RED LETTER MERCHANT
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 12th March 2010.
Red Letter Merchant are based in Illinois, US. The band - Ryan, Camron, Jace, Jason and Scott - play a rather splendid music that mixes Southern US metal, grunge and more. Leave It All Behind, their latest album, came out in 2009. We haven't had chance to review it yet, but we've had a good listen and have to say it ain't 'alf bad!
Camron answers questions on behalf of the band.
Hi Cam, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Camron: Very well. Just wrapped up a show in St. Louis, MO and the band is very happy with the turn out.
Could you tell us how Red Letter Merchant got together?
Camron: The band started with myself and Jason (bassist) meeting an existing band wanting to form something new. After a few months of local searching and add placements we where contacted by Ryan (singer) who had been looking for a similar project to work on. The three of us worked on material and kept the search up for many more months. The other two guys, Scott and Jace, were found through a posting I put out on musician placement sites.
We really all were looking for the same things so taking our time finding the right guys was the goal all along.
What are the musical backgrounds of the various members?
Camron: It varies, a lot... Everything from school bands to opera to just growing up around musical parents. Like I was saying Jason and myself were in a band for a short stint and everyone has been playing for quite some time in bands so it was easy for us to gel once we got together.
Do you have a wide range of musical inspirations between you, or do you all dig the same sort of sound?
Camron: You name it.. one of us listens to it. I know there is a classic rock influence for all of us and each of us have individual sides from Pop to Country to Hip Hop/Rap.
How would you actually describe the sound of Red Letter Merchant to somebody who hadn't heard you before?
Camron: I say listen to it and decide for yourself.. Some tend to gravitate to our softer side while others tend to like our more heavy rock sound. It's all in the ear of the listener.
Was the sound of the band a deliberate decision, or has it evolved organically into what we hear today?
Camron: Some of our earlier songs on the album we wrote the very first night Ryan and myself got together. One thing very important to us is keeping our songs sounding just different enough so that the whole album doesn't sound samey, but it still feels like you are listening to the same band.
Where did the band name come from?
Camron: A very bad sexual episode....
Is there a deep meaning behind the album's title, Leave It All Behind?
Camron: It was a long process to do everything and take a different approach for an unsigned band to make the album. Everything from writing to recording, mastering, etc.. all before we ever had a show or played our music for anyone. It really was our way to say we are ready to put our best foot forward. The song "As I Feel" has some meaning towards me. Ryan and I wrote it out one day as I was going through some hardships with my father. It was my so called therapy session.
How long did the album take to create from first discussions to the finished product?
Camron: Somewhere around a year. Looking back I'm not sure exactly because during the time we where still looking for band mates for us to flesh out the band!!
How does the writing process work? Do you write as a band, or is one of you the main creative force?
Camron: The album mainly was written acoustically with myself and Ryan just hanging out. (Like I said earlier we wrote a couple of the songs the very first night we got together).
Sometimes the band vibe is cool to help move our songs into another direction.. We also write some tunes as a band, it really just depends on the mood and how things fall together.
Is there any all-consuming concept behind the lyrics, or are they all standalone tracks?
Camron: Standalone tracks. Some have meaning that are similar for Ryan but it's all rock and roll at the end of the day. Sex, Drugs and Women consume the majority of rock tunes...ha-ha!!
How about time in the studio...do you have songs written and demoed before you hit the recording stage, or do you like to create some of your songs by jamming in the studio?
Camron: This album was mostly written before the studio. There where a few changes to some songs while we were in there.
Do you use any special techniques to get your sound?
Camron: Not many things on this album.. I used an Ebow and a few different slides on guitar. Of course some normal "studio tricks" went on. We used a set of mallets on a high hat to get a "wash" sound.. I really wanted to use a Leslie speaker they had but never found a good spot for it.
Do you have any favourite moments on Leave It All Behind?
Camron: Yeah the bridge in 'As I feel' was written partly in the studio. It was just one of those moments that things came together. Also the piano in the beginning of 'Words Are Weapons' was a great addition to the song. I've always been a fan of having a piano player in the band. Luckily we have two!!
Have any of the songs had significant radio airplay?
Camron: So far we are gaining a lot of exposure around the Midwest in the US. Also a few stations in the UK and I know of one in Germany, The band is very excited because we are constantly getting stations wanting to pick us up and the list keeps growing.
Do you do a lot of touring and playing live? If so, any chance well see you play the UK?
Camron: Would love to play the UK!!! Currently we are all over central US and are playing as much as we can. Mainly in Major cities.... Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Nashville.
What is one of your live gigs like? What should fans expect from a Red Letter Merchant show?
Camron: We will rock you hard.. and then slap you in the face with some more Rock!! It's all energy and fun at our shows. We love crowd interaction and are always handing out freebies for the fans that come out.
Leave It All Behind came out in 2009. Are you already working on a follow-up, or putting all your efforts into pushing the existing release?
Camron: Pushing Pushing and more Pushing
Will the next album (when it appears) be of a similar style, or do you think you might go off at a tangent?
Camron: Not sure right now and way too early to tell. We tend to go with the flow so we will see.
Is there a master plan behind Red Letter Merchant's career, or do you live one day at a time?
Camron: Can I say a little bit of both?
Any question you love being asked that Ive missed? If so, whats the answer?
Camron: Ryan likes getting hugs at shows...
What are you up to once youve finished answering these questions?
Camron: Eating Lunch.. Then going to get on Facebook and uploading our pictures from the last show
Anything else you would like to mention?
Camron: Thanks for the time it's been a blast.. RLM is on www.redlettermerchant.com or MySpace and Facebook.. Come say hello and become a friend!!
Thanks again to Camron for his time. Check out the new album Leave It All Behind in all good online music shops.
http://www.myspace.com/redlettermerchant
