Interview with Craig from Soundevice
Posted: 13 June 2004
Contributed By: Jay
SOUNDEVICE is:
Erik Rogers, Vocals
Jason Grover, Guitars
Cheney Brannon, Drums
Craig Maule, Bass
Billy Grey, Guitars
I got the great pleasure of interviewing Soundevice's bassist, Craig, and ask him a few questions. He was cool as shit and extremely courteous--seemed like a down-to-earth kinda guy. By the way, the only way for you to get their album is to catch one of their shows or order it from their website. It's a band you really need to check out. Here's a little more about them:
TuneLab Music: For those who haven't heard your music yet, can you describe Soundevice's sound in your own words?
Craig: It's straight forward rock with an edge.
How did Soundevice get together?
Erik and I have been in bands in the past. We wanted to do a side project, another outlet with a different sound. We were both in heavy bands and had songs/ideas that didn't fit those groups. Soundevice was going to be the side project for those ideas. The band took off fast so Erik & I decided to focus on it full time. At that time Stereomud was also disbanding. Jason and Cheney just came in and we had Soundevice rolling in less than a week. Two months later, Billy Grey joined the group.
You recently released your debut album, "The World Goes 'Round," can you describe the writing process that went into this album?
Either Jason or I would bring in the music. The band would start jamming and Erik would feel out the vocal melodies. The group would work the song structure and Cheney would come up with some great backing vocal parts. Some of the tunes stayed close to the original idea and some were totally revamped. When Billy joined the group, he added some second guitar parts and also beefed up the sound.
How does the band like touring? Do you guys like the road?
We love it! I could tour all the time. It's a great feeling traveling town to town. For me, the fans are an extention of the family. We're hoping to cover more of the U.S. this summer.
How have the fans been so far?
Awesome! We have fans flying in for shows. Some travel 8-10 hours to catch a gig. The record sells well after every show and I see people in the crowd singing along with the songs. That rules.
it's got to... What or who would you say the main influences on Soundevice are?
I think to keep the list sort of small...............Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, AC DC, Iron Maiden, Radiohead, Coldplay, The Beatles, Ozzy, The Who, U2, PJ Harvey, Fugazi, Quicksand, Motley Crue and COC are music influences. The lyrics are always influenced by what's going on in our lives. Life problems or experiences always make for great song topics.
Soundevice is independent. Do any of you have any plans to try to get signed to a label, or do you like things the way they are?
We're out promoting as much as possible. In the future, Soundevice would like to sign with a label. We could re-release the record or add in some new material.Things are going great right now. This group has come a long way in a short time frame.
What do you think of the possibility of releasing the album (or a future album) via an internet pay-to-download service such as iTunes or Napster?
That's a cool outlet. We haven't approached it yet. I'm sure we're going to.
So where do you see Soundevice 2, 5, maybe 10 years from now?
Several records under our belt. We have so many songs constantly flowing, I see us being very busy for a long time. You never know which way the industry is going to go. Like every artist, I would like to see our first record go gold or better. If we could get a big push from a label, I'd be happy. Maybe in ten years we'll release a greatest hits album and be working on a new deal.
That's all the questions I've got for you. Anything else you'd like to add?
I would like to thank everyone whose got the record and supports the independent artists.
