AB / SBN = Alicia Bowen / SwitchBitch Noise
TGatG = The Grape and the Grain
AB / SBN : What influenced the sound for your newest album?
TGatG : We all listen to tons of music. All different styles. Anything from Rock, Metal, Country, and Blues, to Jazz and Hip Hop. We’re just lovers of music, and so we’re all kinda grabbing influences from a lot of different places. There is one band that was referenced through out the sessions, and that was Queens Of The Stone Age. We all love that band. Through out the sessions whenever anyone would get stuck on a part we would say, “WWJD?”, what would Josh do…
Chris Bittner (Engineer, Mix, and Master for this album), also had a huge hand in helping us get the right tones for the album. He seemed to always know the right amp/pedal combo for everything. Chris and Michael Birnbaum did a great job on the mix as well. We’re all very happy with it.
AB / SBN : What’s your favorite song to perform?
TGatG : Honestly, I really love playing them all. But recently we added “Ghost” to the set, and that has been really fun to play.
AB / SBN : What’s your least favorite song to perform?
TGatG : I don’t think I have one. I love to play live, and we try to be creative musically with every show, so even if there are times I’m not “feeling” a song at one show, it usually turns out I love that song the next show.
AB / SBN : What is the story behind the bands name?
TGatG : It comes from the old saying “you don’t mix the grape and the grain”. I learned from experience how sick that can make you! There was a night on tour with ‘3’, a bunch of years back, where we had drank some beers and then broke into a bottle of wine. All that partook the night before, were not feeling well the next day, and we just kept saying “you don’t mix the grape and the grain!”. That became a long running joke in the band, and when it came time to find a name for this project, that came to mind, and here we are!
AB / SBN : Favorite song you’ve written so far?
TGatG : It’s hard to pick a favorite. They all have a special place in my heart. Even the ones I don’t like anymore.
AB / SBN : What’s it like going from the bassist in 3 to having your own band?
TGatG : It’s really exciting! Honestly sometimes I still have the moment of “I can’t believe this is working out!”. I wasn’t really sure if I could be a lead singer, or front man, or anything like that, and I think that was maybe partly why I wanted to do this at first. To challenge myself to step forward from the back of the stage. Turns out I had no idea what I was doing! I lucked out in my early musical career, as a backing musician for amazing, professional, charismatic performers. They all made it look so easy! I was terrified our first show! It’s funny, if I have a Bass in my hand and Joey Eppard is the front man, and there’s 40,000 people in front of me, I’m not scared at all. My first night as a lead singer there was 30 people at the show, and I was so god damn scared! But, we got on stage, and we worked through it together, and sure, I fucked up a bunch at that show, but it was fun! That show was at a venue called BSP in our home town, Kingston, NY. We just had our album release show there on Nov 8th 2014, coincidentally that first show was on Nov 9th 2012, almost two years exactly! The first two have been great, and I’m excited for the future.
AB / SBN : Are you guys planning on going on any tours or writing new music in 2015?
TGatG : We are! We are planning on doing some touring starting in February, and probably continuing throughout the Spring, and Summer. As for new music, we are always writing. We’ve already started working on the next record!
AB / SBN : Any motivational words for your fans?
TGatG: Come up to the front of the stage. However that may apply to in your life. Don’t be afraid to take that risk, and try to do something you maybe didn’t think you could do. It might turn out that you can do it.
Connect with The Grape And The Grain :
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Bandcamp
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ReverbNation
Instagram: @grapegrainmusic
