Quiet Color

by cheryl santa maria

Based out of Boston, Massachusetts and comprised of Jan Rosenfeld (vocals/ synth), Chase Nicholl (synth), Karl Hohn (synth) and Joey Sulkowski (drums), Yes Giantess is a modern band with a vintage sound. Noted for their bubble-gum beats and dance party rhythms, the quartet calls to mind an era where shoulder pads, jelly shoes, paint-splattered T-shirts and Molly Ringwald prevailed. Nostalgic synths, contagious lyrics and uppity drums combine to revive everything that is good about 80s and 90s pop.

Artist: Yes Giantess Song: You Were Young

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Quiet Color was able to take a few minutes out of Jan’s busy schedule for a Q&A. Versed in pop culture and passionate about music, Jan and I had a discussion about tunes, touring and hot pants.

Quiet Color: Your sound is constantly being compared to MGMT. Is that accurate? How would you describe your sound?

Jan: I think every electronic band initially gets compared to MGMT, but the funny thing is that MGMT barely does electronic music now. They’re more of a psychedelic rock band at this point. I think Yes Giantess is more heavily influenced by late 80s and early 90s pop music. Being compared to MGMT is very flattering, though. We don’t take it in a negative way at all.

QC: I think your music belongs in a John Hughes film like Sixteen Candles or Pretty in Pink.

Jan: That’s fantastic.

QC: If we could put your music into any 80s film soundtrack, which film would you choose?

Jan: Oh man. I would like to see our music in the film Big, maybe in the scene where Tom Hanks is jumping on the trampoline or maybe the scene where he’s playing the giant keyboard with his feet. That would be real cool.

QC: What’s it like working with Passion Pit and the people at Neon Gold Records?

Jan: First and foremost, Passion Pit and the people at are Neon Gold are old friends, so working with them feels comfortable and organic. We share a lot of similarities and we’re a group of excitable people. The whole thing has been great so far.

QC: Is there anyone else you’d like to work with?

Jan: There are a million people I’d like to work with. I’m really excited about working with Liam Howe [of Sneaker Pimps fame] because he grew up listening to 80s beats. He worked with us on our “Can’t Help It” track. I’m also excited about working with Marina and the Diamonds. She’s a great artist out of England and we’re touring with her next month.

QC: I like the fact that Yes Giantess is, above everything else, a pop band. In the past you’ve said that you’d like to hear your music on the Top 40 charts. Is it possible to achieve Top 40 success and maintain your indie fanbase?

Jan: Yes, definitely. I mean, look at some of the established pop acts, like Beyoncé, for example. She’s so untouchably good that nobody can really hate on her, regardless of their musical preference. It doesn’t make sense to turn on someone just because they’re popular.

QC: But isn’t pop the antithesis of indie? To me, your music doesn’t sound strictly pop, nor does it sound strictly indie. It’s almost as if you guys have a foot in both worlds.

Jan: I agree. We’re definitely not playing traditional indie pop. Our version of pop sounds a bit more mainstream.

QC: What’s it like touring in the U.K.? Are there any differences between U.K. audiences and the audiences back home?

Jan: We were able to play at a bunch of small, but really great, venues [in the U.K.]. Everyone was super inviting and we met a lot of amazing people. We have a large network of friends over there, one that goes beyond music. My first impression though, is that U.K. audiences are a bit more reserved [than American audiences]. Playing in America is just … wilder. We really feed off of crowd interaction. In the U.K. people are a bit more hesitant to engage, but once they reach the tipping point they can go pretty wild, too. At a couple of shows in England, it felt like we were at a frat party or something.

QC: I imagine there would be a lot of dancing at your shows.

Jan: Yeah. If we’re playing a show and people are just standing around and nodding their heads, we think we’re doing something wrong. Yes Giantess comes from an 80s glam rock angle and we like to see people having a good time.

QC: When can we expect your E.P. to come out?

Jan: We’re going to be doing some recording in the next few months, so hopefully within the first quarter of 2010.

QC: You have a mixtape that people can download for free off of the Neon Gold website. I pretty much love every song on it. You’ve included some great artists – heavy weights like Kylie Minogue, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson and Prince, to name a few.

Jan: The songs on the mix tape are the songs we like to jam out to, with the stereo turned up as loud as possible and the windows down. Putting the mix tape together was a really fun thing for us to do.

QC: Do you have any non-musical influences?

Jan: Non-musical influences? Hm. Well, [Joey] just shouted out “Vodka”. So um, I would have to say that Vodka and hot pants are pretty uh, inspirational. Oh, and [Chase] would like to add that the Intel Pentium I Processor is his biggest non-musical influence.

QC: Vodka, hot pants and the Intel Pentium I. I like that.

Jan: Yeah.

QC: Well, I’ll wrap it up now. I’ve got one last question, but it’s a two-parter: Your career has taken off pretty quickly. What has contributed to your success and do you have any advice for unsigned acts?

Jan: We were lucky to hook up with Neon Gold Records early in our band’s life cycle. I think the thing that’s helped the most is the fact that we really believe in the material, and so did Neon Gold, so we all just pushed really hard. The music and the work excited us and it excited them and that in turn excited the fans. The process is still evolving though. I mean, people are just getting to know us now. You’ve just got to take it one show at a time.

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Currently on the road, Yes Giantess will be playing sold out shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco before heading off to the U.K. to complete the NME Radar tour. To find out about upcoming gigs, visit the band’s Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/yesgiantess.