Interview with Shapes Stars Make

These Mountains Are Safe is the debut disc for Dreamt Music artists, Shapes Stars Make. I would best describe the music these guys play as indie rock. Each song is extremely approachable and is delivered in a very unpretentious, unpresumptuous manner. By not overcrowding and or over complicating each tune they have in essence allowed them to breathe and be enjoyed for what they are; good songs. The band recently spoke with me about their interesting name, their new CD and what we can expect from them in 2010.

Now that your brand new CD, These Mountains Are Safe, is complete how do you feel about it? Are you satisfied with the outcome?
Michael We feel good about it. I think that our sound and writing has taken another step of progress with this album. Because of the way that we record, (mostly “live” tracking, where we all play together) there are always things on the record that we wish could have turned out different, but we are pleased with this album nonetheless.

What was the writing process like for this CD? Did you guys all write together? How long did it take?
Michael Well, the writing on this album was a bit of a different process than on the EP. With the addition of Zach, the process has become much easier and more creative. B.Z. (Before Zach) I was writing all of the drum parts, as well as all of the guitar and vocal melodies. It was tough. Now, our writing technique is pretty free flowing. I might have been working on a certain theme and bring it to practice… or we all just might start playing something and we let it evolve. Some of it’s junk and we end up stopping and laughing, but some of it sticks and ends up on the album. Writing for These Mountains Are Safe took three or four months. I think.

Give us some insight into the record These Mountains Are Safe and the meaning behind its title.
Michael It has a meaning to us, but I think we will give the listener the opportunity to formulate his/her own meaning of the title after experiencing it. How is that for giving you a non-answer?

What message do you want the listener to walk away with after listening to this CD?
Jon: Compassion. Gentleness. Patience. Freedom. Hope. Wonder. Guitars can fly. The bass is melodic. Drums do more than bring the beat. Music is cool.

The name of the band Shapes Stars Make is interesting to say the least and sounds as if there is a story behind it. Where did the name come from and what is the story?
Jon: In certain ancient scriptures, stars are used as a metaphor for people. Michael brought this idea to me. We liked it. Zach later joined the band. He had no choice but to go with the name.

Are there any tracks that are your personal favorites or that have some good stories behind them?
Zach: One of my favorites is “Sunrise” because it is the first song we wrote together and shows our writing potential as a band in the complexity of the movements and the beauty of the layered melodies. I also like “Le Dodici” because I think it has the most interesting beat that I’ve contributed and is the most succinct and poignant song to date.

What benchmarks do you use to determine when you’ve written a good song or to determine that a song is finished?
Zach: This is a tough one. First, the song has to be enjoyable to not just myself but the entire band and it should be fun to play. More importantly, the song has to be memorable. If it doesn’t get stuck in my head after practice, it probably needs work. If it’s good, then I wont be able to stop thinking about it.

What kind of music are you listening to? Do you keep abreast of new music?
Jon: Most people say something like, “Oh, we listen to a little bit of everything.” We don’t. But we listen to a lot of things. Stuff you might think is cool. Some might not. We love new music. We try to stay current. It makes us feel cool.

These Mountains Are Safe comes to us by way of Dreamt Records. Are you happy the way they handled the record, regarding distribution, marketing and promotion? How has the label been accommodating the band’s needs?
Michael We are very happy to be a part of Dreamt. From the beginning, they have treated us with great respect and allowed us freedom to create music that we are passionate about. The guys at Dreamt are unlike any industry people that we have dealt with before. They are honest and forefront, they truly view it as a partnership and not a dictatorship, which is always nice.

How much roadwork do you expect to be doing this 2009?
Michael Our plans include a good bit of regional touring (around our huge state of TX, OK, AR, LA, KS) and then at least one longer tour out to the west coast. That’s the plan at least.

Are you looking at any particular bands you’ll be touring with?
Jon: Jay-Z, Kanye, Taylor Swift, any American Idol star.

Michael Ah yes, this interview wouldn’t be complete without JC mentioning Taylor Swift. We just want to play with bands that are good, but don’t take themselves too seriously. We are all laid back, like to crack jokes, and create memorable music… not “rockstars.”

Any closing words?
Jon: No closing words. This is the beginning.  [ END ]