Don't Fence Relient K In
By: Brett Hickman |
Monday April 16, 2007 |
| Interview |
| Nothing creates more tension between people than their respective
faiths in religion (or lack thereof). Wars have been (and still are)
fought, lives have been shattered and communication shut down over
people's opposition to the faiths of others. And, while it's on a
much smaller scale than what is done on a global scale, the
incorporation of faith, specifically Christianity, into modern music,
particularly rock 'n roll, has set off some rather strong emotions on
all sides. From those who feel that "preaching" should be kept inside
of churches and kept off of their radios to those that seek music to
underline and fit their beliefs, Christian Rock has become not only a
lightning rod of controversy, but has also translated into big
business, one that didn't require much hesitation from the typically
snail-like major music labels to ingratiate themselves into.
And in the genre of Christian Rock, Relient K are the hottest act going right now. The Canton, OH group, formed nearly a decade ago and have seen each new album outsell the previous one. The band's latest album for Capitol, Five Score & Seven Years Ago burst onto Billboard's Top Ten this past March. Produced by Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Less Than Jake), Five Score doesn't stray too far afield of Relient K's previous efforts. That is until the album closer, "Deathbed." The song is an epic tune that found frontman Matt Thiessen pushing himself into heretofore uncharted realms. And pushing the boundaries of the band's tightly confined walls are of great interest to Thiessen. On a future release, he hopes to expand upon the band's sound and open himself up lyrically more. Thiessen aspires to create a rock opera or concept record (he cites The Beach Boys and The Who as influences in the interview below) and shows no sign of being denied. On a recent Friday afternoon, Thiessen and I had an engaging conversation discussing the old hat of his band's categorization by an increasingly snide media and his burgeoning creativity. Brett Hickman: You guys just came out with the new album and it really took off, how excited is everybody about that? Matt Thiessen: Oh pretty excited, I mean we were supposed to put out the record in November. We've been sitting on it for quite awhile. So it's kind of like one of those things, like, finally, you know we got to put it out. We're just happy that it's in stores. Tell me about your opening acts, how did it come about that May and Sherwood were picked? MT: Well, Mae is like...something's going on with that band and us lately. It's been crazy. We're like kindred spirits or something. We toured together two years ago and since then, they've [been] signed to Capitol, same record label as us, they did their record with the same producer as us. They even, when they were living in LA this winter, they stayed on the same floor of the same apartment building as we did, and we're really good friends, so we're really excited that they agreed to do the tour. And Sherwood's also good buddles of ours. I'm into their music and they're kind of the first band to come out on MySpace records, and that's kind of a cool angle, I think, especially for that third slot. It's a good angle, I think, for the tour. What were some of the challenges, or were there any challenges encountered while making the album? MT: It was the toughest album to make, for us, ever. Where do I begin? [The] first challenge: it was the first album where none of us lived in the same town anymore. So, the last time we were making a record, everybody lived in Canton, Ohio, and we just practiced and then I could, you know, just go home from practice and write some more. This time I had to pretty much stay at home for like a month or two and write and demo and then send the demos out through e-mail and then we'd have to get together for like two solid weeks and practice everything. So that was kind of a little different. It was harder to got feedback from the other guys and whatnot. Other challenges included the fact that Capitol really, really wanted a November release so they had this schedule of what we needed to have done by when and that stifles creativity sometimes and puts a lot of pressure on the band and the writing and whatnot. And then the fact that it got pushed after that was just kind of a bum out. It was what? MT: It was kind of a bum-out. (laughs) If they were hurrying you to have it released, to be ready by November, and then it took until March to come out...what was the deal there? MT: Ah, that's a great question. I think that they didn't have the marketing ready to go in time for that November release and they just needed a few more months. But, um, you know, as far as the business goes I think they thought they were gonna need a fourth quarter release to jumpstart finances for the label, and I think they ened up doing better than they thought, or something like that. You know, it's one of those type of things, like 'we don't really have to have this album out, so let's wait a little longer.' Right. Was there anything done with it after the fact? Was there any work on it that you felt needed to be done because you had hurried things? MT: The unfortunate part is that we didn't find out about them pushing it back to March until after it was mixed and mastered. We already had 13 songs on it and we needed to go and write some more. So, it was kind of like 'well I guess it's gonna leak,' there's no way it's gonna be able to be out there for this many months. And did it end up leaking? MT: Yeah it leaked way early And is that why there was the decision to put it all on MySpace ahead of time? MT: No, that's just something MySpace does. I think it kind of ups your, I don't know, your traffic. Yeah MySpace put up a few bands, I saw them doing it with Amber Lynn a couple of weeks before we did it. And with regards to the album what are you most proud of on it? MT: I say this a lot but "Deathbed" was like the most fun I've ever had like writing or recording a song. I think it's kind of the way that recording music should be, very relaxed. It was funny, we did most of the album in three-and-a-half weeks out in LA but we had two weeks to record it in Nashville so it was kind of like sitting back and just doing whatever you wanted with the song, and I dunno, it was a breath of fresh air as far as having the freedom to do that. What was different, besides the amount of time spent on it, what was the main difference between recording the main bulk of the album and recording "Deathbed" then? MT: Well, "Deathbed" is just a completely different animal as far as a song goes. It's 11 minutes long and it's a narrative about this fictitious character and we've never really done anything like that before. When we write songs, they're pop songs. I like them, you know, but it's not art, by any means. Like, I wouldn't consider myself an artist. I would consider...you know we're in a band, we're having a great time, we're making music, it's not terrible music so that's good. But "Deathbed" was like writing a story or painting a picture. It was like I was creating something that was completely unattached to me. And so it wasn't a pop song and at the same time [we were] trying to make it catchy and kind of fun to listen to. Now where were you coming from with regard to writing the song. It obviously verges from what you guys typically would do. And where did it come from? And why was there the need to express this different side of you when it was radically different from the rest of your work? MT: The beauty of it is, I don't feel there was a need there, it was kind of a lark. I started writing a little melody, lyrics, the very front of the song, the thing about the guy being on his deathbed, and I originally thought maybe I'll write it about myself, and kind of just do my life and kind of do this creepy sort of shadowing of, you know, me dying or something. But I was like 'no, that's too weird,' so I started going a different direction with it, and all of a sudden it became this guy, and I was thinking it'd be this guy's life. So it took a little bit of work, but it ended up coming quicker than I thought it would. Would you consider it the best song on the album, or is there something else on there that you maybe like more? MT: I try not to analyze our music as 'this is the best song on the album' and that sort of thing. You're a little bit too attached to it to be able to say that. It's definitely the thing I'm most proud of on there. I gave the record to some friends and fans the other day and I was like 'yeah, just check out the last song.' And what, if anything, do you hope to do differently with...I mean I know it will be some time, but what do you hope to do differently maybe on the next album? Is there any direction you'd like to focus on? MT: It's funny that you say that. I'm a big Beach Boys and a big Who fan, and actually, the next album I've been thinking about making it sort of...not putting a big push behind it. I'm just thinking about writing a little concept record, or something like that, just for fun. Something that would be like a snack. But yeah, I definitely want to do something almost like "Deathbed." That's just not the norm for us. The Who got to do "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia" and I think that'd be cool if we got to do something like that. Obviously, not a lot of bands do that these days. Is that something you're considering just for yourself, or for inclusion under the name Relient K? And what sort of obstacles do you foresee doing something like that? MT: I think it'd be cool to do it under Relient K. But yeah, obstacles. I don't know how many, well, let's think, how many of those can we get to, uh sure the label won't love it, but hmmm...you know that sort of thing, it's kind of like, Capitol didn't like Pet Sounds when the Beach Boys made that, either. What sort of, ambition do you have for the sound of it? Do you anticipate changing, or expanding upon and building upon the band's sound and augmenting it with different sounds or instruments that aren't typical for the band? MT: I could go into about a twenty minute explanation of what I'm actually trying to do. I've already got about four songs done, but, I'm trying not to talk about it too much in case it's all a pipe dream you know and I end up not doing it. But yeah I think it's gonna tell a really long story that spans generations, and it's gonna start, like, back in the mid-19th century, and so when the songs are gonna change time frames, the music's gonna change a little bit. The album starts I think in England with an Irish orphan (laughs) in 1846, and so, maybe a little bit of Dickens' era, Oliver Twist-type of music or something. I don't know, but obviously, this is me telling you my brainstorm, you know, my sketchpad, and that's probably not a good thing to tell. (laughs). Well, you know there's always...I mean, I don't know what your contract is, but a lot of times people have options to release something, independently, and maybe you are able to do this under an assumed name. To put something like that out like that would be artistically rewarding. MT: Yeah. And you know, that's the thing, we don't think a whole lot. It's not like we hold "Relient K" as a scheme where we're like 'oh, we have to have successful records all the time and stuff.' We're not afraid to do something kind of crazy like that. I don't think we'll flush our careers down the toilet with something like that. Who knows? (laughs) Well, we're almost out of time, but I wanted to ask you one thing and it's perhaps a little bit typical for you, but I wanted to try and ask it in perhaps a different way. Because the way things are in this country, and the way the media and especially the music media in particular tends to be, do you feel unfairly criticized when people want to just slap a christian rock label on the band? MT: Um, it's not unfair. I think it's fine, you know, because i understand the need for this society to have a christian music industry because, you know, if there's a mom out there, I don't expect her to have to listen to every one of her kid's records, so she needs to be able to go in the store and buy Christian music. But, other than that, I feel like you say the words 'Christian music' and a lot of people are...like they cringe, because it's got this bad reputation, and it's not the most flattering thing you wanna be associated with, but at the same time you know, we sing about our faith and we're not embarrassed to do it. You know we're gonna get labeled like that, and that's...I dunno. Again we don't really take our band too seriously so, label us however you want. Call us an "emo-screamo" band or whatever. I mean, it wouldn't be accurate, but... (laughs) Just one follow up question. With regards to that, do you think that has more to do with the fact that, in typical media fashion, even though the country at large is more faith oriented than most people give credit for, that they, the media, particularly music media, tends to be a little more left leaning and more resistant to the message of God? MT: That's rock and roll, you know? Like, it's 'sex drugs and rock 'n roll.' It's not, if you wanna have the attitude as far as the media is concerned, then you've kinda gotta bash Christians a little bit. I understand it. I don't agree with it, you know, but whatever. And so obviously I'm gonna do an interview, or have an album review, and I'm gonna get criticized for my faith just because it's not 'sex, drugs and rock 'n roll.' But I think that this country has totally and completely changed in the last few years, because of bands like P.O.D and stuff, bands that have a little bit of that faith substance to their music, but you know Rolling Stone's still probably gonna criticize them a little bit for their beliefs. |
