Interview: The Cast Before The Break Edit
(January 5, 2009)
Q: Hello there guys, how have you been?
A: We’ve been well, thanks. Happy New Year!
Q: First of all, could you tell us a little bit about yourselves and your music?
A: Really, we’re just five ordinary guys whose paths happened to cross in a strange place in the middle of nowhere, New York. What The Cast Before the Break is today basically started with Jordan and I in a dorm room, messing around with guitars and Garage Band. What we try to do with our music is create the same sort of atmospheric vibe that bands like Sigur Ros and This Will Destroy You create, while incorporating facets of other artists we are fond of. A lot of people have compared us to many different bands, and while it’s flattering, I feel that our music cites influences from artists one wouldn’t expect right away.
Q: Where does the band name come from? Does it have a significant meaning? Who came up with it and how does it reflect your music?
A: I came up with the band name when I was searching for a title for my solo project. That’s really how this whole thing started. The band name doesn’t really come from anywhere, and it’s really open to interpretation. I’ve heard many different explanations from people, but the literal one I was going for involved a cast and a broken arm. Putting a cast on before you break a bone, which essentially means being overly cautious in a relatively short life span. Something to think about over a bowl of Wheaties I guess.
Q: In 2008, you released your impressive debut album “As Your Shoulders Turn On You”. How would you describe the album and the sound of it?
A: The album is really a strange journey from the back of my mind to the front of it. I was able to express things I don’t normally express, through the character of a comatose patient who just experienced a car accident at the hands of a drunk driver. The sound was intended to directly reflect the room, and the ideas presented in this person’s mind – which explains why we decided to make the music itself be the forefront of the listening experience, and the vocals take the sidelines for a majority of the record.
Q: The album gets a lot of praise in the press and by fans everywhere. How have you guys been experiencing this? How much does it encourage you to do what you do?
A: Haha it’s been weird. It definitely was unexpected. I think we all got shit-eating grins on our faces when we read the very first review over at Strange Glue. It’s definitely really encouraging, but honestly, it puts a lot of pressure on us. For AYSTOY, we didn’t have any expectations or pressures of any kind while writing and recording. It was just like, ‘let’s have fun, and go create something we can be happy with later.’ For a pretty young band, writing our first full-length record feels like a make-or-break situation for us. We’re all about to graduate college in the Spring, and this is something we’d like to continue doing, but if our new songs don’t go over well, who knows? On the other hand, it’s a huge motivator for new material; we’ve gotten a lot of good criticisms about our sound on AYSTOY, and I like to think we’ve matured quite a bit as musicians in this short period of time.
Q: Now that you guys have released the album, what are your plans for the upcoming year? Anything exciting planned in the near future?
A: For 2009, we’re definitely going to be heavily concentrating on this record. We’re going to take on a much different process then we did the first time around, in that we’ll be demoing everything first, changing things, etc. etc. If we’re lucky, we’ll have a final product by Fall. Yes, you can quote me on that, but I may be lying by tomorrow.
Q: Since the album has been released for a couple of months now, you’ve had a chance to take the songs out on the road. How is it to play the songs live? And which song is the most fun to play live?
A: This is a hard one to answer haha. I think I should preface it by saying we’ve gone through a lot of lineup changes since the album was released. Our rhythm section has changed twice, and so we’ve played our record with essentially three different lineups. It was definitely hectic for a while, but now we feel as though we’ve struck gold. Playing the songs live has always been great for us. We feel like the new material belongs to us more than the old stuff does now, but I guess that’s how it goes for any band. You adapt and you get more comfortable as you continue producing music. That being said, we won’t be eliminating old songs from our live sets anytime soon. Personally, I’ve always had the most fun playing “Onward, Love” live. Maybe it’s because I get a chance to step away from the microphone for a little bit, but it’s most likely because I can just close my eyes and take everything in as if I was part of the audience in front of me
Q: Speaking of touring, if you could tour anywhere in the world, where would you like to go?
A: I think I speak for all of us when I say we would love to go to Britain. Make it happen, Chris Martin.
Q: And if you could share the stage with any artist or band of your choosing, who would you like to play that show with? And why?
A: It’s safe to say we would all have different answers to this question, but since I’m the one at the keyboard, I’m going to say Death Cab For Cutie, hands down. Ben Gibbard’s my idol, and I think there is nothing that would make me feel more proud and more inferior at the same time then opening up for them.
Q: What are your biggest influences when it comes to your sound and songwriting?
A: I think it’s safe to say that our sound is heavily influenced by the various bands mentioned above. (This Will Destroy You, Sigur Ros, etc.) When it comes to crafting songs and melodies and things like that, the influences definitely come from a completely different direction. Artists like Death Cab, Bon Iver, Band of Horses, etc. all tend to have a pretty big impact on what I do. That’s a tough question to answer, haha. I can never get it right.
Q: What is the weirdest thing you have ever encountered in your careers as musicians?
A: Oh jeez. We honestly haven’t encountered too many weird things in our career yet. We had a show in Baltimore, MD over the summer at a place that was completely trashed when we walked in. I mean puke in the bathrooms, trash on the floors, the whole nine yards. The club owner was a complete, elitist dick, who thought he knew everything about everything. It was a pretty terrible experience. All in all, we’ve had a pretty ‘normal’ career, you could say. How boring, right?
Q: If you guys wouldn’t be musicians, what careers would you most likely be in?
A: Probably the automobile or automobile accessories industry. Either that or garbagemen, I’m not sure. I’ve always wanted to work in an antique shop that only sells things that you’d find at a Saturday afternoon garage sale. You know, pretty typical shit.
Q: Where can people go for more information on The Cast Before The Break?
A: Myspace, google, any one of our houses really.
Q: Okay a few random questions now.
Q: What movies would you guys recommend?
A: Awesome question. I could probably take up this entire interview recommending movies to you all, so I guess I’ll try and keep it short. What comes to mind first would probably be the Darjeeling Limited, Once, Garden State, Burn After Reading. And Jordan would shoot me if I didn’t recommend the Dark Knight to you, but if you haven’t seen it, you’re probably living under a rock. I can only assume it’s a comfortable rock, and I would spend a night with you if given the opportunity.
Q: Day or night?
A: Night
Q: Club venue or arena venue?
A: Club. Or hall, or basement. Whatever. Small shows are where it’s at.
Q: CDs or digital music?
A: As a person who has downloaded 95% of his musical collection, I must say I love owning a CD, and being able to just sit around, reading along as my favorite artists sing their hearts out. There’s something really powerful that happens there, and I think it should be important to any avid music lover.
Q: Okay, final question. What are your thoughts on people downloading music, both legally & illegally?
A: I think downloading music is one of the most important aspects of our generation as music fans. As far as our stuff goes, we just want you to be listening to it. Buy it digitally, download it ‘illegally,’ whatever. If it’s in your ears, something’s happening that supports us, and that’s all that matters. Support your favorite artists. If you get their music without permission, go to a show and watch them perform. Live music is where it’s at, and it is easily the future of the music industry.
Thank you The Cast Before The Break. I had a great time talking to you!
(January 5, 2009)
Q: Hello there guys, how have you been?
A: We’ve been well, thanks. Happy New Year!
Q: First of all, could you tell us a little bit about yourselves and your music?
A: Really, we’re just five ordinary guys whose paths happened to cross in a strange place in the middle of nowhere, New York. What The Cast Before the Break is today basically started with Jordan and I in a dorm room, messing around with guitars and Garage Band. What we try to do with our music is create the same sort of atmospheric vibe that bands like Sigur Ros and This Will Destroy You create, while incorporating facets of other artists we are fond of. A lot of people have compared us to many different bands, and while it’s flattering, I feel that our music cites influences from artists one wouldn’t expect right away.
Q: Where does the band name come from? Does it have a significant meaning? Who came up with it and how does it reflect your music?
A: I came up with the band name when I was searching for a title for my solo project. That’s really how this whole thing started. The band name doesn’t really come from anywhere, and it’s really open to interpretation. I’ve heard many different explanations from people, but the literal one I was going for involved a cast and a broken arm. Putting a cast on before you break a bone, which essentially means being overly cautious in a relatively short life span. Something to think about over a bowl of Wheaties I guess.
Q: In 2008, you released your impressive debut album “As Your Shoulders Turn On You”. How would you describe the album and the sound of it?
A: The album is really a strange journey from the back of my mind to the front of it. I was able to express things I don’t normally express, through the character of a comatose patient who just experienced a car accident at the hands of a drunk driver. The sound was intended to directly reflect the room, and the ideas presented in this person’s mind – which explains why we decided to make the music itself be the forefront of the listening experience, and the vocals take the sidelines for a majority of the record.
Q: The album gets a lot of praise in the press and by fans everywhere. How have you guys been experiencing this? How much does it encourage you to do what you do?
A: Haha it’s been weird. It definitely was unexpected. I think we all got shit-eating grins on our faces when we read the very first review over at Strange Glue. It’s definitely really encouraging, but honestly, it puts a lot of pressure on us. For AYSTOY, we didn’t have any expectations or pressures of any kind while writing and recording. It was just like, ‘let’s have fun, and go create something we can be happy with later.’ For a pretty young band, writing our first full-length record feels like a make-or-break situation for us. We’re all about to graduate college in the Spring, and this is something we’d like to continue doing, but if our new songs don’t go over well, who knows? On the other hand, it’s a huge motivator for new material; we’ve gotten a lot of good criticisms about our sound on AYSTOY, and I like to think we’ve matured quite a bit as musicians in this short period of time.
Q: Now that you guys have released the album, what are your plans for the upcoming year? Anything exciting planned in the near future?
A: For 2009, we’re definitely going to be heavily concentrating on this record. We’re going to take on a much different process then we did the first time around, in that we’ll be demoing everything first, changing things, etc. etc. If we’re lucky, we’ll have a final product by Fall. Yes, you can quote me on that, but I may be lying by tomorrow.
Q: Since the album has been released for a couple of months now, you’ve had a chance to take the songs out on the road. How is it to play the songs live? And which song is the most fun to play live?
A: This is a hard one to answer haha. I think I should preface it by saying we’ve gone through a lot of lineup changes since the album was released. Our rhythm section has changed twice, and so we’ve played our record with essentially three different lineups. It was definitely hectic for a while, but now we feel as though we’ve struck gold. Playing the songs live has always been great for us. We feel like the new material belongs to us more than the old stuff does now, but I guess that’s how it goes for any band. You adapt and you get more comfortable as you continue producing music. That being said, we won’t be eliminating old songs from our live sets anytime soon. Personally, I’ve always had the most fun playing “Onward, Love” live. Maybe it’s because I get a chance to step away from the microphone for a little bit, but it’s most likely because I can just close my eyes and take everything in as if I was part of the audience in front of me
Q: Speaking of touring, if you could tour anywhere in the world, where would you like to go?
A: I think I speak for all of us when I say we would love to go to Britain. Make it happen, Chris Martin.
Q: And if you could share the stage with any artist or band of your choosing, who would you like to play that show with? And why?
A: It’s safe to say we would all have different answers to this question, but since I’m the one at the keyboard, I’m going to say Death Cab For Cutie, hands down. Ben Gibbard’s my idol, and I think there is nothing that would make me feel more proud and more inferior at the same time then opening up for them.
Q: What are your biggest influences when it comes to your sound and songwriting?
A: I think it’s safe to say that our sound is heavily influenced by the various bands mentioned above. (This Will Destroy You, Sigur Ros, etc.) When it comes to crafting songs and melodies and things like that, the influences definitely come from a completely different direction. Artists like Death Cab, Bon Iver, Band of Horses, etc. all tend to have a pretty big impact on what I do. That’s a tough question to answer, haha. I can never get it right.
Q: What is the weirdest thing you have ever encountered in your careers as musicians?
A: Oh jeez. We honestly haven’t encountered too many weird things in our career yet. We had a show in Baltimore, MD over the summer at a place that was completely trashed when we walked in. I mean puke in the bathrooms, trash on the floors, the whole nine yards. The club owner was a complete, elitist dick, who thought he knew everything about everything. It was a pretty terrible experience. All in all, we’ve had a pretty ‘normal’ career, you could say. How boring, right?
Q: If you guys wouldn’t be musicians, what careers would you most likely be in?
A: Probably the automobile or automobile accessories industry. Either that or garbagemen, I’m not sure. I’ve always wanted to work in an antique shop that only sells things that you’d find at a Saturday afternoon garage sale. You know, pretty typical shit.
Q: Where can people go for more information on The Cast Before The Break?
A: Myspace, google, any one of our houses really.
Q: Okay a few random questions now.
Q: What movies would you guys recommend?
A: Awesome question. I could probably take up this entire interview recommending movies to you all, so I guess I’ll try and keep it short. What comes to mind first would probably be the Darjeeling Limited, Once, Garden State, Burn After Reading. And Jordan would shoot me if I didn’t recommend the Dark Knight to you, but if you haven’t seen it, you’re probably living under a rock. I can only assume it’s a comfortable rock, and I would spend a night with you if given the opportunity.
Q: Day or night?
A: Night
Q: Club venue or arena venue?
A: Club. Or hall, or basement. Whatever. Small shows are where it’s at.
Q: CDs or digital music?
A: As a person who has downloaded 95% of his musical collection, I must say I love owning a CD, and being able to just sit around, reading along as my favorite artists sing their hearts out. There’s something really powerful that happens there, and I think it should be important to any avid music lover.
Q: Okay, final question. What are your thoughts on people downloading music, both legally & illegally?
A: I think downloading music is one of the most important aspects of our generation as music fans. As far as our stuff goes, we just want you to be listening to it. Buy it digitally, download it ‘illegally,’ whatever. If it’s in your ears, something’s happening that supports us, and that’s all that matters. Support your favorite artists. If you get their music without permission, go to a show and watch them perform. Live music is where it’s at, and it is easily the future of the music industry.
Thank you The Cast Before The Break. I had a great time talking to you!