Dandelion Snow (Interview Juli 2010)

Hi Roger! For the beginning, please introduce yourself in a few sentences.

Hi, my name is Roger. I'm originally from a small town in Pennsylvania. I travel a lot and play music, sometimes I play solo, sometimes I play with a full band; I welcome change. I just released a new album called “The Grand Scheme Of Things” on Big Bullet Records & The Lock And Key Collective.

You use the synonym DANDELION SNOW instead of your original name Roger Harvey. Due to the other musicians or what is the intention of that name?

I definitely was influenced by a lot of the modern indie/folk acts when I was solidifying this project and I suppose that attributed to me coming up with the name. I remember thinking long and hard about it and one day it just came to me, i was walking down the street in the springtime. I thought Dandelion Snow was an interesting symbol of youth, something kind and playful. I also had ran through so many ideas in my head and it sort of showed itself to me at a time when I was letting go of all the weight I had previously been putting on naming the project. Cause in the end, it just becomes a name, I carry it with me and to people who have heard my records it's just kinda sits as an embodiment of my project in their minds.

I like having the pseudonym to draw it away from a piece of art that is individually centered. I like that when people hear the name they think it is a band, or don't know what to think. I like that about it because especially on record I often don't think of the songs as mine. I guess i feel more like the curator of the collective project. I bring all the pieces together and do all the promotion. I don't always feel like I'm the center of the song, their are often other friends involved that are equally influential or moreso.

Chris from ANTI-FLAG produced "The Grand Scheme Of Things" and in which way - as a musician in a political punk band - he had an influence on that record.

Chris had a huge effect on the record in many ways. I really wanted to do something that’s new and branch out from where I was with the previous releases and I think Chris really pushed those elements out of the record. We work really well together and I think we found that out really early on in the process. I got to the studio at 9 in the morning on the first day in the middle of May and in about three hours we had the title track, "The Grand Scheme Of Things", almost completed. We did everything really spontaneously and kind of just could sense that it was going to be a really organic experience. We tried to complete songs and listen back, to keep us excited and working at a fast pace. Chris is awesome at keepin' spirits high, and I think i really needed that cause I tend to get burnt out and over-think things to often.

As far as politics go, I grew up with Chris and all the Anti-Flag guys around and that had a huge effect on me. Everything is very personal to me so often times on the record when I tie my political thoughts into songs, I weave them in with personal experience. Often that strays from the approach Anti-Flag uses but in the end we are talking about the same problems and the same ideas, 'cause those are sentiments that we share.

I think you're both from Pittsburgh. Did you know him before that collaboration?

I actually just moved to Pittsburgh from New York City a lot of that move has to do with Chris and being closer to a lot of people that I love. I'm originally from two hours north of Pittsburgh, a small town on Lake Erie. I met Chris through some mutual friends a long, long time ago in the Pittsburgh music scene. I was really young 13-14 years old. Over the years, he has become one of my closest friends and has helped me out over the years in all sorts of ways. I always tell him one day I'm gonna repay him for all he's done. I don't think that’s a concern to him, I feel really lucky to have him on my side, anything from everyday advice to making music, he's a well of knowledge and just genuinely a good person.

How have the reactions on "The Grand Scheme Of Things" been so far?

It's funny you'd ask that. I was just talking with my friend Willow, that has helped out a lot with this release, about how grateful I am at the overwhelmingly positive response across the board for this release. The sales have been slow but consistent since the release in the beginning of June, which i'm very happy about especially given the overall state of the independent music scene. All I want is for people to find the record and to listen, and that is happening more than ever. The reviews have been really encouraging in this whole process, and in return shows have been picking up steam. I'm really content with where everything is at.

In the last one or two year's singer/songwriters experienced a great hype (e.g. Frank Turner). What do you think is the reason for that suddenly success of singer/songwriters all over the world?

To be honest this is a topic I have thought about day in and day out being a singer/songwriter. It’s so hard to pin it down when it comes to things like this. I can only talk about it from my perspective, I think there is a certain vulnerability to songwriters, a vulnerability that we all feel and experience. There is something empowering about seeing someone on a stage pouring out her/his secret thoughts to a crowd of strangers. I remember when I first stumbled upon the songwriters that influenced me when I was younger it made me feel like I wasn't alone. I wanted to be strong enough to do what they were doing, it took my a long time to get up and sing about the way I felt but once I did i felt like there was a huge weight lifted from my shoulders.

I don't know your first album, but what can you tell us about the differences between both records?

The previous releases are a lot more stripped down. Me and my acoustic guitar, most of them I recorded on an old 8 track. I didn't know how to punch in and out so I would have to get them in a single take. Usually doing the songs a few times and then bouncing them down and picking the best takes. The previous records definitely progressed steadily into the release of the last record as more friends lent their insight and time into helping me make records over the past few years. The first EP I released wasn't even mixed. Just live, single tracks. I always kind of liked the simplicity of things of that nature but originally I wanted it to be real and thought the best way to achieve that was to do everything really lo-fi, I really have learned to appreciate making albums with higher production, that was a slow stubborn process for me though. (ha ha)

What are the lyrics about?

The record covers a lot of bases, it's hard to grant sole sentiment. I try to cover all the bases, the spectrum of the ways I feel and the things I experience. Anything from having my heart broke to taking a long drive. I like to bounce back and forth between introspective and extroverted, the way i feel juxtaposed beside the the things I see. Often times the ways I feel inside conflict with the lessons I learn from the experiences I have, I think that is a centerpiece for this record. I wanted the songs to embody that, my personal struggles and an optimism about overcoming them. I don't think I'm alone in that, I wanna break free of my predispositions to certain states of mind, i've spent my whole life trying to break free of them.

In my opinion the strength of "The Grand Scheme Of Things" is its variety. There are quiet, sad or melancholic songs but on the other side some (band) songs with much more instruments. What do you think is the main character of that record?

I'm not sure. I think that the record sits in this middle ground between the two styles, and when we conceptualized about the recording the general idea was to make an eclectic record that was held together by a few subtle common threads, whether that was; my voice, or the subject matter. We just wanted to try a lot of new things and see how far we could take the songs from the original demos.

Do you prefer the quiet songs or the faster songs with the other guys?

I don't prefer one over the other I just think they sit in a difference place. Usually when I'm playing solo shows I stick to the quieter stuff, i.e. fingerpicking a lot of it out. I like both worlds though, I like having a band and I like getting into that place all alone and singing quiet. I don't think I could ever pick one over the other. They are just different, and I appreciate certain aspects of them both and would never want to give them up.

What are your plans for the rest of the year? Is it possible to see you in Europe?

This winter I'm releasing a limited European vinyl pressing of The Grand Scheme Of Things via some new friends of mine, Road Sweet Road in Switzerland. I will be in Europe in January playing a handful of shows in support of the release and I'll have a lot more to announce about that over the next few months. Other than that, I'll be out this fall in North America spreading the word about the record and have lots of really awesome projects in the works.

Any last words?

Thanks for having me, thanks for listening, and take it easy. You can order "The Grand Scheme Of Things" right now at www.dandelionsnow.com

XO
Roger

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Dandelion Snow (Interview Juli 2010)