The Format
MEMBERS OF THE FORMAT:
Nate Ruess
Sam Means
Of all the many musicians, artists, bands and solo artists I enjoy listening to, I have come to particularly respect those who stretch the boundaries of music, pulling themselves out of a typical mold that their genre has created and setting themselves apart. There exists an abundance of those who remain true to their individual styles and genres, but The Format specifically has caught my attention.
Sam Means and Nate Ruess are two Arizona natives who were previously involved in multiple projects together. After the breakup of their last band, the two decided to join forces and create what is now known as The Format. The two young men are in their 20’s, and have proven to be not only successful songwriters, but also successful individuals. Ruess and Means have been able to create a name for themselves in the public eye, all while staying true to their 80's-pop-rock style. The Format's track "The First Single (you know me)" has recently appeared on popular teen shows such as
The OC and
Laguna Beach. They have also toured all over the US with well-known bands such as Sugarcult, Something Corporate, RX Bandits and Switchfoot.
The Format has been working on their new album,
Dog Problems, which will surely reflect their growth as musicians and as writers/composers. Ruess and Means are beginning to branch out with confidence. In their new tracks, they incorporate new sounds that will not change their music, but will enhance the original style that earned them their current success.
Sam Means is the shy guitar player whom I had the pleasure of interviewing. Crammed in a small room with only a cooler full of Coronas, I began what would be my first interview...
First, can you introduce yourself for our readers?
I'm Sam and I play instruments for The Format and I work with Nate Ruess.
Can you tell us a little bit about The Format, and how you guys got together?
We started probably about two and a half years ago, and we've been in two bands together before. When the second one broke up, everyone else just kind of got off and had done other stuff, and we were just kinda bored. We recorded a couple songs and it just kind of turned into, you know...
Who wrote more of the music? You or Nate?
At that point I had done “The First Single,” and Nate had done some of other songs. We didn't talk for a little while, and then he had some stuff in his car, so we just started writing lyrics to it. We kind of did the same thing with some of the other songs.
How do you think the old album compares to the one you are currently working on?
I think it's going to be a lot different. I don't know. We kind of did the old one really fast and the new one is more thought out.
What about the style of the music?
I think it's going to be similar just because Nate's voice just kind of makes stuff… familiar. In that way, I think it's going to be familiar. But as for the music, we're going to try to do more weird stuff and less guitars and more other stuff, horns, organs etc.
What about your record contract? How did you guys come about that?
We had recorded “The First Single” from an EP, and it went on some kid's website called The Scout. I guess people go there to listen to new bands, so I guess they played that song on the radio in Phoenix. I don't know how that really happened. They played “The First Single” from the EP, and I don't know, people - like labels - just started calling us within a few months. Then, that first label died and got bought out and killed off, and now we're with Atlantic.
As an artist, how do you think a label helps or hurts you?
I think it depends on the label. I know a lot of bigger labels are looking out for themselves, so it's kind of hard. But if you get the right people that believe in what you're doing, they let you do your own thing and just trust you.
Do you think Atlantic is going to be on your side?
Well, we don't really work with them yet cause we haven't recorded anything since we left the other one, but it seems like they're going to be that way. So, I don't know.
On your tour, do you have any favorite memories or spots you've been to?
Yeah, we always like going to Chicago and New York City. And shows are really good in Michigan for some reason. Anywhere in Michigan is just awesome. It's really weird. I don’t know why, but the first time we ever did a headlining show in Michigan, it was at this giant place. I don't know why we played at such a big place; I think it's the only place in the area we were in. But a bunch of people showed up; and after that, every time we played there, it's been fucking cool.
Where did you guys come up with the name The Format?
Well, we couldn't come up with a name and we kind of needed one cause we were about to play in a show. We had a stupid joke name but yeah, I can't even remember what it was. So we were going to play at that first show, and we didn't have a name so we started spouting shit off and Nate came up with it. Yeah. I don’t really remember, though.
In three words or less, how would you describe your music?
... I don’t know... does that count? That's three words.
Are there any musicians that have changed your viewpoint on music?
Yeah. It's kind of cheesy, but The Beatles are obviously huge, but I think everybody says that. But I'm a super obsessive Beatles fan. I started listening to them when I was 5. So I was crazy obsessed with them until I got older, and now I just respect them. I know Nate really looks up to Wilco. But, ya...
So you guys were previously in bands together, did you meet through that?
Nate went to school with my neighbor, so I kind of met Nate through him and we all pretty much grew up in the same - well not the same neighborhood - but kinda. It was kind of a small suburban area.
When did music change from a passion as a kid to something you wanted to do as your career?
I've always flip-flopped between art and music. I drew a lot when I was little, and all of a sudden I started playing music. I started doing websites and posters and stuff. I kept going back and forth, and I didn't really think of it as a career until our second band. We tried really hard or something, and I think we just tried too hard.
What advice do you have for aspiring musicians or artists, as far as making it to how far you guys have come?
I think it's just a good idea to make whatever music you want to make and not really worry about anybody else, cause a lot of bands just want to make a name. I'm sure a lot of bands probably don’t really like their music, but they just do it... cause, yeah. I don't know. I don't want to name names.
Our magazine has a different feature color and feature column every issue. This month the feature color is blue, what do you think when you think of the color blue?
I think of a Jay Hawk song called “Blue.” Ha, yeah.
The feature column this month is about fashion, what do you think is a fashion don't, or what do you hate?
Uhhh, I don't really pay that much attention, as you can tell by my appearance right now!
Do you think any particular fashion statement should come back?
Well, I'm trying to bring back the hoodie with no t-shirt underneath. Haha, it's kind of gross. But I've been doing it for 6 weeks, and it beats doing laundry!
So you guys are on MySpace.com and LiveJournal.com and all that stuff, who's idea was it to go on these online journal/blog things?
Well, I'm super against that stuff. I think LiveJournal is a thing where it was cool at first, for people to see where you were at the point in time. But I think a lot of people just go on there to cry about stuff and get attention, and I think MySpace is weird. Everyone fucks with their pictures and its not even real. I don’t know; it's like a meat market on the internet. Girls are 13 and not wearing clothes, and you know it’s really creepy that old men are looking. I mean, my girlfriend has one and sometimes I hate when she talks about stuff on there. But it is cool to go back 2 years and see what we were doing then. It's cool for bands too. I guess it's like a community. It's a good way to affect a lot of people, but for personal reasons, I think it's weird. That's just for me, but yeah, whatever.
Is this what you thought it'd be like to be on tour?
Kind of. I mean, we have a bus now for the first time, which is cool. We've never had that before. We have a lot of time, but no car; we can't go anywhere. So, it's like too much time, and not enough to do. Usually, we're not in good parts of town, and it's good cause right now we're downtown and there's lots of stuff here. But 90% of the time we're in areas that totally suck.
Is your girlfriend on tour with you?
No, she's not, actually we're engaged. We're getting married on Sunday!
Do you guys like performing at smaller venues rather than the larger stadiums?
Yeah, I like the smaller shows a lot better… way better. At the big shows, everyone is so spread out and you can't hear anything but yourself. You can talk on stage and hear yourself talk cause it’s so big; that's kind of strange.
Do you like performing? Do you like being on tour?
I'm not really a performer. I'm kind of a shy and quiet kind of person. I probably look really awkward on stage. I don't really do much. It's weird; I don’t get nervous. I just don’t know what to do. But other people, like Marcos… he plays guitar, and he is like everywhere. He's everywhere!!
Do you think, as a songwriter or musician, that it's harder to write lyrics or instrumental?
I don't do lyrics much; those are really hard for me. I'm not really good at that. It probably depends on if you're a really vocal person. Then you're probably really good at it, and if you're not, then you're probably really bad at it. Like for me, vocals are hard, but instrumentals are the easy ways out.
Am I taking your time?
No, I have nothing else to do, haha.
How do you put together lyrics and instrumentals?
The way we usually do it - or used to do it - was that words would be inspired by whatever I wrote. We would maybe change a little bit if we were having trouble with certain parts, or I would start playing something and he would start making stuff up right on the spot, and we would kind of take it from there. Now we're doing a thing where he'll write an entire song and I'll put music to it, or the other way around. We're trying to do it separately, like writing a bunch of songs, and I guess trying to put it all together.
What's something you miss the most about home?
My dog. She's like a little person. She's a freak dog; it's ridiculous! Everyone says my dog is like a person. I hadn't seen her in six weeks and I was just laying in bed, and I said, "Come here,” and she just got up and came and laid right next to me on my arm. I was freaked out; how could she understand it?
Well, I think the band that's before us is finishing their last song so I think I should really get out there.
Sounds like a plan! Thanks for your time!
Reviewed by: Jeanette Liang.
