Jambase.com, March 2005

SeepeopleS uncover the Conspiracy

Only the real life neighbor (Will Bradford of Bangor, ME) of horror novelist Stephen King could come up with such a frighteningly addictive project. SeepeopleS is a politically-charged electronic rock quartet (think Radiohead meets Beta Band with a dash of Kula Shaker and Air) that has been turning heads on the indie rock scene, earning critical acclaim and an obsessive underground fan base in the eastern U.S. and beyond. I've recently had the fortunate experience of seeing this band perform live as SeepeopleS has relocated from the Northeast down to the comfy confines of mountain-laden Asheville, North Carolina. With Peter Keys on keyboards of George Clinton's crew joining on with the band on a permanent basis, this lineup is eerily exciting. I recently sat down with songwriter/leader/multi-instrumentalist Will Bradford and we delved deep into the inner workings of The Corn Syrup Conspiracy and beyond.

Gasper: Everyone is starting to ask, who is SeepeopleS?

Bradford: We are fishermen from the north! Just kidding. SeepeopleS is the name of our national campaign to promote hanging out with people instead of machines. And lord knows what we're up against with Xbox, PlayStation, and treadmills.

Gasper: What has it been like reuniting the original lineup for the release of The Corn Syrup Conspiracy?

Bradford: I am very excited about reuniting with the original lineup. It was one of the strangest and most beautiful moments. We all enjoyed making music together and I don't think we had too many musical differences, but sometimes the grind catches up with people and they need a break. To me, having kept the band going the whole time the others were gone makes for another interesting chapter of this journey. Plus, it is nice to have my two battery mates back.

Gasper: Tell me a bit about Dan [Ingenthron, bass] Tim [Haney, drums], and what it's like to make music with them.

Bradford: Tim and I grew up together, and as a kid I was very close with his family. I first started playing with him when he was 13, and I must mention that he was the only regularly gigging fifteen year old I have ever met. Interestingly enough, I started my music career playing in his older brother's band when I was a freshman in high school. I have known Dan since he was attending Berklee in Boston. He is a true genius, someone whose musical visions have few if any limitations. I am so excited to have him back on stage and even more anxious to have him back in the studio. I think his contributions were enormous to our first record, For the Good of the Nation, especially the fact that he wrote a couple songs on that album.

Pete Keys has settled in nicely behind the keyboards for your touring unit. Where did you meet Pete and what is it like to work with him?

Pete has simply been the icing on the cake. I met him backstage at a Parliament (Original P) show, and he got screwed on a ride to the airport so I obliged. Weeks later he was in the studio, and now he is on tour. He gets called out to play with George Clinton and 420 Funk Mob. I have not met a person with a better outlook on life, totally willing to "slum" it in the van with us after years of rock and roll luxury. I am fortunate to get to play with musicians of this caliber, and appreciate the fact that they enjoy contributing to my projects.

Describe SeepeopleS' sound for someone who has never heard your music.

That is the most impossible question I get asked all the time. I honestly have no idea how to answer it. I used to be a huge Floyd fan and loved The Orb as well; both are bands that seemed less concerned with what they were playing versus what was coming out of the speakers. I just loved the concept of space and noise, so I think of us as a space noise band that makes rockish, sometimes dubbish, sometimes whatever noise. So maybe we are just a fun band that makes lots of different noises, a lot like the lovable drunk uncle everyone has that makes lots of weird noises when he comes over for Christmas and stirs things up.

Aside from Pink Floyd and The Orb, do you have any other obscure musical influences?

My favorite band in grade school was 2Live Crew.

Your stage show has been called "intense." How do you achieve so much sound on stage?

I think the real key is that I've found three other guys who love making noise as much as I do. It also helps to not be lazy, which means setting up six keyboards, samplers, guitars, and the lot.

What do you think about the Corn Syrup Conspiracy's success? Has anything in your lyrics caught people off guard?

I'm glad people like it... I'm sure that some people don't. I definitely worked hard on it though, so it is gratifying when they do like it. I didn't even know people listened to lyrics; I thought that was so "1960's!" Occasionally we play a song called "The President." It is going on our next album. People have definitely walked out on us playing that song, in a hurry too. Other people love it. It feels good just to get any reaction from people when you are not a TV.

What was the concept you were going for with Corn Syrup? The girl on the cover is grinning with pure evil.

I've always been taught to work hard, and stay on course, and someday I might get a taste of the "sweet life." Corn Syrup is really about the sweet life and why it looks so good. Why we're driven to know it and to live it...that was sort of loosely the theme. Honestly, there's a lot more to it, but you'll have to come to a show and buy me a drink or two before you can trick me into ranting that long.

Where do your political influences come from? If you could sum up your brand of anarchy, how would you present it?

Ouch! Are you trying to get me in trouble! Well, since you've got me in a hole already, the anarchy that I see in my dreams is probably a lot like that of indigenous people of the Earth that lived for thousands and thousands of years before the plague of civilization. I think I'd have a much easier time dealing with the laws of nature than those of any government, so I guess Natural Brand Anarchy sounds good to me! As far as political influences, I'd have to thank people like Tolstoy, Gandhi, and Howard Zinn for helping me to see that "politics" is a load of crap.

Do you have any favorite news publications?

I'll have to give a plug here for the Asheville Global Report (agrnews.org), an absolutely awesome little newspaper that really has great International coverage.

You often include a variety of instruments on your albums, from cell phones to kids' toys. What are some interesting things you've used to make noise in the past and what can we look forward to hearing in the future?

I just love noise, like I said before. We have used coffee makers, toy keyboards, bags of chips, Styrofoam containers, sitars, baby toys, and of course cell phones. As far as the future goes, my cousin rebuilt a beautiful pedal steel for me, and if I ever get off tour long enough I'll learn how to play it.

You recently enlisted the services of Tim Reynolds for a couple songs on your new album. How did you get hooked up with him?

Tim is on the same booking agent roster as our band. Tom Baggott and Jeff Sackman sent him some tracks from The Corn Syrup Conspiracy, and he really dug them. We recorded him while he was in town playing a show in Portland, Maine. We holed up in the Free Street Taverna, a club I used to book. We recorded up in the office with a mobile protocols unit lent to us by Disc Live. Tim plays on two songs off the album named "Everything Goes Away" and "Sufferers."

Corn Syrup has gotten a lot of attention, but you also have another album, the debut For the Good of the Nation. What were you going for with that record?

I don't even really remember. Everything I do is sort of wrapped up in my life philosophy, so thematically I don't think it is that different from Corn Syrup. It just has different noises and different kinds of songs.

Dana Colley [sax, Morphine] is a repeat guest on your newest studio release. Tell me about how Dana came to get involved with both Nation and Corn Syrup.

You asking me this question just made me realize that he is the only other person on both records. Originally we were looking for a bass clarinet player, and his name was mentioned by one of Dan's instructors at Berklee. Our old manager tracked him down and got him to check out the tunes. I think he was a little tipsy when he agreed to do some tracking on the album, but in the end he enjoyed contributing, and he ended up coming back to play some more saxophone on Corn Syrup. I was excited about his involvement on both records because the band Morphine had such a profound effect on me. I was absolutely blown away by his playing, but more importantly, his crafting of layers of sound. For me, Dana was an absolute hero, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit taken aback the first time Dana showed up at the studio. Dana's current musical project, Twinemen, provides a remarkable show if you're looking for some inspiration in your life.

Is there another album in the works?

We are doing a vinyl EP, limited release on a small indie label. It is called Apocalypse Cow, and it will be extremely different than The Corn Syrup Conspiracy - sort of a SeepeopleS punk record.

Are there any side projects currently in the works?

I have been making electronic music for many years but haven't really pushed to make it a commercial entity. I am planning on doing some solo acoustic dates, which I do from time to time. Tim plays drums in Dreadnaught, a very cool progressive rock band to check out. Pete plays with 420 Funk Mob, Band B, and Downtown Brown.

What's next for touring, studio time and writing?

Exactly that, touring, writing, and recording. A large portion of the next SeepeopleS full-length record is already written. Since it takes me so long to record these albums, the songs are usually two years old plus by the time the record sees the light of day. I would love to get in a recording situation financially where I wasn't always backed up in my writing and see songs get recorded when they are still fresh in my head conceptually. So once Cow is finished, I can again plunge myself into another project that is hopelessly huge and overambitious. I would love to see those two records get out in the next year since they are ready to be recorded. We will be releasing an upcoming live record blending both For the Good of the Nation and Corn Syrup Conspiracy songs.

Have you ever received any awards or won anything?

I once made it through a police roadblock highly under the influence of psychedelics (I do not recommend this as acceptable behavior in any circumstance). The hilarious part is that they gave me a certificate for driving sober. My mom hung it on the fridge next to my sister's report card. I always felt like I had sort of "won" that.

Chris Gaspar
JamBase | North Carolina
Go See Live Music!
[Published on 3/17/2005]