The band – comprising Raasch, drummer Tyler Nelson and bassist/violinist Lodewijk Broekhuizen – opens for Canadian indie rockers Current Swell at Turner Hall Ballroom on Monday, Feb. 23. Before the show, however, OnMilwaukee.com got the chance to chat with Raasch about the inspiration behind "Swallow The Anchor," the process on their next album, and Monday's gig.
OnMilwaukee.com: With your sophomore album "Swallow The Anchor," which was released last summer, it seems like you have been really hitting a stride of pure creativity and lyricism. What was the inspiration behind the album? Was the album recorded in Milwaukee?
Sean Raasch: The album was recorded in Milwaukee by our bass player Lodi. He also recorded our self-titled debut. As a songwriter, I don't really realize the true meaning of songs until after they are fully realized and preformed many times.
It turns out this last record was a reflection on getting older and wishing some things went differently or at least the way I'd hoped. After sitting on these thoughts for a while, I now realize and think I always knew things never go according to plan and life is more about how you deal with the problems thrown at you everyday and how you can make the right choices that steer you closer towards your end goal.
OMC: When writing "Swallow The Anchor," how much did you draw from your own personal experiences?
SR: It's grounded more in my own reality than I will ever realize. The music I write is more than I can ever portray with anything else. No one including myself will ever know me more through any other means than the music I write. I am the songs I write.
OMC: You're working on a new album. How is the process going so far? What you can you tell me about it?
SR: The process is going well so far. I think I have all the songs written that I want to record. The inspiration is yet to be determined I guess. I'm always inspired to write from a feeling that can't be defined. It's just there, and I'm a slave to it. We do hope to have another album released by the end of the year, but there are no promises. It's just in the beginning stages so I'm not really sure yet how it will differ from past work. I can say that I want this album to have a bit more grit and rock n' roll to it.
OMC: On Monday, you're opening for Current Swell at Turner Hall. What are you most looking forward to about the show?
SR: This will be my first time playing at Turner Hall. I am very excited about the opportunity to play at a larger venue.
OMC: Will you be performing any new material?
SR: We will not be performing new material at Monday's show. We will, however, have something new to play at every show after Monday. We have some shows planned in Milwaukee. We are performing at Cactus Club for a Music and Comedy show put together by Ryan Holman. I also have some solo shows coming up at Boone & Crockett and out of town venues in Chicago and Green Bay, where I plan to test out a lot of new material.
For tickets to see Twin Brother with Current Swell at Turner Hall Ballroom, click here.
Colton Dunham's passion for movies began back as far as he can remember. Before he reached double digits in age, he stayed up on Saturday nights and watched numerous classic horror movies with his grandfather. Eventually, he branched out to other genres and the passion grew to what it is today.
Only this time, he's writing about his response to each movie he sees, whether it's a review for a website, or a short, 140-character review on Twitter. When he's not inside of a movie theater, at home binge watching a television show, or bragging that he's a published author, he's pursuing to keep movies a huge part of his life, whether it's as a journalist/critic or, ahem, a screenwriter.
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