Words by Willa Rudolph
New York City’s own Aux Blood, who were ranked 6th hardest working New York-based band of 2023 by Oh My Rockness with 21 total shows for the year, are bringing their music out of the digital realm with bonus tapes and zines. Aux Blood is Dylan Davis (lead singer & guitar), Billy Flanagan (lead guitar), George Simonds (bass), and Jim Murtagh (drums).
Davis is ferocious about his music. He works at it constantly, with a serious proclivity for creating. The band have played so many shows that when they’re together it’s like a hive mind. Aux Blood’s EP Feral Friends, released independently in early 2023, is an example of how tight they are collectively as if the music is coming out of one entity.
It’s inspiring, the way Dylan creates for Aux Blood in all types of media, not just audio–he wants you to have something physical to hold, something to read, something to look at, and something to listen to, perhaps all at once.
I feel like true artists can’t help but bring their work into all areas of their life. If you’re a songwriter, how can you not create visual work that exists in that same universe? If you’re a sculptor, can you imagine what song your sculpture would evoke if it could? If you’re already translating your thoughts and creations from your brain into sound, then why not translate that into a little zine, for your listeners or fans to digest alongside your music?
The tapes are for sale at their shows with each one containing a “mystery” track, recorded at band practices by bassist George Simonds. Often the tracks are improvised, formed from a spur-of-the-moment jam sesh.
Photo by @arenbites, Collage by Dylan Davis (Left to right: Billy Flanagan, George Simonds, Dylan Davis)
WR: What inspired the making of the tapes?
Dylan Davis: We just got tired of waiting for an opportunity to release our music as a physical copy. If you got the tools DIY.
WR: How are the tapes made?
Dylan Davis: I make them at home on a small cassette player. The tapes are gnarly, and distorted but that’s how we like it.
WR: What is your favorite song?
Dylan Davis: “Killing Bambi” by Aux Blood, at the moment. It’s a mystery track on one of the tapes.
WR: Why are the tapes special?
Dylan Davis: You get our EP Feral Friends, but it’s been over a year since we released those tracks, and we have tons of music that has never been released. So, we are including a different “mystery” song on each tape. We wanna make them unique for anyone who picks one up. Hopefully, people will share the tapes with others.
WR: Why do you think it’s important to bring your music into other media than just digital?
Dylan Davis: Approaching things from an analog perspective is just something I think Aux Blood resonates with. The Internet is permanent, but so are physical objects, ya know? But nothing comes out of thin air–at some point a person made a piece of art. That’s the most important thing.
WR: Are the “bonus tracks” written in advance?
Dylan Davis: The bonus tracks are kind of a mix–some will have full recorded songs, others will have live recordings of songs at practice, but no two are the same…
WR: What story does the Feral Friends EP tell?
Dylan Davis: Honestly, there’s no story really, just a creative exploration of ideas.
WR: What will the Aux Blood Zine be like?
Dylan Davis: We are making a series of them, all different. They’ll have some light reading, pictures, collage, really whatever we wanna make.
WR: Why make a zine?
Dylan Davis: It’s just another way to express ourselves. We wanna make sculptures too.
WR: What will the zine be called?
Dylan Davis: That’s classified information that even we don’t have clearance for…
Dylan Davis by Charlotte Taylor
Sneak Preview of two of the Aux Blood Zines:
