FEATURE BAND: Empires - Interview With Ryan Luciani

Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Empires is an alternative-rock ensemble like you've never heard before. The band was formed in 2007 by lyricist/frontman Sean Van Vleet and rhythm guitarist Tom Conrad (formerly of the Academy Is...), and quickly picked up lead guitarist Max Steger and drummer Ryan Luciani.

I’ve always had some trouble trying to describe Empires in a way that isn’t, well, embarrassingly fannish, so to keep it as simple as possible, Empires is “rock ‘n roll”. Their sound is gritty, hard hitting, unique, and honest in a way the music industry hasn’t seen in a long time. Theirs is the kind of music that crawls under your skin, that will leave you tapping out riffs and beats with your fingertips for days.  Their songs range from melodic, haunting ballads to grungy and serrated anthems, but the transition is never awkward. Sean’s lyrics are eloquent and narrative; complimented perfectly by his soulful wail and by the fusion of raw talent and innovation brought in by the other members.

Empires’ first full-length album Howl was released in 2007, available for free download on their website. It would seem that making a profit was never a priority, the most important thing here is to get the music out there; for their sound to be appreciated as they have appreciated so many other musicians. They got their wish: so far Howl has been downloaded somewhere around 70,000 times.

Since their debut, Empires have been busy. After Howl the band released Bang- a full length EP with just as much, if not more kick than its predecessor and Darko; a set of two limited edition B-sides. They’ve been touring and recording almost non-stop, took the summer to participate in Rolling Stone’s Choose the Cover contest, and are set to release their next studio album (tentatively titled Garage Hymns) some time this year.

This week I got a chance to talk to Ryan Luciani about music, being in a band, and life on the road.

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What do you think is the most important part of the whole musical process? A lot goes into being a band; between writing, touring, recording, what do you think is the most vital to the survival of a band?

RYAN LUCIANI: I think the most important part is getting your music out there, making sure you’re heard. I think that’s my favourite part. A lot of the music industry nowadays is word of mouth so it’s really important to be making music and getting it out there for people to hear, whether it’s touring or making it available or whatever.

Tom (rhythm guitarist and founding member) has mentioned on twitter that he's moving to NYC. Is the rest of the band staying in Chicago, and are you at all worried that having the band members split up across the country will have an effect on the band?

RL: No, the rest of the band is staying in Chicago. It’s not that expensive of a plane ticket, it’s not that far of a flight, so I don’t think it’ll have any kind of effect on us. Mostly we want to be touring a lot anyways so as long as we’re all in the same place in that respect I don’t see it being a problem.

How did the Rolling Stone Choose the Cover contest effect the band? Do you find that more people know who you are now?

RL: We were in Rolling Stone? What? What contest? [laughs] No, yeah, I think that for sure that was something I can walk away from being glad we did it. When we were in it or afterwards we’d have people write us and say “Oh I heard about you from that contest!” and I definitely think it was a good thing for us.

As a drummer, which song do you have the most fun playing?

RL: What Empires song? Well it’s actually- it’s a song we’re not playing yet, off of the new album. I can’t tell you too much, I don’t want to give away any track names because nothing’s for sure yet but it’s definitely what they call a “barn burner”.

What do you guys do to take your mind off of all the time driving on the road?

RL: We listen to a lot of music, for sure. Then when we get bored of music we listen to NPR, American Life you know. Tom’s got an app on his phone so that’s entertaining. People sleep. People read. It gets hard sometimes, everyone gets kind of sick of it but we all like moving so that helps, we all love it.

What’s your favourite album to listen to while you’re driving?

RL: I don’t think I have a favourite album! We just listen to so much music, that’s just what I do, that I don’t think I have an actual favourite album. Maybe I should get one, just start playing it all the time. Drive the other guys crazy.

What can you tell us about the new album? How do you feel about it?

RL: I’m excited for it. I think it’s the closest to showing how we really are as a band, how we play live, so I’m excited for it. It’s real. I know the other guys feel the same way.

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?  Is there anything you’d like to say to people who maybe want to do what you do but aren’t sure how to go about it?

RL: Yeah, just do as much as you can on your own. What’s really great about us is that we all kind of have creative things to bring to the table; photography, film, and I think that that really helps. We all work together that way. With the music industry now a lot of it is just working your way from the bottom up so it’s definitely hard but you have to do as much as you can on your own. Practice, go out and play shows and if it isn’t good go home and practice and do it again until it is.

RL: We’re actually at home again now. It’s weird, I’m kind of starting to go crazy [...] It is an adjustment because you go from being on the road all the time and always moving to just kind of “What the hell am I supposed to do now?” [laughs]  But I love it, you have to love it for it to work otherwise you’d just lose your mind.

Be sure to check out weareempires.com for tour dates, info and music. You can download a free copy of their debut album here.