Green Tea Goblins Interview
Q: Can you talk about the band’s history?
A: Green Tea Goblins started in March 2018 after we grew bored with the music we were creating in our old band. We liked the idea of a lighthearted acid rock band mixed with punk so we started writing and had most of our album Hand Hugs recorded within the first few months of starting out.
Q: You mention that bands from the ’60s were an influence on your release Hand Hugs. What bands in particular are you referring to?
A: The bands from the ’60s with the biggest influence on us would probably be The Kinks, The Grateful Dead, and The Stooges. While all three of those bands kept releasing music well after the ’60s, I still feel that their art from that decade was the most influential over Green Tea Goblins.
Q: The sound on the record is full. Can you talk about how you approach to layering with two members?
A: We normally record separate from each other and that is probably why the album ended up having so many overdubs. However when recording the bass and backup vocals both members were present in our studio. We started out with the drum tracks and created them in some obscure virtual drum kit we found and then started adding guitar next. The guitar is definitely the most layered instrument on the whole album and we liked to use quite a bit of modulation effects which we spent hours experimenting with. The bass was the easiest to record and we got most of it done in a single day. The vocals came last but took forever to finish.
Q: Can you talk about the band’s history?
A: Green Tea Goblins started in March 2018 after we grew bored with the music we were creating in our old band. We liked the idea of a lighthearted acid rock band mixed with punk so we started writing and had most of our album Hand Hugs recorded within the first few months of starting out.
Q: You mention that bands from the ’60s were an influence on your release Hand Hugs. What bands in particular are you referring to?
A: The bands from the ’60s with the biggest influence on us would probably be The Kinks, The Grateful Dead, and The Stooges. While all three of those bands kept releasing music well after the ’60s, I still feel that their art from that decade was the most influential over Green Tea Goblins.
Q: The sound on the record is full. Can you talk about how you approach to layering with two members?
A: We normally record separate from each other and that is probably why the album ended up having so many overdubs. However when recording the bass and backup vocals both members were present in our studio. We started out with the drum tracks and created them in some obscure virtual drum kit we found and then started adding guitar next. The guitar is definitely the most layered instrument on the whole album and we liked to use quite a bit of modulation effects which we spent hours experimenting with. The bass was the easiest to record and we got most of it done in a single day. The vocals came last but took forever to finish.
Q: I was impressed with the recording which was DIY. What were some on the techniques implemented to get your sound?
A: Thank you! We really wanted the record to have a saturated tape sound so we used a couple plugins to attempt to recreate that. We didn't use a whole lot of out of the box gear so most of our sound came from experimenting with plugins we would find for free. We barely had enough money for strings at the time so we just used what we had including modeling amplifiers, USB microphones, socks for pop filters and Reaper for our DAW. We were really used to recording on cassette four tracks so using a computer for everything was strange but in the end we got the sound we were looking for.
Q: Can you talk about some of the themes that run through the album?
A: For the most part Hand Hugs was written with the psychedelic experience in mind. We wanted introspection to be the biggest theme in the record and that's what most of the songs are about in the end. We wanted it to be a concept album in a way and having a self-observing narrator seemed like a great idea. The first song "Hand Hugs" kicks this off as the narrator is just thinking about his colorful day at the park where he held hands with a girl he likes.
Q: What else should we know about Green Tea Goblins?
A: We have a new single coming out on February 20th called "For Every Cigarette Craving I'll Ever Have" and will be able to be found on our website greenteagoblins.com. We're planning on playing some shows near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the future so sign up to our mailing list on our website to keep updated.
A: Thank you! We really wanted the record to have a saturated tape sound so we used a couple plugins to attempt to recreate that. We didn't use a whole lot of out of the box gear so most of our sound came from experimenting with plugins we would find for free. We barely had enough money for strings at the time so we just used what we had including modeling amplifiers, USB microphones, socks for pop filters and Reaper for our DAW. We were really used to recording on cassette four tracks so using a computer for everything was strange but in the end we got the sound we were looking for.
Q: Can you talk about some of the themes that run through the album?
A: For the most part Hand Hugs was written with the psychedelic experience in mind. We wanted introspection to be the biggest theme in the record and that's what most of the songs are about in the end. We wanted it to be a concept album in a way and having a self-observing narrator seemed like a great idea. The first song "Hand Hugs" kicks this off as the narrator is just thinking about his colorful day at the park where he held hands with a girl he likes.
Q: What else should we know about Green Tea Goblins?
A: We have a new single coming out on February 20th called "For Every Cigarette Craving I'll Ever Have" and will be able to be found on our website greenteagoblins.com. We're planning on playing some shows near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the future so sign up to our mailing list on our website to keep updated.