On September’s First Friday, after a popping evening at BUTTER, I sat down with Spring Term lead man Nathan Davis to talk about inspirations, favorite spots in the city, and his excitement for his new EP Kiddo, dropping October 7.
Haley Collins: Go ahead and give me your full name and where you’re from, plus a little bit about you.
Nathan Davis: My name’s Nathan Davis; I’m from the north side of Indianapolis. I’m twenty-three. I just graduated from IUPUI with a music tech degree.
HC: Tell me about when you decided to start producing and when you developed Spring Term. Where does that come from?
ND: That started a little bit before I graduated college. I would say I basically studied Ableton. Granted, it’s more for experimental music, but I felt like I got to know my way around a digital audio workspace (DAW). I’ve used that a lot in my live sets [like] you guys will see tonight, and I started getting a little more introduced to the production side of things–I’d always produced a little since high school but started to get more of a deeper dive. And then during COVID, I was like, ‘Now’s my time to learn production.’ I dove in, in my room by myself all day every day and that’s when ideas for Spring Term started.
HC: Now, where does the name come from?
ND: Spring has a lot of significance for me; it’s my favorite season. I met my wife in the spring so that’s a significant part. And there’s something about it; I don’t know, things are just starting to grow, the weather is crisp, it’s fresh. I love other seasons but thinking about the concept of spring, and new beginnings gives me a lot of encouragement.
HC: What artists do you draw inspiration from?
ND: I’ve been trying to get inspiration from as wide of sources as possible, but I think what people have been telling me a lot is indie pop–I get Vampire Weekend and Porches, Oliver Tree, Young the Giant so those are a lot of my core music fans. I love a lot of the early Velvet Underground stuff, and Hunky Dory David Bowie; that’s where I get a lot of the piano parts. I would say it’s a lot of the indie rock I was raised on mixed with some of those early 70s rockers.
HC: That’s cool! Where else do you draw inspiration for your writing?
ND: One place I’m really inspired is when I visit extended family in their small town in Minnesota. For example, “Jellyfish,” the song I just released, I actually wrote that by the lake, and it’s been in my brain for two years and just finished it up now. Sometimes I’ll just do creative challenges for myself. Brian Eno has a card deck of creative prompts, so “Tell Me Your Name” came out of one of those in one sitting. It really varies but I like to take notes in voice memos, being in nature, and creative prompts from other artists. I typically start with a melody on guitar, but another thing I challenge myself with for Spring Term is learning piano to drive my melodies because I’m not as proficient as a pianist. There’s something about just hearing things rather than knowing technically what you’re doing that can be a little freeing. For Spring Term lately, it’s been piano melodies and then I’ll figure out harmonies on guitar.
HC: Being a Naptown local, do you have any favorite hangouts in the Indianapolis area or is there anywhere you go to write music that’s not your bedroom?
ND: Newfields inspires me, especially in the springtime. A place I think not enough people know about is Old Gold BBQ; it’s over by Metazoa Brewing Company, it’s a truck but it’s permanent. That place is amazing. You know, my taste is out of my budget, so I’m bougie.
HC: Can you talk a little bit about your first EP coming out soon, where the inspiration for that came from and what brought that together?
ND: It’s going to be called Kiddo. I wanted to introduce a new project to the world with something really vulnerable and something that’s literally just spilling who I am. I also really wanted to do a conceptual project for a long time. I was ready to do something on my own, free of direction. And that’s how Spring Term was born.
HC: When did you start picking up instruments/music?
ND: I got a guitar for my eighth birthday I believe it was. It took a long time for me to pick it up. There was a (middle) school band that my friend played for and he convinced me to learn about acoustic guitar, so that’s when I learned. My first experience was learning how to play for (the band) and I really fell in love with music in high school.
HC: Did you play in the band in high school?
ND: I went to a Christian high school and it was like a worship band, so I played electric guitar and then played with the orchestra sometimes. So, a little bit of everything.
HC: Do you have any pre-show rituals that you’re developing? I know it’s new for you but is there anything that you try and do before a show?
ND: You know, I think I need to develop some new ones. For (the band) Yeah No For Sure, we had some as a group. We used to walk out to “Margaritaville” so it would be like that. I’m not sure yet; I have to start thinking.
HC: What would you say is your hope for the show tonight?
ND: This is the first Friday, which is awesome to be on because people just show up, so I hope to meet a lot of new people. I’ve only played two live shows before and it was a different band setup. This is my first time with a four-piece band. I’m going to be playing a couple of songs that aren’t gonna be on the EP so a lot of new things tonight.
HC: Finally, what do you want people to know about the new EP?
ND: I want people to know that this is all about my childhood, but have learned so much about myself today diving into this concept. The EP is kind of chronological, and I was writing about ridiculous things I struggled with when I was little and I was an extreme perfectionist. And that’s what “Kiddo” is about. But then when I was writing it, I realized I’m still the same in a lot of ways, more than I even realized. One thing I really hoped for is not only that people track with that journey, but more than knowing exactly what I mean by the lyrics makes them nostalgic. Whatever that looks like, whether it’s happy or sad. I think there is so much we can learn about ourselves and be more present when we take the time to do that. That’s something that I think art can do, so this is my attempt to contribute.
Spring Term had a colorful and energetic show on First Friday, with stand-out performances of the Full House theme song, a lively harmonica solo, and a memorable instrumental break in his newest single “Jellyfish.” His new EP Kiddo is six tracks, made up of four pre-released singles of a more traditional structure with some instrumental experimental tracks throughout, telling the story of childhood chronologically, from a journey through innocence to coming to terms with mortality. The EP has been released one song a month this summer and will be released in its entirety on October 7. If you want to check out more of Nathan’s performances, he has an upcoming show with the band Stay Outside at the HI-FI on November 5. You can stream Spring Term on Spotify and Apple Music.
