By the time Echolyn released its second, self-titled album in 2012, the band felt secure as a part-time unit that came together when it was convenient for them and no one else. That year, guitarist Brett Kull Program about the difficult experiences – including a five-year separation – that gave them this security.
After the heady days of the 1970s and the decade that followed – when bands like Yes and Genesis were reinventing themselves for a wider audience – major record labels and progressive rock bands were reluctant and occasional in their partnerships. Pennsylvania quintet Echolyn were signed to the mighty Sony in the early 1990s… with predictably disappointing results. Twenty years later, they’re alive and kicking, amazingly still with the same lineup as their eponymous 1991 debut.
But life as a band was not always rosy. After a mixed experience with Sony for their third album, 1995 How the worldEcholyn split into two subunits. “We needed a break from each other to reevaluate what we were doing,” says guitarist Brett Kull about the experience that could have meant the end of the five friends’ musical careers.
Keyboardist Chris Buzby began teaching and led the jazz fusion ensemble Finneus Gauge through two albums; Kull, drummer Paul Ramsey, and singer Ray Weston formed a trio called Still (later called Always Almost) and released two albums; and bassist Tom Hyatt retired from music entirely.
In 1999, however, Echolyn reunited, spurred on by the strong bond between the members and the continued interest in the band – not least from the Internet. To describe the band as prolific would be an exaggeration, but the album “The 2000” began a four-album run. Cowboy poems for freeleading up to this summer’s new double album of the same name. (Confusingly, and perhaps with a nod to Peter Gabriel, this is the band’s second self-titled album.)
So how have they managed to stick together? Kull believes their prudence and self-criticism are two key elements. Additionally, his own approach has been influenced by his work with former It Bites singer/guitarist Francis Dunnery, with whom he toured in Dunnery’s New Progressives band. “I’ve worked with a lot of talented people over the years. Francis taught me a lot – that you have to be critical when you’re creating something. You have to be able to step back and analyze.”
Kull is now the only full-time musician in Echolyn, runs his own studio, Area 602, and teaches at a few local colleges. But when creativity strikes, the band comes together. “We’re one of those bands that do things when they’re inspired – we look for the creativity that justifies recording something.”
“We’re trying to get closer to the goal of writing a good song, whatever that may be,” laughs Kull, “we’re just trying to shed more and more baggage and figure out how to get better at writing. When you look back at your old stuff, it seems very juvenile and pretentious. You just hone your craft, and that makes us keep coming back and trying these things.”
Despite all the miniaturization advocated by Kull, some of the materials on Subscribe to (their newer CD of the same name does not use capital letters in the name to make them easier to distinguish) represents the opposite, with Some memorials And Speaking in lamp black both over 10 minutes long. “Yes,” agrees Kull, “but remember, size isn’t important! It’s really about the structure – and a song feels right when it’s finished.”
“This album is a lot simpler than most of our others at times – although it’s still very complex, just handled a little bit differently. To me it’s just a little bit more true, like just taking a lens and turning it a little bit more and trying to focus and get to the core of what we want to show. I’m not saying we’ve figured it out or we’ll ever figure it out, but that’s the journey.”
We really don’t think about Yes. I stopped listening to that stuff when I was probably 17.
For newbies, Subscribe to is a perfect taste of the band playing to their strengths. It’s steeped in rich melodies, thanks to the three-pronged vocal performance of Kull, Weston and Buzby. “We’re one of those progressive rock bands that can actually sing,” Kull points out. “I do a lot of festival recordings and I know a lot of bands, particularly progressive rock bands, that hire a singer who’s not in the band, or that sing really badly and just rely on their ability without bringing in the vocal part. Honestly, singing is one of the hardest things to do.”
Echolyn’s sound is inspired by Kull’s rockier influences, but not the ’70s prog you’d expect: “My favorite ’70s band would be Led Zeppelin. I love their energy and albums like The Who’s Live in Leeds. Whenever I play a live concert, I have that energy in my head. We really don’t think about Yes. I stopped listening to that stuff when I was 17, although a lot of people say it’s in our music – which is probably true, and I think that’s a really cool compliment.” Kull is also more attuned to acts like Elbow, Radiohead and Loco these days. “Those kind of bands influence us a lot because they do so much songwriting, melody and rhythm.”
Where the 70s flair comes up, in echolyn’s conception as a vinyl double album. “It’s reminiscent of the past,” says Kull, “but we forget what it was like to make music based on the limitations of vinyl. There is a time constraint. I thought of some of my favorite double albums, like Physical graffiti: Side three is perfectly laid out. It starts beautifully and has highs and lows, but there are time constraints. You have to think about how Zeppelin incorporated that and figured it out.”
Ironically, despite his excitement about Echolyn’s first-ever vinyl release, Kull is a strong advocate of the download era. “Back when we were at Sony, we were literally making pennies per sale, but now we’re making dollars.” He goes a step further and has an unusual view on illegal downloads. “Anyone who gets our music illegally then has the opportunity to buy our back catalog or give our music illegally to someone else, and then that person is given the opportunity to do the same.”
“For me, it’s just advertising. When we were with Sony, they paid us a lot of money to make us known all over the world. Now it’s free. I’ll definitely promote it,” explains Kull. “I have no problem with it (illegal downloading) at all.”
In 2012, Echolyn is on a steady upward trend, albeit with modest ambitions. “This hobby has developed for us more than we could have ever imagined. Every album we put out sells better than the last and I can’t tell you how happy we are.” But Kull doesn’t want to make exaggerated predictions about the future. “I haven’t the faintest idea, but I know it’s been a lot of work to get to this point.”
We actually like hanging out together and writing music. It’s fun and we want it to stay that way.
And although the band has great potential, Kull admits that everyone in the band has too many other commitments to focus entirely on Echolyn at the moment. There are positives, however. “I think one of the reasons the band is so successful is that we do it for the joy of it. I’m not saying that making music is always fun, because it’s hard work.”
“But when we get together, it’s because we want to get together. It’s not because we have deadlines or anything like that. We just like hanging out together and writing music together. It’s fun and we want it to stay that way.”
Although Kull and Ramsey have played live extensively with a variety of other artists over the years, Echolyn last toured Europe and America in 2005. But despite this lack of touring activity, they have no plans to tour again any time soon. “We get invited all the time,” says Kull. “We’ve just been offered a gig at a festival in Rome this fall, but we’re having to turn it down because we can’t find the time and we know it’s a lot of work to get back to that level of playing. I don’t want to go out there and fail!”
