MC: You have an experimental sound. Are you a fan of trying experimental techniques in the studio?
Bruno: Yeah. Never intentionally. Whatever it takes to get a good sound, I’ll go there. There are a lot of parts that made the record that are straight from my phone. I sample a lot of life onto my phone and then we try to figure out a way to make it sound presentable. There are a couple songs on the new record––“I Am” is one of them, I think, “Lie Love Live Love” is one and “Like People, Like Plastic”––that all have samples of things I recorded nowhere near an actual studio. I was just walking around on the beach or recording my guitar straight into it at 1:00 in the morning. Experimenting with those sounds from my phone was a huge bonus for me.
I’ll stop at nothing. I’ll wait forever until I get the right snare sound. At the same time, I try not to get too stuck on one thing. If I’m hitting a wall, I’m not afraid to leave the studio. A huge weapon for me is knowing when to stop and take a break. Driving home, feeling normal, resting, waking up the next day and feeling rejuvenated. Sometimes it’s as simple as surfing and getting my mind out of the songs, even though the second I paddle into the ocean the song is even louder in my head.
You never know when the idea’s going to come. You’re stuck on one word and you’re like, why can’t I figure out this one simple word to fix this puzzle? And then you go on a jog or whatever to exorcise those demons and something comes to you.
I have a lot of faith that eventually I’m going to have the right ideas to finish whatever I begin. I can’t even explain how many songs I have that I haven’t figured out the right way to finish. When it comes to me, it will. And if it doesn’t, that’s okay, too. I find that, a lot of the time, the best songs come quick and the words come at the same time. I feel like my best songs have been that way, for sure. But I won’t give up on those ideas I still believe in.
MC: Any recommendations for artists who are trying to gain a foothold in the industry?
Bruno: You’ve just got to keep writing songs. You can’t be afraid to write a better song. The first heartbreak I had in the music industry was my first band, Home Town Hero, that was signed to Maverick/Warner Brothers. It was Madonna’s label, whom I never met. We put together a record I can barely stomach listening to now. We had everybody telling us we had this hit song, “Eighteen.” A couple bigger radio stations started playing it. One thing led to another and nothing came of it, but to have this false confidence with real hope and have that taken away, that was heavy. Because I felt like here’s my big moment and then it crashed. I figured, that’s it, those were my best songs.
When that crashed down, it was devastating. And that happened two more times, with another signed band that made two more records––one of which didn’t even come out. I got pretty good at failure. It became harder and easier at the same time. The dark times were darker, because why does this keep happening to me? At the same time, I felt like I’d matured as a songwriter and a musician in general. I’ve learned so much that maybe I’ll do something better.
Eventually, my last band had broken up and the writing was on the wall that it was time for me to take matters into my own hands and make my own record without relying on other songwriters or anyone else. And then everything took off. But I didn’t know that was going to happen.
You have to believe in yourself, that you’re getting better with age. Be open to developing your own opinions and tastes, regardless of what critics think or what the new flavor of the month is. It’s what’s true to your heart and everything will fall into place.
MC: What does the future hold for AWOLNATION?
Bruno: The most exciting thing about that question is I don’t know. But I can tell you I’ll always be involved with music and writing songs. There are other records and songs I’ve been working on for other artists that I’m looking forward to sharing. I had the opportunity to develop a couple of up-and-coming artists the world hasn’t heard yet and I can’t wait to share that. There are a lot of older musical brothers in my career, people who taught me so much. I know there’s got to be a lot of other songwriters who are similar to me and I would love to be that older brother for some of them.
MC: Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?
Bruno: I appreciate anyone listening to RUN front to end and giving the record a chance like an album is supposed to be heard, the way I was impacted so much by different records and the way they shaped my life. I appreciate taking that hour out of your life. It means the world to me.
Contact Paki Newell - CO5 Media, paki@co5media.com
By Andy Kaufmann
Photos by Kari Rowe
