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The dreamy tones of This Old House have been echoing throughout Denton more and more over the past few months. Their music is a beautiful blend of folky melodies and spacey tones that equal one part lullaby and one part mind trip. Singer Ryan McAdams and guitarist Kennon Talley joined me for a round of pool and a beer at the Loophole to discuss their recording, how the big Texas sky influences their sound, and how they get by with a little help from their friends.
Andy Odom: You guys have only been together since last April. How did you all meet?
Ryan: Yeah, it’s been a little under a year, yeah. We all started as friends, but we didn’t really plan on any musical ventures together. We just had a lot of the same interests in music, the same dislikes and likes in bands. Drew (McCarey, bass) and I started jamming but we weren’t trying to get anything done on purpose, then we added Kennon (Talley, Guitar) and Michael (Allison, drums), and we just added a Rhodes player, Jim (Harrington), less than two weeks ago.
Kennon: Yeah, he played his first show with us at Rubber Gloves a month ago. We’re real proud of him.
AO: You mention that you all have the same likes and dislikes. What are those and what influences have seeped in to This Old House?
Ryan: Hmm. (laughs)
Kennon: (laughs) Well, I remember when Ryan called me up and said that he and Drew were playing some stuff and they wanted me to hear it. I was expecting some cheesy singer/songwriter stuff, but I said “Yeah, sure, I’ll come check it out.” And I was surprised. It was real atmospheric, but not a tired post-rock type of atmospheric. It’s more…earthy-atmospheric. I know he has a background of more folky stuff and so do I, but…
AO: There’s a more rootsy element?
Kennon: Yeah.
Ryan: I think we feel like a lot of Texas influences our music, as weird as that might sound…
AO: Musically, or culturally, or…
Ryan: I think both. I think we started out more as a folk project, but it developed into something were we try not to do something. A lot of people, or a band…they have an intention to go in and write something and sound a certain way. With us, it’s “You do your part, and I’ll do my part, and we’ll see what happens.” That’s why I like it so much.
AO: How else does Texas influence the band?
Ryan: Um, our lyrics are real “open sky”, dream-pop kinda music. It’s very open…like the Texas sunset. It’s like Texas the way we see it.
AO: Something about a slower pace to life?
Kennon: Yeah. I’m from a beach town, Corpus Christi. We call it “Manana Land”, ya know, like, “Eh, we’ll do it tomorrow.”
Ryan: Michael lived on a boat for, like, 8 years, Kennon’s from Corpus, Drew’s from Illinois, I’m from Brenham. All middle of nowhere.
AO: Yeah, where you’re from is going to have an impact on your music, if you like it or not, right?
Both: Yeah.
AO: And you guys are working on a new record with Kelly Upshaw of The Hope Trust, correct?
Ryan: I think right now what we want to do is use it for promo, not package it. It would be nice to have some backing first.
AO: Kennon, you’re in Western Giants as well as This Old House. Is it hard to juggle multiple bands? Is anyone else in other bands?
Ryan: Jim is in Matthew Gray’s project Writer.
Kennon: It really hasn’t been much of an issue. Western Giants has the days we practice, and so does This Old House. There’s only been one or two times where we tried to book a show, and I couldn’t because of the other band. But, it’s worked out really well.
AO: You talked earlier about being influenced by Texas in general. Do you feel any attachment or pride about an association with something as specific as a “Denton Scene”?
Ryan: I’m definitely proud to be a part of Denton. I love what the guys from Midlake do; they’ve stuck around.
Kennon: I love it. I’m from Corpus, but I consider Denton to be my home now. So, I have a lot of pride when it comes to Denton. There’s a lot of respect that comes with Denton, too. When you go out of town and say you’re a Denton band, there’s a “Oh, Denton. Cool!” I’ve been getting a lot of e-mail from friends coming to SXSW that have heard about Denton, and they say “We really want to play Denton, too!”
AO: Besides recording, what else is on the horizon for This Old House? Do you have any shows coming up?
Ryan: We have a gig down in Austin at the Mohawk with Appleseed Cast (Feb. 27th), which came out of nowhere. The night after that, we’re playing Granada in Dallas opening for The Clientele (Feb. 28th). So it’ll be two-day mini tour. Those are the biggest shows we’ve played so far.
AO: And that’s without any backing?
Ryan: Matthew (Gray) has been helping us a lot. Man, a lot of people have been helping us. Sarah Jaffe has helped us. Glen (Farris) has been great; he helps us book shows. Shep from Rubber Gloves is one of my favorite people, he helps us out too. We have some great friends.
Kennon: Yeah, we’ve been pretty fortunate.