Music with an Alternative Ending: Romance in a Slow Dance!

Dan

Dan Mineart was kind enough to do an interview with me about his band The Bigger Lights. He talks about how the band got started and through their changes in members. Also about being signed to a record label. He even gives a sneak peak into the new album!

How did the bigger lights get started?

About 4 years ago, right when we were getting out of college our guitarist JK and I were in another band that was ending. But we still wanted to perform so we decided to look for other members. We wanted a vocalist first so we based the band around that. We found Topher at a local show in Virginia. Then we found another guitarist and drummer but they are no longer with the band so we felt that we had to replace them.

I feel like we have a good line-up now but we are still evolving as a band. We have an EP and a full-length album out so we are in a focusing process right now. Three years down the line I wouldn’t say it’s (the band) a finished project yet.

How do you deal with the change of members in the band?

It’s difficult. It is almost like looking for a family member because it’s someone you are going to have to live with every waking minute. It’s really difficult to find the right person. When we lost our first drummer Mikey we got pretty lucky because we were offered a really long acoustic tour with NeverShoutNever. Which gave us a really long buffer time to look for a guy we really wanted. We found Ryan through a friend. Next we found Chris. We actually toured with him earlier that fall with his old band Tyler Read. They were splitting up at the time so we hired him as a fill on the Hey Monday tour but after that it became an obvious choice and we wanted to keep Chris in the band.

What is like being on a record label?

We are on Doghouse Records. The promotions they provide come directly around the release of a record. They make sure that we are doing to things to promote the record such as a tour and interviews. So our team per say is a lull right now. We have already put out an album, toured on it so we are ready to move on and start working on another album. Now it is up to us to stay on top of all the social mediums. Just to make sure that we keep in contact with the fans. Make the fans don’t forget about us because we haven’t forgotten about them it’s just we are in a lull.

Should bands promote themselves or belong to a record label?

It depends on the style of the promotions. There are things that a band can’t do that a record label can do. It’s the record label jobs to put the band in a bigger and better place. Like appearing in a magazine. Then there is the element of accessibility and being personal with the fans. Only the band can keep the relationship with the fans. We are going to interact with them the way that we want to interact with them. We set that tone. It’s the record label at a grander scale and us at a more personal level. But def needs to be both in order to work.

Do you have any ideas for the new record?

As far as songs, yes. We just had a discussion about this the other night. We are still in a place where we don’t know what kind of record it is going to be. We have written a good amount of songs. But from those songs there are a lot of different types of records we could put out. We like bits and pieces of all the work so we just need to focus it. We want the record to have a certain amount of cohesion to it. This record needs to be piece of art. Not a record that a lot of different bands could have performed. Our goal is to have one unique sound that is cohesive throughout the entire album. I am privileged to be playing with a lot of dudes that are really talented and can play different styles, we just need to hone in one.

Any last thoughts?

Thank you for being here listening and talking to me. Thank you to the fans for your patience, I know we are in a lull but will be back. We are still going strong. We love you guys!

Thank you Dan! The show was amazing as always. Good luck with recording the album! Can’t wait to see you in the summer!

Below are pictures of the former and current band members!