Pittsburgh's Shade PREV / 1 of 2 / NEXT Craig Stuart of Shade takes some time out of his schedule to answers questions for Tweed. Forever Now, Nowhere Tomorrow was your first and, up to this point, only LP, released in 2002. From what I have read, it appears Shade has had a long history dating back to the late 1990's. Why did it take so long to put out your first album? If you could, takes us through the origin of the band. Shade has been together since January 1997. We have been recording since the formation of the band. But the recordings previous to "Forever Now, Nowhere Tomorrow" were not released for two reasons. The first was that we felt there was a lack of quality in the recordings. The other reason, more importantly, was a lack of money to actually put those recordings out. Starting in July, you took a multi-month break. Why? Was this time to rest? To record? The break enabled us to focus primarily on recording Fedra. Now, the new EP Fedra was released October 8th on Lovely Recordings. Tell us a bit about it. How did it come about? How went the recording process? And, what is the significance of the title Fedra? Fedra came out of our need to release something that we were all behind 100%. When we first started recording we thought that we were going to put out two separate EP's, but we later felt that they flowed better as one. As for the recording process, to save money we did all of the tracking at our rehearsal space on a 16-track recorder. We then took those tracks to George Bardell @ Mr. Smalls for mixing and mastering. Fedra is the title of the record because it is the name of the radio station in Yugoslavia that first played our debut LP--it's kinda like a inside joke between us. Is a follow-up LP to be expected? Yes, we are definitely going to have a follow-up LP. We are still writing and recording so dates for a release are still forth coming. Speaking of the album's genesis, how does Shade's recording process work? Take us through a typical song-writing process? Is it a collaborative effort? Every part of Shade's song writing process is a collaborative effort. We have always been able to build or expand on each other's ideas. This is one of the reasons we all feel so strongly about our music and why we feel that we have been able to stay together as a band. In terms of the lyrics, overall, there is an emphasis on the personal. In such politically and socially contentious times, how do you feel about music that, lyrically, deals with political and social issues? In this Post-9/11 world, what role do you see Indie rock music playing? As a band we do our best to stay away from politics. We feel that everyone needs to be aware and informed because the choices we make now will affect the future. But as a band we don't feel that it is our position to push our political views on others. In terms of influences, what specific bands, both current and of day's past, have been integral to Shade's sound? The Cure, Sonic Youth, The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, The Stooges, and The Velvet Undergr PREV / 1 of 2 / NEXT