Interview: Pattern Is Movement
Thu Mar 23, 12:34 PM by Joseph McClune
Pattern Is Movement are an indie rock band from Philadelphia. They consist of:
Andrew Thiboldeaux – vox, keys, guitar, bass
Daniel McClain – guitar, keys, lyrics
Corey Duncan – guitar
Chris Ward – drums
For lack of better descriptors, Pattern Is Movement’s songs are basically…patterns…that move. Honestly, that is the best explanation I have got. Recently, Chris Ward was kind enough to give me a few minutes of his time to answer some questions.
Here are a couple mp3s to listen to while you read:
Never liked this time of day.mp3
Two Voices for Two Sections.mp3
Chris Ward: Philadelphia is doing really well right now. Some bands from Philly like Spinto Band, Mazarin, Dr. Dog, Hail Social, and The Teeth all are wonderful.
LC: Listening to songs from “Stowaway,” the first impressions I get are of bands like XTC, and King Crimson, what would you say your biggest influences are?
CW: We have gotten the XTC comparison a lot.
LC: Does it bother you?
CW: Not at all – I personally have never listened to XTC, nor Crimson. Some bands that I love are John Vanderslice, Deerhoof, The Books, The Microphones . Blonde Redhead is important to everyone in the band.
LC: Your songs are pretty meticulously worked out, what are your writing and recording processes like?
CW: Writing is generally a process of Corey (guitar) writing a lot of material and Andrew (vox, etc) sifting through it and me reacting to it, generally. Recording varies, “The (im)possibility of Longing” I recorded, and it took about 6 months. “Stowaway” was done in 17 days at Tiny Telephone with Scott Solter
LC: What sort of studio do you have?
CW: I have a home studio, a Digital Audio Workstation. A PC with a program and a front end of mic preamps.
LC: How did you end up recording at Tiny Telephone?
CW: We wanted to work with Scott Solter, he has recorded/produced John Vanderslice, Mountain Goats, Ester Drang, Court and Spark. He suggested we come out to San Francisco and I have always wanted to record at Tiny Telephone, which was amazing. I have always been at the board recording, I have never been recorded by an engineer. It was great to have Scott record my drums, he spent a good deal of time on my drum sound, which a lot of engineers dont. Drums can be a difficult hurdle but he didnt miss a beat – pardon the pun.
LC: What did you do in San Francisco?
CW: Not much. Saw a movie, ate a lot of burritos! We didnt have too much time to hang out.
LC: What are the biggest differences to you, between “Stowaway” and “The (im)possibility of Longing?” was there any difference in how you guys composed it?
CW: First, the biggest difference would be in the recording process. We did “The (im)possibility” at home which gave us a lot of time to think, which led to a lot of layering. “Stowaway” is much more bare. Also “Stowaway” has a denser bottom end, a litte groove to it. ”(im)possibility” is extremely linear.
LC: Which do you like better?
CW: That is hard; ”(im)possibility” was all I did for 3-4 months. My wife can attest to that. “Stowaway,” though, sounds AMAZING, thanks to Scott. Each has its respective pluses and minuses
LC: Who are some of the more interesting bands you have seen while out on tour, and what are you guys listening to on the drives?
CW: Aimee from Des Ark is fantastic, we have played a bunch of shows with her. She is an amazing guitarist, as well as one of the best voices i have ever heard, I can’t describe it, you must hear it. And Rahim from Brooklyn, they just finished their record with J. Robbins and it will be out on Frenchkiss Records in the spring. They are amazing live.
LC: Have you guys ever gotten in a band fight?
CW: Like how?
LC: Like, you as a band, fighting with another band…
CW: Oh, no.
LC: Did anything interesting happen on tour?
CW: Yes. We pull up in Kansas City, MO, we get the club early like usual. Our van has a tv in it, so I watch some Arrested Development, and they interrupt the show to say a tornado is coming through or something like that. We have to load in to the club with this crappy weather. We play an amazing show, get off stage, we go outside to get the van and the trailer is gone. Now, from the time we left the van and time we get off stage is like an hour and its only 10:30pm. Mind you, nothing except a sampler is in the trailer, so the stupid thieves got nothing. We had gear insurance, and the trailer fell under our personal rental insurance.
LC: That is both awesome and nerve racking.
CW: Well, we place a boot on our trailer called an Alpha Lock. I wish more bands would, it locks your wheel in place. We, however, never placed our lock on a empty trailer. So it’s gone.
LC: Anything else coming down the line for you guys?
CW: We are releasing a vinyl of “Stowaway” on Alone Records (Racebannon, Funeral Diner.) We are playing MacRock with The Walkmen, Hail Social, Man Man, Medications.
PatternIsMovement.com
Pattern Is Movement Myspace
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