As the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens. So it has been for A Nighttime Skyway. Since the band’s birth a mere six months ago, it has been constant gigging and recording, culminating in their debut full length CD, First Day On A Brand New Planet. Reverb caught up with drummer Cooper Jitts to find out want it has been like within the band’s whirlpool.
You have only been together for 6 months, and you now have your debut CD available. What’s the big rush?
We really are in no rush, we’re ready to pay our dues at local venues and clubs. It’s just that with things like writing and recording and stuff there wasn’t really any need for us to take like two years to produce our first album. The right opportunity came up, so we took it. Now we’re ready to move onto the next phase.
Do you guys have a history in other bands before A Nighttime Skyway?
Yeah, we all played together in My Afterthought, with the exception of John (McAleer, bass), he was in a band down in Sydney. He moved to the Coast to play with us. Jake (Forrest, guitar) and I have been friends since birth, and I’ve known Matt (Bones, vocals) for a long time, so we are a fairly family-orientated band.
The album is called First Day On A Brand New Planet. Where did the title come from?
To be really honest, we ripped it straight out of a TV show. (laughs). But I guess we all just felt it really reflected where we are at with this band. This release is the first batch of songs we ever wrote together in this format. And it really is like being on a new planet – that is the band lifestyle I guess. Between touring, recording and writing there is a lot of new places and emotions almost every day of the year. Almost like being on a brand new planet every day?
Where were the recordings done, and did you get some help in the studio?
We had a guy from Sydney by the name of Shaun Pretorius work with us. He is a songwriter with his band, so he helped us with a lot of the production. We had a fairly minimal budget so we did the drums in our practice space, and most of the guitars down in Shaun’s apartment. Vocals were at our bass player, John’s house. We initially went in with the impression of a bunch of high quality demos coming out for us to work with, but we were stoked on the sounds Shaun was getting, so we decided to churn out a full length.
What was the experience like, recording the debut CD?
It was really cool, actually. We were really blessed in the sense that we had put a fair amount of time into pre–production. The last six months basically. So it went fairly smoothly. We all took a couple of days off from our day jobs here and there and just chilled with Shaun. It was quite a relaxing time really.
What was the biggest lesson you learnt from the recording process that will help you next time?
Don’t be afraid to be picky. We smashed it all out pretty quickly. Particularly in relation to the drums and bass, and we are stoked on the result, but I guess there is always room for improvements.
When will the CD be available and how can we get our hands on it?
The artwork and pressing are being wrapped up right now. We should have it available at shows from mid November. We are also gonna be getting it into an online store, of sorts, real soon.
For a young band, you are also one of the hardest working. What do you love about getting up on stage and playing live?
Thanks dude! For me, getting to hang out with new people all the time is always a lot of fun. There is nothing in the world like the feeling of smashing out a solid set to an appreciative crowd. We’re looking forward to these shows that are starting to creep up on us, so we can really get a chance to test the songs out live. I guess at the end of the day I am just stoked Jesus lets me do this. There’s nothing in the world any of us would rather be doing.