The first time I heard Andrew Belle play, it was an unbelievably cold day during the tail end of SXSW in Austin, Texas. The Ten out of Tenn crew was playing some bizaare little outdoor theater off the main drag and honestly, it was miserable. It was pretty early and the previous day's balmy spring weather had been replaced with howling, biting winds and sub-forty degree temperatures. Not exactly a stand-outside-listening-to-music environment. Everyone was huddled together in little pods to protect against the wind. To be honest, I kind of got the impression that the only people that were there had to be. I remember each ToT member would desperately try and warm up their hands a bit before having to jump up on stage and play.
Then out of the corner of my eye, I see a blond haired guy bound up on stage, guitar in gloveless hand. He just started playing to no one in particular. Funny thing happened. By the end of the first song, there was a crowd beginning to form at the front of the stage. By the end of the second song, it seemed that people were forgetting that moments before they had been cold and miserable. By the end of the set, there was a ring around the stage, full of people impervious to the elements, singing every single word through clattering teeth.
It was spectacular to see.
Andrew recently stopped by the studio and played a few songs off his very successful LP, The Ladder, as well as a couple songs that have been prominently featured on television and commercials.
Ryan Booth caught up with Andrew to chat a bit about songwriting and about how Coldplay bizarrely seems to serve as the starter gun for his own new records.
RB: What is it about songwriting that made you want to try and do this for a living?
AB: I went into college not really knowing what I wanted do. I wasn't really interested in any one certain thing and honestly, I probably wasn't even ready for college. Maybe I just went cause everyone else was going. So I studied business because it was the most applicable to any future plans, though I figured I'd try to find something along the way that interested me. I'd always been interested in music, even having played in a few high school bands, though I just played bass. I definitely hadn't really written any songs.
I think it was early on in college that I really became interested in the way that some of the musicians that really inspired me could build lyrics and melody together. One night, I thought, "maybe I should give this a shot." So I started writing my first songs using what I was listening to as a kind of template. I was definitely trying to do what they were doing in terms of structure, but I was trying to put my own spin on it. I felt proud of those first songs only because I was able to be somewhat clever with my lyrics. That's what I've always really enjoyed about music, the combination of interesting, clever, and thoughtful lyrics combined with catchy melodies and hooks. I just started practicing and studying, learning probably just as much about songwriting as business, just teaching myself as I went along.
When college ended, I decided that I wanted to give songwriting a chance before I felt like I was too old to do it. So I decided to try and make an album with a friend who had some recording equipment. I wrote ten or twelve songs and we made a recording, finishing it up the summer after graduation. The response was pretty strong, or at least strong enough to keep going and to actually try this professionally.
RB: So what did you take away from that process, from your very first experience recording music?
AB: I learned how difficult it is to actually record anything. When you don't have any recording experience, you go into it thinking, "well, I'll just put the microphones here and it'll sound great." But very quickly you are sobered by the reality of how difficult recording can be. I mean anyone can just put a mic down, but making something actually sound good is obviously very difficult. And on top of that you have not only the engineering, but the production as well. It's the making it actually interesting, and bringing the songs to life with a variety of instruments that is incredibly hard. You're quickly faced with your own limitations. I'd never sang before, really, and it was very sobering to be faced with those vocal limitations. I had to teach myself the difference between singing into a microphone while recording versus singing into a microphone in a live scenario.
The biggest thing to learn though is that it really is a process. Meaning that so often, what you set out to make at the beginning ends up being completely different than what you end up with. Hopefully somewhere along the line that becomes ok. What you end up with, hopefully, is better than what you could have hoped for at the start.
RB: Do you feel like coming to grips with the reality of a project as it stands after you've made it versus what you expected it to be before you went into it is the real work? Is that distance enjoyable ground to cover or are you dragged along kicking and screaming?
AB: I think that with my first project, I was a little disappointed with how quickly we reached our limitations. Both of us were trying things for the first time. He was a first time engineer and producer, and I was a first time singer and songwriter. At the beginning I was a much stronger writer than vocalist and that first recording experience definitely showed me that. But that's the beauty of creative work. You get to try it again.
My next project was the All Those Pretty Lights EP and that was with a producer who had worked on many projects and was very experienced. Even though at the time, my vocal performance issues were still pretty sobering, I had improved significantly. That album kind of kicked off an era of going into projects with low expectations and coming away with something way better than I thought possible.
It was the same thing when I made The Ladder. I knew that we had a good shot at making something cool, but I didn't expect it to be as fun of a process. I didn't expect it to turn out as cohesive as it did and I certainly didn't expect it to be so well received. It's been interesting to see the process evolve from that first dorm room recording all the way till now.
RB: What kind of influence does other people's reaction have on your perception of the music that you make? For instance, let's say you made The Ladder and everyone hated it. Do you think that you'd feel differently about the project as a whole?
AB: Well, I listen to The Ladder and I definitely feel like it was a solid effort. Of course, being a perfectionist, there are tons of things about it that I'd love to have a chance to improve on. Even if I could just improve on my own performance. I think that if people just absolutely hated it, I'd probably listen back and try and evaluate why. I'd probably just think they didn't like it because I didn't sing a certain part well enough and that I just needed to be a better singer. (laughter). I'm pretty confident in what I'm trying to say in my songwriting so I don't think I'd trace it back to that. I'm sure that I'd find a way to trace it back to my own insecurities as a performer.
Fortunately though, a lot of people really did like it and that makes me more confident going into my next record. It gives me the freedom to be a little more explorative, a little more creative. Maybe even a little more risky. I'm definitely influenced by opinion, but fortunately, moving forward and coming off of a lot of positive feedback, I'm encouraged to try some new things on this next record and to make something even better. Whether people love or hate what I make, I'm always going to be influenced to make something better and more creative than the last time.
RB: Does the idea of having to go through another process of making a record from scratch an exciting thought? Or do you kind of see the amount of work that's coming and get that sinking feeling of "oh man, I have to make something again."
AB: If this was a year ago, I'd probably feel the weight of it. The anticipation of it was pretty daunting. But now it's a year later and I'm starting to feel the excitement, starting to feel the inspiration again. It seems that every two or three years has been the mark for me. I began the process of making The Ladder almost exactly three years ago. I've had two to three years between each of my projects, from the dorm room thing to now. That seems to be my magic number to get me back in the mood to create something from scratch again. Also, it seems that recently, a lot of new music that's been coming out that has been really inspiring me to start the process again.
RB: What is a record that you've heard lately that made you stop and think about creating something new again?
AB: You know what's funny is that the new Coldplay record has actually pushed me over the edge in terms of getting excited about making my own new record. Which is funny cause Viva La Vida was kind of what got me excited about making The Ladder. That came out and it sort of gave me this energy to start that process then. Now they released this Mylo Xyloto record and I kind of have that same feeling all over again. I'm so inspired by that band and the ways they continue to push the envelope. But really, Bon Iver, Feist, The National, Radiohead…these are the guys that all make me wish I could write better songs. (laughter)
RB: As the music industry shifts and the significance of traditional outlets like radio appears to diminish, TV placements are becoming an extremely integral components for artists to reach wider audiences. In My Veins was prominently featured on the season six finale of Grey's Anatomy. What is that like for you to have your music, in a very modern way, immortalized in these pieces of pop culture?
AB: I remember that when I first started playing, I met this musician who was a lot older than me and he told me about how one of his songs had been used on a show called Smallville. I just remembered being completely fascinated by the idea that your music could be used like that. That it could be, in a small way, immortalized. I was fascinated by that concept and I knew that I wanted to figure out that world as much as I could. My first placement was on 90210. Now when you get your first placement, you invite all your friends and your entire family over to watch the show. It's just really affirming to realize that the music that you're writing is being expressive and fits into this niche of pop culture. It's an incredible thing to be a part of. I'm forever grateful and flattered every time my songs are used in that way. But, beyond it being extremely flattering, it's a great way to earn a living in music right now.
RB: Would you say that you have an overarching goal? A "when I get to this point, I know I'll have accomplished what I set out to do" kind of thing? Are you one of those kind of guys? Or are you taking a more meandering path?
AB: At the beginning, my goal was mostly that I get to a point that I'm making music that I like and feel good about. From there, of course, I hoped that other people would like it, listen to it, and buy it to the extent that I'd be able to sustain a career from it. That was my only goal. I don't really need more than that. I just need enough to actually get by on and not have to wait tables or something. But then I achieved that a couple of years ago and all of a sudden I started asking myself "what's next?" I'm twenty-seven now and certainly you're worldview begins to change in your late twenties. You start to come to grips with reality and what your life is actually about. You start to take stock, to put things in perspective a bit, and prioritize your life around what's really important. For that reason, I'm starting to take myself a lot less seriously as far as my career is concerned. I've come to realize that my career is only a very small function of who I am. I want to containue making music that I'm proud of. From there, I'll just see where that goes and will be prepared to go along for the ride. And that's only a realization I've come to grips with in the last year or so. My job is to make music the best that I can and we'll have to see where God takes me.
RB: As a songwriter, do you feel that there is so much of yourself in your songs that you need to have gone through something personally to be able to write about it? Or is it an imagination of sorts?
AB: Sometimes I use my imagination to fill in the details of reality a little bit. A song like Static Waves, for example, is a very true story, but there are a few details and some of the imagery that's embellished for the sake of the song. I'd say that for the most part, nearly everything I've ever written has been directly or indirectly related to a real experience I've gone through. I think even looking at what I'm starting for this new record, it's much the same way. Maybe in the future I'll need to get a little more creative with using my imagination because ultimately I won't have so many dark, depressing relationship songs. I'm engaged to be married now, so I shouldn't have any more of those kinds of songs to write (laughter).
RB: Do you feel like it's an evolution to be able to separate yourself personally from what you're writing about? An evolution to be able to create a world or an emotion or a feeling that's not drawn literally from what you've experienced…to be able to build something that people feel is real, but that you didn't necessarily have to inhabit.
AB: Moving forward, I definitely think that is a skill I'm looking to develop. Though, I'm not sure how to do that just yet. Then again, who knows what will happen in my life. There is so much that happens that you absolutely cannot plan. Who knows what lies ahead.
RB: What is the hardest thing about physically playing your music in front of people?
AB: The hardest thing about playing in front of people is that quite simply, I have never really been a performer. You enjoy writing songs, and you get good at it, so then you record those songs and make an album. Then all of a sudden you have to be a performer too. Those two things are kind of separate, in my opinion, and yet everyone lumps those together. Being a performer is something that I have had to learn how to do. I had to learn to sing in public, but more than that I've had to learn how to conquer those nerves.
RB: And the best thing?
AB: What I do is such a non-traditional profession that sometimes you can wonder if it's what you're supposed to be doing. We all only have a certain amount of time on this earth, is this really what I should be doing with my life? Should I be doing something more constructive? But then you play that great show and someone comes up to you after the show with a story. The best thing, hands down, are those moments when you feel affirmed about what you do. This one time a guy walked up to me and told me about how when he was in Iraq in the military, he was pinned by sniper fire in a fox hole for forty-eight hours, he listened to The Ladder because it made him think of home and in some small way, helped him to get through it. Something like that really slaps you in the face. You might not be able to see much beyond the recording process and how you make these songs. But what you don't see, what you can't see, is how it can touch and affect people for the positive. Stories like that make me happy and really appreciate what I get to do. It actually makes me pretty frustrated with myself for ever doubting whether or not this is what I should be doing. It's the moments with people who have heard your music and have been influenced and affected in a way that I can remember being influenced by the bands that I love. It's an honor to be able to serve that purpose. With the way that music is distributed now, I can only imagine the people, who I'll never know, who had a chance to interact with, even be changed by the music. The ripple effect that we'll never know the extent of is a very encouraging thing you only discover on the road.
/////////////////////
CREDITS:
Music by:
Andrew Belle
Music performed by:
Andrew Belle
Jonathan Guerra
Todd Bragg
/////////////////////
Directed by:
Ryan Booth
VISUALS:
Cameras:
Cody Bess
Micah Bickham
Ryan Booth
Joey Mathews
Aaron Tharpe
Edited by: Micah Bickham
Graded by: Cody Bess
Titles by: Tyler Swanner
Photos by: Cody Bess
AUDIO:
Engineered by: Jay Snider
Mixed by: Jay Snider
Mastered by: Daniel Karr
Audio Assistance by: JJ Cole
Illustration and Design by: Tyler Swanner
/////////////////////
AUDIO ONLY VERSIONS**
**works on iOs devices