Paul: Hi! Please introduce yourself and your role in the band.
HC: Hello, I’m Jarrett and I play bass in Houston Calls.
Paul: For those of you yet to come across Houston Calls, please describe the band in one sentence.
HC: I would say were a poppy rock band who is all about having a good time.
Paul: It’s been three years between albums which is quite a long time -what have you been up to during this downtime?
HC: Well we wrote the new record over the course of that downtime. We went back and fourth a lot with the label and our good friend Bob Freeman (ex Hidden in Plain View) who was recording our demos. Then it was back and fourth between different producers. The process was rather draining and I think a lot of us weren’t even sure if we ever were going to finish writing this record. I feel like we had 40 demos by the time we were done. Other than that I personally was working for a commercial director in New York City shooting table top commercials (the perfect sandwich, the perfect coffee…etc..)
Paul: I was also reading that the album was completed in April but won’t be out until October – why the delay?
HC: A lot goes into the release of a record. You are always suppose to have 3 months from delivering the masters of the record until the release. This gives all the setup time for the distro and marketing amongst other things. With all the time put into this record we were rather picky I would say about our mixes. We left the studio in early May but it took over another month until we were happy with mixes. Next you have to be able to set a mastering date which is usually a few weeks after that. Just takes time I guess.
Paul: Why call the new record ‘The End of an Error’?
HC: I guess it just seemed fitting with the delay of this record. It was kind of a fresh start for the band. Having over 3 years in between a release is a really rough thing for a band. Some of the things that stalled the record were our bands own fault. I would say we learned from our mistakes and that’s how the title kind of fits. I won’t deny I was a bit worried about the record coming out so close to the US Presidential election and I thought people may take it that way.
Paul: The artwork for the new record is so good! Who came up with the concept? With new members in the band does it have some kind of ‘new start’ hidden meaning?
HC: Our good friend Jesse Burton did the art for us. I can’t say we really were responsible for much of it. We kinda let him run with it. Toms girlfriend Lexi drew the pictures of us inside the booklet which was the original idea for how we wanted the art to look. Jesse just kinda took that and turned it into what he did. No real hidden meanings :(..Although there is one with the secret track…But I’m not spilling that one just yet.
Paul: The record was produced by Mark Weinberg – how did you find the recording process and did you do anything differently this time around compared to the recording of ‘A Collection of Short Stories’?
HC: Mark Weinberg is a gnarly producer. The dude is just one of those guys who can suggest anything and for some reason you always feel like it is better than the idea you just had. It was our first record that we had a producer and an engineer on which was really cool. Normally the engineer is producing our band as well so they have two jobs. The setup this time allowed Mark to concentrate on the band, and the songs, and the feel of those songs. Karl was the guy who turned all the fun knobs and buttons. Crazy Karl!
Paul: Whenever bands release a new album they always say ‘this is definitely the best album we have ever recorded’…so what can we expect from the new album? What has influenced you as an artist in helping create this record?
HC: Oh I think this album is by far the biggest piece of shit we ever wrote and dare recorded. haha.. It is true that bands are usually most proud of their recent work but I think that goes for all creative jobs. This record had a lot of influence from all over the place being it was a 2.5 year process. I would say the big thing with this record that is different from the last record is that this is a record. A Collection of Short Stories was kinda 11 songs that were the same but done differently. The End of An Error has different feels throughout it (and not in some hippy way)… It’s just got all sorts of songs that I feel turns it into a true record/album whatever you want to call it.
Paul: How did you hook up with Vinnie Fiorello’s new management firm?
HC: I’ve known Vinnie for a bunch of years first getting his AIM name from a friend when I was like 17 and wanted to talk to someone in Less Than Jake. Vinnie always was interested in what I was doing band wise and he approached us to manage us I guess 2 years agoish?? Unfortunately the other day both of us (band and management) have decided to part ways. Vinnie and Kyle from the management team will always be considered some of my great friends and I can’t wait to play with those dudes in Australia this Feb/March! Gonna be sick
Paul: You were originally on Rushmore but the new record is on Drive Thru – has Rushmore been absorbed? Will the fans notice any difference?
HC: I’m gonna spill the beans. Sorry Drive Thru or Rushmore… Rushmore & DTR are basically the same label. Same staff/distro/office etc.. It’s all the same. So many kids love the gossip of dtr/rushmore and whose on what…Did Houston Calls get bumped up to dtr for this record? Did they get more money cause they are on dtr? It’s all the same thing to us. I’ve been saying I’m on Drive Thru Records for the past 6 years haha.
Paul: Are you looking forward to touring the UK? Do you have any good tour stories from previous visits?
HC: I can’t wait to get to the UK. It’s kinda funny that after 3+ years till a cd release we end up in the UK the day it comes out in the US. Go figure. This tour is with a UK based band called You Me @ 6. These dudes are killing it in the UK right now and the whole tour looks like it should be sold out by the time we get to the UK. They also seem like really fun loving vodka drinking excessive cigarette smoking kinda guys which may be a better description of our band but hopefully they’re close. They seem awesome and I’m stoked to have honor of direct supporting them in their country. Farewell is also on that tour which should be pretty awesome as well. I met some of those guys when I was like 20 so they must of been 12ish. haha.. I think it’s a great tour package and it should be a great time for everyone involved minus the drivers =).
Paul: If there is anything you wish to add please leave it here!
HC: Thank you for the interview and hopefully everyone can go pick up the record the week of October 14th and help support our band. Hopefully we will see you on tour wherever you may be from!