Two Bicycles: A Special Interview

You may have noticed that at the headline of this blog lies the slogan "The music speaks for itself". But, like the tree falling in the forest, the music must have a listener for it to be what it's supposed to be: a creation, a work of art. Sometimes the creator is the only one who gets the opportunity to enjoy it. On other times, the lucky listeners will find something unique within themselves and the piece - and connect.

Jamison Dick, creating under the moniker of Two Bicycles, has managed to inspire such a connection for many people with his personal songs "Love Is" and "Love Is Not", as previously posted here. I wanted to find out more about him and how he works.

Q. Can you tell us a little about you and the music you create.

A. I'm 23 and I live in a town called Abbotsford, which is about an hour outside of Vancouver. It's cool, I know a lot of people would rather just live in the city but I like being a bit more in the country. I spent a few years living in the Prairies, which is like Canada's Midwest. I like the quiet life and that has a big effect on my songwriting.

Q. You said you're "not in it for the money". What inspires you to create and make music? What are your influences?

A. I started making music as "Two Bicycles" two years ago. I had been working on some more introspective, electronic songs and I felt it was about time I picked up my guitar and started writing songs. I wanted to encapsulate some of that Prairie life. Alt Country songwriters like Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams had a big influence on me too.

Q. "Love Is" and "Love Is Not" achieved tremendous popularity on the Hype Machine probably because people were able to personally connect with them. How do you balance your personal experiences and songwriting when you're writing a song?

A. I guess one of the main reasons I write this stuff is because it's become the main way I process things. Relational stuff, spiritual stuff, sometimes even political stuff; I work out a lot of this stuff in these songs. This new record deals a lot with me working out spiritual things, which has been really healthy for me.
I think my personal experiences are the main force behind my songwriting. I was thinking about this with the last question, and the reasoning behind writing songs. I sort of realized that songwriting is a way for me to process my experiences; to take those experiences and create through them "art". The whole thing is very much outside of myself.
You saying that people connected with both "Love Is" and "Love Is Not" is interesting to me, because I both those songs are very specific to my experience. That being said, there is something about a song, whether the lyrics are specific or not, that can allow it to be something that is easily empathized with. When I think of the music that I love, and I mean really love, I realize how often its something in my own life that is associated with it. Take Kid A by Radiohead, which is my favourite record. The reason it's my favourite record is because of the times, places and states of mind that I've listened to it in. Truthfully, and I'm sure I'm not alone on this one, I couldn't tell you, lyrically, what Thom Yorke is trying to say through that record. I can pick up on some themes, or a general idea, but I can't tell specifically. That being said, I still find that I connect with that record in a way that is deeper than most. I guess that's what I'm trying to do: create music that people will be able to associate with their own experiences. My friend Dave is a poet, and once told me that art doesn't exist until someone other than yourself experiences it. If a poem, or a song, or a painting, just sits on its own, without an audience, than what is it? Art needs to communicate, and I hope that I can accomplish that through my music.

Check out Two Bicycles on MySpace, tumblr, Facebook and the 61 for more tracks and updates. His latest LP, An Attempt to Be Alone, is a beautiful album that needs to be out there.

Two Bicycles - Clothe Me {MP3} (from An Attempt to Be Alone)
Two Bicycles - Ghost {MP3} (from An Attempt to Be Alone)