Sowing the Seeds with The Appleseed Cast

As aggressive sounding as they are ambient, The Appleseed Cast eludes all assumptions. They have switched up their sound and style faster than you could categorize them, proving to be both versatile and genre-defying in their music. Buzz a chance to talk to Aaron Pillar, guitarist and songwriter for the Kansas-based band. Be sure to check them out on October 25 at the Canopy Club at 6:30 pm.

buzz: Your music has been referred to as everything from emo to indie to post-punk. How do you guys identify yourselves musically?

Aaron Pillar: Maybe early on in our career we would think of ourselves as “emo”, but I don’t think anyone really knows what that means anymore. Its kind of the same with “indie,” it doesn’t really describe the music. You can have indie bands playing hip-hop or punk. A friend of mine likes to use the term “harmonoise” for our music. I just think of us as a rock band, though. It is what it is.

buzz: You’ve gone through a number of lineup changes since your formation in 1997. How has that affected the music?

Aaron: It’s not bad or good, it just necessarily worked out. It changed how we write with drums. Yeah there’s a lot to be said about having that original connection and brotherhood with everyone, but at the same time, change can keep things fresh.

buzz: The band has mentioned the upcoming album as being more instrumental. Why the change in style?

Aaron: Personally I’m a really huge fan of instrumental music. It’s not about an effort to make the new songs instrumental, though. We’re just making the songs be what they need to be. There will be some vocals, but I guess it’s all about being indulgent in our writing. I don’t want to screw up a really good guitar rift with words. It’s good to let the songs breathe.

buzz: How do you guys sound on stage compared to your recordings?

Aaron: I’m for going all out on production for our albums; a lot of electronic sounds and effects. Live, though, we’re just a rock band. I like the idea of showing a different side of our music on stage to give the audience a reason to come to our shows. I recently went to see Wilco, for example. They were great, but they played exactly how they sound on their records.

buzz: What should we expect at Canopy Club?

Aaron: I think that there are some new songs we’ll try out. We like to keep a little bit of the old and promote a little bit of the new. Hopefully we’ll be able to start early and have a good, long set.

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