A new album from Salvo brings on a wonderfully energetic and harmonious punk ska sound with all the bells and whistles you could possibly want from a record like this from jumping horns, tons of vocals layering and bouncing off of each other, and classic riffs.
The Traveler album is jam packed with tons of inventive guitar playing, keys and drumming that all come together with a lively and bright tonality.
The songs are humorous, fun, insanely danceable, and become quickly infectious with catchy hooks both musically and vocally all over the place.
You get all kinds of different levels of energy and some creative songwriting approaches but the record sticks to that classic punk ska soundscape and it works like a charm.
And these guys are super charming indeed as the record is something that you can play on repeat for days and not get bored.
Basslines drive tracks, and you can feel the players just feeding off of each other's energies constantly.
It's super cool material and you'll end up shaking your butt the whole time without a doubt.
You get a cross of Less Than Jake and Weezer and it feels awesome to crank these songs loud.
You'll ed up singing along by round 2 for sure.
Songs are massive sounding and you do get that live performance undertone that holds true to the genres style.
With the release of such a killer record, we wanted to touch base with Salvo to find out where this all came from and what may be next for them.
Here's what happened.
RAG: Okay so let's start with The Traveler album. This record has an amazingly refreshing garage and indie rock style to it! Where did this album come from?
Dan Lord: Thanks! Back in the day, we were thought of as a pop-punk-ish band with horns, with lots of melody and loads of accessible quirk. Whatever any of THAT means, it's still with us, but we've also grown and stretched a lot as musicians and songwriters, and our music has blossomed in all kinds of directions that will hopefully impress fans as sounding new and adventurous.
RAG: So how did this all begin for you all?
DL: That aforementioned hard-to-categorize thing, known as Pain. We played, recorded, and toured vigorously for a while. Then, we stopped, for reasons way too complex to go into here. THEN, most of us got back together, and we changed the name to Salvo. The name change ended up being a good thing, as confusing as such a choice can be for fans, because it meant that we could happily continue advancing Pain's sound, while also developing it in cool new ways, any way we wanted to.
RAG: Who is in all your headphones right now?
DL: hmmmm....lately, if I'm not listening to the new Jack White album, then I'm listening to Jeremy Soule's music for Skyrim, or to the maddening cacophony of all my children talking at the same time.
RAG: What inspires you to write a song?
DL: An experience...an emotion...a story idea...the same things that inspire most any songwriter, I guess, unless you're a political protest songwriter person. I stay away from that stuff.
RAG: I'm hearing some great styles on this song. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
DL: I hope that [co-songwriter/guitarist] Adam won't mind me answering for him: Prince, Soul Asylum, Tom Waits, Steve Earle. Me: Peter Gabriel, Henry Mancini, John Williams, Kate Bush (way, WAY before Stranger Things!)...Beastie Boys. Sinatra. Creedence Clearwater Revival. This is hard for me to answer...I love a lot of different stuff.
RAG: What are you all doing when you're NOT working on music?
DL: Tilling the earth. The smoking of pipeweed. The brewing of ales. Loving our people. Sorry...this is a pretty broad question...
RAG: Would you say live performances are a big part of what you do?
DL: Yes!
RAG: This album feels like a big undertaking, is there any advice you'd give to other up and coming bands out there?
DL: Don't give up. There's been a lot working against musicians in the past couple of years, but don't let that crush you. The world needs music. It's "a treasure of inestimable value, greater than that of any other art."
RAG: What can your fans expect from you in the near future?
DL: More songs! A new album next year. An EP in a couple of months.
RAG: Before we go, what would you like to say to fans of the music?
DL: Thank you! Thank you, in a hundred thousand ways, in every language, for carrying us on your shoulders so we can continue to do this!
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