E: With Yellow Second's most recent musical work, Altitude, having been released with a degree of anticipation on Floodgate Records, do you think that you've definitely put out a record worthy of the spotlight?
Brett: We are definitely really proud of how the record turned out. I hope that it can be heard by the masses.
E: When writing and recording for the album, did you foresee it becoming a greater success in terms of public recognition than other works you've done?
Brett: At the time the record was recorded, we had no idea what label it would be on, or if it would even be released nationally. After it was finished and some labels were taking interest, we definitely were excited about the possibility of a more broad recognition.
E: Has it been a struggle to establish the band on its own without being haunted by associations with band members' past achievements in other groups?
Brett: It can be kind of weird. We are obviously not a Christian ska band. I don't know if that has really hindered our growth at all. It seems like a lot of people we know now listened to Five Iron Frenzy when they were growing up or whatever. It's cool that people are still paying attention to what we are doing in our new ventures.
E: Would you say that religiously-oriented bands making a dent in the secular scene, as we've been seeing frequently as of late, is a recent development? What's your opinion?
Brett: I think that good music is good music. I don't think Switchfoot or Relient K are getting big because they are "Christian bands"--I think that they just wrote really good records and someone finally gave them a chance.
E: How much variety did you allow yourselves to have on the record--was there a desire to sustain a specific sound, or was it the opposite?
Brett: I think that in making a record, it is important to establish and maintain specific style. I think the record has a good flowing dynamic. It starts off kind of mellow and then the tempos kick up a notch. We just write music, though... we don't try to make it sound like anything.
E: Does making music hold the same redeeming qualities it held when you first began playing? Or have your motivations changed?
Brett: Every once in a while times get tough. As of recently we've had trouble finding a new drummer. We have all been stressed out about getting decent shows and finding a manager or booking agent. Those things can definitely get in the way of the reason we started playing music. I think the main idea of playing music and touring is to have fun with your close friends. Sometimes in the midst of stressful situations we can forget that. I think the only motivation we have anymore is to have fun though... it's not like we are making any money.
E: Did you pay a lot of attention to detail when it came to recording the songs for the record? Or did you just things flow?
Brett: The idea is to make a tight-sounding record... You definitely record parts and decide you don't like them, and then rewrite them. We wanted it to sound good, so we paid a lot of attention to little details.
E: How careful are you to only record what can be replicated live?
Brett: We have some keyboards on the record, which we might one day implement live. I don't think the live show sounds much different than the record. We are not a band that plays along to pre-recorded tracks or anything. All of the vocal harmonies are practiced and real.
E: Does your sound transfer well to the stage?
Brett: Since the record is a guitar-driven pop-rock record, I think that it sounds very close to the album. I've heard a lot of people compliment us by saying, "You guys were so tight, it sounded just like the record." That's on a good night, of course.
E: What inspires you to continue touring and making music, in spite of the weariness I'm sure it brings?
Brett: We've had a lot of rough times on the road... We've gone through three drummers this year, trying to find the right guy. There's a lot of times where morale is down because we are broke and people aren't coming to shows. At those times we have to remember that we are doing this because we love music. We love writing and playing together. It's amazing that we get to travel the country to share something we love.
E: Well, thanks a whole lot. Anything else you want to say?
Brett: Thanks for interviewing us. We will continue to tour our butts off this year, so we hope to see you soon! |
