The UT San Diego spoke with The Narrative in a interview talking about the band's name, the meaning of The Narrative, the first ideas of band names, the people that told them to give up on music, also talking about their releases, such as 'Just Say Yes' and the uppcoming studio album 'The Narrative'.
Update: The UT San Diego interview is available now through the WebArchive. You can also read the full post below.
 |
| The Narrative in 2010, Charlie Seich, Suzie Zeldin and Jesse Gabriel |
CALIFORNIAN: The Narrative intend to tell a tale
By Erika Sorocco - For The Californian, NOV. 24, 2010
Everyone has a story to tell, whether it's the result of a long existence spent wandering the world like a nomad, or consists of a short-lived adventure with a close friend. New York-based Jesse Gabriel, Suzie Zeldin, and Charles Seich are no different.
The only minor variation between the trio and many others is the fact that instead of keeping these stories as memories. Two-and-a-half years ago they made the decision to share them and themselves with the world through music via The Narrative.
"We came up with the name while we were recording the 'Just Say Yes EP,'" said keyboardist and vocalist Suzie Zeldin. "At one point, we had put together a list of random band names, mostly from literary terms, poems, or song lyrics we liked and sent them around to our friends. For a short time, we settled on January Window which is from a Sylvia Plath poem. We ended up not liking it after a while and revisited the list and found The Narrative Paradigm which seemed a little wordy and pretentious so we shortened it to The Narrative. We decided it was a good name and have been happy with it.
"Someone even tried to convince us to give it up a few years ago because they wanted it and were going to be super ultra famous. We though it was a sort of funny that they would say that and we obviously said no. Wonder what they are up to now?"
Hailing from Bellmore, New York (Zelden and Gabriel) and East Meadow, New York (Seich) ---- the trio had a slightly surprising matter of meeting. Though Zelden and Gabriel had actually attended the same high school, during their time there, they were somewhat unaware of one another's existence. It wasn't until Craigslist brought them together that the connection (and the musical ensemble) was officially established.
"I don't know if we necessarily have expectations, but we definitely have aspirations," Gabriel said. "The music industry is a pretty bleak place these days. If we could continue making good music, maybe get some licensing deals set in place, and be able to make a living doing music related things exclusively, we'd all be pretty happy."
The Narrative play Friday at The Vault in Temecula, alongside The Secret Handshake, A Cursive Memory, Speak, We Are the Arsenal, and Me & The City. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show is open to all ages. Upcoming shows include Chain Reaction in Anaheim on Saturday and the Troubadour in West Hollywood on Sunday.
"People can expect a pretty energetic set, mostly featuring songs from our recently released full length," Seich said. "They can also expect a lot of eye contact between band mates, some awkward banter between songs and Suzie in a cute dress. We are friendly people and love meeting our fans. The other night I saw a girl in the audience who sang along to every word of every song but never came up to us and introduced herself or said hello.
"Just because you've heard about us on a website or in a magazine does not change the fact that we are still a very small band and are very humble about the position that we're in. We love talking to our fans, finding out how they first heard of us, what their favorite songs are, etc. We also give very good hugs."
The Narrative with The Secret Handshake, A Cursive Memory, Speak, We Are the Arsenal, and Me & The City
6:30 p.m. Nov. 26
The Vault, 41607 Enterprise Circle North, Temecula
