Marielle: I think part of it is really we end up writing relatively heart-felt songs. I almost feel like we are really talking musically, if that makes any sense.
Ashley: So does Cam do all the songwriting?
Ben: Most of it, Marielle writes some songs as well.
Ashley: So what is your songwriting process like?
Marielle: I tend to like layering a ton of different sounds in my music. Usually I’ll end up coming up with a melody and record it on my phone; but my phone is really crappy so it will end up really distorted and if you listen through it, it will have these overtones and like I will start to imagine different things [coming from it].
Ben: Cam and Marielle’s songs are very different. Marielle definitely has a composer mind so she’ll usually come with an idea with how the songs would sound and it’s just a manner of translating it to us; where as Cam comes will just the skeletons. He has a more earnest style of songwriting.
Marielle: Yeah, he’s really lyrical.
Ben: If you can’t play a song on an acoustic guitar and have it sound good, it’s probably not that strong of a song. We try to make sure the melody and the chords are strong before we layer things out.
Ashley: That’ s really interesting! It’s cool that you have two very different styles to work with! So then with the band, what accomplishments are you most proud of?
Ben: Well we just released our first EP on Bandcamp called Bedroom Fire and we had been working on that pretty much since we started and we finally [released it]. It took a long time but we are very proud of how that turned out. And the songs go over really well live. Out keyboard player’s dad has his own studio so we were very lucky. We are hoping to do an official release this summer, but for now it’s up on Bandcamp where you can name your price and download it. We are so very proud of it.
Ashley: I wish I could do that, I’m kind of a chicken when it comes to sharing my music. What is performing your music like as a band?
Ben: We have a very interesting dynamic because we all just pretend we are in different bands. Cam is not your traditional, flamboyant singer. He’s understated and likes the songs to speak for themselves while he is off to the side. Our drummer and I are very energetic people so we have this hyped up staged presence. So our shows are trying to balance our personalities. I find with a lot of bands their songs are melodically good or lyrically strong but they don’t have a sense of momentum. We try to make it sound like our music is going somewhere.
Marielle: Yeah and keep it interesting. You don’t want to come up with a song that’s going to repeat exactly the same. You want it to have [and keep] someone’s attention on it.
Ben: We try not to talk very much live, we try to play as much as we can. We try to keep it fast paced because no one really wants to hear your sad self-indulgence unless you’re brilliant.
Ashley: What advice would you give to beginners who want to do the same thing as you and start a band?
Ben: Just focus on the music because that has to be the most important thing. You can only get so far on mediocre songs so practice as much as possible especially when you are in high school. When you get home at 3 o’clock and you have nothing to do for hours, practice as much as you can and make sure you play with as many people as possible. What sounds right will fall into place the more you play. So just put in the hours.
Marielle: and definitely keep an open mind. Accept ideas even if you come up with something that sounds like crap. Some of the simplest ideas I’ve come up with I find are the most successful.
Ben: Also there is this common misconception that success is a constant upward trajectory but it really ebbs and flows so working through the tough stuff and not breaking up too.
Marielle: Be interested in yourself. Don’t try to be interesting for other people because if you don’t love your work it’s going to be hard for others to love your work.
Ashley: How do you find people so you can play as much as possible?