Hanalei "Parts and Accessories" (Thick)
By Tim Den
Monday. May 01, 2:37 AM
An interview with guitarist/vocalist Brian Moss.

Tell me about how Hanalei got started during your time with The Ghost.

I had a batch of songs that didn’t quite fit with what The Ghost were doing at the time, so I decided to record them myself and try something different – mainly electronic elements – with the recording process.

And it eventually overtook The Ghost as your priority?

Sort of. The Ghost’s end was something that happened independently from Hanalei, though. We toured a lot during our time together, and the stress just took its toll. There were also fights going on within the band that made the whole thing not fun anymore… I’m not fooling myself into thinking that playing music is going to my “career,” so if I’m going to do it, it has to be fun. And it wasn’t fun anymore.

I think people were okay with Hanalei when it coexisted with The Ghost. But as soon as The Ghost broke up and Hanalei became my main thing, I definitely think there was a little resentment toward the whole “electronic” approach. The ironic thing is that, with Parts and Accessories, reviews have been saying that it’s “too different” from the electronica-informed first album, which I find to be funny and puzzling. Cuz if you listen to the first album carefully, you will find songs that could very well fit on Parts and Accessories if you aren’t focusing on the “electronica-ness.” They’re just songs, you know? But I’ve conceded to the fact that there’s going to be some disapproval every time I put something out, be it “too different” or “not different enough.” It used to bother me, but I’m okay with it now. It’s making my skin thicker, which is what I need anyway.

I remember you giving me the first EP, Hurricane We, one of the first times we hung out…

Yeah, and for a year after that I was talking to Eyeball Records about doing the full-length… so that’s a whole lot of time that I wasted. (laughs) Basically after a while I stopped hearing from them, and that was that. But before the whole Eyeball thing happened, I approached Zak and Thick Records about possibly putting We Are All Natural Disasters out. They really liked the album, but said that it was too different – not punk enough – for the label’s feel. After Eyeball fell through, I went back to them and said “uhhh… how ‘bout now?” Luckily for me, they had changed their minds and were into it.

But of course, The Postal Service came out right around the same time. There was the whole backlash thing, which could’ve been avoided had my album come out when it was supposed to: a year earlier. Oh well.

When did you decide to recruit a full band and ditch the laptop?

I did some touring with just myself, a guitar, and a laptop, but after a while I started to miss the band environment. Not to mention the fact that it’s not like I was playing amazing venues with great PAs: half the time I was in basements trying to hook the laptop up to some sort of half-assed speakers. One time I even connected it to a guitar amp. So that became a bit problematic. The guys that I’m playing with now are all friends of mine, so it was a natural progression. We’ve figured out how to play some of the earlier material through changing keys and rearranging, so there’re no issues there.

The sound and aesthetic of Parts and Accessories seem more aligned with the folk / singer-songwriter genres… do you feel a little out of place in the punk rock circles? Who do you see as your peers here in Chicago?

I think the peers that Hanalei should have are the a bit older, alt-country crowd that, although I respect, I haven’t really explored. I grew up in punk and hardcore scenes and most of my friends are within those circles, so it’s more important to me to play with people I can relate to. It’s much more about certain ethics and mentality than the actual similarities in music. I’m not opposed to going beyond our comfort zone, but at the same time I really haven’t tried.

I have to say, though, that one of the things I love the most about Chicago is that musicians are very supportive of each other. When I first arrived, I couldn’t believe how everyone helped each other out. On the east and west coats, where you and I are from, there’s always this sense of cutthroat competition: bands hating and putting each other down. It’s the complete opposite here.

So Chicago has been as good to you as it has been to me?

Definitely, but I think I’m cutting back on my hours as door person at venues. I was lucky enough to land a gig at Fireside Bowl as soon as I moved here: the dudes working there were all burnt out, jaded, and super irritated all the time, while I was like “I can’t believe you guys! This is so great… this is the best job in the world! What’s wrong with you!?” Fast forward two years, and I was the exact same way. (laughs)

Let’s talk about the literary sensibilities of your songs… do you consider it a big part of your creative personality?

For sure. My band mates will disagree, but I think lyrics are what make the songs. The style that Hanalei are utilizing right now is built to be lyrically-focused… and the fact that not many reviews have picked up on it is disappointing. Most have just mentioned the sonic aspects of the music, while I would love for them to delve into the words more.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but there seems to be a lot of heartbreak on Parts and Accessories.

Yeah… I was going through a rough patch during the writing of this album. (chuckles in embarrassment) I probably shouldn’t have written eight songs about one girl, but I needed to get it out of my system.

Hey man, no need to defend yourself: we all need to purge.

We were together for a long time, and the ending was just messy and complicated.

“Resonate Remain” paints a pretty vivid picture… I take it you guys were together when you lived in San Francisco?

Yeah, but she moved here with me before we broke up.

Really? Judging from the lyrics – “the winters that you won’t miss” – I thought she never trespassed the land of ice and cold…

I wrote that when she told me that she was moving back. I remember going to work one morning, crossing a schoolyard filled with fresh fallen snow… and thinking up the line. It pretty much summed up everything.

Did she move back?

No, she still lives here. (laughs) We’re friends now, everything’s cool.

Have you played the album for her?

Yeah, it didn’t change a thing! (laughs)

So what’s your plan for the future? Cuz, like you said, you don’t foresee playing music as a career… how long do you think you’ll keep doing this?

I haven’t really thought about it… I’ll continue to go to school and perhaps one day look into teaching. There are a lot of educators in my family, so it’s a route I can always speculate. But I still have to work on my patience a bit! For now, I feel like I still have plenty of writing and playing left, so that’s what I’ll be doing until it no longer fulfills me.
www.hanaleisounds.com
www.thickrecords.com

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Tim Den

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