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Defeater’s Derek Archambault showcased his musical range by releasing Bone & Marrow, the first full-length album of his other band Alcoa. The album was released on February 26th on Bridge Nine Records. GroundSounds recently caught up with Derek to discuss the album and what’s in store for Alcoa.
Check out “Keep Track/Lose Track” below and if you like what you hear, grab the album on iTunes.
You’ve had Alcoa in the background for a while now. How does it feel to finally have this album come out?
It feels great to finally have a record out under the Alcoa name, but it’s also very nerve racking at the same time. I am just a nervous person when it comes to putting songs I write into the public eye. The
positives outweigh everything though, I am so thankful for Bridge Nine taking a chance on this record.
This isn’t totally new ground for you, as Defeater has had similar songs (But Breathing, I Don’t Mind, etc), but how has the reaction been to the new material from Defeater fans?
I don’t seek out reviews of the record online or anything, but the ones that have been sent my way have been really positive. The carryover from DFTR fans is much appreciated and I don’t think many people
would care about the name Alcoa without them, but I don’t want the band to live in its shadow.
I love the cover art to Bone & Marrow. Who designed it?
The album art was painted by one of my closest friends and our lead guitarist, Steve Minerva. (Minervatattoos.com) Steve is an amazing artist and ran with what little I gave him for a concept. What he
ended up with is a brilliant piece that blew every expectation I had out of the water.
Are there any plans to tour behind the Alcoa songs? If not, can fans expect to hear any of them at Defeater shows?
Alcoa will be playing the Warped Tour Acoustic Basement stage from July 11th to August 4th. We don’t have any other touring plans, just regional shows. With Defeater’s touring schedule for 2013, Alyssa in
nursing school, Steve and our bass player Josh owning a tattoo and barbershop respectively, we don’t have much time to hit the road. We would all love to, it’s just a matter of finding the right time to do it.
How is your writing process different when creating music for both bands?
The writing process for this record and the songs I wrote for Defeater are pretty much the same. Sit with my guitar, come up with a loose chord structure and vocal melody and then the lyrics. For “Sleepless
Nights” Jake wrote the guitar part for ‘Headstone” so that was a bit different. He recorded the structure and then I wrote the melody and fit the lyrics around it.
Your fiancée sings on this album and adds great harmony to a lot of the songs. Any plans for her to join you on stage?
Alyssa has been singing live for about a year now since we started the writing/recording process for “Bone & Marrow”. We’ve only played maybe five shows in that year, but Alyssa is as an important member as any, her voice made this record what it is.
Is there a lyric from Bone & Marrow that sticks out to you as being special or representative of the album as a whole?
I’ll leave the lyrical importance and interpretations to the listener.
Who are some of your favorite bands and musicians currently making music?
Off the cuff I’d say Emmylou Harris & Bruce Springsteen are two favourite songwriters still making music today, but I also have amazing friends that are in bands I love.
*Be sure to check out Alcoa on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Alcoaxo and at alcoa.bandcamp.com
