PATTERN’s curator of the January 2017 playlist, Corey Regan, is a multi-instrumentalist and graduate of Ball State University. He recently moved to Garfield Park and plays bass with the band Robin Goodfellow. This playlist highlights some of our favorite tracks and albums from within the last couple of months, including recent local Indianapolis releases. Follow the playlist on Soundcloud and/or Spotify for your listening pleasure![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Tell us about your musical background.
I come from a pretty musical family. My dad taught me guitar when I was in the 5th or 6th grade, and my mom and grandma have always been fantastic singers. My mom’s side is also related to the folk singer/songwriter John Prine, so I spent a lot of holidays with his family growing up. I’ve been playing guitar and singing for over 10 years now, but I’ve picked up many other instruments along the way. I like to collect and learn to play whatever instruments I can get my hands on. It may just be a side hobby for the time being, but I’d like to build up a studio and release some solo material at some point.
Tell us about the mix you curated. Does it give off a type of mood? What should we be doing while listening in?
The mix is mostly focused on what new releases I’ve enjoyed within the past month or two, with at least a small amount of diversity in genres. Whenever I make playlists of new music for people, I try to include as diverse of a mix as I can, but I didn’t venture too far into the undercurrents with this one. I did, however, try to include some local Indianapolis acts that I’ve really been enjoying lately, such as Sirius Blvck and my friend Kevin Krauter. Given the diversity of the mix in terms of mood, I wouldn’t recommend any activity in particular while listening, though I always recommend listening to music on a set of good over-ear headphones or a decent sound system. Good music deserves to be actively listened to, not just heard as background.
What groups are killing the game right now?
Well, though not as recent, Childish Gambino’s recent album really took my by surprise. I don’t know if anyone expected him to take that record in the direction it went. I definitely expected a rap album, but it’s very reminiscent of some old Funkadelic and Sly and the Family Stone. The new Run The Jewels album is also pretty unbeatable, but that’s nothing unexpected for them. That album has definitely been my go-to album at the gym for the past few weeks. Last year had so many great releases, but this January seems to have been rather slow. Being off the Internet mostly hasn’t helped, though, so I may have missed some great groups flying under the radar…
How’s life without Internet?
Haha well, it has definitely been an adjustment, but a very positive one overall. I recently moved to Indianapolis and made the decision to live alone and not have Internet, which has been difficult but has forced me to be much more productive. Since then, I’ve started reading much more, enjoying taking the time to cook, writing songs in my own little studio I have set up, and hopefully starting to learn pottery soon. One downside, though, is that I haven’t been able to keep up to date with music like I used to, so putting together this playlist was a great way to force me to catch up on all the new releases I’ve missed since then. I’ve been keeping best 50 album lists for the past few years, but that’s proven difficult lately, without much time on my laptop.
What are your interests outside of music?
I’ve been trying to get into community organizing and stay active locally lately. Given the state of our nation these days, I’ve been putting forth a strong effort to practice what I preach and be involved in both large-scale events as well as the local community. That includes going to city council and political organization meetings, but also organizing art, poetry, and music events to help flourish the community. I’ve realized that there is a lot of community development going on in the Englewood area where I work, and I’ve found a lot of passion getting to know the people involved in those sort of things. I’m currently trying to schedule some events for the coffee shop I work at, Pia Urban Café, so keep an eye out for things going on there in the next few months!
How is your new band doing? Any upcoming shows?
My band, Robin Goodfellow, is doing well! We are preparing for our first show at Flat12 Bierwerks on February 22nd. We are also excited to play at the Virginia Avenue Folk Festival on May 13th. It’s quite the honor to have a spot at the Virginia Avenue Folk Fest even though we haven’t had any shows yet, so we’re taking that as a great sign! We only have one single out currently, but we play a pretty diverse set, so we’re hoping to get some more recordings done soon.
