in the blog’s very first interview, i picked the brains of perennial — one of my very favorite ct bands. we met up at a bistro outside of marseille, france and talked about their music philosophy, the upcoming record they’ve recorded with chris teti, and the simpsons. in between sips of dark roast coffee (arabica) and fresh petit fours, chelsey hahn (CH, organ/vox), chad jewett (CJ, guitars/vox), and Wil Mulhern (WM, radical drums) answered the following questions:
— let me butt in here to say that perennial are always throwing great, fiercely entertaining live shows at all-ages spaces. for example, they have a show at the The Church coming up this saturday (7/20/2019) with fox tails, let’s get invisible, and doom beach. i’ll be there, and you should too! chelsey’s birthday will be a few days after, so there may be cake… —
because this is a connecticut-based music blog, let’s get the contractually-obligated connecticut question out of the way first: what is your favorite place to be in all of the state? what is it about that place that resonates with you?
CH: My favorite spot in CT is probably Kent Falls, or really on any hiking trail in CT. I love being in the woods and near bodies of water. There are a lot of great DIY / all-ages CT venues that I love. I’m not going to specifically name them, but you know the spots!
WM: I’m from Springfield, MA and I’ve never lived in CT, but most of my favorite local music memories happened in CT. I love playing at The Space [now “The Cellar”] in Hamden and at MAC650 in Middletown.
CJ: I’ve always really loved New Haven, Middletown, and Storrs. Us and a few of the band’s closest friends also routinely picnic in the Simsbury/Bloomfield/Canton/Avon area, so that particular part of the state holds a special place too.
“…the greatest pop songs operate around one vivid central idea that a listener can connect with and keep exploring. That is amazing advice. He writes songs you can live in, can picture an entire dramatic world existing within.” – CJ on Smokey Robinson.
is there any mystery left in the world? (if no: is that a bad thing? if yes: should it stay a mystery?)
CH: Yup — just look at the ocean! Some of the ocean should probably stay a mystery — at least from me! There’s some real scary stuff down there. Some mysteries, like medical mysteries should not stay a mystery though.
CJ: Maybe there’s more mystery now than ever. We live, and we find out everything we still have left to learn.
on social media, perennial has shown a lot of love for music that others might not associate with perennial’s sound, like smokey robinson or REM. where do you hear those influences in your music?
CJ: Smokey Robinson is my favorite artist in any medium, ever. I remember an interview where he theorized — correctly, I think — that the greatest pop songs operate around one vivid central idea that a listener can connect with and keep exploring. That is amazing advice. He writes songs you can live in, can picture an entire dramatic world existing within. When I’m writing songs for Perennial, that’s a concept I really try to follow: that mix of the tangible and the complex, all built around hooks.
WM: Artists like those know when simplicity can best serve a song. In Perennial, we’ve learned how to use a straightforward approach to songwriting.
CH: I think that we are shaped by all of the music that we consume and it helps us work out tones or themes. I know when I’m stuck in the writing process, I think about feelings associated with my favorite songs and brainstorm from there. I think listening to a variety of music helps our sound be more dynamic.
the symmetry of autumn leaves feels like a lot of thought and care went into the flow and shape of the album as a singular unit. was that intentional? did you design it specifically with the greater picture in mind, or did it come together piece by piece?
CJ: We knew some things – the “Symmetry” book ends for tracks 1 and 12, the fact that we wanted lots of interludes and connective parts to make it feel like one cohesive statement, rhyming song titles (“Resolver”, “Dissolver”). Other things were happy accidents. You have to leave room for magic.
do you believe in magic?
CJ: Of course.
CH: Yeah, magic must be real… and the song’s good too!
can you tell me the most recent thing you’ve experienced that was magic?
CH: The last time I felt magic was when I was taking care of my friend Kate’s cats, and I got [her cat] Nokomis to finally come out of her hiding spot and enjoy being pet / brushed by me. I’ve cat-sat for them three times now and I think it had to be magic that helped Komi feel comfortable to do that! I also feel magical when we play a set and I see friends dancing or singing along. AND – All hugs are magic. I guess you could say that I feel like fun is magic!
“These songs are often heavier and more dynamic, but also at times quieter, sometimes less situated in punk or hardcore and more indebted to post-bop or soul. The new record is Symmetry’s older, wiser sibling.” – CJ on the new album.
in what way is the new album you’re working on a response to the symmetry of autumn leaves?
CH: I think we learned a lot about who we are as a band, as songwriters, and as friends with Symmetry which I think shines through in LP2. I know I grew a lot as a musician in writing LP2, and I am excited to share that with everyone! I really feel like I found confidence in my voice on LP2. I think we tried to be louder, faster, and weirder than Symmetry, so it’s more of a sequel than a direct response.
WM: I think our new album builds on the sound and themes we established with Symmetry. It’s not a distant relative from that album, but it definitely explores some new territory for us.
CJ: I think of it as a sort of next step. Symmetry helped us learn what Perennial sounds like, what parts of our aesthetic we want to keep developing and exploring, what kinds of songs are the most fun to play live. These songs are often heavier and more dynamic, but also at times quieter, sometimes less situated in punk or hardcore and more indebted to post-bop or soul. The new record is Symmetry’s older, wiser sibling
can you give me a simpsons quote that summarizes the new album?
CH: “Ow my freakin’ ears!”
WM: “I’m itchy! I got ants in my pants! I’m discombobulated!”
CJ: “Oops… I said the quiet part loud and the loud part quiet. Oh dear.”
[editor’s note: surprised to not see “everything’s coming up perennial!”]
for your next album, you’ve been working with chris teti (of the world is a beautiful place and i’m not longer afraid to die) — is he a taskmaster or what? what has working with teti been like?
CH: Chris is wonderful, and he has more patience than you can imagine. He has been working really hard to help us meet our vision for the album and has made us feel really at home, even if Silver Bullet studios is full of “scary guys” from all the spookiest movies (life-sized Draculas, that kind of thing). The first time we went to Silver Bullet, I really could only pass the life-size Jason Voorhees in the front window by running past him, I was literally scared of it. We’ve known Chris for like 8 years, so comfort was one reason and quality was another so it was an easy choice.
WM: Working with Chris has been a joy. He really knows what sound we’re going for and how to achieve that sound. I’d recommend Silver Bullet to any artists looking for studio time in CT.
CJ: Chris is an absolute dream to work with. The work that comes out of Silver Bullet is routinely great sonically, so it was an easy decision. Luckily, Chris was a fan of the first Perennial LP so he was familiar with our aesthetic language, as well the stuff that was inspiring this current record. It really helps to have someone who can make the sounds in your head actually exist in real life. It was also nice to have a producer who didn’t balk at drum machine cowbell or a fourth layer of Moog.
“We like to go into recording with a plan and goals. After the initial couple of passes at the songs we went back to Chris [Teti] with less clear plans so that we could be spontaneous and add more improvised things on top of the structured songs.” – CH on recording the new album.
[a spit-take of coffee at the news of a fourth layer of synths] did you write the album before coming to chris with the plans to record it? has that initial vision changed in the studio?
CH: The majority of LP2 was written before we went in. We like to go into recording with a plan and goals. After the initial couple of passes at the songs we went back to Chris with less clear plans so that we could be spontaneous and add more improvised things on top of the structured songs. He has helped us work through things that we weren’t sure we loved when we came in and gave some wonderful feedback.
CJ: I would say the album was 95% written before we started tracking, but luckily we had room and time to be spontaneous in the studio. In fact we’re still adding and changing and re-thinking elements of the record now. Chris has been supportive when it comes to all of that. We knew the broad strokes of what we wanted this album to be, but we’re also trying to be open-minded about where we can play with that vision.
i’m going to take an educated guess and say that you’re keeping the album brief! you’ve mentioned in other places how after about 20 minutes, bands can start to undo the goodwill they’ve accrued in an album or a set. is there a notable exception to that rule for you?
CH: LP2 is also short, yes. The 20-minute thought really refers to the live setting most of all. There are some great long-form albums and longer movies that I love like The Blues Brothers and All That Jazz. I’m not sure if people would consider this a particularly long album, but Horses by Patti Smith is my favorite, and it’s fairly long.
WM: The album will most likely be 30 minutes or less. At DIY shows with 4 or more bands/artists set to perform, you’ve got to keep in my mind how much the audience is willing to sit through in the course of the evening. Of course, large headlining acts are expected to play 1-2 hour sets, as they should, but on the indie-level good performers should be able to convey their message in about 20 minutes. Albums and movies can be long because people can experience those on their own time frame.
CJ: It’s all about context. For a DIY show where 4 or 5 bands are sharing the evening, I think it’s a nice bit of community empathy to keep sets brief (20-ish minutes) so that everyone is enthusiastic for all the bands and the night doesn’t get exhausting. A 40 minute set doesn’t work in that context. I’ve always responded more to bands that pare their sets down and keep things sharp and immediate. In other contexts sprawl is okay. Francis Ford Coppola’s movies average 3 hours. Don Quixote is 950 pages. Kendrick Lamar’s masterpiece LP is 79 minutes long. A good thing to keep in mind: Charles Dickens’ two best books are 120 pages (A Christmas Carol) and 800 pages (Bleak House) respectively; they both work perfectly for what they’re trying to accomplish. It’s all about context.
“This record opened my eyes and ears as to what an album could be and the importance of listening to an album as a cohesive unit. It really takes the listener on a musical journey.” – WM on Smashing Pumpkins’ music.
what was the first album that you remember really “clicking” for you? (i.e., the album that “got” you into music)
CH: I was really obsessed with Good Mourning by Alkaline Trio in high school, but way before that, around the age of 4, I was always writing/recording and singing into a “My First Sony” recorder — mostly songs about sparkly things. Stars, diamonds, and things like that. In my childhood I also spent a TON of time watching and falling in love with musicals and wishing that life was a musical. I think those things were most formative for me. A lot of what I love about Perennial is the performative aspect.
WM: Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Speaking of long albums, this record opened my eyes and ears as to what an album could be and the importance of listening to an album as a cohesive unit. It really takes the listener on a musical journey.
CJ: The Big Chill Soundtrack: Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Temptations, The Rascals. My musical brain was formed by those songs.
lou reed said “one chord is fine. two chords is pushing it. three chords and you’re into jazz.” was lou reed telling the truth?
CH: It’s probably true AND jazz is great.
WM: I agree with that quote for the most part. Certain genres of music work with that level of simplicity. However, there’s lots of music I enjoy that uses complex chord structures and time signatures. That’s the beauty of music, the diversity.
CJ: Something tells me Lou Reed always believed he was telling the truth, but it’s also worth remembering that some of the best jazz is built around one chord. I wonder what Lou would have thought about that.
you can follow perennial online, keeping track of their upcoming shows on facebook. they have a big show coming up on september 27, 2019 at the arts center east in vernon, ct. that show will be a first-ever rock-and-hip-hop hybrid show, so if you’d like to participate, email them at Perennialtheband [at] gmail.com!
you can find perennial’s music on the usual streaming sites as well as bandcamp. the symmetry of autumn leaves is available on digital, disc, and vinyl. if you are hungry for more perennial-talk, also check out the interview they did with redscroll records!
