Words with Mathis Hunter about the new Noot D’ Noot record, From Ever Since, and getting it done right. Here you go and I hope you enjoy and get your ass to their record release show and shake that thing and I think that is it. Peace kids. We’ll talk about it later.

Tom Cheshire: What is the meaning behind the name From Ever Since and who came up with it?

Mathis Hunter: There’s an interview with Bob Marley conducted by a reporter from New Zealand who pops the question “How long have you been a rasta?” to which Tuff Gong replies “From Ever Since.”  We were hanging out after practice one night, talking about all our different bands through the years and how long we’ve been working on music as individuals and as a collective and Justin quoted it, “We’ve been doing this From Ever Since.”

And that was it.  We’ve got all these people in the band throwing all their experiences, musical and otherwise, into this record.  The record is From Ever Since.

TC: I like that. How was it recording with just one producer (Ed Rawls) instead of a collective?

MH: It was great because no matter how hard you try, you really can’t record a 10 piece band with 2 microphones.

TC: How was the songwriting process different than your first attempt?

MH: In a way, the writing process was not that different.  Most ideas are born out of getting together and playing and letting the music come through us.  It was the recording process that was different.  Instead of making room recordings of us all playing together and looping them, we went in and tracked the songs with Ed live.  On the other records, we recorded the songs as we wrote them, whereas these songs we wrote and played out for a while before going into the studio.

However, often in the past we come up with these grooves and kind of leave things open ended.  From Ever Since has much more traditional songwriting in that we used the familiar verse/chorus patterns.  It’s actually much harder to make a simple song with a good hook that follows the rules than it is to have a jazz odyssey or a drone fest.  All these things are cool, but it felt like time to do a record of this nature.

TC: How long did it take to write?

MH: It’s about 2 years worth of material and some of this stuff could have been on Cash For Gold but we knew it would fit better on this record.  We went into The Living Room with about 15 songs and whittled it down to the most cohesive 36 minutes we could.

TC: How long did it take to record?

MH: It went pretty quick for us. It took 3 weeks to track and 1 week to mix.  When you record yourself, you can keep going back to it and changing it.  Recording with Ed was a much more focused process, decisions had to be made quick.

TC: I just listened to the record on a long drive to my in laws place and it sounds great. It sounds more like an album than the last one. What I mean by that is, it makes sense. I loved the last one but this one flows like a piece of art. Can you talk about that. Please find the compliment in there.

MH: That’s definitely a compliment.  In many ways I think of this as our debut album, because these are the songs that are tried and true on the stage.  Goofer Dust was a bedroom recording project and by the time it came out, we had this fully formed 10 piece funk band and people were a bit confused. Cash For Gold is like a bridge between the two. It’s got a hit or two from the live show and the rest of the record is made up of dubbed-out B-sides.  From Ever Since is the most straight ahead record we’ve done so far and I think it was time for us to make a record like that.

TC: Speaking of art. I love the cover. Who did it?

MH: An old friend, kindred spirit, and fellow ATLien, Jakob Lebaron Dwight. We wanted the band to be on the cover of this one and we knew he would represent us proper.

TC: Will it be coming out on vinyl? How many will be pressed?

MH: Vinyl/CD combo.  Limited pressing of 300.  It’ll be on i-tunes as well.

TC: What have you guys been listening to lately? With so many members, I am sure your influences are all over the map?

MH: Yeah, if you ask all 10 folks, you are going to get 10 completely different answers.  But me personally, I’ve been listening to Aerosmith Rocks like it just came out.  They blend what I loved about metal and hard rock as a kid with soul music.  “Walk This Way” and “Last Child” are funky as hell.

There are two songs on From Ever Since that use the Bo Diddley Beat, which is a clave rhythm. That beat never gets old and you can use it so many ways.  As I get older, I find myself sticking to the classics:  The Stones, James Brown, Sly Stone, Hendrix, P-Funk.

TC: Were there any records in particular that you wanted this one to sound like?

MH: We referenced that red Grand Funk Railroad album, Grand Funk for bass and drum tones.  That is a solid rock n’ roll rhythm section and you can tell they’re playing together.  We definitely wanted an early 70’s sound for this one.  I think we got in the ballpark.

TC: Is your label putting it out again?

MH: Yeah, guess we have too.  There’s nothing worse for your music than fucking with some half-assed indie label.  If you’re going to compromise, there best be some cash involved and I mean quit your day job cash.  Otherwise, you might as well do it yourself so it’s done right.

It’s really the people that come out to our shows who are putting this record out because we put all the money we make back into the band: recording and pressing records.  So we are grateful to everyone who comes out and shows love.

TC: When is the release show and who will be playing with you?

MH: Show is July 23rd at The Earl w/ our old cronies Judi Chicago and DJ Gnosis.  We’re gonna have a good time.

TC: What are your plans for the summer? Any other shows planned?

MH: Whatever comes up that sounds like fun, we’ll be there.

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