Everyone has that special place in their hometown. Whether that be a park, iconic building, or if you just love hanging out in an alley somewhere in the city. For Southtowne Lanes, their local Oregonian bowling alley. Recently, we spoke with the pop-punk/emo outfit about their roots, their new album, Give Up The Ghost” and the joyful and tumultuous journey of playing music.
Did you choose the name Southtowne Lanes because of the bowling alley in your hometown of Eugene, Oregon? What does that place mean to you in enough to name your band after? I read that place burnt down in August.
“We did choose our name for that reason! One night maybe 4 or 5 years ago we went bowling at Southtowne Lanes; but, as we were underage, we brought in our own beer. This is slightly illegal, and the employees working found out, and we were kicked out. We thought it’d be funny and kind of an homage to our hometown to name our band after that experience.”
Did if have any sort of impact on the band after it burnt down? Or was this not really the case?
“We weren’t exactly super tied to the bowling alley, or at least no more so than other “classic” Eugene places. But it was still quite a blow when that place went down, as most of us grew up going there. So we were more tied to it in more of a growing-up sense rather than a music sense.. We also played the farewell/benefit show for the bowling alley after it had burnt down, so we got to end on good terms with them.”
Your album, Give Up The Ghost, was released last month. How did the writing for this happen last year? Were you guys all in the same room together? Where did you write it at?
“The writing for our first LP was an extremely arduous process. One of us lives in Portland, and the other three in Eugene. So the writing process mainly consisted of one of us providing a skeleton for the rest to listen to via internet, and then when we were all together we would talk and play with song. So the skeletons of the album were written in bedrooms in Eugene and Portland, and the more fleshed out product was written in the laundry room my dad’s house. We’ve talked about writing more together on our next release. We feel the process could be a little more cohesive and smooth with the four of us spending more time together during the skeleton writing part.”
Can you tell us a little bit about the title. What are you trying to get across with this to people?
“Give Up the Ghost”mainly refers to letting go of the traumas that one holds in their past. So the album is a series of discussions about these traumas, with the oxymoron of how the narrator never really walks away from or gives up their past, but rather embraces it.”
Your songs on the album talk a lot about the seasons. The way they’re situated on the album it’s always fall-spring then winter-summer. What are you signifying here? What is the underlying context here
“What’s kind of funny to me is that the concepts of the seasons weren’t really a super big deal at all in any part of the writing process, but the fact that they are labeled on the record kind of force them to be a major concept to a lot of people. It’s more of an underlying concept to signify that a narrative is existing, and time is going by. But you are right about the seasons being mentioned a lot, and I didn’t really notice that. But the goal (at least consciously) was just to provide a context for time to go by.”
Can you tell me what kind of events in your life happened to write about topics like death, the seasons, ghosts, all of these types of things?
“That one gets right into it! The events and situations that comprise the album are things that I still am processing now. So to be specific, I’m talking about watching what happens to some of your friends that didn’t follow the “right” path when they were in school, being close to and influenced by someone struggling with alcoholism, going through that first heartbreak, watching some things change and some people stay the same. All of these people and situations become ghosts in one form or another, and they both positively and negatively influence a person.”
What does it mean for you guys to have this album finally out? I know it was finished way back in August, but how does it feel to know these songs are able to breath?
“It feels incredible to finally have this record out. The songs were finished in August, but writing began probably 18 months prior to that. So some of these songs have been waiting for a couple of years.”
What does this band mean to you? How far are you trying to take it?
“This band means a lot of different things to everyone involved. I can say for certain that this band is at the very least cathartic expression of passion. It teaches us how to better problem solve amongst ourselves, it teaches us the power of networking, it teaches us that other places really are different, and that our entire lives at home exist in just one tiny part of the entire world. Most importantly, this project teaches us patience.”
What would you say has been the most difficult part of your career for you all personally and collectively?
“This band has felt a lot of what I think starting a business would feel like. We do not have a surplus of money lying around or given to us to start our own business, so we use our real lives to fuel this business. I don’t mean to say that music or art is a business in any sense, but the process that one must go through to better spread that music/art in contemporary times is the definition of business. So the hardest part is trying to hold down a full time job, trying to engage in meaningful relationships both intimate and platonic, trying to pay your rent, all while putting.”
How did you, or do you continue to, overcome these struggles?
“Patience is the only way to get through any of this. Things will always fall apart at the last second, you just get better at using that last second in a positive and active way. Take a breath, stop saying “if only I had…”, evaluate your options, and make the decision.”
What is the ‘highlight’ of your career so far?
“The highlight of our career so far? Probably the achievement of doing a full album. The whole process, from skeleton guitar parts and the first tentative words to the finished vinyl record and the tour supporting it, is insanely hard to power through. I definitely have a newfound appreciation for anyone who has undergone this process.”
What is the one dream the moment at which point either personally or collectively you would be able to say yes I’ve achieved this, I’m living my dreams.
“Ah that’s a really hard question! Maybe in some time I’ll have rethought this and disregard this answer. But for now, I don’t believe that moment exists. I don’t believe that the person who is constantly striving to better themselves and their respective art will ever look at it and say, “well, that’s it. I’ve done it. I am living all my dreams.” I believe we are who we are through our actions and reactions, rather than our milestones and accomplishments. So yeah, touring another country or getting to work with a supportive label would probably fulfill the dreams I have now, but being allowed the touring and the label would open up so many more dreams and hopes that I have not yet realized now. I believe that it just goes on and on.”
