Smallpools talks band names, power outages, and their new sound

Juice Jam Artist Interview: As they tour the country, Smallpools discusses their latest EP and its themes.

When looking for a good band name, pop/rock band and Juice Jam artist Smallpools turned to artists like Green Day and Coldplay for inspiration. They wanted a brand new compound word that their music would give meaning to. Unfortunately, they said, people still get very hung up on the whole “pool” thing.

As far as the inspiration for the band's music goes, each member says they had artists they grew up listening to, but as far as an overall influence, there’s nothing solid they turn to.

“You’re always going to get Mike [Kamerman]’s guitar licks and my vocal sounds and lyrics,” said vocalist and pianist Sean Scanlon. “And Beau [Kuther]’s main computer programmer. I’m just kidding.”

On a more serious note, they said their EP The Science of Letting Go was built on themes of moving on.

“Humans are creatures of habit, so they say, and moving forward is really hard but necessary,” said Scanlon.

They said they’re still far from mastering the art of letting go.

“Even letting go of a song, for artists,” said Scanlon, “you just keep critiquing and changing and shifting and remixing. And sometimes you just have to let it go.”

The band considers themselves in a suburban state. Their EP The Science of Letting Go features five different producers per song. Unlike the first album, they had a lot of time to work on each song, grow, and settle down. That process included buying a house in the suburbs and building a studio in its basement. According to Kamerman, the new, calmer songs allow for a more dynamic live setlist.

While they’ve toured with a lot of bands on a lot of different tours, they said touring with GroupLove was a lot of fun because they already knew them from working in the same studio in LA. One of their favorite things about touring is getting to know new people. They also really enjoyed their headlining tour and getting to talk to fans who discovered them on other tours.

Despite their short stay in Syracuse, Smallpools found time to eat at the Coppertop. Scanlon actually went to the State University of New York Albany and had a cabin on one of the Finger Lakes.

Aside from the power going out, Smallpools was happy with their set at Juice Jam 2017. Kamerman commented that everyone they’d met wwas really nice, and Kuther noted what a nice day it’d been for an outdoor show. But no one could get over the set’s power outage hiccup.

“We rocked the place so hard the power went out,” said Scanlon. 

Smallpools Performs at Juice Jam 2017

Smallpools performs at Juice Jam 2017 (Photo: Abby Rose Sugnet)

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