Country Fried Rock 1203: Adam Remnant of Southeast Engine on Couch By CouchWest
Summary
From 2012, Adam Remnant from Southeast Engine dives deep into the creative process behind their music, sharing how inspiration strikes like lightning when least expected. He chats with the host about the band's roots in Athens (Ohio) and their journey through the indie music scene, revealing how the blend of personal experiences and diverse musical influences shapes their sound. The conversation flows effortlessly, touching on everything from their social media presence to the dynamics of live performances, where the energy of the audience can make or break a show. They explore the evolution of their songwriting, including the transition from basement jams to studio recordings, and Adam's passion for crafting lyrics that resonate on multiple levels. This episode is a laid-back yet insightful ride into the world of Southeast Engine, showcasing their unique vibe and collaborative spirit.
Show Notes
- Discussion on the band's origins and their Athens roots.
- Insights into how social media platforms like Twitter influence their music outreach.
- The creative process behind songwriting and live performances.
- Exploration of their new album, "Canary," and the dynamics of arranging songs.
- Fun banter about musical influences, including Nirvana and Bob Dylan.
- Creativity often stems from unexpected moments and experiences.
- The energy of live audiences plays a crucial role in shaping performances.
- Songwriting is an evolving process that benefits from collaboration and spontaneity.
- Social media can be a powerful tool for musicians to connect with fans.
- Each album reflects a unique phase in the band's musical journey.
Links
- REMINDER: IGNORE ALL LINKS OR EVENTS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE FROM 2012
- Adam Remnant of Southeast Engine still makes music
- You may also enjoy this conversation from 2015 with Kevn Kinney of Drivin n Cryin
- Toss a few in our Tip Jar
Chapters
- 00:00 - Introduction to Country Fried Rock
- 02:57 - The Origins of Southeast Engine
- 10:10 - The Evolution of Live Music Performance
- 14:12 - Creative Processes in Music
- 20:21 - Exploring Musical Influences and Inspirations
- 23:30 - Creative Direction and Album Development
Takeaways
- Southeast Engine's formation story is a classic tale of shared musical passion that blossomed in Athens, Ohio, with roots tracing back to their childhood in Dayton.
- The band members have distinct musical influences, blending folk, rock, and country, which creates a unique sound reflective of their diverse backgrounds.
- Social media plays a crucial role in connecting with fans, especially Twitter, where the band shares updates and engages with their audience in a more casual manner.
- Live performances are dynamic and tailored to the venue's atmosphere, highlighting the band's ability to adapt their energy to different audience vibes.
- The songwriting process for Adam involves a blend of spontaneity and reflection, allowing ideas to develop organically rather than being forced.
- Southeast Engine aspires to explore a more atmospheric sound in future albums, indicating a creative evolution that reflects their growth as artists.
Mentioned in this Episode
- Southeast Engine
- Couch by Couch West
- Three Elliott Studios
- Misra Records
- Judee Sill
- Absolutely Kosher
- Moonjaw Records
Recommended If You Like
Country Fried Rock, Southeast Engine, indie rock podcast, music creativity inspiration, Athens music scene, songwriting process, live music performance, musical influences, folk rock bands, music production techniques, Twitter for musicians, Couch by Couch West, band dynamics, harmonies in music, acoustic instruments in rock, music collaborations, lyrical songwriting, Americana music, live recording techniques, band interviews, Judee Sill
Transcript
Speaker A
Welcome to Country Fried Rock, where we talk with musicians to find out what inspires their creativity. Country Fried Rock music Uncovered.
Speaker B
Yeah. Hi, this is Adam Remnant from the band Southeast Engine.
Speaker A
Hey, Adam. How are you?
Speaker B
I'm doing well. How are you?
Speaker A
I am well, thank you. Are y' all still based in Athens?
Speaker B
We're relatively still based out of Athens. Myself and my brother, Jesse Remnant, who plays bass in Things Harmony in the band, also live in Athens.
And then our drummer, Leo DeLuca, recently moved to Durham, North Carolina, and our keyboard player lives in Morgantown, West Virginia. Leo and I started the band, like, 10 years ago, and we just. Until the last year, we've all lived in Athens, except.
Except our keyboard player, Billy Matheny is from Morgantown, West Virginia. He's always lived there, but the rest of the band's always been in Athens for the most part.
Speaker A
Well, I'll tell you how I found Southeast Engine. And I. You may not know this. I could not go to south by Southwest this year.
Speaker B
Neither did we.
Speaker A
Well, so I ended up finding one of y' all on Couch by Couch west on Twitter.
Speaker B
All right. Yes. Yes, that would be me.
Speaker A
Tell me about your Twitter life.
Speaker B
I recently. I've only recently started to become a fan of Twitter. We've been using Facebook for a while, and recently I've adapted to Twitter as well.
Speaker A
Honestly, Couch by Couch west was the first time I ever got Twitter.
Speaker B
Oh, really?
Speaker A
Well, it's the first time I ever really understood the power of how it's different than Facebook.
Speaker B
Yeah, you know, there is a subtle difference, and I think it's that with Twitter, I feel like with Facebook, if we make updates every day or more than once a day, that it could be sort of annoying to people that, you know, follow our page. But with Twitter, I don't know, it just feels like it can be a little bit more lighthearted or not. Not, as you know, I don't know. It just doesn't.
It seems like you can post more on Quick Little message.
Speaker A
So are you in charge of the Twitter account for Southeast Engine, or do y' all each do your own thing?
Speaker B
I say that I would update the Twitter page and the Facebook page. It's mainly me updating them. And then sometimes, occasionally the other band members will post something, but it's mostly me.
Speaker A
Is that by choice?
Speaker B
I don't know. I just started. I just started doing it. And the drummer, Leo DeLuca, he posts stuff occasionally. It just kind of happened that way, I guess.
I don't really. It wasn't really too deliberate a Friend of mine, he's in a band from Boston called Hallelujah.
The Hills had posted his video that he did for it on Facebook. I saw it, I was like, oh, that's a good idea. And I just got out the little flip video camera and my wife is in the video.
She's the one that's filming it. I just asked her, you can see in the video, me asking her to film it, to do a song for Couch by Couch Bus.
And I did an old time song called Cripple Creek and I played it on banjo.
Speaker A
As I said, that was how I found you all.
So when I then went and researched what you all do as a band, I was like, oh, not quite old time music here, but, you know, that's what I was expecting. How did Southeast Engine form originally?
Speaker B
As early as 1999, me and my brother and Leo DeLuca the drummer, all grew up in Dayton, Ohio, like a suburb right outside Dayton. And then Leo and I went to school in Athens, went to college here at Ohio University. And I don't know, it was a pretty typical story, really.
We just liked a lot of the same music. And he was playing drums and I was starting to write some songs and we just started playing music together. And that's basically it. There's really.
There's really no great tale behind it, but pretty typical. This is Adam Remnant of Southeast Engine. You're listening to Country Fried Rock. You can find us online@southeastengine.com.
Speaker A
How'D you learn to play music originally?
Speaker B
I think when I was in, like sixth or seventh grade, like 12, 13 years old, me and my other.
One of my other brothers who's not in the band, we grew up, we got really into Nirvana and so Nirvana was breaking and we became obsessed and we both. Our parents bought us both really cheap electric guitars and got us in guitar lessons. And I don't know, we were just completely obsessed. We just.
I've been completely obsessed with rock and roll ever since, and I haven't been the same.
Speaker A
So did y' all have kind of your family Nirvana cover band?
Speaker B
Oh, yeah. We would.
We would do little fake concerts in our bedroom and we'd set up cardboard boxes and pretend they were amps and then smash our guitars into the cardboard boxes.
Speaker A
Awesome.
Speaker B
Oh, yeah. I mean, what a great way to start.
Speaker A
So you say you. You became obsessed with rock and roll ever since. Once you branched out from your Nirvana fandom, where did you head?
Speaker B
Well, I was into other, like, alternative bands like Dinosaur, junior Zebedo, and bands like that. But then There was some Dayton stuff too, like Guided by Voices readers were out there and.
But then as I got a little bit older, I started, you know, exploring more like classic rock, like the Beatles and Bob Dylan. And really I think that's more.
The sound of Southeast Engine is kind of more based on 60s and 70s, you know, rock and roll and folk rock and things like that, Things of that nature.
Growing up with those records, I mean, I just remember, you know, my dad had a copy of the Beatles White album, listening to that when I was in ninth. Somehow I missed hearing the Beatles growing up. And I just remember hearing the Beatles when I was in like ninth grade.
And it just sounded totally bizarre to me.
It actually took me a little while to get used to how they sound, which I think for a lot of people seem strange, but because most people it's just they sound so natural because you heard them growing up. But somehow my parents didn't play it around the house. And so it took me a little while to get used to it.
But then I just became completely obsessed with the Beatles and Bob Dylan.
Speaker A
So what was the music scene like at OU when you were there?
Speaker B
There's sort of two aspects to it. There's the rock clubs uptown, which have a lot of garage rock type bands.
And then when I was first going to school here, there was a lot of jam bands around, which, you know, I like the Grateful Dead and some of that stuff. But I was curious of having Southeast Engine be something different than the garage rock and the jam band scene today.
There's a lot of like indie rock sounding bands in Athens. Each club kind of has its own vibe, you know, like the Union. And there's a lot of rock and roll happening there.
And then there's bars that kind of cater more towards jam ban and things like. But there's also a real like old time music element here. Sort of Appalachian old time music. Not necessarily bluegrass, but old time.
Speaker A
Right.
Speaker B
And there's a couple groups around here that play that music and that influenced us more recently. But I think it was always kind of an influence living here and those sounds just seeping in. Folk music in general, going back to the 20s and 30s.
You can find all our albums available@southwestengine.com and you can also find information on the band there. And you can actually read all the lyrics, hear certain songs from each of our albums@westeastengine.com that was a pretty intentional.
Speaker A
Choice then in terms of a production method. Who had you read about that did it that way that you wanted to emulate I don't know.
Speaker B
Even, you know, most of the Bob Dylan albums are all always recorded live, Even a lot of the Beatles stuff. The basic tracking was recorded live.
And even really, you know, even going back and looking like the Beach Boys, Pet Sounds and Smile sessions, even these really advanced production techniques and arrangements, a lot of the basic tracking was still done with the group. You put the work into that initial live performance, and then you just do the overdub.
I only wanted to overdub stuff that we couldn't do, that we couldn't do in those initial tracks, you know, because we had our hands full.
Speaker A
Who did y' all work with?
Speaker B
We work with a studio here in Athens called Three Elliot Studios, and there's a engineer, slash producer there named Josh Antonuccio. We've been working with him since our first studio album.
Speaker A
That's nice to have that continuity.
Speaker B
Yeah, I just. Josh and us, we speak the same language musically.
I feel like we have the same vocabulary, and he just gets our perspective and where we're coming from and. And he's just a really good friend of ours, so I always feel really comfortable in the studio.
Speaker A
Sure. That goes along well, especially if you're going to be tracking live. That really makes a difference.
Speaker B
Yeah, yeah. And Josh is. You know, Josh has been.
He's sort of been like the fifth member of the band in a lot of ways, and he sort of evolved with us, and, you know, we're always. You know, he'll challenge us and we'll challenge him. You know, it's been a really good relationship.
Speaker A
Do you feel that you have captured the sound you want to capture in your recording?
Speaker B
Yeah, I do. I mean, I. You know, each. I think all the albums that we've done there at 3 Elliott Studios sound great. Each.
Each time we make an album, you always kind of. I don't know what it is, but you always see musicians kind of swinging back and forth with each album, like.
Well, you know, the last time we had the album was really epic and dense, and this time we wanted more space. I don't know. That's just a natural tendency where you want to compensate for what you've done previously.
Speaker A
Sure.
Speaker B
And you just maybe just don't want to repeat the same things, do the same things over and over. But. So I think with each album, we've gone for a specific thing, been able to achieve it.
Speaker A
If someone were to see you live currently, what would they expect?
Speaker B
Well, right now we're doing about at least half of the new album, Canary, and we typically just choose Songs that translate best live. We definitely differentiate between how to work in a studio and how to work in a live setting.
So I think in the live shows, you know, whatever songs from each album have translated the best live over the years. And then we're definitely wanting to pull some from our new material and our new album.
And we definitely play songs from all of our previous albums as well. Typically we try to keep it largely with high energy songs. We do play some quieter ones too. We don't shy away from doing a quiet song.
Try to, you know, reign things back sometimes.
Speaker A
So you do road test new material?
Speaker B
We do sometimes. It just depends. Yeah.
Like we were definitely doing some of the songs from our new album before it came out and I don't know, sometimes that's a good idea, sometimes maybe it's not, but because you're still working out the arrangements and I just feel like sometimes you can practice a song a million times in your basement, but you're really not going to figure out how to play live until you start playing it live.
Speaker A
Right.
Speaker B
I just find that we'll think that we've got it down completely and then you go play live and I don't know, usually it takes a few times in front of an audience for it to really start clicking the way you want it to.
Speaker A
What song off of Canary changed the most from that original, like Play in the Basement to the actual choice of heading into the studio with...
Transcript
Welcome to Country Fried Rock, where we talk with musicians to find out what inspires their creativity.
Speaker A:Country Fried Rock music Uncovered.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Hi, this is Adam Remnant from the band Southeast Engine.
Speaker A:Hey, Adam.
Speaker A:How are you?
Speaker B:I'm doing well.
Speaker B:How are you?
Speaker A:I am well, thank you.
Speaker A:Are y' all still based in Athens?
Speaker B:We're relatively still based out of Athens.
Speaker B:Myself and my brother, Jesse Remnant, who plays bass in Things Harmony in the band, also live in Athens.
Speaker B:And then our drummer, Leo DeLuca, recently moved to Durham, North Carolina, and our keyboard player lives in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Speaker B:Leo and I started the band, like, 10 years ago, and we just.
Speaker B:Until the last year, we've all lived in Athens, except.
Speaker B:Except our keyboard player, Billy Matheny is from Morgantown, West Virginia.
Speaker B:He's always lived there, but the rest of the band's always been in Athens for the most part.
Speaker A:Well, I'll tell you how I found Southeast Engine.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:You may not know this.
Speaker A:I could not go to south by Southwest this year.
Speaker B:Neither did we.
Speaker A:Well, so I ended up finding one of y' all on Couch by Couch west on Twitter.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Yes, that would be me.
Speaker A:Tell me about your Twitter life.
Speaker B:I recently.
Speaker B:I've only recently started to become a fan of Twitter.
Speaker B:We've been using Facebook for a while, and recently I've adapted to Twitter as well.
Speaker A:Honestly, Couch by Couch west was the first time I ever got Twitter.
Speaker B:Oh, really?
Speaker A:Well, it's the first time I ever really understood the power of how it's different than Facebook.
Speaker B:Yeah, you know, there is a subtle difference, and I think it's that with Twitter, I feel like with Facebook, if we make updates every day or more than once a day, that it could be sort of annoying to people that, you know, follow our page.
Speaker B:But with Twitter, I don't know, it just feels like it can be a little bit more lighthearted or not.
Speaker B:Not, as you know, I don't know.
Speaker B:It just doesn't.
Speaker B:It seems like you can post more on Quick Little message.
Speaker A:So are you in charge of the Twitter account for Southeast Engine, or do y' all each do your own thing?
Speaker B:I say that I would update the Twitter page and the Facebook page.
Speaker B:It's mainly me updating them.
Speaker B:And then sometimes, occasionally the other band members will post something, but it's mostly me.
Speaker A:Is that by choice?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I just started.
Speaker B:I just started doing it.
Speaker B:And the drummer, Leo DeLuca, he posts stuff occasionally.
Speaker B:It just kind of happened that way, I guess.
Speaker B:I don't really.
Speaker B:It wasn't really too deliberate a Friend of mine, he's in a band from Boston called Hallelujah.
Speaker B:The Hills had posted his video that he did for it on Facebook.
Speaker B:I saw it, I was like, oh, that's a good idea.
Speaker B:And I just got out the little flip video camera and my wife is in the video.
Speaker B:She's the one that's filming it.
Speaker B:I just asked her, you can see in the video, me asking her to film it, to do a song for Couch by Couch Bus.
Speaker B:And I did an old time song called Cripple Creek and I played it on banjo.
Speaker A:As I said, that was how I found you all.
Speaker A:So when I then went and researched what you all do as a band, I was like, oh, not quite old time music here, but, you know, that's what I was expecting.
Speaker A:How did Southeast Engine form originally?
Speaker B: As early as: Speaker B:And then Leo and I went to school in Athens, went to college here at Ohio University.
Speaker B:And I don't know, it was a pretty typical story, really.
Speaker B:We just liked a lot of the same music.
Speaker B:And he was playing drums and I was starting to write some songs and we just started playing music together.
Speaker B:And that's basically it.
Speaker B:There's really.
Speaker B:There's really no great tale behind it, but pretty typical.
Speaker B:This is Adam Remnant of Southeast Engine.
Speaker B:You're listening to Country Fried Rock.
Speaker B:You can find us online@southeastengine.com.
Speaker A:How'D you learn to play music originally?
Speaker B:I think when I was in, like sixth or seventh grade, like 12, 13 years old, me and my other.
Speaker B:One of my other brothers who's not in the band, we grew up, we got really into Nirvana and so Nirvana was breaking and we became obsessed and we both.
Speaker B:Our parents bought us both really cheap electric guitars and got us in guitar lessons.
Speaker B:And I don't know, we were just completely obsessed.
Speaker B:We just.
Speaker B:I've been completely obsessed with rock and roll ever since, and I haven't been the same.
Speaker A:So did y' all have kind of your family Nirvana cover band?
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:We would.
Speaker B:We would do little fake concerts in our bedroom and we'd set up cardboard boxes and pretend they were amps and then smash our guitars into the cardboard boxes.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, what a great way to start.
Speaker A:So you say you.
Speaker A:You became obsessed with rock and roll ever since.
Speaker A:Once you branched out from your Nirvana fandom, where did you head?
Speaker B:Well, I was into other, like, alternative bands like Dinosaur, junior Zebedo, and bands like that.
Speaker B:But then There was some Dayton stuff too, like Guided by Voices readers were out there and.
Speaker B:But then as I got a little bit older, I started, you know, exploring more like classic rock, like the Beatles and Bob Dylan.
Speaker B:And really I think that's more.
Speaker B:The sound of Southeast Engine is kind of more based on 60s and 70s, you know, rock and roll and folk rock and things like that, Things of that nature.
Speaker B:Growing up with those records, I mean, I just remember, you know, my dad had a copy of the Beatles White album, listening to that when I was in ninth.
Speaker B:Somehow I missed hearing the Beatles growing up.
Speaker B:And I just remember hearing the Beatles when I was in like ninth grade.
Speaker B:And it just sounded totally bizarre to me.
Speaker B:It actually took me a little while to get used to how they sound, which I think for a lot of people seem strange, but because most people it's just they sound so natural because you heard them growing up.
Speaker B:But somehow my parents didn't play it around the house.
Speaker B:And so it took me a little while to get used to it.
Speaker B:But then I just became completely obsessed with the Beatles and Bob Dylan.
Speaker A:So what was the music scene like at OU when you were there?
Speaker B:There's sort of two aspects to it.
Speaker B:There's the rock clubs uptown, which have a lot of garage rock type bands.
Speaker B:And then when I was first going to school here, there was a lot of jam bands around, which, you know, I like the Grateful Dead and some of that stuff.
Speaker B:But I was curious of having Southeast Engine be something different than the garage rock and the jam band scene today.
Speaker B:There's a lot of like indie rock sounding bands in Athens.
Speaker B:Each club kind of has its own vibe, you know, like the Union.
Speaker B:And there's a lot of rock and roll happening there.
Speaker B:And then there's bars that kind of cater more towards jam ban and things like.
Speaker B:But there's also a real like old time music element here.
Speaker B:Sort of Appalachian old time music.
Speaker B:Not necessarily bluegrass, but old time.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And there's a couple groups around here that play that music and that influenced us more recently.
Speaker B:But I think it was always kind of an influence living here and those sounds just seeping in.
Speaker B:Folk music in general, going back to the 20s and 30s.
Speaker B:You can find all our albums available@southwestengine.com and you can also find information on the band there.
Speaker B:And you can actually read all the lyrics, hear certain songs from each of our albums@westeastengine.com that was a pretty intentional.
Speaker A:Choice then in terms of a production method.
Speaker A:Who had you read about that did it that way that you wanted to emulate I don't know.
Speaker B:Even, you know, most of the Bob Dylan albums are all always recorded live, Even a lot of the Beatles stuff.
Speaker B:The basic tracking was recorded live.
Speaker B:And even really, you know, even going back and looking like the Beach Boys, Pet Sounds and Smile sessions, even these really advanced production techniques and arrangements, a lot of the basic tracking was still done with the group.
Speaker B:You put the work into that initial live performance, and then you just do the overdub.
Speaker B:I only wanted to overdub stuff that we couldn't do, that we couldn't do in those initial tracks, you know, because we had our hands full.
Speaker A:Who did y' all work with?
Speaker B:We work with a studio here in Athens called Three Elliot Studios, and there's a engineer, slash producer there named Josh Antonuccio.
Speaker B:We've been working with him since our first studio album.
Speaker A:That's nice to have that continuity.
Speaker B:Yeah, I just.
Speaker B:Josh and us, we speak the same language musically.
Speaker B:I feel like we have the same vocabulary, and he just gets our perspective and where we're coming from and.
Speaker B:And he's just a really good friend of ours, so I always feel really comfortable in the studio.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:That goes along well, especially if you're going to be tracking live.
Speaker A:That really makes a difference.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:And Josh is.
Speaker B:You know, Josh has been.
Speaker B:He's sort of been like the fifth member of the band in a lot of ways, and he sort of evolved with us, and, you know, we're always.
Speaker B:You know, he'll challenge us and we'll challenge him.
Speaker B:You know, it's been a really good relationship.
Speaker A:Do you feel that you have captured the sound you want to capture in your recording?
Speaker B:Yeah, I do.
Speaker B:I mean, I.
Speaker B:You know, each.
Speaker B:I think all the albums that we've done there at 3 Elliott Studios sound great.
Speaker B:Each.
Speaker B:Each time we make an album, you always kind of.
Speaker B:I don't know what it is, but you always see musicians kind of swinging back and forth with each album, like.
Speaker B:Well, you know, the last time we had the album was really epic and dense, and this time we wanted more space.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:That's just a natural tendency where you want to compensate for what you've done previously.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:And you just maybe just don't want to repeat the same things, do the same things over and over.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:So I think with each album, we've gone for a specific thing, been able to achieve it.
Speaker A:If someone were to see you live currently, what would they expect?
Speaker B:Well, right now we're doing about at least half of the new album, Canary, and we typically just choose Songs that translate best live.
Speaker B:We definitely differentiate between how to work in a studio and how to work in a live setting.
Speaker B:So I think in the live shows, you know, whatever songs from each album have translated the best live over the years.
Speaker B:And then we're definitely wanting to pull some from our new material and our new album.
Speaker B:And we definitely play songs from all of our previous albums as well.
Speaker B:Typically we try to keep it largely with high energy songs.
Speaker B:We do play some quieter ones too.
Speaker B:We don't shy away from doing a quiet song.
Speaker B:Try to, you know, reign things back sometimes.
Speaker A:So you do road test new material?
Speaker B:We do sometimes.
Speaker B:It just depends.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like we were definitely doing some of the songs from our new album before it came out and I don't know, sometimes that's a good idea, sometimes maybe it's not, but because you're still working out the arrangements and I just feel like sometimes you can practice a song a million times in your basement, but you're really not going to figure out how to play live until you start playing it live.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:I just find that we'll think that we've got it down completely and then you go play live and I don't know, usually it takes a few times in front of an audience for it to really start clicking the way you want it to.
Speaker A:What song off of Canary changed the most from that original, like Play in the Basement to the actual choice of heading into the studio with it?
Speaker B:I don't know if they changed much from.
Speaker B:We work out the arrangements, you know, in our practices before we go into the studio.
Speaker B:And so there were some songs like Ruthie, the last song on the album.
Speaker B:I don't know that we had any arrangement for that song when we went into the studio.
Speaker B:So that song was sort of.
Speaker B:We figured out the arrangement while we were in the studio, but then in live from the album to how we end up performing the songs live, that can change.
Speaker B:Like there's a song, Adeline of the Appalachian Mountain.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And that song live.
Speaker B:We try.
Speaker B:Like, we don't typically have banjo in our live show.
Speaker B:We mainly just do guitar, piano, bass and drums.
Speaker B:And we were trying to pull the banjo in for that song, but it was just.
Speaker B:It was just too much of a shift for us in our live performance.
Speaker B:And it was just.
Speaker B:So we ended up just having our keyboard player who also plays banjo.
Speaker B:We ended up working out a piano part for that song.
Speaker B:Live setting just seemed to.
Speaker B:To work better in a live setting.
Speaker B:Keep things moving.
Speaker A:As you all have gelled this current foursome.
Speaker A:Do you all come from similar musical interests and backgrounds.
Speaker B:Pretty similar.
Speaker B:You know, there's a lot of common denominators for sure.
Speaker B:But then everybody has their own, like, more particular sensibilities.
Speaker B:Like, I'm more into maybe more lyrically based stuff like I'm Billy, our keyboard player says, I like Bob Dylan enough for the whole band.
Speaker B:Whenever.
Speaker B:Whenever we're bringing music in the van for.
Speaker B:To share for the touring.
Speaker B:Like, everyone's always like, yeah, rem's.
Speaker B:Everyone calls me Rem.
Speaker B:Anyways, everyone will be like, Adam's got a stack full of Bob Dylan albums again.
Speaker B:Surprise.
Speaker B:And then Jesse, my brother has more pop sensibility.
Speaker B:And I think Leo has more.
Speaker B:Not necessarily experimental, but more he really likes more like 90s, like Dinosaur Jr. And he's a big into like Ted Leo and the Pharmacist more.
Speaker B:I don't know what that exactly like the alternative rock sound.
Speaker B:And then Billy, being from Morgantown, West Virginia, grew up with a lot of country music.
Speaker B:And, you know, he can play mandolin, banjo, and so he's got that element.
Speaker B:And that is basically all those sensibilities are in Southeast Engine for sure and have been from the beginning.
Speaker B:I think you could look at the four of us individually.
Speaker B:And all of that's been encompassed in Southeast Engine from its beginnings too.
Speaker A:So what can y' all agree on then, if you're in the van together?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:Musically, we don't, you know, disagree very much.
Speaker B:I mean, I think I write the songs and then bring them to the band and then the arrangements.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:I don't think we've ever had like a really big heated debate over the arrangement of a song.
Speaker B:I mean, we usually just work on it till it really starts to click.
Speaker B:And we all get excited about it because despite all of us having our own, like, particular musical identities, everybody appreciates all that other music and everybody likes that other music.
Speaker B:Just.
Speaker B:We just kind of have some more dominant traits in specific areas.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker A:Since you're the Bob Dylan fan, do you have a particular phase or album of Bob's that you like that sticks out for you the most?
Speaker B:Oh, man, I go through phases.
Speaker B:Bob Dylan.
Speaker B:So, I mean, I guess my all time favorite is probably Blood on the Tracks.
Speaker B:I really like it because it has all the lyrical power of his mid-60s album.
Speaker B:But it's sort of like got down to like really songwriting basics, late 60s and early 70s.
Speaker B:In the mid-70s there with blood on the Tracks, it's like all those initial lyrical powers are back.
Speaker B:But through this whole new adult lens and consciousness from him that just seems.
Speaker B:It just works on so many levels.
Speaker B:But I love almost every era of Dylan.
Speaker B:I've gone through periods where I've been obsessed with each each era.
Speaker A:This is the second or third time you've mentioned lyrical power in different ways.
Speaker A:So when you are initiating writing a song, how.
Speaker A:What is your process?
Speaker B:It typically just starts with a small idea, maybe a line or a melody.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I really try to let.
Speaker B:There's that old saying, you know, the song writes itself.
Speaker B:I really try to do that.
Speaker B:I try not to force things.
Speaker B:And I never seem to be short on ideas, but sometimes they don't.
Speaker B:Stuff doesn't get finished as fast as I'd like it to.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:But I tend to just, you know, let a song take as long as it needs to get written.
Speaker B:I don't know, I still work at it.
Speaker B:A lot of times I'll sit down and start working and that starts generating ideas.
Speaker B:But I try to keep it spontaneous.
Speaker B:I think about the songs a lot, but I really want wait till things feel right and everything sits right with me songs.
Speaker B:That's when the song is done.
Speaker B:Sometimes that can take a long time.
Speaker A:So have you tried co writing or is this something that you've got plenty on your own?
Speaker B:I've got plenty on my own, but I wouldn't be adverse to co writing either.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I guess with Southeast Engine, I've kind of liked.
Speaker B:Liked it to be my gig sort of in terms of the songwriting that a real creative outlet for me since I was, you know, 18 years old.
Speaker B:That's just sort of my avenue for.
Speaker B:I guess the songs I write for Southeast Engine are the most important songs for me.
Speaker B:And the songs that envelop that period in my life what I want to write about.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:But outside of that, if I had more time, I would definitely, you know, get my hands into more projects and work with more people.
Speaker B:I would love to have more time to do stuff like that.
Speaker B:It's hard to find the time, you know.
Speaker A:If there were no limits on your time and your money.
Speaker A:What would you like to do with Southeast engineering?
Speaker B:Creatively, I mean, mainly what we do now, I guess I would like to do more like little projects between full length albums.
Speaker B:I wish we like more time to.
Speaker B:More time and money to, you know, make EPs and 7 inches and, you know, or split EPs with other bands.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Like that.
Speaker B:I would love to do more projects like that.
Speaker B:I think that there's so much pressure on your Full length album to make your full length albums.
Speaker B:These.
Speaker B:Each one's.
Speaker B:You know, I feel like we try to make each one a little masterpiece, you know, but at the same end, I feel like so much of music, there's so many other feelings in music, and I guess I love making these, like, definitive albums.
Speaker B:I guess that's the thing that I get the most excited about.
Speaker B:So that's what our full length albums end up being.
Speaker B:But I would like to just do projects with Southeast Engine in between that are more, I guess, less ambitious, you know, hey, we got together and wrote some.
Speaker B:I really love, like, Dylan's basement tapes.
Speaker B:The natural feel of that.
Speaker B:Like just getting together and making music for the fun of it and not thinking too much about.
Speaker B:I love.
Speaker B:I love a lot of recordings like that too.
Speaker B:So I wish we had more time to do stuff like that, but, you know, we make the most of it.
Speaker B:This is Adam Remnant of Southeast Engine, and you're listening to Country Fried Rock.
Speaker B:You can find us online@southeast engine.com.
Speaker A:In terms of live performing, what do you all enjoy as a group?
Speaker B:I really like when we get in front of an audience or in a room where it allows for us to be really dynamic.
Speaker B:I don't know, sometimes you get into rooms that it feels kind of stiff and everything's like, super quiet.
Speaker B:And then sometimes you get in rooms where the audience is really, you know, maybe everyone's wasted, you know, and it's just really rowdy and everyone's chattering away and stuff.
Speaker B:And we can play to each of those rooms.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:But the best rooms I find are where there's a sort of.
Speaker B:There's energy there in the audience to hear music and see the band play.
Speaker B:And we're gonna follow each other in terms of, like, okay, you know, when.
Speaker B:When it's rocking, like, everyone's excited, you know, and then when we do a quiet, more introspective song, people are there with that, too.
Speaker B:A lot of times, I think venues set the tone of how a show's gonna go.
Speaker B:It's just kind of interesting to see night to night.
Speaker B:What kind of.
Speaker B:What kind of vibe each room has.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Do you have a favorite place?
Speaker B:I have favorite places.
Speaker B:There's a small town in Indiana called North Manchester.
Speaker B:They have a venue there called the Firehouse.
Speaker B:And a bunch of, like, high school kids started it.
Speaker B:And it's all.
Speaker B:It's all ages.
Speaker B:I like that, that, you know, high school kids will be at the show and, you know, and then people from the community there as well.
Speaker B:And so That's a favorite place I love.
Speaker B:You know, actually shows in LA and New York on this year have been some of my favorite shows.
Speaker B:We played at the Satellite in la, which was formerly the Spaceland, which is sort of a well known venue in la.
Speaker B:And then we just played a show in Brooklyn earlier this year at the Rock Shop and that was one of my favorite shows.
Speaker A:Yeah, Brooklyn's got a nice little.
Speaker A:Not just music scene, but music fan scene.
Speaker B:I was pleasantly surprised by New York and LA this year because actually we've always had great shows in New York and this was our first time playing in la, so that was new to us.
Speaker B:But it was.
Speaker B:You know, typically people think of New York like there's just stereotypes in New York and la.
Speaker B:Like people just won't care.
Speaker B:They'll be, you know, in New York people are too busy to care and in LA people are too self absorbed to care.
Speaker B:But I don't know, I just, I did not.
Speaker B:That was not the case at all.
Speaker B:People were very enthusiastic and supportive and encouraging in both cities.
Speaker A:That's cool.
Speaker B:Somehow all those, all those stereotypes are transcended.
Speaker A:Who have you all either been like on a bill with or at a similar venue where you've been turned on to something new to you?
Speaker B:We did a tour last summer with this band, Deerhoof.
Speaker B:I was a little bit familiar with their music before touring with them, but touring with them really opened me up to, you know, what, what they do musically.
Speaker B:It's really hard to describe what they do.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:There's vocals, but it feels more based on the music than the vocals.
Speaker B:It's really wild.
Speaker B:It feels like there's a lot of thought into the composition of each song.
Speaker B:So it's really sophisticated musically in a lot of ways.
Speaker B:But then the performance is just like you're watching the Stooges or something.
Speaker A:Like Iggy, not the three.
Speaker B:Yeah, it was just like crazy energy.
Speaker B:So they're really fun to watch and that was inspiring watching them each night.
Speaker A:Somehow between Nirvana and Bob Dylan and the Beatles, you've schooled yourself on other styles of music as well.
Speaker B:Uh huh.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:How has that developed for you?
Speaker B:I feel like I'm into some sort of genre, you know, like right now I'm really into sort of early to mid-70s California stuff like Joni Mitchell.
Speaker B:I've actually got this Jackson Brown album.
Speaker B:I've really been enjoying his first album.
Speaker B:I don't know, stuff that's surprising me.
Speaker B:This artist, Judy Sill, I don't know if you ever heard her albums but she put out an album like 70 and then another one in 71.
Speaker B:And she only put out a couple albums, but they're these real, like, California folky.
Speaker B:Really amazing melodies too.
Speaker B:Like a strong pop sensibility.
Speaker B:She had a song called Jesus Was a Cross Maker that was kind of a hit.
Speaker B:But, man, go, you know, look for her music.
Speaker B:As soon as I heard a couple of her songs, that was immediately.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker A:I'm writing it down now for the melody within the band, do you all have a model or how do you develop those harmonies?
Speaker B:The harmonies have really gotten worked out more and more with my brother joining the band.
Speaker B:He has a tenor voice where mine is more of a baritone.
Speaker B:So it's just really natural for us to sing together.
Speaker B:It's just part of the arranging where.
Speaker B:Well, I guess typically we work out the music and then me and my brother will get together just with an acoustic guitar or piano and just go through the song line by line and figure out where we want the harmonies and what the harmony notes should be.
Speaker B:It's always a really fun process because it's sort of like the icing on top, you know, but it's also really fun.
Speaker B:Like me and my brother can just sit down with an acoustic guitar and sing a song together.
Speaker B:And there's just something nice about that.
Speaker A:I guess you're far enough apart in age that that much time together is working for you.
Speaker B:We get along splendidly.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:We've never.
Speaker A:No Gallagher brothers fist fights here.
Speaker B:No, nothing like that.
Speaker B:Nothing like that.
Speaker B:And actually, we have another brother who lives in LA who's also a musician.
Speaker B:And, you know, our goal is to someday be able to afford to take him out on tour with us, too.
Speaker B:And have him be part of the band.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker B:You know, so that would be really cool to have all three of us in the same band.
Speaker B:We'll see.
Speaker B:And he's got.
Speaker B:He's got the voice in between us.
Speaker A:Wouldn't that be cool?
Speaker B:It would be cool, but actually, Billy is a great singer too.
Speaker B:And so we've started doing a little bit of three part harmonies, too.
Speaker B:But three part harmonies are tricky and very.
Speaker B:Not.
Speaker B:Not every song calls for a three.
Speaker B:A three part harmony as well.
Speaker A:So talk about that a little bit because, you know, going from just the two part standard harmony to a three part is a very different sound.
Speaker B:Yeah, for the most part, we stick with just the second heart.
Speaker B:You know, just the one harmony to the lead.
Speaker B:The lead melody vocal that just comes more naturally.
Speaker B:And then, you know, if you throw a Third part in there.
Speaker B:It's definitely changing the feel of the song.
Speaker B:All of a sudden it feels like a more.
Speaker B:It's almost more orchestral or more, you know, where a harmony vocal kind of accents the lead vocal.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:When you put a third harmony in there, it's kind of like you're listening to a group of singers versus a lead vocalist with a harmony.
Speaker B:I mean, you can still have a third part instrument, still have it revolve around the lead vocal, but I don't know, it just gets a little bit trickier.
Speaker A:Where do you think you're headed creatively with your next development of songs?
Speaker B:Well, this newest album is very kind of rootsy, and we use a lot of acoustic instruments on it.
Speaker B:It's definitely a rock band still on a lot of the songs as well, but I think on the next album, I'm kind of feeling more of a more atmosphere album.
Speaker B:I'm not quite sure how that plays out yet, but that's kind of what I'm hearing in my head.
Speaker A:That'd be interesting.
Speaker B:I just feel like you can more than just the instruments in a real direct way.
Speaker B:I want it to feel a bit more surreal, I guess, but that's a really early idea still.
Speaker B:It's more an evolution, I guess.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, our drummer, Leo DeLuca, actually is running Mizra Records now, which is the label that we are on.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And have been for three albums.
Speaker B:The recent development.
Speaker B:We did our previous two albums on Mizra, and then the guy who was running it, he also runs Absolutely Kosher, and he was just busy with.
Speaker B:With his.
Speaker B:With his label.
Speaker B:And Misra is like, owned by other investors, and so they were looking for someone new to run the label.
Speaker B:And Leo was running a small imprint of Mizra called Moonjaw Records.
Speaker B:And I don't know, they were just impressed by what Leo was doing on his own, and they needed, you know, some.
Speaker B:Some new blood in there to.
Speaker B:To manage Misra, and so he wound up being the guy.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's an interesting development.
Speaker B:Yeah, he's running it out of Durham.
Speaker A:N.C. by being distributed geographically, are you finding that you all are developing some newer core audiences?
Speaker B:Well, it's still kind of new to us.
Speaker B:We've been touring a good bit this year.
Speaker B:We went to the west coast last summer, and then we went there again this spring.
Speaker B:You know, we're kind of starting to get some footholds there out west, but we haven't gone down to North Carolina yet.
Speaker B:We've played in Chapel Hill before.
Speaker A:Very cool.
Speaker A:Great.
Speaker A:Opportunity for you all.
Speaker A:I really appreciate your time, Adam.
Speaker A:Thank you very much.
Speaker A:I'm excited to get a few more songs off of Canary playing on our station.
Speaker B:Take it easy, all right, you too.
Speaker A:Bye.
Speaker B:Bye.
Speaker A:Country Fried Rock Find the full playlist from this episode on countryfriedrock.org check us out on itunes.
Speaker A:No music, just talk.
Speaker A:Our theme music is from the full tones.
Speaker A:Our Country Fried Rock stinger is from Steve Soto in the twisted hearts.
Speaker A: Country fried Rock Copyright: Speaker A:All rights reserved.
Speaker B:Country Fried.
