Features / One Question Interviews

Michael Allen (Sundown – guitar/vocals)

SPB: What is your favorite stretch of highway to drive on tour?

Allen: There's a bridge in Florida heading into Tampa called the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. It's on 275, I believe, and it was when we finally saw the ocean. Bowie had just come on the radio and we had the windows down in February. …

Eric (Some Became Hollow Tubes)

SPB: How did COVID impact the recording of this collaborative record?

Eric: COVID gave us the gift of time. We worked slower than usual, since we were adjusting to life at home and finding other things to occupy the mind from all the gloomy stuff. After the initial shocks, cancelations, uncertainties and figuring out …

Solilians

SPB: What is your favorite music related film or documentary? 

Solilians: German filmmaker Claudia Heuermann’s Sabbath In Paradise (on Tzadik) explores the question of what it means to be a modern experimental Jewish musician from all angles, capturing Radical Jewish Culture and downtown NYC’s East Village golden age of the early ‘90s in all it’s breath, depth and …

Nathaniel (Spaceships)

SPB: Tell us about your amp pairings and how you chose them.

Nathaniel: I run a stereo rig with a Vox AC15 and a 1960s Gibson Falcon. I encountered a Falcon while helping a friend who runs an amp repair shop. He had me put it together and test it, and I fell in love -- only to …

Shrugdealer

SPB: What is the worst job you’ve ever had?

Shrug Dealer's WORST JOBS:

Sol Doubt (bass) - "Door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman."
Russ Worstell (lead vocals/guitar) - "Beer keg delivery driver."
Josh Smith (drums) - "Drummer of Shrug Dealer. Or carpet cleaner. That one actually kinda sucked.
Rob Lanterman (lead vocals/guitar) - "I run an independent record label."

So Hideous (Brandon Cruz)

SPB: What instrument (or instrument combo) was the hardest to capture in the studio when recording None But A Pure Heart Can Sing?

Cruz: We’ve used strings on every single one of our releases but it was particularly challenging on this album as we tried a different methodology. On the last two records we used …

Jon Pagano (Sullest, Weak Teeth, Best Practices)

SPB: What’s the secret to a successful tour?

Pagano: Preparation and communication are critical. Plan a route, then plan a secondary route, and honestly for good measure, plan a third route. With so many variables, you’ll want as much flexibility as possible in case something falls through. Make sure you get time off …

Suho (Sidecar)

SPB: How is the Busan scene different than other punk scenes in Korea? (What makes it unique compared to, for example, Seoul?)

Suho: Besides the 1990s when punk rock was at its peak in Busan, it’s a challenge to play punk here because Busan doesn’t always have many bands, and the number of venues is small. However, due …

Andy Diaz (Safety)

SPB: You break a string onstage during a song. What’s your strategy: attempt a BB King-style replacement while playing?

Diaz: If I break a string in the middle of a song, I simplify the chords until I have the opportunity to grab my backup guitar. For me, having a backup tuned and ready to go saves time, …

Sandré

SPB: What was the first concert you all attended (together)?

Sandré: We went to the Idles show together two years ago. It was incredible. Stefi and Rosa ended up on stage. Marc lost his glasses. Nothing happened to Carles but he enjoyed it very much. 

Jason Fusco (Shehehe)

SPB: What drummer (not your own band) stand out to you the most?

My faFusco: vorite drummer is Michael Gonzalez of the local Athens, GA band Deep State. I just really dig his driving style of playing. It's aggresive, but fluid, reminds me of why I play drums in the first place, to really feel the music with your …

William Thomas Fay (Something Is Waiting)

SPB: I hear you make your own cabs. Can you tell us what the most important custom features are for your personal sound? 

Fay:

P. Bohner (SPELLS)

SPB: The band name is almost refreshingly simple. How did you choose it?

Bohner: Well first off, I would like to say that I am personally not a fan of being IN bands that contain the article "THE". I love bands that have articles in their name but I personally gravitate to names without it. Band names …

Chris Murphy (Seven Crows)

SPB: Coming from the band’s perspective, how does it feel in 2020 to release a new record (as compared to releasing a record under different circumstances with live shows etc)?

Murphy: 2020 has been a challenge from all perspectives but I’m trying to make the best of it.

My music background is in jazz and improvisation …

Laura Larson (Scrunchies)

SPB: What is the highest number of bands you’ve been in at one time?

Larson:

Todd Allen (Squarecrow)

SPB: What amps do you use, and how did you decide on that setup?

Allen: I upgraded from some random half stack with a Boss Metal Zone pedal to a Fender Deville 4x10 combo amp because I was playing in a rockabilly punk band at the time (2009). It makes noise, goes “crunch” when I want it …

Storm Ross

SPB: Is there a single piece of gear that you would say is the most essential to “the Storm Ross sound”?

Ross: As you can see in the video, I primarily play a 2008 Gibson SG Custom. I run this through an array of pedals, ending with a looper that then goes into my amp, a vintage Kustom 200-watt. Since this …

Stu Folsom (SpiritWorld)

SPB: Your musical inspiration (heavy + country) combines two worlds. Was that part of the concept behind the project’s name, which is also a melding of two worlds (of sorts)?

Folsom: That is interesting. I'd like to say I was that on the ball to tie everything in but no, the name is an homage to the …

Jake (Sunliner)

SPB: When did you start thinking about the name change (from Jake & The Jellyfish) and how did you decide that now is the time? 

Jake: To be honest we’d been talking about changing it from the word go. It was only ever a “hold” name, but we just played more and more shows and the name became …

Seagulls

SPB: What model of guitar do you play and how did you choose it? 

Steve: I play a fender mexi pbass with delano pmvc 4 fe/m2 pickups (quarter pounders on roids) and always a fresh set of 45-100 strings. It's super bright, but still meaty. My stingray was too stingray-ey for me. My american pbass has a lot of sentimental …