An Interview with Eb+Flo

I am sitting in my former bedroom at my parent's house in Franklin, Tenn., where I have moved for the summer before returning to Nashville this August for my final semester in the Music Business program at Belmont University. Two of the four walls of this room are covered with built-in wooden shelves, so I am surrounded by various photographs and seemingly worthless tokens of my childhood. I don't like to throw things away.

There's a picture of me playing drums in my family's living room with my first band in Omaha, Nebraska and another of me being interviewed on-the-air in the studio of a radio station when I was seven, which has been enlarged into an embarrassing 8X10.

It is now 11:30pm on a Saturday that has finally offered me a chance to relax. I am in the midst of a five-week summer course in Business Finance at Belmont University that meets each weekday morning at 7:30am, a class that I must take in order to graduate early this coming December. In addition to that, I am currently working at a two-week day camp for 10-to-13-year-olds during the remainder of my daytime hours. Needless to say, I have been more tired this past week than I can remember being in a long time.

I believe that this interview, however, is just the remedy I need to both ease the stress and to keep me focused. Actually, I have always loved -- even sought out -- surveys to complete, so I am looking forward to this.

As I answer these questions, I am listening to Everything All the Time by Band of Horses. It is one of my favorite records of the year so far.

Eb+Flo: Where are you from?

David Condos: The place that holds the title of "hometown" in my mind is Omaha, Nebraska. This was the city that provided the backdrop for a vast majority of my growing up. It is where I got my first job (as a grocery bagger at the local Hy-Vee Food Store), wrote my first song, and even served my first prison sentence. Just kidding.

EB: How did you get your start in music?

DC: My real start as a musician came in 1996 when I became a drummer. A family friend let me play drums for a worship band that he was starting at our church. I had just begun playing percussion in the school band, but of course they made me start out on bells and wood block, things that no 12-year-old who wants to be a rock star is excited about. I loved writing songs when I was a kid too. I must have written well over 100 songs during the time that I was in grades 3-6. But since I couldn't really play any melodic instruments at the time, they were all just words and a vocal melody. I still have all those old lyric sheets in a big accordion folder somewhere.

I taught myself guitar about three years ago. I still really enjoy playing drums, but I love what I am doing now, especially the songwriting aspect.

EB: You play lots of instruments. Of the more unique ones, which is your favorite and why?

DC: Of the more unique ones, I would say my Vox Jaguar. It is a 1960's combo organ, similar to a Farfisa. I got it at a thrift store here in town last summer and it remains the highlight of my very long and illustrious thrift shopping career. It just has a really great vintage sound and it looks amazing. I was so excited about using it on the recordings that [producer] Tom [Laune] and the guys in the band had to keep me in check to make sure that I didn't overuse it. We ended up tracking it on five or so songs on the album though and it really added a lot. I think we were all pleasantly surprised with its versatility.

EB: Being 21, have you found it difficult to be taken as seriously as you'd like as a musician?

DC: I've never actually really thought about that. So, I guess my answer would have to be no. Or maybe I just don't realize it. There are a lot of really young songwriters that have come out with really great music lately, so I don't feel like there should be any reason for taking someone less seriously just because of their age. One of my favorite singer/songwriters is Finn Andrews of The Veils. I think that he was only 17 when he wrote most of their debut album, The Runaway Found. And that's one of my all-time favorite records. Listening to the songs on that record, it's just amazing that he was so young. Patrick Wolf is another example of a great young singer/songwriter.

But, no, I don't feel like I have been looked down upon in that regard, which is nice.

EB: Describe your music in five words.

DC: Impassioned, Eclectic, Cerebral, Poignant, Engaging

EB: What makes you different than other artists who could be described using the same five words?

DC: I'm actually not very good at describing my own music. I think that's because I am very involved in every aspect of its creation in a very detailed way, so it's difficult for me to step back and compare it to someone else's creation. But I believe that every songwriter is unique in the same way that every person is unique. So I think that the human element of who I am probably makes the music different.

EB: Who are your influences?

DC: I always have a hard time with this question because I don't really feel like my songwriting is directly influenced by other songwriters. So I usually just list off a few artists that I would like to think that I could be associated with, people like Leslie Feist, Pete Yorn, Radiohead, Jeff Tweedy, Interpol, Jeff Buckley, and so on.

I would say, however, that these artists and a few others have definitely influenced the sounds on the record. And as far as shaping the sounds goes, the guys in the band had just as much of a part in that as I did. For instance, I know that [guitarist] Ian [Leach] really likes a lot of Interpol's guitar work and that [drummer] David [Grant] loves Wilco, so I am sure that little instrumental things can be heard here and there that point back to those artists. I really think that Ian, David, [studio bassist] Matt [Pierson], and Tom's musical influences show up in the sound of the record just as much as mine.

EB: Who have you been compared to that you wish you weren't?

DC: A lot of very successful people, surprisingly. I guess the one that comes to mind is James Blunt. As a songwriter who really labors meticulously over every part of every song, that comparison just doesn't make sense to me. Not to bash his songwriting, but it just isn't something that speaks to me. So it feels weird when a person compares me to someone like him. I don't really know what to say. But he's enjoying a lot of success right now, so I'm sure that that person is only trying to give me a compliment.

EB: Where does the title Smoking City come from?

DC: It comes directly from the title of the 8th track on the album. But the city that I am referring to in that song is actually Nashville itself. There are still some great artists here, but I just feel like this great city has fallen far from where it used to be. I think that a majority of recent popular music in general has become sadly inauthentic. This problem is certainly not limited to Nashville, but I'm just very close to it here. And since people are still buying that music, it creates a stagnant creative environment. Therefore, songwriters and artists who may otherwise be visionaries in their fields are encouraged to make music that is more of a product to sell than a genuine work of art, which is sad. That's all. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy living here.

EB: What drew you to want to work with Tom Laune on this project?

DC: More than anything, it was his personality and how he meshed with the dynamic that David, Ian, and I have. Before making this record, I knew very little about production or mixing, so judging his technical skills wasn't really the main criteria in my decision. Of course, he is incredibly skilled with the production/technical stuff too. But, more importantly, I thought that he was a good fit on a personal and musical level. I felt like he really "got" my vision for the music. He has always been careful not to get in the way of my artistry, but rather to do all he can to make sure that it reaches its potential. He also really supports having David, Ian, and me play as much of a part in the recording process as possible, which is very important to me.

EB: Any interesting stories from the studio?

DC: We had fun the whole time. This was my first time working on a project that's anything close to this, so every moment in the studio was an incredible treat for me. We took a lot of video of our time in the studio too, so hopefully I'll get around to editing that into a short film someday. Then we can show everyone how big of nerds we are.

One story that I remember was when Ian and I were in the studio back in January when he was tracking guitars. For whatever reason, Tom owns a very large tomahawk and has a big log set up in the yard behind the studio where he practices throwing it. On this particular day, we were feeling a little burnt out since it was our fourth or fifth day of tracking in a row. So Tom made us take a break and go throw the tomahawk at the log for while. Thirty minutes later, we went back in and tracked the parts for "Keep Your Hand On The Door," which ended up being some of my favorite guitar work on the album. Go figure. And yes, I got plenty of video footage of us throwing the tomahawk.

EB: Which is more important to you: lyrics or music?

DC: I would have to say lyrics. I take my lyrics very seriously and they are all written out of my own personal experience. Since I don't consider a song completed until I am satisfied with every word of the lyrics, I have spent months finishing some songs. For "The Last One I Love," for instance, I wrote the song and then completely re-wrote the lyrics to the entire song months later because I was unhappy with the first draft. It ended up being about a totally different subject the second time I wrote it, and I think it ultimately ended up being much better. That song took about four months to finish. On the other hand, I wrote some of the songs on the album from start to finish in a day or two.

I've tried co-writing and it just doesn't appeal to me. I think that songwriting is an extremely personal form of art, like painting. You don't see three guys with paint brushes huddled around a canvas trying to create something. They would just get in the way of each other's artistry. I feel that it's the same way with creating a song.

EB: What's your favorite movie?

DC: This is by far the easiest question of the interview so far. "Clifford" [a 1994 dark comedy starring Martin Short] has been my favorite movie since I was in junior high. A lot of people don't really get it, but it just really appeals to my sense of humor for some reason. Everything that Martin Short does and says in that movie is pure comedy gold. They should dedicate entire acting school courses to the study of his performance in that movie.

EB: Any plans for the summer?

DC: Now that the album is released, I'll be starting to play more shows again. I'm hoping to do some small touring toward the end of the summer with a stripped-down version of the band. Early this fall, we'll play our actual CD release show and begin a healthy schedule of full-band shows around town.