A decade ago, remnants of The Promise Ring, Camden and various other abandoned local bands formed Decibully. In the years that followed, the band continued to expand on its sincere and uniquely layered brand of folk rock, while touring internationally and releasing two full-lengths on flourishing indie label Polyvinyl Records. Then, life came, seeing the once-patriarch of the Milwaukee music scene relegating itself to a reduced role and concentrating more on relationships, starting families and business endeavors than touring, recording and the like.
Music Notes checked in with Decibully drummer Aaron Vold after an especially quiet 2010 to see what to expect from the band this year, and in the years to follow.
It seems that after putting out you last album in late ’09, the band didn’t really do much. Why was that?
I guess there were two factors that played into it. One of them was various scheduling conflicts with everyone in the band. Nick [Sanborn] was doing a lot of touring with Headlights for a while, so he’d be gone for periods of time and wouldn’t be able to play. We took some time off, too, because B.J [Seidel]’s wife was pregnant. So that was kind of the main thing, just stuff getting in the way – a life thing, more or less, people having other obligations. It wasn’t necessarily an intentional choice, just a matter of how things ended up.
At the end of the year, too, when there was the big rainstorm and the whole city was inundated with water, our practice space flooded. So we were kind of homeless at the end of the year. I don’t think we really started practicing again until December. So just when we were starting to get a little momentum going forward and everyone was getting back together, nature kind of intervened.
Well, now that it’s a new year, what can we expect? Should local music fans expect a more active year?
I think it’ll probably be about the same. One of the reasons we haven’t played a whole lot of shows is we’ve been trying to write new songs. And lots of times with playing shows, practicing old songs for that gets in the way of writing new songs and focusing on them. We’ve been writing a bunch of new songs. We’ve got pretty much a whole record’s worth of songs recorded, just like instrument tracks. We’re in the process of recording the vocals right now. I’m not sure exactly how long the whole process will take to complete recording and mixing and mastering and then figuring out, you know, what the release plans are going to be. But hopefully at some point this year we should be able to finish up the record, and I would guess maybe in the spring or summer, we’ll start playing some shows locally and elsewhere as well.
And how many have you written? How many new songs?
I think there’s maybe 10 to 12 recorded, so it’s going to be a new full-length, but we don’t really have a title or anything like that. In terms of sound, it’s going to be definitely our most direct and natural sounding record. Kind of like from City of Festivals to Sing Out, America! to World Travels Fast, the sonic palate – as it were – kind of expanded with each record. Each record got bigger both in terms of scope and variety of sound. I think after how long it took for us to record and release World Travels Fast, that we just wanted to do a very direct and now kind of focus with this record. Write the songs and record them as quickly as possible, which will still probably take us a while (laughs).
Are you looking to get that to labels, or are you going to do it on your own label again?
I’m guessing we’ll probably do it on Listening Party, Nick and Andy [Menchal]’s label. I don’t know, maybe when we’re done, we’ll send it out to a couple places and see if there’s some label somewhere that’s interested. But I’d imagine that when all’s said and done, it’ll probably just be another Listening Party thing.
A pay what you want kind of thing again?
We’ll probably do vinyl again with some sort of pay what you want download.
It seems that a lot of the members, in the whole absence, they made other bands – things like No Future, Eric & Magill. Are there any others we should know about? Are you involved in anything else?
I think that’s a cause and effect of our…
Hiatus?
Yeah, our gradually diminishing output. But pretty much everyone in the band has something going on. Like you said, Ryan [Weber] has Eric & Magill. Kenny [Siebert] is in No Future. Nick does all kinds of solo stuff, and I think he’s going to be touring with some band called The Love Language, plus all the stuff he and Andy do with Listening Party. I guess B.J.’s side project is just having a baby and owning a bar (laughs). And I’ve been playing with this band called Will Phalen and the Stereo Addicts for almost two years, so that’s been kind of keeping me busy.
With all of the babies and the bars, and I don’t know if anyone’s married in the band, but it seems like you guys are aging and you’re OK with where the band is at as more of a hobby of sorts. Are you happy with where it is, or do you wish you would’ve done more with it when you were on a label?
I think that we definitely did just about everything within our power to have Decibully be more of a full-time endeavor. For a few years, we were going out on the road every spring and fall and doing pretty much everything we could until it got to a certain point where there were a number of factors that came into [slowing] it. Over time, the band has evolved into something that was more of an immediate concern for everybody, whereas now at this point, when we get together it’s Dude Club. Nobody at this point has any delusions of going out on the road again and going on big tours, unless someone were to offer us a really good opening slot or something like that.
But to go out and drive around in a van with your friends, play shows and come home with no money is nothing that anyone in the band really wants to do anymore, or even is in a position to do. I think everyone’s pretty content with where the band is at and what the nature of it is. I guess, if they weren’t, the one thing that’s always been great about Decibully is that everyone has always been open and free to pursue whatever else they want outside Decibully. There’s never really been anyone in the band that’s given anyone shit or trouble like, ‘Oh, dude, what’s up with this other band? Why are you trying to sabotage Decibully?’ We all know that we’ll get together when we can, and it’ll be the same as it’s always been. We’re going to hang out with some of our best friends, have fun, make some music and whatever happens, happens. There’s no expectation for anything greater.
