Michigan instrumental outfit, Lights At Sea bathe themselves in randomness and in turn grace us with lists of their many loves and influences. The band is currently writing music for their debut full-length which they hope to have ready by Winter 2009/Spring 2010. You can check out my review of the band’s fantastic Self-Titled debut here.
Indie/emo heart throbs Monument have decided to interview themselves for SAL’s Sound Off feature. These guys are really long-winded and name drop a lot of bands. It sucked doing the Tags for this post. Warning: this is the longest interview ever in the history of band interviews…but oh so entertaining! You can check out my review of the band’s most recent release, a 3 song 7-inch here. Monujamz!!
On this edition of Sound Off, Rapid Cities‘ John Terry talks about the trials and tribulations of an independent band trying to put out their debut record. This piece was written in late April. You can check out the Band Spotlight I did on the band here.
Today’s Sound Off is an interview with Shuteye Unison guitarist/vocalist Daniel Mckenzie (git/vox) conducted by Parks And Records‘ Mimi Fee. The band is currently recording the follow-up to their amazing debut.
If you don’t know the name Mike Law, you really should. He fronted the amazing, but truly underrated Eulcid. Now Law mans the helm for the equally great, but remarkably different New Idea Society. Mike was kind enough to answer some questions for SAL.
I recently talked with David Adedokun of The Daylight Hours last month. Here is the short Q&A.
Describe the band’s sound and major influences.
David: A lot of the record is rooted in alternative country. That sound seems to lend itself to good storytelling. And I love telling stories so I was anxious to see what I could do with it. As for the stuff I was listening to: Tom Petty, Damien Rice, Gram Parsons, Wheat, Josh Rouse…to name a few.
What is the songwriting process like for The Daylight Hours?
David: Songs usually begin with a solid lyric I find or a rough story I want to tell. Melody comes after I have a few good lines and I usually write choruses last. I often take forever to finish a song. They can sit for a year before they see completion, if they ever do at all. I analyze pretty carefully as I write because I find it hard to change things later when the song is done.
What’s the band’s opinion on file-sharing?
David: An artist at my stage in the game can’t really complain about having listeners regardless of how they come by his work. Once, in college, I did a cover of a song by a Canadian artist named Matthew Good. The guy playing on it with me put a recording on Napster. A few days ago someone told me they googled me and found that recording on an old blog belonging to some girl in Europe. Something kinda cool about that. But I don’t know… talk to me when I stand a chance to make a living at this and I might change my tune. Ha.
What’s on the horizon for The Daylight Hours?
David: I want people to hear this record, but I want to be smart about how I put it out there. So I want to get some people writing about it and downloading it. If it catches a few ears I’d love to take it on the road beyond my hometown. Meanwhile, I’m writing for the follow-up and playing shows here in Columbia (SC) with great bands passing through and some talented local bands too.
SAL Review of The Daylight Hour’s How To Make A Mess Of Things
I recently talked with Keith Latinen of Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate). Here is the short Q&A.
Describe the band’s sound and major influences.
Keith: I guess I would describe our sound as a throw-back to the mid-90’s emo bands. The really pretty, heart-on-your sleeve gut-wrenching stuff that when you listen to it, you can tell the artist is pouring their heart out. So it’s only natural for our influences to start there- we’re talking Mineral, American Football, Appleseed Cast, Penfold, old Jimmy Eat World, Death Cab For Cutie, and The Get Up Kids.
What is the songwriting process like for Empire Empire?
Keith: The project started as a solo-project for me, so the first entire EP I did everything – all the instruments as well as the recording. At that point, I would write in blocks, so I would write every part for the first 30 seconds or so, then start the next part with guitars and build it up again. We actually recorded the full-length the same way, only Cathy played guitar as well. Nowadays though, Cathy or I will bring something to practice, or we just start jamming and molding it into whatever form it naturally takes.
What’s the band’s opinion on file-sharing?
Keith: At this point I think it would be foolish to be against something that is essentially the greatest form of advertisement. I think file-sharing has already helped us gain exposure as a band. It’s sort of a loaded question though, because we are all broke, and recording and pressing, and just being in a band is really expensive. It would be nice to be paid for every song someone downloads, but file-sharing is here, and I think it can help us more than hurt us. If it brings out someone to a show or makes us another fan, then that’s way more important than getting some change from a download.
What’s on the horizon for Empire Empire?
Keith: Right now, I am finishing the vocals up for our full-length, which we hope to put out sometime this summer. Past that, we are booking a tour for May, and hope to just keep touring and making music as long as we can.
SAL Review of EE’s Year Of The Rabbit 7″
