[Insert my drunken iTunes purchase of Good Old War\u2019s song, \u201cConey Island\u201d here.]<\/p>\n Formed by former members of Days Away, Keith Goodwin (GOOD) and Tim Arnold (OLD), and then adding in Dan Schwartz (WAR, get it?), the trio has been soothing audiences across the country with their three-part harmonies and acoustic charm since 2008. Fans of the band have been waiting for their third full-length album since June of 2010, and fortunately they have recently announced that their latest record has been completed. I had the opportunity to chat with Dan over the phone this afternoon about everything from the new album to driving their beloved van and everything in between!<\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> Tell me about the new record we\u2019ve all been waiting for! DS:<\/strong> Yeah! It\u2019s called \u201cCome Back as Rain,\u201d and it\u2019s slated for February 2012 for release.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> Where did the title come from?<\/em><\/p>\n DS:<\/strong> It was actually the title of a song that Keith wrote a while ago, but it worked so well for this record. It\u2019s like starting over again. You know, rain falls, then it goes up and cycles. I\u2019m not doing a very good job explaining this. I haven\u2019t worked on this one yet. (laughs)<\/em><\/p>\n CP: <\/strong>(Laughs) I think our readers will understand. What was the writing process like for this album?<\/em><\/p>\n DS: <\/strong>This was a great one to write- everyone really contributed to the writing process. Keith and I used to do all of the writing, but this record we all really wrote together.<\/em><\/p>\n CP: <\/strong>Do you guys find that you have one process that you go through, or different ones? Does everyone bring their ideas to the group when they\u2019re still just a framework, or do you bring more fully formed ideas to the table?<\/em><\/p>\n DS:<\/strong> It really varies. We try not to repeat ourselves too much. We have a few different processes that really work, but we always mix it up. I really like to write along for the most part, then bring it to the band once I\u2019ve got a good idea of what the song is going to be. Keith actually likes to write using Reason, which is a computer program where he can make drum loops. It\u2019s a really great program because he can just write along to it in the van.<\/em><\/p>\n CP: <\/strong>Do you guys often write songs in the van?<\/em><\/p>\n DS: <\/strong>Yeah. We actually write in there a lot, and especially now with the computer. I\u2019ve also just found a way to play guitar in the van without really disturbing anyone, so I think we\u2019re going to be writing a whole bunch in the van coming up.<\/em><\/p>\n CP: <\/strong>I have to ask. Who drives the van? Tim?<\/em><\/p>\n DS: <\/strong>That\u2019s one thing we all share. No one gets out of driving the van. That\u2019s a joy we all have to share.<\/em><\/p>\n CP: <\/strong>Sounds like a great thing to share. Everyone gets to join in the misery of driving. (laughs)<\/em><\/p>\n DS:<\/strong> (Laughs) I love it! You know, if the worst part about my job is driving the van, I think I\u2019m doing ok.<\/em><\/p>\n CP: <\/strong>So true. So how long did it take for you guys to make this record?<\/em><\/p>\n DS:<\/strong> I guess we started in the spring, so it was actually really quick. We spent one month in pre-production re-working the songs, making sure the lyrics were exactly how we wanted them. It was really like two and a half months from start to finish going non-stop.<\/em><\/p>\n CP: <\/strong>That sounds like a really short process.<\/em><\/p>\n DS: <\/strong>I guess it really was. It doesn\u2019t feel that way at the time when you\u2019re doing it non-stop, but yeah. It was really short.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> I know you guys have cited Crosby, Stills, & Nash and Simon and Garfunkle as influences. Anyone new influencing or inspiring you lately, or is there someone you guys jam out to in the van?<\/em><\/p>\n DS: <\/strong>Oh man, we\u2019re really all over the place. I\u2019m really into Kaizers Orchestra right now. I don\u2019t even think they\u2019ve been to the US yet. They\u2019re this Norweigan band that everyone should listen to because they are so awesome. But yeah, we\u2019re all over the place. Keith loves really great singers like Cole Porter, and Tim really likes everything. He listens to everything from electronica to classical. Usually Tim and Keith find the new stuff, and I stick to what I already know.<\/em><\/p>\n CP: <\/strong>So what can we expect to hear on this new record? Is it a big departure from the folky Good Old War we\u2019ve come to know, or is it pretty similar?<\/em><\/p>\n DS: <\/strong>I think it\u2019s the classic Good Old War you\u2019ve come to know, just better. We\u2019re always trying to do us better. This one is kind of a party record though. It\u2019s more fun, and it\u2019s really a dance record. You can sing-a-long, and it\u2019s just more fun. It\u2019s still got all the acoustic elements we\u2019re known for, but it\u2019s a little easier to get down to.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> So an acoustic dance record in three-part harmony?<\/em><\/p>\n DS: <\/strong>Exactly.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> Awesome. And will we be hearing some of these new tunes when you guys come to Anthology?<\/em><\/p>\n DS: <\/strong>Yeah. I think we\u2019ll be playing probably 4-5 new songs, and then all the old stuff we can fit into our set. It\u2019ll be a good mix of old and new.<\/em><\/p>\n CP: <\/strong>As long as you play \u201cConey Island\u201d, we\u2019ll be all good. It was the first song I heard by you guys.<\/em><\/p>\n DS:<\/strong> I think if we didn\u2019t play that song, we\u2019d piss off a lot of people. (Laughs) We\u2019ll definitely be playing that one.<\/em><\/p>\n As always, be sure to take a listen to my Spotify playlist of some of my favorite tunes from Good Old War, and don’t miss them at Anthology next week!<\/p>\n Good Old War<\/a><\/p>\n WHAT: <\/em>Good Old War<\/strong><\/em> An Interview with Dan Schwartz of Good Old War by: Casey Pukl I still remember the first time I heard the song, \u201cConey Island\u201d by Philadelphia indie folk\/rock trio Good Old War. I had just moved to Nashville, TN, and was just coming home from my first show in town. It was a showcase called, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1442],"tags":[11512],"class_list":["post-3927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artists","tag-artist-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3927"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32976,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3927\/revisions\/32976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/n27126366876_816346_83362.jpeg\" "\\"Good")
<\/a>I still remember the first time I heard the song, \u201cConey Island\u201d by Philadelphia indie folk\/rock trio Good Old War. I had just moved to Nashville, TN, and was just coming home from my first show in town. It was a showcase called, \u201cNew Faces\u201d at a tiny venue called The Basement. Of the seven acts that played, there was only one I liked, and I can\u2019t even remember what they were called, but I do remember talking to their lead singer outside while he drunkenly chain-smoked. I told him that I enjoyed the band, we chit chatted for a bit (something about the holy powers of the Leslie), and then I asked him the one question I now ask all musicians I enjoy. \u201cWho are you listening to lately?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n<\/em><\/p>\n
\nWHEN: <\/span>Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 7:00pm <\/strong><\/em>
\nTICKETS: $10-$21 <\/span>Buy Tickets<\/a><\/em>
\nMORE INFO: <\/span>Artist Profile<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"