The Way Down Wanderers
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Where do your ideas generally come from-
fact, fiction or a little bit of both?
AK-T: On my songs, I think a lot of them
are fact, whether it’s a situation that I expe-
rienced or someone close to me had expe-
rienced.
CK: I guess I don’t know if it would be
truth to other people, but these ideas that I
have in my head that I think are important
enough to write down is usually where I’m
at with songwriting.
IE: Do you each individually write songs
and bring them to the band or are you in
the same room co-writing?
AK-T: Usually a little of both. Collin and I
typically will write and bring it to the
band, but on this album illusion*, we prob-
ably co-wrote at least three songs together,
which is much more than our first record.
Collin and I are writing together more
often, but typically Collin and myself will
share songs with one another before the
group just to get each other’s feedback and
impact.
IE: In what ways do you feel the group has
grown since releasing your self-titled
debut a few years back?
CK: Well we’ve definitely gotten tighter,
just playing together five years on stage I
think really shows both in the studio and
at a live show. We’ve definitely grown as
people, but also as musicians. I think
everyone’s gotten a lot better. Our har-
monies were so much better than they
were even six months ago or a year ago, so
it’s cool to go back and listen to some of
those old recordings and see how far we’ve
come.
IE: How did you get hooked up with your
producer David Schiffman?
AK-T: I think our drummer John Merikoski
had suggested him after hearing just a few
records that he put out, one in particular
by The Strumbellas. They had a great
Americana record, but he also has a ton of
work all across the board with tons of dif-
ferent rock bands and country musicians
as well. We just hopped on the phone with
David, and we just love his approach. He’s
super easygoing and laid back and just
seemed like he was wanting to make it
work. He wasn’t really trying to push any-
thing that we weren’t feeling. It was an
organic combination, and it felt right.
IE: Did Schiffman share any stories or
insights about working with any of his
other amazing acts?
26 illinoisentertainer.com march 2019
CK: He had really good things to say about
working with Johnny Cash, and he said he
was one of the nicest guys.
AK-T: He told quite a bit of stories of work-
ing with (Grammy-winning producer)
Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Adele, Red Hot
Chili Peppers, The Dixie Chicks). He used
to be, I think, his right-hand man for a cou-
ple of years and he learned a lot from Rick.
It was really cool just to know that.
IE: How does your live sound expand
beyond the studio recordings?
AK-T: The thing about our live sound is
usually it’s just a little more energetic
[with] a little more hooting and hollering
here and there.
CK: We switch the tempos a bit. I think we
play the songs a little faster live.
AK-T: But other than that, we’re just
extending the live sound with more of the
key parts that we have on the record com-
ing out.
CK: I think we are always trying to make
the set list as different as possible. We have
different transitions where we try to elimi-
nate silence during the show. It’s really a
continuous part where we connect like
four or five songs together without stop-
ping. I think that’s something that’s kind of
different that sets our stage show apart a
little bit.
IE: Do you change the show every night or
just per tour?
CK: It really depends on the tour. Recently,
we got to go on tour with The Infamous
Stringdusters, a really big bluegrass band
who just won a Grammy for their album.
We had a 45-minute set every night, so we
played the same set for that tour. But typi-
cally when we’re on own tour and we’re
headlining every show, we’ll play a com-
pletely different set list every night.
AK-T: We definitely like to switch it up for
ourselves as well as the audience, because
every now and then, we’ll get some fans
who will see a few shows in a row and we
really like to keep them on the edge and
not know what to expect at all times.
IE: What are some of your favorite places
to play around town?
AK-T: Evanston Space has been a great
venue; plus Park West - we really love that
room - and Lincoln Hall.
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