my ipod thumb is sore

Earlier this month, A Weather released Everyday Balloons, their second full-length album which I enjoy a lot. I have been talking with the band a little bit, and they are nice enough to do a little interview for this here site! The interview is with Sarah Winchester, the girl in the middle of the photo above who provides A Weather’s beautiful hushed female vocals. Just as is mentioned in the interview, A Weather is set to embark on a US tour starting in April. I’ve posted the dates below the interview; be sure to check for a show near you and support this wonderful band! Enjoy!

MITIS: How did the creation of Everyday Balloons vary from Cove?

SW:  There are a couple of significant differences.  For Everyday Balloons, Aaron really set out to write an album’s worth of songs.  We’d already been playing a few EB songs at shows, but the majority were written in the span of one winter.  For Cove, we adapted some of the songs that Aaron had written for an earlier project, and just developed others over time by practicing and playing shows.  Overall, the songs on EB were naturally louder than Cove as well.

We also left a little more room for improvisation during the recording process for EB.  Our songs have very deliberate structures, and we aren’t the type of band to “jam”, so we had all the main pieces worked out. But we gave ourselves the chance to tinker a bit, in terms of elements like vocals and guitar parts.

And of course, we recorded Cove in sweltering heat with no air conditioning, and luckily didn’t have to contend with that for EB.

MITIS:  How have both of your albums been similar in the creation process?

SW:  We loved working with Adam Selzer at Type Foundry for Cove, and we knew we wanted to record with him again.  He’s knowledgeable, patient, and understands who we are as a band.

We’ve had a specific creative process that’s been with us since the beginning, and we’ve just continued to develop it.  Aaron is very thoughtful about what he wants songs to sound like, but there is always plenty of discussion and collaboration. We work from the ground up, and we’re always honing.  We’re big honers.  And we work hard and we get along -  those things are always at the center of our process.

MITIS:  Is your approach to touring different  in support of this album when compared to previous tours?

SW:  Up until now, we have really only toured in the West and Southwest, which has been fantastic.  But we are super excited to tour on the East Coast and to share our music with a new audience.  Plus, Aaron, Lou and I are all from the East Coast originally, so we look forward to playing on our home turf.  Basically we want to tour more widely for this record.  Europe would be amazing.

MITIS:  How does A Weather weigh in with the current debate regarding the internet’s impact on the music industry? What challenges/opportunities has the internet presented with the release of Everyday Balloons?

SW:  It seems like the internet has been absolutely crucial to the development of most bands.  Our label, Team Love, strongly supports the idea that music is a resource that should be available to everyone, and I agree.  That said, that doesn’t mean artists don’t deserve compensation for their work.  I like to idea that someone can listen to a song for free online, and that that might prompt them to attend a show.

Upcoming tour dates: