The Paul Colman Trio, Part II
Who would you say have been the band's top musical influences over the years?
Phil Gaudion: Paul would probably say songwriters like Bob Dylan, Springsteen, Neil Finn (Crowded House), U2. Grant would say Led Zepplin and Queen and the Beatles. I would say the Police, INXS, Level 42 - so we are a real melting pot of influences.
Phil Gaudion: All of us played covers (other peoples' music) for years in bars before this group. Paul in particular played and MC'd many weddings were he honed his front man skills. We all knew each other from the churches in the area of Melbourne Australia in which we lived. Paul already had his original music on the move and Grant and I often dreamed of being a rhythm section for an artist such as Paul - someone who could command an audience and had great songs.
The trio's music has been characterized as acoustic pop-are you still comfortable with this label? (I'm looking for where the band thinks it is headed style-wise, where their music is headed, and perhaps what areas of faith and spirituality they may be considering exploring.)
Phil Gaudion: I think Paul's acoustic guitar is and always will be the key element. All Paul's songs begin there even if they don't end up with acoustic guitar in the track. We have tried on our new CD "ONE" to achieve a more open, less produced sound. We often cross the extremely blurred line of pop into rock i'd say.
Who knows where the theme of the next record will go. That's one of the most exciting things about music, I think the writer can't help but build their life into the lyrics, so a new project is a snapshot of their life or what their thinking about at that point.
Paul is passionate about seeing people reconcile relationships and that includes the God of this universe. Everyone gets something different from the same piece of music. In a live setting we are quite eclectic, from rock to reggae, mellow to aggressive. So acoustic pop? - come to a show or buy a CD - you be the judge.
Any parting "sound" advice for technicians working to achieve quality EQ for acoustically-oriented bands? Any lessons learned?
Phil Gaudion: Recently we've really come to understand the importance of getting the sound right at the source. Taylor guitars have been kind enough to let us try a bunch of guitars for Paul through a PA to help find one that suits his style of playing best.
If you're having to do a lot of EQ, i'd be asking what's wrong with the chain that is stopping this sounding great, flat. It need not be a finger pointing excerise, try things until you find the best combination with what you have. You don't have to be frustrated with a poor sound. I encourage everyone to experiment, get in there and find out how to make it better.
The band has released its second CD on Essential Records, entitled "ONE". It is available in stores everywhere.
