Research Turtles Q&A

MusicReview chats to the impressive Research Turtles.

One of the coolest bands that we have listened and spoken to recently is the indie-genius, Research Turtles. Bret managed to chat with Jud, Joe and Logan about surviving as an indie band, the power of lyrics and the experience of recording their recent self-titled album. A must read!

Research Turtles, great to speak to you guys! Tell us about your band, how would you classify your music?

JUD – Southern rock meets old-school Brit-pop.

JOE – Most people in the business classify our music as “power pop,” but to me, that genre sounds kind of lame. When people ask my what type of music Research Turtles play, I just say “rock and roll, man.” That sounds much cooler. And if they ask me to elaborate on that, I usually go on a rant about how much I hate the shitty-ass rock bands of today and how they have given rock music a bad name (e.g. Nickelback).

LOGAN – When people ask what kind of sound we have, I tell them rock ‘n roll. We’ve been compared to everyone from The Beatles to The Everly Brothers to AC/DC and The Knack. We try to take our favorite sounds and ideas from the 60s to the current scene, and make them sound like ‘us’.

I think that is a pretty good way to describe yourselves, I especially admire your answer there, Joe. The name ‘Research Turtles’ is very indie. How did you guys come up with it?

JUD – a scene from Wes Anderson’s film “A Life Aquatic”.

JOE – It took us forever to come up with the name. Every name we would come up with either sucked and/or was already taken. Finally, Jud took the initiative and started reading through Kurt Vonnegut novels and watching Wes Anderson movies. Somewhere in The Life Aquatic, they use the phrase “research turtles” and we decided to steal it. At first I hated the name, actually most of us did, but it eventually grew on me. Now I love the name and am proud to say that I’m in RESEARCH TURTLES.

LOGAN – A scene from “The Life Aquatic”. I still get goofy looks when people ask what band I play in, but Research Turtles is just a quirky enough name that people will remember it. Some people absolutely love the name, some people hate it, but everyone remembers it.

Clever! We listened to your album, and really think that you guys onto something. In fact, we gave it 83/100. Tell us, what was the recording experience like? I believe that you traveled to Los Angeles to record?

JUD – Thanks! We are pretty happy with it as well. The album was primarily recorded at the legendary Dockside Studio in Maurice, LA, which is only about an hour from our hometown, Lake Charles. But three of the tracks – Damn, Mission, and Break My Fall were actually recorded in Los Angeles, CA at Jungle Room Studios.

We were almost over-prepared before we entered the studio. We knew all of the tempos, arrangements, dynamics, etc. and we knew exactly how we wanted it to sound – raw. We shied away from using a ton of effects or any recording trickery, because we wanted the first album to be an accurate representation of our live set.

We cut all of the songs live, with little or no overdubs, except for guitar solos and vocals. I think all the basic tracking was complete after day 4 in the studio. So we worked really fast because we only had seven days in the studio including mixing sessions.

Here is some more info on the dockside experience:

JOE – I’m glad you guys like the album. We are really proud of it. We recorded Damn, Mission, and Break My Fall in Los Angeles at Jungle Room studios. It was fun but it was such a hassle getting plane tickets, hotel rooms, and renting equipment. It was stressful but pleasant. We recorded the rest of the album at Dockside Studios in Maurice, LA. It was fucking awesome. Their slogan is “move in, make records,” which is exactly what we did. We were referred by a mutual friend to Justin Tockett, a producer out of Nashville, TN. He was great to work with, very patient and knowledgeable. The first day of recording, we were all really stressed out and worried that we would fall off schedule, so Justin called us into the control room and basically said “look, y’all can either have fun making this record or y’all can have a miserable time recording this record.” He also said that whichever we chose would definitely translate on the album. So we chose to have fun and I think it really shows.

LOGAN – Well, first we recorded Damn, Mission, and Break My Fall in Los Angeles, CA at The Jungle Room (very quickly, I might add). We cut all the instrument tracks in one day and the Vocal tracks the next. I think it was everyone’s first time in L.A., so it was a very hectic time. On the flip side, Dockside Studios was a very relaxed and very southern experience. The whole place looks like an old plantation estate from the 1800‘s. The studio is an old brothel from the 70’s that was converted by the current owners into a recording studio. You can feel the history that is on that property. So much so that we were all convinced our sleeping quarters were haunted (yes, sleeping quarters. we all felt like we were at band camp).

This album was our first real experience recording as a band, and it was a blast! After working out the nerves, everyone relaxed and enjoyed themselves, and I think that comes through when you listen to the album.

Brilliant! The lyrics behind the song, ‘Cement Floor’, are pretty sobering to anybody who has ever have had their heart broken. Do the lyrics bear any resemblance to reality?

JUD – Cement Floor just kind of happened. I was listening to a lot of Tom Petty at the time and the first lines “I can’t seem to understand / Why she would go run off with another man” just came out. So I just went with it and didn’t look back. I started fantasizing about a psychotic ex-boyfriend who loses his shit when he finds out his lover has cheated on him. So he follows his ID and seeks out the ultimate revenge.

The song was pure fantasy- nothing personal at all.

What inspires your lyrics?

Each of the songs were inspired by different things, but I’ll break it down for you:
1. Let’s Get Carried Away- inevitable break-up
2. Damn- first love
3. Mission- hope
4. Kiss Her Goodbye- breaking up
5. Cement Floor – revenge
6. The Riff Song- murder/insanity
7. Tomorrow- hope
8. Into A Hole- depression
9. A Feeling- relationship heading downhill
10. 925- quarter-life crisis
11. Break My Fall – a dream I had about getting a blowjob from an alien goddess.
12. Circles- finally letting go

ROFL at number 11… Every week, we field a number of email requests from bands that want albums reviewed. As Sergio has noted “Of the albums received, we’ve noticed an alarming trend – only a select number of bands truly understand the art of compiling a good press kit”. Your press kit, on the other hand, is shown here as an example of excellent branding. What advice can you give bands on promoting themselves as a brand, and getting their names out there?

JUD – Read this book and do everything it says

If you don’t chose to read this book, plan on adding at least three years to your career as a struggling musician. It’s a bit overwhelming at first but if you are serious about making a career in music, you’ll grow a pair and do everything it says. The book talks at length about branding, so I won’t waste too many words on how important I think it is personally. But my simple advice on branding is to is to pick a font that isn’t lame and use it on everything- flyers, stickers, shirts, etc.

JOE – I’m glad you guys like our press kit. We took a lot of pride in making those. As far as advice goes, the best I can give is to just “keep on keepin’ on.”

LOGAN – We made it a point to have a very recognizable, simple, and consistent look. We chose a font we liked an stuck with it while making sure everything, from the press kit to the website, was as simple and eye-catching as possible, while being easily accessible. These days everyone has ADD, especially online reviewers and radio hosts and everyone in the music business. My advice would be to sit down with your band and come up with a “mission statement.” This will help you come up with a short term and long term game plan as far as your goals are concerned, and will help you decide your course of action. This includes touring, press kits, how and who in the media you approach, etc. If you want to be successful, treat it like a business!

Thanks for that! That is possibly the best advice I’ve ever heard for struggling bands. Tell me, what gear do you use? Do I hear a Fender or two?

JUD – I have two Gibson Thunderbirds (white and black), but i used the black one on the album. Joe plays a 70s Fender Strat (white) and a 70s Gibson SG (faded cherry), Logan plays a red Gibson es 335, and Blake has a DW kit. We all use Orange and Vox amps.

JOE – On the record, I was playing either a ’74 Gibson SG or Fender American Stat going through either a Vox AC15 or Orange AD15 (yeah, we are fans of British amps). But on Cement Floor, we plugged the Strat directly into this ’40s National Amp and just cranked it all the way up. I really like that tone. As far as live shows go, I usually play either the Strat, the SG, or my Rickenbacker 360. I think the Strat works better for our style because it’s so thin and trebly, while Logan’s Gibson ES-335 has that deeper, darker sound . They complement each other very nicely (very Strokes-esque). But I have been using the SG a lot more lately though because I just got a bigsby installed and it looks bad ass. We both play Vox AC30s live. As far as effects go, for distortion I use a ’87 Proco Rat pedal with my SG and a Crowther Audio Hot Cake with my Strat. My favorite pedal, which I consider my secret weapon, is my Keeley Nova Wah. It’s fucking sweet.

LOGAN – Yessir. We used a Fender Strat and Telecaster on a few songs. I currently play an ES-335 through an AC30 live, but on the album most of my parts were recorded through a Gibson Les Paul double cut and an AC30 cranked as loud as it could go. So loud that we had to put it in it’s own room and cover the doors with a mattress so it didn’t bleed into the other tracks! I tried to stay away from too many pedals, but I did use a POG octave to get that synth sound on Damn and for my solo on The Riff Song. Other than that it was an overdrive pedal here and a fuzz pedal there, and viola’. You have the Research Turtles. Heads up though, on the next album we plan on playing with tones and sounds a LOT more.

Jeez! That’s madness! Your gear is in a league of its own… We were pretty surprised to hear that you are currently unsigned. Do you have any contracts in the works, or partnerships with record labels that you are willing to tell us about?

JUD – We can’t really talk about any of that right now. Sorry.

JOE – We have been getting some great advice from people in the biz, but have yet to sign anything. We are on our own for now.
LOGAN – We’re working really hard to be a successful band, and that’s all we can really say.

Research turtles, thank you so much for taking the time out to chat to us. One last question: Where can our readers find out more about you? Do you have any final words for your fans out there?

JUD – our official website-
Final words for our fans: We are going to cut another EP very soon, so get ready. And check out our website for news and updates.

JOE – We just launched an official website a few months ago which we are really proud of. Jud put a lot of time and effort in designing it and collaborated really well with its creator, Stephen Bowling. Thanks to everyone who has been listening to and downloading the album. We really appreciate it. One last word to the fans: please spread the word about the free album download on our website and enjoy the rock

LOGAN – It’s our pleasure! Anyone who wants to know what we’re up to and what we’re about can go to our website . There you can link up with our Myspace and Twitter accounts and download our albums, including one recorded by JUD years ago! Also, if you sign up for the mailing list you’ll be the first to know about new merch, our tour schedule, and member only offers! Final words? Thank you. We appreciate all the support from everyone we’ve met on the road. Our target cities this summer are Dallas, TX, Austin, TX, Houston, TX, New Orleans, LA, Hattiesburg, MS, Mobile, AL, and Pensacola, FL. Be on the lookout for us!

Also, thanks to you, MusicReview!

- Bret D
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