Vigil and Thieves

Vigil and Thieves – Smoky vocals, punk rock attitude, and feminism. Three key ingredients for any band looking to hold my attention (and we all know artists are keeping themselves awake at night thinking of how they can keep my attention). I’ll admit, I don’t really think that frontwoman Sarah Storm’s smoky vocals were all too intentional. Don’t get me wrong, Vigil and Thieves has a raw quality baked into their tunes. However, there’s quite a lot that goes on at SXSW that’s not necessarily the best thing for a singer, and in my most humble of opinions (humble because it really doesn’t matter. You do what you want!) whatever worked over Storm’s vocal chords helped make the overall performance. Storm really squeezed the blood out of the tunes, turning “raw” to “Raw” for sure. - I Heart Local Music

There is something special about deeply somber melodies that sends chills up my spine. As the stirring melancholic intro of Vigil And Thieves newly released track, “Haunting”, evolved into haunting laments lined out by lead singer, Sarah Storm, a euphony of dolefulness and enchanting woe alluded pure sensitivity and poured raw emotion into my eardrums. After listening to the track 7 times in a row, the simultaneously sweet-sounding and shadowy vibes left me engaged and intrigued to further investigate the band’s history and previously released material.

Picture four roaming Kansas City vagabonds that give societies commandments the cold shoulder and do as they wish and you’ve got Vigil and Thieves. The band is comprised of two ladies and gents that began as a two-piece duo prior to Tattoo.com’s very own, Steph Castor, joining the band in March of 2014. The wayfaring gang went on their first two month east coast tour in September 2014 in support of their debut EP titled ‘[defective] book one.’ The band returned to Kansas (without Toto) and Steph’s crony, Matt, joined the gang on bass to complete the lineup. In addition to ruffling feathers, tearing up the indie-alternative rock scene and leaving listeners in awe, the band is a totally DIY band. Yup, you read that right. Sarah has recorded every single track other than “Vicious Ears.” Steph morphs into the middle-soul that handles all booking, publicity and artist management. Andrew calls the shot pertaining to transportation and lodging. And Matt recently hand built the band a light show. Can you say innovation and dedication?

Amongst recently taking home the gold medal at The Human Rights Campaign Battle of the Bands in Kansas City, Vigil And Thieves have opened for the seemingly larger than life American Punk Rock band, The Misfits, at the tail end of their 2014 tour in Dallas, Texas and have also scored gigs to light up the crowd prior to Mother Mother, Seahaven, and Kris Roe of The Ataris took the stage. I recently touched base with Steph and she spilled the beans that as of today, the band will be releasing a series of songs once a week that’ll shift gears and flock together into an album that the band plans to print and heat up with some extra bonus tracks. The gang has also commissioned tattoo artist, Lacie Greer, of Fountain City Tattoo to dream and draw up all future artwork.

I dig these guys, and I know that you will too. The passion behind their all-encompassing nature alone immediately sparks a flame. The future of Vigil And Thieves straight-forward, androgynously kick-ass tone looks solid. And I highly suggest that you get your hands dirty. Be sure to check them out on social media:



www.vigilandthieves.com
https://vigilandthieves.bandcamp.com/album/defective-book-one
https://www.facebook.com/vigilandthieves/?fref=ts - Tattoo.com

This really doesn’t feel like the same band we saw at Field Day Fest two years ago.

Vigil and Thieves can be a lot of things. The Kansas City band can freely meander between punk, pop, and rock. At their Bottleneck show on Saturday night, they wowed audiences with a sensory delight. Lights blasted out of boxes on the stage throughout certain parts of the set, while the band’s frontwoman blasted vocals so forcefully they torpedoed to the opposite side of the venue. This is a band with catchy ballads and energy for days, but they also show a strong vulnerability in their lyrics. Lines like “I don’t wanna grow old” and “You don’t have to be so delicate” aren’t revealed in a confiding manner, but rather screamed and loudly proclaimed in a manner that forces you to pay attention.

The power punk/pop outfit’s versatility can fit them in with a manner of bands and shows. Their liveliness means they could play a show with Beautiful Bodies, but their rawness could find them in a roadhouse with Wides.

Here’s a video of their Saturday night performance, and you can listen to their brand new, just-released song after the clip or over on their Bandcamp page. - I Heart Local Music

Vigil and Thieves, the four-piece optimistically tragic indie group from Kansas City, MO will be releasing their first single since the September 2014 debut of their EP.

“Vicious Ears” is described as an “atmospheric and dynamic track” that calls upon and revisits the greatest parts of the emo wave from the early 2000s.

This is the first release since the band welcomed their fourth member.

The band is currently writing for their debut full-length album and booking regional shows in the Midwest.



Sarah Storm and Andrew Flaherty met Steph Castor, the future guitarist for the band, at a local show. Originally playing the bass as a fill-in, Steph switched to the guitar and fell into the role she was destined for. After self-producing and releasing their debut EP, the trio toured for two months spanning Chicago to Dallas.

After the tour, the trio welcomed Matt Muckenthaler as the bassist and fourth member, completing Vigil and Thieves.

The band describes themselves as “a group of vagabonds who ignore the rules of real life and instead create sounds and poetry that will make you wanna dance.”



“Vicious Ears” will be available for streaming and purchase on Friday October 2 here. - Curve Magazine

LAWRENCE - Lawrence-based band Vigil and Thieves may have just released their debut album, defective [book one] in early September, but they give off a vibe of seasoned musicians ready to flex their road muscles on an extensive national tour. Self-described as “a group of vagabonds who ignore the rules of real life and instead create sounds and poetry that will make you want to dance,” Vigil and Thieves is Sarah Storm (vocals, guitar, and keys), Steph Castor (guitar) – formerly of the band Grenadina, and Andrew Flaherty (drums).

While in Illinois for a show, Sarah Storm took some time to chat with Liberty Press about all things Vigil and Thieves:

Liberty Press: Tell readers a little bit about your new band, Vigil and Thieves.
Sarah Storm: Our band, Vigil and Thieves was originally Andrew Flaherty and I. The two of us have been playing music together for four years starting in Lawrence and roaming around Phoenix and the San Diego area for a while as a duo. We came back to Lawrence where Steph Castor joined us on lead guitar. Which was really the missing link and turned our sound into a much fuller, more melodic kind of rock and roll that we had been always kinda wanting. We are all about telling stories through lyrical poetry in the hopes that others could relate to our songs and gain something positive through listening, singing along, or maybe even dancing a little bit.

LP: Your debut album was just released. What was the writing/recording process like?
SS: I write all the lyrics and my guitar parts usually with a melody thought out. Andrew and Steph must have a gift for reading minds because as soon as we start putting drums and second guitars together as a group it usually comes together flawlessly. We are super lucky to have such great chemistry and be so like-minded because when we all come together working on a song we capture the mood and the emotions in the lyrics with matching tones and melodies.

[defective] book one is the first half of a full-length album that we wrote as the result of feeling kinda displaced. I was kicked out of my parents’ home during my senior year of high school, which made me feel like there was something wrong with me. A lot of the songs are a little bit tragic but they aren’t supposed to be sad songs. I am an optimist and we all wanted to keep the message of our music hopeful. I may write about feeling homeless or maybe even a little bit crazy, but as cliché as it may sound I think everything happens for a reason and we are all in control of what we do with our experiences and looking forward is always better than looking back.

LP: Speaking of the recording process, you produced the record. What was that process like?
SS: The recording process was extremely stressful. I went to school for recording and interned at an amazing studio in Phoenix called Tallcat. We managed to gather a bunch of recording equipment when Andrew came into some cash from the World Series of Poker Main Event. We had tried recoding elsewhere beforehand, but nothing ever sounded exactly how we imagined.

We, by luck, acquired half an office building in Ottawa, KS, which we decided to call Vigilante Studio. We spent nearly the entire four months from May to August trying to record all 11 tracks. Which, in early July, we decided was too ambitious, so we split it up. There was definitely a lot of blood, sweat and tears but we got it done. We financed the record, the master, the artwork - by our friend Kassidee Quaranta - and printing ourselves with a little help from the Flaherty’s. As overwhelming as it all was it’s a good feeling to hold the final product in our hands and say that we created something out of nothing.

LP: Vigil and Thieves already has a packed fall, with dozens of tour dates. How have you been preparing for your first tour? What are you guys looking forward to the most? Any challenges or things you’re not looking forward to about touring?
SS: Well we all have specific skills and jobs that helped us pull this tour together. I wrote the songs and handled the production of the album. Steph has a knack for PR and booking which has been crucial for getting everything organized and getting venues interested. And Andrew plays drums - kidding - he organized all things with the vehicle and is our driving captain and heavy lifter.

We did a lot of research as far as necessities on the road and at this point - we are writing to you from the middle of Illinois - the most challenging thing has been showering regularly. Our friend Randy and two of my brothers built a raised twin bunk in the back of our 12-passenger van; Steph and I sleep up top and Andrew has the bottom. We managed to acquire a donated bright purple trailer which tows our equipment and all of our clothes.

As of right now I suppose we’re all homeless. We are very happy to be traveling and meeting new people, including fellow musicians. This entire fall/winter is a most excellent adventure. We are excited most about opening for The Misfits in November, and being in Southern California, where Steph and I have family, around Christmas time. Oh, and the ocean, god, how I miss the ocean.

LP: What can people expect from Vigil and Thieves in 2015?
SS: In 2015 we are hoping to release the second half of our album, or maybe even do a full-length. It’s hard to predict what will come of this tour, we are hoping to gain some momentum and go for round two as soon as spring hits. - Liberty Press

Vigil and Thieves’ record [defective] book one, begins with crystal clear stunner “Melt” where the vocals are an intense force blasting throughout the album. Part prog-rock and a little emo revival, what makes Vigil and Thieves sound so distinct is how grandiose it is. For a three piece band, they sound like they could fill the largest stadium with their emotional rock and roll. Even sparse guitar opens on “Happier” and “Timfinity” build to epic strumming and solos. The drums race along with incredible keys on “Made This Up” and all the instrumentation supports the magnificent vocals. In all six tracks, the lead vocals give [defective] book one a heartbreaking heaviness.

Vigil and Thieves’ masterpiece on the record has to be “This Is Moving On.” The track never lets up on the energy; the “quieter” sections feel like the band is on the verge of smashing everything in their path. You can believe (and maybe relate) to every word of pain in the lyrics. And that’s Vigil and Thieves truest strength: their genuine approach to the material. It doesn’t sound fake or tongue-in-cheek. This is a band that is spilling their guts and in their bravery, maybe we will too.

Favorite Tracks: “Made This Up,” “This Is Moving On,” & “Timfinity” - I Heart Local Music

Vigil and Thieves is a raw, fun, and optimistically tragic three piece rock group– a group of vagabonds who ignore the rules of real life and instead create sounds and poetry that will make you want to dance. They are currently roaming around the Lawrence and Kansas City areas pursuing music and good times. Other hobbies include gambling, drinking, making new friends, living in cars, and flying by the seat of their pants.



They are currently in the studio tracking their debut full-length album, Defective, scheduled for release in early September. Self-produced by vocalist and guitarist, Sarah Storm, Defective is a brightly tragic conglomerate of crunchy guitars, sonorant and hearty drums, and profoundly gut-born vocals with a golden glow.



Catch Vigil and Thieves on the road indefinitely starting this fall in support of the new album.

For fans of Brand New, Jimmy Eat World, Say Anything, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Killers, Modest Mouse and more. - Hellhound Music

Vigil & Thieves
Defective: Book One

If you’re looking for a fresh alternative band, check out this debut album from Vigil & Thieves of Lawrence, Kansas. This trio is has an alternative turn-of-the-century sound with cosmic and dramatic vocals. The lyrics are live poetry. The overall sound is raw and striking. The guitar riffs are fast and melodic. The drums are subtle, full, and appropriate. Sometimes drums in alternative bands seek more attention than is needed, but smart drumming means knowing when to simply accentuate the music and when to shine. It’s clear that these musicians have put some thought into their songs. They aren’t taking things lightly, and their tour schedule shows that they are on a mission. If you live in the United States, chances are they will be near you sometime in the next few months. My favorite songs off the six-song album are “Monsters” and “Made This Up.” Make sure to visit https://vigilandthieves.bandcamp.com/album/defective-book-one to check out their debut album. - Camp KC

Real World Marketing: Vigil & Thieves

Business if often the last thing on the performer’s mind when it comes to music. It’s not to say that musicians don’t care about their brand and making money. That is everyone’s dream, right? What many don’t realize is that there are so many facets to playing in a band or being an active performance artist that can overshadow business necessities such as marketing. When getting ready for a gig you’re worried about rehearsal, load-in time, set length and fluidity, networking, loading out, and moving on to the next city. Not to mention the actual writing process.



I recently had a gig at a fairly well known regional bar. We were playing with an international act, so time wasn’t an issue as we were the first group to load our gear in and do a sound check. Having a lot of time before the doors opened allowed us to effectively set up our merchandise display and present ourselves to an unknown yet promising crowd. That’s when I got the idea to set up our mobile marketing practice. I had been doing some experimenting with keywords and various contest campaigns for the band, and it was time to start implementing them. We put up a call-to-action sign requesting people to text THIEVES into 48421 for the chance to get some free merchandise, either from the band or our sponsor (Fireball did us the lovely favor of sending us a bunch of promotional material for social incentives such as this). This method worked surprisingly well and was a means of face to face interaction. When people walk by and see that they have the chance to get some cool stuff at no cost to them they have no reason NOT to stop and chat. Giving away these promotional materials led to random patrons also purchasing our band merchandise, even if they hadn’t heard us yet.

I had set up a kiosk on our drummer’s iPad to save even more time and opt more people in, but the battery had unfortunately died. Regardless, it was comforting to know that this SMS marketing method had worked for us and would likely work even better in the future with more preparation. Other bands took interest in our marketing techniques, and we quickly found that our table was being swarmed while the international act sat back and watched. It was living proof that offering some incentive makes concert goers more inclined to support a band in an industry that is oversaturated by iTunes and major labels.


This is a practice that works, and we won’t be giving it up. Wish us luck!


Learn more about the mobile marketing services used by Vigil & Thieves by visiting www.avidmobile.com. You can also click the button below to grab a free trial account. - AvidMobile

igil and Thieves amplify their emo sound they have perfected over the past few years with a dose of the disillusion that comes with age and the increasingly shitty times we live in on their full-length Make Sure They Hear You. You don’t have to dive deep to see it in track titles like “Hate,” “You Can’t Fix A Fracture With A Crutch,” (with lyrics like “I don’t wanna be human anymore”) and “People Are Parasites.” But the pessimistic pop (“Sometimes you try your best, but the bad still win” Sarah Storm sings on “Time Is Money”) the band creates still has fight in it and refuses to give up even when the entire world seems to be crushing them.

“Ladylike” fights the patriarchy with a sarcastic first verse before flinging the door wide open on chauvinism and calling out stigmas brought on by dated social norms. The haunting “Stop” tackles sexual assault and a male predator’s impact on our narrator; its blunt delivery doesn’t need to hide the subject matter in metaphors or symbolism. The actions leading up to the assault, our narrator’s attempt to stop it, and the predator’s attempt to silence them. It might be a tough listen, but it’s a necessary one.

Make Sure They Hear You couldn’t be a more accurate title for the rock ’n’ roll Vigil and Thieves are churning out too. The crunching guitar on “Come Home” veers into a totally manic change in tempo; the thundering drums that close out “Drones;” the supersonic delivery of the lyrics on “People Are Parasites” (with the screaming guitar solo as well). There are also lyrics on the fear of aging, wasted days, and when your best just doesn’t feel good enough running throughout the album. Vigil and Thieves don’t pretend to have all the answers or to ignore these anxieties. They give a voice to them and share it by making some necessary noise.

Favorite Tracks: “Come Home” & “Haunting”

Vigil and Thieves play the Granada for their album release show this Friday with Mess, The Dear Misses, and Life Coach. - I Heart Local Music

Lawrence's Vigil and Thieves have been making what its members call “loud and pretty” rock 'n' roll since 2014, but its new album, make sure they hear you, is the band's debut full-length. I sat down with Vigil and Thieves' vocalist, Sarah Storm, and guitarist, Steph Castor, outside of Lawrence's Bourgeois Pig, to talk make sure they hear you and this Friday's album release show at the Granada.

Vandt CoverThe Pitch: How did you approach make sure they hear you, given that it's a proper album, as opposed to the collection that was the Neverland EP?

Sarah Storm: I think that we took it a little more seriously this time. We vetted the songs that we had, and cut some. We sought out a professional producer [John Burke], went to Nashville, did, like, 40 studio hours, literally hired a legit mastering engineer [Sarah Register]. We found her because she produced some albums that we love. We were super-stoked that she even wanted to work with us at all.

We even had a budget this time. It wasn't like, us trying to do it ourselves, so I guess we felt like we had been doing this for too long without having real, professionally recorded music to show for it.

Steph Castor: In the past, we've been demo'ing stuff out at home. Sarah has a certificate for audio engineering and stuff like that, so we've always had the means to do that at home. In the past, we've always wanted to be on the road, so we saw that as a reason to just put stuff out, and didn't really take our time with it — at least, not as much time as we should've.

It's been months and months — or, really, years, at this point. You're going to hear some old songs on it, and some songs that we've never even played live, but it's a collection of all the stuff that just sums up the past two years, really.

What was the vetting process that determined what got on the album or not?

SS: I think, thematically, a lot of the concepts of the songs that are on the album are pretty politically motivated by things going on today. Like, just trying to grow up and how fucked up the world is right now. We're trying to learn how be adults, and I'm just like — I dunno. I was told at my high school graduation not to bother to go to college if you wanted to [make] art.

It was 2010, and I was straight-up told by my principal, “If you're going to waste your parents' money to go to college, you better do something that can be a job.” That's never been anything that's been appealing to me — lifestyle-wise or just, like, humanity-wise — just to be trained to do something, so you can do a job. It's exhausting.

“Parasites” almost didn't make it on there, 'cause we released it live on that punk comp [Lawrence, KS Punk Rock Vol. 3], but thematically, it was just so relevant, that I was like, “I can't not include this song.” It's just, basically, “Fuck Trump.”

SC: We put out the EP, Neverland, before he was even elected, so that needed to be reintegrated. We recorded “Heroin & Automobiles” with the same guy who recorded the full-length, but we went back to him, after he relocated to Nashville. He was in this amazing studio, The Record Shop, and he had more resources.

He invited us to come out there, and we were like, “Hell, yeah — let's do this.”

SS: I feel like he basically mixed it for free. Love that guy.

How long was the recording process? At 40 hours of studio time, and given how good the record sounds, I'm assuming it wasn't knocked out over a weekend.

SC: Four or five days.

SS: I honestly feel like we could've used more time, but we came really prepared. It was our own money that we were spending, so we came in knowing exactly what we wanted our clicks at, having pre-recorded rough tracks that we could send to him, so he could get the song structure down and get the feel of it.

We did a lot of research, even before that process started. I think it's just because we've done it before, and because I know stuff about studio time, we didn't want to waste our money, because it's hourly. I wanted us to show up ready to kick ass, and I feel like we did that.

I don't feel like I could be any happier with any of it. Individually, I'm my own worst critic. I'm always like, “Oh, those vocals could've been better,” but even I listened back to these tracks, and I'm like, “Yeah, I'm really happy with that!”

SC: I feel like the way that we did it was super-authentic, too. We didn't program drums or anything like that. A lot of it was like, live recording, but it was super-real, organic, and cool.



On “Drones,” there's this amazing part where Sarah's vocals have this little yelp, and then Steph's guitar mirrors them with a pick slide. It's instantly catching, and amazing. Where'd that come from?

SS: That's just my thing. She asks me about my squeaks all the time. That's just a thing I like to do.

SC: I feel like there are a lot of happy accidents in the recording process. There are times where I might play the wrong note, but it's still a right note. There are a lot of string-sliding sounds that we wanted to keep in there, because it added to that atmosphere — just a lot of cool things that were totally accidental.

The release party for Vigil and Thieves' make sure they hear you is at the Granada on Friday, August 24, with Mess, The Dear Misses, and Life Coach . Details on that show here. - The Pitch