What is it like to keep on doing the same project for years? In a world with shortening attention spans, it seems that it’s harder than ever to stay the course.
Not for the trio at Ameriglow.
The band comprises of Jacob Darden as the songwriter-lead/vocals-guitarist/multi-instrumentalist, Zack Koontz as the drummer and backing vocals, and Arlie as the bassist/multi-instrumentalist.
Ameriglow’s story started with Jacob Darden making music years ago and constantly having people go in and out of performing live with him. Despite lack of consistent personnel, he managed to on-board Zach and Arlie on the team.
On May 22nd the band is releasing a highly anticipated full-length album after a four-year hiatus. They prove that it really is up to us to keep going or kill a project.
Ameriglow chose the former as great art shall never die.
The Riff: How did Ameriglow get started?
Darden: From the start Ameriglow was a continuation of my solo projects, which had evolved sonically and transformed names over the years, but the project Ameriglow is where it landed and settled in.
I believe it was the fall of 2012, I was living in Greensboro, NC, and had been writing some new material when a good friend of mine, Jack Carter, said, “Why don’t you come record these tracks, I know a guy.”
I had taken a few years off from making music, did some wander lusting, but had lots of previous various forms of what I was doing and was always at it. At the time I had always been more intrigued by the recording process itself, the “documentation” of the art, than my live format, and was persistently recording tracks, EP’s, or albums. That was around the time I took the name Ameriglow and let it bloom into more of a physical presence that could be presented live.
And to add a bit more light to the complexity and growth of it all, Ameriglow truly found its roots [in the] fall of 2019, as an actual organism. We considered where we are in this current time, the full-fledged start. There were a collection of musicians in the past, honestly around 25–30, of good friends who weaved in and out of the band for live performances, sometimes accumulating to nine people on stage. The amount of track layers I do within the studio takes a lot of good hearts with good thoughts to accomplish in a live setting.
After another four year break of wandering aimlessly around the country and not wanting to play, around 2016, I found my family. That family consists of Zach Koontz on drums and multi-instrumentalist Arlie Huffman, but it extends to others in the art, graphics, and film community. We are tight knit group that works extremely well together like a natural symbiotic relationship.
I feel lucky to know them and call Ameriglow home with them.
The Riff: Wow, what a story!
How has the immense change of personnel throughout the years influenced the sound of Ameriglow’s music, even before 2019 when it became the organism that it is?
Darden: Well it being primarily my personal outlet of expression for so long, it mostly was influenced or changed by what I was experiencing at that moment, my wins and losses, demons and blessings, the people within my life, my position or outlook on the world, record to record and sonics to sonics. I still wrote, produced, and arranged most of the music with the help of engineers and mixers, so though every record has its on unique quality, because of rigs, available equipment and resources, studio work provided by friends within the vast amount of workplaces, but it still always kept an Ameriglow synchronicity.
There’s always been the vain of a similar theme in all aspects despite all the above waves it has passed through. Ameriglow may be a chameleon, but there’s a base color to its genetic structure, a place it returns to after emitting a kaleidoscopic of discordance. I hope we have created our own bubble, I suppose. I don’t know how anyone would ever want to be locked into a closed room with a plethora of akin artists and then swallow the key.
Art is art and has no limits, rules, or boundaries, when pertaining to the cultural structures implemented on where a band fits in, within the vague relation to genre or sound aesthetics. In a nutshell, I believe the core of Ameriglow’s integrity has remained constant and standalone, and though the trials and tribulations told may have evolved, and the emerging variables of involvement of other party’s sonically are a factor, Ameriglow has predominantly stayed Ameriglow. Now with this new crew I hope to continue that legacy, and have both Arlie and Zach take me to some unknown plateau, within the realm of Ameriglow .
Koontz: In the past with bigger lineups, the band obviously had a huge sound with multiple vocal harmonies and guitars. There was also slightly more focus on the Americana side of things. Having such a revolving cast of musicians both in the studio and in live settings generated a really genre-melding sound and set the stage for what all the band could become. We have a lot to be grateful for from early contributors to the band.
Now, with the current lineup, the focus has been on pulling off a similarly huge sound with only three people. It’s been a really fun process to learn how to do more with less and we owe a lot of that to Arlie, who has helped template the technical tools we use in our live set. We really look forward to being able to play shows and tour when the time comes and this scaled down lineup will make that a much easier process. Not to say that we won’t add more members in the future, but we are confident that this is something we can build on and establish ourselves as a consistent touring band.
As far as the sound goes, I’d say we’re trying to move towards making music more geared for our time, utilizing more synths and electronic elements, while still being true to our roots and songwriting standards. There’s also a certain aspect of maturity present in the new material, not to say that previous albums were immature or lacking in any way. To put it another way, previous albums were much like describing the feeling of being in a storm. The new material is looking with resolve at the impending storm from afar, knowing that after the inevitable devastation, things will work out and be made whole again.
The Riff: Can you elaborate more on this evolution of maturity in your sound?
Darden: Well the maturity that Koontz was referencing was more in relation to our current live format. In the past lives of Ameriglow it was “all hands on deck, crank up as loud as you fucking can, that’s a decent enough exchange in levels between the instruments, where is my beer, find what gear you can, teach a friend a new instrument to fulfill a void in a live construct with hopes of the best outcome, hey man can we borrow your gear since your back-lining? etc.”
I remember times when Arlie and I played in Israel Darling, I fronted that band as well, when we would just blast through sets like it was a house show on stage. We were just young and trying to just get through each set. It was more about the records in the past, perfecting that studio work and then just doing what I could to make it work live with little thought or a template.
Now we have become planned in every action and decision we make. Our current rig is set up to our personalized standards. We dream it, we make it. Most everything is modified, from our guitars, effects, stacks, drum kit, to the way we process sounds using samplers, triggers, and other forms of live manipulation. We made the recordings in that bubble, come to life. We know what we want to accomplish and we are DIY [and] utilitarian enough to get it figured out with limited economic resources. Knowledge is free, I mean it’s everywhere, and we dive into every aspect for our live show that will make it flawless. Everything is hot rigged and honestly wouldn’t work out if three strangers grabbed our instruments and tried to play their own music.
We have a lot of secrets we have figured out through months and months of intense research and lots of times absolute failure. Our tonality is ours, our processes our ours. Arlie has been a major factor in discovering and guiding us through a lot of this. We are proud this time around, we want our audience to walk out scratching their heads, we want a true performance on all ends to represent a magical moment for those witnessing it. No half-ass bullshit, give people something to smile about.
We are honestly pulling more off with three introverts, but extremely diligent heads, than I every could have accomplished with seven people. It’s definitely a hustle and a work ethic this time around. Some may think its not cool to give it your all, I disagree. Art should be something you’re proud of, and you should not be afraid or ashamed to treat it like its your only mission in life to please the people who paid hard earned money to see you.
The Riff: It’s clear that you’ve seen a lot of what works and what doesn’t over the years with the band.
One thing we’re interested in learning more about is the engagement between your fans, your music, and the band mates. How does the experience of your fans interacting with your music differ when you have changing band mates versus the consistent current trio?
Koontz: As far as fan interaction, we haven’t had much of a chance to really gauge how our fans will receive this new iteration since our first show back was postponed. But judging from the anticipation we are building for our new album through social media. and more traditional media outlets, we have heard nothing but good things. I think folks see and appreciate a newfound cohesiveness we are working towards. We work every day to try and bring our fans something new and truly show them love.
Genuine is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days, but we really do have a genuine connection with our fans and many of them deeply connect with the music. That is what we strive for, a legacy of sustaining lifelong fans and sort of co-creating meaning from that. It may take longer than a one-time listen to really connect with that, but as Darden said before, there is a distinguishable genetic structure present, and we think that once folks take the time to discern that, they too will become lifelong fans.
Darden: The maturity even translates in our merch. We make sure our threads, our tapes, our prints, etc., are always the highest quality and generally locally sourced, both on the manufacturing process and when dealing with local artist. We want people to hold something and hear something that is worth their time. We care about our fans.
The Riff: You really spent a ton of time designing every detail of your band, whether it’s the tonality or even the manufacturing of the merch.
What are some of these unique features of let’s say your tonality and processes? And have your fans themselves ever overtly noticed the uniqueness of these aspects of Ameriglow?
Darden: I believe that the fans notice it as the organism it is when they hear it. The recording techniques used are wacky, but I believe in finding the root of a sound you want from start, not later with tones of studio magic.
An example for tonality would be this…my father is a luthier and I am lucky to have his guidance in these situations. He’s the humble man who does not know what a steampunk is, but if [it] was a real thing, he would be in that classification. He has mentored me and helped me craft my instruments to do exactly what they should do. Everything from my string gauge and selection, tuning, pickups [and] routing of the pickups, and wood grain/material, are setup for proper intonation and resonance in correlation with how the guitar translates to my rig and pedals. It’s all fine tuned to create the sounds I need. Even the drum kits, bass rig, EQ for synths, samples, the routing of all of our mad scientist projects and mini tape decks, etc., are set as to match my vocal tonality and range, and our fluid with each other in the game of ”give or take”.
I can’t speak about the others exact specifications, but regarding mine, I play a lot of inverted chords, mishaps, and have an unconventional attack and release in my playing style. I use a certain vintage solid state with a wide range speaker, a 15 inch for pedal steel guitars, to cover frequencies that can not hold up on their on with one guitarist. It all goes much deeper than that, but that’s about as much as I can sacrifice. We take our tonality across the board to a precise measurement. We are a very emotive sounding band, always have been about the tear jerkers, but we have tamed ourselves to deliver that emotion in a proper and precise manner, without losing the genuine heart that was embedded within the songs.
As far as processes, those are some of our little black box situations. We hold those close to us because it is something special and most people are not doing them. I can say that everything is still done live in concert, all sound manipulation etc., we have just adapted to present it almost as magic. It’s ruthless and wares on us, but we want to give a memory to the crowd.
About fans noticing, well I think that’s why they dig it. They know we are in it for the right reasons even if it’s not their cup of tea, all the jargon and gear head shit that is. They must notice that something different is happening and creating a new experience, or they wouldn’t be intrigued. I know other musicians definitely see it, but I believe fans appreciate and hear it as a whole. We try to stare into the abyss as much as possible and hope it screams back. Forward motion is the only way to not become stagnate and stuck in one place.
I could honestly spend a week ranting about this stuff.
Though are music is slow roll, its honesty high intensity live. We want people to feel the wind pushing past their chest from the speakers, their body’s vibrating from the sonic blast delivered. Just as much as the emotional surge from the lyrical content and melodies provided”
Koontz: I would second what Darden said about not using studio tricks. This is something that comes up a lot in our conversations — how to get the sounds you want in a recording scenario, not in post-production. It’s a very step-wise, foundational approach to making music. It results in lush compositions where what might stand out as a blatantly laid over synth sound with another approach, takes on another life entirely because it blends so seamlessly with other elements. As far as my drum tonality, I typically tune everything a lot lower than normal and kind of force myself to work the sounds I want out of my kit. My kit consists of over-sized components that I then try to tame down in order to play in a melodic/textural way.
The Riff: Other than Darden’s father, how did you learn to manipulate sound at such an intricate level via the instrument? Through trial and error? Other influences? Both?
Darden: Mostly trial and error. Wanting something to happen that hasn’t been accomplished, something you can imagine but have yet to find, and just digging in until you get the results you set out for. Sometimes happy accidents happen though.
Koontz: For me, I’d say focusing less on being a technical virtuoso of the drums, and more about using my instrument to contribute to a greater musical vision. Won’t find many drum or guitar solos here! The song comes first, always.
The Riff: What was a time a happy accident happened and for what song?
Darden: In the beginning of Fast Ellie, there is an old Japanese sequencer running which was programmed at different intervals for the melodic return. I accidentally punched in the wrong requirements for the melodic sequence during the intro verse. If you listen closely it goes completely out of key in regards to its placement, almost twin peaks style. I just kept it because perfection isn’t art. Sometimes you need those moments that make tour hair stand off your back. It fitted perfect in the most “classically educated” unconventional way. It’s almost bitter and unwanted by the ears.
Basically, it makes no sense, and made complete sense all at once.
The Riff: Let’s pivot to your live performances. When did Ameriglow first start booking live shows and how many times have you toured?
Koontz: Ameriglow started playing local live shows pretty much from the start in early 2013, and we’ve been on a few short run tours through the Southeast but have mostly been a studio band.
The Riff: Being primarily a studio band, how do you engage with your fans digitally? And is that the primary way that your fans discover you or more so from shows?
Zack: We had plans to do more of that this year though, if COVID hadn’t put a halt to a lot of things.
Koontz: We engage with our fans in many ways.
Like most, we rely heavily on social media and creating fresh content for folks to enjoy. We’re working on doing more IG live and IGTV pre-recorded sessions and as part of the pre-order for our new album, we’re including a limited edition risograph with a note from us to each person who purchases a bundle.
We haven’t had much huge exposure, so we have a modest but super dedicated following. We are kind of in the vein of being music for musicians [and] other artists and hope to continue that while also expanding to a broader audience. As it stands, yes the primary way for fans to connect with us is through the recorded music and online, but we really want to start connecting with fans at live shows once we have the opportunity to do so. I think the intensity of the music is somewhat subtle in the recordings, so once folks hear it live at the volume we play, it will hopefully blow them away.
The Riff: What music has Ameriglow been making now? And what should we expect from your imminently releasing EP?
Koontz: I know Darden always has ideas he’s sitting with, but we haven’t been writing full songs in the past couple months, as we’ve been focused primarily on releasing our full-length album and giving it our all to make sure it has the real impact it deserves. It’s a long album and is the culmination of songs written and recorded over the course of three years during our hiatus. Eight of the 20 tracks are alternate versions and are intentionally opposite to their others because we felt those recordings could stand alone and wanted to demonstrate that a good song is a good song, even under widely different circumstances and recording environments.
The Riff: What’s indicative of a loyal following of fans in your context?
Koontz: Well we see a lot of people who are consistently following and engaging with our social media and really appreciate that. We weren’t super active on social media through the hiatus, but were glad that, when we did return, some of the same people from before were waiting there for us. We also have some strong connections with fans who now live in different parts of the country, but were there from the beginning. Many of our fans are also our friends and fellow artists, so we even keep up with some through text. Always trying to stay in touch with people.
That’s a good gauge of a loyal following: how much you support one another and stay connected, because its not a one-way street.
The Riff: How do you feel about balancing between making music versus doing things for your album release? I know a lot of musicians struggle with the “I’d rather be an artist than a marketer” dilemma.
Koontz: It’s a balance for sure and we look forward to writing and recording again at some point this year. For us, this feels very much like a new beginning and we’re only at the first step, so we can’t expect our music to market itself. For artists, I think instead of thinking of it as two opposing forces, you should develop and embody your own way of “marketing.” There’s a lot of art that goes into making marketing materials like posters and promo videos, so the lines get really blurred there. We try to embrace it, not struggle with it.
But yes, eventually we hope to have some help with those things so we can focus even more on the music. Luckily, we all have pretty open schedules so typically have the time to get to everything at this point.
The Riff: Do you think you’ll stay DIY and indie forever? Or do you have ambitions to sign with a label one day?
Koontz: There will probably always be an aspect of DIY/Indie, especially in the way we want to connect with our audience. We do hope to work with a label one day, but only if it feels right and perhaps in a limited capacity. The music world is changing and so is the artist/label relationship, so we’re mainly just focused on developing ourselves and making real connections where we can.
The Riff: You were saying earlier that the artist/label relationship is changing. How so?
Koontz: I just meant there are lots of different types of labels. Big and small, cassette only labels, some that just help bands with distribution or booking or PR. Just seems like you have a lot more freedom to choose who you work with as a band and in what capacity.
The Riff: I see. Do you have any crazy experiences and stories from touring in the past that you’d like to share?
Koontz: One cool story I have is when we were leaving New Orleans to head to Houston on one tour, we remembered that Gram Parsons is “buried” outside of NOLA. After his friends out West tried to cremate him in the desert — based on his wishes — they were arrested and [the] Parsons’ family was livid that he didn’t have a “proper” burial close to home. So we decided to go pay our respects to the man whose “Cosmic American” music we have grown to love so much.
When we showed up to the graveyard in our van, it was the middle of the day and raining. As we’re walking over to the grave, we notice a couple landscape workers had paused their work to stand and pay their respects to Parsons. When we got to the grave, we exchanged words with the men about Parsons and before they left to resume their work, they said something along the lines of “we’ll give you some time with him.” It was just a very sweet and interesting interaction, and showed how broad Parsons’ influence had been. We then paid our respects, left a guitar pick on the grave, and continued on to Houston.
The Riff: What artists and bands have you met over the years that we should give a listen to?
Darden: Naked Gods, Torch Runner, Des Ark, E.T. Anderson, Christopher Owens of (Girls), The Districts, Current Joys, Control Alt Delete, Zach Mexico, Vaughn Aed, Porches, Charley Crocket, and Chris Staples.
All amazing bands, some good friends.
Koontz: Darden pretty much covered it but I’d add Floating Action from Asheville, such a unique sound. Trunkweed is another one, old good buddies. Ohtis. Big Thief. So many good ones. Haven’t met the last two, though.
Want to keep up with Darden, Zach, and Arlie? Follow Ameriglow on the Web.
This interview was edited for clarity and concision.
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