photo credit: Jamie Martinez
In lieu of their anticipated upcoming release, All These Countless Nights, we caught up with James Veck-Gilodi vocalist of Deaf Havana
Did anything change when recording All These Countless Nights or did you follow the same formula as your previous records?
A lot changed to be honest. First of all I wrote the songs over a space of about 2 years as opposed to 2 months, secondly we actually did a lot of pre production for this record, meaning that the songs changed quite a lot from the original demo that came directly out of my brain to the finished song on the record, and thirdly we recorded the basis of all the songs live, which I think definitely adds more energy to the record.
Do you feel overcoming the decision to continue on as a band has been your hardest challenge? Or once it was decided everything just fell back into place
It was actually a very natural decision, I can't really pin point the exact moment when we all decided, but it definitely came about pretty organically. The time apart really made us miss playing music together, for the most part, I'm glad that we came so close to not continuing because it made us want it so much more this time around.
Favorite song off the new album?
I'm sure this will change many times over the course of the next year, but right now I would probably have to say "Happiness". It's very personal to me and really hits me hard when I sing it.
Favorite song to play live?
I would have to say "Sing" and "Cassiopeia". Not matter how bad I feel during a live set, as soon as we play one of those songs it instantly brings me back around. They have a lot of energy live I think.
Which of your songs means the most to you?
I would have to say "Happiness," it came from a very sad place and it was one of the most natural songs for me to write, as cheesy as it sounds, it just flowed out of me.
What song do you remember most from your childhood?
I have no idea haha potentially "Bad" by Michael Jackson, I was obsessed with the dancing in the video, I must have watched my VHS of it 1000 times.
What hobbies do you turn to when you're feeling "burnt out" or unmotivated to work on music - to help respark the passion?
I only really have one hobby which unfortunately is music so it doesn't exactly work when I'm feeling burnt out. I guess I'm lucky enough to never really feel that way, I'm not one of those people who writes all the time but when I am inspired it comes in huge bursts. I love to cook (and eat) but that doesn't really coincide with music.
What's your favorite venue you've played at thus far?
Doesn't really count but we played an acoustic showcase on the top of a mountain in California, at a winery. That was pretty special haha
What venue or city are you most looking forward to conquering in the future?
I would say any that will have us! We just want to spread our music as far and wide as we possibly can! I would love to tour Central and South America though, that would be amazing.
Is your song writing process a complete group effort, or do individuals bring ideas to the table and you work from there?
It's pretty much just me, I write and demo the songs myself and then when it comes to the recording process everyone chips in. I find it easier, there's too many opinions in one band to really benefit from all writing together, in my opinion.
What's the most "rock star" thing you've ever done?
It depends what you define as "rock star" because there are an abundance of things that I have done which I highly doubt I can mention in here haha. But generally speaking, we don't do anything mental like driving cars into swimming pools, but we do enjoy ourselves on tour, more than a lot of other bands that we have toured with.
Any chance we'll be seeing you stateside in 2017?
I sincerely hope so! Ask me again in a couple of months haha
If you could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, on a song who would it be and why?
It would have to be Björk! Hands down, she is so individual and free, there is no one on earth like her. That would be my absolute dream come true!
All These Countless Nights is to be released on January 27th, check out our review of it here