Robert McDowell - Manchester Orchestra (04/08/2014)
Touring this November, The 59th Sound spoke with Robert McDowell, guitarist for Atlanta's Manchester Orchestra.
Hi Rob, it's Nathan from The 59th Sound. How are you?
Good thanks.
Are you up to much today?
We just finished up in the studio.
Nice. We’ll get right into it. So the band released Cope not too long ago. It seems like a piece of work that the band can really call their own, since so much of it was done by the band. Would you say the band is more attached to it than previous material?
It's like with every other release. We're always really attached to it right after we've released it. We got Dan Hannon, who produced the last two albums, into the studio again to co-produce the album with us, but we decided which songs made the album this time. This album was a lot of work. We even built the walls we were going to be recording in.
From what I’ve heard, a collection of B-sides called Hope is coming out in November. What can fans expect from this release? My impression so far is that it will be much softer than Cope, but there isn’t much to go by yet.
I think we just finished it up in the studio now. It will have alternate versions of songs from the album, and people hopefully it will add to the album and people will be able to hear it in a different way. Hope began with us thinking about the stripped down versions of the songs we were playing on radio and at in-stores, and deciding those versions could really hold their own.
I have a theory that the latest album, being the heaviest Manchester Orchestra release yet, is a result of Bad Books developing more of a following, because the softer stuff fits that band more. Is there any truth to this? The release of Hope, it seems, might prove me wrong.
Bad Books is more something we do when we feel like the Manchester Orchestra stuff isn't quite ready yet. The album being heavy is more of a statement on alternative rock and how it is not what it used to be. It is a return to guitar-driven alternative rock.
I imagine it would be a bit overwhelming for you at times when there’s Manchester Orchestra, Gobotron, Bad Books, and Favorite Gentlemen things going on? Do you ever feel like you need to take your mind away from music for a bit?
No, because there's a lot of passion behind all of them, and they're all different. If I'm ever overwhelmed by anything I can go and work on another thing for a bit and then get back to it. The only break, really, is watching TV. After spending time in the studio or something I'll go home and watch TV for an hour or so and then I'm ready to get back into things. I can only spend a short time away from it before I'm bouncing off the walls.
What interests do you have besides music?
I’m not sure about that one. I have to think. I like woodwork. It's a bit of a messy hobby though, so I don't get to do it much.
Do you have a favourite song to play from the band’s back catalogue?
I really like playing the heavier ones. It almost feels wrong to be playing them. Whenever we play ‘Cope’ and ‘Pride’ I get this feeling like "should we be doing this?"
There are some interesting connections between ‘The Mansion’ and ‘The Devil and Whom?’ from the new Weatherbox album (which Andy Hull features on). I know the band is now a part of the Favorite Gentlemen imprint of Triple Crown and you’ve taken them on tour for a bit, but how did that come about?
We've been good friends with Brian since 2009, and he asked Andy if he would like to sing a guest part that he had written for the new album. He said yes, and then when Andy went to do it he asked Brian what it was about—who the man in the song was—and Brian said “it’s you”. So when it came to ‘The Mansion’, we did a similar thing. The songs are very much interlinked. They’re about some of the things that we have been through together.
I really enjoyed the series of Magic Moments videos the band did to promote Cope. Can we expect more things like that around the release of Hope?
Since the early podcasts we have really enjoyed doing those things, and we will definitely be doing more in the future, but probably not around the time of Hope. There just hasn’t been a lot of time.
It’s been a few years since the band has come down to Australia. Do you have any plans for between shows?
It seems we're in and out this time, unfortunately. We did Splendour in the Grass a while ago and that was really great. We saw some amazing landscapes. We’re really excited about coming back down to Australia.
What does the band get up to between shows while touring?
I wish there was something I could say, but there isn’t. We're pretty busy with loading in, sound checks, interviews. There’s not much time. Sometimes we get to hang out but not a lot. It's really great that we can still enjoy each other's company after all this time.
Nathan Fioritti
MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA
TICKETS ONSALE NOW
DATES: NOVEMBER
w APES & KEVIN DEVINE (USA)
WED NOV 12 HI FI, BRISBANE
www.oztix.com.au, www.thehifi.com.au
THU NOV 13 CORNER, MELBOURNE SOLD OUT
www.cornerhotel.com
FRI NOV 14 CORNER, MELBOURNE **2ND SHOW**
www.cornerhotel.com
SAT NOV 15 METRO, SYDNEY
www.ticketek.com.au, www.metrotheatre.com.au
Hi Rob, it's Nathan from The 59th Sound. How are you?
Good thanks.
Are you up to much today?
We just finished up in the studio.
Nice. We’ll get right into it. So the band released Cope not too long ago. It seems like a piece of work that the band can really call their own, since so much of it was done by the band. Would you say the band is more attached to it than previous material?
It's like with every other release. We're always really attached to it right after we've released it. We got Dan Hannon, who produced the last two albums, into the studio again to co-produce the album with us, but we decided which songs made the album this time. This album was a lot of work. We even built the walls we were going to be recording in.
From what I’ve heard, a collection of B-sides called Hope is coming out in November. What can fans expect from this release? My impression so far is that it will be much softer than Cope, but there isn’t much to go by yet.
I think we just finished it up in the studio now. It will have alternate versions of songs from the album, and people hopefully it will add to the album and people will be able to hear it in a different way. Hope began with us thinking about the stripped down versions of the songs we were playing on radio and at in-stores, and deciding those versions could really hold their own.
I have a theory that the latest album, being the heaviest Manchester Orchestra release yet, is a result of Bad Books developing more of a following, because the softer stuff fits that band more. Is there any truth to this? The release of Hope, it seems, might prove me wrong.
Bad Books is more something we do when we feel like the Manchester Orchestra stuff isn't quite ready yet. The album being heavy is more of a statement on alternative rock and how it is not what it used to be. It is a return to guitar-driven alternative rock.
I imagine it would be a bit overwhelming for you at times when there’s Manchester Orchestra, Gobotron, Bad Books, and Favorite Gentlemen things going on? Do you ever feel like you need to take your mind away from music for a bit?
No, because there's a lot of passion behind all of them, and they're all different. If I'm ever overwhelmed by anything I can go and work on another thing for a bit and then get back to it. The only break, really, is watching TV. After spending time in the studio or something I'll go home and watch TV for an hour or so and then I'm ready to get back into things. I can only spend a short time away from it before I'm bouncing off the walls.
What interests do you have besides music?
I’m not sure about that one. I have to think. I like woodwork. It's a bit of a messy hobby though, so I don't get to do it much.
Do you have a favourite song to play from the band’s back catalogue?
I really like playing the heavier ones. It almost feels wrong to be playing them. Whenever we play ‘Cope’ and ‘Pride’ I get this feeling like "should we be doing this?"
There are some interesting connections between ‘The Mansion’ and ‘The Devil and Whom?’ from the new Weatherbox album (which Andy Hull features on). I know the band is now a part of the Favorite Gentlemen imprint of Triple Crown and you’ve taken them on tour for a bit, but how did that come about?
We've been good friends with Brian since 2009, and he asked Andy if he would like to sing a guest part that he had written for the new album. He said yes, and then when Andy went to do it he asked Brian what it was about—who the man in the song was—and Brian said “it’s you”. So when it came to ‘The Mansion’, we did a similar thing. The songs are very much interlinked. They’re about some of the things that we have been through together.
I really enjoyed the series of Magic Moments videos the band did to promote Cope. Can we expect more things like that around the release of Hope?
Since the early podcasts we have really enjoyed doing those things, and we will definitely be doing more in the future, but probably not around the time of Hope. There just hasn’t been a lot of time.
It’s been a few years since the band has come down to Australia. Do you have any plans for between shows?
It seems we're in and out this time, unfortunately. We did Splendour in the Grass a while ago and that was really great. We saw some amazing landscapes. We’re really excited about coming back down to Australia.
What does the band get up to between shows while touring?
I wish there was something I could say, but there isn’t. We're pretty busy with loading in, sound checks, interviews. There’s not much time. Sometimes we get to hang out but not a lot. It's really great that we can still enjoy each other's company after all this time.
Nathan Fioritti
MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA
TICKETS ONSALE NOW
DATES: NOVEMBER
w APES & KEVIN DEVINE (USA)
WED NOV 12 HI FI, BRISBANE
www.oztix.com.au, www.thehifi.com.au
THU NOV 13 CORNER, MELBOURNE SOLD OUT
www.cornerhotel.com
FRI NOV 14 CORNER, MELBOURNE **2ND SHOW**
www.cornerhotel.com
SAT NOV 15 METRO, SYDNEY
www.ticketek.com.au, www.metrotheatre.com.au