Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I grew up in Minneapolis – a city with a surprisingly good music scene. There are some legendary bands and artists that got their start there, but there are solid scenes that exist for almost every subgenre of music. I grew up loving punk and hardcore and spent most of my youth going to shows at small DIY venues across the state. I played in mostly hard bands up until I started Taupe. I think a big reason for this change was that I found that this indie-folk/rock genre allowed me to do a lot more on my own without the need for several other musicians. I was able to write and demo most of our first EP during the start of the pandemic on my own.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Taupe”?
A: Social media and promotion has become such a big part of being a band and it’s honestly for me it’s a major bummer. Me and our guitarist are constantly sending each other sponsored posts we get on instagram from bands trying so hard to make content specifically for social media. These are always so corny and depressing. We try to take a different approach to this. I want people to hear our music and I think we have made some songs that could be appreciated by a much larger audience than we currently have, but I want the growth to come somewhat organically. I like to spend time crafting visuals that I think are cool and take time and effort equal to that which we put into the music. It’s shocking to me that bands can spend so much time and money writing and recording and then put out some tik tok template video of themselves doing something that’s already been done one billion times over.
For Taupe, I’ve done drawings, made animations, and filmed different landscapes and plants that I think fit visually with the music I make. It has mostly led to slow but consistent growth. It can be frustrating to not be building the audience we want instantly, but I’d rather stick to making the art that I feel proud of than make something that I’m embarrassed of that more quickly grows our following.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: It’s always so hard for me to settle on one artist. I think I can maybe narrow it down to three. I would start with Radiohead and all the sub-projects of each member. I think they have always pushed the boundaries of music and have parts from twenty years ago that still sound interesting and new. They are at once both completely mainstream and completely avante-garde. Most artists lean too far one way and it might work for a while, but there are very few bands that have made interesting, new, and listenable music for three decades. I thought The Smile was a very cool side-project and brought a bit of a different sound and energy.
Next I’d say Big Thief. I think Adrianne Lenker is the best song-writer of my generation. I think her legacy will be in line with Bob Dylan’s or John Lennon’s. I can’t wait to see what she puts out next.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Castelvetrano (Still the Same).”?
There is a repeating line in Castelvetrano that goes “with age comes the wisdom to keep things mostly the same”. This line, and most of the song, is sort of a satire, but certainly contains some truth. I think that as I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown in my career and taken on more responsibilities. Throughout this time, I have spent less and less time focusing on the dreams I had growing up. I wanted to be a musician, full time. That dream has never died, but I’m far away from it. I work a 9-5 corporate job that has many benefits but ultimately leaves me feeling dead inside. With every year older I get, every promotion I earn, it becomes harder to pursue, and less likely that I will ever achieve that dream. The easiest way to get through life might be to keep things mostly the same.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
Contemplative
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Castelvetrano (Still the Same)”?
We have an outro that has whistling over it. I totally underestimated how difficult it would be to get that part right. I thought I was a pretty good whistler until I heard it recorded. There is a note that is very high and I can sing it, but I can’t come close to it with a whistle. Our guitarist Shane ended up hitting it and nailed the whistle part after about my twentieth take.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
I like to ultimately leave the interpretation of the lyrics to the listener. I think it’s cool that people can connect in their own way. I think most of my inspiration comes from the search for joy, the beautiful California landscapes I’m in, and the ways that I cope with feelings of depression.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
Again it’s so hard to choose just one! If I were starting from scratch and writing a record I’d love to work with someone like Jonny Greenwood. Someone with impeccable taste for music and production. I loved the new Youth Lagoon record and went back through Trevor Power’s discography and it’s fantastic. He’d be a blast to work with as well.
We have a record that is mostly done that we’re putting the finishing touches on. For this, I’d love to work with Sam Gendel. He could play on any or all of the songs and I’d be ecstatic. I’d also ask him to just do his own thing for three minutes and have that as an interlude on the album.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
The best advice I can give is to not look at it as an industry. The moment you start producing music with the goal of achieving some sort of art or fame it becomes tainted. We don’t need more tik tok band videos, we need more great art. Make something great for yourself and hope other people find it and dig it as much as you do.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
Pursue the dream. Stick with one project and put your all into it. Don’t conform to the “normal life” you are told you’re supposed to live. Rough it out and make something beautiful. Almost everything is fleeting, but great art can last forever.
