This fall, Great Apes will release their debut full-length, entitled Thread, via Asian Man Records and Side With Us Records. The band plays a straightforward style of melodic punk, that’s highlighted by earnest vocals and skilled musicianship. For a relatively new band, they display a surprising amount of versatility and confidence. In short, Thread is one hell of an introductory album that’s not to be overlooked. We recently met with singer/guitarist Brian Moss and talked about the writing and recording of their record. We also discussed their summer tour with All Eyes West, why they’re eager to work with Asian Man, and more. Lastly, be sure to check out an exclusive stream of the song “The Edge of the Western World” at the end of the interview.

Bill – Where did you record your debut album and what was your experience in the studio like?

Brian – We recorded it with our friend Jack Shirley, who owns a live/work analog and digital studio called Atomic Garden in East Palo Alto, which is on the peninsula south of San Francisco. We’ve done some stuff with him in the past, and some of the dudes in Great Apes have recorded there with their other projects. He’s a longtime Bay Area musician and engineer. His band, Comadre, sadly just broke up. Jack’s a smart, talented, all-around nice guy, and I would say it was one of the most enjoyable and relaxed recording experiences I’ve ever had. He makes bands feel incredibly comfortable. He pushes and gives feedback, but not in a manner that makes you feel pressured or agitated by the process. Recording Thread was a lot of fun. Oddly, I’ve haven’t done basic tracks that fast since high school. We did all the fundamentals for ten songs in one day, which speaks for the atmosphere of ease that Jack fosters.

Bill – What are you most happy with in terms of how the recording turned out?

Brian – I’m really excited about the recording as a whole. I think it’s one of the best records I’ve ever done, and Jack did an excellent job tracking and mixing it. In terms of the recording process, we didn’t really have to provide Jack with much direction. He really got what we were doing stylistically and lyrically, and understood what it needed sonically. All in all, I’m really proud of it. That’s not to say that there aren’t slight flaws on it. There are plenty of those present, but I like the human aspect. I wasn’t really looking to craft a perfect record where every drum hit is edited so it’s perfectly on-time, and every oddly bended note is auto-tuned to mechanical pitch. I didn’t want to fix every little mishap or have songs sound completely different than they do live. Unfortunately, people do that all of the time. Flaws can be beautiful, and every person is full of them. Thread is an honest record.

Bill – How did you get connected with Asian Man Records and what are you most looking forward to about working with them?

Brian – I’ve known Mike (Asian Man Records owner), loosely since I was in high school. Obviously, I’ve listened to a large portion of the label’s catalog, even going back to the Dill Records days. With my past bands, and having lived in Chicago and in the Bay Area, there have been a lot of musical and personal connections between people that were affiliated with that label. Leslie from Side With Us is a good friend of ours, and is also really tight with Mike. We were all thinking about approaching her to do the record. I had briefly talked to Mike about doing it at a point when we were discussing a certain joke band of mine, but then Leslie came up with the idea of doing a split release between the two labels. Mike seemed onboard and obviously, everyone was really stoked. Having such a long-term level of respect, connection, and adoration towards that label and a familiarity with it, in some sense it just fit. I wish it had happened sooner. I’m thrilled, and I can’t really think of a better situation in terms of where this record is going.

Bill – Asian Man’s website describes Thread as being inspired by various conversations with close friends, with each song representing a different person. Do you feel that’s an accurate assessment of the record’s lyrics?

Brian – Yes, that’s entirely accurate. I’ve sparingly delved into some stuff that borders on fictional or character-based nonfiction, but for well over a decade I’ve really just been writing personal narratives and tirades, from a first person perspective. My lyrics have primarily been about where I’m at, what I observe, or what I’m going through. I hit a point where I really started to realize how self-indulgent singing and writing can be, so I basically wanted to give a voice to my friends and pay tribute to their lives and everything I love about them. I came up with the idea of just talking to people and turning the conversations into songs. In some cases, I guided them, and in others they told me what they wanted to talk about. It really didn’t matter to me, whether it was a story that they had felt was monumental in their life, or something that they felt passionately or very opinionated about. What did matter was that they were being represented as people bursting with life. I’d interview folks, or just shoot the shit with them; sometimes it was done on the phone, sometimes it was done in-person, and sometimes it was done over email. Through those conversations, I would interpret their responses and write. In some songs there are verbatim lines that I would merely arrange from the interviews. I didn’t have to talk about myself at all, so that was great. The final song on the record is the only one that doesn’t stand for a particular person. It’s essentially the album’s binding piece.

Bill – Was there one story in particular that surprised you in terms of how it turned out?

Brian – Yes. The ones that I gravitate towards are the ones that involve the more difficult subject matter and struggles. For example, one of my friends recently had both of his hips replaced at the age of twenty six. Preceding that, he dealt with years of very serious medical issues and personal turmoil. He and I talked about that, and his ability to speak and share candidly really impressed me. It made me feel honored (again) to be his friend, and it moved me and provided perspective as well. Another friend spoke about her experiences with diabetes as both a child and an adult. She also discussed how her family played into that and her struggles with an immoral healthcare system. That song, “Vial of Life,” stands out too.

Bill – Compared to Great Apes’ prior releases, the three 7” records, how would you describe the music on Thread?

Brian – I think in a lot of ways there’s more going on than when we first started the band. The initial idea was to do something really, really stripped-down. I wouldn’t say derivative, but something that was honoring the classic era of East Bay punk. With this record, a lot more influence came in. The songwriting got a bit more complex, and the catalog was diversified. That’s not to say that it’s as complex or as all over the place as other projects that I’ve done, or projects that other people in the band have done. However, in contrast to those first three releases, I find it to be a bit more interesting. Even lyrically it’s a lot denser.

Bill – Like you said, compared to some of your previous bands, Great Apes play a fairly straightforward style of punk. What made you want to start a band like this?

Brian – Honestly it’s something that I hadn’t done in 12 years maybe. The Ghost and Olehole both had songs that involved a lot of interplay and layering. I intentionally avoided writing with power chords or keeping songs to a part or two. My Hanalei stuff can be pretty simplistic. There are definitely songs where the chord progression literally doesn’t change once, but in terms of a full-on, loud band, I hadn’t done anything really toned-down in terms of simplicity in a long time. Part of the inspiration was just kind of based on the sentiment that it’d be interesting to see how I’d write music like that after not revisiting it for over a decade. My listening habits kind of ebb and flow back to their roots. At the time we started the band I was listening to a lot of the classic era of Bay Area punk and wanted to give it another stab.

Bill – What were some of the highlights of your tour with All Eyes West?

Brian – To give those guys credit first and foremost, they’re a great band to tour with. I really respect their music and more so they’re just really kind, intelligent, funny and easy to get along with. That tour was definitely a pleasure. In the past I’ve been out on the road with bands that not necessarily musically, but personally, I didn’t really care for them. It makes things more difficult, and if you’re playing shitty shows full of disinterest, it makes them far less enjoyable. There’s not that common bond in the experience that you can share with another band. Spending time with those dudes was great. The Chicago shows, partially due to having spent so much time there and my love of the city, felt great. Being able to see so many friendly faces and being in a city around people and places I don’t get to see as much as I would like to was wonderful. Cruising around the Midwest, I hadn’t done that in a while, was really fun too. Playing at the Firehouse in Bloomington was a highlight as well. The heat was oppressive for the entire tour, but so it goes. With that kind of burn and humidity, I prefer oceans, palm trees, and umbrella drinks. Also, credit must be given to Thug Mist and pond fishing. Don’t ask.

Bill – In addition to your interests in music, you also teach middle school English. Where do you find the time and energy to continue playing in bands?

Brian – I love my job. I also love music and writing. Whether or not I’m going out a couple times a year on little tours anymore or playing as many shows as I am now, I think that music is always going to be an important part of my life, and I really do think that I’ll play it for as long as I can. Even if it just goes down to bedroom recordings that no one ever hears, I’ll be messing around for a long time. Right now with teaching, I have it pretty dialed where I can balance the two things and find the time to do it. Obviously having summers off and a couple weeks off during the winter allows me to allocate some of that free-time to focus on music. I’m practicing two times a week, and that’s with Great Apes and another band, and even with grad school starting as well, I don’t feel like it’s too daunting right now. I love it so much that I’m prioritizing it to some extent and making sure there is time available for it.

Bill – With so many new bands out there nowadays, why should someone listen to Great Apes?

Brian – Something that’s changed for me over the years is that I wouldn’t really try to convince anyone to listen to anything I’m doing. I might discuss my creative endeavors with friends and try to get the opinions of those that I respect on it, but it’s super hard for me to provide any sort of reason why someone should listen to my band. I loathe excessive self-promotion. I would feel more comfortable telling you why someone should listen to someone else’s band. I’m doing this for myself and for my friends, and there’s not really another motive. It’s simply cathartic, and potentially builds a little community, small change, and positivity. I barely promote things that I do anymore. Obviously there’s a small contingent of people that are going to listen to what I do just based on my history, but I don’t push it. It’s really just a labor of love. If a show tanks or some blogger rips my music to shreds, I really don’t give a shit, because it’s not something that I’m looking at as a means to an end or something that I absolutely need to do.

Bill – What else does the band have going on this year?

Brian – Our record release show is on September 7^th in San Francisco with Sundowner. Chris is an old friend and I have a lot of respect for his music and lyricism. It’s a double record release show, so that’ll be really fun. We’re doing a pre-release the day before that in Sacramento. Other than that, we’ll just see how things go. Again, we’re not trying to push things too hard. Whatever happens and whatever works for us, individually and collectively, we’ll do. In terms of bigger things, I haven’t been overseas with a band in about seven or eight years, and I think everyone in Great Apes is in agreement that if we had an opportunity to go over to Europe or elsewhere abroad, we’d make that happen somehow. Maybe we’ll do that next summer. Hopefully we’ll at least do another week or two of touring every year. I know we’ll play up and down the West Coast, but I don’t see South by Southwest or CMJ in our future. We’re not a laminated V.I.P. lanyard band, and don’t intend to be.

[audio:http://www.jadedinchicago.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/07-The-Edge-of-the-Western-World.mp3|titles=”The Edge of the Western World”]