E: So guys, the band June has an upcoming release coming out on the Vinyl Summer Records... how long has it taken to write and compile all of the songs that will be heard on this album?
Sutor: Prior to this record, we recorded and self-released a four-song demo in the August of 2003. Jesse--Vinyl Records' owner--got it in the fall, and we had started talking to her about releasing an EP or LP. Our original idea was to release those four songs we recorded off of another label, but Jesse wanted to work with us on something completely new. So the songwriting and compiling started in early winter--I would say November or December. We still wanted to grow as a better live band, so we scheduled as many shows as we could throughout Winter. So come January, the idea to record in March came about, and throughout about half of January and all of February, we worked the hardest to write and finish these songs. At about mid-March, the songs were completed and ready for pre-production.
E: Is the style of the songs on the upcoming release the same as the one you'd had on the old EP?
A.J.: This stuff on the new EP is a little bit darker, vocally, and has to do with what I was going through at the time. Musically, it's more mature and has an upbeat feel.
Sutor: We feel like we have a lot more variety on this record that can't be stapled down to something like, "oh, it's a mix of this band and that band." I would definitely say it's different because it carries a pop-rock feel with dark vocals. I would say the old record is similar in fashion, but our work and progression led us to a lot more mature and original sound.
E: Was there any strategy in releasing the album at this time? Or is this just as soon as was possible with getting the recording finished?
A.J.: There wasn't any set in stone strategy. We felt that it was time to release an EP or record we liked as soon as we could.
Sutor: I think our main focus was to really get our new music out there as soon as we could, rather than to make a strategy, complex or not, to release this EP. However, we're just about done booking a tour throughout most of the mid-to-lower states, so right now the only strategy would be to have it for all the shows and people we will be playing for that have never heard of us. It's cutting it close, but it looks like it's going to be right in time.
E: What made you decide to make this next release an EP instead of spending more time and turning out an LP?
Sutor: Well, soon after we put out that old demo by ourselves, we realized it--the old demo--wouldn't be good enough to promote and to have people know us by first. Time became a factor, because we were starting to play a lot more, and we didn't want those people we played for to forget about us while we were taking the time to record a full record. So we figured spending time writing and perfecting five songs would be more beneficial in that we didn't have to quickly write tons of songs to fill an LP, and we'd be able to release it a lot earlier. We feel that by doing this, we now have an EP that we're confident in to promote to both people everywhere who enjoy music and all the industry world that could potentially help us with the next step.
E: How did you come to the decision that joining the Vinyl Summer was the next step for the band?
Sutor: I don't think we had any other options. We had emptied our pockets self-releasing a demo, and we were looking everywhere we could for some help. When we started talking to Jesse, she had told us she wanted to see us play, and [she] came to a show and saw potential in us. We instilled a strict work ethic to get better, and Jesse came to some practices and started telling us she liked what she heard. The Vinyl Summer was a definite decision, because it was the only--and we're very grateful for it--way we could concentrate on writing new songs with support from a label.
E: How much of your current live set consists of songs from the upcoming new release?
Sutor: As of right now, all five songs are in our live set, with two or three songs mixed in between, depending on how much time we have to play. We want to keep some of the old stuff in there just because we did hand out a lot of those old CDs, but we want to have the new EP be the record that people will hear and know us by as soon as we can. Plans for new songs to be incorporated in the set are in the works--we just want the new EP to be released for a bit before we start rushing a ton of new songs into shows.
E: So how successful do you expect the new album to be?
Sutor: Hmm... well, that's based on what we think is successful. Do we think it's going to sell a lot? No, we don't. There aren't enough people that know of us to make us think, "Yeah, this record is going to definitely spark a huge demand for it." However, I do think it's going to be successful enough to stamp our name on the music world. We are going to tour as much as we possibly can and try to spread this album everywhere. Promotion will be covered in all possible areas, and we feel that this album has the potential to create a lot of curious interest in us. Our intention is to get people to think, "Who are these guys? I'm going to check them out" with a following thought of either like or dislike of our music. It's hard enough to just get people to check out a band, and we feel we can with this record. After that, we hope that the record does do well, for that would be an amazing surprise/gift for the time and effort that we put into it... but that's not something we exactly believe is deserved. We know that constant work is necessary, and by sticking with the same ethic, we think that this record has a good chance of being very successful. Regarding personal success, we're all incredibly happy with what we've recorded, so to us it already is.
E: So what are the band's plans for just after the CD becomes available?
Sutor: We're probably going to be on the road when it becomes available to buy, so to keep on playing shows and spread our name and music. Once this tour is over with, we're going to be home and we'll go to school for first semester with promotion and the "sending out of CD's" everywhere. During the semester, tours are going to be booked throughout early winter, and then heavy touring will begin starting in January of 2005. Still during the semester, we will be playing sporadic shows everywhere we can, but the idea is to go on this tour throughout July and all of August, and then to try building a hype about our band throughout all of Fall and Early Winter. The plan is to set up this way so we can play for as many people as we can now, get some sort of interest going throughout the nation, and then build on it with new and demoed songs, advertisements, etc.. We just aren't big enough to successfully create a hype right now that would carry over elsewhere. Song-wise, we will be writing and demoing countless songs for a full-length release.
E: Is this all a basic reality for you? Or is the band lifestyle still somewhat dreamlike?
Sutor: We are about to enter a real band (in our opinion) lifestyle; playing nightly, long drives, finding ways to get by, and giving people our best ability every time we're on stage. We've always dreamed of doing so, and it definitely still is dreamlike. If things turn out the way we hope to work for, then this lifestyle will continue and grow to be even more dreamlike for all of us. Creating and playing music for anyone and everyone is something we all love to do, so for us, we hope we can turn our basic reality into our dreams.
E: Well thanks, and best of luck to all of you guys in the future.
Sutor: To you as well--rock and roll. |
