A Classic Education Interview: SXSW 2010

Extensive touring throughout Italy and the UK, interrupted briefly by their maiden voyage to the U.S. for shows in NYC and Austin, TX at SXSW, allowed A Classic Education (Bologna, Italy) to perfect their live performances yet still explore the individual elements of their sound. The six-piece band led by singer-guitarist Jonathan Clancy returns to SXSW with a March 18th showcase at Friends, armed with just a taxi cab phone number, and in search of the perfect margarita.

Describe your sound.

We started out a few years ago with a more orchestral sound. We're adding a lot of elements -- violins, cello and organs -- and we've evolved over the last couple years because we wanted to steer away from the epic, grander sound. We like it, but it seemed a lot of bands are doing that and we didn't want to get lumped in with them. We still have those elements live, but our violin player has been trading his violin for other stuff; he's been playing theremin and these little noise boxes. We still have an organ but it's filtered through pedals and effects.

How did your band form?

I'm Canadian but I've been living in Italy for a long time. We were all playing in different bands for years and Paul, Luca and I wanted to start something that had a more traditional way of songwriting. We were really sick of practicing in rehearsal rooms where everything is really loud, and we wanted to focus on each element separately, so we set it up where we could practice the songs at home. Maybe start on the acoustic and then bring it to the others in the band and arrange it.

What are your musical influences?

I think we all grew up listening to '90s American bands. I've been listening to a lot of '60s music recently -- psychedelic, pop and a lot of female voices like Skeeter Davis. Motown, Phil Spector ... it's really varied. A few people in the band are into the Canadian Constellation scene, so everyone brings in a different sensibility.

How did you come up with your band name?

In Italy, there are different high schools -- scientific high scools, classical high schools; you decide early on which school you want to go to, and some of us did go to a classical high school where you study, for example, Latin. So it felt right. And we really liked having the "A" in front instead of the "The." It helps out in lists.

This is your 2nd trip to SXSW. What's in your festival survival kit?

We definitely need a good margarita recipe. We're really big fans of margaritas and tequila. I guess that's it. Oh, and a taxi cab phone number.

Beatles or Stones?

I'm a Stones fan just for their energy. Out of the six of us, there are probably more Beatles fans, so you better write that or they'll get pissed off.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

In a previous band, we toured Germany and we played a squat that had no lights, no electricity and no running water. We were playing and the lights went out, because they were running a generator that ran out of gas, so they had to go downtown 40 miles away to get gas so we could finish the three songs in our set.

What's behind your appreciation for older genres and classic covers?

Doing those covers was a great way to learn about different techniques of recording and helped us understand what we wanted to do as a band. I'm really a music freak. I want to know everything, so if I pull out the Phil Spector, then I want to know everything about him. I'll go buy every single record and listen to the production. I bought a compilation with a lot of Phil Spector produced songs; at the end he's playing 'Spanish Harlem,' just guitar and voice. I know the other versions, like Aretha Franklin's, but hadn't really noticed them; when I heard his version I thought, wow, what a great song. 'Toi' is a French song from a '60s Italian movie. Gilbert Becaud sings it in Italian with a really bad French accent, and I thought it would be fun to sing it in English.

Where do you see the future of your instrumentation?

Now we're starting to focus on giving space to each other because there are six of us, and the first stuff that was coming out was always a full-on blast. Now we know each other better, so we're learning to leave space for each other.

Live performance vs. the studio: Are there elements of either that drive the band? Are you driven by the creation and production or the performance of a song?

I think we're really driven by both. Having six people in the band helps out live because if you're not feeling it one night, there are five others who are, which helps transcend and connect with people and is really important. You have to be good live. But I'm a big fan of studio. I just love recording and finding new ways to capture a voice or add all the different sounds, especially because there are so many of us.

Were your expectations of SXSW 2009 met?

We wanted to start trying to do everything as DIY as possible, so we setup for SXSW last year by just finding shows. We did a few shows in New York before that. We tried to do it without having anyone else involved. So our expectations were met, obviously, because we weren't really expecting anything. I think we were lucky; we made a good choice to play the shows in New York just a weekend before that because those types of shows carry some momentum into SXSW. This year, we kind of know the back roads and how it all works, and even as just spectators, we know where the good shows are.

What web resources do you use to discover new music?

I'm a big reader of music blogs. There are ten or fifteen I really go to hear new stuff, and in the last couple of years, I've narrowed it down to four or so: Transparent Blog, Weekly Tape Deck, Pinglewood and Said the Gramaphone. I think the blog world is very democratic.

What's next?

We just demoed a bunch of songs and signed a management deal with Banter. I'm really excited because they manage a few bands that we're into. We definitely want to record a full length album by summer.


Eric Gage is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.