“It has nothing to do with race. No music really does. It’s American music, and we’re American.”

What do you think of the post-race implications of your direct or indirect appropriation of rap beats or use of rapping?

Heather: “I don’t think it has anything to do with anyone’s race.”

Jack: “Nah. It has nothing to do with race. No music really does. It’s American music, and we’re American. We’re taking from world music, we’re taking from shoegaze and all sorts of genres. I mean there’s nothing racial. There’s no interest in talking about that to me.’

That’s cool. In relation to some of the negative responses to some of your performances I’ve read, do you think that performance has a real relevance to your music?

Jack: “I mean, if we are doing something then it’s related to us. If we are doing a performance then it’s related to us. I dunno, I don’t think it’s really that big of a deal either way. We’re gonna do the best we can do in the given situation. If it’s a situation that’s conducive to playing our music then we’ll be better. If it’s not then we won’t be better. It’s just not that big of a deal. But we are working on new live sets for our new music so we’re just developing, you know?”

So is something like a smaller house party style show more conducive for your music?

Jack: “I mean for the setup we have now, that sort of thing is more conducive. We get the feel that our music goes off better in a smaller intimate setting… And just in terms of what people expect to experience at like a small basement show versus a big cooperative setting… Those people are more open to an experience and not just like, want to have fun.”

Salem – ‘King Night’

So I’ve really enjoyed the way the chopped and screwed raps work on this new album. Who does most of the rapping?

John: “Yeah, Jack does the rapping.”

Jack, could you tell me who you been listening too a lot as far as rappers go?

Jack: “I like Cam’ron a lot, I like Gucci Mane, Wacka Flocka Flame, Soulja Boy… I like uhh… Psychodrama, I like Crucial Conflict, Lord Infamous, Children of The Corn, I like Crucifix Clan, I like Project Pat…. I don’t know…. I like a lot of different people.”

You’re all over the place man.

Jack: “Yeah…”

Speaking of all over the place, I have just been thinking about how Salem is kind of all over the place as far as web presence. How do you guys manage this? I mean I have a suspicion it’s not really your thing. How do you guys engage or disengage with internet hype or web space?

Heather: “Me and John dont even have the internet. But that’s not because we are against it you know… Its more because we don’t have money to pay for it.”

Yeah?

Heather: “We don’t like, care to have it I guess.”

Do you think people are beginning to think you’re somehow anti-communicative?

John: “I mean there’s totally other ways to engage and talk to people. It shouldn’t all just be about the internet you know?”

Agreed.

Jack: “I mean…”

John: “Yeah I mean the internet is cool, whatever.”

Jack: “I mean it’s just another thing. It’s not something we feel super strongly about either way really.”

Gucci Mane – ‘Round One’ (Salem remix)

So did it not really ever play a big part in your success then?

Jack: “Well at the same time that is how our song got out there in the first part. But we really didn’t do anything to push that.”

Heather: “Yeah. We didn’t do anything. People just started listening to it and liked it and then started putting it on all these blogs. It’s not like we were trying to hustle or sell anything.”

Jack: “I mean I honestly didn’t know people were even into our songs until we like, got approached about it really. I mean that’s not how I find music at all. I find music more like John and Heather.”

So is there any music out there you’re really into outside your apparent appetite for rap and juke? Anything people fail to pick up on?

John: “Mainly the things that Jack listed off earlier. I mean the only music I listen to is rap.”

Jack: “Yeah I think that the music that isn’t rap… Like the new music we listen to is mostly rap. But there’s alot of other music we listen to, it’s just not new.”

John: “Yeah.”

Well you seem really cohesive in what you listen to. So when it comes time to work on tracks are you all working together in the studio or does that not really happen?

Heather: “It depends. Like sometimes we’re together so we work on stuff together. But it really doesnt matter.”

Jack: “If we’re not together then we’ll just send each other files or if we’re together we will work together but it all ends up giving the same feel to the music. Either way it ends up having the same sound and feeling.”

Is the music heavily programmed or is there a lot of live playing going on?

Jack: “It depends.”

Heather: “Yeah it depends. Usually like Jack will make the beat. Then John and me or whoever will start making the parts. We’ll start messing around with it and playing over it trying to find what we want the melody to be. It’s not like one person.”

Lots of improvising then?

John: “Yeah a lot of the time it is. A lot of times we’ll just find a few notes and just improvise off of that. And then I don’t know…”

Jack: “Definitely. And then that will change and the bass melody will change. Then it gets to the point that it’s finished.”

John: “Yes, the act of making music is really intuitive for us.”

“When we start a song I don’t think of it in terms of a song or a staff or a progression. Instead I think of like an image or film in the way I want it to progress.”

Do you all benefit from bringing different musical backgrounds into the mix or do you feel that you kind of just clicked because you had very similar and focused interests?

Jack: “We’re very different [in terms of] musical backgrounds. I have no classical musical training where as John and Heather do. I mean I do have some but that was just basic from grammar school you know?”

Heather: “It’s good though. Like… We all think of things in different ways so like that’s what’s nice about having three people.”

Jack: “Yeah.”

Heather: “I mean Jack might have an idea about a melody that me and John wouldn’t like even think of because maybe it’s like ‘oh that’s like not even like the right key’ or something you know? But it just ends up sounding good, you know?”

Jack: “And I feel it’s really nice about how we work together that you know it’s different than how like, people who come together because the like punk rock or whatever. But we like so much different music and we have our strong focus on different music that each of us likes. So we’re all bringing like a lot of different interests into the music we make.”

So is Salem as a project moving past just being a band and into maybe into visual areas or film?

John: “I mean we all do visual things. We all do drawings and photographs, collages and video. I mean there is no separation with anything we do.”

Jack: “And like if things go well I think we will probably work with people producing movies. You know like scoring soundtracks to movies, producing movies. It’s because I think all of us are pretty aesthetically like on point. Like we’re really good at expressing ourselves artistically so I don’t see why we would just stop at just making music you know?”

Would you say the music itself is visual?

Jack: “Yeah, I would.”

Heather: “Well, I don’t know about you guys but for me like when we start a song I don’t think of it in terms of a song or a staff or a progression. Instead I think of like an image or film in the way I want it to progress.”

Jack: “Or yeah, just like feeling it out or just the feeling you get from it.”

Heather: “Yeah, more like the emotions other than like just thinking of it as a time signature or something. I don’t know. But I think we all think this way and it comes through in the music.”

Chris Powers