Jason Tate
08/11/08, 12:26 PM
Want more Straylight Run (http://www.absolutepunk.net/straylightrun)? We're streaming a new song on the band's profile (http://www.absolutepunk.net/straylightrun). The band's new EP hits iTunes on September 16th (http://www.absolutepunk.net/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=6391&c=3).
Can you tell us a little about the new direction, line-up, and thoughts behind the new material? What is it like recording without Michelle, why a three song digital EP, and what differentiates the new music from your past work?
Will: the new direction to me is new and exciting, yet it also seems more natural than anything we've done before. i guess since day one we've been surprising listeners as well as ourselves; never releasing the same song twice.
our last record left us wanting more from the standard cycle that bands have been following for years... there is just so much lag time between when a band first writes a song (when they are most excited about it) and when they get to release it and then perform it live. it seems that by the time an audience gets to know and love a song, the band is sick of it. we are hoping to shorten that gap by releasing a few digital EPs over the course of a year, so when we tour to support them, the music is fresh for both us and our audience, and we can all share the same excitement and exhilaration.
i think we were all a little anxious going into the studio without michelle, but it also reminded me of the very beginnings of the band where we recorded some of the songs as a three piece. in fact, john and shaun had done some of the demos before the three of us had gotten together. similarly to the unique end result, the writing and recording process always varies... sometimes john will show us a 99% finished song..and other times ideas will grow between us. having squire involved as a producer was a huge help as well.
Will your live performance change now that Michelle has left the band?
John: Of course it will.
Will: since day one we've always recorded more parts than we could ever imagine playing live. that's why occasionally we'll have a second guitarist, pianist, or cellist out with us. in the past we've
rearranged songs for playing live, sometimes we've used backing tracks for drum loops, percussion, horns and strings, sometimes we've stripped songs down to acoustic versions. its always different.
Shaun: We've decided to try this thing as a three piece for awhile. We haven't started practicing yet so I'm not sure what direction our songs will take. I assume everything will come out a bit more raw, but hopefully more exciting as well. Obviously we aren't planning on playing any of Michelle's songs without her. You can get a good idea of changes we've made on our headline tour that starts September 9, in Baltimore MD!
Where do you see the band going from here? Are you guys searching for a new record label? What direction do you see your music and band taking in the future?
Shaun: I hope this EP gets us back on track to start regaining some of the momentum we've had in the past. We are not at all searching for another record label. We're all every excited to see how releasing and owning all of our own music works out. We're not sure what direction our music will take in the future. This EP came about very naturally and captures a style of music the three of us enjoy creating right now. I don't know what we'll want to do a few months down the road.
Will: everything seems to be following the footsteps of the very beginning stages of our band when there was this excitement of endless possibilities. we're excited to see how the band grows and develops from the position we're in. like shaun said, we're definitely in no rush to be tied up with label.
What bands are you guys currently enjoying? Do the bands you listen to influence your own sound and albums?
John: I've been listening to Bob Dylan a lot lately. I've listened to 'Bringing It All Back Home' almost every day for the past week or so. The bands we listen to influence our sound but I think we are very aware that we don't want to be a second rate version of the bands we idolize so we try not to let our influences show too much.
Will: i just recently started listening to a band from west chester ny called "moving mountains".
Will there be a new full length album in the future?
John: The full length will compile those EP's and add a couple of new songs and will come with a bunch of extra material like b sides and demos and possibly documentary footage.
Will: yea, our plan is to treat a full length as more of a box set of EPs that we release throughout the year to allow us and our fans to be more on the same page in terms of our music.
Are you proud of all your releases? It seems the first album had the drama of Victory hovering over it, and the second was kind of swallowed by a major label. Would you have done anything different?
John: We are proud of all our releases. It's funny though how you can be tempted into thinking you shouldn't be proud of what you've done. You hear a certain amount of criticism and start to think too much about it and you start second guessing everything. You start to think of all the things you could've done differently based on other peoples opinions. We've tried to get past all that and at this point I think we can say that whatever happened with any of our albums we did what we wanted to do as best we could and that's something to be proud of.
Will: each release has been extremely unique and i think we're all proud of them for different reasons. the only thing i personally would've done differently is i would have never signed to universal.
How far along is Michelle in her solo recordings? Have you heard any material?
Shaun: Michelle is recording demos right now. They sound great, and I've done a little more than just listen to them ; ). I'm very excited for her project. I think it's going to be a better, more fully realized extension of songs you've heard from her in the past.
Will: i've only heard a few songs, but its going to be such an amazing record.
Seeing as there are only three songs on the upcoming EP - can you tell us a little about each one? What was the inspiration for the lyrics? Musically did you try anything differently?
John: "Wait and Watch" was lyrically inspired by something in me that just gave up at a certain point. The basic acoustic version of that song was written in about ten or fifteen minutes. It was one of those songs that just sort of created itself because of things I was thinking and feeling.
"Try" is in a lot of ways the opposite of "Wait and Watch". Lyrically it's much more self conscious and straight forward and it's about struggling with something rather than giving up on it. It was the
first song we worked on after the last album and I think for us the lyrics and the music were about getting back to something basic that we could use as a starting point for where we would go next.
The lyrics for "Ten Ton Shoes" I think were inspired by weeks of watching cable news at four o'clock in the morning. Like "Wait and Watch" it kind of just came out in a short burst after building in me
for a long time. I felt a sort of relief after it was written. Like I had gotten something off my chest.
Musically we did a few things differently. One thing we did was to try to streamline things. Sometimes that meant simplifying parts and sometimes that meant removing parts completely. Another thing we did was to focus a lot more on keeping the energy level of the songs up. We also
went in to the studio with a lot less planned out ahead of time to try to capture some more spontaneity and excitement in the recordings. Two of the songs actually have bridges that we made up completely from scratch in the studio. We've never done anything like that before.
Where do you think the music industry is headed - is it hard to be a group of somewhat "older" musicians watching a bunch of young powerpop kids sign record deals? After your experiences in this industry - what advice would you have for young musicians?
john: I wish any young band trying to make it the best of luck but I don't have any advice to give. I ignored most of the good advice I was given and most of the good advice I've given to others has been ignored. Everyone just does what they feel they have to and in the end no one knows how it will turn out.
Shaun: I have no idea where this crazy music industry is headed. As long as I am blessed with making a living in it I don't really care. It seems like bands that have a strong DIY work ethic can remain prosperous and profitable even when the industry as a whole is falling apart. I have no problem with young power pop kids signing record deals. Hell, I guess I was one of those "powerpop" kids when TBS signed our deal with Victory back in 2001! As for advice, I'd just say make decisions based on making your band happy. Don't ever be afraid to say NO! Most importantly, if you're paying someone to work for you and they aren't performing to your standards; fire them ASAP!
Your upcoming tour includes some bands that are different than your sound - is this on purpose?
Will: for better or for worse, we've never really been able to find another band that sounds like us.
A huge thank you to the band and Dayna for setting up this interview and all the users for sending in questions.
Can you tell us a little about the new direction, line-up, and thoughts behind the new material? What is it like recording without Michelle, why a three song digital EP, and what differentiates the new music from your past work?
Will: the new direction to me is new and exciting, yet it also seems more natural than anything we've done before. i guess since day one we've been surprising listeners as well as ourselves; never releasing the same song twice.
our last record left us wanting more from the standard cycle that bands have been following for years... there is just so much lag time between when a band first writes a song (when they are most excited about it) and when they get to release it and then perform it live. it seems that by the time an audience gets to know and love a song, the band is sick of it. we are hoping to shorten that gap by releasing a few digital EPs over the course of a year, so when we tour to support them, the music is fresh for both us and our audience, and we can all share the same excitement and exhilaration.
i think we were all a little anxious going into the studio without michelle, but it also reminded me of the very beginnings of the band where we recorded some of the songs as a three piece. in fact, john and shaun had done some of the demos before the three of us had gotten together. similarly to the unique end result, the writing and recording process always varies... sometimes john will show us a 99% finished song..and other times ideas will grow between us. having squire involved as a producer was a huge help as well.
Will your live performance change now that Michelle has left the band?
John: Of course it will.
Will: since day one we've always recorded more parts than we could ever imagine playing live. that's why occasionally we'll have a second guitarist, pianist, or cellist out with us. in the past we've
rearranged songs for playing live, sometimes we've used backing tracks for drum loops, percussion, horns and strings, sometimes we've stripped songs down to acoustic versions. its always different.
Shaun: We've decided to try this thing as a three piece for awhile. We haven't started practicing yet so I'm not sure what direction our songs will take. I assume everything will come out a bit more raw, but hopefully more exciting as well. Obviously we aren't planning on playing any of Michelle's songs without her. You can get a good idea of changes we've made on our headline tour that starts September 9, in Baltimore MD!
Where do you see the band going from here? Are you guys searching for a new record label? What direction do you see your music and band taking in the future?
Shaun: I hope this EP gets us back on track to start regaining some of the momentum we've had in the past. We are not at all searching for another record label. We're all every excited to see how releasing and owning all of our own music works out. We're not sure what direction our music will take in the future. This EP came about very naturally and captures a style of music the three of us enjoy creating right now. I don't know what we'll want to do a few months down the road.
Will: everything seems to be following the footsteps of the very beginning stages of our band when there was this excitement of endless possibilities. we're excited to see how the band grows and develops from the position we're in. like shaun said, we're definitely in no rush to be tied up with label.
What bands are you guys currently enjoying? Do the bands you listen to influence your own sound and albums?
John: I've been listening to Bob Dylan a lot lately. I've listened to 'Bringing It All Back Home' almost every day for the past week or so. The bands we listen to influence our sound but I think we are very aware that we don't want to be a second rate version of the bands we idolize so we try not to let our influences show too much.
Will: i just recently started listening to a band from west chester ny called "moving mountains".
Will there be a new full length album in the future?
John: The full length will compile those EP's and add a couple of new songs and will come with a bunch of extra material like b sides and demos and possibly documentary footage.
Will: yea, our plan is to treat a full length as more of a box set of EPs that we release throughout the year to allow us and our fans to be more on the same page in terms of our music.
Are you proud of all your releases? It seems the first album had the drama of Victory hovering over it, and the second was kind of swallowed by a major label. Would you have done anything different?
John: We are proud of all our releases. It's funny though how you can be tempted into thinking you shouldn't be proud of what you've done. You hear a certain amount of criticism and start to think too much about it and you start second guessing everything. You start to think of all the things you could've done differently based on other peoples opinions. We've tried to get past all that and at this point I think we can say that whatever happened with any of our albums we did what we wanted to do as best we could and that's something to be proud of.
Will: each release has been extremely unique and i think we're all proud of them for different reasons. the only thing i personally would've done differently is i would have never signed to universal.
How far along is Michelle in her solo recordings? Have you heard any material?
Shaun: Michelle is recording demos right now. They sound great, and I've done a little more than just listen to them ; ). I'm very excited for her project. I think it's going to be a better, more fully realized extension of songs you've heard from her in the past.
Will: i've only heard a few songs, but its going to be such an amazing record.
Seeing as there are only three songs on the upcoming EP - can you tell us a little about each one? What was the inspiration for the lyrics? Musically did you try anything differently?
John: "Wait and Watch" was lyrically inspired by something in me that just gave up at a certain point. The basic acoustic version of that song was written in about ten or fifteen minutes. It was one of those songs that just sort of created itself because of things I was thinking and feeling.
"Try" is in a lot of ways the opposite of "Wait and Watch". Lyrically it's much more self conscious and straight forward and it's about struggling with something rather than giving up on it. It was the
first song we worked on after the last album and I think for us the lyrics and the music were about getting back to something basic that we could use as a starting point for where we would go next.
The lyrics for "Ten Ton Shoes" I think were inspired by weeks of watching cable news at four o'clock in the morning. Like "Wait and Watch" it kind of just came out in a short burst after building in me
for a long time. I felt a sort of relief after it was written. Like I had gotten something off my chest.
Musically we did a few things differently. One thing we did was to try to streamline things. Sometimes that meant simplifying parts and sometimes that meant removing parts completely. Another thing we did was to focus a lot more on keeping the energy level of the songs up. We also
went in to the studio with a lot less planned out ahead of time to try to capture some more spontaneity and excitement in the recordings. Two of the songs actually have bridges that we made up completely from scratch in the studio. We've never done anything like that before.
Where do you think the music industry is headed - is it hard to be a group of somewhat "older" musicians watching a bunch of young powerpop kids sign record deals? After your experiences in this industry - what advice would you have for young musicians?
john: I wish any young band trying to make it the best of luck but I don't have any advice to give. I ignored most of the good advice I was given and most of the good advice I've given to others has been ignored. Everyone just does what they feel they have to and in the end no one knows how it will turn out.
Shaun: I have no idea where this crazy music industry is headed. As long as I am blessed with making a living in it I don't really care. It seems like bands that have a strong DIY work ethic can remain prosperous and profitable even when the industry as a whole is falling apart. I have no problem with young power pop kids signing record deals. Hell, I guess I was one of those "powerpop" kids when TBS signed our deal with Victory back in 2001! As for advice, I'd just say make decisions based on making your band happy. Don't ever be afraid to say NO! Most importantly, if you're paying someone to work for you and they aren't performing to your standards; fire them ASAP!
Your upcoming tour includes some bands that are different than your sound - is this on purpose?
Will: for better or for worse, we've never really been able to find another band that sounds like us.
A huge thank you to the band and Dayna for setting up this interview and all the users for sending in questions.