Cheap Date - Sound In The Signals Interview
First off thanks for the interview
Not a problem at all! Thankful that people are interested enough in our music to reach out to us!
You guys have a new EP Tiny Voices. Can you tell me a little about the recording process of the EP and how long you guys worked on it?
Well, it took a really long time [laughs]. Booking studio time was problematic with all of our different schedules. So, what would normally be a week, took us 5 months. The actual recording process was amazing, though. We worked with Derek Hoffman and he really brought out the best in us.
Derek Hoffman produced the new EP. What was it like to work with him and why did you decide on him to produce this EP?
I'll tell every band I know to work with Derek. He's a great musician, producer and music mentor. When we entered the studio we thought we had the final ideas but Derek was able to bring these ideas to another level. One thing I will always appreciate in a producer is patience and Derek was full of it. Recording can be time consuming and even stressful at times but, Derek never once allowed that to compromise what we were aiming to achieve. Hopefully we can work with him in the future!
The EP was released to a few press outlets for stream ahead of the release date. What have you guys thought of the reaction so far? Has anything surprised you at all about how listeners are reacting to the EP?
Yeah, we were all pretty excited about the hype behind the advanced streams. Our good friend, Tyler Martin, was assisting us on the coverage of the EP and was able to secure different media platforms to showcase our music. We first launched the EP with Exclaim last Tuesday morning. Naturally, I expected our friends and family to support us, but so many people shared the stream. Over time, the stream made its way to other sites (Idiot EQ, Already Heard, Dying Scene and New Noise Magazine) and more and more people listened. We're all so thankful for the support it has received. Someone from France messaged us saying she loves the EP and that we earned a new fan. Pretty cool.
The EP kicks off with "Superheroes Have Bad Days Too". I thought this was a strong opener for it. What was the writing process like in particular for that song and what made you want to put it as the first song on the EP?
Thanks! That song came together really quickly actually. I [Evan] was sitting in my room listening to some Box Car Racer and was thinking about how simple the guitar tracks are on their record. I began strumming some chords and a song fell in place. Our old guitarist, Anthony Lukan, really brought the song to life with that lead in the intro/chorus. Superheroes was our first single ever. Alex McFarland from The Trenches Media filmed a music video for that song last January and the response was amazing. Ever since, we've acknowledged that it's one of our stronger songs, so we figured we'd kick off the EP with that one.
The artwork for the new EP is cool. Who came up with the concept for it and why did you guys decide to use for the EP?
Jake Carruthers is a master of his craft. He has done most of our design work recently and I don't think we'll go to any other graphic designers now [laughs]. A common theme within our tracks is that we have issues dealing with anxiety. The tracks consist of having a bad day, having a panic attack, abusing substances to cope with these issues and simply wishing to get away. After feeling the vibe of the EP out, the idea of naming the EP "Anxiety" was thrown on the table. We then thought that instead of naming it "Anxiety" we should dig deeper and think of ways to describe anxiety. Having thoughts inside your head telling you why you won't succeed or why you shouldn't even try is unfortunately a part of having anxiety. We landed on "Tiny Voices" as a title because we feel it targets this aspect of anxiety and how it effects members of this band. We also wanted to pay homage to Box Car Racer, who was clearly an inspiration for us.
I saw that you guys have a really cool looking hockey themed shirt. The designer of that shirt has done a lot of work for bands in the pop/punk scene. How did that design work out?
We really wanted to step up our merch game so we approached Jake Carruthers with this idea of a bloody and bruised Tie Domi. It's for our song "Tough Guy”, which is not included on the EP. We mentioned a couple ideas and within a day Jake brought us a rough draft of the design. It's great working with Jake. He's constantly busying doing work for Seaway, Neck Deep, Real Friends, Knuckle Puck, etc, so naturally we're excited when he finds time to help us out.
You guys are from Oshawa. What's the music scene like from your hometown? What bands from the area are up and coming you think people should check out?
Oshawa is …Oshawa [laughs]. We formed the band when we were attending Music Business Management at Durham College in 2013. We're actually all from entirely different places, but we practice in Oshawa. The scene is actually pretty cool. Oshawa was known for having a strong scene back when The Dungeon was kicking. Bands like Protest The Hero and Alexisonfire would play all the time, and the scene was doing well. Two years ago The Moustache Club opened up downtown and has done great things for Oshawa. Bringing in bands like Anti-Flag, The Flatliners, Gob and Silverstein helps out immensely. Check out Bohemian Grove and Steady Hussle! Those dudes are some of the hardest working musicians I know.
What are your plans for the remainder of 2015?
Performing as much as possible. We have an EP and now it's time to get it out there! We're hitting Montreal soon and I know everyone is excited about that. I think this summer we will try and play as many festivals as possible and keep new merch designs flowing. Big things for the future!
I guess that about wraps it up. Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else you would like to add?
I'd say check out "Tiny Voices" and try to come see us live. See you soon, dudes.
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