Kentucky’s Shannon Vetter released their album Holding Pattern came out in March. The album is a delightfully winding tour through the recesses of Vetter’s mind — whimsical, jazz-inspired, and just a little bit acerbic. Vetter is known for their work in bands like Vezl and Big Atomic, as well as the Head of Production for Louisville, KY’s The Pete Foundation, whose mission is to rally communities to champion youth mental health and wellness through normalizing the topic, promoting education, and providing tools for healthy emotional development.
In our chat, Vetter dishes on the music that inspires them and how Holding Pattern helped them move forward with their music.
Explain the title of your album.
Holding Pattern is the flight pattern an airplane is in while it waits for permission to land. It’s a waiting period – no progress is made, no growth occurs. I have a good feeling this album will land. And even if it doesn’t, this album is a continuation of my last album “Rapid Cycle,” and these songs needed to be recorded and cleared out of my head to make space for new ones. These are songs I’ve held close to me for many years. This is a part of my life and a part of my musical journey that needed to be held and nurtured before I could let it land. I like these ideas – holding things and letting them go.
Tell us about the first song you wrote.
I’m pretty sure the first full song I wrote was called “Song For Our Fathers.” The title is a play on the jazz standard “Song For My Father” which I had probably been playing in my high school jazz band. It was around 2007 and I was very passionately against the United States involvement in the Middle East. In hindsight, I didn’t know much about it. But I had a homemade t-shirt that said “no blood for oil” and another one with an American flag that I had x’d out! A true rebel. Around that time my best friend’s dad went to Afghanistan with the National Guard. I was a little bit terrified for my friend. His dad and my dad also worked together at the mill, and he lived right down the street from me. I was a little terrified for myself too. So I wrote “Song For Our Fathers” as an anti-war song. I had to have my friend Ben Knight teach me the chords to play it. Though I don’t think anyone else ever heard it.
What 5 albums are you going to make your kids listen to and why?
I have a whole history of music and rock n roll syllabus to implement if I ever have kids. But these are some of my favorite albums.
– Modest Mouse –- The Moon and Antarctica (my favorite in high school)
– Radiohead – In Rainbows (a masterpiece – remember when they gave it away for free pre Spotify?)
– Beatles – White Album (and Abbey Road too, don’t make me choose)
– Jay Z/ DJ Danger Mouse – The Grey Album (lyrics of The Black Album set to samples of The White Album. I hope they party to this like I did)
– Tom Waits – Rain Dogs ( get weird )
Recent Release you can not stop listening to?
boygenius – the record