Interview: The 1090 Club

26 May, 2009

Violins, harmonies, keys, indie, and wonderful pop-rock. Joining this club is probably the smart thing to do.

By: Gian Erguiza

These Montanans have something to be proud about. Their latest release, Natural Selection, yielded great results and great songs that indie pop-rock bands mostly fall flat at. The blended sounds of The 1090 Club is rare in its form and genuine in its honesty. Breaking down to a four-piece and putting more focus on the music, The 1090 Club have definitely arrived at their musical destination. I got a chance to email the band some questions about everything The 1090 Club and we were lucky to have all four members chime in. Here’s what they had to say.

What’s up guys! What is the 1090 Club up to and what’s new?

Sean: Hi…How’s things? We have the new record out and some plans for touring this summer and doing some regional summer shows as well.

Mike: Hi. Well we’ve had our album out for a few months and right now we’ve been waiting to see a video a friend of ours is doing for us. Hopefully we get a look at it soon.

Megan: We just got back from a little two week tour that went pretty well. We’re working on the logistics of getting our broken van back from Omaha to Billings without paying a fortune. Doing a little practicing. Not a whole lot.

Steve: Just got back from tour and I think we’re all just kinda catching up on bills and such. gearing up for summer shows.

Your album “Natural Selection” is a definite winner. Was there a certain way that you guys wanted to approach writing this record and what was the recording process like for this album?

Sean: Thank you! We worked on writing it for a few years. We just wanted to write the record as a 4 piece. On our last record, we recorded some of the songs with a 5 piece (bass player), but we like the sound as a 4 piece.

Mike: We wanted to approach this record as only a four piece. This record was a much more concise project as far as the recording went. The first record had some bass on it. So we really wanted to focus on just orchestration of the four of us. The first record we recorded over the span of a year or more. With Natural Selection we did it in about 15 days. The process was much more focused and based on the record itself. With the first record we put it together when we had time. This new record allowed us to really get prepared and then step into the studio. We spent 11 to 15 hours a day hammering it out. I really liked being immersed in the process for a few weeks.

Megan: Why thank you. This band is the first I’ve been in so our last record and everything leading up to it was a big learning experience for me. It was my first time writing my own Violin parts, which was quite a challenge. The first record was kind-of a free for all and on the second we wrote completely as a four-piece and therefore I think everything turned out sounding a lot more uniform than the last, in a good way. We recorded this record with Steve Fisk rather than doing it ourselves. It was nice to record it all at once rather that the span of an entire year.

Steve: We’re all a lot more comfortable with each other musically compared to S.O.S. So writing the songs was much more natural and smooth. Instead of recording one or two songs at a time over the period of a year or more, we actually got to disconnect from our day to day and focus on the album.

Where were most of these songs written and how long of a span was it before the songs actually came together after the initial idea?

Sean: Most of the songs were written over a course of a year, and it took a year or so to get them to what we considered “releaseable”.

Mike: The songs evolved over the year before we recorded them. A few truly came together for the first time in the studio. But most of the songs were done and ready to go. We like to play the songs out for a while to work out any issues with structure and feel. After you play a song 100 times on tour you get to know it better and tend to be more at ease with it in the studio. Sometimes playing the songs live helped the songs evolve into a different version of their previous selves. Hopefully a better version.

Megan: We seem to work on one song at a time generally. Someone will bring in either a riff, or lyrics, or both and everyone else writes their own parts to fit the song. We started writing for Natural Selection pretty shortly after our first record came out and It took us quite a while to get everything written. I wrote my violin part for Hearts at the studio basically, and the guys had some parts they had to finish as well. But we were pretty prepared to record. It takes us a while to get everything the way we want it for sure.

Steve: At the jam pad and each members home as we all individually make mental changes and bring the ideas back to practice. I know a good portion of the lyrics were written in our cars.

“ITSON” is one cool song with a definite message. How did this song come into fruition and is this song from a personal standpoint or story?

Sean: Its not about one particular instance, as much as a generalization about a whole culture.. Talk is cheap…. and lots of people do it.

Mike: This song really started with the riff. The churning piano part is a part I had had for a while and was playing around with it one day at practice. Steve was at his drums and really started to get into it with a relentless driving tom part on his drums. Sean came in from the other room and noodled around over the top. We then realized we had something and started to craft it. Sean and I both worked on the lyrics, but it pretty much tells the story of the feeling right after you realize you have been working hard for nothing. Or busting your ass for something or helping someone only to have it blow up in your face. Right after that is what this song is about. Kind of the “Oh I learned my lesson you assholes…” Type of vibe.

Megan: I think this is one of the first songs we wrote for the record. Mike and Sean both wrote the lyrics for this song. I’m not totally sure what their intention or story was for this song.

Steve: The music we had been working on for a while and at one of the practices I had told Mike about a rhyme I had for a hiphop song I was playfully working on in my head, and the next day he came to jam with the chorus.

How did the album title “Natural Selection” come about and what does the album title signify in terms of music?

Sean: Its about the selections we make in everyday life, and how those choices mold the path were on.

Mike: It came to me after we had shot down many ideas because we were trying to really capture the essence that we have changed or evolved from the last record. Survival plays a large role in the music business as well, so it might have something to do with trying to stay afloat in an insane business.

Megan: We brainstormed pretty hard for a couple of weeks on the record title. I think we all agreed on this one because it can pertain to so many different things for all of us. I think it works for the record industry as a survival of the fittest-type thing.

Steve: We didn’t write extra songs for this record to be trimmed later, these are the ten we wrote.

“We just want people to enjoy the music. Its pretty simple. I’m not looking to change or mold to whatever is the fad. There is already 100,000 of those…..People seem to tire of things quicker and need the next newest thing right this instant. This constant need has rocketed many new acts right through the ringer of the music business. Artists are seen, if possible, as more of a commodity than ever before. I think people’s short attention span is destroying a lot of art, including music. ”

The musical palette has extended and expanded greatly in the past couple of years with the explosion of the internet and music is truly in your face more than ever. Where do you guys fit into the equation and what kind of mark is the band trying to leave on the music scene?

Sean: We just want people to enjoy the music. Its pretty simple. I’m not looking to change or mold to whatever is the fad. There is already 100,000 of those :-)

Mike: I’m not too sure where we fit. We can definitely understand the plight of the people who live in very rural areas and see how the internet has equalized the field for them. You don’t have to go to the biggest city to hear the newest underground anything anymore, just pull up their blog. So it helps some people out of a cultural lurch. But it has also on the other hand polluted the world with lots and lots of mediocrity and self serving bull. It almost as if there is too much available now. The internet and music is still strange to me at times. I am older and still have a built in need to go to the record store and hold a CD or record in my hand.

Megan: All of us listen to some of the same bands but we also listen to entirely different things as well. I think because of our vast musical backgrounds and our somewhat unusual instrumentation we’ve been able to write music that is unique from other bands and it attracts all types of different listeners as well. I just hope that our music doesn’t just fit into one of the fads and that maybe it’ll be a record people will always be able to listen to.

Steve: We’re just out there having fun. I think that shows on the album and our live performance. I hope people dig it and come have fun with us.

If someone was to ask me if I could explain to them what The 1090 Club sounds like in 3 sentences or less, what would I say to them?

Sean: I don’t know… what would you say? I think people have a hard time relating without comparing, so I would just ask you to play a song for them.

Mike: Like nothing you have heard before, a kind of Fugazi meets Fleetwood Mac, but not.

Megan: Dark, intricate indie/rock music with male/female harmonies… I guess. That’s a hard one to answer.

Steve: They’re like the partridge family on steroids! No I don’t know. I’m out of my element.

Which song off your latest album speaks to you guys the most?

Sean: For me, its off my mind.

Mike: I love playing Things Inside. I wrote it especially for a certain few situations and it feels good, almost cathartic to play that one. But also it is tough to pick just one song, only because it depends on what sort of mood I’m in. I like An Act as well, Hearts. One day the same song I’m in love with make me say “what the F was I thinking?” the next.

Megan: It honesty changes so often I couldn’t really pick one. Sometimes I relate to the lyrics of a song, or I’ll be really into a certain part of another song. Or I’ll be totally self-conscious about something I really liked the week before. I listen to our band in a totally different way than I listen to other music.

Mike: Things Inside.

Record Store Day just passed and I really do support the cause at heart. Do you guys have any record store experiences you’d like to share and is the internet the main cause of record store’s going the way of dinosaur?

Sean: I actually think the internet is driving record/vinyl sales, which is great for me. I also think real fans will go out and buy physical records.

Mike: I don’t really have any specific record store stories, but I do love going and flipping through every CD. I like the sound it makes, the snap,snap,snap. I think music, as well as a lot of things, has become even more widely consumerized in our recent past and at present. The Internet has helped push this along, although it may not be the sole cause. People seem to tire of things quicker and need the next newest thing right this instant. This constant need has rocketed many new acts right through the ringer of the music business. Artists are seen, if possible, as more of a commodity than ever before. I think people’s short attention span is destroying a lot of art, including music.

Megan: I don’t think it’s the internet necessarily, but maybe digital media in general thats hurting artists and record stores. It so easy just to plug you iPod into someone else’s computer to get music. It’s something I think most of us have done at some point. Hopefully enough of us still want the physical copies. I think small boutique stores that offer vinyl will probably fare better that the corporate stores.

Musicians in general are in a world of hurt right now because of the declined economy. Bands are throwing in the towel but new bands are also being formed. Do you guys see a break in this sour note anytime soon and what are bands to do to stay alive these days?

Sean: Build a regional following before taking on the whole USA. Play because you love music, not because you want to be famous.

Mike: I’m not sure. Some bands are hustling and scrounging for anything they can get their hands on. Most of the bands we know are suffering, but their attitudes are great. We are all aware of the fact that our line of work is risky as far as income goes. but we still keep plugging along. Maybe all of us aren’t playing as often, but we are still playing.

Megan: Hopefully something changes soon… The economy definitely affects bands. We’ve personally started doing shorter tours so that we aren’t affected financially quite as badly once we get home. We also tour in a small van without a trailer. And we try to route shows closer to one another so we don’t have to come up with lots of extra cash for gas.

Steve: You just have to be realistic about it. If it’s something you wanna do than your gonna be doin’ it for a while. so stick with it. I think that music will ultimately end up on top. With everything going back to the basics and all the frill being thrown aside, the people will remember the joy that sitting and just listening to a record can bring them….

I’m not sure if you guys caught Billy Bob blowing up on QTV but it was pretty serious but also somewhat humorous, no offence. What are you thoughts on celebrities and musicians acting “crazy” if you will and making no bones about it either on National TV, online or in pictures?

Sean: Sometimes you’re deemed crazy just or being yourself, but with BBT, I think he is so tracked and followed by the media, its bound to get tiring after a while.

Mike: First of all that Billy bob thing was crazy! For him to get so mad at the interviewer for bringing up acting was insane. Um…Hello dude, you’re an actor! He was such a prick to that dude. I have no real thoughts on famous people acting crazy. Acting crazy is enough to make you famous now, one doesn’t need talent. Plus, every move a celebrity makes is very calculated, so I’m sure most craziness is just to remain in the spotlight. As long as someone is talking about them, then I guess their happy.

Megan: I guess I missed that one. Press is good either way isn’t it? At least people are talking about you. I personally wouldn’t want to get caught doing certain things but I definitely enjoy laughing at the “crazy” celebrities.

Steve: I try not to pay attention to that type of thing.

Speaking of the economy, what would Barack Obama do next to help the economy and is Obama missing an issue he should be addressing concerning the economy?

Sean: Feeling pretty good about Obama right now. Give him time.

Mike: This one makes my brains hurt. Who knows? I know he can fix it; I just have no idea how.

Megan: Who knows… there are so many things that need immediate attention. I’d personally like them to work on some sort-of healthcare system.

When one listens to “Natural Selection,” what should they be doing?

Sean: Hopefully enjoying themselves.

Mike: Anything one wants. Headphones really bring out the hidden treasures on a few of the tracks. Get your brain right and really listen.

Megan: Haha, whatever they want. I don’t care as long as they’re listening to it.

Steve: Living.

14. The 1090 Club loves ______________________.

Sean: The 1090 Club loves poker with The Photo Atlas.

Mike: The 1090 Club loves Montana.

Megan: The 1090 Club loves touring. I’m so ready to get back on the road.

Steve: The 1090 Club loves food.

For future fans/club members of The 1090 Club, what should they check at the door before joining the club?

Sean: Nothing, unless the club has a coat check. I’m not here to tell anyone what to do.

Mike: Your scene attitude and your white belt. And guns, no guns in here but ours.

Steve: Nothing, bring everything they want.

Guys, can you guys give our readers a detailed experience of what your live shows entail?

Sean: A set consisting of songs from Natural Selection as well as some old favorites. Its hard for me to tell, I’ve never seen us :-)

Mike: Our live show is destruction! We are a much louder and rocking band live. We enjoy playing our songs and disappearing into the music, so for us shows are really fun. We like to think its fun for all. Steve is a hard hitting drummer live, he really beats the hell out of his drums. We all sing so it’s really fun to perform. We love to get loud.

Megan: I think we all try to play well and have a good time. We may be hard to understand if its a first-time listen but I think we put on a good live show.

Steve: Sweat, laughs, audio message.

What’s the next logical step for The 1090 Club?

Sean: A Spock question huh? We just go with the flow. No logic…

Mike: More touring and more touring. We are hoping to open for a few bigger tours in the spring/summer, but other than that we are just writing new stuff and rocking the old stuff.

Megan: More touring hopefully. Maybe do some more writing soon.

Steve: Keep building a fan base.

Any shameless promotion, last words or comments before we pull the plug?

Sean: Buy our new record!!!

Mike: Thanks a lot, have a great day!

Steve: Here’s to warm beer and baby seal skins!!

Thanks guys and keep up the good work! We hope to see you guys down in the L.A. area soon. ITSON!