The Greening
What inspired the forming of The Greening and how long have you been writing and
performing together as a group?
Will: Started at San Francisco State University. Karl and I were in the same
dorm and had mutual friends. Eventually the two of us had one of those music conversations
where you casually try to test the others’ musical awareness, to see if they know
as much as you. Fortunately, we both passed.
As far as actually sharing a real musical forging moment – I’d say the first major
one was when we were checking out Karl’s roommates’ vinyl copy of Fantasma by Cornelius.
We were both so blown away, Karl ended up skipping class, and later we went around
proselytizing to anyone who’d listen.
We went through a few incarnations as a songwriting duo, but it wasn’t until 2000
when we met Nick that we fully became a full band. Since then, we’ve been writing
non-stop and recording in spurts; playing out with fair regularity.
The title of a band is very important as many times it is the first thing that someone
knows about you and it needs to be something memorable. What type of preparations
went into choosing your band name and does it have any type of significance?
Will: The preparation we used was 40 grams of finely ground Banisteriopsis
caapi boiled with 10 grams of finely ground foliage of Diplopterys cabrerana. We
actually barfed the name "Greening" on the ground. Weirdly enough, we were going
through a massive definite article phase at the time, so we decided on, "The Greening."
Your sound is inspired by music from the 60's and 70's. How and when were you introduced
to this "psychedelic movement?"
Karl: I was introduced to so-called psychedelic music in the form of the
psychedelic tracks on the Beatles blue album in my parents collection, and soon
thereafter Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour. It wasn’t until much later that
I got into other great psych stuff like Jimi Hendrix, the Pretty Things, and Amon
Duul II, let alone modern psychedelic acts like Circulatory System and the Flaming
Lips.
The current theme in the music industry is to find a sound that is popular and reproduce
it over and over again. Why did you guys decide to take a risk and do something
different from the norm? Were you worried that you would not be received favorably?
Will: Certainly we’re looking to reach as many people as possible, and I
think we have the capability, but if it’s at the expense of what is the most important
thing – the actual songs -- then there is no point. Why reach people with songs
that sound similar to everything else they know? We’ve always wanted to contribute
to other people’s experience, and the best way to do that is to explore you own.
You recently released a new EP, (She's So) Electric, a follow up to your 2003 EP.
How do your new songs compare to the older ones? Were you looking to put out songs
that were completely different or stick with what worked previously?
Karl: Our newer songs have gotten simultaneously more complex and catchier.
There’s a concision that’s not always found on the sprawling, upcoming 2nd album.
For the EP, which features songs quite a bit old to us but brand new to the world,
we chose what we thought the three catchiest, single-y songs from the upcoming album,
as well as filling it out with an EP-only track that had been a favorite of close
friends when we would play them the finished recording.
You are also planning to release a full length album, hopefully early next year.
Tell us the process you went through to get the EP and full length ready for release.
Did you run across any snags you weren't anticipating?
Will: We’ve been recording 20 songs over the past year – both for personal
satisfaction (or sanity) as well as to get a feel for the recording space we’ve
put together. As we progress, the sound quality improves, as does the gear, mic
technique, etc.
However, gear breaks down. So when a monitor breaks, you adapt to a combination
of mixing in mono, and checking headphones for a stereo reference. And computers
– you get this idea that they’ve perfected digital audio, and you’ll have no problems
when going to record or mix. Well, I’ve just recently decided not to kill myself
now that I have a controller that lets me control some parameters without consulting
a mouse. I do miss mixing on an analog board and hope to have the opportunity more
in the future.
What aspects of your songs and your sound set you apart from other performers?
Will: We like complex arrangements and sound collages as well as memorable
melodies. A lot of modern stuff is very bare bones, and while it works in some cases,
it sometimes feels like, "oh, here’s another heartfelt passionate one. Next." I’m
not sure we buy into the argument that less layers = more honesty. Or that constant
unrestrained passion = authentic. I think of sound as a friend who we play with.
A balance between emotion, technical ability, and sonic playfulness capture more
of a person’s essence.
Your music has specific attention to detail with strong melodies that makes it instantly
memorable. How long does it take to write one of your songs? Is it a group effort
or is one individual more involved with the songwriting process than another?
Will: The writing process ranges from a day or two, to a few years if you’re
into procrastination on an epic scale. I’m still working out the lyrics for half
the songs I’ve been singing on for the past few years.
Usually, Karl or I will bring in a song that is structurally finished, sometimes
with set parts. After that, the three of us grow it organically around the structure,
making slight changes until the song carries more energy and has more impact.
How do you go about picking the title for a song? Does the title come to you first
or the lyrics?
Karl: For me, the title is close to 99% of the time always last.
The music industry is saturated with many talented groups and solo artists making
it difficult to stand out. What ways of promotion have you found to be the most
helpful for getting your music heard by the masses?
Karl: We are currently working with old friend Danny Ochoa on two animated
shorts for two of the songs from the upcoming album (one which is already out and
on the EP). We have been longtime fans of his comic, painting and animation work,
and think the combination of our two talents can have some shot of piercing through
all the chatter.
What have you guys found to be the hardest part about maintaining a career in music?
Karl: I wouldn’t say we exactly maintain a career in music; we’ve just stuck
together all this time, that’s all. We’d love to be able to make money purely from
performing live and recording albums, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to
it.
What advice would you have for people who want to pursue a career in music?
Karl: Stay true to what’s important to you with your music and follow your
true creative path. Network like mad and keep your fingers crossed that you’ll meet
or make the right connections.
- Jitzul