A Conversation with Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull – HuffPost 5.18.11

Mike Ragogna: Andy, let’s get into your new album, Simple Math. This is sort of a concept album, isn’t it?

Andy Hull: It definitely is, yeah.

MR: Can you go into what the thinking was behind that?

AH: I think with all the writing that Manchester was doing before, it was far more abstract when it came to personal details, and it was all about very descriptive things. But this is the first album where I put the listener right next to me for an entire story. The story is like the two years after I got married, and what kind of a toll that takes on someone.

MR: It’s a very personal album.

AH: Yes, very. It’s a bigger concept but phrased in more detail.

MR: Can we have an example of a couple songs that do the most revealing?

AH: To be honest with you, I think that most of them do. The first song on the record is called “Deer,” and it’s, basically, a song that is in two sections–the first section being the moment that I got home and realized that my wife had moved everything out of my place, then the moment that I realized that I had been acting like a not-so-nice guy for a little bit. It sort of serves as an apology to my bandmates for being in my own head. The second song is a super-descriptive telling of trying to get in a cab, and having a gnarly, existential crisis. “Pale Black Eye” is a song where I actually say my wife’s name, and I’m referring to a lot of situations, growth, and a lot of forgiveness. There’s a lot more apologizing than any of the other records. I don’t know if that answers your question.

MR: Absolutely. Now, I hate to ask this question, but it begs to be asked. Are you at a spot right now where maybe the album was cathartic as it needed to be, or your relationship is at a spot you needed to have reached.

AH: Absolutely. I think that both of them tie into each other extremely well. The lyrics from the beginning of this album, when I started writing them, were definitely angrier, and they were thought out in a sense that I was making sure that they rhymed. I meant every word that I was saying, but they were more arguments than resolutions. The record was one of those things that I had to ask my wife–who I’m very in love with and we’re fantastic–but I had to ask, “Are you cool with me letting this out there?” She’d never tell me I couldn’t write a song because that’s how I process, but she’s been awesome about it in saying that it’s just our story and neither of us are ashamed of it.

MR: Let’s get into some history. How did the band form–you’re from Georgia, not Manchester, of course.

AH: Yes, sir. We formed in about my junior year of high school, when I was 17, which would have been about ’04. I went through several different band mates after I started it as sort of a solo project, and it ended up that most of the guys that I’d been in bands with before joined the band and are still in it today. Really, I’m in a band with four of my best friends, and we’ve been pretty much touring non-stop since ’05, ’06.

MR: So, there was that first album that never was released, and I think it was calledNobody Sings Anymore.

AH: Yes, Nobody Sings Anymore.

MR: Do you have a story as to why it wasn’t released and maybe what went into making that album?

AH: Definitely. We made that record the same year as we made I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child, we just made it at the very beginning of ’06. That was actually the last concept record that we made before Simple Math, and it being a concept record was a big reason why we didn’t release it. It was a concept record that had nothing to do with me. It was about a couple–an alcoholic husband named Russell, and a battered wife named Marcy–and it just told this whole story of them and their daughter. I think the big reason was that we felt it wasn’t really relating to what we wanted to do, and the band that had recorded that was really different–like three members different. So, there were only two guys that were a part of that record by the time we got to I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child.

MR: Now, when they release your first official album, in addition to EPs and all sorts of things that could be thrown on there, maybe you could do a deluxe edition and reveal everything for the first time.

AH: I think there’s going to be a time. I know that it’s out there and people have it, but I think that we’ll have to release it at some point.
MR: We were talking about your official debut album, but then you had your breakthrough album, Mean Everything To Nothing.

AH: Yes.

MR: The critics went nuts over this. What was your reaction to their reaction?

AH: Pretty shocked, you know? We attempt to create records that, when you a-b the one before it, it’s better, and that’s what we did. We tried to make a record that was better than our first one. That record is kind of like a grown man’s temper tantrum. It was really a record written on impulse and a lot of first tries. As far as the writing process and recording process, we were far more diligent. On Simple Math we did the same thing, and we think we’ve definitely made a better record than Mean Everything To Nothing. I think critics are critics, and I’m really happy that they’ve given us so much love, but really we’re more concerned with what our fans think, making new fans, and then those new fans having a catalog of music to go back to that they can enjoy.

MR: Nicely said. How did you approach recording Simple Math and how did it differ fromMean Everything To Nothing?

AH: I had a lot more control this time, and the band had a lot more control to really take our time to make sure things were sounding the exact way we wanted them to. The recording process was definitely about creating something that was, sonically, really layered, but never sounded complicated. So, the process was similar in that on both records, we went up to Nashville for a couple weeks and got the basic tracking done, then came back to Atlanta and worked on it for the next few months. I don’t know, this one was a lot more fun to make, and I think that we were far more secure in the overall vibe of what we were creating than on Mean Everything To Nothing.

MR: Also, you are riding a wave. You had five significant tracks on that album. You had “Everything To Nothing,” which appeared on One Tree Hill, and I think there was another one that aired on One Tree Hill as well. You also had “The Only One,” which was on 90210. “Shake It Out” had a video with it, and “I’ve Got Friends” was a single and your third video. Do you eventually see the kinds of uses of your songs?

AH: Mostly on YouTube because we’re touring, but I’ve seen a few of them for sure.

MR: What is your reaction when you see the way the songs are used?

AH: Sometimes they’re cool, sometimes they’re weird–I think it’s awesome. I’m going to always think that my songs should be put anywhere that any other song is, so we’re basically just pretty flattered when that kind of thing happens because there are bands that get to do that, but not too many, you know? It’s cool to kind of be a part of it.

MR: Now, the band is Manchester Orchestra, but the group is from Georgia. Where does the name come from?

AH: When I created the band, I was into a lot of mopey music. I was listening to a lot of Morrissey, The Smiths, and bands like that, coming from Manchester. I was always fascinated with it, and it just kind of stuck.

MR: Are they your musical influences? And who are other musical influences, maybe from when you were younger?

AH: Those aren’t really my musical influences, they were just things I was listening to at the time. My musical influences are anywhere from Neil Young and Built To Spill, to Ghostface and The Clipse–I’m really wide across the board. Really, it has to do with lyrics, and then, generally, if the lyrics are good, the melody–I never think about the melody, but I tend to write pretty good melodies, and I think that has to do with how I listen to songs as well. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the dude with the best voice or anything like that.

MR: What’s it like touring as Manchester Orchestra? And you’re touring with Cage The Elephant, right?

AH: It’s gotten better and better over the last five years. We have really devoted fans who take our shows very seriously, and we appreciate that and try to put on a hell of a good show for them. Cage The Elephant are dangerously fun, they’re completely out of their minds, and they are some of our best friends. It’s always a joy to be on the road with them, and for this tour, they basically just called and told me that they were not going to go out until we would co-headline. If that meant sitting out while we did our own headlines, and they could co-headline after, they would wait. I just thought that seemed silly–why don’t you just create the best ticket that you can go see at a show?

MR: Maybe this is a bit of a premature question, but what advice do you have for new artists?

AH: Just make sure that you really want to do it because there are going to be people who tell you, “You know what you signed up for,” and those people don’t realize that you don’t really know what you signed up for. Make sure that you really, really want to do it for as long as it takes.

Transcribed by Ryan Gaffney