Day At The Fair - Sound In The Signals Interview
You've recently regrouped and are releasing a new single "The Brightening" what about that song made you guys want to release it first?
Chris Barker: Honestly, when you write songs, you always think that the last song you wrote is the best you've ever done. I kind of fast tracked this one to the top of the myriad of demo's I've done and thankfully, everyone went along with it. The song itself, I have a very personal connection with so I’m glad they were on board as the first one we would do after 9 years.
Todd Maisano: Chris has been sending demos to us for months now. He felt this song was the cream of the crop due to the emotion and personal nature of the material. I was on board immediately and couldn't stop listening to his office demo of the single. To tell you the truth, I'm pretty sure Chris can't write a bad song, and I'm sure most people that know his work will agree with me.
The new single sounds great and it sounds so well written. Vocally it's a really strong performance. Can you tell me a little about the recording process of the song and what you wanted to accomplish with it?
CB: Thank you, I really appreciate that. I accredit that mostly to our new drummer, Dave Patino, our bassist Todd returning and our new producer Rob Freeman. I went into the studio for the first time 18 years ago and since then; I've only ever worked with two producers throughout my career. This whole experience itself brought new life to how we make music and it was hands down the best time I have ever had in the recording process. With that being said, we are all at much different places in our lives in comparison to when we were in our 20’s and did this for a living. I remember waking up at noon for a 12 o'clock session, hung over in a dirty hotel room after partying all night and smoking a pack or two of cigarettes. This time around I woke up my 18 month old daughter, fed her breakfast and took her to daycare. I remember driving to Rob’s studio that day thinking, "Things sure have changed."
TM: The recording process was extremely different from the Rocking Chair Years session. During the Rocking Chair Years recording we had a deadline and needed to get label approvals. There was a sense of apprehension during the first month of recording, and the pressure to make it successful. For this single, all of that was not there, and we knew we were just going to record one song. We had the freedom to explore it musically. Chris sent me the demo a week or two before, and I showed up and played through and nailed it within an hour. Rob was great, and you could feel that we were accomplishing something in the studio.
I really like the song lyrically. Can you tell me a little about what inspired the lyrics to the new song and how you like to write your lyrics?
CB: It sounds kinda cryptic when I try to explain it to people. The truth is, a little over a year ago, we lost a friend/family member unexpectedly and he left behind a wife and two daughters. It got me thinking that when you are gone, the people you leave behind may grow old without ever really knowing how you truly felt about them and it got to me. I wrote this so that the person it's about will never be able to say that.
TM: What he said, he writes the lyrics
You've been working on your new album. How far are you into the process and do you have any tentative type of release date in mind?
CB: Honestly, I've been working on it on and off for 9 years. With that, we've gotten the chance to actually determine what's good and what's not and actually focus on a song and it's parts rather than just finish a song cause we had to finish the song. I send a lot of demo's to the guys with one verse and one chorus and if they don't say anything about it, I automatically assume it's not worth finishing. It avoids wasted time cause that is one thing none of us have anymore, time. After the release of the single we definitely have the motivation to actually finish it so I imagine we'll demo in early summer and aim for a late summer release.
TM: The music library on my computer is littered with Day at the Fair demos. I have lost count i have so many. All have ideas that are worth exploring, but like Chris said, we don't have the time to just get in a room and iron out the pieces into a song. It may actually work better this way since Chris is able to concentrate only on the top ideas, and the one's he feels most passionate about. I believe that is evidenced in "The Brightening." I can't wait to get working on the demoing and recording the rest of the record. This summer cannot come soon enough.
You are working with Broken Heart Records to release your new album. Broken Heart also released your vinyl reissue how much did the reissue impact your getting back together and working on a new album?
CB: Pretty much it had everything to do with it. Over the years since we moved on, we've played 4 shows I think and each time we did, we'd make all these big plans to start writing while we were practicing for the show, but after the show, all our stuff just sat collecting dust in my basement for two years until we were ready to play again. Larry and BHR really gave us the boost we needed after all these years to actually do something.
TM: I cannot say enough about Broken Heart Records. Without them, this record would still be a dream to some day do in our lives.. ahem, in our Rocking Chair Years. Seeing the response to the vinyl re-release of that record gave us momentum. When we played the reissue release show a couple months back, we were able to meet Larry, and he is dedicated to this so that also pushed us to record. Once Chris nailed down that demo, we scheduled some time, and here we are today.
Since this new album will be coming out on Broken Heart are you also planning a vinyl release for it as well? What did you think about The Rocking Chair Years finally getting a vinyl release?
CB: I never thought I'd see the day to have something we did on Vinyl and I love the way it came out. I got the chance to cross that off my bucket list.
TM: Vinyl is making a comeback in the music scene with most bands now releasing records on a multitude of formats. I've had a record player for a couple years now and mostly buy new music on vinyl. Having the Rocking Chair Years on vinyl was definitely a dream come true for me. As for the new record, I hope we have a chance to put it out on vinyl, but we don't currently have that planned out yet.
Many Drive Thru artists have had such a lasting impact on the music scene. What do you think made that label and those bands so special to people?
CB:It was a great time in music and I think Richard and Stefanie are owed a lot of credit for what they created and accomplished at that time. They didn’t necessarily take bands that were already established and cash in on the success they already had. Most of their roster was built from the ground up and that say’s a lot about what they believed in. I think that notion is lost now with music and it’s a shame. What I liked about the label in it’s heyday, was that no matter what came out that had the drive-thru logo on it, people would take notice. I don’t know if any label like that exists these days.
TM: Everyone in the scene knows Drive-thru. Richard and Stefanie had a knack of finding the right bands at the right time. From New Found Glory and The Early November to Houston Calls and Steel train, these bands are so diverse yet so great. The label and bands were special because the fans grew up with the label and bands. When Drive-Thru was founded, I was 16-17, and discovering my own music. Drive thru had a huge impact on shaping my musical tastes and will always hold a special place in my heart. I'm sure I'm not the only person that can say that.
What was it like being on Drive Thru/Rushmore for you guys? I know at the time you were on the label it was kind of in a transitional process.
CB: Well I think we were there when the ship hit the proverbial iceberg for lack of a better analogy and I’ve had mixed feelings about it over the years. Originally, there were parts of me that was pretty angry during that last year or so on Drive-Thru/Rushmore. We kind of always felt less favored or the last horse in their race so race so to speak and I didn’t think they marketed us correctly, if at all. So that pissed me off for a while and towards the end of our tenure, when we were asking to do an acoustic EP, they denied us. I was also seeing all these other bands we were friends with on the label getting their demos denied and sitting at home waiting to record. We didn’t have the patience or time to tender the idea of waiting for another album so we pulled the plug. The writing was on the wall already with the label so we bailed, cut ties and moved on with our lives. As time went on and I grew up, started a family, I saw things a little differently. What I realized then was that they helped fund some of the best years of my life and they put a lot of money (most of which went largely un-recouped) into something they believed in at some point in their lives. To this day, I have no ill feelings towards them and I wish them the best. They brought an bigger audience to the band who, at the time, was on it’s 3rd straight year of grass roots touring when they signed us and we were getting just tired of the whole thing. Whether or not I agree with how everything went down, all I know now is that last week, we released our single and it’s actually doing surprisingly well. At the end of that release day, I got to stay at home in my own house and rock my daughter to sleep at night. I guess things worked out as they should have.
TM: At first, signing to Drive-thru/Rushmore was a dream come true for me. Joining the back catalog, and hanging out in the LA office was mind blowing. As the time went on, we started to feel like the black sheep. It was such a weird feeling going from the elation of signing with them to the downward spiral that started before we demoed our first songs for the Rocking Chair Years. It always seemed that they wanted our band to be something we weren't. In the end, we released songs we are super proud of regardless of the situation. Having said all of that, we owe them a lot. As Chris said, we got out in front of a much bigger audience and tours that we wouldn't have gotten on our own. We just wish we felt more of a push (even if it wasn't real) and faith in our music. That would've made a word of difference, but heck, life goes on. This new record would be extremely different if things hadn't ended up the way that it did.
You can purchase Day At The Fair's new single "The Brightening" here: http://brokenheartrecords.bandcamp.com/
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