SixTwoSeven are a Seattle band that has been creating waves in a big way. This Summer, August 5th to be exact, we see the group releasing their highly anticipated record, Some Other’s Day, which was produced by infamous Nirvana producer, Jack Endino. Currently sharing their new single, “Wreckless Soul,” The record shares alternative elements with an indie twist.
The group create a stunning debut that is a whirlwind of guitars and vocal perfection. Writing songs has long been the way that frontman Greg Bilderback has expressed himself. Most notably playing behind the drums, Bilderback takes center stage for the
record, as his showcases his guitar and vocal skills. We had the chance to catch up with SixTwoSeven for an exclusive Indie 5-0 which you’ll find below.
1. Greg - being a longtime drummer, this is your first time stepping out and being a guitar-playing frontman. How does this change the way you perform music, and which are you more comfortable with?
Of course I feel most comfortable on a drum throne, lol. I have so much more experience sitting there, it just comes naturally. That being said, once I saw the view from the front I’m wasn’t likely to give that up anytime soon. I love being able to interact with the audience so much more, and being unleashed from cables or stands makes for a lot of fun up there.
2. For the new record, you teamed up with esteemed producer, Jack Endino. How did you meet Jack and how did he end up working on the new release?
I tricked him haha! Seriously though, my attorney (Mita Carriman) had suggested the use of Grammy Award winning Joe Lambert for mastering. So when I called Joe, I asked for a recommendation ( for a producer). He may or may not, have dropped the name Jack Endino, but that’s how I remember it. So I emailed Jack and told him Joe had mentioned working with him. It worked, Jack called me from a beach in South America to say he was down to do the record when he got back home, and6 weeks later that’s what we did.
3. As a longtime songwriter, what is the inspiration behind the songs on the new record?
Most of the songs are straight up based out of my blue collar working class history, it completely forged who I am today. These songs have been, for the most part, written and in the process of recording, for the better part of 6 years now (with the exception of “One Single Night”). Wreckless Soul was written about my son Blaek, who has had a contrarian’s attitude since before he could speak. He will do the opposite of what you say, just for the sake of it, he’s always been like that. Top of the World is about my marriage, and it’s eventual collapse. The lyrics to the first verse were written for 6 years before the second verse was penned, it took surviving that experience to “cough up” the words to describe how I wanted the story to end. People can survive Shame, they need to know that. Sometimes letting the skeletons out of your closet is the very thing you need to really be liberated. Hard to see it at the time I suppose. Joshua’s Song was written about a teenager I witnessed hit by an SUV while riding his 4-wheeler. I performed CPR on him for what seemed like an eternity. He did not survive. That was tough to process for sure. Writing and singing about it helps me to this day with that.
4. Starting to play music at an early age, at what point did it strike you that music was something you’d like to make a career out of ?
You’re going to laugh but I have ALWAYS known. I was born to entertain. If it weren’t music it would be acting or stand-up comedy. I live to be up on stage. I have always known this was my destiny. Life just wasn’t finished carving me out quite yet, so you all had to wait until now, haha.
5. What was the songwriting process like for the album Some Other’s Day, and what song from the album would you say is a standout favorite?
Long and uneventful. Seriously, like I said earlier, it took most of 6 years to capture what I wanted to, and to prove to myself that I had something commercially viable enough to invest money into. I started laying drums down, with no audio accompanying it at all, just silence, and drums, and the guitar parts playing in my head. Then I would jump off the throne, grab my bass guitar, and start scratching out bass lines to make sure the drums were keepers. Once I had a scratch bass track, I’d record the main guitar track, and then add all the frills, leads, and vocals afterwards. That is one of the reason’s the 7 song demo had the limitations it did. It was a one man show. Once I put together a live show line up, “One Single Night” (my personal favorite) just kind of happened from a riff Mike Knapp (our bassist) brought to practice. Took about 3 minutes to write the song and we were hooked. It took a bit longer to write that nutty solo, lol. That track had to go on the record because I wanted the guys to have one that belonged to “all of us” on our debut EP.