The Winter Sounds
February 7, 2010 · Print This Article
With a name like Church of the Haunted South for their latest album, The Winter Sounds intrigued me and delivered on that intrigue with a sound that evokes mystery and subliminal tones within their electro-rock soundscapes. The Winter Sounds hail from the musical mayhem of Athens/Atlanta, GA and have been extensively performing and recording for the past four years. The band’s sound is tinged with an 80′s pop flavor, reminiscent of Adam Ant or Duran Duran, but also shines brilliantly with serene vocal harmonies that float above gorgeous string arrangements, keyboard fluttering, and presents an edge that keeps the music within the realms of the unknown, as the title of their latest album conveys.
The band, made up of Clayton Taylor (guitar/bass), Patrick Keenan (vocals/keys), and Chris Weaver (drums) graciously answered a few questions pertaining to the band, the songwriting process, the extensive touring, and using Kickstarter to get their album recorded! The guys even offered up some advice for other local bands, based on their own experiences on the road and getting signed to an independent label, Livewire Records.
The band started out as a studio project. How has the vision changed since its conception in 2006?
The vision is pretty much the same since the beginning…constantly push ourselves to grow and develop, musically.
Is there a story behind the name of the band? What is the significance of “Winter”?
Well, there’s no particular story behind the band. Patrick really loved the imagery that “The Winter Sounds” evoked — themes such as loss, death and running out of time. Although it might seem a little dreary, in his (our) eyes it comes across as strangely beautiful.
Is there a message the band tries to deliver within the songs? Is there an overall theme of the music?
The themes tend to vary from song to song — and album to album. It’s hard to pin down one theme that continues throughout because the music is sort of like our lives — ever-changing and growing.
How is the songwriting accomplished?
We approach songwriting from a few different ways. Usually Patrick or I start with melody or chord progression and then bring it to the rest of the band for input and ideas. Occasionally, we’ll just try to write stuff on the spot in band practice. That’s actually been working quite well for this album. Overall, its very much a team effort.
What inspires the band musically? Your music delivers a compilation of sound. What music has influenced the band and songwriting?
Our inspiration comes from all sorts of things — music, literature, people, politics, art, growing up, the world, and so on. Musically, we all come from pretty eclectic backgrounds. We’ve never really wanted to sound just like one thing, so we’ve always been open to many types of music.
You’ve been using kickstarter to help fund your records. Can you tell us a bit about that?
’09 was a tough year, financially. We had loads of van repairs and expenses, so we decided to take a chance on a fundraiser for our new album (ie. Kickstarter). Kickstarter is an amazing website. It gives you a great opportunity to offer your fans unique/one-of-a-kind prizes for their donations. For instance, we had a specialty shirt made just for the fundraiser, as well as limited edition hand-woven scarves and handwritten lyric books. My favorite, though, was offering to write songs and make music videos for people who pledged even higher. Great website.
What has been the most memorable performance for The Winter Sounds?
Hands down one of the best was in DC at Rock n’ Roll Hotel back in May ’09 with our good friends Jukebox the Ghost. It was a homecoming show of sorts for those guys, and they brought us on the road with them. They packed the place, and their fans were amazing — totally supportive and receptive. So fun.
With such an extensive touring schedule, what has been the most instrumental factor in keeping up the creative process?
Bringing acoustic instruments and playing on the road has been key. We’ll always find time during the day or late at night to jam new ideas…and some strategically-placed days off in the schedule help even more.
Many independent bands don’t have the means to tour as extensively as The Winter Sounds have toured. Do you have advice for bands on how to accomplish such an intricate tour schedule without maintaining a day job to pay the rent at home?
Touring is definitely a hard thing to do. For us, we’ve just worked really hard at eliminating extraneous expenses from our lives. None of us have cars (except the touring van), and all we have is pretty much our music equipment and our clothes. We get pick-up jobs where we can, when off tour. We’ve moved back in with our parents, when we’ve had too. Seriously, if you want it badly enough, you’ll do everything in your power to make it happen. As for some advice, I’d say start on a small local/regional scale and build out from there. Keep expanding and keep meeting new bands in new areas. Networking is a huge part it. The rest is just affording it and staying optimistic.
How has signing to Livewire Records been beneficial to the band?
Signing to Livewire was a great thing for the band. They really believed in us and promoted the band all over the U.S., which helped grow our network and fanbase considerably. We wouldn’t be where we are now without them, honestly.
What’s coming up for The Winter Sounds?
We’re in Athens, GA right now recording our brand new full-length, which will be released in the fall. That’ll be finished around mid-March which leads right up to our spring tour. We’ll be on the road in March with Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun and in April/May we’ll team up with Parachute Musical for a west coast tour. Loads of shows coming up.
What do you hope for the band in the next year?
A well-received album release and a European tour would be spectacular, but in all honesty, just playing music everyday is good enough for us.
Nadia Lelutiu, Indie Editor
Related posts:
GREAT band!!! Terrific to see this article here.
these guys are incredibly underrated! can’t wait for their new record!