By now, Owl City is a household name in the pop circuit. The crisp beats, upbeat cadences, and electronica sound are a hit with critics and fans alike. With three albums and five years under his belt, the one man behind the band, Adam Young, decided to produce a live DVD of his concert in L.A. This proves interesting as Adam alone plays, and records each one of the tracks on his album. I asked him about that and the DVD itself when I spoke with him.
Hollywood Jesus: This is your first DVD, why did you choose now to make one?
Adam Young: It felt like the timing was right. It all lined up and everything made sense.
HJ: When you were talking about making a DVD of your Los Angeles show, what did you want to achieve with it?
AY: I just wanted to capture a show to put a pin in the timeline to mark where I was and what I was doing.
HJ: On stage was a mixture of a lot of electronica and acoustic instruments. Would you say this is a good depiction of the layering you do in the studio, or is it different live on stage?
AY: In studio, everything is programmed by hand, nothing is actually performed except for a bit of guitar here and there. Live is a lot different because you don’t have another take to get it right, you either hit the note or you don’t, and if you don’t, you have to learn how to be okay with that because you’re human, not a computer.
HJ: You usually end up recording a lot of your music yourself, is it nice to have a back up band while touring, or do you miss the solitude? Is it hard to find a gel with other musicians when you are used to doing things so much on your own?
AY: I’m a total loner so it’s hard to be around so many people constantly but like anything, you get used to it and I’ve really grown to love what I do.
HJ: The sound mix on this DVD was phenomenal and was very different from other Live in Concert DVD’s where things sound more tinny, did you have any input into how it would be recorded and mixed?
AY: Yes, I saw how it was recorded on the day and I mixed it later myself. I enjoy the studio quite a bit.
HJ: Was it fun to showcase some of your other instrumental talent, like when you did the dueling drums?
AY: Lots of fun. I started making music as a drummer.
HJ: You mentioned that when you play in L.A. that it feels like you’re playing to close friends and family, is that why you chose this city to record your DVD in?
AY: Absolutely.
