Punk Rock Life

Rexx: Orange County’s meta-music maestro talks failed superheroes and writes us a Haiku poem
By Alex James Taylor | Music | 5 March 2015
Photography Trevin Welty
Above:

Rex Osterkamp

‘I just want to make music and dance around’, says Rexx in his Bandcamp bio, succintly summing up the youthful charm that beams from this young Californian. When Rexx writes a song he doesn’t leave it to marinate, he sticks it online for all to hear. It’s a refreshingly DIY approach that simplifies the formula.

Rexx – abbreviated from Rex Tyler Osterkamp – goes about his business in a captivatingly modest manner; for his own sake, for fun, as an escapist output – a vehicle to express emotions otherwise dormant. Vulnerable tendencies are exposed through lyrics, bordering on sombre at times yet always sharp, witty and charming – recalling deft, self-depreciating songwriting sensibilities conceived upon the East Coast to the likes of Richman (Jonathan), Reed (Lou) and Russell (Arthur).

His latest release I Really Tried to Save the Day :/ is the forth instalment of his New Punk Rock Life concept, succeeding previous records My New Punk Rock Life, My Last Moment of Teenage Angst and Death, and Other Ways to be Artsy.

During his brief career Rexx’s production style has progressed and matured. His latest record sees his delicate bare-boned approach filled out, layered and refined. Observing similar mechanics as previous releases Osterkamp handles the majority bulk of the instrumental and production duties.

The song titles are acutely self-aware, written in the lexicon of love and lust, titles such as Everything Brings Me to You, and You’re the Moon speak for themselves, as far as modern love ballads go these are amongst the best, full of delicate intensity and a soothed longing. As a listener the vulnerability captivates you. There’s a transparency here which is what DIY music does best: no layers of pretence to get through, no smoke and no mirrors, just a direct line into Rexx’s heart and head. A carefully constructed foundation of soft guitar and mellow keyboard sits easy beneath the lyrics, it’s insular; warm and cosy like the sun-dappled LA streets the sound was conceived on. A rarefied quality of inherent otherness makes his timeless, wonky pop songs vibe just right.

Alex James Taylor: You’ve chosen to give your new album I Really Tried to Save the Day :/ away for free on Bandcamp, like you’ve done with previous releases.
Rex Osterkamp: Ya! I don’t think there was a specific reason other than habit. I’ve been releasing my music online for free since I started recording back in high school. I feel like a lot of the people who listen to my music are probably young and don’t have bank accounts where they can purchase music online. At least that’s how it was for me when I was in younger.

AJT: And where did you get the album title from?
RO: I don’t remember exactly when I thought of the album title, but it was just a funny little thought floating around in my head. I like making album titles that are kind of funny or satirical in some sort of way. I like to make fun of myself I guess. I basically was thinking about how, if I was a superhero, I would probably do a really bad job of it. I would probably end up saying that title a lot throughout my crime fighting career. “Sorry guys, I really tried to save the day. Maybe next time.”

AJT: It comes only eight months since your last release Death, and Other Ways to be Artsy, did you give yourself a break or was it straight onto working on this album?
RO: I started writing and recording some of the songs on this latest album before Death, and Other Ways to be Artsy was even finished. I don’t think I ever really take a break from writing music. I enjoy it too much right now. While I was writing this album though, I wasn’t really thinking, “I’m working on a new album.” I was just writing songs.

AJT: Yeah, I guess that’s the most organic way to do it, did you plan on releasing it so soon after Death, and Other Ways to be Artsy? I imagine you have a lot of half-written tracks lying around.
I didn’t plan on releasing it so soon. I had like 40 songs recorded, and there were about ten or so that I really liked. Magniph Records hit me up wanting to re-release one of my previous albums, but I was like “Hey! Since I already have these new songs that I like, we should just release a new album.” So it ended up working out pretty well.

Rex Osterkamp

AJT: In terms of production the new album is a lot more complex and layered, was this a predetermined plan or did it simply happen when working on the tracks?
RO: I think as much as I love writing simple pop songs, it’s so much fun writing songs that have more than just two guitar tracks and drums, you know? Listening to bands like ELO or Peter Gabriel is always inspiring. They have so much orchestration in their songs and it works so well.

I think with every album I write, I learn a little bit more about what can be layered in a song. But no, it wasn’t really predetermined, I think it’s just growth in songwriting. I’ve become more and more comfortable with experimenting in recording, which is how I feel it should be. I don’t want to write the same record over and over again.

AJT: Did the recording process change at all for this record?
RO: A little bit, yeah. Our last album was the only one that was recorded with a full band. Soon after we recorded it, the band lineup went through some changes and I had to find some new members and get them up to speed on the songs. During that whole process of finding myself a new band, I recorded I Really Tried to Save The Day. The process changed, but felt natural.

AJT: Your close friends The Garden have recently been getting a lot of press hype, and are doing really well. Do you still perform together every now and again?
RO: Honestly not since what happened to Wyatt the last time he visited Sudan. It kind of changed him for a while. Every day it gets better though.

AJT: Where do you see your own future heading?
RO: Hopefully in a direction that allows me to keep writing/releasing music. I’d love for music to somehow be my job, you know? But I recently got caught up in a pyramid scheme and lost A LOT of money trying to sell prune juice. So I gotta pay that off before I think about music as a career.

AJT: I had a little flick through your Tumblr page and saw that you’ve been writing haikus recently, can you write one for us? About anything you want…
Here’s just a little taste:

That man with no knees
Really fucked me up this time
Fucked me up REAL bad.

AJT: Who are you listening to at the moment?
RO: Actually right at this moment, The Cure’s Head on the Door is on the turntable.  That album really means a lot to me. Also digging on bands like The Move, The Damned, and Jonathan Richman (always a favorite).

AJT: Your early gigs were just you and a keyboard on stage using backing tracks and such, now you’ve got your own band, right? How are you finding the change?
RO: I love having a band! It makes playing shows become a different kind of ‘fun’. When I used backing tracks, I really missed that personal connection you have with with your band. It’s a very intimate experience, making music with your friends. It’s very comforting.

AJT: When you record do you play all the instruments yourself or do you use your band?
RO: Yeah, I recorded this new album by myself. It was probably the most fun I’ve had recording an album. It was also more challenging than any of my other albums. I don’t want this project to be confined in how the albums are created. Sometimes I really like collaborating with people and enjoy that process of writing an album with other musicians, but sometimes it’s really nice to make something completely by yourself and seeing what can happen.

AJT: Is there any possibility of you coming to play in the UK any time soon?
RO: Man, I’d like to think so! But who knows? I don’t have a UK tour set up at the moment, but we’ll see what this year brings. More than anything, I’d love to travel and play shows.

AJT: Are you currently working on new material?
RO: Always ☺

I Really Tried To Save The Day :/ by Rexx is out now. You can download it for free here. Follow Rexx on Facebook and catch him live at his next gig tomorrow tonight, Friday 6th March at The Smell, LA, 90012

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