the debut album by Winston Audio rocks my socks off.
read a review (and snag some mp3s) HERE
anyhow, to commemorate the occasion, I'm going to post an interview I did with their very own Dan Gleason (keys, vox, guitar)
enjoy!
When you guys just started out, did you guys play live shows with a couple of original songs and just covered some classics, or did you wait until you had a handful of your own songs before you started trying to get booked?
I don't think we've ever done a cover live. We learned "magazine" by Pedro the Lion at one point, but it just never sounded that good so we gave up on that idea pretty quickly. We've talked about doing "Tired of Sex" by Weezer cause its such a fun song, but it probably wont happen unfortunately. I would love to do a cover, but for right now we're still trying to establish our own songs
What was the first show you guys played (with the current lineup)? how did it go? how receptive was the audience?
Our current lineup played its first show together back in October in Atlanta. It was Shane's (drummer) first show and for being a first show we couldn't ask for much more, though. we've grown much more comfortable with each other since then. The rest of us had been together for over a year at that point, and he's a pro so it wasn't a tough transition to add him into the band at all. We're very lucky to have him around
Is there any direction that the band hopes to go in the future? a lot of bands now are rediscovering the 80's, some others are looking to European folk music. your sound is very raw, pure, and true to what can only be deemed American rock music. are you guys planning to stick to that formula?
Sounding "American" was a very conscious decision. We used to add more ambiance to our songs when we first started in 2006, and somewhere in the middle of writing for The Red Rhythm we decided to go in the other direction and include very few effects and not rely on those sorts of things too heavily. It really started out as Michael's vision, he was listening to a lot of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty at the time and he wanted to have some of the same textures as them, or American sounding artists/groups like them. When we all got on board with this idea, Daniel went to work and the album started to take shape. I think there were 35-40 songs written for the album and a lot of the material we didn't end up using is more atmospheric. There are a lot of really great songs that we didn't record because it wasn't what we were going for with this album. We're hoping to record them properly at some point.
At the last minute we almost decided to take off Martyr and re-record Come On, Hibernate from the EP, which I think would have drastically shifted the overall sound of the album. I think we're all glad we decided against that, as Martyr has turned out to be one of the favorites off the album. To directly answer your question, we're always looking to expand what we do in order to keep the process inspired
You guys are from Georgia. Athens puts out a bunch of great bands (REM, Widespread Panic, of Montreal) , really some of the staples of alternative rock. how has the music scene affected your music? what about older Southern bands? are the boys of Winston Audio a fan of Lynard Skynard? The Allman Brothers band?
REM is a huge influence on us as well as The Allman Brothers, I mean who doesn't love the live version of "Whipping Post"? I think the blues influence on our band is a product
of the other guys growing up here in the south. Its something I'm trying to play catch-up on, but I love it....I've always had great respect for people like Ledbelly and Muddy Waters so its nice to turn to them and their peers to learn and try to understand what makes their music so great
That being said, there are some great modern bands coming out of Georgia right now. Manchester Orchestra is an incredible band who challenge us to be on top of our game in many ways. The Whigs are great, so are Dead Confederate, The Glass Ocean, Death on Two Wheels, O'Brother, and a whole lot more.
What does your band name mean? what about the lyric that the LP title is derived from, "our blood is moving to the red rhythm of time", is there a story behind that?
I didn't know how to answer this one, so I asked Daniel and here's what he said:
"the whole first verse of that song is saying that we are constantly reassessing our lives, and changing them accordingly, based on our surroundings, what others tell us, etc. To the point that it becomes rhythmic; that for every heartbeat we are recreating ourselves. As far as naming the record after that particular line, it doubles as an image that I equate with internalizing music. Plus it just has a nice ring to it."
I know most bands have members who listen to a wide variety of stuff, but almost always can agree on one artist, album, or even song. what would that be for you guys?
We actually agree on most music, though some of us like certain bands/artists more than others. We all love Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Nirvana, The Beatles, Pearl Jam, etc......We constantly reference other bands when writing, so it helps when you are all aware of the same songs and records.
Do you think that bands have an expiration date? a lot of people look to the Rolling Stones or even Oasis (those guys are well into their 40's) for evidence otherwise. do you guys think you have it in you to make music after you're all old and wrinkled?
No I don't think so at all, I would hope that I never lose my passion for playing music. The Rolling Stones are a great band and people obviously still pay attention to them and pay to see them, if they still love it then why stop?
Plus, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen have been doing some of their greatest work in the past few years. If Johnny Cash didn't keep playing, we never would have had his "American" records.
Do you have a cover song that you like more than the original?
Hmmm...I think Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower" is the definitive one. I prefer Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt". Also I think Jeff Buckley does the best "Hallelujah" by far
