Supposedly, a picture says a thousand words. I personally like to think a picture says twelve songs--at least in Vienna's case, where the image on their CD jacket foretells more than you might expect it to. The simple sailboat floating along the sea is a visual disclaimer that you could be going on an adventure, and you could be gone for awhile. Gliding along track to track, you'll hear the duo's confident, swooping guitar strokes catching flight over the water. You'll sail over flowing vocals that seem to be bonded only by something of a supernatural gust. Swelling rhythms will bob the vessel up, down, and move it along. And somehow, something otherworldly holds everything together and keeps the boat in the right direction.
Maryland duo Vienna's DIY debut full-length is a getaway from the cynical gloom and poppy overproduction that make up mainstream acoustic rock's ebb and flow. Simple, yet thick and intricate, John Cotter and Matt Wood create a sound you'll want to get lost for.
The Overcast: When did you start writing music?
John: I began writing original songs with a friend from high school. She basically gave me her journal and I tried to piece her writings into songs. That helped me write some of my own original songs mostly trying to imitate what I listened to at the time: Days of the New, Jars of Clay, Creed, Burlap To Cashmere... My musical tastes have completely changed since then.
One day while downloading random songs from Napster, I found this one band called Dashboard Confessional. A song called "Screaming Infedelities." I really liked what I heard A LOT, and I just noticed something different about his music. It was powerful, heavy strummed, but beautiful. I went out and bought a copy of Places You have Come To Fear The Most and it really changed everything musically for me. I started trying to imitate it.
How did Matt Wood come in?
John: I met Matt at some birthday party through mutual friends. And he played some stuff he wrote, I played some stuff I wrote. I always had the idea that if we collaborated it would be great, but I was too wussy to bring it up. Probably becauase he is 4 years younger, and I was kind of his Young Life leader. Eventually, he asked me to try and collaborate. We started sharing stuff we wrote and adding parts to each other's songs. "Glimpse," "The Radio," "Symphonies in Seashells," 'Eight Thirty Nine" all date back to that time.
So from there, how did you finally start recording and developing your CD?
John: We recorded one song, "Messages Bombarding," on a friend's Mac. We wanted to do more with him, but it's tough to work around someone else's schedule. That was a big push that made me want to buy my own gear. So I graduated from college, got a good job, and was able to afford the gear.
We knew completely nothing about recording at all and had to teach ourselves everything. Pretty much any chance I had I was in the studio working on it or working on techniques. During my day job, I sit at a desk and have a lot of down time, so I searched the Internet and learned a lot of techniques through it. I probably put the same amount of time into learning about the recording/mixing/mastering process as a real student of a recording school.
We first recorded a version of "Bottled Up" with a regular PC mic, and it actually turned out pretty good! Then we started working on the album. It took us about a year. Many mistakes, redos. The next thing we do is going to be way, way, way better sounding.
What is your day job?
John: I am a web programmer. I was a computer science major at Towson University. From the knowledge of computers I gained in college I was able to build the PC I use for recording with the help of a friend.
Tell us about Four Horseshoes.
John: That is the name of my home recording studio. I got the name Four Horseshoes from a song I wrote, which will probably be on the next Vienna album. It has always been my dream to have a recording studio, so I am kind of living my dream. Well one of them.
I record friends, and just recently, have been opening up for random people from MySpace. If you check out the website (www.myspace.com/fourhorseshoes) you can see all the gear I use and other people who I have recorded in the studio.
I'm guessing you plan on staying DIY for good?
John: Well with the sound we have now, DIY works very, very good for us. When you are recording yourself on your own gear, you have endless time, no pressure. But that can also be a problem when you're a perfectionist, like me.
We would love to keep our music DIY, but have someone else do our promotion and booking. Promotion and booking are SO hard. Especially for just two guys. Plus, Matt is a super busy guy, so it's mainly just me doing all the booking, promotion, and MySpace work.
What is Matt up to?
John: He is a business major at Towson. He works at a gym as a life guard. During the summer he works at a day camp as a life guard. When he's not doing that he is either working out, writing songs (he writes so many freaking songs), smoking a pipe (just tobacco of course--seriously though), playing poker, reading books . He probably does a million other things too.
So tell us about your songwriting process.
John: Well originally, it was basically just like this: Matt or I would write a song. We'd show it to the other guy. If the other guy liked it he'd start trying to write a second part for it while the guy who wrote it played it. Sometimes the song's author would have some ideas about what he wanted for the second part. Now it works the same way except we use the computer.
If the person is singing the lead on the song, he wrote the core of the song including lyrics. Sometimes, we help each other with the core of the song. Like changing a few words around, or playing or singing something differently. Basically, I see ourselves at two collaborating songwriters.
One thing I like most about your songs are your lyrics. How do you go about writing them?
John: Lyrics are very dear to us. I mostly write lyrics at difficult times in my life.
Lyrically, Matt and I are pretty different. When I write songs, I usually try to make them kind of a riddle. Where you sort of need a key to open it up and understand it. Often I'll take some object or idea and write a song around it symbollically--"Home Ec," "Symphonies In Seashells." For me, I often write lyrics down as they come to me, and then write guitar parts completely separately, and then try mixing and matching them seeing if they fit together. It's all kind of just luck if something works and actually sounds good.
Matt has told me that he will write the guitar part and lyrics together. I wish I could do it that way. But when I try that, the lyrics never come out being as poetic as if I just wrote lyrics alone.
You said you mostly write lyrics during difficult times in your life.
John: Yeah. Breakups, the realization of how much of a jerk I am, loneliness, etc.
Are your lyrics all personal, or are any of them hypothetical?
John: I think they all are personal, but I'm willing to share.
Let's start with "Divorce."
John: That is probably one of my favorite songs I've ever written lyrically.
Well I am not a child of divorce. But I was in a relationship with this one girl, and basically, that song was a prediction of what would happen if I would have stayed with her for good (marriage). But I've come to realize that it's the prediction of how any relationship could end up. It's my life goal to make sure that doesn't happen. And the key to not letting that happen is in the last line: Seeking love without the One who defined what love is, is a hollow, lonely, miserable, confused life.
You were Matt's Young Life leader, you list "the grace of God" as one of your non-musical influences--how do God and faith affect what you do and how you write?
John: Young Life is bascially like a church youth group but without a church building. It's a national non-profit organization. So I was like his youth leader sort of.
Both Matt and I are Christians. Really, more definitively you could call us followers of Christ. Of course we aren't perfect little butterfiles, but we try our best to live our lives with Christ. The "One" I was talking about earlier, in the divorce song, is God, the author of Love.
The thing that separates Christianity and every other religion is Grace. Every other religion is man trying to reach God. In Christianity, God reached man. That's grace. Out of no effort of our own, God extravagantly loved us. That's grace. And he continues to extravagantly love us, even when we spit in his face. A life without knowledge of that love is a miserable, confused, lonely life.
Something unrelated, or maybe it's not: your album seems to have a boat theme? Was that just something that happened, or is there a reason behind that?
John: Just happened really. Hilarious. That was totally not planned. And the sailboat thing as an image was also very random. I just was trying to think of some cool little logo image and thought a sailboat would be cool. The guy we had design the CD liked the idea too.
What are your "hopes and dreams?"
John: I want to stop being a selfish jerk all the time. I want to be able to really love. And of course all the other stuff like a house, a hot wife, a home recording studio, a rock star, a kitten.
I'd love to meet a girl that I could totally fall in love with. Who would just totally fascinate me in every way. Who amazed me constantly. Who really loved me, and who I could really love.
I'd also love to be in a Q and Not U style band.
And what are your hopes for Vienna's music?
John: I'll be practical. It would be cool if we were able to do some touring across the country. If I didn't have to do all the booking and promotion. I'd love to play only small venues but pack them out. Sell out of all our merch. And have some really really dedicated fans while staying in close communication with all of them. Remember names. Hang out for hours after shows.
Anything else you want to get in?
John: I love lamp.
That's about it.