I’ll let you in on a secret. I’m new to interviewing people. But that has in no way prevented me from asking for people’s time to let me throw questions at them. Perhaps it all stems from what I learned during Cami’s Ignite 4 presentation.
But still, I always enter the situation nervously, feeling as if any of the questions concocted would be seen as silly, or worse, insulting.
Fortunately, that didn’t appear to be the case when I met up with Johnny, Pierre, and Jake – 75% of the local band, The Dimes – on Thursday night. Huddled around a table at Vendetta in North Portland, the guys provided insight on the recording process in general, recording their forthcoming second full-length album, writing songs, the PDX music scene…and Chinese food.
The guys agreed that they have definitely learned from the process of recording their first full-length, The Silent Generation, and are applying it to their second full-length, which will be a collection of songs focusing on events occurring in and around the City of Boston.
“We do a lot of it ourselves, [and this time] even more than the previous record,” Johnny noted. He also noted that the second time around means also knowing the right questions to ask.
Pierre added that, “The first time, our standards were pretty low. We hadn’t heard ourselves recorded that much…as you make a record and listen to it for two years, [you begin to think] ‘I really wish I had gotten better guitar tone on that, or worked on the lyrics in this one spot a little bit more’…I feel like now with the sense of detail, you’re going a lot deeper to get your artistic vision out.”
Part of that vision includes the band’s lyrics, which focus heavily on historical events. Because of that, Johnny mentioned the process of writing lyrics involves searching beneath the surface to pull out a perspective. In writing the new album, the lyrics are “a little more adventurous,” and they are having more fun with them.
“From The Silent Generation to this record, I’ve seen that there’s one more dimension in the lyrics themselves,” Jake said. “It’s not so obscure like a Radiohead lyric where you’re wondering what he’s trying to say or trying to get across, but at the same time, you have to have a little bit of a working knowledge of the story to really process all of the dimensions of the lyrics.”
Johnny on writing lyrics and, in particular, the subject of Mary Dyer:
The guys agreed that their songs are a story set to a melody, with the story (or lyrics) usually coming first. However, there are exceptions. “What happens a lot of times, there will be a chorus – a line or two,” Johnny said. “There’s a song that’s going to be on the next record called ‘Walden & the Willow Tree,’ and it had music and the first two lines and then just humming because I didn’t know quite what to do. I played it for Pierre and he was like, ‘You gotta keep the humming. That’s really cool.’ And the lyrics came later, but for the most part, the lyrics then the music.”
Johnny on “Abigail Don’t Be Long” and the songwriting process:
I then turned the conversation to how well the band treats their fans. The Dimes are active on MySpace and Facebook, Twitter, post song demos on their blog, respond to e-mails and comments, and yes, will even wish fans a happy birthday. Pierre mentioned that they wanted to be the good guys and even sitting with them for an hour, that was clearly evident. These are good guys.
“None of us wanted to be the pompous arrogant, not talking to fans,” Jake said. “We like the grassroots approach. We all work really hard to talk to people like they’re real people because we’re real people. We’re all passionate fans of music.”
In building their blog and opting to share song demos, Johnny equated it to having the ability to invite friends over to let them hear which songs they’re currently working on, regardless of their actual physical location across the globe.
While the band is able to share demos with the world, I was also curious to hear their thoughts on the Portland music scene and if they felt there was a ceiling here. The answer (thankfully) was a resounding “No.” All of the guys had great things to say about how supportive the Portland music community has been and continues to be, especially when it comes to working with venues, studios, and even having the ability to chat with their fellow musicians.
This month marks the band being together for six years and they’ve come a long way. They recalled their early days of playing out and despite not being great, they were still able to book gigs, including shows at area Chinese restaurants. Jake missed those days, if only for the free Chinese food.
In sitting and chatting with Johnny, Pierre, and Jake, it’s very easy to see how much they like one another and can laugh at each other, even after six years, like brothers. Even when they’re taking a break from playing music, they still hang out with each other, whether it’s going for drinks, or checking out a show to support a fellow local artist.
And with that, get out and support local music! The Dimes will be performing with Chris Robley and Al James the Unfazed, at Mississippi Studios on Friday, March 27. Next month, they’ll hit the road for a West Coast tour that will take them from Seattle to San Diego.
Look for The Dimes’ second full-length album to be released later this year…more on that soon. In the meantime, be sure to check their blog to hear and download song demos.
{ 2 comments }
Angel,
Thanks for introducing me to this great band. Their music is gorgeous and you did a great job with this piece.
Your fan,
Motor
Thanks so much! It was my most fun interview to date and I’m definitely looking forward to hearing more from them this year.
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