SFTS: The Whiles

Harrison Ford once said, "We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance." According to bassist Chris Bolognese of The Whiles, that second chance almost never happened. "After losing our lead guitarist (Liam Carey), we were very close to calling it quits, but decided to push on with a new batch of great songs brought to us by Joe (chief songwriter Joe Peppercorn).

Those songs became the highly acclaimed Colors of the Year, a CD Amplifier Magazine called "Heavily influenced by both the orchestral delicacy of Nick Drake and Odyssey and Oracle and the proto-alt-country of Gram Parsons' solo albums...Colors of the Year is an entirely satisfying bit of country-fried chamber pop."

Around the release of Colors of the Year, the band changed its name from Mrs. Children to The Whiles. "Mrs. Children was the name of the group for about 4 years or so," said Bolognese. "There were various lineup changes and the sound of the band evolved along the way. We slowly transitioned from a quirky yet melodic rock sound to a more mellow, folk-inspired sound while still continuing our dedication to interesting melodies and changes."

The current lineup also includes brother Joe and Matt Peppercorn, and drummer Paul Headley.

I had an opportunity to exchange emails with Chris Bolognese and her is what he had to say about the state of the band and the current recording sessions.

TGB: Do you find that there is more pressure making these recordings yourselves?

CB: We did COTY (Colors of the Year) almost exclusively in a studio. Although I really like recording in a studio space since you have access to all the cool studio toys, I feel more comfortable doing the recording on our own, especially since you don't have to constantly think about how much it's going to cost! By recording on your own, you have the luxury to spend as much or as little time on an idea as you want. Plus, I think all of us feel more dedicated to being there since it is more natural of an environment. Thus, for this next album, we're recording everything on our own.

TGB: What do you find are the major differences between recording on your own as opposed to having another ear in the studio?

CB: I guess one large downside is the lack of professional tools when recording on your own. This goes both for recording equipment as well as musical equipment. Also, sometimes you can become pretty biased towards a part or an idea and it helps to have a neutral person to veto or applaud something. Also, I think there is more accountability for recording on your own. Each person's role is suddenly increased as there is no one you can rely on to set up the mics, check levels, etc. I think this makes the process much more collaborative.

TGB: Have you replaced your lead singer?

CB: After much deliberation, we made an amicable decision that Zack, our old singer, would leave the band. Although Zack has an absolutely amazing voice, he felt a calling to go into education, which he is now pursuing. Joe, the lead songwriter in the group, has taken the reins for being the front man now. Although Zack's departure had its cons, one benefit is that Joe has such a deep understanding of the songs, since he sketches the melody, lyrics, and the chords. This understanding definitely translates in the vocal delivery.

TGB: Has a date been set for the release of your new music? Is there a working title?

CB: We have been working on the next record for a while now. We went into the studio last October (I think this is the right date, but Joe or the other guys would know better) and started laying down new songs. We canned all of those recordings and started anew on our own terms. After buying a new digital recorder, we demoed the songs two or three times either in a local Church, Paul's basement, or in Joe's attic. For the past few months, we have been putting in a lot of hours working on the new songs and have 19 songs started in some capacity. No date has been pinpointed, but we hope to have the 19 songs recorded in the next month or so. The next step is to mix and master. We have yet to discuss a title, but Joe seems to be a proponent of Mrs. Children and the Captain Battle William Butler Yeats' and the Bitter Mystery Brigade: Chapter II, We All Love Fried Snickers Candy Bars (just kidding). You can check out more discussion about the recording process on our message board at:http://mrschildren.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=204

TGB: Finally, what are your expectation and/or goals for your next release?

CB: One personal goal of mine was to really develop the arrangements of the songs. One thing that irks me about COTY is how "live" it sounds. That is, it is too easy for us to perform the recorded songs in a live setting. I would rather us have interesting sounds on the record that are hard for us to reproduce live. Thus, on this record we really have been trying to capture interesting and unique sounds. Some instruments that have been used that were not on the COTY record are lap steel, upright bass, piano, conga drums, and church organ. I hope to put some orchestral work on the record as well. Another goal that has transferred over from COTY is continuing to work on vocal harmonies. We also want to try to get more band members singing lead on the record, so expect multiple voices (a la The Beatles, or The New Pornographers).

I'm really excited about the new album and I think others will be as well. Although it still captures the melodicism and tenderness of COTY, it seems to be more exploratory and explosive in certain parts.

LABEL: Anyway Records www.anyway-records.com