• News

• All

Aug 11, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Sierra Voss

Boulder-based rock trio The Velveteers have built a monstrous sound over the past several years, gaining a well-deserved reputation for their frenzied and theatrical live shows. Centering around Demi Demitro’s explosive guitar stylings and dual drummers Baby Pottersmith and Jonny Fig’s conjoined drumset, the band became local live heroes and gained the attention of the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach.

This fall the band is releasing their Auerbach-produced debut album Nightmare Daydream, bringing the frenetic live sound into the studio. They’ve already shared the first single from the record, “Charmer and the Snake” and today the band return with their new single, “Motel #27, premiering with Under the Radar.

“Motel #27” is, as expected, a massive hit of swaggering rock style. Though the band clearly has been pulling from vintage rock stars like T. Rex, with their latest effort their stripped-back sound taps into something fresh, nasty, and primal. The track is a wild trip of driving riffs and tangled drumming, bolstered by surreal, paranoid imagery telling the story of a darkly seductive motel. Think of a grittier and grimier “Hotel California.” Meanwhile, the accompanying video transports to the otherworldly titular hotel, framed in claustrophobic closeups and dreamlike lighting.

Check out the song and video below and watch for Nightmare Daydream, out October 8th via Easy Eye Sound. Demi Demitro also answered a few questions for us about the song and upcoming record. Read the Q&A below.

Tell us about your new track “Motel #27.” What’s it about?

Motel #27 was inspired by this time Baby and I stayed at this crazy motel in the desert. It felt like a fever dream.

The song is full of surreal lyrics like “The lemon lizard tied your tongue in a twist.” What’s your writing process like?

Our writing process is always different. For this song, in particular, Baby had written a poem after our stay at this motel, and then the next day I was so inspired by the poem that I wrote a song about it.

You and Baby started making music together when you were fourteen and fifteen. How have you grown together as musicians in the time since?

It’s crazy to think it’s been that long! We are artistic soul mates and I think we’ve learned to really work off of each other’s creativity, which was a little hard for us in the beginning because we both have such strong visions of what we want. We definitely drive ourselves insane over perfecting our creations, but I think that’s a good thing and also rare to find someone who is just as dedicated to the process. Baby has all these insanely genius ideas that sometimes are things I would’ve never thought of and the outcome is always something magical.

What was it like working with Dan Auerbach on the record?

Working with Dan was such an honor. He’s the real deal and getting to work with him felt so surreal. One thing I really loved about working with him was how he really let us be who we are. He never tried to change us or mold us into something we’re not.

What are some recent records, books, or movies that have inspired or influenced you?

I have been watching a lot of Maya Deren films and I’m a huge fan of Nadia Lee Cohen. We have taken a lot of inspiration from them for this record. I also love the book “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. I recommend anybody who is creative should read it, it’ll change your life.

With Nightmare Daydream being your debut record, where do you see your sound evolving?

I’m not sure and I don’t think anything can be predicted but I’m ready to go wherever the ether takes me.