BUZZNET Exclusive: Q&A With Smoke Season

I had the chance to catch up and get to learn a little about my friends over in Smoke Season. Jason Rosen and Gabrielle Wortman are the masterminds behind one of my new favorite groups. With influnces like The Rocky Mountains, whiskey, and folklore, how could you not be captivated by the dynamic duo.

Gabbie: You both had a pretty wild ride in the music industry. What made you decided that it was time to start Smoke Season.

Jason: The way we came to play together was a happy accident. One night we were just casually jamming at our shared rehearsal space when we turned around and realized we had just written our first single, Soleil. The songwriting was so fluid and the chemistry was so authentic that moving forward seemed like the only feasible option.

Gabbie: What would you say Smoke Season stands for?

Jason: We define Smoke Season as “A period of time defined by that which is evanescent, obscure and without result.” Both of us have had our own interactions with the “smoke-and-mirrors” aspect of the music industry that have left a bad taste in our mouths. We’ve found that too often bands don’t write their own songs or dilute their creative process to be more “radio-friendly”. Using this as our inspiration, we decided to create music we found was beautiful and that we loved and, hey, if other people did too than that was a beautiful thing. We ended our own “Smoke Season” by making the art we want and rejecting the idea of writing the “next pop hit”.

Gabbie: The whole vibe of your new EP is unique and different in so many ways. It’s quite lovely and refreshing. Was the whole sound developing process organic? It seems very natural. How did you know this was the right fit for you guys.

Gabby: Our songwriting process is extremely fluid. One of us will start with an idea, like a riff, lyrical phrase, or chord progression, and then we’ll show it to the other and develop the entire song. The combination of our musical influences and backgrounds makes a really unique vibe. We found that we write our songs really quickly because we just trust our instincts and use whatever we come up with. This is also why a lot of our songs have unconventional structures and seems to flow more adventurously than the standard verse-choruse-verse-chorus format.

Gabbie: Along with the EP you have a new video that you released for one of the tracks, ‘SOLEIL’. I would say it redefines the term music video. So many different elements are being shown. Tell us what the process was like for turning that song into a vision.

Gabby: We were completely hands on making the Soleil music video. I directed it, and then Jason edited. I wanted to use metaphor and symbolism to tell weave an honest love story in today’s world. The first symbol we drew heavily on was color. The video starts in black and white, symbolizing the absence of love for the two characters. They are slowly waking up to a world with love but haven’t yet found it. When the color is introduced, the characters have found love. However, in today’s world, love stories are never fairy tales and often times people lose the love they find because the world gets in the way. This is why the color drains out by the end of the video.

Jason: We also used the dreamcatcher to symbolize another major theme in the plot. We’ve found that the most beautiful moments in life, like when you’re in love, are very dreamlike. The blending of these dreams and reality are captured by the polaroids in the dreamcatcher. The characters were catching life moments that felt like dreams.

Gabbie: Being an emerging band can have it challenges with getting people on board. What song would you say makes Smoke Season, Smoke Season and would recommend our readers dive into first?

Jason: That’s always a tough question, cause all these songs really are our babies. But, I would have to say Felix holds a special place in our hearts. For me, not only is it named after my grandfather but also because it encapsulates our sound all in one song. It feels like an adventure that peaks at a moment of blended music and poetry.

Gabbie: Do you guys have plans for another music video?

Gabby: Absolutely. It’s important for us to continue Smoke Season as an audio-visual experience and multimedia vision.

Gabbie: What can we expect from Smoke Season as the year progresses? More music, touring? Where do you hope to go in the music world?

Jason: Well first, we’re performing a StageIt Live Webcast Show this Sunday, April 28th (5PM PST/8PM EST) so our fans can watch Smoke Season wherever they are. Next step, we’re planning a tour to BRING Smoke Season to them wherever they are.

Gabby: We’re also really excited to announce that we’ll be playing an important album release show at the Troubadour on Saturday May 25th. All the information for tickets is available on our website. The last thing to mention is that we haven’t stopped writing. The songs keep coming… So there may just have to be a Signals Part II sometime soon….

Check Out Smoke Season on Facebook Twitter Youtube Website

Purchase Signals On Itunes Here

xx

Gabbie Brown