Introducing….Time Spent Driving

Today, Click Rool Boom catches up with Jon Cattivera of Santa Cruz Emo Vets Time Spent Driving. Pioneers of the late 90s/early 2000s legendary emo scene the band have just put on their first album since 2015 “Estrangers”

Click Roll Boom: Who are Time Spent Driving? How did you form?

Jon Cattivera: We formed about 1999 as four kids from the cuts of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California. I grew up skateboarding and got into punk music that way. Some of us played in some melodic punk bands (Fury 66, Reliance, etc.) When our bands broke up, we wanted to do something more dynamic, more complex, and more versatile like some of the bands we we were listening to, so we started going in that direction and never looked back.

CRB: What's the story behind the band's name?

JC: When we were first forming I was doing a lot of driving. My daughter lived a few hours away and I’d drive up almost every Sunday. I wanted all the time I could scrape up when not working to play and write music, so to use this time too, I ended up just trying to think of lyrics while driving and would either jot them down on a notepad, or have a little tape recorder I’d talk them into. Early songs like Your Arms, the Blades were written at least partially that way. Other songs like Patterson Pass and Rain on Sundays are written about that drive too. When it came to figuring out a name, I came up with it and threw it in the mix. It felt better than the rest, and sounded/looked ok, so we went with it Band names are hard, but it's worked out alright.

CRB: How would you describe your sound?

JC: Heavy, abrasive, discordant, and loud half the time, and quiet and pretty at others. Always melodic, and melancholic—and layered. We kinda run the gamut I guess, but that’s what I love about the genre. There's just so much you can do that can be molded to what you are feeling when writing.

CRB: What influences have shaped your style?

JC: At the time we started I was into stuff that was transitioning out of punk rock, which was getting really saturated at the time, to something new. Bands like Samiam, Seaweed, Hot Water Music, Lifetime, Sense Field, Chamberlain, Knapsack, Sunny Day Real Estate, Shades Apart, Kerosene 454, Texas is the Reason, etc. 

CRB: You’ve just put out your first new record in almost a decade, was it daunting coming back after such a long hiatus?

JC: Weirdly it didn’t feel like a hiatus as much as something that just dragged on unneccessarily. We were still getting together a lot over that time, but things were just really slow going. There were a few timeframes we weren’t getting together at all though, and then on top of it Covid went down. It felt to me that people in the band were just moving too slowly in getting the songs I had written nailed down and finalized. This being said, I also was super busy myself, and time just flies by. I really wish it had been quicker because most of the songs were written at the beginning at that time frame.

CRB: Can you tell me about the new album ‘Estrangers’?

JC: Because the writing, recording, and the release process were pretty disjointed compared to the past, I wasn’t really sure how it would be come out or be received since I had been so close to the process. But I think at the end there’s a real cohesiveness to it while still having a lot of contrast between many of the songs. Thanks to our engineer Andy, the recording sounds really good too I think. Since it’s been out, I’ve had a lot of long time fans tell me it just might be their favorite record, so that’s a really good sign. I'm proud of it.

CRB: How do you think you’ve evolved or changed in the past 9 years?

JC: I hope we have—I always want to evolve and progress. I don’t like to tread the same old path in life in general, and try not to do it musically either. That being said, I want a consistency where it sounds like the same band. I try to keep it interesting and incorporate new slants and techniques. I feel like in a way we are hitting a sweet spot where we aren’t overthinking it. Lyrics are really important to me and I think am pretty good at not repeating myself and I'd like to think I'm always breaking new ground in that realm.

CRB: How do you approach the songwriting process?

JC: It’s varied over the years, but these days, I usually pick up a guitar, plug it into a computer with GarageBand, pick a tone that'll be good enough to get going, and start writing a main guitar part. Usually it'd be something I’d be playing while singing, and I almost always start working on vocals in tandem. I write melodies and lyrics right away. The way I see it is if I don’t have something where I’ll be able to sing something I want over it, it’s not worth much. I’ve heard a bunch of bands say they wait to do lyrics until way later, often right before they go into the studio. That makes zero sense to me. From there, it can vary in regard to how I patch things together. Sometimes I’ll continue making other guitar parts for an entire length of a song. Other times I might plug in a second guitar and start writing what would go over the first part I wrote before even seeing where the rest of the song goes. Other times, I might work on a bass part because the guitar part doesn’t have much of a rhythm and needs something to carry it. Essentially I just keep layering until I’ve got something that tells me it’s a good song. From there I usually send it to the other dudes, then we get together to make sure things are working, then they put their stamp on it.

CRB: Are there any specific themes or messages you aim to convey through your music? And what do you hope listeners take away from your music?

JC: Most of our songs both musically and lyrically, can be pretty dark. Probably to our detriment. When you’re going through some pretty brutal stuff, it’s hard to get around writing about it. Plus, I just like dissonant sounding chords, and that lends itself to a more melancholic vibe. That’s not to say we don’t have some poppier stuff, cause I feel like we do, but I try to disguise it and twist things up a bit without making super obvious choices. As far as what people take away—I hope they can relate and they know they aren’t alone if the subject matter of a song resonates with them.

CRB: Can you highlight a memorable moment or experience from your journey as a band?

JC: I wouldn’t trade any of it—but it ain’t easy, you have to have a lot of perseverance. All these experiences helped me prepare and succeed with other non-musical endeavors and challenges. Nothing sticks out as any one thing to highlight.

CRB: Any live shows coming up?

JC: Looks like I’ll be playing a solo/acoustic show in our area in March. After that, I want to get an album release together to coincide with getting putting the vinyl version out, being that we haven’t been able to play live yet since the album was released. From there going to try and book a good handful of shows without burning everyone out.

CRB: Lastly, what's next for the band?

JC: We are in the middle of recording a new record that I freshly wrote over the last year or so, and I’m super excited about these new songs. We are also recording a few older songs we never did properly, and hoping to do some vinyl reissues with some extras. If I have it my way, there will be a lot more coming and I'm just getting started, but we'll see.