Summary

From 2012, Adam Remnant from Southeast Engine dives deep into the creative process behind their music, sharing how inspiration strikes like lightning when least expected. He chats with the host about the band's roots in Athens (Ohio) and their journey through the indie music scene, revealing how the blend of personal experiences and diverse musical influences shapes their sound. The conversation flows effortlessly, touching on everything from their social media presence to the dynamics of live performances, where the energy of the audience can make or break a show. They explore the evolution of their songwriting, including the transition from basement jams to studio recordings, and Adam's passion for crafting lyrics that resonate on multiple levels. This episode is a laid-back yet insightful ride into the world of Southeast Engine, showcasing their unique vibe and collaborative spirit.

Show Notes

• Discussion on the band's origins and their Athens roots.
• Insights into how social media platforms like Twitter influence their music outreach.
• The creative process behind songwriting and live performances.
• Exploration of their new album, "Canary," and the dynamics of arranging songs.
• Fun banter about musical influences, including Nirvana and Bob Dylan.
• Creativity often stems from unexpected moments and experiences.
• The energy of live audiences plays a crucial role in shaping performances.
• Songwriting is an evolving process that benefits from collaboration and spontaneity.
• Social media can be a powerful tool for musicians to connect with fans.
• Each album reflects a unique phase in the band's musical journey.

Links

• REMINDER: IGNORE ALL LINKS OR EVENTS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE FROM 2012
• Adam Remnant of Southeast Engine still makes music
• You may also enjoy this conversation from 2015 with Kevn Kinney of Drivin n Cryin
• Toss a few in our Tip Jar

Chapters

• 00:00 - Introduction to Country Fried Rock
• 02:57 - The Origins of Southeast Engine
• 10:10 - The Evolution of Live Music Performance
• 14:12 - Creative Processes in Music
• 20:21 - Exploring Musical Influences and Inspirations
• 23:30 - Creative Direction and Album Development

Takeaways

• Southeast Engine's formation story is a classic tale of shared musical passion that blossomed in Athens, Ohio, with roots tracing back to their childhood in Dayton.
• The band members have distinct musical influences, blending folk, rock, and country, which creates a unique sound reflective of their diverse backgrounds.
• Social media plays a crucial role in connecting with fans, especially Twitter, where the band shares updates and engages with their audience in a more casual manner.
• Live performances are dynamic and tailored to the venue's atmosphere, highlighting the band's ability to adapt their energy to different audience vibes.
• The songwriting process for Adam involves a blend of spontaneity and reflection, allowing ideas to develop organically rather than being forced.
• Southeast Engine aspires to explore a more atmospheric sound in future albums, indicating a creative evolution that reflects their growth as artists.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Southeast Engine
• Couch by Couch West
• Three Elliott Studios
• Misra Records
• Judee Sill
• Absolutely Kosher
• Moonjaw Records

Recommended If You Like

Country Fried Rock, Southeast Engine, indie rock podcast, music creativity inspiration, Athens music scene, songwriting process, live music performance, musical influences, folk rock bands, music production techniques, Twitter for musicians, Couch by Couch West, band dynamics, harmonies in music, acoustic instruments in rock, music collaborations, lyrical songwriting, Americana music, live recording techniques, band interviews, Judee Sill

Transcript

Speaker A

00:00:00.320 - 00:00:08.560

Welcome to Country Fried Rock, where we talk with musicians to find out what inspires their creativity. Country Fried Rock music Uncovered.

Speaker B

00:00:08.560 - 00:00:11.640

Yeah. Hi, this is Adam Remnant from the band Southeast Engine.

Speaker A

00:00:11.640 - 00:00:12.760

Hey, Adam. How are you?

Speaker B

00:00:12.760 - 00:00:14.000

I'm doing well. How are you?

Speaker A

00:00:14.000 - 00:00:17.360

I am well, thank you. Are y' all still based in Athens?

Speaker B

00:00:17.520 - 00:00:45.500

We're relatively still based out of Athens. Myself and my brother, Jesse Remnant, who plays bass in Things Harmony in the band, also live in Athens.

And then our drummer, Leo DeLuca, recently moved to Durham, North Carolina, and our keyboard player lives in Morgantown, West Virginia. Leo and I started the band, like, 10 years ago, and we just. Until the last year, we've all lived in Athens, except.

Except our keyboard player, Billy Matheny is from Morgantown, West Virginia. He's always lived there, but the rest of the band's always been in Athens for the most part.

Speaker A

00:00:45.740 - 00:00:52.300

Well, I'll tell you how I found Southeast Engine. And I. You may not know this. I could not go to south by Southwest this year.

Speaker B

00:00:52.380 - 00:00:53.260

Neither did we.

Speaker A

00:00:53.340 - 00:00:58.300

Well, so I ended up finding one of y' all on Couch by Couch west on Twitter.

Speaker B

00:00:58.750 - 00:01:00.750

All right. Yes. Yes, that would be me.

Speaker A

00:01:00.910 - 00:01:02.430

Tell me about your Twitter life.

Speaker B

00:01:03.790 - 00:01:12.910

I recently. I've only recently started to become a fan of Twitter. We've been using Facebook for a while, and recently I've adapted to Twitter as well.

Speaker A

00:01:13.230 - 00:01:17.070

Honestly, Couch by Couch west was the first time I ever got Twitter.

Speaker B

00:01:17.150 - 00:01:17.790

Oh, really?

Speaker A

00:01:17.790 - 00:01:22.590

Well, it's the first time I ever really understood the power of how it's different than Facebook.

Speaker B

00:01:23.150 - 00:01:48.380

Yeah, you know, there is a subtle difference, and I think it's that with Twitter, I feel like with Facebook, if we make updates every day or more than once a day, that it could be sort of annoying to people that, you know, follow our page. But with Twitter, I don't know, it just feels like it can be a little bit more lighthearted or not. Not, as you know, I don't know. It just doesn't.

It seems like you can post more on Quick Little message.

Speaker A

00:01:48.460 - 00:01:52.620

So are you in charge of the Twitter account for Southeast Engine, or do y' all each do your own thing?

Speaker B

00:01:52.780 - 00:02:05.540

I say that I would update the Twitter page and the Facebook page. It's mainly me updating them. And then sometimes, occasionally the other band members will post something, but it's mostly me.

Speaker A

00:02:05.780 - 00:02:06.820

Is that by choice?

Speaker B

00:02:08.340 - 00:02:44.900

I don't know. I just started. I just started doing it. And the drummer, Leo DeLuca, he posts stuff occasionally. It just kind of happened that way, I guess.

I don't really. It wasn't really too deliberate a Friend of mine, he's in a band from Boston called Hallelujah.

The Hills had posted his video that he did for it on Facebook. I saw it, I was like, oh, that's a good idea. And I just got out the little flip video camera and my wife is in the video.

She's the one that's filming it. I just asked her, you can see in the video, me asking her to film it, to do a song for Couch by Couch Bus.

And I did an old time song called Cripple Creek and I played it on banjo.

Speaker A

00:02:45.140 - 00:02:57.080

As I said, that was how I found you all.

So when I then went and researched what you all do as a band, I was like, oh, not quite old time music here, but, you know, that's what I was expecting. How did Southeast Engine form originally?

Speaker B

00:02:57.240 - 00:03:34.820

As early as 1999, me and my brother and Leo DeLuca the drummer, all grew up in Dayton, Ohio, like a suburb right outside Dayton. And then Leo and I went to school in Athens, went to college here at Ohio University. And I don't know, it was a pretty typical story, really.

We just liked a lot of the same music. And he was playing drums and I was starting to write some songs and we just started playing music together. And that's basically it. There's really.

There's really no great tale behind it, but pretty typical. This is Adam Remnant of Southeast Engine. You're listening to Country Fried Rock. You can find us [email protected].

Speaker A

00:03:34.980 - 00:03:36.740

How'D you learn to play music originally?

Speaker B

00:03:36.740 - 00:04:06.710

I think when I was in, like sixth or seventh grade, like 12, 13 years old, me and my other.

One of my other brothers who's not in the band, we grew up, we got really into Nirvana and so Nirvana was breaking and we became obsessed and we both. Our parents bought us both really cheap electric guitars and got us in guitar lessons. And I don't know, we were just completely obsessed. We just.

I've been completely obsessed with rock and roll ever since, and I haven't been the same.

Speaker A

00:04:07.430 - 00:04:09.990

So did y' all have kind of your family Nirvana cover band?

Speaker B

00:04:09.990 - 00:04:19.610

Oh, yeah. We would.

We would do little fake concerts in our bedroom and we'd set up cardboard boxes and pretend they were amps and then smash our guitars into the cardboard boxes.

Speaker A

00:04:20.010 - 00:04:20.570

Awesome.

Speaker B

00:04:21.770 - 00:04:23.930

Oh, yeah. I mean, what a great way to start.

Speaker A

00:04:24.890 - 00:04:31.850

So you say you. You became obsessed with rock and roll ever since. Once you branched out from your Nirvana fandom, where did you head?

Speaker B

00:04:31.850 - 00:05:28.100

Well, I was into other, like, alternative bands like Dinosaur, junior Zebedo, and bands like that. But then There was some Dayton stuff too, like Guided by Voices readers were out there and.

But then as I got a little bit older, I started, you know, exploring more like classic rock, like the Beatles and Bob Dylan. And really I think that's more.

The sound of Southeast Engine is kind of more based on 60s and 70s, you know, rock and roll and folk rock and things like that, Things of that nature.

Growing up with those records, I mean, I just remember, you know, my dad had a copy of the Beatles White album, listening to that when I was in ninth. Somehow I missed hearing the Beatles growing up. And I just remember hearing the Beatles when I was in like ninth grade.

And it just sounded totally bizarre to me.

It actually took me a little while to get used to how they sound, which I think for a lot of people seem strange, but because most people it's just they sound so natural because you heard them growing up. But somehow my parents didn't play it around the house. And so it took me a little while to get used to it.

But then I just became completely obsessed with the Beatles and Bob Dylan.

Speaker A

00:05:28.500 - 00:05:30.900

So what was the music scene like at OU when you were there?

Speaker B

00:05:31.140 - 00:06:12.930

There's sort of two aspects to it. There's the rock clubs uptown, which have a lot of garage rock type bands.

And then when I was first going to school here, there was a lot of jam bands around, which, you know, I like the Grateful Dead and some of that stuff. But I was curious of having Southeast Engine be something different than the garage rock and the jam band scene today.

There's a lot of like indie rock sounding bands in Athens. Each club kind of has its own vibe, you know, like the Union. And there's a lot of rock and roll happening there.

And then there's bars that kind of cater more towards jam ban and things like. But there's also a real like old time music element here. Sort of Appalachian old time music. Not necessarily bluegrass, but old time.

Speaker A

00:06:12.930 - 00:06:13.330

Right.

Speaker B

00:06:13.490 - 00:06:42.510

And there's a couple groups around here that play that music and that influenced us more recently. But I think it was always kind of an influence living here and those sounds just seeping in. Folk music in general, going back to the 20s and 30s.

You can find all our albums [email protected] and you can also find information on the band there. And you can actually read all the lyrics, hear certain songs from each of our [email protected] that was a pretty intentional.

Speaker A

00:06:42.510 - 00:06:47.870

Choice then in terms of a production method. Who had you read about that did it that way that you wanted to emulate I don't know.

Speaker B

00:06:47.870 - 00:07:25.170

Even, you know, most of the Bob Dylan albums are all always recorded live, Even a lot of the Beatles stuff. The basic tracking was recorded live.

And even really, you know, even going back and looking like the Beach Boys, Pet Sounds and Smile sessions, even these really advanced production techniques and arrangements, a lot of the basic tracking was still done with the group. You put the work into that initial live performance, and then you just do the overdub.

I only wanted to overdub stuff that we couldn't do, that we couldn't do in those initial tracks, you know, because we had our hands full.

Speaker A

00:07:25.250 - 00:07:26.370

Who did y' all work with?

Speaker B

00:07:26.450 - 00:07:36.590

We work with a studio here in Athens called Three Elliot Studios, and there's a engineer, slash producer there named Josh Antonuccio. We've been working with him since our first studio album.

Speaker A

00:07:36.910 - 00:07:38.430

That's nice to have that continuity.

Speaker B

00:07:38.590 - 00:07:51.790

Yeah, I just. Josh and us, we speak the same language musically.

I feel like we have the same vocabulary, and he just gets our perspective and where we're coming from and. And he's just a really good friend of ours, so I always feel really comfortable in the studio.

Speaker A

00:07:51.790 - 00:07:56.670

Sure. That goes along well, especially if you're going to be tracking live. That really makes a difference.

Speaker B

00:07:57.260 - 00:08:11.100

Yeah, yeah. And Josh is. You know, Josh has been.

He's sort of been like the fifth member of the band in a lot of ways, and he sort of evolved with us, and, you know, we're always. You know, he'll challenge us and we'll challenge him. You know, it's been a really good relationship.

Speaker A

00:08:11.100 - 00:08:15.260

Do you feel that you have captured the sound you want to capture in your recording?

Speaker B

00:08:15.580 - 00:08:39.750

Yeah, I do. I mean, I. You know, each. I think all the albums that we've done there at 3 Elliott Studios sound great. Each.

Each time we make an album, you always kind of. I don't know what it is, but you always see musicians kind of swinging back and forth with each album, like.

Well, you know, the last time we had the album was really epic and dense, and this time we wanted more space. I don't know. That's just a natural tendency where you want to compensate for what you've done previously.

Speaker A

00:08:39.910 - 00:08:40.310

Sure.

Speaker B

00:08:40.630 - 00:08:49.950

And you just maybe just don't want to repeat the same things, do the same things over and over. But. So I think with each album, we've gone for a specific thing, been able to achieve it.

Speaker A

00:08:49.950 - 00:08:53.290

If someone were to see you live currently, what would they expect?

Speaker B

00:08:53.770 - 00:09:32.300

Well, right now we're doing about at least half of the new album, Canary, and we typically just choose Songs that translate best live. We definitely differentiate between how to work in a studio and how to work in a live setting.

So I think in the live shows, you know, whatever songs from each album have translated the best live over the years. And then we're definitely wanting to pull some from our new material and our new album.

And we definitely play songs from all of our previous albums as well. Typically we try to keep it largely with high energy songs. We do play some quieter ones too. We don't shy away from doing a quiet song.

Try to, you know, reign things back sometimes.

Speaker A

00:09:32.380 - 00:09:34.219

So you do road test new material?

Speaker B

00:09:34.460 - 00:09:58.320

We do sometimes. It just depends. Yeah.

Like we were definitely doing some of the songs from our new album before it came out and I don't know, sometimes that's a good idea, sometimes maybe it's not, but because you're still working out the arrangements and I just feel like sometimes you can practice a song a million times in your basement, but you're really not going to figure out how to play live until you start playing it live.

Speaker A

00:09:58.320 - 00:09:58.720

Right.

Speaker B

00:09:59.520 - 00:10:09.520

I just find that we'll think that we've got it down completely and then you go play live and I don't know, usually it takes a few times in front of an audience for it to really start clicking the way you want it to.

Speaker A

00:10:10.080 - 00:10:17.600

What song off of Canary changed the most from that original, like Play in the Basement to the actual choice of heading into the studio with...