Evan Krise, Ian Hudson, and Brandon Krise make up Coldswell, an alternative rock trio based out of Cleveland. The band delivers an intricate and lyrically enticing brand of rock that you’ll become a fan of on the first listen.
I got the chance to talk to Evan and Ian about how the band came together, their musical influences as a band, their single “Fairweather”, what they nerd out about and so much more! Keep reading to see what they had to say!
For those who might not have ever heard of you, can you give us a brief history of the band and how it culminated into what it is now?
Evan Krise (EK): We started in 2015 as a project of mine and recorded our first EP, Weary, by myself. then i wanted to make it more of a band and got Ian and Brandon to join on bass and drums respectively. We then started writing more material that would turn into our second EP, Ruminate. Then we started working on refining our sound into what is our full length record, Void Calls.
Where did the name Coldswell come from?
EK: I wanted to have a name that was short and concise. I liked the idea of taking two words and combining them together. so I had a list and the two that stood out to me were ‘Cold’ and ‘Swell’. I just thought they sounded good together.
I’m always genuinely curious about what artists want to convey to listeners with their music. You guys classify your sound as alternative rock, but if you had to describe it without using genre names, how would you describe it?
Ian Hudson (IH): Our sound would be best described as a sort of melancholic angst sometimes under the guise of bittersweet nihilism; imagine Weezer if they had more of an influence from The Cure than the Cars.
Kind of going off of that, who are some of your musical influences as a band?
EK and IH: Not surprisingly, Weezer and The Cure are both prominent influences on our music, along with Dinosaur Jr., Death Cab For Cutie, Joy Division, Placebo, HUM, The Killers, Smashing Pumpkins, Silversun Pickups… you get the idea.
Let’s talk about your new single, “Fairweather”. What inspired that song?
IH: I came up with the musical concept before the subject matter, so feeling-out what I had written, I thought of dealing with a toxic relationship, platonic, romantic, or otherwise. I am personally off my lyric-writing game, so I described the concept to Evan, and he wrote the lyrics in his own words. So, in a way, it’s a twice-removed lyrical interpretation of a musical expression from an empath.
What was the songwriting process like for this song specifically?
IH: I originally came up with the bass line and drum part to be a Post-Punk vamp a’ la Joy Division, put it into a looper, and wrote the guitar part over top of it.
Do you guys tend to write by yourselves or do you like collaborating with other writers and artists in co-writes?
EK: No, it’s just us. Usually one of us will come up with an idea for a song and bring it to the rest of the band. Then together we will workshop the form and maybe alter a few things here and there.
IH: We’re notoriously introverted when it comes to any sort of interaction outside of our normal routines. Although we’d be open to the idea to collaborate with other like-minded musicians, we probably wouldn’t be the ones to initiate contact.
Was there any major changes to “Fairweather” that happened once you guys got into the recording studio, whether it be in the lyrics or something sonically?
IH: Well, there are synths in the album recording to add color to the song, and Evan wrote the guitar solo, but besides that, it is identical to how it was originally written.
Your upcoming debut record, Void Calls, is coming out in just over a month. What people can expect from it?
IH: A typical sonic manifestation of three emotionally-distraught young men growing up in 00’s Suburban Ohio, but with the nostalgic touch of the same demographic from two to three decades ago.
You guys are still relatively new to the music game. What are some music industry-related goals or benchmarks that you’re aiming to reach as a band in the next couple of years?
IH: We honestly want to expand our audience with the hope that our work resonates with more people. From there, we’d like the additional incentive to tour and afford to continue making music on a larger scale.
Lastly, we’re called Talk Nerdy With Us because we all have an inner nerd so what is something that you’re currently nerding out about?
EK: I’m a big fan of Scooby Doo, and there are rumors that there is a follow-up to 1998’s Scooby Doo on Zombie Island. So I hope that’s true, because I’d love to see that! I’ve also been really into a lot of the Marvel comics and movies recently.
IH: I’ve been into antiques from the 20’s and 30’s, Art Deco, Bauhaus, for the past few years now and have had my eye on a Royal Typewriter of that vintage. Otherwise, I’m usually still working on finishing my Gen. 2 Pokemon card collection, hoarding synthesizers, riding my bike, expanding my wardrobe, and waiting for a new season of Venture Brothers.
For more information, make sure you visit their website and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Void Calls is out on June 21st.