| Oberhofer Session | |
| Violitionist Sessions |
Session Date: March 10, 2012
Posting Date: March 26, 2012
Artist Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Free Audio Download
Links: Facebook, Twitter
Recorded by: Michael Briggs
3 QUESTIONS
ONE: Your new album Time Capsules II is coming out on March 26th. Wasn’t it originally coming out March 27th?
Brad Oberhofer: Yeah, but they changed it to a Monday.
DJ: Don’t albums normally come out on Tuesdays?
Brad: Yeah. Apparently what happened is that Madonna decided that she wanted her record to come out on Monday, and so now the whole music industry is putting their records out on Monday.
DJ: Really?
Brad: Yeah, it was really weird, but whatever they want to do is cool with me. I wanted to put it out on Valentine’s Day, but it wasn’t done in time.
DJ: How was writing and recording the album?
Brad: A bunch of those songs were just stuff that I wrote in my dorm, or at my parent’s house, or in my apartment in New York, you know? And then I played it with everyone in the band, and they wrote their parts to it, and it turned out to be the record.
DJ: Is there a message or a theme that defines the record?
Brad: Not deliberately, but of course there is, you know? Of course there is. I don’t think that anyone could avoid that.
DJ: Don’t albums normally come out on Tuesdays?
Brad: Yeah. Apparently what happened is that Madonna decided that she wanted her record to come out on Monday, and so now the whole music industry is putting their records out on Monday.
DJ: Really?
Brad: Yeah, it was really weird, but whatever they want to do is cool with me. I wanted to put it out on Valentine’s Day, but it wasn’t done in time.
DJ: How was writing and recording the album?
Brad: A bunch of those songs were just stuff that I wrote in my dorm, or at my parent’s house, or in my apartment in New York, you know? And then I played it with everyone in the band, and they wrote their parts to it, and it turned out to be the record.
DJ: Is there a message or a theme that defines the record?
Brad: Not deliberately, but of course there is, you know? Of course there is. I don’t think that anyone could avoid that.
TWO: Do you think that living in a place like New York City influences your music?
Brad: Honestly, I don’t think so. I think that music is super personal, and everyone has personalities before they come to New York. If your personality is too influenced by New York, then I think that there must be some kind of insincerity going on. At least for me, I don’t think that New York really has an effect, other than the things that I see every day…other than the things that I am observing every day.
DJ: Well, what does influence your songwriting? What goes through your mind when you write a song?
Brad: I think that it’s different for everyone, you know? I don’t think that most people approach it like, “I’m gonna write a song right now!”
Mathew: It happens by accident.
Brad: Yeah, it happens by accident. It’s usually like…you walk in, and all of a sudden there’s this one melody that happens, you know? And that comes into your head, and you’re like, “Man, I’ve gotta make that into something!” I don’t know.
DJ: When someone is listening to your music for the first time, what do you want them to take away from it?
Brad: Just that they feel good in some way…
DJ: Well, what does influence your songwriting? What goes through your mind when you write a song?
Brad: I think that it’s different for everyone, you know? I don’t think that most people approach it like, “I’m gonna write a song right now!”
Mathew: It happens by accident.
Brad: Yeah, it happens by accident. It’s usually like…you walk in, and all of a sudden there’s this one melody that happens, you know? And that comes into your head, and you’re like, “Man, I’ve gotta make that into something!” I don’t know.
DJ: When someone is listening to your music for the first time, what do you want them to take away from it?
Brad: Just that they feel good in some way…
THREE: You’re about to go through the grinder of SXSW. What’s your impression of the festival?
Brad: It’s super fun!!
Mathew: Yeah!
Pete: It’s a lot of fun. SXSW is pretty hectic. We did it last year. It was busy, and we had to run around a lot, but it was really a good time so it doesn’t really matter. I was surprised by how disorganized it was. I thought we were going to get there and everything would make sense, and someone would just be like, “This is what you do!” and “This is where you go!” but that’s not the case. It’s just like, “Good luck!” That’s also a New York attitude, so we fell into it pretty easily. We bring bikes on the van for the festival specifically to get around. Playing festivals is great, though we haven’t done that many yet.
DJ: Is there a difference for you in playing festivals rather than a normal show at a club?
Pete: No. Not if it’s in a club. [Laughs] You know, I’d like to say I’ve noticed a difference, but not really. It’s just the people up front. I just see the people up front, because I’m in the back.
Brad: I’ve noticed that, at least at SXSW, people are in a certain groove. They’ve been going to shows all day, and everyone is really excited about going to shows. Not just that they’re at one show, or that they are seeing a specific band, but they’re just excited that there is so much around that they like and that they’re having so much fun. It almost feels like a party atmosphere.
Mathew: It’s like a week-long party. Everyone’s sort of on vacation, and like, “Oh my God I’ve gotta do this and I’ve gotta do that!!” They’ve got a schedule and it’s all fun stuff.
Brad: You’d be surprised how many people are from Brooklyn at SXSW.
Pete: You might not be that surprised.
Brad: You might even be surprised! That’s how many!
Mathew: Yeah!
Pete: It’s a lot of fun. SXSW is pretty hectic. We did it last year. It was busy, and we had to run around a lot, but it was really a good time so it doesn’t really matter. I was surprised by how disorganized it was. I thought we were going to get there and everything would make sense, and someone would just be like, “This is what you do!” and “This is where you go!” but that’s not the case. It’s just like, “Good luck!” That’s also a New York attitude, so we fell into it pretty easily. We bring bikes on the van for the festival specifically to get around. Playing festivals is great, though we haven’t done that many yet.
DJ: Is there a difference for you in playing festivals rather than a normal show at a club?
Pete: No. Not if it’s in a club. [Laughs] You know, I’d like to say I’ve noticed a difference, but not really. It’s just the people up front. I just see the people up front, because I’m in the back.
Brad: I’ve noticed that, at least at SXSW, people are in a certain groove. They’ve been going to shows all day, and everyone is really excited about going to shows. Not just that they’re at one show, or that they are seeing a specific band, but they’re just excited that there is so much around that they like and that they’re having so much fun. It almost feels like a party atmosphere.
Mathew: It’s like a week-long party. Everyone’s sort of on vacation, and like, “Oh my God I’ve gotta do this and I’ve gotta do that!!” They’ve got a schedule and it’s all fun stuff.
Brad: You’d be surprised how many people are from Brooklyn at SXSW.
Pete: You might not be that surprised.
Brad: You might even be surprised! That’s how many!
– Interview and transcription by Dale Jones