Altsounds: How would you categorize The Elms? Pop? Americana? Rock?
Owen Thomas: I guess it's pretty much a stripped down rock combo. We try to keep things as sparse as possible. We never let it get too complicated. A genre-specific name... I guess I would say rock and roll band. The stuff that we sort of chase as it pertains to musical heritage- Tom Petty, Springsteen, Neil Young. They all made records that were labored over in the studio, so maybe there was a refined element to the recording. But then when it's on stage, it's pretty rambunctious. We do things a similar way.
How did you approach making this new album?
Well, we initially approached it by writing about 200 songs. Usually when we get done doing a typical album promotion cycle, I start to write again. We spend about a year on the road and I write very little. As soon as we come off the road, I'm writing 3 or 4 songs a day. As I was writing the music, it became more apparent that Middle America, the workforce and the families, in 2009 are becoming the theme. The lyrics exist against this very humble backdrop.
The Great American Midrange is a metaphor for middle class and just a great description of what our music is like.
We had to narrow it down to about 20 songs. We spent months rehearsing them to figure out which ones are really great. They also needed to fit the aesthetic- it's tough times for most Americans right now. We had to let go of songs we felt good about, but we recorded the 20 songs in Nashville. From there we narrowed it down to the best 12 by the time we got to Seattle to mix the record.
What do you think the biggest difference is between this album and the last?
I think in my mind, I was captivated by melodies on this album. Maybe you're asking for a couple of different angles on this question, but really it's just more melodic. The last one was more about the band and the feel of the band playing live captured in the studio. It was loose lyrically and I did this scat talking kind of thing... almost like rapping. [
laughs] I'm not a rapper at all. I feel like it was raw. This one is much more melodic and manicured than the last one but still has that underlying rock essence that I think is ingrained in our band. Lyrically, I felt like getting better at songwriting is something we needed to be doing as a band. Line A leads to Line B... no random one-liners coming off like the last record. Everything has a purpose and I like that feeling a lot.
You shot video of the whole recording process, right?
What we did was we streamed the entire recording process online on our website. While we were recording, we had live video going to the site 24/7. One camera was in the control room and one in the tracking room with a single audio feed going to both cameras. It just seemed like a very... I love the mystique of rock bands and I love the 'shrouded in secrecy' part of this endeavor, but I thought it would be cool to let people see what it is actually like... unadorn the whole process. I'd say when you're working in the studio, 90% is working your ass off and eating sandwiches. Only about 10% is really inspired. Fans got a chance to look in at any time of the day or night. They could see us fighting, or they could see us ordering food... but if they came in at the right time, they could see something magical happen. And you just don't know when it's going to happen. People have come up to us saying they felt like they had a rapport with the music because they watched the streams. They talked about how interesting it was to hear the final product after going with us through the process. It's a lot of work, a lot of waiting, a lot of discussing and a little bit of rocking. It was fun to take our fans with us through that.
"This is How The World Will End" was a single released last year... was that for a particular project, or just a random one off?
We did a digital single of that song last year, but then we remixed it and remastered it for the record. I could give you a long answer on why we did it, but I will try to keep it concise. We released it as a reaction. A demo of the song had begun to circulate online... this acoustic demo we did. We got a call from an NBC station in the Midwest that wanted to make use of the song in a promotional piece for the Olympics. We went into the studio to record it and they started using it. We got a lot of inquiries about the song so we just wanted to make it available. We had the luxury of making it available on a days notice. So we did an acoustic version and a full version, included a b-side and put it online.
We really only released it through out website. That was the genesis of an idea that became a deluxe version of this new album. You can acquire the whole album plus acoustic version of every song for the same price. We found the mechanism really worked with "This Is How the World Will End". That was the final, galvanizing element to the new mechanism of getting more music out there for less money. We like the idea of putting music out at will and as much of it as we want. Being able to give people 24 or 25 new songs is a really wonderful opportunity for us.
You talk a lot about being from the Midwest, which I can definitely appreciate. What do you think is the biggest misconception about the Midwest, and what do you think people often miss?
For us, personally, my observation is that there isn't the creative contentions in the Midwest like there is in LA or NY or Nashville or Austin. There are a lot of very wonderfully talented people. People making music, people doing visual design, people making films. It's not that those people don't exist, it's that their causes aren't nurtured the way they are in other areas of the country. It's considered more of a vapid place to live for artists. If you REALLY wanna make it, you have to go to LA! [laughs] I would like for people to start supporting each other in this part of the country and begin to grow a creative contingency. I would to see all of these small towns working together. The misconception is that it's a dryer, less fertile creative atmosphere. That's not true at all. The people who have those gifts and skills may find themselves in a place where they're not being nurtured the way they would if they were in an industry city. I would like to see that change.
I hear that you're always keeping your eyes peeled for new talent. What's your favorite new act at the moment?
Funnily enough, there's this kid from the northern part of our state, Indiana. LD Miller. He's probably the greatest harmonica player I've ever heard in my life. He's got a family band with a couple of his brothers. One of the most talented kids I've ever seen. I personally listen to mostly rhythmic music, though.
The Elms: "The Great American Midrange" OUT NOW. THE ELMS on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads 
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The Lowdown: Pete of EXLOVERS
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The Lowdown: Owen Thomas of The Elms
