Indie / Pop
Band Members:
Ross Wright
Keyboards, guitars,
programming, lead vocal
Jason Carter
Drums, glockespiel,
melodica, vocal
About Glass Palace :
The music of Glass
Palace is meant for you.
No matter where you
are, what you do, what
you look like, how old
you are, or what style of
music you gravitate
towards, Glass Palace
is simply... for you.
So how did Glass Palace get started?
Jason and I have played together in different capacities and in different bands and also recording
projects for ten years. We met each other about 12 years ago at church in North Carolina. We just
started playing music and grew to become pretty good friends. Jason moved to Richmond in January
of 06, and Glass Palace commenced.
Jason, If someone has never been to a Glass Palace show, what can they expect?
Well they can expect music from the heart, something a little out of the ordinary. We incorporate
piano with pop, little bit of rock, influences from different styles of music. It's not something people will
be used to hearing in one style of music. They are going to hear and see honesty through our music.
You are a two man band, what instruments do you play and what are your roles in the band?
I play guitar and mostly piano and keyboards live. I also sing lead.
I sing background vocals; I play drums, and also play glockenspiel and melodica.
Yea, I remember watching you guys
perform and thinking those guys are
working hard up there (laughs).
We do have a little help. We use
loops which helps a lot.
Who influenced you musically?
As far as personal influences go, I
grew up in a musical family; my Dad
plays guitar, bass guitar, and piano.
My parents have always encouraged
me and my brother and sisters that if
we were interested in something to go
for it. There were always instruments
around. Growing up in church I heard
live music three times a week, that
I grew up going to church around black gospel and even southern gospel. When I got older, I got into
rock and main stream, different styles of music, not just gospel or just rock. I listened to a wide
spectrum of music. (Laughs). I even like some Disturbed stuff, a wide variety of bands. Stryper, you
know from the 80's, Journey, 80's, 90's, and today (smiles), I sound like a radio station.
What is the best part about being a musician?
I think playing live. Jason and I have always had lots of fun recording in the studio and working on
lots of projects. Our demo we recorded in a friend of ours' basement by ourselves. That was a first for
us. All of that is fun, practicing, writing and playing live. I guess it's like sharing part of yourself that
you can't express any other way.
The best part for me is being able to express yourself through music, that you sometimes can not
convey lyrically. Also seeing the people get into the music and how it influences them, either make
them think or sometimes change their lives. To be able to share music that we love and be able to
impact other people, that’s what I like about being a musician.
What is the most challenging part about being a musician?
At this stage in our lives, having to really grow up and try and do the music thing. Staying dedicated
and everyday just trying figure out what you can do to further your cause because obviously you
have to work and you have family and relationships to take care of, but above that you kind of have a
full time job. Promoting yourself and trying to get the music out there. And somewhere in there, trying
to find the time to write and practice, sometimes it gets a little crazy. I would say dedication is the
toughest thing.
I would have to agree.
Being creative, we
each have our own
unique creative
abilities, we have been
able to mesh that
pretty good through
chemistry and being
able to play together
over the years. Being
able to take our
creative ideas and put
them together that
work together that the
people will also love.
Sometimes your not
gonna come up with
something that
everyone is going to
like, but as long as
your true to your self
Ross, if Jason was no longer part of the band what would be missing, what does Jason bring to the
table?
A big part of Glass Palace and people listening to our music, I know it’s going to sound cheesy, but
it's very family oriented. J and I are the equivalent of brothers, we have known each other that long.
We blend into each one of our families. I think even personally or even if we weren't in a band, it
would be lacking something if Jason weren't around. He brings influences that I don't bring, and he
brings a sense of humor and personality that I don't bring, that’s a huge part and half the game right
there.
Jason, if Ross was no longer part of the band what would be missing, what does Ross bring to the
table?
He's got a unique gift in being able to interpret life into music. His creative ability and his friendship. It
would be like beating an empty drum so to speak, no pun intended. Ross puts the meat on behind the
music. Or maybe it’s the skeleton and I put the meat on, I don't know, maybe the nerves, the organs.
There’s definitely collaboration and we both need each other to get this particular sound out.
I would say a huge influence with our style is personalities and people we know. In this particular
project we try to figure out how to put real life into music. I think in a way even though a lot of the
songs are personal, we are doing it ultimately for the people who are hearing it. That's life, day in and
day out things we have to deal with.
Through our music we want to
express love, hope and faith. Take
life and live it to the best of your
ability, but have joy about it, be
realistic about it. There are going to
be times that you just want to give
up. We want to inspire hope and to
keep pushing on.
In terms of your creative writing
process, how does that work for you
both, who does what?
It's changed over the years.
Sometimes we jam and something
with a half-idea, or a verse and chorus. We will take an idea that is bare bones and experiment and
see what we can do with it. Every once in a while there are songs that we will really like and decide
to keep.
Do you both contribute to the lyrics?
Ross does the lyrics part of it and he is really good. I am not a writer per say. I am a good reader.
(laughs) I get the gist of what he is trying to convey and what he sees as the vision of a song. I will
then try and put my spin on it. I think we mesh really well when it comes to getting the music together.
Lyrically, Ross is the man and it takes a special gift to do it well.
As a song writer, do you like to write about experiences you've had, fiction or a mix of both?
It’s a mix. Sometimes our songs are about specific people, or specific situations in our lives.
Sometimes a song just writes itself, you know, based on the type of day you're having, or the emotion
you have at the time. Then you have songs that might mean more to you long after you write it. Like it
becomes part of your life experience, when you may have thought it wasn't.
What was he inspiration for
"Remnants"?
A lot of our songs are about
relationships. With "Remnants,"
personally I have not experienced this
exact situation. But I was thinking
about selfishness and consideration
and how those two things play into
relationships. It is a pretty simple song
to grasp, but it’s deeper at the same
time. The singer in the song is in the
position where he or she is desperate
for help. They are singing to a
separate person who can help them
through a situation. The second
person has given up and the song
becomes about double-edged
selfishness. Sometimes we ask too
much of other people to help in our
situations. And sometimes we are in a
position to help someone, but we are
too selfish to do it. The ironic part is
that the song is a happy sounding
song. It's an Everclear thing where we
sound really happy but the song is
relationships. A huge part of any relationship is to be able to put yourself in the other someone else’s
shoes.
How is the new full length album going? Is there a name for it yet?
We’re still in the planning stages of the album at this point. It is probably 80% written right now, and
we’re already doing a lot of the songs live. Hopefully by the end of winter we'll be in production.
Although it could change at any moment, an album name I like right now is "Take Heart, Hold On." It's
a line from our song "Strange," but it has many meanings, and fits our content really well.
What can fans expect from the new album in comparison to your previous releases?
Well, our demo is the only thing we have out
now. We're still very satisfied with the way it
represents our music. The album will be a little
deeper musically. The songs we have written
since definitely are more interesting in the way
they play out. Of course, we'll always write the
three-and-a-half minute songs that stick in your
head, but some of the songs will also be like
journeys. Those songs will end up in a different
place than where they start.
It will definitely be deeper musically. The demo
was done early on. Since then, we have a better
feel of our style, and the songs have grown. The
album will have more depth.
Where do you want to see your band go from
here?
Everywhere possible. We have learned to be
very thankful about our opportunities. The way
we look at it, people are already listening to our
music, and that's more than we can ask for. At
the same time, we'd love to see it go big places.
The goal is to spread out more. We’ve played a few places, and they’ve been great places, but we
really want to continually expand our audience and play for as many diverse groups of people as
possible.
Here is the fishbowl question:
What did the 'Godfather of Soul', James Brown mean to you?
You know, I didn't listen to a lot of James Brown. However, I can absolutely appreciate his passion
and his artistry. About a month before now, before he died, I saw an old clip of a live performance. He
was sweating buckets, but his body kept moving, and he was 110% into his music. He was a cool
guy.
His passion stands out to me. Everything he did, he did with so much passion, so much energy. He
certainly gave all he had, and it showed. Everyone should put that sort of passion into their music.
Go to:
www.myspace.com/glasspalace
