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 Brisbane’s GRAND ATLANTIC look set for big things this year with the release of their second album, How We Survive. PHIL USHER chats with YUMI SED about the making of the album and what it’s like to deal with changes in the band’s line-up.
I catch up with Usher on a brisk Wednesday morning, a day he dedicates weekly to all things Grand Atlantic. "Wednesday’s are my day for rock & roll," Usher says, laughing at his own cliché. "You have to have a day gig, but I like to do my day gig as little as possible. It basically just funds the dream."
When I ask whether music is getting closer to becoming a full time job for the band the answer that I am given is off the record. Presumably, we’ll have to just wait and see. But he does give some insight into his grand plans – no pun intended, I swear. "I guess at the end of the day you want it to be a career," he says. "But to be honest, that’s not the reason I do it. I do it for the passion, I do it for the love of songwriting."
As principal songwriter for the band, I ask Usher whether he feels that Grand Atlantic is his band first and foremost or whether it is slowly becoming a more democratic affair. "For a while it felt like it was just my band," he explains. "But it doesn’t really feel that way now. In any band, you have people who are the passengers and you have someone who is the leader. It’s very unusual to have four or five people in a band who all feel the same way about it. Sean [Bower] and myself are the original members, we have had a few line-up changes. I think that for some people life just gets in the way and they are forced to make a choice."
On this latest outing Grand Atlantic utilized the production prowess of seasoned knob twiddler Magoo. "It’s a big deal to actually write and record an entire album and then be expected to produce it and mix it yourself," he explains. "This time around we thought it would be best to record it all ourselves and then hand the production duties over to someone else so as to get fresh ears."
The sophomore album is often the most challenging for up and coming bands, but Usher seems simply delighted about the final result. How We Survive excels at guitar-based pop and orchestral arrangements and has been received well by their audience and reviewers alike. "With the first record we had a lot to prove," he says. "Not really to the world just to ourselves. We really tried to make it as perfect as we could possible make it and it’s through that pressure that you can lose perspective. A good album is made up of good songs, not necessarily having every note perfect. I think we wanted to capture more of the raw, live energy of the band this time around."
GRAND ATLANTIC will be at The Zoo on Friday Jun 26 and Bon Amici’s in Toowoomba on Saturday Jun 27. HOW WE SURVIVE is out now through Laughing Outlaw. www.myspace.com/grandatlantic
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