Altsounds was lucky enough to take a look into the brave mind of Evan Thomas and ask him what inspired him to take on the enormous task of Into It. Over It.
Its an incredble journey. Read on if you want to know more.
ALTSOUNDS - What prompted you to set up Into It. Over It?
Basically, I was having trouble writing... Having trouble finding the time and the inspiration to get myself motivated musically. I was also going through a really weird transitional period of my life where music took the backburner. None of the bands I was doing were super active. Nothing I was doing was keeping me busy or keeping me working. I figured the best solution would be to start something where I'd HAVE to keep myself motivated constantly. I had all these ideas but nowhere to channel them, so I figured it would be best just to do it myself and make it a challenge while I was at it. Plus, writing is so much more fun than playing shows.
ALT - Has it provided you with an escape or is it just a distraction?
It's the greatest decision I've ever made for myself. I suppose it's been a little bit of both of those things, but I would say it's more therapeutic than anything. Whatever has happened that week, I can reflect and vent a little bit (or a lot) and it can make me feel better about the situation. Each song definatly has it's own story, if anything.
ALT - Talk us through a typical week for you with this project.
On Friday I'll start coming up with ideas which I'll try and further develop through the weekend. If it's a song that needs drums, I'll plan rehearsel time with whoever I choose to play with (or who's available). The song will get demo'd to an Olympus T-100 Voice Recorder sometime before Monday and lyrics will be written immediatly. I'll be putting finishing touches on the song right up until I leave my house to record it. On Wednesday, Steve and I will have about 4 hours to track and mix everything. We make a lot of quick decisions and roll with the punches practically every week. The song gets put on the Myspace right away. It goes on the website around noon on Thursday. Then it starts all over again.
ALT - What sort of reaction have you had?
It's been almost all positive. Most people can't believe what I'm doing when I tell them how it works. Plus, I think people are psyched because it's free and they can follow it for a year. A few people have told me they like it because of how personal it is and they can feel like they are really involved with my life... The truth is they are. A few people have also commented on it being pretentious. It probably is. Heh.
ALT - Is there enough going on to keep you going right to the end?
Totally. I'm not worried about ever running out of stuff to write about. I've been more worried about coming up with the music and having it keep up with the rest of what already has been written. I feel like I've hit a good stride and Steve and I have pretty much mastered working together in such a short amount of time. Plus, I'd be letting a ton of people down. Nothing like a rediculous amount of pressure to keep you going.
ALT - Was there a week where you thought you maybe wouldn't get a song done in time?
Oh man. There are a couple songs that almost fell apart while recording them. I'll let you try and figure out which ones. The songs have always been pretty prepared going in, but I've totally bet on things working only to have them totally crumble when it came time to put them to tape. It's a REALLY scary feeling.
ALT - Do you devise the concept for each song knowing that it will be publicised or are you writing as if only for yourself?
Do you mean am I afraid of hurting people's feelings? No. Sometimes things have to be said. It's an honest portrayal of my life -- If I stopped giving it 100% of the truth, it would lose what's cool about it.
As far as writing songs to please anyone? No way. I only write what I like.
ALT - What's your overall intention from this project?
To keep myself motivated and document my life for a year. It's really comforting to be able to recall every week of my life by just listening to some songs. My friends give me a hard time when I can do the math and figure out how long it's been since I've talked to someone or traveled somewhere. I think it's a relief.
ALT - Will you be releasing an album with all the tracks on at the end?
That's the plan. At the end of the year, there will be a week when all of the songs can still be downloaded for free. After that, they will be taken offline. The songs will all be remixed and mastered and then rereleased (hopefully) on ITunes, 2xCD and 4xLP. The released version will sound different. We can take our time making them sound GREAT instead of good for what little time we have. People have asked me about rerecording songs -- I think that would take away from the urgency and idea of what makes it exciting in the first place.
ALT - Do you have ideas for a huge climax or will you just be continuing as you have until you've written 52 songs?
Haha, I've thought about this. I don't know how it'll end up. I'm trying just to take it one Week/song at a time. I'd imagine it would just stay the same. My buddy Jay is getting married sometime around the last song... So, it might be about that. We'll see -- I've actually thought about still going after the year is over.
ALT - What do you think is the greatest thing people will take out of this?
I dunno. I just think it's cool that it's 52 free songs. It's something new each week that people can build off of and be a part of. I just hope people enjoy it. They can take whatever they want from it. I'm just as excited that other people are excited about it... does that make sense??
ALT - And what's the greatest thing you'll take away from the experience?
5 albums worth of music. That's enough to keep me unmotivated for another year. Haha.
To hear this masterpiece in the making check out........
MySpace.com - INTO IT. OVER IT. - CHERRY HILL, New Jersey - Indie / Emo / Minimalist - www.myspace.com/intoitoverit
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Into It. Over It. lets us into his world. 
