Saugatuck, MI – The Accidentals just released their new album, The Accidentals Live, returned from their first international tour, and persevered after having $70,000 in equipment stolen. These recent experiences have fueled the band’s energy as they begin their Michigan Summer Tour. I was honored to sit down with Savannah Buist, Katie Larson, and Michael Dause before their performance at Saugatuck Center for the Arts in Saugatuck, Michigan.
Digital Beat Magazine: Thank you for taking time to do this interview today. I am grateful to connect with you. Wow, what great weather for your outside concert tonight. There are hundreds of people here and a great vibe in the air! The community is happy that you are here! It is exciting that you just released your new album, tell me about The Accidentals Live Album.
Savannah Buist: The goal of the Live album is to capture the essence of a live show. Our past albums were fully produced in the studio. The studio gave us an opportunity to flush out a lot of stringed instruments and parts that we do not normally play because we do not have enough hands on the stage. The Live album is different because each of us sat down and played exactly what we play at regular shows. People can have a taste of the energy and the emotional journey that you may experience when you come to a Accidental show.
Katie Larson: This album is like one straight performance. All of us in the same room doing a live.
Savannah Buist: I think that this used to happen when people recorded to tape. I think of Queen and Led Zeppelin, getting one opportunity to tape and then go back over and do overdubs. It is cool to bring that essence back for us. Most of the time we use the studio to expand on something we already have.
Katie Larson: It’s tempting to overthink when producing in the studio.
Savannah Buist: It was really cool to challenge ourselves in an environment where you have a day to knock out an entire album, can you do it?
Katie Larson: It really encouraged us to not do it again and again, to not get it perfect. We were embracing the flaws.
Michael Dause: We knocked out 12 songs in one day. The engineer we were working with was like wow, you did it! Being in the studio it is so easy to get lost in making everything perfect. This album was about letting go.
Savannah Buist: This album is authentic to what it is like to be at our live show.
Digital Beat Magazine: You just returned from the U.K. Tell me about your journey.
Savannah Buist: This was our first ever European tour. We hired a U.K tour manager, rented a spooner van, and borrowed some gear from our overseas sponsor, Fender. They gave us guitars and amps to work with on our tour. We were able to tour most of England. We played in Ireland at the Kilkenny Roots Festival. We have a lot of fans in Europe that learned about us on Spotify. They message us all the time asking us to perform in the U.K. We were excited to have this opportunity.
Michael Dause: One exciting thing for me, I was able to visit the Ruach factory, where they make my cajon. I learned that Ruach is Hebrew for “the spirit.” The cajon is the box shaped percussion instrument that I sit on during performances. The Ruach has the internal kick peddle that I use. Their factory is on what was a old U.S. airstrip that was used during World War II. This was such a great experience.
Katie Larson: We just got back a week ago and we are now in peak summer season. We like to spend our summer touring Michigan and playing as much as we can.
Digital Beat Magazine: Is there anything else that you would like to share?
Savannah Buist: Yes. In January our van broke down in Tuson, Arizona. We had to crash in a local hotel. While we were sleeping, our trailer was stolen and $70,000 in equipment. We had a few instruments with us and one microphone. We played our Phoenix, Arizona concert all around one mic, one snare drumb tied around Michael’s neck, and the instruments we had taken in the hotel. After the show, fans set up a go fund me that helped us to replace our equipment. We were so amazed by the response.
Katie Larson: Patreon is a website platform where creatives come together sharing. This site gives us the opportunity to connect with our fans. Anyone can check it out. Go to our website to see our next shows coming up. We wanted to launch a Patreon. We are going to host a giant party once a year. Our first party is June 16, 2019.
Digital Beat Magazine: Thank you for this interview and thank you for sharing. Have a great concert tonight!
Saugatuck Center for the Arts hosted the “Jump into Summer” event on June 7th – complete with The Accidentals, food trucks, games, and activities for the whole family. The Accidentals energetic performance helped everyone feel like summer had finally arrived in Michigan. Katie Larson on her electric cello, Michael Dause on drums, and Savannah Buist on her electric violin. They were masterful at connecting with the crowd as they walked down from the stage and joined the middle of the audience while playing their instruments. Michael Dause entertained with his spectacular drum solo. Closing the evening with song,”Michigan and Again,” made everyone feel connected to each other and upcoming summer in Michigan.
The Accidentals Photo Gallery
Show Date: 6/07/2019
