Hiddeninthesand.com’s Ultimate Interview with Tally Hall

QUESTIONS ASKED:

1. ANDREW: Before Marvin’s was made, the band’s creative process, as I understood it, was 80% individual and 20% collaborative concerning the songwriting process. Is this album written in the same manner? Has the band’s approach to songwriting changed?
2. JOE: What song in history do you wish you’d written?
3. ROSS:   The fans love the Boralogues. Is the final content decided by the band, your management, the label, or Bora himself?   We’ve gotten a kick out of analyzing them to figure out what’ll be on the album.   Is there   a conscious decision on letting some of those nearly-hidden teases be visible?
4. ZUBIN:   There was some annoyance on the part of you guys during the release of MMMM because most, if not all, of the songs had been heard by many people beforehand. We’ve seen/heard a lot via Boralogues and live shows…. are you leaving any surprises?
5. ROB:   What do you want people to admire most about Tally Hall?
6. ANDREW:   From what I know, it’s a whole different ballgame once you’re signed with a major label.   What’s been the most surprising aspect (good or bad) since you’ve signed with Atlantic?
7. JOE:   Where does The Tally Hall Internet Show season 2 stand?
8. ROSS:   The creative output has really been stunted over the last 4 years with all the record label signings and touring. There’s probably a lot more than just this record you wish to start putting out there again. With all this is mind, where do you see Tally Hall in 5 years?
9. ZUBIN:   You often use lots of additional orchestration in your studio recordings. Have you ever considered adding additional members to the band?
10. ROB: Earlier indications of a concept album have faded.   But there is a definite theme and what appears to be some medley-eque concepts happening.   What can you say about that?
11. ANDREW:   This is technically the second time you’ve recorded with Atlantic, the first time being general polish-work on Marvin’s, which probably gave you somewhat of an idea how they work.   Is anything different this time around? (How did the decision to hire Tony Hoffer as producer happen?)
12. JOE:   Are any new music videos in the planning stages? (Who decides which songs get released as singles w/ videos)
13. ROSS:   You’ll have a tour in Spring 2010 to promote the release. Its rumored to be with Jukebox The Ghost and Skybox. Are there plans for international touring?
14. ZUBIN:   What do you NOT want people to admire about Tally Hall?
15. ROB: Which song of Tally Hall’s that was not your own composition do you wish you wrote?
16. ANDREW:   Leigh Lust appears to get the most credit for getting you signed with Atlantic.   Tell me about how that happened.
17. JOE:   Whats the most challenging thing about being in Tally Hall?
18. ROSS: Zubin has one song (more?) on this record. Do you plan on, or have you done any songwriting?
19. ZUBIN:   You’ve progressed from wonky to fabloo.   What kind of music is Tally Hall writing now? (Do you regret the whole wonky/fabloo thing?)
20. ROB:   What’s the story behind Light & Night, your collaborative song with Nellie McKay?   Who wrote it, how’d it come about, how’d you hook up with Nellie? (Was there supposed to be more of a commercial release behind it?)

To find out the answers, please watch the videos below!

Before you watch, I’d like to preface the interview with a few words and tidbits that I found out while the camera was not rolling.

First”¦ Concerning the release of the new album, you’ll learn in the interview that the album is still mixing. There’s probably going to be a few mixes done before it’s considered ready. At that point, the label needs at least 3 months (MINIMUM) to prepare for release. Therefore, it appears Tally Hall’s next album will not be released until at least April 2010, but more than likely it will be after that (sorry to say).

Secondly”¦ I wouldn’t doubt some people would take issue with the slowness of these questions and their answers. While I did cut out many seconds of nothingness, I wanted to leave in the pauses each band member took before answering. I felt it gave the interview more of an authentic feel. I wanted the viewers to feel like they were there, too.

Finally”¦ The interview is in four parts. Below is a YouTube embedded playlist which should play you all 4 parts, in order, back to back. If you have any issues watching here, you can visit the playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL44240F892C3329D5

And don’t forget to read the final question and answer from Joe at the bottom, which I was not able to get on tape, about how he became a member of what would then become Tally Hall.

JOE’S OFF-CAMERA FINAL QUESTION

• JOE: Despite there being no such thing as “Tally Hall” could you tell me about the first time you heard the music of the group which then consisted of Andrew, Rob, Zubin, and Steve. Was it live or a recording? What were your first impressions? And when did you realize you wanted to be a part of it?

JOE’S ANSWER: Sophomore year in college, film school acquaintance Andrew Laurich and I were out videotaping a wedding. In the car on the way back, he played me a CD of his housemate’s high school band, called “Listed Black.” I thought it was OK, but didn’t think much of it.

I had been to a few parties at their house, but the only person I really knew there for a while was Laurich. During Fall Semester 2002, Rob formally introduced himself to me (“I live with Andrew Laurich”) at a Musicology lecture. We began to get lunch after class semi-regularly, swapping e-mails and so forth. He sent me a few recordings of himself, Andrew Horowitz, and Zubin performing a small concert in the basement of the Frieze building, which used to be an academic facility on campus. I e-mailed him a couple of experimental tracks I had made over the summer for fun with my high school friend Andrew Kurtz: Covers of “Lady Madonna” by the Beatles and “Space Oddity” by David Bowie.

I was very surprised when Rob invited me to practice with his band one day; I had no intention of joining or committing to the project whatsoever. The idea of being in an actual band had never occurred to me. Steve Gallagher was invited around the same time (maybe a practice later or so), and Rob later told me that he thought I’d be an adequate lead guitarist based on some of the stuff I did in “Space Oddity.” I played a couple gigs with them (first as “Gallagher,” then as “540,” the address of their house) as a backup musician, but I didn’t really feel like part of the band until I suggested that we name it Tally Hall and Rob actually listened. He subsequently proposed it to the group (Tally Hall was one of many names I suggested via e-mail), and it was unanimous after some explaining to Andrew Horowitz, the only out-of-stater. I was basically Rob’s very inexperienced hired gun until we covered “Blinded by the Light” at the Blind Pig. Then Andrew wrote “Good Day,” I wrote “Ruler of Everything,” etc.