Dauzat St. Marie Interview with Mat Dauzat and Heather St. Marie. In this interview we concentrate of Falling Again EP. February 23, 2015.
Dauzat St. Marie Interview
– What’s new in the world of Dauzat St. Marie?
Heather: Our EP we just released!!!
– How was it recording your Falling Again EP?
Mat: TOUGH! hahaha I produced the EP and can say without doubt that it was the toughest thing I’ve ever produced. Heather and I had written the songs, but had no idea what our “sound” would be. Obviously, I produced all our band Hydrovibe’s releases over the years… but that is easy for me because it is a rock band. I know what a rock band sounds like. But what does Dauzat St. Marie “sound” like? I had no idea! There was no sonic precedent set, so we had to go through the process of figuring that out. We knew we were going to be mostly an acoustic duo, so we started every recording with vocals and acoustic guitar. From there, however, we were not sure how much production to stack on top of that. This process was also made even more difficult because I was so close to the project… it was so near and dear to my heart that it made the decision making process a little tougher. I had my friend (and trusted colleague) Ryan Green remain on hand to assist us along the way. We brought him in often to have him listen and advise… and let us know we were on the right path. We’re extremely proud of the result. Totally worth it!!!
– How did you go about making the artwork?
Heather: We are the consummate D.I.Y. duo. We did everything ourselves… including that cover photo! We knew exactly what we wanted for the cover, so we purchased some nice camera gear and lighting and spent a LONG day shooting until we got the shot we wanted. We bought a remote control for the camera, so we would take a shot… go look at the shot… make adjustments… take another shot. It took a long time to get the shot we wanted, but we are very pleased with the outcome.
– How do you build a song up from nothing to become something?
Heather: We don’t have any set songwriting or production process. The songs just come into the world however they want to come into the world. Sometimes it starts with a riff Mat comes up with, sometimes it starts with a vocal melody, sometimes it starts with a concept… sometimes it takes 30 minutes, sometimes it take years! When it comes to production, like Mat said, we mostly started with acoustic guitar and vocals… and then built from there.
– Do you have any tours coming up in the near future?
Mat: We don’t have anything on the books just yet, but our booking agent is working on a Spring tour right now.
– Could you describe some of your earliest influences in life and in music?
Mat: I have brothers that are 10 and 11 years older than me, so I grew up listening to their records… so I have a lot of classic rock influences. Led Zeppelin, Boston, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, etc. When I first picked up a guitar, I immediately started by learning my favorite classic songs from all those powerhouse bands.
Heather: I grew up in South Louisiana in a primarily French speaking area. I used to love listening to my Grandparents and their friends getting together for coffee in the afternoons and catching up with each other in French. I think this non-American culture flavors my songwriting quite a bit!
Because it was a small community, upon meeting an adult we were often asked, “Who are your people?” When you’d tell them your parents’ or grandparents’ names, you’d get stories of how this person knew your family for years… That really brought home to me that I am carrying on a tradition and a reputation for my family. I’ve always strived to live up to this ideal – especially in my art and in my music.. and in how I treat people.
Musically, there are too many to list. But topping them all would be Freddie Mercury; his mastery of vocals still amazes me today. And he never seemed to take himself too seriously; he had a very silly side to him that I can relate to (although most people don’t know I can be silly!).
– How important is it for a musician in this generation to spend time on social media?
Mat: It is imperative. In this day and age, you have to cast a fairly wide net to make sure you are connecting with fans. Nothing beats connecting with fans on a personal level via live shows, but social media allows you to keep in touch with fans and maintain personal relationships from afar.
– What would we be surprised to find in your music collection at home?
Mat: That I have no music collection at home whatsoever! Hahaha I actually don’t listen to music at the house at all for some reason. I work on music all day every day at my studio – writing/producing either my own music or for other artists, and I kinda leave it all there when I get off “work” and come home.
Heather: That I usually have a “no-vocal” policy! I mostly listen to music when I am doing art or design, and it is almost strictly instrumental music. I enjoy relaxing music in the background while I work, and vocals would be too distracting for whatever I’m focusing on. So, yeah… instrumental music!
– Where do you see music in general going in 100 years from now?
Mat: Oh man…. that’s a tough one! Music (and the especially the music BUSINESS) is an ever-changing entity. It is also seemingly on a swinging pendulum. Trends come and trends go… then they come back around again. Right now the business is in quite a bit of a slump and everybody is just scrambling to figure out how to make an honest living. To us, it is exciting times because we see it as a level playing field. In 100 years, I’m almost certain that you will find much more business-minded and savvy musicians excelling.
Check out Dauzat St. Marie online http://www.dauzatstmarie.com/