A Conversation with Chris and Rocky: the see venus Interview

see venus is a band from Miami, Florida whose debut, hard time for dreamers, was released last month on March Records. Some have compared the band to Stereolab and Ivy. The sound of see venus is orchestral and detailed, all the while based in classic pop songwriting. I had a chance to chat with them recently about their new record and the band itself.

Christopher Moll (guitar, songs, sounds, producer):

DF: see venus. How did you guys come up with the name?

CM: We arrived at the name after going through a list of a dozen or so band names that I had come up with. It was one of the names that, for us, kept jumping off the printed page. Using lowercase made the name linear with a bit of femininity and softness about it.

DF: How did you meet each other?

CM: see venus formed in Miami in 1999. I had played in the noisy pop band "23" before with alex gemino, aka ursula 1000 for a number of years in the early and mid 90's. alex, myself and the other members of "23" decided to pursue other musical directions at the end of 1997.

After some musical downtime, I was rethinking my musical future and began to work on what was to become the blueprint for see venus. One day, while cruising around Miami, I turned the radio dial to the University of Miami's radio station, 90.5, WVUM. Eric was djing. We had a conversation about mutual musical interests. The seed was planted.

DF: Talk about Rocky, the lead singer. She is a subtle presence on stage. Did you make a conscious decision to try to find a woman who matched the band's sophisticated melodic sound?

CM: Her taking the lead in terms of the vocals actually happened by accident. She was slated to just play guitar and possibly sing back-ups. One day, we threw her in the vocal booth as an experiment. We were pleasantly surprised! it just grew from there.

DF: Talk about Eddie Alonso. It's so hard to find multi-instrumentalists. Is
it true that Eddie really shines in helping you complete arrangements?

CM: Eddie shines in many areas not the least of which is his musical introspection. He can force you to look and consider the many possibilities that you never would have considered.

DF: You met Eric when he was working at the college radio station at at the
University of Miami. Do you think that his constant exposure to new
releases gave you guys a little context as to how to approach the band and
its sound?

CM: Yes and no. Yes in that maybe it allowed Eric the opportunity to be exposed to so much musical material that he could know with authority what we didn't want to sound like. No in the fact that we were resolute in our mission that we were going to do what we wanted and not let too many outside influences get in the way.

DF: You guys are sometimes compared to Ivy or Stereolab. Are these bands
influences? How do you think the band sound is like these bands or sounds
different?

CM: I wouldn't say exact influences as much as they probably have very similar taste to ours. As fancy and layered as our album became, it was always about the songs.

DF: How'd you hook up with March?

CM: We had shopped our demo e.p. to several indie labels. March was one of the few that actually sat us down and discussed with us what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go with it. March felt very strongly about the music and the need for it to be heard. That was nice.

DF: The recording is called hard time for dreamers. What does the title mean in the context of the songs and the band personality?

CM: Artists are the true dreamers in our society. It's become increasingly difficult to express creativity without some form of censorship clamping down on it. For those of us who dream, it has reached a point of "hard times...."

DF: I like the artwork. Who did it and how did you decide to work with that
artist?

CM: Brian Alfred. He is an artist out of New York that Eric was familiar with
and who Eric thought might be perfect. We contacted him, sent him an
album and he loved it. He suggested a piece that he had done that he felt
would be appropriate for the mood of the album. We couldn't agree more.

DF: You have been quoted as suggesting that see venus is a greater sum of
different parts. I think that each member of the band brought something to
the table on the recording that made it better than if one person
dominated. Do you agree?

CM: We didn't always agree on things. We fought to make it the best album that we could. Creative friction can be a positive thing provided you recognize it as such.

DF: Are you guys going to tour, and if so, where?

CM: Nothing is set in stone at the moment but you never know

DF: Where can we get the CD?

CM: Currently, it's available at www.marchrecords.com

Click here to buy the CD

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Rocky Ordonez (lead vocals, guitar)

DF: How do you see yourself as the singer in see venus? Deborah Harry
complained for years that Blondie was a *band*, not just her. Describe the
band as a working unit and your role in defining the see venus sound.

RO: I feel similarly in regards to being 'the singer'. I know that it becomes a
focal point when you see a band play live, but my voice is just as important
an instrument as the vibraphone, synths, and guitars. I'm very attached to
my guitar since that was my first love, so as far as my role, I like to see
myself as both a guitar player and singer. I think that with respect to our
sound I have a good sense for melody and harmony. I love singing harmonies
and playing vocally with chord tones, and my guitar playing follows suit.

DF: Your stage persona is one of understated, confident sophistication that
seems to match the band's personality. Is that a conscious effort on your
part or is it just naturally a result of being humble and embracing what
you do as a writer and performer?

RO: I'm petrified of performing. It helps that when you play at clubs, you
usually can't see past the first row. I think that all I'm usually thinking
about up there is don't mess up, smile, and try not to say anything stupid.
by the time it's all over is when I'm finally getting to enjoy it. It's
gotten better over the years, but I guess since we don't play that often,
every show is pretty nerve-racking.

DF: What other women in music do you admire and why?

RO: I like Chan Marshall of Cat Power a lot because I feel her music is so raw and sincere.

Click here to buy the CD

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