Clemency – You’ve Got The Fire

By starrymag | December 26, 2014

Q) How would you describe your sound?

Jason: It’s a very joyful sound, hopeful. It’s not totally spacey. It’s definitely rock, but it has a spacey sound to it as well.

Paul: Really hard, soft rock.

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

Paul: We grew up listening to a lot of country music and folk music. Over the years we have been influenced by bands from U2, Coldplay, The Wallflowers, Arcade Fire and The National. We love bands like Kings of Leon. No genre is too out there for us to draw influence from.

Q) You have a new EP You’ve Got The Fire out now. How would you describe the theme?

Jason: These are a bunch of love songs, to a degree. We have kind of chosen to tell a love story throughout the record with the video project that we are doing. I wouldn’t say that we set out to make a constant record, but I think as we wrote this song we kind of turned it into a love story. That was kind of a current theme throughout all the songs. It’s not necessary a sappy thing to us, but just the way it is told. It’s a story of a man and a woman, but along the way it grew into something a lot bigger than that. It reaches a lot more people than just a man and a woman so it is kind of turned into us discovering a concept where we could change peoples’ lives and the world.

Q) How much hand did you have in the production of the EP?

Jason: We were very hands on. We worked with a producer named Brent Milligan. It’s usually him, Paul and I in a room. Paul and I write the songs before we go to him, but then we kind of patch it up in the studio with him and we draw from great musicians in town to help record it.

Q) What is your songwriting process like? Do you need the music before being able to write the lyrics?

Jason: I think it is very much finding a sound that is interesting so we can find a progression or melody that we are drawn to that motivates us. We kind of build it from there. A lot of times it is Paul saying, “I’ve been working on this really cool track. How do you feel about this?” Maybe I’m bouncing lyrics off it or vice versa. Usually, it does start with the music and then we place the lyrics over it and let the music guide it.

Q) What do you think it is about “Color Hit The Canvas” that will resonate with fans?

Jason: I think it has great hooks and I think that our music really puts people in a good mood. I say it is the kind of music that we want to listen to and gives us energy, motivation or inspiration. It’s something beautiful. We hope the sound is joyous and it’s something that people can relate to. I think most people in the world want to meet someone special. I think that’s where the song is, discovering someone who likes you and brings you to life.

Q) How does the video for “Color Hit The Canvas” connect with the message of the song?

Jason: It’s the intro to the overall story that we are telling for this EP. It’s a story of a girl walking through a garden at night and she discovers someone that is unlike anyone she has ever met. He possesses a light that she is drawn to and it influences her and in turn she receives the light. She then sets out on a journey to spread it to others.

Paul: “Color Hit The Canvas” is definitely a good introduction. It is just kind of setting the tone. “Color Hit The Canvas” also does that for the EP. It kind of sets the tone for the story to be told because it is upbeat and kind of has a happy thing going.

Q) What are some of your favorite songs off the EP?

Paul: It’s really hard to be objective about that just being so hands-on with it. I really get excited listening to all of them. I’m really proud of the project. I would say “Runaways” has a really cool, driving down the road kind of a vibe. We kind of pulled a little bit of it from a Traveling Wilburys and Tom Petty kind of feel on that song. I really love “When I’m With You the Fireworks” and “We Have Love.” “We Have Love” has a little bit more space to the song and it is kind of a wide soundtrack kind of song. Then, “Firework” is kind of an anthem. I guess it depends on different days of the week.

Q) What can fans expect from a live Clemency concert?

Paul: Well, you can expect some good energy. Maybe a little bit of humor. We really like to connect with the audience. It’s never just a place where we are on stage and you’re in the audience so just listen. We definitely like to interact while we’re on stage and try and connect with fans. Sometimes we ask questions when we’re on stage, too.

Jason: We just try really hard not to let our voices crack.

Q) How can fans help promote your music?

Jason: By telling a friend and posting on social media! Just getting excited about it with us. We’re posting from our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. All our videos will be up on YouTube and http://www.roxwel.com. Listen to our music and if you like it then blast it out! That would be so helpful!

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with fans?

Jason: It’s the new wave! There are so many tools and media styles for indie bands to kind of show off what they have worked so hard to create. It’s a great way to just connect personally, too. It’s a really cool phenomenon to get to know people and meet new people to get the word out about what we’re doing.

Paul: Our social media platforms have always been a way not to just show what we have been up to, but we always want to learn what the people that listen to our music are up to. We’ve always sort of promoted them in a place where they can say what they want to say and let us know how they are doing and what they are up to.

Jason: It’s a cool way to create community.

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of your music?

Jason: Thank you so much! We really appreciate the support and love that you are willing to get behind our music and help promote it.

Paul: Thanks for listening and keep going on this journey with us. We’ve really enjoyed it and look forward to continuing the journey with you.