By Ann Driscoll
Associate Editor
Rock sextet Tin Soldier formed at Berklee in April of 2009. The band offers folk-tinged pop/rock that harkens back to classic rock influences while pulling from contemporaries like Fleet Foxes and Sufjan Stevens. Just months after forming, they toured the U.S. playing venues like Martyr’s in Chicago, the Knitting Factory in Hollywood, and Lestat’s in San Diego. The roster consists of lead singer Manu Laudic, guitarist Dustin Olyan, keyboardist Zachary Tenorio-Miller, drummer Curran McDowell, guitarist/mandolin player Christopher Putt, and bassist Aaron “Count” Stern. Laudic, a native of France, spoke to The Groove on behalf of Tin Soldier and their plans for the future.
Ann Driscoll: You drove to California from Boston and drove back and you played shows in between?
Manu Laudic: We toured June to mid-July. We played Washington, Chicago, Kansas City. Fresno, L.A., and San Diego.
AD: Where’d you stay?
ML: With friends from Berklee and from connections.
AD: What kind of car did you drive?
ML: We took two cars: a Subaru outback and an Xterra with a trailer. Everything gets cheap when there’s six people in a band. It was cheaper for me to travel than for me to pay rent here in Boston. It’s cheaper to pay the gas and eat out every day than to stay in Boston.
AD: What kind of stuff did you guys eat on the road? Fast food?
ML: Mostly. I’m not a fast food kind of guy. I decided before the tour that I’d never eat McDonald’s or Burger King, so I never did. But we did In-N-Out in California because it’s good, Subway, whatever we could find. We barbecued some hotdogs ourselves. We ate at the venue or found a sandwich or salad. And goldfish. A lot of goldfish.
AD: You guys are releasing a full-length LP sometime soon?
ML: For next September. Right now, we’re recording a long EP, a 7-song EP at the end of February at a studio in Waltham with Andrew Kline and Greg Teeves. Andrew graduated from Berklee. Greg is in his last semester. They’re amazing producers and engineers. We’re doing an EP release show in April hopefully at the YMCA Theater in Cambridge.
AD: You guys have been a band less than a year but have played so much.
ML: Last semester, we played every two weeks, close to every week. Sometimes we had two shows every week. We recorded with Jon Anderson, the lead singer of Yes. He sang on “Time As It Is” before we went on our tour. That helped us get a lot of gigs. We’ve been playing a lot more than we’ve been writing music. This semester is going to be less playing and more writing, to try and release that full-length album by semester. We’re going to tour on the east coast in June.
AD: What’s your favorite venue to play at in Boston?
ML: I hope the BPC. We’ve had a lot of fun at Harper’s Ferry, but it’s hard to get filled. Great Scott is a good place to play.
AD: Are you guys going to stay in Boston next year?
ML: Nothing has been decided. We’ll try to do that.
AD: Where can you see yourselves in a year?
ML: We’ll want to get our music played in as many places as we can. None of us will ever stop playing music. In a year, our best would be to play arenas, opening for big acts, or being the main act. Within a year, the LP will be released. Hopefully, with so many good connections from Berklee and from playing everywhere, we’ll be signed, and we’ll be out there. You never know, things can change. We don’t want to sell our CD. In the industry, it’s stupid to sell music that no one’s heard before. I believe in offering the music for free.
AD: Do you feel that you’ve progressed a lot?
ML: There’s no other way to learn but from playing your instrument. The video from the first gig we did and the video of the last gig we did, it’s like night and day. We’re really good friends, we can jam on songs. We play to jam, we play to work. Having that confidence between each other, knowing what each of us is doing in the band, it means that each of us can play all the parts in the song on every song.
AD: Who are your contemporary influences?
ML: A lot of us listen to Wilco. The Raconteurs, for the sound. We all listen to such a big range. Curran can listen to anything. He is one of the biggest listeners I know. I listen to a lot of Celtic music, folk music, Damien Rice, more of the songwriter-y stuff. Zac listens to indie music, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective. Dustin is into blues: Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Mayer. Count is into funk. He’s a really funky bass player. Chris is into a lot of stuff. He’s been playing a lot of alternative, vibe music, instrumental stuff. We all listen to different music, I like what all the guys listen to, and it’s the same for all the other guys.
AD: How do you feel about being on Heavy Rotation?
ML: It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to us as a band at Berklee. We get to play this amazing place with amazing musicians in front of an amazing crowd. Heavy Rotations are such nice people. Like Tommy and Cierra–they’re so nice. They’ve helped us so much.
AD: What songs are you playing at the show?
ML: “Hat Song” and “October.” “Hat Song” was recorded at Rear Window in Brookline. It was done by Derek McWilliams and Ben Gebert. “October” was done by Greg Teeves and Andrew Kline. Two different sounds, two different songs.
AD: What are they about?
ML: “Hat Song” is based on a homeless person who was right next to Westland, and he was looking for hats in the trash– nothing else but hats. The song is about him, how I felt sorry for him. At the same time, my first two months were with bed bugs, rats, and roaches. I would look out the window because I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t do anything because I had so many problems myself. It was to get myself feeling better. I couldn’t speak any English.
“October” is a love song. It’s a love song and it talks about that girl that I love. That the band loves. That everyone loves. That isn’t around. It is more of an abstract of my mom, of every single person I miss. What I miss back home, and wondering when I will see them again.
