Indie Band Sister City Strives for Honest Music
Suite 101 Interviews Vocalist Adam Linder
May 25, 2009
Suite101 recently interviewed front-man Adam Linder of Sister City.
Sister City
Before the formation of the band Sister City, vocalist Adam Linder and drummer Daniel Abzug were already making and releasing music together. In April of 2008 the pair released an Adam Linder album entitled Burning Up. But, when the summer of 2008 hit the two were starting to form more of a band than just a solo project. They needed a name.
Linder came up with the name Sister City as he drove around his hometown of Maryland delivering pizzas.
"There are signs scattered around the town proclaiming our sister city is Pinneberg Germany which means apparently we have some sort of sociopolitical allegiance with some small town in Germany. The idea of it fascinated me and it stuck as a band name," Linder said.
A Lyrical Voice
Gathering his musical influences from singer/songwriters such as Kevin Devine, and Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull, Linder now feels after several years he has solidified his own lyrical voice.
"When I first started writing songs for this band I wanted to write one song as good as Kevin Devine. That was all I wanted to do," Linder said.
Linder says that he looks up to other bands to motivate Sister City's musical arrangements, and it is this that has inspired the string quartet on the bands' recent The Clark EP.
Linder also admits that his music is all autobiographical.
"The lyrics are just as autobiographical as you can get. It's all I know how to do. I tried a couple that weren't but they didn't sound right. They sounded out of my voice, it was weird. To that end though, I am not this wreck of a human being that my lyrics make me out to be," Linder said.
Honesty is the Best Policy
When it comes to what Linder thinks makes Sister City different as a band he says that he feels they are an honest group of people. Linder notes that the bands honesty can be found in their music and lyrics.
"We are not playing pop-punk because that is what's in. We are not playing screamo," Linder says adding "we just try to play what we want to play making our own sound along the way."
Linder does admit that the music scene in Maryland doesn't really exist, according to Linder the overall idea is "every band for themselves" type of feeling versus an actual community.
"When you've got a community it doesn't matter if the venues won't book you. You make your own shows and your own scene," Linder said.
Free Music
Sister City's major goal is just to "live the dream" according to Linder and to be able to tour the country playing music for anyone who will listen.
First though, the band has several goals for the rest of the year including releasing a full length album and doing some touring.
"We'll do a full length (album) and a couple of EPs over the course of 2009. I'd like to be able to release a full length and scattered EPs every year for the rest of my life," Linder said.
As for touring Sister City hopes to be getting around the D.C. area as well as the East Coast very soon.
"(We're) taking baby steps, we believe that we've got songs that separate us from the pack no matter how long it takes," Linder said.
Linder also says that Sister City hopes to get their music out there, even if that means giving it away for free.
"We believe all music should be free, so everything we've done is available for free."
To check out Sister City visit their myspace page at www.myspace.com/sistercityband
Or check out Sister City on Youtube www.youtube.com/user/sistercityband
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