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The Peppermint Confederacy – Interview, Album review and more…

I found The Peppermint Confederacy while doing research for our bands section. I had never heard of the five piece from Woodstock, GA so I had no idea what I was going into. The album was free and immediately available so I decided not to listen to them through their myspace player; that way I was clueless to their sound when I sat down with the album. The album was instantly perplexing and hard to classify so I took it on for a few weeks, listening to it everyday, searching for new clues and answers. What I found was was an awe-inspiring experience that took me deep into the mind and somewhat fantasy like world of The Peppermint Confederacy and lead vocalist Josh Miller.

In the Rain of Daylight is a wondrous entity from start to finish. The Peppermint Confederacy provide substance and introspect mixing folk and alt-country that provide the listener with a sense of being lost, but with the feeling that your on the way to a magnificent new beginning. It was an adventure to listen to with the fusion of an array of instruments and meditative, somewhat psychedelic effects, mostly with a folky acoustic foundation. Everything from Acoustic Guitar to Harmonica, Piano and Maracas come together to create a soft and sobering sound that hits with passion and insight.  

What I enjoyed most about In the Rain of Daylight was its completeness. The music made is intelligent and well thought out with intention and purpose. It seems to have a goal and that goal is moving you towards thoughtful contemplation. Each song leads into the next with grace and smoothness that is not easily found or repeated, seeming to bridge the move from one device to the next; making it possible to experience the last song and the current one simultaneously, and with cause. The album is a journey with an emotional and subtle intensity. The lyrics stand alone as an impressive example of the art of language and arrangement. They are poetic and philosophical at their worst moments. Mix in some elegant and imaginative rumination on top of amazing and beautiful music, and you have Josh Miller and The Peppermint Confederacy’s fantastically dreamy phenomenon, In the Rain of Daylight.

The interview below is amazing. All due to the answers and what you find by listening to the members and music of The Peppermint Confederacy. My first impression of the sound was a little off, but thats simply due to its uniqueness and originality…so I challenge the new listener to take the album on for many rounds, and I’m positive you’ll be impressed.  The lyrics can be found free at the band’s myspace page. You can also download the entire album from there. READ the interview below. LISTEN to and go see The Peppermint Confederacy.

The Interview…

1. I really like “Fire on the Moonlight.” Can you tell me a little bit about that song? I also really like

 The guitar part of fire on the moonlight was written by Chris with the help of whiskey, and the lyrics/vocal melody were written by myself under the influence of lots of cough gels.  I wanna use my voice to inspire people and change the world and I want others to use their voice and do the same be it a singing voice, speaking voice, shouting voice, or something like a paintbrush or keyboard.  There’s a lot of selfishness and greed that makes life hell for a lot of people, but I want to inspire such a fierce optimism in spite of the darker elements of humanity that it rises up in people like the sun.  Perhaps I’m bipolar, but I really want to write from a perspective that is both sorrowful and hopeful, with the ultimate intent of inspiring others.

2. I was going to ask if one person writes most of the music or if its a more collaborative thing, but reading that you were a solo act, it kind of answered that. However, in the newly acquired lineup, are you looking to move into a more collaborative role? If so, are you worried or anxious at all about where that may take your sound? Or are you motivated by the change? Has the move from a solo act to a full lineup gone smoothly for you and the band?  I only ask because the sound seems so direct and with intent. Each song is reminiscent of the last but each creates an individual experience; much like you might find in a solo artist. I’m just curious of the new dynamic of the band.

  We take turns coming up with the foundational element which is usually an acoustic guitar but might involve anything in the future. Typically if one of the guys has written the basic riff or whatever I have to work with them on structure as I add lyrics and make sure we have distinct transitions from verses and choruses and what not. When I write the song on guitar the guys just jam over and over until their parts sound precise. Things start off as jams and get played until the jams have evolved into parts.  Since the five piece became official we haven’t done a lot of collaborative writing and we’re trying to get into a habit of getting together for writing. I want our new material to be well planned out and tastefully executed so that when we practice enough everything sounds really tight, atmospheric, and dynamic. I think the best way to do that will be having all of us together working through each part, but who knows? We might just keep doing it this way if that doesn’t work out. Neither the bassist or I know any theory whatsoever so it’s hard to communicate.

3. Were the array of instruments part of your solo act as well or did they come with the new musicians (cello, harmonica, Piano, effects)?

I’ve always collaborated with talented musicians in my recordings. The first two Peppermint Confederacy albums were done in Jacksonville, Florida with a jazz/funk drummer/bassist named Johnny Rumbach. Geoff Knorr,  who played cello on In the Rain of Daylight, also played on my last album, “Glorybaby” (closest to a real solo project sound), but for the most part Chris and Greg have added all of the really interesting sounds to the mix. My music just doesn’t sound nearly as interesting or full without them.

4. I am a lover of poetry and lyrics myself; your lyrics are quite profound at times, very poetic, philosophical; they are amazing in that they could stand on their own as great poetry. Do you write the lyrics before the music? After? Or maybe a mix? Tell me a little bit about your writing process?

I have to hear the song to really write good lyrics. I do write poems as well, but I used to try and play music to poems I’d written and it just never sounded precise enough. I like having the music because I can be inspired to write lyrics that really fit with the melody and capture the mood of the music.  Sometimes the sound of a song reminds me of the ocean so I write about the ocean and mix metaphors and perspective in where I can. With Chris and Greg’s songs I like to have them sit there and play me the riff over and over or record it on the computer. I sing gibberish to get the melody and meter down and just write the lyrics into that sort of mold the music has created.

5. The lyrics are intensely introspective…What motivates your lyric writing? 

Most consistently for me It’s my relationship with nature/God/the universe/whatever. I’m sort of a Transcendentalist and I get a lot out of looking around and finding beauty and inspiration simply in nature, but I tend to keep my own perspective and emotions involved because it’s those elements that make them what they really are to me. A tree in and of itself is poetically not that significant, but what that tree makes me feel or think and how I relate to it is full of meaning if I can just look deep enough to figure it out and make the right connections. I can use external elements to explain internal struggles because those elements are all colored and brought to life by my perspective which is quite an introverted one. Being an introvert and a weirdo and a poor person have lead to some pretty desolate times in my life and I’m always sort of struggling with that, so when I look around and see a blade of grass I think of how much blades of grass must love the sunlight just like I loved a girl named Rae who was far away and I knew I’d probably never reach, hence the song Rae about a blade of grass in love with the sun.

6. What do you use to add the effects in the ablum? Particularly, the spacey sound in “Thirst” that carries you through to the end of the song?

There was talking and hanging out played backwards, a tom muffled with a cloth and hit over and over then maximized, a bunch of random guitar work with pedals being tweaked and played with.

7. What do you hope people take away from “In the Rain of Daylight”?

Rest and encouragement. I want people to be able to close their eyes and escape when they’re listening all alone. Music keeps me going and has kept me somewhat sane/alive/and well and I’d like to return the favor to some other quiet obscure introvert out there; someone who relates to the sadness of the melody and who can identify or be brought to identify with the Joy hidden in the lyrics… like gold hidden deep in the ground.

8. Any closing thoughts or something you would like to pass on to fans of the album? 

Think for yourselves, hold on to your dreams, act like individuals, hang in there, and come see us play live sometime because we want to hang out with you and share a crazy, beautiful, spiritual experience with you involving music.  

9) One last question….What is in the name “The Peppermint Confederacy”?  How did that come about? 

The name came from a guy my mom dated when she was younger. He was in a cover band called The Peppermint Confederacy and they broke up while my mom was still dating the guy. She always talked about how cool that band name was when she found out I was into music and trying to start bands all the time. I was kind of into Tooth and Nail punk stuff at the time and wasn’t really interested in calling my band that. The first song I played under this moniker was written in 2004 for my mom and it was played at her memorial service. I’ve kept The Peppermint Confederacy around ever since.

Thirst

The Peppermint Confederacy | MySpace Music Videos

Blindlight – Live @ The Drunken Unicorn August 12th, 2009

The Peppermint Confederacy | MySpace Music Videos

See more videos from The Peppermint Confederacy here.