Released on August 25th (2017) via Schoolkids Records, Happy Abandon’s Facepaint is a collection of heartfelt, melancholic melodies that simmer under the surface toward an ever increasing crescendo of orchestral indie rock.
Despite featuring songs about loss, Peter Vance (vocals & guitar) is quick to point out that Facepaint is not a breakup album. He explains “if the album were to have a subject, it would be the relationship a person has to loss and loneliness, which can manifest itself through breakups, homelessness, familial abandonment, and death”. These relationships provide the outline for Facepaint, from the emotions they conjure, to the settings in which they exist and the face paint we all hide behind to make those heartbreaks a little more palatable. Vance’s lead vocal soars throughout, combined with powerful lyrics and a dynamic string arrangement to create cinematic pop music at its best.
In this interview spotlight, we chat with Happy Abandon about influences, challenges, the latest project, music consumption preferences and more.
Full Q&A along with links and a stream of Heavy Lines below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
That’s a great question. It’s tough to say. I never expected us to sound the way we do. Or, rather, I never had expectations for what the music was going to become. It was very experimental at first, transitioning from folky/singer songwriter-y songs to the more post, shoegaze, rock stuff. I just decided to start playing electric guitar and see what sounds I could make and which ones I liked. The style really came from that idea. What if I played the electric guitar with the skills I use to play acoustic guitar. There was nothing I was attracted to that I was trying to achieve or emulate. I think it was just what came out of the different ingredients we cobbled together between all of us in the band.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
Music has been a driving force in my life since I was a kid. My parents always encouraged the passion, but never forced it down my throat. I wanted a guitar. I wanted to learn how to play songs by the artists that I enjoyed listening to, or the songs that were in the background while my parents cooked, or the songs we listened to on long car rides. So I did it. I learned cover after cover after cover, slowly recognizing the patterns, the relative positions of all the chords and scales, their relationships to each other. It fascinated me like crazy. And this was all just on guitar. Not piano. I never learned theory, or even how to read music. My formal music training background is very slim to say the least. But I taught myself through the songs that I listened to. This appreciation of these songs led me to think, well what if I came up with my own songs. So I started to write, and of course looking back at them they were all pretty shit, but at the time I loved them. I was writing songs. That was the most fulfilled I had ever felt. I continued, and decided to look outwardly to find more inspiration. There were so many beautiful things to look at, and to write about. Different images that I found different ways of talking about. And then I decided to look more inwardly. This was the most significant point in my songwriting career, so far at least. Not only was there more there that I could write about, I was finding feelings, ideas, thoughts that I didn’t know were there. It helped me deepen my relationship with people and things and experiences because I was looking at the finer details of them all. It made me realize that there are a lot of scary things about… everything. But that that was okay, and that perspective is a very useful thing. I began to use the images I found externally to try and express how I was feeling internally. Now we were getting somewhere.
When going into college I knew music was going to be a significant part of my life, but not through classes or clubs. It was the shows I was interested in. I went to as many shows as I could, relishing in the idea of performing the songs one wrote so intimately in their room, or wherever. So, I decided to try performing my songs. And I loved it. I loved the adrenaline rush, the people, the social aspect, everything. So I kept doing it, kept writing, kept performing, continued to do school in between. One thing led to another, I graduated college and decided that music meant more to me. I’m very happy with that decision.
If what I write and what we perform is in any way beneficial to a listener, then to me it’s worth pushing to the public. I’m going to be writing music for the rest of my life, and if people want to listen, that’s fantastic.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
I think the things that influence my creativity the most are the things I ignore day to day, but still significantly impact me. When I sit down and allow myself the peace, quiet, and boredom that comes from being alone and undistracted, those thoughts and ideas start to creep out. It’s like meditation. We are all surrounded by distractions 24/7. A lot of people prefer it that way. It’s sad to me. Those feelings and thoughts and ideas are so important to recognize and confront. My songs are me confronting those thoughts.
My tastes of music has definitely changed significantly. When I was younger I was listening to artists like Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews Band, Tonic, Goo Goo Dolls, you know the music. When I first entered high school was when I was being introduced to music that was a little more left-of-center. Belle and Sebastian was a huge one for me. I had never heard anything like them, and I loved it. I think I also associated those songs with that period of my life; transitioning into a new social scene, older friends stripping away some of the innocence and whatnot. Sufjan Stevens was and will always be one of the most significant artists to me. Same with Bright Eyes. In college I started appreciating more lo fi music, more punk, and everything indie.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
I guess the only thing I was trying to accomplish was a bigger more robust sound. The songs are all pretty typical Peter Vance songs, and could be performed in the same style as previous projects. But now that we’ve played them as Happy Abandon, I can’t imagine them any other way.
What was the last song you listened to?
Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying by Belle and Sebastian. I put them on after writing about them in one of the earlier questions.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I like them all for different reasons. MP3s are most convenient, CDs are great for the car, and Vinyl sounds the best.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I use Spotify mostly. I use Bandcamp a lot more to find local bands.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
People are just very skeptical these days. It’s understandable, but it is so frustrating when people ask about the band, but never come to shows or listen to the music. That being said, it makes the people who do listen and do come to shows that much more special. We know that these people participate because they truly enjoy what we do, and we will never take that for granted. It is the greatest gift people can give us. It feels amazing.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
We use Facebook and Instagram the most consistently. We also have a website that we update with upcoming shows and music: www.happyabandonmusic.com
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
Nope! Just can’t wait to hear how people feel about the album. It’s a very exciting time for us. xoxo