Sunbathing in Nashville, are you sure you are working? But rest and relaxation aside, how is the record going?
Terrah Schroll:It's going awesome. We're so excited. Well I don't know if you know the story of how we got started. We started the record before we got signed, we were on like a little small New York label and was basically independent and got a little bit of money to start doing a record so we took in our songs and started to work them out with Bryce Goggin, that's the producer at Charles studio and he has previously worked with Johnny (Cragg) our drummer who was in Space Hog. So they had worked together and he was in Brooklyn, so we didn't have to travel, which was a little cheaper. We got along really well and he likes keyboards and I play keyboards so he had a good sensibility about a rock band with a keyboard edge kind of vibe going. So we went with Brice and started with him and we got as much done as we could with the money we had but we didn't have it mixed and we didn't have anything completely finished.
So, were you content with what the band had or did you write some new material in the time between your indy recording and Epic?
TS: We wrote a lot of new songs between that time and when we got signed to Epic, so we went back in and did seven new songs and now we have like 19-20 new songs. We got a lot to choose for the record which I think is a great position to be in, instead of trying to scramble to write new songs so we can have them. We decided with the Epic money to go back and stay with Brice so our record would sound the same. If we went with some fancy producer, then half of it would sound different and a little goofy, so we decided to stick with what we've got since it was coming out so well. We went back and finished it up, and now we're in Nashville and we're mixing. We got four songs as of today mixed and they sound fucking awesome. We are so happy.
Are you surprised by how good it sounds?
TS: Well, I knew the songs were there. It was just about finding the right balance of instruments and finding the right mixer. It got recorded pretty much the way we play. We don't really do any fancy tricks or anything, so we basically recorded it the way we would play it live. Obviously, for a record, you do a few little overdubs here and there because you want to make it perfect on record, like you would on film. I think we did a really good job keeping honest on the record; but to hear it mixed right, that's the key. I'm learning all about mixing and how it's a perfect balance; bringing guitar solos out and bringing keyboard parts up in certain spots. So the mixing is really encouraging because now we're hearing how it really sounds and like, "Wow, we rock."
So are The Twenty Twos a live band or a recording band?
TS: We absolutely love playing live, it's our favorite thing. I feel that people get us more live and I think that it's scary for a band that its record is not going to come across like the live show. But our record has proven to have a lot of energy so we're really excited. We're mixing with Jacquire King, he's done some No Doubt things and some Smashmouth, and we're really getting along with him. He gets our energy and our vibe. He's seen us live and he gets it, so we're bringing that out in our performances and we're still leaving some mistakes in there because we want to keep it raw. But it is a pop record ,you know? It's pop rock so yeah, it's going great. I'm having a great time in the sun.
Who are your influences? This band seems to be a bit all over the board at time!
TS: It's a broad spectrum, I'll can tell you that much. I don't think any of us set up to play to sound like anybody else. Johnny our drummer comes from Leeds, so there's a lot of British bands that he likes but he also likes a lot of old school hip hop along with Jenny (Christmas), she's our singer. She's also into The Clash and The Beatles, our bass player (Hannah Moorhead) is really into heavier stuff. We're all into The Cure, Blonde Red-Heads, they've been around for a while but they're a little more modern. All of the oldies but some of the new goodies, too. I think we take influences in little parts, like I love The Cure and the keyboard so there's some 80's influence there, a little bit, but I also like Tony Kaye from YES; so for me personally I try to incorporate all those influences and just try to use what's best for the song and whatever vibe we're going for on that. We got a pretty broad spectrum I'd say.
So the Warped Tour is pretty good tour because there's a pretty broad spectrum there.
TS: Yeah, I noticed there's a lot of punk rock bands which is great. I love the energy of punk music but I wouldn't say I'm in a punk rock band. So I'm interested to see how it all translates. Some of the songs are really up but then you here a song like Touch and Go on there and that's very different live. It's a different vibe so we kind of have a couple of different things going on, we don't try to stick ourselves into one category. We want to be a little more open than that. It allows you to grow. We formed in New York and there's a stigma about New York and the whole New York scene and I think everybody just wants to do what they want to do, like whatever comes out comes out. It's very easy to get locked into a certain specific sound and get stuck in that and that's what people always expect from you and I think that we're a band that wants to grow so whatever it takes us that's where we're gonna go.
Did you move to New York for music?
TS: I did actually. I went to college for about a year because that's what my parents wanted me to do. I went to Eleanor State University and I met up with a bunch of actors. I came to New York when I was about sixteen and the following year and I started playing music. But it was really hard meeting the right people and getting into the right scenes and I think I was kind of shy at first and intimidated by the city. And at the same time I loved it, but it's a hard city to live in. Jenny (Christmas) is from a really small town in Pennsylvania and she did the same thing; moved here about 10 years ago. The city takes a few years to get your thing going, figure out what you 0want and meet the right people that you bond with.
Catch Tarrah and the rest of The Twenty Twos on the Volcom Stage all summer lon on the Warped Tour.
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