With Heath Hamilton on drums, Marshall Hanbury, Jr. on guitar and keyboards, guitarist Andy Dixon and bassist Noel Arnim, the band’s fan base has increased with each stop alongside their tour. Ingersoll recently talked about the band’s experience on the road, working with producer Dan Wilson, mixer Michael Brauer, performing alongside Third Eye Blind and working with Columbia imprint Canvasback Music.
Steve Ralbovsky, senior VP of A&R has signed five bands so far with new label Canvasback Music including Absentstar. Ingersoll believes Canvasback Music/Columbia Records provides the band that much needed big-label support along with a close collaboration.
“We kind of have the best of both worlds,” Ingersoll said. “It kinds of feel like we have an indie label with Canvasback and at the same time we have access to Columbia Records promotions. We feel loved and we also feel like part of something big, which is kind of tough to do these days.”
As part of that close collaboration, Absentstar worked with singer/songwriter/producer Dan Wilson of Semisonic fame. Wilson and the guys spent two weeks in preproduction in Chicago before heading out to Minneapolis to record the album live. Wilson, who has found attention outside of Semisonic with his solo album Free Life and a Grammy-winning collaboration with the Dixie Chicks hit Not Ready to Make Nice was a welcoming surprise.
“We were pretty adamant on getting a guy who is a music guy,” Ingersoll said. “We wanted a guy who could actually play and a guy who was a writer and singer as well. That way we could get a direction on where to go and the process is a lot quicker with a musician like that. We could get through those roadblocks really fast.”
The band also worked with A-list mixer Michael Brauer, who has worked with Coldplay, John Mayer and My Morning Jacket among others. Brauer, who has won a Grammy each with Coldplay’s Parachutes and Mayer’s Continuum worked with the band closely to capture their live sound.
“He was on the top of our list,” Ingersoll said. “With Brauer, we really had our fingers crossed and I’ve worked with him before. He mixes in a very old-school style, he writes the pages by hand and he doesn’t mix in Pro Tools and that makes it sound more natural.”
That natural sound comes with the band cramping into the studio and recording much of the album live. Ingersoll appreciated playing alongside his band mates as opposed to each player recording their own parts separately.
“I think it’s good in a sense that it made us feel more like a band and that translates into a better recording,” he said. “So when you hear the album you hear the show, you don’t feel like you’re seeing a different band when you see us onstage.”
Once Sea Trials hit, the band eagerly hit the road in support of the album and found fortune when opening for Third Eye Blind.
“We played with Third Eye Blind in February and we have been getting a favorable response from the audience,” he said. “Third Eye Blind has been unbelievable, they let us do our thing every night and they have been very welcoming to us. They have taken us under their wing and have shown great hospitality.”
In addition to the welcoming response they have received from Third Eye Blind, Absentstar has welcomed the opportunity to play to larger audiences.
“We pinch ourselves everyday not only because we get to play in front of that many people, but offstage it’s such an enjoyable experience as well,” he said.
As part of their offstage experience, Absentstar makes a concentrated effort to interact with the fans who come to the shows.
“It’s been great because we’ve been able to hang out after the show and make that personal connection with the fans,” he said. “People are so saturated now with downloads and Myspace…so we want to stand out and show that we are not above going out and talking to people who are nice enough to come out and listen to our shows.”
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