“We think TPA is underrated on so many levels and we aren’t moving to some random ‘hip’ city where the culture is baked in,” Tim McTague told CL. The Underoath guitarist is talking in the context of his Tampa-based supergroup with Nate Young (Anberlin) and Reed Murray (Say Anything).
“Before Portland or Philly or Seattle were those places they were just cities. Then a group of creative dreamers made it special," he added. "We want to play a part in the birth of TPA becoming among those and we aren’t leaving until we get there.”
Carrollhood is playing it's second show ever on Friday, January 12, and we got to catch up with Murray and McTague before it all goes down. Read our profile on the band here, and see full Q&A (plus information on the show) belowl
Reed — you’re joining the married club soon, and you’ve recently ended your run with Say Anything. I saw you play with Max Norton, and you’ve done solo work, but what other projects are you going to be working on now? What role will Carrollhood play in your life moving forward?
Reed Murray: This past year I made several important life decisions around a desire to invest more time in the ones I love. I will be marrying the love of my life in March, I will be releasing new music with my best friends (Carrollhood), and I will be able to explore other creative outlets, whether it involves music or business.
As difficult as it was to part ways with Say Anything, it was the right time to let that part of my life be in order to move forward in other ways. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity Max (Bemis) had given me to be a part of Say Anything for the last four years and I approached every tour with a mindset of thankfulness because I know those types of moments can be fleeting. Every single person associated with that band is family to me and I am so fortunate to have had the privilege to know them and work with them. Although I will not necessarily be touring as much as I have done in the past, I will continue to pursue music with Carrollhood being the main focus.
Tim, you and Nate presumably get to spend a lot of time together since you’re making coffee under the King State banner. Is that the case? I know Carrollhood has always been a slow-cook project with no deadlines and that Reed was kind of the spark to get you two going, but what’s the trajectory of this band right now as far as dedicating time to writing, recording, and even playing shows? Does working on coffee together lead you to talk about ideas or bond over a sound you hear on the speakers at King State?
Tim McTague: I think so in a lot of ways. Nate and I have been spending more time than ever together now that King State bought it’s new building. We are always talking and vibing on music which then directly translates to Hood etc. I don’t think it’s even intentional but has it’s place in the process for sure.
Carrollhood S/T “coming soon” — what’s that mean? I’m assuming it’s being self-recorded, produced, funded, etc. again. Where is it being recorded, who’d touching the parts of it? What kind of equipment are you using in the studio?
McTague: Yeah, we’ve been working on the record for over a year. With me touring, King State being full time and Reed being on tour, getting married and everything else, it’s been insane. The record is finally mixed (5 songs) and is being mastered now. I engineered and produced the whole thing at my studio, Feral Sound in Seminole Heights, and then our friend Chad Howat from Nashville mixed it. Everyone contributed to writing, but a breadth of it came out of me just locked in the studio and constantly poking around. He just got nominated for a Grammy this year too so it’s been really exciting to be working with someone on that level for this project. Every record we do is different based on inspiration, time and availability. The last project I felt like more of a producer and not a writer as much. This project is definitely different.
Can we talk about the production on “Stranger”? I think with the other stuff it was Tim getting looped into demos by Nate and Reed. How was that this time?
McTague: This song is one of the weirder ones as far as creation goes. We wrote most of this song in bare bones form over a year ago when we did a short tour with Acceptance. We needed an interlude so I wrote the beat and the pad stuff and dropped it in Ableton. We jammed on it for a bit, and Nate put the drum part down and Reed and I sorted the chorus and it was basically done for what we needed. We played it 3 times on that run and then kind of just kept it in the back of the brain. When we started doing the record Nate and I spent a day and took a stab at seeing if it could actually be a song. We added the second verse, and then I came up with the big guitar riff part at the end and then it really started to sound like a powerful complete thought. We added these almost hip hop 808 and vocal splices that are layered at the end, and Chad (mixer) really helped tweak that to get it sounding super interesting. I think people won’t really know what to think about this track on first listen, but I think it will grow on you.
And “Leader” the song feels more spacious than anything you’ve previously released, yet it does have a lot of different moving parts. Could you talk about the music that inspires you and why you think Carrollhood songs end up sounding the way they do?
McTague: This song was actually an old demo that Nate sent us forever ago. He had a weird acoustic guitar part and this lyric that just kept repeating Leader….Leader. I came back to it on accident one day at the studio and I just started digging into it. It sat in a weird state for a while and then one day everything just came together. We all listen to so many different elements that I think the band really feels almost genre agnostic at times. We pull from so much and there aren’t any rules. Whatever we are feeling that day is what we chase.
In the past, there wasn’t a lot of face-to-face, mostly passing files online. And what’s the process of building a song like for Carrollhood?
McTague: It’s still a lot of the same. I don’t think that we were in the studio together more than once or twice the whole time we were writing and recording. Owning our own studio helps a ton so we can constantly work in random bursts and pockets and aren’t on a time crunch. I think in the end there might be a better way to do it, but this is the only way we know how. It’s worked so far, and based on everything we have going on, I don’t imagine it slowing down so I think this is the way we will continue to work.
Could you guys explain how you finally know that a song is “done” and ready to be heard outside of the band? Obviously, you’ll let it out when it sounds like something you love, but what are some of things Carrollhood lets you do sonically that you don’t do in other projects?
McTague: I think we always know when it’s done. When you listen and think “Man, there’s nothing I can do to make this better.” I think you can overcook, and always add more tracks for the sake of adding, but there’s a sweet spot when a song goes from demo to realized and then to polished. When you hit that finish line, stop running. As far as sonics go, Hood allows us to experiment with electronic elements a ton. We all three play in heavy / rock bands so it’s rad to flex some other skills and muscles. There’s a song on the project called Body and it doesn’t have one analog instrument on it and the drums are constantly layered with electronic drums. That’s something Underoath, Anberlin or Say Anything don’t really fit with
Everyone — is there particularly challenging about playing these songs live? What can fans expect at the January show?
McTague: Everything is a challenge. I think the biggest thing is that we just want it to be us 3. We tried playing with an extra drummer at our last show, and it didn’t really do what we thought it would. We have been working really hard on consolidating tracks and creating a more ‘live’ version of some of the songs. I think at the end of the day, Hood shows are fun, loud, sloppy and full of vibe. I like that our records and show feel unique yet compliment each other.
Murray: We started Carrollhood with the intention of pushing ourselves creatively and apart from our other projects. Our main focus was writing and recording, so playing shows was not originally a factor we kept in mind. With that said, the most challenging aspect in playing Carrollhood shows for me (as mainly a drummer) is learning to become comfortable being away from a drum kit in order to sing and play keys instead.
How does being associated with other very large bands affect they way you approach Carrollhood? Have you ever taken what the outside world thinks into consideration when making music anyway?
McTague: We never think about anyone when writing. I think at the end of the day, if we do, it’s always “ah man, this is going to piss someone off…” let’s do it. I like being uncomfortable and challenged, and I think we naturally do that with our music to others. I don’t think Underoath or Anberlin fans automatically love Hood. It’s an acquired taste, especially S/T, but I think that’s what makes it special.
Murray: We wanted to approach writing and recording with an “anything goes” mentality in order to produce the best music with our abilities. Each of us have different strengths between our other bands, but Carrollhood – at least for me – has been an outlet and motivation to develop and improve other skills. In regards to Say Anything’s fanbase, I have been pleasantly surprised to receive positive feedback from fans concerning Carrollhood; however, we do not consider outside opinions while writing and recording.
Do you have any expectations for how Carrollhood music will be received by old fans and new ones alike?
McTague: Nah. I think I really just want people to sit with it. Don’t want for it to be cheap, or easy. We spent a shitload of time on this stuff and giving the project a chance to connect is key. We love that some people really love it, but we don’t hinge or expect that. We are so blessed to even be in a band with our friends and be able to play a show every once in a while and really just make it fun.
Murray: Considering we have only released six songs after being a band for six years, I do not have any expectations for how this music will be received. Our old music was released during a time when we were developing the concept of Carrollhood and since then, we have written so much material that has still not seen the light of day. We have all grown as songwriters since those early recordings, and these new songs reflect our most recent ideas and inspiration; however, people may not have a real grasp on how we got from point A to point Z, since points B through Y have not been released.
Could you talk about having Lulls In Traffic, Loose Talk and then relatively younger guys Brother Cephus on this bill? Specifically wondering about why you guys decided to stay “home” here in Florida and the surrounding areas, what “home” means to you and what you hope to accomplish creatively, personally and professionally in the time you’ve been allotted here on Earth?
McTague: We love the chance to put on our friends and music we believe in on our shows. Brother Cephus is my favorite band in TPA right now. I’ve had the Lulls record for years. Aaron (Copeland) sent it to me forever ago, and then he finally put it out. It’s their first show ever and he’s doing something fresh so I think it’s going to be super special. Loose Talk is Christian and Deon from Anberlin’s new project. Nate played drums on their first ep and we have been super close with them forever. We love seeing those dudes play, and all in all it’s going to be a party on so many levels.
We stayed home because we believe in TPA. We think TPA is underrated on so many levels and we aren’t moving to some random ‘hip’ city where the culture is baked in. Before Portland or Philly or Seattle were those places they were just cities. Then a group of creative dreamers made it special. We want to play a part in the birth of TPA becoming among those and we aren’t leaving until we get there.
Murray: Tampa is home and the driving force of Carrollhood is to be part of a stronger community in our music scene. Lulls, Loose Talk, and Brother Cephus consist of so many people we all know, love, and respect. I consider it a privilege to be a part of this scene in Tampa and I want to do whatever we can to help it grow.
This article appears in Jan 4-11, 2018.