| Square Business Session | |
| Violitionist Sessions |
Session Date: March 24, 2012
Posting Date: April 30, 2012
Artist Hometown: Denton, TX
Links: Facebook
Recorded by: Michael Briggs
3 QUESTIONS
ONE: How did the band get started?
Ryan Schefsky: Well, we’ve all hung out for a long time and have been in other bands together and stuff. Me and Donovan were Star Commander—
Parker Lawson: Tell us some more about that.
Ryan: We just…yeah.
Donovan Ford: We knew Parker, and Daniel is our newest friend, basically, out of the group. It was basically…After Star Commander, Ryan wanted to actually, you know, do something.
Ryan: It’s a project that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and just couldn’t get a band together…songs that I’d written by myself and recorded by myself, and finally when Star Commander broke up, I just had the opportunity to find three of my best friends and the best musicians I know to play the songs with me. We ended up learning a bunch of stuff together, and it came out a lot more fun and a lot better than I expected, I think.
DJ: How did all of you end up in Denton? You’re all from different places, right?
Donovan: Well, me and Parker are both from Arlington, we ended up going to UNT, Parker went a year after me, and Ryan moved up, so…
Ryan: I lived in Ft. Worth, and my lease was up shortly after Donovan and Max got an apartment— our friend Max, in Denton, so I’ve just been staying on their couch, being a bum and working and stuff.
DJ: But you didn’t move to Denton to put the band together?
Ryan: I mostly did, yeah. It was almost entirely just to put the band together.
Daniel Mitchell: Hi, I’m from Houston, and I moved here to get away from an ex-girlfriend.
DJ: Oh my. Was she abusive?
Daniel: That’s all I’m going to say.
Parker Lawson: Tell us some more about that.
Ryan: We just…yeah.
Donovan Ford: We knew Parker, and Daniel is our newest friend, basically, out of the group. It was basically…After Star Commander, Ryan wanted to actually, you know, do something.
Ryan: It’s a project that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and just couldn’t get a band together…songs that I’d written by myself and recorded by myself, and finally when Star Commander broke up, I just had the opportunity to find three of my best friends and the best musicians I know to play the songs with me. We ended up learning a bunch of stuff together, and it came out a lot more fun and a lot better than I expected, I think.
DJ: How did all of you end up in Denton? You’re all from different places, right?
Donovan: Well, me and Parker are both from Arlington, we ended up going to UNT, Parker went a year after me, and Ryan moved up, so…
Ryan: I lived in Ft. Worth, and my lease was up shortly after Donovan and Max got an apartment— our friend Max, in Denton, so I’ve just been staying on their couch, being a bum and working and stuff.
DJ: But you didn’t move to Denton to put the band together?
Ryan: I mostly did, yeah. It was almost entirely just to put the band together.
Daniel Mitchell: Hi, I’m from Houston, and I moved here to get away from an ex-girlfriend.
DJ: Oh my. Was she abusive?
Daniel: That’s all I’m going to say.
TWO: What impression would you want to leave with someone who is listening to your band for the first time?
Parker: The Donnas.
Donovan: Calm down.
Parker: Can you strike that one from the record?
DJ: The Donnas? Or the whole thing?
Parker: Just leave the Donnas, scratch everything else.
Ryan: For me, personally, I just want to be viewed as a good band with good songs. That’s goal number one. If we suck, we don’t matter, you know?
Donovan: Yeah.
Ryan: But in a deeper way, I would like— like, if people really intently listen to the music, I would want people to get a sort of get the impression that…like…I don’t even know what I’m trying to say. I just…I know what I’m saying, but—
Donovan: That we don’t suck? And that you give a shit?
Ryan: I kind of…I write songs that are really personal to me and that I have a really deep connection to, and I want people…I’m hoping that there are people that’ll hear it and be able to relate to it in some way. Maybe I could make somebody feel better, feel like there’s like…someone that understands what they’re going through. I know that sounds like a very Good Charlotte thing to say.
Parker: That band’s great! [Singing] Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous…
Donovan: Shut up!
Parker: That band got me through a lot.
DJ: What draws you to the sounds of 90’s indie and ‘emo’ music, and why do you think that’s relevant today?
Donovan: We’re scenesters.
Daniel: Sunny Day Real Estate is a good band…
Donovan: It’s because Ryan’s always been a grumpy dad that has just listened to 90’s music and complained that no one else listened to it, and is now forming a band.
Daniel: And I’m stoked as shit!
Donovan: Am I wrong?
Ryan: It really is like…It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, and then I found out that there’s other people that want to do it, too. So…
Donovan: Things just worked out.
Ryan: And it’s definitely derivative, and I have no delusions of thinking that we’re really original or really creative or something, it’s just, I really enjoy this style of music and…
Parker: Nothing’s original.
Ryan: Yeah, nothing’s original anyway.
Daniel: Drake.
Donovan: Shh!
Ryan: Our next band is going to be very Drake influenced.
Parker: Finally!
Donovan: I feel our current band is Drake Moreno influenced.
Ryan: The 90’s emo thing is something that I stumbled across by accident years ago and then found out through shows and stuff, and through the friends we made through Star Commander, that other people are into it, too, and it just kind of came together that way.
Daniel: I think we write great songs.
Donovan: Daniel Mitchell: Biggest Fan.
Daniel: I am! I’m so stoked for this band.
Donovan: Calm down.
Parker: Can you strike that one from the record?
DJ: The Donnas? Or the whole thing?
Parker: Just leave the Donnas, scratch everything else.
Ryan: For me, personally, I just want to be viewed as a good band with good songs. That’s goal number one. If we suck, we don’t matter, you know?
Donovan: Yeah.
Ryan: But in a deeper way, I would like— like, if people really intently listen to the music, I would want people to get a sort of get the impression that…like…I don’t even know what I’m trying to say. I just…I know what I’m saying, but—
Donovan: That we don’t suck? And that you give a shit?
Ryan: I kind of…I write songs that are really personal to me and that I have a really deep connection to, and I want people…I’m hoping that there are people that’ll hear it and be able to relate to it in some way. Maybe I could make somebody feel better, feel like there’s like…someone that understands what they’re going through. I know that sounds like a very Good Charlotte thing to say.
Parker: That band’s great! [Singing] Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous…
Donovan: Shut up!
Parker: That band got me through a lot.
DJ: What draws you to the sounds of 90’s indie and ‘emo’ music, and why do you think that’s relevant today?
Donovan: We’re scenesters.
Daniel: Sunny Day Real Estate is a good band…
Donovan: It’s because Ryan’s always been a grumpy dad that has just listened to 90’s music and complained that no one else listened to it, and is now forming a band.
Daniel: And I’m stoked as shit!
Donovan: Am I wrong?
Ryan: It really is like…It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, and then I found out that there’s other people that want to do it, too. So…
Donovan: Things just worked out.
Ryan: And it’s definitely derivative, and I have no delusions of thinking that we’re really original or really creative or something, it’s just, I really enjoy this style of music and…
Parker: Nothing’s original.
Ryan: Yeah, nothing’s original anyway.
Daniel: Drake.
Donovan: Shh!
Ryan: Our next band is going to be very Drake influenced.
Parker: Finally!
Donovan: I feel our current band is Drake Moreno influenced.
Ryan: The 90’s emo thing is something that I stumbled across by accident years ago and then found out through shows and stuff, and through the friends we made through Star Commander, that other people are into it, too, and it just kind of came together that way.
Daniel: I think we write great songs.
Donovan: Daniel Mitchell: Biggest Fan.
Daniel: I am! I’m so stoked for this band.
THREE: So what’s next for Square Business? Are you planning to release a full length—
Parker: What’s sex?
DJ: What’s sex for Square Business? Fully clothed? Partial nudity?
Parker: It’s a tease.
Daniel: It’s the PG-13 moments of Revenge of the Sith.
Parker: You don’t see any…they just give hints at it.
Donovan: We prefer to just go tip in, and then stop.
Parker: Just the tip! Just for a second, to see how it feels.
Ryan: Oh god. That’s not what it’s like at all.
Donovan: Ryan Schefsky – Ladies Man!
Parker: Taking The Plunge — With Ryan Schefsky.
Donovan: So, what’s next for Square Business?
DJ: Are you planning to release anything anytime soon?
Parker: Never!
Ryan: Not yet. It’s been an intentionally slow process, I think. Everybody else in this band is in a lot of bands and has a lot of stuff going on. Everyone but me is in school. There’s plans to release music and go on tour, but right now I’m saving up to get a van that we can tour in, and it’s…I feel like we’re in a position to not have to rush anything. We don’t have to start putting out music right away.
Parker: Gotta take our time, baby.
Ryan: We have time to refine our sound and get better at playing together, and…I don’t have any doubts about this band. I feel like I found the right people to be in a band with, and that we’re going to be sticking together, so I’m not in a rush to like, get everything out of the way before we break up or something.
Daniel: You only live once.
Daniel and Parker: YOLO!!
Ryan: We just want to do everything the right way.
Donovan: We just want to be not a bad band before we record.
Ryan: Yeah. I would like people’s first impression of us to not suck, so…
Parker: My Love, The Woods.
Daniel: That was my first impression of Two Knights, and I hated it.
Parker: I hated it, too. That band fucking sucks!
Max Creed: I still have that in my car.
Parker: That sucks.
DJ: What’s sex for Square Business? Fully clothed? Partial nudity?
Parker: It’s a tease.
Daniel: It’s the PG-13 moments of Revenge of the Sith.
Parker: You don’t see any…they just give hints at it.
Donovan: We prefer to just go tip in, and then stop.
Parker: Just the tip! Just for a second, to see how it feels.
Ryan: Oh god. That’s not what it’s like at all.
Donovan: Ryan Schefsky – Ladies Man!
Parker: Taking The Plunge — With Ryan Schefsky.
Donovan: So, what’s next for Square Business?
DJ: Are you planning to release anything anytime soon?
Parker: Never!
Ryan: Not yet. It’s been an intentionally slow process, I think. Everybody else in this band is in a lot of bands and has a lot of stuff going on. Everyone but me is in school. There’s plans to release music and go on tour, but right now I’m saving up to get a van that we can tour in, and it’s…I feel like we’re in a position to not have to rush anything. We don’t have to start putting out music right away.
Parker: Gotta take our time, baby.
Ryan: We have time to refine our sound and get better at playing together, and…I don’t have any doubts about this band. I feel like I found the right people to be in a band with, and that we’re going to be sticking together, so I’m not in a rush to like, get everything out of the way before we break up or something.
Daniel: You only live once.
Daniel and Parker: YOLO!!
Ryan: We just want to do everything the right way.
Donovan: We just want to be not a bad band before we record.
Ryan: Yeah. I would like people’s first impression of us to not suck, so…
Parker: My Love, The Woods.
Daniel: That was my first impression of Two Knights, and I hated it.
Parker: I hated it, too. That band fucking sucks!
Max Creed: I still have that in my car.
Parker: That sucks.
– Interview and transcription by Dale Jones