The Secret Post Interview by Kris Prudhomme 

• Alright for starters guys, mind introduce yourselves to people who might not be familiar with the band’s music?

We are The Secret Post. Zachariah (vocals, guitar, songwriter), Tim Synth(synths), Nicoli (drums), and M(bass guitar). We are a post-punk/post alternative band from Oklahoma. 

• Zachariah, I remember talking with you on the phone about the reasons you side stepped the goth tag because it was a bit too constrictive and I can understand why because the band does have its darker moments but at the same time I can hear a lot of straight post punk and even coldwave and indie influences, has it helped the band when trying to get the music to a wider audience?

Yes, and no. It’s kind of a double edged sword. I don’t want the original fans to feel like we have abandoned the “goth” scene. I just honestly don’t identify with the current word “goth”. My favorite color is black. My favorite bands are The Cure, Joy Division, and Depeche Mode. I’m an old school goth, and always will be. My venture into goth came from punk rock(The Damned, The Jam, Ramones, New York Dolls), and on into Post-Punk(The Chameleons UK, Modern English, Psychedelic Furs, Early U2, etc). So my true roots I suppose are more punk/post-punk. I believe it HAS allowed me to reach a wider audience. Some people that would have just said, “oh they are goth”, and gone on about their business, have stopped to take a look. We have gained more fans in the last year and a half than we did for the first 6 years.

• You guys are from Oklahoma, which historically is not known for post punk related styles of music. With the band and others like Kali Ra starting to make waves and bring new sounds to the table, do you think it will finally help draw focus away from just the larger scenes such as the ones in Portland and LA and show that middle America has sounds worth checking into?

I would love for that to be the case. Tulsa they say, is the next Austin. If that is so, I’d love to be one of the bands that helped shed light, or shadow, haha, on the fact we have more to offer than country and metal. There are so many genres here in Tulsa and our sister OKC. Many bands to check out that don’t sound like “they belong” in Oklahoma. I’m quite proud to be one of those bands.

• When I listen to songs like Magazine Article Lover, I hear the New Order influence and of course by proxy Joy Division but I notice elsewhere I hear strains of Siouxsie and even Gang of Four, all wonderful bands but for once it doesn’t sound like you guys started in the 80’s, basically a fresh take on the sounds. Do you each have your own radically different backgrounds or is everyone on a similar enough wavelength to where it wasn’t hard to reach agreements on the feel for each song?

Yes. We all like a lot of the same bands, but we definitely differ on favs. I write the songs, and give each member a “foundation” to build on and make their own. I do believe they make it their own with our shared influences, and each members individual influences as well. I must say it blends well, and makes me happy. Let’s say you throw on a Cure record, no one in this band is gonna say, “turn that off”…I’d fire them if they did. Haha.

• Has the band had a chance to travel around yet? I know you were supposed to go New Orleans but sadly that fell apart (I can personally attest to this) due to the turbulent state of the NOLA scene and the fact that it’s more Industrial/EBM there these days than anything punk/post punk related.  I imagine it’d be great for the band to make the rounds in Texas as seeing things are shaping up nice in places like Dallas and San Antonio.

Yes! We spent all last year traveling and aging everywhere but our hometown! We did miss out on New Orleans, but it gave way to a wonderful show in Kansas City, Horror on the Boulevard. Kansas City now is a main stay on our travel list. We are heading over to Europe this fall, to support our new album, and couldn’t be more excited. Our EP Fields of Fire, kind of “caught fire” over there, Greece, France, Italy, and England. So we are looking forward to a busy schedule this year traveling and supporting the new record!

• With the re-emergence of punk influenced acts and the surprising trend of certain indie acts taking post punk influences, does it maker easier for the band to send out tracks to local DJ’s for spinning and exposure as well as getting the music to a younger crowd? Usually it seems it’s the mid-20’s and up crowd up that appreciates the music but I imagine it must be rewarding to see teenagers getting into your stuff.

I believe it’s about the same, here in the states anyway. We have had quite a few DJ’s here (US) pick us up that normally don’t play anything like us. So maybe in some small way we are helping to break down the walls for other indie bands that don’t sound traditionally American. I think the small window when post-punk started to make a comeback in the states has already closed, and people dismiss it as a fad that ran its course…bands like Interpol, Bloc Party, The Bravery, and yuck, the Killers and Franz Ferdinand. The United States will catch on again… Europe of course is still a huge fan of post-punk, as it never went away. 

• Have you all been contacted by any of your contemporaries for partnerships or splits? Bands like Metro Decay or Lebanon Hanover would be fantastic pairings with the band’s sound. 

We have actually! We were invited to be on a compilation last fall with 14 bands around the globe. It is called DJ Mac’s Post Alternative Visions. Great compilation, great bands, I managed to get Kill the Reflection(OKC) on there as well, proud of my Oklahomans. I also sang a song for the Scottish band Carnival Star, and recently sang a cover of “Drowning Man” by The Cure for them as well for a covers EP they are putting out this year. Kill the Reflection and The Secret Post plan to out a color 45 this year, like the old KMFDM and Thrill Kill used to do. Also plan on working with The Seraphim Rising this year. Lots of plans! Lots of talent coming together this year.

• One thing I rarely touch on but I know all of you guys have day jobs, how do you balance your main careers with that of active musicians? I know it’s hard to strike a balance so as to not have the two clash and cause havoc and even more so if the band gains in popularity then it’s trying to make sure your employers are comfortable with what you do, even if we know it’s none of their business, we all know they pry.

Yes. It is a constant battle. But we have managed so far, and I think all of our employers know how important the band is. I’m just waiting for that offer that is sweet enough for me to say goodbye to the day job. Haha. Somehow we make it work, that’s all an indie band can really do. Push.

• Ok, what releases do you have currently out there for the public’s buying and listening pleasure?

Right now we have the EP Fields of Fire out there, iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, Band Camp. By the end of March our first full length LP, “From Train to Station” should be hitting the airwaves. This is gonna be a killer record. We have a guitar legend mixing and producing it…so we are in VERY good hands.

• To wrap things up, anything else you would like to pass on to readers , it can be a plug, advice or just whatever comes to mind, you don’t have to filter what you say here!

Go to shows. Buy T Shirts. Support your local bands. It means the world to us! Talk to us! We love you all. Thanks Kris for taking the time to talk to us. Check out these bands: Satellite Paradiso, Kill the Reflection, The Seraphim Rising, Carnival Star, Hyena Motorcade, Kali Ra, Vodsel, Hilliat Fields…haha. Listen to more music!