SOURCE – In your own words, what is your vision for The Great Play of Extension EP?
Conner Poole (Vocals, Guitar) – World Domination would be ideal haha, but first it really just comes down to feeling like we one up ourselves and capitalize on exploring our boundaries as a band. Individually we constantly seek for the things that hide behind the curtains of our own playing, sometimes it just takes jamming with the intention of complete expression to find those little treats, the humanity, the purity. Our vision for The Great Play of Extension was exactly that. Pull back the curtain, do some improvisation, record the instrumentation live, let the songs sound as they were intended too and just see what happens. We’re really psyched on how it turned out!
SOURCE – With the release of The Great Play of Extension, how do you think the EP has been received by fans?
Conner Poole (Vocals, Guitar) – I’m not really sure. More people are listening so I guess pretty good! They seem to be intrigued by he progression of our sound, which is really cool. Excited to share this journey with the people that have hopped on board.
SOURCE – What usually sparks inspiration in your songwriting? Do you write based on the experiences in life you’re going through in that season, or do you take inspiration from elsewhere?
Conner Poole (Vocals, Guitar) – Songwriting is an ongoing process of experiencing and taking notes during moments of our lives it seems. We almost always have lyrics written for songs before the instrumentation happens, basically just poems that we end up weaving in over an instrumental. But it’s always different, there’s no set formula really… it’s just about trusting our instincts when something does or doesn’t feel right.
SOURCE – Do you and the guys plan on releasing another album in the next few years?
Conner Poole (Vocals, Guitar) – FURRRSURE
SOURCE – How has your band adjusted to the monetization of streaming versus the traditional way of selling albums?
Conner Poole (Vocals, Guitar) – Well we can buy beers sometimes with our royalties from streaming… Haha, wish I was kidding. We’ve just recently ordered vinyl for our debut record “The Big Grand Entrance”. So we’re finally going to have physical copies of an album for sale for the first time, pretty crazy feeling. We were fortunate enough to have fans help make the order happen by pre-ordering a copy and that was a huge moment for us. So grateful to have the people we do in our corner.
SOURCE – With the current climate in our world, how are you and the guys from the band staying in touch?
Conner Poole (Vocals, Guitar) – Thankfully us and our families have been able to stay healthy through everything so far. Luckily, we all live really close in a pretty secluded area and have a studio set up at home that has allowed us to continue to meet up, jam, and record through the pandemic.
SOURCE – COVID-19 has really affected the music industry, especially artists who depend on touring. How can we best support you guys during this time?
Conner Poole (Vocals, Guitar) – Artists, including us, definitely make most of our profits by playing shows. So in the current state of the world, the best way to support any of your favorite artists these days is by finding out where they sell their merch/music, and buy it! Bandcamp is huge for the modern day independent artist, you can buy and download high quality versions of your favorite songs or purchase their merch/physical copies. The majority of that money goes directly to the artist. For us, we put all of that money right back into our next endeavour and it allows us to keep pushing our music and vision to the next level. It’s awesome.
SOURCE – I know the music industry as a whole is taking a massive hit with having to shut down all tours and shows for the foreseeable future. How can your fans support you guys?
Conner Poole (Vocals, Guitar) – If you’re into vinyl, we’ve got our debut album “The Big Grand Entrance” up for pre-order on Bandcamp right now, as well as some other merch and entire digital discography for sale. Otherwise, just spread the word about us! We’ve got some really exciting things in the works and new releases coming soon. We’re definitely itching to get back out on the road but there’s no need to rush it in these times of uncertainty. The one thing that’s certain is that our world is a crazy place right now and everyone could use a little love. So be sure to spread love above all else.
Contact:
The Swell Fellas
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