How are you?

Craig Schmidt (vocals): I'm super, thanks for asking.

Jeremy Whitwam (guitar): Good, thank you.

Andy LeRoy (drums): Hanging in there.

Chris Muffet (bass): The dude abides.

When did you first become interested in music?

Jeremy: One of the many 80's Tour Of Duty kids that heard Paint it Black at a young age. In high school I found out who played it, discovered the Stones and Beatles and it was all over.

Craig: As a listener, about 5 years old. As a creative outlet, maybe 20.

Chris: When I was 6 I started playing violin, so that got me going in music. But I would say when I started playing guitar at 13 was when I "officially" became interested in music.

What was the first band or musical project you were ever involved in?

Jeremy: Bandsaw By Default, formed for one show at Caledonia High Schools talent show in 1995. Featured Craig Schmidt on vocals, Steve Schmidt on guitar, Benji Lillie on Drums, and Brian Carter on bass. Songs included Paint it Black, Under My Thumb and Back in the USSR.

Craig: The Shoes or The South.

Chris: When I was a sophomore in high school, I was in a band with a couple friends, nothing serious. I think we played one show or something. Choir was during my senior year, if you can call that a musical project. But my first real experience was with Rosetta.

Two Stones and a Beatle, impressive. How did that show fair?

Craig: I don't remember really. I was very, very nervous. I drank beer in the bathroom to calm down.

Jeremy: Its a blur actually. Very worried about the parts of the songs. I remember Paint it Black went okay. Craig said I 'nailed' the solo on Back in the USSR...

Do you recall the first song you ever wrote, tell us about it?

Craig: Everybody's Got a Jenny. With Steve. It has a weird rhythm on the verses and an awesome chorus if you ask me. I want to do it live someday especially if we need a sludge rock song for some reason.

Jeremy: Take a Look At Yourself, with some help from Steve. It was about feelings, something I will never do again. Luckily Steve remembered it and put it on The North album to embarrass me.

How has you're own interest in creating music changed how you view other songs or bands?

Craig: It has changed, would take me a week to figure out exactly how and explain it though.

Jeremy: It definetely makes you appreciate music that you maybe otherwise would not have. I think its tough (or should be) for anyone who tries to write songs to make fun of a song with a good melody, even if it isn't your style. Maybe Achy Breaky Heart is the one exception to this.

Who supplied the beer, since you were in High School at the time?

Craig: Karl Hofmann's step dad, unwittingly.

Jeremy: The same guy who shows us around in New Orleans all the time. I think we were past High School actually, but Benji and Steve were still in.

Do you still have a copy of your first song recorded on some format or another?

Jeremy: As far as Craig and I recording together it was a cover of Sweet Virginia done on a cassette 4 track. And a song called Zhe Gratto Seins, losely based on Darth Maul's theme from Star Wars Episode I. This was in early 2000, and most likely lead to the idea of making the wedding-present album that started The South.

Craig: I might somewhere, not positive. But I am sure Jeremy does so I don't worry about keeping track of that stuff ha ha.

What was your first experience with recording you're own music?

Jeremy: In the songs described above we tried to fit as much as we could onto the four tracks we had, so we would each play at least one or two instruments for each track, recording at the same time. We probably got this method from our first ever experiences recording, which were lead by Steve (The Shoes, back in mid-late 90's). He started with just a cassette recorder, and would position a bunch of players around the room and do a song live. He really had a nack for getting a cool sound out of that set-up. He would sit closest to the boom box and do the lead vocals, rhythm guitar, I would usually do lead guitar (I was ripping it up from jamming with Andy so much, heh heh), Craig would play bass and sing harmonies. Either Benji Lillie or sister Ann would do percusion/drums.

Eventually Steve got a four track and did the real deal, with drums, bass, vocals, etc. Recorded in Lillie's apartment in Ann Arbor on a winter break. He did maybe ten or eleven of his own songs, they turned out awesome. Lofi, but an amazing feel to them. Any songs that I ever help put down I try to get that sort of energy in them. Not an easy task though.

Craig: Jeremy did most of the work apart from me demoing my own ideas. When we started I couldn't sing and play guitar at the same time, much less figure out how to multi track. So I just sat around and played Bond while he did the work HA HA HA.

I've witnessed your creative input Craig (read as playing Bond) while Jeremy does the technical side of recording, do you not have an interest in the technical aspect of the music?

Jeremy: Luckily he seems to have very little interest in it, it keeps us honest.

What was the first instrument you bought for yourself or were given as a gift?

Jeremy: In the summer of 1995 I was given a guitar by a friend Marcus Mead. He helped me learn some Beatles and Stones stuff too. Within the same summer I bought a blue japanese guitar used and gave the original guitar back. So I didn't actually have it very long.

Craig: I bought a now unusable strat rip-off and amp in some three-way deal involving a Peavey and something else. It cost me $50.

Chris: I was given a violin when I was 6, then a harmonica when I was 11, and finally bought my own guitar when I was 14. Woohoo!

How does the writing process work for Charlie Don't Shake since one half is in Chicago and the other half is in Lansing?

Craig: A lot of weekend trips, tapes and CDs sent back and forth. We will leave song ideas on answering machines sometimes...

Have you ever had any fierce disagreements with the direction a song has taken or is the "vision" pretty clear when you're writing?

Jeremy: I wouldn't say there are any fierce disagreements, but if you never disagree it probably means you are setting your sites too low. We both share basically the same musical vision, but there is definetely a push and pull between us in different aspects of it all.

In your own opinion which song(s) has turned out exactly or as to close to how you had planned when it was first being written?

Jeremy: Thats a tough one, we usually write with electric guitars in mind, and then end up using the magic guitar (an acoustic) to fill the songs out. So they always end up sounding twangier than we meant them to. I know for sure that At Night, At Sea is the song that turned out furthest from how Craig envisioned it, and maybe not in a good way. Red Cactus Blues was supposed to be a rock song, and ended up a lot more mellow, but in a good way I believe.

Ah yes the Magic Guitar, can you enlighten us about the story of that instrument?

Jeremy: Its an Epiphone acoustic with a wide neck and small body, very similar in shape to Robert Johnson's pictured acoustic. The small body gives it a pretty ugly sound, very mid-rangy. It got the name magic guitar because everytime we would add it to a song it would be the missing link that pulled all the instruments together. By the end of the recording sessions it almost became a joke it worked so well. It was originally owned by Curt Micol, but we pretty much stole it from him.

Can you tell us about the first show you played as The South and who comprised the line-up?

Craig: It was the Rexrode Records Showcase in February of 2002. We actually played as a combination of The Shoes and The South, with Craig and Steve Schmidt on vocals/guitar, Jeremy Whitwam on guitar, Jesse Draper on drums, Chris Muffet on bass, Andy LeRoy on keyboards, and sometimes Eric Best on guitar. It was fun, and not a bad performance, but I guess it didn't occur to us to do more shows while we were recording The South Will Take Your Blues Away.

What was the first venue you played in MI, IL?

Jeremy: In Michigan it was The Point After, sort of like a Denny's with beer. That was the label showcase. In Chicago it was Cal's Bar and Liquor. We played right after a band called The Pages (now called The RedWalls) who were getting signed that night (I think they wisely chose an indie label). They were the most Beatles-esque band I have ever seen that wasn't a Beatles tribute band. Cynthia Plaster-Caster was in the audience. The house was packed. We cleared the room in half a song.

Cynthia Plaster Caster huh. Did she approach any of the members of the band about their members?

Craig: Ahem, no, there was no such solicitation.

My first memory of Craig was seeing him during the showcase set with a mic down his pants a' la Mick Jagger and strutting about during Jeremys solo in Shiloh I believe. How important to Charlie Don't Shake is the presentation of the band/music during live shows?

Craig: You cannot deny that presentation is important, but over-calculation is one of the greater sins.

Does Charlie Don't Shake have a band ethos, a mission if you will?

Jeremy: Well, if a song doesn't have a good melody and a good beat, we axe it. And Craig has some strange method of determining what lyrics are acceptable. Outside of that we try anything. Somewhere in there is the start of a band ethos I imagine...

Does Charlie Don't Shake stick to a planned set list for a show or does it change depending on the crowd and vibe within the band itself during any given night?

Craig: If we even have a set list at the beginning of the set we are lucky. It's usually a last second thing. Sometimes we do guest spotlight setlists. Aaron Bales did a nice one once.

Jeremy: Unfortunately we are rather forgetfull with this. Shows go much better when we have a set list, I tend not to trust my crowd reading skills.

What criteria is used in deciding what songs Charlie Don't Shake should cover and how many covers to perform?

Craig: Hmmm, more than two/three covers in a set and we have to cut too many originals we like playing...

Jeremy: We pick songs we really like that aren't too obvious, then try them out. We get a little lazy about finding new covers to do.

Are you fans of tradition or do you like to rework a song, be it an original or a cover, in order to add a distinct flavour to it when performing live?

Jeremy: That is a good question, but I think the audience could answer it better. We just do them how they seem to be in our heads, and how they come out is how they come out.

Can you describe the "perfect" show for Charlie Don't Shake?

Craig: As long as we are doing what we do, then I guess the audience having a good time makes it perfect.

Jeremy: Playing live on Letterman.

Have you ever had anything come close to the experience you just mentioned?

Jeremy: Once we muted the TV and sang 'Julie Money' over Semisonic's Letterman performance...

What was it like finally seeing Speakerphone perform live after hearing various demos for so long?

Craig: Just like in my dreams, only the rhythm guys had longer hair.

Jeremy: I enjoyed the heck out of it.

So there is another soundtrack in the works for Ian and Marty's next film. Is the approach to this kind of project different than a CDS album?

Craig: Quite a bit different. The approach on the album material is much more open-ended, take a melody or line and see what happens with it (usually with some specific influences in mind).

Jeremy: The film music can range from creating the actual score, or 'emotive' background music, to creating a specific pop or rock song to fill a larger space in the plot.

How do you go about making the music for the films? Do you have a rough copy of the film as it's being made and you musically "react" to what you see?

Craig: We always have a rough cut before we start any serious work on the music. Sometimes there are temporary songs that give an idea of what will work in the scene.

Jeremy: Usually Craig has an idea way ahead of time, from the film-makers, of what style and mood the stuff will be. Then by the time we start our real work on it, a few songs pop out pretty easily.

Do you use psuedonyms when creating soundtracks for films?

Jeremy: We credit either the band or ourselves by name. It depends on if the music turns out sounding like a song from the band or not. Most of the music in a film has less going on than you would assume at first. Only a small percentage of the scenes have the space available for a full song, much of it is just background, which needs to be fairly empty.

How involved are Ian and Marty in the process when you write music for their films? Do they have the final say?

Craig: They definetely have the final say, we want them to be happy with the songs and how they will connect with a scene.

Jeremy: They are actually pretty involved, especially with the latest film (21 Carbs). The first step is to watch the rough cut, and then spend a lot of time just sitting around and talking about how they want each scene to go (and how the music/score relates to this). Then we demo a bunch of ideas, see what ones they think work the best, and spend more time on those.

Has it ever been the case that they didn't like what you had come up with?

Jeremy: That has happened before, but it never takes us by suprise. We show them just about every idea we come up with, even if it doesn't seem to work in our minds. A couple of times they have actually liked something that we didn't initially think was the right fit. By the time we are working on the music for the film they have a pretty specific and shared vision for how they want a scene to go, so our goal is to meet that vision. I believe some of our songs have exceeded expectations, and others have fallen short. But they know our goal is to make them happy with how the music effects the movie, so they don't hesitate to give opinions and ideas.

Do you enjoy the challenge of having a dealine, creating things in the sort of "fast and dirty" method to get the songs finished in time?

Craig: I am a big fan of working fast and having a deadline. If you only have two weeks to do some guitar overdubs, then You just go in and you do it.

Jeremy: A challenge is always fun. I think a band will get the best results from a recording if they know when to work quickly and when to take their time. So being forced to write and record quickly once in a while makes you work those necessary muscles, and can oftentimes have some great results, both on the project at hand and future material.

Being the primary songwriters in Charlie Don't Shake, what's the most joyful part of making music for the two of you?

Craig: Songwriting, as such, is the most 'joyful' part for me especially the first bit of time when working on an idea. It has its tedious side, but the actual songwriting is more relaxing and enjoyable than either hardcore recording or performing for me. Although trying to come up with new ideas does cause anxiety from time to time.

Jeremy: I guess I experience the most joy when I know a song is going to work. I hate the feeling that we haven't done a potential song justice.

It seems that many of the songs have a sort of inside joke feel to them as for content, this is especially aparent on the Midwest album. What are some of your main influences when it comes to the subject matter of your songs?

Craig: The Midwest album was a little different because it was all written with a specific person in mind.

Otherwise, all the usual stuff influences me. There are some jokes, but I try not to make them inside jokes. There is some stuff in the lyrics about so-called 'bigger themes' but I think it's more challenging to relate the bigger themes to specific people, either real or imagined. People other than myself with maybe different viewpoints or circumstances than me. Plus it is funny to call somebody out on something in song.

Are there certain avenues of songwriting, subject matter especially, that you have yet to approach and still want to attempt?

Craig: I haven't thought about it much. Coming up with melodies consumes most of my songwriting time and I am always trying to concoct new approaches to that. I will probably try to concoct new lyric writing approaches on the next Charlie project to guard against repeating myself though. Like maybe having Jeremy write some more lyrics ha hah hee hee.

Jeremy: "I am a sad, sad angry teenager, da-da-da da-da-dum dum-da"...