Autumns' creativity brings success
Campus Times
December 12, 1997
by Rob Strauss
Editorial Assistant
Many bands would jump at the chance to have a major label sponsor them.
Other bands put weight on musical creativity and freedom.
The Autumns fit nicely into the latter, putting emphasis on their desire
to remain in control of their work.
"We were not anxious to sign a record deal," said Matthew
Kelly, lead singer of the Autumns.
In October, The Autumns released their second album with Risk Records,
called "The Angel Pool." Described in College Music Journal
as an album with "intriguing pop structures, up front vocals, and straight-forward
guitar arrangements," "The Angel Pool" contains songs written
as early as 1993.
"'The Angel Pool' is us taking from a whole lot of other songs,"
said Kelly.
The Autumns, who hail from Los Angeles, began working together in 1992.
The band soon became known for their live shows.
"There was a big buzz about the band," said Kelly.
The "buzz" soon led to attention from music labels.
"There was a lot of bigger labels expressing interest such as Atlantic
and Warner/Elektra," said Kelly.
Kelly said that many of the labels did not take action because their
"songs were too long." That was, until Risk Records came along.
Risk Records is an independent label which was founded by Frank Volpe,
who has managed such mainstream bands as Concrete Blonde, Inxs and the Church.
According to Josh Massie, assistant manager of the band, the label gave
the band a great deal of "creative freedom."
"The label gives the band a lot of room to move," said Massie.
Kelly said Risk also gave them the power to keep their songs.
"They allowed us to keep all our publishing," said Kelly.
After signing with Risk in 1996, the band released their debut EP, "Suicide
at Strell Park." Kelly said it was an emotional time.
"There was a lot of chaos at that time having to do with relationships,"
said Kelly.
Kelly, himself, was going through a hard time.
"It was the end of a relationship that was horrific in itself,"
said Kelly. "The end was even worse."
While "Suicide at Strell Park" was written using emotions,
Kelly said "The Angel Pool" was written from a different angle.
"'The Angel Pool' is different," said Kelly. "It has
a lot less to do with emotional experiences."
Kelly said he doesn't see much growth between the two products except
in production.
"The real growth will happen between Angel Pool and the next record,"
said Kelly.
The group is already starting to get into the national spotlight. The
Autumns recently had one of their songs played on the hit television show
"Party of Five," though it was not well received by the band.
"That was a mistake made on the part of a person hired by the record
company to push the music to television or film," said Kelly. "He
gave them permission without talking to us."
The same mistake was made with an upcoming episode of "Dawson Creek."
If it had been up to Kelly, he would not have agreed to the offer.
"It's not that we have a problem with TV shows," said Kelly.
"We are highly selective about the type of show."
Kelly said the "Party of Five" episode featured their music
in the background of a coffeehouse atmosphere.
"That's not in line with what we're doing musically," said
Kelly.
The Autumns are not big believers in mass promotion. This philosophy
even carries into their latest tour. They recently returned from a national
tour in which, according to Kelly, they let it serve as its own promotion.
"We are strong believers in word of mouth," said Kelly.
Future plans for the band include their third record which they will
record in April. They have already begun writing the songs for the next
album and are trying something different this time-separation. Kelly said
the process of writing is more "pure."
"We just got off tour,"said Kelly. "When you are in poverty
stricken circumstances [in a van], you feel the need to get away from one
another."
But future plans include more touring and recording more albums.
"We just want to keep making good records," said Kelly.
