Point A

How did the A-Sides go from straight-edge hardcore to indie rock (and from The Hills to a farm)?


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Published: Aug 28, 2007

Vagrants: The A-Sides' second LP, <i>Silver Storms</i>, is an indie pop opus.

Vagrants: The A-Sides' second LP, Silver Storms, is an indie pop opus.

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From the moment the band strikes up a literal "Silver Strings" intro, it's clear the A-Sides are about to flip the script on Silver Storms. In many ways the byproduct of a protracted songwriting session on a family farm, their second LP (and first for Vagrant) is an indie-pop opus full of wide-open spaces and shimmering subtleties that reward repeat listens (organs that hum ever-so-slightly, hooks that pull you in without being too obvious). And to think some of these guys got their start banging out sXe anthems. Frontman Jon Barthmus, you've got some explaining to do.

City Paper: So the three of you — yourself, bassist Mike Fleming, former guitarist Chris Cosentino — lived together during your time at Drexel. Did the band start right away?

Jon Barthmus: Well, Fleming and I played in a hardcore band [called Go Time] in the early college days.

CP: What's with everyone getting their start in hardcore bands?

JB: I don't know, but that was definitely the case with us. We hardly listened to hardcore — I was already starting to write more rock 'n' roll-type songs — but we thought it was fun.

CP: What kind of hardcore was it?

JB: It was youth crew-type hardcore — positive, straight-edge stuff. That was all I listened to during high school, but it was eventually phased out of my life as I got introduced to indie rock.

CP: Was writing poppy rock a struggle?

JB: I blame it on being introduced to the Beatles relatively late in life. As soon as I heard them, all I wanted to do was write songs like that. Hopefully we got over that by now, though.

CP: What was it like having your first single picked up by Rough Trade?

JB: That's actually one of the misconceptions surrounding our band. Rough Trade the distributor — not the label — picked up the single. It seemed cool to us at the time because they snagged this little single from Scranton all on their own. Patrick Marsceill and I went to London pretty early in the band's history, and we saw it at the Rough Trade store, which was cool.

CP: So, what's it like being on Vagrant?

JB: We finished recording this album with no label. Once we sent it out, they were the ones that really responded to it and wanted it as it was with no changes.

CP: Other labels wanted you to change some things then?

JB: No, but that was definitely a fear of ours.

CP: [Producer] Brian [McTear] must really believe in you guys. Was he working on a retainer basis?

JB: Yeah. We're been good friends with Brian since we recorded [Hello, Hello] with him. We actually had a contract ready with Ace Fu but they backed out two days before we went into the studio. The main guy there simply said, "We just don't have any money now."

CP: What's the story with "Sidewalk Chalk" ending up on The Hills?

JB: We actually signed one of those deals where MTV could use any of our songs whenever and wherever they want. So it's popped up in lots of places I have no idea about.

CP: Did you have a Hills screening to celebrate?

JB: I didn't even know it was going to be on. My girlfriend's into it, sadly, so we caught it by accident. It wasn't in an emotionally intense scene, but it was still fully featured with vocals and stuff. We were definitely laughing a lot.

CP: Tell me a little bit about the writing process for this record. You did a lot of it on a farm, right?

JB: Yeah, my grandparents have one. It was definitely nice to work in such a peaceful setting. I even started writing a book there.

CP: Is it fiction?

JB: Yeah. I started writing sections of stuff and said, "Why don't I try writing a novel?" Unfortunately, I've gotten sidetracked with this whole music thing.

(a_parks@citypaper.net)

The A-Sides will play their record release show with The Capitol Years and Bitter Bitter Weeks, Thu., Aug. 30, 9 p.m., $10, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford, 866-468-7619, www.johnnybrendas.com.