Houstonist Interview: Ethan Durelle

Houstonist: Tell us about how y'all met and how the band came into being.

T.J. McLemore: We all grew up playing music. Jeff (Weathers, drummer) and Chris (Mann, guitar) went to the same high school (Klein HS in Spring, TX) and were in drum line and concert band, respectively...Evan (Lecker, guitar & vocals) went to high school in the Woodlands, TX, and there fronted a band called Jeff’s Varsity. (Lecker) came to Baylor the same year as Jeff and the two met in their dorm.... I came to Baylor a year behind Evan and Jeff, in August 2001. Jake, the group’s original bass player, was unable to return to Waco that August. In September I met Evan through fortuitous circumstances, befriended the guys, and quickly joined the band. We recorded the Capgun Sessions demo less than two months later.

Houstonist: There aren't too many rock bands coming out of Waco these days. Do you think being based out of there instead of one of the larger cities in Texas hindered the band at all?

T.J.: It’s a good question. Waco has been good to us, and hopefully vice versa. But I guess in some way we’re speaking of success—has being in Waco prevented us in any way from being successful as a band? I don’t think it has. But then, I would say that a large part of our success as a band has to do with our fulfillment as people, not just how many records we sell.
And at least so far, we’re content here. There is a small but vibrant music scene in Waco, and lately more and more people seem to be coming out to shows of all genres. Waco’s location is pretty ideal—we are very close to Dallas, Austin, College Station, Tyler, and Houston. And the cost of living is quite low, making it easier on the two married couples (Chris/Becca, Evan/Janina). Most importantly, because of relationships we’ve made through the years we all are able to do work that we feel is dignifying while we’re not on the road. We all have been intricately involved in various non-profit organizations in town. As an example, I currently live and work on a farm north of Waco when we’re not on the road (World Hunger Relief, Inc.), and I wouldn’t dream of moving anywhere else right now.

Houstonist: You're known for your electrifying live performances. What does playing live vs. in the studio bring out in you?

T.J.: Our strength is the live show. We have been told repeatedly that we are at our best on stage. There is something inexpressible about playing our songs live…performance brings out an intensity in the songs and in each of us that isn’t captured by tape a lot of the time.
That said, the studio has always been a fun (if slightly frustrating) place for us. The new record, Talks to the Dark, is leagues above our first studio effort in terms of sound quality and studio delivery. (We recorded both albums with Jeff Price at Esotype’s Hill View Studio in Spring.) On Talks, we were able to spend more time in the studio getting the sounds we wanted and in post-production working on the mix. Our studio experiences have been a continuous learning process…and Esotype is continuously investing in better gear for the studio. Our next effort, if recorded at Hill View, will hopefully be an even better representation of what we’ve written than Talks is.

Houstonist: Several members of the band are originally from the Houston area. Are there places here that you try to visit when you play here?

T.J.: Usually we’re in and out pretty fast. More than places, we like to see people—whenever we’re in, we always try to see our families as well as Jeff Price, the president of Esotype (and bassist for local experimental rockers Tambersauro - ed.), and his family. We also have a lot of good friends in Houston that it’s always great to see. But all in all…I’d say we’ve been to Guitar Center as much as anywhere else in H-town.

Houstonist: Ethan Durelle has started to get noticed by some mainstream press outlets. Was that as a result of an aggressive marketing strategy, or word of mouth?

T.J.: Probably mostly word of mouth, a little strategy, and some luck. Since we help run our record label (Esotype records), the marketing of our music falls largely on our shoulders. As a result, we don’t have what could be called an ‘aggressive’ marketing strategy—we currently don’t even have an advertising budget. After its release, we simply mailed our music to different press outlets. I guess what we’ve always hoped was that the music could speak even in the absence of expensive marketing strategies. So I guess it has, a little.

Houstonist: What was different about making the new album vs. the last one?

T.J.: The new record is definitely a departure from the old one. We all feel that it is a more mature, more cohesive, more collective effort. Unlike the first record, all four of us wrote all of the songs on Talks. So obviously it more perfectly fuses all four of our styles and musical personalities. In the process of writing this new record, I feel like we finally began to understand how to come at a song as a band. It’s harder than you would think, to collectively visualize a song while it is still forming and to be able to articulate how it should develop.
While this record was certainly more frustrating in its writing stages for each of us, I’d say that we also enjoyed the process much more.

Houstonist: What's your favorite song on the new album?

T.J.: My favorite…Right now, I’d say "Drag the Sand.” That song is a lot of fun to play. But ask me again in two weeks and it’ll be different.

Houstonist: What are each of y'all currently listening to?

T.J.: Evan has been listening to a lot of Peter Gabriel, especially the album “So”.
Jeff is listening to Between the Buried and Me’s new one, “Colors.”
Chris is back on some old standards—Blaster the Rocketman’s “The Monster Who Ate Jesus” and The Cranberries’ “No Need to Argue.”
I’ve been listening to Jeremy Enigk’s recent “World Waits” and Low’s “Trust.”

If you're a fan of hard rock that makes you think, put down your shopping bags and check out Ethan Durelle. Face rocking is assured.

Ethan Durelle plays downstairs at Fitzgerald's on Friday, November 23rd at 8pm. Local heroes Mechanical Boy will be playing as well.
Ethan Durelle on MySpace
photo courtesy of Ethan Durelle