Milwaukee's Space Raft released one of the most enchanting records of 2014. At first listen I barley caught my jaw from hitting the floor more than once. Now, how to describe this band to you, that is a tough one. Closest thing I can come to that is to ask that you try to imagine an alternate reality where Alex Chilton fronts for Hawkwind. Space Raft's music is a swirling sonic landscape filled with heavy 70's rock guitars coated in 1960's Mersey Beat melodies. The perfect summer sounds for sunbathing on the sand dunes of Mars.
Interview
by J Castro
Who is currently in the
band and what does everyone do in it?
Tjay
Christensen: Keyboards, Vocals
Tyler
Chicorel: Drums, Vocals
Jon
Heibler: Bass
Jordan
Davis: Guitar, Vocals
How did you all meet
and decide to play music together?
JORDAN:
Tjay and I met through a mutual friend, I had been writing songs for a monster
movie my friend Brian Perkins was developing and I needed a solid keyboard player
that could play the stuff I had been writing at the piano. We got together and worked on it a bit and
thought it would be cool to form a band around some of that material, so we started looking at finding some other
musicians we’d like to hang out with. Tjay introduced me to his friend Tyler
and I introduced them to my friend Colin Swinney and immediately we had
chemistry and knew it would be a fun band to pursue. Colin moved to California shortly after our initial practices so I
introduced the band to Srini Radhakrishna, who played with us through recording
our 1st album then subsequently moved to California
What band or musician
first inspired you to want to pick up an instrument and learn to play and/or
write music?
JORDAN:
The Beach Boys, I was obsessive about surf music as a kid. Between Carl
Wilson’s Chuck Berry riffs or the Ventures instrumentals I knew that I absolutely
wanted to play guitar. I don’t think I knew I wanted to write until I heard
Nirvana in middle school, that might be cliché, but it was a big moment in my
life. I can’t speak for the other guys,
but I imagine that was a watershed moment for them as well. I was raised in Green Bay Wisconsin
 |
| S/T LP released May 10th 2014 on Dusty Medical Records |
How would you describe
your band to your grandparents?
JORDAN:
My Grandpa refers to it as an orchestra for some reason, He likes old time
jazz, country, and polka, and so I am not too sure what frame of reference I
would have to use explaining it to him. I’d maybe tell him it sounds like Count
Basie through a distorted radio, But Hell, he’s probably heard the Beatles by
now. I think either of my Grandmothers wouldn’t really be concerned with what it
sounds like, only that it makes me happy and that I feel compelled to do it.
What sorts of things do
you typically enjoy writing songs about?
JORDAN:
It changes too often to pin down, there are common themes present, but it’s
mostly subconscious. The songs off of Space Raft’s upcoming sophomore LP
“Rubicon” seem to deal mostly with mortality, self control, destiny, and
existential questions regarding reality. It was a hard year in my life I suppose. I try not to write too literally and leave it
open for interpretation by the listener. I could explain what every song I
write means to me, but would rather people form their own conclusions. If I
were to sit down next to Bob Dylan and he were to explain Visions of Johanna to
me, there is a chance I might not care for that song anymore, I suppose I
prefer to live with the imagery I have already created for that song in my
head.
I’ve heard people say
that playing and writing music is therapeutic to them. Have you ever found this to be true?
JORDAN:
It is, but I think any creative endeavor can be. To labor on something that
doesn’t exist in the physical world can help to process some of the weight of
being. It swings both ways though, I used to really obsess about music, to a
point where it was unhealthy. Really beat myself up over what I thought I was
capable of, I got to the point were it never was any fun because nothing was
ever good enough. I have learned to relax lately, and only concentrate on the
kinds of ideas that work and therefore have more fun at it. I think overall the
quality of my work benefited from that outlook. It’s easy to have fun in Space Raft, there is
a very natural chemistry that keeps the atmosphere very light and jovial, even
when we have lots of work to do we are still joking around. I feel very
fortunate to be a part of it really. Everybody brings something to the table.
Does it annoy you or
distract you at all to see some of your audience members fondling their phones
while you’re up on stage performing?
JORDAN:
It really doesn’t bother me, people enjoy themselves any numbers of ways. Who
am I to judge?
After one of your
shows, what sort of feeling or sentiment do you hope your audience walks away
with?
JORDAN:
I hope they understand that we work really hard at what we do, and that we are
having a really good time doing it. Our 1st S/t LP was seemingly
very well received in many different circles, and I hope our audience
understands how much work went into making it. Above all else, I hope they know that we
appreciate them listening.
What is your favorite
album to listen to from start to finish?
JORDAN:
There are far too many albums to choose from. I could narrow down a few, but I
tend to only really listen to music on my own time that I am currently inspired
by, meaning, that one record would literally change week to week. Maybe this
week it’s Neil Young’s Zuma, maybe next week it’ll be Big Star’s #1 record.
Last Week it was The Saints Eternally Yours or Bowie
What’s the best advice
anyone has ever given you that you still follow to this day?
JORDAN:
Haha, I have never been very good at taking advice. My girlfriend Michelle
reminds me I should slow down and live in the present. I think that is good
general advice to follow. I can be quite the space cadet if left to wander amongst
my daydreams.
What is the best way
people can hear and get a hold of your music?
JORDAN:
You can hear our self titled album on Bandcamp and Spotify
You
can hear the new single from our upcoming Rubicon LP at our website:
Stream
our New Single on DMR from Milwaukeerecord.com:
Or
you can buy our self titled debut and 7” (and our follow up April 15th)
by from Dusty Medical Records:
Or,
if you are in Europe you can buy Our S/T or
our upcoming LP at Bachelor records:
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/space_raft/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/space_raft
What lies ahead for
Space Raft in 2016?
JORDAN:
Our sophomore album Rubicon will be out on Dusty Medical Records (US) and
Bachelor Records (Europe) on April 15th and we have our Milwaukee
release show booked on May 7th with some of our favorite Milwaukee
Dusty Medical affiliated bands: Phylums, Midnight Reruns, and Platinum Boys. We
are trying to book as many weekends we can for the summer and currently are in
the early process of booking a European tour for later this year. So things are coming together and we are
looking forward to the adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment