Published: May 1, 2009 10:05 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight May 2009 Edition
Road to Bremen
Road to Bremen Photo By: Jon Burroughs
Road to Bremen will amaze you with their original sound, catchy lyrics, and melodious tunes. What will especially draw you to the band is their raw energy that is intoxicating. Check out this spotlight that Road to Bremen completed with our Webzine recently. I think you will love them as much as we do after reading this interview. Enjoy!
Isaac: How do you sum up 2008 for Road to Bremen?
Road to Bremen: Hey Isaac, 2008 has been a very important year for RTB in terms of finding ourselves as a band. I think we've come a long way since the beginning of the year. We've developed our live show into something that the audience has really come to enjoy. We've also learned to relax more and be ourselves onstage. Towards the beginning, we were so focused on making sure that everything was going to plan that our performances began to suffer from it. But since then, we've learned to have fun and embrace the unexpected.
After all, our music has eccentricities and unpredictability so it seems fitting that our live performance should mirror such traits. I think because of our change of attitude towards performing, we've been able to connect on a deeper level with our audience. That connection has become the most important aspect of our show and is what keeps people coming back. It doesn't feel like we're actually up on stage separated from everyone else anymore. It feels like we're all together in a bar or something singing the songs we like together. The audience is as important to the experience as we are.
Isaac: Describe the music scene in Los Angeles, California.
Road to Bremen: With a scene as saturated with bands as LA is, it is important that every band work tirelessly to gain even the smallest piece of notoriety or recognition. Because of the number of bands coming to LA in search of the Holy Grail, it has become progressively easy for underhanded promoters and booking agents to take advantage of hard-working bands. We just want bands out there to keep their eyes peeled and their ears open for anything that sounds too good to be true.
Isaac: What do you feel was your biggest accomplishment for 2008?
Road to Bremen: I think our biggest accomplishment of 2008 was transforming RTB from a block of clay into something alive and breathing. We took the time to sit down and really hash out what we wanted to do, both musically and artistically, in order to achieve our objective.
Along with completing the writing process for our EP, we also welcomed bassist Danny Bell into the band in 2008. I would say these were all pivotal milestones for 2008.
Isaac: Elaborate a little about whom were your biggest influences in the music industry and why?
Road to Bremen: Some of our biggest influences include: Queen, The Police, Tom Waits, ACDC, Nat King Cole, The Cure, Chuck Berry, The Misfits, Radiohead, The Beach Boys, The Doors, The Beatles, George Martin, Quincy Jones, Nick Cave and the Badseeds, Johnny Cash and Zeppelin…There truly is an infinite list of those who have influenced us and those who will continue to influence us, but these artists in particular have had an identifiable and unique influence on each and every one of us. All of these artists offered something entirely new and many even introduced their own genre. Obviously this is a completely different industry we're in these days but the basic principals still apply. If you create something new, something exceptionally better than most of what's out there, the cream will rise to the top. Now it's all about producing something of that caliber haha.
If you could use a scalpel to dissect the music of RTB, you would discover that our musical influences act similarly to our vital organs. Our influences are the source of our creation and synthesize external stimuli. However, they are limited in their role as the nucleus of our understanding. The final result comes from a combination of what our influences have shown us, in addition to our individual experiences and the frame of reference we have formed based on our interpretations of them.
Isaac: Let's talk about what you feel you will bring to the music industry?
Road to Bremen: RTB is all about having fun and being entertaining. We are unpretentious, yet imaginative and at times very eccentric. Complex, but easy to understand. We want to bring back a little bit of the true spirit of Rock & Roll, but still put on a performance reminiscent of a night at the theater. We want to create a culture within the industry so that fans can have something of their own again.
Isaac: If you had an opportunity to work with one artist or group, who would it be and why?
Road to Bremen: Sometimes the greatest artist can be the one that isn't writing the song. I.e. the producer. At this point, we're more interested in further exploring what RTB's sound can be. We've been following the work of many top producers such as Rob Cavallo, Matt Squire and Brian Eno. They've been able to really dig in and find what a bands core or soul truly is. Although we've spent a great deal of time shaping our sound, to work with a great producer, who also has a vision, would be more beneficial to us than working with any other band.
Isaac: How would you describe your music to others?
Road to Bremen: Someone once said our music was "the sound of the roaring twenties, just as the stock market crashed." I think to this day that's been the best explanation of our music because even though we're rock, we still have a lot of elements of early twentieth century popular music. We've always struggled to compare ourselves to another band because we don't feel like we truly sound like anyone else. We've always associated ourselves with Alternative Rock, but beyond that people can call us whatever they want to.
In three words: Quirky, Careless and Spontaneous.
Isaac: What is your definition for Rock and Punk Music?
We define music as the soul. That soul shines no matter what and it always has something to say. But like any light, it needs different filters to express different emotions. Rock is just one of those filters and express' a particular emotion. In our case, it's our favorite and most real expression.
Punk is an effort to be void of any filter. Attempting to defy structure, formality and conventionalism . Punk is an attitude. Questioning what is accepted practice or simply defying it regardless. Though we wouldn't refer to our music as Punk, we can associate with its platform.
Isaac: What has been the inspiration behind your EP titled Foreword released in May 2009?
Road to Bremen: RTB is an amalgamation of all the fantasies and realities of life. There is a pretty good degree of duality in the lyrics to most of the songs. On the surface, the lyrics and melodies are catchy and easily relatable. However, once you dig a little deeper, you'll find much more to everything there. The greatest inspiration behind Foreword is driven by the way we view the world and how we interpret it. Even though every person is different, most of us share the same experiences in one way or another. The best way to understand these experiences and get through them is to explore them. Therefore, the exploration of these complex thoughts and emotions is what drives the songs. We want our fans to see that we're all in this together and whatever they're going through, they aren't alone. The best way to deal with an issue is to face it head on.
As for the title of Foreword, it came from the fact that we don't only write songs, but scripts that are constructed in musical form. Our songs are very character driven and highly theme oriented. We felt that Foreword would be a fitting title seeing that it is the introductory section of the book, with a purpose of getting the audience familiar with what will follow. Foreword also worked out because if you were to merely hear the name of the album without being told the spelling, the name can conjure up an idea of "progress" or "growth". For example, "This is only the beginning and we will be moving forward [foreword] from here".
Isaac: What can fans expect from Road to Bremen in 2009?
Road to Bremen: We have our debut EP coming out in a couple weeks. I think that's obviously going to be the biggest step for us thus far. Some of our fans that come to all the shows know the music pretty well, but the EP is going to give everyone a chance to get to know us on another level. After the release, we're going to hit the road and try to gain as much exposure and support as possible.
Isaac: Time for some shout outs to your family, friends, and fans…
Road to Bremen: To our families and friends, thank you for your support. For everyone who said we were wasting our time and wouldn't amount to anything, thank you for the motivation.
