Interview- Tearwave

 
Grave Concerns: Hey Jenn, Doug, how are you all?
 
Jenn- Fantastic
Doug- Things are great. Busy with our new CD.
 
Grave Concerns: How did you guys meet, and was this an immediate connection toward your relationship in regard to music?
 
Jenn- I had worked with Doug on a few projects in the past and had looked up to him for quite some time. The first time we got together on this project I knew we were on the same page. He introduced me to Joe and John and it was an automatic perfect fit.
Doug- I had been working on Tearwave type material for sometime and went looking for a singer. Jenn was a perfect fit for the mood and melody of the music. Joe and John had been friends of mine for many years so they were a natural choice.
 
Grave Concerns: When did you first discover that music was what you wanted to pursue? And while you were waiting for that to happen, what other jobs did you have?
 
Jenn- From the womb. Music has always been important in my life as a performer and a listener. I just had a few hurdles to jump before I could realize my dream. As far as jobs, I have been a C.N.A., a waitress, a cook, restaurant manager, an animal handler, a bartender and I have been a bill collector for the past 3 years now.
Doug- I have been playing guitar since I was 8 I think so the passion or I should say fascination for music has always been there.
 
Grave Concerns: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received about following your musical dreams?
 
Jenn- Have fun and remember why you sing in the first place.
Doug- Unfortunately I think the best advise I ever got was that “music is 10% material and 90% promotion“.
 
Grave Concerns: You’re from Buffalo, New York, what are some of your favorite spots to go to; those being museums, restaurants, parks…anything you’d like to share would be awesome. I love getting ideas of where to go if I were to visit. It’s like having my own personal travel guide.
 
Jenn - I think Delaware Park is a beautiful place to visit.
Doug- Fort Niagara, and the Buffalo Museum of science are really great.
 
Grave Concerns: Any amusement park thrill seekers in the group?
 
Jenn – Roller coaster queen baby!
Doug- ugh, fun but they give me a neck ache.
 
Grave Concerns: Pets? Favorite books or magazines?  Food and drinks? Lay it out on the line for us!
 
Jenn – 2 cats that think they are dogs. Favorite books or magazines? When I have the time I usually read anything to do with the craft to stay connected to my faith. Food and drinks? Pizza, hummus and Twinnings herbal tea.
Doug- Mr. Too, Mr. Moo, and Mr. Poo are my 3 cats all boys. For reading I have a passion for civil war diaries. Food, hmm I would have to say Lobster is king.
 
Grave Concerns: Since nature is very precious to me, I tend to be drawn more toward the Earth element. Although each one has its own special attributes, together they are priceless. Which element do you see yourselves more drawn toward?
 
Jenn – I am a fire for sure.
Doug- Ice, I can not stand hot weather.
 
Grave Concerns: Are you interested in any of the new fall TV lineups?
 
Jenn – Not a big TV fan, except for the show House and Grey’s anatomy when I can. I really like renting movies more.
Doug- I am addicted to reality fishing shows. Deadliest catch and Lobster wars.
 
Grave Concerns: If you were to plant a tree to symbolize something special in your lives, where would that tree be planted, and what kind is it?
 
Jenn – I suppose it would be in the yard of the first house I buy so that eventually it will shade my grandchildren’s grandchildren.
Doug- Gettysburg the most sacred place I have ever been. I had ancestors that fought there.
 
Grave Concerns: I love your hair when it’s colored in blue Jenn, it’s very pretty---you have such a lovely face to show off your look. Your fashion style is very eclectic and cool, too---is that something you’ve been doing for awhile now? It is great! (:

 
Jenn – If you could see my grin. Thank you so much. I have always had my own style. I got picked on a lot in grade school for it, but thanks to my mother’s love and support of my individuality I always stayed true to myself. I truly want who ever is reading this to take my advice. If you always be yourself, you can never forget who you are.

Grave Concerns: I love the woods---nature in general. Where did you shoot those woodland scenes that are up on your MySpace profile? 

Doug- In Lockport NY where I live outside of Buffalo. The woods in the photos are in a very secluded park that not many people know about.
 
Grave Concerns: If in those very woods any band member came across something magical, be it a fairy, a unicorn, a fabulous creature of some sort---something so unexplainable, yet so extraordinary, that it inspired an album of the most important and amazing songs to be written by Tearwave, would your band members believe you?
 
Jenn – I truly think so.
Doug- Sure
 
Grave Concerns: Now onto another pic question…that massively creative back tattoo is stunning Doug! What was the inspiration for it?

Doug- Thanks; the middle cross is a scientology cross. The outer artwork is all generations of my family listed back to my great grand parents as well as some Celtic work. On my right arm (not in the photo) in original angelic script are all 7 arc angels of heaven. On my left arm in angelic script are all 7 arc angels of hell.
 
Grave Concerns: What is your favorite song on the album?
 
Jenn – Dream Bliss. It has the best guitar solo and it’s my favorite live song.
Doug- Trial by fire is my current favorite. It changes now and then for me.
 
Grave Concerns: If you could have a movie director direct your next video, who would it be and why?
 
Jenn – Who ever does those Missy Elliot videos. They are always so creative and cutting edge. And yes, I love Missy Elliot.
Doug- Ken Burns from PBS. Now that would be something.
 
Grave Concerns: Growing up who were your favorite children’s books authors?
 
Jenn- To be honest, I was really into teeny bop mags and all the music stars. I did however read The Color Purple for school in the 7th grade and to date it is still my favorite.
Doug- I seem to draw a blank on that.
 
Grave Concerns: If your were to write a short story or a novel based on one of your songs, which one would it be? And if it was to be adapted to the silver screen, who would be your leading actor and actress?
 
Jenn- For me I would have to blend in the whole disc. This disc is truly about my life. It was very intimate for me to let people in this way. I have not had it easy and am very grateful for what I have. As for actresses I just love Mila Jovavich.
Doug- Philip Seymour Hoffman

Grave Concerns: If you had the power to live the life of any character in a movie for one-week after the end credits rolled, who would you choose and why?
 
Jenn – Drew Barrymore in Ever After. She gets the prince, the castle and the awesome clothes.
Doug-Clint Eastwood in Josie Wales
 
Grave Concerns: Other than your phenomenal talents as artists, name three things about your band members that make them special, in your eyes. And what do you think they would say about you?
 
Jenn – Doug is very patient and smart. John is so full of life and is very kind. Joe is my partner in crime and the absolute most fun. I am so blessed that they are who they are and I smile to myself when I realize they are my band mates.
As far as what they would say about me, I kinda goofy but a good friend.
Doug- Jenn is talented beyond her own knowledge of it; John is very driven and positive. Joe is very carefree and mellow. I think they might say about me is that I have endurance.

Grave Concerns: You’ve been asked to create a new word defining your style of music. What is that word?
 
Doug- Reflectionism.
 
Grave Concerns: Proudest moment yet?
 
Jenn – The last note played at our first show. We worked very hard to be there and I feel we gave it everything.
Doug- Finding our CD in a retail store.
 
Grave Concerns: If you were able to put on a concert for charity, which one/s would you be supporting, and which artists would you like to headline?
 
Jenn – That’s a bad question for me I want to give to everybody and I really mean that. I would hope for it to be an eclectic show with all types of artists to peak the interests off all types of listener’s to raise the most money.
Doug-Well here is a different one. The Civil War park fund. I would have Rush play just because they are sweet.
 
Grave Concerns: How did you come up with the name Tearwave?
 
Doug- I came up with Teargaze at first but thought it might be a bit cheesy being so close to our genre shoe gaze. So Tearwave popped into my head.
 
Grave Concerns: Being a member of MySpace, how has it helped, or hindered your musical endeavors? And which countries do you feel have embraced your music the most?
 
Doug- MySpace completely empowers an indie artist to get the word out as much as they are willing to work at it. It really is an amazing tool. I think our biggest fan bas is the US and UK.
 
Grave Concerns: How do you define happiness and love?
 
Jenn – Those are things you have to create for yourself. I guess for me happiness is being comfortable in my own skin, because you can’t let yourself be loved until that happens. Love is caring for someone enough to make yourself uncomfortable for them.
Doug- Happiness is a different state of mind for many people but for me having no worries at all about basic necessities in life helps happiness flourish.
 
Grave Concerns: OK; now for a fun question! You’ve just been given exclusive free range to invite family, and a few friends during the approaching holiday, Halloween, for six days, staying in a hotel suite where each of the six nights, a horror movie “theme room” of your choosing had been authenticated. Also with you, are three musical artists (of your choice) who’ll be performing two-sets each night; or, inviting them to 11 days at a haunted castle (accommodations of your choice) in Scotland, Ireland, or England, with Stephen King and Tim Burton as your tour guides. Which do you choose, and why?
I pick the first choice simply because I would love to have A Perfect Circle (MAYNARD !!!), Bjork, and Opeth play just for me. As a matter of fact I think I just had a dream like that.
 
Doug- I will pick the first on as well. The Cure, Tears for Fears, and The Cocteau Twins will be playing. That would be an amazing show for sure.
 
Grave Concerns: What would make you guys happy to hear, in regard to how people are responding to your music? Would it simple be “yeah, I like them”, “they sound cool”, or would it be something else…something deeper that you hope your audience will pick up on?
 
Jenn – I would love them to say” I feel like they have reached something inside like they already know me”
Doug- Someone saying they feel a dark melody that really grabs them and will not let go is a great compliment. Also someone mentioning our music makes them reflect on life is an amazing statement
 
Grave Concerns: I’m giving you 13 letters to choose from, in any order; you only have to use 6 of them (you can use more if you want, but not less than 6) and you have to make up a phrase describing an encounter with a gypsy holding a black rose at 13 minutes past midnight on a moonlit road your car just stalled on. But only with these letters…MTROPBACLEWFJ.
 
Jenn –So not good at these
Doug- METRO OR CAB? (my car just died)…….
 
Grave Concerns: As team collaborators, what have been the most difficult compromises to been made, regarding lyrics and music? How do you move forward, when something you’d really wanted to be considered, is not mutually felt?
 
Jenn- Gonna be honest, that has not really happened yet.
Doug- We do each seem to have our departments when creating that we stick to. But some issues have been wrestled with like how commercial to make a mix. Our style of music has never paid much attention to commercial standards like louder radio pop vocals or 3:40 minute songs for radio. How ever I try to keep an eye on whether the music is digestible to people not completely familiar to our genre. Reaching as many people as possible without compromise is the tricky edge to walk.

Grave Concerns: How do you differentiate a real good song, from a classic? In other words, what really makes a song stand out and last? And with your music, which song or songs do you feel have met that challenge, have come close to it, or are you currently just enjoying the creative bliss?
 
Jenn – Really just enjoying the bliss.
Doug- I can usually feel if the melody I have laid down is memorable. I think that is the key to our music. For me it is what separates a good song from an average one.

 
Grave Concerns: As a musician, how does the music in movies affect you? And if you were asked to compose a song for a soundtrack, which genera would that be in? Now let me take that question even further---actually backward; if you were to go back to the past, with your current music in hand, and were asked that same question, would any of your songs stand out as a good fit? If so, which song and movie would it have been?
 
Jenn- Music is everything to a movie. Anything in the thriller horror genre would be great.
Doug- I have been listening to sound tracks more the last few years. I bought the Lord Of The Rings audio box set. It is an amazing piece of work. I would like to think many of our songs would make good mood for film if the scene fit.
 
Grave Concerns: When do find you’re most creative, in reference to writing lyrics and music?
 
Jenn – There is usually go to my darker places inside when something happens to spark a memory. I could be a phrase or the bend in Doug’s guitar riff. It just happens when it does.
Doug- Tone with my guitars or keyboards inspires me. I might find a new sound I like and a song can spawn off that very quickly. I write nothing ahead of time. As it is being recorded for the final CD I am writing it on the spot. I just let it flow out of me. If I am in the right mood it will come easy. It is almost like meditation in a way.
 
Grave Concerns: If you had the ability to change the color of the sky during the daylight hours to a color of your choice…once every 3 months, what four colors would you choose, and why?
 
Jenn - Purple, Purple, Purple and teal
Doug- Thalo blue is my favorite color, or just a dark navy blue. It is nearly the only color I wear. Don’t really know why. I think I reflect my thoughts better in that color or just having it around me.

 
Grave Concerns: What do you feel are the biggest misconceptions about your style of music? Have you’ve been able to sway those who once weren’t to keen on it; or do you just let it roll, and continue to do what you love? And what is it about the Shoegaze/Indie/Gothic scene that is so appealing to you?
 
Doug- I think one misconception is that shoe gaze died 15 years ago. It really never did. It may have went away from MTV or the main stream but there has always been bands out there.
I think of the goth and shoegaze scenes as worlds apart myself but I guess they are not as far as I think. Shoegaze does seem to have this cross over fan base of indie music fanatics or (shoe gazers) that would have nothing to do with goth and Goths that do not like most indie rock out there. But the two groups both seem to gravitate and like shoe-gaze it is an interesting mix.
 
Grave Concerns: If you had the chance to travel back to the past, where would you go, and what would you want to leave as a reminder of time spent, as well as, something to take back with you?
 
Doug- 1864 The Lincoln White House. I would like to leave with an interview.
 
Grave Concerns: What do think makes your music stand out among other artists in your field?
 
Doug- I think Tearwave concentrates on memorable melody. Where many shoegaze bands concentrate fully on memorable mood only. There is a difference between melody and mood in our genre.
 
Grave Concerns: Write whatever comes to your mind after reading the following:
1. Sunlight made its way through…
 
Jenn- My curtain’s. Damn.
Doug- My shirt and is fading my tattoos.
 
2. As I put my hand on the door knob…
 
Jenn - I want to turn around and hug my family again.
Doug- Don’t let the cats out.
 
3. Could it really have been…
 
Jenn- Any harder to hike around in a corset dress.
Doug- Bigfoot
 
4. Grayish mist circled the lighthouse …
 
Jenn- And it intrigued me to check it out.
Doug- Is there anyone fishing out there?
 
5. The way he looked at me…
 
Jenn- I knew the best words of my life were going to be I do (Love you Mark)
Doug-I knew then he wanted to record it again.
 
Grave Concerns: I love the intricate looks of Labyrinths, and the mysteriousness of what lies within them. If you were to create one, how would it look? 

 
Jenn- Kind of like my room by Saturday. I keep hoping to find David Bowie and that crystal ball under the pile of laundry.
Doug-A box within a box within a box with in a box does not sound Closter phobic I think it would be cozy and safe.
 
Grave Concerns: What can we expect to hear from Tearwave in the future?
 
Jenn – The beautiful sound of four friends sharing their love and passion for music.
Doug- Constantly writing and recording.
 
Grave Concerns: What would you like to say to your fans right now?
 
Jenn – I want everyone who listens to know that I am giving you all real pieces of me with the words I sing and I hope it makes you feel something. Thank you for all of your support and kind words and gestures. A special thanks to our friend Aubrey who has been there from the beginning.
Doug- Thanks to everyone supporting indie music. It is an honor to make music that people seem to enjoy.
 
Thank you so very much for taking the time to put together this interview. It was truly a pleasure.
 
Grave Concerns: Jenn, Doug, it’s been my pleasure to have been able to interview you---you know what a big supporter I am of your beautifully mesmerizing music, and I look forward to hearing more by you. And I hope to once again review another spellbinding album. We here at Grave Concerns wish you a joyfully creative career and much happiness. Please keep in touch. Cheers!
 
For more information on Tearwave check them out at
https://myspace.com/tearwave
 
https://www.projekt.com
https://www.vampirefreaks.com/tearwave
https://www.garageband.com/tearwave
https://www.purevolume.com/tearwave
https://www.numberonemusic.com/tearwave