Last year began a new chapter in the lives of Pete Stewart, Dalton Roraback and Paul Roraback. Grammatrain was riding high on the rock circuit from 1994-1998, but that came to a halt in late 1998. Pete went solo and began producing, Paul began other projects and session work, and Dalton got a “day” job. Now, over ten years later, they are back with a new album and a new outlook on the band; same hard hitting sound, but a slightly different message. I had the pleasure of chatting with Pete and Paul; talking about the new album, plans for the future and the spiritual side of the band.

 

Let’s talk about the new album, Imperium. How does it feel to have a new album out after 10 years? 

Pete: A bit surreal, but mostly very satisfying. I don't think any of us envisioned this happening after the band split up in '98. It's been nice to really do things our way with no outside label or producer and see the whole thing through like this.

 

When you decided you guys were going to record a new album, what were the expectations walking into the studio? 

Pete: We started this thing really low key. When the idea first emerged to make a new record, I thought it was important to keep the attitude very casual with it and not have it be a high-pressure situation. I think we figured we'd try to record a few songs, and if it seemed like it was working and it was a good idea, we'd continue the process. 

 

Paul: I knew Pete would write great music, and Dalton is a very capable bass player, so really my only expectations musically were for myself. I've always been the kind of musician that plays for me first, taking into consideration the boundaries or challenges of the song. I have to record something that I can listen to for the rest of my life, so my first instincts are rather self indulgent. However, I've always felt that if you write something that you like, someone is bound to like it also. I feel sorry for musicians that spend all their time trying to write music that someone else might like. If you don't like it, it's possible that no one will like it. But if you do like it then it seems likely that someone will like it.

 

Pete, since you have played the musician and producer role in the past, how did those experience help in creating this album, compared to previous Grammatrain records? 

Pete: Well, certainly the experience of being on the other side of the glass so much during the last 10 years changed the perspective this time around. Paul has also had a lot of experience recording and producing during the last several years, so we were able to communicate about the process in a way that neither of us were able fully to in the old days. It's a lot more responsibility when you decide you're going to produce your own album as a band. There's a great aspect to being that much in control...but you also bring a lot heavier workload on to yourself. There were many, many late nights for us during the whole process, but as a band, we've never been afraid of hard work.

 

Does this feel like the 4th studio album for you guys and a continuation of the band, or the first album and somewhat starting over?

Paul: A little of both. Since it's been 10 years, and we've progressed so much since we recorded Flying, it feels new. The chemistry is still there for us, I remember when Pete came to Austin with his solo project and asked if I would play drums for him; we had one rehearsal and then played SXSW. From the very first beat Pete and I felt like we'd never been apart.

 

Pete: It was kind of amazing to us once we started fleshing out the songs together that the "Grammatrain sound" started to kind of emerge on its own. It felt like we were able to write whatever kind of songs we felt like and not have to worry about sounding like us, because that part just happened on its own.

 

Tell me about the first couple times you guys got together and practiced/jammed after not playing together for 10 years.

Pete: The first time we stepped in a room to actually play our instruments together was last year when we rehearsed for our reunion show. For me, it was a really special feeling filled with anticipation. I think we knew it was going to be a really unique and special experience...we kind of respected the weightiness of what we were doing, if that makes sense. We also knew we were in for a lot of work, having to relearn much of our old songs that none of us had played in a decade!

 

With the change in spiritual direction of the band, how have long time fans responded to the reunion and new material? 

Pete: It's been mixed. There's some people who have said they respect the fact that we're being real about where we are and are just excited that we're playing together again. There are some who are, of course, disappointed that I'm not a Christian anymore. I can sort of understand that. Some people have a hard time with change, and some people can feel a sense of ownership with their favorite bands or musicians and have that ownership feel violated when the person turns out to be something other than what they want to perceive. It certainly doesn't make me feel good to let anyone down, so to speak. But, I think that reality is better than the alternative, which would be to pretend to be something that someone else might want to see. Overall, the response has been positive, though. We did have one fan actually send his CD back in the mail saying he preferred "his Grammatrain" to be different than who we were. I found that a little odd...but in the end, that was his choice. 

 

Again, with the spiritual change, does it give different meanings to old songs as you perform and rehearse them? 

Pete: Yes, as a matter of fact. I still resonate with the emotions that I felt when we created those songs and when I wrote many of those lyrics. There was actually a moment during an encore in our CD release show last weekend where we played one of our oldest songs and I started feeling tears in the back of my eyes. I started thinking, "Okay, let's not lose it here in front of everyone..." I'm different in a lot of ways to who I was all those years ago when we wrote those songs, just like everyone is as they grow older, but I still relate to the guy I was when those words came out of me originally. There are certain songs that I've chosen not to perform in our current shows, and Paul and Dalton have been extremely understanding and gracious about it. I know there's words in certain of our older songs that mean something to people to this day, and I almost feel that I could ruin that for them or come off hypocritical by singing something that may not ring true for me today. But, overall, most of the songs still resonate with me in their own way.

 

The Last Sound...What kind of momentum push has this unique project given you? 

Pete: The Last Sound is an example of an idea that ends up taking on a life of its own. We wrote this song and thought we'd give it to the Sounders organization to see if they might be interested in using it. I don't think we dreamt that a month later Drew Carey would be publicly talking about our band and funding a big budget video or that our song would get used in so many ways as a team anthem. It's certainly raised awareness of our band. We probably couldn't have asked for a better way to re-introduce ourselves to the world during the process of releasing this record. I'm sure that had a fair amount to do with selling out our (Seattle) show last weekend. Being on the field after the match when the Sounders won the US Open Cup and hearing our song get played at the stadium while much of the crowd sung along during the trophy presentation is something that still gives me chills when I think about it.

 

You guys have been at this, either as the band or in other projects, for over 15 years. What is the biggest thing you have learned about yourself through this whole process? 

Pete: I can't be happy doing anything else. Music is evidently what I am wired to do. It's what makes me feel the most whole. At the same time, I think I've learned to balance things a little better and find a little more peace in life than I was formerly able to. It's important to have goals and a strong work ethic, but it's important to keep it all in perspective and not miss out on the whole journey. 

 

Paul: I've found that it's easy to take things for granted. When we were touring an average of almost 200 shows a year I thought I was miserable. This was partially due to our record label making us feel like failures if only 200 people came to a show, but when the band broke up and I worked a day job I was more miserable than ever. I'm not saying anyone who works a day job should feel miserable; I'm just not wired for that. I've really just never been good at anything else but music. I don't even think about much else - music, family and God pretty much sums it up for me.

 

What does Grammatrain mean to you? 

Paul: It's one of the few places I fit in, even if not entirely. Pete and Dalton and I are a lot different, yet somehow there's this amazing connection when it comes to playing music together. We have a great time hanging out too, deep conversation and lot's of laughs, which is funny because we come across like such a serious band, but behind the scenes we're actually quit silly.

 

When you look back on the first half of Grammatrain, what is the one moment or event that sticks out in your mind?

Pete: Having all our gear laid out in a parking lot in Memphis days before our first tour was about to start with no vehicle and no idea how we were going to get to our first show. I've probably never felt that much stress in my life...mostly because stressful things happen constantly on tour and you just learn to deal with them. We had zero experience with that kind of stuff then. It's funny how huge obstacles just become routine after a while. 

 

Paul: There was a girl that decided NOT to commit suicide because of something that Pete said from the stage. That's pretty much the highlight of my career.

 

What is next? 

Paul: Pete and I have talked a bit about some ideas for the next record, but if we tell you we'll have to kill you.