NEWS September 13, 2011

Q&A with Alpha Rev’s Alex Dunlap

This Saturday, September 17, Performer Magazine is presenting Alpha Rev live at Slim’s in San Francisco. You can get your tix here, or re-tweet “I wanna win @performermag” on Twitter for your chance to win a free pair! You can also post “I Wanna Win Alpha Rev Tix” on Performer’s Facebook page to enter.

We recently had a chance to catch up with Alpha Rev’s bassist, Alex Dunlap, for a quick Q&A. Here’s what he had to say…

You guys are known for incorporating stringed instruments into your line-up. Was that part of the plan from the start, or did that come about through experimentation?

We love to experiment with all sorts of sounds. Strings are so emotional. There is a classical element to how Casey writes that lends itself to dramatic motifs and accompaniments.

There’s a clear difference in sound between Endochine and Alpha Rev. Was there conscious choice to change things up after Endochine broke up?

No. I think it was anything but conscious. Alpha Rev started as a group of guys that would back up Casey playing his new tunes. We developed our sound by spending half of the last four years touring, recording and yelling at each other!

“New Morning” has brought you a new level of success. Will you be hitting the studio again soon, or will you be touring in support of the record for a little while longer?

We have a new EP coming out, and single impacting radio in September that we are super excited about. We did 10 songs live at Matchbox Studios with Dwight Baker. We got in a room, played the songs, and recorded them.. just like they use to do. We cut the whole thing live to tape- vocals and all. David Bianco is mixing some of it. He has worked with so many of our favorite artists and records, including “Wildflowers” and a bunch of other great Tom Petty records. We are also re-releasing “New Morning” on September 6th with a 10-song bonus disc featuring all the songs that we recorded for “New Morning” that never got released. They are some of the best songs we have written and we’re excited to get em out.

On stage, are there things that you find difficult to pull of from the recordings?

We are perfectionists and hold each other to higher standards than is probably fair. We understand that this is what we were made to do, and it’s our job to draw the audience in…if anything takes them out of the moment, or makes them feel disconnected- we have done a crappy job. That haunts us. There are things that are difficult to pull off, but we like to make a habit of practicing them until they are no longer difficult for the sake of the performance. It’s about getting lost in the music, but playing it to the very best of our abilities.. that can be a hard balance.

Likewise, in the studio, do you find it difficult to bring the same energy as your live show. And if so, how to you approach that problem?

No- producers, managers and A&R guys ducking into the studio provide sufficient anxiety to make you feel like you are playing to a crowd full of folks.

What should fans expect at your upcoming show at Slim’s in San Francisco?

We’ll play the soundtrack to Flaming Lips and Moody Blues getting married with Roy Orbison as the Minister……. and a lot of 3-part harmonies.

And finally, what should we expect in the future from Alpha Rev?

Expect us to keep doing what we’re doing…..trying to make music and be real about it. We’re really so appreciative of everyone that supports us in making it.

Photo by Darin Back

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