NARROWS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN LAANANEN
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/narrows
COUNTRY: United States STYLE: Regional Mexican / Post punk / Ghettotech

WHAT WAS AND STILL IS THE ORIGINAL “IDEA” BEHIND THE BAND’S MUSIC?

To write stuff we all enjoy and can fun with.

I GOT A… (AND I’M SORRY IF I SOUND LAME)… ARTISTIC FEEL AND VIBE FROM YOUR MUSIC AND VISUALS. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELVES TO BE AN “EXPERIMENTAL” BAND?

That doesn't sound lame but I have personally never really thought of ourselves as an experimental band really. I like to think we try to incorporate as much of our different tastes and ideas into what we do so I guess we do experiment with that stuff where possible and of course, time permitting.

THE BAND NAME NARROWS HAS SORT OF AN “EERIE” FEELING TO IT IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT. DO YOU HAVE A CERTAIN ATMOSPHERE THAT YOU LIKE TO CREATE WITH YOUR MUSIC?

I think we like heading towards the darker side of music and that can mean different things from each of us. Personally, I like it when things have an eerie atmosphere and am just up for seeing what we can bring to the table in capacity.

TALKING ABOUT “EERIE”, YOUR MUSIC VIDEO FOR THE SONG “GYPSY KIDS” WAS CONSIDERED TO EXPLICIT FOR MYSPACE AND THEY REMOVED IT. DO YOU THINK ONE CAN TAKE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ONLY TO A CERTAIN LEVEL BEFORE IT IS JUST PLAIN WRONG?

Hahahaha, Craig (who made the video) will find that hilarious. I think it totally depends on what context that you put freedom of expression in to be plain wrong. I guess people can use freedom of expression as an excuse to just be plain wrong but I think that when it's used in any artistic concept then no matter how extreme it is, it will always boil down to your personal reaction to it. What you might find horrifying, someone else might find beautiful and vice versa.

WHERE WOULD YOU SAY THE BAND’S LOVE FOR THE “BIZARRE” SHOWN IN THE VIDEO FOR “GYPSY KIDS” COMES FROM?

In total honesty, the visual concept of the video was totally from the mind of Craig Murray (http://vimeo.com/myblackcat). I have known him for years and he's been making his own films for a little while now and asked me about doing a video for us.

I have really liked his stuff and always liked his timing and attention to detail. I think he has done a great job with this video and has complimented the song well in being both bleak and beautiful. But that's my own personal opinion of course.

“GYPSY KIDS” IS OF COURSE ONLY ONE OF THE TRACKS OFF YOUR LATEST ALBUM “NEW DISTANCES” WHICH WAS RELEASED IN MAY. ARE YOU GUYS HAPPY WITH THE WAY THE ALBUM TURNED OUT AND DO YOU SEE IT AS A GOOD DIRECTION TO CONTINUE FROM WITH FUTURE RELEASES?

I know that we're all very excited with how the record turned out. There was no definition in how the record was going to turn out once finished and we all just had to kind of go with it, especially given the short time we had. I am proud of everything we have done so far.

YOU GUYS APPROACH HARDCORE IN A WAY I HAVE NEVER HEARD BEFORE. IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU USUALLY APPROACH THE SONG WRITING PROCESS AND HOW DOES A NARROWS SONG USUALLY COME TO LIFE?

Given our geographical differences we of course can't really ever rehearse so ideas are mostly recorded at home and stored until it looks time when we might be able to all be in the same place at the same time. At that point, we email each other all of the tracks of ideas and check out what each other is thinking and how they might be inspired.

We then get together, put the different ideas together and see how we can make things fit and develop the ideas as we go along. Previously, at that point, we then go into the studio and just lay it all down and develop the ideas as we go. It's always evolving for us and can be a fun, exciting and stressful time.

WHEN WOULD YOU SAY HAS BEEN THE MOST “INCONVENIENT” TIME YOU’VE EVER HAD AN IDEA FOR A SONG AND DID NOT HAVE ANY WAY OF WRITING OR RECORDING YOUR IDEAS?

Ummmm, I don't really think that's ever been a problem. With garageband always near it's pretty easy to lay stuff down when needed.

WITH EACH BAND MEMBER HAVING A BUSY SCHEDULE, HOW HARD HAS IT BEEN TO GET A TOUR OF THE GROUND IN SUPPORT FOR “NEW DISTANCES”?

I guess it's not too much different than any other band really. We all work and have busy schedules with that stuff so that's the first thing that needs to be in place. We managed to tour the US west coast in December which was fun and now we're looking to do some US east coast dates in November.

We're loosely talking about stuff for next year too like for Europe and such but again, it all depends on availability. Then of course is looking how much it's gonna cost us with flights and gear etc. Granted, it's a bit difficult but it's doable.

AS DESCRIBED BY YOUR BAND BIO NARROWS IS “SPREAD OUT ACROSS BOTH THE UNITED STATES AND TWO CONTINENTS”, SO WHENEVER THE BAND DOES FIND THE OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM DOES IT SERVE AS A WELCOME ESCAPE FROM WHATEVER ELSE YOU WERE BUSY WITH AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME?

Sure. We love playing this stuff and I think having the distance between us keeps us keen to do it and keep the songs fresh for us to play.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY HAS BEEN THE MOST “UNIQUE” VENUE YOU HAVE EVER PERFORMED IN?

With Narrows, I think all the venues we have played have been pretty standard in most respects but then we haven't really played a lot of shows.

ALTHOUGH NARROWS CAN STILL BE CONSIDERED YOUNG IN BAND YEARS, DO YOU THINK THAT THE PROJECT STILL HAS A LONG LIFE LEFT AHEAD OR IS EACH MEMBER OPEN TO THE POSSIBILITY OF EXPANDING THEIR MUSICAL HORIZONS?

At present, we're all really excited to be doing this band and we're happy to keep it going as long as it's fun for us all. We all have other bands / projects that we're working with too so we're definitely keeping busy.

ANY COMMENTS; THINGS FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

Keep an eye for US east coast dates and maybe another release. Thanks to all who have bought our record and support us.

Jodie / NRWS