Q&A with The Brother Kite

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Last year saw Rhode Island 5-piece The Brother Kite release one of the most breathtaking albums of the year. Waiting For The Time To Be Right was a huge word of mouth hit on the internet and saw the album creep its way into end of year lists everywhere, including The Line Of Best Fit, where it was only beaten by The Decemberists & Midlake. Rich Thane caught up with Patrick Boutwell and Jon Downs to find out a little about the bands history, the recording process and what’s in stall for the future.

Can you first of all tell me a little bit about the bands history. How did you form? What were you doing musically before TBK began?
Patrick: The first few songs that were written for this band grew from the simple fact that, at the time, I despised most music I was being exposed to (around 2000). At one point I realised that the only way to hear the kind of stuff I wanted to hear was to make it myself (to a certain degree, I still live by that rule). But I had the feeling that I needed someone else involved who understood where I was coming from, who didn’t want to be some college party band, who wanted more out of music than what was offered on the radio and elsewhere.
Jon: I guess that’s when you approached me with a demo tape asking if I’d like to start a band. We’re from neighboring towns in southern New Hampshire, and had been in a few bands together during our high school years. We began casually writing and recording as a duo, and relocated to Providence. Once in Rhode Island, we were joined by Andrea and Mark, and we recorded the first album for Clairecords with Patrick playing the drums. Our current drummer Matt joined in 2004, and we officially became a band.

Waiting For The Time To Be Right is a huge leap forward from the debut album. What was the first song written for it and did it set a blueprint for what was to follow?
Jon: “Get On, Me” was the first song we recorded for WFTTTBR, but I’m not sure which song was the first to be written. Patrick, do you remember?
Patrick: “Out of Sight” and “Get On, Me” were definitely demo’d around the same time; possibly the same week. I think you can hear a lot of the rest of the album within those two songs…musically, anyway. Lyrical themes came much later in the process.

Explain your recording process a little. I’ve read that you actually built you’re own studio to record the new album.
Jon: We all live and work in Rhode Island, but in 2004 we began building a recording studio on my parents land in New Hampshire. It was wild, we began by moving rocks and chopping down trees. Every weekend we’d travel 90 minutes from RI to NH to pour concrete or put up sheetrock, and gained a great appreciation for the work that goes into building a structure…even one as simple as ours. When the studio was finally complete, we’d spend the weekdays in RI writing music and researching recording techniques, and then travel to NH every weekend to record. We’d take time off to tour every now and again. We started recording in March 2005 with “Get On, Me” and finished with “Lay Down Your Burden” in April 2006. Recording your own records allows for a great amount of experimentation and freedom, but it can also take forever to make a record. We eventually fabricated deadlines because we were afraid we could work on WFTTTBR for the rest of our lives.
Patrick: But we did make the deadline!

Is there a specific theme that runs through the album?
Patrick: I had gone through a fairly turbulent part of my life, where I had many questions about myself and of various points of life (love, death, morals, religion, etc). I had fallen in love (or thought I had, anyway) with a friend of mine, but for several reasons surrounding us, I knew it could never become anything more than what was basically a crippling infatuation, which led to a short bout with depression, during which time I had these fantastic, crazy dreams, very realistic, about how things might be were the situation different. It was a complete alternate reality that I mistakenly bought into, to the point where, in my mind, it was difficult to tell the difference between fantasy and reality. I eventually snapped out of it and figured that the only way for my situation to get better was to come to terms with what I couldn’t have and move on. It was a point in time where I had to examine love and loss, and how the two work together in so many different ways, and the album is a reflection of that.

The blogger community have really got behind this album. Did you expect such a positive reaction when you released it?
Jon: Right from the get go, it was clear that WFTTTBR was going to be very different from the first record…so we were all a little curious to see how it was going to be received. But I don’t think we ever doubted it. I knew it was a giant step in the right direction for our band, and I don’t mean to sound pompous, but I expected the reception to be pretty favorable.
Patrick: Well, maybe you did. I was scared to death. I mean, I think it is the best work that we’ve done, by far. But “best work” doesn’t always equal “everyone will love it”.

You signed to Clairecords in 2004, how did that relationship come about?
Jon: We made thebrotherkite in my bedroom, and sent it to indie labels all over the country because we couldn’t afford to put it out ourselves. We got a few responses, but Clairecords seems like the way to go. Dan and Heather were very easy to get along with, and they were excited about the record. We were actually the most concerned about how they would respond to WFTTTBR, just because it’s so different than anything that they have ever put out before. But they liked it, and we were relieved.

If a major label came knocking in the future would you consider it or do you like the whole ethos of being signed to an independant?
Jon: Being on an independent record label has it’s upsides. For instance, we spent over a year recording WFTTTBR and every time we heard from Clairecords, they said “take your time, get it right.” I don’t think a major label would have that sort of patience…but it would certainly have it’s upsides as well. A major label would give us a chance to reach more people, and probably make more money…and therefore, devote more time to making music. We would certainly consider it.

Do you agree with all the shoegazing comparisons being thrown around or do you just feel that the press have pigeon holed you?
Jon: It’s funny. I’ve listened to Loveless a few times, but I’ve never heard most of the bands we’re compared to. I don’t think the shoegaze comparisons are very accurate because our music (especially the new record) relies heavily on melody and structure…it seems to me bands like Ride and My Bloody Valentine are more about sonic experimentation. That’s not really a concern of ours. But the comparisons don’t bother me…it’s difficult to describe music with words. People just hear what they know…they can call us whatever they please.
Patrick: It is a bit bothersome, to me, at least. I have no interest in trying to resurrect a movement, or become the next Swervedriver, or any of that. I just want us to make the music that we want to make, regardless of past influence.

Who would you list as you’re main musical influences?
Jon: We’d all agree that The Beach Boys are a big influence on our music. A lot of classic rock like The Who and The Zombies. I listen to a lot of contemporary rock and pop as well, but most of it doesn’t seem to work it’s way into our music.
Patrick: For this outing, The Edward Scissorhands soundtrack was also very influential.

Pitchfork said in their review of “Waiting For The Time To Be Right” that your songs have more in common with Teenage Fanclub than shoegaze bands such as Ride or MBV. Would you consider yourselves fans of the classic power pop that was coming out of Scotland in the 80-90′s?
Jon: Yeah, I’d reach Teenage Fanclub before MBV…and I’ve still never heard a Ride song.
Patrick: I went through a period of time where the ONLY thing I listened to was Superdrag. I still think that they are an excellent band, and it is a shame they aren’t still around. Not to say that John Davis’ recent efforts are unsatisfactory. That record he put out a couple of years ago was beautiful. I just miss them, that’s all.

What was the last record you heard and absolutely loved?
Jon: Some Loud Thunder by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Many people I’ve played it for consider it unlistenable, but it really rubs we the right way. I thought their first record (which I enjoyed) played it pretty safe…but Some Loud Thunder contains some really adventurous production and song-writing. It’s actually pretty close to falling on it’s face sometimes, and it’s not remarkably consistent…but I think it’s an exciting album.
Patrick: Van Lear Rose by Loretta Lynn. I think it is the best thing that Jack White has ever worked on, and I really like The White Stripes. And Chain Jing Mines by Murkádee. They are a little-known band from New Hampshire. It is a very touching, sincere record, and I urge anyone reading this to check it out.

What would you say has been you’re greatest musical achievment so far in the bands career?
Jon: Speaking generally, I’d say WFTTTBR has been our greatest musical achievement. And hopefully that will change with our next record.
Patrick: I think that merely finishing this past album is our greatest achievement!

You’re songs seem to have a hopeless, romantic quality to them. “I am waiting for the time to be right. Endlessely treading water until she opens her eyes” for example, is such a beautiful lyric. Do you write from personal experience or do you treat the songs as short stories?
Patrick: I find it difficult to spin something out of thin air. I actually tried it on this record. “Bringing It Back Home” started out as fictional story-type song, but little by little I realised I was talking about my family and my past, so I just went with that; Made it easier in the long run. Anyway, everything that I’ve ever written I’ve experienced…which, having said that, seems a bit dismal, don’t you think?
Jon: When I contribute lyrics (which is rare), I tend to lean towards a short-story style structure more than Patrick. I get a kick out of a song with a strong narrative…an obvious beginning, middle, and end. And a “lessoned learned” is a extra thrill. Both songs I wrote on the new record, “Get On, Me” and “Mount Tom” (found on the Japanese import) try to follow that structure. They are both fictional stories about real people.

Hopeless and Unsung reminds of a modern day version of Thats Not Me by the Beach Boys, and in general your melodies have a very Brian Wilson-esque quality to them. Did the Beach Boys have a big affect on your musical upbringing?
Patrick: The first concert I went to was The Beach Boys, actually. My parents took my sister and I when I was 6. I can’t remember much from the show (though I DO remember somehow getting backstage and getting Mackenzie Phillips’ autograph…what the hell was SHE doing there!?), but I know that didn’t stop with the damn Beach Boys the whole way home. I think anyone who was brought up on The Beach Boys has the same type of story: All you hear when you’re young is early, “Fun, Fun, Fun”, “409″-type of stuff. Then, you put them down for a few years, listen to whatever it is that is popular for your age group, then are somehow introduced to Pet Sounds years later. I think it has something to do with growing up. It’s hard to identify with that album until about 18 or 19 years old–then you totally get it. And it obviously hit me very hard. But anything that has a great amount of harmony to it I generally gravitate toward. Early Queen records, boys choirs, anything like that, I absolutely flip for.
Jon: When Patrick and I were sequencing the album, I said to him “You know, it seems like we need a lighter song to slow things down a bit right here.” He went in the tracking room by himself, and 20 minutes later the song was done…that’s very rare for us. We typically work on a song for months and demo to death. Nice job, Pat.

Where does the cover art for WFTTTBR originate from?
Jon: Despite some morose lyrical content, we wanted the record to have a summery feel for a few reasons. Most of the record was recording during New Hampshire’s bitter winter months, and I think we all longed for warmer weather. But we also didn’t want to ignore the Beach Boys influence on the record, so a beach-front landscape photograph seemed appropriate. The photos were taken by Andrea and I while on our annual vacation to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. That’s the sunset from the porch on our rental camp. They were not specifically taken for the album, it just worked out that way.

The only thing I know about Providence is that Family Guy is based there! Tell me some interesting facts about you’re city.
Jon: It’s the capital of the smallest state in the union. They call fried dough “doughboys” and when you smoke pot in a car with the windows rolled up it’s called a “fishbowl” instead of the more commonly known “clambake.” Our mayor is gay. Patrick and Andrea and I moved here from NH, while Mark and Matt grew up here…so their opinion may be different from ours…but I really like it here. I love the relationship that can develop between someone and a small city like Providence. It’s intimate and simple…not completely lifeless like the backwoods of NH or overwhelming like New York. And I think it’s an inspiring place to be in a band.
Patrick: Don’t forget that the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe has been spotted a few times on Benefit St. And there is a gigantic blue bug on the south side of I-95.
Jon: Yeah, that’s right. Poe is said to ride up and down Benefit St. in a silent horse-drawn carriage.

What would you say the music scene is like in Providence?
Jon: Unfortunately it’s dying fast. Years ago, there was a unique and successful underground rock scene because many of Rhode Island’s abandoned mill buildings had been converted into music venues and art spaces. But a rock club called The Station burned down a few years ago, and a lot of people died. Most of the mills (and many of the proper music venues) were not up to code, and they were shutdown. National touring bands have pretty much stopped coming to Providence, and many of the clubs that survived are starting to shutdown as well. We just lost one of the best, The Century Lounge. It’s upsetting, but I don’t think TBK’s success relies on the Providence scene. We’ve never been a big local act. And nearby Boston is a great music city, so it could be worse.

Do you have any plans to come to the UK in the forseeable future? To my knowledge, you’ve yet to play any shows here.
Jon: No, we’ve never been to the UK…although we’d love to. It’s just a matter of getting the resources together to make the trip.

Whats next for The Brother Kite? Any direction in mind for a new album?
Jon: I’d like the next record to be more live and immediate. WFTTTBR turned out pretty good, but it was a very long process that we’re not interested in replicating. I’d like to make a record with a greater sense of space…I really enjoy when you can hear the room the band is playing in, with lots of bleed between the individual microphones…like the room is additional member of the band. It may be a strange example, but Pearl Jam’s Riot Act is a great example of this..a lot of older country and western music, too. That’s a sound we’ve never been able to achieve because we’ve always been in a home studio. The plan is to record live basic tracks quickly at a commercial studio to attain that sound, and then return to our studio for vocals and overdubs. I’ve already started this process by selling a lot the gear at our studio because an overdub facility does not need as many microphones or preamp channels. As far as the material itself, it’s a little early to tell. We’ve got a few tunes starting to shape up, and they are not all that different from the music on WFTTTBR, but we’ll see. We have an old song that got cut from our first self-released demo, and then it got cut from thebrotherkite and didn’t even come close to making WFTTTBR. But it might be back for the next record…who knows.
Patrick: I’d like to see the songs stretch out a little. By that, I don’t mean so much in length than in arrangements. I forsee the songs to be performed in suites, maybe break the album up into three acts. I think the next record will be a dizzying culmination of all that has come before it. I don’t mean from just our band; I mean the entire history of music!

Waiting For The Time To Be Right is out now on Clairecords.

UK residents can buy a copy Here
To order a copy from the States click Here

Links:
The Brother Kite [official site][myspace]
Clairecords [official site] [myspace]