Building Rome: the Nightmare explained

Building Rome

In a world filled with contrived lyrics and songs that seem to blend into one another as if in an unremarkable musical parody of Groundhog Day, it is refreshing to find a band that utilizes everything at their disposal to truly create something anyone can and will relate to. Building Rome does this seamlessly, leaving the listener with the raw energy one craves at a live show.

See below for an exclusive interview with Jon (lead singer) detailing the history of Building Rome, what goes into making such a unique album and what being a musician entails.

History:

1.) How did the band form? Were you friends before you embarked on this endeavor together?

I have been doing Building Rome for years now, and I've always had trouble finding the right band members. It's a life-altering commitment, and that's tough for a lot of people to grasp. I've known Tom from the St. Louis music scene for years, while he and Brian were playing in a band called Centerpointe. Tom and I always talked about how passionate we were about making it in the music industry. During the recording of the new album, I asked him if he wanted to sing some backup vocals and he was stoked about it. So he went in and nailed the parts, and we decided to jam and give it a shot. It sounded really good so we decided to join forces. I found out later that they had sent me an e-mail saying that they wanted to jam with me a while back, and I never responded. Come to find out, they sent it to the wrong e-mail address.

2.) Were you always musically inclined growing up?

I always had a certain passion for music. Music that wasn't being played on the radio wasn't as easy to come by when I was a kid, so I'd listen to the same songs over and over and over again. I'd sing along very loudly and imagine myself singing it on stage. I tried to start playing guitar when I was 12, but I didn't really get serious about learning until I was 16. I wouldn't say that it came incredibly natural to me, but I practiced a LOT and studied songwriting for years. I skipped a lot of school to play my guitar. Now things are much easier! :)

3.) Do you have any musical inspirations that influenced you either with how you wrote songs or how you lived your life? Did they ever change throughout the years?

Oh absolutely. I always looked up to the bands I liked. I looked at them as something more than human. I studied how my influences wrote their songs, and learned how to play and sing all of them. I was even in a Weezer tribute band for a while. These days, I seem to look up to people for different reasons.

Nightmare

1.) How does your album cover represent Nightmare?

It's a representation specifically of the 4th song on our album entitled "Sink Like An Anchor". The image is of a worn out ship (symbolizing the main character) in an epic battle of good and evil. The ship is trying to stay afloat in a storm while angels and demons are battling for control and it's heading toward the light at the end of the horizon. All together it represents the war of addiction. I explained the entire album in detail here

Artwork Credit: Dan Seagrave - Nightmare cover

2.) How was the idea for Nightmare born? What work went into the concept to help set your album apart in the music world?

I was going through a really rough time. My band had broken up, and I pretty much sat on my couch for a year being really depressed. The concept for the album started up with a dream that I had, and sort of perpetuated itself into a whole story about love, death, anger, addiction, and war. The first song that I wrote for Nightmare was called "Meet You In My Dreams" and it was supposed to be the first song on the album. It started off sounding very fairytale-ish, and we decided that people may get the wrong first impression. So we decided to start it in the middle of the story where the "Nightmare" starts. I think that story-wise, I was more inspired by books and movies, rather than music. I just wanted to make something real. I can always tell when people write music just to write music. I wanted to write something that I would listen to. Plus, I was tired of writing songs that ended after three minutes. That's not enough time to build a character, and that's what I wanted to do with Nightmare.

3.) You have many sounds in your music that one does not normally hear (i.e. thunder), what inspired you to experiment and create such a unique experience in your songs?

I've come to realize that if you stick to the same old sounds and the same old formula, things start to sound bland, so I did a lot of experimenting with different sounds on this album. I literally went through thousands of different keyboard tones to pick the ones I did. A lot of the weird sounds were added after the initial recording, on my home computer, and then I sent them to Steve to mix. I'm pretty sure that Steve spent a lot of time taking things out, because I was going overboard. hahah.

4.) Tim Convy and Tim Ferrell of Ludo had a hand in Nightmare. What was it like working with members of other bands? Did you feed off of one another’s energy like you do in your own jam sessions or was it a very different approach?

Ludo is one of my favorite bands, so I was honored that they were willing to record on Nightmare. Their music inspired a lot of writing on Nightmare, and I thought it was really cool that they played on songs that were inspired by them. With Tim Convy, I sent him the song "Dr. Doctor" and asked if he wanted to play on it. I had recorded a cheesy synth in my demo and he was really excited about replacing it with moog. He came to the studio one day during recording and we sat in the lobby and went over it a bunch of times. We sort of fed off each other, and spent a little while working on parts. When he came to record, he busted out a lot of cool Ludo-esque tricks that I would never have thought of. Originally the moog was more prominent in the song, but Steve mixed it lower after the first section. As for Tim Ferrell, I went over to his house and went over a few songs with him on guitar. He practiced them, came up with a few parts on his own, and then busted them out in the studio. He accidentally added a chordal change in "What Are We Fighting For?" that I thought was great so we kept it. He also wrote a wicked solo to "Burn" and played on "Sink Like And Anchor" and "Haunting Me". Overall I we all had a good time. I can't wait to hear the new Ludo record.

Shows & Misc

1.) What emotions do you feel on stage? How does the audience affect how you play and do they ever cause you to alter your set list mid-show?

Oh yea. We've pulled audibles on many occasions. Sometimes, depending on the mood of the crowd, we have to play different songs than what we put in the set list. For example, we have this joke song called "Gangster Baby.". In some settings, that song goes over great, and in other settings people are like "what the f*** is that?!" While playing live, I try and put myself back into the writing of the song as much as I can, although it can be tough sometimes. When people are singing along, sometimes I can feel the hairs raise up in the back of my neck. Those are the times you always dream of being a musician. For example, during our last hometown show, right before the bridge of "What Are We Fighting For?" I could feel the audience's anticipation for the next part and I got that chill.

2.) How do you determine who plays what role in your songs in terms of vocals, guitar, etc?

We're pretty diplomatic about how we handle things. So if someone really wants to play a part, it's usually not a big deal. It's all about compromise when you're in a band, and I think we do that really well. In the future, Tom will be singing more of his own secondary lead parts. But we have a LOT of harmonies live.

3.) What are you most looking forward to in the year 2010?

We've got a lot of really good things going for us, and we're going to work as hard as we can to spread the word of Building Rome. This includes playing as many shows as we can, and pursuing every opportunity that materializes. We've got some really good shows lined up that I can't wait to play. We're opening for Story of the Year here in St. Louis on March 4th, and then we're playing SXSW and Red Gorilla Fest later on that month, which I think will be awesome. I think that 2010 will be an amazing and productive year for us.

4.) What is your own guilty pleasure music that people may not expect?

I did a rock cover of "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga. I think she's great. Her music is really good, considering it's not usually my taste.

Listening to the complexity of Nightmare unfold, it is easy to see how much heart and work poured its way into the album. From the dreamlike quality emerging from the ashes of an an angry soul, the album tells the story that so many have felt and yet few truly discuss. Though the darkness of the subject matter clenches into the heart of the listener, by the end of the album the weight is ultimately lifted as though the same resolve of the songs character has reprieved those suffering along with him. Ultimately it is a full range of emotions that should leave one feeling drained, but instead pours adrenaline through your veins. Building Rome is indefinitely a band to see live so as to share this very same sort of energy with the crowd pounding to the beat of the band sharing such a personal sound with the world.

Thursday, March 4th Building Rome will be opening for Story of the Year at The Pageant in St. Louis. Tickets could only be grabbed up by those who stopped by Vintage Vinyl to purchase Story of the Year's new album.

Friday, March 5th they will be playing at Rock Island Brewing Company with Jupiter One. Find more information here

Find more shows in the links below, including SXSW dates!