Push Puppets are a new band for me, but I'm glad I found out about them. They are modern power pop, always the best kind, and the music on their new album, Allegory Grey, flows in a unique way.
Lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist Erich Specht was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.
Andrea Weiss: How did the band form?
Erich Specht: Push Puppets began as my solo project. On the first two albums I played all the instruments except drums, which were played by Chris Morrow, who has since moved to Urbana to play jazz. In putting together a band, I first reached out to John William Lauler after seeing some videos of him playing. He suggested Greg Essig, our drummer who is fantastic. Kyle Magnusson on keyboards was recommended by a friend. Now for live shows we also have Tommi Zender playing guitar and singing. This band began playing at the album release show for the album titled A Boat of Lies and a House of Cards and have grown a lot while recording Allegory Grey.
AW: Who are your influences?
ES: There is an interesting mix of tastes within the band. Most of us appreciate things like King Crimson and Wilco. I'd say there's common appreciation for jazz, blues, and prog rock. Kyle plays a lot of jam band stuff. I grew up digging The Clash, The Replacements, XTC, Elvis Costello, and The Tragically Hip.
AW: What comes first for you, melodies or rhythms?
ES: Melodies. Ideally a melody suggested by a lyric.
AW: Your lyrics are very positive. Do you find happy songs easier to writer than sad ones?
ES: It’s funny you say that. I think they sound positive, but there's often a melancholy undertone. When I was writing "Sometimes the Buds Never Flower," I called my mom to ask some questions about flowering trees. I said I have this new happy song and when I got to the part "Nurtured the same as her neighbor, but she never opened her eyes," she said, "I thought this is supposed to be happy."
For whatever reason, I find a juxtaposition of pretty melodies with darker lyrics to be interesting. That said, there are plenty of older Push Puppets songs that are very positive like "Will It To Happen" or "Part of the Plan."
And there are plenty of songs that describe an imagined situation matter-of-factly, like "October Surprise," about the spreading of disinformation, "Your Secret's Safe," about someone freaking out after receiving an email saying a computer has been compromised, or "Center of the Storm," about convincing a co-conspirator to take the fall. I've been enjoying writing songs with characters like that recently.
AW:When there are non-cheerful situations described, it's mostly "keep your chin up," which I like. Do these songs come easily?
ES:I definitely wouldn't say they come easily, but they are coming more frequently lately. I think that might be because I've been reading more.
When I'm writing a song, I'm going to go where the song takes me. Sometimes that can lead to awkward situations. Like with "The Bane of My Existence," the bridge says, "You'll rue the day that your life skidded into my lane / Sounds like something my mother might say / When someone's been stringing her along." Before putting the album out, I ran that by my mom, who I am very close to, to make sure she was cool with it. It's certainly not about her, but it reinforced the old timiness that is throughout that song.
AW: "Perfect Picture" is almost folk/rock. Would you say your music has that element to it?
ES: I appreciate folk rock - Simon & Garfunkel or Gillian Welch. I tried to dial back my Americana tendencies on this album, but a couple made it through. I've never really cared much for genres. I appreciate bands like Gomez or Wilco that can blend genres into something interesting.
AW: Do you have any plans to tour?
ES: I’d love to tour if we can afford it. We're focusing mostly on Chicago and the Midwest at the moment, but I expect that to change.
AW: What advice would you give someone starting out in music?
ES: Learn how to tend bar.
