‘Seriously, it’s just PERFECT!’, says Michael Slawter about Del Amitri’s Not Where It’s At. Well, he wrote some pitch-perfect ones himself. ‘Last Call For The Breakfast Hearts’ was released this month and it’s … well … you’ll get it by now!

 

 

 

 

 

What was the biggest fun during the making of the last album?

This record took over 4 years (fits and starts) to make. There were lots of great moments, like when I noticed the songs “take a turn” as we called it. Basically, when the song came to life for the first time, but my biggest thrill was getting the final CDs in the mail. Finally knowing the record was done.

 

At what point, during writing, rehearsing, recording, did you knew you were on to something special?

 

The first two songs we recorded were SUMMER’S KIND and SAME OLD THING. Once we did the first run-through to get the drums recorded we knew we had something great!

 

Do you feel part of a community, the power pop community?

I discovered the POWER POP community in 1999 through YAHOO groups and it changed my life. I discovered all these awesome folks that grew up listening to the same music as me but in different parts of the country. I quickly became involved in CD/TAPE trading and my CD collection exploded. I happened to be from Winston-Salem and fans of the dB’s and Let’s Active and Mitch’s Drive-In Studio always wanted to hear other COMBOLAND bands that I happened to be privy to.

 

Can you still recall the moment music became important to you? What happened?

My 8th-grade girlfriend bought me REM – MURMUR as a birthday present. That record changed my life. I then went to RJ Reynolds High School in 1984 which happened to be where the dB’s and Let’s Active went to school 10 years earlier. I even saw REM play in our auditorium during my sophomore year. It was a magical time to discover music.

 

Which is the song you wish you had written every time you hear it? And why?

DEL AMITRI – NOT WHERE IT’ S AT. It’s the PERFECT pop song! Seriously, it’s just PERFECT!

 

What’s up for the rest of the year?

My hope is to record more songs with as many folks as I can and have another record ready for next year!!! I am planning to release a record a year over the next 10 years