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Interview: Reverse The Curse on the one year anniversary of 'Hither & Yon' and making a new record

Reverse The Curse have hit the one-year anniversary of their debut full-length, Hither & Yon, and the band are gearing for the follow-up now. Hitting the studio this September, AP caught up with frontman ED STARCHER to talk about Hither & Yon, making a new record and the music video they released today for “Emitter.” (view the “Emitter” video at the bottom of this interview)

INTERVIEW: Matthew Colwell

July 12 marks the one-year release of your debut full-length, Hither & Yon. How do you feel about the record in hindsight?
ED STARCHER: I feel good about it. The songs, like us, were all over the place while writing the record. I like that aspect because that time and place in our lives is evident in the lyrics. Hither & Yon was written over the course of several years, and, at this point, it seems a lot less relevant due to the amount of time that has passed.

That being said, we all still have a strong connection to that record. It was our first record in our nine years playing together as a band and it was the birth of our sound. Everyone involved in the creation of the record—from the art to the mixing and so on—did a good job. [Making the record] gave us the opportunity to establish friendships with a lot of talented people. I don't think we would have met most of them if it weren't for that record.



What do you think you accomplished with Hither & Yon, musically and professionally?
Musically, it showed us more ways of what we could do. It showed us that there are ways to have a relationship with music, instead of just controlling it or limiting it. It started a liberation of sorts in the outlook of writing and recording.

Professionally, due to the help of our label and the touring that we've done since the release, it has given us the opportunity to be heard by a lot more ears than ever before. We honestly put the professional aspect of the music industry in the back of our minds and try to focus on the music we strive to create. But, there is obviously a middle ground that any band trying to create music for a living has to find.

You’re also releasing a music video for “Emitter” today, too. How did the concept for the video come about?
The video came about in Hiram, Ohio. It's where Joe [Regets, drums] and I were writing and demoing new stuff. Our friend, Tyler Sovchik, came over and had a camera, and we decided to shoot a video for fun. We thought “Emitter” would be the most unlikely song on Hither & Yon to make a video for, so we tried to do it. At the time, Joe had been talking about a reoccurring dream he was having, so we tried to recreate it as best as he could describe. 



You’re currently putting together the follow-up to Hither & Yon and are slated to hit the studio in September. How far along are you with everything? We are pretty far into the new record. Most of the basic ideas and the outline for the record are completed. Joe and I were living in the rural woods of northern Ohio, writing and demoing new stuff. Once we had enough finished to start the process of piecing the basic outline of the record together, we moved to Columbus where Andy and Connor have been living. We're in Columbus now, experimenting with the songs and seeing where they go.

It’s obviously in the very beginning stages since you’re still putting the songs together, but what can you tell us about the new album?
I’m [not completely sure] what the new record will sound like. We are just going to play a lot and see where the songs take themselves. It's exciting to let them develop a life of their own. It leaves much more up to the feel of the band.

This will be the first recording of us with Andy Cook (guitar/keys) in the band, so the songs will be more intricate and feel [fuller] than anything we've ever done. The songs are also faster than what we have previously written. It's definitely going to be different.

Lyrically, I'm playing a bit more with words, where they can sit or float in the song. We will be recording in September with Eric Cronstein at the Tone Shoppe in Columbus. He is a talented friend, and we love working with him.

What is in the cards for Reverse The Curse’s future?
We are going to finish writing this new record followed by recording it and then releasing it hopefully in late 2012 or early 2013. The plan is to tour a lot after that, playing the songs—just continue being a band.