DEERPEOPLE

North Texas, and by extension the world, is a better place with 35 Denton around. The three-day music festival in Denton is back this weekend after a one-year hiatus, and we welcome its return with open arms.

However, at first–and second and third–glance, the lineup for the resurrected festival looks a little underwhelming. There’s a certain poetry to bringing in The Zombies to play this back-from-the-dead event, but the British rock group wouldn’t have been the most thrilling headliner in 1969, much less 2015. Sure, I’ll watch these senior citizens shamble out to play “Time of the Season,” before they get wheeled back to the tour bus, but I’ll be thinking wistfully of the days when 35 Denton was able to pull The Flaming Lips, or The Jesus and Mary Chain, or even mid-level (in terms of name-recognition) acts like Thee Oh Sees.

But what initially seems like a weakness (the dearth of recognizable, big-name bands) may actually be 35 Denton’s hidden strength for this go-round. The festival’s always billed itself as a great showcase for local musicians, and this year’s lineup puts its money where its mouth is: Just look at all the “Denton, TX” here. If North Texas’ music scene wants to stand on its own merits outside the shadow of that other Texas city known for incubating local musicians, isn’t a festival that exists largely to show off the area’s homegrown talent one way to go about it?

A scene can’t establish its own identity with big, national acts. 35 Denton’s lineup is a lot of little-print bands with big-print talent. If you’re looking to discover great, local music the good old fashioned way, then for three days, Denton is the place to be. There are plenty of great bands, both local and outsourced, appearing at the festival this weekend, and you can go here for a full schedule. Here are 10 of the best, in the order they’re performing.
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4. DEERPEOPLE–Saturday at 2:15 pm (Outdoor Stage 2)

DEERPEOPLE shares a certain out-there sensibility with fellow Oklahoma act and former 35 Denton headliner The Flaming Lips, but the band taps into its own nervous energy on songs like “New Dance,” which in a perfect world would be a mainstay on alternative rock radio. - D Magazine

The music of Deerpeople has all of the makings of a rebuilding project. It has all of the makings of a society that's been smeared, that's been altered, that's been burned to the ground and given some time to where there are now little green heads of living things poking through the topsoil. The Stillwater, Oklahoma, band has taken us into this world where the beauties of yesteryear are going to work their ways back into being beauties again. Just when you think everything's gone completely to shit, you're forcibly reminded about all of the good that won't stay that way.

There is a piece in the newest issue of Vanity Fair about the glut of John F. Kennedy books coming out this fall, commemorating the 50th anniversary of his assassination in Dallas. There is a line in it about how there was a whole generation of boys and girls, who were children at the time of his short-lived presidency who - during the Cuban Missile Crisis - who genuinely believed that they were doomed never to grow up, that the world was going to be annihilated by nuclear weapons. They had legitimate fears that they were going to be wiped out before they could ever have children of their own, before they could ever play high school football even. I suppose there's that threat out there for all of us regarding global warming, but somehow it feels less urgent - even if it's not, even if we should be petrified that our grandchildren are just going to get boiled alive in the enveloping swallow of the ocean's waters.

Deerpeople songs bring to mind how glorious and still how terrifying life truly is. They sing about people being torn apart, being hunted by "imitation animals" - creatures that give me the willies without even knowing what they are - and passive thoughts of destruction. This is dancing in the streets to the aloof yellow of the streetlights and the broken reds and blues of police sirens, letting our skin and bones get a little more partying in before being led to the very end. We can go out with a lovely glow we never thought we'd possess in all of our days. - Daytrotter.com - Sean Moeller

Not many bands today can pull off a harpsichord sound.
Vampire Weekend can splendidly, and made it rock Saturday night at the Brady Theater.
The New York City-based band had the sold-out crowd dancing through the night to their version of indie rock. Heavy beats with creative sound creations with pronounced electric guitar, bass and keyboards made a sound that filled the old theater and sent its occupants wild.
Lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig has a voice that is at times soft and on the higher range, but rocks. Multi-instrumentalist and the band's producer Rostam Batmanglij with drummer Chris Tomson and bassist Chris Baio all come together for inventive and unique sound.
The band had me hooked with their first self-titled album in 2008. Songs from that album played Saturday like "A-Punk," "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" and "Oxford Comma," maintained their preppy and inventive sound, a sound that launched them to the scene and was played on the quad at college campuses across the country.
Their second album, 2010's "Contra," and the most recent "Modern Vampires of the City," released in May, have each shown some maturing. That came across in the live show.
Tomson's steady and commanding beats drove many of the songs, with beautiful harmonies between Koenig and Batmanglij offering making the small sound of the great "Hannah Hunt" a bit bigger.
"Hannah Hunt" is off the band's latest album and showed the added depth the years have added when played before the final song "Walcott."
Other songs played Saturday were an even mix between the three albums, with a crowd that seemed familiar with the majority. "Cousins," California English" and "Horchata" off of "Contra" drew huge cheers from the crowd.
The stage was set with four white suspended columns and an ornate mirror on the back of the stage set against a flowery screen. All that was just decoration compared to their incredible lighting design, some of the best I've seen. It was such a great, classy compliment to music that would blare from house parties.
Koenig, wearing stark white pants and shirt, added his own elegance to the night.
It had been three years since Vampire Weekend was last in Tulsa, Koenig said.
"We finally get to play some new songs for you," Koenig said before the band went into "Diane Young," one of the singles off the new album. It sent the crowd wild.
Speaking of the crowd, it was a great mix of young and old, hipster and preppy. One kid no more than 10 years old in front of me was dancing in the aisle most of the concert. But there were a lot of thick-rimmed glasses and facial hair. Just an observation; I can say this as someone with thick-rimmed glasses and facial hair.
Stepping in at the last minute for scheduled opener Sky Ferreira was Stillwater-based DEERPEOPLE, who played an impressive set to open the concert. Their own indie rock sound was a good fit to open the show. Though the lead vocalist may have gotten a bit too excited, apparently falling at some point and injuring himself.
Though Vampire Weekend's debut self-titled album still maintains its strength with great songs that still play great, it was fun in college. It's nice to see the band growing up, but not growing old. - Tulsa World

The Sooner State is the home of Woody Guthrie, and as you might expect from a legend like that, his sound is still heard across Oklahoma. The state is a hotbed for Americana music, raising the likes of John Fullbright, Samantha Crain, JD McPherson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ali Harter, Audra Mae, Leon Russell and countless others. But Oklahoma isn’t just about roots music. Wayne Coyne grew up here. Annie Clark was born in Tulsa. The scene is eclectic, with incredible folk and country, but also punk, indie pop and things that defy categorization.

As part of Paste’s 50 States Project, here are 10 Oklahoma bands you don’t want to miss.

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2. DEERPEOPLE
Hometown: Stillwater
Members: Brennan Barnes, Alex Larrea, Julian Shen, Jordan Bayhylle, Kendal Looney, Derek Moore
Current Album: EXPLORGASM
Not much needs to be said about a band named Deerpeople whose latest record is titled EXPLORGASM. If you don’t think they’re awesome, you might not believe in awesome. It’s also, as you might expect, a little weird. But good weird. Like CatDog. Just try not to be captured by “Ulysses” and its cacophony of sounds. - Paste Magazine

DEERPEOPLE Steal the Night at Oakland's Legionnaire Saloon, 6/15/14
Posted By Raymond Robles on Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 9:17 AM

DEERPEOPLE
Mad Noise
Jeremy Jones Band

Friday, June 15, 2014

The Legionnaire Saloon

Situated on a main street, The Legionnaire has a speakeasy attitude more charming with every stair step up to their modest stage. Security was light. Doors opened at 9:30, and there was no doorman guarding the ascent. Everyone looked to be enjoying themselves, but no heads raised for newcomers to the bar.

The upstairs bartender seemed inordinately excited at the prospect of his patrons being from New Orleans (no one was, though he asked). The price of a Racer 5 was a steal, commensurate to the rent disparities in Oakland versus San Francisco.

Mad Noise did that thing they do: sexy, wood-resonating acoustics with smoky, Creole spice. I'm not particularly enamored with the timbre of lead singer Khalil Sullivan's voice, but you can tell he knows what he's doing. His crooning takes on a particular whiny pathos that isn't my cup of bourbon, but while gruff, while growling, while snarling, he's magic.

Whether enjoying a 4505 Meats burger at the Ferry Building or the cheapest IPA you've found in the Bay, Mad Noise will make you thankful for local buskers.

The group is diverse, not afraid to use the N-word in a politically defiant courtship song, and wealthy in harmonica buzzing. Chris Weir (bass) and "Pharoah" (Jarel Stone on harmonica) could carry an entire show solo.

The Jeremy Jones band preceded Mad Noise with the sartorial inelegance one always hopes is the hallmark of music for music's sake. A fedora, an amazing Bo Diddley-esque rectilinear guitar body, and a remarkably eclectic repertoire of styles shored up the generally unremarkable performance.

Granted, any amount of swamp rock, boogie woogie, and bayou blues is cause for general contentment. Ryan Hickey's piano percussed the foundation for a Phish-like fractal of musical styles from a weed-heavy Southern summer. A pleasant summer, yes. A memorable one, no.

DEERPEOPLE stole the show with a few old hits and a fresh set of tracks from their newest EP. Their music evokes youth and bucolic innocence stripped away during passionate lovemaking in a dilapidated chapel. It music transports you.

Brennan Barnes' vocals took the authority of Colin Meloy and the unavailing weirdness of Blonde Redhead for a drum-frenzied chase. Per usual, Jordan Bayhylle put enough hip shaking into his drumming to gather a sizeable dance contingent for their audience-demanded encore, but drummed subtly enough to frame a pastoral dirge-turned-ballad.

Julian Shen's violin and Kendall Looney's flute trilling were clearly heard even in the small chamber, each taking a generally textural instrument in the indie rock scene and elevating it to a major voice. Barnes' use of choir organ and Alex Larrea's polyphonic chords deconstructed into irresistible pop hooks sang out over Derek Moore's surprising range.

There are few bands out there that actually sound even better live than their studio productions, and DEERPEOPLE is one of them. They flirt with the country confessional musings of Rilo Kiley with the metropolitan edge of The Beatles' Revolver, and it sounds fantastic. Next stop: stalking DEERPEOPLE in their native habitat of Stillwater, Okla. - SF Weekly

Deerpeople

Dig the Kid

We Will Be Lions

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Cafe du Nord

Sounds like: Tripping out to an octopus's benthic coral maze in the shade.

Brennan, Derek, Jordan, Julian, Kendall, and particularly Alex welcomed everyone to their merchandise booth with a hospitality one might attribute to their Stillwater, Oklahoma roots or to a globally waning sense of human decency.

Lit by the preternatural light of the human skeleton feet LEDs he and other band members lugged all the way from the Sooner State, Deerpeople guitarist Alex chatted gamely about hungover Swan Oyster Depot breakfast, the eerie culture void of Salt Lake City, and an (modern usage, non-pejorative) Okie's hyped-and-confirmed appreciation for San Francisco joie de vivre. Their tour van broke down in Salt Lake City, he explained, but they trekked on to San Francisco and felt well-rewarded.

The six-person ensemble rallied onstage and produced textures that could have been made by 16 people: Layered motifs, bursts of amplitude, subito tempo changes, tasteful voice thinning, and a drummer that hit my syncopation G-spot more than once. It sucked me in almost as much as their ridiculously endearing use of flute.

The elderly gentleman behind me shouted hoarsely, "You guys got it goin' on! You got the spirits!" He clearly believed only metaphysical inspiration could produce one track that outlined the intersection between Brazilian elevator music from the '70s and The Pixies on a rather colorful troop of psilocybin caps. I would cite excellent musicianship and visionary taste, but I can't disprove the input of "the spirits."

Deerpeople did suffer some levels issues (perhaps the fault of Cafe du Nord). They lost their violin almost entirely, and the charming flute accompaniment of Pikachu-shirt Kendall sank beneath the waves of Alex's elegant distortion. Fortunately, from the moment they hauled their equipment onstage to the puzzling blare of a Spanish rendition of "Without You," I knew their performance would not cause me the same distress as Dig the Kid.
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Stay abreast: ride with those Okies. They can take you to amazing places. - SF Weekly

When DEERPEOPLE guitarist Alex Larrea describes the Oklahoma band's Explorgasm as "a step in the weird direction," he's not overstating the case. The psych-pop sextet's 2012 EP includes a noisy ode to Jesus Christ that thanks him for dying young. Two of the five songs are in French, including "Des Bonbons Et Des Pipes" (translation: "Candy & Blow Jobs"), and "Dr. Gay Washington Pt. 2," the latter highlighted by the sultry croon of vocalist/flautist Kendall Looney and a closing free-jazz freakout.

Larrea and Looney, as well as singer/keyboardist Brennan Barnes, first played together as teens in a Dallas-based Southern rock band. When they broke up, Looney moved to Oklahoma City to attend college, with Barnes and Larrea joining her there two years later. After meeting up with Oklahoma natives drummer Jordan Bayhylle, bassist Derek Moore, and multi-instrumentalist Julian Shen in 2009, they formed DEERPEOPLE, a name borrowed from an episode of King of the Hill.

Living in Stillwater, a town located near the Oklahoma State campus, the musicians compensated for the lack of venues by playing lots of house shows. While embracing the DIY spirit, they also learned a little something along the way. "If a hundred kids in a little rental jump at the same time it can crack the foundation," Larrea reports.

Explorgasm evokes the chamber pop and psychedelic flourishes of Arcade Fire and the Flaming Lips, a striking contrast to the band's self-titled indie-folk debut. "We really wanted to make sure our first record was something very palatable," explains Larrea. "We wanted it to sound crisp and nice and neat. Then with Explorgasm we went in and we wanted to do this our way. We have all these hair-brained ideas for how noisy and crazy we wanted it to sound."

The group has since done all the basic tracking on its first full-length album, tentatively titled All They Left Were His Feet. (Larrea says they'll explain its meaning if and when the title makes the final cut.) Now it's a matter of figuring out how much more each track needs.

"All 12 hands don't need to be going at the same time," says the guitarist, "so it's definitely a struggle to do as much as you want to do, and make it work together, and not fight each other," he says. "There are some real shining moments on the next record where we've been able to achieve that."

Now in their mid-20s, the musicians have moved away from the drinking and partying of their college days due to their music's increasing complexity.

Larrea says the group's new songs are the hardest to play by far. "The speed of the tempo changes and the amount of articulation happening between three and four people at once, it's extremely difficult for us."

The group has also been paying more attention to its visual presentation, including live collaborations with an Oklahoma performance troupe that creates video backdrops to dramatize the songs as they're being played.

"Trying to make everything special and really engaging, you hit a limit with confetti, glitter and face paint. Eventually you need to come up with something else," he says of the troupe and its enthusiasm. "Even if they weren't quite sure what we were doing, they were excited that we were doing something different."

— scene@csindy.com - Colorado Springs Independent

Norman and Stillwater — divided by the pigskin yet united by music. Succeeding Stillwater staples like Other Lives and Colourmusic, the six-piece band DEERPEOPLE will venture into Sooner territory Friday.

Formed in 2009, DEERPEOPLE began experimenting with sound and stage performance in the throngs of energetic house parties of the good old college town. DEERPEOPLE will recreate that beloved atmosphere after a summer hiatus for the Norman crowd.

The band’s two EPs, “DEERPEOPLE” (2010) and “EXPLORGASM (2012), include songs in French, a tribute to a public school teacher and “Jesus Christ.” Concert-goers can expect the wonderful randomness of old and pent-up gems at 9 p.m. Friday at the Opolis.

The Daily spoke with drummer Alex Larrea in a phone interview to map out where DEERPEOPLE has gone in three years and where we can expect them to be in the months to come.

The Daily: You all started in Stillwater playing house parties and local venues. How did those beginning shows develop the band’s performing style?

Larrea: Stillwater doesn’t really have any venues dedicated to just music. The closest thing we had to a venue when we started was a local video rental place called Vault Video. I think they closed down for good the same year they finally got a stage built.

All the house shows and parties helped us be able to do one seamless show. We made to where we could play all the songs straight through. We learned to play without monitors, and everyone had their own source of amplification. We learned that we like putting on a show that feels like a party.

It’s taken some time to get used to professional music venues and professional sound guys — you know — hearing everything like real bands. We get antsy if we’re not getting loud as some point during the show.

The Daily: Which venues or particular shows outside of Stillwater helped break the band into Oklahoma and surrounding states’ music scene?

Larrea: The two home-away-from-home places are Lincoln, Neb., and Denver. Those were the cities that actually made us comfortable to be on the road and assured us that if we kept revisiting somewhere outside of Oklahoma, we could actually build a following.

The Daily: Did any Oklahoma outfits influence DEERPEOPLE when it first started?

Larrea: Not necessarily. But, [bandmembers] Derek Moore, Jordan Bayhylle and Julian Shen are all Stillwater born and raised. Growing up they got to watch Colourmusic and Kunek (now Other Lives). These were bands around the area that encouraged us that we could be successful coming from a small town in Oklahoma.

Between the six of us, everybody definitely has something different in his/her head when writing.

Seeing a lot of independent bands do a lot of different things, Oklahoma has diversity. Oklahoma has encouraged us to be able to be weird. Style has to do with the six of us.

The Daily: You recorded the DEERPEOPLE EP with Trent Bell of Chainsaw Kittens at his Norman recording studio. What was that like, considering he was one of your influences?

Larrea: We recorded both DEERPEOPLE and EXPLORGASM at Bell Labs. Trent Bell is great. We made a random phone call to the studio. First professional inquiry to a recording studio. Trent’s toured the nation, years and years of music, connections and most of all, he is and extremely experienced engineer.

He’s a lot cooler than a regular working stiff now. He not only treats us like a customer but fosters our creativity. The atmosphere was great for writing. He was helping us decide what to do with the first record. It was crisp and clean.

With “EXPLORGASM,” he let us do whatever we want. Drums, keyboard, guitar, bass and synth at the same time. Few overdubs, we even kept a few scratch vocals. It’s messier but closer to what we are live … half messy, half composure.

The Daily: DEERPEOPLE has performed with Norman’s Starlight Mints, The Uglysuit of Oklahoma City, and this Friday you’re playing with Jacob Abello and The Wurly Birds, both from Oklahoma. What’s it like being a main outfit within the Oklahoma music scene?

Larrea: I definitely like being a part of the community here in Stillwater, Norman and Tulsa — all over Oklahoma. All of the bands have been really inviting to us. We try not to picture ourselves as a band to watch, but we are aware that people are paying attention. We want to feel capable of putting on a show.

All the bands in Oklahoma, everybody has played with everyone. Venues are happy to have us back. Everyone is really receptive. It feels really good. Other scenes are so oversaturated and spread out. Oklahoma is a giant void for new culture and music.

People can try new things and make connections. Lots of flexibility. Being one of the 10 or so active bands in Stillwater gives us an advantage to connect with other bands and venues.

The Daily: DEERPEOPLE’s last EP, “EXPLORGASM,” came out in February of this year. Is a full-length album in the works for the future?

L - OUdaily.com

To say that the members of the Stillwater-based band DEERPEOPLE are all a little bit crazy would be like saying they might just be the best band in Oklahoma: Both are slanderous accusations that are grounded in half-truths. And I would venture to say that they are definitely the best band in Oklahoma that had their namesake inspired by “King Of The Hill.”
All six members of the band have their own strikingly unique features and when you look at them together it’s almost impossible to imagine that they could all perform the same type of music, let alone actually be friends. But diversity be damned, because this band is good. Like, really f-cking good. Good enough to play almost a dozen different shows at last year’s SXSW, and good enough that at least one writer thinks that they won’t need to do that in 2013 because they’ll be “too famous.”
After a summer hiatus, in which one of their members traveled to Iceland to court Bjork (not true) while the rest focused on writing new music, the band is back and ready to unload three months of pent-up musical aggression on our ears. I met up with DEERPEOPLE at a sandwich shop in the Asian district (not joking) last weekend and we talked about how the band got their name, what they did over the summer, and what types of wet dreams they have (once again, not joking). Check it out after the jump.
DEERPEOPLE is:
Brennan Barnes: Vocals / Keyboard
Alex Larrea: Guitar
Julian Shen: Panda
Jordan Bayhylle: Drums
Kendall Looney: Flute / Vocals
Derek Moore: Bass
RD: For starters, I have to hear the story of why your band is called “DEERPEOPLE.”
BB: So, there’s an episode of “King Of The Hill,” I believe it’s season 3, and it’s called “Good Hill Hunting.” So, Bobby, Hank, Joseph, Dale, Connie, and Kahn are all going hunting, and so John Redcorn pulls up listening to like Whitesnake or something, and he get out of his car and finds out they’re going hunting, and he bends down and says “You have to remember, the deer you kill will be your ancestor. And you must respect him, and all the deer-people.” And then he just gets up and walks away, with his hair blowing in the wind.
AL: We used to have a sound of him saying “deer-people” that we would loop over and over again before we went up on stage.
RD: But at what point where you like, “that should be our band name!?”
BB: Immediately.
JB: For you, yes. Everyone else in the band hated it except Brennan.
RD: Were there any other potential band names that were floating around?
JB: Nope. And that’s why it stuck. Because we couldn’t think of anything better. We can’t name things, obviously. Look at our song titles.
AL: All of our song titles are just working titles that we never actually get around to changing into warm, flowery titles.
BB: We had a song that we just called “Dance,” and we called it that just so we could know what we were talking about in practices. And then we wrote another upbeat song, and we called it “New Dance,” and then we just wrote another song that we called “New New Dance” for a while.
JB: Yeah but we finally changed it to “The Wetness.”
BB: And THAT came, from Alex having a wet dream, or at least a dream in which he ejaculated, but there was no wetness when he woke up.
RD: Is that normal?? I thought it was like if you die in your dream, you die in real life? If you ejaculate in your dream, you should ejaculate in real life?
AL: Apparently except for me. When I ejaculate in my dreams I poop in real life. It’s a totally unique experience.
RD: This is like “Inception” but way, way worse. What was your wet dream about?
AL: I honestly don’t remember. And I really don’t remember if I was joking or not.
BB: I think he was serious. He told us in a very frightened way.
RD: You guys have a song called “Dr. Gay Washington.” What’s that one all about?
JB: That was my principal in like, the fifth grade. Apparently she became the superintendent or something because we were watching some terrible public access channel one night and she popped up.
BB: And it was the funniest name I had ever heard in my life. Her name was actually “Dr. Gay Washington.” She actually found us and left a comment on our blog once that said she was very excited to ‘be a part of our adventures’. Which made it a little less hardcore…
RD: So you guys are back from a summer hiatus, but did you actually do anything productive band-wise over the summer?
AL: A lot of song writing.
RD: For what?
AL: For the new album we plan on recording soon.
RD: But you guys put out SOME new music before your summer break, right?
AL: We did a thing called “Be Nice To Your Kids” with DELO Creative. We recorded three songs that are going to be on our upcoming record, and then one from Explorgasm, which was our February release that we just wanted a ‘live’ version of.
RD: Do you have a timetable for when the new record will be out?
AL: Most likely January/February. We have studio time booked for November. And we’re excited because we’re wor - The Lost Ogle.com

Oklahoma. Or Oklahoma!, to give it’s official title, where apparently the wind comes sweeping down the plain.

I imagine ‘The Sooner State’ (your guess is as good as mine), is a rather cool place to be. It is home of the Flaming Lips for starters. Actually that is all I have to go on, but that is reason enough for me to regarding Oklahoma as one of my favourite states.

DEERPEOPLE are the band kind enough to participate and represent the state. They are quite an unusual band that I cannot quite place. Unlike Mississippi band Furrows who I featured a couple of weeks ago, they don’t especially have a southern sound.

The band actually reminds me a little of Envy and Other Sins, a little known UK band from a few years ago. They are a mix of guitar driven indie, folk, electro (especially with their track New Dance)

Check them out, download their EP for free and read the rather good interview with vocalist and organist Brennan Barnes below. - ChooseMyMusic.org

DEERPEOPLE (OKLAHOMA CITY) are actually real people, humans we think. Don’t let their name confuse you. This fine group of Oklahomans took the stage at Denton’s beloved Dan’s Silverleaf this past weekend and definitely delivered a crowd pleasing experience.

The beautiful tunes of this sextet lingered in my ears long after their set was over. Pleasantly constructed chords, well executed flute riffs, and an off-the-wall (and technically, off-the-stage) singer and keyboardist.

Each time Brennan Barnes stepped away from his keyboard, I gripped my drink a little tighter. He would make his way to the bar, reaching up and grabbing on to the venue’s support beams. At one point he was balancing on the back of a chair that violinist and keyboard player Julian Shen was sitting at.

We are excited to see DEERPEOPLE’s set at 35 Denton this year. Stay tuned to the blog for a full lineup, coming soon! - 35 Denton - Blog

Existing long enough to have “old songs” is something drummer Jordan Bayhylle realizes is an achievement in itself. Bayhylle and frontman Brennan Barnes started playing together in 2008 and slowly brought everyone else in to form the band.

“I think we have a pretty unique sound,” Bayhylle said. “I think it’s just attributed to general weirdness, and none of us really listen to the same kind of music, so we all play off of each other.”

Deerpeople’s music is a psychedelic fusillade of sound, with Barnes’ impassioned shouts and keys over Bayhylle’s crashing drums, Alex Larrea’s melodic Stratocaster and Derek Moore’s thumping 4-string bass. Julian Shen fills out the madcap soundscape with a keyboard, a violin and an accordion, and Kendall Looney’s trill flute and show-stealing French vocals on certain songs further freshen the lively proceedings.

Fans can look for Deerpeople’s first full album, There’s Still Time for Us to Die, around the beginning of next year. According to Barnes, it will be both vastly different and a natural progression down the Deerpeople path.

“It’s really, really exciting. We’ve been sitting on it for a year and a half,” Bayhylle said. “We just keep having little bouts of bad luck with money, equipment being destroyed, vans being left in Utah.”

Barnes said the van incident was a stressful, surreal blur. It happened last year while driving back and forth through the Rockies to play shows in Utah and Colorado. The gauges had never worked, so when it started acting up on a stretch of desolate road, they assumed it was overheating. It turned out they were out of oil.

“As soon as we turned the engine off, all the pistons fused together,” Bayhylle said. “We had to take a taxi from the middle of nowhere to make it to a show in Salt Lake City.”

Despite the catastrophe, Bayhylle said they had a good time and met some cool people, some of whom they still keep in touch with and stay with when they’re on tour. One fan they met at the Salt Lake City show designed the art for their new album.

Sofar Sounds, an online music club based in London, shot a Deerpeople set at The Other Room in September. The club organizes semisecret house shows globally. They aren’t exactly secret, but you have to be in the club to know where they are.

Deerpeople have also played with Vampire Weekend, Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees.

Despite these successes, touring without a van has been a trial. But that resolve has lent Deerpeople their staying power. They played their five-year anniversary show last year.

“I feel like a lot of bands in our age group don’t last a whole long time,” Bayhylle said. “We’re still truckin’. We’re still tryin’.” - Oklahoma Gazette

Deerpeople kicked off the Boulder weekend with a fun, upbeat show on their first-ever CU tour date.

[photos from the concert]

A few dozen CU students received an intimate show in the UMC’s Club 156. As soon as the opener finished, the band from Oklahoma jumped up on stage from the back of the club, and after quick set-up, launched into their set with little introduction.

After opening with a loud, up-tempo tune, they instantly had the crowd intrigued and set the tone for the rest of the night. Deerpeople sounds like Matt and Kim, with a similar energetic style but without the annoying vocals and a fuller sound, they find their own niche in the genre.



As the show progressed, the group kept things moving and weren’t afraid to change it up. Some songs started slowly and then gradually became more complex and fast, which showed off the band’s true musical skills.

The band also heavily relied on percussion and piano with two members consistently playing keyboard. The guitarist even played percussion almost as often as he played his guitar. But it was not a simple drums and piano show. Their guitarist and bass players were strong from first song to last, and there was even violin, flute, and organ accompanying a few of the songs.

Though Brennan Barnes rocked out as the lead singer for most of the show, the attention sometimes turned to female vocalist, Kendall Looney. Looney offered a new voice and French lyrics to a couple of poppy, whimsical songs.

The band gave their all to every song, despite their short, 10-song set. They pounded through their songs with almost no breaks, letting their music do the talking. During the second to last track, the lead singer jumped off stage, climbed over the merchandise table, and danced through the crowd, making sure the audience was enjoying themselves as much as he was.

Deerpeople has one self-titled EP available for download at bandcamp.com . Look for their next album to be released shortly. - Colorado University Independent

under any scenario, the Deerpeople are an okay thing. it's one of those bands that if you tried to knock them you'd just be, well, trying.

all personal feelings aside, I can guarantee you 10 years after these whipper snappers have grown up, there will still be a few grown up derelicts left in Stillwater, Oklahoma who remembered dancing to "Canada" in a party house that was too packed to squirm correctly. who will indeed remember gossiping about the band, and who have a few memories to share that you have not yet heard, even when you thought you'd heard them all.

they're so goddamn friendly and at the same time so goddamn flighty. you want to punch a couple of them in the balls, and then run immediately to the other three and tell them why you're failing your college algebra course. you're probably drunk, you see. it's Stillwater after all, home of Pistol Pete. sit and let that one simmer for awhile.

scowling, sweating, cussing. they're good when you're wasted, and they're wasted when you're not. we listen to Deerpeople here, it's on our fucking facebooks. too much dancing. too much beer. too much loud noises. too much cute. kisses, five dollar bills, pussy jokes, beer pong. Stillwater, Oklahoma. you literally can't find a more appropriate pastime here than a Deerpeople gig.

hold it in, wrap it up, remember your way home. the cute girl up front is looking at you. go up and say hi.

close your eyes when they play that "Jesus Christ" song and think happy thoughts. there aren't many more happy things than that song out there. sit and take inventory. interrogate the thought: "what more is there than this?".

--
Keep it real - Jordan's gmail account - Brady Whisenhunt

DEERPEOPLE, a six-member outfit hailing from Oklahoma, released their eponymous debut EP to great success last year and have continued to gain momentum with their fearless method of crafting songs. Too many indie bands today get stuck on seeking a particular “sound” instead of allowing creativity to come naturally and without limits. DEERPEOPLE, unlike the majority, have plugged into a hyper-hot transistor that fluctuates and changes their sound along the way.
The collection of five songs from their debut EP covers a large expanse of sonic ground and gracefully toes the line between indie-rock and pysch-folk. It opens with “Dr. Gay Washington”, a tender but rollicking folk number. Moving through acoustic guitar and meandering violin flavors, DEERPEOPLE slowly open the floodgate, allowing the song to grow with power as crunching electric guitars and banging piano chords come up from below. “New Dance” moves into epic indie rock territory that shines with a kind of Arcade Fire phosphorescence that burns brightly. “Seatttttle” marks the high point on the EP. Here, DEERPEOPLE’s songwriting craft is at its peak, moving between sections of driving rock, gypsy carnival music, and meandering organ-swells.
Throughout the listening of this EP I was continually intrigued by their ability to skirt around different genres while still remaining one cohesive whole. Most of all, though, the fervor with which the band plays together and their audible sweat make this collection of five songs very remarkable.
Though the band is currently only playing one-off shows in Missouri and Colorado this September, the promise of new music should be enough to hold over the rest of us. Be sure to keep an eye out for their new EP later this fall. - thewildhoneypie.com

… kommt heute von Deerpeople aus Stillwater/Dallas und heißt New Dance. Der Song ist auf der irregünstigen und auf 300 Stück limitierten Deerpeople EP, die über Bandcamp für lächerliche 10$ erhältlich ist.

Hübsches Stück! Verschütten Sie nicht den Kaffee beim Tanzen und essen Sie nicht so viel von der Sahnetorte. - PostPunk.de

Con el clima que anda últimamente por este lado del mundo dan ganas de escuchar algo más “llegador” por decirlo de alguna forma y escuchando el EP homónimo de Deerpeople no sólo es recomendable para el clima sino para cualquier momento; bajo sonidos de rock indie, folk ghettotech, rock psychedelic, los 5 tracks de este material: Dr. Gay Washington, New Dance, Seatttttle, Canada y Last Song se convierten en un paso por diversos instrumentos y acordes de un mood diverso que da muestra perfecta de la amalgama de sonidos que crean los originarios de Oklahoma. - LosAmateurs.com

When DEERPEOPLE guitarist Alex Larrea describes the Oklahoma band's Explorgasm as "a step in the weird direction," he's not overstating the case. The psych-pop sextet's 2012 EP includes a noisy ode to Jesus Christ that thanks him for dying young. Two of the five songs are in French, including "Des Bonbons Et Des Pipes" (translation: "Candy & Blow Jobs"), and "Dr. Gay Washington Pt. 2," the latter highlighted by the sultry croon of vocalist/flautist Kendall Looney and a closing free-jazz freakout.

Larrea and Looney, as well as singer/keyboardist Brennan Barnes, first played together as teens in a Dallas-based Southern rock band. When they broke up, Looney moved to Oklahoma City to attend college, with Barnes and Larrea joining her there two years later. After meeting up with Oklahoma natives drummer Jordan Bayhylle, bassist Derek Moore, and multi-instrumentalist Julian Shen in 2009, they formed DEERPEOPLE, a name borrowed from an episode of King of the Hill.

Living in Stillwater, a town located near the Oklahoma State campus, the musicians compensated for the lack of venues by playing lots of house shows. While embracing the DIY spirit, they also learned a little something along the way. "If a hundred kids in a little rental jump at the same time it can crack the foundation," Larrea reports.

Explorgasm evokes the chamber pop and psychedelic flourishes of Arcade Fire and the Flaming Lips, a striking contrast to the band's self-titled indie-folk debut. "We really wanted to make sure our first record was something very palatable," explains Larrea. "We wanted it to sound crisp and nice and neat. Then with Explorgasm we went in and we wanted to do this our way. We have all these hair-brained ideas for how noisy and crazy we wanted it to sound."

The group has since done all the basic tracking on its first full-length album, tentatively titled All They Left Were His Feet. (Larrea says they'll explain its meaning if and when the title makes the final cut.) Now it's a matter of figuring out how much more each track needs.

"All 12 hands don't need to be going at the same time," says the guitarist, "so it's definitely a struggle to do as much as you want to do, and make it work together, and not fight each other," he says. "There are some real shining moments on the next record where we've been able to achieve that."

Now in their mid-20s, the musicians have moved away from the drinking and partying of their college days due to their music's increasing complexity.

Larrea says the group's new songs are the hardest to play by far. "The speed of the tempo changes and the amount of articulation happening between three and four people at once, it's extremely difficult for us."

The group has also been paying more attention to its visual presentation, including live collaborations with an Oklahoma performance troupe that creates video backdrops to dramatize the songs as they're being played.

"Trying to make everything special and really engaging, you hit a limit with confetti, glitter and face paint. Eventually you need to come up with something else," he says of the troupe and its enthusiasm. "Even if they weren't quite sure what we were doing, they were excited that we were doing something different." - Colorado Springs Independent

Stillwater, Oklahoma, home to the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, isn't exactly the place one would expect to find a thriving music scene (the godawful "Red Dirt" sound notwithstanding), but this Oklahoma college town has been home to many amazing artists over the past couple of years. Colourmusic, Other Lives, Sherree Chamberlain and Mayola, all fantastic artists in their own right, have called this place home at one point or another. Ladies and Germs, it's time to add Deerpeople to that already impressive list.

This debut self-titled EP is a healthy mix of indie rock and folk that you can dance to. It's seriously catchy and at times, melodramatic. Some of the instrumental arrangements bring to mind The Arcade Fire's good album (if you have to ask, please don't) and the lyrical content at times resembles John Roderick's (of The Long Winters) blunt and deadpan snarkiness. As far as I'm concerned, this is a winning combination and those who I've shared this record with so far seem to agree wholeheartedly. Live, they're a little rough around the edges in the best way possible, minimizing down time by filling empty space with all sorts of wonderful noise between songs. In short, they bring the MF'n ruckus. If you want to know what I'm talking about firsthand, you can catch them at The Conservatory this Saturday, June 5th. I know I will.

It doesn't look like there's a physical release floating around as of yet, but you can acquire this fantastic 5 song EP here and pay what you want. I paid $5 because I'm a nice guy and felt that $0.05 over the iTunes price is more than fair for a record this good. If you want to prove that you're nicer than I am, I would encourage you to pay more. Of course, they won't hold it against you if you pay nothing for it as far as I know. Either way, you can get it in high quality 320K mp3s or FLAC or both if you're feeling ambitious. Get it, familiarize yourself with it and hit up their show on Saturday if you know what's good for you. - earsmadeready

It’s quite hard to try to place DEERPEOPLE into a one genre as they mix and match so many throughout the EP (mind you they do it incredibly well). The first track gives you a feeling of listening to a more upbeat and youthful Blitzen Trapper, where as “Seattttle” takes you to a sound closer to …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, and it is all tied up at the end with a psychedelic pop twist that you may expect from The Apples in Stereo. Not something one would expect out of a group from Stillwater, OK.

The DEERPEOPLE EP had me 30 seconds in. The first track, Dr. Gay Washington, pulls you in with the gentle strumming of a guitar which quickly turns into an upbeat, pseudo “dance folk”, tune that has you salivating for the next song. This feeling stays consistent through the whole EP, which is what makes their ability to genre hop the way they do even more impressive.

The one TINY issue I had listening through the album was the occasional lyric string that would catch me off guard. The third track, “Canada”, is the main offender, throwing me off with lines like, “are you simply retarded” and “I’ll slit your fucking throat, you whore”. It by no mean detracts from the album, but it is a strange feeling for it to pop out of nowhere when everything else is so amazingly well written.

The DEERPEOPLE EP can be download here: http://deerpeople.bandcamp.com/
It’s name your price but you can download it for free, but I would recommend donating though. You can also grab it from Waffles.fm and What.cd (they are aware of it being posted on these sites).
- milkstache.com

Deerpeople är ett band från Oklahoma, USA och de gör mycket fin melodiös folkrock, med hjälp av en hel drös av instrument, utöver den klassiska uppsättningen gitarr, trummor och bas. Låten finns på deras självbetitlade EP. - Tram7.com

I will be thoroughly honest with you, I don’t know a whole lot about these deer-people. I do know two things though, these guys are bright and they make great music.

“So why are they bright?” you wonder, well it’s simple, because they are tackling the independent music scene like you should these days. They are giving away their music for free and you can grab it here: http://deerpeople.com/

I stumbled upon a somewhat harsh review that described their EP as “frustratingly inauthentic” and “directionless” – now I don’t mean to diss the reviewer, but it’s always hard to find a solid conclusion among these terms, I mean “inauthentic” I understand (and I heavily differ), but how the hell does “directionless” even apply? specially in this genre. The closest thing I can think of as “directionless” would be something along the lines of ’Godspeed You Black Emperor’ and even then, “directionless” is proved consecuently to conclude in a highly acclaimed music band. So, I’m just gonna go ahead and deflect that critic, and proceed to let you judge by yourselves. Hopefully we will concur.

Here’s one song, if you like it head over to the link above and download the whole thing. Enjoy. - audiblefix.com

Yo dudes, if you’re in the mood for some seriously sweet music I’ve got you covered. I’ve been really loving this debut EP by the Stillwater, Oklahoma band DEERPEOPLE. Their sound is a delightful mix of folk rock and indie pop with some psychedelic touches. These five songs are awesome and they were recorded by Trent Bell, who’s best known for his work with The Flamping Lips. I can’t wait for the full-length. You can listen to and download their album from their bandcamp site. - Garbage-Days.com

Every song balances catchy keyboard riffs, quirky bubbling noises and slick violin sounds without getting jumbled. Although Deerpeople’s sound is complicated, the band never seems as if it is trying too hard. Within each track, the quintet has constructed a sense of building chaos. Songs begin with a soft rumbling and evolve into a different animal. - NewsOK.com

Ergens tussen de melodieuze indierock van Los Campesinos! en de onstuimige psychedelica van Tame Impale bevindt zich DEERPEOPLE, een band uit Oklahoma. De band bestaat nog maar een paar maanden, maar bracht onlangs al een eerste (titelloze) EP uit. Ik ben erg gecharmeerd van de pretentieloze, maar degelijke liedjes die deze heren en dames maken. Een oase aan eenvoud in roerige tijden waarin de meeste bands geforceerd experimenteel proberen te klinken. Prijsnummer van de EP is ‘New Dance’, dat met slechts een eenvoudige pianoriff even dansbaar als melancholisch klinkt. - http://www.overmuziek.net/

"Offering relief from the area's overabundance of southern rock groups, the Stillwater, OK outfit DEERPEOPLE are carving a niche in the local scene. They play a free-flowing, lucid musical amalgamation fusing emotive, vocal-driven pop with beautifully textured, swelling soundscapes. Punctuated with dissonance, the songs coalesce into a sprawling epic, best heard in one sitting. The supporting members, each with varying musical aesthetics, pepper main songwriter, Brennan Barnes' wistful tunes with elements as diverse as hip-hop and 60's Ye-Ye. Aside from traditional rock instrumentation, one finds tempuri, violin, flute, and odd, makeshift percussion. Used sparingly, these additions pleasantly embellish the melodies, offering nuances to maximize replayability. The end result is immediately rewarding, a cohesive drama jampacked with hooks and danceable material all underlying the story of a stranger's search for meaning and acceptance in a foreign land." -Jedediah Bluff - Jedediah Bluff