Interviews

Sherri DuPree-Bemis & Stacy King, Eisley

Last Friday I caught Eisley at the Rock n' Roll Hotel here in Washington, DC. I'm a newcomer to their music, so after interviewing sisters and bandmembers Sherri DuPree-Bemis and Stacy DuPree-King, I wanted to check them out live. Leading up to the show, what struck me about their music was its strong melodic element. And live shows by a band whose lyrics I don't really know are a way to confirm this; the music just sounds good even though I may not be able to make out the lyrics. And that's what happened at the Eisley show that night.

What I heard Friday confirms what DuPree-Bemis and DuPree-King told me: that in the first stages of their songwriting process, melody comes naturally. It's so effortless, in fact, that DuPree-Bemis even writes songs in her sleep, literally, as you'll read. And according to DuPree-King, "The melody is a language in itself." Of course, it's not as if the four siblings and their cousin who make up the band are short on lyrical content: the band went through a professional divorce (from Warner Bros.) and a personal one as well (DuPree-Bemis divorced in 2007 before recently remarrying).

Indie Pop, Indie, Indie RockBen OpipariFebruary 21, 2011ambulance, eisley, sherri dupree bemis, smarter, stacy dupree king, the valley Comment

Haroula Rose

It takes only about five minutes of talking to Haroula Rose to realize the extent of her creativity. Sure, she is a fantastic singer and songwriter. But she's also involved in film making, is an active photographer, and voraciously consumes poetry. All of these creative endeavors can't help but strengthen her already considerable talents as a songwriter.

Rose graduated from the University of Chicago, where she majored in English and received her Master of Arts in Teaching. After graduation, she worked in a Chicago music house producing jingles for radio and television. She spent almost two years there before driving out to Los Angeles to work at a production company, where she spent time on film sets. After seven months in Los Angeles, she accepted a Fulbright scholarship to teach English and drama in Madrid.

Singer/SongwriterBen OpipariFebruary 18, 2011haroula rose, these open roadsComment

Bryan Giles, Red Fang

This site is woefully short on metal, which surprises me given that I grew up listening to the likes of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. My tastes have expanded, but I still love to revisit my roots (and play "Hallowed Be Thy Name" at ear-splitting levels). Sadly, the only other metal interview on this site is with J.D. Cronise of The Sword.

A few weeks ago I was at the Red Palace here in DC. Above the din of the bar, I heard a killer riff (you can always hear metal over crowd noise). I was mesmerized. I asked the bartender who the band was. "Red Fang," she replied. "They're from Portland, and they're awesome." And she's right. So last week I talked with Bryan Giles, one of the songwriters and guitarists in the band. He's in the passenger seat in the video below. Their new album Murder the Mountains(Relapse Records) drops in April, so read my interview with Giles about his creative process, including how endless repetition is an integral part of his songwriting.

Sargent House Records, Relapse Records, Rock, Hard Rock, MetalBen OpipariFebruary 15, 2011bryan giles, murder the mountains, prehistoric dog, red fang, relapse records, metal Comment

Nick Reinhart, Tera Melos

There’s nothing like a big ol’ crustacean to get you in the songwriting mood. That’s right. If you're a songwriter and need a creative nudge, you should try seeking inspiration in a nice lobster dinner. Because that’s what Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos did. At a restaurant. With his parents.

What’s fascinating about Reinhart is that he never lacks for inspiration. He has, in his words, “a vat of inspiration” in his head. When he mentioned that inspiration is everywhere for him, I couldn’t help but think that he talks like a poet, who sees wonderment in the most mundane of objects. So besides his crustacean-centric creative process, he gets inspired by going to Disneyland: Reinhart has an annual pass, and every time he returns home from a visit, he can’t wait to pick up his guitar.

Sargent House Records, Math Rock, IndieBen OpipariFebruary 14, 2011interview, nick reinhart, patagonian rats, sargent house, tera melosComment

Joy Williams and John Paul White, The Civil Wars

One of the reasons why The Civil Wars work so well is the effortless collaboration between its two members, Joy Williams and John Paul White. And it had better work well: they travel without a band, playing their music with just guitar and piano. Plus two beautiful voices.

What I found most unique about their creative process is its genesis. Most artists start with the music, and the words flow from that. A few, but not many, start with the words. The Civil Wars begin with both: when Williams and White get together (both are veteran songwriters and are not married to each other), White "noodles" on the guitar as they talk about what's going on in each of their lives. It's that combination of noodling and conversation that leads to the ideas for their songs. (Of course, I'd also argue that prolific output like this is due to their love of William Faulkner and Flannery OConnor, but that's another story.)

Singer/Songwriter, Americana, Grammy Winner, Folk Rock, FolkBen OpipariFebruary 11, 2011barton hollow, john paul white, joy williams, sensibility music, the civil warsComment

Jesper Anderberg, The Sounds

How can I not promote a songwriter who reads Shakespeare to prepare to write for his band's latest album? That's what Jesper Anderberg, keyboardist and songwriter for The Sounds, did. The band hails from Sweden, so English is not their native language. Anderberg read some Shakespeare, a man whose writing he admired for its lyrical quality; Midsummer Night's Dream was his favorite. According to Anderberg, you can almost sing the lines from that play.

The Sounds' newest effort, Something to Die For, will be out the end of March on SideOneDummy Records. It's the band's debut release for the label. (photo credit: Markku Anttila)

Indie, Indie Rock, Post Punk, New Wave, Synth PopBen OpipariFebruary 9, 2011better off dead, jesper anderberg, sideonedummy, something to die for, the sounds Comments

Brian Fallon (2011)

The next time you come across a song by The Gaslight Anthem, see it. And I don't mean watch it on YouTube. When it hits your ears, don't just listen to it. See it. Because I have a feeling that's what Brian Fallon wants. He may be a songwriter, but he talks like a poet. He says that "imagery is more important than content" in his songs. Most all of his songs start with scenery, and his job as the songwriter is to describe what it looks like, to get you the listener to see the imagery that Fallon conveys with his words. It's no surprise he writes this way, once you know his favorite poet: Dylan Thomas. As you'll read, Fallon used lines from a Dylan Thomas short story to describe his new side project Horrible Crowes.

I'm assuming that the whole Gaslight Anthem thing will work out for Brian Fallon. He writes great songs and they put on a great live show. But there's a part of me that thinks he'd make one hell of a poet. Sure, this inteview is long. I even trimmed some. But every introspective answer is a window into a fascinating creative process.

Punk, Rock, Singer/Songwriter, SideOneDummy Records, Folk RockBen OpipariFebruary 3, 201159 sound, brian fallon, gaslight anthem, great expectations, horrible crowes, interview, sideonedummy, the gaslight anthem Comment

Chris Farren

Chris Farren, the vocalist and guitarist for Fake Problems, is a disciplined man when it comes to songwriting. When he's in one of his "writing cycles," he gets up early, eats, takes care of distractions, then sits down to write. In fact, he compares this process to an "office job."

And when he writes, he almost always begins with a single line in his head, not music. That's something that I haven't heard too often from the songwriters on this site, who usually begin a song with a guitar and music, letting the lyrics emerge from the chord progressions. And this discipline is reflected in how Farren's songs are created: he writes them in a linear fashion, in the same manner you hear them as a finished product.

Indie, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Punk, SideOneDummy RecordsBen OpipariJanuary 31, 2011chris farren, fake problems, real ghosts caught on tape, sideonedummyComment

Michael and Kevin Bacon: The Bacon Brothers

I recently interviewed Michael and Kevin Bacon (yes, that Kevin Bacon) for the Baltimore Sun in advance of their sold-out shows in Annapolis performing as the Bacon Brothers. This is no hobby for these guys; the Bacon Brothers have been together since 1995 and have put out six albums. They've been playing music for most of their lives, and Michael is a sought-after composer. Keeping in line with this site, I interviewed them about their songwriting process. I imagine they were relieved; one commenter on the site said that it was the first interview he had read with the band that didn't mention Footloose.

Folk Rock, Country RockBen OpipariJanuary 27, 2011bacon brothers, kevin bacon, michael bacon, the bacon brothers Comment

Jesse Tabish, Other Lives

Stillwater, Oklahoma is not the hotbed of indie music in the way that Los Angeles and New York are. But let's face it, the reality of the music business is that many indie artists struggle financially. And living on the expensive coasts doesn't help matters.

So what does Jesse Tabish, the singer and songwriter for Other Lives, do with the rest of the band? They live in Stillwater, where Tabish pays $370 a month in rent. It's an easy decision, really: he can spend more time on the creative process and less time making money by teaching guitar lessons. And that creative process was revamped for the new album, which Other Lives finished last week. It's their second album on TBD Records, having released their first in 2009. Whereas Tabish used to begin writing a song with the traditional guitar or piano, for this new album he started with "a simple medium like a single piano note or some sort of drone." According to Tabish, "I was tired of sitting down with an acoustic guitar and saying, 'I'm going to write a song today,' and falling on the same chord, the same movements."

Indie Rock, Indie, Indie PopBen OpipariJanuary 26, 2011jesse tabish, josh onstott, kunek, other lives, stillwater, tbd recordsComment

Peter Berkman, Anamanaguchi

"I see no point in being bored. I just don't understand the concept. So I'm always looking for things to occupy my time and get me excited," Peter Berkman, the songwriter for Anamanaguchi, told me. For fans who know the frenetic pace of their chiptune punk sound, and especially those who've heard it at their sweaty shows, this is no surprise. Anamanaguchi makes instrumental music from an unconventional source: a hacked NES system from 1985. But unlike other chiptune bands who rely solely on the sounds of the NES, Anamanaguchi uses that sound as a complement to their guitar, bass, and drums.

Berkman's personality mirrors his music: he's an excitable guy. And by that, I don't mean hyper. Instead, he finds wonderment in everything around him. He sees creativity--literally, an opportunity to create--in any object that he sees. An NES system? Let's play music! A ball on the shelf at Walmart in the middle of the midwest? Let's buy it, find a field, and play kickball! In Berkman, I heard a wide-eyed eagerness to make the most of his environment.

ElectronicBen OpipariJanuary 21, 20118 bit, anamanaguchi, dawn metropolis, nes, pete berkman, peter berkmanComment

Cullen Omori

f you happen to be in Chicago and see Smith Westerns’ Cullen Omori out at night—which isn’t very often—send the man home if you’d like to see the band’s next album be as good as the new release, Dye It Blonde, released January 18 on Fat Possum Records. By his own admission, Omori’s hometown isn’t that fun, so he tends to stay in a lot and write songs in his room. For inspiration, he listens to other bands—four different songs from four bands, to be precise—and thinks about incorporating those ideas into a song for Smith Westerns. But listening to other bands has its limitations: sometimes he’ll hear something so good from another band that what he subsequently writes just can’t compare. And that leads to writer’s block. What I found most interesting about the band’s creative process is their willingness to put song fragments aside, sometimes for months, then return to them with a new outlook. Sitting on songs, in Omori’s eyes, makes the band more confident in their songwriting.

Fat Possum Records, Mom + Pop Records, Indie Rock, IndieBen OpipariJanuary 17, 2011cullen omori, dye it blonde, fat possum, fat possum records, pitchfork, smith westernsComment

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