Side Stage Magazine: Where did the name Season of Arrows come from?
David Gates: It was actually on a list of band names we came up with along with several other names like Lords of December, Master of the Hive, With Wolves, Stars Are No More, Debutante, etc. We wanted a named that sounded powerful and daunting that could paint an image of what our music might sound like to someone.
Describe the songwriting and recording process for Give It To The Mountain.
It changes from song to song. Typically it starts out with a few guitar riffs and then it has to pass the test, can Stormie sing over it. If so, then we elaborate on it and add in other unique elements until we feel the song sounds like Season of Arrows. We soon realized that it takes all of us to add their own personal style and take on an idea before it gets turned into a song int his band.
How has your style/sound evolved from your debut?
We feel that we have grown and matured more as a band. We learned what we do well and what we need to work on as well through wiring, playing show, and many discussions. This new record is a bit darker sounding to us and it has more of a focus. There are less conflicting parts and we wanted to give this album a theme. “From The Wilderness We Return” was the first song we wrote after our last album and it kind of set the tone for us from there.
Favorite song on the record?
I would say “Farewell to the Horseman.” It has a lot of dynamic elements to it and shows a wide range of what we can do as a band. We had to break out the ole acoustics at the beginning and the song takes off from there.
Which track was challenging to write/record ?
“Bellow,” it was a challenge to strip away everything and let that below sad emptiness fill the room. We felt like the record needed a song like that to help break up the songs on the album. It also shows we are comfortable with who we are and what we represent at the same time.
How has living in Nashville influenced your sound?
It’s true, Nashville is notorious for Country Music. That being said, as long as we have been playing in bands, there has always been a handful of bands in the heavy genre that struggle to thrive here. You know Hank III used to play drums in an awesome metal band, Today is the Day used to live and play here all the time, and Duane Dennison from the infamous The Jesus Lizard/Tomahawk lives here as well as many other talented musicians. The point is, this underground scene has always been here, but since Nashville is growing very popular as of late, you are finally starting to here more about it. Check out the band Loss on Profound Lore too, they are doing big things in the doom scene. It’s funny, our guitarist Dave has been great friends with their bass player for 25+ years, small world man.
The album artwork is very striking, tell me about the woman on the front?
Scott Van Dusen did the artwork for both albums. He’s Brandon’s cousin and Shawn’s brother. A very talented and modest illustrator. We gave him the concept and some art direction and starting sketching things right away. He also did our first album artwork as well as our shirt design. We wanted to have a continued theme for this album cover, to feature that girl that was on the first one, but not make her look the same. We also felt that the imagery fits the sound of the album.
What are your upcoming show/tour plans?
We have some shows booked and several more in the making. We have been asked to play a very cool doom fest, more to come on that soon! 🙂 You never know, there are a lot of great shows coming here that we are working on getting on and I am sure we will venture out on the road some as well.
What is your message to your fans?
I would say, we play this music because we love it and we have to. We are a bit older and have all played together in previous bands that had their fair moments of slight success. If you are into this for the money, you will be sadly disappointed my friend. We also try not to label ourselves as just a doom band. We all listen to so many other kinds of music from black metal, blues, classic rock, and real hip hop. Season of Arrows will always play what we want to and how we want to. If people are into that, then that is great. I have personally had some really great moments in my life because I play music and you can’t take those for granted.
Thanks so much for taking this time to talk with us today. I hope that helps you and your viewers to gain a bit more insight to us as a band. We do this because we love it and we have worked hard at it and will continue to evolve and create as a band while working on our next record. Special thanks to Curtis Dewar and Gero of Argonauta Records for believing in us and helping us achieve these goal of ours. We will also have Give it to the Mountain available on vinyl within the next few months. The plates have been made, so that process has been started. We will have more merch for sale, and who knows what else the future will bring. Give it to Mountain will be available online everywhere and in CD on March 24, 2017!
Be sure to follow us online to stay in touch and say hello!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ seasonofarrows/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ seasonofarrows
Bandsintown: http://www.bandsintown.com/ SeasonOfArrows
Argonauta Records: http://www.argonautarecords. com/
Thanks for your time!
