As rock collective Restless Streets – comprised of Logan Carpenter (vocals), Brandon John (guitar), John Alund (bass), Brian Nellis (keys), and Aaron Uline (drums) – preps to release Together on April 28th, we’re over the moon that they (somehow) found time to speak with us. While the Albany-based band makes innately catchy tracks that address much more than your average love story, we’ll bask in the glow of their video for “A Little More Us” (found below) until we can get our hands on a copy of the release later this month.
What was the first song or album you remember listening to, and who introduced it to you?
My father used to play a lot of Van Morrison when I would drive around with him. “Brown Eyed Girl” is a song I fondly remember singing along to with him when we’d take road trips to the adarondack mountains.
Was there a defining moment when you realized you wanted to pursue music in your life?
I really can’t remember a time when music wasn’t a way of life for me. Ever since I was a little kid I’ve enjoyed dancing and singing, and discovering new songs that made me feel a certain way. I used to live Britney Spears. Her album “Hit Me One More Time” was the first album I ever purchased on my own at 10 years old. I used my allowance to save up for it. I’ve always viewed my life as a piece of music, and it’s natural for me to play land create it.
What is the origin story of Restless Streets, by the way?
Brandon (guitar) and I met when we were in high school. He was 14 and I was 15. He had a few songs that he had written and I absolutely loved the way he wrote. I knew immediately that we had a similar style, and vibe that we were looking to create. I had worked with other musicians before then, but nothing struck me like the first song he played for me in my parents basement.
Choosing the feel of your brand is really important for musicians nowadays. Was there a conversation about what genre you guys were going to mainly produce, or anything like that?
We have a really awesome practice space right now in Albany. We’ve been writing music together for so long that our sound developed naturally over time. We talk about our direction, our brand, and the feelings we want to portray through our music constantly. Luckily, we have always shared a similar vision for what we want Restless Streets to look and sound like.
Your video for “A Little More Us” is SO beautiful. Who decided to present the music like a painting? Any fun stories from production?
We are thrilled with the way the music video for “A Little More Us” captures the essence of the song. We knew exactly what we wanted going into this video. We found a beautiful photography studio with a curved “infinity wall” to shoot in. We wanted a very simplistic, clean look that we could impose our aesthetic colors onto. Our director, Josiah Moore is incredible at his craft and the painting feel came through his hard work in post production!
In that same vein, what’s your writing process like? Are you all involved in the whole process, or are there bits you each specialize in?
Our songs start with Brandon writing demos. They are usually skeletons of all the instruments. After that he sends them to me and I write vocal melodies and lyrics. Once I show him what I’ve got written we go back and maybe adjust some pieces to fit with the melodies. After that everyone gets a home of it and adds their flavor to their instrument. Brandon works super hard on the music and he also records it which is incredibly impressive. We work very well together.
I hear time and time again how people in the entertainment industry are hesitant to work together, for fear of their ideas being taken. What is your opinion on collaboration in the artistic sphere?
We have not really participated in any collaboration with other musicians. We don’t have anyone who produces our music either so what you hear is straight from our brains. I don’t think this is a result of insecurity or fear that our ideas will be taken. It’s more of the fact that there are 5 of us and we have enough ideas within our team than we know what to do with. We may decide to collaborate down the road, but for right now we take pride in developing our sound, and our songs on our own.
Who would you collaborate with if you could, and what would you create together?
We have talked about having Lynn from Pvris on as a guest vocalist. We believe she would fit our sound really well and she could be a great addition on a track.
What’s down the funnel for you guys in 2017?
We are playing our cd release show in Albany, NY on May 5th at The Hollow. We are incredibly excited to play our new cd front to back for our fans. We are playing in Poughkeepsie, NY the next day (May 6th) with Emarosa, Chapel, and Cedar Green. We also just confirmed a date with Hawthorne Heights at Lucky Strike Social in Albany, NY on June 2nd. We will be performing throughout the summer and hope to see all of our fans around the country.
Anything else you’d like to add?
We worked incredibly hard to bring this new music to our fans. The cd is available for pre-order now here. We urge people to buy a bundle that includes some incredible new exclusive merch items, along with a physical cope of our new cd Together. The cd comes in an awesome package with 8 pages of exclusive R//S artwork and lyrics. We love our fans, and we can’t wait to show everyone what we’ve created. Thank you Impose!!!
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Together is available for preorder now. Keep up with Restless Streets here.
