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No one holds the perfect balance of sweet and sour like Added Dimensions, the home-recording project of Sarah Everton (Blowdryer, Telepathic) with the aid of her partner, both in music and life, Rob Garcia. Following up on her self-titled release in 2022 is the driving EP Time Suck/Hellbent (Domestic Departure), which alongside expanding her songwriting practices and wiry guitar leads, has also led to the mastery of the Tascam Portastudio and screen-printing. Everton was able to cue us in on the EP's inspirations over email, as well as detailing her move from Philadelphia to Richmond, and the band's first live show.
What have you been up to lately? What have you been listening to, reading, or spending a lot of time doing?
Sarah Everton: Lately, I've been listening to a lot of early Replacements and Chappell Roan. I recently read Susan Seidelman and Richard Hell's autobiographies. Just started The Woman in White. I have a micro-baby screen printing business called Ditto Sicko, so I've been printing a lot this past week. Also just started Muay Thai!
How did Added Dimensions get started? What makes it different from your previous projects Blowdryer and Telepathic?
I had to start a solo project after moving away from Philly. Added Dimensions is basically what Blowdryer would have continued into I think. Even a couple of the songs on my first tape were going to be BD songs at first. One big difference is I could really start adding harmonies way more since we never wanted to mess with that in Blowdryer. The songs in Telepathic were maybe one-third my songs, and the rest Rob (my husband/bandmate) wrote, plus he was the lead singer. Telepathic was more collaborative in general, but aside from the drumming, AD is 100% me.
You're now based in Richmond after previously living in Philadelphia. How would you describe the difference between these two cities and their creative scenes?
Honestly, I haven't lived in Richmond long enough to make a fair comparison yet. I am from here originally, but I was in Philly for 13 years and things are much different than back then. One thing that remains the same is how a lot of really good bands skip playing here! They go from D.C. straight to Raleigh or Chapel Hill, which makes no sense when you can break up your drive and play to AT LEAST 5-15 people [laughs]. But also I mean that can help a lot) in a small Richmond, VA venue! Philly is great because EVERY band stops through, and you're so close to NYC, plus Baltimore isn't too far away. Not to mention there's tons of bands there, and you can put together a good, cohesive show. My best friends still live there, and I can only say mostly very great things about the place. I miss it all the time. As far as what I know about the creative scene here in Richmond, I know when I was a teenager living in the Richmond burbs, pop punk was a big thing. I actually thought I hated punk back then because all I was exposed to for a while was pop punk. When I was in art school, crust punk, folk punk, emo, and metal were popular. I have yet to really see how things are now, but I already know a few fellow heads who are into some of the same music and things Rob and I are into. I screen print at a member-based art space who are very involved in the community and host lots of events. They're very politically minded, have a community fridge, and participate in pro-Palestine protests. I am very grateful that they're here. Overall, there are many talented and motivated people, so I am pleased and very optimistic.
Time Suck / Hellbent came out back in April. What have been some of your reflections on the EP since its release?
I've been loving having distribution! Sending links and cassettes out to the few people/places I'm aware of was tedious and not very fruitful for my first release. It's cool to actually get it reviewed. I'm still happy with the songs on the EP and I'm glad I could follow up my cassette with something a bit different. I will always write poppy songs full of hooks, but I also love repetitive and moodier stuff. Even though like, ten people know about Added Dimensions, I don't want to be typecast.
I read that you do all your recordings on a Tascam Portastudio 488. What led to this and could you tell us more about your recording process?
Rob and I have always preferred recording things on cassette or reel-to-reel. We've recorded in studios and tried different software, but have come full circle to analog recording. Before when we dabbled in other methods, I was curious and wanted to try new things. Plus I was worried about limiting myself or that it might be pretentious to insist on doing it all analog. Like if I only listened to vinyl and never streamed albums, or wrote all my correspondence with ink and a quill. Turns out, I hate doing things digitally and I hate doing things in a studio. The idea of paying money for studio time, cramming all my recording sessions into those few days that I can afford, only to have some producer royally fuck up the vibe and the vision makes me angry and stresses me out just to think about. As for process, it actually starts digitally—I record ideas on my voice memo app then do demos on another app that lets you do multiple tracks. When we go to record, whether it's isolated track by track or played live it varies; but for the EP, first we recorded Rob on drums while I played guitar live. Then added bass and vocals. Afterwards, I figured out any extra stuff like guitar solos or guitar leads that were needed, and where I wanted that audio sample. Doing it at my own pace allows me to really make it how I want. In the future, I plan to switch up the types of recordings, treating them like sessions and have them mixed and matched together in different collections. This will hopefully include my inept journey into figuring out how to use the 4 track Rob got me for my birthday. I also found a Tascam 388 for an insanely good deal this summer, so we will be using that soon as well. Obviously, there are some studios that would be incredible to record in. Also obviously, while I love lo-fi and DIY recordings by other artists, I also love plenty of bombastic, clean, and produced stuff too.
Let's talk about some individual tracks on the EP. How did "In The System" come to be?
This was the first song I wrote after my dad died last year. It's a very upbeat song I know, so that might seem a bit odd. I came up with the riff and melody how I always do—but the lyrics are directly inspired by all of the bureaucracy I had to deal with handling my dad's estate. It was so fucked up and stressful having to jump through hoops while grieving. I was on the phone for hours every day, or figuring out the probate stuff (which I still can't explain). Shit workers stuck in call centers would be mean to me unless I performed my grief for them—a truly revolting system.
What's the story behind "Interruption?"
This one was a leftover shell of a demo from my selt-titled album. I finished it and then wrote the lyrics about having hyperfixation while dealing with people bothering you all the time, something I deal with almost daily.
And the closer "Wound Up" with its extended guitar solo?
I was very happy with the demo for this one, but knew I'd need to figure out another part to layer for the end. I very purposefully have been playing around with not singing the whole time from start to finish in every song and wanted to extend the instrumental part. The guitar solo was one of the last things we recorded because I needed Rob's input about what would work. I would noodle around, and he helped me decide what to use. So basically Rob is my producer even though I said I hate producers (I am in turn, his producer also).
With doing your own artwork for releases and even printing your own merch, is Added Dimensions an ever-expanding project of DIY proportions?
Oh yeah, the art is very important to me. I have many ideas for more t-shirts and things for the future, and was very stoked that Erika [Elizabeth] from Domestic Departure did Risograph prints for the covers! I plan to do my own Risograph prints as well as maybe screen print some packaging and/or inserts coming up.
What was it like working with Erika for the release?
It has been so great! Erika and I both agree on everything, and I totally trust her. There were weird issues with the pressing plant, but I wasn't even worried because I knew she'd act in my best interest. I love that Domestic Departure doesn't pay a big PR company to push things, but she knows where to send all her releases. She really knows what she's doing and she has great taste!
What does the live version of Added Dimensions look like?
I wasn't even sure I was going to do a live band for AD at first. We also moved multiple times before settling in our current home and things with my dad were very serious for a while. We finally got a practice space which was the real missing link, because my friend Erin had already agreed to play bass. I also wasn't sure prior to our first three-piece practice if we would need a second guitar player. I have more and more songs that have lead lines or guitar solos and I sure as hell am not going to fuck with a loop pedal or whatever to make that work live. But in the end, we sound good, which is great because I don't want to wrangle another person! I think it's important to have a live version of a band anyway that sounds different from the recordings. It helps put it all in context once you see a band play in person.
Do you plan to perform more shows in the future? Anything else we should look out for?
Oh yeah, we already have another one planned for this month. Beyond that, nothing's set but we obviously have a lot of friends in Philly and a few other places so definitely want to go out of town too.
Any parting words for our readers?
The song sample is from the 1968 snow western "The Great Silence" in case you were wondering.
Time Suck / Hellbent is out now on Domestic Departure Records.