Q&A with T0W3RS frontman

_Carrboro-based outfit T0W3RS has readied a new EP on the heels of the April release of its debut full-length IF 4LL WE H4VE IS T1ME.

Friday, T0W3RS celebrates WYATT’s release with Jenny Besetzt and Boykiller at Nightlight at 9 p.m. This week, staff writer Meghan DeMaria spoke with frontman Derek Torres about the band’s new record and why cassettes are the new CDs._

Diversions: You’ve played at Hopscotch Music Festival, the Carrboro Music Festival and Phuzz Phest. What was it like to play at festivals versus a single show?

Derek Torres: I’ve been a longtime goer of national music festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella. I’ve been to probably 15 or 16 national music festivals. What sets them apart and why I prefer them is that people are in a mindset to enjoy music.

When you see a show at Cat’s Cradle on a Wednesday night as a student, you have the weight of the world on you. You might be in the middle of a set and thinking you need to get sleep and get ready for the next day, but at music festivals, people are in the mindset of being immersed in music.

Dive: Who are some of your musical influences?

DT: I just wrote a little write-up for this blog in L.A, Sunset in the Rearview. They wanted to know the top 10 songs I’d listen to on a desert island. It took me a long time to answer, and the response I gave them was that I really didn’t feel comfortable saying contemporary artists because I haven’t been listening to them for a long time.

I used to like Limp Bizkit when I was 11. But 14 years from now, what will I think of what I like now?

The bands that have really influenced me over the years have been bands like The Who and contemporary classic rock. I’m also heavily influenced by Animal Collective, which a lot of people note, and I’ve been a longtime fan of Radiohead.

Dive: What inspired the sound of WYATT?

DT: We were referencing old scores like Goblin, who did a lot of horror soundtracks. We were referencing Ennio Morricone and his scores in Western films … In recording WYATT, we had very specific influences.

The main theme I have for WYATT is the true return to DIY. Indie labels have taken over the independent music market, and I want indie music to be what it is: People releasing it from their bedrooms. I want everything to be community-oriented, less about our national scene and more about our local scene.

Dive: Where did you get the idea for the WYATTSCOTCH cassingles that you released during Hopscotch and using casettes as a modern platform?

DT: There’s a lot to it. Even the cover of our WYATT CD is a picture of the tape. For me, DiggUp Tapes has been a big part of my life, and I’ve been picking up the helm a lot. I’ve pretty much turned my house into a cassette tape duplicator. The main reason DiggUp Tapes decided to go the cassette route as a major platform for release is that they were cheap and efficient.

We could put out releases very quickly — a lot of times, we’ve had to make the tapes the night before a release. With vinyl and records, you generally have a two-to-three month wait. And as far as a new label wanting to get a lot of stuff out, it just didn’t seem financially sound or sustainable to go the vinyl route. We were spending $4,000 or $5,000 for a release, which is money we don’t have.

Logistically, we had to go that route, but as we got there, we learned to love cassettes. In the next 10 years, I think it’s going to be one of those things people get back into. Just today, I went to Habitat for Humanity and got two cassette players for $16. You can go out and get records from The Police for a dime and vinyl’s expensive.

It’s lost its original purpose, and tapes are filling that void for a certain group of people. It’s really up to the listener. A tape sounds almost as good, if not better than a digital copy.