Safe Bet - Sound In The Signals Interview
I recently had the opportunity to interview Safe Bet. We discussed how the project has developed a full band sound, reworking songs for new EP, ‘Louder’, recording with Sam Henderson at ABG Studios, plans for 2023, and more. Check it out below.
First, thanks for the interview.
Of course! Thank you for reaching out!
You recently released your new EP ‘Louder’. It’s your first full band release. What made you want to create a more full band sound for this release?
When I started Safe Bet, I didn’t have anybody to fill the roles of playing drums, bass, etc. so it just became an acoustic thing, and I kinda just rolled with it. ‘Louder’ is essentially what I wanted SB to be from the very beginning of the project, and what it'll continue to sound like moving forward.
How did you go about reworking some of these songs for full band versions?
Honestly, the songs translated pretty flawlessly into full band. These songs were already written with a full band in mind, so we didn’t really have to think too hard on it. I think the structure of the songs, the chord progressions, etc. allowed us to translate them with relative ease. We also recorded ‘Figure This Out’ and ‘Idle Head’ a half-step higher than the original versions, and it was interesting to see how different a song can sound, even from just something as minimal as a key change.
You recorded the EP at ABG Studios. What was the recording experience like at the studio?
Our recording process is always a bit fragmented. I’ve worked with Sam Henderson for every Safe Bet release thus far - I live like, 20 minutes from the studio, so it’s really easy for us to just be like “Hey, does this date work? Okay, cool” and then I’ll come in for like 4-6 hours, and record the songs part by part essentially. It’s a bit unorthodox in how we’ve always done it, but it’s always worked, and the final product is always something I’m really happy with. My friend Danny from the band The Dayshakers also CRUSHED the drums for these songs - I kinda gave him a framework, but he ultimately made all of the drum parts his own, and I think they turned out way better than what I had envisioned.
I really like the new version of “Blue”. Do you have a particular song that you think turned out really well reworked?
Thank you! I think that one’s my favorite haha. ‘Blue’ is actually the song that “changed” the most. Structurally, it’s all the same, but the drum parts in that song change up so often, so they really give the full band version a much different feel than the original in my opinion.
Your previous EP got a vinyl pressing. Do you have any plans for a physical release of this EP? Is there any chance that you’ll release cassettes or vinyl?
I don’t have any plans yet other than CDs, but people have been asking for vinyl quite a bit for this release..so yes, I think it’s in the cards in the near future. I’ve never really given cassettes too much thought, but I’m definitely not opposed to getting those made either!
What else do you have coming up for this year?
As of right now, we’ve just been working on a BUNCH of new music, planning to record sometime in the summer, and then we’re playing XLNC Fest in Bay City, Michigan in August. We may have some more shows coming up during the fall as well.
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else that you would like to add?
Absolutely, thank you for having me! I’d just like to thank anyone who reads this for taking the time to do so, and for checking out our music. It means the whole world.
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