Andy Smith Interview (Producer/Band Mate)
You have been playing in Timmy Curran Band since the very beginning, what inspired you to produce this record?
"Having produced other projects in the past, after working with Tim for the past 5 years I finally felt confident knowing what I could bring to the table and how it would best fit into his collection of music. Being able to listen to extremely raw song ideas before there was any plan to record an album, I immediately sensed a way to graft in new ideas and construct an album. The goal was to take the strong points of the previous albums and push the envelope to embrace new directions. I felt the time was ripe to try something a bit different given the rapidly changing culture of music consumption."
Where did you record this album?
"This album was recorded in the nomad style. Drums were recorded in a garage in silverlake, guitars were recorded at Timmy's house in Ventura, electric guitars in a culver city art studio and garage in Altadena, bass and background vocals at JT's loft in downtown LA, and final vocals at the Hurley studios in Costa Mesa. I think the fractured method of recording gave the material identity early on, and ultimately resulted in an album that's both mismatched and cohesive in it's multiple facets."
What is different about this record compared to "Word Of Mouth" & "VerseS"?
"I think the previous two albums laid the groundwork for "Options", but without any pressure or expectation for this album I think we collectively decided to take more chances. A big reason for the directional change is the creative input from JT and Carmichael. Since we all are differently influenced it was nice to blend styles and come up with something that's representational of us now and where we want to go as a band. The noticeable differences come in the form of more programmed drums, synths, more vocal harmonies and tonal stacking."
Who inspires you musically?
"This would be a long list, so in the interest of keeping this short and sweet I'll say Paul McCartney, Dr. Cliff Huxtable, and Your mom"
Are you looking forward to touring this record?
"Yeah... It'll be challenging to find ways of re-creating the many layers on the album in a live show, but since many of these songs were arranged with live performance in mind I think it will be a much more entertaining and interesting live show that we'll be touring."
Will this record change your live performances?
"Yes, if it doesn't then we'll give you a full refund. Expect thunder."
Dann Gallucci former member of Modest Mouse mixed this record, how do you know Dann?
"Being close friends with Matt Maust, bass player for Cold War Kids and who's musical opinion I greatly respect, I asked Matt if he had any good recommendations for a mixer for the album. He immediately gave his endorsement of Dann who had been on tour with CWK as their sound engineer. As soon as Dann began mixing the album I knew right away his sensibilities were a perfect fit for what I was trying to communicate from a production standpoint. I couldn't be happier with the mixing of the album as I think Dann took risks that others may have missed."