For those who aren’t familiar with your band, can you give us a run-down of the history?
Well, the first seeds of Glower were planted in 2011 when my other band Hands was beginning work on our album for Facedown Records called Give Me Rest. I had been the drummer for that band, but decided to take a stab at writing some guitar parts. As it turned out, the stuff I was writing was much more melodic than the hardcore that Hands was known for and didn’t work for that project. We also decided to stop touring at that time. I had always had a desire to do an alternative-rock project, so I decided to go for it now that I could devote myself fully. I started Glower and Shane (Ochsner, Hands vocalist) started Everything in Slow Motion.
I started sending files back and forth over the internet with my friend Ryan and he recruited Sean Murray, who is now the other half of Glower. After demoing out a couple of tracks that wound up on split 7″ albums, we got to work on what became The Circle Binds.
Your Facebook page references many bands that we are familiar with at DTL (The Choir, Michael Knott, The Violet Burning, etc). What is your connection with those bands? Did you grow up with them, discover them recently, etc?
Man, I love those artists and have been into them for years now even though I missed them in their heyday. I grew up on the next generation of Christian alternative and hardcore when it had started to break out of the underground. in the late 90’s early 00’s. Stuff like Plankeye, Bleach, Further Seems Forever, Mewithoutyou, Hopesfall, etc.
I was obsessed with the scene to the point that my mom bought me this amazing book called The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music by Mark Allen Powell. My favorite album of all time is The Violet Burning’s 1996 self-titled record so I went through the entire thing looking for any band that had any connections or references to TVB.
I wound up getting into other bands of the era like The Prayer Chain and Starflyer 59. From there it was a small step to The Choir, The Seventy Sevens, Daniel Amos, King’s X, Knott etc. And I just kept on that journey discovering great music. I’ll never forget the day I got a copy of the 77’s self-titled album for Island. Blew my mind. I actually have a “Do it for Love” tattoo. So yeah, the mid 80’s to mid 90’s Christian scene was very influential for me even though I wasn’t there for it.
So why go for a 90s influenced sound in 2015? Why not just go the Coldplay/Mumford route to super-stardom?
First, I don’t think there is any shot at “super-stardom” in our future no matter what style of music we play! Sean and I just want to write music that we love and many of our influences come from a certain era. Outside of the Christian world we are both into bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Hum, Failure, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, Quicksand, etc. I also love more pop-oriented stuff like Third Eye Blind and Everclear. That was just such a great time for music.
Our stuff definitely has some serious 90’s vibes, but I don’t think it’s stuck in the past. I for sure carried some of the hardcore sensibilities along with me from Hands. Weird time signatures and hard hitting riffs. Sean also brings his own flair to the mix helping to keep things current. He’s a phenomenal musician with a great ear for melody and pays attention to detail. He adds so much to the songs I write and elevates them to a different level. He’s also an amazing song-writer. That will come out more on the next record.
How did you become signed to Broken Circle Records? Is there any type of scene that you are a part of that facilitated this, or are “scenes” dead where you live?
I met Brent from Broken Circles years ago when Hands was playing Cornerstone. He had recently started the label and expressed an interest in releasing our Sounds Of Earth Album on vinyl. That never came to fruition, but I always kept him in the back of my mind. When Glower got rolling I approached him about releasing a split 7″ for us and a band called …Of Sinking Ships featuring a former member of Hopesfall. He was all about it and that kicked off our relationship.
After recording The Circle Binds, we shopped it around and actually had the interest of a significantly larger label. At the end of the day though, we just didn’t feel comfortable with their offer and asked Brent if he wanted to release the album, which he did. My great experience working with Jason Dunn and the folks at Facedown led me to see the value in putting relationships first when partnering with a label. Even though Broken Circles is a smaller platform, it’s a great fit for us. Brent is all about the art and has some very cool bands on his roster.
Related to that, do you get to play live, and if so, what is a Glower show like?
Crazy as this sounds, we have yet to play a show. We finally have a live band put together and are booking some gigs for the summer to help push the album. I have no idea what a Glower show looks like. Hopefully it’s amazing. Or at the very least, I hope we don’t totally suck! Either way, I’m looking forward to finding out.
What does one do in North Dakota? Is music your full time thing, or are there other things to do there?
Haha. I love North Dakota. There’s this perception that we are a boring state. Not true. We have beautiful geography. Rolling plains, river valleys, the Badlands. We camp and hike, lots of outdoors stuff. The winters are long, but that’s what Settlers of Catan is for!
Sean and I actually live in the capitol city, Bismarck. We both work and are married. Sean has a daughter and she keeps him plenty busy. My wife Rachel and I work with everyone else’s kids. She’s a social worker and I work with young people who have wound up on the wrong side of the law. So that takes up a lot of time. Never a dull day.
Music isn’t full time anymore, but it’s still a major endeavor. I hesitate to call it a “hobby” because we put so much time and effort into it. It’s definitely a passion.
What is better: vinyl, CD, or mp3?
I’m pretty much strictly a vinyl and iPod guy at this point. I love being able to have a billion songs at my fingertips wherever and whenever. I am not a digital hater. That said, I have like 2,500 albums on vinyl. There is something special about the experience and aesthetic. I love being able to look at the full-size artwork on the sleeve and the sound of the needle in the groove. It’s probably all in my head, but that’s fine.
What is your opinion on the state of the music industry today?
You know, it’s anyone’s guess. Things have changed so much in the past decade. Album sales are abysmal even for huge bands. That’s unfortunate because it dries up the revenue stream for bands to record albums and make a living off their art. I really do think folks who enjoy music should support the folks who create it. But, it is what it is. I’ve resolved myself to the idea of working in the “real world” to support my own art. Having said that, I hope everyone buys the record so I don’t have to go broke to make the next one!
Discuss the new album a bit – what are your favorite moments on it and why?
This is a really special album for me. I don’t know what everyone else will think. But, I really got to spread my wings as a songwriter on this outing. There’s alternative, pop, rock and roll, subtle undertones of hardcore, an acoustic ballad… it’s just a really diverse album. But I think it all fits together.
My favorite song is “Like Arrows.” It has everything from complex riffing to big sugary vocal hooks to a ripping guitar solo. There’s even a breakdown at the end. Somehow with all that packed in it doesn’t feel disjointed. Then there is the big Beach Boys sounding choral part at the end of “Low Motion.” I had been listening to DA’s Horrendous Disc quite a bit at the time. Haha. I also like the closing ballad which is the title song. I wrote it shortly after the passing of my grandfather, which I was present for. It was a very moving experience that got me thinking about beginnings and endings, how they tend to intertwine and mirror one another.
Finally I absolutely love the album artwork by Randy Mora. He is an artist from Colombia and he totally nailed it. Even if you hate the music, it’s worth buying the record for the cover!
What do you think the future holds for Glower?
Well, the album comes out on June 23rd through Broken Circles. It will be available on vinyl (350 half baby blue/half highlighter yellow, 150 black) and digitally. You can get that at the Broken Circles website. As I mentioned earlier, we’re getting ready to finally take this thing live, so that’s very exciting. We’re hoping to play some regional shows and possibly some festivals in the future. We’re also already neck deep in writing for the next album which we plan on recording this fall/winter. It never stops!
Bonus pictures not in article:
Leave a Reply