just as i promised…
here is a blog answering some of your questions and concerns about our upcoming album “symphony soldiers.” hope this helps!!!
ohhheyjeslyn- “when writing, did you intend on this album being so different from Whisper War or was it something you noticed overtime?” the worst thing a band can do to themselves is write the same album twice. it’s like trying to jump while your shoes are glued to the ground. you don’t want to put limitations on your artistry and your musical character. obviously, if you stray too far from your previous/original sounds you can isolate yourself from your fans, which is a very scary thing. however, i believe it IS possible to grow and mature while maintaining the same musical qualities and signature sounds that lured your listeners from the beginning. while writing this album, we didn’t think much about Whisper War. we were focused on getting all of our ideas out and staying true to ourselves as instrumentalists and artists. we know that as long as we stay true to who we are, there will always be the same pop/rock/r&b tastes as there was in Whisper War. as the writing process progressed we started realizing that the less we thought about what we were doing, the better the songs turned out. music should be extremely natural. the best advice i have received about this career was from john mayer. he told me that as long as you put out a piece of work that truly is YOURS and a piece of you, people will follow. it doesn’t matter how poppy or mainstream it is as long as it’s you. if you release a pop record because that is who you are…it’s going to have a better chance of being well received than if you released a pop record to stay “relevant” or to make a dime or two. if the music is forced it will consequently be a bit more transparent and will contain less substance. fans are smart and can see right through the bullshit, so make sure you give them something real… that way, you are giving them the best opportunity to love, appreciate, and hopefully understand it. TracyZurbrick- “you guys are taking forever! y’all aren’t gonna pull a panic! and split after this album are you?” i know it is taking a long time. but no we are not breaking up. no, nothing is wrong. it is taking much longer than we wanted and expected it to, but i promise it will be worth it. i would be lying if i said i haven’t been discouraged and scared the past few months about the record and when we were planning on releasing it. it’s been a few years and our fans have been ready for new material from us for a long time. there was a point where we thought we were finished with the record, but after many listens and discussions, we decided that you guys deserved one last hard push from us and we’ve been writing a few more songs. we want to make sure that every album we put out is a piece of us. we refuse to half ass anything or to rush anything because of our own impatience or excitement. our songs deserve more than that and so do our fans. i know the release date has been pushed back a few times and it has broken a few hearts, but just know we are doing everything in our power to bring you the best and most powerful music possible. not only do we want to give you something great, fun, and catchy..but we want to give you something real and something that will stand the test of time. this music is our life. not to get too morbid or sad with you guys, but these songs are a part of our legacy. when we pass away these songs will still exist as pieces of us that will still live and breathe the way we used to. just want to give you the product that you deserve. it also has to do with the label and the timing of their other releases and all of the post production processes. all of that is out of our control. luckily we have a great label who is going to deliver our work to you in the best and quickest way possible. loco94- “what is the most personal song on the album for you, and what is it about??? :)” out of all of the songs we have been writing for this record, i would say that “crown” is probably the most personal. the situation it was written about was very personal and hit me really hard. someone that was very close to me was going through a very hard time, and felt alone and all of their insecurities were like knives being pushed deeper inside of them everyday. they were the most beautiful and incredible person i knew. this song was my letter to them telling them that when they think they have absolutely nothing left…when they feel like they are a nobody…like no one listens or cares…to wear love like a crown. that you can live and feel like a king or queen if you just can gather up enough love. love comes from all sorts of different places. from family, friends, from appreciation of the world around you, memories, etc. i also wanted them to know that no matter how hard things got, no matter how much they kicked, screamed, and pushed me away…i wasn’t going to go anywhere and that if they ever needed anything i would be around. here are a few of the lyrics. “when you’re feeling lost and want to be found, wear love like a crown. when pieces of you fall to the ground, wear love like a crown. when you’ve got nothing left to hold, you can call my arms your home sweet home you’re amazing and i’ll shout it out. so won’t you wear my love just like a crown.” lglovex3- “what are you gonna do with the other 50 some songs that don’t make the record?” that is an amazing question. i’m not one hundred percent sure to be honest. we literally have over 50 songs completed and i know that in reality, 90 percent of them will never see the light of day. maybe some day we will make a b-side record or something along those lines, but as of now there are no plans to release them. most of them are much too rough or different from the other cab stuff anyways, though i do love them very much. iRawqk- “which song was the most difficult to write” the songs that are always the hardest to write are the ones that bring back the most painful/amazig memories. most people would probably guess that the sad songs are the most hard to write, but in my experience the writing process for the more somber, upsetting songs is actually more therapeutic and actually can help you cope with what you went through and are currently feeling. it’s very difficult to write and/or record love songs about someone who you aren’t with anymore because writing takes you back and makes you feel all of those feelings again. you get a rush of emotions that maybe you haven’t experienced since you were with that person and the beautiful memories can make you realize how much you miss the way things were. it doesn’t always have to do with love either. even when you write songs about a specific point in time; possibly a mindset or train of thought, it can be hard to write because you have to look through the eyes of yourself at that moment in time when you might have felt differently about things and the world around you. it can definitely be a struggle. AsToldByErika- “Since you’re still in the process of writing songs for the album, is there any chance you’ll write one feat. Mike Posner?” we were talking about that the other day. mike has become one of our very good friends and we are both very big fans of each other’s music. hopefully there is a part in one of the songs that mike could be apart of. mike is a real hard worker though and is extremely busy so timing could always be an issue. we haven’t officially asked him but we’ve sat down and flirted with the idea a bit and i think it could be a great fit. i think one of our songs could really use the great texture and energy his voice brings to any track he is apart of. clanlextine- “On Whisper War you portrayed different characters (“High Hopes”). Are any new sides/characters going to appear? What kind?” of course! Since we don’t know what songs are making the record yet, I can’t tell you EXACTLY what sides you will be seeing but you can bet that you’ll see all sorts of sides and hear about so many different emotions. some songs are about hope, some are about being in love, some about being scared, some are extremely sexual, others are about battling the fear of growing up and losing sight of who you are. there will be a very wide spectrum of topics… i promise. i’ve been through a lot the past few years. thecabademyis- “if you do think your voice/style of music has changed since whisper war how so?” my voice has changed a lot. nothing too extreme, but i’m sure fans have noticed it too if you compare the way i sounded on say, the cobra tour in 2008, then the way i do now. almost every single person i show songs to or talk to tell me that there is a difference in my vocals on the new record. when we recorded whisper war i had only been singing for a few years. just like with anything and everything else in life, the more you practice the better you become. i feel like i sing with more confidence and poise now and i understand my voice and it’s capabilities better. i’ve toured and have gotten to work with some incredible singers and i have gotten tips and advice from the best. i know that i’ll never be half the singer that most of my friends are, but i am extremely grateful for the opportunity to get advice from them and to be able to say that i have shared the stage with some of the best in the game. BriiGibbons- “Does letting people in general know your emotions through your songs ever scare you half to death?” writing songs is a great way for me to vent and to let out what is going through my mind and heart. though i do include many of my emotions and feelings in my songs, i’ll never include them all. i’ve got to keep a few raw, untouched, and in the safe deep within my chest. Kat07- “How many songs did you write for the album? How do you choose which ones make the cut?” choosing songs is always one of the most difficult parts about putting out an album. you have to find a balance of what your favorites are, what the label and people around you believe in, and what you think your fans are going to enjoy. since we have over 50 songs, this is going to be one of the hardest and roughest parts about releasing this record. jldx392- “why are you so scared of this album?” i am afraid to let myself down, and most importantly you guys down. the boys and i are some of the biggest perfectionists you will ever meet and we tend to over think everything. creating an album is a scary thing. we’ve built such an incredible and supportive fan base off of whisper war and touring nonstop and we want to allow it to keep growing. as long as we keep building and going up, we’ll be okay… but the pressure at times can truly be unbearable. cobrafan111- “in what way is the new music different from whisper war?” when Whisper War was written we were all barely 18 years old. we were so excited to be recording an album in a real studio with a big producer and to be signed to a record label that i think we were a little less focused than we could have been. we were still figuring out who were as musicians..and to be honest, still figuring out who we were as people. this time around we know exactly what we want and what we have to do to achieve it. we were afraid of a lot while recording whisper war. we didn’t want to cross any lines or do anything too far out there. for our new album, Symphony Soldiers, we said to hell with boundaries, lines, and limits and did exactly what we wanted to. some songs may be a bit overly pop, and some songs might have guitars that are a bit too heavy for a band like us…but that’s what is great about it. it is US. it’s who we are. no rule books or guidelines. we wrote what we wanted to and had fun with it. it allowed the songs to come out really exciting and they all have really grown into their own characters. i love it. not one song on the record is the same as any other of the other ones. i’m sick of listening to bands put out records of the same song over and over again. a good band can do it all. they showcase all of their tastes, influences, and skills in different ways on every track…and that is exactly what we want to do. we just try to be a band who has class, who plays and performs at a high level, and shows a respect and appreciation to all fellow artists and music fans. we tend to act like chameleons and change and transform our playing depending on what song we are performing at the moment. not to sound too confident or to raise the bar too high for ourselves, but our goal has always been to be the best at pop, rock, r&b, and everything else we do. we always shoot for the moon, because even if we fall short we’ll still end up among stars. i love you guys. thank you for the support and patience. it means the world to me and the rest of the guys in the band. i cannot put into words how excited i am for you guys to hear it all!!! -alexander michael
