Ahead of the release of their third album ‘Guy Walks Into A Bar…’ - out today (26 July) - we spoke to Michael Shuman of Mini Mansions whilst the band were on the road, to find out what it’s like trying to record an album from different parts of the world; how it can be difficult to explore personal narratives, whilst retaining sensitivity; and why experimentation is always a good thing.
Gigwise: Hey how’s it going? You’ve recently been on quite a long tour, how is it all going?
Michael Shuman: Still going! We’re driving to Bristol now, it’s been really great actually. Not many bands really do this extensive UK tour – at least not bands from the States but everyone has been really great, the shows have been great, it’s awesome.
GW: You had a slot at The Great Escape Festival as well, what was that like? Did you get to check out any other bands whilst you were there?
MS: Not one. Unfortunately, our schedule has just been so packed that you get to those things and there’s other stuff you have to do and people you have to talk to and unfortunately I didn’t get to see anyone. I’d have liked to.
GW: I want to know a little bit more about the album title. You’ve mentioned it was a joke, but what actually made it stick?
MS: I mean, obviously, like Guy Walks Into A Bar… the dot, dot, dot is a pretty core part of the title because it is kinda just the starting off point for I think most of us humans and you know, you can insert bar, restaurant, or gym but it’s basically us going out into the world and trying to meet people and make connections – romantically or friendships or whatever – and you need to kinda feel sane and human and in this case it’s the start of a relationship that goes from the first song to the last song and tells the story that is partially mine, which is true, and then adding in other songs to kinda complete this narrative.
GW: Were there any other names that stood out for the title, or was that an instant winner?
MS: I think I had a few other thoughts but I think that one seemed so ridiculous almost, that it felt like it was the right one, and also just sounded like it made it more personal and yeah, it just meant something more than just a blanket phrase.
GW: Where did you record the album and how long did the process take?
MS: We did most of the record at a studio called Barefoot Studios, in Hollywood, and we did it with our friend and engineer Eric Valentine. It’s been around for a long time and it used to have a different name. It’s not the prettiest of studios – it’s kind of a mess actually [laughs] but he builds his own gear. He builds his own recording consoles and compressors and other stuff so the sound you get out of that is very specific to that studio. And I guess the whole thing took a while – we kind of did it in pieces. All of us were kinda on the road with different bands at different times and we had to kind of go in different stages. So, I think the whole thing took two years. It is a long time and I don’t think we really wanted to do it that way. It’s not ideal - but it’s what we had to do, and it actually made it what it is. If we recorded it in two weeks, the songs and lyrical content that we got out of it wouldn’t have been the same because these lyrics come from different points in those two years.
GW: How do you go about writing songs. Is it usually one person will write something and someone else fills the gaps?
MS: In the past it has been more of us in a room figuring stuff out together and of course we did that too on this record, but because we were not in the same city most of the time and not together, it made for more of an isolated writing experience. So, in this case, Tyler and I would kind of [make a] demo almost like not to completion, but the idea and vision of a song beforehand and then present it to the band. Then we would obviously go through it and make sure that the parts and arrangements were the best possible, but because it was so isolating, it made for a much more personal record; and each song is more personal, if that makes sense.
GW: I read that you brought Jon Theodore (Queens of The Stone Age/Mars Volta) onboard to play drums. What brought that on?
MS: Well I play in another band with him, and I like him a lot [laughs] and he happens to be one of the best drummers in the world. We’ve been on tour together and making another record for the last couple of years, and when we were going to make this record we wanted to be able to do something different and not have any restrictions to my drum capabilities – which are limited – and we wanted to have the full spectrum and full drum kit. If we wanted something outlandish and something that I physically could not do, we wanted to make sure that we at least had a guy who could do it all and have the understanding and have the correct lingo and vocabulary to communicate what we wanted from the songs.
GW: How has that translated live, when playing the newer songs?
MS: So, he’s on tour with us – fortunately! We dragged him out here, and it’s [like] night and day. It’s a completely different band and I think anyone that sees it realises that. It’s just a different beast. It frees up everybody and allows the three Mini’s to kind of interact in a different way than ever before. Because I was strapped to a drum-set, I couldn’t move, literally, so that interaction between us is different and obviously there’s more guitar and its heavier and more dynamic.
GW: You can definitely pick up on the expansion of the dynamics, on the album – especially on ‘We Should Be Dancing’. What kind of instruments do you use for those synth sounds?
MS: That one is a complicated one. There’s a lot going on! Umm, I’m just going through it. I mean that opening sound; it is the [laughs] I’m gonna get real dorky – do you care how dorky we get? Okay, that sound is the opening sound of the drum beat that’s going through the reverb chamber and it’s just the reverb. There’s organs on there, and mellotrons on there, and there’s obviously the drums. We use very specific bass and guitar applications to create those riffs which we haven’t really done before; using amps that you really shouldn’t use for traditional sounds and I think that kinda makes it up – that big bass sound is a double bass going directly into that console that I was talking about at Barefoot – it’s just classic studio experimentations.
GW: What’s your favourite song from the album?
MS: I mean, I think ‘We Should Be Dancing’ might be my favourite because it’s the first song. It’s a surprise and goes all over the place. And I think it might be the first song on this record that was totally different and fun for us, it’s all fun times. Using a vocoder - we’ve never used a vocoder before to go full robot. That was the most fun.
GW: Were there any songs that were a bit challenging to record?
MS: Yeah, there were a couple of those but I think the hardest one was ‘Tears In Her Eyes’ because the content is so heavy. You have to be delicate with how it’s treated and presented and I think for me personally, it’s very personal and was important for me to kind of close the book for this record, you know what I mean? I think that was the last page that was necessary on the record - and to be fair the other guys weren’t that into it, and I think that was hard for me to be like ‘woah ok, but like its important, let’s figure it out and make sure everyone is happy, and there’s a way to do it’ so it just took a couple different versions of how to do that song, how to sing that song, and we finally figured it out. That was a struggle and took a long time.
GW: How do you choose the tracklisting? ‘Don’t Even Know You’ ends with “she don’t need a name, she’s gone” and it goes straight into ‘Forgot Your Name’ which opens with “you’re so nice I forgot your name.” Was that a conscious decision?
MS: Usually with another record you’ll just record all of these songs and then you look at all of them. We recorded 20 songs for our last record and just picked the best ones and [then] you see what’s the best possible. This one, once we had the album title – which was pretty early on in the process – the sequence kinda spoke for itself. It was obvious. There was maybe one question between switching two tracks, but it was the easiest sequencing we’ve ever done.
GW: What makes a song standout enough to be a single?
MS: For us, we love every song. Every song is our baby, so maybe we have favourites but I don’t really care which song is a single. I think that’s kinda up to our label and they’re the professionals in that department because I could have any song and be happy with that song representing us, so it’s kinda up to all the other powers that be.
GW: How involved are you with the music videos?
MS: Yeah, it’s important for us. It’s another creative outlet that represents your music so I think it would be a mistake to not think hard about all that. We do collaborate with a lot of really good directors and artists that would bring ideas to us, but a lot of times we have the ideas and we’ll bring them to a director that will, like, make it all happen for lack of better words. You’ve gotta trust in these people but also make good decisions right off the bat and choose the right people. But we’re in it until the last edit to make sure we’re happy.
GW: You collaborated with Alison Mosshart on ‘Hey Lover’. How did you go about selecting her?
MS: Well as you can tell that song was always a written as a conversation between man and woman; two partners. It’s about the relationship and how distance can affect that, and so you needed someone that you could trust, someone that you’re inspired by and believe in. A few names came up and we started thinking about it and she was the first choice because I knew that she would take the care with the lyrics that I’d written and deliver them the right way. I’ve always thought that she’s a great musician, former artist and poet and all that, so yeah, I just knew I could call her and trust her and when I did, she immediately loved the song and was ready to dive in. We talked about a lot and she made a few lyrical changes that I thought were brilliant, like little things that just went over and really helped. For the video, we wanted to make something really simple and this idea for a phone call, she was all about it. You kind of need a friend you can trust.
GW: You guys have been in a band for around ten years now. What have you learnt most about each other, and what have you learnt most about yourself?
MS: I think acceptance. We started it when we were younger and I think with how our band works and how it can’t be full on all the time, it’s like accepting other people for who they are, and their strengths, and even their weaknesses and using them responsibly in our band.
GW: If you could sum up the album in 3 words, what would they be?
MS: [Deep concentration] real, romantic and unhinged.
