"The Slant"
Interview
Date Published: 6/5/2008
Date edited - unedited
Interview by: Daryl Green
“The Slant” is a 4-piece band from Pennsylvania bringing a unique sound to indie, folk and rock music.
Mark Zedonek
Brad Austin
Zach Dow
Andre Costello
(All questions answered by “The Slant” as a group)
NSM
How did “The Slant” start and how did you come up with the name?
The Slant- We started playing music in high school in a small town called Coudersport, PA. Our drummer Zach Dow and bassist Brad Austin started playing together at age 14 and wrote/recorded an album. At the same time our singer/guitarist Mark Zedonek was playing with another guitarist from our high school and they also recorded an album. Sometime around 2004 we played a show together to open for songwriter Larry Herbstritt, a local musician who had recently returned from working in L.A. and wanted to play for a home crowd. After that Zach started recording some drums on unreleased projects that Mark and Brad had been working on. This continued for about two years until the winter of 2006 when we collectively wrote and recorded our first released album called “Animanatomy.” This album also marks the beginning of Andre Costello’s involvement with the band as another guitarist/songwriter. “Animanatomy” was our actual beginning as the band as it exists today. In terms of the name of the group, we are fairly sure that a friend of the band suggested it. As we were tired of thinking of names that we all found to be rather disappointing, we decided that it was a good fit because the music is fairly accessible but we don’t bend from what we want in order to make people happy. There isn’t a great deal of emphasis about the name amongst us as a band or from our friends but we unofficially treat it like we’re somewhere between the norm and the abstract.
NSM
Let’s talk about your lives outside of music. What do you do for fun, jobs, hobbies, etc?
The Slant- Life outside of music is tough for us because it’s such an integral part of our daily lives. As of June 2008 we are living together as an entire band so there won’t be a great deal of non-band related activities. Up until this point we all attended different universities in PA and congregated to play shows during the weekend, leaving the 4 or 5 days between shows as our “outside of music life.” Eliminating the music aspect completely still leaves a somewhat difficult question to answer. Each of us has a significant other and we try to do our best to spend time with them and keep things running smoothly because we love them and they are as supportive of our interest in music as possible. The same is true of our families who are extremely important to us. The unique thing about the band is that we are all best friends on the side and really enjoy spending time together even if music isn’t present. In general we are just normal people who have a unique connection and we like to do the same things everybody does in their free time, though there is a bit of “old man” in each of our personalities that keeps us out of your average frat party, etc.
NSM
How has the support from these people affected you as musicians?
The Slant- Our families, friends, and girlfriends have made all the difference in our musical endeavors in so many ways. Our parents helped us acquire our first instruments and also provided practice space for us. Without them we couldn't have done any of this and it means the world to us that they were willing to help us financially and put up with the terrible sounds we first made on our instruments. They also had endless patience for the loud noise that generally came from one of our basements or garages and for anyone who has ever had to listen to young musicians who play far too loud, that's saying a lot about them.
We are also appreciative to musicians we used to play with that we may have lost touch or had a falling out with. Without them there would have never been any reason to keep learning about our instruments and whatever our relationships may be with them now, we are grateful that they were willing to have the experience with us.
For those of us with girlfriends, we love you and thanks for putting up with us.
Our brothers and sisters have always been great about the whole thing too. No one has ever said to us that we should stop what we're doing and for some of the situations we have found ourselves in that's probably the only thing that kept us going.
Finally, our friends have been so supportive of us by coming to shows and helping us whenever they have been able. We probably haven't let them know how appreciative we are of what they've done for us so we should say here that they're just as much a part of this whole thing as any of us. Thanks.
NSM
At what point in your lives did you decide you wanted to be musicians?
The Slant- Probably the first time any of us had an up-close experience with music that moved us. We all hold music very dear to us in the same way that some people have religion or sports or whatever. Pinpointing the actual date and time each of us decided to pursue music would be tedious, but from that initial spark we all rejected music as a spectator sport. None of us hold on to our teenage aspirations of rock stardom and hold distaste for the current trend anyway. We’re probably the closest to our original hopes of moving people (including ourselves) with our music as we ever have been in the time since we’ve picked up instruments. The only difference being that we’ve acquired some of the physical and technical skills necessary to do so.
NSM
If you couldn't be musicians, what other professions would you seek out?
The Slant- None of us has ever wanted to be anything else and we're trying desperately to keep it that way. Collectively, the whole band attends or recently graduated from college and we would probably follow whatever we studied there.
Andre has a great talent for art and the same is true of Mark as a writer.
Brad studied geography and I studied music education for the last four years. I guess we would probably each follow that path if we have to give this up, but it's not likely that anyone will stop playing music even if things have to change in terms of when we can record or do shows. It's all up in the air but things always seem to work out for us, though we probably aren't deserving of the many opportunities afforded us.
NSM
How do you prepare before a show?
The Slant- When we were driving separately to each show we sometimes had a day to prepare and once we had about 5 minutes to get ready. During that time we kind of played off the excitement of being together for the first time in a while and tried to incorporate that into our performances. Each of us did some individual practice before shows on the side because we couldn’t practice together. We practiced to the recordings or without any accompaniment depending on the situation. We also listened to the album on the way to each gig to refresh our memories. Now that we have time to practice together in one house we spend a lot of time fixing any problems that may arise and the little nuances that are the difference between a good performance and a great performance. Other than that we just do our best to make each other feel confident in our individual and collective ability.
NSM
How do you decide which songs you’re going to perform?
The Slant- Sometimes we plan out the set far in advance, especially if we have a certain feel we want for the show or want to create a progression in the set from happy to sad or mellow to intense. Other times we make it up 10 minutes before the show or even just call out a song we think would go well after the previous song. There are a lot of combinations that we work with to get the right feel but we try to consider the venue and the audience to create a set that works.
NSM
What has been your most memorable show so far?
The Slant- Hopefully this holds true for the whole band but probably the last show we played at “Garfield Artworks” with “Paleface” and “Megafaun.” “Paleface” was new to us but we dug them and they seemed to dig us as well. We saw “Megafaun” with “Akron/Family” a while back and we love both bands so to get to play with them in such a personal venue was great. In addition to that, it was our last show together until the summer and we were all quietly sentimental about it. All of our friends showed up to hear us and the sound was great that night which makes a big difference in our view of the show in retrospect. It was a nice way to end our previous run of shows until we got back together in the house for the summer.
NSM
Does the band ever have any conflict? If so, how do you resolve it?
The Slant- Not in the artistic/irreconcilable differences sort of way. We’re really great friends and any conflicts that arise generally have to do with frustrations caused by outside sources. We disagree from time to time about how to construct a song we’re working on or how to perform it but generally one of us is extremely passionate about their feeling and the others usually have the good sense to realize it’s right. We try to be good to each other and know deep down that we care about each other and it makes it easier to be reasonable. Getting away from each other for a while helps to neutralize the situation.
NSM
All of you are titled as songwriters. Can you explain how the band writes its songs/lyrics?
The Slant- We can try, but it’s not as clear-cut as people probably imagine. In terms of the actual creation of the songs/lyrics from a structural standpoint it is very basic, it’s just that we don’t have a specified role for each member of the band. The only time we do is for live shows and it’s just based on who we think can do the parts the best. In terms of the recordings anyone could have written the actual song or lyrics or performed a part outside of their live instrument on the album; in fact, it happened a lot on “Old North.” We each write our own songs/lyrics but we like to play off each other for lyrics and parts because we trust each other’s opinions and ideas. There’s no standard way to do it, we just pick the songs we like the most and try to give everyone an opportunity to present their material on the album. We credit everyone as songwriters because we don’t feel that it’s particularly important for the listener to know who is specifically responsible for each contribution to the album because we want to be seen as one entity instead of 4 individual parts.
NSM
Name a few of your musical influences as well as why, and how these people have an effect on you as a musician.
The Slant- “The Beatles”, “Radiohead,” and Bob Dylan are huge for all of us. We have our own influences on the side from jam bands to 20th century classical music. The influences are fairly prominent in our playing but these three are probably the biggest because we all agree on their merit and we strive to learn from them.
NSM
If you could name one aspect of your music career that you need to work on as individuals and as a group, what would it be?
The Slant- It is probably easier for the other members of the group to see the shortcomings of each individual than for that person to see his own fault. Music has room for constant growth and it’s our job to keep growing as individual musicians. Each of us needs to work expanding our musical knowledge and capabilities, but at the same time, we don’t strive to be technicians. If each of us works to do this on our own it should follow that the group gets better as well.
NSM
How would you describe your ideal recording environment?
The Slant- Having the best equipment but no one calling the shots about how we do things. We’re doing well with the latter but we don’t have the money to go to a studio that will most likely do a worse job than we do ourselves. A lot of bands pay an arm and a leg to record in a studio that gives them a day or two to finish the material and doesn’t do a very good job of mixing and recording in the first place. We would much rather record ourselves and at least be responsible for how the album sounds than follow that trend. At the same time we have some good resources and friends that help us with the actual quality of the recording software and microphones, and that makes the process much better. Ideally we would prefer to have an excellent space in which to record with top quality equipment and no lack of instruments in house. The only problem is our lack of representation and fervent involvement with every decision.
NSM
What would you like to say to the people reading this interview?
The Slant- We hope you have either heard our music or are now interested enough to give it a listen. Thanks for taking the time to learn a bit about us and we sincerely hope that if you have listened to the music that it was an enjoyable experience. We’ll be playing around the Pittsburgh area this summer as well as throughout PA. Feel free to check out our listing online and check our various contact options. If you have any more questions feel free to send us a message. We hope you feel as strongly as we do about the importance of original music that isn’t made for the radio or TV. Take care and we hope to see you soon at one of our shows.
NSM
Where do you hope "The Slant" will be in 5 years?
The Slant- In five years we would love to be playing to a larger group of listeners and find ourselves making a career of it. As a band, we're really into what we do and it's hard to find people who are as like-minded as we are about creating music. Doing this forever is our collective ambition and it would be amazing to find the means to keep it going. At the same time, we'd probably be happy to settle down in the next five years and live quiet lives as long as music is still involved.
What we would really like to see is a change in the music world that allows people like us to make the music we want and still have a shot at getting noticed. The problem we have (and we've known it for a long time) is that the likelihood of a big shot CEO from some record label hearing our music and thinking it is perfect for the demographic that keeps MTV alive is slim to none. We don't want that anyway, but we don't see anyone who could potentially boost our careers as musicians coming along and taking us under their wing because we don't write singles and we don't have a trendy look that the kids are going to want to emulate. Even if a higher up heard our music and had a personal liking for it, the odds of us making them a quick fortune is pretty low, and that's what it takes to get noticed. We understand that there has to be a moneymaking incentive for them because it's their livelihood, but it still makes it hard for bands who don't want to contribute to the downward spiral that's happening all over the radio to get anywhere. Regardless, we don't spend much time worrying about it and if five years go by and we still haven't gotten anywhere, we'll be content with knowing that we loved what we did.
