Hush Sound Interview

AOS: HOW’S THE TOUR BEEN GOING? GRETA: THE TOUR’S BEEN AWESOME. EVERYONE’S SUPER NICE. IT’S BEEN REALLY COOL. AOS: YOUR NEW ALBUM IS TITLED LIKE VINES. WHAT EXACTLY DOES THE TITLE MEAN? BOB: THE TITLE REFERENCES ALL OF OUR CHANGING INFLUENCES AND US AS PEOPLE GROWING AS MUSICIANS AND OUR IDEAS ON MUSIC CHANGING, AND ON THIS ALBUM [DRUMMER] DARREN [WILSON] AND [BASSIST] CHRIS [FALLER] WERE A LOT MORE INVOLVED SO THERE WAS JUST SO MUCH MORE BROUGHT TO THE TABLE. AOS: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TRACK OFF OF THE ALBUM? GRETA: MINE’S EITHER “MAGNOLIA” OR “YOU ARE THE MOON”. BOB: MINE’S PROBABLY “LION’S ROAR”. AOS: DO YOU FIND IT DIFFICULT TO BE SUCH A YOUNG BAND IN AN INDUSTRY THAT IS OFTEN LABELED AS “EVIL”? GRETA: I THINK IT’S ONLY EVIL IF YOU LOOK AT IT THAT WAY. I THINK IN TERMS OF ACTUAL RECORD LABELS THERE’S HUGE SENSE OF COMMUNITY, AND A HUGE SENSE OF BROTHERHOOD IN TERMS OF HOW THINGS ARE IN YOUR OWN RECORD LABEL, AND SOMETIMES WHEN YOU GET BEYOND THAT LABEL YOU BECOME COMPETITIVE WITH ONE ANOTHER. IF YOU VIEW THE INDUSTRY AS A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHO ARE IN IT FOR THE SAME PURPOSE, AND THAT’S TO GET GOOD MUSIC OUT THERE RATHER THAN TO COMPETE WITH ONE ANOTHER, THAN YOU LOOK AT IT POSITIVELY AND CAN ENJOY WHAT YOU’RE DOING. BOB: WE FOUND THAT IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT SOMETIMES YOU SEE THINGS THAT ARE KIND OF NOT-SO-COOL THAT ARE GOING DOWN, AND IT’S MORE IMPORTANT TO US TO FOCUS ON OUR MUSIC AND ON MAKING GOOD MUSIC AND HONESTLY, THE GOOD DEFINITELY OUTWEIGHS THE BAD. WE ALL FEEL REALLY LUCKY THAT WE’RE ALMOST TO THE POINT WHERE WE’RE SELF-SUFFICIENT IN JUST PLAYING MUSIC, AND IT’S A REALLY COOL FEELING. AOS: THIS MONDAY YOU HAVE A RARE DAY OFF FROM TOURING. ANY IDEAS ON HOW YOU’LL SPEND IT? GRETA: ACTUALLY, WE’RE LUCKY ENOUGH THAT WE’LL BE IN CHICAGO ON OUR DAY OFF, WHICH IS WHERE WE’RE ALL FROM. SO WE’RE PLAYING IN ST. PAUL ON SUNDAY, AND IN OHIO ON TUESDAY, SO WE’LL GO HOME FROM ST. PAUL, AND ON MONDAY WE’LL JUST SPEND THE DAY IN CHICAGO, AND JUST CATCH UP WITH OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND DO LAUNDRY AND ALL THOSE DOMESTIC THINGS WE NEED TO DO. AOS: I CAUGHT ONE OF YOUR SHOWS EARLIER THIS MONTH, AND I MUST SAY THAT YOU PUT ON A GREAT LIVE ACT. I’LL ALSO SAW QUITE A LOT OF KIDS IN THE CROWD WHO WOULD DEFINITELY AGREE WITH ME. DO YOU FIND IT ODD TO TRAVEL A THOUSAND MILES ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO FIND KIDS WEARING “THE HUSH SOUND” T-SHIRTS AND SINGING ALONG TO YOUR SONGS?

GRETA: IT’S ACTUALLY KIND OF EXCITING. THE MOST BIZARRE THING WAS WHEN WE PLAYED WITH FALL OUT BOY FOR A WEEK AND A HALF IN THE END OF MAY, BECAUSE WE HAD NEVER PLAYED IN THE U.K., AND THE ONLY EXPOSURE WE HAVE THERE IS BECAUSE OF ONLINE WEBSITES LIKE MYSPACE AND PUREVOLUME, AND WHEN WE WENT TO THE U.K. THERE WERE KIDS IN THE FIRST FEW ROWS WHO WERE SINGING ALONG TO OUR SONGS, AND THAT WAS COMPLETELY BIZARRE BECAUSE WE WERE IN A PLACE SO ISOLATED FROM US, AND SO FOREIGN TO US, AND THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO KNEW WHO WE WERE, AND OUR MUSIC HAD REACHED THAT FAR. THAT WAS DEFINITELY REALLY BIZARRE BUT REALLY EXCITING. AOS: YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SOME INCREDIBLE ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS AS MUSICIANS. WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR GREATEST? GRETA: I THINK ACHIEVEMENTS AS A BAND; IT’S JUST BEING ABLE TO PLAY TOGETHER. IT’S DEFINITELY DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALLY. INDIVIDUAL MUSICIANSHIP IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN THE MUSICIANSHIP OF A BAND. SO INDIVIDUALLY WE MAY HAVE OUR OWN ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN TERMS OF LEARNING CLASSICAL MUSIC, OR DEVELOPING BETTER TECHNICAL ABILITIES OF OUR INSTRUMENT OR WHATNOT. BUT DEFINITELY THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT AS A BAND HAS BEEN BEING ABLE TO ENJOY PLAYING TOGETHER AND BEING ABLE TO GO AND WRITE SONGS THAT ARE FUN TO PLAY TOGETHER. I THINK GROWING COLLECTIVELY AS MUSICIANS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. AOS: YOUR HOME STATE OF ILLINOIS IS GROWING INTO ONE OF THE TOP MUSIC SCENES IN THE COUNTRY. WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE FELLOW ILLINOIS ACT? GRETA: FOR ME, WAX ON RADIO. BOB: YEAH, SAME HERE. AOS: IT’S SUMMERTIME. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO DURING THE SUMMER? BOB: THE SLIP ‘N’ SLIDE. (LAUGHS) GRETA: MY FAVORITE THING IN SUMMER IS PROBABLY HAVING BONFIRES. JUST HANGING OUT AND PLAYING MUSIC DURING THE DAY AND THEN GOING OUTSIDE AT NIGHT WHEN IT’S NICE AND COOL. AOS: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE? BOB: PROBABLY PULP FICTION. GRETA: MINE’S PROBABLY ALMOST FAMOUS OR AMELIE. AOS: WHOM WERE YOUR MUSICAL IDOLS STARTING OUT? BOB: STARTING OUT I GUESS IT WAS LIKE CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL. AOS: ANY LAST WORDS FOR YOUR FANS? GRETA: WE HOPE TO SEE YOU AT OUR SHOWS, AND WE HOPE THAT YOU PICK UP OUR ALBUM, LIKE VINES, AND I DON’T KNOW, THAT’S ABOUT IT.

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