Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I think we were all encouraged as children to have artistic outlets. We all had people in our very immediate lives who were artists or musicians and I think this showed us early on that having a lifelong artistic practice was possible, and important. All of our elementary schools had pretty good band and orchestra programs which we all participated in. lots of music listening, checking CD’s out from the local library.
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 “The Slaps”?
A: Our general scheme is to tour incessantly and release damn fine music. Our message is, “look at all the towns we know, we’re going back, we’re going to recreate”
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: Arthur Russell is a consistent inspiration. He fluctuated between truly experimental conceptual music and the most simple beautiful folk/pop songs. I find his openness to believing in the validity of both ends of the spectrum very admirable.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the album, “this is my first day at drawing.”?
A: This album is composed of 6 original songs and 1 cover by the late great Rodriguez. Each of us wrote 2 songs and taught them to the other members of the trio. Generally the songs exist within a 2 year timeframe and it [the album] communicates our recent past with our fans, friends, and families. Conceptually, we are inviting the listener to catch up with us.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Arboreal
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “this is my first day at drawing”?
A: this might have been the easiest recording process yet. Kept the songs raw, which i think lowered music-making stress (we were not worried about a “perfect” outcome). The juice was just flowing (think it it was cherry juice)
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: message: you should make music if you want to make music, don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. Our current goals include: upgrading our touring vehicle from the mini-van, recording another album, and eventually funding our domestic lifestyles.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: the drumming neanderthals (circa 800,000 BCE)
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: try your best to sound like yourself, and have fun. Be nice to people and make friends. Almost every big opportunity we’ve gotten up to this point has been because our friends have helped us out.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: make more. do it as much as you can.
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