Buzz Blog
Both bands have made appearances at SXSW, on major television and at the best small venues across the country. In preparation for the intimate performance at Kilby Court, Colourmusic’s Nicholas Ley interviewed Colour Revolt’s Sean Kirkpatrick about topics of their choice for your reading pleasure. And for a feature on Colourmusic written by City Weekly contributor Jeremy Asay, click here.
Nicholas Ley: Your name comes from a Edwin Abbott novel. What made you pick it?
Sean Kirkpatrick: The name comes from the book Flattland. It is about a two-dimensional world where its occupants are judged by how many sides they have. For example, the triangles are lower in class to the hexagons. In the history of these Flatlanders, there is a point where art is introduced and everyone starts painting each other. During this period, no one can distinguish how many sides each other has. This part of the book sort of describes Colour Revolt's perspective on art. It may be idealistic, but who doesn't have some form of that in their life?
NL: It seemed for awhile there, we were chasing each other on tour. Have you ever been confused for us?
SK: Yes, actually. We were playing a show in Hoboken and noticed that the venue had paid us with a check made out to Colour Music instead of Colour Revolt. There have also been a couple of other instances where promoters would have to take a second to remember which "colour band" we were. It's never been a frustrating experience, though. We will usually run with it for a while. It's like stepping outside of your body and occupying someone else's.
NL: I got a twitter message from a fan of yours asking if you have plans for an acoustic EP. Anything available or on the horizon?
SK: We always are trying to keep things fresh as far as releasing tracks go. An acoustic EP is not in the works at the moment, but I'm not taking it out of the cards. Right now, we are focusing on releasing our old EP on vinyl. We'll hopefully have it out sometime next year, shortly followed by a new full length.
NL: With degrees in psychology and social work, do you approach your music or your career differently than, say, if you would have started touring and recording full time out of high school?
SK: Our college experience has definitely altered our perspectives on touring and music in general. It has brought us in contact with many people and schools of thought that we would have never known otherwise. Although we love what we do, I think it is good that we experienced a life outside of the music world in order to appreciate our own profession.
NL: With both of you writing, do either of you lean toward autobiographical lyrics or fictional situations? Obviously, it's collaborative, but when you begin a project, do you have a concept or theme?
SK: Although Jesse's and my approach are different; it's safe to say that we draw a fair amount from how the music feels. Lyrics tend to follow the emotion of the song itself. There may be ideas that we have about subject matter we would like to put in a song, but if it doesn't fit the mood, there tends to be a disconnect. There are ways to mix things up, though. If we are feeling spry, we may write something that is completely opposite of how the song feels. I know Jesse wrote lyrics about a serial killer to music that, if heard by itself, would sound like a soft, heartwarming folk song.
COLOURMUSIC
w/ Color Revolt, The Love Capades
Kilby Court
741 S. Kilby Court (330 West)
Friday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m.
$10
