Anthony Green - Circa Survive (23/06/2015)
Anthony Green formed Circa Survive with guitarist Colin Frangicetto after making a name for himself as the former, now current, vocalist of Saosin. The Philadelphia-based band has since become a towering monument of its own within the alternative rock world, thanks to their dark and emotive music that, even though it verges on heavy, is often also rather sensitive and intricate. Circa Survive have released five albums and three EPs, the most recent being last year’s Descensus, which Anthony himself has labelled the most aggressive Circa album to date. I was fortunate enough to have a chat with Anthony about the band and their long-awaited trip to Australia, his super busy schedule, and his return to, as well as the details of a new album with, Saosin.
Hi Anthony, it’s Nathan from The 59th Sound.
Hey Nathan, how are you going?
Not too bad, thanks. Nice to meet you. How are you today?
Nice to meet you too. You picked a good day man, I’m doing awesome today.
That’s good. So you’re back home after spending some time in Chile, I believe?
Yeah, we were in Chile for a weekend and now we’re home for a couple of days before we leave for the UK.
Sweet. I suppose we should get straight into it. What have you been listening to at the moment and are there any new music releases you’re really digging?
I’ve been listening to two things a lot. There’s a band called Whirr and they’re awesome, I’ve been listening to them a lot, and there’s a singer songwriter from America named Father John Misty. He has an album out called I Love You, Honeybear. You should check him out. I actually got to see him a couple times, he’s so incredible. Those two bands, Whirr and Father John Misty, I’ve been listening to a lot.
What else are you interested in besides music?
Dude, that’s so crazy. Other than music and hanging out with my family, there really isn’t much that I’m interested in. I like fitness. I like to lift weights and I like working out. I like taking care of my health. I’m building a garden in my backyard. Stuff like that. But music has always been my number one thing. It’s my favourite thing.
How about reading? Do you read much?
I do read. Recently I got this book of fiction called God's Debris from a fan on tour and I’m going to take it with me to the UK. But I’ve just been so busy writing music over the last couple of weeks. I’ll go through stints where I’ll read a few books at a time. About a year ago I sat down and I read four Cormac McCarthy books in a row and then a couple Chuck Palahniuk books, and that was my last real burst of reading.
Descensus was released through Sumerian Records whereas Violent Waves was produced and released by the band. Was it good to be working with a label again and are you glad you did things the way you did with Violent Waves?
Yeah, Violent Waves was a fun experiment and I would do it again. It was a learning experience and we benefitted a lot from it, both from the experience and financially. It was really good to release a record on our own, especially since we had a dedicated fan base. Working with a label like Sumerian has been different to working with any label we’ve ever had. They’re very artist-friendly and supportive. A lot of labels will look at the bottom line pretty staunchly, and they’ll limit you from taking certain chances because they’re afraid that it won’t pay off financially. They’re the kind of label that are crazy and will be like, yeah, let’s do it, and they really trust the artists’ vision. We got really lucky with Sumerian.
You’ve said Descensus is your favourite Circa Survive album and the process for making Descensus was much shorter than previous releases. Do you think that was a better way to do things?
For me it’s a better way to do things. I’m not going to say that it was bad doing them the other way because it was like a learning curve. I think that more work doesn’t always mean better product. I think if you have a lot of time to second-guess yourself then you spend a lot of time second-guessing yourself, whereas if you’re given a shorter period of time and the object is just to create something that feels right, then you work until it feels right and you can move on to the next thing. I’m a really spontaneous person and I know when something feels good. That’s not to say that analysing your work and going back and redoing something, or working more on something, isn’t really beneficial and hasn’t benefitted us on this record. There comes a point where you really have to just move on. When you’re a kid and you only have $100 to go into a recording studio for a day, it’s amazing the stuff that you produce when you’re on the spot like that. That’s the kind of spontaneity I’ve always connected with when it comes to recording.
Do you have a favourite track from the album, and if so, why is it your favourite?
I can’t really pick a favourite track, but ‘Nesting Dolls’ is a song that I didn’t like and I didn’t think deserved to be on the record and the band loved it. The content of the song was a little too heavy to me, and I just didn’t think it was a great song, and then recording it brought up a lot of emotions about the stuff the song was written about. I never really thought I’d want to play it or sing it, but now I’ve been playing it and singing it every night on this tour and it’s one of my favourite songs.
Esao Andrews creates all of Circa Survive’s album artwork. I’m interested in how the band decides on the artwork for each release. Is there a brief or a collaborative process or do you choose from a selection of ready-made artworks?
Honestly we will just send him lyrics of the songs that I’m working on and then he paints something, as a hey this is what I got from your lyrics sort of thing. We will totally have a back-and-forth with him but it’s always been like Esao coming to us saying hey this is what I’m seeing and then we’re always really happy with it. He hits the nail on the head every time. He’ll make a couple of paintings and send them over and boom, it’s done. It’s happened like that every time, and I’m sure that if we didn’t like something or if he wanted to tweak something, it would be discussed, but it’s never come up like that. It’s always been a very streamlined decision. He’ll paint it, send it over. We’ll talk about it, we’ll love it. Then he works on it more. Usually he sends over a sketch or an idea at first and then he gets to work on the painting.
It’s been a while since Circa Survive have toured in Australia. I saw you the last time you came which was for Soundwave Festival in 2012. Your latest release at the time was Blue Sky Noise. Are you excited to be coming back and is there anything else you plan to do while you’re here besides playing shows?
I’m really, really excited to come back and I’m really excited about playing with PVRIS. It’s going to be great. The people that come to shows in Australia are some of the most music passionate people I’ve ever met, and it’s always fun playing there. I’m also trying to write some songs for a solo record, so I’m going to spend some time while I’m there doing that. I’m thinking about bringing an acoustic guitar and trying to have a couple free secret acoustic shows on the streets while I’m over there. I’ll just be tweeting out I’ll be at this place at this time and playing a couple of little shows like that.
Do you have a lot of downtime while you’re touring, and if so, what do you do to keep entertained?
I try to keep a tight schedule when I’m away from home. When I’m home I wake up and immediately I have to get the boys breakfast, take James to school, go to the gym, do this, do that, and I like that. So when I’m on tour I try to have as little downtime as possible. That’s not to say I don’t like to relax, I like to relax, but I feel most relaxed when I’m working. I like to wake up and go to the gym, and try to make a healthy breakfast, and then I’ll spend some time writing music. So when I’m on tour in a new city, or when we’re in Australia or somewhere, I’ll walk around and I’ll visit some local attractions and get some food somewhere, just experience my surroundings a little bit.
Is there any chance you might tour your solo music or visit Australia with Saosin in the near future?
Yes. Well Saosin is working on a new record and we’re hopefully going to come over there for some shows when we release it.
It must be really exciting to be back with Saosin, but is it also a bit strange after all this time?
It’s strange in the way that it’s new and it’s exciting and for years I never would have imagined it would happen. It’s strange in that way, but it’s so awesome. I had such a weight on my shoulders for such a long time about it. It’s nice to be able to be friends with those guys and make music with them again, and go and have fun and play and share what we love to do with everybody.
It seems you’re really busy with various music projects and your family. Is it tough to balance Circa Survive with Saosin as well as your solo music?
It’s always tough for me to balance my time. I’ve been spending the majority of the last two years working with Circa and at some point next year I’m going to transition into doing Saosin for a little while. Then I’ll focus a little bit on doing solo stuff and then go back and maybe write a new Circa record. I try to line things up so I can do one thing at a time.
On that note, what do you think is next for Circa Survive? Are there any plans?
I know that we’re going to have a little bit of time off in the summer. I’m working on new music all the time. There’s also a possibility that we might do a tour of our first record because it’s ten years old this year. I might take a little bit of a break to do Saosin stuff after that. I think that’s probably what’s coming next for early next year. We might put out the Saosin record in springtime or summer next year and see how that goes. Right now it’s all up in the air. Maybe we’ll come back for Soundwave next year, who knows? If we’re invited.
I’m sure they’d be happy to have you. Well thank you, Anthony. Thanks for your time.
Thank you so much.
That’s alright. Enjoy the rest of your night.
See you Nathan.
CIRCA SURVIE / PRVIS
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