Interview: Secret American
Secret American is a bi-coastal band, blending the sounds of sunny California beach towns with the attitude of icy Philadelphia. Or, as they like to call it, East Coast heart with a West Coast vibe. It all started after Derek Krzywicki moved to California with his former bandmates in Cheers Elephant. After his departure from the band, he sought the help of friend and producer/engineer, Todd Mecaughey, who resides in Philadelphia. Eventually, the two began writing and recording at Cambridge Sound Studio in South Philly and developed what would become Secret American's debut album. Now performing as a 7-piece live band, the group has shows lined up throughout the spring and summer. Their album, "Warmth & Shelter" will be available for streaming this spring as well. Check out the interview below:
1. You did a lot of work on this album while living across the country from each other. How did that impact the writing and recording process?
Derek - A lot of writing and demo recordings were made over a few years in my bedroom studio on the coast of California. After laying the foundation for the songs it became a dual coast project where I would fly to Philly to record with Todd and Cambridge Sound Studios. This took a few years of traveling back and forth and bouncing mixes between each other over the internet to finally come to a finished project.
Todd - It was a wild ride recording the album... Derek would fly over and stay in my spare room in my house in Philadelphia for about two weeks at a time and we'd just be working on the record in the studio for the large majority of his stay. When Derek wasn't in Philadelphia we'd be bouncing tracks and mixes to each other over the internet. By the time we were done, many cross-continental flights were taken during the making of the album.
2. Was it more difficult to focus on writing with the distance?
Derek - The most difficult part for us was mixing at a distance. We tried and failed in a lot of different ways while mixing between two coasts, two computers, and two kinds of monitors. Things finally became more streamlined when we both purchased identical mixing headphones and I switched from Logic to Protools.
3. Is there a particular song off the album you are most proud of? If so, why?
Derek - They are all my children so it's hard to pick favorites. Each has a unique story as to how they came about. For example, "human", overcame the fate of ending up in my war chest of unfinished songs. It was written while watching a North Korea propaganda video. I had only finished the first half of the song and didn't know where to go with it. The second half was written and recorded with Todd in essentially one magical night in Cambridge Sound Studios (Philly).
Todd - I would have to agree with Derek, that it's really difficult to choose a favorite, but there are certainly a few stand-out moments involved in the albums creation and "human" tops my list. By day the fifth or sixth day of continuous recording, we were starting to feel "human" might as well be scrapped... we couldn't point a finger at it, but knew something about it just wasn't jiving with us. After a long day, we stopped recording and were just hanging out in the studio talking and reflecting on how absurd and trippy life for the people in this North Korean propaganda video seemed. Conversation eventually turned to our childhoods and American patriotism and somehow after that we thought it'd be a funny idea to try and integrate the "Star Spangled Banner" lyrically into the song. We then turned the gear back on and recorded the rest of the song and found the missing ingredient. We also printed the lyrics out and realized we both had been mangling a few of the words for our whole life. That magical night was my favorite moment making the record for sure. As an added bonus, Cambridge Sound Studios had rented a large marimba for something and we were able to use it double the main riffs on that track.
4. I read that the single "WHY BELIEVE" was originally an afterthought. Can you tell me more about how that song came about?
Derek - It's true. After going to Philly to record the entire record with Todd at Cambridge Sound Studios, I came back to California wanting to write a really simple song. So, over the course of a night or so "Why Believe?" materialized. It's the only one on the record were all the lead vocals were recorded in my bedroom.
Todd - "WHY BELIEVE?" was a breath of fresh air for both of us. We were so immersed in all the other tracks we were doing that it was almost becoming exhausting...As a result of that, Derek diverted his attention back to writing and created "WHY BELIEVE?" in his home in California. He sent me the demo and it was great, so I quickly tracked drums for it in Philly and sent the tracks back to him and he continued to flesh it out. Before we knew it we had a finished track we were very proud of
5. Have a 7 piece band is pretty intense. How often does the band practice in the same space? Does the distance effect how you approach playing live shows?
Derek - We really wanted to do the record justice. Todd and I had a short list of people we wanted to work with and we were lucky to have all of their support and enthusiasm. All the members and I have known and played with each other in many different incarnations over the years. Therefore the chemistry was instantly strong amongst everyone. With that said, practice is hard when I am the only one living in California. Sometimes the group will get together for a prep practice before I arrive but overall our practices just revolve around show schedules.
Todd - The 7-piece band is intense, but it's a lot of fun. We try to practice as much as we can with the full unit, but we don't always have that luxury and we usually only practice leading up to a show. Many practices have been down at least one member, but we usually try to squeeze in at least one full band rehearsal before each gig. The 7-piece band members are all professionals and come prepared, so it gives us a little leeway since we can't always practice together. As Derek stated, musically, there is a lot of cross pollination within the members of the group which helps.. There is also a long and rich history of friendship between the members, so all these things create a strong chemistry.
6. You just played a sold out show at Philamoca for RFA's album release, which Todd produced. Can you tell me a little more about that experience?
Derek - We love RFA and Todd really made a great record with them. We were just happy to be apart of such a special evening with them.
Todd - It was an excellent night for everyone involved and I was really happy to be a part of it! The show sold out in pre-sale before the doors opened and all the bands (RFA, Del Water Gap and us) had a bunch of friends that didn't get in, so we all ended up sneaking a ton of extra people in. It was a packed house with great vibes and music, so it just made for a awesome evening. RFA is an amazing band and I think the record they released is awesome. I'm super proud of those guys and think big things are going to start to happen to them
7. What are you upcoming plans for the band? Any upcoming shows you'd like to discuss?
Todd - We're going be releasing our song called "Bang Bang" on April 26th and some new music videos in the next few weeks, as well as our full length album, "Warmth & Shelter" on May 18th. We're working on adding more shows, but we're looking forward to playing 5/11 at a new venue in Wayne, PA called 118 North with Cabin Dogs. The following evening, 5/12, we're pumped to play in Philly at Boot and Saddle with our good friends goodnight/goodluck and Wax Wav. That's going to be goodnight/goodluck's EP release show and it is going to be a total rager. We're also excited to be playing at Musikfest in Bethlehem Aug 9th
Be sure to check Secret American's website www.secretamericanmusic.com for updates! You can also check out our Media page to watch the video for 'WHY BELIEVE?' or click here.