Keep Calm Presents: An Interview with Joey Vannucchi of From Indian Lakes

 A couple weeks back, I had the opportunity to sit down the From Indian Lake's frontman Joey Vannucchi to talk about their recent headlining tour, signing to Triple Crown Records, and the making of their next full length.  Big thanks to Joey and the rest of guys From Indian Lakes for hanging out with Keep Calm and Carry On! 



Keep Calm and Carry On: We’re here at the Stanhope House in Stanhope, New Jersey with the guys from From Indian Lakes. So you guys are on your first full headlining tour, right?

Joey Vannucchi: Yeah.

Keep Calm: You’re about hallway through, and last night was sold out actually. 

JV: Yes!

Keep Calm: So how do you feel about the crowd reaction and the crowd response?

JV: It’s been great, we’ve sold out a couple of shows actually now. It’s kind of mind-blowing I think because a few months ago we were drastically less popular. So it’s kind of a good feeling.. And it’s really passionate fans that sing really loud, so that’s really cool?

Keep Calm: So were you a little surprised by the fan response?

JV: Yeah, I mean I didn’t really…want to do a headlining tour, just because it’s a lot more fun to open on these big tours for like thousands of people’s fans. I don’t know that’s a lot easier. I just didn’t think anyone would show up, but it’s been pretty amazing actually.

Keep Calm: Well, speaking of opening up on other tours, in the fall you were with the Maine and Anberlin co-headliner, with Lydia as well. So how are you finding the shows different from doing these small venues and headlining vs. doing those big venues with those other bands?

JV: I think that there’s a big distance when you play the big venues. There’s a big crowd but they weren’t all our fans. So they were just hanging out and waiting for the other bands to come on. These shows, it’s a nice feeling to know that everybody is there to see you, and sing along, and hang out after. Plus, this is the first time we’ve played a lot of songs; on that tour we played for like 20 minutes. It’s nice to play a lot of material.

Keep Calm: You also made a stop two weeks ago at South By Southwest. How was that overall experience for you guys, especially since it was in the middle of your headlining tour?

JV: We’ve heard some horror stories about South By Southwest. Like you’re either in and you’re a buzz band, or you’re looking for any show you can play and you’re playing at like 2 AM in some bar and no one’s there. We sort of thought we’d be “that band” (the latter). But our showcases were awesome. We thought it’d be “These shows are going so well, and now we have to do this”. But we played at a bar the first night and the whole place filled up, and then we finished and everybody left and we said “that was really nice.” And then we did the Audiotree showcase and that was awesome. It was just really cool.

Keep Calm: How did you guys change your set and your performance at all to accommodate this South By Southwest set as opposed to this headlining set?

JV: South By we just started playing Able Bodies and then stopped when our time was up. We’re pretty easy with that stuff. We don’t like to think that much about it. The headlining set has been pretty different for most nights. I’ve kind of been apologizing to everyone a lot, but it’s been nice.

Keep Calm: How have you been picking your setlist for each night of this tour?

JV: It just kind of depends on the crowd. If we’re finishing a song, as its coming to an end and what we’re going to play doesn’t feel right for this crowd, I’ll change it up, which can be tricky for our guitar tech ‘cause he’s running on and off stage, and I’ll apologize to him on the mic every night and try to make sure he’s happy. But the last few nights we’ve gotten a nice flow, and the setlist has been the same for the past two or three nights.

Keep Calm: So you’ve kind of found the rhythm. Well, completely switching gears, something that we have to talk about is that you have a new album coming out this year, and people are really stoked about it. You were on Idobi’s Most Anticipated as well as Absolute Punk’s most anticipated lists. Does that surprise you at all that there’s all this hype surrounding this release?

JV: [laughs] Kind of. I’m sort of a pessimist. So when kids show up or anyone from the press likes us, I’m sort of surprised. That’s just my vibe. But it is pretty awesome- I just saw that we were in Alternative Press for “Bands You Need To Know” or whatever. That was weird.

Keep Calm: And this is coming out via Triple Crown Records. The other two albums have been both self-released, so why hop on a label now for this third release?

JV: There have always been labels- not helping us, but that we’ve been friends with that have been talking to us. I think we were just waiting for the right deal. When we released Able Bodies, the label talks got a lot easier. Because when we released it ourselves, it was on the front page of iTunes for like 3 weeks, and Google Play had it as one of their favorite albums of the year. It was really crazy. We just posted it on Facebook, like, “Hey, here’s a new album,” and then the stuff that happened was so great. So the label stuff just got easier. And Triple Crown just made us a great offer. It’s still very DIY, it’s still all in the family, but they’re going to help out a lot with the release.

Keep Calm: You put out one studio update so far, and it had an acoustic version of “Come In This Light” on it. So is that going to be on the album in acoustic form or are you going to build it up more?

JV: We just like to do stuff like that. I think that a full band version will be on the album, but if not it won’t be a huge deal. We just like to show people that there’s no formula that we’re following, like what other bands are doing that we’re going to do or supposed to do. We don’t care about that stuff. We’ll just release a studio update and a song whenever we want. The full band version of that song is really nice though.

Keep Calm: Even though you’re putting this new album out through Triple Crown, is there any difference or similarity in the writing and recording process for the new album vs. Able Bodies or Man With Wooden Legs?

JV: Not too much. Everybody’s been doing their own thing, and I’ve been writing and demoing. The difference is now we have a crew that’s been touring for a while, and they’re all at the studio. If I record something, I’ll ask them if it sucked or not, and they’ll give ideas. In April, when we go back to the studio, other people will do some stuff. Before it was our time and our money, and things were kind of rushed. So it’s nice to feel not in a hurry. 

Keep Calm: So, are you still writing songs for the new album?

JV:  Yeah, I wrote a lot of songs, and already recorded 4 or 5 of the slower things with a friend of mine at his studio, and I’m trying to figure out what to do with that stuff. And then there are like 12 or 13 tracks that are being figured out in the studio. So there’s a lot of material floating around. This is the first time that it’s not a concept album, so it’s interesting just having a bunch of songs and just figure out what to do with them.

Keep Calm: So, is there any tentative release date or anything that you’re shooting for yet?

JV: There is… for me, as an artist, hopefully it comes out this year- but as far as the label and the team is concerned, they’re trying to get things going as soon as possible. So it could be a summer release- it just depends. It’s kind of hard to say when there is half of it done.

Another huge thanks to Joey Vannucchi of From Indian Lakes for taking some time to sit down with Keep Calm and Carry On.  Be on the look out for more information about the band's upcoming release.  To stay updated, check out From Indian Lakes on Facebook and Twitter.