MUSIC INTERVIEW: APRIL SMITH & THE GREAT PICTURE SHOW

How To Kickstart a Musical Career By Embracing "Terrible Things"

By: Team Buzzine

December 2, 2010

April Smith was born and raised in New Jersey, but moved to Brooklyn and pulled together the members of her band, The Great Picture Show, from the best of the thriving music scene in New York’s hippest borough. Her longtime love of big band music led her to a dramatic change of musical direction, high-profile music placements, and a fan-funded new album. April took some time out in Hollywood on her current coast-to-coast musical roadshow for a Buzzine interview about her fundraising skills, her love of Dexter, and why everyone should learn to play the saucepan and suitcase…

Bridget Voeck: Take us back to the beginnings of your music and the creation of The Great Picture Show…

April Smith: April Smith and the Great Picture Show began a while back, actually. I just kind of started writing in this different style that was a little more true to my influences, because I’ve always really loved big band swing and that ragtime kind of music. So I started writing and it snowballed into new songs, and I was really liking what I was writing. I found the right players. Steve was from my previous incarnation of April Smith and the Great Picture Show. Stevens is my bassist and he’s been with me the longest; and there’s Marty on lead guitar, accordion, and uke. He came to us shortly after Stevens--maybe about a year. He’s really well-known in the New York and New Jersey music scene as being a really fantastic player. Then last year, we met Nick, the drummer. He’s from Connecticut but he moved to Brooklyn a while back, but we snagged him as soon as we could. He’s the band bookworm because he’s always got his nose in a book. And then there’s Ray, who is on keys, violin, and accordion. I think Ray came to us about six or seven months ago now. Basically, we needed a keys player and we snagged him. It’s a bonus because he plays violin as well, so we get the benefit of him being a great keys player but also having violin for the live shows, which has really added a lot to the show. So those are my boys, and I love them.

BV: You recorded most of your new album in an at-home studio? That must have made for some memorable moments…

AS: We recorded Songs For A Sinking Ship at Dan Romer’s studio at his house in Brooklyn. A couple things we went into the studio for, like drums and piano and strings, but for the most part we recorded the album there, and it was really cool because Dan lives ten minutes away. He’s in Brooklyn, 

I’m in Brooklyn, so basically it was just like get up, go to the studio, and get stuff done. And it was really kind of a laid back sort of vibe, so it was really nice to be able to take our time and do things the way we wanted to do them and make the album we wanted to make.

BV: The music not only features sounds of the banjo and the accordion, but the saucepans are also in the mix, and even a suitcase? How did that happen?

AS: The suitcase and saucepan came into play when I was demo-ing. I did an at-home demo of "Colors" a couple years ago. I just wanted to record it and put it out there to see what people thought of the song, and I didn’t have a drumset and I didn’t have a lot of percussion instruments that I wanted to put in it, so I took everything I had in my apartment--like I had a washboard, a big old Samsonite suitcase... My bassist came over and helped me record it, so he brought over this bag of little Christmas bells and he set all the recording stuff up, and we basically just recorded it and...I don’t know, it just came out that way, and I really liked that organic sound of having all those funny, odd things in the mix. So when I recorded it with Dan, I really wanted to keep that element of fun in it, so the suitcase is on the recording, and there’s a saucepan and a wooden spoon from Dan’s place on there. The rest is just guitar and uke and accordion, but I really think it's those little unique things that make the song what it is.

BV: What are you most proud of about the finished album?

AS: I’m really proud of the way the songs fit together. I think that really makes me happy. When I was putting together the songs that I wanted to have on the album, there were a couple that didn’t make it. I’m glad that we saved them, either for another album or it’ll be like special releases, but I feel like the songs that are on the album all fit together nicely and it’s very cohesive. It’s nice. I think I’m most proud that I didn’t just put out songs on the album because I wanted a lot of songs on the album. I really took my time to pick and choose. Some of them I really love, but I just didn’t feel like they were for this album. So maybe you’ll hear them someday…

BV: The album was actually funded by your fans through Kickstarter.com, which is a great new way to go... Can you tell us a little bit about how it works? Fans give you money for the album and you bake them cookies?

AS: Kickstarter is the site I used to fund my album. It’s the largest fundraising platform for creative projects in the entire world right now. My bassist sent me a link to the website and said, “You should check this out because I know you want to make an album, and I know that not being on a label and having the money to do it are all things that are an issue right now, so check it out and let me know what you think.” So I checked it out and I said, “Yeah, I want to do this.” So I created a project on Kickstarter and created this little video to get people involved, and basically what happens is people will pledge for your project in return for rewards, which could be anything from a free copy of the album a week before it comes out, to a guest production spot, or singing on the album, or a house concert, or being in the music video. I think the rewards that you offer are really important because you want to compensate your fans for all the effort and time they are spending on and investing in you. That’s why I love Kickstarter. We had a goal of $10,000 that we really wanted to raise for the album. In the end, we raised just over $13,000. We are really proud of what we did, and again, it helped me make the album I wanted to give to everybody who had invested their time and money and faith in us. It was a great experience. I would definitely use Kickstarter for future projects, for sure. I’ve actually invited other artists–my friend is doing a comic book on Kickstarter, and another friend did an album on Kickstarter. I had such a great experience that I really wanted to share it with other artists.

BV: That’s really awesome. Another awesome moment for you must have been when you won A Prairie Home Companion’s Battle of the Bands, which led to you being featured on NPR and Song of the Day. Where were you when you heard your song on the radio?

AS: I think I was at home. We had just gotten home from tour, I believe, and I heard that "Colors" was the song of the day, and I was like, "Get out." A lot of people were posting on Facebook and Twitter or whatever, saying, “Do you know that NPR is featuring "Colors" as the song of the day?” And I was like, “No.  Oh my gosh.” I tuned in, and it was pretty cool. I think the NPR crowd--public radio in general--is a really great crowd to have because they are really all about the music and all about the programming. There is great programming on public radio, so I think a lot of people who listen understand the need to keep music and independent music going, and independent musicians going, and all this great stuff that you can’t get on commercial radio all the time. So that was a big thrill for us.                                               

BV: Is it true that Dexter actually inspired your song, "Terrible Things"?

AS: "Terrible Things" was inspired by the Showtime show Dexter a while back. I just fell in love with the show and really wanted to have this idea in my head…what kind of a song would come from the perspective of somebody like Dexter?  So I wrote the song, and actually, the people from Showtime contacted me about another song they were thinking they might want to use for their programming, and I said, “Well, I have this other song too. I don’t know if you want to check it out...” I sent it over and they liked it. For a while, I had been trying to get to Gary Calamar (who is the music supervisor). My manager was talking to Gary and he really liked the song, but it just never was the right time. They weren’t taping the show, it never worked out. So, at the end of last year, Showtime contacted us and said they wanted to use the song for Californication for an online promo. So they used it for Californication, and that was so cool because that’s also one of my favorite shows. This year, they said they wanted to use it for Weeds, and they used it twice. They used it in two of their promos, and I think they also did a radio campaign thing with it, and then they used it in an episode. They were really giving us a lot of love, and that was huge. They have been really cool to us. Maybe the third time is a charm. Maybe they will actually use it for Dexter. That would be amazing!

BV: The music video for "Terrible Things" shows us the good and evil side of you. So what sticks out most in your mind from grinding your dinner guests into dinner?

AS: The video for "Terrible Things" was a lot of fun to make. Basically, I had this treatment I had written for the video and wasn’t sure if I could get a director to bring it to life. So I contacted Ryan Stober, because I had seen his other work, and said, “Do you want to do this?” And he said, “Yeah, I definitely want to do it.” He got all the right people involved, and we rented this old mansion in Philmont, New York. We basically rented it for the weekend, and the whole crew and cast went up and we stayed in this mansion for two nights. We sort of created this set inside this old mansion. We really packed a lot of shooting in two days. It was a lot of fun, and the whole cast and crew were top-notch people. I think the most fun part for me was watching Stevens, the bassist, who actually is the guy who dies last in the video…he gets poisoned. So you see him, and all the expressions that come to his face were actually the directors coaching him: “Okay, it tastes funny. Take a sip. It tastes funny...” Stevens is kind of a shy guy. He’s quiet, but to see him acting it out and doing this amazing job, I had no idea he could act like that. That was probably the most fun for me--to see Stevens pull that off and make the ending perfect.

BV: A theatrical music video like that seems such a natural extension of the sort of theatrical presence you have on stage. What would you tell someone coming to s

ee your show for the first time? What could they expect?

AS: I think they would definitely be entertained, I’d say. And every time someone sees us, whether it’s the first time or second time or tenth time, I feel like we always put on a different show. We try to mix it up and keep it fresh and add new songs whenever we can. I think people coming to see us for the first time aren’t used to that whole cabaret vibe, so I think it’s kind of fun for people because we’re always interacting with the audience. I’d say that’s probably the biggest thing to expect from us--that we’ll be interacting with you and talking to you, and you’ll kind of feel like we’re in the living room together. It’s not like a club--it’s like we’re hanging out.

BV: When you write songs, do you visualize them on stage or recording them, or something entirely different?

AS: When I write songs, it usually stems from a line or a vocal melody, and I think that, when I’m writing, I consider some of the performance. With "Stop Wondering," it was kind of funny the way I wrote that song because originally I just wrote it as this funny, comedic interlude, sort of like a Judy Garland kind of thing or like Carol Burnett, like a funny lady type of thing, and it wound up being a lot of people’s favorite time of the set. I feel like when we do "Stop Wondering," at the end of that song, people get us. If they didn’t get us before or they weren’t really locked into the show, that’s when everybody is like ,“Now we’re having fun.” So I guess there is a little bit of consideration, as far as I want to entertain people with the music and the performance, so I definitely take that into consideration while writing.

BV: You’re out on tour right now, traveling all over. Being on stage is always the best part. What do you do the other 90% of the time? We hear that you’ve named your tour buses… What do you do to keep yourself entertained?

AS: When we’re on tour, there is a lot of driving involved, of course--especially lately we’ve had these long drives. So we try to play car games with each other because a lot of these stretches of road are long and boring, and everything is beautiful, but sometimes you’re just like, “It’s dark and late; I need to be entertained. You guys got to help me out. I’m driving for hours.” So we’ve been doing a lot of that. We actually played the Kennedy Center for Tina Fey’s acceptance of the Mark Twain Award, and we made her a drumhead with her face on it. That was really fun and a last-minute thing that we put together because we wanted to give her something to show that we were happy for her, and we thought that would be a fun thing for her to have. We’ve also been really into food on this tour. Whenever we stop in a city, we have to sample the local cuisine.  I think those are the two things that are important: keeping each other entertained in the van on those drives, and also stopping and getting good food. I think that keeps you going just as much as sleeping and resting--you have to have good food. We try to get good food as much as we can.

April Smith & The Great Picture Show’s 'Songs For A Sinking Ship' is available online at  www.AprilSmithMusic.com