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1. Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Lee: So good! It’s been a long winter in Minneapolis for a lot of reasons, and it’s starting to feel like spring. This time of year when we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. Plus, we have a bunch of great shows coming up, and we’re excited for that too.
2. You guys been building a strong live following in Minneapolis over the past few years—how did those early shows shape the identity of The Long Honeymoon?
Adam: When we first started playing shows we could tell by the response we were getting what was working and what wasn’t. There’s an energy between the artist and audience that you can feel. We knew that the vocal arrangements, our 3 or 4 or even 5 part harmonies made us unique. That’s definitely something we’ve continued to work on and develop.
3. Your debut album The World is Waiting features songs that have been, in your own words, road-tested—how did performing them live influence the final studio versions?
Lee: We all love bands that sound like bands, and there’s just no way to do that if you don’t play together a lot.
I’ll give you a quick example: at the end of the song “The World is Waiting,” there’s a musical turnaround that happens when I sing the words “don’t forget,” and when we were learning the song the band kept forgetting to play it. Eric [keyboard player and background vocalist] and I thought that was pretty funny – I’m singing “don’t forget” while the band forgets every single time, so we always look at each other and smile when we get to that part of the song, every single time we play it. I think if you listen really closely to that part of the recording, you can hear us smiling.
4. There’s a clear blend of classic pop-rock influences with a modern edge—who were some of the key inspirations behind your sound?
Adam: For me, personally, I feel this is the hardest question to answer. I listen to a lot of music and I’ve been listening to all different types of music since I was a child. Every note, every musical phrase that I’ve taken in gets mixed up inside with the ability to come out when you’re writing a song. It’s all one giant musical stew.
Lee: There are seven people in our band, and each one of us brings something a little bit different to the mix, but if we were a venn diagram, the overlapping part in the middle would be huge and varied. We all love well-written pop music with memorable melodies, great lyrics, and layered harmonies.
5. Multi-part harmonies and tight arrangements are a big part of your identity—how do you approach crafting those elements in your songwriting?
Lee: Adam and I write songs together however we can – when life is busy, we mostly trade ideas via Voice Memos and text – but my favorite way is sitting together in one room, each of us with our acoustic guitar. Because we both love to sing and play, we do a lot of harmonizing on the spot, and when we have something we really like, it ends up being a core part of the arrangement when we bring it to the band.
Just as often, though, the songs we share with the band are just acoustic guitar and vocal demos, which Adam usually records on his own. In those cases, the harmonies develop along with the rest of the arrangements. The rest of the band is really amazing – nearly everyone has years of experience writing and arranging music – and it’s during this part of the process that the songs go from being “Adam and Lee songs” to “The Long Honeymoon” songs. It’s a crazy talented group of people.
6. As veterans of several Twin Cities bands, how did your previous experiences come together to form the chemistry of this group?
Lee: First off, we’re all better musicians than we were when we started. We’re more technically proficient, for sure, but more importantly, we’re better listeners. With seven people in the band, it’s just as important that we know when not to play as it is that we can come up with cool parts. When you’re just starting out, it’s easy to let your ego get in the way and to forget that your job is to make the song as good as it can be – not just your part. One of the great things about the band is that we really love the songs, and we don’t let our egos get in the way of the music.
The other thing I’d say is that we all have day jobs, so – unlike when we were starting out – the pressure is completely off. We make music we love with people we love, and we do it because it brings us joy. It’s ridiculously pure. There’s a lot of joy in this band.
7. You worked with local legends Jacques Wait and David J. Russ on the album—what did they bring to the project that elevated the final result?
Lee: We’ve all worked with Dave before – he’s often said he wishes he was the one who suggested Adam and I write together – and he came to our first gig, so when we were planning to record basic tracks for our album, Dave was an obvious choice. Dave’s a great listener, and he’s not shy about sharing his opinion, so when we played him the songs before the session, he suggested a few changes that really helped tighten them up.
Unfortunately, Dave got super busy soon after we recorded the basic tracks, so after we finished the recording process at Adam and Kristin’s home studio, we needed to find someone to mix the album. Adam and Kristin had worked with Jacques in the past, and we all loved his work, so he was another easy choice. Jacques does a phenomenal job of capturing a band’s energy, and we couldn’t be happier with the work he did. In fact, we’re going with the same Dave/Jacques combo for our next album.
8. Minneapolis has a rich music scene—how has being part of that community influenced your growth as a band?
Adam: It seems the more you play, the more musicians you meet. We started to book more shows with many of the bands that we’ve met along the way. There’s so many great bands in the Twin Cities and it’s been great getting to know so many new ones.
9. You already have a follow-up EP finished—how does that upcoming release compare to The World is Waiting in terms of sound and direction?
Lee: The EP is really an extension of our first album – its four songs were recorded at the same time, in the same sessions. But we wanted our first album to be what I’d call a fastball down the middle – short, tight, upbeat, and with a consistent mood. The EP is a little bit more varied – it includes a country tune and a few other things that didn’t seem exactly right for the LP. We can’t wait for people to hear it.
Of course, we’re already working on our next album, and we’re really excited about that one.
10. For listeners discovering The Long Honeymoon for the first time, what do you hope they take away from your music and live shows?
Adam: I think there’s an overarching feeling of joy that we try to bring to a show. I mean if we’re having fun playing, and we definitely are, then hopefully the audience feels that too.
WEBSITE: THELONGHONEYMOON.COM
YOUTUBE: thelonghoneymoon
INSTAGRAM: thelonghoneymoonMN
FACEBOOK: thelonghoneymoon
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/0Kl8pjf3aU0engExy3EfTe?si=bDsFTbRFQFKSQGKjqn5tIw
BANDCAMP: https://thelonghoneymoon.bandcamp.com/album/the-world-is-waiting
