Virginia Beach - On a cold February night in a parking lot across from H2O, the Wolfe finds himself with one of the more interesting and original acts on the local scene...Arete.

Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You...

33: We're going to go around the circle and everybody's going to say something like what they do in the band, what their name is, first and last...starting to the left...
Kyle Waters: My name is Kyle Waters.  I play bass guitar.
Ryan Miller: Ryan Miller, like the beer...
Kole Matheson: Jebediah Sassafras, and I'm here to play [chuckles]...Kole Matheson...

33: And you sing and play the trumpet...
KM: Yes, I sing and play the trumpet.

33: A little bit of acoustic guitar in there...
KM: ...and I feel the energy of the fellas and try to share with the people.
Eric Singer: Eric Singer, Singer like the sewing machine, or like what he does [gesturing to Kole].  I play the drums. 

33: Have you guys ever had an interview before?
KM: Mm-hm.
RM: We always fuck 'em up, though, because we're so goddamn goofy.

33: So, Arete...where'd the name come from?  What does it mean?
RM: It means if ya ever get a piece of tail...like a big black woman...

33: You do realize that anything you say could be used in the article?
KW: It's okay, we do have a mixed guy in the band, the bass player, so we're good...I represent both fronts.

[Note from the Wolfe, Kyle is the bass player, and yes, he is mixed...]

RM: Arete means virtue, it means to be the best that you can be.  Whether you're going to war, whether you're making love, or you're playing music.  You do all that you can do, and you feel it, and you share it, and you make other people feel what you feel.
KW: Inspirational, yeah.
RM: Fuckin' right man.
KW: That's what they all lived up to, right?  The Greeks?
KM: That was their top thing to be.  The "Arete" of their field.

33: How long have you guys been together?
KM: Two years in May. 

33: Still all the original members?
RM: Nope.
ES: Hell no.
KW: New guy.
ES: [to Kyle] How long you been with us, dude?
KM: Dallas quit on the day of our one year anniversary.
RM: The day you came over was the day of our one year mark.
KW: Wow, no shit?  I didn't know that.
KM: Trippy.

I Write the Songs That Make the Whole World Sing...

33: Is this a collaborative effort on the songwriting?
KM: His mom writes the music [gestures towards Ryan].  Naked.
RM: This is how it goes down man...
KM: I been waiting for them to write some lyrics.
RM: Usually, we'll come together and just kind of fiddle.  Typically, I'll have a guitar part and I'll be like, “This sounds pretty fucking cool.”  And then Eric will hit on the drums, and Kyle will come on the bass, and then Kyle will play something, and I'll be like, “Ah, that's cool as shit!  If I change my guitar part a little bit to kinda pull out what you're doing, then we'll probably have a cool lick.”  So we build off each other would probably be the best answer.  And then Kole just feels what we're doing and how it makes him feel.  And then the lyrics come.

33: Let's go into influences for a little bit.  From my observations, from what I can hear, there's a little bit of Incubus influence in there, and maybe some late 90s college rock...
ES: I learned to play drums from the Chili Peppers - they're a big influence for me - and all the old, classic kind of stuff...John Bonham...I just sit down with my iPod and bang that shit out for hours.  That's what I bring to the band, that kind of classic technique.
KM: I had an acoustic style going, and then I got with Ryan, and it transformed into the more rock thing.  Brandon Boyd is a good singer.  I can't fuckin think of any other one...Soulja Boy? [laughter]
KM: Everyone sings originally because your mouth is unique.  So, that's what happens.
RM: I gotta say, mine's probably gonna be the weirdest.  From Outkast to Karnivool to Vivaldi, you know who he is?

33: The pianist?
RM: Yeah, Vivaldi is the shit.  Tchaikovsky is also badass.  My shit's all over the board.
KW: Yeah, I would agree.  My shit's all over the board, too.  When I found the bass...
RM: He's a soul brother...
KW: It was Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Les Claypool - love Primus - Victor Wooten, Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, a lot of James Jamerson, a lot of Motown, that's always a good sound.  You know - R&B, soul, anything that had a meaning to it.  That's what I was listening to...that had real heart to it.  Had Arete to it.

Album of the Year

33: So you got an album out?
KM: Yeah, it's about 98 percent done.
RM: It was gonna be done Sunday, but I got sick and Kole got sick. 

33: Where you guys recording?
RM: Clay Garden Studio.

33: Any plans for a title to the album?
KM: I kinda like Event's Progress - that's the name of the EP, too.
RM: And plus, we're not doing it all fancy.  We're gonna write on it in Sharpie.  It's gonna be free.  We aren't charging shit.  Our goal is to get thousand out free in the first month.

33: Is it actually an EP, or is it a full-length?
RM: Five tracks.  There'll probably be a bonus acoustic track on the end.
KW: We've got more songs..we'll probably come out with a full-length album in the next year.

33: Any plans for any kind of touring?  Any out of state stuff?
RM: If we don't tour, we're gonna quit.
KM: I started putting some stuff together for this summer...
RM: East coast.
KM: We got jobs and stuff, so we just gotta coordinate.  Definitely head up and down the east coast...Baltimore, Richmond, a couple places in Pennsylvania, down to Carolina...

33: Any particular bands from around here you like playing with?
KM: Manfog, DHH are some sick cats...
KW: I like the Influence, they got a cool sound...No Dreads is dope...

33: What are you're plans to go with this?
RM: To the top.
ES: I want to play as long as I can.  My friends all get jealous.  I love making them jealous.  I get up at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and I go play drums and drink beer for a couple hours, and I have a fucking blast.

33: Any particular places you like to play out at?
KM: You gotta represent Seaside and Dena...
RM: The one spot we like to hit is the heart though...no bullshit, that's for real.  We want people to feel it.
KM: We want people to be as passionate as we are.

So keep your eyes out!  And your ears!  Arete is here to stay (as long as they tour), and they've got something that'll make you feel something.  Hopefully it's just the vibe and not my package...

MySpace.com/AreteSounds

MuzikLounge.com/Arete.html

By Director, Genre Lead, and Editor: Andrew Wolfe

The Wolfe was born to a small litter in the mountains of West Virginia and transplanted to suburban Virginia Beach in the iconic year of 1984.  Left to the public school system, he soon became immersed in the varied subcultures of suburbia. Quickly he became a connoisseur of the rich substrata of disaffected youth in post-Reagan America.  Having to leave corporate tool-hood behind, the Wolfe prowls the silent alleyways in search of the next great spark of local music - the incendiary device that will reignite creativity in a music world gone wrong (apparently in the throes of Bieber Fever).

And other fun facts ...

Age: 33
Place of Birth: Parkersburg, West Virginia
Gender: Raoul Duke
Religion: Gonzo
Likes: Good music.  Drinking.  Smoking.
Dislikes: Ignorance.  People who take themselves too seriously.  People who say "I just wanted to touch bases with you."  It's "base" asshole, not a baseball reference.

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