Film At 11: Hurricane Bells

Steve Schiltz, longtime singer and guitarist of Longwave, has cooked up new band Hurricane Bells, a bourgeoning side project that’s earned him a spot on the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack with b-side “Monsters.” Schiltz wrote, played, recorded and mixed every piece of his debut album, Tonight Is The Ghost (Vagrant), with little more than a guitar and a MacBook to create the array of ghostly hymns and clanging lighthearted pop that’s led to Hurricane Bells’ first-ever headlining tour. MAGNET is proud to premiere the new video for “The Winters In New York,” in which the turn of spring reveals the sad and fleeting reality of the life of a snowman. Reverberating guitars wail over melancholic vocals, evoking a musical grayscale in this chilly requiem to East Coast winters. In celebration of HB’s first appearance as headliner beginning tomorrow, we’ve included a Q&A with Schiltz below.

MAGNET: You moved from a decade-long stint in a four-person band with Longwave to creating a one-man recording with Tonight Is The Ghost. What was it like making that transition?
Schiltz: It was fun. I had a good time, recording drums by myself, recording guitars in my living room. I did play the stuff for the other guys in Longwave when it was nearly done. 

What drove you to start a project of your own?
With Longwave, I always made demos of the songs I’d write, and lots of times we’d work off of those. The Hurricane Bells record was made from the same kind of demos. At some point, I decided to finish them. I decided it’d be fun to try and do it myself.

How has your incredible tour of India prepared you for your first headlining tour?
Well, we can play all the songs now! And we’ve added a couple more to fill out the show. India was incredible, just an amazing experience.

What is the craziest, most bizarre, most amazing thing you experienced in India?
Many things. Cows in the street. No traffic laws in most places. The Taj Mahal was breathtaking. The music was interesting; besides Bollywood and traditional Indian music, there was a lot of heavy metal. We’d see live reviews that’d say, “Hurricane Bells is not your average metal band but still very good nonetheless!”

I read that your touring band has grown to a healthy six members. Who are the contributors, and how is it performing your solo album with a well-sized band?
The band is still changing. On this upcoming tour, there will be four. That’s me, Ashen (Keilyn) from Scout singing, Jason (Molina) from Longwave playing drums and Todd (Dahlhoff) from the Dead Trees on bass. On the last batch of shows, it was a few guys from Blue October and Dan (Orvik) from Stars Of Track And Field helping out.

What was your best meal at SXSW?
There was a Thai/pan-Asian place around the corner from Emo’s that I loved. I don’t remember the name. It was a nice alternative to the Stubb’s/BBQ. Which is also great. Oh, and Torchy’s Tacos, obviously.

Did you get a chance to catch any good acts in Austin?
I mostly went and saw my friends’ bands. The Candles, Reno Bo, Adam Green, Minus The Bear, who played after us at one of the shows.

What do you think of the current vampire phenomenon and the fact that your music is now part of it?
It’s only been good for me. As far as I am concerned, they can use anything of mine that they like. I have my stake at the ready.

Do you feel any obligation to like the Twilight movies just because you’re on the soundtrack?
Wow, this is a loaded question! I saw the movie at the premiere in L.A. Again, there was nothing bad about that.

What do you hope to accomplish with your music from the level of the listener to that of your personal success?
If the person listening enjoys it and wants to hear it again, that would make me happy.

Considering the success of Broken Bells and Sleigh Bells, how good are you feeling about your choice in band name?
Who the hell are Sleigh Bells? The original bells are Howling Bells in the U.K. and School Of Seven Bells. After that was us. Then the broken, sleigh, submarine, etc., variety. I like our name the best, by the way.

What are your plans for the year to come?
New Hurricane Bells EP coming out in early summer, coupled with a digital remix EP of songs from Tonight Is The Ghost and a few shows. Meanwhile, as soon as I am off tour, I am going to start on the next record. It’s gonna be called School Of Broken Sleighs.

—Julia Friedland