Last Call - Sound In The Signals Magazine (INTERVIEW)

I interviewed Last Call for the August issue (issue #11) of Sound In The Signals Magazine. Since their new EP Stay On The Outside is out today I decided to post a preview of that interview read the first two question/answers from the interview by clicking READ MORE. Make sure to check out the full interview when the issue is released next week!

Your new EP Stay On The Outside is coming out in August 2, 2011. Can you tell me a little about the recording process of the EP? Who did you guys work with for this one?

Adam Blasco: We worked with Paul Miner for SOTO. He's done all of our records, and we really enjoy working and hanging out with him. His studio, Buzzbomb Sound Labs, is located in Orange, CA which is only about a four-hour drive from us. Over the years, he's become one of our great friends. We're all very compatible and comfortable with each other, and we're all on the same page when it comes to our music, what we want to put out and how we're going to achieve that. So, it's really an effortless process with him, and we're always happy with the results.

The recording process for 'Stay On The Outside' was a little bit different from our other releases. This was the longest that we've been able to spend in the studio with Paul which, when all was said and done, was the better part of six days. Paul has always got ideas for every aspect of the record before we even get in there, but this was the first time that we actually got to do a bit of pre-production in the studio as well, which really had a hugely positive affect on the final product. Before we started everything, we all sat and talked about our previous releases, and what we wanted to do differently, and different things that we wanted to try with these songs, given the time. We got to play with a lot of different tones that were dependent on the parts and structures of the songs. That was something that we'd never been able to do before. We were also able to try multiple things for specific parts, whether it was guitar parts, drum parts or vocals. I think that gave us the ability to really fine tune everything about this record until it was something that both us and Paul were really happy with.

At the time that we recorded 'SOTO', we didn't have a full-time bassist. You'd think that this would be frustrating, but it actually ended up working out awesome. We all got to dabble with ideas for the songs, and we even had paul write/record some of the parts as well. I think one of the best parts of this time in the studio was the extensive time we got to spend on vocals. We tracked the base of all of the vocal parts for the record, then went home for a couple weeks. We all took those couple weeks to listen to and dissect all of the vocal parts; lyrics, melodies, grittiness, everything. This was awesome. We then went back down to Buzzbomb, changed a few of things, add a ton of other parts, and again, even got Paul to record his angelic voice into our songs.

Overall, the process for this record was by far our most enjoyable, and most natural yet. I can't wait to see what we do for our next release.

This EP is being released through Mightier Than Sword (which I feel like is a great label). What made you decide to work with the label for this EP? How much has their involvement helped your band?

Mightier Than Sword is an amazing label. It was actually the MTS reissue of Blink's self-titled LP last year that put me in touch with RJ (Owner of MTS). We talked a little bit back and forth through emails, and in the course of that, I mentioned my band and our new EP '12:57'. I thought (judging by some of the previous MTS releases) that he'd just be into the music, so I sent him a zip of the record. He emailed me a few days later and let me know how much he liked the EP. I was psyched on that… then unexpectedly, he started talking about our band, future plans, and things we wanted to do. I couldn't believe it cause this was a label that I had personally loved and supported for quite some time prior. We spent some more time talking to RJ, and assessed where we were as a band, other things that we had on our plate, and which would be the best route to take. Really, it wasn't a hard decision at all. I think we all knew from the get-go that MTS was the right choice for us. We announced our signing in November, and I think it was only a few weeks later that MTS re-released '12:57' worldwide in digital format.

There are a ton of ways that MTS' involvement with us has helped us. Both RJ and Buddy are really like minded guys. Like us, they've both got great work ethics, and growing up in the hardcore/punk scenes, I think we all share a DIY ethic. That plays a huge part in everything we/they do. That in itself has been a huge benefit to us. They support us, and what we want to do whole-heartedly, and vice-versa. It really much more of a friendship relationship, as opposed to a business relationship. It's like: We are getting to release the record that we want to release, the way we want to release it, and our friends are releasing it for us. It's rad, and honestly, they're just as psyched as us. That's an amazing feeling, too.