An interview with Thom from The Interrogation
An interview with Thom from The Interrogation
INTERROGATION
What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences?
My name is Thom Turner, Bandleader/Songwriter/Guitarist of The Interrogation. The name The Interrogation comes from a three-album concept project I had done almost 15 years ago! The Interrogation name comes from the fact that in the third album you find out that the story of the albums has been the main character giving testimony under interrogation. As this band is returning to my roots it seemed like it fit perfectly.
Our main influences are Coheed and Cambria, A Day To Remember, Four Year Strong, Thrice. Pretty much anything that was on Victory or Ferret or on any stage at Warped Tour in the 2000’s. We love big sing-along choruses and mosh parts and a whole lot of stage dives. Especially since we are all separated from a lot of live performance right now, we want our music to give you that feeling!
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
As the sole songwriter, my process has changed drastically for these songs. Normally I set out with a lyrical topic in mind and work to build the music to accompany it. With these songs I was coming from a very specific emotional place. My mother passed away in December 2018. In the aftermath of that I couldn’t write or play. The depression had set in very deeply. Then one day at work an entire song was just there. The music and the lyrics spoke of all the great summers I spent with my parents on Keuka Lake in Upstate NY. It is called “Shine”. Then another one named “Final Mystery” that spoke about alienation and loneliness was just there a few days later. Written in no more than 2 hours. Then our current singles “Kick It Off”, which is a humanistic call to arms for us to help each other and “Summer Love (In Hell)”, an upbeat summer rock song for those feeling anything but upbeat. All of these make up our new EP “Posters on My Wall” our September 25th.
For these songs, the topics came as a product of the cathartic process of writing music to help soothe my emotional distress. For the next set of songs I will be working from a specific topic and story. As some one who has dealt and deals with emotional illness I want to show the sides of it that have permeated my experience. I want to write stories that at their core have boundless hope but recognize the struggle.
EMOTIONAL
EMOTIONAL
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
As the sole songwriter, my process has changed drastically for these songs. Normally I set out with a lyrical topic in mind and work to build the music to accompany it. With these songs I was coming from a very specific emotional place. My mother passed away in December 2018. In the aftermath of that I couldn’t write or play. The depression had set in very deeply. Then one day at work an entire song was just there. The music and the lyrics spoke of all the great summers I spent with my parents on Keuka Lake in Upstate NY. It is called “Shine”. Then another one named “Final Mystery” that spoke about alienation and loneliness was just there a few days later. Written in no more than 2 hours. Then our current singles “Kick It Off”, which is a humanistic call to arms for us to help each other and “Summer Love (In Hell)”, an upbeat summer rock song for those feeling anything but upbeat. All of these make up our new EP “Posters on My Wall” our September 25th.
For these songs, the topics came as a product of the cathartic process of writing music to help soothe my emotional distress. For the next set of songs I will be working from a specific topic and story. As some one who has dealt and deals with emotional illness I want to show the sides of it that have permeated my experience. I want to write stories that at their core have boundless hope but recognize the struggle.
GENRE
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
To me genre has never played a huge part in what I have written. In the past I played in the metal band Freya (Featuring Karl Buechner of Earth Crisis) and wrote extremely technical and heavy music. I have written Jazz, reggae, samba, bluegrass and celtic music. For me the language of the music works with the lyrical language to help the story be told. For The Interrogation we want to have that energetic, fun but deeply personal feeling to our music. The pop/punk/emo/easycore genres are the best fit to tell those stories. On top of that it is just the music that we personally like the most.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
It is always about the impact and the bill. Firstly we had to take into account a lower tuning so our live vocalist can really nail a strong performance. So we dropped down a few steps for the stage. Secondly, it is about the bill. We have songs that are just blistering and raw and fit better with a heavier music crowd. We also have songs that could be done acoustic and not lose anything. We want to make the music we want but, it is always about how we can effectively communicate with the crowd!
IMPACT
IMPACT
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
It is always about the impact and the bill. Firstly we had to take into account a lower tuning so our live vocalist can really nail a strong performance. So we dropped down a few steps for the stage. Secondly, it is about the bill. We have songs that are just blistering and raw and fit better with a heavier music crowd. We also have songs that could be done acoustic and not lose anything. We want to make the music we want but, it is always about how we can effectively communicate with the crowd!
EP
What plans do you have for the future?
September 25th we are releasing our first EP entitled “Posters on My Wall”. It will be out on all platforms! We are in talks for after the new year for some shows around North America with plans to go to see our friends in Latin America. We always have new artwork and video being put out, so keep an eye on our socials.