I recently spoke to James Clayton aka Crywank aka everyone's favourite acoustic folk punk emo troubadour about his the process behind Narcissist On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, his internet presence and the future for Crywank. If you already haven't, head over to his Bandcamp, and have a listen to some of his wonderful, instantly likable music. Just don't forget to come back.
Who is Crywank? And how did it come around?
You've got a pretty heavy internet presence. How do you think bands should utilize the internet? How important do you think it is?
I have mixed feeling about my internet presence. It's a huge confidence boost when you receive e-mails from fans saying nice things, telling stories of how you've helped them or sending cover songs they've done. I find it very frustrating as well though, as quite often it can feel like I'm only a recognized artist in this world completely separate from my reality. I'm still a DIY musician and a very poor one at that. I find it hard to book shows, afford to get to shows, and get time off work for shows. In this sense the response from people online taunts me, with the friends I could be making and playing for If I was in a better situation financially, or was at least a musician with a clue about what he was doing.
I couldn't really tell someone how to utilize the internet. If anything I'd encourage people to focus more on trying to play shows and tour, it's a lot more fulfilling and fun. If I was going to put my interest online down to something specific I'd put it down to all my music being available for free, and making an effort to respond to everyone who gets in touch with me (although I do sometimes miss a few, but I try to get back to everyone who spends time getting in touch with me).
All of your releases are available as 'name your price' on bandcamp. Why did you make that decision?
I think music should be free. I always have. When I was younger and I bought C.D's I'd find myself listening to a lot more commercial music, and I'd find it a lot harder to find new bands. Along with many others my age I started downloading music illegally online in my teens and this was the point in which music became perhaps my biggest interest. A lack of money no longer restricted me to the richness of the history of music, and genres I was never exposed to in my hometown became i accessible. Eventually through downloading music online and researching bands I started listening mostly to musicians who make their music available online for free. I was no longer interested in music made for profit, and I have no respect for the arrogance involved in putting a price on digital copies of music. If someone is interested in listening to my music, I'm honored, I shouldn't be making someone pay for me to feel honored.
For the first few years of doing Crywank I'd declined any donations people had offered, but eventually I wanted to take it further and felt rude declining peoples generosity. That's why the bandcamp is name your own price rather than just free downloads as it was before. Unfortunately as bandcamp runs on a download credit system, whenever I run out of the credits the price reverts to a set price of £7. What I'm doing now is putting the bandcamp price as a minimum of 50p for the album to cover the cost of download credits, and putting links in the descriptions for the free mediafire links. It's not ideal, but it's the best way I can think to do it.
What bands are you infuenced by?
A combo of Larry Fischer, Paul Baribeau and Shoes & Socks Off is what inspired me to pick up a guitar, but when it comes to lyricism it's Nick Drake, Roy Harper and Andrew Jackson Jihad that I usually turn to. Music that's been inspiring what I've been writing recently are Foot Ox, Exuma, The Incredible String Band and Jordaan Mason & The Horse Museum.
What was your favourite album of 2012?
Easily "n o e l (l e) l o n g h a u l - this is my name now". I was filled with such a wild envy and admiration when I first heard this album. It's messy, beautiful, pained and honest. So many lines throughout this release I wish I'd written. And so many of the banjo riffs play in my head over and over and have for months. This album really received too little attention for how incredible it is. It'd be a dream to see it performed live. http://tellyrstory.bandcamp.com/album/this-is-my-name-now I'm still yet to hear his new release, but i'm really excited to. I got it today!
If Crywank was an item of clothing, what would it be?
A pair of old uncool shoes with holes in. I always appear to be in some, I tend to wear shoes until they no longer resemble something that goes on your feet.
Final Words?
I have always loved Chess player Bobby Fischer's last words. "There is nothing as healing as the human touch"
Who is Crywank? And how did it come around?
When I was 19 I was really sad. I needed to vent somehow and I wanted to start writing songs. My friend taught me two chords (the same two chords which make up 'Welcome to Castle Irwell' and 'Thomas Saunders Gangchant') and I've been writing songs from that moment, not really allowing a lack of skill or ability to get in my way. It started out with me playing by myself, but I've recently been joined by my friend Dan on percussion. Crywank kind of just happened, I never really expected it to go on to having any sort of fanbase or to ever do a tour, it was mostly just a silly name for some songs I wrote which I thought I could occasionally do at open mic nights.
How was 2012 for you? What were your best moments?
I'm already nostalgic about my year when I look back on it. I've made some very good friends and made some big changes. I did my first tour of England with Feralus which was awesome, and I released my second album. I didn't do as much as I'd have liked to have done with my year though, I spent too much time getting caught up in paranoid fantasies and worrying about the end of the world. I plan on being a lot more productive next year though.
How was the recording and writing process behind Narcissist On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown?
Difficult. All of my songs focus on my own sadness, so when it comes to what I write I feel a constant paranoia of how people are going to take every line, and I pick apart ways in which they might judge me both as a writer and a person. Usually though I find the lines I like the most and feel the most honest are usually the ones that I'd feel the most judged for using (often due to them coming across as being too self-involved, teenage or outright pathetic). This makes writing a slow and difficult experience for me, you'll find most of the lines in my notebooks have been crossed out. The recording of the album was rushed, we did it all on the first take in one night with a microphone in my parents house. Joseph Thorpe who recorded the album really wanted to spend more time on it, but a combination of eagerness to get the album out, and a fear of it sounding 'bigger' than it's meant to be stopped that. If NOTVOANB sounded 'slick', it'd also sound fake.
What Inspired the lyrics? It has a somewhat different vibe to James is Going To Die Soon?
The songs where pretty much a collection of everything I wrote in the year and a half that followed James is going to die soon. My sadness was now less to do with a past love, more anxiety about the future and an analysis of the way I think. I was finding myself struggling to know how to react to situations, and constantly feeling lost or as if I was waiting for something. Paranoia, shame and unrequited love is where most of the lines stem from though I'd guess, although I feel kinda stupid writing that. Where JIGTDS was more of an emotional reaction, NOTVOANB is me trying to explain myself.
How was the reaction to NOTVOANB?
MIXED! I have a lot of people who got in touch who really loved the album and really boosted my confidence in regards to me developing as a musician, but with the release of the album a lot of people expressed disappointment, and compared it directly to JIGTDS. I've read that I'm 'trying too hard to be sad' but I felt like I was more honest on this album to the degree that it was difficult. Whenever I play the song 'You Couldn't Teach Me Integrity' live the opening line "There's a likely chance that if you're a girl I've met I've imagined a life with you" makes me feel horribly embarrassed every time I sing it. It makes me feel like a genuine desperate creep, but it's true, and I used it because it's true, even if it does make me feel stupid. I think the album gets stronger as it goes on, hopefully some of the people who poo-poo'd it just didn't get past the first few tracks.
What was your favourite track off the release?
I really like nostril tampon and it's probably the song i enjoy playing live the most. Now I'm sad (boo hoo) is fun as well as I get to say a Roger Ebert quote.
How do you plan to move Crywank forward? What can we expect from future releases?
I'm trying to pull my finger out and be more active with touring. Getting Dan in on writing the songs has been a big help. Playing with percussion has made me experiment a lot more with my guitar playing and although it is still pretty basic, hopefully this album won't be released alongside apologies for the poor guitar playing. It's also been good to have someone to discuss the lyrics with. I'm currently working on the third album, which should be out by spring/summer. After this album I'm going to start work on something new and change the direction of crywank. Over the past few years I've been planning and writing concept albums. One is a folk album about ghosts, the other is a rap inspired album about lucid dreaming. Hopefully I'll be able to trick some more musicians to get involved.
I have mixed feeling about my internet presence. It's a huge confidence boost when you receive e-mails from fans saying nice things, telling stories of how you've helped them or sending cover songs they've done. I find it very frustrating as well though, as quite often it can feel like I'm only a recognized artist in this world completely separate from my reality. I'm still a DIY musician and a very poor one at that. I find it hard to book shows, afford to get to shows, and get time off work for shows. In this sense the response from people online taunts me, with the friends I could be making and playing for If I was in a better situation financially, or was at least a musician with a clue about what he was doing.
I couldn't really tell someone how to utilize the internet. If anything I'd encourage people to focus more on trying to play shows and tour, it's a lot more fulfilling and fun. If I was going to put my interest online down to something specific I'd put it down to all my music being available for free, and making an effort to respond to everyone who gets in touch with me (although I do sometimes miss a few, but I try to get back to everyone who spends time getting in touch with me).
All of your releases are available as 'name your price' on bandcamp. Why did you make that decision?
I think music should be free. I always have. When I was younger and I bought C.D's I'd find myself listening to a lot more commercial music, and I'd find it a lot harder to find new bands. Along with many others my age I started downloading music illegally online in my teens and this was the point in which music became perhaps my biggest interest. A lack of money no longer restricted me to the richness of the history of music, and genres I was never exposed to in my hometown became i accessible. Eventually through downloading music online and researching bands I started listening mostly to musicians who make their music available online for free. I was no longer interested in music made for profit, and I have no respect for the arrogance involved in putting a price on digital copies of music. If someone is interested in listening to my music, I'm honored, I shouldn't be making someone pay for me to feel honored.
For the first few years of doing Crywank I'd declined any donations people had offered, but eventually I wanted to take it further and felt rude declining peoples generosity. That's why the bandcamp is name your own price rather than just free downloads as it was before. Unfortunately as bandcamp runs on a download credit system, whenever I run out of the credits the price reverts to a set price of £7. What I'm doing now is putting the bandcamp price as a minimum of 50p for the album to cover the cost of download credits, and putting links in the descriptions for the free mediafire links. It's not ideal, but it's the best way I can think to do it.
What bands are you infuenced by?
A combo of Larry Fischer, Paul Baribeau and Shoes & Socks Off is what inspired me to pick up a guitar, but when it comes to lyricism it's Nick Drake, Roy Harper and Andrew Jackson Jihad that I usually turn to. Music that's been inspiring what I've been writing recently are Foot Ox, Exuma, The Incredible String Band and Jordaan Mason & The Horse Museum.
What was your favourite album of 2012?
Easily "n o e l (l e) l o n g h a u l - this is my name now". I was filled with such a wild envy and admiration when I first heard this album. It's messy, beautiful, pained and honest. So many lines throughout this release I wish I'd written. And so many of the banjo riffs play in my head over and over and have for months. This album really received too little attention for how incredible it is. It'd be a dream to see it performed live. http://tellyrstory.bandcamp.com/album/this-is-my-name-now I'm still yet to hear his new release, but i'm really excited to. I got it today!
If Crywank was an item of clothing, what would it be?
A pair of old uncool shoes with holes in. I always appear to be in some, I tend to wear shoes until they no longer resemble something that goes on your feet.
Final Words?
I have always loved Chess player Bobby Fischer's last words. "There is nothing as healing as the human touch"
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