E: Mark, your band just released its new album, An Army of Shapes Between Wars, off of Victory Records. This is your first major release since signing to the monolithic label... how would you describe your pattern for releasing new material?
Mark: Well, we actually released a full-length immediately [after signing to Victory]... we've released two full-lengths in a little less than two years. We're pretty much just cranking out tunes. Something new... at least to ourselves. In our last bands, it's like... you know, you tour so often, you don't get a chance to really write new material so easily, and you kind of get burned out on it. So it's nice to go into the studio and pack up some new ideas. I guess it's kind of a goal, really, that we set for ourselves... to not get burnt out on our own thing.
E: Do you prefer releasing full-length albums, instead of shorter EP releases?
Mark: I'm not really sure. It really depends on how much we're touring and how much down time we have. I mean, there can be a session where there are fifteen songs written, or there'll be a session where there's three songs written. You never really know. I know I'd like to start releasing more single-type things online... not demos, but recorded songs. I guess that's why our albums are so long�it's because there is so much. We didn't record some music that I still wish could be released somehow.
E: The songs you did put on the new album include some pretty diverse material... were you aiming towards making an inconsistently styled record, or was this simply the natural result of different members' creativities coming out and mixing?
Mark: We went into this album having a bunch of ideas, and then we kind of let them fall where they fall. We don't like being pigeonholed into producing one, dare I say, "dance rock" song. As a musician, and a writer, no one likes to be pigeonholed like that. All my favorite albums are not alike at all... they're all kind of diverse, like Blur or even David Bowie for that matter. And that's kind of where we're at... I'd rather not be a band that has one good song, and then nine other songs behind it that are variants of that one good song. That's just unfulfilling for me.
E: Do you think that the kind of music you guys are making�80's-reminiscent electronica�fits well with the bands receiving the most buzz in the mainstream circuit these days?
Mark: I would never consider us part of the bands like the Killers or Franz Ferdinand... they're doing their thing, and it's not really what we're doing at all. People like to have labels, and if that's popular, it's a lot easier to say that we sound like Franz Ferdinand or the Killers than to say that we sound like Blur, who isn't ever popular. At least in America. We're not really aiming to not be like that at all... I'd say we're a little electronica, but I wouldn't say we're even remotely close to a lot of bands out there.
E: Are the songs you've written more difficult to play live because of the electronic aspects, like keyboards and guitar effects?
Mark: Live is a different situation, just because in the studio, you can do kind of whatever whenever and not be limited by a half-hour set change or a fourty-five minute set change. We use a lot of keyboards and a lot of guitar effects to try and recreate what there is on the record... mostly, though, we just use the record as a guideline and then let the chips fall where they fall. Every show is kind of a different event for us.
E: As the band's singer, do you feel like you can use every part of your vocal range and ability when you're writing? Or do you have to limit it to a spectrum that fits best with the sound of Action Action?
Mark: I try not to limit anything, just because once there are limitations, it's like the creative juices don't flow as fluidly, so I try to just let it be whatever it's going to be. When we're writing songs, it's sort of an accidental thing... it's more a matter of messing around with a couple of pedals... and then that's just parts of an entire song. So vocally, if my range isn't high enough for it�or low enough, really�then I'll just kind of sit and practice and get it to where I want to be, and where the song dictates it should be.
E: When you guys are on the road after having just released a new album, do you consciously try to find signs of how the album is doing�be it through album sales, reviews, or fan response? Or do you try not to concern yourself with that?
Mark: Yeah, I mean, it's one of those things where we see people that are into it, and that's pretty awesome, and it's always nice to be aware of where we're at and everything else. But honestly, all it does is cloud your head a little bit, because some bands don't do well, and some bands do well enough on paper... but it sucks, because it's something you have to worry about to have a career in, but really, it's going to fuck you up in the end. So we try to avoid it and stay out of it. If things look like we're going well, we'll take it... but it sucks to compare yourselves to a band that people are into a lot, or that are selling a lot of records. It's not even that you're the same musically. It's not a fucking pissing contest... we're just here to create music. We're not trying to be the next, fucking... huge messiah.
E: But do you think you've been getting a bigger fan response at shows since the album released?
Mark: Yeah, a little bit. I've been trying to read up on the reviews and see what fans thought, and I knew it was a bit different... even on the first [album], some people got it and some people don't, and that's cool, but just sitting there and reading it doesn't do anything for me, because if people come out live and they respond well to the music, it's fucking great. And this is only the second day, but so far our fans have reacted well to it, so I'm very happy about that. It's weird, too, because I love this album so much more. I like the last one as well, but I guess because it's so new and fresh to me, I'm really pleased with the outcome of this album. Because it was one of the most stressful recording environments I've ever been in in my entire life. I was becoming a nervous wreck because I had no idea what it was going to come out like... I was just so hoping that it wasn't going to be garbage. So when it was all said and done, I kind of put it away and listened to it a month later, and thought... okay, this is okay. I'm proud of this. This is good. But when I started reading reviews, people were just trying to rip it apart for... I'm not even sure what reason. It's not like we're this huge superband trying cash in on anything... we're just trying to do our own thing and stay out of the way, and if people wanna check us out, then we'd love that. But we're not trying to sit here and reinvent rock and roll, or trying to make a quick dollar. Neither of those is happening.
E: Okay, well, thanks a lot! That was great.
Mark: Well thank you very, very much for everything! |
