SUGAR CANDY MOUNTAIN
Q: How did you choose the name “Sugar Candy Mountain?”
A: The name comes from George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.” In the novel it’s like heaven for the animals representing peace beyond this world. “In Sugar Candy Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges.” Sounds like a nice place- I think it makes a good band name.
Q: What was it like growing up in Oakland? What was the music scene like?
A: The Bay Area is an incredible place to grow up. My folks were always taking me on hikes and mountain bike rides to enjoy the bounty of beautiful natural settings here. We also had access to all the stuff that comes along with living in an urban environment, like food from all over the world, art museums and cultural activities, and a diverse population. I didn’t really get into the local music scene until I started playing with my first band in college at UC Santa Cruz. There was a strong connection between Oakland and Santa Cruz with a lot of students resettling in Oakland after graduating. Oakland felt like a grittier San Francisco much like UC Santa Cruz was a grittier UC Berkeley. At that time early in my music history Oakland had a strong warehouse scene and a lot of shows were held there or in art galleries. I miss that intersection of art and life and music. Sometimes traditional venues can feel a bit sterile and disconnected to me.
Q: I know you used to make music under the name Ash Reiter. Tell me about how you met Will Halsey and how you transformed into Sugar Candy Mountain.
A: I met Will while I was still playing under my own name a year two after college. I already had a band and had been strongly influenced by folkier artists like Jolie Holland and Feist but wanted to make a transition to rock music. Will had already begun recording his own music, some of which ended up on the first self titled SCM album only available on cassette. He also recorded my songs and produced them. Prior to that all my music had fairly traditional production, Will took a more creative approach and I really like it. As time went by we began working more and more on each others songs and it seemed silly to have to separate projects. We ended the Ash Reiter project and dedicated our combined efforts to Sugar Candy Mountain.
Q: I saw in an interview that you sometimes record music with some talented friends of yours such as Connor Gallaher, Jason Quever and a few others. Can you walk me through a recording session?
A: We’re lucky to have a ton of talented friends and to have had many of them play on our records. Connor “Catfish” Gallagher was at our place recording some pedal steel and guitar on another friends’ album that we were recording at our place and when the session was done wheedled him into playing a bit on a few of our songs too! He’s great because he takes a traditional instrument and adds lot interesting flavor by using pedals to make it sound like something entirely new. Jason Quever of Papercuts has helped engineer, produce and mix a lot of the songs on our last two record “666” and “Do Right”. He is wonderful to work with because he gets the right sounds really quickly, so the flow feels really natural. He also has some fantastic vintage gear which helps achieve the more classic sound we go for. We’re especially excited because he is moving back to the bay and is going to be our neighbor- so expect a lot more collaboration.
Q: In terms of the whole dreamy and stylistic-creative aspect of your music and album covers, what message are you trying to send to musicians, artists, creatives and your fans?
A: Well I guess we are encouraging people to look deeper. Musically our songs our lush with many tracks, our artwork too (all collages by my dear friend Jess Willa Wheaton) is very detailed, our lyrics also can often be dense and suggestive. The idea is that there is always another layer, turn it on its side and you may see things a different way. Lyrically both albums explore themes of how to be in the world. How to find peace, how to be good, how to change. Also “Do Right” explores our fear and anxiety around environmental degradation and the climate crisis. Our future is relatively uncertain; it makes it hard to write particularly breezy music.
Q: What was the most memorable music moment for you as Sugar Candy Mountain and as Ash Reiter? (garage session, neighborhood, concert, studio, etc.)
A: A few years back we were doing a cross country tour and our vans transmission died on us in the middle of nowhere. We just barely made it to an auto shop in this tiny town in Virginia- the mechanic took a look at the van and informed us it would be way more to fix than the van was worth and the part wouldn’t arrive for over a week. This wasn’t an option for us. Somehow we worked out a plan to get towed to check a new (old) van that we found on craigslist for $1500. We talked the owner into taking our old non functioning van and bringing the price down $1000. Naturally our new (old) van was a real piece of shit and it kept having issues the whole way back. We had one particularly long drive on our way to Denver the new (old) van had to be taken into the mechanic and it looked like we weren’t going to make it. We pleaded with the mechanic and they fixed it as fast as they could and we were off with just enough time to make for our set but not a minute more. We called our friends in the band Flaural and told them of our predicament and they brought their own gear and backline and sound checked for us. We arrived and ran for our car to the stage and started playing to a packed room. It was such a rush- I felt like The Beatles. I also felt so lucky to have such great friends in Flaural who were willing to go above and beyond for us. That’s what having a music community is all about.
Q: I see on your Ash Reiter Soundcloud that you only cover one song and its by Bob Seger. Why Bob Seger? Is there some inspiration there?
A: Truth be told we did that song as part of kick starter to fund the last Ash Reiter album. As a reward we covered songs requested by people. Until we got the request I somehow had never heard the song. Now it’s one of my go to karaoke songs. It also almost made it onto the show Californication. That would have been pretty sweet.
Q: What was it like playing alongside MGMT at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party?
A: That was our first real festival experience as a band. I think it gave me some confidence moving forward but also humility- we were of course on a little side stage. That is the cycle of being a musician also vacillating between confidence and humility.
Q: What song is your “guilty pleasure?”
A: It isn’t really a guilty pleasure- why should anyone be guilty about pleasure? Anyway I love disco music- when I DJ this what I play a lot of these days. It sounds so good on big sound systems and I love it when I can keep people dancing. I also love 70s gold and old county- I guess that might be unexpected considering the music I make.
Q: If there were 3 things your fans didn’t know about you that you’d want them to know what would they be?
A:
1. I love gardening and have been trying to grow as much of my own food as possible. Right now I am turning my front yard into a mini orchard. I can’t wait until all my trees are mature and we have an endless supply of fruit. Gardening keeps me calm and healthy.
2. I didn’t really start playing and performing music until my last year of college. I didn’t start playing lead guitar until much later than that. It’s never too late to start.
3. I have biked down from Portland to the Bay Area twice, camping all along the way. It is an incredible way to experience the coast. Also a unique way to bond with people. The second time I did it with my dad, I’m so glad that we were able to to do that together. Eventually I hope to complete the rest of the coastal route from Canada to Portland and from the Bay Area to San Diego.
Q: If you were to travel back into the past, let’s say 2000 years, what’s something you would change?
A: I would make it so poison oak and all plants in the poison oak family would evolve to be harmless. Then I could hike anywhere without fear. I love camping and hiking especially during these summer months. I would be a lot more care free if I didn’t have to be constantly on the lookout for poison oak.
