Last month marked the tenth Anniversary of Graveyard Lovers’ dynamite 2013 release, Dreamers. To commemorate, Glide reached out to the band to discuss the recording of the record, the release, our favorite songs, and a few other topics.
Ten years went by quickly and lots have changed for Graveyard Lovers (Zach Jimenez-Reynolds and Tricia Purvis) who were a NYC-based outfit delivering hard rock with a sense of mystery, a sprinkling of the blues, and a splash of arena bombast. Back in the late 00s and early 10’s the rock scene was in a state of flux, evolving from the early millennium garage revival into a more indie-friendly, electro-influenced affair.
Having been heavily inspired by the likes of The White Stripes, Graveyard Lovers brought all of the present rock sound into the mix, as well as a sense of old blues, folk, and the classic rock and roll wonder of not knowing exactly how to feel about it all.
Dreamers is still alive. The songs contained within spring forth and embody the album’s title; sure things are a mess, but there is always room for magic to happen. Whether it is found buried in the Mississippi Delta mud, unearthed by the huge kick drums booming on “Blessed Are The Ties That Bind”, or the up at the top of Manhattan skyscrapers as the soaring riffs of “When I Get Mine” bring you higher. Zach and Tricia were searching during these exciting years around the album’s recording, release, and promotion.
The group is not currently active but took some time to reminisce with Shawn Donohue from Glide about Dreamers and more.
Can you give some background into Graveyard Lovers and how you got started?
Tricia Purvis: Zach and I were introduced through a mutual friend. Zach was living with in New Orleans and wanting to move to NY to pursue a solo career. I was living in Brooklyn and looking for a roommate. Almost immediately after moving in, we started dating. While Zach spent a year seeking out musicians to play with, I continued practicing and taking lessons. I would constantly ask him to jam with me, but he didn’t know how serious I was about playing. One day, he relented, and we had our first jam session. We found that we shared undeniable music chemistry at the time. We began co-writing music in our home studio, and in a matter of months Graveyard Lovers was born. Our friend, Orion Wainer, played bass with us for a bit and then Zach’s brother, Joel, joined the band and made us a 4-piece for a while. Although the dynamic of the band had changed a few times over the years, Zach and I considered ourselves the core of the band. We were married in 2015 and divorced a few years later. I still look back on those years and feel that it was where we were supposed to be at that time in our lives. We all helped push each other into the strange world of being in a band; writing, recording, performing, and the endless social media and self-promotion. At the end of the day, we just wanted to write good music and carve a space for ourselves in the music world.
Zach Jimenez-Reynolds: Well said.
What was the writing process like for Dreamers?
TP: For the most part Zach came up with ideas beforehand and brought them into the studio. Sometimes the song would go through a bunch of iterations and other times it would just flow and a song would be born on the spot. When we wrote in the studio sometimes, I would come up with a drumbeat or play something I was working on, and upon hearing it, Zach would jump in with a guitar riff. We really didn’t have a set process which was good for our creativity. I believe adhering to a set formula takes away from the art of collaboration. There is also something special about building ideas together and allowing room for others to have creative freedom.
ZJR: We came in with most of the songs written, I think. We had already been playing several of them live. We definitely flushed things out and changed/expanded songs in the studio though. That’s what was so great about recording with Will. My preference is always to go in with the bones done but then see what happens. It’s important to allow that space to change if the recording wants to.
Is that why you recorded up in Connecticut instead of your home borough of Brooklyn?
TP: Yes, our friend, Will Benoit owns Radar Studios in Connecticut. The studio is behind Will’s house and is a place of quiet and comfort and creativity. It’s been a place many of our friends’ have recorded over the years. His wife, Brandi, is exceptionally welcoming and a great host. Staying at the studio allowed us to focus on the album without the distractions from city life. We worked as late or as long as we wanted without having to stick to a set timeframe. When we needed a break, we usually ended up sitting around a bonfire or making a meal and sitting down to eat together. It felt very much like being around family. One of my favorite memories was when we recorded the gang vocals for ‘Working for the Company’. It was New Year’s Eve, and a bunch of friends were gathered at the studio and right before midnight we gathered everyone inside the studio and recorded everyone singing together. To look around and see everyone contributing towards something we created was really special.
ZJR: Yeah so many good memories. Ditto everything Trish said but I have a few moments I loved when I was tracking guitar and auxiliary instruments. I used Will’s dads’ old accordion on “Piedmont Blues”, that was great. I also had some really transcendent moments late at night tracking guitar solos. Will and Darly are really good at micing up walls of amps, and you could play really loud, late into the night there. It made me feel like an actual guitar player.
I think that certainly comes through on the album. One of the reasons I always loved the record is that it has a mix of NYC grit and NOLA voodoo to it. “You and Me” being a prime example. Can you talk about the two towns and their influence on the album?
TP: Well, Zach moved to NY from New Orleans. He had that foundation of roots music but was also inspired by New York artists like Dylan and Guthrie. I had been listening to a lot of blues music and was inspired by some of the gritty blues bands that were popular at the time but also wanted to incorporate some heavier drums and fun rock beats. The songs on the album have so many different sounds and influences we always had a difficult time trying to describe our sound.
ZJR: Yeah my upbringing in Louisiana was a big part of it for me. I was super homesick and so I went pretty deep into Southern music while I was living in New York. In those days my vision was always an attempt to mix indie rock with the blues, which is hard to pull off without being too cheesy. At the time, the blues were having a moment and I guess that was reflected in our stuff.
You mentioned a couple, but who were your influences when writing/recording?
ZJR: Back then I was listening to a lot of early delta blues recordings as well as all the indie bands of the previous 20 years I had loved. I grew up on Modest Mouse, Pavement and The Pixies, but I was also really into Dylan and Dire Straits. I can hear all those influences when I listen back to it.
“Manifesto” sets the lyrical and musical tone for the album, was there ever any discussion of changing the album song order, or adding any other songs that were recorded?
ZJR: Yeah I think from the get-go we knew “Manifesto” should be first. It just worked well that way. I always approach making a record as kind of a concept album so to me the package made sense. Will and I did go back and forth over the song order quite a bit though. Those final details are always a bit stressful because once it’s out it’s done.
TP: I can’t remember how we decided on the order. There was some discussion about it, but we had written so many songs that sounded so different, it became difficult to figure out the sequence. I remember as we were wrapping up the album, we had already started writing new songs, so we were happy to finally release Dreamers and start working on new music.
The album swims in various rock sub-genre waters, but there is a def mix of hard rock (“Love and Hunger”) with at times sweet jangling pop-rock vibes (“When I Get Mine”), was this a conscious decision?
ZJR: Yes. I wanted the jangly fender tone. I wanted it to be a little dreamy, as opposed to like full-throttle rock.
TP: We were always listening to different music genres and appreciative of good music regardless of the era. One day we would be listening to 20’s and 30’s blues music, then 60’s folk, then 70’s and 80’s NY punk, indie, and rock and then revisiting our 90’s and 00’s favorite grunge and rock bands. I think our love for all genres of music was reflected on the album.
I agree. How did that record roll-out work, was there an increase in band attention?
TP: We started getting better gigs and playing festivals and had gotten positive reviews from music critics and online music magazines. Then, almost immediately after the album was released, we signed a publishing deal with RoundHill Music. Within a matter of months, we had songs in TV shows, movies, commercials. We started getting messages from people from Europe Asia and South America saying they had heard our song in a show and bought our album. It really helped to spread our music around the world. We are extremely grateful to RoundHill for believing in us.
ZJR: Yeah that album was what landed us the pub deal which really got our music heard. The release itself was nothing spectacular but it built steadily from there, so it was exciting.
What are you working on these days?
TP: I just moved to LA. It’s been a difficult transition after being in NY my whole life but I’m reconnecting with friends in the music scene and meeting new people who are still having fun and playing gigs whenever they can. I’m looking forward to getting behind the drums again soon!
ZJR: I’ve spent the last few years making music in Havana, Cuba. I developed some relationships with musicians and a producer there and found myself in a studio. It’s a hard place to live and work but the music scene is incredible once you learn about it. My music tastes changed a lot so this new stuff I’m working on is like folk/world music. It’s mostly a personal passion project but I plan to put something out soon.
Will look forward to that. Anything else you would like to add?
TP: Listening back now, even though there are some things I would love to change, I’m really proud of what we created and all we accomplished as Graveyard Lovers.
ZJR: Same exact sentiment from me. It was a pretty big feat to make a full-length, independent record so I’m proud of us for doing it.
