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With the so called “emo revival” picking up momentum in recent months, a whole crop of guitar bands have been given the aforementioned tag and whether they like it or not Courtesy Drop<\/b> are one of those<\/i> bands.<\/p>\n
The quartet’s latest full-length, ‘Songs to Drive To; Cry, And Make Love To,’<\/i> fits nicely in the mould of Sunny Day Real Estate, and Texas is the Reason with its aching lyricism and jangly guitars. Nevertheless ‘Songs to…’<\/i> is a compelling mix of 90’s influenced indie rock with a hint of post-rock (see the overwhelming five-part arrangement ‘The Quack Doctor’s Sakura Blossoms.’<\/i>)<\/p>\n
Elsewhere tracks like ‘Goodbye, Fairlane Drive’<\/i>, ‘Appleseeds For Ash Night’<\/i> and ‘Stranger Than Friction’<\/i> offer a more straight-up rock approach that compliments the bands sorrowful lyrics.<\/p>\n
Before the turn of the year, Already Heard<\/b> spoke to guitarist and vocalist Paul Chalos about Courtesy Drop<\/b>’s influences, ‘Songs to…’<\/i>, being labelled as an “emo” band and more.<\/p>\n
Already Heard: Can you introduce yourself and your role in Courtesy Drop?<\/b>
\nPaul Chalos: My name is Paul; I play guitar and sing.<\/i><\/p>\n
AH: For new listeners, how would you describe your sound?<\/b>
\nPC: To be as basic as possible, I\u2019d call it a mix between late 90\u2019s post-hardcore, post-rock, and 90\u2019s indie.<\/i><\/p>\n
AH: I heard your influences consist of Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters, Bjork, Shai Hulud, and The Get Up Kids. Would you say your sound is a combination of those acts?<\/b>
\nPC: Not really. For me, being \u201cinfluenced\u201d by another artist is a little deeper than just trying to write music that sounds similar; I consider these artists \u201cinfluences\u201d because of how they\u2019ve affected my general perception and approach to music.<\/i><\/p>\n
AH: Even though the ’emo’ tag has been thrown at you, you’ve also been described as a post-hardcore band. What would you consider to be or what do you prefer?<\/b>
\nPC: I\u2019ve grown to dislike both of those tags, and I don\u2019t particularly like associating with either; their definitions have become so different from when I was younger, and I don\u2019t really like either of the newer incarnations (haha). To be truthful, I just have a passionate hatred for genre boundaries, and I don\u2019t like classifications to any degree. <\/i><\/p>\n
If I absolutely had to have a preference, I\u2019d just say \u201crock\u201d, because that\u2019s about as general as I can get. <\/i><\/p>\n
AH: This past October you released your second LP, ‘Songs to Drive to; Cry, and Make Love To’<\/i>. How would you sum up the overall tone of the record?<\/b>
\nPC: The tone is pretty dark. There\u2019s some melancholy mixed in, but for the most part it\u2019s more depressed than anything; a lot of it came out of a rough time in my life, so that\u2019ll happen.<\/i><\/p>\n
Songs To Drive To; Cry, And Make Love To by Courtesy Drop<\/a><\/p>\n AH: Lyrically what inspired this record?<\/b> AH: One of the most intriguing parts of ‘Songs To…’<\/i> is the five part instrumental section called ‘The Quack Doctor’s Sakura Blossoms’<\/i>. Can you discuss how this idea came about and what your initial approach?<\/b> AH: I’ve seen the album has been praise from a number of outlets. How has the overall feedback been?<\/b> AH: Despite the praise, some have commented on the length of the record. Do you think if the album was released 10 or 15 years ago, the length of the record wouldn’t be such an issue? <\/b> AH: Do you think its now more of a challenge to keep a listeners attention for longer now as we’re used to records being 30 – 40 minutes?<\/b> AH: I understand the band is based across two states; Tennessee and New York. How does this effect issues such as touring, writing and rehearsing?<\/b> AH: Going back to being linked with the ’emo’ tag, what do you make of the so-called “emo revival” that is being touted amongst various publications?<\/b> AH: As we’re heading to the end of 2013. What have been your favourite releases from the past year and what are you looking forward to in 2014?<\/b> As far as 2014 goes: Pianos Become The Teeth, Now, Now, Behemoth, all the United Nations stuff they\u2019re finally releasing, Bloom\u2019s first full length, and I\u2019m really hoping for new stuff from Toe, Envy, and Mono.<\/i><\/p>\n AH: Any final words you’d like to say to close this interview?<\/b> ‘Songs to Drive To; Cry, And Make Love To,’<\/i> by Courtesy Drop<\/b> is available now on Animal Style Records<\/b>.<\/p>\n Courtesy Drop<\/b> links: Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a>|Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n
\nPC: A mixture of personal experiences and thoughts; it really can\u2019t get much more specific than that without just explaining each song (haha).<\/i><\/p>\n
\nPC: This is actually my favorite part of the release, to be honest. It\u2019s a five part instrumental piece based on specific emotions from my favorite story arc in an anime called One Piece (the sample in part V is taken from one of the final episodes of the arc). The idea came about two days before we were going in to record the album; I had been listening to Envy and Mono non-stop, and really wanted to write a long post-rock song, so I thought it\u2019d be fun\/cool to have one as a bonus track at the end of record. After writing it all, splitting it into five tracks made more sense, given the drastic shifts in tone and the importance (to me) of emphasizing each part. <\/i><\/p>\n
\nPC: It\u2019s been great, and really diverse, which I think is the best part. I\u2019ve had metal-heads to crust-punks to hip hop fans tell me that they love the record, and that\u2019s one of the coolest feelings.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nPC: Maybe. Back then, I think more people knew how to keep things diverse in long records, whereas now, I can\u2019t even get through some EP\u2019s because they\u2019re so repetitive and one-note. <\/i><\/p>\n
\nPC: The challenge is with the writer, not the listener, in my opinion. If you bring enough good diversity to the table, they may not sit and listen to the entire thing every time they put your record on, but they\u2019ll still like it all, and listen to it all in segments.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nPC: It\u2019s not as big of a hindrance as it seems. We have all of the guitar gear here in TN, so the other two guys just drive down with the drums for tour (Joel\u2019s car gets great gas mileage). I write most everything myself, so it\u2019s not a huge issue; I just record parts on my phone and send it everyone to get reactions and ideas to expand on. When it came to practicing for recording, Hinkle and I just went up to Rochester for two weeks before hand. It\u2019s actually kind of cool to have that trip as part of the band dynamic, I think; at least for now.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nPC: I think it\u2019s a short lived media trend. Some of the bands that have been associated with the \u201cemo revival\u201d are already burnt out and almost dead, so I don\u2019t really give it much thought. <\/i><\/p>\n
\nCH: Some of my favorites were: The Dillinger Escape Plan\u2019s \u2018One of Us is the Killer,\u2019 The Appleseed Cast\u2019s \u2018Illumination Ritual,\u2019 Enemies\u2019 \u2018Embark, Embrace,\u2019 Shai Hulud\u2019s \u2018Reach Beyond The Sun,\u2019 Better Off\u2019s \u2018(I Think) I\u2019m Leaving,\u2019 Cove\u2019s \u2018Pig God EP\u2019 and Tancred\u2019s self-titled.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nCH: Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!<\/i><\/p>\n