Best of 2009: The Interviews: My Cousin, The Emperor

Sinister Girlz: First of all congratulations on an amazing album, “A Long Way From Home” has been selected as one of SinisterGirlz.com’s Best of 2009. What was the creative process like for this album?

My Cousin, The Emperor: Thank you very much. I wanted to write a record that a band could play live on stage. 2 guitars, bass, and drums. I had done some records in the past that were hard to recreate on a stage without a lot of people, so I wanted this record to sound like what we sounded like any given night, at a bar, or venue.  We spent about 2 months arranging the songs, letting them come together naturally, playing with different ideas. Like I said, we wanted to record the album live, so we arranged the songs as we would play them live. We wanted to limit ourselves, and record without the aid of unlimited tracks in a modern recording studio. I wanted everyone in the studio at the same time, looking each other in the eye, playing music and just capturing the energy of the performances.

I wasn’t really concerned if the tempo dragged, or if a wrong note was hit, I just wanted it to sound like a band playing in a room together.  That’s what I love about so many old records. So many records released today don’t sound like that at all. If we did a take and everyone was happy, then we moved on to the next song. We didn’t really spend a lot of time over analyzing anything. I don’t think we did any song more than 3 or 4 takes, with some of them being done on the first take. We recorded the bulk of the record in 2 days. It’s a record that captures how we sounded as a band that week in the studio. I think it’s great, and I think you can hear that we were having fun. It was a very pleasurable experience making this record.

SG: The album has been praised in numerous publications, like Time Out New York, what does that do to the band’s psyche?

My Cousin, The Emperor: It hasn’t affected us one bit (laughs). No, we’re taking it all in stride. It’s always a great honor when someone wants to praise you in a public forum. I feel very flattered when I see those things, but I don’t let it get in the way. I don’t think any of other guys do too. I think it’s a great album. I’m happy that other people feel the same way. So much about music today is the single, and the image. It’s nice to know that people do get past the second track on an album, and listen to it as an entire piece of work.

SG: How would you categorize your music? What sound were you guys initially going for?

My Cousin, The Emperor: We were going for a natural, live, working band sound. I was obsessed with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles while I was writing this record. I wanted us to sound like Smokey’s band. They were smoking hot… excuse the pun (laughs) I would be more than happy if we sounded like Smokey’s band on a bad night (laughs) I love those old Motown records. I love how it’s melodic and it makes you want to dance. But for some reason, when I try to play that old r&b stuff it comes out with a country tinge. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, it’s just what it is. I think you could categorize our music has melodic and it makes you want to dance… with a country tinge.

SG: You were featured in this year’s CMJ showcase what was that experience like?

My Cousin, The Emperor: We had just released our record and played at Joe’s Pub the week before. A record release can be pretty nerve-wracking, and I was feeling the stress. I thought our Joe’s show was great. We had a bit of the nerves, but it helped make the night special. For the CMJ gig, we were able to just be a band and play music. We were on fire. I have very positive memories of that showcase. I would have liked to have been in the audience because we were a different band that night. We were in fifth gear. I think Terry may have been possessed.

SG: Overall what has been the crowd’s reaction on the road?

My Cousin, The Emperor: Well, we are a high energy band, and the crowds seem to really feed off of us. There are many times when I veer from the set list so I can keep people dancing in front of me. I love it.

SG: What do you hope listeners take away from listening to this album?

My Cousin, The Emperor: I hope they like the songs.  I hope they get the melodies stuck in their head, and that they get mad at me for it. I hope they like the sound of the record, the guitars, the vocals.  I hope a lyric or two jumps out at them and makes them think of the song (or their life) in a different way. You know, we do these things because we have passion. I hope that you can hear the passion, or that it makes you feel passion. I think we made a really good record, with all the songs being considered just as important as the next.  I was like a parent to eleven children.  I had no favorites, and I wanted them all to succeed.  I think they all do. I hope that they will listen to the entire record, because I’ve been known to put the best song on the record second to last as a reward for those who listen to the whole thing.

SG: What are your plans and goals for 2010?

My Cousin, The Emperor: I think we are going to release 4 EPs this year.  I already have the majority of the songs written. We’ve been preparing new material to be recorded in Feb. More shows, more cities, more music.

For more on the band and their album, “A Long Way From Home” visit their website http://www.myspace.com/mycousintheemperor