Jason Tate
03/09/04, 12:00 AM
Jason: So tell me about the new album, how the band progressed after being signed to Lobster to where you are now.
Angel: Well, the new album almost documents feelings, emotions, occurances that had happened during our time as a Lobster band. We didn't just sign a contract and jump right into the studio. We had some growing up to do. We needed to find ourselves as a band. So after months of experience, the songs just came to us, we wrote what we felt. A lot of the lyrical content leans more to the negative energy surrounding us, with everyone doubting us, waiting for us to fail or give in. Not saying that everyone doubted us.
Jason: It seemed after you guys signed, there was a lot of trash talking towards the band almost immediately, did that influence you?
Angel: We did have people who believed in us, especially Steve from Lobster and our families. I mean as much as you don’t want it to effect you it still does. The trick is just using the negative energy and making something positive out of it
Jason: What was it like working with Darrian?
Angel: He's a very intuitive person, especially about music. With him there is little room for error. If you’re working with Darrian you better know your stuff. There was no slacking off and if you were he made you know you were. But that’s what brought out the best in us. I think he’s a very good example of what a producer should be. We learned so much from him
Jason: You guys recently brought in a keyboard player, what was the reason behind that?
Angel: We wanted to add another dimension to our music, bring more texture, fill more sound waves. Chris is very talented, and I think he's essential to our evolution as a band. He brings another direction into the songwriting process. He’s also another person who has ideas and opinions that contributes to making our band better with every practice.
Jason: So why did you decide on "Charity Burns Green” as the album title?
Angel: Well its one of the stronger and harder songs of the album. It’s a witty, intelligent title. It’s almost a like a metaphorical contradiction. With 'Charity Burns Green' you have to put some thought into it. We want to be recognized as an intelligent band with strong opinions and well-crafted songs, and for our first release I think that’s a great title.
Jason: Makes sense. So where do u go from here? As a band that is.
Angel: Um, writing new material, going on the road soon to promote our album. Trying to get our music to every person we can, and then they can be the judge of whether they like it. So hopefully we'll be out and about, I think we have some plans for the beginning of June with The Pennyroyals, but nothing is concrete yet. Then hopefully, one of our goals is to establish a good following, find a decent booking agent and be on tour forever. Because that’s what we love doing
Jason: Sounds awesome. How have you liked working with Lobster so far?
Angel: Awesome people as I’m sure you know,
Jason: Of course.
Angel: Everyone is very intelligent, yet down to earth, and I wish all of the Lobster family much success this year, which I’m sure they'll obtain.
Jason: So let’s talk about the album, there seem to be a few different themes running through the lyrical content of the disc. Can you explain some of these to me?
Angel: Some of them are my inner demons, like negativity from other people, you know, people putting us down. For example, 'The Dawning' is very intimate to me. It deals with negativity surrounding an individual, yet the particular individual is optimistic about the future, using the fuel trash talking, disapproval, etc. to project a positive future, if you listen to the chorus it says it all. Other songs are about personal relationships with other people such as Family, friends, love, conflict, and so on. The one thing I try to do as a writer is leave our songs open-ended and leave spaces for our listeners to put a part of their lives into the song, so they can grasp their own personal meaning and therefore experience the true emotion of the song
Jason: Awesome. Did you have any musical influences on this album?
Angel: Well, before the album most of us were into a lot of underground music, like bands we've played with but right before we went to record we all just started listening to more and more things that seemed out of the ordinary for us. This summer Radiohead's 'Hail to the Thief' came out. I was never a fan but my guitarist Derrick, had me listen and I was floored. Since then I just listen to anything that seems remotely interesting then I judge whether I like it or not. As for influences, we range from AC/DC, to Radiohead, to the Police, the Chili Peppers, you name it there's probably someone in the band who likes it.
Jason: How far do you want to take this band?
Angel: I want to be arguably one of the best bands in the world. Its an extreme goal, but this is what we love to do. Why not shoot for the stars? If we never succeed, at least I have my memories and my music.
Jason: Are your parents supportive of this endeavor?
Angel: Yeah, they actually helped us with our record release shows. Right now my mom is selling CDs to every and anyone who'll buy them. Our families are great, Ron's (drummer) dad actually jammed on track 4 of our album in Philly with us. He tore it up, he's an awesome guitarist.
Jason: So the album doesn’t actually hit stores until the 23rd? What happened with that?
Angel: Um, distribution conflict. Its just beyond our control. But March 23rd is the date so mark your calendars (again).
Jason: Awesome. I can’t wait for the world to hear it
Angel: Neither can I. and we've been waiting for a really long time. I hope everyone takes to it well. It’s different. It’s not like some of the stuff thy are used to hearing.
Jason: Exactly
Angel: But I think that’ll work for us.
Jason: What do you think you guys do to stand apart?
Angel: Um, simplicity.
Jason: Ah, I remember what I was going to ask. Have you had any (professional) vocal training?
Angel: No I haven’t, but I am a theatre and choir buff. So yeah, I don’t know how to use my vocal a little bit. I’ve been singing for a hell of a long time.
Jason: Who named the band?
Angel: Actually, Brad and I are the oldest members. Days Like These was actually in existence before most of the members were even in the band. So it’s just a name we had when we first joined up. We thought about changing it but it just fits us and people already know us by it so it here to stay.
Jason: Why is music such a huge part of your life?
Angel: It’s what I grew up on. Music is a huge part of many peoples lives. I love performing. I’m an artist and this is my art. It’s my way of securing my part in this world, to leave something behind for the future to hear. After we are all gone ya know. So here’s my question to you. What do you think about the album? What’s your take?
Jason: I love it. It was exactly what I was looking for when I didn’t have anything else to listen to. I was knocked on my ass. I have some demo around here from you guys from a few years ago and I was really not expecting this. It has a familiar yet unique sound, hard yet melodic. It's just an all around solid album from start to finish
Angel: Sweet! I’m happy you enjoyed listening and thanks for listening.
Jason: Yeah, I don’t become a fan of a lot of what I hear on a daily basis, but I def. really like this disc.
Jason: How soon to you’re going to hit the road you think?
Angel: We are thinking about late April or early May. Until then we are doing regional shows. We are actually headlining The August Comma anniversary show at The Balcony of The Troc in Philly. It’s March 14th, a Sunday. The doors open at 5:00 I believe. It’s us, Suicide Pact, All Rights Reserved, and Rose Red. It should be fun.
Jason: What do you see the next big step being for the band? Just getting out there to everyone?
Angel: Touring, building a legit fan base, then finding a reliable booking agent so we can get to bigger crowds more people. That’s about it.
Jason: Sounds perfect man.
Angel: Any other questions?
Jason: I think that’s everything actually. I’m trying to rack my brain Anything else you would like to say?
Angel: Um, thanks to everyone who helped in support of us and the album. Thanks to you Jason and Chris March for checking us and giving us your input, and for being awesome people. Thanks to Lobster for giving us a chance. Look out for 'Charity Burns Green' in stores March 23rd. Listen to as much music as you possibly can, all different types, broaden your horizons. For free music go to here (http://www.purevolume.com/daysliketheselobsterrecords), if you want to learn more about us go to daysliketheserock.com (http://www.daysliketheserock.com) or lobsterrecords.com thank you once again.
Angel: Well, the new album almost documents feelings, emotions, occurances that had happened during our time as a Lobster band. We didn't just sign a contract and jump right into the studio. We had some growing up to do. We needed to find ourselves as a band. So after months of experience, the songs just came to us, we wrote what we felt. A lot of the lyrical content leans more to the negative energy surrounding us, with everyone doubting us, waiting for us to fail or give in. Not saying that everyone doubted us.
Jason: It seemed after you guys signed, there was a lot of trash talking towards the band almost immediately, did that influence you?
Angel: We did have people who believed in us, especially Steve from Lobster and our families. I mean as much as you don’t want it to effect you it still does. The trick is just using the negative energy and making something positive out of it
Jason: What was it like working with Darrian?
Angel: He's a very intuitive person, especially about music. With him there is little room for error. If you’re working with Darrian you better know your stuff. There was no slacking off and if you were he made you know you were. But that’s what brought out the best in us. I think he’s a very good example of what a producer should be. We learned so much from him
Jason: You guys recently brought in a keyboard player, what was the reason behind that?
Angel: We wanted to add another dimension to our music, bring more texture, fill more sound waves. Chris is very talented, and I think he's essential to our evolution as a band. He brings another direction into the songwriting process. He’s also another person who has ideas and opinions that contributes to making our band better with every practice.
Jason: So why did you decide on "Charity Burns Green” as the album title?
Angel: Well its one of the stronger and harder songs of the album. It’s a witty, intelligent title. It’s almost a like a metaphorical contradiction. With 'Charity Burns Green' you have to put some thought into it. We want to be recognized as an intelligent band with strong opinions and well-crafted songs, and for our first release I think that’s a great title.
Jason: Makes sense. So where do u go from here? As a band that is.
Angel: Um, writing new material, going on the road soon to promote our album. Trying to get our music to every person we can, and then they can be the judge of whether they like it. So hopefully we'll be out and about, I think we have some plans for the beginning of June with The Pennyroyals, but nothing is concrete yet. Then hopefully, one of our goals is to establish a good following, find a decent booking agent and be on tour forever. Because that’s what we love doing
Jason: Sounds awesome. How have you liked working with Lobster so far?
Angel: Awesome people as I’m sure you know,
Jason: Of course.
Angel: Everyone is very intelligent, yet down to earth, and I wish all of the Lobster family much success this year, which I’m sure they'll obtain.
Jason: So let’s talk about the album, there seem to be a few different themes running through the lyrical content of the disc. Can you explain some of these to me?
Angel: Some of them are my inner demons, like negativity from other people, you know, people putting us down. For example, 'The Dawning' is very intimate to me. It deals with negativity surrounding an individual, yet the particular individual is optimistic about the future, using the fuel trash talking, disapproval, etc. to project a positive future, if you listen to the chorus it says it all. Other songs are about personal relationships with other people such as Family, friends, love, conflict, and so on. The one thing I try to do as a writer is leave our songs open-ended and leave spaces for our listeners to put a part of their lives into the song, so they can grasp their own personal meaning and therefore experience the true emotion of the song
Jason: Awesome. Did you have any musical influences on this album?
Angel: Well, before the album most of us were into a lot of underground music, like bands we've played with but right before we went to record we all just started listening to more and more things that seemed out of the ordinary for us. This summer Radiohead's 'Hail to the Thief' came out. I was never a fan but my guitarist Derrick, had me listen and I was floored. Since then I just listen to anything that seems remotely interesting then I judge whether I like it or not. As for influences, we range from AC/DC, to Radiohead, to the Police, the Chili Peppers, you name it there's probably someone in the band who likes it.
Jason: How far do you want to take this band?
Angel: I want to be arguably one of the best bands in the world. Its an extreme goal, but this is what we love to do. Why not shoot for the stars? If we never succeed, at least I have my memories and my music.
Jason: Are your parents supportive of this endeavor?
Angel: Yeah, they actually helped us with our record release shows. Right now my mom is selling CDs to every and anyone who'll buy them. Our families are great, Ron's (drummer) dad actually jammed on track 4 of our album in Philly with us. He tore it up, he's an awesome guitarist.
Jason: So the album doesn’t actually hit stores until the 23rd? What happened with that?
Angel: Um, distribution conflict. Its just beyond our control. But March 23rd is the date so mark your calendars (again).
Jason: Awesome. I can’t wait for the world to hear it
Angel: Neither can I. and we've been waiting for a really long time. I hope everyone takes to it well. It’s different. It’s not like some of the stuff thy are used to hearing.
Jason: Exactly
Angel: But I think that’ll work for us.
Jason: What do you think you guys do to stand apart?
Angel: Um, simplicity.
Jason: Ah, I remember what I was going to ask. Have you had any (professional) vocal training?
Angel: No I haven’t, but I am a theatre and choir buff. So yeah, I don’t know how to use my vocal a little bit. I’ve been singing for a hell of a long time.
Jason: Who named the band?
Angel: Actually, Brad and I are the oldest members. Days Like These was actually in existence before most of the members were even in the band. So it’s just a name we had when we first joined up. We thought about changing it but it just fits us and people already know us by it so it here to stay.
Jason: Why is music such a huge part of your life?
Angel: It’s what I grew up on. Music is a huge part of many peoples lives. I love performing. I’m an artist and this is my art. It’s my way of securing my part in this world, to leave something behind for the future to hear. After we are all gone ya know. So here’s my question to you. What do you think about the album? What’s your take?
Jason: I love it. It was exactly what I was looking for when I didn’t have anything else to listen to. I was knocked on my ass. I have some demo around here from you guys from a few years ago and I was really not expecting this. It has a familiar yet unique sound, hard yet melodic. It's just an all around solid album from start to finish
Angel: Sweet! I’m happy you enjoyed listening and thanks for listening.
Jason: Yeah, I don’t become a fan of a lot of what I hear on a daily basis, but I def. really like this disc.
Jason: How soon to you’re going to hit the road you think?
Angel: We are thinking about late April or early May. Until then we are doing regional shows. We are actually headlining The August Comma anniversary show at The Balcony of The Troc in Philly. It’s March 14th, a Sunday. The doors open at 5:00 I believe. It’s us, Suicide Pact, All Rights Reserved, and Rose Red. It should be fun.
Jason: What do you see the next big step being for the band? Just getting out there to everyone?
Angel: Touring, building a legit fan base, then finding a reliable booking agent so we can get to bigger crowds more people. That’s about it.
Jason: Sounds perfect man.
Angel: Any other questions?
Jason: I think that’s everything actually. I’m trying to rack my brain Anything else you would like to say?
Angel: Um, thanks to everyone who helped in support of us and the album. Thanks to you Jason and Chris March for checking us and giving us your input, and for being awesome people. Thanks to Lobster for giving us a chance. Look out for 'Charity Burns Green' in stores March 23rd. Listen to as much music as you possibly can, all different types, broaden your horizons. For free music go to here (http://www.purevolume.com/daysliketheselobsterrecords), if you want to learn more about us go to daysliketheserock.com (http://www.daysliketheserock.com) or lobsterrecords.com thank you once again.