All the Best Dreams: An interview with Codeseven

Like the breaking of a new dawn, the interstellar sounds of Codeseven have returned after a five year hiatus. Taking to the road once again, the one-time hardcore act are no strangers to shedding personas, trading discord for the realms of space rock that culminated with critical acclaim for their 2004 album Dancing Echoes / Dead Sounds.

Looking to once again leave a lasting memory, their future now is an open palette for their craft. We spoke to Codeseven member Jon Tuttle on their current tour with Circa Survive and Dredg about their return, the reasons why and what they look to do in the years ahead.

Welcome back, how does it feel to be back together and on the road again?

Tuttle: We started this band when we were in high school or had just graduated, and spent our entire adult life concentrating solely on Codeseven. When we split five years ago, there was soon a giant void or a feeling like something was missing from our lives. Playing these songs again and now back on tour is absolutely awesome. Stopping playing music and touring etc. is not an easy thing to do, not matter how tired of the process you were at the time of the break-up.

How’s the tour going so far?

Tuttle: We are a couple of weeks in and everything has been running great. Every night has been sold out or close to, and much bigger than we expected. Obviously the bulk of the crowd are fairly young Circa fans but it's been great seeing so many old faces from years ago.

How important was it for you to be touring with friends Circa Survive and Dredg on your first tour back?

Tuttle: It was pretty much the main reason we agreed to do the tour. We had planned a reunion show but hadn't really gave a lot of thought about doing anything else but when Brenden (Circa Survive) called and asked if we wanted to extend the reunion to a tour, we all agreed this we would be a great thing to do with some of our oldest friends.

What has kept you busy these past five years?

Tuttle: All of us, but our vocalist Jeff, formed a short lived multi-media project called Telescreen. We experimented with the blending of visuals, music, and storytelling. It was really cool but a lot of work, which caused us to burn out on it. We may bring that back to life someday if we come up with the right ideas for a story. For the most part though, we lived life like normal people which was nice. I have a six-year-old and spent the last five years raising him which was really important for me to be around to do that.

Was there a specific catalyst for the reunion- a reason for the return?

Tuttle: We just finally got everyone on the same page. The idea had been tossed around a couple of years ago but Jeff had never really wanted to do it and Matt was living four hours away from everyone else. I don't know why but it just finally happened.

Equal Vision are re-releasing Dancing Echoes/Dead Sounds, is this album still the most accurate representation of Codeseven to date? Is this the album you’re all happiest with?

Tuttle: I think if you look at the darker songs on that release like "Nasty Little Revolution" or "The Devils Interval" then yes, this pretty closely represents us in our current state; Although I like the organic feeling The Rescue had a bit better. It really just depends on the mood we're in. We have our core sound but we can easily shift the layers around to meet whatever vibe we want to create.

You’ve been playing a lot of the older material on your current tour? Are they still as great to play as when they were first written/recorded?

Tuttle: I still think Division of Labor holds it's own in the metal world and those songs are really fun to play due to the fact that it is so much more technical. As far as the The Rescue and DEDS, they both feel  good. There are a couple of songs we don't feel as strongly about as we once did but overall it's been great to perform these songs again.

Will you be writing and recording new material?

Tuttle: Our main focus right now is to complete this tour in one piece. Writing is our first love so once this is done I'm sure we will start banging out some ideas.

What kind of direction are you looking to take Codeseven once this tour concludes?

Tuttle: Right now it's wide open and impossible to say. I would imagine a bit darker and maybe even more aggressive based on our song selections for the set every night but we'll have to wait and see.

____________________________________ Dancing Echoes / Dead Sounds is now available via Equal Vision.