interview: short fictions
I can firmly say that Short Fiction is poised to take over the world, or at the very least, they’re taking over Pittsburgh. Ahead of the band’s West Coast tour, and an upcoming album release that will literally change your life, we chatted with Sam Treber of the band about recording the new album, advice for DIY bands, and more.
photo: owen lehman
The Grey Estates: So for those who aren't familiar, who is Short Fictions and how did the band get started?
Sam of Short Fictions: Shimpei and I (Sam) had a mutual friend whom I worked with at a music store. The friend introduced us and we all jammed together for a while, although our friend left the band before things really took off. Alex Martin and Ryan started coming to all of our shows and we asked them to join as other members dropped off. Alex Barkley was my roommate and I asked her if she could do some singing because my voice was getting strained from performing (screamo’ing) too much, and thus began the current iteration of the band.
Have you all been into music for your entire lives? What music did you grow up listening to?
Yeah, basically. My first loves musically were Aaron Carter, Queen, and random movie soundtracks. I listened to mostly classic rock until high school. High school was characterized by ska, old school punk, and popular indie rock, and then half way through high school was when I started going to shows and listening to DIY bands, and here we are today.
Alex Barkley and I were friends in high school so we listened to a lot of the same indie, and DIY bands. Alex Martin had a somewhat embarrassing affinity for pop-punk. Shimp’s early favorites were math rock, edm, hip-hop, and we shared a big time mutual interest in Modest Mouse. Ryan listened to Blink 182 almost exclusively until discovering jazz in 2016.
You've been pretty active in playing live shows throughout Pittsburgh. What if any impact did performing live have on your sound for this recording? And how does this recording differ from what we heard of you in the past?
There’s this phenomena I experience occasionally where I’ll go see a band and think that their set sounds great, and I’ll listen to their record at home only to find that the album is “overproduced,” or too perfect, not real sounding. I really enjoy the rawness of live performances, and especially shows in small, punk spaces. I think recordings that veer on the side of lo-fidelity gain more in charm, sonically than they suffer.
For this record, we tracked it in bedrooms, and basements, but had it mixed and mastered professionally so I think it has a very authentic sound, but without being too weak sounding.
On this record, you tackle some important current issues. Why did you feel that it was valuable to sing about that or what inspired you to have that discourse? What other themes and ideas does the record explore?
The planet is literally dying, and it just seems selfish to use our platform to give a personal dialog. At the same time, these things are just on my mind a lot recently so it ends up in the writing a lot. There’s a lot about climate change, little bit about gentrification, but there’s also a handful of songs that are just straight love songs, so, you know, you can do both!
Who comes up with the single titles? Because wow, art. And do you have any singles on this record that you really like?
I (Sam) come up with the song titles, BUT a lot of them are references to other media, or just straight quotes. I don’t really feel like song titles make or break a song so I like to be long winded just for fun. I think “Really Like You” and “Property of Pigeons” are the two best songs on this album.
What's been one of your proudest moments as a band? What's been the most important lesson you've learned?
I dunno! Probably just coming off our long tour over the summer having met a bunch of cool bands that we admire and not being in debt by the end. It was just like, “Whoa, we can really do this band thing maybe.” I think the most important lesson is that you get out what you put in and a lot of that is just being supportive of your friends and engaging your community.
Also that there’s always going to be sooo, so many obstacles but you just gotta keep going, if you want to keep going.
How has Pittsburgh shaped your identity as a band?
You write about what you know. Pittsburgh comes up in a lot of my songs because it’s my home! A lot of my early songs are about trying to find my place in a setting that was new to me, and now that I’ve been here a long time my songs are about my fears of those places changing.
Also, I think a lot of people in other parts of the country don’t see Pittsburgh as a big music city, but recently, I hear so many DIY bands talk about how much they love the community here, or even that they want to move here and it’s really special to be a part of that. I’m not saying we put Pittsburgh on the map but, I gotta say I feel like we’re helping.
What's one thing you think all DIY bands should know or what's one piece of advice you'd give them?
Show your community love and your community will show you love in return. Go to a lot of shows, book a lot of shows, reblog your fave releases, music is literally the opposite of a competition.
What's your favorite Short Fictions snack?
We eat an incredible amount of White Castle.
What celebrity would you want to play you in a short fictions movie?
Jason Schwartzman probably, big nose gang rise up.
Tour Dates:
12/27: Ft Wayne, IN- The Bug House
12/28: St Louis, MO- FOAM
12/29: Kansas City, MO- Parker 2
12/30: Tulsa, OK- The Vanguard
12/31: Denton, TX- Backyard on Bell
1/1: Odessa, TX- Cactus House
1/3 Pheonix, AZ- Cardiff Giant Tattoo
1/4: Los Angeles, CA- All Star Lanes
1/5: Berkeley, CA- 924 Gilman
1/6: Redding, CA- Craft Brew Coffee
1/7: Medford, OR- Burger Spot
1/8: Reno, NV- Holland Project
1/9: Salt Lake City, UT - The Underground
1/11 : Denver, CO- 7th Circle
1/12: Wichita, KS- Oasis
1/13: Ames, IA- The Retirement Home
1/14: Minneapolis, MN - Hi Watt
1/15: Milwaukee, WI- JJs Bar & Grille
1/16: Chicago, IL- Beat Kitchen
1/17: Kalamazoo, MI- Hatchet House
1/18: Pittsburgh, PA- Glove World