Real Talk - Sound In The Signals Interview
For people who aren’t familiar with your band. Can you tell me a little about how you got started and what really interested you about music?
Sam, Chris and Stephen have been playing music together since we were about 12 or 13 years old in various projects. Pat has been in a bunch of Maine bands from another part of the state about 2.5 hours from where we live. Joey is from Western Mass which is just shy of 6 hours from us. We met Joey while on our first tour with our previous singer and then played a couple one offs with his solo project. When the spot opened up we knew he was the man for the job.
Your new EP “Maps & Miles” is out this month. Can you tell me a little about the recording process of the EP? What went into writing these songs, how long did you work on it, and where did you record it at?
Writing “Maps & Miles” was an incredibly long process. There are bits and pieces that we’ve been sitting on for years. Content wise we had a lot to write about. Most of us are still in school and live away from home for a majority of the year, and with Joey living so far away even when he’s at home we really value our time together jamming. The EP has a lot to do with the changes we’ve faced not only as a band, but even more so as people, moving away from home and everything that we knew, as well as learning the ropes as far as touring. We’ve done a decent amount of touring now, and it’s an experience that really helped shape the EP lyrically.
As far as the actual recording process, we spent about 16 days living in the studio down at Apparition Sound with Chris Curran in Thompson, Connecticut. He’s done a lot of records for some of our favorite bands like A Loss For Words, Handguns, etc, so we knew he would be a great choice. Getting to live in the studio, and focus on nothing but the album for over two weeks was a huge advantage.
“Where You’re Meant To Be” is the first song you guys chose to release off the EP. What about that song made it the perfect first song to release?
We had a really hard time choosing which song to release first. We’re proud of every single one on the EP. However, “Where You’re Meant To Be” is without a doubt a summer jam and we thought it worked well with the season. It’s a bit more poppy than some of our other songs but we think it gives a good glimpse of our overall sound. It’s also a song about being out on the road, and we actually released while on our last tour.
A personal favorite song of mine from the EP is “See You Upstate.” It’s a really great acoustic summer pop/punk song. Can you tell me a little specifically about that song and the writing process?
I [Joey - vocalist] wrote ‘See You Upstate’ in my dorm room at Syracuse University. Every song I write mainly beings with me and my acoustic guitar, so this came about somewhat naturally. The song is about leaving home and specifically for me, going to college. I go to school in Upstate New York, which is 230 miles from my hometown (hence the chorus lyrics) and it helped me deal with all the anxiety about leaving for the first time.It’s about determining what kind of things you should leave back at home and what you should take along with you. The song is very personal with lyrics about nights back in high school and saying goodbye to close friends for a bit.
What is your personal favorite song off the new EP and why is it your favorite?
“Exposed” is probably our favorite collectively. The song is full of energy and we close the set with it every night. Fans of our old projects will find some easter eggs in there too.
There is a long line of pop/punk bands named after bands, lyrics of songs, or albums (All Time Low, Man Overboard, The Story So Far, etc…). Just out of curiosity did you guys name the band after Man Overboard’s album Real Talk? If so what made that album such a bit impact on you guys?
Real Talk is actually a R Kelly reference. Nah, we’re completely kidding. We do love Man O and that album, but the band isn’t named after it. There’s no real interesting story behind the name of our band, we just thought it would be memorable and fit in well with the style of music we play. Lots of people assume it’s a Man Overboard thing.
What do you guys have planned for the last half of 2014?
Our new EP came out July 15th. Next month we’re headed out on a midwest tour with our friends in Sleep On It from Chicago. After August several of us are headed back to school, and Joey will be going abroad to London for the semester. During that time he’ll be doing a bunch of acoustic gigs in the UK. Below are the dates for the August tour with Sleep On It.
8/09 - Ohio @ TBA
8/10 - Covington, Kentucky @ Coda
8/13 - West Chester, PA @ Fennario’s
8/14 - Rockville Centre, NY @ The Vibe Lounge
8/15 - Portland, ME @ TBA
8/16 - Cambridge, MA @ TT The Bear’s
8/17 - Buffalo, NY @ The Forvm (with Carousel Kings)
8/18 - Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s
8/20 - Grand Rapids, MI @ TBA
8/21 - Indianapolis, IN @ Emerson Theatre
8/22 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
I guess that about wraps it up. Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else you’d like to add or let our readers know where they can preorder the new EP?
Thanks for having us! You can buy the new EP digitally on our bandcamp at www.realtalkrock.bandcamp.com or a physical copy at www.realtalkrock.bigcartel.com. Come say hi when we’re in your town.
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