THE ENLOWS

THE ENLOWS

(all questions answered by Arwai)

First of all, congratulations on being a band for 20 years. How'd you manage to pull that off?

Thanks!  I'd like to say it's because we're "Too Tough to Die" but anyone who has ever seen us would never describe us as a "tough" band - even in my youth rocking my classic Ramones inspired motorcycle jacket.  You know...this is a really hard question to answer. But, I guess it comes down to a few simple things. First and foremost, we're friends outside of the band; I mean, honestly, only our closest friends would stick around for years waiting for an official first full-length album to be completed!  Secondly, overall decisions are done democratically with songs brought to rehearsal in various states of completion so that the band can work together testing out various ideas until we all like it or we decide to stash it away; conversely, there is a lot of independent creativity in each member writing the majority of their own parts as opposed to one person writing the whole composition.  Together, these two opposing strategies help create an ownership and pride for these songs instead of just feeling like we're playing someone else's song. And lastly, we're still having fun and that's because we don't put any pressure or unrealistic expectations on ourselves.  

Listening to your songs, it's obvious that you are concerned with catchiness and have very poppy sensibilities, yet it seems that you've bypassed my scene (the Ramonescore pop punk circles) in favor of forging your own path to rock enlightenment. Would you agree?

In some ways, yes.  It's always flattering when people comment about how they can't quite describe our sound or when they wildly speculate about our influences.  But, if you strip our songs down, you'll find they are grounded mostly in the basic building blocks we learned as young musicians from the Ramones: power chords, 4/4 time, and minimal frills.  With this latest release, Take Aim, we really wanted to channel our early sound which was heavily influenced by the Ramones.  The songs on average two minutes in length - just like the Ramones and the early rock'n'roll that they (and we also) were inspired by.  I can only think maybe my vocals tend to hide this groundwork, since I don't sing or sound like Joey, but if you sit down and play along, it's all there.  Take our new song Off Coursefor example - the original melody I had was so close to the song Oh Oh I Love Her So by the Ramones that I debated if I should leave it as an homage although I ultimately decided to change it for the album (you can check out the original version under the title Ms. Zurie on a compilation album called File Under: Bat Guano) but you can still hear the similarities during the intro.  In the end, I always let the melody dictate the song. And a fun fact to really drive this connection home: We chose the surname Enlow for our band name specifically so that we could be a "family" like the "Ramones" though we never implemented using it for our individual stage names.

The Enlows lack a gimmick, which many bands need in order to feel viable (and/or relevant). Instead you offer great rock songs with lyrics that have an air of mystery woven into the wordplay. How would you describe your own vision of the band, and did you purposefully avoid having a trademark "thing" in order to focus on the songwriting and music?

Funny enough, before we decided on a band name, the first batch of songs were directly related to horror movies based on our mutual love for the Groovie Ghoulies.  Some of the songs included a surf instrumental called Jaws, a recap of The Exorcist called The Girl's Possessed, and a "love" song from the ghosts in Poltergeist to Carol Anne.  However, we decided we'd eventually just be too limited in content to draw from.  And as the main lyricist, it was also much more natural for me to write lyrics that drew from all aspects of my life rather than just one facet.  Also, funny enough, the new album is my half-ass attempt at a concept album. I don't think most people would notice, but there is a loose connection between the songs.  Being heavily inspired by a love for ELO's album Time and the often romanticized lost album Songs from the Black Hole by Weezer, we decided to attempt an album that followed the story of space-faring gunslinger whose love inadvertently starts a war.  There are some of the more major elements still in there, but it was getting too literal and left out half the fun of music: being able to interpret it in different ways.  So, the songs were reworked to be more open to interpretation.

What are your usual songwriting routines? Do you have any disciplines or habits that help you stay on point? 

Most songs are based off some random melody that either pops into my head (and I record quickly to my phone before it disappears) or by sitting down with a guitar and jamming until something takes shape.  The latter often happens at rehearsal with a lot of input from the whole band. I'll usually bring anywhere from 10% to 95% of a song to practice and, as a group, we'll try it out with various adjustments and arrangements.  Sometimes it doesn't work, but when it does, we know we have something. For this album, there were actually a few songs that we had barely even played that we structured the day we recorded. However, the hardest part is usually the lyrics which can take me awhile to decide on as I'm pretty indecisive.

It seems that you've had plenty of songwriting practice over the years and have a natural ear for composition and hooks. To what extent have you studied and analyzed songwriting, and how would you describe your own skill development as a songwriter?

Honestly, nothing professional or scholarly.  After learning the basics from my brother, the only studying I've ever done was listening, singing, and figuring out (as close as I could) how to play songs I love by ear.  What I can say is that although I was born in the 80's and watched a lot of music videos on MTV, I mostly listened to 50's and 60's music via the radio. Del Shannon, Buddy Holly, Sam Cooke, Kinks, Leslie Gore, Supremes, Zombies, early Beatles...these acts were burned into my brain from heavy repetition.  The only reason I ever came around to more modern music was on account of two things: my love of Weird Al and his penchant for parodying musical styles that helped broaden my palette; and a compilation album of 70's era Saturday morning cartoons which featured Ramones playing the Spider-Man theme. This primed me for the Greenday's Dookie, Offspring's Smash, and Weezer's Blue Album.  Then, when music sharing software came around, my musical tastes grew vastly asI was able to be introduced to all of sorts of acts that eventually helped me craft songs: The Queers, MTX, Screeching Weasel, Groovie Ghoulies, Nerf Herder, Superdrag, Fountains of Wayne, to name just a few.  Anything with a driving beat and catchy melody will get my attention. But at the end of the day, it's the 50's and 60's music that I always harken back to when I need inspiration. But that doesn't mean I don't pay a lot of care and attention to structure and progressions. In fact, I try to write songs around common conventions that I can find a way to bend or break them.  For instance, one of our older songs, Baybee Can't Count, uses a three chord sequence that keeps moving sequentially over four beats resulting in the effect of sounding like multiple four chord sequences.  Or, on our newest release, the song Last Days on Earth starts off pretty normal with a couple rounds of verse then chorus, but then halfway switches to a "bridge" that constantly changes melody as it barrels forward and then ends the song - instead of ever returning to the anything from the start of the song.  I especially like to use alternate progressions mid song, such as playing a pre-chorus chord pattern twice everywhere except one point in a song. I find it helps break up the repetitiveness that is inherent in the type of music we play and it gives me great joy when I can create something I've never heard done before, even if it is just in the nuances of a particular part of a composition.

Sactown has a deep history of great bands and continues to be a hub for good live shows and a strong music community from my outsider perspective. Did you have any musical heroes or mentors in the Sacramento scene growing up? Who are your favorite songwriters and bands from Sac?

I'd have to say Danny from the Moans.  Way back before the Enlows formed, he was in a legendary local punk band called The Secretions. While Jeff (our drummer) and Ryan (our bassist) were much hipper than me (having both been a part of the local scene for some time), The Secretions were my first introduction into Sac's punk scene.  Not only were these guys rad musicians who put on fun shows, they were some of the nicest people you could ever meet. So nice, they even invited The Enlows to come on stage to play our first ever set (which consisted of two songs) at the legendary music venue, Capitol Garage, using their equipment.  What kind of band gives up some of their time on stage to some random kids? Bands with people like Dan who I look up to for three reasons: 1) he rocks every instrument he uses, including his vocal cords, 2) he is always positive, interactive and funny, and 3) he has an amazing memory - all of which I personally lack!  But just knowing him inspires me to work harder at those things. The truth is, my favorite song writers are two people very close to me. One is my brother Steele. He taught me to play the guitar and has always amazed me with the ease he picks up any instrument. The album he put out under the band name Zero for Zero is probably hands down one of the best collection of songs I've ever heard.  The other is a band called The Croissants fronted by my good friend, and former Enlows drummer, Gabba. His songs always surprise me and get me amped!!!

What is your take on the "worthwhileness" of putting out rock albums in 2019 and going forward? Do you feel that there's been a significant enough shift in the listening and (lack of) purchasing habits to pose a threat to your own inspiration? Do you have any trouble maintaining motivation in the modern era of music?

After 20 years without a proper full-length, I think it is pretty obvious that moving merchandise is not the central drive of this band.  LOL Personally, I'll always be motivated to make music as: it is the creative outlet I prefer, I'm hopefully helping to keep rock alive, and I hope to inspire others to make music the way others inspired me.  While I would agree that the landscape has changed, the one thing I count on is the cyclical nature of life. Rock is going to have ups and downs and I see young bands now and then that convince me that rock's best days aren't necessarily behind us.  As for albums as a whole, I think it's really strange right now. Vinyl made a come back, and now even cassettes are seeing an uptick. Personally, I'm a millennial streamer so I know I'm part of this problem. However, I resolve this in my mind by still buying albums of bands I see or I really like, even if they remain unopened, because I know streams and bands can disappear, but physical media will last (at least) one's lifetime.  

What are some of your proudest moments as a musician? What would you consider to be your ultimate goals as an artist?

Sharing the stage with some of our greatest musical heroes like the Queers and MTX.  Talk about feeling unworthy! My personal goal would be to inspire someone more talented than I'll ever be to inspire a new generation of awesome rock.  As a band, we'd love to one day play a show at our local historic Crest Theater, especially with another one of our musical heroes.  

Where does the majority of Enlows lyrical inspiration come from? Matt (Bennett) mentioned that you guys tend to weave in some obscure references without offering much explanation.

I generally write the majority of lyrics for the band and can say that they are just the bi-product of my scatterbrain mind.  I'd blame it on being a Gemini, I think. While I wouldn't say the sources are too obscure, I do generally try to obscure them in the lyrics so it's not so "on the nose" at first glance.  Sometimes I'll pull something from a movie, like how Buddy Holly grabbed the "that'll be the day" from a John Wayne flick.  Sometimes from comics (e.g., the first names of Phoenix and Professor X in our song Hold Up), from TV, or other musicians.  Sometimes articles I read or a documentary I've watched inspires me.  Sometimes its just everyday conversation between friends or words overheard from strangers.  On this album, there are quite a number of pop-culture references such as a reinterpretation of a Twilight Zone episode, multiple nods to the band the Riverdales, plus Bill and Ted make it into the lyrics without fitting the album theme at all.  One song is even my first political song - though I hesitate to call it that as it's more apolitical than anything. Some of the lines come from re-imaginings of experiences I have had. And one line is inspired by a scene from 1997's Contact starring Jodie Foster.  Yeah, my mind is all over the place. Fun fact: The song Raider of Hearts is actually a complimentary counterpart to the song Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow performed by the Shirelles.

To what extent does your family support your music? Do you have many daily contacts who relate to the rock n' roll mission? Who have your biggest supporters been?

Well, funny enough, The Enlows started as "family" band with my brother and I way back when.  Although he went on to do other projects, The Enlows eventually became a new "family" band with Ryan and I each being the other's best men at the other's wedding and Jeff becoming Ryan's brother-in-law...so you could so we have very close family support.  But, really, all of our family's are very supportive and give us feedback and motivation which we really appreciate. Besides our family, we've gotten a lot of great support from fans but especially other musicians (both local and in other states) who tend to recognize the semi-unique composition of our songs.  We have a lot of respect for our peers, especially here in the Sacramento area, so we value their opinions.

What are your hopes and expectations for this new album ("Take Aim" comes out 7/25/19 on OUTLOUD! Records) and the future of The Enlows?

Mainly, we're hoping to channel the success of completing the album into completing the second album which is currently underway.  After that, we're going to complete the Tri-Force and begin work on album three! Then hopefully another tour. From there, who knows!