Would you sign to a label, given the opportunity?
Well, I have been given the opportunity, and I probably will be doing something label-related either late next year or in 2007. It is a difficult decision, though, and the only way I would ever consider working with a label is if they allow me lots of freedom, and if they aren’t greedy.
How does it feel to be compared to musicians like Ben Folds and Billy Joel?
All at once, it can feel flattering, challenging, and limiting. I am often told I sound like Ben Folds, Rufus Wainwright, Billy Joel, and Elton John. Most of the time, I appreciate such comments, but I always want to reply by saying “Thanks, my other songs are completely different” or something like that. I think sometimes people equate a boy and his piano with said artists because that’s all they’ve seen in rock/pop music for years. I don’t claim to be doing anything remarkably ground-breaking or conceptual, but I am trying my best to avoid writing songs that sound like that. I have a broader collection of songs, many on guitar as well, that individually might sound like Ben Folds, Elliott Smith, Paul McCartney (but not Wings!), or Rufus Wainwright. But collectively, I wouldn’t consider myself completely like any of those artists, but perhaps an amalgamation of all them. People find such comparisons helpful in deciding what music to buy, what concerts to attend, and what music to promote, so I can’t say that it’s compeltely moot or innaccurate. If anything, I’m challenged to write even more diverse music in light of these comparisons.
Was it difficult getting back into the groove with an eight-year gap between albums?
No … the groove is a very patient, forgiving kind of chap … he seems to always take a shine to us when we eventually show up.
In the track “Sylvia Plath,” you combine hip-hop and an early Jazz style — you seem to be fond of combinations like that. What brought that about?
I think jazz is one of the more interesting genres of the last century. I’m certainly no pioneer of combining it with hip hop, but it’s a combination that I still think has more room for exploration. In more recent works, I’ve been focusing on Brazillian jazz and jazz from other countries as primary influences. I’d like to eventually make an entirely jazz influenced album.
What’s it like, being a growingly successful band from a small town? Do you think that your roots play a definite role in your musicianship?
Growing up in a small town, you don’t really have any distractions at all. I mean, what did we have? A bowling alley, a mall, and a hockey team… I was never into sports or after-school activites, so I would have a lot of time to work on my sequencers at home while going through highschool. Today, years later, there is still nothing to do up there, and although I stay mostly in NYC, I still like to do all my music upstate. There, we can just totally focus on just that and forget about everything else. It’s pure, like a good pop song. (more…)
What prompted your putting “Stories of the Old Country” in old books?
It just seemed natural. It was a album of stories. Instead of stories with specifics, they were stories with unspecifics. There were no lyrics, so the stories became 100% contextual to the listener. I felt that giving each copy a different context, in terms of what book it was housed in, might make the experience a little more unique. Some books have passages underlined. They may be meaningless, or they may not. But you kind of decide that for yourself.
You’re a fairly young band, how does this affect your take on being musicians?
Well, Sam has studied music quite in depth since she was ten, so even though she’s relatvely young, she’s also quite experienced. The overall feel is that it means we’ve got more energy, enthusiasm and time to do things! We’re not all pre-occupied with full time jobs, so can put more effort into making music. We’re also an impressionable bunch, so we have a wide range of influences, past and present.
What seperates you from so many other young bands — I mean, it must be easy to feel lost among the crowd at times, right?
We take it seriously and look to the future and what would be best for the band as a whole. We make sure we play any gigs we get and arent afraid to play venues and events most bands wouldnt play (for example, we’ve played two gigs in a local church hall). Also, we’ve never latched onto the covers scene, which is how most young bands start and develop. It’s just not how we want to be known as. We’re not just another piss-poor covers band.
What is your favorite part about performing live? Any specific moments that stick out in your mind?
We cant recall any precise details of performing live (except for when we played after the 747s at Liverpool Barfly), just that its good to see people actually listening to your music, often singing along to songs that haven’t even been recorded yet. Its also nice to see how we work together as a band, its obvious on stage how good friends we are. But im sure as we gain more and more gig experience, and get a chance to play larger venues, we will have a lot more to look back on this time next year.
What are your plans as far as a formal recording goes?
We want to record as much as possible, any opportunity we get! We’ve already recorded one demo (‘Three Tracks’ available free on the site), and are looking to go into the studio again pretty soon. The only problem is finances, as we’re all unemployable students ;)
Besides more recording, do you have any grandiose plans for the future?
Just to make music for people who want to listen to it really. We dont have a master plan, just high hopes and a lot of energy to put the effort in to become a well known, respected band. It would just make us so happy to get our music heard, and get a chance to record what we think are a decent set of songs. Playing live is also one of our favourite parts of being in the band, and I think that shows when people get a chance to see us.
How about mundane plans? Any of those?
Mundane? We’re not really that kind of band! :P
Do you look at music as being a potential career, or just something that you enjoy?
Definitely a career.. We want to take The Rails as far as we can. We’re a pretty hard working and devoted band, and it would be our perfect career choice. How can you not want to keep doing something that makes you happy?
How wide is your range of influences?
Our influences range from obvious older bands such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Jeff Buckley, right the way through to much younger bands of today, for example Arctic Monkeys and The Zutons. In between, there are established, but still ‘our generation’ bands, namely Muse, Radiohead and The Libertines.
Who has been your favorite band to perform with?
That’s kind of a hard one. By the end of each tour I think I think we,ve grown close to all the bands. We’ve been lucky in that way I guess. Not many bands can probably be able to say that with a straight face.