Before the Captiol Hill Block Party, one of our favorite summer festivals, Groovemine caught up with Grand Hallway singer, songwriter, guitarist and all around brilliant musician, Tomo Nakayama. We got the dish from him about the band’s new record, Winter Creatures: what the recording process was like in Portland, how growing up in the Pacific Northwest and Japan has affected his songwriting, and what’s next for Grand Hallway.
QUESTIONS BY LYDIA SPRAGUE AND MANUEL ABREU
GROOVEMINE: Can you tell us what the recording experience was like for Winter Creatures? What goes in to making a Grand Hallway record?
TOMO NAKAYAMA: This record was unlike previous Grand Hallway albums in that very few of the songs were actually written and/or arranged before we entered the studio. In fact, it wasn’t originally intended to be "the next Grand Hallway record." Basically what happened was I ran into my friend Cory Gray at a bar in Portland and he had just moved into a studio called Scenic Burrows, and he invited me to come record some demos with him. I’d known Cory for years (he’d stay at my house every time his bands Carcrashlander, Desert City Soundtrack, Laura Gibson etc. would come through town) but I’d never actually played music with him. I really just wanted an excuse to get out of town and hang out with him, and it turned out to be a great experience.
GM: Winter Creatures features guest appearances by a few Seattle and Portland musicians. How did you decide who you wanted to collaborate with?
TN: Goh Nakamura was another old friend, a terrific songwriter. He lives in San Francisco and he just happened to have a Jet Blue pass the month we started recording, so I invited him to come hang out. He ended up playing some vibraphone and guitar, and he sings a pretty big chunk of the backup vocals in "Little Sister." Everyone else on the record was also a friend of the band or a friend of Cory’s that we thought was interesting and could add something unique to the songs. The most random one was Shenandoah’s friend Lauren [Waude], who just happened to stop by the studio when we were recording the vocals for "Roscoe." We just threw her in the studio and told her to sing along, and she sang the most atonal, human sounding part, the kind of dissonance you really can’t fake. It totally made the song for me, and it’s one of my favorite moments on the record.
GM: The sound on this record is more stripped down from previous records, what was the reason for stripping down the band’s sound? How have the band’s lineup changes over the years affected the sound?
TN: We did a lot of touring after the release of our last record, which was fun but it had exhausting experiences that took a lot out of everyone. We played with an orchestra and a children’s choir, and there really wasn’t too much more we wanted to do in that particular aesthetic. Every press write up mentioned how many people were in the band, but the "strength in numbers" thing became a burden and a crutch rather than an asset, and it seemed like a lot of other local bands were starting to do that kind of thing anyway, so it seemed like the right time to move on. At the same time, I was listening to a lot of really minimal stuff like Arthur Russell and Eric Satie so that was a big inspiration for the sound of the record.
GM: On Winter Creatures, I’ve noticed more prominent contributions from other band members. Are you still the main songwriter? What are the easiest and hardest aspects of songwriting for you?
TN: It’s ironic you say that, because we were never all together in the studio at the same time as a band. Shenandoah and Kevin came down to Portland with me, and we spent the first week laying down the foundation. Jeramy, Jaclyn, and Alina added their parts in Seattle, and they emailed their parts to Cory and he put it all together. I played the drum tracks until Brian came on board and recorded on a few of the songs. After that, it was mostly just me and Cory playing whatever instruments struck us as being appropriate for the songs. That was the only way we could get it done, piece by piece, to work around everyone’s schedules and lifestyles, and to make the kind of record I knew we were capable of making. It’s kind of a difficult thing to talk about because the whole process was really divisive, and I know it was really hard for everyone in the band. They were pretty much in the dark while Cory and I were the only ones who knew what the album sounded like as a whole, though everyone in the band, especially Jeramy, gave some very crucial input when it came time to mix. I’m so grateful that they stuck with it though, because the record really benefited from it. The hardest part of songwriting, honestly, is getting in the right state of mind, to sit down and really open up the channels, to allow whatever is inside of you to come out as is. Once you get in that head space though, the writing becomes really natural. Not effortless, but unlabored. It’s true that I am the main songwriter, but we could not have made this album without all of my bandmates and Cory creating that environment to allow those songs to come to life.
GM: Your sound is very unique, but also very familiar to the Pacific Northwest. How do your surroundings, in nature and otherwise, affect your music?
TN: The easy answer, and the most predictable one probably, would be to talk about the rain. But it’s true, it really does define your personality after a while. I think it was raining or snowing pretty much the entire time we were recording, from September to December. I’m not sure exactly how that comes through in the music, but people have told me our songs remind them of Seattle. Some of the songs are also about my grandmother. As a kid I spent a lot of time at her house in Japan, and that had a similar environment to Seattle. Lots of mountains and rivers. So that probably influences the things I write about. Another aspect of the Pacific Northwest that really affects me is being around so many friends who are all amazing artists. There are guys like Cory, Deep Dasgupta (who directed the video for "Fourths), Frida Clements, The Maldives, Moondoggies, Thousands, Golden Blondes and Gold Leaves whom I respect immensely draw inspiration from on a daily basis.
GM: Winter Creatures seems to touch on personal themes of loss but also universal themes of cycles, with a symbolic emphasis on seasons. Can you talk a bit about how these themes complement each other?
TN: I tend not to focus on themes until after a record is done and there’s been some space between me and the songs. Promenade, for instance, was an album all about love and two very specific relationships, but that didn’t occur to me until the day we mastered the record. Kevin, actually, was the one who pointed out how all the songs on Winter Creatures seemed to revolve around life cycles when we were listening back to the songs in the studio. I didn’t really realize how all the songs were tied in to my grandparents passing, my parents growing older, and watching my friends starting families. "Apple Tree" and "Fourths" both actually predate Promenade but neither of them made sense until we made this record. The song “Winters Creatures” was written on one of the last days in the studio, almost as an afterthought, but it somehow clicked, encapsulated everything I wanted to say with this record, so we named the album after it.
GM: I heard you were affected by the closing of Seattle’s Neptune Theater, where you worked for a long time. How do you feel about it being converted into a (beautiful) music venue?
TN: I have mixed feelings. The Neptune was where I spent the majority of my 20’s, and where I met some of my closest friends. I saw so many movies and met so many different people in that theater that I am sure it has in some ways shaped who I am and how I view the world. Seattle Theater Group is a great organization and I am glad the building is in good hands. They’ve really taken great care to preserve the integrity of the building, and I am sure they will have great success as a live music venue. It does, however, represent to me the loss of an era, where people came together to watch movies, to talk movies, to experience movies in a single screen theater. I miss my coworkers, and I miss the handful of weirdo regulars who used to come in, people for whom movies really were the only source of entertainment. I miss coming up with all the dumb puns we used to post on the marquee. I created a Facebook page for the Neptune Marquee, and I still look at it from time to time.
GM: You’re just coming off a tour, and just released an album. What’s next for Grand Hallway?
TN: We’ve got a bunch of shows this summer that we’re all very excited about. We’ve also got a friend who made a music video which should be finished soon, and we’re planning a show at the Neptune later this year. We hope to do some more touring, too, and to start recording our next album when it feels right.
+ Check out Groovemine’s review of Winter Creatures by Grand Hallway
