Interview: Venice is Sinking

Indie act Venice is Sinking continues to evolve on their top notch effort, Sand & Lines. Frontman Daniel Lawson took the time to chat with Joe Pelone during a very awkward phone conversation. Topics included vinyl (good!), the music industry (bad!), and their recent stint at SXSW (urine-free!).

How soon were these songs ready after AZAR?

It was kind of strange, because there was definitely some overlap. We were approached by [Georgia Theatre owner] Wilmot Greene while still recording AZAR. We didn’t take him all that seriously. He approached us later and had everything set up. At that point we were still mixing. Some of the songs [on Sand & Lines] are older than AZAR. A couple are some of the first songs we played as a band that just didn’t fit on our other records. We chose covers that we were playing live and thought we could do something interesting job with. It’s a lot of country stuff. A lot of the older songs too--“Sidelights,” “Lucky Lady”--were kind of in that vein. And I think that’s why they didn’t sit well on our other records.

When we finished it, it felt different compared to our other records. But we did exactly what we set out to do. It took a little while for me to warm up to it. All the flaws are there for everybody to hear!

What prompted the decision to record live without overdubs directly to ¼” tape? Do you think it opened new avenues to your songwriting?

The whole idea was Wilmot Greene’s. I know he liked the Cowboy Junkies’ Trinity Sessions record. He wanted to document the way our band sounded in that room. It was really all him. We liked the idea of making a live record. AZAR took us like a year and labored over every little overdub. We hardly ever played anything on that album live as a band. We were excited by the idea of making a record in a week and actually being done.

He just wanted to make a record the way people used to make records. He didn’t want it to be put into a computer in any way.

We kind of knew when we were writing some of the songs that it was gonna just be us live and that was kinda scary.

BTS: Venice Is Sinking Takeaway Show from BLVD Magazine on Vimeo.

Could you see yourself sticking to live recording? Are there any techniques you’re dying to try?

I don’t know. I think we definitely learned a lot from doing it this way. Whether or not we’d do it the same way… probably not. I like the idea of putting ideas straight to tape. We also had a pretty extensive rehearsal leading up to the theater. It was kind of nice to go into a recording process and be comfortable with the songs for a change!

Who would you say were the strongest influences on this batch of songs?

Galaxie 500 has been a big influence.

You do a sweet cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” here.

The response to covering a song that well known has been mixed. We were worried about bringing something new to the table. Our old bass player… he’s a big metalhead. He kind of always stood out in our band. He didn’t bring a whole lot of ideas, but when he did, we all listened to him. He suggested we do the song this way, with a waltz time signature and slowed way down.

You recorded the album at the Georgia Theatre, which was later damaged in a fire. When did you decide to donate proceeds from Sand & Lines to rebuilding the theater, and how are things coming along?

Last time I talk to Wil, he showed me the final construction drawings they were planning and he got good news from investors to start in a couple weeks. Demolition should be starting soon. The goal is to have it done by 2011.

You’re going vinyl-/digital-only for this album. Do you see yourself ever returning to CD? Is the era of the compact disc… over?! Will AZAR and Sorry About the Flowers see a vinyl release?

We’ve talked about it with the label. Vinyl’s not really as cheap as it used to be, so I don’t know if it’ll happen. We definitely want to move away from CDs, but it’s hard because a lot of press people prefer to have a physical copy and it’s just too expensive to mail people vinyl. We did a limited CD run just so journalists could hear it. It’s hard to make that decision, and it’s all so expensive. To get a record to sound good on vinyl you have to do a whole separate mastering process, which a lot of people don’t even bother with! So a band will end up putting their album out on vinyl because it is the best sounding format and it will sound terrible because they mastered it for CD/Digital only!

You recently played a bunch of shows for SXSW. How many did you end up playing? How was the reaction?

Six in three days. The year before we didn’t have that many, and we were there a lot longer. This year I felt like we were just constantly moving amps and moving to different sides of town. But before it was a lot more fun. We got to see bands we wouldn’t see otherwise.

It’s hard to gauge [responses]. We’re not able to tour very much. We all have day jobs or are in grad school. We don’t get to go very far. It’s nice to play for people who have maybe written about you but can only see you in Texas.

Can we expect a full tour?

There’s talk of it. This summer’s been kind of crazy. We all thought we were gonna go out for a week or two, but I think we’re going to stick to regionally playing this summer. It’s hard for us to get out

What can we expect from Venice is Sinking in the future? Is LP #4 already in the can?

No, but we have started writing it. That’s part of why we’re not big on touring this year. We’re all really at a point where we’re excited for new stuff. We’re not exactly sick of the old stuff, but we’re definitely ready to start new stuff. We’ve already got three or four songs started. At one point we wanted to do all the songs in reggaeton. But it’s so limiting! I think one thing we want is for the next record to be more rhythmic.

You mean like a remix album?

One guy actually did remix one of our songs for a BBC1 radio program. That was interesting.

Venice is Sinking - 'Sand & Lines'

Just a year after releasing their excellent, dream-pop effort AZAR, Venice is Sinking is back with a third full-length fit for the masses. Sand & Lines finds the group yet again tweaking their sound, returning to the country-ish flavor of their debut Sorry About the Flowers while adding some more somber touches. It’s a little less orchestral indie, a little more country.

Part of this shift comes from the production techniques. The band opted to record the album at the Georgia Theatre under minimalist settings: Live, full band takes without overdubs would be recorded through two mics and mixed directly to 1/4” tape. The results are spacious and huge. Sand & Lines demands headphones to fully unveil its ominous, quasi-western gothic powers, which is a roundabout way of saying it sounds amazing. It’s a shame the Georgia Theatre was damaged in a fire, since the levels ViS achieve here – grainy yet warm, haunting yet alive – are perfect. Proceeds from Sand & Lines will go towards reconstruction, though, so there’s hope yet.

Still, the production would mean nothing without quality songwriting, which frontman Daniel Lawson and his band deliver. “Sidelights” opens the record with juxtaposition between Lawson’s lonely singing and the group’s relatively peppy playing. “The Grey Line” gets more delicate, while “Bardstown Road” is a rousing anthem. The catchiest tune is “Falls City.” Drummer Lucas Jensen knocks out a nice groove building up to a chorus layered with intertwining vocals and strings. It’s beautiful for a moment before crashing guitars chase it away. “Falls City” goes through so many moods, and each one is amazing.

Three covers round out the collection, each surprising in its own way. ViS tweaks Waylon Jennings’ “The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want to Get Over You)” ever so slightly. It’s faithful, but it weirdly recalls the Raveonettes at their most country, thanks to the ghostly vocals from Lawson and Karolyn Troupe. Galaxie 500’s “Tugboat” is a little less psychedelic, a little more explosive. Lawson’s singing voice is pretty clean, but those guitars and drums can shift into razor-sharp rock territory when they want. The most random pick of the bunch may be Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” Parton’s plea to the title character not to take her man just because she can (rhymes!) is made all the more desperate by the intense performance. It’s random yet beautiful.

Coming off of the meticulously arranged AZAR, Sands & Lines subverts everything the band accomplished last time out while still delivering everything fans can expect. This record might take a few spins to embed itself, but it will do so in time. A vein of indie music has been digging into country for a few years now, but Venice is Sinking does it more organically than most here. This one’s better than most of the albums to come out so far this year.

Venice is Sinking - 'Okay'

Having knocked out a stellar full-length this summer, the Georgian five-piece Venice is Sinking is already on to another task: Kicking out succulent B-sides. The Okay EP, featuring the single “Okay” from AZAR, adds two covers and two demos in an effort to bring back the maxi single (Remember those?). For the second time this year, Venice is Sinking dazzles with twangy orchestral indie awesomeness.

“Okay” is the first track, obviously, and it’s still just as triumphant and catchy in spite of its hidden angry message. The song was inspired by a California band of the same name, specifically their song “Now.” To that end, Venice is Sinking recorded two Okay covers, “Compass” and “Give Up.” It’s thematically delicious. “Compass” is notably slower and more ethereal than “Okay,” lending the EP a haunting air. Frontman/guitarist Daniel Lawson passes the mic to violist Karolyn Troupe for “Give Up,” and she gives the song a somber Camera Obscura feel. Strings and a simple yet rolling drum beat perpetuate the song towards an explosive ending. “Give Up” is arguably the strongest moment on the EP, not counting “Okay” itself.

The EP concludes with earlier versions of AZAR’s “Ryan’s Song” and “Okay.” Both have a more haunting, electronic feel. “Ryan’s Song [Henslee Version]” could have been a Dntel tune for all its space and slender melody. “Okay [Henslee Version]” might be superior to its final incarnation, if only for slight reasons. This edit opens with the same guitar progression, but with a typewriter for percussion. Again, it’s a small alteration, but a welcome one. But then, the AZAR rendition sounds fuller. Guess I’ll just have to love them both while I wait for LP #3.

Venice is Sinking - 'AZAR'

“It’s all too much / But sometimes it’s more than enough,” Venice is Sinking – “Young Master Sunshine”

Though the first few months were duds (why, Bruce Springsteen, why?!), 2009 is starting to turn into an exciting year for music. I’ve got a solid 10 top going so far that consists mostly of surprises. As in, records from bands I’d either written off before (The Horrors, Morrissey) or just never heard of at all (Pains of Being Pure at Heart). The latter designation is about to get an addition in the form of Venice is Sinking. The Athens, Ga. five-some’s sophomore full-length AZAR fell out of the digital sky like manna when frontman/guitarist Daniel Lawson e-mailed me about a review. I’m glad he did.

Here’s the skinny, ninny: AZAR is one of the best albums of ’09. It’s twangy like a mellow Wilco, slow and jammy like Yo La Tengo, and Lawson’s got a soothing voice a la Matthew Caws of Nada Surf. The record has a warm immediacy. Tracks like “Ryan’s Song” or the four murky “Azar” themes that run throughout the album are intimate.

The first of the “Azars” penned by keyboardist Jeremy Sellers, “Azar One,” opens the record slowly, pulling in more notes as it builds. Evoking a sunrise with its slow/steady measuring and gorgeous orchestration, it perfectly sets the tempo for AZAR. It starts off rather electronic-based before more organic instrumentation – dig those cymbal swells – kicks in. In the first of many excellent transitions, the track segues into lead single “Ryan’s Song.” Lawson and violist/vocalist Karolyn Troupe harmonize pretty dang well over a driving beat and ethereal guitar/strings/keys. And of course, it transitions well into track three, “Okay.”

Putting the “orchestral” in orchestral indie pop, AZAR feels like a classical suite, right down to its revisited eponymous theme. The album flows graciously; this isn’t just a collection of songs bashed out over a few months. Yet at the same time, every song stands out. “Okay” is the rocker in defiance of the dreamy charm of “Ryan’s Song” and “Wetland’s Dancehall.” “Sun Belt” combines slowcore and jazz for a rebirth of cool effect. Horns color the triumphant late number “Iron Range.” The lengthy finale “Charm City” caps it all off.

Given how spacey the album gets at times, it’s a wonder Venice is Sinking showcases such strong pop sensibilities, not to mention good editing skills. Aided by engineer Scott Solter (The Mountain Goats, John Vanderslice), AZAR is tight with its 43-minute time budget when it could have easily devolved into noodling and overly expansive negative space. As is, it’s a beguiling compromise. With a third record already in the bag, Venice is Sinking has my attention for the rest of the year.