When Ken first started making music in the early ‘00s, he couldn’t afford the software so he used free trial versions, which meant he had to record everything to minidisc or else what he made would be lost forever because the trial software didn’t let him save anything. Every song was a one-time occurrence. He always thought he’d change the name. But here we are over a decade later and we are still called Occurrence.
This is how the band narrated how they ended up with the name Occurrence, when asked during an interview with Mister Styx of Musicarenagh. The trio admitted to coming from musical backgrounds where Ken learned piano and played drums in high school because his dad had a drum kit. Johnny was raised with music as his dad is a jazz trombonist.
Cat grew up with this passion to make music that, as a kid, far outweighed her skills at the time. We all had this desire from the beginning. They shared many things about themselves as well as how things have been for them while growing up, what keeps them together amongst other things.
Sex and death, Jasper Johns, The pain of life, Computer screens, Books, Pasta, and Our own love for each other- all these are things the trio believes keeps them together and strengthen them.
More of this was shared during the interview, along the line they touched on their new album “Slow Violence” and what to expect from them next.
Listen to Fudge while enjoying the full interview below
Follow Occurrence on
What is your stage name
We’re called Occurrence. The band is Ken, Cat and Johnny.
Is there a story behind your stage name?
When Ken first started making music in the early ‘00s, he couldn’t afford the software so he used free trial versions, which meant he had to record everything to minidisc or else what he made would be lost forever because the trial software didn’t let him save anything. Every song was a one-time occurrence. He always thought he’d change the name. But here we are over a decade later and we are still called Occurrence.
Where do you find inspiration?
Sex and death. Jasper Johns. The pain of life. Computer screens. Books. Pasta. Our own love for each other.
What was the role of music in the early years of your life?
It was everything. For Ken, it defined his identity. For Cat and Johnny, they always knew they were singers.
Are you from a musical or artistic family?
We all come from musical backgrounds. Ken learned piano and played drums in high school because his dad had a drum kit. Johnny was raised with music as long as he can remember. His dad is a jazz trombonist.
We all come from musical backgrounds.
Cat grew up with this passion to make music that, as a kid, far outweighed her skills at the time. We all had this desire from the beginning.
Who inspired you to be a part of the music industry?
I’m not sure we want to be part of the industry, but we want to make music and the music industry is a necessary evil in achieving that.
How did you learn to sing/write/to play?
Ken will let everyone know when he learns to play an instrument well. Cat and Johnny were singing from the time they could talk. Cat took years of piano and flute lessons, and has dabbled in guitar, ukelele and drums, with varying degrees of success.
What was the first concert that you ever went to and who did you see perform?
Ken’s first concert was The Monkees. He also saw Yes and Whitesnake the same month. Cat’s first concert as a child was the Beach Boys during their “Kokomo” era. It was just OK.
How could you describe your music?
Nostalgic electro pop.
Describe your creative process.
Ken often writes a demo, a piece of music and shares it with Cat or Johnny, depending on whose voice he starts to hear as he was recording. From there, they write lyrics. Then we record them and rearrange the music or re-record the music, or keep a 4 bar loop, or start over. There are lots of dark nights of the soul. Then eventually there is a song.
What is your main inspiration?
Fear of death. That, and the desire for more fancy candles.
What musician do you admire most and why?
Thom Yorke for his voice, the 1975 for the WTF-ness, and Trent Reznor for his intelligence.
Did your style evolve since the beginning of your career?
Occurrence was far more experimental when we started, less song-based in the beginning. But as we have developed into more of a band, we moved towards making more accessible songs.
While keeping our weird edge. What’s great is that Ken’s demos always push Cat and Johnny to redefine what a melody can be, which makes for some really interesting pieces.
Who do you see as your main competitor?
Ourselves.
What are your interests outside of music?
Ken writes plays. Cat writes and does voiceovers.. Johnny explores his love of improvisational dance.
If it wasn’t a music career, what would you be doing?
Wait, this is a career?
What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music?
Too much noise, hard to be heard.
If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be?
The exploitation of artists. But that’s always been true..
Why did you choose this as the title of this project?
The new album is called SLOW VIOLENCE. The title comes from a book by Rob Nixon. He defines slow violence as “a violence that occurs gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed over space and time, an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all.”
Though Nixon is talking about environmental destruction, we thought of it as an apt metaphor for our lives, the small and slow destructive events that make us who we are.
What are your plans for the coming months?
We will be releasing more singles, then the album drops on April 7th.
Do you have any artistic collaboration plans
We are collaborating with Dan Safer on a dance theater piece inspired by our new album that opens at MIT the same weekend as our album release. It is set in a series of hotel rooms. There will be bad paintings.
What message would you like to give to your fans?
We are so lucky to have people that care about our music. We are forever grateful.
