After a ten-year wait, Echolyn’s new album is finally out. In reality, it’s not just one album, but two, for a total of just over 90 minutes of music. Time Silent Radio vii and Time Silent Radio ii, distinguished in this way by the number of songs contained in each of the two CDs, show a band that appears to be in great health, totally independent artistically and that gives us a work that can easily be counted among their best things (and Echolyn have never produced bad works). This and much more was discussed in the interview below with Christopher Buzby (keyboards, backing vocals), Brett Kull (guitars, lead vocals and backing vocals) and Ray Weston (bass, lead vocals and backing vocals) who agreed to answer the questions of an admirer like myself…


Hi guys and thanks for your availability to answer my questions. I personally met you in 1995. After reading some articles about you in a couple of progressive rock fanzines, a friend made me listen to Suffocating the Bloom and As the World, briefly introducing the band as similar to Gentle Giant. The spark didn’t strike right away (your music requires a minimum of consistency before being appreciated) but then you became one of my favorite bands. I consider Echolyn among the best 5 bands ever among those born after the Seventies (if you’re curious the other 4 are Opeth, Gov’t Mule, Landberk and The Amazing). I have all your records (including the side projects to the band) and so it’s exciting for me to be able to interview you. So forgive me if some questions seem a bit too fan-like…
Let's begin…
It’s been 10 years since the last Echolyn album. It’s never been so long between your albums. I know you started working on it in 2018. Why did you let so much time pass?

Chris Buzby: I moved full-time to what used to be my second home in Southern Delaware in July of 2014 and took a teaching job in Berlin, Maryland. While I’m only 150 miles south of where Brett and Ray live in PA, that’s still a 2.5 hour drive one-way…so unfortunately that made it much harder for us to see each other as much and as often. I was also diagnosed with Stage 3 Prostate Cancer in March of 2019 and had emergency surgery that June to remove my Prostate, which sidelined me for a few months while I recovered. I am, however, very happy to report I’m about to pass the 6-year mark of now being cancer-free. My PSA for the PSA; guys = get checked!
Brett Kull: We get together to write and record when the time allows and circumstances call.
Ray Weston: After the last album we needed to take a mental vacation, some time away to clear our heads and figure out where to go next. Chris and Brett started in ’18 and soon realized they needed the best looking guy in the band back so they gave me a holler. Shortly after that Chris has some scary health issues….. covid, work, and of course life happened. We never felt any pressure to get these albums finished. We knew the songs would tell us when they were ready. For me the extra time took the stress off of writing some of the best lyrics Brett and I have written.

The quality of the songs is very high, in my opinion at the level of your best works, I think also because each composition has been created and refined in the smallest details over all these years. I often joke that there should be a law that forces Echolyn to release an album every two years. I wonder: would the quality of the compositions change if you were faster? And can you give me a little description of how your compositional and recording process works?

Chris: So happy to hear you rank the quality of these new songs so high - we, too, feel they are some of our best musical output, to date, as a band. The process always starts with Brett, Ray or myself bringing an idea to the band for a show-and-tell session. During that session we noodle around with it, dissect it and decide whether it feels echolyn-like or echolyn-enough. It’s a cool process to witness/partake in, as once the scaffold of a song is created we then work to add our own individual parts and sections to the original ideas, including lyrics, melody lines, vocal harmonies, instrumental breaks, solo sections, drum tracks, etc.
Brett: Once we start the process of writing and recording, at least for me, we feel compelled to complete whatever we are working on, with obvious respect to all the other things going on in our lives. We actually work very quickly when together because we intuitively are single-minded in our writing. What affects how long our process takes is what is going on in the spaces between when we are together. The only “law” that would force us to get songs and albums done quicker would be a law stating that we get paid enough money to pay our bills and live a normal life through our music. Making money with our music has no bearing on the quality of it, yet it does affect (as do other things) how much time we can spend working on our songs. In short, the process of writing is second nature at this point. Chris, Ray, and I have been doing it together since 1989 and we have gotten dangerously good and efficient at working together. We work together when we find the time.
Ray: Faster is not better. We, I need life to happen to find new things to write about. Music…is a different animal all together. We can come with riffs all day long but they need to carry the weight of who we are. So again I say faster isn’t better.

After years of self-production you have once again relied on a producer, Glenn Rosenstein. Why this choice?

Chris: Glenn was actually hired to mix and master the new album tracks alongside Brett, as Brett was very close to the project and simply wanted and needed some outside ears and perspective. What Glenn brought was an honesty to the process that also included the awesome opportunity to use a lot of his studio and outboard gear - adding a luster and shine to the new music that is a crystal clear mix, but also incredibly warm and inviting sonically.
Brett: Actually, the new albums, “Time Silent Radio II” and “vii” are produced the same as all our albums, except “As the World”. Chris, Ray, and I have been working the same and getting better since day one. I generally spend the most time thinking about how our ideas fit together, recording them, and mixing them. That is not to diminish what Chris and Ray contribute, I only say it to point out the practical obviousness of me being an audio engineer and the person making choices on how the puzzle of a song fits together through the technology at my fingertips. I constantly am thinking about the sounds and how they fit together to create the emotions we intend. This is part of what a producer does and what I have been doing since, as mentioned, day one. Ray and Chris trust me on this and I rely on and trust them to hold me to the highest quality in serving the music. I would equate it to Chris writing string or horn parts for our music. Most of the time he is working on his own, putting the time in and creating amazing accompaniments for our songs. Ray and I trust Chris and allow his creative autonomy to create his arrangements, just as Ray and Chris trust and allow me to rearrange arrangements, make choices on sounds, and put all the elements together with foresight towards a final product. This has been the way it is on all our albums except “As the World”. In that case we had Glenn Rosenstein as the producer. For our two new albums, “Time Silent Radio II” and “vii”, I was not able to get the mixes I wanted because I was too deep and in too long with in the production, writing, and performance side of our songs to objectively serve the songs as the mix engineer. In short, Glenn stepped in and got us to the finish line by being a fresh and very objective mix engineer. He listened to my production and did what was needed to elevate the music to where we as a band aspired. It’s a testament to Glenn’s talent as both a producer and engineer that he absorbed the immensity of this project and was able to do what he did.
Ray: Brett has some of the best ears in the business. His vision, his ability to create space is uncanny. With that said, he felt that he had taken these songs as fas he could. With some luck and a bit of nostalgia our friend Glenn stepped in and gave Brett’s space more space.

Tell me a little about these albums, why you chose to make two of them, where the album titles come from, maybe with some considerations on the individual songs. My favorite songs are “Cul de Sacs & tunnels” and “Water in Our Hands”. Maybe if you can spend a few more words on these two...

Chris: Once we realized we had 91 minutes of new music we had to make the decision as to whether we record and release all of it, or whether we just release one album of @ 60 minutes. We very quickly realized that every single one of these songs deserved to be heard, so we discussed one long double album or 2 shorter albums. As children of the 1970’s we liked the idea of 2 shorter (45 minute each) albums. I call vii “the shorts” and II “the longs.”
Brett: We decided to release two albums because we felt 90 minutes of new music was a lot. Breaking them into two 45-minute collections felt right, manageable, and more cohesive. The album titles evolved over time. The idea of Time, and the evolving way in which humans view and exist in it, always communicating and demonstrating who, how, and why we are, through any communicable means and technological innovation, seemed to underscore and influence the music Chris, Ray, and I were writing. Questions of too much noise verses too much silence, chaos verses order, tradition verses progress. These ideas and many others seemed to exist under three words – Time, Silent, and Radio.
Ray: Well, we have never put 2 albums out at the same time. so there’s that angle….As far as the title goes, we were all trying our hand at coming up with the best title ever…..for weeks….then Brett came up with TimeRadioSilent. Chris tossed out the idea of changing the words around and voila TimeSilentRadio was born. I’ll give you some insight on “Cul De Sacs”. My full time job is as a Certified Nurses Aide. I work in a community dedicated to dementia. This is a letter (through my eyes) from a husband to his wife as he slowly looses her.

I imagine the choice to self-finance yourselves is due to the desire to maintain artistic independence. The price to pay, however, is that of semi-anonymity unfortunately. I know that making Echolyn records is not your main profession. Can you talk a little about your lives and how Echolyn, at this moment, fits into them?

Chris: Having artistic control is everything as an artist; that has always been important to us as musical artists in echolyn. Our day jobs allow us to earn/make a living - and for me it’s doing something I love and am very passionate about = teaching. I’m currently a Music Educator for every 6th thru 12th grader at a private independent day school in Berlin, MD. I conduct 3 Choirs/Choruses, 3 Concert Bands, 3 General Music/Music Appreciation classes, a Digital Audio elective and I’m the yearly Music Director for the high school musical - recent musical productions include Footloose, Mamma Mia, The Lion King, Shrek, Beauty and the Beast, The Pajama Game, The Sound of Music and The Addams Family. It’s a full-time job, but I love the impact I get to make on young students and artists each and every day.
Brett: Self-finance, or where the money comes from to record and manufacture our music, has no bearing on our songs other than the practical means in which we afford the costs of recording and manufacturing. These two new albums were different in that they were made in the era of streaming music (the past 10 years). This new way in which we listen to music has greatly influences the way in which artists make money for their music. Streaming is both a wonderful invention for music and a horrible curse for songwriters. I personally have been trying to make a living with music, songwriting, audio engineering, and music production since I got out of high school in 1984. I still am, but because of technological changes influencing recording methods, the ability to learn and play instruments, how to share music, and how music composition is used and paid for, I have also had to find other ways to pay my bills. Teaching sound-related classes at a collegiate level is one way I do this. I hope to move even more into academia to better serve the art of learning and sharing information for better prosocial outcomes.
Ray: As I said in the prior question I work as ‘’ guide” for our residents who are transitioning between this life and the next. I have taken some of their best rambles and put them on theses albums. There is never a dull moment.

I imagine your admirable artistic independence was also among the reasons for Sony’s lack of interest in you after you signed a contract that seemed to have launched you into the music scene. Can you tell me what really happened on that occasion, how you reacted and how you then decided to start being Echolyn again?

Chris: We had tour support monies that were squandered by Sony/Epic Records on other things other than our tour support…so without enough album sales, and no tour support, we sadly became a tax write-off for Sony.
Brett: We were a pet project for an A&R guy that loved progressive rock. He never thought it would work (despite our hard work and commitment) and ended up pocketing/stealing our tour support ($75,000) then claiming us as yet another write-off for Sony tax accountants. He crushed our dreams and tireless full-time work ethic of six years with his selfish narcissism and lack of respect for what we had accomplished and the possibilities we were fully capable of achieving. Our families suffered. After the initial fallout and the passage of four years, Ray, Chris, and I got back together because the three of us loved working together, and despite the horror show of failure imparted on us from Sony, we authentically missed each other’s company. Paul Ramsey (drums) and Tom Hyatt (bass) did not feel the same way that Ray, Chris and I felt… which is why Ray played bass on Cowboy Poems Free and Jordan Perlson joined us on drums.
Ray: We were on top of the world. Kings among uncommon. What it boiled down to was that they really had no idea what to do with us. We did however get a chance that not many bands get, let alone a prog form Philly. We tried to take advantage of everything we could, unfortunately when it came down to touring, which was our strongest asset, there was no money left. Without touring there was no new exposure. No new exposure no new sales. No new sales no new album. No new album… goodbye. When Brett, Chris and I write together, We are echolyn.

Let's continue with the dive into the past. Can you tell me, for each of your albums, how you analyze it in hindsight, what feelings it gives you today and how you judge your works? PS: it also applies, if you have time and desire, to the works not signed by Echolyn, such as Still, Always Almost, Finneus Gauge, Rise Twain and the solo works by Brett and Ray.

Chris: In terms of our Echolyn output I’m still very proud of "mei", "The End is Beautiful", The Windowpane Album, "I Heard You Listening", "as the world", "Suffocating the Bloom" and (of course) the 2 most recent TimeSilentRadio albums. I’m also incredibly proud of the 2 Finneus Gauge records (‘more once more’ and ‘one inch of the fall’) that were released in 1997 and 1999 = I still feel both of those albums are light-years ahead of their time musically, as it was an important time period where I was acting as both a band-leader and lead composer. Those years were incredibly fun and challenging musically, as everyone in that band was playing to their fullest and utmost potential, often times pushing our own musical boundaries harder and faster than we ever imagined was possible.
Brett: 1991 Debut album: I look back at it as a major achievement to find talented, like-minded people that wanted to work and create music together. We made it all ourselves. Our first album represents our nascent experiences with recording and song composition. Shades, Meaning and the Moment, and The Great Men still hold a special place despite their naivety. 1992 “Suffocating the Bloom”: I look at this album as the first indication of what we aspired for. It was us against everyone, it was authentic and unique, and we had the goods to be great – which we were. 1993 “and Every Blossom”: Our first recording where I felt like I was capturing good quality sounds. My remix for the box set show this. This little EP is undeniably unique and demonstrates our developing harmonic ears. 1994-95 “As the World”: This album shows the buzz we had in 1993. It was written in the exuberance and energy of that year. We were hot and in a groove of live gigs and song composition. This was the year we got the record deal with Sony…and ironically the beginning of the end for the band due to our involvement with them. The album took too long to release (a year and a half) and stifled the energy and momentum we had. Despite the darkness I attach to this album it was also a time where we got to work with Glenn Rosenstein who taught us much about the industry and how to make a record. The best of times was the fall of 1993 through the spring of 1994, writing and recording the 16 songs for “As the World” – after that was a slow slide away from the rich exuberance we had created on our own.
Ray: This is a loaded question……we have all grown to be sooooooo much better as songwriters and lyricists. For me, in the early days I was more of a look at me and what I can do kind of writer. Our time recording in Nashville was very humbling for me. It has taken a long time but think I can say that I have finally found my voice. We are always writing…..some of my songs end up as an echolyn song, some are for another Ray album and some are just for my dog and cats.

What happened to Tom Hyatt and Paul Ramsey, the other two historical members of the band? Is there a possibility that you will still do things together?

Chris: Both guys just needed/wanted a break from full-time echolyn on their own terms. We were at first disappointed by their departures, but we also realized that the music writing process could/would still continue without them, as Ray, Brett and I have always been the main echolyn songwriters.
Brett: I have no contact with either of them but wish them well in their lives. I see no reason to work with them because not having them in the band has only increased the potency and efficiency of what Chris, Ray and I have always done, i.e., write the music.
Ray: Tom has found the girl of his dreams and is living his best life. Someday it would be cool to sit in a room with Tom and play some of the old tunes…… but Paul, Paul is the past.

Jordan Perlson did an amazing job on “Time Silent Radio”. He had collaborated with you guys in the past, so I imagine that was the reason why you chose to include him in the band. Can you talk about how he contributed to the sound of this latest work? And, of course, I also ask Jordan about his thoughts on both working with the band and on the record.

Chris: Jordan was a Concert Band/Jazz Ensemble student of mine when he was 15-18 years old at the former school I used to teach in PA (Abington Friends School); even back then he was a dedicated workhorse of a musician, always in the practice room during free periods working on his rudiments. I invited him to the echolyn studios in the spring of 2000 when he was a senior and we asked him to record a few tracks with us for our Cowboy Poems Free album…he did an amazing job and played on 3 of those album tracks. Jordan then went to and graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass and has since toured and played with Tiger Okoshi, The Blue Man Group, Becca Stevens, Adrian Belew and Snarky Puppy. He currently lives in Nashville and is on their regular call list for studio drummers. Jordan is an amazing dynamic and experienced drummer and working with him is always fun and rewarding because he listens to the songs so well and honestly and reacts very naturally to what he hears with what he then chooses to play.
Brett: We would not have released another echolyn album if Jordan did not want to participate. His creativity, nature, and professionalism made the music better and the recording both joyful and exciting.
Ray: We have history with Jordan. He gets it. He is the push that makes us move.

One of my dreams is to see you live. Unfortunately when you came to Italy (I think it was the tour of The End Is Beautiful) I couldn’t come. My girlfriend tells me to cultivate the dream of organizing a concert of yours since I am the president of a cultural association called Libere Menti (Free Minds). I don’t think it’s economically and logistically possible, but never say never. Regardless of whether I manage to fulfill my dream or not, is the idea of doing concerts a closed door for you or do you cultivate the hope of still being able to do it?

Chris: While our European and UK tour in 2005 was an amazing adventure and accomplishment, with the 4 of us living so distanced now (Brett and Ray in PA, Jordan in Nashville and myself in Southern Delaware) the possibility of touring is now dismissed quite a bit due to day jobs and distance. That being said, that doesn’t mean we might not still try and record a live concert video or do a few shows locally if the opportunity presents itself.
Brett: I hope to be able to play the songs form our last three albums someday, sooner than later. I still feel I am able to play and sing at my best. That time is getting shorter though.
Ray: We all say that it would be nice to do 1 more tour. We have 4 albums that need to be heard live! Someday maybe then.

If you had to take only three records to a desert island, which ones would you choose?

Chris: Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring; Pat Metheny - Secret Story; Radiohead - The Bends
Brett: I would hate to listen to the same thing over and over again!! That would be a nightmare! As a joke, I’d have and play the end theme from the movie Jaws by John Williams to inspire me to make a raft and swim off that island. It’s a beautiful and fitting piece of music for that situation.
Ray: Black Sabbath : Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. The Slipknot debut. Kate Bush Hounds Of Love

Which musicians have most influenced you in your respective instruments?

Chris: Stravinsky, Debussy, Chopin and Liszt are all high on my influence list, but more modern jazz and rock artists like Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays and Allan Holdsworth also rank very high as musical influences for me. I respect and admire how each of those musicians leaned into the discomfort of writing and playing music that was different than their peers - which historically has put all of them at the forefront of musical advancement and creativity. That is something I am very proud of with the music of echolyn = we sound like ourselves yet we’re always truly progressing forward as a band of creative and truly original artists. In short, I want my musical output to outlive me; I think I’m still successfully on that path.
Brett: As a kid in my teens, Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi, Pete Townshend, Steve Howe, and Alex Lifeson were the folks I played along with to learn guitar in my teens. In my early 20s it was probably Pat Metheny, Alan Holdsworth, and Anthony Phillips. After that I started focusing on finding my own style and voice. I like guitar players that understand song composition and arranging. I don’t really care about flashy technique other than being able to play with feel and thoughtful creativity. I think the guitar ideas that Johnny Greenwood demonstrates in Radiohead and now in The Smile are inspiring. Just listen to songs like The Slip, Bending Hectic, Eyes and Mouth, etc., from his band The Smile, I thought and still think Elliot Smith was an amazing guitar player and multi-instrumentalist, unique and highly creative. Tom Bukovac, Blake Mills, Nels Clien, and Julian Lage also inspire me for their authentic and creative styles.
Ray: As a singer I would have to say Nat King Cole, Glenn Campbell, Phil Lynott. As a bassist…. Geezer Butler, James Dewar, Richard Sinclair.

A few days ago I was discussing with a friend about streaming music. I read in an article that the average time spent listening to a song on Spotify is 18 seconds. In my opinion, this is a terrible statistic that shows how streaming has damaged music in an artistic sense. Because quality music requires a minimum amount of effort. Opening a disc, inserting it into the player and listening to it requires some kind of participation that is more difficult to achieve with streaming. For me, it is emblematic of a certain system that aims to infantilize and disengage the masses, who thus become more easily malleable. What do you think about it? And how do you relate to streaming as a band?

Chris: The biggest danger, and musical disappointment, that we’ve encountered is most of the world now feels that streaming music is their right - not realizing that most artists aren’t making any money from that medium. We spent $45k over 8 years making these 2 albums and we had hoped to raise at least that much to cover our costs, while having some money in the bank for a next album, but the biggest challenge is re-educating a public to the actual costs of things and the paltry existence artists make when their only source of income is streaming revenue. That is also why we did a presale and also pressed CDs - as there is still a decent-sized worldwide audience and market for physical product (thank goodness)!
Brett: The value of music has an art has decreased, not only monetarily for songwriters, but also for consumers. Music has been relegated to an artform anyone can make and listen to with a few easy button clicks. Music creation today is like an infant telling a parent they have done something worthy of notice (like using the toilet) then moving on to the next expected anodyne thing. Music is not earned; it doesn’t allow value because there is no cost. The ritual of learning, listening, and sharing music has taken a major detrimental, societal, artistic demoting because of various instrument, recording, and listening technologies.
Ray: Streaming is the root of all evil……

What future is there for Echolyn? Did you use all the material for Time Silent Radio or do you have some compositions ready or, at least, in embryo? Will you wait another 10 years before a new album? Personally, I hope not…

Chris: I have hopes to put all 4 of us in a room together to write and hash-out another album of music over the next 2-3 years. I would personally not want to wait 10 years again, as that was frustrating for us as well - but given my cancer diagnosis and Covid, coupled with our distance, we still made the best of what time we did have. However, time has no place and time is also the great equalizer - so I’d like to think we’ll find a way to put us all in the same space together sooner than later to see where our music might go next after the TimeSilentRadio releases. Ironically enough, the song ‘Time Has No Place’ was the last song written for this collection of music…so if that’s an indicator of where we might go next, I feel it’s a very promising one!
Brett: Who knows! Right now, we want to promote and share these two new albums that deserve our time.
Ray: The future for now is to give these albums their proper due. Promote. Promote. Promote. We always have something in the works. We are always scribbling words, melodies and riffs. To strike again while the irons are hot would be ideal but…… 10 years to us is a blink of an eye.

One last question, but perhaps the most important: can you explain to me how the name Echolyn came about?

Chris: We needed an original band name that no one else had that best represented us. Brett and Ray used to be in a cover band together named Narcissus. Narcissus and Echo were both famous Roman mythological gods. Brett liked the musical word echo…but there was already a band named Echo and the Bunnymen in the late-1980’s…so he added ‘lyn’ to the ending, and thus echolyn was born.
Brett: I made it up in early 1989 as a word that did not represent anything, but the music is represented.
Ray: It’s a 3 syllable word…… perfect for chanting.

We're done. Thanks again for your kindness and for the music you give us.

Chris: Many thanks for your continued support of echolyn, Marco = we heard you (and our many Italian friends and fans) listening!
Brett: Thanks Marco. We greatly appreciate your support over the years!!