Myspace: myspace.com/thegatewaydistrict
Label Page: It's Alive Records
What is the origin of your band name?
Maren: The Gateway District was part of old downtown Minneapolis that was torn down in the 1960's as part of an effort to "modernize" the city. It was the Gateway from the Mississippi river into Minneapolis, and had beautiful old sandstone and granite buildings. It was a convenient place to get a room for transient workers waiting to hop trains for the corn or grain harvests to come in around the Midwest, and so it became a kind of skid row. Men would live in cages of chicken wire for a few cents a week, and a week could turn into years. Something had to be done with the place, but tearing it down completely without regard for the residents or the period architecture seems like a real shame, especially since the jobs of de- and reconstruction went to friends of shady politicians. There are some good books on the subject, Especially one called "Down and Out" with great photos by Edwin C. Hirschoff, and amateur photographer who had the foresight to document the demolition.
Please list the name, and respective instrument of each band member.
Maren: Brad plays Drums, Carrie plays Bass, Maren and Nate play guitar -Nate plays all the cool solo stuff.
Who are your major influences?
Nate: I recently read about this theory that says your main musical influence, whether you realize it or not, is whatever you were listening to when you were 11 years old. So, I guess mine would be something like Soundgarden?
How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?
Maren: Minneapolis is a small town with a ton of bands, which means alot of people meet each other this way. Carrie and I have known each other for like 15 years, we actually met at the U of Mn. I think I first met Nate and Brad, maybe 10 years ago, through their old band Rivethead, but it could have been before that, just from shows and being around.
When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?
Maren: Brad, Nate and I started playing in Spring of 2006, in a different line-up, and made a seven-inch on Rock Bottom records. After a little break, a few cross-country moves, a trip down a river, and a couple other bands, Carrie started playing with us in 2008, and Nate moved from bass to guitar. I don't know why I play music...It's alot of fun and works out some of the kinks I guess.
What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
Maren: On Friday, we are playing our CD release show in one of my favorite venues, the 7th St Entry in downtown Minneapolis.
Nate: We’re also playing the Insubordination Fest in Baltimore the last weekend in June. I don’t know if the venue will end up being one of my favorites, but I’m sure it’ll be a good time.
Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers, if so What type of songs does your band like to cover?
Maren: Nope, we've never covered any songs. We might someday though!
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?
Maren: Brad, Carrie, and I write most of the lyrics for songs. Mostly we write about the reactions we have to stuff going on in our worlds and the bigger world around all of us...stuff like coming and going, elections, relationships, frustrations. So I guess the individual topics will change, but overall, we will still be reacting.
Could you briefly describe the music-making process?
Maren: Mostly our songs start in the individual who writes them. The idea for the song will come into practice and, depending on how put-together the idea is, either get taught to everyone else, or get worked on and out till it's a finished song. I guess "teaching" isn't the right word-maybe "showing" is better, since from the basic idea, everyone makes their own parts. Once in a while, if the idea is really rough, it's more collaborative where everyone helps figure out guitar parts, bridges, endings, etc.
What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?
Maren: When we're all in the same town, we try to practice once a week. Alot of the time someone or other can't make it, so there may only be two or three of us, but we get alot done anyway. It's pretty loose.
How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
Maren: The addition of Carrie, not just as a bass player but as a songwriter too, has probably been the biggest change - her songs have a different flavor from either mine or Brad's, and so our music is broader than it was. It's kind of hard to say how our songs in general have evolved... when you're close to something, it's hard to see it changing.
What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that?
Maren: Well, so far we've been really lucky. I guess our biggest challenge, both in the past and now, is that we're a group of people who tend to move around and travel quite a bit, so staying a working band while members are somewhat scattered takes some effort. We've dealt with this pretty well in the past, so I'm not really worried about it. Currently, Carrie lives in Wisconsin, and Brad and Nate are both touring with their other bands (Dear Landlord and Banner Pilot) this summer. Another big challenge for any band is money...we're no different. It's a challenge to afford the time away from work for tour, but it's worth it!