Welcome to our almost daily quickie Q&A feature: One Question Interviews. Follow us at facebook or twitter and we'll post one interview every Monday-Thursday. Okay, sometimes we miss a day, but it will be four each week.
After our social media followers get the first word, we post a wrap-up here at the site and archive 'em here. This week check out Q&As with The Eye of Time, Thou, The Blind Shake and La Armada.
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Marc Euvrie (The Eye of Time)
SPB: In your self-titled album, you had a more aggressive outlook and quite a different instrumentation for your music. What signaled the change from that to the more peaceful aura of Acoustic? And what does that change signify for you?
Mark: It is not a change movement, it's just an experimentation. When I moved from my mother's house to study, I used to live in small flats in the city center, where it was really difficult to have my own piano and also play cello like I wanted to. So, for about 10 years, I did kind of a break with piano. Then when I moved to the countryside, the first thing that came to me, was buying an old crappy piano and playing cello as much as possible. Things came one after another, I had some songs from my own, so I decided to record them. So, there's absolutely no changes in my The Eye of Time project. In fact, my next record, ANTI, will be released in March 2015, and it's all about samples, ambient, dark electronica like it used to be.
Acoustic is only a different way of my artistic expression, and I really hope there will be some others. I already worked on new acoustic stuff!
I just want to express music with anything I'm capable of, may be a hip-hop record one day (to be true, there is some material already...)
Thou
SPB: What is your favorite part about the recording process?
Andy: Overdubs, without a doubt. James Whitten, our recording guy/sound guru, is really good at helping us create outlandish sounds that end up sitting way back in the mix. I sometimes wonder if people listening to our records even notice them. Sometimes it's just banging on a metal chair with a stick, and other times it's linking up 3 heads and 3 cabs and creating walls of feedback. After a lot of painstaking tracking where every note counts, it's good to just let loose and make noise.
Mitch: The first time we hear playback of the first thing we recorded is my favorite part. It's nice to step outside of the song and actually listen to it.
That, or watching Bryan make goofy faces while recording vocals.
Josh: The first playback is usually the first time I'll be able to actually hear my drums in the context of the song, so that's a neat thing. And the last handful of sessions we've done have all been at Living Room Studios in Algiers, LA, and it's just an extremely comfortable place to spend a few hours working on music. I enjoy that aspect of recording, as well.
Mike Blaha (The Blind Shake)
SPB: You have now released records on a lot of labels. What do you enjoy about changing affiliation with each release?
Mike: I think the best part about label Mormonism is discovering the newer or lesser publicized bands on a label. For example, Thee Oh Sees are one of the best bands on the planet, but without being on Castle Face's roster we wouldn't have known and played with an insane band like Running, now one of our favorite bands live and recorded. There are several more examples, but I recommend people go deeper into the catalogs of all the labels we've been on and find out for themselves how much great stuff is right within reach.
Paul Rivera (La Armada – guitar)
SPB: What is the secret to a successful tour?
Paul: This question is more complex than it seems. I think the answer varies a lot depending on so many factors like what size of band is touring, what’s the main goal of the tour, and other logistical issues. At the root of it, if I had to say there was one thing that is the universal key for any kind of touring act, it's BEING PREPARED.
Preparation will save you time, money and maybe even your life. Having every detail of the tour readily available to everyone in the band, making sure the van is taken care of, having enough merch, having all your paperwork in order along with so many other tasks will leave you ready to tackle any situation that may arise—because, as everyone who tours knows, the road is unpredictable and things WILL HIT THE FAN. So don't be afraid to make spreadsheets, call buddies in advance to crash their couches, check your tire pressure and get a AAA card. But just be prepared.
