Austinist Interviews: AM Syndicate

Originally, what brought you to Austin?

UT Austin.

Was it easy for you to get involved in the Austin music scene?

Sort of...It's hard to say when I became noticeably involved. All I did was write a few songs with some people I met under the band name Electra Complex. Our first show I remember had like 100 people there. It was great.

You were in a pretty popular band called Rhythm of Black Lines, did you get a lot of feedback from people when you guys broke up? What were your feelings on the matter?

I just tell people it's silly to say a band broke up as we are all still friends and there is always the potential we will play another show. Although it is true we have not played a show or practiced in over a year. I thought it was a mistake to not tour for our record as it was released on a really good label called Gold Standard Laboratories based out of LA.

Do you see this as a continuation of what you wanted from that band or is this something else entirely?

AM Syndicate is certainly not a continuation of Rhythm of Black Lines (ROBL). ROBL was very very dense with all sorts of melody and rhythm and it was very fast and the parts were always changing and everyone is always playing. AM Syndicate is much more focused on orchestration of a single melody being supported by the other instruments although sometimes there is a counterpoint. I am the only member from both ROBL that is in AMS so it's inevitable that the sound is different. But I think the main thing is that ROBL played the songs Clint Newsome wrote and AM Syndicate plays the songs I write and the songs Jaaron (Sanderson- guitarist/singer) writes.

How did AM Syndicate come about?

It came about when Adolfo's Reversal changed its name to AM Syndicate. Adolfo's Reversal was a crappy name that was too hard to pronounce and too hard to remember. Everyone likes AM Syndicate much better.

How did you pick the name? Does it mean anything?

We chose the name as a compromise really. Danny and I wanted to call the band Perfect Mirrors but the other dudes were throwing a fit about it so Jaaron suggested AM but that seemed silly. I had been reading some modern Japanese short stories that were sometimes referring to The Syndicate which was a crime network and I really liked the way the word sounded so he suggested it be added to AM, hence AM Syndicate.

You guys just put out 2 self-released EPs (black [vol.1] and red [vol.2]). Was that always the case that you wanted 2 separate EPs or did you record more songs after the initial one came out? Why not a full length?

Actually the two EPs are for a full length, but it costs a lot of money to record and mix and press copies and we don't have much of it so after we recorded the record Jason Ward our Engineer mixed five tracks so we could have something to pass around and get labels interested. The second EP was sort of for fun and to let Labels know we had more stuff we wanted to put on a record. Sick Room Records is putting out the Full Length. It's supposed to be released in Feb. 06

Was there always an intention to have a violin player?

For AM Syndicate, yes. For Adolfo's Reversal, no…but as I said before the songs AR was playing are the same songs AMS does now.

How do you go about writing songs?

I guess the main way I've done that last few is to sit with my guitar and go into a sort of trance for an hour or so, sometimes two hours and just explore the sound it makes: Chords, arpeggios, rhythms, melody...plus there has to be something pressing on me emotionally or else the music sucks. So I'll just play my guitar for a while and I'll get the sound to match the way I feel and the words and music come very quickly after that. Then I record it on my computer and come up with the keyboard part and get a rough structure before I give it to the band to bring to life.

You seem to treat the vocals in your songs as an additional instrument. Do you place a lot of importance on lyrics, or are you more concerned on what they end up sounding like?

The words are usually about an actual event or person or feeling I have about something and very closely linked with the melody matching syllable for syllable, so yes they are
important. I just think its very important for the vocals to be musical as well.

What do you like better, sitting in a studio and recording songs or performing them in front of an audience?

Both are lots of fun. I don't really think I could pick one over the other as they are like presents for people that want them. I do like all the magic you can try and exploit in the studio to really give life to the music but you don't get any feedback from what people feel. At a show when people are into you it's really obvious. I know for me it's very important to be able to see a band who's records I love.

Where did you record these EPs?

The EPs were recorded at the bubble in Austin and mixed with a few overdubs in Chicago at Jason Wards studio.

You recently went out on your first tour and I heard about an "incident" in the midwest. Any stories to tell, battle scars to show?

Some mother fucker came up behind me with a gun and had me and Kitty (Laura) and three other people get on the ground facing down, empty our pockets and rob us. Fuck that bitch!

There are lots of overlaps between other bands and the members of the AM Syndicate, is that one reason for the multiple line-up changes?

With Danny going to trail of dead, yes. With everyone else the line up changes happen because they have other interests they want to pursue other than music. Being or attempting to be a musician is not for everyone...there is little money, you gotta leave town a lot, there is a lot of work involved in writing and practicing. That would be the main reason I would say people leave. I would like to add that I am very thankful though to have had the privilege to work with such talented people.

How would you describe your music?

It's dark, it's moody, it's rhythmic, the texture is rich, it's colorful, organic, I like the melody in the music, really loud a lot of the time, I guess those are all the words You could tack on but if I were to use just a phrase, I would say its our interpretation of some of the aspects of our lives revealed through the motion AM Syndicate has.

Do you mind the "art rock" tag that your music might get or the comparisons to blonde redhead?

Not really. I love Bjork, Radiohead and Blonde Redhead, which are all "art rock" I don't really listed to other music with the same devotion I do these bands. I think Blonde Redhead is the greatest rock band ever. I basicly learned how to write songs from them. So when someone labels AMS I just hope they mean it in a positive way and if not that’s fine also.

Whats in your CD player right now?

Funny, Radiohead-Hail to the Thief, Blonde Redhead-Misery is a Butterfly, O's Mutantes-Greatest hits, Arcade Fire, Dungen.

What is your least favorite/favorite thing about the Austin music scene?

My least favorite thing is I don't know enough of the people involved with the scene. I get so caught up with what AM Syndicate does I can't go out like I used to and meet people. My most favorite thing is that there are a lot of places to play and people actually care about music.

What part of Austin do you live in and what do you like about it?

I just moved to the East Side month or so ago off of Caesar Chavez...I guess if I had to choose something good about this part of town I would say there are some good restaurants here.

What's next for AM Syndicate?

We are going on tour in September, our record comes out in Feb. and we go on tour again for a while and then we c come back and record another record in the spring.

Are you excited about heading out again?

Being on the road is the greatest experience in the world.

The Black / AM Syndicate / Bring Back the Guns / The Interest Kills
Beerland
Saturday, August 20th
10pm