Dryvetyme Onlyne

Building a Pop Record

UPDATE: This interview can also be found at Burnside Writers Collective.

There are a great many nuances to the making of a good record. A band must be able to capture their live energy in a studio setting, the songs must be top-notch and well-rehearsed in advance of stepping into the booth, and the members must be unified in their commitment to produce a quality product, regardless of the obstacles that might rise up to impede progress. Yet, since many musicians have day jobs as well as all the work involved in finding some modicum of success or notoriety, the daily grind often finds a way to raise its repugnant head, time and time again. So, I recently had the opportunity to speak with Dylan J. Hay Chapman, guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter for the LA-based band Service Group about life as a band dedicated to their art and craft, yet doing so while working at full-time jobs.

APN: Good morning Dylan. Happy birthday! How’s it going today?

Dylan (D): Thanks man. I appreciate it. It’s been a good day.

APN: You’re welcome. Sorry that you’re having to work on your birthday. I’ve had to do that too many times.

D: [laughs] It’s OK. Give me just a second. [shuffles in the background] OK. I’m back. I had to close the door to the office.

APN: It’s cool. Thanks for taking time out of your workday to talk. Your new record, Principals of Electronic Circuitry, is such a delightfully light and breezy album. Were you guys raised listening to ‘60s pop records?

D: [laughs] Most of us spent the ‘80s listening to lots of skate punk, but I also listened to my fair share of my Mom’s great radio hits from the ‘60s. Danny [Chaidez; drummer] and I found the band Jellyfish at the same time and we’re all about the Buzzcocks. We really tried to go for that sound with the guitars on the album. Though, I know that the overall sound of the record isn’t ever going to win us any hardcore scenester points.

APN: [laughs] Well, I really enjoyed the album myself. I can definitely hear the Buzzcocks influence with the crunchy, punk-sounding guitar lines.

D: Thanks. I appreciate that. Where are you calling from?

APN: I’m in Houston. You mentioned that you were at work today. If I can ask a non-music question, what kind of work do you do?

D: I work in LA doing design for CSI: New York.

APN: Wow! That’s cool. Did you get your degree in design?

D: Actually, I never finished school. I started college as a music major, and then moved into design. When I left school, I began working for studios building sets and stuff, but now I sit in an office designing the sets.

APN: Well, at least you do get to sit in an office! [laughs] You already listed some of the bands you guys love, and though I know that bands hate this question, what bands do you all cite as influences?

D: As a collective, we like older power pop bands, bands like The Raspberries and 10cc. We also love progressive rock from the ‘70s because their production values – the punchy drums and the jangly guitars. We also love Big Star, Supergrass, and Guided By Voices – those are the bands we mentioned when we put out ads for a bass player.

APN: What I love about Guided By Voices is that they had this uncanny ability to write some of the best non-radio 3-minute pop songs in music history.

D: True. They also were able to write some of the best non-radio 1-minute pop songs.

APN: True as well.

D: And I can’t forget The Who. We titled our first record Minimum R&B as a joke, taking it from Maximum R&B, the classic album from The Who. The joke backfired on us when some reviewers wrote that it seemed that we didn’t know what we were talking about with the first album because it sounded nothing like R&B. And it’s happening to us again with people pointing out that we used the wrong word when we called our album Principals of Electronic Circuitry. How do you tell people, “Yes, we know that we didn’t use the correct word; it was supposed to be a joke,” without sounding silly yourselves?

APN: [laughs] Oh well. It’s their fault for not getting the joke. So what was it like making the new record? Tell me about that process.

D: We recorded it in LA where it was produced by Bruce Leonhart. He owns this place in Fulmer called Kingsley Recordings with all of this great outboard gear. We had to weekend-warrior it all in between all of our day jobs.

APN: How long did it take you guys to finish the record doing it that way?

D: It took us about a year to record the album and then we’ve spent the last few months dealing with record label stuff trying to get all of the kinks worked out on their end before we can finally get this album released. It’s been a tiring process in some respects because we’ve had some of these songs around for over to years now, between the time that the song was first written, the year we took to record, and now waiting for the label to actually release the album.

APN: So now that the album’s finally coming out, what kinds of touring do you have planned?

D: Well, the plans we’ve had have been kind of shot up. We were trying to do some regional touring throughout the West Coast, taking long weekends every other weekend and building up some exposure out here, but that’s fallen through a bit. Life tends to get in the way when you tour like this – one of the guys is getting married, job responsibilities come up, and things like that. We are reformulating plans and we do want to be touring. I can say this though: we’re not scared.

APN: It’s good to hear that you want to push through and persevere with your touring. Most people don’t realize that a vast majority of bands, from the mid-majors on down through the independents, must work day jobs to support themselves. I’ve interviewed the Arts & Crafts band Young Galaxy a couple of months ago and caught them in the middle of their workday doing grant writing. The average fan doesn’t get that sometimes.

D: It’s the truth. The band that Coldplay recently took on their world tour had to leave their jobs as social workers to tour. They had to leave behind all their cases, their clients, and their clients’ needs just to tour. It’s a strange place to be.

APN: It’s good that you’re not scared.

D: Well, there are times that I say, “I’m not scared,” just because I’m not sure what else to say.

APN: What kinds of hopes and aspirations do you have for the record?

D: We want to play some great shows. We want to be opening for national touring acts that come through to play. We want and need a booking agent of some sort because too often, we come back from short tours really in the hole. It’s not because we can’t find paying gigs, but because of the costs of all the travel time here on the West Coast. Sometimes it’s day’s drive in between decent cities where we can play shows and that can take a toll on the band. We’ve jokingly told ourselves that if we lived on the East Coast it would be easier. We’d be able to drive 2 hours for a show, crash on someone’s floor for the evening, and then wake up to drive another 2 hours to the next show. But we know that it would be hard on either coast to work full time jobs and try to be a working band.

APN: I know that bands love all of their songs, but do you guys have any favorite tracks on the album?

D: I love the big sound and the arrangements we wrote in the song “Last To Know Club.” I also like the song “Summer Sunn” and one of the songs that Guy [Christiano; guitar, vocals, keyboards] wrote called “Breaking Mirrors.”

APN: Does Squid Vs Whale [the band’s record company] have a single planned?

D: Not off this record. There’s a tight schedule at the label, though if I can name drop, they have a single planned for the new album from a band called The Tallest.

APN: Excellent. Well, thanks again for the interview Dylan. I’ve really enjoyed it.

D: You’re welcome. I hope that this wasn’t a boring interview or anything.

APN: Not at all. I think that interviews like these allow fans to get a real glimpse into the lives of musicians. It gives bands a chance to be real and authentic, sharing what’s going on with everyone, showing people that not all musicians live out this sheltered existence away from the real world. I’m just glad to be able to talk to you today.

D: I had a good time myself. It was nice to meet you.

APN: It was nice to meet you as well. Again – happy birthday!

D: Thanks. Bye!

APN: Bye!