Fort Worth, TX’s Better Now is just days away from releasing their upcoming split with Greg Cote & The Real Life Friends. The album will be officially out this Friday, June 30th via Close Quarters Coalition. We sat down with the band and chatted about the recording process, touring, and future plans.
Interview
Your last release was from just about a year ago. What were some of the differences between recording this new LP and Reasons I Can’t Sleep both in regards to the process of recording/writing itself and also within your personal lives?
Recording is always a fun process and at times it can be a little stressful. Every time we go in to record, it gets a little smoother and a lot of it has to do with us being more prepared. We do our best to perfect parts, layers, and harmonies before we go into the studio instead of a lot of trial and error in the studio, which was a mild setback for our first two releases. As far as our personal lives go, we all constantly have a lot going on, and a lot of our music reflects some of the feelings of being overwhelmed or the constant back and forth struggles of dealing with aspects of our life or our personal mental health.
What are the best and worst parts of recording or crafting something new?
The best part is hearing the songs develop into what goes on the release. Being able to start from scratch then get the gist of the song down, perfect some of the parts, add some layers and finally vocals and just hearing how it all comes together in the end is such great experience. It’s a great feeling to listen back to the finished song and say “Hey, we made this, and we’re proud of it.” It’s almost inspirational because you just want to get to writing the next release. The worst part is probably some of the frustration that comes with getting parts perfected; whether it be vocals, drums, or a riff on the bass or guitar. It gets really stressful when you know a certain part can sound a certain way but you cant seem to quite get it. But then once you do, it’s a huge relief listening back being like, “Great! That’s the one! I did it.”
What’s the band’s best tour story?
This is a story from singer Lillian:
So on the way to Minneapolis from Iowa City, we, stopped to go visit the Buddy Holly crash site memorial. To get there you have to walk down a path in a corn field. Addison ran ahead and hid in the corn and jumped out to scare me (he succeeded) and then he and Louis raced through the corn together like dorks. When we got back to the van, Addison noticed that his skin on his arms was itchy. I told him that it was probably corn mites and that he might be allergic to them. He didn’t realize that corn mites are just something I made up so he truly believed that he had a corn mite allergy. This went on for a while, he complained about the corn mites and I told him that they might have laid eggs in his skin and they could be giving him an infection. The next day after our set in Bemidji, MN I finally let Addison know about the joke I was playing on him. The look on his face was priceless, he’s still mad about it.
What’s the best thing (or best place) to eat on tour? Anywhere, any state, any food.
Frontier in Albuquerque (breakfast, burritos, burgers)
The Buttery in St Louis (amazing diner food)
Pequod’s in Chicago (deep dish pizza)
The release of a new album is usually followed by some touring. Does the band have any plans to tour once the new album comes out?
No tours immediately planned but we are doing a bit of regional stuff coming up.
Shows:
6/29 – Austin, TX – Summer Slam II – Swan Dive
7/9 – College Station, TX – House Show
7/14 – Fort Worth, TX – The Grotto (Local Split Release Show)
7/18 – Denton, TX – Casa de Monstros
7/29 – Dallas, TX – Riot Girl Fest – Club Dada
8/7 – Austin, TX – Kick Butt Coffee w/ Pity Party
8/8 – Fort Worth, TX – The B-Side at Green Audio w/ Pity Party
8/19 – Grand Prairie, TX – NTX Slam Fest
8/26 – Corpus Christi, TX – Close Quarters Coalition Showcase – N.A.S.A.
10/27-10/29 – Gainesville, FL – FEST 16
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