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Pictures of Then
The Wicked Sea
Pictures of Then has a familiar sound, like a band you've heard of before, but you can't place your finger on it. It sounds like something you've listened to before, even if it's your first time. Don't take this the wrong way; it's just that the music is so easy to get into, you're singing along before the the first song is even over.
Of course, they make it easy on you. The rhyming is straightforward, the pitch doesn't jump around between 12 octaves, and the chorus will come back for quite a few spins. The singer enunciates well, so you won't have to look up the lyrics on the internet. If you want to learn how to play a song on the guitar, this is your album. If you want to teach yourself how to harmonize, this is your album. You'll have all the words memorized your third time around. Along with the easy, persistent beat, this is an excellent album to keep within easy reach of the stereo in your car. The sound is just right for windows down, tapping the steering wheel, singing along, and taking it easy in traffic. Put it on repeat, because the tracks loop well, and stop shuffling through your music collection while trying to drive with your knees!
Better yet, it might give you something to think about. The album tells a story from beginning to end, starting out with a lot of rebellious energy, taking it down for some introspection in the middle, and a reassertion of self and experimentation toward the end. The lyrics are simple but honest, and they're about things that everyone can relate to: feeling suffocated and wanting to get out on your own, recognizing that your first love isn't perfect but being afraid to lose it anyway, wanting to make your own mistakes, and wanting people to take responsibility for their actions. It's a growing up point of view, starting to letting go of the innocence of youth, recognizing the shades of gray between black and white, but not sure if you're ready for all the compexity. It's being bored with the suburbs, but scared that the alternative is even worse.
My favorite songs were "Stuck," "7th Street," and "Questions, Anyone?" which came at the middle and toward the end, where the style tends toward folksy, they add more instruments, and the pacing mixes up within a song. The front of the album is a bit more traditonal and generally accessible, and it's stronger on the drums.
Overall, we got the feeling over and over again while listening to Pictures of Then's The Wicked Sea that this music would be the best live. Imagine the fans, all singing along; imagine the energy on the stage; imagine the beat, and being free to move your whole body to the music. Awesome!
Exclusive Interview with Pictures of Then!
SmartGirl was lucky enough to get an exclusive interview with the band. They answerd 10 of our burning questions, and without further ado, here they are:
SmartGirl: Many of our readers aspire to be musicians, but don't really know how to get started. How did Pictures of Then get off the ground?
Pictures of Then:
Joe Gamble -
Pictures of Then started between close friends. Casey (singer and guitar player) and Joe Call (Drummer) are brothers, and I lived in the same small town as them growing up. We would always get together and jam, most of the time in a small garage or in a basement. Because we grew up together, we understood each other and were able talk openly about music. As time passed, we realized that we had something really special, so we decided to move to Minneapolis, MN and start the band. Once we moved to the city, we found our keyboard player (Tim) who brought a whole new dimension to our sound.
The key to starting a band (as well as staying together) is to be honest with each other, and to be comfortable being yourself around the other band members. No one in our band is more important than any other member, and that keeps us all close. It's ok to have arguments, but remember to respect each other...when you tour, these are the people you will be spending weeks at a time with.
SmartGirl: The lyrics are easy to relate to -- a lot about realizing that life is a little harder than it used to seem, and figuring out how to deal with that: ignoring the bad stuff (nowhere together is better than somewhere alone), running away until there's no more gas left, just plain sinking or swimming. How did these lyrics come about? Can you tell us how the inspiration made it into a song?
Pictures of Then:
Casey Call - It's really pretty simple, we mainly just write about what we know, or things that have happened in our lives, both good and bad. For me music has always been a way of celebrating the good and coping with the bad. I think that is why listeners can more easily relate to our lyrics because a lot of them stem from real human emotions, hopes, fears and experiences that many of us have had at one time or another. Many times music becomes vehicle for us to put a finger on certain things in life that just piss us off, there is so much beauty in life but sometimes you just have to wade through the ugly to be able to see it.
Tim Greenwood - the funniest part of music is reading into lyrics or getting moved by a melody and making it your own. Our music is really powerful to us personally, but we want it to mean something to other people, and it doesn't have to all be the same.
SmartGirl: Personally, we really like the 2nd half of the album best. We like the changes of pace, the different instrumental sounds, and the added grit to the vocals. What were your favorite parts of the album or even individual songs, and why? Was there anything left out that you were sorry to see go?
Pictures of Then:
Joe Call -
Personally I don't have a favorite song, I enjoy the album as a whole. While in the studio there are always songs or parts that are left out and don't make it onto the final version of the album. With any artwork what you see or hear can be just as important as what you DON"T see or hear.
SmartGirl: After listening to your album, we're pretty sure that seeing Pictures of Then live would be an experience not to be missed. Can you tell us what a live show is like? Does the crowd get involved? Do you have any good stories from a live performance?
Pictures of Then:
Joe Gamble -
Live shows are the best! There's nothing better than connecting with a room full of fans, where everyone is having fun and expressing themselves. When we play a live show, we bring an energy that not all bands are able to bring. I think it's because we genuinely want to play music, and we all enjoy playing together. If you really enjoy what you're doing, people will notice and want to be involved.
Things don't always run smoothly though. I remember one time we were playing for a huge crowd in Tulsa, OK. We were standing on stage behind a giant curtain, and the announcer was on stage introducing us. He was just finishing up the introduction and I noticed my guitar wasn't making any noise! I scrambled around, checking the connections to all my guitar pedals, making sure the amplifier was on and turned up, and making sure my guitar was turned up. I didn't know what to do! Right as the curtain swung open, our bass played spotted that my guitar cable wasn't plugged into my guitar...I felt like such an idiot! I quickly plugged in and right as the curtain opened was able to start the show. That was a nail-biter!
Joe Call -
Describing a live Pictures Of Then show with only words, is like comparing pudding to an ice cream sundae, the ice cream is just way better! You will have to hear it for yourself, but take my word for it when I say it's alive, exciting, full of energy, and a deeply artistic expression of us portrayed through the music.
SmartGirl: Aside from the lyrics, we think that the instrumentals do a great job setting the mood for each song. There is a definite rise and fall to the entire album, like a story, and then the intro forms the perfect connecting loop to jump back in again. Did you premeditate the full-circle story of the album, or was that just a happy accident?
Pictures of Then:
Joe Gamble - What makes this album so much different from our first album is how much room we gave ourselves to explore. A lot of the songs on the album sounded drastically different before we recorded them. I think it's important to keep an open mind when writing, and to be open to change. What's great about the intro and the outro is that we had no intention of putting it on the album. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write the intro/outro until the album was finished. We had the idea and started working out the concept, and when we were done, we knew we had to add it to the album. Sure it took extra time and held up the process, but it was important to us to make an album that was true to us.
Joe Call -
The album was most certainly a premeditated thought process in terms of the overall concept of the story. A lot of the details within each song happened organically while in the studio, which always adds to the overall studio magic. We like to consider ourselves deep thinkers and feel that the album, songs, story, and artwork are a great testament to that thought.
SmartGirl: Did you always know that you were going to be musicians? When did you realize that this was really something you were going to do and be as professionals?
Pictures of Then:
Casey Call -
Not sure I can speak for the rest of the band but as a fetus I really only dreamed of being a little baby boy. Once I achieved boyhood I don't think I ever really had the conscious thought of "and now I decide to become a musician." I come from a very musical family so I've just always been surrounded by music and I simply joined in and did what came naturally.
Tim Greenwood -
Age 11, I had taken piano lessons when i was 7 and quit 2 years later... I hated it, and then I heard ben folds five, the melding of melody, rage, soul, pain, and hope... i was changed.
Joe Call - teen years (13ish) when I learned my first guitar chords, dad and grandpa were both drummers too
SmartGirl: A lot of people think that being a musician is glamorous and lots of fun. We're sure it is, but do you have any advice for aspiring musicians, or words of wisdom? If you could do it again, is there anything that you would do differently?
Pictures of Then:
Joe Gamble -
I'm sure we've made plenty of mistakes, I know I have. But that's what helps you grow as a musician. It would be easy to want to go back and fix all the mishaps and blunders, but if we did that, we wouldn't have learned anything from those experiences. One mistake that sticks out in my mind is when we were touring through Texas (which is a long way from Minneapolis) and I had left the band checkbook on top of the van when filling up gas. We didn't notice until we were hundreds of miles down the road, and by that time the checkbook was long gone! It was bad...I mean it had EVERYTHING in there...credit cards, debit cards, and cash. The good news is that when we returned home to Minneapolis, a Texas farmer had contacted our manager and returned the checkbook. Wow did we get lucky, nothing was missing!
Joe Call -
Being a musician is fun and can be very glamorous at times, but there is equally as much hard work involved. Today the music scene is more diverse and competitive than it's ever been, so it's essential to be extremely driven and never give up. There are also many unseen elements to being a successful musician, we are always trying to remember that you're only as good as the team you have around you. Having people around you that are just as excited and focused as you are is a great recipe for success!
SmartGirl: Where do you want to go next? What's on the horizon? It doesn't have to be music-related, unless it is.
Pictures of Then:
Casey Call -
I was sort of thinking of going to Urban Outfitters next, (jeans are way on sale). On a more serious note though, I also need new socks.
Joe Gamble -
Things are really going great for us right now, and the future looks exciting. We're just getting ready to release our new record, and we're looking forward to touring behind it. You never really know what is on the horizon, but that's what makes being a musician so exciting. Things move fast, 2 years ago I would never believe that we would be touring the United States and have songs on MTV. We're just going to go out there and keep having fun. Don't get me wrong, we have some specific goals we're working towards, but most importantly, we need to stay true to the music. If we keep having fun and enjoy what we're doing, we can keep writing more songs, we can play more shows, and meet more people. Playing in a band is the greatest job in the world, and it we're looking forward to doing it a long, long time.
SmartGirl: Tell us a little bit about yourselves as individuals and as a band. Is it hard to work together? Why should we love you? And which band member should be our favorite?
Pictures of Then:
Joe Call -
My passion for music began at an early age and never let go of me. My brother (Casey - vocal/guitar) and I have been crafting songs since we were in middle school. When we collaborate to create new music, many times it's effortless and the ideas come very easily. At other times song writing can be more of a struggle and conflict (brotherly or not) can always arise. We've learned that through any circumstance keeping the focus on the song and the music will always get you through the conflicts.
Casey Call -
We all love long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners and quiet evenings by the fire, did I say fire? I totally meant x-box. Sometimes working together can be difficult since Joe (the drummer) and I are brothers and we're both way too competitive, at the end of the day though we are usually able to put aside our differences and do what is best for the music, that seems to be the one thing that we never lose sight of no matter how much drama is going on.
Who should be your favorite? Hmmm... Well, I could sit here and tell you how I'm the dashingly handsome lead singer with the golden voice and smashing guitar skills, but unfortunately I'm much too humble for that. I do believe that to say those types of things about myself in an effort to boost my ego would exhibit a shameful level of self serving immaturity that you would normally only expect to find in a drummer, with that said I should totally be your favorite.
SmartGirl: Thanks for the interview! If you want to listen to Pictures of Then for yourself, visit their official website.
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