TVD LA recently chatted with The Silent Comedy’s Joshua Zimmerman to discuss the reissue of their debut album Common Faults, which is being pressed to vinyl for the very first time. 2015 also marks the 5th anniversary of the release, so to celebrate they’ve remixed the album and will be taking the vinyl on the road playing shows in select record stores throughout California.
The vinyl is available for pre-order now and the album will also be released digitally on April 14th.
You call Common Faults a transitional album that brought the band into their current sound. Can you elaborate on that? What was it in the writing and recording of this record that made you guys change the sonic direction of the band? Was the change intentional when going into this project or did it happen organically?
The process of transition in the band’s sound happened naturally over the course of making Common Faults. We started to experiment with how to capture a more energetic sound, and focused less on the acoustic songs that had made up our fledging recordings before that. Many of these songs developed from the live show, so these recording sessions were the first time we were analyzing parts, and realizing that the band would benefit for a more organized writing process. It took a while for these lessons to be fully assimilated, but you can see the product of lessons learned from making Common Faults in our new recordings.
Can you tell our readers the production process of this reissue and what you did to change the sound of the album?
One of the regrets we had about Common Faults was that we didn’t have sufficient time or resources to mix the album. We had so little money that my brother Jeremiah and I ended up mixing it ourselves in a very short amount of time. There are years of experience that a professional mixer brings to the process that we simply didn’t have.
For the reissue, we turned the raw tracks over to the extremely talented and accomplished Brian Malouf, who mixed our last couple of projects. Brian took the tracks and gave them a richness that hadn’t been present before. The original version of Common Faults was a little flat, and the remixed songs have a depth and clarity that brings them closer to our original vision.
This was a landmark album for you guys that really set you on the path to being career musicians. What is it like to hear this album on vinyl?
We have been extremely surprised, and consider ourselves fortunate, that Common Faults has reached as many people as it has. The songs have had a great impact on people’s lives, and that is what most artists strive for. Even with all of the things that the digital and CD versions of the album have accomplished, pressing it to vinyl adds a level of legitimacy that is unrivaled.
Something about the medium makes it seem “real” and important in a way that other formats have never done for us. It is a fitting way to round out the life-cycle of this very special record to finally have it available on vinyl. It’s something of a dream come true for us.
After all these years, do the songs on Common Faults have a different meaning to you guys when you hear the reissue versions or play them live?
Some of these songs retain the meaning that they started out with. There are a handful that are “story songs,” that don’t really change over time because they are more like a short story. “’49” and “Moonshine” are good examples of this. Then there are songs like “Gasoline” and “All Saints Day” that are much more about emotion.
The meaning of those songs deepens and evolves with time as new emotions get connected with them. “Gasoline” is about loss, and was primarily focused on the loss of a specific loved-one when Jeremiah first wrote it. Over the years of touring that we have done with this album, we have lost so many more people who were close to us and heard the stories of countless people who connect with the song, so it has now taken on the weight of all of that meaning. That process has made it an incredibly powerful song that seems to grow more and more each time it is performed.
We love the record store tour concept here. Can you go into why you chose each one of these record stores for this tour?
Like so many musicians, brick and mortar record stores are very special to us. We are heartbroken to see so many record stores go out of business these days and want to support the special ones that still survive. We chose a couple that are very special to us to visit and celebrate the re-release of Common Faults.
Boo Boo Records in San Luis Obispo is a very important part of the music community in the central coast region, and has always served as a little musical oasis for us on tour. We have spent hours in that place over the years, and always look forward to visiting it. The Record Parlour in LA is basically the kind of place we would design as an epic band clubhouse if we could. Loads of records, vintage gear, a stage, and a bar… It doesn’t get better than that! M Theory in San Diego is our hometown record store, and also happens to be one of the best on the west coast. A good portion of my record collection is from there, and we couldn’t think of a more fitting place to celebrate Record Store Day 2015.
Can you give us some insight into what this set is going to be like? You guys are known for your raucous rock ‘n’roll shows. Are these going to be rowdy or stripped down?
The record store shows are going to be more stripped down than our full-volume rock set. We will still be using amplifiers, but will be playing more acoustic instruments, and alternate versions of the songs that focus a bit more on the lyrics and vibe. This type of set is really special to us, because it creates an intimate experience for the band and fans that is really unique. We have done a lot of these types of things in San Diego, but are happy to bring these sets to some other cities. It’s a lot of fun—and definitely not to be missed!
Finally, your top five favorite albums you have on vinyl—go!
1. Paul Simon, Paul Simon
2. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
3. Cat Stevens, Mona Bone Jakon
4. Al Green, Gets Next To You
5. Father John Misty, Fear Fun
The vinyl edition of Common Faults is currently available for preordering.
The Silent Comedy April In-store Tour:
4/16 – Boo Boo Records, San Luis Obispo, CA
4/17 – The Record Parlour, Los Angeles, CA
4/18 – M Theory Records, San Diego, CA
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PHOTO: THE JOELSONS
