Never Any Ordinary - Sound In The Signals Interview
I recently had the opportunity to interview Never Any Ordinary. We discussed early musical influences, their album ‘Stay For Your Own Sake’, the potential for new music, and more. Check it out below.
First, thanks for the interview.
Thanks for having us!
Can you tell me how you formed the band for those who may be unfamiliar with it? How did you initially become interested in music?
The band was formed when we were still in high school. Sarah started it with a couple friends after their first attempt fell through and Shawn joined about 6 months after. We’ve been inseparable ever since.
As for our interest in music, Sarah never really listened to her own music until she was 13 and discovered Owl City, wanting to be a solo musician. From there, friends showed her various punk bands such as Against Me!, Minor Threat, and Daïtro.
Shawn grew up in a musical household and was largely influenced by his older sister’s taste in music including bands like Into It. Over It., American Football, and Their / They’re / There.
You released your album “Stay For Your Own Sake” last year. Have you been pleased with the response it has received so far? What are your thoughts looking back on it now?
That record will always hold a special place in our hearts. That being said, it was two years of really hard work. Writing and recording it was not easy, but for our first full LP, we think we did a good job. The response has been great. We have over 15,000 streams on the record and it really seems to resonate with people, which is all we can ask for.
What was your favorite moment from recording the album? Why?
It honestly all blurs together since it took so long to do, especially by ourselves. It was definitely a challenge, but we enjoyed every part of it. Shawn says his favorite part was just starting the process and finding our own sound as a two piece and realizing we can do more as a two piece than we ever could as a four piece. Sarah says her favorite part was when Shawn’s dad would come into the garage and say “that sounds really good you guys!” and made our whole day.
I really like the song “This Isn’t The End Of Us”. Can you tell me about writing that song?
The song has a lot to do with Sarah being largely a recluse and confined while living with her mom and even into the first year of being on her own. The title comes from a very sad moment in her life where she had to face the reality of potentially losing a friend forever. It’s not a happy song in the slightest, but it’s one of our favorite to play live, especially when people know the lyrics.
You used an interesting photo for the cover. Can you tell me the story behind it?
Right before Sarah moved into her first apartment. Her soon-to-be roommate Graham (drummer for Newgrounds Death Rugby) ordered pizza and thought it would be funny to pretend to dip it into a glass of water. Sarah thought it was so good she took a Polaroid of it and photographed it on the kitchen table. It really makes the perfect emo album cover.
I saw that you released some CDs for the album. Is there any chance that you’ll be releasing cassettes or vinyl?
Probably not honestly. We’ve long since been rid of the “nice” looking CDs and now just make cheap ones with materials from Walmart and sell them for $1. Definitely for future releases though.
How important is physical media like CDs, cassettes, and vinyl to your band?
To us, they’re about as important as lemonade at a lemonade stand. It’s nice to have merch at the table, but we prefer to let the music speak for itself. That said, nothing would make us happier than to see our record on a shelf at a local record store.
Have you been working on any new music? Will we hear new songs in 2023?
Nah we quit, sorry.
Jokes aside, as of 1/7/23 we have a new single recorded and are planning to release it before our tour with Anergy in March. Other than that, we have a new batch of songs and plan on releasing an EP sometime this year.
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else that you would like to add?
Shawn: Hi Mom!
Sarah: I’m so glad that Ronald Reagan is ****.
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