Lobsterfest 2014: Small Steps
By Zack Baker, Editorial Director
They've been kickin' around the Athens scene for a few years at this point, and this year's Lobsterfest Aftershow marks their last show here. We sat down with Grant Engstrom and Drew Davis of Small Steps to talk about a whole treasure trove of topics including their soon-to-be-released album, their pasts with Lobsterfest and how they're planning on making sure they close out the festival with a bang.
So hey, you’re Small Steps. Well at least, two-thirds of Small Steps. How’s that going?
Drew Davis: It’s going great.
Grant Engstrom: It’s been at a standstill for a little bit, At least with some of the stuff.
DD: We’re hittin’ a junction here.
You guys went up to Chicago to record a little while ago-
GE: Over Spring Break.
Yeah, what’s the status of that right now?
GE: Well, it’s not ready for release yet.
DD: We want it to sound really good for everybody’s ears.
Really good?
DD: Super good.
GE: It’s just not where we want it to be yet. And it hasn’t really been worked on much… People are just busy.
Are you just in the process of mixing and mastering, or are you planning on re-recording anything?
GE: No, we can’t re-record anything. What we got is what we got, but that’s all good. There’s a lot of the mixes that sound really good, but it just doesn’t sound like what we wanted it to.
DD: The vibe--
GE: Or, we’re just getting a second opinion on it.
DD: Yeah. Like when you go to a doctor and they tell you that you have cancer and you go to a second doctor and they’re like no you don't? That’s kind of what we’re doing now.
What else have you guys been working on since then, other than just trying to figure that whole thing out?
GE: Just that. Also playing shows and trying to figure out a name for the album.
You got any contenders yet?
DD: We gonna drop the album name in the interview?!
GE: No, we’re not. It’s not ready for that yet.
DD: Not at that stage?
GE: We gotta have the whole package ready, set up to go, before we get that name out there.
What about some names that you passed on?
DD: Seven.
GE: At one point I was thinking about calling it Etourniquet.
Like eternity and tourniquet mixed?
GE: Yeah, you get it.
So it’s Lobsterfest this weekend…
GE: You bet your bottom dollar it is.
How many Lobsterfests have you guys played now? Grant I feel like you’ve played every Lobsterfest since you’ve been here.
GE: No… two? Well… We played last year… I guess three. Difficult Dogs played that one year, we played last year right?
DD: Mhm.
Didn’t you play with Sure Plus one year?
GE: Yeah, you’re right. Sure Plus played. And… did we play last year?
DD: Yeah we played last year.
GE: Where?
DD: At The Union. No? Yeah, it was at the Union. We’re on that flyer. [referring to a Lobsterfest 2013 flyer on the wall]
GE: So this will be my third.
DD: This’ll be my second. But really, third, because I played twice last year. [laughs]
What do you think about Lobsterfest this year?
GE: I think Goochi Shane [Riley] did a bang up job with Lobsterfest this year.
DD: I’m proud to be on this bill.
GE: I’m really proud of the work Shane Riley put into Lobsterfest.
DD: I’m also really proud to play this Lobsterfest because the lineup is so spectacular, and it’s a good way to go out.
GE: I think it’s the best Lobsterfest in the past 14 years.
DD: 14 huh?
GE: How long’s it been going on?
I think we've only been doing it since around 2006.
[Both laugh]
But I guess it still could technically be the best one in 14 years.
DD: I don’t think the next six years could top this year, this year’s really good.
Who are you most looking forward to?
GE: I’m really excited to see everybody.
DD: Yeah.
GE: But I love watching the (New England) Patriots, and I can’t wait to see Dust From 1,000 Yrs.
DD: Yeah, Dust From 1,000 Yrs is really good. I think the two bands that stand out in my mind, that I really wanna see are Kal Marks-
GE: Kal Marks, they rock it. Saw them at the Union once.
DD: Yeah, really excited to see the rock ‘n’ roll show they’re about to put on. Also really excited to see Grin and Bear It too.
This is sort of the end of college for you guys, what’s going to happen with Small Steps after this?
GE: Well we will not..
DD: Be playing shows.
GE: We will not. We’ll be in different places. But I guess we’re still a band until we put that album out. Or maybe…
Is it a post-break up album?
GE: Do we stop being a band when we decide we can’t play together any more? Is that the point where you decide you can’t be a band any more? It’s just—everyone’s going to be in different places. Is that when you call it quits? Or do you sit on something, you sit on that record, but you know you can’t play shows so what’s the point of being a band? You know? [Both laugh]
DD: We’re gonna have a long distance band-ship.
GE: We’ll go back and forth about what we wanna do with the album.
DD: Yeah, like, until the album drops and until-
GE: I don’t want us to say “drops.”
DD: Well then, okay, after we release the album-
GE: We’re not “droppin’” it.
Are you gently pushing it out into the sea on some sort of boat? What kind of metaphor are we talking about here?
GE: I don’t know, we're like… returning from space with this album. [Both laugh]
DD: It did kind of feel like we were in space those few days in Chicago. It was fun being in space. [laughs] Once the “mothership” lands on earth, we’ll decide what we’re gonna do with the band.
What are your personal plans after graduation?
GE: I plan on moving to Chicago and working there.
DD: I don’t know, it’s all kind of up in the air. I might go back home and work for a few months and decide I wanna go out to Chicago. Or I could move out to somewhere like Colorado, or maybe I’ll move back home and move to Cleveland or something. I’m really excited to see where we go. I know Grant’s gonna start a new band, and I’ll book them when they go on a tour through wherever I’m at and just kick it with the boys. I’ll probably keep playing music wherever I go and who knows, maybe someday we can reconnect and get Small Steps going.
GE: But it’d be under a different name.
DD: It’d be under a different name but it’d be the same thing.
You guys are the last band playing Lobsterfest this year, that’s a hefty responsibility. Any special surprises?
GE: That’s what I hear. Based on the official lineup from Goochi Shane [Riley] on Facebook, online.
DD: We’re gonna bring it, we’re gonna rip it. We’re going to rip the Skull to shreds.
GE: Why do you think they even call it the Skull? You can’t play the Skull unless you’re gonna rip it to shreds.
DD: That show’s gonna be a banger too.
DD: I’m really excited to play at the Skull. I’m really excited that our last show in Athens is gonna be at the Skull.
GE: Small Steps has played a good amount of shows at the Skull.
DD: Everyone is always there to rock out, and drink some Skull Ale.
GE: That’s very cohesive. Rock music, the Skull, Skull Ale, head bangin’. It’s all there. Four out of four Skulls at the bar.
You playing the new songs there?
GE: We’re just playing the album.
DD: You’re gonna be hearing the album in it’s entirety there.
Have you guys done that yet?
GE: Yeah, we’ve played it in it’s entirety probably three times.
DD: But never to a lot of people.
GE: Here, we’ll give you a little hint, a little teaser to the album. It’s like 17 minutes long.
DD: How many tracks?
GE: 11 tracks.
DD: 11 tracks in 17 minutes. You heard it here.
Sounds like a real barn burner of an album.
GE: You could say that. Maybe that’s what we’ll call it.
I want some credit, if that’s what it end up being.
DD: But that kind of sounds like an attack on farmers.
GE: Or Amish people. I’m from Amish country.
This is probably your last ACRN interview, any last words?
GE: I’ve never been on a shuffle. [Both laugh]
