Pigeon Spins Featuring an Interview with Booster Club

Booster Club - Some Sleep

This single features Booster Club’s signature College Rock Revival sound that blends the aesthetics of early alternative rock with the fundamentals of modern indie rock. Layered in with the guitars is a rich mix of various analog sounds including modulating echos of electric pianos and other electronic sounds that fluctuate between gravely noise and orchestral bliss. This single is a great example of the band's musicianship and showcases the band’s new lead guitarist, Josh Feierman The Surf Maggots, The Last Nerves), who adds in his sputtering fuzzy guitar fills and hooks.

“Some Sleep” was penned by Booster Club’s leader Steven Bailey, who proclaims to avoid writing biographical, personal songs by camouflaging poignancy in specifically vagueness that colors truth in landscapes rather than in portraits. “Some Sleep”, while lyrically efficient, is full of contradictions and clues for the attentive listener to decipher and derive their own meanings.

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Interview with Booster Club

(º)> What inspired the writing of “Some Sleep” and its lyrical approach?

This song started at band practice, when I know I was very tired and ready to be off of my feet. It just kind came out all together. We figured out the arrangement as a band, and Josh added some melody guitar hooks.

(º)> How do you blend early alternative rock aesthetics with modern indie rock in this track?

A lot of our influences, like The Replacements or Dinosaur Jr, have early work that touts a DIY feel. We try to blend that by mixing as much live performance into our records before going back with overdubs and other edits. This track was tracked live with only a few takes and all of the initial instrumentation can be heard in the final mix.

(º)> What role do the analog sounds and modulating electric piano echoes play in shaping the song’s atmosphere?

I used vintage gear including an analog electric piano through a delay pedal and a really old solid stage amp to record the piano sounds on this track, I adjusted the delay feedback and time settings to create the spacey feedback sounds.

(º)> How did new lead guitarist Josh Feierman influence the sound and energy of the single?

Josh has brought his own flare to add to Steven's compositions. Josh added the guitar hook melody in the chorus and the fuzzy guitar licks and leads through the rest of the song.

(º)> How do you approach camouflaging poignancy in vagueness rather than writing biographical lyrics?

A lot of songwriters have the ability to be vulnerable with people. I do not have that ability, rather I feel the need to mask, or temper, things I would like to express in characters that are very different from me. I always have liked artists that paint abstract scenes, like Tom Waits.

(º)> What contradictions or hidden meanings should listeners look for in “Some Sleep”?

Some Sleep is about the reluctance to accept the inevitable, whether for good or bad,

(º)> How does this single showcase the band’s musicianship compared to previous releases?

Recording this release was planned out a little differently. A lot of our earlier releases have been rushed though, focusing on quantity rather than quality. This was also our first recording session with Josh which added a whole other element. I recorded all of us at the studio where we rehearse in Durham, NC.

(º)> How do you balance noise elements with orchestral or melodic layers in the track?

I tried to create space between the instruments. Some of those spaces I wanted to fill with non-musical effects, like tuning an old fashion radio or talking on walkie talkies.

(º)> What was the recording and production process like for this song?

We recorded this track ourselves at a studio, D&D Creative, in Durham NC. We engineered, recorded, and mixed all of the tracks on our own. Most of our music is mastered by MixCave Mastering.

(º)> If “Some Sleep” had a central emotion or feeling you wanted to convey, what would it be?

To me this song feel like when you're too tired to sleep, when you're waiting for the other shoe to drop, or when you're waiting on news whether good or bad and all you have to accept is that one thing you've been fighting all along.