WRITER

WRITER – ‘North Park’s Finest’

by Brendan Foote

Photo By Blair Robb

North Park, recognizable by its vintage welcome sign affectionately draped over 30th Street on University, has gained significant notoriety as an emerging mecca for art enthusiasts and exceedingly talented musicians, though it remains tucked away alongside Balboa Park, outside of downtown San Diego. Those who reside or frequent this organic town will definitely attest to its character, though for them, it is no new development. North Park has been freckled with many of San Diego’s more renowned music venues, emerging art galleries, trendy restaurants, coffee shops and bars for some time now. It was within this shiny spot on the face of San Diego that we were able to sit down and chat with the boys from Writer, one of North Park’s finest musical products.

Spending some time with Andy (vocals, guitar), James (drums), David (guitar) and Dagart (bass) gave us increased insight as to why they are making such waves in the San Diego music scene. The band is relatively young, originating in the Spring of 2006, but they have gained the loyalty of a very dedicated grass-roots following that has seemingly blossomed into an eclectic crowd that pack their shows. Like the town that produced them, the guys from Writer have a very ‘real’ feel to them. They write music with meaning, they share beers with friends and fans after shows, they put their hearts into every performance and put on captivating shows.

As modest as they come, Writer doesn’t bloat its rising success. A band that measures its success by the impact they have on those who enjoy their music will never site awards or album sales as their credentials for stardom. Simply put, as long as Writer continues to produce great music, the rest will follow. Here is what the guys had to say in response to our enthusiastic interrogation.

RIS: We have to start off by inquiring about the name, ‘Writer’ and its subtle absurdity. Its almost what you would see on a business card as a title, although I doubt many writers have business cards. Does the name carry any specific story or renowned meaning?

Writer:  It’s completely absurd but totally fitting in a couple of ways: yes we write songs, lyrics, emails, and rent checks.  So do a lot of other people we know.   It’s just another band name that we really liked and thought would be perfect for the music we write.

RIS:  We are claiming you (selfishly) as a San Diego band, but I know you used to play quite a few shows in LA. What led to the ultimate homage back to San Diego to grace our venues with your music? Was the move to be closer to your homes? Or did you feel like San Diego was more suited for the music you were producing?

Writer:  Writer has always been a San Diego based band.  During 2006 our drummer Matt Fredrich was living in LA going to film school.  We got to rehearse and record our first record “Cover Your Tracks” in a real cool film studio, but portions were also recorded at Andy’s apartment in Point Loma, and still more of “Cover Your Tracks” was recorded at a house in Chula Vista.  Our very first show we played in San Diego, but soon started playing out of town.  We met friends in Long Beach and more friends in LA, and have spent a lot of late nights in both cities.

RIS:  Biologically speaking (though I am not a scientist), there is some brotherly love in Writer. Andy and Jayme, as brothers, have you always enjoyed musical family fusion?  Have your musical endeavors ever led you away from one another only to find you back playing together again?

Writer:  Although we played in separate bands all through high school it always seemed to work a little bit better even when we were just playing Weezer covers in my bedroom… guitar and drums, and that’s it.  We were recently asked how our song writing process goes, and it came out as, we just end up telling each other how to play each other’s instruments and how the songs should sound.

RIS:  2008 was definitely not a recessionary year for Writer the band. You were nominated as SDMA’s Best New Artist of the Year and you released a positively acclaimed album named Blood Drops. Was the local music scene just starting to accept the fact that you guys were putting together some excellent tunes and captivating live performances, or was it a year of strong development for the band?

Writer:  We played a whole lot in 2008. We released a cool record (in my opinion), played out of town a bunch, and spent hundreds of hours in our garage making sure our songs sounded good. It all helped.

RIS:  When a bands music genre is not clear cut, fancy music critics and writers love to show off their adjective pool in aims to define the undefinable. What’s most important is what kind of music the band itself is wanting to play and put out there. How would you classify Writer’s music? (Personally, I would call it progressive-soul twang meets indie-melodic acoustic)

Writer:  I like your description, just add the word “blazing” in there some where.

RIS:  Andy, could you indulge us as to an explanation for the “Dracula Sucks” signature sticker on your acoustic guitar that even makes its way onto the album cover of Blood Drops?

Writer:  A friend found that sticker at a thrift store in Hawaii. I liked the way it looked and asked him if I could have it.

RIS:  You fellas have some big shows coming up this summer. Where are you headed? Where can we see you around these parts?

Writer:  July 4th we played a party at the El Rio in San Fransisco…. great club. July 25th we are playing at the Beauty Bar in San Diego with our good buddies Swim Party. In August we are playing The Fling’s tour kick off show at the Prospector in Long Beach.

RIS:  How do you feel the San Diego music scene is progressing? Is it becoming a more conducive place for musicians to start a career without having to flee for the City of Angels?

Writer: Hmmmm, well LA is very enticing…. almost every band we know from LA moved there and instantly blew up. But those same bands still can’t book a show in San  Diego. It’s weird. San Diego’s got something cool going on right now and everyone wants to get on the band wagon.

RIS: What other local bands are you into? Who do you like to play with?

Writer:  Playing with Swim Party is always a pleasure and feels really grass roots, everything from booking our own shows, printing and putting up our own posters, and playing for our friends and fans.  We are playing for Tape Deck Mountain’s vinyl release show soon.  I think they are a pretty cool band and are good friends of ours.  Boomsnake is cool.  Joel P. West and his band are good.  The Paddle Boat is also cool.

RIS: Other than playing some much demanded shows this summer, is there any studio time on the calendar?

Writer:  We recently recorded a few songs, start to finish, at Earthling Studio with Mike Kamoo.  I think soon we are going to take some time off from playing shows to sit around and tell each other how to play each others instruments and hopefully come out with some new songs to record. That will happen in September…. the first month  off from playing shows in a long long time.

RIS: You guys have a very strong local following, fans that seem to flock to every show you play at spots like The Soda Bar, The Whistle Stop and the amazing Luce Loft Sezio Series back in late March. What does it mean, for a band that is climbing the ladder, to have such a strong roots following?

Writer:  It means everything to us when people coming to our shows.  We’ve gotten to know a lot of people in town and out of town as well… great people. It’s refreshing to meet people who actually like to see live music, and it’s even better when someone wants to buy us a drink at a show! Oh and Live at the Luce Loft was a really cool thing.  Every time we see Zack from Sezio we ask him what the next cool thing is gonna be.

RIS: In San Diego, what’s your favorite restaurant? Place to get a coffee? Place to get a record? Place to mellow out?

Writer:  I love the Whistle Stop, Spacecraft Gallery, Krakatoa, El Camino for taco Tuesday,  and the Casbah.

From all of us here at Revolt, we encourage you to keep your eye out for these guys. They put out a great EP in 2008 entitled Blood Drops which, along with their other albums, is available wherever good music is sold. You can check out the band on Myspace or their website, www.writertheband.com !