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R N watson8/29/00
@ the Whisky A Go Go
Hollywood, California
I just saw the Autumns tonight. The most perfect band I've seen live, consistently. The most beautiful, haunting songs, combined with a daring intensity and atmospheric droning, but somehow never purposeless noise. They have found in their songs the way to convey a mood that's melancholy, but not sad; thoughtful, but not slow; intelligent, but not mathematical; confident, but not arrogant. Their music seems to search for, and find, the beautiful side of every tragic suicide. They perhaps embody in their music the young man in American Beauty who sees beauty where no one else does. And when we're talking about beauty, we're not talking about lovey-dovey mushy love songs, or Starbucks-amateur-poet-night. It's like a fire, gently licking at every tree, even the tallest, until the whole forest lies in smoking, blackened ruins. Yet it is a fire that heals while it burns, not completely destructive in nature. And the only trees left standing as the fires burn themselves out are four young men (dressed in dark, simple clothes, t-shirts, boots), who have just spent an hour stripping everything away. And who could probably play all night until the next morning if they could find a venue that would let them. They walk off the stage, not rock stars, and musicians yes, but more than that: artists. With their guitars, their voices, their songs, and all their hearts, they hum us a tune that at once seems like something we would only hear angels singing; and yet something we've heard somewhere before, like lost childhood memories, if we could only think of where.
1/23/01
A few months later, I had the great privilege of interviewing The Autumns' lead vocalist/guitarist, Matthew Kelly. Here are some of the questions I asked, via email, and his responses. I personally highly recommend checking out their music, which can be purchased from www.slogrecords.com. For more info about The Autumns, go to their website, www.theautumns.com .
SS: First of all, how long have The Autumns been together as a band? Where and how did you meet?
MATTHEW KELLY, The Autumns: The band began in November of 1992, so we've been around forever. The original members became friends in high school. Some of us have known each other since we were little ones, however.
SS: Is there a story behind the name "The Autumns," or any specific inspiration?
AUTUMNS: Not much of a story, no. There was a minor dispute over whether the band should be called Autumn, Autumns, The Autumn, or The Autumns. It went on so long that we'd actually put out four different flyers for each show.
SS: Where do you live? Is there anything that's really influenced your musical development as you were growing up?
AUTUMNS: We live in Southern California, which is also where we grew up. It's difficult to pinpoint what influenced us musically. I think we all spent our younger years with the same material that most white, middle-class American kids did: the Beatles, Elvis, the Righteous Brothers, etc.
SS: I've noticed that a lot of lyricists and songwriters are very well-read. Do you read a lot? Are there any specific books that are favorites or big influences?
AUTUMNS: We are pretty avid readers. It's difficult to talk about the relationship between great authors and your music without sounding pretentious, so I guess I'd shy away from pinpointing literary influences. So, without committing myself to these things as influences per se, I'd just say that we're big fans of 20th century French authors; e.g., Celine, Camus, Sartre. We also love the Russians, particularly Dostoevsky and Bulgakov. The Beats of course. Also Hesse and Kafka and Pynchon and Maugham and Faulkner and just about everyone else under the sun with the exception of Virginia Wolfe. Wait, that looks sexist - Simone de Beauvoir and Sylvia Plath, there you go.
SS: The Autumns' music seems at once very complex, and yet heavenly and passionate, and your shows often incorporate elements of Winter In A Silver Box's noise and droning... do you view the construction of your songs as a mathematical process, or is it more inspired than that?
AUTUMNS: Well, there can be a mathematical beauty to music, but we rarely go that route intentionally. The closest we get to it is on Russet Gold, where things are more… symmetrical, I guess, than in our other material. We were listening to lots of artsy, math-rock-type bands at that point and I think it rubbed off on us.
SS: How long have you personally been playing music?
AUTUMNS: I've been playing music since I was three, which is when I started piano.
SS: What inspires your music, in general, and your songs in specific? Is there a message that the band feels they need to communicate to the world, or something of that sort? Is there a motivation outside the music itself?
AUTUMNS: Well, the band is composed of very different types. I mean, the different outlooks/worldviews within the band run the gamut, really. We get along fantastically, but we see the world very differently. If for no other reason than that, the band does not bring a message to the world. It is, at its best, pure emotional catharsis. I think trauma is the main inspiration for the songs. Not that we lead consistently traumatic lives, but it seems to inspire songs more than anything else.
SS: What's your favorite part of playing music with a band, writing, recording, playing live, or something else?
AUTUMNS: Well, some of us enjoy recording more than anything else. I think I enjoy them all about equally. Playing live can be a bit tedious if you're working with material that doesn't really correspond to your emotional situation anymore. The last few Angel Pool tours were difficult for that reason.
SS: I've found that inspiration in life often is closely tied to faith of some sort. I've heard that some of the members of the autumns are Christians, is that true? Can you tell me anything about that?
AUTUMNS: One of the members of The Autumns is an orthodox Presbyterian. I'm not that member, so I can't really comment on how that works into his writing, but I suspect it has little impact.
SS: You are really known for your image, or rather almost a lack of one... no pictures of yourselves in the liners, no lyrics printed, not even your names listed... Is that just to draw more attention to the music itself, or is there another reason? Will we ever get to read The Autumns' lyrics?
AUTUMNS: I think it allows the music to breathe a bit more, yes. When we were younger, we wouldn't allow any pictures to be taken of us and would go so far as to refuse to give our names in interviews. As things got a little bigger, this became increasingly burdensome and unrealistic. The heart of that is still there, though. It was never supposed to be about the members; it was always supposed to be about the music. To the extent that myself or any other member becomes an object of attention, it isn't our doing. We may print our lyrics at some point. We always found it more engaging when bands would allow the listener to put her own spin on things.
SS: I've only heard a little bit about it, but you guys have had some label problems lately, what was that all about, and are you out of the woods yet?
AUTUMNS: It took us a while to get away from Risk Records. We finally managed it about eight months ago. We can now put out records with whomever we want. The next EP will be released on Absalom (www.absalom.com ).
SS: The new EP is a real departure from your normal style... what inspired this?
AUTUMNS: Yeah, it is a departure. The songs had been around in one form or another for a few years. It was actually based on an idea that we started kicking around after recording The Angel Pool. Both The Angel Pool and Suicide At Strell Park had these nostalgic, "50's" moments. We just wanted to work with that theme and see what we could pull off.
SS: Is there a full length on the way too? Are there any plans to tour soon, to support the new material?
AUTUMNS: No plans for a tour until we sign with a bigger label. We'll begin recording the next full length in February and should be finished by May.
SS: How would you define success for The Autumns, where would you like to be able to take it?
AUTUMNS: We'd like to make this music for a living. Apart from that, success is a highly subjective thing for us. If we make music that we can genuinely be proud of-music that is more than "cool" or whatever else-music that truly pushes the boundaries of rock and roll, then we'll be successful in our own eyes.
SS: Ideally, where do you see yourself in 10-20 years?
AUTUMNS: In ten years, making fantastic records. In twenty, doing something else.
SS: What albums or artists were early influences? What are some albums that you're listening to right now?
AUTUMNS: Early influences were Manchester bands; e.g., Stone Roses, Smiths, etc. Lately it's been Jimi Hendrix, The Dirty Three, Led Zeppelin, Lift To Experience, Leonard Cohen, Sonic Youth…
SS: Have you seen the movie "Being John Malkovich"? If you could be someone else, any musician in any band, if you could be inside their head for 15 minutes, who would you choose?
AUTUMNS: Um… I guess I'd want to be Jimi Hendrix playing "Machine Gun" during one of those Band of Gypsies shows. That would be something.
SS: If you could bring back any old band that isn't around anymore, just to tour with them, who would it be?
AUTUMNS: Well, I'd love to tour with the Cocteau Twins. That would be a dream come true.
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