Deas Vail | Choose Your Own Atmosphere
o strangers to creating perfectly blissful moods, Deas Vail has once again stepped into the spotlight and have remained one of indie pop music’s most underrated acts today. They may be a band perpetually flying under the radar but with their new self-titled record boasting some of the band’s best work to date, the future of Deas Vail could be on the verge of a well deserved turn. Their songs inspire and encourage atmosphere, without telling the listener exactly what those surroundings should look like. Your knowledge of these underdogs who tour with huge names may be limited but here, Wes Blaylock fills you in on every detail.
The day I jammed your new record on repeat was the first day of rain this fall in my town. Is it important to you guys that your music creates an atmosphere? If so, what were you aiming for this time around?
Wes Blaylock: Yes, it is certainly important that the music creates an atmosphere, but just like your story, the atmosphere has variables that we cannot control. That’s the beauty of it really. The music, for you, is associated with the first rain of the fall. For others it could be a completely different experience. Also, there isn’t a whole lot of conceptualized atmosphere that we plan and then intentionally write into a project. The atmosphere of an album usually presents itself and is more so a product of our subconscious.
Your name roughly translates to “servant of God”. Is that something that has kept you in check as a band over the years when things are getting rough? How have your goals changed?
WB: Our name is a reminder for us about who we are and where we started as a band. The spiritual affiliation that comes with our name is really personal to us. There is no literal, or grammatical, translation for Deas Vail though. We made up the name back when we started writing songs together; before we started touring or releasing albums. Unfortunately, “Christian” has some unwelcomed assumptions tied to it; particularly within music. We are all Christians and we all love music. This doesn’t mean that we are a worship band or that we don’t live life within the same circumstances that the rest of the world does. Our band name derives from who we are intrinsically but it doesn’t box us in or push others away. For this reason, we describe ourselves as Christians but we don’t describe our band as a Christian band. Basically, and without going any deeper, individuals can view us however they want. We are who we are and that isn’t going to change due to public opinion either way. I hope it is okay that I explain that. It’s hard to not talk about it when so many times we are assumed to live one way or another.
Walk us through your writing process a bit. Is it all pretty collaborative or is there more of a designated “last filter”?
WB: Our songs are nearly always collaborative, and each song is a little different. We try hard to not box ourselves in as writers by following a specific equation when writing. If we all have an open mind about songs, trust each other, and can take constructive criticism from one another, we can work out a good number of ideas in a few writing sessions. Then we usually take the stronger of those ideas and try to mold them into songs.
You guys have toured with acts such as Owl City, Lights, Relient K. What have these experiences touring with huge acts taught you about the industry and about yourselves as a full time touring band?
WB: We are always recreating and learning more about song writing and performing. I hope that never stops because it keeps us fresh and inspired. Touring with the bands mentioned above was a huge privilege and we learned a lot about what goes into touring at that level both on stage and behind the scenes. When your band grows, its needs grow as well. At this point, we are touring without a crew because we can get by without one. Bands like Copeland, Lydia, Mae, Relient K, (who we toured with last year) need a lot more people involved in order to be successful. You can imagine all of the details that have to be worked out when you have a full crew. All of the logistics are done in order to support a better live performance though. Everyone is working together for one thing…a great show.
This record is very pretty but has a slight edge to it that I feel like we haven’t seen from Deas Vail quite yet. This is most noticeable on my favorite track “Towers”. Can you walk us through that track?
WB: Let me start by saying that I am not an expert in politics or economics. I do however have some thoughts about basic rights and wrongs that we seem to have become comfortable with overlooking. “Towers” is a song about being frustrated with our economic and political system. It seems to me like the majority of Americans, and perhaps the world, are as well. I think we all just want to feel like we can trust our leaders. It seems like it has been a long time since we’ve had a “servant of the people” who can really make changes happen. There are too many obstacles that keep good leaders from being able to really help.
The “towers” from the song, represent what we call The American Dream, which to me has evolved into something totally different than when it started. Freedom is what the American dream should be all about but somehow our industrial attitude has in many ways shackled people. For instance, health care in this country is a massive problem for us. I am angry with lobbyists’ who continue to bribe politicians in order to keep productive, and much needed, changes from occurring. Lobbying is also popular within the food industry. Does that worry you? It should! How about oil! Do you think we should be okay with those companies pouring millions of dollars into making sure political policies work out in their favor? These industries need better “checks and balances” to ensure that they are doing “good work” which benefits humanity and the world. Unfortunately money is where the power is here and those who seek only money never have anyone else’s best interests in mind.
WB: “Towers” is about those thoughts and how they make me sad. History repeats itself, and we repeat ourselves by not noticing. Not noticing is scary of course. I hope we wake up soon and defend ourselves from us, and the societies we have created.
Wow. Yes! Switching gears a bit, your sound is reminiscent of bands like Eisley, Sherwood or The Forecast. Who are some of your contemporaries that you really look up to and admire what they’re doing stylistically?
WB: That is a hard question because like we said before, we all write together. So, each of us have a different kinship with the bands that each of us love. Andy would draw inspiration from bands like The Flaming Lips or Radiohead, Justin loves The Get Up Kids, Laura has years of classical background, Wes S. has put together the best dance mix I have ever seen/heard but he also loves Elvis Costello, and I am a lover of folk and rock music like The Acorn, Tom Petty, Fleet Foxes, etc. We all bring these influences to the table for every song.
The record is self-titled. Any particular reason? Is this just simply the best representation of what Deas Vail is all about?
WB: It felt right and that is the biggest reason. A couple other reasons would be that we had never recorded like this before. We were able to co-produce this album so we had a lot of input within every step. Because of this, we feel like we made an album that really represents us. So yes…best representation to date.
Overall, what do you want people to gain from listening to this record?
WB: I hope they love it! I hope they feel inspired and I hope the album will mean things to people that we never intentioned or imagined. Just like your experience with our music on a rainy day in the fall. That is the biggest appeal for artists. To be a part of someone else’s journey through a piece of art, in our case a song, is our greatest honor.
Thank you for speaking with us! Anything else you’d like to add?
WB: We would like to say thank you to all our fans. We could not do this without you. It means more to us than I know how to express that you listen to our music, come to our shows, and become a part of a community with us through it all.
