Interview with Like A Storm

2010 is shaping up to be a stellar year for Like A Storm. Their debut CD, The End Of The Beginning has just been released and they are in the middle of a North American tour alongside such established rock acts as Puddle Of Mudd, Skillet and Shinedown. The band collectively took some time out of their busy tour schedule to answer some questions for PureGrainAudio about debut CD, the recording process and what we can expect from the band in the year to come.

The End Of The Beginning is graced with an incredible organic and warm sounding production that is very easy to listen to but still manages to retain a good amount of grittiness. I take it you are satisfied with the outcome of the record?
Kent: Absolutely, I’m stoked that came across in the final mix! We had an idea of how we wanted it to sound from day one, we love big productions but did not want to lose the aggression or subtleties. At the same time, we tried to stay open to letting the music find its own sound naturally. Our producers Mike (Plotnikoff) and Igor (Khoroshev) were very big on the idea that music is a “living organism.” So over the course of making the record all of the songs had various sonic incarnations, but we realized at the end that we’d found the sound we were looking for from the beginning without forcing the issue.

What was the writing process like for The End Of The Beginning? Did you guys all write together? How long did it take?
Kent: The writing process was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Basically, Chris, Matt and I wrote and recorded about 100 demos for this album between us – some together, and some on our own. Knowing how to record our own demos was useful, and I would recommend learning how to any aspiring writer. Then we sent the songs to Mike and Igor, who chose 14 or 15 for the album. Then the gloves were off, as collectively we ripped the song to shreds exploring every musical and lyrical possibility. Chris, Matt and I wrote everything on the record, but Mike and Igor were very influential when it came to pulling good ideas out of us, or guiding us. How long did it take to write? Man, some songs are virtually intact from the demos we sent, as some songs took months to get right. We spent a lot of days at Malibu and Zuma beach writing lyrics!

How quick are you in the studio? Can you usually knock things out in a couple takes?
Kent: For whatever reason, Chris, Matt and I have always had a knack for picking something up pretty quickly, so it didn’t really take many takes to get the parts down. We were lucky because despite Mike having made some of the biggest rock records in history, and Igor being this insanely prodigious musical talent, they were tired of records where everything was “Pro-tools Perfect” (perfectly quantized and tuned). That was really liberating for us as players, because it meant that the emphasis for each take was on expression and “life,” not robotic perfection. So we probably got away with a few takes that might not fly on other records, but we think our record sounds all the better for it!

Do you decide on a suitable sound fairly quickly, or do you tend to tweak tones obsessively?
Kent: Well we had the security of being in Mike’s hands when it came to sounds. For those who do not know, Mike Plotnikoff is pretty well regarded as one of the best rock engineers in the world. His drum sounds and guitar tones are killer! So in the beginning we let him do his thing, he would dial something up and turn to us and say “What do you think?” and it was always badass. However, once the “beds” were done we really got into experimenting with pedals, boutique amps, digital modelers like Sansamp, Line 6 Pods and rack effects like Filterfreak. It is safe to say at that point there was a fair degree of ‘obsessive tone tweaking!

Give us some insight into the record, The End Of The Beginning, and the meaning behind its title?
Kent: The title “The End of the Beginning” came to mind when we were first tracking drums for the record, back in late December of ’07. It was actually the first name we came with, and I am stoked we went back to it. Despite how this record does commercially or anything like that, this record symbolizes the start of the next chapter for us as a band, and as musicians. Every band’s path is different, and chapter one for us had some pretty grueling moments. We uprooted from our home country of New Zealand and moved to the other side of the world where we literally knew no one. Then we had to re-establish ourselves in every sense in this new country. In that time, a lot of doors opened and promptly slammed shut in our faces, and all the while we had to retain our vision and keep believing. In all seriousness, I could not tell you how many songs we wrote in those few years in Vancouver man… hundreds and hundreds. So for us, making this record was a success and a milestone in itself, the first page of chapter two. We got to make the record we wanted to hear and are now out playing it to thousands of people every night with amazing bands like Creed, Staind, Hoobastank, Shinedown, The Veer Union and Puddle of Mudd. We also liked the way the title sounds epic and ominous, but is actually really positive and empowering.

Are there any songs on the disc that are favorites or that have good stories behind them?
Kent: Every song has a great story behind it, but my favorite is the album’s closer “Keep the Pain Alive.” I came up with the lyrics one day when I was back home in New Zealand, and found it worked really well with a riff I’d written a while back, and a chorus Chris and I had spontaneously jammed one day. So a week before we started tracking, we went home and quickly banged out a quick demo: intro riff, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, riff… that’s it. Mike and Igor loved it, so it was quickly added to the list of songs to track drums for in two days time. The problem is, the song wasn’t anywhere near finished! So we were sitting in Sage & Sound Studios in Hollywood and Chris was playing this badass ¾-dropped riff. Mike said he thought it would be cool if the song cut to this riff after the second chorus, so we tracked heaps of different progressive drum ideas around this ¾ thing, not even knowing what we were looking for. On top of that, Igor said he thought the pre-chorus should instead be the outro, and Matt had written this amazing arpeggio guitar part that we knew would be a great ending for the song. What this meant is we essentially had three completely different pieces of music that we somehow had fuse together in a way that sounded natural, both musically and sonically! As a result, we had to be really creative and I am so proud of that song, the way it twists and turns through all these different movements but without getting random or pointless. I am also stoked that we didn’t give up on it, because god knows we came close to pulling the pin more than once. The way we all worked together, threw the rulebook out the window and stuck at that song until we all loved it could be seen as a metaphor for the making of this record!

Another song that has a great story is “Galaxy.” While we were living in Vancouver our grandmother passed away in New Zealand. We were always really close to her growing up, so we were bummed that we couldn’t be there for her funeral. We decided that because we couldn’t make it, we would write a song that could be played at the service, that way we would be there in some capacity to pay our respects at least. I have never been one to get into spirits or energy or anything like that, but that song just flowed through us. We were definitely channeling something, and the song had written itself in about 45 minutes. It’s crazy how many people write to us saying how much that song moves them or reminds them of someone they’ve lost. It came from a special place and people seem to connect with that which is awesome.

When you began to put this album together were you concerned at all about commercial success?
Matt: We moved all the way across the globe to make this record, so to be honest the only thing that mattered to us was to make an album that we loved and that we were proud of. Everyone involved in this record wanted to make something special, to express themselves artistically, and that journey of artistic expression stretched on for almost two years! That said, we have always been drawn to music that has a strong melody, solid groove, and great production – things that are often considered hallmarks of ‘commercial’ music. Some of our favorite bands like Faith No More, A Perfect Circle and Nine Inch Nails all share this aesthetic. So we incorporated these elements into our music, as we have done since day one. It’s awesome that anyone would think that our music has a commercial vibe or mass appeal – we made exactly the kind of record that we wanted to make, so if people think it will appeal to a wider audience then that is just a bonus.

What are some of the lessons you learned while recording The End Of The Beginning?
Chris: Probably the biggest lesson we learned was not to have any rules! We all wanted to make something creative and something that we were passionate about- and we learned that having pre-conceived ideas about what can and cannot be done just limits the possibilities! The great thing about spending two years making the record was that we got to indulge every little idea no matter how crazy it was. Those crazy ideas are often the ones that lead to those amazing musical moments, and it keeps the music interesting and enables you to grow as an artist. Igor would always say that “music was a living organism,” and we feel really fortunate that Mike and Igor allowed, and pushed us to be different- otherwise it can become a bit like clockwork! Another great lesson we learned was to allow ourselves to make mistakes rather than just try to make it perfect. Those little mistakes can be some of the most emotive and powerful moments on the record. One of the hardest but most valuable lessons we learned was not to get attached to your own ideas! We found that once we got our egos out of the way, we could really focus on making the best music we could.

Do you have any touring plans for the immediate future, domestic or international?
Chris: We’re actually out on tour right now in the US with Shinedown, Puddle of Mudd and Skillet. The crowds are so awesome, and we are having a lot of fun. As soon as this finishes in mid February, we will be touring Canada for the release of our first single “Chemical Infatuation”. Then we will be coming back through the States for the summer festivals. Eventually we will head home to New Zealand to tour our record there as well. Having spent so long in the studio making our record, its so amazing to get out on the stage every night and share it with rock fans everywhere.

Are you looking at any particular bands you will be touring with?
Chris: Man in the last six months we’ve been lucky enough to tour the States with such incredible bands as Creed, Staind, Saliva, Hoobastank, Shinedown, Puddle of Mudd and the Veer Union. To continue to tour with those kinds of bands is just a dream come true.

How is the current economic slump affecting your band?
Matt: Well we did have to sell off our condos in Boca Raton. The economic recession has affected everyone, but we have not noticed any major impact on us as a band. The turnouts at the shows we have played have been amazing, and everyone is there to rock and have a good time. I guess music is a form of entertainment and escapism for so many people – no matter what else is going on in their lives, people still love music and love coming to shows.

What does the future hold for you guys as a band?
Matt: Man I feel lucky to say that it’s a really exciting time for us. Our record The End Of The Beginning is being officially released in stores in the US and Canada early 2010, so there is a lot of touring on the horizon. Our first single, “Chemical Infatuation”, will hit US radio in the next few months, which is a dream come true for us. We love making music more than anything else, so as always we will be writing new music, jamming, and experimenting with new ideas. We are really excited about everything that is to come, and about sharing it with our amazing fans. Stay tuned to our website for all the latest news, tour dates and music!