A Conversation with City Under Siege’s John Wittlinger – HuffPost 4.2.14
Mike Ragogna: You’re quoted as being proud of being a pop band. What do you think “pop” means these days?
John Wittlinger: Pop music these days can span across a few different sub-genres. These days, you dont have to be Britney Spears or the Backstreet Boys to be a pop band. But I guess to me, pop music is any mainstream music that is catchy, has a good hook, an infectious beat, and that a mass audience can relate to. I’d say pop music today is written more for enjoyment first and artistry second. I feel like City Under Siege is trying to do that by writing songs that are fun and easy to listen to with a lot of relate-ability. But at the same time, we are trying to bring some of the artistry back into pop. I feel like you can get sucked into writing to a formula or a certain way just to make people happy and that’s fine. We are guilty of that, just like any other pop band but were just trying to write music that is pop but yet retains some artistry. I think if you can find that fine line, you can be successful.
MR: You have a new EP that bears the group’s name. Is that because you feel this is more of a creative representation of the group than a song cycle?
JW: I think we chose to self-title the EP because it represents a new begining for us. We have some old records and EPs over the past 4 or 5 years and they hinted at being pop but were more straight rock-indie. But with this record, we have fully-committed to being a pop band gone more mainstream than ever with our sound, so I would say yes and no. This represents us as a band and this song cycle.
MR: Take us on a tour of the EP’s tracks.
JW: The EP starts off with a track called “Believe.” It was released a little while ago as a single before we even knew we were going to record this EP. We just went down to Atlanta to record one song with Matt Malpass cause we needed a fresh perspective and a fresh voice helping us to produce a track. I went down there not knowing what to expect. Malpass has worked with some of my favorite bands such as Cartel, Relient k, and Train. That is why we picked him. We knew that if we went with him, he would give us that pop sound we were looking for and add some credibility to our name. So when we went and recorded “Believe” as a test song of sorts, it came out great. We made a music video for it and got it on MTV-U for a while. “Believe” is a track just about how in a relationship when you’ve lost someone, just wishing they could believe in that relationship, believe in a happy ending, and believe in you. I’ve written so many break up songs over the years. I wanted to put a new spin on it and give it some hope so I hope that comes across in the song. I hope people take away the fact that if they would just give something a chance and just believe in someone, who knows what could happen.
“Shake” is our new single on the EP that we are releasing the music video for now it is just a straight-up, infectious pop song. Its just about partying, having a good time, letting lose and having fun. This song is a little tongue-in-cheek with the whole idea being that we go to a club hoping to take a girl home, she sucks us in, and we fall for it. But at the end of the night, we end up all alone, confused as to what happened. It’s something I think we all can relate to–being sucked in by a beautiful girl. She talks to us all night and then leaves with someone else or just plain leaves us alone. This song was one where we just sat down and wanted to write a pop hit and I think we did that. Its super-catchy, a lot of fun, and I hope the music video conveys that to everyone. We just want people to have fun with us, dance, and have a great time.
The next song, “Love Like That,” is a little bit of a slower song and it’s just about how when your falling in love or already in love it can make you do crazy things it can make you feel crazy and love can make a fool of you. It is more of an acoustic song but still really well-produced by Matt Malpass, with a lot of piano and some great light electric leads in it. “I’m On The Run” is one of my favorite tracks on the EP, it’s just so upbeat, energetic and has some of our pop punk, and early adolescent influences in it. The bridge has this Thirty Seconds To Mars feel to it as well. It’s just about running from your relationships, running from conflict, and running from your problems and how that isn’t always the answer. This song is so much fun to play live and has so much energy. The guitar work on it is amazing and I think everyone is gonna love this song! “Details” is a song that is pretty basic its a pretty stripped-down acoustic based song that just kind of deals with the issue of overlooking people and taking them for granted in a relationship and kind-of the whole idea of not knowing what you had till it was gone. We are not reinventing the wheel with this song or any of them, really, but we are just trying to give a fresh spin on these age-old problems and ideas that I feel like still plague everyone, and I feel like everyone can relate to.
The last two songs on the EP were done at a studio here in Buffalo. After we did the first five songs with Malpass, we came home and wanted to add a couple more tracks to the EP so we went into GCR studio in Buffalo, which is owned and operated by Robby Takac from the Goo Goo Dolls. Our producer here in Buffalo–Jay Zubrucki–set out to make these two tracks a little more raw and less produced, giving them a slightly different feel. The first of the two is called “Nothing Left To Break.” It is a more raw track, a little less pop, more rock with that Goo Goo Dolls feel to it. It is a song about coming to the end of your rope and you’re just finished with a relationship and looking back. All you can say is there is nothing left to ruin, there is nothing left to break; I’m a broken and run down man and just kind of wishing you could go back and fix everything or maybe even go back and just be friends and never venture any deeper than that kind of dealing with not wanting to let someone in because your afraid they are gonna take advantage of your vulnerability and break you down. The last track on the EP is called “Not Alone.” It’s a redeeming song about how someone has messed up a relationship and being taken back, the good feeling of redemption and of forgiveness and of being where your supposed to be–in the arms of someone you love, that feeling of being at home in the right place and not being alone anymore but having someone you can rely on.
MR: Which one was the most challenging to write and why?
JW: The most challenging song to write was definitely “Shake.” When we sat down to write that song, we have no ideas we had no lyrics. We just knew we wanted to write a pop hit that was radio worthy…and i think we did that! But it didn’t come without its headaches and the occasional fight over creative direction and some passive aggressive arguments. [laughs]
MR: You mention that the EP has depth but that it’s also a party album. Are the two compatible?
JW: I think they can be. I’d like to think that all the tracks are fun and a good, easy listen. I think they all can be taken for just pure entertainment and fun, but if you want more than that, we offer that too. If you dig deeper and listen to the lyrics, a lot of our songs deal with some pretty relevant and real issues. We deal with breakups, love, lose, redemption; we have the just straight up fun and partying songs as well. But we try to write with a depth that will make this EP something that will last and not just be a forgotten one hit EP.
MR: If you were able to work in the studio in any capacity with another current act, who would that be and what would you like to contribute to the project?
JW: I think I would love to work with Matt Nathanson and I’m not sure I could contribute anything. He is a genius. I’d just want to learn everything I could from him! If anything, I’d love to contribute some lyrics to his work, though I love to write, obviously, and it would be fun to help him write lyrics for a song.
MR: What’s the group’s secret origin?
JW: Well, myself and Matt Buscarino, lead guitarist, worked together at Tim Hortons, which is a coffee shop popular up here in Buffalo. His dad ownes a couple of them and we met and found out about each other’s passion for music and have been playing together ever since. The other members have come and gone and we have found them various ways, but Matt and I are the two founding members and write all the material.
MR: What do you want to achieve with the band, like what is the long range vision?
JW: I want to be able to have songs on the radio to touch millions of peoples lives. There is so much depressing stuff happening out there, and there are so many lonely people; there’s so much hurt. I want our band to be someone’s escape, even if it’s for 30 minutes a night. When they come to see us live or listen to the new EP, I wanna put smiles on peoples’ faces. I want people to know who we are and to want to hang with us; I want people to feel like they know us and can relate to us. We’re just a bunch of regular guys doing something we love and having a great time doing it, so all that to say this–that my long term goal for the band is to affect peoples lives, to give them joy, hope, and happiness, and if we can do that in any small way shape or form, I’d consider us successful. Making some money along the way wouldn’t be a bad ting either. [laughs]
MR: What is your advice to new or evolving artists?
JW: Don’t take yourself too seriously, have fun, and don’t forget why you are doing what you’re doing. If you don’t have goals and you don’t have a purpose, people will see right through it and won’t buy you or your material. Just be real.
MR: Any words of wisdom?
JW: One word. Persistence!