Comes With A Smile Interviews Andrew Kenny

A week or two before his band was due to set foot on British soil to begin a sell-out European tour with Death Cab for Cutie, an email arrived from The American Analog Set's singer, guitarist and lyricist Andrew Kenny informing me that a face-to-face interview opportunity was no longer an option as the trip had been cancelled. "Oh," he added, "and Tiger Style is officially out of business as of last Friday." Tiger Style is/was the AmAnSet's American label, Wall of Sound their UK representatives clearly guilty of a significant error of judgement in their decision to decline the Death Cab tour.

"Hey... [Death Cab] plays for a thousand people a night in the states or moreÉ" says Kenny in an imagined showdown with his label. "Every one of these shows is going to sell out. Everyone is going to be talking about these shows... imagine Ben [Gibbard] coming out every night and singing The Postman with us? It's gonna break hearts... their new record's sold 100,000 copies since October... late October for Pete's sake." Of course, he's right on all counts. And, whilst I'm unwilling to speculate on the label's reasons why, as a member of the audience at the University of London Union show, a perfectly good DCfC gig would have been elevated to the remarkable by the swapping of a perfunctory guitar band support slot for the idyllic musical reveries conjured up by Kenny and his Set.

Since we last featured the band, (soon after the release of their majestic pop classic, 'Know By Heart'), a second album for Tiger Style, 'Promise of Love' was released in June of 2003. Before his recent move from Austin to New York, Kenny also released a split EP with Death Cab's Gibbard, four solo tracks apiece, including a cover of the other's band. The ease with which they swapped roles on Choir Vandals (Ben covering AAS) and Line of Best Fit (Kenny's selection from DCfC's back catalogue) underlined the harmony which co-exists between the two bands. 'Promise of Love', however, was not a record to challenge the unit-shifting 'Transatlanticism' in the upper echelons of indie-rock popularity. It was, as Kenny says in our following exchange, "a fan's record." While those of us who consider ourselves to be among that elite weren't expecting (or hoping for) a significant departure, 'Promise of Love' bestowed upon us eight more reasons to stay faithful. From the sassy playfulness of Hard To Find and The Hatist to the lyrically-sparse longing of Come Home Baby Julie, Come Home and crushing beauty of You Own Me, album number five has proven every bit as essential as its predecessors.

Picking up where we left off in the last interview, was 'Promise of Love' a better record than 'Know By Heart'? (your quote: "'Know By Heart' is my favourite thing we've done...even so, if we do anything else it'll have to be better, much better.")

Shit.. did I say that?? [smiling] It's a different record for sure. It's a better record for us. I didn't lose my mind making it and that's probably important. On tour this summer, we played half of 'Know By Heart', half of 'Promise', and a few older songs. To me, all the songs worked well together and I'm proud of both records. It seems really lame to say we have 'fans'. But if I can say that, then 'Promise' is definitely a fan's record. That is.. if you like us already, 'Promise' is what we do well. But I know what you're getting at. When I was done with 'Know By Heart' I thought, 'This is the kind of record that will help us bring our music to a new audience.' And I was right. When I was done with 'Promise of Love' I thought, 'People are going to yell for The Hatist. People are going to giggle and dance a little when we play Hard To Find. People are going to get tipsy, pull me aside kinda teary-eyed and talk to me about Baby Julie. We're going to live a little rock fantasy opening the show with the Continuous Hit Music tape loop then run out on stage and launch straight into the song before anyone has a chance to stop clapping and yelling. It will be fun. And the tour will be great. And this record will not net us a single new fan.'

How accurate did that prediction prove to be?

Oh, it's accurate. It was bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy though. I was really down on 'Promise of Love' for a long time and for reasons I couldn't put my finger on. Last week I was mixing one of the new songs and I listened to 'Promise' for comparison's sake. I still stand by those songs. And there are some interesting things happening on the recording as well so maybe I'm just crazy. The whole recording process has changed so much in the last few years. Maybe I just lose the plot sometimes and need to step back. I see the same thing happening everywhere I look now. It's like good people splitting up for no good reason. It's not because they don't have fun together or they don't understand one another. It's because, "Hey... sorry... it doesn't hurt when you leave." C'mon... that's the most fucked up thing I've ever heard. What's wrong with these people? What's wrong with me? I think the same thing happened with 'Promise'. I like all the songs and I wasn't rushed mixing it, but I didn't break my own heart writing and recording it so it can't be good.

To what extent was 'Promise of Love' a reaction to 'Know By Heart'?

Not at all. Not a reaction, anyway. I think 'Promise of Love' is more the second chapter of a story started on 'Know By Heart'. At least content-wise.

What factors most influenced the sound and content of 'Promise'?

We took a few chances recording it and some of them worked out. Some didn't. I had more luck recording the electric guitar this time and as a result there's less acoustic guitar on the record. I think my voice sounds a little better on 'Promise' so it's a little louder. The drums are a little too glassy, I think. And I had never recorded this piano before [the band's equipment was stolen after the first 'Know By Heart' tour] so there are a few squeaky notes I'd like to fix. I just never notice these things until I'm mixing. More than anything, living in Brooklyn robbed me of my natural born right to crack the whip on my bandmates and make them re-record a few things. As for the content... The record was more or less about the best year of my life. Beginning with my friend James throwing me a birthday party at his house in Austin, TX and ending on a dancefloor in Atlanta, GA some sixteen months later.

Care to shed a little light on what made that time so great?

Um... it was just one of those times, maybe. A 'magic' year. It was a good year for the band and that didn't hurt. We were on tour for much of [it]. Touring has a way of making me feel like I'm not a crumpled up mimeograph copy of a real person. I was also working as a teaching assistant. Most of those kids were college freshmen and getting them excited about biology was really rewarding. I'm that kickass TA that you think about when you're applying to graduate school yourself. Oh, and graduate school was imminent for me. I read all the Harry Potter books that year and I totally had that Harry Potter fantasy. The kid from Texas getting to move to New York and get a free ride at an Ivy League school. It did wonders for my confidence being recognized in that way. And having a job meant I could go out and see friends again too. Also, I could afford new clothes so I could stop wearing the same thing every day which I'd been doing for the previous four years.

Did this time inspire specific songs?

I don't know if any one song reflects that. The whole record was about affairs of the heart and that was only a small part of what was happening.

Does the current run of misfortune feel like some kind of payback for, god forbid, things going well for a while? Maybe this is me reading too much of my own life into things - seems good luck is always followed by bad.

If so... this is payback with interest. Like... crazy mafia loan interest.

The move to NYC: What was the timeline here... did the move predate the writing of 'Promise'?

'Promise' was written and recorded right before the second 'Know By Heart' tour last summer. We played The Hatist, Baby Julie, and You Own Me nearly every night, actually. Then I moved up to the city and forgot about it for a while. I was busy with grad school and being crazy lonely. Then one weekend I got the reels out to make the guys a rough mix for Christmas and I just didn't stop mixing for about a month and a half. One by one the songs came together, and before I knew it the whole album was done.

How did recording vocals and guitar away from the band affect the sound and performance?

The music was all completed in Austin. The only thing recorded in Brooklyn was the voice and a little percussion. If anything the distance will affect the next record. Or I should say we'll learn from our mistakes. I'll move back to Austin for the entire recording process. Also, the songs we played live are so much better now. In the future, I think we'll take songs out for a few weeks before recording them. It makes so much sense. Maybe this is one of those things bands have to figure out for themselves. Maybe we're just that dense. Maybe I got way off topic just now, damn.

Was the recent trip to TX to record? Or just to remind yourself of home?

I did go back to record last month. It was alright. Not great, but OK. We tried relocating our home studio to Fort Worth for a change. It was a bit of a disaster. We'll be in Austin recording again in the Spring. March and again in May. With any luck, I'll spend a little more time recording and a little less time moving equipment around the state... Texas is a big state...

How is New York treating you?

New York is alright, I suppose. I live in Brooklyn, actually, which is a little slower than the city proper. Even so, I don't know how long I'll be here. I don't feel at home in NY yet. Plus, the music scene here is all about now. Today. This minute. Most of the people I've met here work in the industry in some way which can be great because I'm exposed to so much good music I might not hear otherwise. On the other hand, I've never been so sure that I am in the least relevant band in the world. If you can think back to a Christmas dinner in the Eighties when you were stuck at the little kids' table while the adults carried on loudly in the next room telling jokes you can't appreciate, their forks and knives dancing on the good china, their glasses still ringing from the last toast. Someone falls out of a chair while trying to get up and everyone laughs uncomfortably, then hoarsely... then you fully understand my experience with music in New York.

Has New York shaped your current writing?

I don't think so. Not the city anyway. The experience of uprooting myself has been a huge influence, no doubt, but there aren't any songs about seeing two homeless people fight or waiting for the F train or anything. I'd probably be writing the same songs if I lived on the moon.

You described 'Know By Heart' as your 'singer-songwriter record'. The 'Home' EP project seemed to take that further. How comfortable were you releasing such a stripped-down record? Did it in any way affect your writing for 'Promise Of Love'?

Well... honestly, the EP didn't turn out the way I would've liked. For whatever reason... time, recording gear etc. I stand by the songs but I'd love to re-record them someday. I can do better than that. It didn't affect the writing of 'Promise' at all. 'Promise of Love' was already on tape and sitting in my closet before I ever thought about the EP. More importantly, the Analog Set is what I do. It's more than just my main creative outlet. The Analog Set has been forced to twist and bend a number of times in a number of different ways in order to present the songs that I write. So I was really careful when I selected songs for the EP. One song was really old - my first... I think - and I don't think we'd ever do something like that. One of the songs was rejected for 'Know By Heart' so that was fair game. They weren't throwaways, but they weren't Analog Set songs either. Again, I'll stand by the songs.

Tell me more about the solo record you hinted at in a previous email. Are you writing specifically for it or is an imaginary AmAnSet 'in-tray' getting its fair share of material? Did your dissatisfaction with the 'Home' EP inspire thoughts of a solo album?

Whoa... hang on a minute. I've put a few songs together that I think will be appropriate for such a project, but that's as far as I've made it. The Post Parlo split with Ben was a little disappointing because I thought the recording wasn't up to snuff. So yeah, I wouldn't mind another crack at those songs and a few others. But I'm really excited about the new AmAnSet material so I'm working on that right now.

Is the 'return to sender' on the sleeve of 'Promise' a self-deprecating in-joke or a more serious comment on the content of the record?

Um... I didn't know about that until I picked up a promo from the Tigerstyle office here in New York. Craig and Lee are still our art team and three's a crowd on that particular team so I don't see the art until the CDs are being stuffed into press mailers. But yeah, I think the 'return to sender' on the cover has everything to do with the record's subject matter. It's the scratched out name on the envelope that fulfils the self-deprecating in-joke requirement. I'm not supposed to be able to read it, but I'm pretty sure I know who's address it is. I haven't asked Lee about it yet though.

How'd you end up on Wall of Sound in Europe?

Mark Jones really liked 'Know By Heart' and contacted Tiger Style about licensing it in the UK. We were just finishing 'Promise' and so it became a two record arrangement. We're still figuring the WOS kids out.

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