States was created in the aftermath of indie band Copeland’s break-up. Taking on Mindy White, who played keyboard for Lydia, as lead singer, brothers Bryan and Stephen Laurenson, along with ex-Copeland bandmates Jonathan Bucklew and Dean Lorenz, released an EP of demos, called Line ‘Em Up last year. On October 18th, the band released their debut full-length, Room to Run.
I sat down with Bryan and Stephen Laurenson before their set at the Big Picture Media CMJ showcase on October 21st to discuss the band, their new album, touring, and starting over.
So, first off, you guys just released your debut album on Tuesday (10/18). Congratulations on that.
Bryan and Stephen, almost in unison: Thank you.
Can you guys tell me a little about the album?
Bryan: It was recorded back in February with our really good friend and producer Aaron Sprinkle. We had worked with him...some of us had been working with him back on the last Copeland record, which is one of our old bands, and we just clicked on all levels, friendship-wise and musically. So, when we kind of started figuring out, doing the States record, he was kind of the first on our list and kind of a no brain-er. He's out of Seattle, so... spent a month tracking up there, and it was like, an awesome month and we had a really good time. We've been kind of counting the days to the release, so we're pretty excited.
How is this album different from your EP?
Stephen: Yeah. I think it's pretty different [laughs]. I mean, it just, on the production side, we did most of the Line Em Up EP at Bryan's apartment. Actually, pretty much everything except for the drums. Actually, the EP was actually kind of a collection of demos that got rehashed to the point where it sounded good enough to become a release, but they were never really tracked to be a release. So, it's definitely more raw and a little more organic sounding just because it was kind of meant to be these quick demos that kind of turned into something better.
So, the biggest difference is the full length is considerably more produced and polished and it sounds like a million bucks, where the EP sounds like, I don't know...
Bryan: ...a thousand dollars... It sounds better than the EP
[laughs]
Stephen: yeah, I mean, the songs in general are pretty different. We only have one track off of the EP that made it onto the album. I think it's a little heavier, a little pop-ier. There's a few tracks on there that match the EP, hopefully kids will like that, like the EP...
You guys formed out of two different bands, Copeland and Lydia. How is your sound different from those two bands?
Stephen: I think, at least from Copeland, it's definitely more rock and more poppy-driven. I was definitely kind of the pop-ier side of Copeland, and Aaron, our singer in Copeland, he and I kind of balanced each other out. So, I think, States is definitely kind of...without that filter. Definitely more pop-y, more rock-driven, more guitar-driven.
And Lydia, I know it's a big departure for...at least for what Mindy (the band's lead singer) had been doing in Lydia, just because she wasn't as involved on the creative side as she wanted to be. So, you know, for her, it was just...the floodgates opened in terms of being able to be involved. You know, she handles pretty much all the melodies and lyrics. So, in terms of her involvement in both bands, kind of night and day in terms of what she's giving input-wise creatively.
How did you guys start working together?
Stephen: As the band?
Yeah
Stephen: Uh, well… Bryan, John and I, and actually Dean formed with us for a little while. You know, we’re all Copeland for many years. And then we toured with Lydia back in ’08. That’s how we first met Mindy. And I, shortly after that tour, moved to Nashville. Mindy and I became really good friends, stayed in touch. Then when we decided, when Copeland decided to part ways, before anyone really knew it, I was hanging out with Mindy and I was like “I’ve got some news. I think we’re…Copeland’s splitting,” and she’s like “that’s funny, I’m actually…I think I’m going to be leaving Lydia in a month or two, that’s crazy.” Before she even… I could say like, “let’s work together,” she was like, “we should do something.” Like, “oh yeah, that would be great.” Because Bryan and I knew that we wanted to do a project after Copeland, we just didn’t know what. We had some songs together and had some ideas, but neither of us wanted to sing. And we actually… Mindy got brought up several times, “she’d be rad to have,” but we’re like, “yeah, she can’t, she’s in Lydia.” But, so, it oddly worked out.
You recently released a lyric video for your first single, “Timebomb.” Could you tell me a little about the song and why you did a lyric video for it?
Stephen: Yeah, uh… Why we picked that song was because everyone told us to use that one [laughs]. It think… we had a really hard time deciding what’s the first, you know, initial… I think what came down is, yeah, a lot of people said we should do that one, management, and other people. Also, it’s the opening track of the record, so, you know, be fun to put up and…
The reason for a lyric video was, actually, just… I was doing a lot of research and just checking out bands and YouTube videos and… I was seeing a ton of bands, even before they did any kind of music video or anything legit, they were posting all these lyric videos. I thought they were kind of cool and kind of cheesy and hokey, but at the same time, you know, it gets kids to learn the lyrics really quickly and sing along, and… I think it’s a clever idea. So we wanted to put one up, but we didn’t really want it to be just text, so we had a friend, Stacy Faye, who was a friend of Copeland’s for a long time and is just a super talented artist. I randomly called her and I was like “hey, is this something that you can do,” and she said “sure,” and a week later she sent us the “Timebomb” video and we put it up.
Bryan: we were stoked. It was really cool.
Stephen: yeah, she worked hard on it.
What do you enjoy most about playing live and being on tour?
Bryan: so far, it’s… you know, with our old bands… I was in Copeland for like 8 years and… you know, after a while you play the same song over and over, tour after tour. You try to find new ways to try and keep things fresh. And with this, obviously its new, but it’s exciting, so every song in the set is fun to play and every night you’re looking forward to being on stage and, you know, learning how to represent the songs live and excited to show people. So, it’s definitely… I think playing the songs right now is my favorite part just ‘cuz it’s kind of new and interesting and fresh
Stephen: I agree…
So how do you keep things fresh if you’re in a band for that long?
Bryan: I don’t know. It’s tough. I know for me, personally, sometimes I just experiment, literally experiment on stage on guitar parts that I’ve been playing for five years. You know, I… kind of on a whim try to, not noodle, not a good enough guitar player to noodle… but, you know… sometimes I think it’s interesting when bands perform songs live differently than how you hear it on the record. So, I think, kind of, you know, trying to spice up old songs in a new and fresh way is one way to, like, keep the audience intrigued, as well as, you know, keep it exciting for yourself.
Stephen: I agree, I think there’s always points in songs that, like… just one riff can be, you know, a couple notes that I get really excited about and, like you said, tweaking it a tiny bit and, you know… to most people we probably won’t even tell, but for us, it really…it spices it up and kind of breaths a new air. Um, yeah.
I mean, both of your old bands had some sort of big success, do you…how do you think that will translate to your success with States?
Bryan: It’s kind of… it’s a weird balance of being in a brand new band and starting completely over and yet having the experience as well as the fan base to some degree, kind of following along with you. So, I think, you know, we’re one step ahead of a band just starting out because we have that continuation of fans and the experiences we’ve had. So, I think that’s a huge help. But at the same time, it’s definitely been kind of this weird, adjustment. Just like, starting all over again, you know, from the simplest things. We don’t have a van to tour in. Like, just having things that every band has, just have to, kind of, just start over…which you also know is exciting, do things differently…
Stephen: yeah, it’s fun…
Room to Runis available now. Click here to read my review of the Big Picture Media CMJ showcase.
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