Page 71 - Sick Drummer Magazine Issue 29 - Hannes Grossmann

Mike: We’ve got a vision for Regal, and to that end we’ve been pretty diligent in focusing on the tasks at hand. We write as much together as we can, and when any of us are traveling, we still get a lot of writing done over the wires. It’s been a great process. For the first writing phase, last summer, Dom was touring Europe with his Folk Road Show; he sent ideas, while the three of us wrote together, and from the batch we developed what became the Don’t Stop EP. We’ve all got pretty busy schedules musically and otherwise, so it’s great to see the commitment everyone is bringing to this project.SDM: Were drums for the debut EP played live or sampled? What was the process?Mike: In writing and demoing, I try to get my hands on the drums as much as I can, but Dave and Mike have written some really catchy and fitting parts! With Regal we are all very aware of serving the song. Some were written through jamming and others programmed with EZDrummer in demos. The electronic elements are so far all programmed in Ableton. I tracked all the real drums in the studio.SDM: Do you prefer drumming or playing keys, synths and programming?Mike: I really, really love music. Whether it’s drumming, playing keys, writing or getting into some unfamiliar territory, I just really enjoy making and experiencing music. Given I have the most facility with drums, I find I gravitate towards it most, but I really do like getting my hands on anything musical!SDM: Not going to lie here. this is by far one of the best EP’s I have ever heard in my life. It’s a steady and enjoyable journey from the first note to the last, and at least for me, told a story. Who wrote all the lyrics and arranged the songs? Were the tracks placed in the order they appear on the EP for a certain reason, as they flow together unbelievably.Mike: Thanks! We’ve definitely put a lot of thought into every aspect of the music. Dom writes the lyrics and we arrange and produce the songs as a band. It’s great to see how everyone’s musical contri- butions get enhanced with three more different perspectives. In terms of track order for the Don’t Stop EP, I think it was a bit more about musical flow than lyrical flow, though it is interesting to see how the lyrical flow gives another overall layer to the experience.SDM: Let’s take “Don’t Stop,” or “Give Up The Things You Do,” for example. When listeningto these two songs in particular, I felt the album was truly speaking to me for reasons not to be referenced here. But one might think the tonewas coming from that of depression, addiction,or thriving to live a simpler life, away from the rat race if you will. Am I way off here? What are those songs actually trying to relay?Mike: Dom is bringing a lot of universal and mature themes lyrically, and personally I can’t imagine it any other way. Lyrics have always been a tough aspect of music for me. I’ve spent a lot of formative time appreciating orchestra, jazz, electronic, and otherwise instrumental music, and the artists who have influenced me lyrically- Matthew Good, Thom Yorke, Moderat, have had some fairly profound things to say, to say the least. So to hear the bland homogeneity of pop lyrics, to paint with a wide brush, I just ask what these artists are conveying with their music, and what’s the point? Dom gave his thoughts more specifically: “You’ve hit on a lot of the central lyrical themes of the EP. When we were creating a set list the other day Dave madea witty observation that putting “Don’t Stop” and “Give Up The Things” was sending mixed messages to the audience. There is a bit of truth in that, but the topics are very different. “Give up” touches on the idea that a lot of us are medicating or fixing with whatever it is that we think will make us feel better. But you could have all the cake, Coke, or corvettes in the world and you’d still feel incomplete.