Matt Connarton Unleashed: Slim Volume (1/25)

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2:47 Speaker 4: Say it's sad jow.

2:54 Speaker 2: Lock lay wins boy, I loved.

3:38 Speaker 5: You.

3:38 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.

4:08 Speaker 6: 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.

4:47 Speaker 6: 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.

5:00 Speaker 7: Yeah, my name is Mike. I played guitar in the band.

5:03 Speaker 8: Okay, Trent over here played acoustic guitar mostly all.

5:08 Speaker 6: Right, Johnny and I played drums.

5:11 Speaker 9: And I'm Jake. I played bass and I sing along with Trent.

5:14 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?

5:22 Speaker 9: That is from our newest EP, newest collection of four songs that we put out in was that November?

5:30 Speaker 6: Yeah?

5:30 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.

5:41 Speaker 6: Gotcha.

5:41 Speaker 9: That was the self titled track.

5:43 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?

6:10 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.

6:36 Speaker 10: 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.

6:48 Speaker 7: Yeah.

6:48 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.

7:02 Speaker 7: Kind of like really easy to get overwhelmed with.

7:05 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.

7:17 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.

7:48 Speaker 6: They were very separate. Okay, but yeah.

7:51 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.

8:00 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?

8:09 Speaker 9: Or we work with Eric Sotter at black Heart Sound Yes, yeah, here in Manchester. He's awesome.

8:15 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.

8:28 Speaker 9: He's prolific.

8:29 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.

8:37 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.

8:58 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.

9:22 Speaker 6: So it's like I didn't even want to talk over it.

9:24 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.

9:40 Speaker 6: Are organist, right, so when you play that one live, that that's not there obviously no organ yet, no organ yet.

9:47 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.

10:08 Speaker 6: Oh okay, yeah, okay, that's.

10:10 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.

10:23 Speaker 1: Nice.

10:24 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.

10:40 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.

10:56 Speaker 4: Date on that?

10:57 Speaker 8: That's January seventeenth.

10:58 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?

11:11 Speaker 1: Yeah?

11:11 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.

11:26 Speaker 7: There's one song on each of those EPs.

11:28 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.

12:02 Speaker 6: See how people react to it.

12:04 Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, exactly, Man, so's cool.

12:07 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.

12:13 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.

12:38 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?

12:46 Speaker 11: I mean, I think it's mostly New Hampshire, but we're trying to get out.

12:49 Speaker 5: Yeah.

12:50 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.

12:59 Speaker 6: Like it's been.

13:01 Speaker 8: There's been enough stuff locally to build, you know, a little fan base too.

13:07 Speaker 6: We are fortunate to have a lot of good venues around here.

13:10 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.

13:30 Speaker 6: It's just one approach.

13:32 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.

13:39 Speaker 6: Sure, and we've tried.

13:40 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.

13:50 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.

14:31 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.

14:54 Speaker 10: 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.

15:19 Speaker 10: It's kind of like, you know, trying to work our way into and become a part of it.

15:22 Speaker 5: You know.

15:23 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.

15:47 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.

16:09 Speaker 9: But you know that.

16:11 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.

16:33 Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, when you're hometown. Yeah, that's a good way of putting it. Yeah, it makes sense.

16:37 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.

16:44 Speaker 7: But like I have some friends that come.

16:45 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.

17:10 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.

17:23 Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah, let's do the song back to You that Mike just alluded to. Good timing.

17:28 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.

17:42 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.

18:08 Speaker 6: All right, let's give this a listen. This is back to You. The band is slim volume.

18:19 Speaker 2: I think we come too far to turn up back right now.

18:26 Speaker 4: I think the rook's too hard. I'm the best when you're not around.

18:33 Speaker 12: I spent the last fewnights just about an hour to sleep.

18:40 Speaker 3: Just wait, go you there.

18:48 Speaker 4: Said, when you tis up there, say I.

18:55 Speaker 3: Got a show in my face here.

19:00 Speaker 12: I spent the last fair nights just about an hour's race.

19:12 Speaker 12: May I been.

19:13 Speaker 2: Trying maybe for young.

19:19 Speaker 12: Man.

19:19 Speaker 2: I try, but I can't.

19:22 Speaker 3: Be trying away back to you, back to you, back.

19:32 Speaker 4: To me, come home feeling red. Time's come in soon, apock.

19:45 Speaker 12: The lift tip before a horseman a running full.

19:52 Speaker 4: I spent the last fever nights just.

19:54 Speaker 2: About trying to breathe.

19:58 Speaker 4: An baby, follow.

20:01 Speaker 12: You like God spoken, crying hot check finding a way back.

20:14 Speaker 2: Back to me? That the crying baby for you. May but hot chick fining away, volunting.

20:56 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.

21:14 Speaker 3: Thank you.

21:14 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.

21:31 Speaker 8: I will say selfishly though that lyric that the the vocal at the end is stretching my capabilities.

21:38 Speaker 6: Yeah, And so it's a tricky one.

21:40 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.

22:01 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.

22:25 Speaker 9: That's surprising knowing Don Henley. Usually he's so level headed.

22:29 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.

22:48 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.

22:54 Speaker 7: Try to push that out. It's just kind of like, you know, I could see that being difficult.

22:58 Speaker 6: Yeah, I can see that.

23:00 Speaker 9: Yeah.

23:00 Speaker 6: Yeah. Are there any other songs where you kind of push that?

23:03 Speaker 8: No, I mean, i'd say that's the trickiest one. I think Jake has a couple.

23:07 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.

23:26 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.

23:56 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?

24:12 Speaker 12: Is it?

24:12 Speaker 6: Is it quite a few of them that you're playing.

24:15 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.

24:26 Speaker 6: No.

24:27 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.

24:37 Speaker 9: You know.

24:37 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.

25:02 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?

25:28 Speaker 6: Or it's like, wow, this is really different.

25:30 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.

25:47 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.

26:04 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.

26:29 Speaker 10: 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.

26:49 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.

27:01 Speaker 7: I think it'll be kind of like a slow drip of singles.

27:03 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.

27:14 Speaker 7: Okay, seems it seems like a cozy time to drop. People are kind of hunkering back down, you know.

27:18 Speaker 6: Yeah exactly.

27:19 Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah, that's kind of the target we're shooting at, is like fall time.

27:24 Speaker 6: Okay.

27:24 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.

27:57 Speaker 8: 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.

28:13 Speaker 9: Yeah.

28:13 Speaker 6: Yeah.

28:14 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.

28:26 Speaker 7: And stuff like that.

28:27 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.

29:12 Speaker 10: It's just kind of like, you know, it's kind of like can be kind of productive at a certain point.

29:16 Speaker 5: Yeah.

29:16 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.

29:25 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?

30:04 Speaker 6: 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.

30:15 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.

30:28 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.

30:37 Speaker 9: Ye just think on it.

30:38 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.

30:46 Speaker 7: Yeah, okay, that could be kind of a nice one.

30:48 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.

31:11 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.

31:26 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.

31:35 Speaker 6: Okay, yeah, yeah, all right, Well let's give this a spin. This is Laying Low. The band is Slim Volume.

31:56 Speaker 3: Low.

31:58 Speaker 1: I'm looking over my shoulder.

32:03 Speaker 4: You're somewhere, need to.

32:05 Speaker 3: Be by wonderment?

32:09 Speaker 4: Where to go? Where nobody knows me?

32:17 Speaker 3: And I can't make memories in the songs that I say, who who?

32:51 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.

33:13 Speaker 1: To call, but I want to.

33:18 Speaker 2: Pick up that.

33:19 Speaker 4: Phone, get on the ball.

33:24 Speaker 3: Somethings get old and some.

33:28 Speaker 4: Take some I used to.

33:34 Speaker 2: I know what it's true.

34:39 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.

35:07 Speaker 6: 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.

35:18 Speaker 9: Or now, I mean it's a really good question.

35:21 Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean there's sort of a simplexity about it.

35:24 Speaker 6: Yeah, it's yeah. I feel like that one was one that we had been working on for a really long time.

35:28 Speaker 8: Yeah, but by the time it came to the studio, it felt pretty easy to get that one in.

35:32 Speaker 6: I feel like, at least for me.

35:34 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.

36:05 Speaker 6: That's what I mean. There's a lot going on in there.

36:07 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?

36:19 Speaker 6: Yeah? Yeah, that's the thing.

36:21 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.

36:33 Speaker 6: Yeah.

36:33 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?

36:39 Speaker 6: The whole time, I.

36:40 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?

36:52 Speaker 6: Yeah?

36:53 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.

37:22 Speaker 9: 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.

37:33 Speaker 6: That part of that though too.

37:34 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.

38:11 Speaker 8: 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.

38:19 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.

38:46 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.

39:00 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.

39:32 Speaker 10: It's like it's a blessing to have so much ideas kicking around and stuff like that.

39:35 Speaker 7: But it can't get a little overwhelming if you don't keep up with it.

39:38 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.

39:49 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.

40:20 Speaker 8: But it's selective too. It's it's not like I don't know, we don't really just go play anything.

40:27 Speaker 9: Yeah, we don't have much metal in the repertoire right juncture.

40:31 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.

40:48 Speaker 9: Cover or whatever.

40:49 Speaker 10: It is like you know, try and like you know, appeal to all ears out there in the crowd kind of thing.

40:53 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.

41:13 Speaker 6: Song Somebody's Baby, Somebody's Baby.

41:16 Speaker 8: I feel like that crushes like everywhere, no matter where, or it's a great song.

41:21 Speaker 6: It's a great song.

41:22 Speaker 9: Yeah, it's the platonic mean of a song. People like it.

41:26 Speaker 8: So it's just it's just trying to find about thirty songs like that that we can be tight on.

41:34 Speaker 7: We we've been doing like a Sister Golden Hair. Yeah, that's just an awesome tune.

41:38 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.

41:58 Speaker 10: It's just like, yeah, who doesn't love that song?

42:01 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?

42:08 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.

42:36 Speaker 6: I have no idea when.

42:37 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.

42:42 Speaker 6: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, Yeah, Now how did you how did you get the opportunity to do.

42:46 Speaker 8: That, to be a part of that context that was actually so modern?

42:49 Speaker 6: Fools?

42:49 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.

43:02 Speaker 6: Did did did they let you pick the what cover you want to do?

43:06 Speaker 1: Or?

43:06 Speaker 9: Yeah? The idea was outlaw country? Also you know at Chris Christofferson, Willie Nelson, anything in that. Yeah.

43:14 Speaker 6: Really, have you guys ever been on Rob show? Granted state of mind?

43:18 Speaker 8: I have as an individual, like as a as myself.

43:21 Speaker 9: Okay, okay, as a political candidate.

43:25 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?

43:35 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.

43:55 Speaker 6: Yeah. And have you guys played at Pemworks City Limits.

43:58 Speaker 8: I played there for like a solo show. But yeah, he wants to have us.

44:03 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.

44:17 Speaker 7: Now.

44:18 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.

44:25 Speaker 8: And I think with anything like that, when you have ten different bands all submitting, it gets a little delayed.

44:30 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.

44:41 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?

44:58 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?

45:05 Speaker 7: No, I don't think there's any strange strange.

45:08 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.

45:15 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.

45:29 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.

45:44 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.

46:03 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.

46:13 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.

46:28 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.

46:43 Speaker 4: To go with.

46:43 Speaker 6: I've certainly enjoyed everything that you've chosen so far.

46:46 Speaker 7: You want to like KPOS cool just for kind of like you know S's and G's on that one.

46:53 Speaker 6: That sounds good, that's going to be on the back to you. You'll go back to that one.

46:58 Speaker 9: So this track will be different in that you will not hear my voice nor we hear Trent's voice.

47:02 Speaker 7: Yeah, your instrumental.

47:04 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.

47:23 Speaker 11: Of course you can check me out in my creativity projects at Gencoffee dot com.

47:28 Speaker 4: J E N N C O F F E I dot com.

47:31 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?

47:46 Speaker 11: Well you will, baby, Yes, we're taping tomorrow and I don't know the exact date.

47:53 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.

48:02 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.

48:09 Speaker 11: Yeah yeah, yep, yep, causing a little trouble here on there. As always we need do you have me any other way?

48:15 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.

49:03 Speaker 2: I STA.

50:10 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.

51:53 Speaker 4: And it feels like everything changes, but the people.

51:57 Speaker 3: Around you keep a smile on the faces.

52:00 Speaker 13: I'm selling you, yeah, I'm selling yeah, I'm selling real.

52:05 Speaker 3: So let's safety down and you can sell him.

52:12 Speaker 4: Sound to you.

52:16 Speaker 3: Something, say anything, spices, the.

52:19 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.

52:41 Speaker 1: In the.

52:54 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.

53:06 Speaker 3: Suits and it feels like geverything changes.

53:10 Speaker 13: But we've had that before, sour put through the paces.

53:13 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.

53:24 Speaker 2: Sell is it?

53:25 Speaker 4: Listen? So wabble you up.

53:30 Speaker 3: From that?

53:30 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.

54:11 Speaker 3: I was singing your song that'll bring you lung sni.

54:17 Speaker 14: That wur caving little world timers catch do you evening ride because it's ten past five on a freezing winters night.

54:29 Speaker 1: But with a smile, lit of faces, we'll dance.

54:32 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.

54:44 Speaker 12: So the sun rise, let's go dances a.

54:47 Speaker 3: Sorri let's go dancing sounds sunrise.

54:51 Speaker 11: It's at a passenger announcement the twenty three pass willnound the park and Stat nineteen and the last.

54:57 Speaker 4: Times closes the people.

54:59 Speaker 3: The prices laces true brigate to.

55:05 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