Julia Lancer Of The New Trust
The New Trust is a band gaining respect in California for their songwriting and live excitement. Comprised of bassist-songwriter Josh Staples, with guitarist Sara Stanger and drummer Julia Lancer, their latest disc is called Get Vulnerable. We interviewed Julia Lancer last week.
Age: 26
Years playing drums:
7 years
Drums: RMV
shells. Bapeva Brazilian Maple. Black with silver sparkle. 12" x 10"
rack. 14" x 13" floor. 22" x 18" bass. 14" x 5.5" 10-lug snare. I also
have a 14" x 5.5" 15-ply vented Orange
County snare in silver sparkle.
Cymbals: 21"
Zildjian Sweet Ride. 14" Zildjian
New Beat hi-hats.
Sticks: American Classic Hickory
2B.
Heads: Evans EC2's on the toms. Remo Pedals: DW 5000
How is the
response to the new CD so far?
Get Vulnerable
seems to be getting good reviews. I tend not to search for reviews for
our band. The Internet can be a very nasty place. There will always be
someone that can find something that they don't like about the record.
And I know it would really hurt my feelings because I poured my heart
into it. I know that I really like the record. I know that Josh and Sara
really like the record. And I know that my mom really likes the record.
And that is mostly what I care about.
What was
the band's goal for this record?
I know that Sara's goal
for this record was to be able to play shows and have people scream our
lyrics into our faces. And that has been accomplished. Me personally, I
just wanted to make a record that I like and that my friends like. I
really stepped up my game for this record. I pushed myself to pull off
some fills that I had been trying to incorporate into my drumming, but
didn't think I had the skills. It was good for me to get that onto tape
to prove to myself that I really could do it.
Was the
process of recording it different than any others?
Well,
we recorded this one ourselves with help from our old guitar player
Matthew Izen. We got to record in the huge vitamin factory that Josh
works in. Amid rows of old pin ball machines, homemade beer fixins', a
half built airplane, and a ton of other wacky treasures. It was really
fun, and relatively casual. It took a lot of pressure off the whole
process for me. Not having a real time frame to have to fit into. We
couldn't start until after hours at the warehouse, but that made it even
more fun. It was totally empty in there and we could be there all night.
And I got to brush up on my ping pong skills in between takes. How rad
is that?!
How long does it take you to come up with your
parts for a song? Do other band members contribute ideas?
Josh had the idea for The New Trust brewing up in his mind well before
we ever formed. Some of the songs we play now had been roughly written
for upwards of ten or twelve years. He has been recording song bits and
ideas on a hand held tape recorder ever since. He even keeps it by his
bedside table in case songs come to him in a dream. (No joke. Our new
record is based strictly on dreams that we have all had. I started
keeping a dream journal in February.) So by the time we get to
practicing the songs, I've heard them a bunch of times before. Josh will
usually make 4-track recording of ideas with drum tracks built in.
They're always super raw, but good as a jumping off point for songs.
One of my favorite things in this world is to watch my band try to communicate a drum beat to me. It usually involves a lot of crazy hand gestures and funny faces while they explain some impossible beat that would require like five hands and at least three floor toms.
Your band can be very poetic.Do the lyrics influence how you
play a song?
First and foremost, I follow the bass line.
Since there are only three of us, it is really important that we are as
solid as possible so that the second guitar isn't really missed. Once
I'm more comfortable with the composition of a song, I can listen to
more of what is going on around me, like lyrics. I think it helps that
Josh both sings and plays bass. He is rhythmically important to the
band, so I feel that he tries to blend everything together so that
nothing stands out too much more than anything else.
Did
you use the same setup in the studio that you use onstage?
Yes! Always.
Do you try to play the songs
live as they are on the recording, or do you mix it up?
I
try to stick as close to the record as I can. I know that personally, it
breaks my heart when I go to see a band and something that I grew to
love on a record isn't there during the show. It kind of takes
the magic away. Watching other drummers is my homework. Shows are where
I do my studying. I love watching other drummers and learning from what
they're doing. Then I can take from that and incorporate it into my
drumming, while putting my own spin on it.
How often do
you change heads when you're on tour?
I base the changing
of my heads on the oil changes we get in the van. Every three thousand
miles or so. Usually on a full US tour, we're playing basements and
house shows half the time so we're not mic'd. As long as it sounds good
from my side, I'm happy. I share my drums with people a lot, so I make
sure to have extra heads with me in case someone else finds it entirely
necessary to change them.
Were there any female drummers
that influenced you?
If it weren't for my friend Caitlin Love, I don't think I would have ever continued
playing the drums seriously. I was pretty shy and embarrassed when I
first started. But she insisted that I play as loud as I wanted for as
long as I possible could. We would sit in her living room and watch old
Nirvana tapes and follow along hitting pillows with drum sticks. Then
she would make me go apply what I had learned on a real kit right after.
My first couple of "lessons" involved Caitlin sitting behind me while I
played any beat or song that I could think of. All she told me was to 1)
Always hit the bass drum if I hit a cymbal and 2) Never hit the bass
drum at the same time as the snare. Good rules to start with. Usually
she would whack me on the shoulder which indicated that I should never
do that weak beat ever again. That is by far the greatest lesson - what
NOT to do.
I never showed an interest in playing drums when I was younger, so it was rather shocking to my parents that I went on a full US tour after only six months of playing seriously with a band. When I got home, my Dad was kind of like, "Alright. Are you done now? With this whole punk rock thing?" No Dad. I am still not done.
What's next for the New Trust?
We're currently
in the process of writing two EP's. It's going pretty slow and steady as
of now. But none of us really mind. We know we're going to be a band
forever, so there's really no rush. Josh and Sara recently taught their
dog Oly to play the toy piano. I'm hoping to bring her in as a guest
player on the next recording.
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