The Lonely Forest recently made headlines as the first band signed to Trans Records, an imprint founded by Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie. Known for their passionate, vocal-driven pop rock, they have garnered a strong local following in their home state of Washington. Spinner caught up with members John van Deusen and Tony Ruland to talk about their recent move to Trans and their first appearance at SXSW.
How did the Lonely Forest form?
JvD: Tony, Eric, and Braydn played instrumental music together until I was invited over for a friendly "jam session." The rest, as we say, is history.
How would you describe your sound?
JvD: I would say the Lonely Forest plays gimmick-free pop rock.
How did you come up with the name "the Lonely Forest"?
JvD: About four years ago I was reading The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis and came across a sentence in which he described a particular set of trees as a "very lonely forest." I wrote it down on my hand because I thought it was a wonderfully descriptive and imaginative way to explain the scenery in that chapter.
What are your musical influences?
JvD: Personally, I would have to say my biggest influence as a songwriter is the local music scene we are involved in up in Anacortes and the surrounding area. Bands such as the Globes, the Oregon Donor, the Mission Orange, Karl Blau, and Mt. Eerie have had a profound impact on me artistically. Other than that, bands such as XTC, Death Cab For Cutie, Nirvana, and REM have probably influenced the Lonely Forest's sound more than most.
How does this incarnation of the Lonely Forest differ from the original incarnation, John van Deusen and the Lonely Forest? Has your music changed?
JvD: Originally, John van Deusen and the Lonely Forest was the name of my slightly more poppy, acoustic guitar solo project. When I started playing with the guys, our sound began to evolve, so we thought it was natural to take my name from the title and make it more of a musical collaboration and less of a dictatorship. The Lonely Forest of today covers a much larger spectrum of influences and sounds than my solo project did.
Is there a core idea or theme behind We Sing the Body Electric!? And who is the Walt Whitman fan?
JvD: A few years ago I went through a huge Ray Bradbury phase. He has a collection of short stories called I Sing The Body Electric! that I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved the title because I felt like you could draw many different meanings from the words sing, body and electric. Soon after I came across Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, and discovered his poem of the same name. The more I thought about the phrase, "I Sing the Body Electric!" the more I felt that it would make a great name for a record. I think the main goal behind the record was to sing incredibly personal lyrics in hopes that the listener would be able to relate to the sh*t I was going through during that period in my life. Sonically, we were shooting to make the songs louder, faster, and have more energy. Ultimately, the combination of vulnerable lyrics and energetic songs was supposed to in a way, "sing the body electric." I'm not sure if we achieved our goal, but I still feel that the title fits the songs.
How did you get hooked up with Chris Walla and eventually signed onto Trans?
TR: Chris first heard about us through Megan Seling's column in Seattle's The Stranger and eventually bought a record after reading our name enough times. Shortly after our release of We Sing the Body Electric!, Chris was asked by CNN what he was listening to; he mentioned us, and from there it all sort of unfolded.
What are you planning to record next?
TR: This April we are headed to LA and San Francisco for a month to record our next full length. We're excited on having so much time to focus on just making a record. It's a luxury we have never had. Yay!
What's the craziest thing you've seen on tour?
TR: Hmmm . . . Well, does seeing John naked count? It happens far too often.
Brandy Keller is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.
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