Interview: The Greeting Committee Cycle from Pondering to Pop with ‘Everyone’s Gone and I Know I’m the Cause’

After a decade of musical partnership, The Greeting Committee’s Addie Sartino and Pierce Turcotte reflect on themes of change, growth, and self-doubt with smooth vocals and punchy instrumentals on their third album, ‘Everyone’s Gone and I Know I’m the Cause.’

Stream: ‘Everyone’s Gone and I Know I’m the Cause’ – The Greeting Committee

I really credit Kansas City for a lot of our success, because I think that there’s something special there where Kansas City really rallies around local artists.

Music is a relationship, albeit a complex one.

It is becoming increasingly rare to find a band with a connection that is less nuanced and more inclusive of the audience. With The Greeting Committee, there are no strings attached. Aside from peppy hooks, piercing drumbeats, and vulnerable lyrics, their music draws you in due to the palpable care emanating from each track.

When speaking to Addie Sartino and Pierce Turcotte, I quickly realized their conversations had a rhythm. Sartino croons the chorus, letting me know she “really identifies with sounds,” while Turcotte constructs the bridge, admitting “[Addie] needs a little hand holding, but once [she] sees it, boom.” When one of them has concluded their thoughts, the other is quick to weave in their perspective, demonstrating an empowering and equal partnership. The relationship between Sartino and Turcotte is strong, going on ten years of being bandmates, and this translates to their music. When Sartino found inspiration in Charli xcx, Turcotte made beats with reverbrating bass and sharp percussion. When Turcotte produces a slurry of instrumentals, Sartino identifies with his unique touches, such as “melodies […] and textures.”

This effortless harmony didn’t come easily. The band’s third album Everyone’s Gone and I Know I’m the Cause is the result of significant restructuring of the band, with two of the original members departing. Sartino and Turcotte quickly filled in the gaps, with help from longtime collaborator Noah Spencer and newcomer Micah Ritchie. The album grapples with the significant changes and challenges the band has faced over the past year and a half, in both their professional and personal lives.

The album’s singles are “Cyclical,” “How It Goes,” “Where’d All My Friends Go” feat. flipturn, and “popmoneyhits.” These tracks remarkably pull weight on their own, while effortlessly slipping into the rest of the album. Everyone’s Gone and I Know I’m the Cause is a cohesive journey, yet each song builds a unique world related to various struggles, such as feeling isolated or choosing to leave a destructive relationship.

“Cyclical” begins with sweet scuffs of strings, as Sartino lilts, “I wanted to be somebody you meet.” The chorus picks up quickly with a cacophony of layered instrumentals, synths and garbled speech paving the transition back into verse. “Is it just me or is it everybody?” Sartino’s vocals glide along the rich percussion, and the bridge introduces a visceral pulse before refraining to highlight the lyrics. “I’ll rip the doorframe, I’ll call for days, I’m always waiting, I’m always” is desperately repeated throughout the bridge, encapsulating the ferocity of longing as well as referencing back to their song “Call in the Morning.” This track and album is a nod to the band’s impressive musical history.

“Popmoneyhits,” on the other hand, is meant to be enjoyed in a stuffy club, feet hammering along on slick linoleum. “I want dirty dirty rich babe / I want dirty dirty rich / I want popmoneyhits babe / Popmoneyhits,” Sartino asserts over a beat that fuses indie and dance pop, building a genre-bending track with pounding drumbeats and pure honey vocals. Less introspective than the other singles, this track’s placement at the beginning of the album charts a high point that is slowly degraded through the rest of the album. Not only does this craft a narrative that gives the lyrics a heavier meaning, but it also allows for a variety in tracks which makes their album universally appealing.

“Where’d All My Friends Go?” draws into the specifics of the cycle mentioned in previous tracks. Dejected drum beats trudge along as Sartino admits, “Time well spent is time well wasted.” The chorus picks up the beat with an air of yearning, asking “Where’d all my friends go?” flipturn’s Dillon Basse steps to the forefront of the second verse, relating to this unintentional isolation. “Now I get by / I get high with the ones who can” he belts roughly, harnessing the frustration this track is reflecting on. As is common with The Greeting Committee, this is another song you can dance to, but closer attention to the lyrics may turn that dance into aimless pacing as listeners ruminate on the pitfalls of change.

This struggle comes to a head with the powerhouse that is “How It Goes.” With a few simple clacks of drumsticks, listeners are launched into a fun, invigorating rock guitar beat that Sartino’s vocals bounce off of joyously. Though she is “afraid of everything that moves,” it’s inevitable, because “That’s how it goes, don’t you get sick of it?” Though Sartino is aware that this repeatedly-referenced cycle is exhausting and monotonous, she goes with the flow, whether that be obstacles life throws at her or the tremble of cymbals that marry this track’s instruments.

Everything about The Greeting Committee’s work is meticulous and deliberate. Turcotte shares that each song typically has a “buddy,” which allows for exploration without compromising the integrity of the album’s storyline. Off of Everyone’s Gone and I Know I’m the Cause, the chill, bedroom-pop track “Little Bit More” is coupled with “Sex and Taxes,” a sensual and jazzy addition. “Little Bit More” poses the question “Would you love me just a little bit more?” against smooth strums of bass and punchy drumrolls. This song is classy yearning, while “Sex and Taxes” is raw need. “I’m just watching her hands move, tracing lines on my thighs like she was drawn to,” Sartino croons. Determined piano chords and a brisk chatter of hi-step elevates her voice an octave, chirping “She talks dirty in my ear, knows how she wants it.” The chorus trills, “Nobody does what you do, I’ll do anything for you.”

Starting as a small collective in Kansas City, Missouri, The Greeting Committee have continuously released albums that are works of art, building a gallery of refreshingly honest experience that spans a decade.

Their ten year anniversary show at Midland Theatre on August 17 will be the perfect celebration of this tireless work, and all the love they’ve poured into it. The upcoming tour spans the country from July to August.

Read our full interview below!

— —

:: stream/purchase Everyone’s Gone… here ::

:: connect with The Greeting Committee here ::

Watch: “popmoneyhits” – The Greeting Committee

A CONVERSATION WITH THE GREETING COMMITTEE

Addie Sartino: Musically, I would say we listen to a lot of like Charli XCX and The 1975. “Cyclical,” our latest single. was really inspired by a Japanese House song from their latest record, and I was super excited that it sparked something in me. So I came home and Pierce and I had been working on “Cyclical” already, and it was something completely different, right? It was based off of another demo that morphed into “Cyclical.”

Pierce Turcotte: As far as I remember, you liked the word “cyclical” from the Japanese House song.

I remember putting on my headphones, finding all the synth sounds, and then taking them off and showing Addie within 20 minutes. The bridge was taken from an older Greeting Committee demo that never really even had words to it. It was probably another Japanese House inspired song with all the saxophones in it. I just borrowed [that] part from that song, pitched it to make it fit the new song, and just kind of tucked it in. That’s the only sort of a thing I remember stealing from ourselves.

Addie Sartino: Music was hard, honestly, being inspired by music. Last year, I kind of struggled with that. So anytime something new came out, I just really pulled from that, which is why it was a lot of Japanese House, the 1975, and then I really loved Charli XCX’s Crash album,

Pierce Turcotte: That was a big one. I think we achieved that with “popmoneyhits.” I probably tried a few more attempts to nail that hyper pop, Charli XCX thing. But I feel like I could only do that so many times, especially within The Greeting Committee. I’ll add, [we were inspired by] Omar Apollo and the Djo album before it had blown up. I actually really like all the synths and stuff on that album. And then Dominic Fike. Weaving in the pop with the indie and trying to find that balance.

Addie Sartino: And then I felt really inspired by, his [Instagram] handle is @photographerhal, and he is the photographer that shot our album cover and the single covers. I was very specific that it had to be him, because it was really his idea based on other collections he had where he literally put us in a giant Ziploc bag, essentially, and vacuum seals us so there’s 10 seconds where we can’t breathe. He was so worried about that, [but] we were fine after the first time. It wasn’t that scary. It was more just like, “Okay, how long is this gonna take to vacuum?”

But that really was informative to me about what the album needed to thematically be. I think the idea of preserving Pierce and me from the outside world was really symbolic with losing two original members, and this being our first full length record since then, I feel like that made a lot of sense. The album title is pulled from a song called “All Alone,” and that also refers to the big transformation we went through. So he really inspired me. That pulled a lot of weight for me, and really completed a lot of the puzzle pieces I needed for the visual side of the album.

Addie Sartino: I really credit Kansas City for a lot of our success, because I think that there’s something special there where Kansas City really rallies around local artists. I’ve got friends that grew up in other places, and they’re like, “We don’t wear our state initials on our hat.” Meanwhile, I have like, three Kansas City hats. I think that time of 2014-2016, there was a really special energy in the air around the music scene. That was at the height of 96.5, “The Buzz,” which was a really beloved radio station that still exists there, and they’re still doing awesome things, but they used to really have more control of what they put on air, and therefore would give a lot of artists chances that maybe they didn’t have or wouldn’t have had on radio.

If it hadn’t been for Laszlo, the program director – he’s the reason that we were able to get on the radio, get “Shazam-ed,” which was the big way for labels to track people at that time. And through that, we had a label and representatives reaching out to us on Facebook, email, whatever it was. I have no idea what would have happened if we didn’t have it happen that way. I think it’s very special, and that’s why our hometown shows are always so important to us. They’re very big, and we put a lot of effort into them. It’s a very conscious thing of, we’re not trying to profit off of the show. We’re trying to invest back into the show to make it the best it can be. So that’s something that’s really exciting, and I feel a lot of that comes from feeling really indebted to Kansas City and appreciative.

Pierce Turcotte: I’ll speak to the transition part. Maybe two years ago now, I think, Addie had made the decision [to move]. I was still very much on the fence, [because] Kansas City is a great spot to start a band. And again, Addie said, we’re super indebted to that upbringing. I don’t think we would have been the same if we didn’t have that upbringing in Kansas City. I think a lot fell into place in good and not-good ways that really set us up for the change. I don’t really remember the timeline of having everyone depart from the band, but I am sure that really influenced the decision to move to Nashville, and Addie’s desire to get into more of the writing thing. I took up a lot more of the production work and really fell in love with it, and being in Nashville gives me much more of an avenue to work as a producer here than I probably ever could in Kansas City. And don’t get me wrong, there are opportunities, and I know great musicians in Kansas City, but you’ve got to hustle a lot harder, whereas to do it here in Nashville, everyone’s down to work on music and do something, and you don’t have to bully your friends into working on music together. I don’t know what the future of us looks like here in Nashville, but I think we’re ready for a change. I think we are still super attached to Kansas City. I’m back home visiting my family at least every other month. So yeah, I don’t think that attachment is going away anytime soon.

Addie Sartino: We wrote the new album way faster because there were only two people that needed to approve something and Pierce and I are pretty compatible in what we like and what we’re looking for. I think we make a really great duo. I think I’m overly emotional and sensitive, and he’s super not emotional and sensitive. That really helps with him having this endless well to create from because he’s not getting hyper-fixated on specifics. He definitely has things that he roots for. That’s why I know when Pierce really likes something, it’s because he’s spoken up about it. But what’s nice is that that allows us to just move forward quicker. When you have four people, there’s a bunch of different personality types coming into play. I wasn’t the only one emotionally attached to certain things, and then there can [also] be just a difference in opinion. I think a lot of earlier Greeting Committee music was made out of the four of us disagreeing on stuff. That’s not to negate how much I love those records, or how special they are, or how brilliant Brandon and Austin’s parts were on them, because there’s definitely something special about those, and I wouldn’t change them. But it was really refreshing after 10 years to work on a record with somebody who’s pretty like-minded and wanting to move forward, wanting to keep pedaling until we get the right thing.

Pierce Turcotte: Yeah, I’ve learned so much about songwriting the last couple years. Looking back, I feel like we would dwell so much on songs we didn’t need to dwell on. I think there are times I’m like, I’m surprised that song made that record. I’m very proud of every album in every way. And I’m sure I’ll look back at this album in a certain light as well. But it’s funny, it’s probably the most consolidated album we’ve made, but it’s also the most collaboration we’ve done. I’d say maybe half the album is songs that Addie and I wrote together, but then we got set up working with other producers or songwriters or artists. Two songs we wrote with Chase Lawrence from Coin. We wrote this one song with the producer Laiko, who worked on the Medium Build stuff, and Charlie Berg. I mean, we’re with a bunch of other people, but just getting in those rooms, meeting those people, and learning how other people write music. It was just really fun and kind of got us out of our rhythm in new and exciting ways. That all together put a very interesting concoction of what me and Addie can sound like, and what The Greeting Committee can sound like.

Addie Sartino: I feel like working with those other people was so special and something that I had been wanting to do for a long time, and in the same breath, it also made me really appreciate what I have with Pierce, because he can translate what it is I’m looking for so quickly and easily to other people. I don’t notice it until I’m trying to work with someone else and express something, and Pierce knows to take over and try to translate what it is I’m asking for. It’s really nice to have that chemistry with somebody and to see how that manifests in other ways with other writers.

Also, this is the first record that our guitarist, Noah Spencer, played on. We have a song called “Honey Toast” on the record, and he wrote and produced that one. I just took it and added my lyrics because I was so in love with it. I’m really happy that that he’s getting to step more into the light, because he’s been with us for six years, and I think people don’t know how much of a part of the band he really is. Even though he wasn’t there from day one, he’s been there for the majority of the time at this point. I’m excited for him and to see where that goes as well.

Pierce Turcotte: I feel like we kind of used to hate writing together a little bit. I think we would go through phases of not liking working outside the band, [which] was really hard. Everything was sort of insular. Again, I think that actually some of that brought in some intimacy. But I think no matter what, we usually benefit from having an outside person look at what we do to help cut the fat that we can’t see.

It’s really nice to have that chemistry with somebody and to see how that manifests in other ways with other writers.

Pierce Turcotte: A lot of my editing comes down to Addie being in the room. Sometimes I could see a whole production and limitless ways which can be really fun, but I like someone reading me, [saying] this is what I want the song to be.

When we’re trying to write, we’re not trying to write super intricate things, most of the time. It’s verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus most of the time. I think when we first started, we were really bad at that. I think intentionally trying to not do that was just a self-limiting factor in the music and production of it, [plus] the natural limitations of [not having] the luxury of working in a studio much of the time. We did about two weeks doing drums and vocals and some guitar. We don’t have the biggest budget in the world, so most of those synths, guitars, bass, percussion I did at the house where Addie and I lived in Kansas City for nine months.

Addie Sartino: I love that you do it that way, though, because that gives so many options. You’re normally putting down a lot of melodies, is what it is. You throw in a lot of other stuff too, and textures.

I really identify with sounds. Like, I’m not good at sitting down with a guitar and writing. If I do that, it’s going to produce a really specific type of song, which is going to be “Wrapped Inside of Your Arms,” “Elise,” “Birthday Song.” It’s going to be something like that. I like those songs a lot, but I want to do more than just those. I want to try to make music that’s like the music I listen to, which I still don’t do, but it’s my attempt to get closer to it.

I’m really bad about editing while I write. That’s something you’re not supposed to do as a writer, at least a piece of advice that I like to follow, because when you do that, you’re really stunting your creativity. I kind of think I don’t edit enough, I don’t let myself have drafts, and I think drafts are really important.

Pierce Turcotte: Addie, the way I write with you is different than how I’ve been writing with other people. I feel like I really let you take the lyrical reins. I think maybe Chase Lawrence coming in with melodies was probably the most helpful session we did. Addie needed the full idea to see what I was thinking in my head, and as I got better at production and fleshing out songs. Whether or not you’re in the room with me, yeah, I always, always think about, like, oh, what will Addie cling to for this,

Addie Sartino: I need you to lay it out. I need you to build a little Lego set, and then I need to take the pieces that I want from your Lego set and build my own little thing with all your pieces. You make the foundation. I can’t do that.

Pierce Turcotte: You need a little hand holding. But once you see it, then you’re like, boom, the vision, this is the album, this is the art, this is the theme, the brand, whatever.

Addie Sartino: I went into this album thinking that I was going to write a really happy album, because I was happy, and I remember it almost being a detriment. When I was writing “How It Goes” lyrically with with Chase and Pierce, I was like, I know this song is really catchy and good and that it should go on the album, and it would be dumb to not put it on, but I don’t resonate with this right now. The song was more about being trapped in your habits and your anxieties and rolling your eyes at the person you are. And I was like, I’m just not there anymore. I’m really healthy right now. Then life events hit, and I’m like, ‘Cool, that song can go on the record now.’ I feel like that song and that whole story right there is what the album is. I thought I moved on from myself, but I didn’t. Here we are again. I’m still healing. Accept it, make better boundaries around it, and do the best you can. I feel like that’s what the whole album means. If I had to pin it, I feel like “Cyclical” and “Don’t Talk,” which are the first and last song on the record, those [are] bookends to me.

We did the thing we always do, which is to give a song a buddy. I don’t know if we did it as much on “Dandelion.” “Sex and Taxes” goes with the song called “Little Bit More,” those both hold the same energy. Most of the time, things don’t connect together, it’s Pierce and me going afterwards and making up the reason why they go together.

Pierce Turcotte: I mean, it’s your, your lived experience. It’s your life, and your life should connect together. So to me, that makes sense. Just looking at the name of the album, Everyone’s Gone, and I Know I’m the Cause, is a sad [sounding] album [with a] heavy title, [but] the first single is “popmoneyhits.” Looking at all the titles, I feel like it is funny. You wouldn’t know what kind of band we are based on the titles to some of those songs.

We did the thing we always do, which is to give a song a buddy.

Addie Sartino: Playing 930 club has always been a dream of mine. We’ve played it, headlining it, and I just really miss playing shows. I feel like being away for so long really creates a lot of doubt and self-infliction of nobody cares about us anymore. Our band is dead. We’re so, like, lame now, whatever it is, I’m just so mean to us. Pierce and I were talking before the tickets went on sale, and I was like, what if nobody comes.

Then the tour goes on sale, and everyone comes out of the woodwork, and they’re happy and to them, that’s signifying that we’re back. And so then I feel better, but going a year and a half without having that outside validation, that’s really challenging. And then also, I make friends with the people that regularly come to the shows. So I miss them. I can see them online. Sure, it’s a parasocial relationship, but some of them will go private, or some people just stop using social media as much, and so it’s nice to have a human connection with them at the shows.

— —

:: stream/purchase Everyone’s Gone… here ::

:: connect with The Greeting Committee here ::

— — — —

Connect to The Greeting Committee on
Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram

Discover new music on Atwood Magazine

 © Tyler Krippaehne

:: Stream The Greeting Committee ::