Interview with Sangamon

Sangamon is a band that hails from Champaign, IL. We saw them live once, and thought it would be great to get to know them. They’ve just released their EP “The Right Way EP”, and James, the drummer, was cool enough to answer some questions about the EP, the Champaign music scene, and how to communicate with a fanbase without using smoke signals. The attached song is from their EP and is entitled “Follow Me.”

Tell people who don’t know Sangamon about your music and your influences.

We’re a piano-based, guitar-driven pop/rock quartet from Champaign, IL. Our writing process tends to start with a melody, then we work in textures, which allows our music to touch on a diverse set of styles…fortunately, Shay’s distinct vocals keep us identifiable. As for influences, at times we borrow straight-forward American rockin’ from My Morning Jacket, other times we borrow a darker vibe more reminiscent of Radiohead or Coldplay, and occaisionally we’ll put on the dance shoes and rock it Scissor Sisters style. We always strive to keep our music a little theatrical and highly-energetic.

You recently released your EP – “The Right Way EP.” Congratulations! What was the writing and recording process like?

‘The Right Way EP,’ is truly our baby…it was entirely written and recorded before we ever performed live. We own a studio (who doesn’t anymore)…so, we pieced things together one part at a time. Since we were left to our own devices, we tinkered with arrangements, transposed songs, changed instrumentation, etc… until we really felt that the songs were the strongest they could be. It’s a healthy process for a band to put down the instruments for a while and just listen and critique.

What do you think are the most successful avenues for distribution of an EP today, and how can readers find “The Right Way EP?”

I can’t say to be an expert on the topic, but getting our disc into the hands of CD Baby seemed to be a no-brainer. As independent artists, they give us some muscle in terms of getting on iTunes, Rhapsody, and most other online retailers, plus they allow us a way to sell the physical CD through the web. Although distribution is important, we pretty much operate with the realization that we’ll probably never profit a dime from music sales…if for every CD we give away, we gain one fan at one concert, we’d be happy. You can find the EP on iTunes…or you can buy the physical CD from our website, or through special order at your local music store.

You guys are from Champaign, IL which is home to a number of the bands on The Next Big Sound. What’s the music scene like in Champaign?

We love Champaign…our town has such a relaxing atmosphere and a positive attitude towards original music. Two of our favorite local bands, Shipwreck and Beauty Shop, have recently called it quits, which is extremely saddening…but, many others are pushing for greatness; Elsinore, Headlights and Santa to name a few. Champaign is also great to us in that it’s only a two hour drive from Chicago, St. Louis and Indy.

What’s your favorite venue in Champaign to play and why?

Hmmm…tough question…honestly, this town is loaded with great venues. I’m always proud to show-off our hometown venues to out-of-town acts. We had a band, Belikos, from New York, on a bill with us last week at the Highdive in downtown Champaign…they were raving about the venue, the sound, the way they were treated; it makes you realize that Champaign does it right…at least most the time.

What have you found to be successful in growing your fanbase outside of your hometown?

That’s another tough one…but, the best way we’ve found is to jump on a show with a band who is well known in that city, put on the show of your life, then give away a bunch of CDs. Otherwise, you can try to get some press in the local paper, harrass some DJs to play your music on the radio or litter the town with fliers?

How do you guys communicate with your fanbase?

Smoke signals have become frowned upon by the environmentalist, so we now prefer updating our website with news and sending e-mails to our fans…also, we bombard our myspace friends with enticing bulletin subjects…’OMG…Sangamon live with Free Booze, and KY Wrestling!’

Where do you find new music to listen to?

Honestly, some of our local stations play some pretty hip new stuff. Also, Champaign plays host to some great music, so it’s pretty often that we’ll see a great band at a show, then become fans.

What do you think bands should do today to have a successful online presence?

What we do is just try to have at least some presence on every site that allows it…as I stumble upon a new site, I sign us up. There are so many new sites popping up all the time, it’s impossible to keep up. On our website, we have links to our profiles with youTube, JamBase, Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, and Blogger; but, we have profiles with probably 10 other music sites, too. I don’t know…the web willl make you go mad! To answer your question, bands should just spend all their free time taking cool pictures of themselves and promoting themselves online.

Where can people find your music, your show schedule, and more info on Sangamon?

www.sangamonmusic.com or www.myspace.com/sangamonmusic

And The Next Big Sound’s closing question… How did you come up with the name Sangamon?

After we realized that the name ‘Pussycat Dolls’ was taken, we landed on ‘Sangamon’…it’s a Native American term that is relatively unique to our region, we want to be identified with our area.