INTERVIEW: Know Your LA Bands with Automatic Drawing
BeatCrave brings you band, Automatic Drawing, as part of our Know Your LA Bands series. It’s a shame we hadn’t heard of Automatic Drawing before, because their sound is light, reminiscent of a relaxed Belle & Sebastian, and definitely not lacking in musicianship. They’ve played numerous shows in LA, but have yet to play a show on the popular East side. When then they do, there is no doubt that they will easily win music lovers over.
The five-piece band recently released their second EP, The Captain and the Sea, and is getting nothing but great reviews. Check out our exclusive interview with the entire band below!
I think the name Automatic Drawing really suits your sound. What is the meaning behind it?
Drew: I always think of it as a collaborative art form; kind of like some of our music writing process. However, I am constantly informed that this is not what it actually is by Rachel.
Rachel: Automatic drawing is a process of making images by tapping into your subconscious. Sort of letting go and seeing where your hand and pencil take you. It was invented and practiced by the surrealists in the early 20th century. I think it relates to the band because our writing process often takes shape out of different elements of inspiration and then we all come together to shape those elements and give them meaning.
Diana: All I can say is that it was the best of (literally) 70 names we tossed around.
Do you feel like an LA band?
Rachel: It’s hard to tell whether there’s an “LA” sound or not. I feel like it’s a really eclectic scene with so many awesome different things going on right now. I’m really excited to be a part of it because I feel like there has been a huge lull in both popular and underground music for the last 5 years or so.
Diana: I think we’re starting to emerge a little more, try to find our space within the scene. A couple months ago Joe Fielder of Radio Free Silver Lake kind of took us under his wing, and we’ve gotten great support from others like Jon Hershfield at Isgoodmusic, and that’s really made a difference in making us part of something in the city.
Congrats on the new EP! I noticed the new tracks have only Drew on vocals whereas your old tracks that were carried over had male-female harmonies. Why the change?
Drew: Our old female singer move away unfortunately so we had a gap in male-female harmonies, which I really enjoy. But now that we have Rachel we have some great new songs with male female harmonies so watch out for those at our shows.
Rachel: I’ve only been with them since August. So, all the female vocals on the EP aren’t mine. Coincidentally my vocals sound really similar so most people don’t even know it’s not me.
Which LA venue would you like to play next?
Rachel: We’re looking to play Spaceland pretty soon. Personally I’d love to do the Echo and The Smell. The intimate venues are always my favorite.
Diana: I would LOVE to play the Troubadour.
Sarah: THE EL REY; it’s definitely my favorite venue.
I hear a bit of light Death Cab For Cutie happiness with a trace of Interpol melancholy. Do these two bands influence you at all?
Drew: Both great bands and I would love to musically inhabit the middle ground between the two.
Rachel: I think it would be a lie to say no.
Diana: There was a time back in 2005 when I listened to nothing but Death Cab and Interpol, and I still listen to Death Cab all the time – both awesome bands.
Sarah: Interpol is cool, but Joy Division is cooler.
Do any local LA bands influence you right now?
Drew: I think our whole band really likes Castledoor, I actually saw them up in Seattle when I was there this summer. Random, it felt like home.
Rachel: Interestingly, I only just became aware of Flying Tourbillon Orchestra – who I wouldn’t necessarily say influenced our band – but their vocals and style are really similar to ours. I’m also loving the Submarines and the Mae Shi. Even though I’m not trying to emulate her, I do see some similarities in my vocal style with Blake Hazard’s vocals.
Diana: I love Honeysuckle Weeks. I also really like Castledoor and Collisions. There’s a lot of local bands with this great upbeat energy that I think we can draw from.
Sarah: The Human Abstract. They keep me playing those scales!
What do you guys do when you’re not a rock star at night?
Drew: I love Architecture and Environmental Design. I am finishing a masters in Structural Engineering so I can design high rise buildings!
Rachel: I’m a freelance graphic artist and also work at the Taschen bookstore at the Farmer’s Market. So anyone reading this interview that likes our music, please come visit me! (I get really bored sometimes).
Diana: I do a lot of photography — if I ever wasn’t in this band that’s probably where I’d spend my time. I also do some freelance music journalism with Three Imaginary Girls and have a day job working in reality TV.
Jon: Today I’m going to get a smog check, get my new car radio installed, do my laundry, and rollerblade by the beach!
Sarah: I work in an office building by LAX, pay homage to other rock stars by going to a ton of shows…and cruise the beach on my skateboard.
I heard two of you were in an electro-pop band before. Has any of those elements crossed over to your current songwriting process?
Drew: I think that period allowed me to focus a lot more on my vocals and our lyrics because it was very minimalist as far as the rest of the music was concerned so the vocals really stood out and the lyrics became very important.
Diana: I’d say the songwriting process is totally different. We started The Silent Track Plays to see what it was like to have a 2-person band. A lot of the songs were written and recorded using an embarrassingly simple MIDI software and a 4-track. It was SO ridiculously tedious, but it allowed me to put all these random elements into the songs. It was the first time I didn’t have to focus on just playing guitar, and that was really fun. With Automatic Drawing there are 5 of us, and people come up with things that we never would’ve thought of.
Who does all your poster/flyer artwork? They’re awesome!
Rachel: That’s me! Being in the band has been a great opportunity to build my design portfolio and go nuts designing in whatever style I want. Although the band gives me a lot of feedback and the designs go through several changes sometimes before they’re ready to distribute. So in that way it’s still a collaborative effort.
Quick-Fire Round:
Musically, who’s someone you wouldn’t want to be compared to?
Drew: I guess something like 3 doors down, but I don’t think that will ever happen.
Rachel: Snow Patrol.
Diana: Coldplay.
What’s the latest song you can’t seem to stop listening to?
Drew: Conor Oberst – “Cape Canaveral”
Rachel: The Knife – “Heartbeats”
Diana: Bright Eyes – “Gold Mine Gutted”
Jon: Asobi Seksu – “Thursday”
Sarah: Circa Survive – “The Difference Between Medicine and Poison is the Dose”
What do you have more of – vinyl or CD?
Drew: CD.
Rachel: mP3s.
Diana: CDs. I don’t own any vinyl, but I do have some embarrassing 90s-era cassette tapes hidden somewhere…
Jon: CD.
Sarah: I’ve actually got a decent amount of CDs but i also have hundreds of awesome original issue 60s/70s/80s vinyl that i got from my dad.
Do you prefer mixed drinks or beer?
Drew: Beer.
Rachel: Gimme the girly stuff.
Diana: Depends on the situation… This summer I discovered a lethal mixed drink called the Tokyo Iced Tea.
Jon: Mixed drinks.
Sarah: Beer.
Tell us one thing about yourself we probably don’t already know.
Drew: I love curry!
Rachel: I secretly want to be a dolphin trainer.
Diana: Marty McFly is my hero.
Jon: I LOVE cheesecake.
Sarah: I LOVE hip-hop.
Photography courtesy of Classical Geek Theatre and Ed Salier
