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Interview with Corey
Edelmann of Thieves and Liars
April 2008 by Metal Mark |
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Thieves and Liars are from San Diego,
California and play a style of music that is largely influenced by
classic hard rock/ metal bands. They recently released their debut
“When dreams become reality”. I interviewed Guitarist Corey Edelmann
to find out more about this band, their album and their plans.
Tell us a little about your band's history and
who you guys are.
I started the band 6 years ago with the idea of doing a heavy rock
and roll band, it took years before I found the right guys, Joey and
Kyle have been in it for about 3 years now.
Who came up with the band name and why was it
selected?
It was an idea by one of the old members Ryan, he felt like a lot of
people were judging him, he liked the idea that we are all thieves
and liars and not as good as we think we are, so we shouldn't be so
quick to judge others.
Your album "When dreams become reality" is a
concept album about the story of Joseph. Why did you decide to use
this particular story for your album?
It was and idea that I had for a long time. I liked the idea of
doing a concept record on a story that everyone already knew instead
of making up something. I think it is harder to tell a story
musically that way, it is almost like writing a score for a movie.
The reason I chose that story is because I have had a some very
troubling times in the last years, the 3 names that the record is
dedicated to are my son, mother in law, and best friend, who all
passed away in one year. When you read the story of Joseph you see
life being very cruel to him, things go from bad to worse, but you
never see him give up or become jaded, he never turns his anger
toward God but just keeps moving on, It has been very inspiring for
me.
Your Myspace page says that you worked several
years on your album. What was the writing process like? Did you
break the story down first and than assign parts to each song or did
you just start with the beginning and work from there until it was
complete?
We just started writing songs and knew what the feel for each
chapter of the story was like, so when we had a song we would say
"hey that might work for this part" and so on. We wanted the most
aggressive song for "Betrayed By Blood" and the saddest songs for
Joseph's time in jail. The title track took a long time to find. How
do you show the epic feel of his dreams becoming reality? Overall I
am very happy with how it turned out. We may not have written any
hit singles but
I think we did a good job telling the story musically. |
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Your album has a rather 1960's/1970's feel to
it. Did you use any equipment or techniques in the studio to achieve
the sound?
Yeah we did. We recorded to tape at half speed (15 ips) and we
recorded the drums mostly with overhead mics and couple of room mics
and snare and kick mics instead of micing each drum individually.
The bass and one rhythm track were also tracked at the same time as
drums so we did most of the record live. On Seven Long Years you can
even hear me switching my toggle switch after the solo to go back
into the rhythm. Vocals were done with pro tools to save time and
money.
How long did the album take to record and
produce?
We started in April of 07 and finished in July. We weren't working
every day because we did not have a lot of money to record the
record so the studio just gave us whatever time they could afford to
give us for the price we could pay.
What was the most difficult aspect about
making this album?
Waiting. Everything just kept getting pushed back. It all worked out
but it got frustrating during the process.
What has been the response to your album so
far?
Like any new band there will always be mixed reviews. We get
both good and bad reviews but that is just how it goes. Every band
when they first come out is always just compared to the bands they
sound similar too, for some that is good or bad. Nothing is
original, and with rock music there are far less bands than say
metal bands. So for those few rock bands it almost seems people are
more critical that we sound like this band or whatever. As if there
has been a metal band in the last 20 years that is doing something
different. Eventually if the band has success, ironically they are
the point of reference. Like Coldplay is no longer a Radiohead rip
off, now bands are a Coldplay rip off.
How did you come to get signed by Facedown
Records?
Jason Dunn is a long time friend of mine and I really respect
his business ethics, which is rare is the record industry. We tried
to get a deal with a major at first but they are all dying right
now, so an independent seemed the logical route and working with
Jason was an easy choice, but so people did not just affiliate us
with his hardcore bands he chose to start a new imprint called
Dreamt and we are his first signing.
You have a few tour dates set for the spring,
mainly in California. Are you going to tour this summer and is there
any chance you will make it to the East Coast?
Our goal is to tour everywhere, but we want to do it the
right way. If we can get on a good tour we will be out there for
sure. But gas is too expensive to just get in a van and head out to
shows.
What are you doing that sets you apart from
other bands today?
I don't know, uhhhh. Every band has its own unique way of doing
things. I like being a rock band that is more Hessian sounding but
still having a classic rock vibe. I like that we could play on a
tour like Ozzfest, a lot of the rock bands out right now are not
hess enough for that. But we are not doing anything new, no one is,
its all the same 12 notes just re-packaged in a new shiny cover,
over and over. We stand out right now because there are not as many
bands doing what we are at the moment, but there is nothing new
under the sun. |
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What is the club scene like in the San Diego
area? Are there any great unsigned bands there that we should know
about?
The Delta Spirit just got signed, but they are the best thing
to come out of SD lately. Dirty Sweet are awesome. There are a lot
of good rock bands but the music scene is difficult here, too much
going on so it's hard to get people out to shows, always has been,
unless you are already huge nationally, then there might some people
out.
Having done a debut that's over an hour long
and a concept album, does this put any pressure on you for your next
album to be along the same scale? Have you started writing any new
songs yet?
It took us so long to get that album out we are already anxious to
get into the studio and get another album out. We have already
started writing. The next album will be different because we just
want to write an album of good rock songs which is very freeing. The
last album we would have some good songs that just did not fit the
story so we passed on them. We have a handful of great songs that we
just couldn't use for the last album. Now we can just write 20 good
songs and pick the best ones for the album, like everybody else. I
want to do a couple covers on the next record too. Well see what
happens.
Pick the band from the following pair that you
prefer and tell why.
Black Sabbath or Deep Purple -- Sabbath, more hess.
AC/DC or Thin Lizzy -- AC/DC, more hess.
Aerosmith or Van Halen -- Aerosmith,
more rock and roll.
Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd -- Wow
that's the hardest question I have ever had to answer, those are my
two favorite bands and I never know which one I like more. I'll go
with the Zep because they are more hess.
Is there anything else that you would like to
say about your band or your music?
Listen to our whole album at least 3 times before you decide whether
you like us or not. We are the type of band that grows on you.
www.myspace.com/weareallthievesandliars |
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