Stillwell Interview : Band Reflects On Stellar New Album + Collaborative Journey

Phoenixx Music Magazine caught up with the amazing band Stillwell to touch base about their incredible new album Supernatural Miracle, their collaborative process, evolution, Peter the rhino, and even Halloween.

Read the full interview below, and be sure to check out Supernatural Miracle, available now on all streaming platforms.

 

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Phoenixx Music Magazine: We both adore the new album, and noticed a comfortability and strength as a band, more than ever before! Was there a moment you realized you had finally found the sound you had been looking for?

Stillwell: Yes, it was the moment when Wuv stated almost the exact thoughts & feelings you have. Once he had mentioned it, it solidified we were on to something good

PMM: I absolutely love the album’s message to persevere, no matter what challenges come your way. Were there any challenges you had to face and overcome as far as getting out an album during this chaotic year?

Stillwell: There are always challenges when putting music out, especially during a time like this. And now we’ve been DIY for this album so that upped the ante. So if you noticed we’ve been using social media way more than we ever had in the past with our earlier releases.

PMM: It was easy for us to hear evolution and growth collaboratively from each album to the next. Has your process changed making music as Stillwell, as opposed to with your other bands?

Stillwell: Definitely. With Stillwell we have a different chemistry and understanding when we get together. Each album had a vastly different approach, but “Supernatural Miracle” in particular was as advertised, a Supernatural Miracle. Everything flowed.

PMM: For those moments you feel like you’re “in a rush to go nowhere fast”, do you guys have any hobbies or passions outside of music that really help to rejuvenate your creativity?

Stillwell: Wuv is a carpenter, something he’s been doing since he was a kid with his dad. Fieldy paints, within the past few years he’s painted a series of characters called “Izms” and has raised money for charity with them. Q is a martial artist who’s been training most of his life along with being a comic book collector.

PMM: It felt like Supernatural Miracle especially gave each band member’s talents a chance to shine. The way the album is crafted is remarkable, and very cohesive. How has working as Stillwell helped you to grow as individuals and musicians, apart from your other projects?

Stillwell: We’ve learned to not force the issue when it came to writing for Stillwell, no acting like there’s a sense of urgency, letting things flow and giving each individual the space and patience needed to do what they do. This is opposed to our first album where it was too tense and we were overthinking everything.

PMM: I’ve noticed a lot of fans expressing, “A Come To Jesus Moment” is exactly what they’ve needed during this crazy time. What has the response from fans been like so far in terms of welcoming the new album?

Stillwell: A majority of the responses have been great, everything from, like you said, what they exactly needed too people discovering us for the 1st time, which is cool because if “Supernatural Miracle” is their first impression, we’re very cool with that

PMM: Can you tell us about the genesis of Peter the rhino? He’s got some serious style, and it was cool to see Zip De Long’s animation bring him to life.

Stillwell: Peter was an idea we had when we dropped our first album, some 10+ years ago. We knew we wanted to produce an action figure of some sort. The name “Peter” was Q paying respect to his cousin Peter who was the first person in his life to Introduce him to bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Zip is awesome at what she does, and a very cool person who shows a lot of love online for Stillwell.

PMM: Obviously touring isn’t really possible at the moment. Do you have any ideas or plans for how to play this music for fans?

Stillwell: We’ve been utilizing social media a ton. This is the most we’ve ever done anything like this with live feeds, posts, comedy sketches, boomerangs, whatever we can come up with on a daily basis. Anything that’s going to direct traffic to make people curious enough to go check out our music and what it is that we’re doing.

PMM: Our favorite track from Supernatural Miracle is definitely “Best Day Ever”. Was there a song on the album that you were especially proud of how it came together?

Stillwell: We know it’s a generic answer but we love all the songs and are very proud with this particular album. To make something this cohesive and with the understanding that we were going to make something that we believe to be fun or fun music was extremely important to us so that when somebody tunes into what it is that we are doing they’re having fun and listening to some really fun music, good music.

PMM: Halloween is my favorite of all the holidays, so I have to ask … Do you have any plans to dress up for Halloween this year?

Of course!!! That’s our favorite holiday too, we think 90% of the holidays are our favorite holidays hahahahaha

 

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Interview by Tiffany Cuthrell + Jonathon Wright, photo courtesy of Stillwell