March 2nd, 2013 
Brian Leak 
UTG is pleased to bring you this exclusive interview with New York City’s talented art rock outfit, Changing Modes!
Founder, Wendy Griffiths, took some time to speak with us about their fifth studio album, In Flight, their unique sound, and what has kept them moving forward for the better half of two decades. So read through, enjoy, and get familiar with Changing Modes.
First off, can you explain where you’re based out of and how you all came together as a band?
Late one night, a friend of mine knocked on my practice room door and suggested we go see a Soul Coughing show at the Cooler on 14th Street. That reignited my interest in rock music, so right away I started writing in that genre. Yuzuru, my guitarist, found tapes of the songs and liked them so we decided to put a band together to play out. I heard Grace singing back-ups at a CD release, and she had this radiance about her when she sang. Jen was my student and I knew she played theremin and because I know The Pixies had used theremin I thought it could add a cool dimension to the sound. David was a friend of Jon Mele who had been our previous drummer and had played on our EPs and first album and Jon recommended him when he had to move to Ireland. Now, we have Timur Yusef on drums who works so well with our sound!
You have an impressive variety of styles in your sound. Who/what are some of your most important influences?
The Zombies and the Dave Clark Five has vocal arrangements that I love. Zappa, The Violent Femmes and Sparks are also favorites. I recently discovered Rodriguez, who I heard live and was totally blown away by. Bartok and Bach are influences from the orchestral genre. I tend to listen to things that are a bit off the wall and obscure, like The Pixies, The Residents and The Modern Lovers.
What themes would you say are prevalent in your lyrics?
Technology and its discontents. Transformation, not “buying into” an increasingly conformist and monetized world. Responsibility to something larger than the self. David Lynch films. My cat, Louise.
What were your goals and main focus when beginning work on In Flight? Did the record ultimately become what you had envisioned?
We wanted to include songs written by Jen and Grace, which we did. David and I had both lost a parent that year so the song “In Flight” was written as a tribute to them. In particular, to my father, who had always said how he wanted to come back as a seagull. In this record, I was trying to push the envelope of dissonance and chromaticism within a rock music framework. Sort of an advanced Ear Training course for head bangers. In that the album was a success.
Any other particular songs off the album that hold a more personal weight for you?
“Firewall,” which was inspired by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. “Life Drawing” was the last song we recorded and one we play out a lot. “Ghost in the Backseat” is also personal. You know how the car speakers sound like they’re in the backseat, so that song came about because I was playing the CD she sang on and thought “There’s a ghost in the back-seat of the car!”
What are your favorite songs to play live from In Flight?
“Down to You” is really fun to play, and so is “Life Drawing” and “Firewall.”
How would you say the album differs from your previous releases?
It is more diverse, stylistically. We never used Latin rhythms before. We wrote “Professional Girl” while we were In Washington, DC doing a show with Alma Tropicalia, a psychedelic Brazilian band. I had already started the song and in DC we added the Montuno section that closes the piece. Also there are songs on the CD that are really art songs, like “In Flight” and “Firewall.”
I see that you have some one-off shows coming up. Any full touring plans in the works?
We are working on a west coast tour, which would include Vancouver. I would love to get us playing in the UK. There are some amazing bands from Ireland that we have played with in NYC that we’d really like to play again with.
Have you begun work on your next album?
I have about 25 songs finished. Regina Spektor talks about how she has internment camps of songs and when it comes time to record a CD, she makes painful decisions about which ones to “let out.” I think most songwriters are very familiar with this experience. As far as actual recorded tracks, we have basic tracks down for one song so far called “250 Smiles” and that’s it right now.
This whole project technically started in the 90s from what I’ve gathered. What has kept Changing Modes together as a band for such a long time?
Yuzuru and I are trained classical composers, therefore we have song-craft skills from having written extensively in the concert music genre. This is a great help. Also personnel changes have allowed us (actually forced us) to change up the sound, so it stays fresh.
What is the next big goal for Changing Modes?
We’d love to be at the movies, at a great indie film and hear one of our songs playing as they roll the credits.
If you were to quit music altogether tomorrow, what would you regret that you had never accomplished?
That we did not get the chance do a show with a full orchestra.
Interview written and conducted by: Brian Lion – Follow him on Twitter
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