Interview: Joey Vannucchi of From Indian Lakes
Taken by Jasmine Garcia
All the way from Indian Lakes, CA, the unique-sounding band, From Indian Lakes, recently brought set out for their first run abroad in the UK and Europe. Six months have passed since our last interview with singer-songwriter Joey Vannucchi, and USD Radio caught up with the FIL frontman in the UK for a quick talk about their newest album and their current tour with Circa Survive and RX Bandits.
Q: Your newest album Absent Sounds has been out for about half a year now, what do you think about it now versus when it first came out?
Joey Vannucchi: I think it actually sounds better when I listen to it now. I actually like it more than I did before. I mean, I liked it a lot, but I think it’s aging well. Where as I think the other ones have a lot of sounds that are sort of dated, to me personally. Not that they’re bad, the other sounds on the other records, but I just think they were very focused in not a way that was good – in industry terms. This one is a little more in general, better songs. There’s a better- I don’t know how to explain it. Like, if I’m somewhere and they come on, I’m not uncomfortable. Before I thought that maybe there were certain people in the room, if I was in a Starbucks or something, is it bothering anyone?
Q: Have any specific songs changed what they mean to you?
JV: Not really. The specific vibes? I don’t think so.
Q: And From Indian Lakes are doing their first UK-run here, what have you liked most about it?
JV: I think I liked that it was so relaxed because we just showed up and played. And there’s been a lot of down time. Whereas the headlining tour we came off of, it had a lot of production and a really long time to set up and tear down. Especially on this tour, I’m just walking on stage and plugging my guitar into their stuff. It’s just super relaxed.
Q: And are the fans here different from back home or are they similar?
JV: You know, I don’t think they’re different. I think we have really nice fans. And I think that the ones that aren’t nice, don’t come see us play. They like, troll on Facebook or something. Everyone’s really nice, they just have different accents.
Q: Now that you’re touring with RX Bandits and Circa Survive, what do you like about this line-up?
JV: Somebody gave me a Circa Survive CD when I was in high school, so there’s that part of it. They had come out and seen us play before, which was already sort of a weird thing for them to come out and see us play because they were fans. And for us to be on tour with them, especially in another country, is surreal and strange. It’s strange to think about when I was so young, and I was a huge fan – yeah, it’s really cool. And plus, we’re really good friends with RX [Bandits] so showing up to a tour like this, but already being such good friends with everybody, it’s just crazy. It’s weird to be on a tour where everyone is such good friends. I don’t know if that is very common.
Q: If you had the opportunity to add one more song to your setlist, what song would it be?
JV: We’re not playing “Am I Alive” which people pretty much every night that they’re bummed about. But we’re opening for such rocking bands, they’re so much heavier than us, so we only get 25 or 30 minutes. So to take out a song like “Paintings” or something that is hooking their fans more than that – I think a song like, “Am I Alive” wouldn’t really burst through the bubble of a lot of their fan base.
Q: Of all the music you’ve written, what song are you most proud of and why?
JV: I think I’m proud of “Runner” and “Awful Things.”
Q: Oh, “Awful Things” is my favorite. I love that song.
JV: Really? I think when I heard that on the record and based on my close, snobby friends’ reactions, it was really apparent that I had written something – after like, a million songs – I had finally written something that I really think is a good song. And not to say, “Oh, I wrote such a great song,” and not to be arrogant, but just hearing it and having it sound like a song that I would hear and become a fan of – that had never really happened before. Honestly, I believe in writing in whatever comes out. It doesn’t necessarily mean I would listen to what I recorded.
Q: Oh that’s interesting. And have you been working on new material?
JV: I am writing a lot. But none of it really sounds like From Indian Lakes. So I’m kind of in limbo with that. So we’ll see what happens.
Q: What can we expect from From Indian Lakes for the rest of 2015?
JV: We’re just kind of talking to people about different tours, and seeing what happens. We’re going to be strategic about the U.S. right now because we’re not in the same position we were even like, four or five months ago. So it’s like we don’t want to just keep grinding because we’re a little tired. But we also want to maybe give everybody a break or something and see what happens.
Q: And the last question is, if you could say anything to your fans that look up to you and your band, what would you say?
JV: Whoa, just one thing? I guess, just thanks. It’s pretty basic, but thanks for the support.
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