Simplified to perform Friday at pep rally

Kevin Goode
Staff writer

Weekly Triangle staff writer, Kevin Goode recently sat down with lead guitarist; Chris Sheridan of the local band Simplified before their upcoming return concert at Wingate Friday.
Q: Tell me a little bit about yourselves and what you do in the group Simplified.
A: My name is Chris Sheridan and I play lead guitar and this is my friend Tim Lail, Percussionist.
Q: I read a previous interview that you were quoted as saying “There are so many different styles that we incorporate, our group style is more of a mood than a genre.”
A: That was something that Jeff with Creative Loafing said and I thought it was an accurate description. We’ve had a hard time in the past describing the style. Everybody needs to be able to compare musical style to something else. We get endless comparisons to Dave Matthews. Because of all the different musical backgrounds we that we have. We don’t really think, hey lets write a reggae or rap song. Sometimes it just comes about that way when were sitting around. I think that the name fits the mood. We’d rather view every song different. It creates a mood and a vibe. Am I going somewhere with this?
Q: You guys have recorded a few albums. How has your sound evolved from your first album?
A: Well we’ve done two full studio albums, a six song EP and a live record that we’ve done all on our own. We’re not really focusing on doing the same thing over and over. We’re evolving as song writer. If you were to listen to the six song EP, the first project we put together to until now, there’s an extraordinary difference. A lot of it was because of the production quality of the records. Tim, at the beginning was pushing me to use more distortion to create a more edgy kind of sound as oppose to when we first came about we were playing a more clean almost Grateful Dead, or Phish type. We’ve kind gone to a more rock sound. We are definitely more focused on writing songs and writing good songs. We want to make the arrangements to be the best that they can be. I think it’s just important.
Q: Whenever you step on stage to do a show, what is it that you hope to impart?
A: We want people everybody to leave talking about, how they had the best time. It’s for the music and I think people enjoy the music, but it’s also for the scene and for the social aspect?
Q: Do you or any of your band members have any skeletons in the closet as far as music you listen to?
A: Sure, our bass player, Chris Lynch is a huge Ani Difranco fan. I don’t think people would know that unless he talks about it. Tim Lail comes from a heavier background, but he listens to Britney Spears. I like Madonna. I’d go see a Madonna show. She’s cool.
Q: What do you like most about your job and what do you like least?
A: I wish we had a tour bus. I like the van the least because it’s so close quarters and were on the road a lot. I’m glad we have a van, but we need a bigger van. What I like the most is entertaining and playing in front of an audience. It’s something you can’t explain. It’s a great feeling to get out there and kind of give people a part of you.
Q: Who were some of your influences that led you to use music as your medium?
A: I really liked a lot of things when I started playing guitar. Slash from Guns and Roses was a huge influence on me. I really liked his tone and his particular style. I kind of try to take something from good from anything I hear. If I like something, whether it’s country, rock, pop or reggae, if there’s something cool about it. I try to get in there and find out what makes me like it, whether it’s a solo or if it’s a vocal melody that sounds pretty. I think there is so much good stuff out there; I try to take a little bit from everything. I’m inspired by a lot.
Q: If you weren’t doing music, what would you be doing?
A: I worked the bar business for a while and I definitely don’t want to that anymore. So I’d probably do something in Television and film. It would be something definitely something creative.
Q: I read that you all do about 250 shows a year. Tell me what are the personalities like when you all are on the road?
A: It’s kind of funny. There’s a book out there that describes the psychology of tribes. When you are a band and you’re together as much as we are; without thinking about it we take on certain roles. We have our own little language through movie quotes. These are all quirky things that you don’t think about. We really try to stay really business focused. That’s the other side, besides the creative thing. The business side is really important.
Q: What are the future goals of Simplified?
A: The goals of Simplified are to go national. We just signed a new management deal. We’re going to pursue doing the next record through various means, whether we have to do it ourselves, with an investor or maybe a deal. We want to market it a little heavier and promote it outside the region more.