built for the sea :: the mini interview

lia rose, the singer & songwriter and founding member of the excellent local independent rock quartet built for the sea, recently, graciously, agreed to answer a few questions for us while she and the band finish up a brand new ep and prep for a tour.

you can see lia and the rest of the band live and in living color for yourselves at their next show, 30 august, at bottom of the hill.

anyone's guess: what's your favorite song to play live?
built for the sea: Pacific

a.g.: and your favorite song to cover?
bfts: Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne

a.g.: favorite bay area venue to play? to watch someone else play?
bfts: Great American Music Hall takes the cake (on both accounts), though we also do love Bottom of the Hill, The Rickshaw Stop, Café Du Nord…

a.g.: if you could set a line-up for a show, say it's your (collective) birthday, which local area artists would you all most want to enlist?
bfts: It would be tough to decide, so I guess it would have to be a massive show: Audrye Sessions; From Monument to Masses; Or, The Whale; Tartufi; Love Like Fire; Poor Bailey … ah, and of course all of the bands in the family (The Aimless Never Miss, Silian Rail, Shuteye Unison, & Winterbirds)

a.g.: as a songwriter, lia, are there particular artists as exemplars of the craft? to whom you turn for inspiration or reassurance?
bfts: David Bazaan, Bjork, Thom Yorke, Jeff Mangum, Damien Jurado, Win Butler…

a.g.: we see that the case for your new album made entirely of post-consumer recycled fiber; how difficult is it to balance environmental mindfulness and the standard operations of the music business, e.g. touring, cd production, etc.? is that something you consider?
bfts: Environmental impact is hugely considered with each decision we make as a band, though we’re far from perfect. Choosing to have the cd packaging made of all recycled content was one of the easier decisions – it’s the very least we can do. A bigger decision was to purchase a tour van that runs on Vegetable Oil – and although we recently sold that one, we hope to eventually get another vehicle that runs on vegetable oil and gets even better fuel mileage than the last guzzler. It is incredible to see how many artists are incorporating environmentally responsible practices into their plans. And there seem to be newer, better options available all the time. We do the best we can with each decision ahead of us and we’re constantly keeping our eyes peeled for more ways to reduce and reuse.

a.g.: how do you all feel about digital music? another songwriter with whom we've spoken has lamented digital music putting listeners at another remove from the artists. is this a concern? is file-sharing & piracy a concern? or do the potential benefits of greater access to your music act as an effective counterbalance?
bfts: I’ve been looking at digital music from a more positive perspective lately. The possibilities are incredible and I’m continually impressed with all of these new music site inventions. The Music Genome Project (mother of Pandora’s box) has been around for nearly a decade already, and there’s a beta version of a new site called thesixtyone.com that I’ve recently become aware of. Both of these are such innovative ways of exposing people to new music digitally and connecting people to bands (and bands to people) who will really appreciate each other. As for file-sharing, we’re not so worried about it. Lots of folks are actually purchasing songs digitally and there are still others who will even buy those old fashioned compact discs!

We’ve also been talking about another plus of the emerging dominance of digital music/internet distribution/etc. - that it potentially gives artists more control over the distribution of their material. This allows artists to independently present their music to the public, rather than relying a label or other entity.

Also, serendipitously, digital music seems to have this added benefit of decreasing the negative environmental impact that tends to go along with the manufacturing of physical music products… thus eliminating the age-old supply and demand guesswork problem that has left literally tons of plastic waste in our landfills.

a.g.: lia you were a student at uc berkeley, an institution - and a city - with a robust history of social & political activism and protest and engagement; did that atmosphere and cultural legacy affect your development as an artist? we're thinking specifically of your song "paper tigers," in which you mention edward bernays, more or less the father of modern public relations, and sing out against manipulation through propaganda, media, advertising, etc. this seems an especially important & topical issue now, in an election year, as candidates work to create narratives about each other in the minds of voters, and coming off an administration for which story and spin nearly always trumped fact.
bfts: Thank you for the question; yes, it is quite a time we are living in. Having the opportunity to study at uc berkeley did indeed have quite an impact on me. And while you’re right about the rich history of activism there, the campus itself is surprisingly conservative – with the typical hierarchical bureaucracy of these types of institutions. The surrounding community, though, that definitely continues to carry some of the legacy you mentioned. It is through the community and getting involved with groups of people who really care deeply about this world – that’s what really shaped my own passion for social justice and beyond.

Yes, Eddy Bernays – “Father of Public Relations” – what an incredibly destructive avalanche he started. Watching the BBC documentary series “The Century of the Self” and the film “Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media” – both of these really woke me up. And yes, in such an important election year, I can only hope that more and more people will begin to see through all of the manipulation and stand firmly for what they really believe.

a.g.: there are some rumors afloat that you guys are working on a new e.p.; can you share any news about what's up next for built for the sea?
bfts: Yes! We just got out of the recording studio, working on a 5-song EP that will be self-released on September 18th in San Francisco. We’ll be celebrating the release with a grand ol’ party @ Slim’s w/ two great local bands who will also be releasing CD’s that night: Tartufi and Low Red Land. Shortly after the release, we will be heading to Europe for our first little mini European tour in early October.

a.g.: thanks a bunch.
bfts: Thank YOU!

again, before that ep release party at slim's mentioned above, built for the sea play the bottom of the hill on 30 august, with action design and shuteye unison. tickets and info can be found here. also, for more from lia and the band, you can check out the bay bridged interview with bfts here. and finally, pick up your copy of built for the sea's self-titled debut album over at cd baby. here's one of the singles from that album:

built for the sea - release