The Buddha Den: It’s been two years since the release of your last album, >From the Forest to the Sea, and things have been fairly active in your camp. How was the tour with Deerhoof last year? How has Leo’s move to North Carolina and takeover of Misra Records affected working conditions for the band?

Adam Remnant: Deerhoof is such an inspiring band. They play with incredible energy and musicianship. I feel like we learned a lot as a band watching them night after night. Of course it was also great to play with a band at that level where you know you are going to play to a large audience every night – any traveling band can appreciate that. Their audience was so welcoming too – despite the difference in our sounds, we were always well received.

The last year has rolled out a lot of change for us with Leo moving to North Carolina and taking over Misra Records. Leo’s moving to North Carolina hasn’t posed too many challenges since we’ve already been spread out geographically for some time with Billy in Morgantown, West Virginia; Jesse in Dayton; and myself in Athens. We always have to coordinate our schedules in advance to rehearse, play shows, and record. We also make sure we work on the songs individually before getting together as well. Leo’s taking over Misra has allowed us to feel more autonomous as a band and able to be more directly involved in the decisions for how to handle our album’s release. I think Leo’s doing a great job – there seems to be more energy and buzz behind the release of Canary than any of our previous releases.

TBD: Tell me about the writing/recording process for the new album, Canary. How long did the album take from writing to completion of recording? You recorded in your hometown of Athens at 3 Elliot Studios. How was that process?

AR: It seems like the writing of the album started so long ago now. A fellow stopped by my home one day in Athens, Ohio and explained that his father had built the house I live in back in the 30’s, and that his family lived just across the street. He was just a child at the time and he described his life at that time in that area. This meeting must of left an impression on me because I naturally started writing songs from the perspective of a family living in Southeast Ohio during the 30’s. After a couple songs were written relatively spontaneously the concept grew into an album’s worth of songs. It was thrilling to take on the life of another character from another time. The album is still intensely personal to me in an allegorical sense. For example, “Adeline of the Appalachian Mountains” and “Ruthie” are both basically love songs to my wife Amanda.

Recording commenced in February 2010. The band had been rehearsing the songs for months so we tracked almost the entire album in 4 days at 3 Elliot Studio. The album was largely recorded live in the studio and to tape. Those initial 4 days were riddled with challenges – a snow storm, power outages, failing guitar amps, throwing my voice out at one point. Despite all this, we kept our heads, persevered, and completed the bulk of the tracking in those 4 days. Overall, we tried to record these songs in a very direct manner with basic production to give the songs an organic feel. Working at 3 Elliot was as natural as ever. Josh Antonuccio, who acts as the engineer and producer, is our George Martin – he’s the 5th gear of the Southeast Engine.

TBD: So the new album is somewhat of a concept piece dealing with an Appalachian town during the Great Depression. Was the album designed around the concept or did it reveal itself during the writing process as a way to tie it all together?

AR: I initially wrote “Adeline of the Appalachian Mountains” and “At Least We Have Each Other” without any thought of an album concept. Once those songs were written I felt like there was more to explore – they were presenting a world that could be developed through the course of a whole album and allowed me to tackle several important themes to me: economic hardship, environmental exploitation, family, local communities, growing up, sustainability, etc. I started to step into the shoes of a young man growing up during the 1930’s in Appalachian Ohio – his struggles were mine and I could write the songs from his point of view as if they were my own.

TBD: Do you feel any parallels between the struggles of the Depression era compared to the modern struggles of a failed economy and vanishing middle class? How do you think the themes of seeking greater meaning to existence, personal reflection and growth, and the connections between individuals set the tone of the album? How do you feel these themes flow through the SEE catalog?

AR: Oh man, what thoughtful questions. Appalachia had already been experiencing economic hardships before the official stock market crash of 1929, and I think the same could be said of Appalachia before the recent economic collapses. I had already started writing the songs for Canary and developing the themes before the national economy took a clear turn for the worse. Once the economy became front page news and a daily reality I saw an added relevance to the songs. I definitely felt a parallel between FDR’s campaign and Obama’s as well. Both leaders symbolized great hope for change. My house mate had an Obama poster in his bedroom during the campaign, which reminded me of stories of people having framed pictured of FDR hanging in their house during the 30’s.

Regarding the themes, the last couple Southeast Engine albums had a very strong spiritual element in the forefront of the lyrics. This time I wanted to keep things more grounded and deal with the interpersonal relationships between family members, communities, and lovers. I also focused on how we relate to our location and sense of place. However, I found in writing about these immediate relationships, that the divine is intertwined with all of them. For example, in “Red Lake Shore” the character misses his mother who has passed and imagines the family reunion in the afterlife – this theme runs through all those old Carter Family songs as well, which was inspiring to me at the time of writing these songs.

TBD: While the band has a long working relationship with Misra, how have things changed, if at all, with this release? Where did the idea come from to make the album available on yellow cassette?

AR: There certainly seems to be some energy behind this release which is encouraging. The yellow cassette idea was Leo’s. We’ve discussed the challenge of getting folks to buy a physical product these days. For the album pre-order we added a limited edition poster so that the fans can get a unique item that they won’t get from a simple online download or stream. The cassette is the same idea – Leo thought to make the cassette yellow as well to represent a canary.

TBD: What plans for touring do you have for the remainder of 2011? What are your hopes for this record, especially now that it’s already been praised as one of the best releases of 2011? Is there anything else you’d like people to know about Southeast Engine circa 2011?

AR: We are currently working on our tour schedule for the rest of the year. We’re heading out west on this tour. We’ll certainly play some more dates east of the Mississippi this year. We’re also thinking about the prospect of going to Europe. Nothing definitive yet though. With every release, we’re just hoping to reach more people – I like the idea of the band growing with each release – the music spreading, reaching more and more people. As a musician, this feels purely instinctual. Some argue that just knowing you made a good album or played a good show should be enough satisfaction on its own – I understand the logic, but I can’t help but want to see it get out there.

…although still riding the crest of the wave on their most recent release, the excellent Sunfried Dreams, The Motel Beds seem incapable of slowing down for even a minute. Last night the band debuted a brand new recording on WYSO’s Kaleidoscope program of Matthew Sweet’s “I’ve Been Waiting” from the classic album, Girlfriend. For those of you looking to get in on more sweet treats such as these from the Beds, they have initiated a Track of the Month Club to the Motel Beds mailing list. To join, sign up at motelbedsmusicATgmail. In case yr looking to get all physical with the Beds, you can no purchase Sunfried Dreams at Omega Records. Enjoy….

MP3: The Motel Beds “I’ve Been Waiting” [Matthew Sweet cover]
Download audio file (Ive_Been_Waiting.mp3)

Photo Credit: Zach Prater

…when word came down a few weeks ago that Chapel Hill-based imprint No More Fake Labels would be issuing a GBV tribute album entitled Sing For Your Meat featuring the likes of Flaming Lips, Thurston Moore, and Kelley Deal & Buffalo Killers [full tracklisting below], we were obviously stoked beyond reproach. While the disc won’t be available until Record Store Day [April 16, mark yr calendars], if you tune in to listen with our friends at Kaleidoscope tonight during the WYSO Pledge Drive, you’ll be able to hear a couple of tracks early. In addition, NMFL has been gracious enough to donate CD & Vinyl copies of the album as Pledge Premiums for supporting public radio in the Miami Valley. As if that weren’t enough, The Motel Beds will be in-studio and rumor has it they’ll be offering up an exclusive new track. So, tune in tonight from 8-11 and enjoy the exclusive music and be support WYSO during their pledge drive if yr able…

Sing For Your Meat: Guided By Voices Tribute – (No More Fake Labels 2011)

Flaming Lips – Smothered in Hugs
Western Civ – Goldheart Mountain Top Queen Directory and My Valuable Hunting Knife
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Gleemer
Sorry About Dresden – Echos Myron
Jason Isbell and the 400 unit – Everywhere with Helicopter
Crooked Fingers – Tractor Rape Chain
Elf Power – man called aerodynamics
I Was Totally Destroying It – I am produced
La Sera (Katy Goodman of Vivian Girls ) – Watch Me Jumpstart
The Pneurotics – I am a Tree
Kelley Deal and Buffalo Killers – scalding creek
Blitzen Trapper – Hot Freaks
Superdrag – A Salty Salute
David Kilgour (of The Clean) – How Loft Am I
Thurston Moore – Stabbing A Star
James Husband (Of Montreal) – Buzzards and Dreadful Crows
Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh) – Game of Pricks

There is also a bonus digital EP which consists of:

Mass Solo Revolt (Athens, GA)- Gold Star for robot boy
Marie Stella (Portland, ME) – little lines
Free Electric State (Durham, NC) – Weedking
Gregg Yeti (Syracuse, NY) – Quality Of Armor
North Elementary (Chapel Hill, NC) – Ex Supermodel-They’re Not Witches

…in an era when most bands find themselves resorting to giving away an album without any label support, somehow Louisville quartet The Fervor find their new album Arise, Great Warrior coming out via 3 different labels on 3 different formats. Teaming up with Yim Yames’ Removador Records for the digital release, SonaBLAST for the CD issue, and drummer Mat Herron’s Karate Body Records for the vinyl issue. Regardless of format, Arise, Great Warrior is an excellent album that somehow manages to channel delicate introspective pop, epic arena rock gestures, and rollicking swagger into a singular statement both grandiose and earnest. We spoke with keyboardist/vocalist Natalie Felker recently about the recording sessions, the multi-faceted release, and being a band from one of the Midwest’s most fertile music scenes….

The Buddha Den: How have things changed for The Fervor over the past year? How have recording and touring schedules changed for you?

Natalie Felker: We spent the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 recording and mixing Arise, Great Warrior. We weren’t able to tour as much, since we were working on the record and trying to work our day jobs to pay for said record. But we managed to play about twenty shows, including some festivals like Forecastle and Boomslang. It was actually kind of weird not to tour as much. I think we are all dying to get back in the van again.

TBD: How do you feel about the results on the new album, Arise, Great Warrior? What was the recording process like for the band? How long did you work out in San Francisco?

NF: We were in SF for about two and half weeks. All four of us got sick immediately upon our arrival, so that made things interesting. There was a lot of “We need more kleenex” and “Who wants to go in on a bottle of Mucinex?” Very rock n’ roll. But it didn’t matter, because we were basically like kids in a toystore. We worked in two studios, Radical Sounds and Mission Bells, both of which had a wonderful selection of vintage gear they kindly let us use. We began at Radical Sounds by tracking all four of our instruments live, in one room to two-inch tape. It helped to put us in our element. Afterwards, we did guitar, keys and percussion overdubs. It was fantastic to wake up every morning in the Mission and have nothing to do but go record for two solid weeks. Unfortunately, I was too sick to record vocals while we were there, but that allowed me to come home and work with our friend Kevin Ratterman. We brought the tapes back to him and mixed the album through an analog board, without the use of computers.

TBD: With the new album coming out on Yim Yames’ Removador Records label, what are your expectations for exposure? How did that partnership come about? Why the decision to put it out on vinyl on Karate Body Records?

NF: I think Removador can help put us in front of an audience that might not otherwise hear our music. We liked their style and knew we wanted to work with them. We gave a copy of our record to our friend Johnny Quaid of The Ravenna Colt, who is also involved with Removador, and to Yim Yames. We knew at the very least, they’d give it a good listen. Putting the vinyl out on KBR was a no-brainer, since Mat Herron is both founder of Karate Body and our drummer. Isn’t the whole point of starting a record label so you can put out your band’s records? Ha. But seriously, they have a great catalog and we’re fortunate to be able to put out our first vinyl album with KBR.

TBD: What is the songwriting process for the band? Where do ideas initiate? What sorts of themes lyrically do you gravitate towards?

NF: Songs generally originate with either myself or Ben. We tend to work on them at home before bringing them to the rehearsal space. Once we’ve got the whole band together, it’s more collaborative. We like playing together and bouncing ideas off each other. Mat and Michael have been playing music together since they were about 15, so there’s a level of familiarity and comfort with the four of us working together. Lyrically, I tend to gravitate towards themes of moral conflict, spiritual renewal, travel, sex, anxiety, loss, courage… you know, the little things.

TBD: The tone of the album bridges a lot of gaps between 70s arena rock and modern indie flavors. How do you reconcile these two elements as a band? Is there any conscious effort on your parts to adhere to any sonic templates or is just instinctual?

NF: A big part of that is the instruments we play, the kind of sounds we like and the way we tend to record. I love big drums, loud guitars and a nice, warm electric piano. I also love melody and harmonies. I think we just like what we like, and it shows through in our sound. While our taste in music overlaps, it’s also pretty varied between the four of us. I think if you asked each of us what our top 5 Desert Island Records would be, you’d get four different answers.

TBD: Louisville continues to be one of the more unique music towns in the Midwest. How do you see yourselves in the context of the ‘Louisville scene’? What do you feel is unique about the city’s music and people?

NF: I think we’ve added our own unique patch on a diverse quilt of Louisville bands. What I like so much about this city’s scene is it’s sense of comraderie. When Ben and I first formed The Fervor, we didn’t know very many people in Louisville. We were pleasantly surprised to see how receptive people were. On the whole, I think Louisville is pretty supportive of its artists and musicians, and that makes for fertile ground to be creative.

….you’ll be able to catch The Fervor in Dayton this Wednesday, first on WYSO with Juliet Fromholt during Kaleidoscope, then down at South Park Tavern along with The Motel Beds and Smug Brothers. We’ll see you there…

MP3: The Fervor “Crazy for the Feeling”
Download audio file (Crazy_For_The_Feeling.mp3)

MP3: The Fervor “Bent Around a Dying Dream”
Download audio file (Bent_Around_A_Dying_Dream.mp3)

…In the spirit of last weekend’s ‘Dayton Does Dayton’ shows at Canal Street Tavern, the Den asked area musicians ‘What their favorite Dayton song is and why?’ We know that because of Dayton’s rich rock n’ roll history the question was a tad unfair. But, to those who helped us out with a response, thanks for being good sports…

What is your favorite song by a Dayton artist and why?

Chip Heck (Kuan, Shadyside): Twelve Tribes, “Strings” from As Feathers to Flowers and Petals to Wings – “As the first track on the classic album As Feathers to Flowers and Petals to Wings, this song builds and explodes with ridiculous intensity. I think I love it because the music and guitar work is very creative, heavy, and awesomely melodic. The lyrics are also great. As with most of Adam’s stuff, they are definitely dark, descriptive and vividly intense.”

MP3: Twelve Tribes “Strings”
Download audio file (Strings.mp3)

Derek Gullett (Dirty Socialites, The Professors): The Breeders, “The Last Time” featuring Mark Lanegan from Fate to Fatal EP – “This track was recorded in a basement in Dayton, OH. It’s no secret that I am a fan of The Breeders and Mark’s voice, but there is something special in the choice of noises and deconstructed style of the song that really draws me into their world. “Pinnacle Hollow” is like that as well. It’s from the same EP and I really enjoy it. I want to one-day slow dance on a boat in the Bermuda Triangle to that song it’s absolutely that mystical, at least to me. The whole EP is amazing.”

MP3: The Breeders [w.Mark Lanegan] “The Last Time”
Download audio file (The_Last_Time.mp3)

Nathan Peters (Captain of Industry): Guided by Voices, “Johnny Appleseed” from Clown Prince of the Menthol Trailer – “It has such a laid back Lou Reed vibe. Not the average GBV song, and right off the bat he hits you with these words: “You fly like a fly in the sky blue sky you’ll be important to important people when you die.” This sums up a lot of what Dayton is to me. There are really talented people here that never make it past the Ohio River. I think this was Pollard’s proclamation and I love it. He was saying maybe you’d love me when I’m dead. Brainiac, Ohio Casket, and Lab Partners were also really big influences on me when I was 18 and trying to find myself musically.”

MP3: Guided By Voices “Johnny Appleseed”
Download audio file (Johnny_Appleseed.mp3)

Michelle Bodine (Brainiac, O-Matic, Shesus): A Ten O’Clock Scholar, “Lando” from Quietest – “This is so hard! I wish I could pick more than one. I’m going to say “Lando” by A Ten O’Clock Scholar. I love the chorus and the bass part, and I still listen to that record a lot.”

MP3: A Ten O’Clock Scholar “Lando”
Download audio file (Lando.mp3)

Mark McMillon (The Story Changes): Shrug, “Herion(e)” from Whole Hog for the Macho Jesus – “In addition to stellar songwriting, there’s a really cool vibe to the track that pulls you in. I think if young bands these days spent more time focusing on crafting songs even half this good and less time worrying about building light-boxes, the world would be a better place.”

MP3: Shrug “Heroin(e)”
Download audio file (Heroine.mp3)

Tim Pritchard (Flyaway Minion, Floods): The Motel Beds, “Sunfried” – from Sunfried Dreams [due out Spring 2011] “This is the perfect lazy summer day song for any season. PJ is one of my favorite writers and the Beds have done an outstanding job of arranging this song. I believe it is the title track of their new record, and I’m eagerly anticipating this release. I imagine this one will make many a mix tape this year, and it’ll be the buzz song for every hazy day spent getting lost in the sunshine.”

MP3: Motel Beds “Sunfried”
Download audio file (Sunfried.mp3)

…if yr looking to get out and get a sampling of some of Dayton’s finest, look no further than the cozy confines of Canal Street Tavern. Making their first live appearances of 2011, both The Motel Beds and Floods stand ready to issue new albums in 2011, respectively. For the Beds, their follow-up to last year’s Feelings album will be the unabashedly in-the-red Sunfried Dreams. Certainly, you’ll be hearing lots more about that around these parts as the release approaches, but rest assured, the Beds have come through for you again in a BIG way….

…Floods is currently putting the finishing touches on their debut, It Shall Be Revealed, working with the Beds’ sonic mastermind, Darryl Robbins, although some of the material, including the track featured below, was recorded at 3 Elliot Studios in Athens, OH. With the project finally coming to fruition after and extended hiatus from guitarist Tim Pritchard, we’re very anxious to hear the full slate. Stay tuned for more on this….

…also along for the ride this evening will be Amnesia. Just for good measure, here is one of the most inventive and wholly entertaining promotional devices we’ve ever seen. Enjoy and we’ll see you tonight….

MP3: The Motel Beds “Moondazed”
Download audio file (Moondazed.mp3)

MP3: Floods “Don’t Leave Me Behind”
Download audio file (Don’t_Leave_Me_Behind.mp3)

MP3: The Motel Beds “81 Sun”
Download audio file (81_Sun.mp3)

MP3: The Motel Beds “Bourbon Skies”
Download audio file (Bourbon_Skies.mp3)

MP3: The Motel Beds “Mr. Salad Days”
Download audio file (Mr_Salad_Days.mp3)

…at some five years in the making, at long last Dayton’s beloved Human Reunion will issue their first disc this weekend, the Carbonics 7″. Brought to you by the Detroit imprint Five Three Dial Tone, the 7″ includes the title track which is the first shot from the band’s upcoming debut full-length, Arc De Square, all of which was recorded by Enon frontman John Schmersal. The remaining three tracks are all non-album sides, including a spooky demo version of the title track. As the first shot fired from the upcoming album, “Carbonics” is a perfect introduction into the world of HR: the grinding bass bolsters the propulsive rhythms, guitars and synths ebb and flow throughout the soundscape, and the rapidfire vocal delivery speeds through the maelstrom. Human Reunion will celebrate the release of the Carbonics 7″ with a show this Friday at Blind Bob’s with The Motel Beds and Summer Lungs. Tune in now and we’ll see you there…

MP3: Human Reunion “Carbonics”
Download audio file (Carbonics.mp3)