From Rockfest to Rock Stars: Two Alums Create a Buzz with Their Band The French Semester
Thursday, January 15, 2009
(0 Comments)
 Riaz Tejani ‘96 and Bryan Sullivan ’96 comprise half of the four-member indie rock act The French Semester. The Los Angeles-based group are pioneers of "immigrant rock" — a brand of minimalist guitar rock with global influences. In a short time, the band has played over 60 live shows at venues from Spaceland to the Silverlake Lounge, recorded several in-studio sessions, released an album to U.S. and European markets and earned countless radio plays, including L.A.'s own KROQ. In addition to performing, Bryan is an AP-level Spanish teacher in Culver City while Riaz is finishing a Ph.d and J.D. from Princeton and USC, respectively. Riaz and Bryan were kind enough to spend some time answering several questions about themselves and The French Semester.
Chadwick: What is your musical background?
Riaz: I started playing guitar when I was roughly ten. My brother taught me everything he knew, and I took some lessons and such. At Chadwick, we started a band with friends Andrew Detrick [’95], Andrew Wan [‘96] and Dion Beuckman [‘95], and I switched to bass. That still remains one of the best of the half dozen bands Ive been part of. I still credit all those guys as influences on my playing.
Bryan: My sister Tanya Sullivan ’93 was a huge influence musically. She and her friends introduced me to bands like The Smiths, The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Stone Roses, and since then I always sort of wanted to be in a band. I never played an instrument growing up. The guys have taught me everything. Gil plays bass, and Charles plays drums, and both have taught me to play the keys. Riaz helps me a lot with my backing vocals.
Chadwick: When and why did you decide to form the band?
Riaz: The French Semester was born in 1984 when Bryan and I first met, but we started really scheming after I moved back to LA from Paris in the summer of 2005. We had talked about doing the band for many years and found ourselves at last in the same city.
Bryan: In the Village School, Riaz would write songs with other kids in our class, and I always thought that was genius. For me, the band begins with his songwriting in third grade. Our band, though, does not officially get going until 2007.
Chadwick: Who writes the songs, what are your songs about?
Riaz: I suppose I write the songs and draw from our shared experiences as immigrant kids, products of dreamy globalization, and the hardworking families that produced us. But these themes are very impressionistic and the overall feel is one of late-60s pop. I guess it's the combination of pop groove and historical commentary that we try to find. Bryan is often a better commentator than me on this.
Bryan: Riaz definitely writes the songs. He records them himself at home, and then plays them at practice. The rest of us in the band improvise and then the song becomes what you eventually hear on the album.
Chadwick: What is the story behind your band name?
Riaz: Bryan coined the term when we were trying to find something that described the source of the music. I did my dissertation fieldwork in Paris from 2003 to 2005 and went there in search of the collective belonging that makes French people protest and sometimes riot — from the Revolution, to decolonization, to Mai '68, and today. I imagine myself an American visiting over there and getting caught up a watershed historical moment, like in Bertolucci's "The Dreamers."
Chadwick: What is your best story from the road? What’s your coolest band story?
Riaz: I like the one where we drove for ten hours from Portland to San Fran and made it to a show with minutes to spare. We had a GPS telling us exactly how many minutes we could afford for bathroom breaks and red lights. I believe we also dodged a flying sofa on the Bay Bridge that same day …
Bryan: Yes, a huge sofa flew out of a large truck and rolled past us in the next lane. That was really freaky because as Riaz said, we were so close to reaching the venue and had traveled from so far away. That might have been the end of The French Semester!
Chadwick: Tell us a bit about you and your interests outside The French Semester.
Riaz: I'm pretty swamped with schoolwork and love doing it because its feeds well into the songs, the sound, and the idea behind the band.
Bryan: I’m swamped with grading papers and teaching "El Subjuntivo." Outside the band, I am also an avid soccer player. I just joined the Pasadena Soccer League.
Chadwick: What are your future plans for the band? Do you see it as a career or is it something done more in your spare time?
Bryan: We certainly see it as a career. We like our jobs, but we love playing and making music. All of us would love to take The French Semester on the road for years!
Chadwick: What is your favorite venue to play?
Riaz: Probably Spaceland in Silverlake.
Bryan: Agreed. My favorite venue is Spaceland. It is probably the most dynamic venue. There are two rooms, and the space theme is pretty cool. The shows are a little more high-profile there, too. I have seen almost all of my favorite bands perform there, so it is a real honor to play there.
Chadwick: Who are your biggest musical (and/or non-musical) influences?
Riaz: Syd Barret, Guided By Voices, and the Byrds.
Bryan: Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, the Stone Roses and the Jesus and Mary Chain.
Chadwick: We mentioned immigrant rock. How do you describe that genre of music? How would you describe your music to people?
Riaz: The music itself is deliberately simple. We try to tap an era of rock 'n' roll when the electric guitar was still a young instrument. As above, I would say its a marriage between the folk /pop/rock of the 1960s (Byrds) with the political thematics of the early 1980s (Clash) the un-self-consciousness of 1990s indie (Pavement) and the dreaminess of most Britpop (Smiths, Stone Roses). I would also say describing music is always off mark. But, the immigrant rock label we coined to express the fact that this was worldly rock. I think of my parents hearing the Beatles in Bombay in the 1960s. So it’s about the reception and impact of our influences in places they may not have ever intended.
Chadwick: What has been your biggest challenge as a band?
Bryan: For a while, our biggest challenge was to keep a bassist or drummer that was talented, consistent, and reliable! Now, we have that and it is a real blessing. We met Gil, our bassist, through a mutual friend. We met Charles, our drummer, through a different friend. They are rad, and we have all become brothers. Riaz and I even took care of Charles’ loft while he was away for the holiday!
Chadwick: Would you ever come back to Chadwick to play Rockfest? Any favorite Chadwick memories you’d like to share? Any teachers or experiences that had a particular impact on the person you are today?
Riaz: For sure, I cannot forget so many of them: Dr. Spalding (adding vector quantities!), Mrs. Bradbury (I still think a lot about one of her painting theories). Too many to name and besides good teachers, amazing people.
Bryan: Rockfest! Of course. All of my teachers were inspirational. I reflect on that often because I am a high school teacher. I remember that the community at Chadwick was really unique, that it was a safe place for us, and that we were encouraged to be whoever we wanted to be. I remember that Free Period was probably the most amazing experience of my adolescent life. Also, our existentialism class (senior year) would meet off campus, once a week, for coffee. Very sophisticated!
Chadwick: Any thoughts on how the internet and technology relate to being in a band, and how they influence how you do things?
Riaz: For sure. Rock 'n' roll tends to be a purist genre, and I agree with that to a point, but like in politics, he who learns to embrace and use new technology embraces a new language with which to connect to people. So I think we need to balance aesthetic purity against communicative flexibility.
Bryan: You pretty much have to use it because everyone is on it.
Chadwick: Tell us about your upcoming shows and future projects.
Riaz: Many shows are planned this spring, as well as a possible European trip. The new album comes out in late January, and another EP will be ready by summer.
Chadwick: How can fans access your music, website and albums?
Riaz: Anyone can get to us via www.myspace.com/thefrenchsemester. The first album is on iTunes and the next one will be shortly.
Chadwick: Any last words?
Riaz: Thanks.
Bryan: Gracias. Me da mucho gusto conocerte y te deseo mucha suerte. Saludos a todos nuestros amigos. Los queremos mucho. ("Thank you. I am very pleased to meet you and wish you much luck. Greetings to all of our friends. We love you." )
|
Print Page
Email to a Friend
RSS