Presence Interview

The Gauntlet: What has been going on with the album?

D. J. Stange: Do you want me to say what I'm supposed to say, or the truth? It was supposed to come out March 7, but got pushed back. It is being pushed back for appropriate reasons. Our last record didn't do well at first. It took about three months to catch on and start selling well. They want this one to start selling well right away. In todays market this is smarter. Their intentions are good. Warner Bros. is our promotions staff so we are in a much better place. We are road dogs who have been together over ten years and have played over 2,000 shows. With this record, we wrote the whole album in my studio over a year. Last November, we recorded the half of the album we wanted on the album for sure. Since we are a touring band for the last ten years, we wanted to tour the album for about five or six months because we have thirty some odd songs to work with. There could be stuff that doesn't work well live so we wanted to make sure it worked well live. We went back to LA and tracked the rest of the album. The entire album has been done now for about five or six months.

The Gauntlet: I heard you recently went back in the studio and made a few adjustments.

D. J. Stange: We had some songs re-mixed. We were happy with the mixes. Our producer mixed it and he got some really great new gear, like effects, preamps, and condensers. He re-mixed one song and asked if we liked the new version. I was like 'Holy Shit! Go do that to the rest of them.' That part of the delay is our fault. I don't want to be Axl Rose and spend eight years on a record to make sure its perfect, but this album represents the music we write so we want it to be great.

The Gauntlet: Have you been on the road waiting for the album to hit?

D. J. Stange: In the last four months, no. Last year we played over 200 shows. We needed some time at home with our families and friends. We need to relax and get our heads straight. Once the album does come out we will be on the road for a year or so. We have been taking some time off to evaluate the mix of the record. We also re-did our entire staff. We spent the whole last year with them and everyone is really comfortable with them. We now have a touring crew assembled where we love it and that frees us up to kind of sit at home and make sure our performance is where we want it to be.

The Gauntlet: Is there a release date yet?

D. J. Stange: Why don't you call the label and scream at them. That's not what I am supposed to say, I am supposed to say "coming soon". It's driving the band nuts. The mixes are done now. The label wants to now make sure they have the right promotion teams in the right places at the right times. Even when you need and want time off, there is only so much you can stand before you feel like climbing a bell tower. We play shows and the fans enjoy the concert, but there is an element in being smart. We want to play the new music, but it's frustrating having fans of the new music come up to us and asking where they can get it or when and we don't have an answer. What I have been told is end of July is the latest it will come out. But I have been around and I know things change. I'm not jaded anymore. I'm sure it will come out soon. It's really the best work we have done. We have done two independent and one national, this is our second national album.

The Gauntlet: Has Presence at least been able to play hometown shows?

D. J. Stange: Oh yeah. We always make sure we play those shows and the places we know the fans are good to us. It is hard to just play four shows in Wisconsin. We can, but then we need to make sure we have stops along the way. Touring is very effective. To get everyone together and travel is hard. The logistics are complicated. What gear, how it gets there, what are the fly dates. Fly dates are nothing but an adventure for the band, but for our crew, they are a nightmare. They have to deal with delays, hotels, gear, making sure everything is shipped and rented, etc. It is a traveling circus.

The Gauntlet: How was the last tour with The Accident Experiment?

D. J. Stange: That tour was really fun. There were no egos or anything from either band or crew. We were able to flip-flop headlining. Our tour managers were friends and got together and we put down were each band was good and we headlined those dates. So I'd like to say each band gave each other plenty of new fans.

The Gauntlet: Did you play a lot of new material?

D. J. Stange: That grouping of set lists was mostly new material. That was the main reason we were doing the tours. We used to write and then play, write and then play. With the new album, we wrote from the studio. So we needed to get on the road and see how it reacted. We were able to see if people went ape shit or not from the songs and make changes to the set list. By the time we had a good set list in October, that was what went on the album.

The Gauntlet: So basically the fans inadvertently chose the songs for the album.

D. J. Stange: Yeah

The Gauntlet: What was the writing process like for the new album?

D. J. Stange: This album was different. On this one, someone would come up with a riff, bring it to the guitar player who'd make it good. That part was similar. But with the other three albums, it was done in a wherehouse. This time, as soon as we came up with a riff, the studio was in my house. So I could walk i9nto the studio in my pajamas. We could have something already recorded in a day. There was instant gratification. Live music and recorded performances have nothing to do with each other. Ou can't play something and really analyse it in a wherehouse. Even as experienced and as good as we work together. I don't know anyone who can be in the painting and look at the painting at the same time. So having the studio made it that much easier. We were able to weed out the crap a lot faster.

The Gauntlet: How was Rockwell's cover for "Somebody's Watching Me" picked for the album.

D. J. Stange: I do the scores for films. I was on a fliught to LA and was on the flight with a guy who was a writer on a new Halloween film. A couple weeks after I met him he called and asked if I'd do the soundtrack for him. About three months into our tour he called up and had a scene where this girl is being watched. On the radio was a rock version of the song. He wanted to know if the band could play the song. The film thing was my deal and not the bands so I didn't want to speak for them. I asked them what they thought. I didn't want to force them, all of us are in this together. I told them I needed the song done and we'd all track it together. If we liked it, it would be a Presence song, if not, we'd make it some other song not linked to the band. We liked the way it came out. We posted it on our MySpace site and it went fuckin' nuts. It will be the first single for us. We think we made it our own enough so it's not like Orgy's Blue Monday. The original Rockwell version does a horrible 80's almost rapping and singing. The melody that is on the song now was written mostly by Jay. He came in and said he really couldn't make it that cool unless he changed it.

The Gauntlet: Any good tour stories?

D. J. Stange: Pick a category! I'm trying to think of which to tell. I'm trying to think if I should tell you about when a band member shit their pants on stage. One time our guitar player hit this note that was so off. The PA was loud as fuck and he hit this note and this fan in the front started shouting 'OOOOOHHHH!!!!!!!' We didn't even try to hide it.

The Gauntlet: How did the song "In My Room" come about. Is it about some ones obsession with Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen?

D. J. Stange: No, the song came about cause me and Jay had all the music finished. It was late. We knew we liked the music but didn't know what to do vocally. After a lot of hours and even more Margaritas we started discussing the topic. The topic is a thirteen year olds discovery of masturbation. It's not about us, but about every guy on the planet. Once we had the topic, we did this banter. One of us would come up with a line, then another would have the one after. I had never laughed so hard. Originally it was "Please go gently Britney", not "Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen�" We knew it was too dumb and too easy but it just stuck. We were in LA re-tracking and were having coffee at a Star Bucks. We were discussing changing that line because Britney is such an idiot. We thought about Anna Kournakovich. I said too bad it couldn't be "Please go gentley Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen" but that was too long. And Jay just sang "Mary Kate and Ashley". We were just shooting coffee out of our noses.