Cardenal Gemini Interview
Q: Can you talk about your history as an artist?
A: Eric: It seems like I started playing drums a long time ago, then it feels like I’m just starting to learn how to make music many years later. I’ve been in various projects over time, from the devilish fury of The Electric Hellfire Club to the joy time rock of American Idol’s James Durbin. I spent a lot of time working in venues and building audio devices, as well. Idle hands, and all of that…
A: Steve: I’ve been making music a long time, been a musician since I was 14. I’ve played in a lot of different bands and released a lot of music that falls into a variety of genres. I’ve always tried to evolve as a musician. My earliest recordings date back into the ’80s. That’s a lot of time to evolve and I believe this album represents evolution.
Q: Can you talk about your themes on your new release Twin Sins?
A: Eric: The Art of Peace!
A: Steve: I’m of the belief that it’s the job of the listener to interpret the song. Sure I know what I wrote them about, but it might have a different meaning to someone else . But I digress, I’ll use one word to define each song. Depression, Atonement, Ennui, Pharmaceuticals, Separation, Suicide and Mortality. That about covers it.
Q: Were there different approaches on this release compared to your debut?
A: Eric: We turned the tempo up a few clicks! There was more “ground out” writing, for sure - drums providing a melody, of sorts, then the basses and keys creating some drive. Throw in some vocals and guitars for punctuation and the vehicle for tunes was built! Vroom!
A: Steve: It was more organic. Far less preconceived. A few songs were written ahead of time and recorded in the same manner as our first album. After that , songs developed out of jams and were further developed. “Starbird” and “The Dream Moved On” are great examples of that, as well as “Big Dharma” which came out of nowhere.
Q: What is your recording process like? And has it changed over the years?
A: Eric: The process changes slightly every time we record. I tend to tinker with gadgets, while Steve enjoys taking tracks. That really pushes a more dynamic recording within a fairly straightforward approach. We are both performing no matter what side of the track we’re on.
A: Steve:The equipment hasn’t changed - HaHa!
We record the drums at the studio, I’m able to add my parts at home. It was more fun because as I mentioned before, the album sprung from jams and the lyrics were written after the fact to those jams. So the music, I think, influenced the lyrics. It’s tighter but more fluid if that makes sense.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: Eric: It’s sorta’ like a car accident… a lot of everything, all at once, then a bit of quiet to sort it all out.
A: Steve: For me, I’m always creating and finding ways to express myself. I can’t really seem to shut down my head. I think my songs are a way of me coping with and making sense of the world around me. I don’t play any instrument particularly great, I think my creativity is in the way I use different instruments to support one song, the way the simplicity of each part enhances the next. I tend to write a lot of mid tempo songs and ballads. The reason I think Eric and I work together so well, is he understands that just because these songs are slow doesn’t mean they should lack intensity. He knows how to keep the song on point.
Q: Have you started playing shows or virtual shows?
A: No.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: We are heavily influenced by jazz and progressive rock and we like to think that shows in our music. We are not tied to any one sound. We like to mix up the approach.
Q: Can you talk about your history as an artist?
A: Eric: It seems like I started playing drums a long time ago, then it feels like I’m just starting to learn how to make music many years later. I’ve been in various projects over time, from the devilish fury of The Electric Hellfire Club to the joy time rock of American Idol’s James Durbin. I spent a lot of time working in venues and building audio devices, as well. Idle hands, and all of that…
A: Steve: I’ve been making music a long time, been a musician since I was 14. I’ve played in a lot of different bands and released a lot of music that falls into a variety of genres. I’ve always tried to evolve as a musician. My earliest recordings date back into the ’80s. That’s a lot of time to evolve and I believe this album represents evolution.
Q: Can you talk about your themes on your new release Twin Sins?
A: Eric: The Art of Peace!
A: Steve: I’m of the belief that it’s the job of the listener to interpret the song. Sure I know what I wrote them about, but it might have a different meaning to someone else . But I digress, I’ll use one word to define each song. Depression, Atonement, Ennui, Pharmaceuticals, Separation, Suicide and Mortality. That about covers it.
Q: Were there different approaches on this release compared to your debut?
A: Eric: We turned the tempo up a few clicks! There was more “ground out” writing, for sure - drums providing a melody, of sorts, then the basses and keys creating some drive. Throw in some vocals and guitars for punctuation and the vehicle for tunes was built! Vroom!
A: Steve: It was more organic. Far less preconceived. A few songs were written ahead of time and recorded in the same manner as our first album. After that , songs developed out of jams and were further developed. “Starbird” and “The Dream Moved On” are great examples of that, as well as “Big Dharma” which came out of nowhere.
Q: What is your recording process like? And has it changed over the years?
A: Eric: The process changes slightly every time we record. I tend to tinker with gadgets, while Steve enjoys taking tracks. That really pushes a more dynamic recording within a fairly straightforward approach. We are both performing no matter what side of the track we’re on.
A: Steve:The equipment hasn’t changed - HaHa!
We record the drums at the studio, I’m able to add my parts at home. It was more fun because as I mentioned before, the album sprung from jams and the lyrics were written after the fact to those jams. So the music, I think, influenced the lyrics. It’s tighter but more fluid if that makes sense.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: Eric: It’s sorta’ like a car accident… a lot of everything, all at once, then a bit of quiet to sort it all out.
A: Steve: For me, I’m always creating and finding ways to express myself. I can’t really seem to shut down my head. I think my songs are a way of me coping with and making sense of the world around me. I don’t play any instrument particularly great, I think my creativity is in the way I use different instruments to support one song, the way the simplicity of each part enhances the next. I tend to write a lot of mid tempo songs and ballads. The reason I think Eric and I work together so well, is he understands that just because these songs are slow doesn’t mean they should lack intensity. He knows how to keep the song on point.
Q: Have you started playing shows or virtual shows?
A: No.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: We are heavily influenced by jazz and progressive rock and we like to think that shows in our music. We are not tied to any one sound. We like to mix up the approach.