Relient K

Of all the shining gems in Gotee Records’ crown, none shine brighter than Relient K. The Canton, Ohio boys have quickly grown up before our eyes, jumping from power-pop cliches and clever turns of a word or phrase into mature songwriters whose pop/rock chops are as good as any. The guys’ latest - The Bird and the Bee Sides - chronicles the growth quite well and serves as the final album in Relient K’s record contract, giving them a newfound freedom and ability to do what they want. In this interview, Matt Thiessen tells us what to expect from the future and the source of all the puns.

Soul-Audio: Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek. Five Score and Seven Years Ago. Who’s the wordsmith in the group?

Matt Thiessen: Yeah, I really appreciate a good pun. It’s usually me that comes up with those, I guess, but the whole band agrees on the name. But we were on tour with Switchfoot last year and it was themed around Habitat for Humanity because we were working with them on the tour and Jon Foreman came up with the name “Appetite for Construction Tour.” So it’s not always me.

SA: How much do you and Jon have in common in terms of songwriting? He is so disciplined in his craft…

Matt: I’m definitely not the same as Jon. He’s speedy and he’s great. He puts out so much. But with a song, I usually try to work it through until that one is finished before I go on. That’s why we only had 13 b-sides out of 10 year career. That’s just because most of the time I will spend so much time on one song to make it work if it’s not ready. I’ve definitely rewritten songs three or four times, but I usually don’t leave a lot on the cutting room floor.

SA: The song that’s taken you the longest?

Matt: There’s a song on our fourth record [Mmhmm] called “More Than Useless” and I think I wrote that for our second record and it didn’t make it and then retweaked it for our third record and it didn’t make it. Finally it came up with a version that we all liked for the fourth one and it’s one of our favorite songs.

SA: What was so difficult about that song in particular?

Matt: Well, I liked the lyric when I wrote it and I could never figure out a way to make it work. It never made sense the way I was putting it to music. So I kept scrapping the music and finally came up with a melody.

SA: Where does the finished record contract leave the band right now? It’s fulfilled?

Matt: Yes, it is. It was our first ever record deal and it was for six albums with Gotee Records. It’s a pretty satisfying thing to fulfill your first record deal. We didn’t get out of it early and there wasn’t any fallout with the label. They are an independent label in Nashville and we’re working out something with them where - well, it’s not signed yet, so we can’t talk about it - but we’re really excited for the future of the band and I think we’re definitely going to be able to take the DIY approach as far as the label side goes and give our fanbase something they really like. Hopefully, we can do it without a major label. That would be interesting, but we want to try it and see what we can do.

SA: Gotee just bought out their independence, correct?

Matt: Yes.

SA: Any hints that you can give in terms of what to be expecting?

Matt: Sure. What we want to do is start our own subsidiary label off of Gotee, which there was one called Mono vs. Stereo that was affiliated and it’s fallen by the wayside a bit. We’re talking about picking that one back up and taking over the label and put out our records on it, sign some other bands and that kind of stuff. We haven’t signed anything yet so to say that we’re doing that and then we don’t… but that’s what we’re looking at. We’ve always sort of talked about starting our own label at some point in our lives, so that could be fun.

SA: Do you have that passion within the band to nurture some other younger acts?

Matt: Yeah, I definitely don’t see myself… Well, I don’t know. I just don’t know how long I will be touring and all that stuff and I just want to get into producing and co-writing with bands. There are a lot of good friends out there making great music that I’d love to work with. So you know, maybe eventually that could be what we move on to after this band has come to fruition. That’d be cool.

SA: How do you know when that’s time? Do you feel everyone will be able to look at each other and just know it’s been a great ride?

Matt: Yeah, I think the statistics and the economy will show us when it’s time to pack it up. [Laughs] But we’re hoping that won’t be for a long time. We really do enjoy being in Relient K and this is definitely our passion and a priority for all of us. We’re not even thinking about that yet.

SA: With the finished label contract and new blank slate, do you approach things differently than you could before when it comes to the music?

Matt: You know, we were never handcuffed by a previous situation. Any label we’ve ever been with has said, ‘Hey, go make a record and let us hear it when you’re done.’ So we’ve always gotten to do what we want and hopefully people will like it.

SA: You mentioned you can do things with a DIY approach, so what does that mean then?

Matt: We’re looking forward to making good sounding records while also trying to be economical with that. You do it all yourself and put your stock in that and there’s something even more satisfying about being able to do something without going down the same road as everyone else.

SA: When the labels for your music are always clever wordplay or phrases or puns, do you find that ever limits you in any way in terms of credibility or people never taking the band seriously to find what’s inside?

Matt: Yeah, but that’s part of the fact that we started the band when we were 15- and 16-years-old when we started the band. Even the band name itself is named after a car and it’s not something to take too seriously. At the same time, I guess, if people want to invest in the records and find the depth, then that’s something they can get. But I guess I don’t care if people take it seriously or not. I don’t care.

But you’re right. The fact that we go out and play “Sadie Hawkin’s Dance” every show… that’s a really old song. But you appreciate where you come from. And I do think there’s something in this genre of music of pop and rock and roll that sometimes it’s fun to write something simple and almost humorous.

SA: Now, you have this side project…

Matt: Yeah, kind of. I mean, Relient K takes priority in scheduling and I don’t get a lot of time off to not do band stuff, so if that day ever comes where I have time, I’d love to work on some side stuff. But for right now the time just isn’t there.

SA: But you have something official, right?

Matt: Yeah, it’s Matt Thiessen and the Earthquakes and that’s been around since 1998. It started out as this very Beach Boys and Ben Folds influenced music and very piano-based, but I don’t know what I would do if I had an opportunity to make a whole record. I’d have to think about that for a while.

• www.relientk.com
• www.myspace.com/relientk

↓ One comment

#1 tyler h on October 22nd, 2008 at 8:01 pm

good interview! that’s all i got. they better write twelve more records.

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