Courtesy Forest Ray
Audio By Carbonatix
For Seattle psych rockers Forest Ray, the authenticity of analog recording will always reign supreme when it comes to putting down the band’s brand of music.
Heavily inspired by ’60s and ’70s classic rock – particularly acts with an alternative twist like 13th Floor Elevators and Moving Sidewalks – vocalist/guitarist Peter Sumic explains how he started putting his own music to tape at an early age before realizing most of his favorite acts were using the same process decades ago.
“I was a kid that loved classic rock and old music. I just was never satisfied with the quality of the drums, quality of the guitar tone….” Sumic says of modern recording practices. “I realized most music that I love was recorded analog, [and thought], ‘Why don’t I just do it exactly like they would have done it?’ So I bought my first reel-to-reel at twenty. I’ve been doing it for about nine years now. I really love it. I really feel like it has an authentic vibe, especially for older styles or any style of rock and roll. I feel it has a great sound and quality.”
Sumic also owns and operates Forest Ray Records and recording studio, which is a way for him to release vinyl for not only his band, but others who are drawn to the same recording process.
“I even prefer analog mixing. I don’t see myself moving toward [a digital] process. I’m just not a big computer guy. I also hate looking at screens. I’d prefer to look at an old machine and kick it when it’s not working,” Sumic adds with a laugh.
Plus, analog recording forces Forest Ray to be tighter. It doesn’t involve a stream of takes uploaded onto a computer program, which can be plucked and pulled from to create the best version of a song. The tape doesn’t lie, and imperfections can’t be erased.
“I think the recording process has to be a lot more deliberate. We really rehearse the song and know every part and everything we want to do before tracking,” Sumic says. “I think a lot of the time with digital recording, you have the comfort and the ease of recording whatever you want. Sometimes that translates to not being as deliberate, or doing thirty takes and taking little pieces of each one. When you have to do one take and pick the best take, you really have to focus on execution. What you hear is exactly what we sound like.”
Hear it for yourself Saturday, July 9, at the Skylark Lounge. Jen Korte & the Loss and Los Toms are also on the bill.
Echoing Sumic’s analog ethos, drummer Nate Louis tells audiences to “get ready for a three-piece band that sounds like a seven-piece.”
Forest Ray blends blues-based psychedelia riffs with Americana songwriting structures. Add in that extra layer of fuzz from the recording process, and there’s a certain nostalgic element to the band’s sound that makes it more exciting than most new music with similar sentiments. Any of the band’s recent singles – “Close Your Eyes,” “Always” or “Make Some Time” – from its upcoming album, Always, are a good example of that. And while Forest Ray is paying homage to a well-loved genre, the music is not necessarily derivative, which is something Sumic is conscious of when he talks about his fondness for the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield.
“I just like to experiment a lot,” he says, adding that “country-style guitar playing” is another ingredient in Forest Ray’s rock.
Louis, who also hosts a podcast called Raised on Rhythm that showcases local bands, credits Seattle’s long history as a breeding ground for alternative music and DIY work ethic as an inspiration for the band, as well.
“One thing I really love about the music scene in Seattle is the authenticity here. Hanging around a lot of these bands in this scene, you really do feel like these bands would be doing what they do for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish always,” he says.
While most people know the city as the epicenter of the grunge movement during the 1990s, Louis says there’s way more going on nowadays, and Forest Ray is one example of that.
“That’s something I really love about the music scene here. I’m really, really inspired by the energy that’s happening in Seattle right now. There’s just a flavor for every taste,” he says.
Forest Ray, 8 p.m. Saturday, July 9, Skylark Lounge, 140 South Broadway. Tickets are $10-$13.
