Greenville Scene

by: Michelle Hannon

GS: Were any of you guys in bands before The Gentle Suit?

KM: I was in a band called Free of Stars with Marcie West (Pregnant Preachers) and Sean Neuse (Culture Prophet, Backseat Dreamer). Erler was in a band called Gretchen Ross. Jacob was in The Shine. Chris was in a band called Kaptain America. They did some touring out of the area. The Gentle Suit is pretty much the only band we’ve all been in that’s lasted long enough to have a goal after recording.

GS: You just added Jacob right? You used to be a three-piece?

KM: Yes, he came in September or October 2006.

GS: Some bands set out to conquer the world, and others are content with being able to play locally. Does The Gentle Suit have any such philosophy?

KM: We’d like to have our recordings known in other places of course. We’d like to definitely get on a label even if it’s a small label. A label with some money for distribution and touring. We’re taking it a little at a time. We all have day jobs so that kind of conflicts with our recording and practicing time. But we’re not opposed to doing this full time.

GS: You’ve got an EP recorded?

KM: Actually, it’s a full length album. We recorded nine songs at the end of August. We were going to get it pressed right away but we had an error come up in the manufacturing process. Jacob came along at the same time so we decided to re-record half the songs with keyboards. We did that in December. We decided to do a CD-R release because it’s something we can control. We knew we didn’t need to do anything fancy like Discmakers since we are really just trying to get the music out there. It’s not unheard of for bands with larger audiences to do CDR only releases.

GS: Are you planning to shop it at all?

KM: We’re going to sell the full length and select songs for a demo to send to clubs and labels.

GS: When is it coming out?

KM: It will be available to the public in April 2007. Eventually we’ll sell it online. We’ll be doing some new recordings then too. That might be a smaller release like an EP. We’ll keep putting these out in CDR format ourselves until something else happens. The songs on the album are basically the songs we’ve been playing in our live sets. We’d like to start playing some different stuff for local shows though.

GS: How do you go about writing? What are your musical influences?

KM: The music writing process is pretty democratic. We have a warehouse practice space and we just play. Ideas will just come up. There’s no set plan. Sometimes someone has an idea and we build off of it. It’s democratic. Anyone can do whatever - no one says “you can’t do that.” The lyrics are all written by Erler. He builds them around the song as another instrument. None of us want anymore attention than another.

GS: That’s a pretty nice setup.

KM: In general we listen to all kinds of stuff. There is no exact influence for the sound. We all, at one point in our lives, were big Joy Division fans. We weren’t necessarily trying to go for that sound but all four of us like them. We were into them in the sense that their music is coming “straight from the gut” and not in the post-punk reunion thing from a few years ago or whatever. At alot of our first shows we would get that comparison which is fine but it’s not really what we had planned. We all really seem to like free jazz, punk and heavy psych(edelic) music. If you looked at our record collection you could find anything from Desmond Dekker to Wolf Eyes. I think in general though our music would probably appeal to people who like stuff that really don’t think about labels.

GS: What is your opinion of the GSP scene? How has being from this area affected your musical pursuits?

KM: We’re all from this area or have lived here since middle school or high school. I think that there is kind of an isolated feeling here. It makes you appreciate the friends you find with similar interests. As far as being in a scene, I’ve never felt like that but I don’t really know what that is supposed to be like. There are alot of great musicians and bands in the area so I think there are enough groups to have one. The downtown area in Greenville has a really safe, clean vibe since it really is just a planned area for people to shop in and then go home at 10 o’clock. It’s a little hard for rock music to take place when a bar or club is going to get a fine for noise. Ground Zero in Spartanburg and Gypsy G’s are really the only places that local rock acts can get booked and do what they want to do. We have really appreciated them letting us play there and develop our live sound. It would be nice if more touring bands were coming through here instead of just hitting up Athens, Asheville and Atlanta. Not to knock the area though. We all live here and have good friends here. I think it’s really up to people to do what they want to do to make things happen whether they are here or anywhere.

The Gentle Suit
Erler Meyer - Vocals, Guitar
Chris Howard - Bass
Kevin Miller - Drums
Jacob Cook - Keyboard

It’s ALIVE! We’re not entirely polished yet, but check it out and let us know what you think. In this issue we’ve got an interview with Eleventyseven, review of The Bitterman’s latest album, and a feature on Indie Rock in Greenville. We’ll be updating frequently, so come back soon!

by: Michelle Hannon

Eleventyseven (Flicker/Sony)
Matthew Langston - vocals, guitar
Caleb Satterfield - bass
Jonathan Stephens - drums

GS: How has being from Greenville affected your musical career?

Langston: Well, being from Greenville made it exceedingly difficult to establish any sort of support. At the time, the entire city was drenched in fashion show hardcore bands who all wanted to sound like Norma Jean (Tooth & Nail). No one really cared about what we were doing, and even today we’re not really sure many people do. No one ever wanted to give us shows except close friends, so we knew if we were going to get anywhere we had to get out of town. We appreciate what we’ve learned from this area, but the biggest advantage it ever gave us was not being Nashville. No one ever moves to Nashville and gets signed. Labels are looking everywhere but home. On a lighter note, we are all in agreement that we love Greenville as a city. All scene and musical things aside, it’s still my personal favorite place to be.

GS: You’re playing alot of churches and Christian festivals on tour. How do you view the relationship between playing music/being in a rock band and Christian ministry/evangelism?

Langston: This band is our job. We are all professing Christians, and our faith is the single most important reason that we do this band. However, its been really discouraging always having to defend our faith to other Christians. Most of the churches that we play for already have in mind what they want us to be, and when we turn out to not be that, it sort of disappoints them. Our ministry takes place with people that we know, people we come in contact with everyday; bands, friends, family. Those are people who know who we are, know our struggles, and who have a relationship with us that we know will last. We hate the idea of getting in front of kids for 30 minutes, saying a ton of stuff about Jesus, getting kids emotionally charged with loud music, then filling them with propaganda that makes them feel bad about who they are so that they “make a decision for Christ”, and then leave. There is no substance to that. There’s no integrity in paying lip service to ideas and concepts that kids can’t see you model in your everyday life. We firmly believe that the life Jesus led on earth was truly revolutionary, and the only people he ever really made mad were people in the religious institutions of the day (churches). From our experience we have seen the church, more often than not, shun problem kids away, break promises to us, not pay us, lie to us, turn children in need away, and verbally make fun of kids who were different than the ones in their youth group. This is how most of the churches we come in contact with behave. We know there is more to Christianity than that. Our faith stems from a much higher source than biases, church programs, youth group seminars and church politics. We are called to BE the church, and not to PLAY church like some sort of social club. Our message to kids is simple. God loves you no matter what you are, what you’ve done, and what you’re addicted to. You don’t have to be skinny enough, American enough, tolerant enough, church enough or even “Christian” enough for Him. Your Christian life is going to look completely different from mine, because whether you want Him to or not, God is shaping you and orchestrating you to be and do and serve exactly where He wants you to. Nothing is ever working against God, He created all and all is working FOR Him. You can’t expect for kids to understand that “God is love” if the only “love” they know is sexual abuse, fighting, drugs, and being used by other people. Love must be modeled in a way that kids can understand. God must put a truth into them that they can grasp and they must make a decision to follow or not to follow. It is only our responsibility to serve our purpose at the this very moment in time to the best of our abilities. We want to encourage kids in this. To be a spark that somehow ignites further thinking and searching for truth. Because we searched for truth and found it. It became real to us, not because we grew up in church or said a little prayer, but because God revealed something to us about our selves, and about Himself, and we haven’t been the same since. Anyway, that was a lot of babble i’m sure. But it’s the best way to sum up the struggle we have had with that question.

GS: How do you feel about being labeled a christian pop/punk band? Was it a conscious decision to sign with a Christian label?

Langston: We don’t care. You can call us what you want to, it doesn’t change who we are. We do enjoy sharing experiences with other bands, and also the accountability of being around like-hearted people who can encourage us in our faith. We didn’t set out to be a “Christian band”, because we just thought that it seemed pretty trivial to label yourself that. We saw a ton of so-called Christian bands who used the name of God to fool people into thinking they were something they were not, and into selling a ton of records and merch because they made people feel “safe” with their music. We can’t do that with a clear conscience. I just sort of never imagined God as being the sort of person who would ask me when I die, if my band was Christian or not.

GS: What do you think the purpose of music is? What is eleventyseven’s purpose or goal?

Music’s purposes are as diverse as the hearts that create it. Our goal is to do this band to the best of our ablilty, with as much integrity and faith as we can muster. To be able to look back and see a ton of friends and fans that we have met along the way, and to know that somehow we were used exactly how we needed to be used in each of those people’s lives. And most of all, to be encouragers of all those around us.

GS: What are some albums you’re listening to right now? Reading any good books?

Langston: In no particular order, this is what is in the van right now:
Billy Talent - Billy Talent 2
Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself
John Mayor - Continuum
Pet Shop Boys - Very
+44 - When Your Heart Stops Beating
Flatfoot 56 - Knuckles Up

GS: And finally.. Where do you see Eleventyseven in five years?

Langston: We have no clue. But hopefully a little older. And a little wiser.

We’re here! There is lots to see, so have a look around. We’ll be updating and remodeling (constantly) so check back often! Thanks for stopping by!