Two Gallants: TAS In Session

Two Gallants is back after a five year hiatus with a new album, The Bloom and The Blight, and a new record label, ATO. Singer/guitarist Adam Stephens and drummer/vocalist Tyson Vogel might have had good experiences with their other projects, but the lifelong friends have a special camaraderie that's evident in their music and album artwork (a photo of the pair as kids graces the record's front cover).

Two Gallants kick off a tour of the States on January 16 in Bellingham, Washington with Future Twin and head to Australia in February. No Houston, Texas shows slated on this road trip; Stephens and Vogel discussed in detail with TAS's Alisa Ali about their harrowing — and infamous — experience with an over-zealous police officer in October 2006, a situation which ended up with Vogel in jail for a day.

Watch videos of Two Gallants' TAS session below, which includes a live performance of a spanking new, untitled song as well as selections from The Bloom and The Blight. The interview airs this Friday, January 18 on TAS on 91.5 WNYE, also streaming online. 

UPDATE: Listen to the Two Gallants session now in the WFUV archives.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgqtIUYxVgo]

Alisa Ali: It’s been a while since the last record, five years. What were you guys up to? I know you both put out solo records during that time.

Adam Stephens: We both toured a bit. We were still playing a lot of music. Tyson toured with his band Devotionals and was with Port O’Brien, as their drummer, for a while. I had my own band and toured the US a couple of times. Then we eventually brought it back together.

Alisa: What was the difference between working with those other bands and this dynamic that you two have?

Adam: Well, there’s a lot less people to deal with and that’s nice. Tyson and I have known each other since we were five years old so it’s pretty easy for us to come to an understanding on a lot of things. Most people just don’t have that benefit of experience with anyone, let alone someone you’re in a band with. I know we both learned a lot [by playing with other people], but mostly we learned how grateful we are to have what we have together.

Alisa: The cover of the album is the two of you [as children] — you do look the same, actually.

Tyson Vogel: That was the funny part of it, especially trying to find the art for the record and finding this photo. At the time, when we were thinking what to do, it seemed really appropriate. It shows the longevity of the friendship, but pokes fun [at the fact] that we’re adults but not much has changed.

Alisa: One of you said that this record was a “passage” into your adulthood. Tyson?

Tyson: I think where I was coming from with that … I think in our time off as well, when we played with other musicians and experiemented and tried to expand the musical language, our individual one, we learned a lot. So when coming back, playing as the Two Gallants, I feel that we both brought something fresh and new to it. We had matured over that time that we weren’t playing together. But hopefully in any kind of art or music, it’s supposed to progress. It’s supposed to change.

Alisa: How do you reckon your playing has changed? Do you feel you’re playing guitar differently, Adam?

Adam: Yeah, I used to do a lot more finger-picking, more of an old-timey thing. These new songs have a lot more power chords and I do play a few licks here and there. There’s a lot more flat picking involved. It used to be pretty much exclusively finger-picking which is a pretty different sound.

Alisa: What made you change?

Adam: I don’t really know. I think it can be one dimensional sometimes to keep doing it. It has an antiquated, very particular sound that to a lot of people is reminiscent of Appalachian music. The new songs that were coming together felt more aggressive and you can’t get too aggressive with finger picks on! There’s a limitation.

Alisa: When you’re home, fiddling around with the guitar, are you still fingerpicking or shredding power chords? Adam: No, I still mostly fingerpick when I’m alone. I love to play that way. Tyson: Closet finger picker! Adam: That’s so disgusting! Alisa: Tyson, has your drumming changed?

Tyson: I think the thing that’s a little different about drums is that it’s such a mutable instrument. I see drum playing being excavating things. You have to learn new ways of approaching the same thing to help play a roll into a song. I feel that I have a little bit more knowledge about that then when we put out our first record. Adam: We both changed up our style to make these songs a bit more to the point. I think our past records [had] a little too much going on which was potentially distracting sometimes. We wanted to strip it down a little. It still has its complications, but to me, what I like the most about these new songs, is some of their simplicity.

Alisa: Can you tells us a little bit about “Cradle Pyre?";

Adam: It was one of the last songs to make it on the record. It came together right until the moment we were recording it, so it’s got a different history than most songs. Usually we try out most of our songs on tour and see if we like them. This one was pushed out into the world.

Alisa: Did [producer] John Congleton encourage you to put that on even though you hadn’t trial-tested it?

Adam: No, I think we only had ten songs (laughs). We started playing and then we started recording four months after we started playing together. All of the songs were written in that period. [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkhD39B0bJ8] Alisa: Earlier you guys were talking about getting to the point with songs. This record is very tight. Economical, 30 minutes. Did you work on the songs to strip away excess elements?

Tyson: As Adam touched upon before, I think with these songs, they wanted to be to the point and focused. I think it was a bit of a meditation for us, listening to what the song needed, and trying to keep it in its pure and undistracted form. That’s what we really tried to hone in our own musicianship. Sometimes it’s the hardest thing to be simple. In the process of growth for any song it goes through these different forms. It’s a real orchestration of things. For sure, things were definitely shortened. Alisa: How much of a struggle was it to change but maintain your unique sound?

Adam: I don’t think it was much of a struggle. I think that we’d be capable of escaping the way we sound. I think we’re uncomfortable with purity because every time we have something that seems a little too precious, we end up unintentionally dirtying it up by the way we play. That’s the way it goes. We didn’t think consciously about that at all. Most people who know our music would hear us and know who it was.

Alisa: What was the experience of recording like?

Adam: This was probably the most fun I’ve ever had. I really don’t like recording. I don’t like idea of making decisions that are irreversible. I just have a problem with that.

Alisa: That’s why you get a producer!

Adam: Still, our name is on the cover of the record and we are the ones who have to deal with it.

Tyson: We don’t really allow many people into the process. John was there. We wrote the songs.

Alisa: When it comes to making decisions, why was it easier or more fun than it had been in the past?

Adam: Working with John was just a pleasant experience. He alleviated any stress or if anything got confusing or we were in a doubtful position, he always would make some gross, immature joke and break us out of it! It can get lonely and depressing in a studio all day long for weeks at a time.

Tyson: Especially if you’re more on the perfectionist side of things. You get really in this kind of wormhole and lose perspective. Alisa: So it’s more freeing to play live and do shows?

Adam: Yes. We’re still going to play records, but I like to constantly change songs. I don’t think songs are ever done. To me, they should be changed. You have to allow them that freedom. But once you record something, it’s set in stone as far as the version that people are going to refer to. There really isn’t a song that we’ve ever recorded that I wouldn’t have wanted to do differently. But, you’ve got to deal with it. We add a lot of outros and different things to songs. There’s a song called “Despite What You’ve Been Told” on our last record which has this long outro now that we’ve developed over months of playing it. Everything changes.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFNplVDMop0] Alisa: That’s a new, untitled song. Have you recorded it?

Adam: No.

Alisa: Good! You can take this recording home with you so you can remember how it goes. Now as far as touring is concerned, you guys have had some crazy situation where your show got raided by the police and you were tased?

Adam: Yep, me. And Tyson went to jail?

Alisa: Can you tell me that story? Or is it too painful?

Adam: We were playing this show [in Houston, Texas] at Walters on Washington and we played our fair share of underground shows where the cops come. [If it's an] unofficial show and usually they’ll be pretty cool about it, sometimes they even let us play if we just turn it down a little bit. Not only was this [Houston gig] an official show — we had a contract — but a cop just stormed in, came right up on stage and was yelling at us to stop playing. We were in the middle of a song and kept playing while I was trying to talk to him. Tyson was keeping the beat going and I was playing the guitar. I asked him what the problem was and I guess in Texas, you’re not allowed to ask that question. I felt like we had the right to be informed about what we were doing instead of just being told. He wouldn’t work into someone else’s workplace and just tell them to stop writing an email. I just wanted to know why and he didn’t like that question. I asked again, Tyson stood up and this [cop], a giant dude, just tackled us both to the ground. It turned into total chaos. [The cop] went after this kid.

Alisa: Did kids jump on the stage?

Tyson: No, there were probably about 150-200 people there. When you see this intimidating figure come in and tackle two people to the ground, everyone started to freak out. People had their phones and digital cameras out, making sure it was documented, and then [the cop] flipped out.

Adam: I think someone might have thrown a bottle at him. Who knows?

Alisa: How come you went to jail, Tyson?

Adam: My instincts … I don’t know. At one point he came at me with a taser and shocked me in the stomach with it and said, “You’re coming with me.” My instincts, from high school and drinking in public, immediately came to life and I bolted and left. All these kids cleared the way and escorted me out the door. Eventually some people I found a few blocks away took me back to their house. Meanwhile, [the cop] arrested Tyson, two guys from one of the other bands that were with us, and a photographer that was there.

Alisa: What a crazy story.

Adam: Yeah and Tyson spent almost a whole day in jail. Almost 20 hours.

Alisa: Was that the worst 20 hours of your life?

Tyson: No, it wasn’t the worst 20 hours, but it was definitely an eye-opening experience.

Alisa: What did you learn from being in the slammer?

Tyson: It gave me real, first-hand experience in being able to observe and see how things work. Jail is not for rehabilitation. It’s incarceration, it’s uncomfortable … I had to sleep on the floor, wet from the show, it was freezing. I woke up and the guy next to me was obviously a thug, tears tattoed on his face, and he informed me about what was going on. It made me realize that everyone that I was with knew exactly the procedure. They had been there before. It really opened my eyes to how cyclical and unconstructive the system is.

Alisa: Do you guys get a little paranoid now at shows when you see the fuzz?

Adam: No. Chances of something like that happening twice in one lifetime is pretty slim.

Tyson: The funny thing was is that I had to go back to court three or four times to Houston. And the two other members of the band that we were with couldn’t afford to go back and forth, so they took a Class D misdemeanor, had to write a letter of apology to the city of Houston and pay $500. And here, this police officer who was way out of protocol, gets a little pat on the back. He does it again, a year later, to Okkervil River … and it’s terrible. It’s a shame that no one is accountable for that and I spent thousands of dollars trying to clear my name of something I didn’t even do. But … here we are. As a positive outcome, I now how a very unique perspective.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2togNabm80]