Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Brad Baker // Guitar
Andrew Hagan // Guitar/backup vocals
Michael Owens // Lead Vocals
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Spirant? How long has the band been around?
“We’ve all gone to school for music, so that’s really what our main focus has been in before this. Andrew is a piano performance major, Brad’s actually a Sax performance major (we’ve got plans for that, get hype.) and I’m a vocal performance major. I’ve always been interested in starting a project like this but I’ve never really been able to find the right guys to get started with, so it’s my first rodeo. We’ve all gigged here and there, but we’re more or less in the same boat.
This project is super young, about 4 months old now, but Andrew and Brad have been writing together for about a year and a half.” - Michael
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
“We’ve thrown around quite a few ideas, but we all agreed on this one.
Spirant is latin for ‘breathe.’ It means a lot to us because we want this stuff to help people feel like they can do just that. I know I needed it from bands when I was growing up. But yeah, the name just seemed to fit!” - M
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
“Our first few originals were made by Brad and I together. We write a lot of polyphonic stuff, and we’ve got a ton of ideas and riffs on the back burner. If Michael likes something he’ll record a voice memo, take it home and write lyrics and a melody to it. Lately we’ve all been just hanging out and writing together, and it actually works pretty well. It’s a learning process.” -Andrew
“As far as our themes, we think a lot from an emotional standpoint when writing a song initially. If I only bring lyrics to the table, the boys ask about ‘how the sound is supposed to feel.’ I ask them the same thing when I hear what they work on, so either way it goes, we just kind of marry the two ways of thinking and then go from there. Lately the songs have been pretty sad, but I’m positive we’ll continue to evolve in all kinds of directions, especially when we add two more members…” -M
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
“I’ve been listening to a lot of vocal jazz lately. It’s Christmas time so that gives me an extra excuse to listen to nothing but Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. We’re all listening to Closure in Moscow like crazy. They’re so good!” -M
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
“I think, for me, it really started last year. Around the time that a few of my friends were starting a bunch of different hardcore/punk projects, I was really getting into jazz combos at Carolina (University of South Carolina, Columbia). I really wanted both of those things in one place; I wanted to write with the intelligence of a classically trained musician, but with the passion that’s necessary for today’s music. fast forward about 8 months and I met Brad and Andrew, two spectacular guys who are great at what they do and are a perfect example of how the two kinds of musicians, classical and modern/jazz, can work so well together. It just worked, so we’re going for it.
TLDR: my closest friends as well as local jazz.” -M
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
“Not really as of now, I’m sure we’ll get some routines started here in the next few months though. I actually love to jog before singing so that will probably become a thing.” -M
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
“The fact that we’re in the studio already is a feat for us. We’re very much in the primitive stages of our band, but things are picking up steam pretty quickly. All of us are psyched to see where it goes.” -M
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
“I think we could all agree on touring with The Dear Hunter and CHON at the same time. They're incredible and to be on stage with both of them at once would be an honor haha.” -M
Is there anything else you would like to add?
“Thanks to you guys for having us, and thanks to anybody that read this.” -M