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Text: Maytina
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Photos: The Charity Stripe
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The Charity Stripe are a four piece from Seattle, with Ross on guitar and vocals, James on bass and vocals, Cameron behind the kit, and Mark on guitar and keys. I am sorry to report that The Charity Stripe are no longer. Cameron did an email interview with me in June/06.
How does songwriting come together for you guys?
Cameron: Usually Ross had the initial idea for a song, which can be a guitar riff or a line of melody. Or sometimes he had what could be a complete song. Then he brought that to the band and we completely screwed it up, which was a lot of fun. There were also times when we had band practice and just collectively wrote a song on the spot.
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Do you feel that you have any specific challenges or advantages being from/based in Seattle?
Cameron: The advantage is that there are lots of great venues and other great bands to play with. The scene is really active and people appreciate local music. The challenge is that, because there is so much music, it can get a little over-saturated at times and it's hard to stand out from the crowd.
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How long was the gap between writing the songs and recording them?
Cameron: A couple of the songs were written more than a year before they were recorded. Those ones were really reworked over the course of those many months to the point where they are almost different songs. A couple others weren't finished until a few days before recording.
Tell me about the recording process for Here in the Mineshaft. Where / with who was it done?
Cameron: We recorded in two parts. The first 5 songs in April 2005 and the rest in June. Our good friend Bret Vogel, of the Portland band Crosstide, produced the record. This was his first time producing another band's project, so it was a learning experience for everyone involved. Bret did an incredible job though, and his musical insight was invaluable throughout the process. We recorded it in Portland with Kris Crummet at his studio, Interlace Audio. Kris is an amazing engineer and producer in his own right, and he and Bret collaborated really well.
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Cameron on goals for the band
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'There were a number of dreams and goals from the outset. Some were achieved and others were not. We had to let go of a lot of those dreams when the band came to an end, but I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are really proud of the music we wrote and recorded and of having done fairly well in Seattle in our two years as a band.'
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What are your promo plans for this disc?
Cameron: We don't really have any promo plans because we have basically stopped being a band. But people should still buy it because we are in debt from making it.
Are you looking for label support? What are you looking for in a label?
Cameron: Nope.
How important is it to you to be hands on about all the non musical aspects of The Charity Stripe? (fliers, cd artwork, web design…)
Cameron: I did the artwork for Here in the Mineshaft, and a good friend of ours did the artwork for our previous EP, but with input from us. We designed all of our own posters, which I enjoyed. It makes the whole band feel like a collective artistic endeavor, which is really rewarding.
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I think at some point all four of us have done artwork for CD packaging, posters, websites, etc. The standout artist of the group, hands down, is Ross. He made an incredible poster for one of our shows with pencil line-drawings or this guy doing cartwheels while wearing a top hat. It was spectacular.
Who are some of your favorite local bands to play shows with?
Cameron: We love playing with Crosstide, who are from Portland. In Seattle, we played with our good friends Mortimer and Shim several times. Argo is another Seattle band that we loved sharing the stage with.
What are you working on right now?
Cameron: We are working at jobs or going to school and conjuring up new musical projects.
What do you hope to achieve with The Charity Stripe?
Cameron: There were a number of dreams and goals from the outset. Some were achieved and others were not. We had to let go of a lot of those dreams when the band came to an end, but I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are really proud of the music we wrote and recorded and of having done fairly well in Seattle in our two years as a band.
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The Playlist
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Cameron's Playlist
1. The Stills - Halo the Harpoon (CD - Without Feathers)
2. Ride - Vapour Trail (CD - OX4: The Best of Ride
3. Stars - Look Up (CD - Heart)
4. REM - Man on the Moon (CD - Automatic for the People
5. Common Market - Connect For (CD - s/t)
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