Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) are one of my favourite indie rock bands at the moment, so it was somewhat of a privilege to have this interview.
Singer & guitarist, Keith Latinen took the time out of his busy schedule to put my mind at ease by answering some my queries.

Hi Keith, how are you? Been up to anything exciting as of late?
I’m well, thanks! Just very, very busy with the band and the label, and finishing up grad school, work, etc. Most of it is not exciting. We did, however, just release Benton Falls ‘Fighting Starlight’ on vinyl through Count Your Lucky Stars. Very glad to get a chance to do that.

For those unfamiliar with the band, can you please try and describe the music you play?
We play really pretty music that has a lot of heart to it. I like to think that it is sad music that will make you happy when you are sad, haha.

“What It Takes To Move Forwards” is the band’s first full length, was it a smooth process or more a labour of love? There’s been a few line up changes throughout the writing/recording hasn’t there?
Yes, there have been a few line-up changes, although they didn’t affect the recording. The members that have come and gone weren’t even on the majority of the recording. It wasn’t exactly a smooth process, no. Cathy played her guitar parts, but I played all the other parts and recorded it. It wasn’t easy doing drums and recording it, for example, and we just recorded it at my parent’s house during the times they left for various activities. I wanted it to move faster, and so many times I felt like it would never be done. I could wish for better recording equipment, better space, better conditions, etc, but it was what it was. I am hoping for our next release to go to a real studio, and to just play guitar and sing. Don’t get me wrong, I mostly love how everything came out, but it could have been a lot easier.

The album sounds like it was more of a collaborative effort than previous releases, is this the case? If so, how much input did everyone have?
Haha, actually, it was pretty much the same as the ‘Year of the Rabbit’ sessions. Cathy and I wrote everything. We were in between members when the bulk of it was recorded. Two songs, ‘The Next Step to Regaining Control’ and ‘Rally the Troops!’ feature our original drummer (after it became a full-band), which were recorded well before ‘Year of the Rabbit’. ‘What Safe Means’ featured our long-time fill-in drummer, Joe Sak. Our former bassist DJ Degennaro sang some back-up vocals, etc. Except for Matt, the people that played the instruments on each song were people that were in the band at the time.
Normally, when we write a song now, everyone writes it together and everyone writes their own part. I’m big on that- to me it’s all about everybody doing their part and making the song theirs. It just so happened that we were without those members when we recorded, and we didn’t want to stop making music while waiting to get new ones.
There’s also a collaboration with Matt from Look Mexico on the album, how did that come about? Are you all friends?
Yeah, we’ve been friends for a couple years now. Whenever they make their way up to Michigan (which isn’t enough), they usually stay at our apartment. Last time we ate a lot of pizza, haha.
At one point, we were going to do a split 7”, but that didn’t end up happening. Josh (their drummer) has done a couple of our shirt designs too. As for how the collaboration came about, I just asked Matt if he wouldn’t mind lending his voice to one of our songs, and he said yes. We were really happy with the way it turned out; Matt’s voice is so amazing.

Your song writing harks back to the glory days of 90′s indie rock, which bands do you think were the biggest influence on your writing?
Anyone who knows me knows exactly how I will answer this: My biggest influence and favorite band of all time is Mineral. I actually chatted with Chris Simpson via email a few times, and he told me we wore our influences well. I was totally geeked!
My other top favorites include Appleseed Cast, Penfold, Promise Ring, Get Up Kids, Colossal, Death Cab for Cutie, American Football, Knapsack, Jimmy Eat World, and Sunny Day Real Estate. I could go on all day, but I think that list does justice.

You are also responsible for the label Count Your Lucky Stars? What gave you the urge to start a label in a time where sales of physical copies of records seem to be dwindling?
To me, it never feels real owning something digitally. If I only have it on my computer, I don’t feel right saying I own it- even if I bought it on iTunes. I know that is not true for the majority of people, but I love the physical product. I grew up on CD’s. I remember buying a new album, and just driving around with my friends, listening to the whole thing, pouring over linear notes and every detail I could find. Whenever I went to a new record shop, I would spend hours on end, looking for rare records. I still do, it drives Cathy nuts, haha.
I started the label because I wanted to reach out to people who loved the music we loved, in hopes that they would love what we love now. There are so many good bands out there, and so many of them go unnoticed. I want to change that. These bands deserve it.

Speaking of which, I notice that all of the Count Your Lucky Stars releases are also on iTunes etc, how are they performing compared to the physical versions?
Yeah, they are all available digitally as well. We want to reach out to everyone in as many ways possible. The digital sales do much better in America, but we sell more physical copies overseas. It seems like countries outside of America seem to appreciate the physical release more these days.

Have you found much time for other people’s music recently? Anything in particular that you’ve been listening to?
Most of the new music I hear nowadays spawns from the shows we play. Most of the bands on our label have been bands we have played with, or friends of bands we played with. I’ve been really into Pennines and Victor! Fix the Sun lately, and I’m also always listening to the bands on our label.

Finally, any intentions of heading to the UK/Europe? It’d be nice to see a Count Your Lucky Stars mini tour!
We would love to! At this time we don’t have any plans, but if anyone knows how to get the ball rolling, contact us!

“What It Takes To Move Forward” is out now on cd from Count Your Lucky Stars with the double LP (a joint release with strictly no capital letters) to follow shortly.

An Idea Is a Greater Monument Than a Cathedral

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