Interview Special: The Graduate
by Sammi Dittloff on December 18th, 2007
This is actually the first interview I’ve had for 52 Bands in AIM form, so hopefully you guys like this format. Let me know! I thought it would be cool and more conversational this way. This conversation is between me and Matt Kennedy, (pictured above), who plays guitar and keys for the band. Some of the conversation may seem a little “out of sync,” but that’s because he was on a sidekick, and also, how many times have you had a conversation on AIM where there are two things going on at once? Yeah, that happened with us, but I think it still makes sense. Enjoy! (Oh, and I hope you like my font…I’m quite proud of it…I’m the one in pink, and Matt is the boring nothing color haha)
Oh, also, I did this interview about a week ago, so when it says yesterday, it was like a week ago plus yesterday, give or take a day or two.
Another thing, you’ll see a gigantic time gap near the end of the interview. He got kicked off his sidekick, so the interview had to be finished about 45 minutes later. I also cut out some “are you there?” comments and such. Yeah.
(1:42:38 PM): so, I’m on your myspace right now, and I just was reading about your evergreen ep, when did you record that and why did you decide to record it?
(1:46:10 PM): We were dying to get back into the studio, and we thought itd be great to give fans something new to listen too. The ep was recorded in my basement actually
We self produced it in october
colormespiffy (1:46:26 PM): so it’s free at fye, right? How long can I get a free copy?
(1:48:40 PM): Well they only pressed 5000 copies, mostly available in the midwest, but still distibuted national
(1:48:56 PM): Should be some on the east and westcoast too
(1:49:29 PM): They should only be there for about a week
(1:49:53 PM): so wait, did I miss my chance or is it starting soon?
(1:50:48 PM): I heard most stores got them yesterday
(1:50:56 PM): If not its for sale on itunes, it was on the main rock page on the itunes store for a few days
(1:51:19 PM): Some fye still haven’t got it though, so sorry if they don’t know what you’re talking about
(1:51:42 PM): Alright, well I’m totally finding one and I’m going to try and get a copy, I’ll let you know how it goes
(1:52:09 PM): So, seeing as you’re giving this away for free, what are your thoughts on downloading?
(1:52:15 PM): like…illegal downloading
(1:53:38 PM): Ahhh ill pass on that one any answer is the wrong one, it has its good and bad sides
(1:53:43 PM): fair enough
(1:54:05 PM): umm okay so, anhedonia, just wikipedia-ed that
(1:54:19 PM): Sorry
(1:54:17 PM): why did you pick that for the name of your album?
(1:54:19 PM): oh it’s fine
(1:54:28 PM): But we do like giving our fans free things sometimes as a thank you
(1:54:59 PM): well, i think that’s a great incentive for them to buy things, knowing that they’ll get free stuff too
(1:58:20 PM): Our singer was really having trouble drawing inspiration for his lyrics….all the things around him lacked the right colors and he felt numb….so some of the songs are about that
(1:59:42 PM): It was such a new experience to write a record that was going to be released nationally so it came with a whole new sense of urgency
(2:01:59 PM): so do you feel that you lost some of the joy you had originally making music, or at least that you were being asked to “manufacture” your passion in some way?
(2:05:04 PM): Well no, the joy never left the music at all..I think we had to really keep our orignal intentions in mind when entering all this…the only way to keep a band together for the long haul is to make music for yourselves…and play the songs that you want to play live. Its the only way to stay sane on the road….
(2:06:11 PM): do you feel that it’s harder being on a time-table, or have you been able to manage coming up with enough new material?
(2:07:21 PM): Our favorite part about being in a band is writing and recording…so we love nothing more than being the studio…finding time write while you’re on the road is def. a task though
(2:07:46 PM): So luckily we have a little time off right now to write and have some fun at home
(2:07:43 PM): where do you draw your inspiration from and who is all involved in the writing process?
(2:07:45 PM): definitely
(2:09:55 PM): I think we draw it from the same place our favorite bands draw it from…other music that inspires us. All music is just a culmination of the music before it…so its all about how you spin that a make your new and unique mark
(2:10:11 PM): Are there any specific groups or artists that inspire you?
(2:10:31 PM): And movies, movies inspire us too haha
(2:10:38 PM): like for the name of your band? lol
(2:11:34 PM): Well one would think that but no actually none of us had seen the movie til after we named the band. We watched it a few weeks after and its a sweet movie though
(2:11:46 PM): We just thought the graduate was a good band name
(2:11:52 PM): Sounded firm and strong
(2:13:12 PM): and a little seductive, right?
(2:13:21 PM): We love bands like radiohead, minus the bear, bloc party, mew, air, …and lots of music from the 60s and 70s
(2:13:34 PM): For sure…great movie
(2:13:44 PM): cool, cool, good deal
(2:14:12 PM): so, you’re just ending a tour, which is exciting, but you had some swaps in the line-up, right? because I know earlier you were touring with ludo and such, so tell me about the tour
(2:15:39 PM): That was just becuase they had the opening slot, opening slots almost always change half way through a
(3:07:39 PM): you guys are fast approaching a break, so what can we expect to see from you next?
(3:09:35 PM): We should be hitting the road again around late jan, early feb.. Were taking some time relax, write, and plan out next year. Should be doing a lot of u.s. And overseas dates again.
(3:09:54 PM): and last question, where can people who want to find out more about you do so?
(3:11:45 PM): Www.wearethegraduate.com our links for myspace, facebook, and purevolume are on there. We have tons of live videos on youtube…and we will be launching a members only website soon with exclusive content, first listens, and free promotional material for members
(3:12:32 PM): alright, awesome
There you have it, folks, comment away!
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