Say It Anyway - “Paper Trails” Exclusive Video Premiere & Interview
I recently had the opportunity to interview Say It Anyway ahead of the release of their new video for, “Paper Trails”. They tell us “this is our second single from our debut EP which is available on 27th May. As you can see, it's a pretty dumb and lighthearted video which we thought fitted well with the song. Our practice space has rooms based on colours and we have the bright idea of using the Green Room as a green screen and had our friend Louis Alonzi come in for the day to film. Instead of paying him in actual money, Kris is going to tattoo him so yeah, this video was paid for by a tattoo. We had a blast just goofing around and acting dumb. We didn't really have any idea what we were going to do on the day and just kind of freestyled it but it's lucky Kris knows how to work the camera”.
We also discussed how they formed the band, the writing and recording process for their upcoming EP, ‘Picture Frames’, favorite lyrical and musical moments from the EP, which songs were the easiest to write and which was the most challenging to finish, and more. Check out the exclusive premiere for “Paper Trails” ahead of the song’s release tomorrow and our discussion below.
First, thanks for the interview.
No worries, thanks for taking an interest in our band!
Can you tell me how you formed the band for those who may be unfamiliar? How did you initially become interested in music?
Stu: We’ve all been in bands for as long as we can remember to be honest. Whilst this band is a new project it is partly a natural evolution from previous projects… Prior to COVID, 4 of the 5 of us were pretty relentlessly busy with The Run Up. At the end of 2019, we did a month-long tour in the US, a two week EU tour and then Japan at the start of 2020. The pandemic came along and slammed the breaks on that. Over time, it became apparent that we weren’t going to pick back up where we left off. Our singer decided he wasn’t really up for it anymore… The 4 of us decided we’d move forward with some of those ideas with a new project… Which gets you up to date!
The band is comprised of members of Save Your Breath and The Run Up with most of the members being from The Run Up. How did you meet Kristian and what was it about his vocal style that made him the perfect fit for the band?
Stu: We had decided to carry on with the song ideas we had been writing over the last few months of The Run Up but needed to find ourselves a new frontperson. We struggled with that to be honest with you… We continued to rehearse and write as a 4-piece whilst trying to find the right person. We weirdly stumbled upon Kris as Daniel’s partner is friends with him! When we put 2 + 2 together that it was Kris from Save Your Breath we reached out and asked him to get involved. Simple as that!
Save Your Breath really led the pack on what would become a massive UK pop/punk scene. Do you have any favorite songs from that band?
Daniel: Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy is a classic. It always made my playlists.
Your debut EP ‘Picture Frames’ comes out May 27th. Can you tell me about the writing and recording process for the EP?
Stu: The songs mostly consist of some ideas that we had been working on towards the end of The Run Up and whilst we were looking for a singer. Nothing was quite set in stone and over the first few months of rehearsing with Kris it really started to come together. It was good to finally nail down the structures, particularly as the melodies crystalised with Kris’ vocal parts. We recorded it in a few different sessions between different lockdowns. I recorded the drums, which were engineered by Loz with just the two of us there. Then some guitars were done at home, some in a different studio. Things were much the same with the vocals and done over a few sessions in different places. Long term friend and collaborator Dave Boothroyd mixed it for us and he did an amazing job pulling it all together. We just did parts of it whenever we could, during a crazy time with studios shutting down and opening up again!
Can you tell me a little about why you decided to title the EP ‘Picture Frames’. What is the meaning behind it?
Daniel: I guess you can say it's a nod to a certain moment in time, framing it, then being able to step back and take a look at it and keeping it that way forever.
Do you have a favorite lyrical or musical moment from the EP?
Stu: I think this is likely to vary depending on which member of the band you ask. My favourite song is ‘Home’ – just feels like a banger of an opener for a summer EP!
Daniel: Watch The Flowers Bloom as a whole for me, is one of my favourite songs I have written. There are a lot of personal lyrics in there for me but generally speaking, this is the first record where I have personally had lyrical input and it's somewhat exciting to hear my thoughts being sung but also scary as I am generally a private person.
What song was the easiest to write and on the other hand which took the longest?
Daniel: That's a really tough question as musically these songs were written over 2020/21 during the lockdown(s). As Stu mentioned we wrote about 20 songs for a new The Run Up record but that obviously never came to fruition. But from memory, I think 'Sun on the Dash' came together pretty quickly as it's so simple. If I recall Charlie and myself were in the studio writing and demoing lead guitars and I just started playing the main riff and Charlie just did his thing. We kinda looked at each other and were like 'fuck yeah!'. I also think it was the first song which Kris put down vocals for when we sent him the demos.
The longest... Maybe Watch The Flowers Bloom. I can remember when we were first times playing it together as a band there were a few 'this doesn't make sense' moments.
Is there any chance that the EP will be released on vinyl?
Stu: Never say never. I guess if we felt the demand was there and people wanted it on vinyl that would be great. We’d look to make it happen… Ultimately we are a bit of an unknown at this stage. We just hope people check us out and then we’ll see how we go from there.
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else that you would like to add?
Daniel: Thank you again for showing an interest in us.
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