Email Interview: Range Life

photo used with permission of Range Life

As readers of this blog may know, I've been a fan of the local band Range Life for a while.  Their Crazy Horse-meets-Velvets sound made them stand out among groups in this area.  I did an email interview with them back in July, but I held off on publishing it due to their going on hiatus. It feels bittersweet to publish it now: the band's leader, Ben Turner, confirmed recently that they'll play their last show on 11/10 opening for Roomrunner at the Red Room.  Still, I thought that I should finally put this out there if only to commemorate this group's existence.  I wish the members of Range Life all the best in their future endeavors.

Here's the interview:

Let's start with the basics.  Who does what in your current lineup?

Ben Turner--Guitar, vocals
Eamonn Parke--Drums
Andrew Haffner--Bass, vocals
Nat Cummings--Guitar

Where does the name Range Life come from?  What does it mean?

"Range Life" is a song by the band Pavement.  We chose that as the name of our band because it describes a feeling or wishful desire we hope to achieve.

How did you get started making music?

With the exception of Eamonn, we all started playing music in our early teen years.

Who are some of your musical influences?  How did you find them?

Neil Young, Velvet Underground, Thee Oh Sees, Black Mountain.  Most of the music we've been influenced by has just been through sharing with friends.

Have you been in any bands before Range Life?  How did all of you start playing together?

With the exception of Eamonn we've all been in several other bands.  Andrew and I have played together before in the bands With Child and Great Western.  Nat has been in an immesurable amount of bands.

Describe your creative process.  Does one person come in with a preconceived idea or do you jam and see what you come up with?

At the beginning, we were just playing old songs of Ben's, but more recently, we have begun to all work together in the creative process.

What are your plans for the future (touring, recording, etc.)?

We hope to do things like tour and record and grow, but we'll just have to see where things go.

Is there anything you'd like to say to readers/listeners out there?

Thanks for listening.  Hope to see you!