A Conversation with Early Morning Rebel’s Nathan Blumenfeld-James – HuffPost 4.27.12
Mike Ragogna: Nathan let’s get the backstory on Early Morning Rebel.
Nathan Blumenfeld-James: My partner and I, Dustin Bath, we’ve been playing music together here in Los Angeles and producing other bands and other records for a while now, and about eight months ago, we decided to start a new project and kind of the foundation and catalyst for the project was to be really creative and inspired by what we were doing. We really wanted to be surrounded by what we’re inspired by. We really wanted to immerse ourselves as we were already immersed in the fashion and the art world and the photography world. We shoot our own videos and produce our own records and record everything ourselves. It was really a labor of love project just to spark more creativity in our lives. We started about eight months ago and it’s been really great.
MR: You mention about fashion and photography, can you go into that a little bit? What are the origins of all that?
NBJ: Dustin and I have been surrounded by the fashion world, by the photography world, by the film and television world pretty much our whole lives growing up here in Los Angeles. The fashion world has been a huge inspiration for us–a lot of designers and lines, we are inspired by. For us, the marriage between fashion and music is very obvious. There’s something that makes a lot of sense, how much fashion influences music and music influences fashion. We really just wanted to surround ourselves with these creative people, these artists, and let each other’s work inspire each other and create a community around that.
MR: Who are some of the people that you’ve been associating with?
NBJ: Out here, we’re really connected with the photographers and a lot of models and stuff like that. We just came back from London about a month ago where we attended about 15 shows or so, hanging out with a lot of the up-and-coming designers in London from Francesca Marotta to some of the bigger named stuff. A lot of the stuff that really gets us going is the up-and-comers who are taking a lot of risks, who are not afraid to be avant-garde and really expressive with their work.
MR: Do you see a wave of that happening? I’m personally noticing things shaking up a little bit in the status quo.
NBJ: Absolutely. That was the basis of why we started this project. We wanted to do something that was a little bit out of the box; that felt like something that we would listen to and be inspired by. The fashion world is such a form of express. When you put on a piece of clothing, you really feel something, or when you see someone in something, you really feel something. You get inspired by other people’s garb. Hopefully, it’ll continue to evolve and people will see the potential of that expression. We’re going for the more art side of the fashion world that we love.
MR: The song “Lifeboat” from your EP was in Grey’s Anatomy.
NBJ: Yes, it was.
MR: Did you catch the usage of it?
NBJ: It was in January. It was an amazing usage, they’re notorious for how well they use music and their taste in music. It was a really amazing usage. It really complimented the scene and was a brilliant moment for the song.
MR: Now, the song is about a person going through a sort of self-destructive period, and you’re basically trying to be the “Lifeboat” there.
NBJ: There’s hopelessness to the song, and at the same time, there’s an admission. But there’s a dark quality that you can’t save this person.
MR: And yet you still want to reach out and try, huh.
NBJ: Absolutely.
MR: Your other track, “Find An Easier Way.” What is that about?
NBJ: Originally, when I wrote that song, it was about finding an easier way to deal with the fact that I can’t let this girl, this person, go. It’s a pretty quintessential love song. It’s a heartbreak song at the end of the day where I’m holding on to this thing that I’m not going to be able to let go. I think we’ve all been in that place, where we’re chasing this person and they may be turning their back and we just can’t let it go.
MR: What’s the percentage of that happy ever after really working when you can’t let go? How do you feel about that?
NBJ: It’s obviously a life journey that we all have, our own experiences. It takes what it takes and I think a lot of experiences are huge growth experiences. I think those are very powerful moments in people’s lives where they learn how to let go. Or they look back in hindsight and realize they were clinging on to this thing that was doomed.
MR: And that can extend. It could be anything–people you know, relationships, not just romantic, eras of your life that you’re seeing fading away…
NBJ: It could be as deep as that or just a material possession you’re clinging onto. It’s that kind of clinging vibe and knowing that it’s temporary but not being able to let it go.
MR: In music, who are some of the acts you’ve worked with?
NBJ: Here in LA, I’ve produced stuff for up-and-coming alt country to hip-hop and a lot of my own records. We’ve worked with Mark Hoppus in Blink 182 to up-and-coming rappers. We collaborated with a friend who is now in M83. It really runs the gamut.
MR: Your collaborating with other artists must leave some remnants. Do you find yourselves incorporating things from acts you’ve worked with?
NBJ: Each time you do a record or write a song, you build something. It’s that old saying that you put ten-thousand hours into something before you’re a master at it. Each moment is just another learning experience, another building block to becoming the artist or the person you want to be. Each time we jump in the studio, we become more efficient. It’s another milestone and another investment into our creativity.
MR: What is your advice for new artists?
NBJ: It’s kind of a Wild, Wild West out there in the music industry right now, and no one really knows what the formula or the new model is going to be. I think, as an artist, the most important thing is to just do stuff you believe in. You really have to believe in it. However, that takes shape that’s the most important thing. No one is going to believe in something more than you. Perseverance is 75% of it for me; continuing to fight, and a lot of it is uphill and it’s hard.
MR: What song or songs do you feel encapsulate the spirit of Early Morning Rebel? Are there any more that especially resonate with you?
NBJ: I really feel like “Find an Easier Way” has a real EMR, as you would say, feel to it. (For the album), there’s a song called “Burn Us Down” that’s going to be on the record, and we’re finishing up some other songs as well. You never know until it takes shape, but I feel like each song encapsulates what we are as EMR.
MR: You’re taking off in Britain right now.
NBJ: We’re really grateful to be going out there and having gone to Fashion Week and getting so much great reception out there. It’s been really cool to go out and experience that.
MR: You full length album will be released in the Fall. Beyond that, any predictions as to where EMR is headed? Tours? What’s the game plan?
NBJ: We’re fortunate enough to have our own studio, so we’ll be putting out tons of content, some remixes, videos. We’re hoping to jump on a tour, we’re looking to supporting a few acts. Definitely will be in the UK touring early fall and then probably back in the US for tour.
Transcribed by Brad Taylor