The Tragic Thrills Talk Tour, Mat Kearney & Their Album!

Hey Buzznet,

I am excited to share this awesome interview with you all that I did with The Tragic Thrills!

On your Facebook page it says the band was founded in 2013. How did you guys find each other?

We all came from other bands and projects. Cameron and I (Zach) got introduced to Chris and Ans through our manager because we had 3 shows coming up in the Southern California area and needed a drummer and a guitar player to fill in. We only got to rehearse together for 2 days before the shows but we had an instant chemistry. Pretty much right away we asked them to join the band, along with Gabe. 


Are there ever any challenges to working in a group with different opinions?

The nice thing about this band is that we’ve all been touring for 5-6 years and so we know what it’s like to be in close proximity and to work together on something as particular as a band. It doesn’t come without its challenges but everybody having the same vision keeps us rolling. Working towards something together can be really rewarding, I think.


What was your favorite part in the process of creating the album?

I personally love recording and being in a studio. I don’t care if it’s vocals, drums, guitar, mixing, comping, pre-production, whatever – I want to be there and be a part of it. As much as technology is improving and people are able to do more and more by themselves, I hope the old fashioned recording process is never totally lost. 


What motivated you to self-fund your debut album?

Since no one was interested in signing us, self-funding was really our only option. At the time, I was obsessed with finishing the record and I didn’t really care what happened after it was done. I’m very thankful we were able to make the record. It gave me a lot of purpose and I’m lucky I had that.

On your website, it says you were enamored with the production on Mat Kearney’s “Young Love”. What about this sound made decide you work with Jason Lehning on production for the album?

Jason Lehning is an amazing producer. His work on Young Love was so fun to listen to. Jason has a rich musical background that he applies to his innovative pop-sensibilities in a very unique way. When I was conceptualizing a record in the very early stages, I was drawn to the idea of my words and stories being accompanied by production that had a stamp and a voice of its own. I liked the idea of both entities complimenting and furthering each other. I immediately thought Jason could do that for me when I heard his work. 


How would you describe the sound on this album?

Folk rock with big half-time drum beat tendencies


What inspired the re-release coming up on September 30th?

We signed a record deal. Woo Hoo!


(Aimed toward Zach) The lyrics of your songs seem to come from a very personal place. Are all the things you talk about real-life situations?

Pretty much. They come from me or things close to me. My observations of the rest of the world sometimes feel insincere or too cynical and so I try my best to stick to what I know. 


Take me through the process of getting the lyrics just-right for a new song.

I’m a slow song writer. My lyrics are pretty emotive and so a lot of times I feel something and then have to work it out and make sense of it all. 


Do you ever get nervous talking about such intimate and personal things in your songs?

I think of lot of it is subliminal. I think sometimes I steer clear of topics that I’m scared of without even knowing it. But usually they find a way of sneaking back in.


You just finished up a tour last month, what was your favorite city to perform in?

Little Rock, AR, actually. I just thought we played really well that night. We had some friends at the show which usually just stresses me out but this time it was really nice. 


Do you have any fun stories from being on the road that stand out to you?

At the end of tour we were in New Jersey and had to drive all the way back to San Diego. We left at the crack of dawn from New Jersey in order to get to Nashville before 10pm to go to this Nashville Hot Chicken place called Hattie B’s before it closed. We had to haul ass the whole way to make it. Even when we stopped for gas it was a military operation where one person started pumping while the other person went to the restroom and then ran back in time to finish pumping so the first pumper could go to the restroom. When we finally had a beer and the hot chicken, it was an out-of-body experience. I’ve never felt so drunk, high, whatever in my entire life. It might have been the best meal of my life. 


The tour is wrapped, the album is set to be released on September 30th, what is next for you guys?

We’ll be adding more dates this fall and hopefully into the next year. In the meantime, I’m working on album 2.