a word with the greeting committee on their newest ep 'i’m afraid i’m not angry'
Interview and Photos by Kendall Dennison
With having just completed a tour opening for London-based band Bombay Bicycle Club and now embarking on a tour opening for Hippo Campus, The Greeting Committee has been travelling all across the United States. The release of their newest EP, I’m Afraid I’m Not Angry, has also kept fans loaded with fresh content. Ease Up Magazine had a chance to talk to The Greeting Committee about their latest release and the making of it.
Ease Up: Congrats on your newest EP, I’m Afraid I’m Not Angry. Of the four songs on the EP, which are you most excited to perform live?
Pierce Turcotte: As we rehearsed these songs for our tour with Hippo Campus coming at the end of October, we’ve found out, unsurprisingly, that most of these songs are going to be a challenge to play live. These new songs require a lot more technical work than we’ve needed in the past, but we are definitely up [for] the challenge. “Cry Baby” will be the biggest challenge but also why it’s probably the one we’re most excited to play live. That song will take us the most out of our comfort zone, but it will be a blast to perform.
EU: This release is consistent with the expressive melodies and upbeat guitar parts that appear in the rest of your music but it also delivers a relatively different sound with more complex drum patterns and ambient background effects. What were your influences in making that slight shift?
Turcotte: I think this is the music we’ve always wanted to write. Although there are influences for this record, I don’t think our collective tastes in music have changed much in the last couple of years. What attributed the most to this was the more deliberate process to writing and demoing the songs before going into the studio. Although the EP is only four songs, I think we spent more time working on pre-production than we did with our full-length, This Is It. It was just a matter of honing in on those details that led to that slight shift. Of course, a lot of the sounds were immensely influenced by Jake Luppen and Caleb Hinz as well.
EU: Relating to ambient sounds, the EP’s first song, “Cry Baby,” begins with a chorus of cheers and chants that continue throughout the track. What was the process behind recording and producing that sound?
Turcotte: That song came from a voice memo that Brandon had recorded on his phone during a trip to Thailand. We took some short audio clips from the recording and turned it into a sample that you can hear loop throughout the song. After that, Austin found some chords that fit over the sample and we just went from there! It was a fun idea to experiment with that ended up being something we really loved which set the tone for the rest of the EP.
EU: You recently posted about working with Caleb Hinz (Normal Parents, Baby Boys) and Jake Luppen (Hippo Campus, Baby Boys) to produce this EP. What was your favorite part of that process?
Turcotte: Our favorite part throughout the recording process was how natural it felt working with them. We recorded at B24 Studios in our hometown of Kansas City which made it feel even more like home for us. Since we were only recording four songs and not a whole entire album, there was less pressure, and we found a dynamic that really worked for all of us.
EU: Many people associate certain songs and albums with a specific season, time of day, memory, etc. What do you associate this EP with? What do you picture listeners associating it with?
Turcotte: This was a process that we had to think about as we came up with the visuals for the album. Although most of the visuals are done by our art director Hampton William and Addie, the whole band participated in trying to nail down the overall vibe of the songs. The title has pretty much always been I’m Afraid I’m Not Angry. However, it took us a bit longer to figure out how that phrase should be portrayed. Some initial ideas for the EP artwork were more colorful, but as we listened more, we decided that something darker would better suit the music and the artwork needed to be more photography based. The artwork is a good example of what we associate these songs with. It’s not that these songs aren’t even that dark but rather intimate. I think that intimacy and closeness is what listeners would associate the music with too.
EU: A common theme for your album This Is It is a coming-of-age. If any, what theme do you attach to I’m Afraid I’m Not Angry?
Addie Sartino: I’m Afraid I’m Not Angry explores the relationship between fear and love through four different lenses. Being the most personal and experimental set of songs The Greeting Committee has released, the listener will feel as if they’re sitting around their bedroom floor crying on the bands shoulders.
EU: What did the lyric writing process look like for this EP?
Sartino: For this EP I focused more on simple, yet powerful statements. Growing up I thought alternative music had to be covered in beautifully elaborate metaphors. When discussing topics as vulnerable as the ones I discuss in IAINA, I knew I wanted to be as honest as I could be - no fluff. This is easily the most personal record I’ve ever written as well.
EU: As seen in earlier songs such as “17,” the second track of this EP, “Simply Surviving,” reads with sorrowful lyrics but contrasts with an upbeat sound. How would you say this complexity affects the way listeners interpret the track?
Sartino: What I love about mixing sorrowful lyrics with upbeat sounds is that it accurately reflects life. A lot of the time we have these sorrowful thoughts tucked behind moments of joy and energy and excitement.
EU: Your first announcement of this EP was a Super 8 video featuring a clip of a slow song with the lyrics of the EP title: I’m Afraid I’m Not Angry. Can fans be expecting this song as a separately released track in the future?
Sartino: That song lives in that video. And that’s what I love about it.
EU: Lastly, what is the one message that you would like listeners to take away from this EP?
Sartino: I want listeners, as always, to walk away with the sense that they’re not alone. The whole reason I open my heart up in music and life is so I can create a space in which we can share and find comfort in these mutual moments of being terrified, and sad, and numb, and joyous, and loved, and sexual, and overwhelmed, and every heavy thing we can feel.
Be sure to listen to I’m Afraid I’m Not Angry down below, and catch The Greeting Committee on their upcoming dates with Hippo Campus!
UPCOMING U.S. TOUR DATES WITH HIPPO CAMPUS:
11/4 – Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater
11/5 – Bethlehem, PA @ Musikfest Café
11/7 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
11/8 – Louisville, KY @ Paristown Hall
11/11 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
11/12 – Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s
11/14 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory Concert House
11/15 – Missoula, MT @ The Wilma
11/16 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House
11/19 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
11/20 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
11/22 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theater
11/23 – Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater