Deviating from what some may consider the norm in both sound and process, indie-alternative band, The Magnolias, released their first two singles on Wednesday, despite two-thirds of the band only having met once.
“The Magnolias kind of started in two places and two times,” said Bryton Shoffner, a sophomore at UNC and one of three members of The Magnolias.
Shoffner explained that he and UNC sophomore Sam Gatlin met last year when the two chose to be assigned random roommates their first year at UNC. They quickly discovered a mutual desire to write and play music.
“I've been writing and recording music since high school,” Gatlin said. “I really enjoy it, and I didn't ever want to go solo. I wanted a band to play with and bounce ideas off with.”
Gatlin, who confessed to having little singing ability himself, decided combining his and Shoffner’s talents with those of Danny Knutelsky, a friend from high school, would bring the vocals and edge the group needed.
“It's kind of weird because we're a band, but like I hardly know the singer,” Shoffner said. “The first time all three of us were together was at the studio to record.”
Gatlin said most bands would play local venues like Cat’s Cradle and Local 506 to experiment with their music in front of an audience before going to record in a studio. With the help of UNC adjunct professor and freelance music producer Jason Richmond, however, The Magnolias have done it backwards.
“It was nice to get them in when they're in that early stage where we can help them develop before they got into the overanalyzing,” Richmond said. “I think there’s a lot of energy in that. It’s a rare thing to be able to do and there’s something really special about it.”
Richmond, who taught Gatlin in a music production class at UNC, said he often asks students for demos of their work, but he was particularly impressed with the potential he heard last year from what was soon to become The Magnolias.
