Know Your NYC Bands: April Smith Interview

BeatCrave brings you April Smith as part of our Know Your NYC Bands series. We recently had the opportunity to talk with her before she hit the road with JD Souther for a North American tour. Having just toured the east coast this summer with her band in a van running on vegetable oil, April Smith is a fun-loving eco-friendly musician whose talent has only just begun to grow. On her recent release, Live from the Penthouse, April shines and provides listeners with one catchy track after another.

BeatCrave talked about her upcoming tour, what bands can do to go green, how she manages to take classic sounds and turn them into fresh tracks and what albums she would not be able to live without.April Smith is a singer/songwriter whose retro sound never sounds stale and is defintiely someone worth getting to know.

When did you start playing music?

I think I’ve always been interested in music; my parents are both musicians. I grew up with it in the house and my dad was always in bands and stuff so it was kind of something I just always pictured myself doing. There was really nothing other than music that I pictured myself doing.

What projects, other than being a solo artist, have you been a part of?

This is probably the only one. I’ve done backup for my friend’s bands. But, for the most part, I have been working on getting my music to a place where it’s exactly where I want it and I think it’s finally gotten there it’s now just a matter of finding the right people to get behind it.

Where are you from originally?

I’m actually from New Jersey. I’m from south central Jersey right by the shore in Thom’s River, kind of a boring place.

What made you decide to move to New York City?

I was always playing in the city and my fiancé who is in advertising works in the city and so I had to move where he is and I also wanted to move where it would be a good fit for the music.

Your music certainly seems to celebrate the sound of 50’s era of music, what is your process for making music with such a distinct, classic sound that simultaneously sounds fresh and new?

I think it’s really about just being honest and keeping your song writing honest. When I did that, when I didn’t try to imitate certain sounds that’s when I felt like my style was born it’s definitely sometimes 50’s but there is also that sound before the 50’s, that Andrews Sisters sound. It’s definitely a mix of a lot of retro sounds and I think it just happened by accident which is probably the best way it can happen.

You just play what you want and write what you want and, soon enough, it all starts coming out in the style you’ve created for yourself. That’s what happened with me and I feel like my writing now is a lot better than it’s ever been. There’s obviously room to improve but I am really in a good place as far as writing and being proud of that.

There is timelessness to that kind of writing and that, ultimately, is my goal and no matter what I am writing; I always hope that it will be timeless. I hope that 10 or 20 years when people are listening to my songs, they will really hold up.

You are gearing up for a tour that begins November 3. What can you tell us about the tour?

Yeah, I am opening up for J.D. Souther who is a singer songwriter who has been around quite a while but hasn’t released anything. So this is a big deal for him. I’m just opening up for him and I am opening up solo. I’ve toured in pieces before with my band before but I think it’s good to go out on my own with just me doing the work. I feel like that is a great test for a musician to see if you can, by yourself with just your songs and your delivery of your songs, attract people. With a band it’s very dynamic but when you are solo you have to really, really strive to get that dynamic. That is going to be a fun challenge for me.

What is your favorite aspect of touring?

I love food. I love eating different kinds of food and finding the best places to eat so I think that is going to be my favorite part is asking the locals to point me in the direction of the best place to eat. I’m a vegetarian so I eat a lot of cheese, although I do eat some fish. That will probably be an interesting challenge: being able to find the best place that has vegetarian friendly food.

For the “April Smith and the Great Picture Show” tour you converted your van into a vehicle that runs on vegetable oil. What other ways, beyond converting their rides, do you think musicians can contribute to the eco-friendly movement?

There are a lot of different ways; you just have to be creative. For instance, as a band, you could rideshare with the people you are going on tour with. If you aren’t touring with anyone you could try to find another band who is about to go on tour and line up the tour dates with your own and ride together. Also, it’s important to cut down on waste and not consume more than you need to. Another great way to be eco-friendly is through the merch. Totes are awesome merch because people can use them, promote your band and cut down on trash bag usage.

Your song, “Colors” is a great track from your EP, Live from the Penthouse, what is the story behind that particular song?

It didn’t start out as any sort of patriotic song. It just sort of happened where I was reading about the whole idea of courtly love which was centuries ago and, during that time, when a man needed to leave a woman he loved he would take a kerchief in the color of his lady to remind him of her while he was away. I thought there was something interesting about the notion of carrying something of the person that you love.

The song started off like that and I guess it just sort of evolved into this song and while it’s not even about people fighting over seas and the soldiers it definitely fits for the situation. I think a lot of people took it like a song about that and, for them, that is what the song is about. The song grew beyond what I think it means and that is how it became that anthem for waiting for soldiers to come home which I think is pretty cool because if you think it means that then it is certainly a hopeful song.

I had a friend in the forces who lived next to my parents in Jersey and he called me and told me he could not get the song out of his head, it’s such an upbeat song. And, better yet, he’s home now which is really cool because he’s home and doesn’t have to go back to Iraq.

Where would you like to see yourself as an artist in the next five years?

I just want to continue writing, recording and touring with my songs. I think if I am able to do that than I’m pretty lucky.

How does living in New York City influence you as an artist?

Well, I think New York City is saturated with so many artist and so many great artist that I think it makes you work harder. When you are in Jersey, living with your parents, you’re not really in it but when you are in the city and you see all of these posters of bands that were not that big a couple of years ago and now they’re playing The Garden. Seeing people come that far makes you want to work even harder.

For some musicians it is really inspirational to be in the city and be a part of that but for others they may feel as though it is too saturated and they would be better off in a different place.

You write on your MySpace page that Edgar Allen Poe is one of your influences. What art/artist from mediums other than music inspires you creatively?

I love Wes Anderson. He is one of my favorite directors and I love his movies so I am inspired by that quirky, underdog type of character. Also, Baz Larman; his imagery is really inspiring. I am also very inspired by the classic actors like Gloria Swanson who is Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. She is such an incredible character and a great actress and is so dramatic, there are definitely a lot of dramatic undertones in my music.

If you could only listen to five albums for the rest of your life what would they be? Why?

Jeff Buckley’s “Grace” because Jeff Buckley is one of my favorite singer/songwriters ever. Any Beatles album; I don’t think I could live the rest of my life without The Beatles. Tom Waits’ “Twelve Beautiful Melodies, ”Led Zeppelin’s “Four,” and Sade’s “Lovers Rock.”