Trespassers William

I've never been a fan of overnight sensations. As quickly as many become sensations, they just as quickly become has-beens. Experience shows that cultivating a sound is much more prudent and long lasting. Unfortunately, labels today cannot afford bands the opportunity to develop. "Artist Development" has become one of the biggest misnomer in corporate music. When a band does afford itself the opportunity to work at its craft, the music reveals itself to be superior.

trespassers william was born over ten years ago. The group cut its teeth in the dog-eat-dog world of Los Angeles playing small clubs and cafes while perfecting a sound that they would consistently tweak. In 1999, the band dropped Anchor, its debut, and immediately garnered critical acclaim. Amazon.com called it, "a poetic blend of introspective pop." The centerpiece of the band was singer Anna-Lynne Williams. The band's website quotes Rock Sound, "...her voice is immediately lovable and her inconsolable world-weariness completely convincing. Moving, even. Each song unfolds through a swathe of reverb and allows Anna-Lynne acres of space to express her woes with quiet dignity."

The band continued to earn rave reviews on the 2002 follow-up, different star. After landing with Nettwerk Music, that collection was reissued in 2004. Now comes having, a collection of new material aready being hailed as one of 2006's best new releases.

TGB recently had an opportunity to exchange emails with Anna-Lynne Williams and Ross Simonini to discuss the new CD.

Is the anticipation of a new release difficult?

Anna-Lynne Williams: I suppose the best thing about waiting for an album to be released is that so much time seems to pass that you can start listening to the songs from a detached perspective. Once we start writing new material and creating new sounds, the completed albums seem like capsules of something slightly foreign. There is plenty of time for wishing that we had changed a bit of this or that on the record, but this is the happiest I've been with anything we've recorded. The most serious part of the process for me is the writing of the songs, and the recording is the most fun and creative part. I'm thinking of Kate Bush's "Woman's Work," about being the father of a child, creating the baby and then just waiting around to meet him without having any power to change or effect the whole process. That is the stage we're in now. I'm getting lots of reading done.

What gets you most excited: people buying your record or great press?

A-L: It's hard to know who's buying the record. That is the whole point of putting one out; that's the most important thing. But you never really know until someone writes you that it is reaching people. Press is concrete and immediate and has tended to be good to us. When we first released different stars on our own, I personally mailed out all of the copies we sold, so it was fun going to the post office each morning. Now everything is indirect and hard to comprehend, but sites like myspace help to keep us linked to some of the listeners.

I have read Ryan Adams claim that he has stopped reading press and blogs, etc., about himself. So many people can be cruel or dishonest. We haven't run across that too many times, but enough to become wary and consider not reading it anymore. I suppose a way to look at it is that press is not created to be read by the band, but it is tempting to peek.

Subsequently, what worries you most: people not buying it or bad press?

A-L: Bad press seems like a much more negative act than simply not buying the record. Plus, I imagine that half of the people familiar with us get our stuff off of burned CDs and downloads and mp3s and soundtracks. So, while I would love for people to buy the actual CD, as I am crazy about collecting CDs myself, singles and all, the most important thing is just that they listen and hopefully like it. Bad press is certain to happen, but so long as there is nothing particularly malicious or misquotes, etc., that comes with the territory. I also feel - and the band has discussed this concept before - that it is better to be hated by some and loved by some than to have everyone think that you're alright background music. I hope at least press and listeners alike will feel that this album offers something different from its predecessors.

Awhile back, one magazine wrote of the "stigma" of Lilith Fair. Is it difficult fronting a band with all men? Do you find women fronting bands are not taken seriously?

A-L: I don't personally see a need to emphasize one's gender when making music or writing. If I had to select artists that I most identify with, or who I feel my melodies are most similar too, they would be primarily male artists, coincidentally perhaps. It's a rare ocassion that a female artist is ever compared to a man.

I do understand the significance of a movement like the one that accompanied Lilith Fair. When someone says "female singer," I suppose one would envision a performer/dancer before a writer/producer. It is worthy to enforce the fact that women like Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, and Bjork have created new types of music, broken people's hearts with music, taken risks, etc.. I think Lilith Fair reminded people that there are women who take music seriously.

I feel I have educated myself enough about the recording process that I am able to communicate and be respected (most of the time, albeit, in my own made-up language) as a female artist. As far as playing with boys, maybe they gang up on me sometimes or think my gender is an excuse to not understand what I'm saying, but somehow I think it's easier than being in a hotel room full of girls on tour.

Tell me about the title of your new release, "having." Any significance/meaning?

ROSS SIMONINI: We wanted to find some sort of connective tissue between all the lyrics on the album. I went through all of the songs in search of something that might work as a linguistic connection (not necessarily a thematic connection). Eventually, I realized that there were a lot of present participles (words ending in "ing") on the album. We listed all of the occurences of these words and decided, eventually, that the word "having" represented something about the album that the other words did not - the idea of possession, the need to do something (having to do something) and so forth. The ambiguity of the word is also appealing. It's not a word you often see written alone, without being surrounded by other words. In that sense, the word has a lot of power when written on its own. I imagine that everyone who sees this title thinks of different words to surround it.

How has the sound of the band evolved on the new record?

A-L: As three or four years have passed since we started writing different stars, and the line-up of band members has evolved, the whole state of music has changed a bit. New influences have seeped in: the beautiful experimental music of the Scandinavian countries, the resurgence of some glam sensibilities of the 80's, the new avant garde folk singer/songwriters.
It has certainly added even more ingredients to what is possible in music.

We were able to work with a better budget and work with Dave Fridmann, who is a mastermind and makes gorgeous and challenging sounds. We spent more time crafting the arrangements of the songs before going in the studio. We took turns sitting with each song in the studio, adding and taking away elements. The themes of the record have expanded beyond just the romantic. Some of the sounds are not beautiful, but rather interesting. Our approach was quite different. We are all familiar enough with recording now that we can record ourselves and be given the freedom of being all alone when you track a performance, which leads to more improvising and brilliant mistakes.

Do you consider the lyrics to your songs poetry, or it is, perhaps, words that happen to fit a certain musical style?

A-L: Writing poetry is also important to me, but I feel it has to be more narrative since it doesn't have a blanket of sound to support it. When I write poetry it never rhymes. I am pleased with the way the lyrics read for having, though I think they are a little less obtuse than the lyrics on previous records. I always know what precise experiences the songs are about and the huge differences in tone for myself between each one, but I understand if they all seem to be cut from the same cloth to other people. The language I tend to write in is a bit soft and lush, so even a song like "I Don't Mind," which has nothing to do with love, will probably be mistaken as a love song. Melody comes first for me though. The lyrics generally rush out to fit the shapes of the melody.

What happened to Jamie Williams? Will a replacement be sought or will you go on as a three piece?

RS: Right now we're concerned with existing as a three-person band. We're dealing with all the new limitations and parameters that a three-person-band deals with. A few of the songs on having were already just the three of us, working in a studio environment, creating texture-based music, and that process was really interesting to us. So I suppose we're continuing to make music in that vein. We are also open to the addition of a fourth (or fifth or sixth) member, but we only want someone who will creatively develop the sound of the group. At this point, we have not found that person, but we are always looking.

Musically, what are three goals you hope to achieve with "having"?

A-L: I think that the goals were already achieved in the studio. We worked very well as a team for the first time, each member having a really strong voice, and I think you can hear all of those voices; more taking turns and space. It is a balanced sound, and I think Fridmann helped us to acheive that even more. Having someone outside the band tell us what our place is in each song, what is important and what is background, was key for these songs because there were so many tracks that needed to be balanced. Secondly, we have familiarized ourselves with the ins and outs of recording and can, therefore, control our own sound much better. Third, personally for myself, I was able to address some new issues like creative conflict and death in the lyrics and we have integrated more keys and found sounds into our music. I am pleased.

CLICK HERE for the band's website.