Last month, RCR’s Garrett Whitlow got to sit down with Justin Paciocco from Farm Vegas to discuss their new album “Split Wide Open.”

With completion of your third album, you guys are no strangers to the studio-recording process. I know you used two completely different recording methods with the first two albums… How did you approach the recording of “Split Open Wide”?
On a Wire and Heavy Skies represent two extremes of the recording spectrum. On a Wire was tracked live, on a budget, in just three days, and we thought it’d be awesome to really invest in an album and spend some time with overdubbing and sounds and textures. So for Heavy Skies, we took the opposite approach—we assembled the songs piece by piece and spent over two weeks tracking. And sonically, it sounded great, but the songs lost so much energy in the process. So on Split Open Wide, we were much more conscientious of trying to find a healthy balance between the two approaches. You learn something new and valuable every time you go through the recording process, so I think Split Open Wide is a reflection of the lessons we learned recording those other albums.

I also noticed all three album covers have a particular look to them. Same artist?
All three were designed by Robert Meganck. We derived each album title from a lyric in one of the songs, and he’s great at picking out the imagery from that particular song and creating something that is not only visually captivating, but also meaningful and true to the concept of the song. We’re very lucky to work with him.

How would you say a typical Farm Vegas song comes together?
JL and I are the two songwriters in the band, and I think for both of us, songwriting is kind of a private, personal thing. We’ll come to rehearsals with songs we’ve already written on our own, and then we’ll start working on arrangements together as a band. Most of the time from there it’s a collaborative effort, and the final shape a song takes on the album is completely different than when we originally wrote it. JL and I get credit for writing the songs, but everyone in the band helps write the arrangements, and that’s equally, if not more, important.

Having both you and JL as vocalists, how do you decide who will sing what? Do you ever write a song with his vocals in mind or vice versa?
It’s pretty easy actually—I sing the songs I write, and JL sings the songs he writes. I’ve never written one for him or vice versa. It’d be cool to try that though. Although, I think there is an authenticity that comes across when you’re singing your own lyrics because they’re your feelings/thoughts/observations. So I’d hate to lose that integrity.

You guys play everything from festivals, to clubs, to bars and college parties. What setting do you think suits the band the most?
We’ve had the privilege of headlining The National, putting nearly 1000 people in one of the nicest venues in the country, so I guess that should be our favorite venue. And yet it’s funny because I get the biggest rush when I’m playing a smaller college party or bar where the room is packed, beer is being sprayed everywhere and people are crashing into my keyboards. We got our start playing that type of gig, and so that will always be a large part of who we are and what we do. The festivals are great too, because not only do you get to play your music for large crowds of people who truly love music, but you also get to catch other great bands, which can be difficult when you’re on the road.

I like to ask this as my final question each month. If you could pick any song by another band/artist that you wish Farm Vegas had written. What would it be?
Easy to over think this one—there are so many good answers. I’ll say “In My Life” by The Beatles and leave it at that.
For more information on Farm Vegas, visit www.farmvegas.net or download their new album at www.itunes.com or www.cdbaby.com.