Interview: Andy Nelson of Ceremony/ Paint It Black/ Dark Blue
Ceremony and Paint it Black are two of the bands that I listen to the most. Andy Nelson play in both those bands. Here’s an interview with him…
You’ve been with Ceremony since the “6 Songs” EP. How come you joined the band and what was it like not only coming into a new band, but also a group with a back catalogue as impressive as Ceremony’s?
Ceremony had parted ways with a longtime member and they asked me to join. I have some experience playing in incredible, established bands of which I was not a founding member (Lifetime and Blacklisted, to name two), so it wasn’t too difficult or strange, from a musical standpoint. I did feel some amount of awkwardness taking the place of a very dear friend, and to an extent, I still do.
I love how Ceremony has pushed the sound forward with each LP. Personally I embrace that sort of thing, but I know that a lot of people would disagree. Have you been getting a lot of negative comments about the fact that “Zoo” is pretty damn far from “Ruined”?
Those who make the observation that all the Ceremony records sound different from each other are making a factually accurate, if sort of useless and unnecessary, statement. Of course the records don’t sound the way they do by accident. I’ve never understood why some people will accept nothing less than the bands they like to stay the same forever (or worse yet, putting out increasingly watered down versions of the same record over and over), but there’s clearly a sizable market for it. It’s not a thing we’re concerned with in the least.
I guess expanding your views and going for new things must be a refreshing experience for a band.
I can’t think of anything more bizarre and unnatural than never changing the way you think about everything.
You’re about to start recording the follow-up to “Zoo”. In what direction do you see this new record going? Care to shed any light on what people should expect from it?
As one might guess, it doesn’t sound like any other Ceremony record. We’ll be playing some of the new songs on tour this summer, everyone else will just have to wait with virtuous patience.
Do you think it’ll be a 2014 release?
It will be a 2015 release. First thing.
You’re also a founding member of Paint It Black. What’s it like to be in two bands on opposite coasts of the country? I know Paint It Black isn’t super active, but still. It seems like 3000 miles could be a bit of a problem.
The only difficulty is logistics. Ceremony isn’t able to schedule a spur-of-the-moment practice or show the way some bands can because of the 3,000 miles. But really, that’s not how the band functions these days anyway — everyone has other commitments and we tend to conduct ourselves with a lot of deliberate planning. It’s worth mentioning that Paint It Black is in the exact same situation, as our drummer lives in California.
So, what other commitments do you have?
I have a lovely girlfriend, a job and another new band called Dark Blue who began playing out late last year and are about to release our second 7”. We’re almost finished recording the Dark Blue LP and it will be released this fall.
How would describe the difference in being a founding member of a band and joining a band that already has 3 critically acclaimed records out? How long did it take to feel like a real member of Ceremony?
This will sound trite, but we were all so close before I joined the band, that it felt completely natural.
Back to Paint It Black. I really hope you’ll be able to get everyone together and write another 7” soon. I think these last EP’s you guys did is the band’s best work to date. Can you see that happening anytime soon?
It’s hard to say. I’m proud of the fact that in the time since Paint It Black began, we have managed to eschew the start/break up/reunite circuit to which, let’s be honest, nearly every band that has ever existed has succumbed in the past few years. Instead, we’ve all remained engaged with our culture throughout and have no interest in lazily trotting out (what other people have deemed to be) our hits for a victory lap or two. That sounds more harsh than it should, as there are of course exceptions to that, but what I really mean is it’s no coincidence that our strongest material and most relevant is also our most recent and that it’s a sum of our years as an active punk band. At the same time, I won’t lie and say that elements of making records haven’t become more difficult with each release. We take what we put out into the world very seriously and none of us would waste the world’s time with something that we didn’t feel was absolutely worthwhile. There are no new songs as of this writing and we have no plans to make any more, but it’s hard to imagine that we won’t make another 7” someday.
Dan Yemin (vocals, Paint It Black) spoke out in an interview about how he dislikes Paint It Black being referred to as “Yemin and company”. What are your thoughts on that matter? Both PIB and Ceremony have very charismatic vocalists. Do you feel like people who write reviews etc. often lose focus on bands as a whole and center it all around one person?
It’s completely understandable why front persons get all the attention, especially in the cases of Ross and Dan, right? I don’t tend to think too much about what most people write about our bands. I’m not interested in being a personality, quite frankly.
Speaking of that interview. Dan also mentioned a new band consisting of himself, you, George Hirsch of Blacklisted and Chris Wilson of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. I’ve been looking around for more details on it but without luck. What’s up?
George stepped away from the project, mercifully before we played a show or recorded anything, but I’m happy to report that it’s still slowly taking shape. We’re now nearly done recording 12 songs with Will Yip, and are in the process solidifying a new vocalist. In theory, we’ll release the LP and begin playing live later this year.
Are there any bands around Philadelphia that you feel aren’t getting the attention they deserve? Here’s a chance to maybe get someone to give them a listen.
There are so, so many people doing great things in Philadelphia right now, I hate to single anyone out, but I will tell you that the Radiator Hospital LP gave me a lot of joy last year and that I hope NOTHING become the biggest band in the world.
You’ve been with Ceremony since the “6 Songs” EP. How come you joined the band and what was it like not only coming into a new band, but also a group with a back catalogue as impressive as Ceremony’s?
Ceremony had parted ways with a longtime member and they asked me to join. I have some experience playing in incredible, established bands of which I was not a founding member (Lifetime and Blacklisted, to name two), so it wasn’t too difficult or strange, from a musical standpoint. I did feel some amount of awkwardness taking the place of a very dear friend, and to an extent, I still do.
I love how Ceremony has pushed the sound forward with each LP. Personally I embrace that sort of thing, but I know that a lot of people would disagree. Have you been getting a lot of negative comments about the fact that “Zoo” is pretty damn far from “Ruined”?
Those who make the observation that all the Ceremony records sound different from each other are making a factually accurate, if sort of useless and unnecessary, statement. Of course the records don’t sound the way they do by accident. I’ve never understood why some people will accept nothing less than the bands they like to stay the same forever (or worse yet, putting out increasingly watered down versions of the same record over and over), but there’s clearly a sizable market for it. It’s not a thing we’re concerned with in the least.
I guess expanding your views and going for new things must be a refreshing experience for a band.
I can’t think of anything more bizarre and unnatural than never changing the way you think about everything.
You’re about to start recording the follow-up to “Zoo”. In what direction do you see this new record going? Care to shed any light on what people should expect from it?
As one might guess, it doesn’t sound like any other Ceremony record. We’ll be playing some of the new songs on tour this summer, everyone else will just have to wait with virtuous patience.
Do you think it’ll be a 2014 release?
It will be a 2015 release. First thing.
You’re also a founding member of Paint It Black. What’s it like to be in two bands on opposite coasts of the country? I know Paint It Black isn’t super active, but still. It seems like 3000 miles could be a bit of a problem.
The only difficulty is logistics. Ceremony isn’t able to schedule a spur-of-the-moment practice or show the way some bands can because of the 3,000 miles. But really, that’s not how the band functions these days anyway — everyone has other commitments and we tend to conduct ourselves with a lot of deliberate planning. It’s worth mentioning that Paint It Black is in the exact same situation, as our drummer lives in California.
So, what other commitments do you have?
I have a lovely girlfriend, a job and another new band called Dark Blue who began playing out late last year and are about to release our second 7”. We’re almost finished recording the Dark Blue LP and it will be released this fall.
How would describe the difference in being a founding member of a band and joining a band that already has 3 critically acclaimed records out? How long did it take to feel like a real member of Ceremony?
This will sound trite, but we were all so close before I joined the band, that it felt completely natural.
Back to Paint It Black. I really hope you’ll be able to get everyone together and write another 7” soon. I think these last EP’s you guys did is the band’s best work to date. Can you see that happening anytime soon?
It’s hard to say. I’m proud of the fact that in the time since Paint It Black began, we have managed to eschew the start/break up/reunite circuit to which, let’s be honest, nearly every band that has ever existed has succumbed in the past few years. Instead, we’ve all remained engaged with our culture throughout and have no interest in lazily trotting out (what other people have deemed to be) our hits for a victory lap or two. That sounds more harsh than it should, as there are of course exceptions to that, but what I really mean is it’s no coincidence that our strongest material and most relevant is also our most recent and that it’s a sum of our years as an active punk band. At the same time, I won’t lie and say that elements of making records haven’t become more difficult with each release. We take what we put out into the world very seriously and none of us would waste the world’s time with something that we didn’t feel was absolutely worthwhile. There are no new songs as of this writing and we have no plans to make any more, but it’s hard to imagine that we won’t make another 7” someday.
Dan Yemin (vocals, Paint It Black) spoke out in an interview about how he dislikes Paint It Black being referred to as “Yemin and company”. What are your thoughts on that matter? Both PIB and Ceremony have very charismatic vocalists. Do you feel like people who write reviews etc. often lose focus on bands as a whole and center it all around one person?
It’s completely understandable why front persons get all the attention, especially in the cases of Ross and Dan, right? I don’t tend to think too much about what most people write about our bands. I’m not interested in being a personality, quite frankly.
Speaking of that interview. Dan also mentioned a new band consisting of himself, you, George Hirsch of Blacklisted and Chris Wilson of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. I’ve been looking around for more details on it but without luck. What’s up?
George stepped away from the project, mercifully before we played a show or recorded anything, but I’m happy to report that it’s still slowly taking shape. We’re now nearly done recording 12 songs with Will Yip, and are in the process solidifying a new vocalist. In theory, we’ll release the LP and begin playing live later this year.
Are there any bands around Philadelphia that you feel aren’t getting the attention they deserve? Here’s a chance to maybe get someone to give them a listen.
There are so, so many people doing great things in Philadelphia right now, I hate to single anyone out, but I will tell you that the Radiator Hospital LP gave me a lot of joy last year and that I hope NOTHING become the biggest band in the world.
Links & Further Information:
Ceremony
Paint It Black
Dark Blue
Andy Nelson photo by: Osiris Priego
Ceremony
Paint It Black
Dark Blue
Andy Nelson photo by: Osiris Priego
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