In this interview spotlight, I chat with Purusa about the latest release, AI in music, dream collabs, and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
AI (aka Artificial Intelligence aka Chat GPT 4.0)… How is it changing the music world? What are your thoughts about this new trend?
I have heard snippets or seen videos of AI created songs or pieces of music, but will not claim to be experienced or knowledgeable about AI and Music. This will sound a bit negative, but the music world and business is in so much trouble, from the perspective of the artists. This AI addition appears to be in lockstep with the way things currently are and continue to evolve, in which artists make almost nothing for creating the goods that are sold. As a business, if you can remove the artist entirely from that revenue stream, by artificially creating music with AI, then why not? When everyone but the artists are the ones benefiting the most from the art being created, this is the kind of $hit that happens. All of that said, I firmly believe that human beings will always crave and seek out organic and real art and music. The flip side is that perhaps AI music makes the real thing even more valuable…
Can you choose a favorite song of all time? Or is this an impossible task? If yes, what’s the song? If no, what’s your current Top 3?
Yikes. That’s impossible. Answering for myself, it would be so hard as I love different genres which are difficult to compare. I’ll take a crack at Top 3: Soul – Sam Cook and Lou Rawls, Bring It On Home; Rock – Really Impossible…maybe Thinn Lizzy, Boys are Back in Town (trying to pick something representative of what the band might say) or almost any RUSH song. Folk/Country/Alt – Patti Griffin, That Kind of Lonely.
What about this project makes you most proud? Was there a specific goal you were trying to accomplish with this release?
The Album Amnesia is the first album recorded with Andy King on Drums and Dave Boyle on Bass, and represents a much more inclusive contribution to writing and producing than ever before for purusa. Dave had just joined the band, a couple weeks before we recorded and he still had major input during recording, particularly with back up vocal parts. That is what I’m most proud of. This album started a trend of us writing together, and contributing as equals in the formation of songs and our next album. I also think it’s the best work this band has done start to finish. Dave and Andy joining the band has been maybe the best thing that has happened to purusa in our 20+ years as a band. Late bloomers.
What inspires you to create music? What motivates you to keep going?
We all draw inspiration from the music we love and the joy and creative process of playing our instruments. As a lyricist and songwriter I am inspired a lot by events in my personal life, politics and world events, injustice, love, and my own mental health struggles and history. As a band, we often challenge ourselves to not fall into habits or repetitive moves, by asking ourselves….what would “(insert name of legendary musician here)” do? We are not afraid to pull inspiration from influences as varied as Stevie Wonder and Queens of the Stone Age, in the same song. We are motivated to keep going by our love of playing this music, performing it, and creating it, that is all. I think each of us HAS to do this as long as we possibly can. I would feel very incomplete without music in my life, and get a great deal of fulfilment simply from rehearsing with the band. We certainly are not motivated by crowd size, merch sales, or other non-existent recognition for our efforts…it’s all about the love of creating something we dig and can be proud of, together.
If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out.
Hmmm. I have a feeling we would all have very different answers to this and that opinions would be really specific and unwavering. So I’ll just answer for myself. Paul McCartney. I’m not even a raging Beatles Fan, anymore than anyone else with a pulse is. But, that guy is maybe not human. There is a huge list of people I could choose, but sitting down with Paul McCartney and working out a song would be unreal, life changing and incredibly educational.
What was the last song you listened to? Favorite all-time bands/artists?
The song currently up on my phone is Stevie Wonder – You Can’t Judge a Book By Its Cover. My Favorite Bands Artists are Big Wreck, The Tragically Hip, Nada Surf. I feel like there would be a Led Zepplin, RUSH, Van Halen, maybe even a Whitesnake shout out from the rest of the boys.
Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?
In a barn in Damascus, OR. We are not super busy on social media. But we do have an IG and FB account, and a website.
I appreciate Your time. Want to say or plug any other projects before we part ways?
Thank YOU! Yes, we are very close to starting to track our next album, and this will be a really special album. For the first time, made up mostly of songs writing by the band as a whole, versus written by one member and then adapted. The ‘democratic’ songwriting process as produced a lot of the best material we’ve ever written and I’m really excited to hear it on record.
