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PART TWO of THREE Steven Smith: " Do you ever fall into that quarry of the writer, where you'll be having an emotional experience, something will happen, and in the back of your head you believe it will make a good song?" Ryan Ross Hernandez: " Absolutely. I mean while writing for this record, I was going through a emotional rollercoaster, and the songs that made it in will show that. I mean I like to joke around a lot about being a terrible ex, because I always write songs about my ex-girlfriends, whether they are "I miss you," songs or "You're a bitch," songs. So it varies. But I think every writer has their own personal inspirations, like I am one of those writers who doesn't listen to any music other than my own when I'm trying to write because I don't want to be influenced by any other writer. Really the songs that are worth anything are those that sort-of come into you. I woke up one morning, and went; (sung) "Good love is on the way / I been lonely but I know, I'll be okay." (back to spoken) And that is what you start with, you spend all day writing, writing, and writing. That is how songs get written. When you have to be reminded that you're a famous musician who has to get his major label record out, that does not write songs." Steven Smith: " So where did the title, "Hollywood Hills Assassin," come from?" Ryan Ross Hernandez: " There is this song on the record, that revolves around a relationship metaphor about a vicious lover who ultimately meets his match when he realizes that his target is a heartbreaker too, aka an assassin. It is a story inside a story and that song is called "Late-Night Job; Assassin," so the original title for the album was just "Assassin," but then when I thought deeper into the writing, the lyrical writing, I came to realize that all the songs that made the final track listing, were all written in Hollywood Hills, California. So it came to me, that Hollywood Hills influenced so much for this record that all the songs that I wrote over the course of a year, all of them came from Hollywood and the friends, enemies and lovers that I've made in that so starstruck city. That was when, Gabriel Hunter, my good friend and co-producer for this record, we sat down and started talking about the title for the album and within five minutes it just came to, it felt natural, but at the same time I wasn't totally into it because when you're like we were talking about before, a celebrity, including 'Hollywood' in your primary career, in your work it is a risk because people are just gonna be "Oh, he is just going to bitch and whine about how it is so tough to have millions of dollars, and sleeping with Hollywood scarlet's and how he just wants to be a normal guy." But the people who are going to say that are the same people that aren't going to listen to the record or give it a chance to put themselves in the stories discussed in the album and forget about the personal life of the dude singing it. But as long as I knew that the record wasn't that, the title didn't really bother me." Steven Smith: " When did you stop whatever else you were doing career wise, and just went, "I need to make this record,"." Ryan Ross Hernandez: " Around a year ago, I sort-of sat down and looked back at the last three or four years in my life as a person, not as a celebrity, but as a person. And sort-of what everybody goes through at a certain stage of their life. Really getting down into it, so you can have a really peaceful next decade of your life, you know. But it is interesting to sort-of see, right now that it is done with, how the primary idea for this record has changed over the year I spent writing for it. And it is really the first album I've written that all the relationship, or love/heartbreak songs are just about one relationship because over the year I spent writing this record, I was just in one relationship and over the course of this record it matched whatever was going on in that relationship. And it is funny how over the course the relationship started and ended so this record is by far the most autobiographical album I've written. And consistently it is the most universal record, thematically, that I've ever made." Steven Smith: " So now that the record is coming out, in a month in a half, like what is your mood like? 'Cause you had an amazing twitter about it, if I may dive right in." Ryan Ross Hernandez: " Yeah, I am right here, but why don't you read those 140 characters I wrote two weeks ago." Steven Smith: " Oh, excuse me, two days ago." Ryan Ross Hernandez: " This is an efficient use of everybody's time. Great television, right here." Steven Smith: " Two days ago, you wrote; "I'm at the point where I think to myself, either this album is really great or really shitty. Either way I'll be too busy to know it." Do you remember what you were doing right then, when you tweet it that?" Ryan Ross Hernandez: " I was probably, so sort-of burnt out from doing one thing and the other that I just took a twitter break. I've had a bunch of experiences making this record where I went home, saying to myself "Oh we're getting it. We are just tagging this," but the other half of the time I walked up stairs and feel like I've done it, I reached my peak, musically, and that was it. I had a good run but my music career was over." Steven Smith: " Really, well what is the biggest difference between and evolution, from "Dark Secret Love," to this record?" Ryan Ross Hernandez: " "Dark Secret Love," wasn't as neat. So, it purposely had some rough edges on it. With "Hollywood Hills Assassin," it is sort-of all about this, perfect record, the vocals were sang a thousand times to make sure that each time you sing a line it is perfect. But it is also more endearing in the sense that, it really feels like me not on stage playing for you, for some of these songs, but in your house, in your bedroom playing for you. It is more intimate, more personal. And not to say that it is like a Neil Young record, but it's closer to a Neil Young record than a Sting record, this time around." Steven Smith: " Now the first single, "City Made of Vultures," has sort-of a bit of a Eric Clapton feel to it. Is that something you were going for?" Ryan Ross Hernandez: " Yeah. You know, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, and The Eagles. I mean coming out to California, to write, compose, and record the entire record, you will get influenced by the different sounds and different era's. I've always been a fan of the really laid back, melodic, straight to the point kind-of vibe. Not to say that there aren't those earnest, blues jams, but there is more laid back blues than Jimi Hendrix type, blues. That is why I knew I needed this song to be the first single, 'cause most people's first singles, and most of my first singles, have been the biggest thing you can find on the record. What's the biggest, loudest, tallest, sort-of largest thing you can find, and this was me wanting to go below all that. You have to go back to that place where it is most pure and simple and connected. And so, "City Made of Vultures," was sort-of like grabbing people by the collar and bringing them close again and going "Nope, it's just you and me."" Steven Smith: " This is your first record ever, that has opened the door to collaborations. How were you introduced with the collaborators? When did you go and say, "This song needs to have someone else on it," ?" Ryan Ross Hernandez: " I am very strange by getting other people to perform on my records because I just feel like, I want those records to be around forever and I don't know what someone else is going to do with their life. But I am really confident that this is not a gimmick. It is not like, featuring so-and-so, just to sell a record. And that's evidence by that, me hand picking the people that wanted to work with, it wasn't something arranged by the record label. Also the singing with the collaborators, are a little less than duets, more or so, to add leverage to the vocals that need them. But the artist brought in are extremely talented." Steven Smith: " That was a great answer." Ryan Ross Hernandez: " Thank you. I saw you get stomped by." Steven Smith: " I was like, "Wow," I don't know where to go from here." Ryan Ross Hernandez: " You're fast, you're dry, articulate glimpness, couldn't even overcome." Steven Smith: " It is my glimpness, that most people find appealing." Ryan Ross Hernandez: " Did you have to find the guy to interview me that is most like me?!" .END OF PART TWO.
COMING UP IN PART THREE... Ryan Ross Hernandez: (with southern accent) " It's like Stevie Wonder, lived down the street from Jackson Brown, and they hung out in Van Halen's basement." ( OOC: Took me so long to post part two, since when I was gonna post this past Tuesday, I lost the word document and didn't really feel like writing up the entire thing again until today when I got some inspiration to do so, and it also way shorter than I wanted it to be.) Edited by user 26 April 2010 06:14:20(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified |
