According to the bio on his website, Randall Shreve came out of no-where. Funny, that’s what I was thinking.
Back in March of this year, Shreve moved to Fayetteville to be closer to family, and it seems like his name has been on nearly every marquee in town ever since.
Shreve has played drums on over 50 recordings, toured extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, and Canada with his former band GS Megaphone before releasing his first solo record, “The Cure For Yesterday” in 2006. Shreve released a second record, “The Entertainer” last year, and will release an EP next month, entitled “Oh, Lover… That Was My Heart.”
You can check out one of his tracks right below this interview, hear some more tracks on his myspace page, or you can check Randall out in person when he plays at the Pig & Whistle Friday night.
We got in touch with Randall today, and he was nice enought to answer some questions for us.
Fayetteville Flyer: What have you been listening to lately?
Randall Shreve: The new Muse record… It’s Amazing! I’ve also been enjoying ELO properly for the first time. They were brilliant.
FF: You’ve been working on a new EP, correct? When will it come out?
RS: Yes. I’ve been working on it for a while. It’s called, “Oh, Lover… That Was My Heart” and it releases in October. It’s mostly just acoustic guitar or piano and vocals. Very stripped down.
FF: How many songs?
RS: 8 songs
FF: How do you perceive the music scene in Fayetteville right now?
RS: I’m continually surprised by the talent here. So far, some of my favorite locals are Benjamin Del Shreve (so what if I’m biased), Keith Nicholson, Ben Miller Band, Opal Fly, Christmas Fuller Project, Monster Heart, and Plaid Jackets. I’ve had the honor of sharing the stage with most of these bands so far and it’s really been a wonderful experience. A lot of great talent and really good people here.
FF: You and your brother Benjamin must come from a musical family. Do you guys collaborate much musically?
RS: Most of our family seem to hate music and feel that we are wasting our lives. We don’t really “collaborate”, but we do sit around and show each other new songs that we’ve written individually. We’re like two little kids at school the day after Christmas showing off our new toys. We sharpen each other and encourage each other, so in a non-traditional sense, we do collaborate.
FF: A lot of your songs seem really piano driven, which is cool. Do you write them that way?
RS: Not always. I write either on piano or acoustic guitar generally, but even the ones I write without piano usually get the most amazing piano parts that I would have never heard. Timothy Grace, my piano player, never ceases to amaze me how he hears the music and adds his spin on it while making himself irreplaceable.
FF: You’ve lived in a lot of other places. How did you decide to make Fayetteville your home base for now?
RS: I needed to be near family. Most of my family lives here now. I moved here in March/April and have since fallen in Love. I’m here indefinitely.
FF: What’s next. Any touring plans for your EP release?
RS: Lots of touring in the near future. We’re working hard as a live band and booking dates within a 500 mile radius for now with the exception of making it back to New York for some shows on occasion.
Click below to hear Need by Randall Shreve
[audio:http://fayettevilleflyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Need.mp3]
