The Pier: Holiday in the Sun is such a dope track, had you been working on it for some time or is it brand new?
John e (vocals): Thank you! It’s brand new.
The Pier: There are lots of sounds going on in it and it has a lot of depth. Did it take a while to produce this track?
John e: Matt laid down the first beat at his studio in San Diego a few months ago and then Geoff went down there and recorded the guitars. Then we brought it up to our studio in LA and Shane laid down the drums, Jonathan dropped the clav line and our neighbor Bones laid down a violin track.
Then, I vibed on it for a few days, wrote the lyrics and recorded the vocals. At that point, there was a lot going on and it took days to get the mix right. The overall process did take some time.
The Pier: Your latest album Golden State of Mind, is probably the best OPM album released to date. Looking back on it now, how do you feel about it?
John e: I agree 100%. We really got into a different mindset before we started this record and wanted to crush it. I think, as a band, we have all really jelled and everyone is very focused on their individual role. On this record, we spent more time writing than recording, which is different for us. In the past, if there was a problem with a song, we would just re-record it. With this record, we would re-write the song, which meant we all had to have an open-mind about it, which is rare for bands who have been together for as long as us.
Also, working with Jim Perkins and Andrew Nast on this record had a big effect on the sound. They were instrumental in keeping us focused, especially with me, by taking the pro tools reigns so I could focus on singing rather than engineering.
The Pier: What other plans does OPM have for the rest of 2009? Any touring? Videos?
John e: We are actually on tour right now with Rehab. In fact, I’m somewhere in between Oregon and Reno right now, sitting in our brand new sprinter van typing away on my iPhone. We are still planning a UK tour for this year and we will also be touring in the South-West in October.
We have a new video coming out any day now for the track Feel the Vibration. It looks amazing. We also shot a video for Run Away, which I directed. It is being edited now. It’s like a short film and the song is the soundtrack.
We are also putting out a B-Sides record in a few months; it will have songs from our past records that never came out in the States, a few songs we did with Big B, as well as four re-records of songs from the Menace to Sobriety record.
The Pier: As a producer, what else are you working on at the moment?
John e: I am producing a bunch of stuff right now. I’m producing the first record for a band called Stinky Pinky. I’m also working with a band called Chico and the Sapphires, recording and mixing their hip-hop record Filth. As well, I’m recording a Japanese band called Inazuma. I’m in the process of finishing a few OPM mixes for the new CD as well as two tracks for our friends from HHR. Once I get all that wrapped, I’ll start to record Thunderchief’s record. And, as always, I am working on new OPM tracks.
