July 12, 1996
New Day dawning for Watchmen
When The Watchmen recorded their third album,
Brand New Day, guitarist Joey Serlin says they
took the rule book and hurled it out the studio
doors.
More so than on any of their previous trips into the
studio, Brand New Day captures the group winging
it -- letting the heat of the moment dictate where the
record would go.
"The first time in the studio, we were scared
s--tless," jokes Serlin from Toronto, as the band
winds up a tour that brings them to Barrymore's
tonight and tomorrow night.
"The second time (in the studio), we had a game
plan and went by that guideline. This time, we went
in probably less prepared than we ever have been
before," says Serlin.
"We had tons of material. But what songs are we
going to do? It was a real open experience. Some
final arrangements took place in the studio. People
were suggesting spur-of-the-moment
instrumentation. But it seemed real natural."
As a result, Brand New Day is the first time a
Watchmen record was not designed specifically to
be played live -- something Serlin has noticed as
they've toured the country.
"Some of the songs we're finding can't work live.
At least the way we're doing them. Maybe they
could work. But there's a good chunk of the record
that works really well live. People are starting to
sing the words. Everything is kicking in. It sits nicely
and natural."
Always one of the country's hardest-touring bands,
writing sessions for Brand New Day were
squeezed into a brief rest period, and the intensity
can also be heard in the songs.
"The bulk of the songs were written when we got
the word what date we were going into the studio
and we had THIS MUCH time," he says.
"We got to our rehearsal space in Winnipeg and
locked ourselves up, and luckily it all happened. It
exploded for us. It could have gone the other way.
But I guess it was because we had not had the
opportunity to outpour these musical ideas. And
when the time came, they just poured out.
"It makes it much more of a diverse record, as far
as we're concerned. And I think if we had devised
a game plan ahead of time, we would not have had
that result.
"I respect the balls we had to do the things we did.
Where we'll go from there, we'll see."