Category: Interviews (Page 7 of 11)

Interview: Eric of The Wild Honey Pie

June 27, 2013 / aftertheshow

I sat down with Eric Weiner, the founder of The Wild Honey Pie, to talk about running his Brooklyn-based music site, managing bands, and organizing & promoting shows in New York.

After The Show: The Wild Honey Pie puts on shows. What does that process of organizing and promoting a show entail from start to finish?

Eric: A lot of times we’ll have artists come to us and say ‘we’re coming to New York at this date, we’d love for you to curate the show.’ And I’ll book the venue, I’ll book the rest of the bands, negotiate what they’re going to get paid, figure out if we can bring on some sponsors for it so we can pay them some more and get the word out in that respect, and then from there it’s just about making it an event instead of just a concert.

So we’ll work with our illustrators to make a beautiful poster, we’ll promote it on the website, email blasts, Twitter, Facebook. It started with putting together great line-ups and hoping that those bands would sell out the show, but now more than ever before we’re bringing out people to these shows and exposing them to these bands, and very carefully putting together the line-up so that we can expose each band’s fans to each other.

I really like Knitting Factory and Mercury Lounge…what are the best venues in NY for both bands and audiences?

I think Cameo Gallery has made some huge strides. It went from being a really beautiful venue that was sort of hidden, and now they’re taking some great steps and making it a staple of the NY music scene. I’ll never turn down a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg – love it. Glasslands is great…Shea Stadium is a cool DIY. Living Room is a nice show depending on who you’re seeing, and same with Rockwood – great venue.

The Wild Honey Pie has a social media presence on Vimeo, Hype Machine, Twitter, Facebook, SoundCloud, YouTube, Foursquare, Tumblr…Is it important to reach all those platforms, or does it fragment your audience at all?

No…I do think Vimeo and YouTube fragments it. We’ve decided that YouTube is our platform – we don’t really upload to Vimeo anymore, although I do love what they have, YouTube subscribers are more important than people who follow you on Vimeo. It’s just the way it is.

Each platform does something different, so I think it’s important to have a presence on all including SoundCloud and Spotify. Spotify for example, I think we went from 400 followers to about 1500 in a month, so that number has become increasingly important.

Are you personally spending the time to update all those different platforms?

It’s not like it’s a part of the job – it just has to be a part of your life. With our social platforms, it’s important for me to have a very personal relationship with our readers and viewers. I personally manage all the social platforms…it’s important to have that personal element; it’s a person doing it as opposed to a machine.

How do you discover new bands?

We get a lot of emails. That’s how I’ve found some of my favorite artists. Some press releases from different PR agencies. Word of mouth, Bandcamp searches, SoundCloud searches, YouTube searches. Again, part of your life. It has to kind of run through your blood that you want to go out and find these artists and that it gives you some kind of intrinsic reward.

Some people like discovering and choosing songs much more than doing licensing paperwork & contracts. What parts of your music coordinator job at MTV job did you like most?

I really enjoyed placing music. I would get the episodes without music and tell the editor ‘here’s three songs to try here, here’s three songs to try there.’ That process of taking a scene without music and giving life to it – music is another character.

Do you read Lefsetz Letter? He said recently that music curation, as opposed to music tech, is not scalable, which I thought was an interesting idea. What’s your revenue model?

There’s a lot and I think that’s a good thing for us. We do a lot of different things – it all falls under the same umbrella – management, event promotion, video production, ad revenue, merchandise. There’s a few things I can’t reveal right now just because it’s in the works that are larger revenue streams that are really exciting.

You do so much – supervision, video production, concert promotion, artist management…what are your goals for the future – do you eventually want to focus on one area?

I think it’s about continuing to build The Wild Honey Pie. It’s about continuing to work creatively with other people who do similar things to me but also artists that I love and want to support. And getting to a place where we can post an article and have a substantial positive effect on their career, because we don’t waste our time writing negative reviews. We don’t waste our time talking about any bands that we don’t love.

Thanks Eric. Check out The Wild Honey Pie + follow @TheWildHoneyPie + Facebook.

Interview: Stacy of Eisley

June 20, 2013 / aftertheshow

Stacy King of Eisley answered some questions about the band’s new album Currents, changing up songs when playing live, and transitioning from a kid musician to an adult musician.

Eisley is currently on tour with Say Anything — catch them tonight and tomorrow at Irving Plaza in NYC.

After The Show: Lyrically the songs on Currents are more whimsical and figurative than the songs on The Valley. Was it a conscious decision to move in that less literal/straightforward direction?

Stacy: Yes, I think the lyrics are overall just a bit brighter. I think it made for a nice change from The Valley where we were going through some hard personal things. We were angry at a lot of people. Now that we’re in a better place I feel that it’s reflected in both the music and lyrics.

On Currents, I really like the choir effect at the end of “Save My Soul,” as well as “Real World” and “Lost Enemies.” What songs do you most connect with on the new album?

We are big fans of the choir! We grew up all singing together so I feel that it represents our family’s history. I connect a lot with “Millstone” because it was Chauntelle’s first contribution in so many years and I feel very proud of her.

When playing live, you add an intro to “I Could Be There For You,” and several years ago Weston added an amazing drum fill after the bridge of “My Lovely.” How do you decide to make little instrumental or vocal variations when playing live?

The intro to “ICBTFY” just came about because I felt like the show needed something new and we didn’t have any new songs to debut at the time. It’s hard to find ways to add something completely new and different so I thought I’d just build off of a song. Kind of like a prequel.

You were 14 when Warner signed Eisley – being a kid and the youngest sibling in the band, how has the transition to being an adult in a band been? Especially now that you have a family of your own, does it feel like a completely different life/experience?

It was sort of hard in the early days. I often felt a lot of pressure to succeed and please everyone. There were so many forces trying to shape who I was as an artist but after everything I’ve gone through (in regards to all of that) and by failing a few times, I’ve learned to not fear so much. It’s good to be pliable and listen and learn but deep down, you just have to trust yourself.

You recorded Combinations in Malibu – what do you remember about that experience?

It was sort of depressing and beautiful. We were in a gorgeous environment next to the beach but I felt so much pressure and pessimism in regards to the record and the label we were on. There was so much money being spent and people breathing down our necks. I just remember feeling stressed but I have tons of fond memories of us as a band hanging out, laughing… we made some great memories!

Sucre’s “Place To Be” cover worked perfectly, as did your “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” and “Lion’s Mane” covers. Given that so many great songs exist, what are your criteria for picking the right ones to cover?

I chose songs that are very special to me. Both Stevie Nicks and Nick Drake have played an integral part in my development as a song writer and inspired me so much. That’s why I like to sing them; I just feel honored and grateful.

+ Check out Eisley’s upcoming tour dates

Interview: Lynn Perko-Truell

June 6, 2013 / aftertheshow

I had an excellent conversation with Lynn Perko-Truell, the drummer of Imperial Teen, about the band’s upcoming Europe shows, soon-to-be-released music video, and her experience living through the changing music scenes of the 1980s to today.

Photo Credit: Pat Chen
nrrtr.co

After The Show: That’s great that Feel the Sound comes out in the UK next week – how are you feeling about playing the Isle of Wight festival and the London show?

Lynn Perko-Truell: We’re excited – we haven’t done a show in the UK for probably a decade. I’m not sure how we got in the Isle of Wight mix – we were pretty surprised. It wasn’t really on my radar, so we’re looking forward to it. And then we’re playing a small club in London called The Borderline…two totally different types of shows.

Congratulations on making the Spin 100 Greatest Drummers list a couple weeks ago. I know you were in The Wrecks as a teen…how did you realize that you wanted to play drums professionally?

Once I got started it was really a different connection to music. I had been a music fan with radio and some pop but I was more into rock like Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Neil Young. I went to my first punk rock show, a band called 7 Seconds, in Reno. I was so close and could feel the energy. Hardcore/punk rock in the early ‘80s was really pop – so many sing-alongs with the choruses and getting people involved. I can still picture myself in that basement and that blissful feeling I had.

I got my first kit when I was probably 17, and I wish I still had it because it was a classic Ludwig kit. I moved to San Francisco to try and be in music in a bigger city and be around a bigger population. The scene was so supportive and I just felt like a drummer, not a ‘girl drummer.’ Drumming sort of chose me too – I couldn’t help it. I just loved it.

Can you talk a little about your process recording drums in the studio?

It’s changed, the whole recording process, as you know. You feel a lot of pressure because you have to play it perfectly. If you hit the wrong cymbal or did the wrong roll you had to live with it. They can just do it digitally now – that takes a lot of that pressure off. I recorded the drums live in the studio (for the last album). It’s still really satisfying when you know you don’t have to do it again and again. I always set my kit up the same when I play live, absolutely.

There’s a YouTube video of you drumming with Dinosaur Jr. for a tv show in Europe – how did that come about?

That was really cool. Sister Double Happiness [Lynn’s old band] was playing a show in San Francisco and J [Mascis] was there. Murph, the drummer for Dinosaur Jr., had broken some bone so he needed somebody to do this big TV show called The Word, which was really popular at the time. They asked my manager if I had a passport, and I went over there and found out it was live to an audience…over 2 million people! We practiced for a couple hours before – that’s the only time we played it. And J and I are still friends to this day – I see him a lot.

 I just read that the venue Maxwells is closing next month…is a live album something you might want to do again?

Oh in Hoboken? That’s so sad. That was really well captured on that album [Live At Maxwell’s – 2002]. I don’t know that we’d want to do that again, with everything on YouTube. I don’t have any desire to do a live album.

 I noticed that when you play “Don’t Know How You Do It” live, you postpone the snare and play tambourine instead, which sounds so good.

Oh good, does it? I’ve never listened back to that. We chose to do that just to set a different mood live. It’s one of my favorite songs on the record. Roddy and I both get to play tambourine together which is really a dream come true.

Photo Credit: Marina Chavez

What can you share about the upcoming Imperial Teen music video?

It should be out by the 9th – it’s for “No Matter What You Say.” An old friend of mine – his name is Norman, he used to be the editor of that magazine called Alternative Press – now he works at Warner Brothers with Kimbra, a really popular singer.

This guy, Guy Franklin, does all of Kimbra’s videos. He really likes the song “No Matter What You Say.” He lives in Australia and he knows Emily Browning, this up and coming actress. It’s a fascinating video to me – it doesn’t move really quickly at all. Her acting – you can see so much emotion in her face. I’ve never met Guy and I’ve never met Emily (we’re not in the video).

Can’t wait to watch. I was thinking about your line “then and now seems like a different scene.” Does it feel like you live two separate lives, or are your music and family roles a little more intertwined?

They are totally two different lives. I have three kids and a pretty busy husband and a house that’s chaotic, so getting out of here and getting everything organized and everyone’s schedule figured out… That song comes from the place of my first band and that solidarity and living as a musician, and everything was about playing music and getting on the road and seeing shows. And now, it’s like a machine, it’s scheduled. Life changes as you get older and you can’t do the things you used to do. And also I don’t have that same community – my community is split in many different ways.

 Have there been any unexpected benefits of being a mom and a musician, and how do you balance your time between running a household/family and doing music?

I am forced to listen to [mainstream] pop music more. The kids think it’s cool that I’m in a band…that’s kind of fun but they don’t really care that much, honestly. We watch The Voice together, it’s fun.

I haven’t been writing much at all lately. I have a studio in my basement – I don’t practice that much at all. I have little stuff on my computer I’ve written down because it was in my head, but right now it’s not much of a balancing act. I’ve been playing so long that all the old Imperial Teen songs, we don’t even have to think about those songs, mechanically, when we’re playing.

“It’s You” and “Shim Sham” both seem to be about the passage of time and friendship enduring that passage of time. Why do you like to explore those themes in your songwriting?

I guess it’s just pretty natural when I think about how I’ve really had a lot of luck in many ways – being able to tour so much and be part of that whole grunge movement – seeing the best and worst of it, and moving into a pop/major label culture, getting ‘played on the radio for real’ culture.

The passage of time and where my life has taken me, from running from one show to the next, to now the whole family life which is something you can’t imagine ‘til you’re living it. So I guess I just can’t help it. That music and that creative outlet for me is so important. We [Imperial Teen] are a family, the four of us. We have a tight knit between us and we’re lucky to have each other.

Yeah I love “Too many songs we sang are left unsung / Another dream unwritten / The record’s done.”

We have tapes and cassettes –‘cause we’re so old fashioned [laughs] – of parts of songs. There were so many pieces of songs that never were completed, so that’s where that comes from.

Are there any Imperial Teen songs you haven’t played in a long time but want to? 

Yeah we just started playing “Room With A View” again, that was good. Here’s my iPod I have to look at some songs to answer that. I listen to them when I’m doing the dishes [laughs]. I like that song “Fallen Idol” and I really like “Captain.” And “City Song” is fun too.

You’ve witnessed such drastic paradigm shifts and fluctuations in the music industry – are you more discouraged or encouraged by the current state of the business?

I’m encouraged by it. I think to be discouraged would sort of be unwilling to accept the changes and I don’t want to be that person. I think it’s really cool how so many bands can get their music out now. It does put out the pipe dream of being discovered by a major label and getting advances. I lived through that time – we spent so much money on a Sister Double Happiness record and it was a debacle and led to our demise. I appreciate Merge Records and XL and labels that are having such success because those are real music lovers who started those labels. It’s coming from a really pure place – it’s not so much business as the integrity of the music and the artist.

Thanks Lynn! Imperial Teen plays London 6/18 at The Borderline and Isle of Wight 6/16.

Feel The Sound is out in the UK this Monday 6/10.

Interview: Roddy Bottum

May 8, 2013 / aftertheshow

Roddy Bottum of Imperial Teen and Faith No More kindly answered questions about scoring for films, the joy of being in Imperial Teen, and what the band will play at their upcoming shows (May 24th San Francisco & May 25th LA).

After The Show: The 4 of you in Imperial Teen evenly split all songwriting credit, so how do you decide who sings lead vocals on any given song? Like do you sing “You’re One” because you brought the idea for it to the group?

Roddy Bottum: we’ve done that all different ways. usually it’s whoever happens to be at the microphone takes over. we write a lot of our lyrics together. will has the strongest singing voice so we usually let him take over in that department. but if it’s a super unique perspective that i feel comes from me i’ll insist on singing.

the girls mostly sing backups but lynn has sung leads on a couple songs in the past. usually ideas that she has brought to the table.

You’ve lived in LA, NY, & SF over the years…How do their music scenes differ, and was one place/time better for you as a musician?

SF was such a beautiful place back when i lived there. it was affordable more than anything and all different types of artists could get by and make music and rent spaces at affordable prices. i remember paying $160 a month for rent on 16th street in the mission. that was with six roommates but still…. such affordable housing doesn’t exist anymore and it’s changed the demographic.

LA is more serious minded, if you want to get into the music biz, it’s clearly a good option. there’s SO much work there. a lot of it is sketchy stupid hollywood television crap but there is a lot of opportunity. NYC is a nut i haven’t cracked yet. i’ve just moved there temporarily and am looking for my niche. i do know there is more culture and inspiration there for me now. there are vibrant classical progressive scenes and theater, obviously, and opera. i’m into opera. i’m going to write an opera and a musical next year in NYC.

When you’re scoring, what are your goals/responsibilities and how do you work?

all scoring jobs are different. my favorite ones are when i’m left alone and the director or producers trust me and let me do my own thing. that’s a unique and wonderful situation. i do stuff on the computer and play stuff and record it. whatever works. it’s all about pleasing the big project at the end of the day.

How do you inject your own essence/personality into a score while also respecting what the director wants for the project?

i usually feel pretty strongly about the notion that the director has hired me to be me. it’s really all i can bring to a project, myself. that said, i kind of just try to keep it as honestly pleasing to myself as i can. sometimes i feel a little misunderstood and there’s some rewriting that gets done but for the most part it’s all about making my personality or perspective heard.

At recent shows you’ve played new songs from Feel The Sound as well as older favorites like “Million $ Man,” “Sugar,” and “Yoo Hoo.” Are there any plans for the upcoming shows to add in other old songs like “Pig Latin” or “My Spy”?

we were practicing ‘pig latin’ for a little bit. ‘my spy’ i don’t think we ever played live. we’re playing ‘our time’ and ‘room with a view’ this time around. those feel really good and we’re attempting another song off of FEEL THE SOUND. we haven’t done it yet but it was sounding good at practice. and another old song we hadn’t played in a long time.

It seems so rare for a band to stay productive, friendly, and positive over decades. What is it about your 4 personalities / work ethics / attitudes that makes IT a strong, fun band nearly 20 years after forming?

we have a lot of respect for each other and we really make each other laugh. we have a short hand language that we resort to that gets a lot of mileage. we’re a family that doesn’t really tire of each other. it’s still so much fun. we only do it for that joy of it. we certainly don’t make money doing what we do.

Did many Faith No More fans follow you to Imperial Teen? The two bands seem very different stylistically.

there are usually a couple of FNM fans in the house. that band really pushed the envelope as far as diversity goes. to the FNM fans’ credit… they are super open minded and usually get something out of what IT does. totally, though, night and day stylistically.

“Room With A View” and “Baby and the Band” sound like autobiographical stories of IT…so does “It’s You” to a lesser extent…

i think we only really write autobiographically. there were a couple tell all’s on this last record. we sometimes come from a ‘veiled’ perspective but usually tell it like it is and wear our hearts mostly on our collective sleeve. we aren’t great at writing about other people. pretty narcissistic.

What’s one of your favorite lyrics you’ve ever written?

i really like, ‘the hawk bit the chicken…. killing boys but giving birth to men.’ i’m good at writing lyrics. i wish i did it more. that’s why i got to write a musical.

Imperial Teen has some rare, out of print songs like “Pretty,” “Sweet and Touching,” and the cover “Shayla.” Any chance that newer fans can somehow hear those songs?

probably not a chance in hell. a couple of our records are out of print and we don’t have any of that old vinyl left.

How has your attitude/approach to songwriting changed over the years…have you noticed any major shifts from when you were 25 vs when you were 45?

my stylistic approach has changed a lot. i’m bored with the 4/4 time signature, honestly, and i like to confuse it up a lot more than i used to. it used to bug me when rhythms were confusing but now i like it. i also am open more to sounds as opposed to riffs. but i still really like a cheeky perspective. that sounds kind of lame but i think you know what i mean.

Does it matter to you how Feel The Sound has done commercially? It deserves so much more commercial success, and it’s on Merge. Do you think there’s some bias against older musicians amongst the more youth-centric indie demographic?

i was surprised and am always surprised when our stuff doesn’t catch on like wild fire. i love what we do and it always seems super likable to me. i don’t think there’s a bias against older musicians as much as there is a really short collective attention span. people like ‘new.’ that’s clear. i like new too but i also am a really loyal fan. i will see bands that i loved back when again and again and again. i saw frightwig and killing joke both last weekend and couldn’t have been happier… something about that time in your life… your twenties. the wallop of familiarity.

Care to share the meaning of “Seven”? Was it inspired by your sister?

yeah, it was about my sister. how she was younger and always taking care of me. that dichotomy. a younger person taking care of an older person, being wiser. it kind of reads sad, does it?

Thanks Roddy! Check out RoddyBottum.com & Roddy’s Twitter + ImperialTeen.com

Interview with Allie Gonino

May 7, 2013 / aftertheshow

Allie Gonino is one-third of the band The Good Mad and plays Laurel on ABC Family’s The Lying Game. Allie talks about recording in Nashville, songs she uses to help get into character, and what she learned from opening for Justin Bieber.

After The Show: What was your experience like recording The Good Mad’s EP in Nashville?

Allie Gonino: I had such a blast recording ALTA. The first smart thing we did was hire Phil Swann to produce it. He kept things moving swiftly, and put together a really good mix. His energy is so fun to have around, so the recording process was always light and enjoyable for us. Another treat was getting to work with awesome studio musicians such as Joe Spivey and Paul Scholten.

It was amazing to watch/listen to Joe work, he played mandolin, dobro, bazooki, and banjo on ALTA. He added all the necessary touches needed to complete the feel of the EP. And Nashville in spring is definitely something to experience. Beautiful countryside and so many awesome places to hear live music and eat delicious food. I know that will always be a sacred memory for Adam, Andy, and me.

You play guitar, violin, mandolin, and piano – do you prefer one instrument over the others to compose on? What about playing live?

Believe it or not, I don’t do a ton of composing with instruments. I tend to enjoy writing songs with my voice, acapella. I’ve written a few songs on guitar, and they’re probably my more “marketable” songs. Playing live though, I definitely prefer the violin.

What’s the most challenging part about playing music as Laurel on The Lying Game? Is it hard to separate yourself from the character when you’re playing music (with a fictionalized version of your own band)?

Honestly, playing the musician side of Laurel is the least challenging aspect of that role because it is so close to real life. The only thing different between the way Laurel performs is that she’s a little more timid and less experienced. I don’t try to “put on” any act with Laurel, as opposed to when I perform, I’m telling a story, and I usually like to embellish. It’s always surreal because we do have so many similarities, and I believe life and art imitate each other.

Every character I play is a different aspect of myself, or at least, there are things that we definitely have in common. Part of keeping my head on straight is realizing I am already the woman I’ve always wanted to be. No character I play is separate from me, and ironically, no character I play is me. That’s the paradox.

Do you have any advice for teens about managing stress and balancing school with all the activities they do?

Yes, let’s talk about managing stress! First thing for managing stress is to stop eating sugar, and other foods/drinks that cause acidity in the body. Caffeine, cigarettes, alcohol, fried and processed food, red meat, drugs (both legal and otherwise), all create acidity. This doesn’t mean you should never consume these things, but combined with our public water quality – which is another conversation altogether – air pollution, social media obsession, relationship stress, and many more environmental factors, eliminating such dietary factors would be one smart way to lower stress levels.

Massage therapy, meditation, reading entertaining literature, laughing, dancing, and restful sleep are all great ways to keep balance. The body gets its most restful and repairing hours of sleep between 11pm and 8am. And the number one way to manage stress: mindful, deep breathing!

How does your songwriting process/collaboration work in The Good Mad?

A lot of the time we’ll write songs on our own and bring them to the rest of the members to put everyone’s scent on it. However, there definitely have been instances where we’ll get together and someone will bring a hook or a melody line, or lyrics and we’ll work on it. It’s different for every song. We just try to make the song sound the best that it can, no one person is trying to hog the attention. The most important thing is that the song feels whole and moves the way that feels best to us.

What did you learn opening for Justin Bieber, performing for crowds of 17,000 people a night?

I think most importantly, I learned I definitely want to play to crowds like that again. Alternatively, I’m so unbelievably grateful for that experience, that if it never happened again, I’d be fine. That’s not to say I’m not going to shoot for it though. It’s a rush like no other. I know I wouldn’t have been prepared for that kind of gig without all the experience I’d had leading up to that. I also learned how important it is to know how to operate a water gun.

What bands have you been listening to lately? Do you listen to certain songs to help get into character before filming a scene?

I’ve been listening to Feist’s Metals, Alt-J, and Nicki Bluhm a lot lately. Usually if I need to get in the mood to cry for a scene I’ll listen to a Coldplay song or two. Katy Perry’s “The One that Got Away” has been helpful in those times, as well as “Holocene” by Bon Iver. If I need to get pumped up though, Beyoncé and Emily Haines are my go-to ladies.

What Metric and Lana Del Rey songs do you most connect with?

All of them? Ha. Most recently Metric’s “Poster of a Girl” and “Synthetica” have been on repeat. As for Lana, “Video Games” is the song that totally captures the feeling of my early twenties. Not even so much in the lyrics, but more in its whole vibe. Sometimes, I imagine myself as an old woman listening to that song and feeling all the power behind it, and it makes me cry. Not in a sad way, but in a fond way.

Despite all the trials, terrors, mistakes, heart breaks… when you reflect on your memories, if you’ve lived a life you’ve loved, you’ll be filled with an overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude. That’s my favorite thing about music. Music is the closest technology we have to time travel.

Interview: Pierre de Reeder of Rilo Kiley

April 10, 2013 / aftertheshow

Pierre de Reeder After The Show Interview

Photo by Tom Moratto

Yesterday I spoke to Pierre de Reeder, bassist and founding member of Rilo Kiley, about Rkives (released via his record label Little Record Company).

After The Show: So Rkives came out last week — how’s the release going from both a label and band member perspective?

Pierre de Reeder: So far so good…It’s hard to separate those [perspectives] at this moment. It’s exciting that it’s out and people are buying it and liking it – people who have been fans of the band for a long time. There’s an overwhelming amount of good comments which is awesome to see.

I think you’ve set up Little Record Company as an admin label…how does it operate?

I’ve started more of an administration label. It’s more an artist funded label and I deal with everything a label would do otherwise to release stuff – hiring independent press and radio and putting everything through a distributor. This [RKives] is a more traditional release actually as far as handling everything.

I like the prominent bass on “I Remember You.” The songs on Rkives cover years and years. Is there a track you most connect with and one you least connect with?

Our opening track “Let Me Back In” is something that’s been endearing to all of us for a long time and one thing I’m glad we’re finally able to release. The second song “It’ll Get You There” has always been a favorite of mine as well that didn’t get put on any record. I relate least to “Dejalo” but it’s fun.

What’s a typical day for you –is most of your time taken up by running the label?

The label for this release has been one of my full time jobs for sure that’s taken up a lot of time. I also own a recording studio and produce and record a lot of records so that is another very time consuming endeavor. I’m also a family man and I have kids – my priority. My days are very long and packed full of stuff in various directions.

Photo by Steven Dewall

Artists can love the process of creating their work, and then they have to promote it and do Twitter and be a salesman, which is an entirely different skillset than creating the original art. What’s your perspective on that?

Certainly you become a peddler at that point. You’ve got your coat open, watches dangling on each side and you just do your best. There’s people that know a lot more than I on the business side…this release is the most engulfing. But it’s interesting – I can’t say I’m a businessman first – never was, never will be – but I think I fake it pretty good and get everything done. I do get engrossed in trying to be a peddler. I did major in business and marketing in college so I do try to apply that. With my label, I just try and give friends and people I like an outlet to release their music.

You have a recording studio — what qualities make a good sound engineer or producer?

Interesting question – I guess it’s such a subjective thing because there’s the technical side…you need to know what you’re doing from a technical perspective but then there’s the subjective ears and taste. From the producer perspective, it’s completely subjective. What you bring to the table is your experience in music, [they’re] hiring you for your opinion and what you can bring to the music based on your taste.

You and Jason Boesel have both released solo albums and can obviously sing – why did you guys never sing lead vocals on a Rilo Kiley song?

The band is established as Jenny as a singer and Blake as a singer…it’s already plenty of singing cooks in the kitchen. We love the dynamic between them. It’d be too schizophrenic and just not appropriate for that band. We have other musical outlets.

Will you release a follow-up to The Way That It Was?

I think so, yeah. I’m slowly writing new things and then recording them eventually. It’s funny and ironic having a complete, robust studio at your fingerprints and not utilizing it for yourself. That record took me 5 years of thinking about it and recording it to finally release.

At what point in Rilo Kiley did you realize you could support yourself just by playing music – was there a specific turning point or was it more gradual?

It was always a gradual process, at some point yes we were able to be a working class band able to make a living, between sales and touring.

If you could be a musician in any time period in history when would you choose?

Hmm I have thought about this…I guess I relate sort of to the late 60s early 70s era…I could see myself there. I don’t know if I would prefer that to my own period. I kind of like my own period of time.

There’s mystery and conflicting reports about the origin of the name Rilo Kiley – a dream about being chased by a sports almanac, an Australian football player from the 19th century, a character who predicted the date of Jenny Lewis’ death…do you want to clear that up?

I can totally confirm that all of those stories are true.

Thank you Pierre!

Get Rkives +RiloKiley.com +PierredeReeder.com