A FEW ACTS OF CURIOSITY WITH ACT OF CONGRESS

posted in: Artist Features • Country

You know what’s so great about country music? It’s the wide spectrum of artists and styles, from George Strait to Taylor Swift to the Dixie Chicks. And thank goodness for that variety. Without it, the blessing that is Act of Congress wouldn’t be possible. This band of musicians from Birmingham, Alabama is truly unique blend of lively instrumentation and killer harmonies. We sat down with band member Chris Griffin to ask him how he feels about AOC’s undeniable allure, and how they found outstanding success as a completely independent band.

OS: Act of Congress is unlike anything I’ve heard. But if two current artists mated to make-up AOC and its music, who would you say they were?

CG: Thanks. That’s tough to narrow down. We are all from different musical backgrounds. When we came together for the Declaration album, Nickel Creek and Vertical Horizon we’re probably rolling around in the back of our minds. The great thing about being a fully independent artist, is that we can delve into any genre we wish. Right now, we’re into a lot of John Mayer and Coldplay type stuff. For the next album, I anticipate more groove orientation in our tunes.

OS: When I listen your music, the first thing to jump out is the instrumentation. What has motivated or inspired you to become such masters of your instruments?

CG: Trust us, we’re not masters of anything. There are people out there that are ridiculously talented (an old jazz teacher used to say “stupid talented”). For Adam and I, these are not primary instruments or a primary style of music. Adam plays the piano first, then guitar, then mandolin…I am a big electric guitar geek at heart. For this group of people, this instrumentation just seems to fit. We put a lot of thought into the compositional aspects of writing, and we are all perfectionist which helps. We all teach private lessons in Birmingham Monday-Wednesday, when the band is not playing. We actually think students push us a lot to continually progress as well.

OS: What do you think is the most important characteristic in a band that hopes to make it big? Determination? Heart?

CG: Not to get spiritual, but building your band on a firm relational foundation is the most important thing. Every band we have ever been involved in failed, because friendship plays second fiddle to the desire for success. We are constantly working on our relationship with one another. On another thought, I don’t know what making it big is anymore. I just finished watching the documentary Before The Music Dies on Hulu.com. I strongly recommend it for anyone wanting to get in the music business right now. One thing we do preach to each other, is being consistent on a daily basis. When this band started two years ago, we didn’t have any gigs or any pressing business. It was just write a record and see what happens. Now it’s a daily job of making sure we stay on task regarding the business end of things. This means anything from approving t-shirt designs, negotiating with potential gigs, setting up rehearsals/writing sessions, updating content sites, it’s a never ending thing. The main point we came away with from that documentary was that in the current music world…You are your label, distribution, marketing, product, etc…You are the final say in whether you succeed or fail.

OS: Your tour schedule has been pretty bananas this year. How have you grown as a band through all of these performances?

CG: In the past year we have done a variety of settings including: radio spots, television morning shows, coffee houses, house shows, big festivals opening for headliners, small festivals where we were the headliner, college campuses, label showcases, listening rooms, bars, out door amphitheaters, a ballet, SXSW, rallies, churches, weddings, private parties, performing arts centers. In the next few months we’re playing at Disney, doing a collaboration with a symphony, and a guy called last week and wants to send us to military bases. It’s comical when I think about it! I think through all of this, AOC is growing in realizing who we are musically and what our outside-the-box career potential is. It’s way cool.

OS: Bethany (love the name by the way), speaking of touring, tell us what’s it like traveling around with 3 guys all the time!

BB: It’s fun! I grew up in a touring family of 6 kids, so I’m pretty used to it! The boys all get crammed in one hotel room and I always get my own! It’s a tough life!

OS: John Mayer and Toby Keith seem pretty polar-opposite, yet you’ve opened for both. How have you varied your set from one crowd (mellow Mayor lovers) to another (rambunctious and crazy Keith fans)?

CG: We really don’t do anything different. We are a unique group, and people typically respond well to us. I think we are growing comfortable with who we are as a band.

OS: It’s been awhile since we’ve heard any new stuff. When can we expect to see Declaration’s follow-up?

CG: It’s just now been a year since we released Declaration. We finished a 3 song cover E.P. about 8 months ago. It’s been crazy trying to get the proper licensing to release it. Our attorney has about wrapped up that end of it, and we hope for a digital release in the next month or so. We’ve also done some interesting one off stuff. We have a instrumental tune on the new Maylene and the Sons of Disaster III album, the documentary for the show Arrested Development asked us to write a theme song for them, and we released an i-Tunes version of “Carol Of The Bells” early this year. As far as a new record, we went through a tough period about three months ago. When writing for Declaration we didn’t have any other duties except to write. We are a fully independent band, so all the booking, press, etc. duties fall on us. This is a tough thing to balance, and we we’re struggling to get in a writing groove. We’re happy to say that in the last month or so, we have found our groove. Adam and I meet three times a week via Skype and start writing ideas. We try to get a skeleton song written in an hour or so. So far we have about 13. I think the goal is 20, and then we will present these to the band. The band will pick twelve, and the process will begin of running them through our compositional filter. Because we don’t want to waste our producer Jason Elgin’s time, we try to be ready for first or second takes in the studio. It’s a long but economically efficient process. We think we’re 12 or so months out from a new album.

Make sure you check out Act of Congress’ fanclub. You won’t be disappointed!