Last night, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing my friend Adam McElreath of Big Big Buildings right after their show at the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA. Here is the transcript of that interview:
Can you give your name and what you do in the band?
Adam: My name is Adam McElreath and I play guitar and sing and I basically write all the songs.
How did you come up with the name Big Big Buildings?
Adam: Actually, I was walking around downtown Boston at 4:30 in the morning cause I used to work a very early shift at a coffee shop and I'd be hungover and drunk all at the same time and just walking around in that kind of weathered state looking at a city with no one around and the only thing surrounding you are big, big buildings and that's the only phrase that sticks out in your mind, it's the only thing you can process at that moment. And it's kind of an innocent sounding thing in a way, just something that sounds like it would come from a 5 year old. So, it's got a few meanings, but it can take on whatever kind of meaning you want it to. A building isn't just a edifice, it's something you build and that can be something that's music or art.
Can you tell us which musicians most regularly appear in Big Big Buildings?
Adam: That would be myself, JM Craven on guitar, Ryan Ward on bass, Gina Alibrio on keys, Also, James Griffin on strings and space noises and Dave Chardo on drums.
Now, with Big Big Buildings, would you consider this to be a solo project or more of a rotating group effort?
Adam: Well, it started out as just me just writing songs solo, but I found out more and more that the people I know, when singing along, had their own twist on singing the songs, and they were pretty drawn into actually singing them and really projecting them, it was just a wild thing for me to see unfolding, and I give the project itself a name that was not my actual name so I'd like get a rotating lineup of people and not just one solidified way that it has to be. Because most of the music that influences me is stuff that isn't definite, you can listen to something and it's nice to hear more than one voice, it's nice to hear more than one instrument in a project.
Is there a general theme or subject matter that runs through your music?
Adam: As far as subject matter goes, it's either things I experience that I want to put to song, or it's things that are just concepts, like compassion and understanding. Love is a big topic because who really even knows what that is, so I just only aspire to go places lyrically and I'd set the band in motion to take more of a finely tuned musical direction.
What musicians most inspired you when you were growing up and how have they helped shape you as an artist?
Adam: There are so many, oh my god. I'm just gonna roll with the ones that come to my head: Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon. My Morning Jacket, Michael Jackson, a band called The Appleseed Cast, and I've got a slew of songs that I've heard in my childhood that are embedded in my memory which have also shaped how I play the music I play and I feel as though an artist by the name of MF Doom has alot to do with what I do, but also his counterpart, Mr. Bob Dylan. So, I will basically listen to anything that is truly meant or just expression in its simplicity and that kind of way of thinking has really shaped my songs and it's had a very, very deep impact on me as a person. I do what I want to do just to make anyone feel anything. Hope is something that people are looking for and I don't know if I can give them that, but I can sure sing them songs while they're looking for it.
Have you always been into music from the very beginning or was it just something that you happened to come across and decided that it was a creative outlet to express yourself?
Adam: I had been aspiring to do alot of art in my childhood up until I was a teenager and I did solely that for a long time, and my mom bought me a guitar when I was 14 for Christmas and I just never put it down, I never gave up on it. It was probably because I looked at the guitar and just thought about these artists that just won't quit with this unrelenting optimism or pessimism and I just wanted to keep creating and it always stuck with me. I've been into music since I was a little kid, very very little.
What do you love the most about performing live?
Adam: The thing that I love the most about performing live has to be when a roomful of people who are deep in conversation and elevating in their volume. It's when they all of a sudden fall silent and are just face forward to you and listening. For a person to actually stop and listen is something that I feel is disappearing in this day and age. But that's just my outlook on the situation. But I love playing live only because I love the people who come to see me, they're some great friends and if they're fans too, that's just a bonus, but people who come out to support it are people I want to keep around and I'm very thankful for them.
What songs from Big Big Buildings are you most proud of and feel best represent you?
Adam: A song called "Burning Leaves Float Burning" which is a phrase that I stumbled upon last summer. A man was talking about cleaning brush away from a fireplace and ordered me and my friends to rake it up and push it to the side and the reason he gave for doing so was "Burning leaves float burning" and we never heard another word out of him for the rest of the night and that was a phrase that just sent my imagination wild. I just had such a natural feel of that song. Also, a song called "Orange Room" which is probably my only song of bliss and the moment when your affection feels returned. I read alot of songs about unrequited feelings and I feel like "Orange Room" is the one that is like a person looking you directly in the eyes being in that very same moment with you.
What do you think is the crucial element that sets Big Big Buildings apart from other artists out there?
Adam: I'd have to say that it's the fact that the people I play music with and write music for are some of my best friends, and the collective group that I'm a part of, I believe truly are some of the most talented people I've ever stumbled across in my life and it kind of raises the bar when your human experience needs to be portrayed to those people that you love. And you just want to paint something exquisite for those around you to enjoy, and that's what really encapsulates the writing of these songs for me.
If someone asked you what genre of music you play, what would you tell them?
Adam: I get very distracted with genres, because I don't know about other musicians, but as far as the way I do it, I don't sit down with a guitar and decide what kind of song I'm going to play, it's a stream of consciousness most of the time. Most of the songs don't even have words and I'm just babbling in some harmonious motion over a few chords and the words will write themselves most of the time. I'd have to say if you were to give it a name, it would be Life Chorus.
What artists are currently in regular rotation in your CD player?
Adam: I've been listening to Astral Weeks by Van Morrison which is an album that is completely breaking my heart. As of late, I've been buried in Bob Dylan. I've only gotten so far in his catalogue but I've just lingered on his solo stuff for so long and it never fails to blow my mind. Also, I've been listening to the new Appleseed Cast album, "Sagarmartha" and that band in particular is a band that never ceases to just give me what I want from music and it's all the things that I really cherish about music, it's cinematic, it's twangy without being whiny, it's experimental, it's just nothing I've ever heard before every time I hear it.
If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one album to listen to the entire time, which album would you pick?
Adam: I'd honestly have to say probably "Z" by My Morning Jacket. That album is something that I saw played almost in its entirety by the Boston Pops and that's how that band in particular was introduced to me. It was an epic experience that has just kept giving to me since, so I'd have to say "Z".
What does the future hold for Big Big Buildings, are you going to be releasing an album anytime soon?
Adam: We are going to be recording an album right now, we're in the process and we've got a few solo songs and probably 6 or 7 songs with the band and maybe a few just kind of noise tracks, if you'd call them that. But we'll be doing a record release hopefully somewhere in the Cambridge/Boston area and I'll be doing all the art and the flyerwork for that so there's gonna be a period of time very soon where I just don't leave my room probably for a straight month and I'm gonna come out of my room with a bunch of drawings and demos and goodies for all of my good friends.
One last question before I let you go, What is the one thing that you want people to get out of your music?
Adam: The one thing that I want people to take from these songs is connection and music from where I stand is connection, whether you like it or you don't, it's there in front of you and it's all around you, and I think even if you have negative feelings about what you're listening to, part of you is very thankful it's there and I just really hope we can tap into that part of the brain and give it a good rub.
Thanks once again to my friend Adam McElreath for lending me some of his time for this interview! If you want to check out the music of Big Big Buildings, head on over to their MySpace page at: www.myspace.com/bigbigbuildings
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