In our new Reverbnation spotlight, we have words with Jason Martins, vocalist in Texas-based Awkward Robot about his band.
S] What, or who are your great musical inspirations?
J] “I grew up playing a lot of jazz, and listening to a lot of punk and ska so that has inspired me personally. I like some power metal bands too. As a band we enjoy similar artists such as Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes, The Format, Anything with Anthony Green, Neutral Milk Hotel, Say Anything, Rush, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Javier really likes Dying Fetus.”
S] What about personally, what kinds of themes and ideas can inspire your songs?
J] “Lyrically I tend to focus on the relationships people develop with each other, going through changes, understanding the reality of something can be different than what you expected and coping with that fact. Stuff like that, and love.”
S] What, or who are your great musical inspirations?
J] “I grew up playing a lot of jazz, and listening to a lot of punk and ska so that has inspired me personally. I like some power metal bands too. As a band we enjoy similar artists such as Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes, The Format, Anything with Anthony Green, Neutral Milk Hotel, Say Anything, Rush, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Javier really likes Dying Fetus.”
S] What song that you are working on right now best defines your sound, and why?
J] “We usually have a couple songs in the works at time. We are getting closer to what we strive for as a with one tentatively called ‘The Flats’. It Incorporates more dynamics and tempo changes and focuses more on silence. We are learning that empty space plays a big role in a song, and time signature changes can be a very useful tool too. We are somewhat of an indie rock band with folk influences. I guess that doesn’t really pin us down to one set style of songwriting which is really freeing. We focus on making the song the best it can be really and that’s the bottom line.”
S] Do you have a message for any UK fans?
J] “Stick around. We hope you like what you hear, and we will get there as soon as we can.”
S] What can people expect from your live show?
J] “Just imagine some kind of aerobics work out video from the mid 80s mixed with an episode of ‘VH1 Storytellers’.”
S] What are some of your biggest challenges right now?
J] “We want to get bigger shows in our hometown, Austin, TX. This city is home to thousands of great bands. Our biggest show hasn’t even been here, it’s a very vast and saturated market. With that said, there are a lot of very talented people here to make contacts with, so we’re working on that.”
S] What’re your plans as we move into 2013?
J] “To release a full length sometime in the middle of the year and tour as much as possible.”
