Page 22 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine - Issue 100

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favourite called ‘What Happened To Us’, and “Some of the sounds that we would Some women love pregnancy and some hate
it’s simply the lyrics and the melody. The make in Logic, we would then transfer over it. My wife doesn’t like it and she just didn’t
music I like, I think it’s cool at times, but into Pro Tools. When all was said and done feel like herself. She didn’t think she was
there’s just something about that song and it was on Pro Tools.” beautiful anymore and it kind of stemmed
how Doug’s singing it, or what he’s saying in As a band that have been in the business from that. But then it spun off into other
it that always strikes a chord with me, and I since the 90s, back before computers were areas. There’s a certain beauty standard that
don’t know if it’s because I’ve gone through staples in every house and used by bands, the world created and if you’re not comfort-
that myself, you know. Obvi- able enough with who you are, and nobody
ously it resonates with me be- truly is, I guess, you’re striving for that and
cause I’ve probably dealt with if you don’t achieve it, you don’t think you’re
things like that in what he’s worthy. And I just don’t think that’s fair and I
saying, so check out that don’t think it’s true.”
song.” Doug explains that in the original form,
Last year, the band posted lyrically, the song sounded very different to
the making of the ‘Same Di- what it eventually became. He says he thinks
rection’ music video. The his wife was touched by the song. “It’s prob-
song and video itself were ably not as romantic as one might think. ‘Oh
originally released in 2004 and my gosh, he wrote a song for me.’ I think
saw Chester Bennington and she’s just kind of got used to it over the
Kanye West making appear- years. And she also knows that a song starts
ances. Regarding Chester, as one thing and it evolves into something
Dan says, “Right when he else and that’s kind of what the song did. Mu-
passed away, when he died, it sically, it was completely different. The lyrics
was this trip down memory also took an evolution.”
lane for the next however long As far as flaws, the two musicians agree
it was. I’m the nostalgic one, I that everyone is flawed in some way or an-
feel like, in the band. I have other. “It’s about owning it, that’s what it is,”
the catalogue of home videos, every little we ask how it is to learn a new program like says Doug.
thing that you can think of, photos and Logic, which is billed as a professional Dan agrees, “It’s about owning it, being
everything, so after that happened, I started recording studio on the Mac. Apple’s website aware of it and just understanding that
coming across a lot of things, and images says it has ‘everything musicians need to go you’re not alone. Those little things might
and videos of us touring with those guys. On from first note to final master’. Dan tells us, not necessarily define you.”
camera, photos of us together, photos at his ”We’ve been doing this for so long that I re- The subject of flaws also inspired ‘Don’t
house. He came to a birthday party of mine. member the day I figured it out. I was on an Look Away’ – but this song is more about
He lived about an hour away from us. Seeing airplane. We had a long flight. how everyone is
that stuff, him in the video, it just took me We were going to Australia on social media,
back to that time and how cool of a time it and I just sat there with my yet only showing
was and how lucky we are to have experi- laptop open and opened it up CELEBRATING ________________________ you the side of
enced what we’ve experienced with those and started messing around. them that they
people that have touched us and we’ve I already knew how to use Black Velvet #100 want you to see,
touched them.” Pro Tools, but I wanted to use often only post-
Logic because Logic had all ing photos from
ften, bands are so focused on work- these built-in sounds to it _________________________________ 25 YEARS the best angles,
Oing hard and don’t get to smell the that I can just easily access using the best fil-
roses when they achieve any success and and I figured out how to do it, “Congratulations on ters, and from
relish the good times. And, as people, many figured out the midi, how to 100 issues and 25 years the best times.
of us get more affected by any negative im- use the midi on this flight, Although we
pacts than the positives. In ‘Push Pull’, Doug and once I figured it out it of doing this. We know don’t agree with
sings ‘Time for me to stop analyzing what was somewhat easy after all about doing things all the over-air-
went wrong, instead of celebrating what’s that. I don’t know the way to brushing, we
right ’. So, this now is a time when the band use it to make a proper for 25 years. So we don’t think that
are finally taking the time to try and focus on record if I was doing it my- should have been asking social media is
the positives and celebrate the good times – self, but I think the one per- YOU the questions. all negative, and
which included ‘The Reason’’s 15-year an- son who knows how to do now it gives ‘nor-
niversary. “Yeah, that’s something to cele- that would probably be Chris, How have you main- mal’ people the
brate,” says Doug, “but just overall, right?” He turns to Doug. tained your passion for ability to become
everything we’ve talked about here, it’s 25 “And that would be on Pro as much of a
years later, we’re still the closest of friends, Tools.” what you do for 25 celebrity as a
we still get to do this for a living… Yeah, ‘Push Pull’ definitely has years?” – Doug Robb well-known en-
there are still so many things that you can a more electronic sound to it. tertainer. While
look at and go, ‘Wow, that’s awesome’. It’s And ‘Just Let Go (Who Cares “The fact that we’re your average Joe
just that glass half full or half empty point of If We Fall)’ signifies the going to be in the 100th (or Joanna)
view. Instead of seeing it empty, see it full.” band’s mentality, choosing to Bloggs down the
Do they think that humans in general try something new and not issue, that’s amazing, so road can now
analyse too much rather than being happy play it ‘safe and secure’. And thank you,” – Dan Es- look as glam-
with things? so, while musically, the band orous in photos
Doug replies, “I think if they live in the avoided repeating them- trin online, a few
past or future too much, they can be, yeah. I selves, lyrically, Doug was in- “Yeah, I’m very hon- decades ago
think, if you live relatively in the moment, un- spired by a range of subjects, oured,” – Doug. only celebrities
less something very terrible is happening at from his wife feeling insecure were having
that moment, yeah. I think if you’re always when pregnant to social glamorous pho-
looking back at how things were, or if you’re media selfies. In ‘More Beau- toshoots that
looking forward about what they could be, tiful’, he sings about how we everyone would
you can tend to become pessimistic.” should all be proud of our flaws. “We’re all a see.
bag of flaws,” the vocalist says. “The lyrics Doug says, “If you had the means and
ith new album ‘Push Pull’, the band came from the time when my wife was preg- the avenue to only show yourself in these
Wused both Logic and Pro Tools. nant with our first kid, and I couldn’t tell you very glamorous ways, yeah, it was a weapon
“We demoed stuff in Logic and then…” says exactly the moment it happened, but I got an in the celebrities’ gun that the non-celebrities
Dan, before Doug ends his sentence, “We overall vibe from her and other people like didn’t have. They didn’t have photographers
recorded in Pro Tools.” her who have gone through pregnancy. taking awesome pictures, people going to

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