Interview by Alana Rome
Tagged 2005 call it arson indie rock kill normal records post-hardcore rock
Meet Call It Arson – four guys straight out of the Connecticut music scene. Brian McOmber, James Downes, Jeff Brown, and Ryan White have found themselves in quite a whirlwind since the band's official formation in 2002. "It's been pretty crazy – a lot of ups and downs," explains Downes. "We're from Connecticut and we moved out to Portland, OR for a year to have a change of scenery. For two of the guys, that wasn't really for them, so they left. We ended up moving back to Connecticut and getting new members. It's just been crazy, but it's been a lot of fun."
Thankfully, the past three years have paid off for CIA with the release of their first full-length CD in May 2005. The album was put out under Win Lose Records and Kill Normal Records. "We're super happy with those guys; they've become our good friends. We don't have any plans with whom we're going to be releasing the next record [with, however]," explains Downes.
The self-titled album has ten tracks and a whole lot of heart. Unlike many of today's bands, not just one member writes the band's lyrics; it just so happens that different members occasionally write about the same subject.
"The first song, 'Bare Bones,' is about leaving Portland, which was kind of a big deal for us," recalls Downes. "[It] is Ryan's offering on the subject. He looked at it a little more [in terms of] relationships and people, while I took it more as changing your situation, your location, and what you're doing in life."
In the song, "Here Comes the Flood," the band speaks of the government, along with the endless unanswered questions in the eyes of its people. "[The song] is really just asking the moral question, 'Why do you do the things you do?'" Downes points out. "It's the feeling that some of the people we have running our country really would not be able to answer you straight-faced. Some of them, I don't even think, have good answers. Sometimes, the leaders of our country are – for lack of a better word – heartless."
The very name of the band stems from its members' distaste for the sociopolitical system. The mention of this, and the question of what the four would do differently in a governmental sense, stemmed a rather passionate rant from Downes.
"I don't mean to sound self-righteous, [but] I think the whole idea of a capitalist democracy is pretty messed up. I'm not a socialist, per se; I'm not a communist or anarchist per se; I think democracy is the way to go. It's the 'every man for himself', 'survival of the fittest' mentality everybody seems to grab a hold of. That's all well and fine if everybody had equal opportunity. Just because of ethnic background [there are people that] don't have opportunity. What would we do different? I would say, 'Equal opportunity for everybody.'"
While the band's songs may be unstructured and filled with emotions people can only describe as complicated, the cover art for the album is anything but. Black and red, it bears a cluster of dark, sullen-like trees, with a clearing only for the band name. Why such a simplistic layout? Why not a more chaotic display? "It was Robert Young's (the artist behind the cover art) idea. What we said to him and what he went with was [something] stripped down, [parallel to] the meanings of some of the songs – just real, naked, and kind of honest."
Call It Arson's self-titled album has a very broody tone, with the theme centering, perhaps, on the abandonment of a loved one. Yes, it's safe to say that this isn't an original way to go about making a name for yourself in the music business. It's also, however, safe to say that those somewhat commonplace ideas do come from experience. "The reason I write songs sometimes is to release things in a healthy way," Downes explains. "A lot of the things might sound down or depressing… but there's not a preconceived, central theme; we use songwriting as a means to deal with those situations."
Why is it that these themes of broken hearts and shattered dreams have become such a drug for today's young generation? "I guess sometimes with the trend of what's popular these days, it seems to be what [listeners] can relate to," Downes hypothesizes. "Unfortunately, we're guilty of adding to that."
But despite what is popular today, the band does, in fact, have its roots in classic rock. "We're all huge classic rock fans – Beatles, Neil Young," Downes gushes. "We play what we play just to keep the two genres straight. We're into rock and we're into hardcore, but we keep the two separate."
In fact, the members participate in several side projects, solo and alongside fellow members. "We all just have a lot of different tastes in music. It's just to fulfill all our needs without getting Call It Arson, which is the central project, all tangled up with sub-categories." A few of the side projects that the guys are currently active in include Brian and Jeff's hip-hop/experimental group Phantasmatrash, and Ryan and James' Orphaned Morphing Slugs.
Though Call It Arson is starting to get a sturdy fan base, don't expect to see them setting up band equipment at shows with their noses in the air. "In Connecticut, [our shows bring out] a lot of friends, a lot of people that we've become close with over the years. I'd like to think [our shows are] pretty warm and inviting situations; we're not into the 'back room, band only' scene."
So what are the band's plans for the upcoming year? "Two of the guys are going to be recording with another project, and Ryan and I are going to be finishing up on another one," Downes reveals. "In February, we plan on playing shows and in March, we plan on doing a month-long tour."
As it stands, Call It Arson has a pretty good foot in the rock scene, and they plan on keeping it that way. "We're definitely always interested in sticking to our roots..." Downes explains. "We all grew up with classic rock exclusively when we were very young. Then we started getting into the more modern stuff, but I really don't think it's going to stray very far from those roots."
what do you think?
