PropertyOfZack had the chance to speak with Nick from Citizen. Nick took the time to answer questions regarding the band’s new split, being signed to Either/Or Records, another new 7” for 2011, and touring plans. Read up and enjoy!

For the record, could you state your name and role in Citizen?
My name’s Nick. I play guitar in the band. I try to carry out some vocals too.  

The band released three songs on a new split with The Fragile Season back in November. Both sides of the split are fantastic, so how has the reception to it been?
The reception has been great. It has been exposed to many significant people and I’ve received nothing but compliments.  

Vince Ratti, who recently worked on The Upsides by The Wonder Years, engineered the record. How was it working with him?
Vince is a great guy. He was very flexible with our schedule and working around our transportation issues. He had our best interest in mind and it was great to work with someone who had a mutual passion for the music we play, as we do. He went out of his way to make sure we had a solid outcome.  

Did you enjoy your time in the studio in general?
Going to Philly over the summer was, for me, life changing. I met people that I am now great friends with. We’re a young band so it was a great glimpse of independence and I think everyone in the band learned a lot from the experience.  

When were the songs originally written and how was the writing process for them?
We wrote them over the extent of the summer. We finished writing probably two weeks before we commenced the recording process. We had an idea of what we wanted to accomplish and we revised until we met it. 

It was announced that Either/Or Records had signed Citizen and would be releasing the split back in October. How has your relationship been with Rob and the label so far?
Rob is definitely one of the easiest guys to work with. He is consistently going out of his way to ensure that Citizen is exposed, not just the label, but Citizen. Running an indie label is pretty harsh on finances but Rob does everything he can to get the band where we would like to be. 

Was it just a one-off release with Either/Or or will the band remain signed to the label for the future as well?
We are planning on releasing a 7” on Either/Or this year. Talk of a split tape is in the works (in conjunction with another great label). We feel that Either/Or is growing in a positive manner and the release schedule for 2011 is looking great.  

Citizen only has four shows on the books at this point, one of which is with Fireworks and The Wonder Years, which should be great, but when can we expect some more widespread touring? Are there plans for the next few months yet?
We are going on a 3 day mini-tour with I Am Alaska in March. We’ve been getting some talk around about teaming up with some good bands for tour in the summer. Hopefully we’ll be touring then. 

There has been talk about the band possibly doing an acoustic EP. Is that any more or less concrete at this point? And will they be new songs or redone tracks from the split?
An acoustic EP isn’t in our plans as of now. We just released one acoustic song that won’t be featured on any releases, at this point. We may somewhere down the line. (But who knows?) Has the band written more songs that have yet to be recorded yet? 

Can you discuss possible future releases for the rest of the year? And if songs have been written, how would you compare them to the split?
Yes, we have a couple of songs that we are planning to feature on another release. They will more than likely assist in composing the 7” release. For those that have heard the tracks, we’ve been told that they have a darker feel than the songs on the split. I am very confident in the direction we are heading. 

Thanks so much for your time, is there anything else you’d like to add or that we should be on the lookout for?
Thanks for the interview! Keep on the lookout for Louder Than Bombs’ new material. Listen to Seahaven, Girls, The Ergs, Hostage Calm, and The Fragile Season. Support Either/Or Records, Evil Weevil Records, and Run For Cover Records.