--- First of all, I’m really excited about going to see Hurricane Bells in Japan! I interviewed you when you released “Secrets Are Sinister” as Long Wave. After that album, you played at Fuji Rock Festival. Could you please tell me what did you do after Fuji? How did you start Hurricane Bells?
Steve : Thanks! I am also really excited about hurricane bells coming to japan. And that’s great about longwave and fuji rock. That was a fun trip.
Hurricane bells started as a bunch of songs that didn’t fit with longwave. I made a record by myself and didn’t tell too many people. It was probably done when I was in japan last. One of the extra songs from it was used in a movie called “twilight – new moon”, which was a big movie over here. So we rushed out the record I had made, and started booking shows.
We went across the US 3 times, and went to india once. India was amazing, and we all had a great time.
So after a bit I started on a second hurricane bells record, and that became “tides and tales”. I wanted to include the guys who had been playing live, and so it was more like a group effort, although I still wrote and produced everything.
--- Would you tell me where did the band name come from? How come you didn’t release your album under the name of Steve Schiltz?
Steve : I thought about doing it as steve schiltz….i guess I like the idea of a project name. I didn’t want it to be seen as a singer-songwriter, strummy acoustic guitar thing. Plus I liked the name hurricane bells. This was before broken bells, sleigh bells, etc…
--- Please tell me how did you write & record the previous album “Tonight is the Ghost”? How do you think about the difference of Hurricane Bells and LongWave?
Steve : I did it quietly over a period of about 2 years. I was touring as a guitar player with albert Hammond jr at the time, we came to japan twice! I would work on the songs in between tours. They were just demos on my laptop, and then at some point I realized I could just finish it and I’d be done. That seemed fun, so that’s what I did.
--- Would you tell me how come you wrote “Monster” for “New Moon / Twilight Saga”? That was really great song and I think a lot of people became your fans. How was listener’s reaction at that time?
Steve : I wrote “monsters” for longwave. We tried it and it didn’t work at the time. So I re-recorded it myself, and it sat around for a bit until the twilight people heard it and decided to use it. I had forgotten I had sent it to them, to be honest. I found out that they were using it through an article in the new york times. It was great.
--- You display your great talent as a musician on the new album “Tides and Tales”. I think this is such a wonderful album. Please tell me about the song “Second Chance”. I heard you were inspired by the George Tilyou’s words when his amusement park was burned. Do you think was there anything you could identify with what he was saying?
Steve : Thank you very much! I am really proud of the album, and I like that song a lot, too. I knew that I wanted the 2nd hurricane bells record to start with the words, “ive got a second chance”. I thought it was appropriate, given my history with longwave, and this new project. I thought about it for a while.
I ride my bike a lot in new york and I was riding my bike one day when I remembered that sign in coney island. I thought it would be the perfect next line in my song, the first song on my not-yet-written record. So I just finished the song and kept it in my mind to be first.
--- I remember you said you always try to write songs that you can play only acoustic guitar. On the new album, you wrote on a ukulele, a Wurlitzer and a Omnichord and didn’t see anybody for 2 weeks when you were writing. Did you want to try to anything new or was there any specific thing you’d like to do?
Steve : Ha! Yes, I did say that. I meant that I like songs that can be played and enjoyed using only one guitar. That could also be one piano, one ukulele, anything, just as long is it is still good, played simply. This record, I tried to write less on my guitar because I know it so well. I wanted to see what I’d get by using a different method.
--- I think “Tides and Tales” sounds like more a band than “Tonight is the Ghost” and that’s because of the support of other musicians. How do you think? Do you feel Hurricane Bells is becoming really a band more than when you just started?
Steve : Yes and no. it is still me writing everything, and so far, recording everything. But I really love the guys that are playing now (and girl). So they are on the record, and I would like them to be even more involved next time, too. They are great.
--- On the previous interview, you mentioned about one musician names Ashen Keilyn. Now it seems like you perform with her many times. Do you get any musical inspiration from her?
Steve : Yes, we have a good time singing. She has an amazing voice. She also has her own band, scout, that I play guitar in. I also produced a lot of the forthcoming scout record, and we did some with jim eno from spoon. Her songs are wonderful.
--- Would you tell me about a founding of your own label Invisible Brigades? I heard Ashen Keilyn’s band “SCOUT” is in your label, too. Are you going to release something from your label soon? (any band, please)
Steve : Just hurricane bells and scout for now….there is an instrumental record that colin and Christian (hurricane bells) and I have been working on, and that will probably be next.
Invisible brigades is really currently a vehicle to release the music that I am involved in. I would love it if it grew beyond that.
--- You made the new album through PledgeMusic. How was this way of making records? Are you going to use again?
Steve : Hmmm I made the record before we did that. The cost of recording for me is very low now. I have my own studio that I love. We used pledgemusic primarily to raise money to do shows and make things like vinyl. So far it has worked out pretty well.
--- Do you think Longwave will come back again? Do you still get in touch with Shannon?
Steve : Yes! Shannon and I are dear friends and whenever we talk it goes on for hours. I don’t think we will be doing any longwave stuff soon but you never can tell. There are definitely things that are not released yet, longwave EPs and things, that we will be re-releasing soon, just for people who would like to hear them. Longwave made a lot of music.
--- I’m really looking forward to see your live show in Japan soon. How do you feel? Would you please give your message to Japanese fans?
Steve : I am also very excited to return, and I know the other hurricane bells are excited, too! Ashen, colin, and Christian. I want to take them to tsukiji in Tokyo, zazous tailors, kiddie land, all my favorite sushi and kobe beef BBQ places. They have never been to japan before! Just me. So we all need to make them feel welcome.
