Speaker 1: W m n ahl Ripson doms.
Speaker 2: I'm a made lots of big class, carry you away,
but say.
Speaker 3: It might be too much of a good thing.
Speaker 4: No, no, you have to test me about No, No,
I'm sure I always know you want. I know you
know that I'm the st start.
Speaker 3: It's the hardest bald.
Speaker 4: She knows, she knows it could tell them all made
up the.
Speaker 2: March, the all.
Speaker 3: Go love thing. Can't big las.
Speaker 4: The way, but she said she feel bad for a
good things.
Speaker 3: Oh no, oh.
Speaker 2: No, oh no.
Speaker 3: Cool, well long went, it's played the scene.
Speaker 4: Say it's sad jow.
Speaker 2: Lock lay wins boy, I loved.
Speaker 5: You.
Speaker 6: Guys have such a nice sound. We have slim volume
here in studio and we're gonna talk to these guys
in just a moment. Welcome everybody. This is Matt Connorton
Unleashed and we are live and my voice is cracking
and it's very upsetting, but we are live on this
the first uh Saturday in twenty twenty five. Here from
the studios of w m n H ninety five point
three FM, Inglorious, Manchester, newhamsterre Do you hear that I
just said I had an asthma incident recently? And I've
apparently not fully recovered. But uh we are live, of course,
and uh having a great time here on this Saturday
of our first Saturday of the new year. And Jenny
is here as well, of course, at the news table
and joining us live in studio. This morning we have
Slim Volume. The gentleman from from Slim Volume. Welcome guys,
Good morning. Yeah, I was trying to remember you guys
have been on the show. Has it been once or
twice before? It has been twice, Okay, it it becomes
a blur after a while, but uh, yeah, you guys
have such a great I hadn't so I hadn't heard
that song before, but you guys have such a great sound. Yeah,
I just kind of listening. I'm just kind of getting
lost in it, you know, like, thank you. It's just
really really good. Let's let's do this. So for the uninitiated,
let's start in the corner here. We'll go around well,
you kind of know the drill. Anyway. You can each
tell us who you are, what you do in the band.
Speaker 7: Yeah, my name is Mike. I played guitar in the band.
Speaker 8: Okay, Trent over here played acoustic guitar mostly all.
Speaker 6: Right, Johnny and I played drums.
Speaker 9: And I'm Jake. I played bass and I sing along
with Trent.
Speaker 6: Oh, very good, very good. Now is this a new album?
The song we just heard, Big Plans? Is that from?
Is that new?
Speaker 9: That is from our newest EP, newest collection of four
songs that we put out in was that November?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 9: Okay, it's starting to blur like you said, yeah, yeah,
And we released another new EP in we had two
and twenty twenty four, so that one's from the second
of those called Big Plans.
Speaker 6: Gotcha.
Speaker 9: That was the self titled track.
Speaker 6: Oh okay, okay. Now what goes into the decision? And
this is a subject that we talked about a lot
on the show, because you know, everybody approaches it differently,
with so many different ways you can do it. I'm
always asking, so, why did you decide to do an
album or why did you decide to do an EP,
or why did you decide to just use but in
your case, so you release two EPs very close to
each other. What's the strategy there or is there one?
Or is it just or does it just feel right
to do it that way?
Speaker 10: I feel like when we go about releasing the songs
at least in the past. It's kind of been one
of those things where we always have the question of, like,
you know, you put a lot of like you know,
effort into an album, and then if you drop it,
it's kind of like, you know, you really want people
to hear it. So sometimes we like take the approach
of maybe if we do it in smaller chunks for people,
you know, it's just kind of easier to kind of
promote it, and just like you know, it's not like
all your eggs in one basket that could kind of
get left behind. Yeah, so doing like two EPs throughout
the year was something that was like a little strategic
in that sense. But I feel like as moving forward,
you know, right now we're currently working on like a
ten song album and stuff like that.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 10: Yeah, so it's definitely kind of trying to shift the
approach a little bit and see where that takes us,
and also keep it in mind that like I bring
some songs to the table, and like Trent and Jake
both right, and like, you know, so there's always like
a massive influx of material that's.
Speaker 7: Kind of like really easy to get overwhelmed with.
Speaker 6: Yeah, no doubt, Yeah, no doubt. Well, so doing a
ten like, is your approach in terms of writing different
with whereas you're working on a ten song album.
Speaker 8: Well, I think like with these two EPs, we kind
of realized they both had like a very separate sound,
where this one we just heard was more of like
the folk rock influence and the other one was more
of a straight indie rock influence. And we can listen
to one of those tracks later, h yeah, but and
you'll see the difference. And so the album is kind
of like the combination of both of those sounds in
a little more cohesive way. So splitting the EPs was
also a decision of like, sonically.
Speaker 6: They were very separate. Okay, but yeah.
Speaker 8: I think we, like Mike was kind of alluding to,
it's been a progression from doing singles now a couple
of EPs and now just tims.
Speaker 6: Yeah, focused on a bigger project. Yeah, what about in
terms of where you record like these EPs that you've done,
have you recorded these all the same way?
Speaker 9: Or we work with Eric Sotter at black Heart Sound Yes, yeah,
here in Manchester. He's awesome.
Speaker 6: His name is cop Well, we had him on the
show too, But leading up to having him on the show,
I remember telling him you got to come on because
his name. Of anybody in the area who does recording,
who has any kind of a studio, his name comes
up by far the most often.
Speaker 9: He's prolific.
Speaker 6: Oh he's amazing. Yeah, yeah, so incredible. So so sorry,
my voice keeps tracking. So the EPs were recorded with him. Yeah, excellent.
Speaker 9: Yeah. And also on that track, we had a guy
named James Palco who plays under a named the Jimmy Montague.
It's like a yacht rock kind of sounds really cool,
but he worked in the studio before. He's moved since.
But you heard the organ at the end of that
song that was playing that on that track, So yeah,
he's kind of a very talented multi instrumentalist producer guy.
Speaker 6: That's a cool way to that too, because because as
I'm listening and I'm hearing it for the first time,
and as I'm listening to it, it's at that part,
you know, it's at the end of the song, I
should probably fade it out and start talking, right, you know,
as a DJ. But I'm like, I couldn't because I
wanted to hear that play out, you know what I mean,
because it just sounded so cool, because it's kind of
a surprise. You don't expect to hear that at the
end like that, but it just works so perfectly, you know.
So it's like I didn't even want to talk over it.
Speaker 9: It's one of those things that just sort of happened to.
He just was playing and he kind of just kept
hanging on that last chord, and I think we probably
thought maybe we'll fade it out too, but we ended
up liking it, I think as just a kind of
a weird ending that you usually wouldn't hear out of
us because none of us.
Speaker 6: Are organist, right, so when you play that one live,
that that's not there obviously no organ yet, no organ yet.
Speaker 8: Yeah, although there may be a surprise for our next
show with regards to He's Oh okay, that's been a
little little discussion in the band for a while. We've
always thought, you know, another element would be helpful. Yeah,
but yeah, I think we may have that in place
for two weeks from yesterday.
Speaker 6: Oh okay, yeah, okay, that's.
Speaker 8: Kind of like the other, you know, the other you know,
promotional element of this radio appearance is in two weeks Banker,
New Hampshire stage. We're playing for the Modern Fools album
release show.
Speaker 1: Nice.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I don't know if you ever heard of the
band Modern Fools. They're from Keen and they kind of
have more like a truer alt country folk rock sound.
So like the song we just heard very much similar
to what Modern Fools. It's like, okay to speak in
broad strokes.
Speaker 6: I almost think we had them on the show. That
name is very familiar to me. Modern Fools. Did we
have them on the show? Does sound familiar to me? Yeah,
or we may have talked to them at some point
about coming on. But yeah, no, that's that's very cool.
So that's gonna be at what's the.
Speaker 4: Date on that?
Speaker 8: That's January seventeenth.
Speaker 6: Outstanding. That's yeah, outstanding? Are you guys? So all the
I assume like from both EPs that you've released, do
do you play all all eight of those live?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 9: That sort of to varying degrees. Yeah, there's the set
list always fluctuates kind of based on mood and all
kinds of other factors. But there's some songs where, for
any number of reasons, they kind of like find their
way out of the set lists and then but yeah,
for the most part, Yeah.
Speaker 7: There's one song on each of those EPs.
Speaker 10: Off of big plans, that one being if Only and
off of back to You Kpos seven that like sometimes
don't really like make it out to just plan for
whatever reason, Like yeah, they're cool songs and I'm glad
they made it on the EP and stuff like that.
But sometimes, like as I mentioned before, like having this
like big influx of material and stuff like that, like
we always get real kind of pumped up to play
new stuff live. So it's just like sometimes it's easy
to be like, ah, I could hit this new stuff that,
like you know, isn't even released yet, but like it's
kind of a good way to like hone in and
like figure out like what you want to do when
you record, you know, kind of hearing things live and
kind of like oh yeah, pasting the waters and stuff
like that.
Speaker 6: See how people react to it.
Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, exactly, Man, so's cool.
Speaker 6: Are you guys playing out a lot uh currently? Or
obviously you've got that show, that big one coming up
on the seventeenth.
Speaker 8: But yeah, I mean I think the aside from maybe
a busy September, the back half of twenty four was
a little bit slower, yeah for us, and we've been
we've been playing a lot in our first like two
and a half years as a band. Yeah, but twenty
twenty five is shaping up to be pretty busy. We
already get maybe like I don't know, ten or twelve
dates booked. Good, Yeah for the first couple, first two
three months, the first quarter.
Speaker 6: Yeah, where do you guys, uh do you guys get
out of New Hampshire or do you do you go
around New England or where do you guys play?
Speaker 11: I mean, I think it's mostly New Hampshire, but we're
trying to get out.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 8: Yeah, it's been you know this, it's a it's a
mindset shift to be like all right, let's go, you know,
book a long week or long weekend tour kind of thing.
Speaker 6: Like it's been.
Speaker 8: There's been enough stuff locally to build, you know, a
little fan base too.
Speaker 6: We are fortunate to have a lot of good venues
around here.
Speaker 8: Actually, yeah, there's a lot of good venues. And you know,
Conquered's real busy. The Seacoast is busy. You know, we
played Boston a couple of times, but you know, mostly
we've been playing stuff that people ask us to play.
We haven't done a ton of like going out and
reaching out to venues to book, which again is just
kind of like a mindset.
Speaker 6: It's just one approach.
Speaker 8: But uh, I mean, I think with this album and everything,
like the plan for this year would be to get
out a little bit, you know, expand the radius a
little bit.
Speaker 6: Sure, and we've tried.
Speaker 8: It's it's just gonna be hard sometimes, you know, trying
to get something in Burlington or something like that. Like
if you don't know someone to throw you right on
a show, it's pretty pretty tricky.
Speaker 6: Burlington has a great scene, but do But you're right
if you're not, you know, if you don't have an inn, Yeah, yeah,
you know, which which I'm sure we'll come. But as
you alluded to to, you're you're in a good situation
where you know, you're still getting a lot of shows
anyway because people are coming to you. So that's a
good thing. Yeah, oh yeah, you know that. So you're
you're you're off to a you're off to a strong start.
But I can also see where, you know, in terms
of long term strategy, you know, because obviously you're taking
the next step to going to you know, you're gonna
have a full album, so it makes sense that you know,
everything will continue to evolve in terms of radius and
right building that audience right, And I had an additional
thought on that that escapes me.
Speaker 10: Oh there's something there's something nice about like hit hitting
like a fresh set of ears too, because you know,
sometimes we get the opportunity, like in twenty twenty four,
we have the opportunity to go up to Portland, Maine
and play it a place called Blue I believe is
what it was called, and it's just a it's a
really cool venue and like you know, you just see
faces that you hadn't seen previously, and like you know,
you kind of get reinvigorated off the excitement of someone
that hasn't heard your material. Yes, comes up to you
after and they're just like stoked on it. You know,
they're like, well, like where you guys from, like all
that stuff kind of I really it means the energy
to be like all right, like we really should like
try and like you know, just reach out a little bit,
whether it's like north Shore, Massachusetts or like you know,
just even like further further going up to Portland and
as you mentioned Burlington, Yeah, and then like you know,
I think in the grand scheme, like branching out to
places like Brooklyn or like Philly, or have like really
hip scenes of like you know, just like indie rock
scenes of people that are just kind of doing the thing.
It's kind of like, you know, trying to work our
way into and become a part of it.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 6: Yeah, well, I think too, with your sound, you know,
you can probably fit in a lot of different kinds
of places, different kinds of scenarios. You know, you're not
limited to you know, like if you play in a
metal band, uh, you know, you can only play certain
kinds of places, you know. And on the other end
of the extremes, of course, if you're a singer songwriter
just doing a solo acoustic thing, you can play literally
almost anywhere. But but I think you guys are in
a with your sound, You're in a really good You're
in a really good position that way.
Speaker 8: So it's the thing I was going to say before too,
is like, you know, with the way the way Spotify
and the way social media work now is you can
actually reach a very large audience without having a go
are So you know that, and and that's a constantly
evolving situation because the algorithms change, and and what the
social media's favor changes.
Speaker 9: But you know that.
Speaker 8: And another thing too is, like I heard someone put
it one time, win your hometown, because a lot of
people think like, oh, I got this great band, I
got to get to Nashville asap, and it's like, again,
that's one approach, but I think winning the hometown, I
mean I feel like that's something you know, we've we've
gained some some solid followers. They may not make it
out to every single show, but we know they're out there, right.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, when you're hometown. Yeah, that's a good way
of putting it. Yeah, it makes sense.
Speaker 10: It's funny sometimes like I have some like just someone
like my closest friends, they're like, you know, sometimes you'd
expect your friend, but oh, like it's great.
Speaker 7: But like I have some friends that come.
Speaker 10: Up to you and they're like they're like, dude, I've
played back to you like one hundred and fifty times
on my Spotify rap. Like they're like this, you know,
they're like singing lyrics to me, and I'm just like,
it's very funny. Just be like, you know, you're just
like a really close friend to me. But to see
like the genuine support of that, and then like the
genuine love of a song. It's just like, you know,
it's cool, like like you're saying, just kind of like
kind of hometown court thing. Just feels like, you know,
it's nice to feel like you got people behind you
doing that stuff, like right right.
Speaker 6: Yeah, exactly exactly, Well we should. Uh so let's play
another one. And one of you had said suggested we
play something from back view from the previous Uh yeah.
Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah, let's do the song back to You that
Mike just alluded to. Good timing.
Speaker 6: Oh, here we go. I found it, okay, And if
you are just joining us, we have slim volume here
with us live in studio, and uh, I'm trying to
download this and it's uh not happening for me as
quickly as i'd like.
Speaker 8: What you're here on this track is the uh, like
I said before, the flip side of the folk rock thing,
I have a more indie rock forward tune which was uh,
you know, kind of based off a little progression and
riff that Mike brought in that was worked into into
a song. So yeah, just a good, good dynamic on
this one.
Speaker 6: All right, let's give this a listen. This is back
to You. The band is slim volume.
Speaker 2: I think we come too far to turn up back
right now.
Speaker 4: I think the rook's too hard. I'm the best when
you're not around.
Speaker 12: I spent the last fewnights just about an hour to sleep.
Speaker 3: Just wait, go you there.
Speaker 4: Said, when you tis up there, say I.
Speaker 3: Got a show in my face here.
Speaker 12: I spent the last fair nights just about an hour's race.
May I been.
Speaker 2: Trying maybe for young.
Speaker 12: Man.
Speaker 2: I try, but I can't.
Speaker 3: Be trying away back to you, back to you, back.
Speaker 4: To me, come home feeling red. Time's come in soon, apock.
Speaker 12: The lift tip before a horseman a running full.
Speaker 4: I spent the last fever nights just.
Speaker 2: About trying to breathe.
Speaker 4: An baby, follow.
Speaker 12: You like God spoken, crying hot check finding a way back.
Speaker 2: Back to me? That the crying baby for you. May
but hot chick fining away, volunting.
Speaker 6: That is back to you. That is slim volume. Everything
you guys do is so catchy, like if you like,
if you're if you listen to that and you're not
tapping along, you're probably in a coma or something. That's
like the and it's like the perfect pop indie song.
It's it's just it's it's perfect.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you're you're, You're welcome. It is it is well
earned if you are just joining us a slim volume
is here with us live in studio on this uh
Saturday morning, and uh that one must go over well
live too, I would imagine. I would imagine that gets
a pretty pretty big response. Yeah, that one's been successful.
Speaker 8: I will say selfishly though that lyric that the the
vocal at the end is stretching my capabilities.
Speaker 6: Yeah, And so it's a tricky one.
Speaker 8: It's kind of like a there's a famous story of
the of the Eagles of Randy Meisner, who wrote a
What's What's take it to the Limit and he hated
singing it because it was so hard for him to
sing and everyone expected him to deliver it night after night.
So I know it's not quite Randy Meisner level, but
it is similar that I wrote myself.
Speaker 6: Into a corner a little bit with that line. Well,
do you know the story of when he got into
Meiser got into a huge argument with Don Henley about
they were backstage one night at a show and Meisner
didn't want to sing that song, yeah, because he didn't
feel up to it. He'd been partying too much or
so right, and Henley was furious, and I think I
think that there might have even been uh, they might
have thrown hands or pushed and shoved or something.
Speaker 9: That's surprising knowing Don Henley. Usually he's so level headed.
Speaker 8: Yeah, it hasn't come to hands throwing yet, but it
has been one that I will say that one. That
one is one where if the audience doesn't seem like
they're gonna appreciate it, then it's really tricky because if
the audience is responding, I can sing it yeah, no problem. Yeah,
And that's kind of the the blessing and the curse
of being a singer, I guess, right.
Speaker 10: Right to pour pour your heart out in like a
you know, like a half empty room of people, just
like you know, like eating a cheeseburger.
Speaker 7: Try to push that out. It's just kind of like,
you know, I could see that being difficult.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I can see that.
Speaker 9: Yeah.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Are there any other songs where you kind of
push that?
Speaker 8: No, I mean, i'd say that's the trickiest one. I
think Jake has a couple.
Speaker 9: Really, there's probably some. There's a lot of songs where
we will sing in harmony and I'll sing a higher
part and like sometimes I'll be like, guys, can we
do that one a little later? Can we do that
like third or fourth bit? Yeah, so I'm not quite
as creaky. That makes sense, So yeah, it happens for sure,
that makes sense.
Speaker 8: I think like with the new album though, like we're
trying to kind of strike I feel like we struck
a little bit more of a balance between that energy
that we just heard and then the first song we
heard and if you could imagine what those would sound
like if they had a baby's kind of what a
lot of that the new album is where it's got
that pop indipop energy, but it's not so like in
your face, which is a little outside of kind of
like what our sound is to begin with. But I mean,
we're not going to stop ourselves from writing something like that.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, yeah, Do you guys play songs out that
you haven't recorded yet or yeah? Because of Matt you know,
well yeah, I think we talked about that earlier. Actually,
now that I recall you, because you some of the
songs that are going to be on the album, you're
playing out right, So yeah, is it a lot of them?
Speaker 12: Is it?
Speaker 6: Is it quite a few of them that you're playing.
Speaker 9: We're finally in the position when we're catching up a
little bit, but there's a lot like we're always writing stuff,
so it is tough. Like the moment we catch up
is the moment there's a handful of new songs. Mike,
looks like you had something.
Speaker 6: No.
Speaker 10: I was just gonna say, like with the new album,
like I feel like we've played like, you know, probably
a majority majority of it at least once or twice
live in a live setting. You don't mean just like yeah,
like I was saying, it's just a great way to
kind of like flush things out.
Speaker 9: You know.
Speaker 10: It's one thing like you do it in a practice
from all the time stuff like that, and then like
sometimes just playing in a different setting for like a
freshet of years, it's kind of like might give you
a fresh idea, like a new like kind of a
view on the song to kind of like take that
into the studio and just be like I like, you know,
playing this live, I heard that this could be kind
of like a cool thing to add to it. Like,
you know, sometimes you hear like what is missing when
you're playing live that like you don't have the ability
to to do with like four people, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 6: Yeah, Yeah, Well I would imagine too, like like happened
with Big Plans, you know, with the the ending, which
which turned out to be kind of a surprise. I mean,
does that happen with other songs too, Like when you're
recording with somebody at the caliber of Eric Sotter, I
would imagine that that. Sometimes there are some some surprises
where it's like, well, okay, this this is not what
we thought it was going to be when we were
playing it out at live shows. Now it's the song
is like do you ever have something that's changed significantly?
Or it's like, wow, this is really different.
Speaker 8: We've gotten We've just gotten better in the studio too,
and being able to use our time more effectively, and yeah,
just throw ideas around and not feel like if something
gets put down, like it has to stay like maybe
we'll use it somehow or Yeah, surprises abound.
Speaker 9: There's little things that pop up brand new in the
studio all the time. Like on the first track you
played Big Plans, there's a guitar solo thing at the
end with those bent guitar notes and stuff that Mike played. Yeah,
and I don't think we ad that going in to
the studio at all or some version of it.
Speaker 10: No, not not even there was just kind of like
like that intro and that ending of that song was
something Trent had introduced because it was a tune that
Jake had brought and kind of flushed out with like
me and Johnny like just jamming at my house one day.
So as Trent added these like this new intro in
outro so to speak, you know, we brought it into
the studio and then working with that guy James Palco
that he mentioned earlier. He's just a great kind of
producer mindset where like you know, multi instrumentalist kind of guy.
So like I was like, you know, I had the
ideas of something to do with Ben's but he really
like sat with me and helped shape like this like
the rhythmic aspect of that and like have it be
like something that just like kind of fit well over
you know, two dudes singing still to make it be
like it's repetitive and it's like easy to kind of
lock into, but it gives space for those like you know,
Jake and Trent to sing and do their thing.
Speaker 6: Yeah. So yeah, oh excellent and then so guys probably
don't have any kind of an eta yet right on
when when you think you're gonna have that out or
the new album.
Speaker 7: I think it'll be kind of like a slow drip
of singles.
Speaker 10: Maybe do like two or three singles throughout the year,
maybe like you know, like late winter and then like
mid spring or something, and then maybe one closer to
the fall, and then like you know, aim for like
maybe like October November.
Speaker 7: Okay, seems it seems like a cozy time to drop.
People are kind of hunkering back down, you know.
Speaker 6: Yeah exactly.
Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah, that's kind of the target we're shooting at,
is like fall time.
Speaker 6: Okay.
Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah, just like my said, a couple of singles
throughout the year. Yeah, we have you know, it's in
it's in progress right now. We have maybe like five
or six days booked with Eric to finish it up,
kind of spread out over the next couple of months.
So okay, but you know, it basically comes down to
one day equals one song, Okay, yeah, after you've already
tracked drums. Yeah, so we may need a couple of
additional days, but yeah, yeah, but you know it's worth
it because I think, you know, with with recording more
and and and and I've done this inother bands too.
It's like I hate the feeling of recording something and
then a year later going back and be like, damn, yeah,
I wish we did this a little different. So, you know,
I think everything is the stars have aligned nicely on this.
I think we're all we're on the right mindset to
make this like our best material.
Speaker 9: Yeah.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 10: To tack on to what you were asking earlier about
like you know, you know, in terms of the end
of big plans, having like the organ and having elements
that like you know, are things that like we don't
we don't yet have the ability to bring live.
Speaker 7: And stuff like that.
Speaker 10: I think this, this new and up and up and
coming album is like there's like a lot of that.
Like there's a lot of like really cool elements that
like we're you know, getting into or like dabbling with
and like sounds and like textures and like you know,
like synth sounds and things to really kind of like
you know, just like elevate it. And as Trend was saying,
like getting more comfortable in the studio and like kind
of like understanding how we can utilize our time and
really like before we even go in the studio, be
like all right, like you know, sitting down and kind
of using those drums that we got to like make
demos out of, and be like all right, like let's
mess around with some extra some textural things on guitar
or even like add some keys over it and stuff
like that, like things that really like, you know, being
prepared for in the studio, Like, hey, it's gonna save
you time and money, you know what I mean, Because
like it's kind of like, you know, to go in
the studio and just be like all right, look, let's
noodle on a synthesizer for like the next hour, and
like you know, you know what I mean. It's just
kind of like, you know, it's kind of like can
be kind of productive at a certain point.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 10: So so kind of like you know, just being a
little bit more like ready and like you know, like
having ideas in mind and like exploring new sounds and
stuff like that is definitely something that's coming up in
the new album.
Speaker 6: Yeah No, but as you as you refer to though,
being prepared it is so important and because you don't
want to be uh, it's when you said, you know,
noodleing on a on a keyboard for an hour. It
reminded me of if you ever watch any documentaries of bands,
you know, famous bands in the recording studio like the
Eagles or whomever. It always looks like and if it's
a band that's super famous, then they have millions and
millions of dollars they can afford to do it this way.
But sometimes in these documentaries it looks like the band
it looks like they're just writing the album in the
studio as they're recording it, you know, and you kind of,
if you're the typical brooke musician, you're kind of sitting
there watching, going how do they even how do they
even do it this way? Yeah? You know, I said,
you won't afford to just sit there and hey, I
had an idea for a song today and they're already
well into the album and it's like, so now they're
just writing this new song.
Speaker 9: It's one of those things where we can do that,
but it's within the constraints of we better figure the
idea out in a twenty minutes. If we don't, it's
time to move on. If we're going to abandon this
marimba part now since we haven't figured it out, you know.
Speaker 6: Yeah, exactly exactly, well we should Uh, I'll let you
guys pick we should play another one. I'm dying here
another one. Like I said, I love your sound.
Speaker 9: Ye just think on it.
Speaker 10: Yeah, I mean, would you either jump back to like
a like a big plans and do like a lay
laying low or like you know, I know, last time
we were here we did the running thing.
Speaker 7: Yeah, okay, that could be kind of a nice one.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, laying laying low, lay low. We'll play that
one next, all right. Uh, if you are just joining
us Alive on Saturday morning, we have the band Slim
Volume here with us Alive and Studio. This is their
third appearance on the show. How By the way, while
this is loading up, how long have you guys been around?
You're kind of in the grand scheme of things. Still
a fairly new band, right, oh yeah.
Speaker 9: And a half years, half years ish, going on, coming
up to three soon? Yeah, twenty twenty two sometime is
like I think formally when we started as a four
piece band late twenty two? Does that sound correct to
I'm looking to the other, to my historians.
Speaker 8: It's all a blur and the official biography on our website.
Twenty twenty three was the mark of Oka of the start.
Speaker 6: Okay, yeah, yeah, all right, Well let's give this a spin.
This is Laying Low. The band is Slim Volume.
Speaker 3: Low.
Speaker 1: I'm looking over my shoulder.
Speaker 4: You're somewhere, need to.
Speaker 3: Be by wonderment?
Speaker 4: Where to go? Where nobody knows me?
Speaker 3: And I can't make memories in the songs that I say,
who who?
Speaker 5: Sometimes I'm a ride, Sometimes I'm a round. Sometimes it
takes some that just to get a long. Sometimes it's
me and sometimes it's you. Sometimes it's too late.
Speaker 1: To call, but I want to.
Speaker 2: Pick up that.
Speaker 4: Phone, get on the ball.
Speaker 3: Somethings get old and some.
Speaker 4: Take some I used to.
Speaker 2: I know what it's true.
Speaker 6: I got so lost in that one. I didn't even
notice we were at the end. That is Laying Low.
That is Slim Volume. That was a good choice. Wow,
that's really good. That song. It's just it's shimmers. I
don't know how else to put it. It shimmers everything
about it. It's just so good. And the way I
love the harmonies and the way the guitar sounds, everything
about that is really good. Uh, we have a Slim
Volume live in studio with us if you're just shoining
us on this uh this cold Saturday morning. But yeah,
what a great track. Yeah, I'm curious, is that one
of the more challenging ones that you've recorded. It sounds
like just sonically there's a lot going on there and
with the vocals, and is that one of the more
challenging ones.
Speaker 9: Or now, I mean it's a really good question.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean there's sort of a simplexity about it.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's yeah. I feel like that one was one
that we had been working on for a really long time.
Speaker 8: Yeah, but by the time it came to the studio,
it felt pretty easy to get that one in.
Speaker 6: I feel like, at least for me.
Speaker 10: Yeah, really, yeah, that makes sense because like as I
was listening to it, I was like, I was like,
this song has been around for a long time. Okay,
it's been it's been like, you know, kicking around and
played a lot and played out live multiple times before
it ever got recorded. So I kind of think it
felt pretty organic for us going in the studio and
kind of doing that, and then like that was like
I feel like one of our first introductions into like
adding like a lot of textual things to it, like
because I don't know if you heard like this little
key key's part in there and stuff, and there's some
kind of like just nice little like guitar like little
chimy things.
Speaker 6: That's what I mean. There's a lot going on in there.
Speaker 10: Yeah, yeah, yeah, So I think that was our first
kind of real like attempt at trying to give it
like a its own kind of specific sound versus just
what we do live, which is like easy to record,
you know what I mean, But that's just like what
can we do to like elevate this?
Speaker 6: Yeah? Yeah, that's the thing.
Speaker 8: Sometimes you go record something in the studio the way
that you perform it and rehearse it, and then you
sit there listen back and you're like, wow, it sounds empty,
you know, it's it's uh, it's just missing something.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 8: So sometimes it's trying to figure out and that's probably
the trickiest part on that one, just trying to figure out, like,
all right, what's going to make this sound full and interesting?
Speaker 6: The whole time, I.
Speaker 10: Think we struggled, Sorry you say we struggled the most
with what Trent just said. I think on Running Thin,
Like Running Thin was one of those things. I think
we literally re recorded, like, like, what's on that the
third time?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 9: Oh really. Yeah. It's funny because when you asked, was
it hard to we're challenging to record that? My initial
reaction was no, But then I was thinking back, and
I'm pretty sure it's one of a few songs that
we've recorded like two or three times. I think we
did Laying Low before. Yeah, we did, and maybe felt
like we got it at the time, and then listened back.
Running Thin is another one where we heard what we
kind of did and heard the finished product and just
sort of felt like, I don't know, that doesn't feel
done yet. Maybe yeah, And so yeah, it's one of
those things We're fine. Like I think the shim shimmer
is good. I'm glad that that comes across because I
think that maybe was the missing ingredient in the sound of.
Speaker 6: That part of that though too.
Speaker 8: The shimmer is so these both these EPs, we sent
them out to Wild Feather Studios, which is in Nashville,
which is the guy that Mike got connected with in
a blues band. He used the plant and this guy's
a really good mixing engineer. So Running Laying Low what
we just listened to that was I think the only
song of the eight that he mixed that came back
first try, like that was just the mix okay, And
he added some of those shimmery elements. There's some like
crystallization reverb in the vocals that really makes it blend. Yeah,
he said it reminded him of Oasis. Yeah, and I
think and I think that's where he pushed the mix
a little bit, which I don't know if I can
really attest.
Speaker 9: It's funny because I was thinking of that while we
were listening to just Now, and I was like, this
definitely sounds like Oasis this song. And that's what's funny
about going into the studio or going through the whole
mixing and mastering processes. I never thought that this song
sounds like Oasis one time until it was to Zach
who kind of turned it a little bit into an
Oasis sign. Now I definitely hear it with the way
the acoustic sounds and shimmers, to use your word again.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely, very cool. We have a slim
volume here with us if you are just joining us
talking with the guys, and do you have how many
how many songs as a band do you have how
many original songs at this point, I think.
Speaker 10: Released on Spotify there's like seventeen okay, something like that,
and then the you know, but plus plus the ten
of the album that are like you know, just being
recorded are like you know, quote unquote done yeah, and
then like beyond that, like we have this folded, it's
probably got like another like fifteen you know, like yeah,
things that are like you know, if not half done,
pretty close to being done. And then like you know,
it's like Jake was saying, it's like right when you
feel like you're caught up, you're like all right, like no,
we're not right right, yeah, time to keep going and stuff,
which is it's like a great like like problem to have,
you know, it's like not a problem. It's like it's
a blessing to have so much ideas kicking around and
stuff like that.
Speaker 7: But it can't get a little overwhelming if you don't
keep up with it.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Yeah, but you have a lot of music for
a band that's you know again really hasn't been around
that long. You know, You've you've got a lot of
You've got a lot of music. Do you guys do
any covers when you play live do you. Oh, yeah,
what we do.
Speaker 8: Yeah, some of the gigs we play just require, you know,
having cover material, and that's a constant kind of struggle
of feeling like all right, we got we got enough
cover material now, and then it's like, wow, no we don't,
cause like these five songs don't really feel is good
anymore to play, and so it's always kind of like
mixing new ones in. Yeah, but I mean, yeah, we
cover everything from you know, the Beatles to we got
a Kings of Leon cover strokes. I mean, we you know,
some early two thousand stuff, like a lot of classic
rock stuff. But it's selective too. It's it's not like
I don't know, we don't really just go play anything.
Speaker 9: Yeah, we don't have much metal in the repertoire right juncture.
Speaker 10: Yeah, we like to feel like we pick things that
kind of like like make sense sonically, they like kind
of fit the vibe of what we do. Yeah, sometimes
it's kind of nice to switch it up with different things,
like he's saying, like just generationally speaking, from like the
Beatles to like in Beach Boys to doing like you know,
more of a modern sonic death cab for QUT.
Speaker 9: Cover or whatever.
Speaker 10: It is like you know, try and like you know,
appeal to all ears out there in the crowd kind
of thing.
Speaker 8: Yeah, it's pretty much an impossible task to appeal to
everybody every game, of course. Yeah, and it's just like
you know, one gig to the next. Things we think
are gonna work well don't, and things we don't aren't
sure about like work great. Yeah, you know, It's it's
really funny that way, like just just something that comes
to minds like the Jackson Brown.
Speaker 6: Song Somebody's Baby, Somebody's Baby.
Speaker 8: I feel like that crushes like everywhere, no matter where,
or it's a great song.
Speaker 6: It's a great song.
Speaker 9: Yeah, it's the platonic mean of a song. People like it.
Speaker 8: So it's just it's just trying to find about thirty
songs like that that we can be tight on.
Speaker 7: We we've been doing like a Sister Golden Hair. Yeah,
that's just an awesome tune.
Speaker 10: Like yeah, I think we also like to pick songs
that like we genuinely like love to play, you know
what I mean. Like it's just kind of makes it
like more genuine as a player, Like you know, if
you just kind of like you really get into it
and you just kind of like you know, you really
do do your diligence to learn all the parts correctly
and stuff like that, and like you know, doing the
slide over sister Golden Hair, it's just like, you know,
like that must be that's great, you know what I mean,
Like you see people get pumped up about it. It's
just like, yeah, who doesn't love that song?
Speaker 6: I mean, right, yeah. Do you do any covers that
are kind of obscure that not everyone in the audience
necessarily realizes is the cover?
Speaker 9: Well, we do a cover of this song called Sin
City by the Flying Burrito Brothers, who was Graham Parson's
band from back in the sixties. And the reason I
mentioned that song is like, it's not I don't feel
like it's that well known or in the mainstream. Really.
It's one of those old kind of country folky songs
that like, once you hear it feels like you've heard
it or a song like it many times. Okay, And
we recently recorded a cover for that that's coming out
on a like a country music compilation. Oh really soon.
Speaker 6: I have no idea when.
Speaker 9: We don't know exactly when, but it'll be out and
so that maybe that's something we can listen to on
here sometime too.
Speaker 6: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, Yeah, Now how did you how did
you get the opportunity to do.
Speaker 8: That, to be a part of that context that was
actually so modern?
Speaker 6: Fools?
Speaker 8: Who has the album released shown a couple of weeks
that we're playing it was a member from that band
I was putting it together and just reached out to us.
Oh wow, Yeah, I'm I'm not sure really any more
details than that, honestly.
Speaker 6: Did did did they let you pick the what cover
you want to do?
Speaker 1: Or?
Speaker 9: Yeah? The idea was outlaw country? Also you know at
Chris Christofferson, Willie Nelson, anything in that. Yeah.
Speaker 6: Really, have you guys ever been on Rob show? Granted
state of mind?
Speaker 8: I have as an individual, like as a as myself.
Speaker 9: Okay, okay, as a political candidate.
Speaker 6: No, No, I was just curious because when you said
out lack Country, my first thought was a Rob Rob
has a lot of bands on his show. Does that
you guys? You guys would be great on Rob show too? Yeah?
Speaker 8: I think it's not scheduled, but yeah, I got I
met Rob just like a few months ago. Yeah, I
went to his open mic, yeah, pork City, Yeah, and
I had never come across him, and I was mind
blown because we just know we both know like the
same mutual people. Yeah, yeah, I couldn't believe it. We
had never crossed paths. Yeah, but the band will definitely
be on his show at some point.
Speaker 6: Yeah. And have you guys played at Pemworks City Limits.
Speaker 8: I played there for like a solo show. But yeah,
he wants to have us.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, good, Yeah, I can imagine that. Yeah, that's
such a that's such a cool room to Rob is.
Rob is doing amazing things. And of course a plug
for a show he knows, Scranted State of Mind Fridays
at six pm right here at w M and H.
So yeah, he does a he does a lot for
the scene.
Speaker 7: Now.
Speaker 6: That's cool though about the country compilation, but you don't
know when it's gonna be out sometime sometime this year
though it was supposed to like be out now.
Speaker 8: And I think with anything like that, when you have
ten different bands all submitting, it gets a little delayed.
Speaker 9: Someone is in the precarious position of having to email
and track down ten different musicians right or flighty on
the best of So, no, I can I.
Speaker 6: Can see where that would where that would be the case. Now,
what about uh so is the show of the seventeenth?
Is that the next show you guys are playing? Yeah,
and then after that do you have like what, what's
what's winter like for in terms of live shows? Is
the are you gonna be kind of active?
Speaker 8: Or yeah, we'll be at Two Share a couple of
times we'll be at Do we have a strange brew book?
Speaker 7: No, I don't think there's any strange strange.
Speaker 9: Two Shares on Union Street in Manchester. For those who
don't know, it's a brewery. Yeah, worth checking out with
us or without because it's yeah, they make good local beer.
Speaker 8: Yeah yeah, yeah, I mean slim Volume band dot com.
You know, it's got all the details for anyone who
wants to track us down. But yeah, yeah, I mean
it's funny, like, you know, we got ten or twelve
gigs book. I can't recall them off the top of
my head.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Yeah, No, it sounds like you're off to a
strong start for the new year. I always ask too,
because you know a lot of bands they kind of
slow down in winter, or they've focused on writing and recording,
and then you know, I see some I know bands
who only want to really be active during the summer.
Speaker 9: But oh, another one that just comes to mind, Matt,
now that you say it is we're playing Auspicious Brew
in Dover in February believe that's on the fifteenth. Okay,
that's with Kara Holbert Howe as a singer songwriter from
the Sea Coast area. And then tin Fish is another
band from out in the kind of Portsmouth Dover area.
So that's gonna be a fun one.
Speaker 6: Oh, very good, very good. Yeah, And do you guys
try to play a lot of shows on the Sea
Coast because I would imagine what you know, with the
U n H crowd and everything, you know, you guys
would be very well received.
Speaker 9: Yeah, it's definitely a different kind of scene and vibe
on the Sea coast. So yeah, I mean we try
to get out there. We've played Dover and Portsmouth a
number of times. Good the press room, you know that
some of these ventues that they have great sound there,
you know, so excellent.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, it's very good, very good. Well, guys, we
are approaching the top of the hour, so I'll again
I'll let you pick what we will play to end
the segment today. Whatever whatever you guys want.
Speaker 4: To go with.
Speaker 6: I've certainly enjoyed everything that you've chosen so far.
Speaker 7: You want to like KPOS cool just for kind of
like you know S's and G's on that one.
Speaker 6: That sounds good, that's going to be on the back
to you. You'll go back to that one.
Speaker 9: So this track will be different in that you will
not hear my voice nor we hear Trent's voice.
Speaker 7: Yeah, your instrumental.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I actually had listened to this one on on
band camp and yeah, it's fun. It's fun. Uh So,
Slim Volume guys, thank you again so much. And slim
Volume dot com is the web Slim Volume band. Oh,
slim Volume Band dot com. Thank you very very good.
And Jenny before we go to you want to plug
your website.
Speaker 11: Of course you can check me out in my creativity
projects at Gencoffee dot com.
Speaker 4: J E N N C O F F E I
dot com.
Speaker 6: And by the way, uh also keep an eye on
you know you've got your you've been doing a lot
of media appearances and you're about to be on a
pretty big podcast. Yeah, should we should we mention which
one status coup you guys know Status cup?
Speaker 11: Well you will, baby, Yes, we're taping tomorrow and I
don't know the exact date.
Speaker 6: This this one's a big deal. So very proud of
very proud of you. Wall Street Journal was pretty big.
But that was pretty that was that was huge.
Speaker 8: I was like shocked us going through the Facebook band
feed and I saw you reshared. That was like, well
no BBC oh.
Speaker 11: Yeah yeah, yep, yep, causing a little trouble here on there.
As always we need do you have me any other way?
Speaker 6: We need a good trouble. Thank you for everyone who
joined us today. Of course doctor No and that was awesome. Yes,
doctor No is wonderful and Scarecrow Hill and of course
Slim Volume guys, thank you again, Thank you Matt absolutely
and we will close with this u k PO seven.
This is Slim Volume.
Speaker 2: I STA.
Speaker 13: Feels like running around in sound, blue lights flash, but
we will never be found and so s pattish lines
would be sound yeah, and make some memories to forget
in the morning.
Speaker 4: And it feels like everything changes, but the people.
Speaker 3: Around you keep a smile on the faces.
Speaker 13: I'm selling you, yeah, I'm selling yeah, I'm selling real.
Speaker 3: So let's safety down and you can sell him.
Speaker 4: Sound to you.
Speaker 3: Something, say anything, spices, the.
Speaker 12: Big born places, the water house splices, a dream recreated.
He and me waiting, let's go back in the bass faces,
the brick born places, the water house spaces, the dream
created here and men, let's go back.
Speaker 1: In the.
Speaker 13: Shine like so hundred miles so the rise where the
sun shining down on me and you can't seem to
hide that smiles if we tell you your stobby or.
Speaker 3: Suits and it feels like geverything changes.
Speaker 13: But we've had that before, sour put through the paces.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm selling you, Yeah, I'm selling you. Yeah, I'm
selling you eating. So it's the same now and you can.
Speaker 2: Sell is it?
Speaker 4: Listen? So wabble you up.
Speaker 3: From that?
Speaker 12: Anything, guys is the pieple, the places, the worst pes
trek recreget killing me, kayu place, guys is the prickeople,
the places NICs drily repregety t killing me. Let's a bucket.
Speaker 3: I was singing your song that'll bring you lung sni.
Speaker 14: That wur caving little world timers catch do you evening
ride because it's ten past five on a freezing winters night.
Speaker 1: But with a smile, lit of faces, we'll dance.
Speaker 14: And so the sun dies that's well dancing. So the
sonar rides, that's go dancing. So the sonar rides, let's
go dancing. So the sonar rides, let's go dancing.
Speaker 12: So the sun rise, let's go dances a.
Speaker 3: Sorri let's go dancing sounds sunrise.
Speaker 11: It's at a passenger announcement the twenty three pass willnound
the park and Stat nineteen and the last.
Speaker 4: Times closes the people.
Speaker 3: The prices laces true brigate to.
Speaker 12: Me thing, Let's go back chas cat. This is the
set form of places, the one that's not the tregant
to change doing planet thing, Let's go back change