OS @ Warped Series: The Constellations

posted in: Artist Features • Exclusive Interviews

With summer right around the corner, we can’t help but be totally stoked for Warped Tour. In case you haven’t heard, we’ll be sponsoring our own stage for twenty-two dates and bringing twenty-three artists out to perform on it. Twenty-two acts will snag a performance at their local tour stop, and Dallas native Larry g(EE) will be rocking the stage at each and every date. In addition, there are a handful of other OurStage artists already booked to play various dates of the tour. We decided to catch up with them to get the scoop on their summer plans.

Bassist Wes Hoffman is one of eight members in The Constellations, an OurStage band with a plan for world domination. This eclectic Atlanta group mixes elements of R&B, indie rock, blues and electronica, creating music that pleases people of all ages and backgrounds. We caught up with Wes to talk about the Atlanta music scene, who comes to their shows and what it’s like to work with the one and only Cee-Lo Green.

OS: You guys have eight members in the band. How did all of you meet?

WH: We met in Atlanta, through various other projects…work…the Atlanta music scene is pretty small, everyone kind of bumps shoulders with everybody. Myself and Elijah [Jones, vocalist] were involved in other projects before The Constellations, so we met each other doing that. My project came to a sliding halt and I started getting involved with other stuff, like booking shows. Before I was a member of the band, I actually booked them a couple times. I was trying to get them on this one show and the guy that was playing bass at the time couldn’t do it because he was out of town with his other band. I offered to fill in and that was almost three years ago.

OS: Since your music spans a few genres, do you see a significant mix of people in the crowd at your shows?

WH: Parents come to the show with their kids and they’re both fans, believe it or not! [laughs] Some of the hip-hop/soul kids that are there for the rhythms, and then there’s hipsters, standing there with their arms crossed, and then there’s people dancing, having a good time. It’s totally across the board, as far as age goes, too…young kids to grown adults, which is cool.

OS: You just released a new EP called Sold Out as a teaser to your new full-length. When will the LP be released? Do you have a favorite song on it?

WH: The full length comes out on June 9th. Do I have a favorite song on the record…good question. It’s hard. I have different favorites for different reasons. I like certain things about each one of them, so it’s kind of like, “Which is your favorite kid?” [laughs]

OS: Your music video for “Love Is A Murder” has a crazy plot line…can you talk about the concept behind the video?

WH: The director, his name is Matt…we filmed it out in Los Angeles last summer. He came up with the treatment and got Kate [Micucci, Scrubs, star of the music video]. He had a couple of different ideas about the storyline. The big question was whether or not we could get Cee-Lo involved. We got in touch with him and he was like, “Yeah, yeah! I owe you guys.” We’re like, “No, you don’t!” As soon as we had his blessing on it, it was a no-brainer. We liked the idea of a dark, sinister theme through it. The song, lyrically, is hopeful, but about letting go, and kind of dark, also. It was a very long day…I think the shoot was about eighteen, nineteen hours long? We had actually played a show in LA the night before the video was shot, so we were maybe going on two hours of sleep. So it was grueling, but we like it! We think it turned out pretty good.

OS: How did Cee-Lo get involved with the record? What was it like to work with him?

WH: It was kind of like how the members of the band joined, honestly. He was just this Atlanta dude, working at the same studio we were. We had this section that was going to be a verse, but someone had the idea that we should change it up and make it a bridge. He was kind of hanging around, so we brought him in to listen to it. He was like, “Oh yeah, this is cool,” and kind of knocked it out right there. It was as simple as that, there wasn’t any kind of crazy planning to it, it was very spur-of-the-moment. He just hopped in the booth and wrote it on the spot.

OS: That’s amazing! Have you been watching him on The Voice?

WH: My fiancee is watching him on The Voice right now! He’s awesome. He’s a very humble, cool guy. A huge music guy. He’s into everything, classical music…he’s got this vision in his head for how it should go and before you know it, he’s just conducting everyone in the room. He’s extremely, extremely talented. He’s a genius.

OS: You guys are playing the entire Warped Tour. What can we expect to see during your set?

WH: Sweat, blood and…more sweat and blood. [laughs] Maybe some songs, too.

OS: You told me earlier you have a plan for world domination. What’s the plan?

WH: [laughs] One fan at a time! The themes on this new record are slightly different than the last one. I don’t want to give too much away. It’s not necessarily a secret, but we just want the music to speak for itself lyrically and musically. We’ve grown up a little bit since the last record. We’re still all about having a good time and partying and going out and enjoying ourselves, but it’s a little bit more mature. We have a different perspective on things after playing as many shows as we have in the last three years.