Let’s check in with CLE rockers Xanny Stars, who were in the studio last month. They’ll open for 90s alt-rock hitmakers Juliana Hatfield Three at Grog Shop in Cleveland on 9/25 …
Singer/guitarist Allie Mattis responded to a few questions via electronic communication …
Me : What can you tell us about these new songs?
Allie : The new songs were recorded at Checkered Flag Recording Studio in Cincinnati with Jerri from the band Vacation from August 16-18. We recorded 4 originals and 1 cover.
Me : Where can we find the new songs?
Allie : I think we’d like to release the originals on vinyl and the cover digitally. I’d personally like to shop them around and find a label who would be interested in helping us put it out. All of our music up to this point has been self-released. We’re ready to take it to the next level.
Me : Who wrote the songs? What was the approach to writing this time?
Allie : I wrote 2 of the 4 originals. The other 2, Mickey and I wrote together. Of course, Mickey has always been a co-writer as far as making suggestions/tweaking things/adding her bass and vocal parts which ultimately shape the songs just as much as my initial arrangement of them.
It was challenging to write this way at first, since it’s not something we had really done together before, but it was well worth it because these new ones sound a lot more cohesive.
Me : Does songwriting get easier the more you do it?
Allie : Just like most creative processes, it ebbs and flows along with our lives. We’ve been a band for 7 years and I’m a lot busier now than I was in my early 20s.
Lyrics are one thing, they come to me pretty often and I can easily jot them down in my phone. But with the actual music, I have to make time to pick up my guitar and write.
I believe mental and creative blocks are inevitable, they’ll come and go. Because of this, I don’t think songwriting gets any easier. It just evolves. I use everything that I’ve learned and experienced up until this point in my writing process.
