we were actually supposed to get this interview back in august when the album was dropping, but things don’t always work out. however, this time around, things fell together on a much better and stronger tour than previously planned, with wwm favorites innerpartysystem and p.o.s. on the tour as well.

in any case, genesis underground still remains one of my favorite pop albums of 2009 and will be holding a nice spot on my year-end list. a perfect amalgamation of the smooth r&b/pop hybrid stylings of your ne-yos and timberlakes, with orchestration and cinematic soundscapes to boot. singer brandon wronski took a few minutes during the houston stop of the pac sun (meh, i know) tour to talk to us about the new record, being on fearless and plans for 2010, among other things.

hit the jump for the interview.

-grizzly

Roshan Bhatt, weworemasks.com: How’s it going, man?
Brandon Wronski, Eye Alaska: It’s goin’ really good.

WWM: Let’s knock this thing out. For the record, what’s your name and position in Eye Alaska?
BW: I’m Brandon Wronski and I’m the singer of Eye Alaska.

WWM: So your debut album’s finally out and to favorable reviews. How’s it feel to finally have the product out?

BW: It’s awesome, man. You know it was definitely a long process. It was a great experience making the record. We had a nice studio and worked with Matt Wallace. We learned a ton about ourselves and just playing music and it was a really amazing experience for all of us. It’s out, we’re touring on it and people are starting to know and love the songs with us, so you couldn’t ask for more.

WWM: You guys aren’t too confined with your sound and don’t pigeonhole yourselves to any particular genre. What were some of your biggest influences going into and recording Genesis Underground?

BW: Well, I listen to a lot of movie scores. A lot of Harry Gregson-Williams and Carter Burwell for this one. At the time, I was listening to a lot of hip-hop, but mainly Jay-Z, Biggie. A lot of Kanye and Drake too, who’s getting so huge now, man.

WWM: We just saw Jay-Z not too long ago in Austin. I’ve been listening to him since the 6th grade and finally got the opportunity to catch his show, and it was fucking unbelievable.

BW: Man, I would love to see Jay-Z.

WWM: Anyway – back to the question.

BW: Well, I was listening to a bit of everything really. I listened to a lot of country, especially Rascal Flatts. We just like to take what we can from everything. Even if you don’t like the music, there’s still a lot of things you can from it.

WWM: Did you approach the writing process any differently than you did on Yellow and Elephant [their 2006 EP]?

BW: The EP is just basically us in our room. It was much differently this time around. The writing process was similar and overall the same, but the recording of it was different. We worked in this pretty big and amazing studio so that was fun.

WWM: I personally feel that the LP wasn’t too far off from the sound of the EP. You pretty much just expanded the sound from the EP and textured it a bit more. Was it a conscious decision not to stray too far from your EP?

BW: Yeah, we just write it however it comes. I don’t tend to worry or really think about the outside perspective as much as I should. From album to album and song to song it’ll change. You’ll hear songs like “Roll Right Over,” then go right into “All Hail the High Sea,” you know? And we’re kinda all over with “Miles Don’t Mean Anything” and “American Landslide.” I feel like there’s no way we can really think about being a certain way. It’s never been like that from the beginning and each song has been different from the beginning.

WWM: On topic of that, for someone like myself who can enjoy different genres at all times, it’s no big deal. Others could be pushed away from your band because you mold so many different genres together.

BW: Oh, absolutely man.

WWM: There’s so much going on. So how do you approach that dilemma when you write songs?

BW: There’s definitely a huge dilemma. Especially for us when we were starting out. When we were trying to get signed, record labels wanted us to just pick one genre. It didn’t even matter – that’s what blew my mind. You could pick the R&B happier stuff, or pick the darker, more cinematic stuff. I don’t understand that at all. Kids my age and your age grew up with iPods, and even CDs. We had such immense accessibility to all kinds of music all the time. That wasn’t the case with previous generations. We have mixes and playlists with the click of a button. I personally feel that no one really listens to one type of music anymore, but I’m sure there’s plenty of people who still do. Regardless, that’s dying out and we’re walking into the future. It’ll take a little longer for people to catch on. We knew that going in, so the people who get it and like it — That’s who we do it for.

WWM: Do you ever feel like your fanbase is limited because of your record label? I’m not trying to bad mouth or anything. But let’s take the Plain White Ts for example. They’ve had a couple of big singles and have a specific [ed note: lame] fan base. Do you ever feel like being on Fearless holds you to a certain crowd.

BW: Yeah. Fearless has a built-in fanbase. We just don’t fit with them, you know? Fearless has been a great label for us, but again — that fanbase. Some of those kids can dig us, but most don’t. They might not understand it or something, but I feel like they could definitely get into it eventually. But I do get what you’re saying.

WWM: This year’s coming to and end. What were some of your favorite records of 2009?

BW: Man, I love The Blueprint 3. So incredible. This band Mansions had a really great album this year too.

WWM: Didn’t they open for Kevin Devine or something like that?

BW: Not sure, but I do know they opened for The Get Up Kids.

WWM: Yeah, that’s them. Kevin played on that tour, too. I missed it, though.

BW: Yeah! They’re really cool, and I really liked the Where the Wild Things Are score, by Carter Burwell. So great.

WWM: What are the band’s plans for 2010?

BW: Man, 2010. We’re going home for the holidays.

WWM: The tour’s over soon, right? 5 days?

BW: Yeah, about a week. But we will get to spend time with our families and stuff like that. Then, we’re gonna go back out on tour in February.

WWM: Not gonna be a headline, is it?

BW: [Laughs] Probably not. Not yet.

WWM: Did you guys ever plan on shooting a video or anything like that?

BW: Actually, we’re releasing a music video for “Walk Like a Gentleman.” We’re putting the final touches on that video, so look out for that real, real soon.

WWM: Very cool. Well, thanks for talking to us. Any last words for the readers?

BW: Yeah, just thanks to everyone who loves us and believes in what we do.

WWM: Good luck with the end of the tour.

BW: Thanks, take care.

That’ll do it. Genesis Underground is in stores.