MS: I got my first guitar when I was five, but I really started playing a lot when I was 10 and I wanted to be the guitar player in my middle school Jazz Band. I started singing and writing when I was around 14, and I’ve been in band since I was 15.. My dad’s a singer/songwriter. He never pushed me to play, but I just wanted to. He taught me a lot, and my first performing group was with my dad and my older brother. We would sing old folk covers. I’ve known since I was 14 that I wanted to be a touring musician. At this point, there’s nothing else I want to do. I’ve pretty much adapted my life to living on the road and playing music. And though it would be nice to make a living at it (that is the ultimate goal), I’ll keep touring and playing even if I don’t make a cent.
Street: Where do you see your music taking you in the future?
MS: I think the next year is going to decide a lot. My ideal situation would be to be able to make enough money to pay rent and be able to play with really cool bands.
Street: What current music have you been listening to lately?
MS: I love Radiohead. I know… typical. Lately, I’ve been listening to this local band called Pinegrove a lot. I’m a big fan of CD’s, so when I get a CD I spin it a lot! So I got these dudes CD and I now know all 20 songs.
Street: Do you have any musical idols? Who are some other musicians that have inspired Hodera’s music?
MS: I like people that do crazy stuff. Jim Morrison’s crazy moves, Jimmi Hendrix lighting his guitar on fire… Basically I like when bands have a lot of energy. But I also dig originality like Brick + Mortar using crazy samples and King Krule’s Voice. I’m also inspired by good bands that I’ve seen rise to the top because they’re so good. The Front Bottoms, Foxing, Old Gray, and Brick + Mortar and just a few examples of this.
Street: Last, but not least, complete the following sentence: there are two types of musicians…
MS: …that I don’t like. I don’t like the musicians that think they’re so good that they can talk down to you and not respect you. Like, they ask you to come to their shows and then they don’t show up to yours. And I don’t like the portion of the DIY/basement scene musicians who ignore you and don’t respect you if they don’t like your music. The DIY scene is about supporting all types of music and helping each other out. But some basement bands turn their backs to you if they don’t think you’re “basement” enough. It’s like if your music isn’t cool enough for them, you’re not “part of the scene.” The Northern New Jersey DIY scene helps out all bands and supports them, so it’s hard for me to see people who don’t.
Download “Reset to Default” here at http://hodera.bandcamp.com