Doug Brown is the vocalist/rhythm guitarist for the pop/rock band SafetySuit. The band recently released their second album titled “These Times” via Universal Republic Records. Media Mikes had a chance to talk with Doug recently about the bands history and the new album.
Adam Lawton: Can you give us a little background on the band?
Doug Brown: The band formed a century ago in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2004 we moved to Nashville, Tenn. where we started playing out quite a bit. In 2007 we got signed to Universal Records and in 2008 we released our first album titled “Life Left to Go”. We toured on that album for about 3 years which brings us to now where we are now just releasing our new album “These Times”.
AL: What can you tell us about the new album?
DB: This album is the next step in the SafetySuit journey. With the last record I don’t think people could really tell what type of band we are. Some people thought we were a pop band while others thought we were a rock band. I think we have a little bit of both and are a pop/rock band as opposed to a rock/pop band. The pop is trying to squeeze its way towards the front of our sound but we give it emotion and intensity which is what is missing from some pop style songs.
AL: How does “These Times” compare to your previous release?
DB: I think this record is an evolution. This album is us figuring out what people were reacting to after 2/3 years of touring. We wanted to make the things that people were reacting to the predominant thing on the new record. We were really aware this time of what we were putting in each recording as we wanted the songs to be very accessible. With the last record we added a lot of stuff to the tracks to make them bigger but this time we went with a less is more approach.
AL: What do you think was the hardest part of the recording process?
DB: The recording process it’s self was a really long process. We started at the beginning of 2010 and didn’t finish until the end of 2011. It’s hard to come into the studio and record a fresh sounding album after being on the road for so long. We recorded half of the record and then brought the label down to hear it. This was the first time that we as a band stopped and listened to what we were doing. We realized it was not very good so we scrapped the entire thing. The second time around we made sure that we had good people working with us with fresh ideas. We were constantly checking the tracks to make sure they were what we wanted.
AL: Is there a track off the album that sticks out as a favorite?
DB: Probably the title track “These Times”. I think that song musically captures what we are trying to do as a band. The song has a good guitar hook and lyrics that are focused on a real subject. I think this song has the heart of the band behind it.
AL: Will the band be touring to support the album?
DB: I don’t have any specifics on the tour just yet. We are working very hard right now on locking down a few things. We are planning a small club tour in February and then we have some opportunities for some larger tours in March, April and May. I can’t really tell anyone much more than that until things are finalized.
AL: Is there anything else going on with band in 2012?
DB: We just released our video on Vevo.com for “These Times” which was pretty exciting. It was also pretty amazing to be the number 1 album on iTunes for a couple days. During the months until spring we plan to do a lot of press and promoting to get the album going. We hope to do a Vh1 premier of “These Times” in the next month in a half or so.