Go To Space Die Interview
Q: Can you talk about your history as an artist?
A: I got interested in the drums when I was about ten, I think. My friend's older brother had a drum kit set up in their basement and I would play around on it whenever I got a chance. I got my first kit at 15 years old and joined a band at 16 with a bunch of dudes in their 20’s. We played bars and biker parties and coffee shops doing mostly covers. There wasn't much of a local band scene where I grew up. That lasted for a few years until I moved south to Bloomington, Indiana, a college town full of bands and musicians. During those first seven years in Bloomington I was always playing with two or three bands, gigging a few times a week, touring, practicing, recording etc. My bandmates were often my roommates so there was always a guitar around, so I would pick up on that gradually as well. I was really immersed in the punk/indie scene and learned a lot by playing in lots of bands and watching lots of bands too. When I joined Murder By Death we were just on the road all of the time and the constant touring really refined my playing and continues to do so. There's always more to learn. I've gotten back in to taking lessons the last couple of years after not having had one for about the last twenty.
Q: You are the drummer for Murder by Death. How do you think being a drummer affected your approach to making your solo album Red Air Don’t Care?
A: There are a few spots on the record where I wrote a drum part first and came up with guitar parts after. I'd say that I was thinking very compositionally about the drum parts, as opposed to just keeping time. Every note is deliberate, ya know? I also like odd time signatures, so I threw some of those in the mix too.
Q: Your album is instrumental but sometimes artists create themes around just the music? Is that the case for Red Air Don’t Care?
A: In general I was trying to make each song feel complete and resolved by the end of the track. I like heavy loud music to get pretty, get dark and get triumphant. I also tried to make sure that I always felt something interesting was happening.
Q: Can you talk about your history as an artist?
A: I got interested in the drums when I was about ten, I think. My friend's older brother had a drum kit set up in their basement and I would play around on it whenever I got a chance. I got my first kit at 15 years old and joined a band at 16 with a bunch of dudes in their 20’s. We played bars and biker parties and coffee shops doing mostly covers. There wasn't much of a local band scene where I grew up. That lasted for a few years until I moved south to Bloomington, Indiana, a college town full of bands and musicians. During those first seven years in Bloomington I was always playing with two or three bands, gigging a few times a week, touring, practicing, recording etc. My bandmates were often my roommates so there was always a guitar around, so I would pick up on that gradually as well. I was really immersed in the punk/indie scene and learned a lot by playing in lots of bands and watching lots of bands too. When I joined Murder By Death we were just on the road all of the time and the constant touring really refined my playing and continues to do so. There's always more to learn. I've gotten back in to taking lessons the last couple of years after not having had one for about the last twenty.
Q: You are the drummer for Murder by Death. How do you think being a drummer affected your approach to making your solo album Red Air Don’t Care?
A: There are a few spots on the record where I wrote a drum part first and came up with guitar parts after. I'd say that I was thinking very compositionally about the drum parts, as opposed to just keeping time. Every note is deliberate, ya know? I also like odd time signatures, so I threw some of those in the mix too.
Q: Your album is instrumental but sometimes artists create themes around just the music? Is that the case for Red Air Don’t Care?
A: In general I was trying to make each song feel complete and resolved by the end of the track. I like heavy loud music to get pretty, get dark and get triumphant. I also tried to make sure that I always felt something interesting was happening.
Q: What is your recording process like? And has it changed over the years?
A: I've only been DIY recording for a couple of years. I've been recording in bands in studios for over twenty years though, so I've picked up some things along the way. I also have a good friend, Josh Lopatin, who produced and mixed Red Air Don’t Care who has helped me figure out how to use Logic X. I use that DAW on a Macbook Pro. I have an 8 channel interface out in my drum rehearsal studio so I can close mic my kit and put up a couple overheads. I record guitars and keys sitting at my kitchen table using the amp plugins in Logic, but Josh reamped most of the guitars after I sent him the sessions for mixing. I always track drums first using a click track and humming the song along in my head.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: A lot of humming melodies or singing drum beat ideas into my voice memos, or taking video of myself playing a guitar part that I like so I don't forget. My wife and I take walks every evening and sometimes a part will develop in my head as we're walking and talking. I think I can only really write one song at a time. I kind of obsess over it until I feel that it's done.
Q: Have you started playing shows or virtual shows?
A: No shows yet, hoping to put a band together this spring to start though. Right now I'm very busy with Murder by Death making a new album.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: The last track on the record “JumpInTheLake” was inspired by memories of playing Final Fantasy on Nintendo with my best friend when we were little kids. Pretty cute.
A: I've only been DIY recording for a couple of years. I've been recording in bands in studios for over twenty years though, so I've picked up some things along the way. I also have a good friend, Josh Lopatin, who produced and mixed Red Air Don’t Care who has helped me figure out how to use Logic X. I use that DAW on a Macbook Pro. I have an 8 channel interface out in my drum rehearsal studio so I can close mic my kit and put up a couple overheads. I record guitars and keys sitting at my kitchen table using the amp plugins in Logic, but Josh reamped most of the guitars after I sent him the sessions for mixing. I always track drums first using a click track and humming the song along in my head.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: A lot of humming melodies or singing drum beat ideas into my voice memos, or taking video of myself playing a guitar part that I like so I don't forget. My wife and I take walks every evening and sometimes a part will develop in my head as we're walking and talking. I think I can only really write one song at a time. I kind of obsess over it until I feel that it's done.
Q: Have you started playing shows or virtual shows?
A: No shows yet, hoping to put a band together this spring to start though. Right now I'm very busy with Murder by Death making a new album.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: The last track on the record “JumpInTheLake” was inspired by memories of playing Final Fantasy on Nintendo with my best friend when we were little kids. Pretty cute.