Rising Above It All
Shaun Lopez of The Revolution Smile on not being a clone
2003-07-28
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Ex-Far guitarist Shaun Lopez and his new band, The Revolution Smile, are currently
gearing up to release their debut album, Above The Noise. Buddyhead Records
(www.buddyhead.com),
the label that called Limp Bizkit’s Chocolate Starfish album the
"worst record to come out in a long time" and posted Fred Durst’s
phone number on the Web site to encourage prank calls, was supposed to be the
one to put out this album. In the spring of 2002, however, the band signed with
Flawless Records, which, in case you didn’t know, is Mr. Durst’s label.
Happy with that decision and ready to combat all that is wrong in the current
music industry, Shaun recently took time out of an obviously busy schedule to
detail the workings of his new band.
What would you say sets The Revolution Smile apart from other bands?
I would say that we’re a lot more honest and a lot less derivative of other bands. I just think that we write music because we feel what we write. I think that some bands try to write to a certain formula.
Tell me about the beginnings of this band.
It started with me making some little home demos with a drum machine — I would play guitar, bass and sing over that. At the time, I lived with Tim [McCord, guitar], and he wanted to be in the band. In the beginning, he just played bass because that’s what we needed. We had another drummer for a while and we recorded some stuff with him. He left the band because he wasn’t really into the music. We knew at that point that the next people that we got in the band were going to have to be the ones that were in it for the long run. We found Jeremy [White, drums]. After that, we decided we wanted to look for a bass player because Tim really wanted to move over to guitar.
How did it progress from there to where you are now?
We just started playing more and at the time I started getting more involved in recording. We would just go into the studio and rent it out for the day. I would just kind of set up all the mics and engineer it. We just kept doing that; once a month we’d go in for a day and knock out three or four songs.
To be honest with you, at the time, we weren’t trying to get signed. We were just doing our own thing. I think that sometimes, when a band tries to get signed, they get discouraged more than they get inspired.
So, why did you eventually choose to sign with Flawless?
We signed with them because I felt like they were honestly into it because of the music. At the time, there was no reason for them to be into us — there weren’t many other labels knocking at the door, you know? I think that usually, that’s the way a band gets signed — they submit their demo to their lawyer and their lawyer sends it out to five labels and one or two of the labels freak out and then all of the others freak out because of that. That’s how they get those big money deals.
Was the recording process different after you were signed to a major?
Yeah, it was a lot different because we had more time to spend on sound. We had myself there and I’ve been recording, and I know how to get a good sound. Also, we had Dave [Sardy, producer] there — he definitely pushes everybody to get their best performance out. I’d never actually recorded vocals with anybody else — that was definitely a new thing. Usually it’s just me in my bedroom, by myself, recording. This time, Sardy was kind of coaching me along and telling me, "Hey, you’re singing a little flat here," or "You need to sing this part with a little more attitude and that part softer." It was cool to have somebody else there whose opinion I trust.
How does what you do in the studio translate into your live show?
It’s just got a lot of energy — a lot of good energy. We write good songs that you can listen to at home, but you can also dance around and have fun with them.
Any horrendous touring stories?
Yeah, the day after we first bought our van, which we no longer have, we had a show in Ventura. I think we were coming up the 101 and the alternator or something went out. We were in the fast lane when it went out, and we had to swerve over as fast as we could because the car was dying and it was uphill. So, we pulled over and realized that we were pretty much screwed and we sat, waiting for the tow truck. Finally, the tow truck came. We had another friend that lived sort of close and he came in a pick-up truck and picked up all of our stuff. Then we had to ride like five people in a two-seater, if you can believe that. It was a pretty big cab in the truck, and we made it work. We had to go to and from that way — it wasn’t too comfortable. We have lots of stories like that. We had a van that just broke down constantly.
What do you think of the current music industry and how you either fit in or don’t want to?
I definitely don’t want to fit into any scene or cater to any scene. I just think that we do what we do and people like it. As far as the industry goes, at this point, a lot of people are more worried about keeping their jobs than they are about signing good music. Therefore, they’re more likely to sign a band that sounds like a multi-platinum act that’s currently out and selling records than to sign something that sounds familiar to them — something with a good sound. To me, a good band makes you feel like you’ve heard it before but you don’t know what it is. I think that right now, they’re more likely to sign something that’s more familiar and current.
I understand people want to find stuff with some commercial potential. The music business is corporate rock, and corporate rock is designed to make dollars, you know? And I realize that people’s jobs are at stake, but I think that at the same time, they’re really worried about finding something and making sure that it goes double-platinum on the first record. There are so many bands out there that will sell three million on their first record and their next record will sell 200,000 because they didn’t get a fanbase.
What do you hope for in the future of this band?
I just want to keep doing what we do. I hope that we can make a living at what we love doing — whatever that may be. I don’t really care if we sell millions of records. I’m more concerned with getting fans the honest way — going out there and playing.
What would you say sets The Revolution Smile apart from other bands?
I would say that we’re a lot more honest and a lot less derivative of other bands. I just think that we write music because we feel what we write. I think that some bands try to write to a certain formula.
Tell me about the beginnings of this band.
It started with me making some little home demos with a drum machine — I would play guitar, bass and sing over that. At the time, I lived with Tim [McCord, guitar], and he wanted to be in the band. In the beginning, he just played bass because that’s what we needed. We had another drummer for a while and we recorded some stuff with him. He left the band because he wasn’t really into the music. We knew at that point that the next people that we got in the band were going to have to be the ones that were in it for the long run. We found Jeremy [White, drums]. After that, we decided we wanted to look for a bass player because Tim really wanted to move over to guitar.
How did it progress from there to where you are now?
We just started playing more and at the time I started getting more involved in recording. We would just go into the studio and rent it out for the day. I would just kind of set up all the mics and engineer it. We just kept doing that; once a month we’d go in for a day and knock out three or four songs.
To be honest with you, at the time, we weren’t trying to get signed. We were just doing our own thing. I think that sometimes, when a band tries to get signed, they get discouraged more than they get inspired.
So, why did you eventually choose to sign with Flawless?
We signed with them because I felt like they were honestly into it because of the music. At the time, there was no reason for them to be into us — there weren’t many other labels knocking at the door, you know? I think that usually, that’s the way a band gets signed — they submit their demo to their lawyer and their lawyer sends it out to five labels and one or two of the labels freak out and then all of the others freak out because of that. That’s how they get those big money deals.
Was the recording process different after you were signed to a major?
Yeah, it was a lot different because we had more time to spend on sound. We had myself there and I’ve been recording, and I know how to get a good sound. Also, we had Dave [Sardy, producer] there — he definitely pushes everybody to get their best performance out. I’d never actually recorded vocals with anybody else — that was definitely a new thing. Usually it’s just me in my bedroom, by myself, recording. This time, Sardy was kind of coaching me along and telling me, "Hey, you’re singing a little flat here," or "You need to sing this part with a little more attitude and that part softer." It was cool to have somebody else there whose opinion I trust.
How does what you do in the studio translate into your live show?
It’s just got a lot of energy — a lot of good energy. We write good songs that you can listen to at home, but you can also dance around and have fun with them.
Any horrendous touring stories?
Yeah, the day after we first bought our van, which we no longer have, we had a show in Ventura. I think we were coming up the 101 and the alternator or something went out. We were in the fast lane when it went out, and we had to swerve over as fast as we could because the car was dying and it was uphill. So, we pulled over and realized that we were pretty much screwed and we sat, waiting for the tow truck. Finally, the tow truck came. We had another friend that lived sort of close and he came in a pick-up truck and picked up all of our stuff. Then we had to ride like five people in a two-seater, if you can believe that. It was a pretty big cab in the truck, and we made it work. We had to go to and from that way — it wasn’t too comfortable. We have lots of stories like that. We had a van that just broke down constantly.
What do you think of the current music industry and how you either fit in or don’t want to?
I definitely don’t want to fit into any scene or cater to any scene. I just think that we do what we do and people like it. As far as the industry goes, at this point, a lot of people are more worried about keeping their jobs than they are about signing good music. Therefore, they’re more likely to sign a band that sounds like a multi-platinum act that’s currently out and selling records than to sign something that sounds familiar to them — something with a good sound. To me, a good band makes you feel like you’ve heard it before but you don’t know what it is. I think that right now, they’re more likely to sign something that’s more familiar and current.
I understand people want to find stuff with some commercial potential. The music business is corporate rock, and corporate rock is designed to make dollars, you know? And I realize that people’s jobs are at stake, but I think that at the same time, they’re really worried about finding something and making sure that it goes double-platinum on the first record. There are so many bands out there that will sell three million on their first record and their next record will sell 200,000 because they didn’t get a fanbase.
What do you hope for in the future of this band?
I just want to keep doing what we do. I hope that we can make a living at what we love doing — whatever that may be. I don’t really care if we sell millions of records. I’m more concerned with getting fans the honest way — going out there and playing.
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