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Aer band members discuss inspiration for hip-hop music, on-stage experiences

Courtesy of Connor Martin

Carter Schultz is the lead singer for the hip-hop duo Aer. Before every show, Schultz and David von Mering, the band’s guitarist, huddle up and thank each other before flailing their arms and preparing for the show.

By Abby MaddiganContributing Writer

Aer band members David von Mering and Carter Schultz will perform at the Westcott Theater in Syracuse this Friday. The Daily Orange spoke with von Mering, the group’s guitarist, about the group’s eclectic style of music and what it is like on and off the stage.

The Daily Orange: How did you come up with the name Aer?

David von Mering: Our friend came up with it. He came up with the Fresh Air Movement, but we said that’s too long, we have to just go with Air. But we couldn’t do Air because there is already a band named Air, so we had to make the obvious switch to an “e.”

 

The D.O.: How long has your group been together?



D.V.M: Four years as of April 2010, so four and a half years, I guess.


The D.O.: How did you meet?

D.V.M: We were in a band at first and we both liked the same types of music, so it just came together pretty quickly.

 

The D.O.: What is the inspiration behind your music?

D.V.M: Usually start off with a beat and kind of just get a vibe off it and write some stuff down. And then we record it and play it live and we love it.

 

The D.O.: How would you describe the sound of your music?

D.V.M: That’s always a very hard question to answer. I always say off the bat, for listeners to listen to it first and try to describe it on their own. But, if we need to say something, it’s definitely hip-hop with a lot of indie rock and pop influences too.

 

The D.O.: What can we expect from Friday’s show?

D.V.M: It’s about to bob your head off for sure. It’s gonna be f*cking crazy. We got this new “Whatever We Want Remix” that just dropped that we’re definitely playing, with Dizzy Wright. We’re gonna get him on stage with us. We’re gonna play old stuff, new stuff — we’re gonna play stuff that no one’s heard. We’re gonna drop mad pieces of entertainment.

 

The D.O.: Where was your most epic performance and why?

D.V.M: I’d have to say Firefly in Delaware this summer. It was amazing. I wanna say maybe 12 to 10,000 people were there. Everyone seemed to either be fans or they wanted to be fans, so it was just absolutely insane.

 

The D.O.: What are you like off stage?

D.V.M: I am completely opposite off stage, unless I’m drunk or something. I’m like very quiet and reserved and I don’t really like to speak first. Then, when I get on stage I’m like some kind of wild animal.

 

The D.O.: Do you have any pre-show rituals?

D.V.M: We huddle up and we thank each other for being there for us and we thank everyone who has helped us, and then we flail and shake our limbs and stretch and prepare for battle. It gets wild out there. They all go for blood.





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