INTERVIEW: Cause And Effect - Robert Rowe

[Consumable]

INTERVIEW: Cause & Effect's Robert Rowe
- Bob Gajarsky
What happens when your record label calls it a day and
abandons nearly all its artist roster? If you're a member of
synthpop band Cause & Effect, it means taking a detour and
getting your music out to the masses via the Internet.
Robert Rowe, lead singer and one of the founding members
of the California band, decided to take the band online in 1996
in order to regain control over the band's decisions. The choice
has proven to be a fruitful one.
"Building our web site has been one of the best decisions
we ever made.", Rowe explains. "We don't tour very often so it's
been a good way to keep that relationship with the audience that
you get while touring and to keep people informed of our progress.
When used creatively, the Internet gives power to artists to reach
people anywhere in the world without the help of a label and at a
very low cost. That just wasn't possible before."
That web site - at http://www.causeandeffect.com - serves
as a sort of clearinghouse for fans to discuss the band's favorite
songs, learn the latest news on Cause & Effect from the band's
members, and purchase merchandise - including the band's third
album, _Innermost Station_ (Liquefaction).
_Innermost Station_ originally started as a 6 song EP to
satisfy the fans who had been clamoring for a new release. But
when the trio got into the process of recording, songs flowed
freely - and soon, ten songs were recorded. The tenth song was
dropped, however, because it didn't fit in with the flow of the
nine that eventually comprised _Innermost_.
With the title taken from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, it
should come as no surprise that the songs here are much more mature and
revealing than previous C&E releases. Taking a sip from a glass of red
wine, Rowe discusses the evolution of _Trip_ and _Innermost_.
"_Trip_ was a questioning of things on a spiritual level and
through the recording of that album, we came to find a few answers for
ourselves. I think a lot of the songs on _Innermost Station_ deal
with a breakdown of the physical world around us and the breaking
apart of relationships."
One of the breakdowns which the band had to deal with after the
success of their breakthrough album, _Another Minute_, was the passing
of original member Sean Rowley in 1992 when he suffered a severe
asthma attack which resulted in heart failure. The memory of Rowley
still plays an important part in Cause & Effect's music.
"He (Sean) would never settle for whatever came easy," Rowe
sadly recalls. "He'd always push until he came up with something
better. I think of this every time I write."
And while _Another Minute_ may have drawn comparisons to
British synth pioneers such as Depeche Mode, the band's evolving
sound - including instruments not normally associated with synthpop
bands, such as a Fender Stratocaster or Rickenbacher 12 string guitar -
have made any of those comparisons moot. Rowe dismisses those
hanging on to once-valid analogies.
"I think with _Trip_, we managed to prove ourselves and develop
something unique. What annoys me are those that refuse to look further
than the similarities. Early Gene sounded a lot like the Smiths but that
doesn't mean that they (Gene) are invalid."
The instrumental "Radiolaria" offers the first chance to hear
Cause & Effect skirt the world of ambient music. Rowe first started
work on this during a solo weekend, where working on a song without
lyrics or vocals proved therapeutic. Fellow bandmates Keith Milo and
Richard Shepherd convinced an appreciate Rowe that it would fit with the
feel of _Innermost Station_ and made it into a complete song.
"We've never released an instrumental before so it was one more
way we could do something different from what we've done in the past.
I think with this genre of music (synthpop) there is a tendency to not
go outside of the boundries that were created by the bands that started
it all. We don't believe in not doing something just because it doesn't
fit the mold. If we feel like using a Gibson and a Marshall stack, we'll
do it if it works for the song."
Longtime C&E fans need not fear that the band have abandoned
their roots. Many of the tracks contained on _Innermost Station_ would
fit nicely in with the flowing work which was released on _Trip_, where
the songs weren't aimed at creating dance club fads, but at lasting
songs with honest-to-goodness intelligent hooks. That trait continues
here on cuts such as "Eclipse" and "She's So Gone".
"The World Is Ours" opens with ninety seconds of introspection and
mildly haunting music before bursting into a traditional keyboard chorus,
as Rowe implores his lover to 'Get up on the rooftop and scream out our
desires / They can keep their heaven, I'll stay down near the fire / The
world is ours.'
Meanwhile, "Real?" musically recalls "Another Minute", but with more
mature lyrics. 'The older I get, the less I feel / I don't know what I
want / I don't know what is real', Rowe realizes, as the younger boy from
the aforementioned cut has grown into a man.
There are no standout, top 10 singles here, but in establishing
a band's long-term success, the quality of albums is key. Cause &
Effect have produced another album which will tug at the hearts of
synthpop fans without having them run to hear an 'original' Erasure
or Depeche Mode disc.
What does the future hold for Cause & Effect? A tour in support
of _Innermost Station_ (with video projectsion) is in the cards for 1998,
but the band hasn't committed to anything. And just as Todd Rundgren is
doing, the band is looking into downloadable audio as an alternative to
discs - in order to distribute remixes or one-off songs to their fans.
As for whether the band will return to the major label distribution
that Zoo (and BMG) offered, that bridge will be crossed at a later date.
According to Rowe, "Maybe we'll go back (to a major) after we've proven to
ourselves that we don't need them so it feels more like a choice than a
neccessity."
But for now, Cause & Effect are experiencing first-hand the
power of the Internet to bypass traditional music outlets, and achieve
the goal of most performers - allow their music to be heard by the people.
---
This review first appeared in Consumable Online, the oldest continuous
collaborative music reviews publication on the Internet. Each issue
consists of reviews, interviews, tour dates and more music information.
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[Neil Kothari]

Consumable wrote:
>
> INTERVIEW: Cause & Effect's Robert Rowe

> And while _Another Minute_ may have drawn comparisons to

> British synth pioneers such as Depeche Mode, the band's evolving
> sound - including instruments not normally associated with synthpop
> bands, such as a Fender Stratocaster or Rickenbacher 12 string guitar -
> have made any of those comparisons moot. Rowe dismisses those
> hanging on to once-valid analogies.
> "I think with _Trip_, we managed to prove ourselves and develop
> something unique. What annoys me are those that refuse to look further
> than the similarities. Early Gene sounded a lot like the Smiths but that
> doesn't mean that they (Gene) are invalid."

I always did like Cause & Effect. :)

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