Apartment 5 Ready to Break Down its Walls | Band Notes

From left to right: vocalist Nick Askew, guitarist Joel Paul, original drummer J.D. Paul, bassist Max Glenn

“Super Fast Abby” by Apartment 5

[audio:http://www.ozarksunbound.com/audio/Superfast_Abby.mp3]

By Jeff Sistrunk
Ozarks Unbound

FAYETTEVILLE – In today’s fickle musical landscape, it’s rare for bands to stay together for more than a couple years.

Fayetteville-based pop-rock quartet Apartment 5 played its first gig five years ago and shows no signs of slowing down. Since its humble origin in a friend’s Duncan Street apartment (guess which number?) back in junior high, the band – guitarist/vocalist Nick Askew, guitarist Joel Paul, bassist Max Glenn and drummer Matt Johannesen- has become one of Fayetteville’s most in-demand acts, appearing regularly at venues on Dickson Street and attracting a solid fan base.

Now, with a new record in the works, Apartment 5 wants to break out of the local scene and go nationwide.

The roots for Apartment 5 were planted by Glenn and Paul back in their elementary school days. Shortly after Paul picked up the guitar, he received a bass from his father for Christmas. In need of a jamming partner, Paul convinced Glenn to learn the 4-string.

The first incarnation of Apartment 5 came together during the pair’s junior high years as a cover band specializing in everything from Jimi Hendrix to Eve 6. Then, after recruiting drummer J.D. Paul (no relation to Joel) in 2004, the band began writing its own songs. Johannesen filled in for J.D. this past summer after the latter left to start a solo career composing electro music.

I recently sat down with Apartment 5 at Arsaga’s on Gregg to discuss the band members’ journeys and hear about their plans for the future.

Who are your biggest influences?

Joel: Incubus, definitely. We went through a five-year obsession with them. (Our tastes have) kind of evolved. We go through two month binges on a certain band, and our music reflects that.

Nick: What’s our binge right now?

Joel: Fleet Foxes.

Max: I’ve been listening to Phoenix a lot. The Strokes.

Joel: Yeah, I think the Strokes are the underlying base of everything.

How many years has it been since you started writing your own material?

Max: Sophomore year of high school (August 2004).

Have you played any gigs that stand out?

Joel: Recently, we approached a band who’s been a big influence of ours- they’re called Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin. We got in touch with them on a whim to see if they would come down and play a show with us. They came down last summer and again this summer.

Max: We also played a show for a summer camp at the Greek Theatre (in high school, 2006), and all these girls were going nuts.

Joel: Yeah. It may not have been the biggest crowd looking back on it, but at the time it seemed humongous.

Nick: I’d probably say the Foo Fighters’ after-party was a highlight.

Joel: When the Foo Fighters came to Barnhill (in February 2008) we played the after-party at George’s.

Were the Foo Fighters there?

Joel: A couple of them were. I know their drummer (Taylor Hawkins) was there. Dave Grohl wasn’t. Their tour manager was there, though. He really liked us and asked if we had any CDs. So we burned some really quick, but by the time we were done, the tour bus had already taken off. I sprinted after them but never caught up.

Have you guys recorded recently?

Max: Yeah, we’ve been going to this studio in Memphis, Ardent Studios. We’ve had an ongoing thing with them for about a year. Our producer, Curry Weber, is a great guy. We went there in August 2008, January 2009, and June 2009.

Joel: It’s a really nice studio; it got started up in the 1960s. Their clients were overflow clients from Sun Studios.

Matt: (Ardent has) had some huge artists record there. B.B. King, Led Zeppelin…

Nick: Lately, we’ve gotten away from (studios) and started doing a lot more home recording. Ardent gave us a crisp sound, but we’ve always been into the lo-fi vibe.

Joel: We didn’t want (our music) to sound like a commercial.

Max: Ardent is really good at making your music sound like a commercial (laughs).

How would you compare your sound now to when you started writing original music?

Joel: It’s better, to say the least. We used to just throw some power chords and minor chords and go crazy. Now we put a lot of thought into it.

Max: I think we have a little better song structure.

Matt: There’s definitely a lot more thought. Before I joined the band, I was a fan of their music. When I joined, I was struck by their writing process- it’s not just “play this beat” or “play that minor chord.” Everything’s very well thought out. I’ve never been part of a band that really thinks about each song.

What is your songwriting process like?

Max: (Nick and Joel) are our main songwriters. Usually one of these two will have the idea for a part of a song or a whole song.

Nick: If Joel’s writing a song, I’ll usually base my lyrics on what I feel when I hear (the music). It’s based on what I think the song needs.

Joel: Should I tell the Abby story?

Max: Yeah, I think it’s worth hearing.

Joel: I wrote a song called “Superfast Abby.” I was dreaming, and I had a dream about this girl who was pissed at the government and broke into this plant where they were putting tracking devices on cars and she was going to take them off. She got caught, and guards started chasing after her, and they were shooting at her and the alarms were going off. In my mind, it went into slow motion. The lyrics, chords and melodies just came into my mind at that moment. So when I woke up, I rushed to my guitar and figured out the chords from what I heard in the dream. Then I told Nick about it, and he came up with the rest of the words and the chorus. That’s probably the coolest songwriting process I’ve ever had.

How did you change up your songs live, as opposed to how they stand on CD?

Matt: I think it depends on the crowd.

Max: I would almost say that we have more elaborate stuff on our recordings. We’ve tried to tone it down lately, but in the past we’ve layered like eight guitar parts (in the studio). One thing that stands out in our live show is that we’re very active onstage. And our singer doesn’t stink, which is good (laughs).

Where do you hope to take Apartment 5 in the future?

Joel: I want to play some music festivals.

Max: That would be nice. And Joel’s said this before, and I’ve adopted it as my personal goal: I want to be able to live off (music).

Joel: Even if it’s not very well…

Max: Yeah, even if it’s living like a poor college student. Just the fact that you’re living off something you really enjoy doing would be enough.

Joel: South by Southwest is an actual possibility- we could probably play that next year- or CMJ (Music Marathon). And I also hope to just keep writing songs. I want to write good songs that people will listen to over and over even after I’m dead (laughs).

COMING SHOWS

Sept 18: Acoustic show at Arsaga’s on Crossover (w/Star and Micey)
Oct. 24: Boom Boom Room (w/ A Good Fight and Plaid Jackets)
Nov. 13: Grub’s

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