see you. - Sound In The Signals Interview
I recently had the opportunity to interview Justin Vaughn and Vanessa DeFilippo of see you.. We discussed how they became interested in music, how they formed the band, writing and recording their debut single “Doom or Bloom”, artwork, the potential for new music, and more. Check it out below.
First, thanks for the interview.
Justin: Thank you! This is a brand new project so this is our first interview.
Vanessa: Thank you for giving us some of your time!
Can you tell me how you started the band for those who may be unfamiliar with it? How did you become interested in music?
Justin: Over the summer my other band Low Morale went on a hiatus so I made a post that I was looking to start a new project. Vanessa, super talented former guitarist of Dead Leaves, messaged me saying she had some instrumental demos lying around that need vocals. She sent them over and they were killer. I wrote vocals for a handful of songs pretty quickly. Luckily she dug them, and see you. was born.
I got into music at a young age. My dad and uncle were both party DJs, so there was a lot of ’80s and ’90s pop being played around me. I think it gave me a taste for melody and a good hook. In middle school a girl made me a cassette mix tape of alternative bands and that’s when I realized I wanted to make music. I soon got into punk rock and never looked back.
Vanessa: Yep, what Justin said. I saw that he was looking to keep doing music in some capacity, and I hadn't really been active since my departure from Dead Leaves. I've been sitting on a lot of tunes written from 2010-on that never saw release. Sent Justin a handful of demos and he came back with lyrics super quick, and was very happy with his approach to them.
As far as becoming interested, my dad played in wedding band for a long time in his younger years, my cousin was well-versed in the local Cleveland scene at the time, and some of my friends on my block were a bit older and showed me a wide variety of tunes. It was mostly my cousin Brian who showed me the things I still pull influence from today. His buddy was in a local noise band, Jerk, and it opened my mind up to how different bands could sound or deviate from the norm.
You recently released your debut single “Doom or Bloom”. Can you tell me about writing the song?
Justin: Doom or Bloom was the fastest, and my favorite of the songs we had demoed, so we thought it would be cool to come out swinging. Lyrically it’s partly about my midlife (and existential) crises. Feeling like I don’t have a ton of time left to accomplish goals, and how you can’t just wait around and hope something happens. I had felt stuck in a previous situation and was recently feeling kind of liberated to be able to move on, so there’s some hopefulness in there. You also have to try to look forward instead of backwards and not harp on what you should have done differently, which is easier said than done.
Vanessa: Doom or Bloom was originally about change in a relationship, a heartbreak kinda deal. I wanted to write something that felt like a quick punch; fast beats, driving guitars, and a cool little riff that sticks with the listener. I originally wrote this track with the help of Gene Bernardo of Dead Leaves way before the band came to be, and he gave me the basis of the drums.
Have you been pleased with the response to the song so far?
Justin: For sure. We’ve got a lot of positive feedback, which is awesome. I’m really proud of it and excited to release more stuff. Our next single is going to be more of a midwest emo vibe.
Vanessa: I dig it! I always wanted to get more out of these tracks and Justin came through and provided me the push to get these out there. The response has been pretty stellar, and can’t wait to show our versatility.
You recorded it with Dave Piatek who has worked with No Pressure. What was it like working with him on the song?
Justin: I’ve wanted to work with Dave for years because he’s great. He recorded some of my brother Bobby’s albums a while back which is how I first met him, and we really got along. In previous bands we’d sometimes cut corners when it came to recording, so I wasn’t always super happy with the end product. I recently vowed to only put out quality recordings, even if it means recording one track at a time, which is pretty much what we’re doing. So we figured out a way to finally work with Dave. We almost spent as much time talking and hanging out as we did recording, so it was a pretty fun, chill vibe.
Vanessa: Dave gets the best out of you and pushes you to get everything down as clean as possible, and then even cleaner. He took to the song quickly and it almost felt like an extension of our two-person project working with him and taking input to redevelop and complete the track. It didn't change a ton from its original inception, but with Dave's help it made it that much better. I can't wait to get back in the studio with him and get everyone some more solid tracks to listen to.
The single artwork was designed by Eddie Reyes (Taking Back Sunday). How did he end up working on the art for the song and what is your connection to him?
Justin: I’ve actually known Eddie for years now because he lives in Ohio and I’d run into him at shows and became friends online. One of my previous bands opened for another project of his a few years ago as well which was fun. Eddie had posted the picture he had taken of the repurposed toilet flower pot a while ago and I thought it would make a cool album cover. When we needed a cover for the single, I thought it would symbolically fit the themes of song so asked him if we could use it and sent him the track. He said we could use it, and that he really liked the song, which was awesome coming from the founder of one of the biggest emo bands ever.
Vanessa: Yeah, I can’t say I’ve ever met Eddie personally, but I’ve seen Taking Back Sunday live quite a few times. They were my favorite band for years; TAYF still gets plays from me weekly, and Where You Want To Be and S/T are classics. Pretty honored to have him incorporated into this project in some way.
Can we expect more new music from you soon? Is there any chance that you’re working on an EP or album? If so, what can you tell us so far?
Justin: Definitely. We’re actually going back to record our next single with Dave in early November. We really want to put out stuff we’re stoked about, so this is best way for us to be able to do it. A lot of people don’t really seem to have the attention span for full-length albums anymore anyway, so just putting out singles works for now. We may eventually release them all together as an EP. It would be cool if a label helps us put out a proper release in the future, but for now I guess that’s the plan.
Vanessa: Absolutely! It's cool for me to see all these tunes I’ve been sitting on for years get new life to them, but I'm also in the process of writing and arranging quite a few new tracks. I like the idea of trickling out some tracks to see response, and then decide how to proceed from there. Of the songs I sent Justin, there were 4 we felt meshed together well that even as singles would feel coherent together. I have a couple other tracks I’m working on or have sent Justin already that don’t deviate too much, but fit a little bit of a different vibe that would be cool to get out there, too!
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else that you would like to add?
Justin: Just that we really appreciate the positive response, and to connect with us on social media for updates and stuff. We also plan on playing full band live shows in the near future, which should be a blast.
Vanessa: Thanks for giving us a platform to chat! I'm excited about the future and can’t wait to keep writing songs with Justin that people can relate to.
Follow see you.:
Follow Sound In The Signals:
No comments: