- Dj's
- Record Labels
- Other websites of interest
The American Analog Set
For some time, I’d been reading great things about a quiet band from Texas called
the American Analog Set. And when wandering through record stores, I’d often pick up their
first two albums, The Fun Of Watching Fireworks and From Our Living Room To Yours,
drawn in by their very unique sleeve design and song titles. But because I always imagined them as
being either too slow to be interesting or merely some Stereolab wannabes, I never actually
bought anything by them. When I received a promotional copy of their third album, The Golden
Band, though, it swept all those pesky misconceptions right out of my head. The gorgeous tunes
I heard had more in common with jazz, folk, and classical pop than with anything of the
Krautrock variety. Aware at last of my mistake, I tracked down their other material and
discovered in full the bright five-year career of this wonderful young band. Soon after, I
decided to email the Set’s singer/guitarist Andrew Kenny some burning questions I had about
their music.
When and how did the band form?
Fort Worth [Texas] 1994. The usual story – we were all friends having a good time playing in
our living rooms. After a few months, we stopped playing, for one reason or another. Then, a
year later, I was digging though our four-track cassettes and found a recording of us
practicing. I made copies for everyone involved and added a few songs I had been working on.
A few months later, we were playing again, working on songs that would eventually compose
the bulk of 1996’s The Fun Of Watching Fireworks. Kurt and Greg, two original members, had
too much going on at the time and didn’t rejoin. That’s when I started playing more guitar and Lee joined and began playing bass.
Please list the name of each band member and explain their role and what instruments they
play.
Lee Gilespie plays bass guitar. I play guitar and sing. Lisa Roschmann plays organ and electric
piano. Mark Smith plays the drums. Of course, when it comes time to record, people bounce around
a little, adding parts here and there. Oh, and when we’ve gone on tour, we’ve always brought
along someone extra to play second guitar, tambourine, shaker, etc. That’s been Shawn O’Keefe
and Josh Wright.
How did the band start working with Emperor Jones?
We began our relationship with [them] the simplest way possible - we sent a demo to EJ/Trance
Syndicate and they liked it. We came and played one show in Austin, met King and Craig, and that
was that. Diana Slowburner ii and Hi Fi vs. Guy Fi were from the original demo and needed
only to be mastered before release. The whole process was rather quick.
How have your goals as a band changed since you started playing together?
We never outlined any concrete goals. We just liked playing together. We did create a few rules
to abide by, should we ever achieve any amount of success – 1) Don’t release a ton of singles
that are impossible to find; 2) Don’t release anything as a ‘limited edition’…like we’re
something special, right?; 3) Should we ever play live, no encores please (this also goes under
the ‘like we’re something special, right?’ category). For the most part, we’ve stuck to
everything. We’ve played three encores in our time together but they were all very special
circumstances.
Did you always imagine yourselves as this sort of homemade band?
Sure, we like being ‘homemade.’ And I think being realistic and a little humble is the thread
that holds us together.
The Golden Band title seems to signify a sort of rebirth as a band, or at least a
conscious realization that you’ve been around for five years. Where did the name/concept
come from?
The Golden Band is about Lee, Lisa, Mark and myself. We have spent a good amount of time
together writing, recording, and touring. All of the songs are about our mutual friendships
and the commitments we’ve made to one another. The title is more about the faith and the trust
we have for one another after our five-year marriage.
Did you get a lot of Stereolab comparisons when you first started? Does the press often
overemphasize the fact that you make relatively slow and quiet music?
We have always gotten a lot of comparisons to Stereolab. When we first started, we got
comparisons to Spiritualized too. Now that they’re not in the media eye so much, we get
comparisons to more popular bands like Low and Belle And Sebastian. When reading a review,
we can usually identify two distinct types of reviewers. There are people who have the record
and review it because they like it, and there are people who crack open the press kit, read
the one-sheet, and maybe skim the CD once. It must seem like I’m getting off the subject,
but this is why the ‘slow and quiet’ emphasis is appreciated so much. I think it’s a much
better way to describe us than a comparison to another band. It’s funny, though – when
I see bands get compared to us, I’m strangely flattered.
What variety of musical influences do you think play a part in the band?
Our musical backgrounds are different and they don’t manifest themselves in very obvious
ways. Sure, we’re all fans of popular music and when you get right down to it, that’s the
kind of music we make. But Mark and Lee grew up listening to punk rock, I grew up listening
to the usual 80’s alt bands, and Lisa’s tastes are all over the place. Late 80’s and early
90’s Brit-rock is about the only type of music we can all agree on the Smiths, Ride,
Blur, the Stone Roses, and so on. And I don’t see that influence surfacing very often.
Do you think your music relates well to film scores?
We’ve talked about doing a soundtrack for a film. I think we’d be ideal for a soundtrack
and I’d love to work on that type of project. We were approached a few times on tour this
last summer, but nothing has materialized yet. We’re not getting our hopes up though.
We’ll [probably] work ourselves to death on a soundtrack and it’ll turn out that the
lighting director’s sister is Jewel, and she’ll write a hit and get us booted off the
project. You know how these things work. Luckily, we’re thinking ahead.
Your songs have consistently interesting titles. How do they usually come about?
Mark and Lee come up with the best song titles. Mine usually have something to do with
the lyrics. I don’t know where Mark and Lee get their ideas but they should be writing
the lyrics too. Here’s a great example: I Must Soon Quit The Scene and Will The Real
Danny Radnor Please Stand? are Mark and Lee’s [ideas]. And here’s my contribution:
The Wait and Weather Report and so on. Yawn.
How you approach writing lyrics?
Writing lyrics is a chore. When I dream, I dream of a self-less lyricist donating their
words to less fortunate songwriters like myself.
Did your contribution to Darla’s Bliss Out series give the band a chance to be more
indulgent and delve even further into some of the most droning aspects of your previous
records?
Sure, the Darla EP was the most self-indulgent thing we’ve ever done. However,
repetitive and ambient was the theme of the series and that’s exactly how we approached it.
At least, that’s the excuse that allows me to sleep at night. When we began working on the
new record, we were very aware that we’d walked that mile before and so we made the effort
to write shorter songs. I think that helped The Golden Band more than anything. There are
still passages that are longer than others, but on the whole, the lengths of the songs are
much shorter than on previous albums. If anything, that helped keep the ‘droning’ to a minimum.
Do you think that the name of the band can lead to some misleading preconceptions on the
part of critics and potential listeners?
I suppose so. We picked the name for a few reasons – it seemed catchy, it seemed appropriate,
and Brad Lanier nabbed the Electric Company (the band’s original name) while we weren’t
looking. In picking the name, though, we more or less cast ourselves in the roles of ‘analog
crusaders.’ We’re not anti-digital, and we certainly don’t think of ourselves as the zenith
of analog fidelity. When I hear people arguing the merits of either, I want to run. We all
have records [and] and we all have compact discs. We’re in a band called the American Analog
Set because that’s how we decided to do things. When we got together, ‘analog’ was synonymous
with ‘homemade.’ Now-adays, there are plenty of homemade bands putting albums together with
digital recorders. We have a lot more in common with them than with nice 24-track analog
studios. You can read anything into anything these days. People will say that we’re analog
because it’s morally superior, or that we’re ‘the golden band.’ Both of these statements
are misunderstandings.
How has the band’s live sound evolved over the years?
Our band history can be divided into two exclusive parts: Pre-Shawn and the Shawn Years.
Shawn O’Keefe is the mortar that holds us together live. He ran sound on the last tour and
made us worth seeing without ever picking up an instrument, although he did on occasion.
After a few tours, we’re much better at playing live, even without Shawn. In the past, I
know songs suffered live because we didn’t know how to translate from album to performance.
It’s frustrating to leave a song at home when you like it and people request it. But if
you can’t play it without a major train wreck (e.g. Hi Fidelity vs. Guy Fidelity and
White House), then save it. Gone To Earth is a great example. People always asked for it,
but we could never pull it off at practice. It just didn’t make sense until Shawn picked up the
guitar, and now it’s a staple.
Why do your songs often come in different parts or in suites?
We change songs around a good deal when we’re writing. Parts go in and others come out.
There have been times when we’ve finished and then said ‘but what about…?’. So a second
version of the same song will come about. That’s what happened with Diana Slowburner ii
and Two Way Diamond i & ii. I barely remember Diana i, but it’s on a reel somewhere.
New Drifters i, ii, iii, & iv are really iv, iii, v, and vi, in that order, but that
would be too confusing. Again, the original version of New Drifters is on an unmarked
four-track tape in a shoebox somewhere. And Don’t Wake Me, from the second, is a rewrite
of Too Tired To Shine i, [but] it’s so different from either of its siblings that it got
its own name.
What do you all do as far as work is concerned? Did you all go to college?
Let’s see. Lisa graduated last semester from the University of Texas with a computer science
degree. She works up north now. You need a badge to get within a hundred yards of the place,
so I haven’t been up there to visit her yet. Mark works at a local record shop and he’ll be
back at the university next semester. Lee drives a delivery van here in Austin and Shawn is
a new media major at the university. I’m there now too for studying molecular biology.
How do you think your new album is different from the others?
For some reason, we’ve always looked at these three albums as a series. While I think each
shows progression from the last, they all have a lot in common. They have a similar sound,
arrangement, incidental pieces linking longer songs, etc. We intended the artwork for all
three albums to be connected. They were all released in the summertime, just after a 7-inch
single. What’s different, of course, is the songwriting. The songs are shorter and more
up-tempo on the new album. I think that we complement one another a lot better than on
previous releases too. If we make another album, it will be different than the last three.
There are a couple of new elements that I’d like to establish, but it’s too soon to make any
promises.
The information on this site is © John Nguyen 27th September 2001
Return to top
