HOPE FOR A GOLDENEXPERIENCE

Words by CJ Bargamian
Photos by Shawnette Celes

About four miles outside of Athens lies an old farmhouse that looks like any other similar dwelling. Old trees, a long unpaved driveway, and a large front porch are telltale indications of the life this house has seen. But this particular house is not what it seems, for this house is full of hope…Hope For Agoldensummer, that is. This house, which Hope For Agoldensummer calls “home base”, is filled to the brim with items that symbolize the eclectic people who inhabit it: odd instruments, tons of records, old furniture, and a trapeze, to name but a few. Music is always playing in the house, either live or on a stereo. This night is no different, as the band sits down to discuss their origins, philosophies, and the upcoming release of their debut LP over homemade vegan pies and red wine.

Though each of the five current members of Hope For Agoldensummer has a unique version of how they remember the band coming together as it is, the one thing that is certain is that singer / songwriter Claire Campbell was first. Claire began playing shows as Hope For Agoldensummer in 2002 shortly after the breakup of her last band, Claire and Bain’s Maple Yum Yum. As her former musical companion Bain Mattox remains a friend and source of inspiration for Claire, she insists that their split was almost entirely based on musical differences. “Our songwriting styles are so different, and I was at the point where I did not want to play those kinds of songs anymore. He was at the point where he wanted us to have a bass player and a drummer and a lead guitarist, and I was like ‘Well, that’s not going to happen.’” Thus, the two songwriters split and Hope For Agoldensummer was born.

Early versions of the band included members shared between Claire and Bain. “The Maple Yum Yum and Hope were like, this clusterfuck for a while,” Claire says, referring to this rotating lineup of musicians. Over time, the permanent members trickled in, and now the band considers itself to be rather stable. Though convincing Claire’s sister, singer / songwriter Page Campbell, to move down from Chicago involved “threatening to kidnap her” and Cellist Will Taylor feels that he was “tricked” into joining the band, all the current members fit so well together that they can hardly imagine it any other way. In fact, drummer Jamie Shepard and guitarist Deb Davis met for the very first time when they played together onstage at the 10 High almost a year ago, and the musical chemistry was almost immediate. “This happened naturally; nobody had to do anything,” Jamie says.

When it comes to songwriting, there are three writers in the band: Claire, Page, and Deb. While Claire was originally the only songwriter in Hope For Agoldensummer, the duties are now shared nearly equally. In fact, Page has been the band’s most prolific songwriter as of late, contributing more material than the band has time to learn. When asked why she’s so full of ideas lately, Claire answers for her by saying, “Well, she broke up with like, a million different people!” Lyrical content is also important to the band, and each of the songwriters bears their souls in their words. Jamie is thankful for this aspect, saying, “Don’t tell me about your ‘woo woo woo,’ and your ‘baby, baby, come on tonight;’ lyrics are a big thing with me.”

Anyone who has heard the band or seen them play live will likely remember their eclectic instrumentation. The band uses guitars, cello, xylophone, concertina, drums, singing saw blades, and other miscellaneous knick knacks. Adding to the atypical setup is the absence of a bassist. The writing of songs with such instrumentation usually comes from a trial and error process. According to Claire, “Mainly what happens is, we’ll come in with the words and the guitar part…and then we [all] start naming instruments we think we might like to hear.” For instance, while working on one of Page’s songs, Claire walked around the house picking up different instruments until she came to the conclusion that she should just smack her knees along with the music because she couldn’t think of anything else that was appropriate to the song. When asked how they make up for the absence of a bass guitar, Jamie says, “That’s why I have a 26 inch bass drum. I’m not kidding.”

While the band does entertain the notion of adding additional sounds to their mix, they have no desire to grow in number. That will likely disappoint many of the band’s rapidly growing fanbase. Referring to the flattering responses they have received from other musicians, Jamie says, “There’s people [wanting to play with us] now, and that’s not like an ego-driven statement. There are a lot of people who have responded to the music, and want to contribute or be a part of it in some capacity, which is amazing.”

One of Hope For Agoldensummer’s most endearing aspects is their casual, relaxed live shows. Once again straying from the typical pop / rock mindset, the band does not place itself on a pedestal while performing. All members of the band sit down, and they interact often with the audience. While Page and Claire insist that they sit down at shows because they can’t play their instruments standing up, Will thinks it adds to the band’s appeal. “It’s like going to see a symphony; everyone is sitting down in a symphony.” The band never plans their set ahead of time, and they enjoy creating a communal feeling between them and their audience. Jamie believes that this attitude makes the audience feel involved, and also serves to alleviate some of the pressure on the band as they perform. “We’re there, the audience is there, and we’re in this moment together. Typically, the audience shows up, they have their arms crossed, and they have expectations. And the artist has intentions, so how do you circumvent that stigma?” Sometimes this approach even has an effect on the members themselves. “Sometimes it’s so easy to lose your place, and your concentration onstage gets broken because you’re listening,” Deb says. “And you get so lost because you are so in your own head about the music. It’s like you’re not even on stage anymore.”

Hope For Agoldensummer is much more than just a group of crafty musicians. They are also artists, thinkers, avid readers, and amateur philosophers. All of these things serve to deepen their music, and also to affect their attitudes towards the importance of what they do. Though the group agrees that creating artistic output of any sort is a struggle, they also draw comparisons between music and the creation of other common, more everyday pieces of art. “That couch was a struggle [to create], and I’m sure the guy that made it was probably depressed that he was in a fucking factory at a dead-end job,” Jamie says. “But that doesn’t give any more validity to my art. Like music, it has structure, color, depth, and a function; to me, it’s the same fucking thing.” When asked if the sofa has the same value as a song, he says, “Of course it does. It’s holding your ass up.”

In March, Hope For Agoldensummer celebrates the release of their debut full-length. Though the title is still up in the air, the songs it will contain have been decided upon; the band had to sift through a wealth of material in order to settle upon just thirteen tracks. Deb is quick to point out that “Our first record could be a double album.”

“There were lots of songs we wanted on the record, but we ran out of money,” Claire adds. The recordings, like their shows, contain a wide range of instrumentation as well as plenty of the two- and three-part vocal harmonies that are so integral to their sound.

When the time came to choose locations for their CD release shows, the band made what might seem to be some odd choices. Avoiding more typically acoustic-friendly establishments, they decided instead to choose venues more often associated with indie rock: Nuci’s Space in Athens, and the EARL in Atlanta. They have high hopes for their EARL show, their last one having been such a success. Also, Claire has perhaps a more devious reason for booking the show there. “The only reason I did that is because I have this feeling that this one time at the EARL, we are going to be able to get people to shut the fuck up. We got pretty close last time.”

In a region full of bands that all sound alike, Hope For Agoldensummer is truly a treasure. Their unique instrumentation, beautiful vocal harmonies, frighteningly catchy songs, and impressively inviting live shows are all qualities that cause them to stand out from the crowd. Most importantly, it is obvious that they all live by a sentiment that Will sums up best: “Music is my happiness.”