Office
In the first of a series of interviews with Chicago bands we like, I sat down with (ok, emailed) Scott Masson, lead vocalist/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist of one of the city's hottest new bands, Office. Office is two guys (Masson, Tom Smith) and two gals (Erica Corniel, Alissa Noonan) making funky, fun, complex pop music. The band's new LP, Q&A, has garnered them well-deserved attention from music fans, record labels and even landed them a month-long residency at one of Chicago's best clubs, Schubas. Among other things, I asked Scott about the band's genesis, their South By Southwest experience and their "branding" strategy.
From what I understand, Office began as your solo project. When and how did it come together as a band?
It happened very naturally. Playing music as a solo performer, armed only with a drum machine, guitar, and piano was stressful, and probably a little self-indulgent. I always knew that an "Office" ensemble was inevitable, but it was important to find the right people to work with before allowing myself to open up and collaborate.
Basically, my life slammed into a brick wall in early 2004. I moved back home with my parents in Michigan to re-evaluate my life, write songs, try out new recording techniques, and get out of the city for awhile to rest. During that seven month period of time, I discovered that Office was definitely something that I could not give up even though I thought it was probably a healthy option. Despite a few failed attempts in casting a good staff of collaborators, I felt it was important to keep developing and moving forward, so I moved back to the windy city.
Upon returning to Chicago, I immediately drafted up a plan to find a definite version of Office. Alissa, Tom, and Erica had certain resume experience that was appealing to me. They all came from either punk rock, visual art, minimalist, avant garde, pop or dance music backgrounds. How perfect, I thought! Plus, the idea of being involved with a mixed-gendered, sexually ambiguous pop project appealed to me right away. There are lots of gender-non-specific ideas about love, work, play, fear, freedom, sex, money, culture, etc. in Office's music. Why not carry this over to our collective concerns?
I love the kind of pop music you make--big hooks, exuberant vocals, detailed arrangements--but for some reason, this sound sometimes seems like a tough sell. How much do you think about commercial viability and reach?
Thank you so much. Never thought about it, actually. This style of music, contrary to popular belief, is some of the most difficult music to write outside of jazz and classical. Ten second "hooks" require a lot more patience and science than 45-second melodies that never conclude themselves.
I take pop music very seriously as a lost art form, especially after constructing 9-minute avant garde epics back in the 90s. I used to be more concerned with trying to be different, and now I know that it takes a certain amount of audacity to simplify songwriting to its purest and most simplistic elements. It also takes months and months to write a song that has a timeless appeal to it...where older folks and children can get something out of it simultaneously. I never thought there was anything wrong with that. Some people within the music intelligentsia seem to think this is wrong, or "selling out". Poor them.
As far as viability and reach outside the US, yes we are very concerned with sharing our music universally. It's never the focus while we're creating, but it's important for every artist or band to have that desire to reach people outside of their age bracket, gender, race, age and ethnicity. The American mentality tends to forget that the world is much bigger than 50 small states, and that rock and roll should not only be geared towards white kids in the suburbs. Europe, and many other countries, value pop music in a different way than Americans do. I feel like we probably relate to that European way of thinking more.
What goes into your sound?
We often incorporate an older 20th Century production technique known as the "wall of sound." Phil Spector and Brian Wilson were pioneers in applying it to rock and roll, but classical composers have been incorporating "wall of sound" in music for centuries. It's when one melodic counterpart or phrase is layered three-five times with three-five different sounds, all playing the same notes simultaneously. Just because you're in a rock and roll band, doesn't mean you have to only work with two guitars, bass, vocals, and drums. Thanks to modern technology, anyone can orchestrate if they have a little time and patience on their side.
It sounds like you got some record label attention from playing South By Southwest in March. Are you leaning in any particular direction?
We will end up with a label that will allow us to be ourselves. That's why we are still unsigned. Funny that.
Did you get a chance to check out other acts playing in Austin? Any band really impressive you?
Erica and I were too wrapped up in going to parties and talking to people to really grasp what anybody was doing. I'm much too spaced-out most of the time to really understand what bands are doing these days. A lot of it sounds like the 90s to me. I saw some brilliant moments from Hot Chip, Blackalicious, Spoon, Ghostface Killah and a few others. Alissa and Tom are definitely more interested in contemporary music. I've been listening to Sam Cooke lately and am perfectly happy with older music. My friends write great songs as well, so I'm constantly being inspired by the people I know who weren't asked to go to SXSW.
It's hard to miss the "branding" of your promotional materials positioning Office as a corporation or the fact that you perform in business clothes. Critique of the music business or something else?
There is a lot of irony and humor in our branding strategy, especially since we are so poor, and don't want to work for other people. In fact, we just recently started calling this our "branding strategy" because writers have referred to it as such. Why not, ya know? Wearing dark suits, ties, and female power outfits was a natural, unconscious decision on our part. Hell, Erica and Alissa even cake on the face makeup before every show, which they rarely wear in their everyday lives. Tom and I don't ask them to participate in this behavior. Our manager doesn't ask this of them either. Maybe Alissa and Erica are asking their own set of questions by this display of gender role-playing. Everything is a performance when it relates to our band, most of the time. I guess we wear office attire onstage to re-evaluate our delusional upbringing of what it means to be in a rock and roll band, or what it means to work and have power in this country.
Can you imagine a band called Office, and seeing them in jeans and T-Shirts? I can't. It would be boring, and not "complete" from an artistic perspective. Wouldn't be as fun either, and entertainment and art are allowed to be fun. We enjoy older bands like The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Johnny Cash, Kraftwerk and The Beatles, who all had a little bit of style and grace onstage to back up those long hours in the studio. As long as we work hard on writing good songs, then it doesn't really matter what we wear. Music is roll-playing. Chances are, Freddy Mercury was probably not wearing silver tights to the grocery store back in 1975 either. It's important to keep your personal life separate from your life onstage.
You're doing a month-long residency at Chicago's Schubas every Monday in May. How did this come about?
We were asked by our very good friend, Matt Rucins, who is the main booking agent there. This offer came up before we went to SXSW. Matt has been very supportive of our music, as well as other artists here in Chicago. Playing Schubas is a wonderful opportunity for any group, since the room is made of old wood, and the sound system is ace. As Alissa says: "It sounds like you're performing inside a cello."
Thanks, Scott!
Return to Shake Your Fist
From what I understand, Office began as your solo project. When and how did it come together as a band?
It happened very naturally. Playing music as a solo performer, armed only with a drum machine, guitar, and piano was stressful, and probably a little self-indulgent. I always knew that an "Office" ensemble was inevitable, but it was important to find the right people to work with before allowing myself to open up and collaborate.
Basically, my life slammed into a brick wall in early 2004. I moved back home with my parents in Michigan to re-evaluate my life, write songs, try out new recording techniques, and get out of the city for awhile to rest. During that seven month period of time, I discovered that Office was definitely something that I could not give up even though I thought it was probably a healthy option. Despite a few failed attempts in casting a good staff of collaborators, I felt it was important to keep developing and moving forward, so I moved back to the windy city.
Upon returning to Chicago, I immediately drafted up a plan to find a definite version of Office. Alissa, Tom, and Erica had certain resume experience that was appealing to me. They all came from either punk rock, visual art, minimalist, avant garde, pop or dance music backgrounds. How perfect, I thought! Plus, the idea of being involved with a mixed-gendered, sexually ambiguous pop project appealed to me right away. There are lots of gender-non-specific ideas about love, work, play, fear, freedom, sex, money, culture, etc. in Office's music. Why not carry this over to our collective concerns?
I love the kind of pop music you make--big hooks, exuberant vocals, detailed arrangements--but for some reason, this sound sometimes seems like a tough sell. How much do you think about commercial viability and reach?
Thank you so much. Never thought about it, actually. This style of music, contrary to popular belief, is some of the most difficult music to write outside of jazz and classical. Ten second "hooks" require a lot more patience and science than 45-second melodies that never conclude themselves.
I take pop music very seriously as a lost art form, especially after constructing 9-minute avant garde epics back in the 90s. I used to be more concerned with trying to be different, and now I know that it takes a certain amount of audacity to simplify songwriting to its purest and most simplistic elements. It also takes months and months to write a song that has a timeless appeal to it...where older folks and children can get something out of it simultaneously. I never thought there was anything wrong with that. Some people within the music intelligentsia seem to think this is wrong, or "selling out". Poor them.
As far as viability and reach outside the US, yes we are very concerned with sharing our music universally. It's never the focus while we're creating, but it's important for every artist or band to have that desire to reach people outside of their age bracket, gender, race, age and ethnicity. The American mentality tends to forget that the world is much bigger than 50 small states, and that rock and roll should not only be geared towards white kids in the suburbs. Europe, and many other countries, value pop music in a different way than Americans do. I feel like we probably relate to that European way of thinking more.
What goes into your sound?
We often incorporate an older 20th Century production technique known as the "wall of sound." Phil Spector and Brian Wilson were pioneers in applying it to rock and roll, but classical composers have been incorporating "wall of sound" in music for centuries. It's when one melodic counterpart or phrase is layered three-five times with three-five different sounds, all playing the same notes simultaneously. Just because you're in a rock and roll band, doesn't mean you have to only work with two guitars, bass, vocals, and drums. Thanks to modern technology, anyone can orchestrate if they have a little time and patience on their side.
It sounds like you got some record label attention from playing South By Southwest in March. Are you leaning in any particular direction?
We will end up with a label that will allow us to be ourselves. That's why we are still unsigned. Funny that.
Did you get a chance to check out other acts playing in Austin? Any band really impressive you?
Erica and I were too wrapped up in going to parties and talking to people to really grasp what anybody was doing. I'm much too spaced-out most of the time to really understand what bands are doing these days. A lot of it sounds like the 90s to me. I saw some brilliant moments from Hot Chip, Blackalicious, Spoon, Ghostface Killah and a few others. Alissa and Tom are definitely more interested in contemporary music. I've been listening to Sam Cooke lately and am perfectly happy with older music. My friends write great songs as well, so I'm constantly being inspired by the people I know who weren't asked to go to SXSW.
It's hard to miss the "branding" of your promotional materials positioning Office as a corporation or the fact that you perform in business clothes. Critique of the music business or something else?
There is a lot of irony and humor in our branding strategy, especially since we are so poor, and don't want to work for other people. In fact, we just recently started calling this our "branding strategy" because writers have referred to it as such. Why not, ya know? Wearing dark suits, ties, and female power outfits was a natural, unconscious decision on our part. Hell, Erica and Alissa even cake on the face makeup before every show, which they rarely wear in their everyday lives. Tom and I don't ask them to participate in this behavior. Our manager doesn't ask this of them either. Maybe Alissa and Erica are asking their own set of questions by this display of gender role-playing. Everything is a performance when it relates to our band, most of the time. I guess we wear office attire onstage to re-evaluate our delusional upbringing of what it means to be in a rock and roll band, or what it means to work and have power in this country.
Can you imagine a band called Office, and seeing them in jeans and T-Shirts? I can't. It would be boring, and not "complete" from an artistic perspective. Wouldn't be as fun either, and entertainment and art are allowed to be fun. We enjoy older bands like The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Johnny Cash, Kraftwerk and The Beatles, who all had a little bit of style and grace onstage to back up those long hours in the studio. As long as we work hard on writing good songs, then it doesn't really matter what we wear. Music is roll-playing. Chances are, Freddy Mercury was probably not wearing silver tights to the grocery store back in 1975 either. It's important to keep your personal life separate from your life onstage.
You're doing a month-long residency at Chicago's Schubas every Monday in May. How did this come about?
We were asked by our very good friend, Matt Rucins, who is the main booking agent there. This offer came up before we went to SXSW. Matt has been very supportive of our music, as well as other artists here in Chicago. Playing Schubas is a wonderful opportunity for any group, since the room is made of old wood, and the sound system is ace. As Alissa says: "It sounds like you're performing inside a cello."
Thanks, Scott!
Return to Shake Your Fist
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